The Untamed Wilds: Caravan Campaign

[Tellerian Hawke]

Tor's Grief

Tor's face falls, turning white as ash. He is plainly and deeply grief-stricken at the news of his parents' death.

"This is obviously the work of those Ansilyn assassins, the ones who have the beef with Giodavi. My parents were innocent; they did nothing to deserve being killed for. They were killed in order to hurt ME. The rest of you are pretty anonymous, being of average height and build; your parents may yet live. But it's hard to forget 'Big Tor,' and it's obvious that I have been identified as a member of The Seekers. My parents' death was a form of punishment, an attempt to strike at me on a morale-based level. But it was a mistake on their part. Perhaps the threat of harm to my parents might have coerced me to cooperate, or to back off, but their deaths have only insured one thing: I now have NOTHING left to lose. I have no siblings; my parents were my entire family.

Now that they are gone, my family is here, with The Seekers. And I now have a new hobby; I will do everything in my power to thwart their designs; when I find a member of their order, I will kill him. When they destroy something, I will re-build it. When they take one thing of ours, I will take two things of theirs. It is not revenge I seek. Revenge is a product of un-controlled anger and rage; one might as well be infected with the Kaalatala Madness as to be consumed by revenge. The result is the same. Nay, I seek not revenge, like a thoughtless animal; and I can assure you, I am in complete control of my anger. Anger pales in comparison to Righteousness. It is Justice that I seek. And on my solemn oath, for the sake of my parents, justice will be MINE."

Tor is quiet for the rest of the evening, uncharacteristically nursing a single mug of Pine Vine for several hours.

 

[MacConnell]

Giodavi Engages the Conversation

​

Giodavi approaches the where the Seekers are seated as he usually does once the tavern is closed.

As opposed to the way you walked in, seeing the sombre faces, I was going to ask if you had out of turn not been successful in the last venture, but I overheard the last part Tor was saying.

I am sorry for your loss my new friend. I am Giodavi, proprietor and mayor.

He introduces himself to Saemund as he sits.

This business with the Silk Caravan can not be simple assassination. It will be political. That caravan is owned by one of the Amiradthan Magisters. If someone hired killers to take a run at it, there would be civil war in Asylim. The members remaining outside would not have been spared, either. I know you are angry, but wait friends. Hear me out.

The Salt Caravan has been here since yesterday. They are to depart for Boga City tomorrow. The Salt Caravan is owned by one of the Shimadow Magisters, and I have spoken at length with its master. Apparently there is discord among the Magisters. This town is the blame, but that is only an excuse. It is about power and control. Of the two Amiradthan Magisters, the younger, who owns the Silk Caravan, is a hot head. It is likely he killed his own people because he could not control their every deed.

Citizenry are not even considered people by the likes of him. They are more property. It was 'suggested' that the Salt Caravan not trade here either, but that was not order of their owner, for trade with us they did, and traded heavily.

I will send out inquiries to learn what I can. Do you wish to discuss this further or do you feel up to discussing our present business?

 

[Kwargrow]

Sannit sets his empty mug down with more force than necessary. "Whatever the motives, they were murdered, and we will have justice, for all of them," he says. "That will have to wait for the proper time, though. Our mission was a success. We were able to find a substantial vein of copper with directions on how to find it and a map of the area. We were also able to eliminate some of the threats to any miners, and we will give you this warning to pass on to whoever ventures into that area: beware of the bats. They carry a strange illness in their bite that will turn a man's mind into that of an animal."
"Other interesting notes of our trip, we passed a group of friendly maldrog on the way. We gave them directions to Southroad Fair since they seemed interested in trading, but we did not know their language. Did they come by here? They seemed very interested in a white metal they showed us a sample of."

After Tor's declaration, Bolo says to him, "The Seekers are my only family too. You are not alone."

Turtle watches the people as they go by, staying on his best bear behavior. Some look at him in fear, of course, and quickly go their own way, but some are friendly. He knows Bolo wants him to make a good impression so he is quite docile, even letting some of the smaller ones pet him, but not too much. He still has his bear dignity to maintain.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

"I will send out inquiries to learn what I can. Do you wish to discuss this further or do you feel up to discussing our present business?"

Merin Says,

"I'd like to discuss our current business; I am not unsympathetic to Tor's loss, but we'll do no good, flying off the handle without thought. The best thing we can do now is to plan. We must build our resources, gather allies and information, and take a GREAT DEAL of forethought and planning before we strike against the Magister.

"It is my first instinct to see what we could do to replace him with someone more even-keeled, more level-headed. Perhaps one of his competitors would lend us a sympathetic ear; I'm sure that a deal could be struck. In business, it's the people who want total control, and who fear necessary change, who become obsolete, and fade away. A smarter, more shrewd businessman should be able to see the potential of this town, and see the wisdom in helping it grow. There is enough profit to be made here for EVERYONE. A change of magisterial leadership is all that is needed."

 

[MacConnell]

Giodavi Considers

"Our mission was a success. We were able to find a substantial vein of copper with directions on how to find it and a map of the area. We were also able to eliminate some of the threats to any miners, and we will give you this warning to pass on to whoever ventures into that area: beware of the bats. They carry a strange illness in their bite that will turn a man's mind into that of an animal."
"Other interesting notes of our trip, we passed a group of friendly maldrog on the way. We gave them directions to Southroad Fair since they seemed interested in trading, but we did not know their language. Did they come by here? They seemed very interested in a white metal they showed us a sample of."

Giodavi looks at the map that Merin produces and listens to directions.

That seems simple enough, and thank you greatly for the addition of the map. It should help when we send out the first mining crew.

He scratches his beard with regard to the warning.

Bats eh!? That's a new one for me, but if you say it is a danger, I will pass the word.

Giodavi's face lightens as the Maldrog are mentioned.

The Maldrog did indeed make it to town. We, of course, were not able to assist in their desire for that particular metal, but like the Orngaddrin, they did trade well for the pine fuel. That particular clan seemed friendly and willing to establish further relations. It was very good for business.

 

[MacConnell]

The Conversation Expands

Merin Says,

"I'd like to discuss our current business; I am not unsympathetic to Tor's loss, but we'll do no good, flying off the handle without thought. The best thing we can do now is to plan. We must build our resources, gather allies and information, and take a GREAT DEAL of forethought and planning before we strike against the Magister.

"It is my first instinct to see what we could do to replace him with someone more even-keeled, more level-headed. Perhaps one of his competitors would lend us a sympathetic ear; I'm sure that a deal could be struck. In business, it's the people who want total control, and who fear necessary change, who become obsolete, and fade away. A smarter, more shrewd businessman should be able to see the potential of this town, and see the wisdom in helping it grow. There is enough profit to be made here for EVERYONE. A change of magisterial leadership is all that is needed."

Giodavi nods.

You speak as if you know something of their ways. That is good and you may prove right. There are 7 Magisters, They are elected for a 7 year term, but that is, of course, a farce since I know for a fact the elder Amiradtha has been re-elected since I was a young man and the Ansylin ones are always replaced by siblings or children. If the Shimadow Magister who own the Salt Caravan is in opposition, we may have an, unknown as yet, ally.

Giodavi looks at the map again.

As to the business at hand. If your friend here, Saemund, is joining you then all agreements apply to him as well. Your meal and first drink of the evening are on me.

As to the copper, I am willing to offer you 10% of the collected value in credit as finders fee, no matter how high that turns out to be. What say you folks?

 

[Kwargrow]

"Agreed," Sannit answers. "With that and what we found in the wilds we are well compensated for that trip. We did find a piece of the white metal, although we did not tell that to the Maldrog. Is there anyway we can find out what it is so we can know what we're dealing with?"

Bolo sets down her empty mug and heads outside to visit Turtle.

Turtle is bored.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Merin says, "10% is more than fair. You have a deal."

Tor nods in agreement, but remains silent.

 

[Sylvar B.]

Saemund begins to attempt to bring some levity to the situation but instead agrees with Merin. 10% is adequate

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Merin's mind begins to wander, and an idea occurs to him:

~If one can use Way to calm the mind of a wild creature, and befriend it, then I wonder what else can be accomplished in that regard? I wonder if temporary measures could be used on animals to perform simple tasks, such as to call a bird to one's self, tie a note to its foot, and then place a mental imprint of the place that one desires him to fly to, as well as a mental imprint of whom he should deliver the message to?~

Merin also ponders other possibilities:

~I wonder if it is possible to send a message, from my mind, to the mind of another, using Way as a sort of catalyst or carrier?~

OOC: Are things like this possible?

GM: Any animal can be summoned if it is within the Benders range and fails to resist the call. Animals can indeed be used to perform various tasks. The pack animals used by The Seekers are highly trained at performing their regular duties and do not need to be tethered or guided. Turtle can be used to do more complicated tasks. The limit is the animals intelligence not the Benders, so a bird could not be imprinted with an image, but one could be taught to fly a particular route. More intelligent birds like ravens and magpies could be taught multiple paths.