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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3380898" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>Ophee nodded. <span style="color: Lime">“If you all are interested, then we’ll need to head to Eberdeen. Of course, my master would be happy to pay for lodging and meals along the way. You will be considered my guests while coming to Eberdeen.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema immediately looked concerned. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Eberdeen? But that’s over a week’s ride on horseback! We can’t very well be gone two weeks from the villa in its current state! I assumed your master lived in Fingerdale where we found you.”</span></p><p></p><p>Iasho placed his hand upon his daughter’s shoulders while Ischarus spoke. <span style="color: LightBlue">“We can be gone that long, Rhema. Your father and his servants have things under control here. They’ll be fine, and the construction will continue to progress. We’d be heading off soon anyway, you know.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema passed a look of pleading disagreement to her husband, but her father’s words counteracted any emotion that her look might have awakened inside Ischarus. <span style="color: Lime">“You have already agreed to go, my dear. We will survive here. If you are to find your answers, you must begin while the information can be found. If you wait until the villa is built and safe, your answers may well have vanished and you will have also lost the season to journey.”</span></p><p></p><p>The party was keenly aware that there was no mention of Quehalost, although the topic was being discussed throughout the entire conversation. It was a longstanding rule that the name of Quehalost would not be discussed when there were people present who were not intimately involved with the work of the villa. Given what had already taken place with regard to the destruction of the villa, it was even more important that secrets were protected to minimize the possibilities of those who could have known about the work of the villa.</p><p></p><p>Rhema sighed as her father spoke. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“But you’ll be here alone.”</span></p><p></p><p>Iasho grinned broadly in response. <span style="color: Lime">“And defenseless?”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus and Semeion both smirked at Iasho’s implications. Rhema lowered her eyes from her father’s face to the ground as she spoke. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Well, yeah. We won’t be here to protect you.”</span></p><p></p><p>Iasho couldn’t help but laugh in the manner of a parent who was amused by the unnecessary maturity of their child. <span style="color: Lime">“You need not be my protector, Rhema. Perhaps you forget who taught you the family trade? Perhaps you forget whose friend it was that began your own instruction in the arts of the mind? I am no decrepit old man, at least not yet.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema brought her face up to look upon her father’s face once more, but he lifted up a finger to keep her quiet. <span style="color: Lime">“I know you love me and want me to live long enough to be an old man who sits on his porch telling tales of the adventures of his youth to his grandchildren. I desire that as well. But the time for that is not yet here. It will come one day. Go and do the task ahead of you.”</span></p><p></p><p>That was really all that needed to be said. In spite of Iasho’s earlier warning that to go with Opheiluka would mean potentially staying out of Quehalost for the season, he ultimately was in support of whatever the party had decided. Rhema’s love had been noted, but it could not be allowed to prevent their journey. A few supplies were quickly gathered and the horses were prepared. Within an hour the party found themselves saying their goodbyes and heading down the road in the direction of Fingerdale.</p><p></p><p>Their journey would lead them past Fingerdale and west. They would head to Partuss and continue even further west. Halfway between Partuss and Bacrothen a branch of the road would turn south and head towards Eberdeen. Rhema had been right that the journey would take over a week.</p><p></p><p>They were familiar enough with the road, however. In order to get from Fingerdale to Reignsburg and south into Quehalost the party had to choose either this path or another. The roads leading into Eberdeen were the most secure and the party usually journeyed along these roads when they were headed into Quehalost to ensure that their journey would not be delayed. On the return trips, the party often traveled east through Juniper before turning north toward Fingerdale. In either case, the roads that Ophee had hinted at traveling were well known and would not be difficult to travel.</p><p></p><p>The trip from Huetown to Fingerdale passed by easily. Over the course of the travel Ophee explained that although her master lived in Eberdeen, she was placed in charge of gathering information in Fingerdale and the surrounding areas. Her master had scouts in all of the major cities of Tongra in addition to the capitols of Barghost and Fenneress. Although he was successful in the herbalist business, he was also what Ophee called an information broker. Her master thrived on discovering methods for finding out useful information. Often this talent was what made him his most significant sums of money. Ophee explained that it was also this talent that gave him the confidence that he could find someone who could tell the party why the villa had been destroyed.</p><p></p><p>The party stayed for a night in Fingerdale before restocking their traveling supplies. The next several days of traveling passed by uneventfully as they journeyed from Fingerdale through Partuss. They were fortunate to be a party of significant size in addition to being well armed. Most highwaymen would have good cause to let the party travel through the areas of their influence without harassment. The merchant caravans also traveling along the road would provide easier and more lucrative targets as far as income would be concerned.</p><p></p><p>Once the party passed through Partuss they found the road that turned away from Bacrothen and turned towards Eberdeen. Ophee explained that the woods north of Bacrothen were plagued by odd types of denizens, but she also knew that their size and force would keep them at bay. Each night they were careful to post two watches as sentries, although this meant that each member of the party received about two hours of sleep less than ideal. Given that the alternative to the reduced sleep might be waking up to the dangerous side of an axe blade, the extra duty for watch was readily accepted.</p><p></p><p>Nine days in total passed by as the party made good progress from Fingerdale to Eberdeen. Around noon on the ninth day the party crested a hill and saw the welcome spires of the capitol’s wizardry college. After another half an hour of traveling the thick walls of the protective keeps and various guard posts could be seen as well. </p><p></p><p>Unlike Fingerdale, Eberdeen was not contained by a protective wall. Since Eberdeen was centrally located within Tongra, there was little that could reach Eberdeen without advance notification. Eberdeen had once had a wall, but the city had grown tremendously under the leadership of King Rupert’s lineage. The kings who had come before the current Rupert king had emphasized trade with Barghost and Fenneress instead of military dominance. The land still maintained an army, by it was largely a defensive construction rather than an offensive army geared for occupation. The smaller army implied that more resources could be applied to business, economics, and trade with their neighbors.</p><p></p><p>The effect of the leadership from the Rupert family line was to make Tongra much more political, diplomatic, and economically concerned. Cities and towns prospered under their rule and Eberdeen was no exception. The capitol quickly outgrew its walls and the city advisors knew that there was no sense building new walls until the city had reached its maximum capacity. </p><p></p><p>By the time the land stabilized, the city of Eberdeen was simply too large to quarter off behind walls. Instead, guard posts were established in areas that would grant them the greatest visibility. Four keeps were built to house the city guards and what remained of the king’s standing army. As the party approached from the north, they could easily make out the thick protective walls of the north and east keeps. They were massive structures; and they had been designed to be able to section off the entire population and house them safely in the individual keeps in time of immediate danger.</p><p></p><p>Between the party and each of the keeps were several guard posts and checkpoints. It was from the northernmost of these checkpoints that the party realized that they would be officially welcomed into Eberdeen. A section of the cavalry rode out from the nearest checkpoint and looked as though they were quite intent on intercepting and interrogating the party.</p><p></p><p>Ophee smiled and turned in her saddle so that she could look each of the party members in the eye and relax them. <span style="color: Lime">“The guards must be set to active searching today. They perform passive observation most days, but a few random days each month they are set to perform searches of anyone trying to enter Eberdeen. It helps to control smuggling and other various criminal actions. But don’t worry. Let me talk to the guards. The business of my master is well known to the guards. They will allow us passage without much trouble.”</span></p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>Ophee nodded. “If you all are interested, then we’ll need to head to Eberdeen. Of course, my master would be happy to pay for lodging and meals along the way. You will be considered my guests while coming to Eberdeen.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema immediately looked concerned. “Eberdeen? But that’s over a week’s ride on horseback! We can’t very well be gone two weeks from the villa in its current state! I assumed your master lived in Fingerdale where we found you.”</p><p></p><p>Iasho placed his hand upon his daughter’s shoulders while Ischarus spoke. “We can be gone that long, Rhema. Your father and his servants have things under control here. They’ll be fine, and the construction will continue to progress. We’d be heading off soon anyway, you know.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema passed a look of pleading disagreement to her husband, but her father’s words counteracted any emotion that her look might have awakened inside Ischarus. “You have already agreed to go, my dear. We will survive here. If you are to find your answers, you must begin while the information can be found. If you wait until the villa is built and safe, your answers may well have vanished and you will have also lost the season to journey.”</p><p></p><p>The party was keenly aware that there was no mention of Quehalost, although the topic was being discussed throughout the entire conversation. It was a longstanding rule that the name of Quehalost would not be discussed when there were people present who were not intimately involved with the work of the villa. Given what had already taken place with regard to the destruction of the villa, it was even more important that secrets were protected to minimize the possibilities of those who could have known about the work of the villa.</p><p></p><p>Rhema sighed as her father spoke. “But you’ll be here alone.”</p><p></p><p>Iasho grinned broadly in response. “And defenseless?”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus and Semeion both smirked at Iasho’s implications. Rhema lowered her eyes from her father’s face to the ground as she spoke. “Well, yeah. We won’t be here to protect you.”</p><p></p><p>Iasho couldn’t help but laugh in the manner of a parent who was amused by the unnecessary maturity of their child. “You need not be my protector, Rhema. Perhaps you forget who taught you the family trade? Perhaps you forget whose friend it was that began your own instruction in the arts of the mind? I am no decrepit old man, at least not yet.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema brought her face up to look upon her father’s face once more, but he lifted up a finger to keep her quiet. “I know you love me and want me to live long enough to be an old man who sits on his porch telling tales of the adventures of his youth to his grandchildren. I desire that as well. But the time for that is not yet here. It will come one day. Go and do the task ahead of you.”</p><p></p><p>That was really all that needed to be said. In spite of Iasho’s earlier warning that to go with Opheiluka would mean potentially staying out of Quehalost for the season, he ultimately was in support of whatever the party had decided. Rhema’s love had been noted, but it could not be allowed to prevent their journey. A few supplies were quickly gathered and the horses were prepared. Within an hour the party found themselves saying their goodbyes and heading down the road in the direction of Fingerdale.</p><p></p><p>Their journey would lead them past Fingerdale and west. They would head to Partuss and continue even further west. Halfway between Partuss and Bacrothen a branch of the road would turn south and head towards Eberdeen. Rhema had been right that the journey would take over a week.</p><p></p><p>They were familiar enough with the road, however. In order to get from Fingerdale to Reignsburg and south into Quehalost the party had to choose either this path or another. The roads leading into Eberdeen were the most secure and the party usually journeyed along these roads when they were headed into Quehalost to ensure that their journey would not be delayed. On the return trips, the party often traveled east through Juniper before turning north toward Fingerdale. In either case, the roads that Ophee had hinted at traveling were well known and would not be difficult to travel.</p><p></p><p>The trip from Huetown to Fingerdale passed by easily. Over the course of the travel Ophee explained that although her master lived in Eberdeen, she was placed in charge of gathering information in Fingerdale and the surrounding areas. Her master had scouts in all of the major cities of Tongra in addition to the capitols of Barghost and Fenneress. Although he was successful in the herbalist business, he was also what Ophee called an information broker. Her master thrived on discovering methods for finding out useful information. Often this talent was what made him his most significant sums of money. Ophee explained that it was also this talent that gave him the confidence that he could find someone who could tell the party why the villa had been destroyed.</p><p></p><p>The party stayed for a night in Fingerdale before restocking their traveling supplies. The next several days of traveling passed by uneventfully as they journeyed from Fingerdale through Partuss. They were fortunate to be a party of significant size in addition to being well armed. Most highwaymen would have good cause to let the party travel through the areas of their influence without harassment. The merchant caravans also traveling along the road would provide easier and more lucrative targets as far as income would be concerned.</p><p></p><p>Once the party passed through Partuss they found the road that turned away from Bacrothen and turned towards Eberdeen. Ophee explained that the woods north of Bacrothen were plagued by odd types of denizens, but she also knew that their size and force would keep them at bay. Each night they were careful to post two watches as sentries, although this meant that each member of the party received about two hours of sleep less than ideal. Given that the alternative to the reduced sleep might be waking up to the dangerous side of an axe blade, the extra duty for watch was readily accepted.</p><p></p><p>Nine days in total passed by as the party made good progress from Fingerdale to Eberdeen. Around noon on the ninth day the party crested a hill and saw the welcome spires of the capitol’s wizardry college. After another half an hour of traveling the thick walls of the protective keeps and various guard posts could be seen as well. </p><p></p><p>Unlike Fingerdale, Eberdeen was not contained by a protective wall. Since Eberdeen was centrally located within Tongra, there was little that could reach Eberdeen without advance notification. Eberdeen had once had a wall, but the city had grown tremendously under the leadership of King Rupert’s lineage. The kings who had come before the current Rupert king had emphasized trade with Barghost and Fenneress instead of military dominance. The land still maintained an army, by it was largely a defensive construction rather than an offensive army geared for occupation. The smaller army implied that more resources could be applied to business, economics, and trade with their neighbors.</p><p></p><p>The effect of the leadership from the Rupert family line was to make Tongra much more political, diplomatic, and economically concerned. Cities and towns prospered under their rule and Eberdeen was no exception. The capitol quickly outgrew its walls and the city advisors knew that there was no sense building new walls until the city had reached its maximum capacity. </p><p></p><p>By the time the land stabilized, the city of Eberdeen was simply too large to quarter off behind walls. Instead, guard posts were established in areas that would grant them the greatest visibility. Four keeps were built to house the city guards and what remained of the king’s standing army. As the party approached from the north, they could easily make out the thick protective walls of the north and east keeps. They were massive structures; and they had been designed to be able to section off the entire population and house them safely in the individual keeps in time of immediate danger.</p><p></p><p>Between the party and each of the keeps were several guard posts and checkpoints. It was from the northernmost of these checkpoints that the party realized that they would be officially welcomed into Eberdeen. A section of the cavalry rode out from the nearest checkpoint and looked as though they were quite intent on intercepting and interrogating the party.</p><p></p><p>Ophee smiled and turned in her saddle so that she could look each of the party members in the eye and relax them. “The guards must be set to active searching today. They perform passive observation most days, but a few random days each month they are set to perform searches of anyone trying to enter Eberdeen. It helps to control smuggling and other various criminal actions. But don’t worry. Let me talk to the guards. The business of my master is well known to the guards. They will allow us passage without much trouble.”</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3380898, member: 35788"] Ophee nodded. [Color=Lime]“If you all are interested, then we’ll need to head to Eberdeen. Of course, my master would be happy to pay for lodging and meals along the way. You will be considered my guests while coming to Eberdeen.”[/Color] Rhema immediately looked concerned. [Color=PaleGreen]“Eberdeen? But that’s over a week’s ride on horseback! We can’t very well be gone two weeks from the villa in its current state! I assumed your master lived in Fingerdale where we found you.”[/Color] Iasho placed his hand upon his daughter’s shoulders while Ischarus spoke. [Color=LightBlue]“We can be gone that long, Rhema. Your father and his servants have things under control here. They’ll be fine, and the construction will continue to progress. We’d be heading off soon anyway, you know.”[/Color] Rhema passed a look of pleading disagreement to her husband, but her father’s words counteracted any emotion that her look might have awakened inside Ischarus. [Color=Lime]“You have already agreed to go, my dear. We will survive here. If you are to find your answers, you must begin while the information can be found. If you wait until the villa is built and safe, your answers may well have vanished and you will have also lost the season to journey.”[/Color] The party was keenly aware that there was no mention of Quehalost, although the topic was being discussed throughout the entire conversation. It was a longstanding rule that the name of Quehalost would not be discussed when there were people present who were not intimately involved with the work of the villa. Given what had already taken place with regard to the destruction of the villa, it was even more important that secrets were protected to minimize the possibilities of those who could have known about the work of the villa. Rhema sighed as her father spoke. [Color=PaleGreen]“But you’ll be here alone.”[/Color] Iasho grinned broadly in response. [Color=Lime]“And defenseless?”[/Color] Ischarus and Semeion both smirked at Iasho’s implications. Rhema lowered her eyes from her father’s face to the ground as she spoke. [Color=PaleGreen]“Well, yeah. We won’t be here to protect you.”[/Color] Iasho couldn’t help but laugh in the manner of a parent who was amused by the unnecessary maturity of their child. [Color=Lime]“You need not be my protector, Rhema. Perhaps you forget who taught you the family trade? Perhaps you forget whose friend it was that began your own instruction in the arts of the mind? I am no decrepit old man, at least not yet.”[/Color] Rhema brought her face up to look upon her father’s face once more, but he lifted up a finger to keep her quiet. [Color=Lime]“I know you love me and want me to live long enough to be an old man who sits on his porch telling tales of the adventures of his youth to his grandchildren. I desire that as well. But the time for that is not yet here. It will come one day. Go and do the task ahead of you.”[/Color] That was really all that needed to be said. In spite of Iasho’s earlier warning that to go with Opheiluka would mean potentially staying out of Quehalost for the season, he ultimately was in support of whatever the party had decided. Rhema’s love had been noted, but it could not be allowed to prevent their journey. A few supplies were quickly gathered and the horses were prepared. Within an hour the party found themselves saying their goodbyes and heading down the road in the direction of Fingerdale. Their journey would lead them past Fingerdale and west. They would head to Partuss and continue even further west. Halfway between Partuss and Bacrothen a branch of the road would turn south and head towards Eberdeen. Rhema had been right that the journey would take over a week. They were familiar enough with the road, however. In order to get from Fingerdale to Reignsburg and south into Quehalost the party had to choose either this path or another. The roads leading into Eberdeen were the most secure and the party usually journeyed along these roads when they were headed into Quehalost to ensure that their journey would not be delayed. On the return trips, the party often traveled east through Juniper before turning north toward Fingerdale. In either case, the roads that Ophee had hinted at traveling were well known and would not be difficult to travel. The trip from Huetown to Fingerdale passed by easily. Over the course of the travel Ophee explained that although her master lived in Eberdeen, she was placed in charge of gathering information in Fingerdale and the surrounding areas. Her master had scouts in all of the major cities of Tongra in addition to the capitols of Barghost and Fenneress. Although he was successful in the herbalist business, he was also what Ophee called an information broker. Her master thrived on discovering methods for finding out useful information. Often this talent was what made him his most significant sums of money. Ophee explained that it was also this talent that gave him the confidence that he could find someone who could tell the party why the villa had been destroyed. The party stayed for a night in Fingerdale before restocking their traveling supplies. The next several days of traveling passed by uneventfully as they journeyed from Fingerdale through Partuss. They were fortunate to be a party of significant size in addition to being well armed. Most highwaymen would have good cause to let the party travel through the areas of their influence without harassment. The merchant caravans also traveling along the road would provide easier and more lucrative targets as far as income would be concerned. Once the party passed through Partuss they found the road that turned away from Bacrothen and turned towards Eberdeen. Ophee explained that the woods north of Bacrothen were plagued by odd types of denizens, but she also knew that their size and force would keep them at bay. Each night they were careful to post two watches as sentries, although this meant that each member of the party received about two hours of sleep less than ideal. Given that the alternative to the reduced sleep might be waking up to the dangerous side of an axe blade, the extra duty for watch was readily accepted. Nine days in total passed by as the party made good progress from Fingerdale to Eberdeen. Around noon on the ninth day the party crested a hill and saw the welcome spires of the capitol’s wizardry college. After another half an hour of traveling the thick walls of the protective keeps and various guard posts could be seen as well. Unlike Fingerdale, Eberdeen was not contained by a protective wall. Since Eberdeen was centrally located within Tongra, there was little that could reach Eberdeen without advance notification. Eberdeen had once had a wall, but the city had grown tremendously under the leadership of King Rupert’s lineage. The kings who had come before the current Rupert king had emphasized trade with Barghost and Fenneress instead of military dominance. The land still maintained an army, by it was largely a defensive construction rather than an offensive army geared for occupation. The smaller army implied that more resources could be applied to business, economics, and trade with their neighbors. The effect of the leadership from the Rupert family line was to make Tongra much more political, diplomatic, and economically concerned. Cities and towns prospered under their rule and Eberdeen was no exception. The capitol quickly outgrew its walls and the city advisors knew that there was no sense building new walls until the city had reached its maximum capacity. By the time the land stabilized, the city of Eberdeen was simply too large to quarter off behind walls. Instead, guard posts were established in areas that would grant them the greatest visibility. Four keeps were built to house the city guards and what remained of the king’s standing army. As the party approached from the north, they could easily make out the thick protective walls of the north and east keeps. They were massive structures; and they had been designed to be able to section off the entire population and house them safely in the individual keeps in time of immediate danger. Between the party and each of the keeps were several guard posts and checkpoints. It was from the northernmost of these checkpoints that the party realized that they would be officially welcomed into Eberdeen. A section of the cavalry rode out from the nearest checkpoint and looked as though they were quite intent on intercepting and interrogating the party. Ophee smiled and turned in her saddle so that she could look each of the party members in the eye and relax them. [Color=Lime]“The guards must be set to active searching today. They perform passive observation most days, but a few random days each month they are set to perform searches of anyone trying to enter Eberdeen. It helps to control smuggling and other various criminal actions. But don’t worry. Let me talk to the guards. The business of my master is well known to the guards. They will allow us passage without much trouble.”[/Color] [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] Ophee nodded. “If you all are interested, then we’ll need to head to Eberdeen. Of course, my master would be happy to pay for lodging and meals along the way. You will be considered my guests while coming to Eberdeen.” Rhema immediately looked concerned. “Eberdeen? But that’s over a week’s ride on horseback! We can’t very well be gone two weeks from the villa in its current state! I assumed your master lived in Fingerdale where we found you.” Iasho placed his hand upon his daughter’s shoulders while Ischarus spoke. “We can be gone that long, Rhema. Your father and his servants have things under control here. They’ll be fine, and the construction will continue to progress. We’d be heading off soon anyway, you know.” Rhema passed a look of pleading disagreement to her husband, but her father’s words counteracted any emotion that her look might have awakened inside Ischarus. “You have already agreed to go, my dear. We will survive here. If you are to find your answers, you must begin while the information can be found. If you wait until the villa is built and safe, your answers may well have vanished and you will have also lost the season to journey.” The party was keenly aware that there was no mention of Quehalost, although the topic was being discussed throughout the entire conversation. It was a longstanding rule that the name of Quehalost would not be discussed when there were people present who were not intimately involved with the work of the villa. Given what had already taken place with regard to the destruction of the villa, it was even more important that secrets were protected to minimize the possibilities of those who could have known about the work of the villa. Rhema sighed as her father spoke. “But you’ll be here alone.” Iasho grinned broadly in response. “And defenseless?” Ischarus and Semeion both smirked at Iasho’s implications. Rhema lowered her eyes from her father’s face to the ground as she spoke. “Well, yeah. We won’t be here to protect you.” Iasho couldn’t help but laugh in the manner of a parent who was amused by the unnecessary maturity of their child. “You need not be my protector, Rhema. Perhaps you forget who taught you the family trade? Perhaps you forget whose friend it was that began your own instruction in the arts of the mind? I am no decrepit old man, at least not yet.” Rhema brought her face up to look upon her father’s face once more, but he lifted up a finger to keep her quiet. “I know you love me and want me to live long enough to be an old man who sits on his porch telling tales of the adventures of his youth to his grandchildren. I desire that as well. But the time for that is not yet here. It will come one day. Go and do the task ahead of you.” That was really all that needed to be said. In spite of Iasho’s earlier warning that to go with Opheiluka would mean potentially staying out of Quehalost for the season, he ultimately was in support of whatever the party had decided. Rhema’s love had been noted, but it could not be allowed to prevent their journey. A few supplies were quickly gathered and the horses were prepared. Within an hour the party found themselves saying their goodbyes and heading down the road in the direction of Fingerdale. Their journey would lead them past Fingerdale and west. They would head to Partuss and continue even further west. Halfway between Partuss and Bacrothen a branch of the road would turn south and head towards Eberdeen. Rhema had been right that the journey would take over a week. They were familiar enough with the road, however. In order to get from Fingerdale to Reignsburg and south into Quehalost the party had to choose either this path or another. The roads leading into Eberdeen were the most secure and the party usually journeyed along these roads when they were headed into Quehalost to ensure that their journey would not be delayed. On the return trips, the party often traveled east through Juniper before turning north toward Fingerdale. In either case, the roads that Ophee had hinted at traveling were well known and would not be difficult to travel. The trip from Huetown to Fingerdale passed by easily. Over the course of the travel Ophee explained that although her master lived in Eberdeen, she was placed in charge of gathering information in Fingerdale and the surrounding areas. Her master had scouts in all of the major cities of Tongra in addition to the capitols of Barghost and Fenneress. Although he was successful in the herbalist business, he was also what Ophee called an information broker. Her master thrived on discovering methods for finding out useful information. Often this talent was what made him his most significant sums of money. Ophee explained that it was also this talent that gave him the confidence that he could find someone who could tell the party why the villa had been destroyed. The party stayed for a night in Fingerdale before restocking their traveling supplies. The next several days of traveling passed by uneventfully as they journeyed from Fingerdale through Partuss. They were fortunate to be a party of significant size in addition to being well armed. Most highwaymen would have good cause to let the party travel through the areas of their influence without harassment. The merchant caravans also traveling along the road would provide easier and more lucrative targets as far as income would be concerned. Once the party passed through Partuss they found the road that turned away from Bacrothen and turned towards Eberdeen. Ophee explained that the woods north of Bacrothen were plagued by odd types of denizens, but she also knew that their size and force would keep them at bay. Each night they were careful to post two watches as sentries, although this meant that each member of the party received about two hours of sleep less than ideal. Given that the alternative to the reduced sleep might be waking up to the dangerous side of an axe blade, the extra duty for watch was readily accepted. Nine days in total passed by as the party made good progress from Fingerdale to Eberdeen. Around noon on the ninth day the party crested a hill and saw the welcome spires of the capitol’s wizardry college. After another half an hour of traveling the thick walls of the protective keeps and various guard posts could be seen as well. Unlike Fingerdale, Eberdeen was not contained by a protective wall. Since Eberdeen was centrally located within Tongra, there was little that could reach Eberdeen without advance notification. Eberdeen had once had a wall, but the city had grown tremendously under the leadership of King Rupert’s lineage. The kings who had come before the current Rupert king had emphasized trade with Barghost and Fenneress instead of military dominance. The land still maintained an army, by it was largely a defensive construction rather than an offensive army geared for occupation. The smaller army implied that more resources could be applied to business, economics, and trade with their neighbors. The effect of the leadership from the Rupert family line was to make Tongra much more political, diplomatic, and economically concerned. Cities and towns prospered under their rule and Eberdeen was no exception. The capitol quickly outgrew its walls and the city advisors knew that there was no sense building new walls until the city had reached its maximum capacity. By the time the land stabilized, the city of Eberdeen was simply too large to quarter off behind walls. Instead, guard posts were established in areas that would grant them the greatest visibility. Four keeps were built to house the city guards and what remained of the king’s standing army. As the party approached from the north, they could easily make out the thick protective walls of the north and east keeps. They were massive structures; and they had been designed to be able to section off the entire population and house them safely in the individual keeps in time of immediate danger. Between the party and each of the keeps were several guard posts and checkpoints. It was from the northernmost of these checkpoints that the party realized that they would be officially welcomed into Eberdeen. A section of the cavalry rode out from the nearest checkpoint and looked as though they were quite intent on intercepting and interrogating the party. Ophee smiled and turned in her saddle so that she could look each of the party members in the eye and relax them. “The guards must be set to active searching today. They perform passive observation most days, but a few random days each month they are set to perform searches of anyone trying to enter Eberdeen. It helps to control smuggling and other various criminal actions. But don’t worry. Let me talk to the guards. The business of my master is well known to the guards. They will allow us passage without much trouble.” [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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