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(Casual D&D IV) A Knight for a Pawn
- Thread starter Guilt Puppy
- Start date
doghead
thotd
Xaio Yu, male human traveler from afar
Xiao peaks at the map. His eyes hungrily drink it in.
"This is a fine map. I have not seen one like it before."
Entranced, he reaches out to place his finger on Despia, before suddenly snatching it back. He blushes red, and begins a little bout of bowing.
"Ah. Apologies Shava. Xiao was lost in amazement and forgotten is better behaviour!"
When he does calm down again, he sheepishly points out that the coast road gives the choice of travel by boat. Which is a good option if road is closed or dangerous, he notes.
Xiao peaks at the map. His eyes hungrily drink it in.
"This is a fine map. I have not seen one like it before."
Entranced, he reaches out to place his finger on Despia, before suddenly snatching it back. He blushes red, and begins a little bout of bowing.
"Ah. Apologies Shava. Xiao was lost in amazement and forgotten is better behaviour!"
When he does calm down again, he sheepishly points out that the coast road gives the choice of travel by boat. Which is a good option if road is closed or dangerous, he notes.
dpdx
Explorer
Fendric, standing on tiptoe to peer over shoulders at the map, seems non-plussed that his option came up third amongst his partymates.
"Can anyone recall, Pelor Help Them, the circumstances under which we have been attacked most often? Druids, spirits of antelope, wandering bands of raiders...
I suspect that the wilds will delay us the most, and that a sea journey would expose us to dangers we have not encountered before - not least among them, pirates - upon a boat that rocks back and forth and makes us nauseous.
I am all for haste, as Shavah has suggested, but I am against trouble and inconvenience. In any case, we have Valsport, and three options. I would prefer the East Road, but I am aware that I have a proclivity towards civilization..."
Hiritus chuckles at this, quite loudly, in fact.
"Fendric, we've survived at every turn! And you're forgetting about Bethel, and Emmethrach. Besides, we seem to function better when there are no rules except the ones we keep ourselves. No cities, no peace-bonding. No cities, no barfights. No cities, no city watch. No cities, no..."
Fendric, fighting for what he firmly believes is his safety, much less his comfort, seizes upon Hiritus' point.
"...beds! No cities, no professionally-prepared food! No Cities, no answers from government officials! No cities, no cold and cruel societies of elves! No Cities, No Ale!!"
Hiritus snaps his fingers.
"We can't take the boat - you couldn't bring your horses."
"Thank you, good sir, for increasing my probability of continued existence from one in three to even odds..."
"I vote North Road - we've got Raven and Nurthk - we'll be fine."
"You have a VOTE??"
"Don't I?" Hiritus fixes his cerulean eyes upon the shorter half-elf.
"{grumble}... all right, then, I shall accede to the North road."
Hiritus holds his smile for two standard rounds, then cogitates.
"No cold and cruel societies of elves - that's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Can anyone recall, Pelor Help Them, the circumstances under which we have been attacked most often? Druids, spirits of antelope, wandering bands of raiders...
I suspect that the wilds will delay us the most, and that a sea journey would expose us to dangers we have not encountered before - not least among them, pirates - upon a boat that rocks back and forth and makes us nauseous.
I am all for haste, as Shavah has suggested, but I am against trouble and inconvenience. In any case, we have Valsport, and three options. I would prefer the East Road, but I am aware that I have a proclivity towards civilization..."
Hiritus chuckles at this, quite loudly, in fact.
"Fendric, we've survived at every turn! And you're forgetting about Bethel, and Emmethrach. Besides, we seem to function better when there are no rules except the ones we keep ourselves. No cities, no peace-bonding. No cities, no barfights. No cities, no city watch. No cities, no..."
Fendric, fighting for what he firmly believes is his safety, much less his comfort, seizes upon Hiritus' point.
"...beds! No cities, no professionally-prepared food! No Cities, no answers from government officials! No cities, no cold and cruel societies of elves! No Cities, No Ale!!"
Hiritus snaps his fingers.
"We can't take the boat - you couldn't bring your horses."
"Thank you, good sir, for increasing my probability of continued existence from one in three to even odds..."
"I vote North Road - we've got Raven and Nurthk - we'll be fine."
"You have a VOTE??"
"Don't I?" Hiritus fixes his cerulean eyes upon the shorter half-elf.
"{grumble}... all right, then, I shall accede to the North road."
Hiritus holds his smile for two standard rounds, then cogitates.
"No cold and cruel societies of elves - that's a good thing, isn't it?"
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dpdx
Explorer
"I don't want to talk out of class, Nurthk, but two things about the East road - one, every city we hit slows us up while we recruit, and two, I suppose that Kethett's troops are already waiting for us in Valsport.
We've got Peltram, and then the two in Tourne to deliver before Fendric and I can help take back Bethel."
We've got Peltram, and then the two in Tourne to deliver before Fendric and I can help take back Bethel."
dpdx
Explorer
Fendric looks puzzled.
"And why should there not be hope for me, yet?
In any case, Raven is correct - if we deliver the letters, we can concentrate all our energies afterward upon retaking Bethel, instead of sending irregulars piecemeal. Bethel is the largest city in our land, and it will take a larger army than one city can muster to drive the ruffians from it.
Please hear me, I know that it breaks your hearts to see Bethel under siege. But many such cities will bear the scar of conflict if we do not complete this mission; some others already have..."
Fendric looks around. "Is everyone mounted? ...that needs to be? We can decide at the crossing which of the roads we will take."
"And why should there not be hope for me, yet?
In any case, Raven is correct - if we deliver the letters, we can concentrate all our energies afterward upon retaking Bethel, instead of sending irregulars piecemeal. Bethel is the largest city in our land, and it will take a larger army than one city can muster to drive the ruffians from it.
Please hear me, I know that it breaks your hearts to see Bethel under siege. But many such cities will bear the scar of conflict if we do not complete this mission; some others already have..."
Fendric looks around. "Is everyone mounted? ...that needs to be? We can decide at the crossing which of the roads we will take."
Guilt Puppy
First Post
(I get the sense that concensus prefers the North road, and that considered, let's get things moving a little.)
It is not a long ride from Despia toward the coast; you arrive before nightfall at the city of Corrige, a dense little place combining the variety of fashion distinc to a trading port with the loathsome odor of a fishing town. Shops and the like are arranged in a strikingly incoherent fashion, jewelers setting up shop beneath innkeepers, tailors sharing storefronts with alehouses. There are a few small stables scattered about, and the one thing they all have in common -- beyond their steep prices -- is their situation in narrow, heavily-trafficked thoroughfares, through which maneuvering horseflesh is cumbersome at best. Further, no one location seems to have the space available for the party's full collection of mounts; if they are to be kept here overnight, they will have to be separated.
The only establishments which are not so cramped are the temples, and even then this is only relative to the scale of the town -- as houses of worship go, they are still quite small, but are at least generally set aside in their own lots. A short scout through the town reveals that Pelor, Fharlanghn, Olidamarra and Kord are represented in this manner; there is a temple to Cuthbert as well, but it appears to be newer, renovated from old shops or domiciles, sharing wall space with a glazier and a bakery.
The North edge of town is lined by docks. The water here is densely populated, and how the vessels here manage to navigate past one another to come and go is somewhat of a mystery, even when the slow process is witnessed directly. There are no clear signs indicating fares for passage to Valsport, but it seems likely that somewhere among the crowd there should be someone who is willing and able to provide such a service.
(There's still some time to continue travelling on horseback, if you would rather camp along the road; travel over water may be an option worth researching as well, although you may have to wait until morning, unless someone willing to sail through the evening can be found.)
It is not a long ride from Despia toward the coast; you arrive before nightfall at the city of Corrige, a dense little place combining the variety of fashion distinc to a trading port with the loathsome odor of a fishing town. Shops and the like are arranged in a strikingly incoherent fashion, jewelers setting up shop beneath innkeepers, tailors sharing storefronts with alehouses. There are a few small stables scattered about, and the one thing they all have in common -- beyond their steep prices -- is their situation in narrow, heavily-trafficked thoroughfares, through which maneuvering horseflesh is cumbersome at best. Further, no one location seems to have the space available for the party's full collection of mounts; if they are to be kept here overnight, they will have to be separated.
The only establishments which are not so cramped are the temples, and even then this is only relative to the scale of the town -- as houses of worship go, they are still quite small, but are at least generally set aside in their own lots. A short scout through the town reveals that Pelor, Fharlanghn, Olidamarra and Kord are represented in this manner; there is a temple to Cuthbert as well, but it appears to be newer, renovated from old shops or domiciles, sharing wall space with a glazier and a bakery.
The North edge of town is lined by docks. The water here is densely populated, and how the vessels here manage to navigate past one another to come and go is somewhat of a mystery, even when the slow process is witnessed directly. There are no clear signs indicating fares for passage to Valsport, but it seems likely that somewhere among the crowd there should be someone who is willing and able to provide such a service.
(There's still some time to continue travelling on horseback, if you would rather camp along the road; travel over water may be an option worth researching as well, although you may have to wait until morning, unless someone willing to sail through the evening can be found.)
doghead
thotd
Xiao Yu, male human .
Xiao moves easily alongside the horses without any great apparent effort. The trip to the coast leaves the traveller from far lands feeling relaxed and happy. But at the sight of the town Xiao begins to bounce with excitement again.
Once inside the town walls, Xiao trots along ahead of the horses. He moves easily in and among the other people on the street. He does what he can to try and ease their way through the crowded streets, but they are just too ... crowded. And there is just too much to see. More than once, Xiao finds that his curiosity has drawn his attenion away from the group, leaving him to scramble after them before they disappear into the crowd or around a corner.
Xiao moves easily alongside the horses without any great apparent effort. The trip to the coast leaves the traveller from far lands feeling relaxed and happy. But at the sight of the town Xiao begins to bounce with excitement again.
Once inside the town walls, Xiao trots along ahead of the horses. He moves easily in and among the other people on the street. He does what he can to try and ease their way through the crowded streets, but they are just too ... crowded. And there is just too much to see. More than once, Xiao finds that his curiosity has drawn his attenion away from the group, leaving him to scramble after them before they disappear into the crowd or around a corner.
