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They came in search of Paradise (A Story of Erth) - Updated 23rd April
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<blockquote data-quote="robberbaron" data-source="post: 1979952" data-attributes="member: 14771"><p><strong>Summer in the City</strong></p><p></p><p>Part way through a summer spent in often tedious pursuits, the party reassembled to discuss their continuing journey to glory (and money).</p><p></p><p>“Just in time for the rainy season then,” commented Cord, examining the bow he had “inherited” from Gaelle. “How about hunting pirates? They are known for having booty and ships are worth good money.</p><p>And Byzantium being a port…”</p><p>“I have been honing my swimming skills over the summer” added Li Kung.</p><p>“But I can’t swim,” whined Helga, not too happy with the idea.</p><p></p><p>Li Kung was happy to show off his shiny new masterwork glaive, while Seigfried was swishing his equally shiny fullblade. Cord was getting used to his new suit of plate armour, but was feeling a trifle uncomfortable – the sweat kept pooling in his boots.</p><p>“Now I can return this sword (indicating the somewhat use-worn weapon with which he arrived in Byzantium) to my father,” said the Paladin, gravely. “It is a debt I must repay”</p><p>“But that’s in Germania!” protested Gaelle, not particularly wanting to go out of her way for this troublesome warrior. Her outburst startled her Germanian Shepherd companion, who was not quite used to being around Gaelle’s “friends”.</p><p>“Can’t you post it?” asked Li Kung.</p><p>“Imagine the postage on a huge blade,” exclaimed Seigfried.</p><p></p><p>Li Kung went out to investigate any anti-pirate activity.</p><p>He found that, while Thrace didn’t have much of a navy, or a pirate problem, some of the major merchant enterprises performed their own patrols out into the Terraine Sea. </p><p></p><p>The most likely opportunity for them would be to hire out as “Marines” – specialised Marines, capable of bringing their own magical support.</p><p></p><p>The only fly in the ointment was that there could be no guarantee of action. Their sojourn as Marines could be as dull as the summer had been.</p><p>Also, the Imperial Granbretanian Navy had quite a presence in the Terraine Sea, and took it upon themselves to chase and destroy pirates. Their triremes, quadriremes and quinqueremes have been a common sight in Byzantium’s harbour for the last forty years.</p><p>Rumour has it, however, that the Granbretanians actually cause much of the piracy, in order to maintain a larger fleet than would be acceptable without a significant pirate threat. These rumours, of course, are strenuously denied by the Emperor’s representatives.</p><p>It was common knowledge that the Imperial warships often Stopped and Searched foreign ships, especially those from the North African countries. Sometimes these actions became Stop, Search and Sink.</p><p></p><p>Feeling that ship-life was not to be for them, Li Kung and Helga further investigated rumours of vast treasures yet to be found (which normally turned out to be merely rumours), adventuring parties that have mysteriously disappeared (the ones going after anything special didn’t make their destinations common knowledge).</p><p></p><p>“The alternative to anti-piracy, of course,” mused Cord, “is piracy.”</p><p>“Just need to find some pirates,” said Seigfried.</p><p>“Nah. Just need a boat. Any boat,” said Cord, sounding like he knew what he was talking about.</p><p>“We could start with a rowing boat and work up,” suggested Li Kung.</p><p></p><p>In order to big themselves up and get the kind of reputation they would need to secure the more lucrative commissions, they spread rumours of their own prowess (Spread Information), with little success. They would have to do something noticeable.</p><p></p><p>“We could take over the Thieves’ Guild,” suggested Li Kung, to a stunned silence. “It would get us noticed.”</p><p>“It would certainly send out waves,” commented Seigfried.</p><p>Gracientus spoke against the idea, not realising that the Xing monk had been at least partly joking, as his temple had strong links with the Guild. Also, the Guild was effectively “sanctioned” by the Government – they kept crime to an acceptable level, the rich knew that if they were robbed by a non-Guild thief they would likely get much of their goods back, along with the hands of the robber, and the poor had a career to which they could aspire.</p><p></p><p>The other alternative the party considered was heading north, toward less civilised lands.</p><p>“Perhaps, we could do some undoubtedly Evil deeds,” Li Kung thought out loud. “Then, the Bounty Hunters that are sent after us will be worth killing. The worse our reputation, the better the class of hunter we will attract and the better the kit we can recover from their bodies.”</p><p></p><p>“How about finding a town on, say, the Thracian border, and running it?” Gaelle suggested.</p><p>“A bit boring,” commented Cord.</p><p>“I like the idea of having a population to oppress,” added Li Kung, “it would be just like home, only without a hundred other monks trying to beat me up every day. Bastards!”</p><p>The general consensus was that they would rather kill people for a living than rule people, so they put their heads together and decided to do some research on the other adventuring groups in the city. Take out the other groups, their competitors, and they would gain everything they wanted – fame (actually, infamy), booty, experience and booty (booty was that important to them).</p><p></p><p>Helga decided that she could further her own goals by “getting in” with some of the societies in Byzantium, with mixed results.</p><p>The Guild of Physicians didn’t want to know her as she was little more than a First Aider and beneath their notice.</p><p>The Society of Mages, Sages, Alchemists and Other Professional Thinking Persons were interested in her as a customer but, she would have to wait until she was capable of casting spells of the 3rd order before she could apply for membership. It would cost an initial 500GP per year which would give her discounted rates for components, etc., as well as free use of their libraries and laboratories, though they are normally fully booked well in advance.</p><p>The Temple of Set, with the help of Gracientus, was a different matter. They deemed her acceptable as a lay member – she is rather more selfish than they would normally like, but a member is a member – and she had made quite an impression on the lower echelons of the clergy.</p><p>Thus she was made privy to information on things that were causing the temple trouble.</p><p>The temple often sends clerics out with guards to get items of interest and some of their teams have gone missing:</p><p></p><p>One of their caravans, carrying artworks for Maxis’ personal collection, was crossing the plains of Turkistan when it was attacked and destroyed by what they think were Dire Lions.</p><p>The temple was willing to pay 750GP extra for return of the artworks.</p><p>“We don’t have to bring back ALL the artworks, do we?” suggested Gaelle when Helga explained the job.</p><p></p><p>A lone cleric had gone to investigate a known lair in the hills to the southwest and they are pretty sure he was eaten by a small red dragon. They want his holy symbol back, as a token to show that the dragon has met its end.</p><p>The reward for dealing with the dragon was to be 1500GP. The cleric was stupid to enter the lair of a dragon having dismissed his fighter escort back at the temple but they couldn’t let his death go unavenged.</p><p></p><p>One of their teams had been sent out to deal with a group of brigands that had attacked a couple of Set-sponsored caravans. The Set team had died to a man but the brigands had been mostly killed as well – the leader, a few men and his pet wizard were all that was left. They were quite a tough group and the thought was that the party weren’t good enough to take them on but, they would be considered at a later date.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="robberbaron, post: 1979952, member: 14771"] [b]Summer in the City[/b] Part way through a summer spent in often tedious pursuits, the party reassembled to discuss their continuing journey to glory (and money). “Just in time for the rainy season then,” commented Cord, examining the bow he had “inherited” from Gaelle. “How about hunting pirates? They are known for having booty and ships are worth good money. And Byzantium being a port…” “I have been honing my swimming skills over the summer” added Li Kung. “But I can’t swim,” whined Helga, not too happy with the idea. Li Kung was happy to show off his shiny new masterwork glaive, while Seigfried was swishing his equally shiny fullblade. Cord was getting used to his new suit of plate armour, but was feeling a trifle uncomfortable – the sweat kept pooling in his boots. “Now I can return this sword (indicating the somewhat use-worn weapon with which he arrived in Byzantium) to my father,” said the Paladin, gravely. “It is a debt I must repay” “But that’s in Germania!” protested Gaelle, not particularly wanting to go out of her way for this troublesome warrior. Her outburst startled her Germanian Shepherd companion, who was not quite used to being around Gaelle’s “friends”. “Can’t you post it?” asked Li Kung. “Imagine the postage on a huge blade,” exclaimed Seigfried. Li Kung went out to investigate any anti-pirate activity. He found that, while Thrace didn’t have much of a navy, or a pirate problem, some of the major merchant enterprises performed their own patrols out into the Terraine Sea. The most likely opportunity for them would be to hire out as “Marines” – specialised Marines, capable of bringing their own magical support. The only fly in the ointment was that there could be no guarantee of action. Their sojourn as Marines could be as dull as the summer had been. Also, the Imperial Granbretanian Navy had quite a presence in the Terraine Sea, and took it upon themselves to chase and destroy pirates. Their triremes, quadriremes and quinqueremes have been a common sight in Byzantium’s harbour for the last forty years. Rumour has it, however, that the Granbretanians actually cause much of the piracy, in order to maintain a larger fleet than would be acceptable without a significant pirate threat. These rumours, of course, are strenuously denied by the Emperor’s representatives. It was common knowledge that the Imperial warships often Stopped and Searched foreign ships, especially those from the North African countries. Sometimes these actions became Stop, Search and Sink. Feeling that ship-life was not to be for them, Li Kung and Helga further investigated rumours of vast treasures yet to be found (which normally turned out to be merely rumours), adventuring parties that have mysteriously disappeared (the ones going after anything special didn’t make their destinations common knowledge). “The alternative to anti-piracy, of course,” mused Cord, “is piracy.” “Just need to find some pirates,” said Seigfried. “Nah. Just need a boat. Any boat,” said Cord, sounding like he knew what he was talking about. “We could start with a rowing boat and work up,” suggested Li Kung. In order to big themselves up and get the kind of reputation they would need to secure the more lucrative commissions, they spread rumours of their own prowess (Spread Information), with little success. They would have to do something noticeable. “We could take over the Thieves’ Guild,” suggested Li Kung, to a stunned silence. “It would get us noticed.” “It would certainly send out waves,” commented Seigfried. Gracientus spoke against the idea, not realising that the Xing monk had been at least partly joking, as his temple had strong links with the Guild. Also, the Guild was effectively “sanctioned” by the Government – they kept crime to an acceptable level, the rich knew that if they were robbed by a non-Guild thief they would likely get much of their goods back, along with the hands of the robber, and the poor had a career to which they could aspire. The other alternative the party considered was heading north, toward less civilised lands. “Perhaps, we could do some undoubtedly Evil deeds,” Li Kung thought out loud. “Then, the Bounty Hunters that are sent after us will be worth killing. The worse our reputation, the better the class of hunter we will attract and the better the kit we can recover from their bodies.” “How about finding a town on, say, the Thracian border, and running it?” Gaelle suggested. “A bit boring,” commented Cord. “I like the idea of having a population to oppress,” added Li Kung, “it would be just like home, only without a hundred other monks trying to beat me up every day. Bastards!” The general consensus was that they would rather kill people for a living than rule people, so they put their heads together and decided to do some research on the other adventuring groups in the city. Take out the other groups, their competitors, and they would gain everything they wanted – fame (actually, infamy), booty, experience and booty (booty was that important to them). Helga decided that she could further her own goals by “getting in” with some of the societies in Byzantium, with mixed results. The Guild of Physicians didn’t want to know her as she was little more than a First Aider and beneath their notice. The Society of Mages, Sages, Alchemists and Other Professional Thinking Persons were interested in her as a customer but, she would have to wait until she was capable of casting spells of the 3rd order before she could apply for membership. It would cost an initial 500GP per year which would give her discounted rates for components, etc., as well as free use of their libraries and laboratories, though they are normally fully booked well in advance. The Temple of Set, with the help of Gracientus, was a different matter. They deemed her acceptable as a lay member – she is rather more selfish than they would normally like, but a member is a member – and she had made quite an impression on the lower echelons of the clergy. Thus she was made privy to information on things that were causing the temple trouble. The temple often sends clerics out with guards to get items of interest and some of their teams have gone missing: One of their caravans, carrying artworks for Maxis’ personal collection, was crossing the plains of Turkistan when it was attacked and destroyed by what they think were Dire Lions. The temple was willing to pay 750GP extra for return of the artworks. “We don’t have to bring back ALL the artworks, do we?” suggested Gaelle when Helga explained the job. A lone cleric had gone to investigate a known lair in the hills to the southwest and they are pretty sure he was eaten by a small red dragon. They want his holy symbol back, as a token to show that the dragon has met its end. The reward for dealing with the dragon was to be 1500GP. The cleric was stupid to enter the lair of a dragon having dismissed his fighter escort back at the temple but they couldn’t let his death go unavenged. One of their teams had been sent out to deal with a group of brigands that had attacked a couple of Set-sponsored caravans. The Set team had died to a man but the brigands had been mostly killed as well – the leader, a few men and his pet wizard were all that was left. They were quite a tough group and the thought was that the party weren’t good enough to take them on but, they would be considered at a later date. [/QUOTE]
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