NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="el-remmen" data-source="post: 3675957" data-attributes="member: 11">Session #9 – “Returning to Sluetelot & Leaving Again” (part 2 of 3)Osilem, the 10th of Quark – 566 H.E. (637 M.Y.)Mid-morning found the signers of the charter of Schiereiland riding their horses at a slow walk single file along narrow winding tracks through thick woods.  The trees on either side of them were tall and tightly packed making it difficult to reach the tall green of the wooded hills that rose to the north. After a time they came across a low stone wall parallel to the trail, and could occasionally see a second similar wall about sixty yards away at the top of a gentle hill, also running parallel.  Eventually they came to a branch in the track guarded by a wooden gate connecting the two walls.  There they were greeted by the barking of dogs at the top of the hill, and halflings in studded leather armor at the gate.  Two held arrows gently to their short bows, while a third did the talking.“We were told to expect you,” the halfling said in his child-like voice.They were told to bypass the gates and take the branching southwestern track towards the village of Tunbury.  There their guide, someone named Brennis, would meet up with them and take them the rest of the way into the shires.A few hours later, not long after they packed up after stopping for lunch, they heard the awkward clop of hoofs coming down the obscured embankment to their right.  A hairy-hoofed war pony broke through the trees ahead of them. It was brown, with patches of white, and a thick white mane.  It snorted.  Astride it was a <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Halflings#tocHalflings1" target="_blank">tallfellow halfling</a> with long curly locks and a narrow face. He wore a chainshirt, and had a long sword forged for his size in a scabbard on the saddle.  He raised his hand and hailed them.“Hail, and well met!  Are you the nobles of the charter of Schiereiland?” He asked, his high voice not betraying his seriousness.“Aye, we are,” Bleys called back, and the halfling visibly relaxed, smiling and bringing his pony up the track towards them.“I am Brennis the Outrider. I bring you greetings from Lady Brigid of <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/House+Kilcullen" target="_blank">House Kilcullen</a> and <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Paladins+of+the+Halfling+Pantheon" target="_blank">High Guardian</a> Isolde,” the halfling said.“Are you to be our guide to the <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Disputed+Territories" target="_blank">Disputed Territories</a>?” Timotheus asked.“Nay, I am merely here to keep you on the right track to Wesmearshire and to he who will be your guide if you can come to acceptable terms,” the halfling outrider replied.  “Old Kermit is as good a guide into the Disputed Territories as you can find, and he knows the way to the fabled King Stones and the barbarian lands around it well…”Brennis began to lead them down the track, and soon it widened enough to allow them to ride two abreast.“I will bring you somewhere you can sleep tonight, and then tomorrow we will continue,” Brennis said to them.They rode on for nearly another four hours before crossing an open field that came to a place where four grassy hills were sculpted with homes of the halfling village of Tunbury.  The local watch let them through the gate tipping their caps to Brennis, and a few to the party as well, and he led them through the hills to an expansive farm beyond.  A barn there would serve as their shelter for the night.Though the barn was too small to fit all their horses, they would safe tethered outside, and two stalls had been opened for them, spare blankets and pillows folded atop a hay bale.  There was also a basket of food prepared for their dinner and a small cask of the local brew, which Timotheus was especially thankful for.“How can we repay this farmer’s kindness?” Markos asked Brennis.“Please… You are guests of Thistlewoodshire…” Brennis demurred.“Oh? Are we still only there?” the young mage asked. “I thought we were in Wesmearshire…”“Oh, no, we will not reach Wesmearshire for another day and a half,” Brennis replied.The young nobles fell to discussing tactics once again as they ate, and after a few mugs of ale they were out in the yard for Markos to practice casting his enlarge person spell.  Bleys and Victoria watched on soberly, as Laarus and Timotheus stomped around, the latter giddy as he swung his now six-foot long flail. There was talk of going through some drills in order to practice, but reactions were half-hearted, and fatigue and alcohol began to stretch their moods thin, and soon they were snoring softly in the dark barn, finally exhausted by their frequent clashes of temper.Balem, the 11th of Quark – 566 H.E. (637 M.Y.)All this day Brennis led them along more winding trails through thick woods, passing a few more of the low stone walls half-hidden behind tall hedges and wooden gates.   As afternoon waned he directed them to a small lean-to on the side of a babbling stream.   Here they would camp and replenish their skins and the horses could graze in the rich meadow on the other side of the water.As Tymon built the campfire, and the young nobles and their hirelings pulled off their boots and armor, Laarus Raymer of Ra announced that it was his birthday, and drew a bottle of Remoli from his pack. (1) They had to make do with a small cup each of the valuable wine, but it was a fine little celebration, and after another long day of travel they would arrive at the place where they would meet their guide.Teflem, the 13th of Quark – 566 H.E. (637 M.Y.)Wesmearshire was notable for its strings of burrows at the edge of meadows atop tall green hills.  Here the natural landscape provided the halfling villages with amazing defenses.  All the trails they took were way below these homes and meadows, and they could hear the clanging of goats’ bells wafting down to them.Just about mid-morning they came to large burrow connected to a small barn, at the end of a field broken up by many little streams fed by a nearby river.It was the home of Kermit Buckleburr.  He was <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Halflings#tocHalflings1" target="_blank">harfoot halfling</a>, not more than three and a half feet tall, but wiry, and his sun-weathered skin, thick brushy mustache and narrow-slitted eyes gave him an air of competence that belied his size.“So you be the big folk that wanna head down to the Disputes, eh?” he asked, through a cigar wedged into the corner of his little mouth.“Yes,” replied Markos. “We were hoping to negotiate your rate to guide us… I assume you know the area well?”“Well enough,” replied the halfling, with a smirk.  “I been down there and back many times, and I know how to live off the range down there, and keep unseen.  Listen to me and you can survive down there, too…” Kermit smirked.  “As for my rate, well that’s simple enough, I get an equal share of whatever you find down there… But I don’t go in the caves… I’ll keep an eye out, and keep the animals, but I don’t go in… That’s part of the deal…”Markos was speechless.  He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.  He merely shook his head and turned away sharply, and stepped away.  “No…” he mouthed.“Or you can find your own way,” Kermit added, shrugging.  “I shall leave you to your negotiations,” Brennis said, the awkwardness clear on his face.  He wandered over to chat with Dunlevey, Tymon and Falco, who were dealing with the mounts.“We cannot afford to pay you that much,” Telémahkos said, working hard at hiding his own annoyance at what he considered an unreasonable fee.  “It is much more than we are paying our other hirelings, and they will be going into those cave and risking their lives…”“Where do ya think you’re going? The Disputed Territories are plenty dangerous on their own without going in caves, and I gotta find the safest way for nine big folk with ten horses, or do you know how to avoid the feeding grounds of landsharks?” Kermit spat.  He grew gruffer each time he spoke, his disdain for humans becoming apparent.“Landsharks?” Timotheus was skeptical.“Well, we cannot afford it, and thus are forced to give you a counter offer,” Telémahkos said, with seething diplomacy.  “If you will allow us a few moments to confer…?”“Of course…” Kermit said.“I was against hirelings from the outset,” Bleys commented, as the nobles huddled to discuss their options and the counter-offer.  “It eats into our coin to a degree beyond our ability to comfortably maintain.”There was a long discussion and eventually it was agreed to offer the halfling guide the same as Dunlevey and Falco were being paid.  Kermit agreed.“We leave immediately,” the halfling said.  “Let me get ole Duckhunter ready, and we’ll be off…”“That your dog?” Markos asked.“He’s not my dog.  He’s just a dog and my friend,” Kermit complained.  “You big folk are always want to proclaim ownership on everything…”Curious about the process of using a canine as a mount, Victoria asked to accompany Kermit, and he agreed, seeming to find a human woman less objectionable than the males of her kind.Duckhunter was a <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Thrician+Tall+Lushond" target="_blank">Thrician Tall Lushond</a>. Charcoal gray with hints of red and brown, it was a tall and thick-chested dog, that whined happily when Kermit opened the door to the den where the beast made its home, connected to the halfling’s own modest home.Victoria watched Kermit fasten a small leather saddle of excellent quality onto the hound, but was amazed by the lack of reins.“Dogs don’t need reins when they been raised right,” Kermit explained. “They are better off with a kind word or a quick pinch to the scruff than being yanked around.”  The halfling guide also attached a small pack to the back of the dog’s saddle before mounting.Brennis bid them farewell, and headed back towards Thistlewoodshire, while Kermit led the party due west into the borders of Rocropshire.  Kermit took the lead atop Duckhunter, taking them up drying dusty bluffs that left the thick woods and lush meadows of Wesmearshire behind.  Here the yellow chalky landscape was broken up by small copses of scrubby trees, or a lone drooping tree winding its way out of drying pools.  Up and up they climbed, as the land to the south fell away sharply.“Aren’t we climbing away from the <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Border+Rift" target="_blank">Border Rift</a>?” Timotheus asked, unsure of his own knowledge of geography.“Yep,” Kermit replied.  “But we need to take a long way around for the sake of the horses, and to avoid being vulnerable on the steep climb down.  Past the river above the Takken Falls, the descent is much more gradual, and better for our purposes.”“And how will we cross the river? Is there a bridge?” Victoria asked.“Look! Ferry…” Kermit pointed.  They had come to the top of a rise and below them a broad river valley extended, a shocking line of green bordering a wide river on both sides. To their left, which was south, they could hear the distant roar of falls, and see the tall cloud of spray that obscured the horizon in that direction.A safe distance upriver from the falls, they could make out several buildings on the close side of the river, and a large flat-bottomed boat being poled into a space beside a dock.  The glare of the sinking sun obscuring the sight moment by moment.Anulem, the 14th of Quark – 566 H.E. (637 M.Y.)With dawn the signers of the Charter of Schiereiland waited as their entourage and mounts were poled across the strong river in pairs on the ferry.  It would take most of the morning, and Timotheus went first with Falco, and Laarus went over second with Dunlevey.  Meanwhile, the others discussed Vanthus’ map of the islands beyond the <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Sargasso+Bands" target="_blank">Sargasso Bands</a> (2), Markos was eager to determine  if the pinhole in the map that was somewhere in the western Disputed Territories might match up with some known place in that area.  He asked Kermit, but the halfling was dismissive.  “Nothing over there but barbarians and Dervish camps,” Kermit scoffed.“You know of the location of Dervish camps?” Victoria asked, overhearing.“Not specifically,” Kermit replied. “And nowhere near the King Stones… Those are places best avoided by halflings…”“So you don’t know anything about a magical pearl in that area?” Markos asked.“Pearl?” Kermit scrunched up his face in confusion.“Yes! Pearl!” Markos spat, letting his frustration through.  Kermit looked to Victoria and raised his eyebrows as if to comment on Markos’ sudden flare of temper.  The young mage continued. “You do know what a pearl is, right?”“I don’t know anything about a pearl in those parts,” Kermit said.  “It seems rather silly, it being so far from the sea and all…” The halfling whistled for Duckhunter and then went down closer to the dock to see if the ferry was returning.…to be continued---------------------------------------------------Notes:(1)    Remoli is a fine wine from <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Kingdom+of+the+Red+God+of+the+West" target="_blank">the Kingdom of the Red God of the West</a>. This bottle was among three found amid the spoils of Kraken’s Cove. See Session #6.(2) Also known as ‘<a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Hellish+Isles" target="_blank">The Hellish Isles</a>’.  <a href="http://aquerra.wikispaces.com/Map+-+Vanthus%27+Map" target="_blank">Click here</a> to view Vanthus’ map.</blockquote>

Verification