The Story So Far Episode twelve

Episode XIV a battle won but the war is not over – the worries of the Holdfast & Shopping.

Dramatis Personae

Telec - Kalamarian Human Priest of the Wanderer

Aetlred - Half Elf Ranger

Lalia - Halfling Thief

Thans – Dwarf Fighter thief

Heradin- Dwarf Fighter mage

Dvorn the Axe- Fhokki Human Fighter

Sondan – Brandobian, Human Fighter

Fawlit – Half Ork Fighter

Violet – Half Demon Paladin of the Free

Nyassor- Elven, Fighter from Elsewhere

Americ – Human Cleric form Elsewhere

Liamar – Kalamarian Human Cleric of the free from the Hidden Dell

Nyasse - Kalamarian Human girl from the Hidden Dell

Location
The Holdfast and the Hidden Dell, the woods to the south, the Faire at A’Rakham Manor

(The events start four weeks after the end of the last episode at the Holdfast at the western end of the Hidden Dell)

With Violet off on her travels again and with their recent experience with the goblin raid and what followed the people of the Hidden Dell are more than a little worried when the company finally comes to the point where they want to return to A’Rakham and spend some of the gold the Lord of the manor gave them for defending his honour against the goblins.

There was at first a something of a discussion with Liamar and the village elders quite a formidable group in themselves revolving round not leaving the villagers totally unprotected from the goblins possible return as every one present is quite aware the goblins where defeated and not vanquished for good ad all. This got a bit heated at times but Liamar managed to keep things constructive for the most part and it was agreed that the company could go south provided they returned, with the supplies which they had already discussed getting with Violet and Liamar before Violet left on her travels. It was also suggested by Nyasse amongst others that some of the company remained behind as a support for the villager’s fledgling militia. None of the company wanted to stay because the ten gold coins the lord of A’Rakham had given them was more money than they had ever had to spend and in some cases more than they had ever had for any purpose. This left of course the strangers and Aetlred the ever helpful had managed to learn some scraps of their rather odd shared tongue and armed with this he went off to ask them.  He first approached Americ who was the easiest to find as he seldom left his chapel and found him unwilling to help in the matter wanting as far as Aetlred could tell to spend his time mending his broken relationship with his goddess who he believes he had offended.

A short further search located the queer looking elf Nyassor not far from the paddock with the horses in it. Aetlred asked him the same question and this time Aeltred’s blundering about in the unfamiliar tongue got Nyassor more than a little exasperated so as Aetlred looked to him like an Elven adolescent Nyassor asked Aetlred in high Elven if he spoke it. Aetlred was initially annoyed as he often is that the tall elf had been hiding his ability to speak High Elven from him, and then it occurred to him that it had never crossed his mind that someone who looked like nothing so much as an oversized elf might speak an Elven tongue and felt a fool.

The conversation which followed was not brief being in a tongue designed to convey very complex matters developed by a people who where immortal and had all the time in the world to do so. The result of the conversation was that Nyassor agreed to stay at the Holdfast as moral support and to if required prize his friend away form his atonement.  When this was conveyed to the Villagers’ they agreed to let the rest of the company go   and Liamar handed them a list of the sort of things the Villages’ needed to replace the goods burnt or otherwise used up and spoilt by the goblins

With that all sorted out the Company along with a couple of the villagers ponies and Heradin’s pony Bill left for the journey south, which day light on a pleasant day saw them arriving at the faire in the early evening. 

Arriving at the faire the company noted the new defensive ditch north of the road and the presence of a check point on the road manned by tabarded mercenaries in the pay of the Lord of A’Rakham

The faire was if any thing busier than it had been when they had visited a month earlier and the whole ground was a mass off tents and pavilions with several streets of traders now in evidence.

The company first stabled there pack ponies in a small livery stable just inside the boundary of the fair not far form the check point at the entry and Heradin stopped to brief the stable hand in his halting Brandobian about the proper way to care for Bill before rushing to catch up with the rest of the company.

After that the first stop was to visit the Taxidermist to recover the skull of the ogre which was done and after a brief chat with the master taxidermist the Company moved on to the inn seeking a room for the night, not that Aetlred grumbled there would be one as the place would be full to bursting with fat merchants. Lalia noted again the dips working the crowd and this put her rather in mind of a bit of fundraising of her own for why spend ones own hard earned coin on an overpriced room in an inn when you can spend some one else’s.

As they approached the inn they passed D’rek who was working away happily sustained by sips of small ale and nibbles of honey cake passed to him by an apprentice he was as usual for a smith striped to the waist and wearing a bull’s hide apron and was not a jot slimmer than when last met. Seeing the company passing he raised his hammer from the piece and waved it in a friendly manner. The company waved back and continued on to the inn itself. 

The great common room was packed and it quickly became apparent that the place was full, something confirmed by Telec asking one of the very busy staff about the availability of a room here or in the foreigner’s house.  However the general opinion was that the Company should at least stop for a drink before finding some where to stay with space for them. Lalia’s eyes where drawn to the leather aprons full of coins all the serving staff had and started to form a plan. Aetlred in a fit of devilment decided to suggest to Fawlit that he get the first round in. Fawlit was desperate fro a drink as he had had none since the companies triumphant last visit and was as ever eager to please so he approached the line of tables which served as a bar coin in hand as even he realized he would have to pay this time. As the Half Ork moved forwards the crowd around him parted and people drew back. Muttering started and by the time the eager Fawlit reached the bar there was a distinctly hostile feel to the atmosphere in the common room. The inn staff just ignored him despite his eagerly proffered gold coin. Fawlit felt not for the first time in his life utterly humiliated, he couldn’t fight all of them and he didn’t really want to, he wasn’t a monster he only wanted a drink, and by all the powers he desperately needed one.

Lalia sensing the distraction provided gave her an opening slipped into the crowd and sidling up to one of the serving staff and sliding an exploratory hand into the coin apron. The serving man noticed and with exemplary speed grabbed her hand stop that thief he said in Brandobian but fortunately no one else heard him, but Sondan saw there was a problem and stepped in taking command of events like his old sergeant would have.  He batted Lalia round the back of the head as if she was a naughty child took her wrist none to gently whilst apologizing to the serving man for the brat, fortunately the serving man saw that Lalia had actually taken no coins decided to leave it at that as Sondan dragged Lalia away, she was annoyed with herself as much as any thing else it was a good plan why hadn’t it worked and that she had had to be rescued stung her professional pride.

Meanwhile Fawlit stood at the bar a moment longer until Telec announced every one out we will find some where which will serve us and marched out of the door the company followed to a man thought Sondan still had Lalia’ wrist in a vice grip until they where clear and she had given her word she would buy a round when they did find somewhere to serve them, Lalia felt more annoyed as her money pouch took a hit just after her professional pride.

By this time the Faire was most defiantly winding down for the day and most of the many stalls where shutting up shop even so it did not take that long for the company to find one of the several large tents which served as taverns in the faire Here Sondan made Lalia make good on her word and she bought the first round as well as ordering some food for herself an annoyed halfling is a hungry halfling. Fawlit downed the wooden tankard of small beer so fast it never touched the sides. Then ordered another it would seem here that his coin was as good as any one else’s. However he failed to notice he was being charged double at least for each drink.

The rest of the company moved over to the table where Sondan and Lalia where sitting and considered ordering food, indeed they where on the point of this when Lalia’s arrived it was a wooden bowl of brown stew, to be more precise it was a brown bowl full of thick some what greasy hot brown liquid with brown lumps floating in it. The brown lumps could have been any thing but most likely might one have been root vegetables or unidentified very over cooked meat.   It came with a brown wooden spoon and a lump of dark brown dry bread even a hungry halfling had it on her honour to turn her nose up at that and every one else decided to have another drink and go looking for some where better to eat.

At this point the company split up the majority of them went with Aetlred in search of a hog roast as he was insistent there must be one at the faire and he had rather liked the one they had had in the dwarf hold. Fawlit stayed here and drunk himself into oblivion. Dvorn disappeared off to find a crowd to tell his stories of how heroic he was to and Sondan to catch up with any of his old comrades who might be about and generally see what was going on in the caravan protection trade.

The main company quickly located the almost obligatory hog roast, not hard with it not being all that far from the tavern tent where they had just been. Here the food was good as was the ale which had be bought from the master brewer at Ettis wall the same as the good ale at the main inn though the staff did mention that they might have trouble getting much more as the road west of the faire had seen numerous sightings of goblins and many of the local peasants had decamped to the relative safety of Ettis wall. There were also romours of war from the north and the doomsayers where predicting another great humanoid invasion. Even so the whole night was pleasant and increasingly celebratory as the ale followed and every one went back for seconds and perhaps thirds in some cases. The conversation waxed back and forth over recent events and what the company should do after they took the goods that they where honour bound to purchase back to the Holdfast however no conclusions where reached and thoughts turned to where to sleep that night at which point Aetlred rushed off to the roast once more and every one else more than a little ale fuddled if the truth be told wondered what on earth he was up to especially when he returned with a wooded trencher with a huge portion of roast in it. Snackage he announced with the solemnity of the more than slightly drunk we are all off to see our old friend and companion D’rek. Every one looked a little confused but Lalia caught on first we go and see D’rek and see if he will put us up for the night. With which the company set off to D’rek’s house though the darkening faire bearing their gift before them.

When they arrived D’rek was still up, having a pre bed snack and quickly told his apprentice let them in. He was delighted to see them and even more delighted with the granted slightly cold and a bit congealed pig roast. He took one look at the company and announced that they where wasting away with all this adventuring lark and roused his other apprentice who was already asleep and had them prepare a slap up supper and offered more ale and honey oat cakes for afters.

They chatted late into the night as old friends will reminiscing about the rats at the farm which seemed so very long ago now even if it was only a month or perhaps two ago D’rek was eager to hear of the adventures with the goblins and especially of the hardships he had avoided by giving up the adventuring life. He told of what had been going on around the faire alluded to the sightings of goblins along the kings road to the west and  how he was doing very well being by far the best blacksmith in the area. They talked of who the good armourers and weapon smiths where and D’rek gave them directions to the weapon smiths row and to remind him in the morning. All of them retired late and rose late to the sounds of D’rek opening up the forge outside and the smell of cooking as D’rek’s second breakfast was cooked so he could eat it whilst the apprentices cosseted the forge up to the proper working temperature. 

D’rek offered every one a share of his breakfast, but every one was keen to leave as no one wanted to be present for the awful moment D’rek took of his tunic to start work. He did force some packages of honeyed oat cakes into the departing company member’s hands.  He said they where welcome any time and sent one of his apprentices along to make sure that they found where they wanted to go in the faire as he had to do some food shopping any way as it never did to be in danger of running out of supplies.

The apprentice led the company to the clothier’s row along the road and left them there, with directions to the armourers row just off to the north, as he had to get off to the bakery because he would be for it if he didn’t bring back his masters favorite sweet cakes and the best loaves soon ran out these days. This reminded the company that they had also intended to get some more provisions for the folk of the Hidden Dell so they followed the apprentice to the bake house tent and finding it in an area surrounded by other stalls selling preserves, pickles, sacks of various grains and various long lasting root vegetables of the sort you can make good stews and soups form the company stocked up on these to give the residents of the Holdfast at the Hidden Dell a decent supplement to their basic rations until such time as the crops in the fields by the ruined village which the goblins had not harmed became ready tom harvest and they became once again self sufficient.  The company arranged for these goods to be taken to the blacksmiths house as soon as they where ready. Seeing how much the company had already bought before they got to the clothiers and the weapons and armour smiths Heradin suggested that they would likely need another pack pony to carry it all.  There was as ever and the company decided to invest in another pack ponies’ which they would get the end along with the necessary gear from the livery they had left Bill and the ponies lent them by the people of the Hidden Dell.

As they talked of this the company moved along back to the clothier’s row. Browsing the Clothiers row the company discussed the bolts of cloth that they had been asked to get for the Holdfast chose them and tried to haggle but it cut almost no slack with the veteran merchants but they got what they required all be it not at a bargain price and made arrangements for the goods to be delivered to D’rek’s forge so they could pick them up on the way out and load them onto the pack animals.

With that done the company then moved off up onto the weapon smiths row and started the serious business of browsing for better weapons and armour. Some of it was easy getting a light crossbow for Sondan and Thans with a supply of bolts was easy but getting good quality weapons and armour was difficult as any thing obviously better than standard was also doled to the limit up to push the price up even more. Nothing was to be had in the weapons line which was undemonstrative plain or workmanlike and not flashy often in the extreme. Armour was a little easier but most of that was metal any way and well out of the company’s price range even for the more normal quality sort.  The best they could find was a suit of studded leather obviously made for a priest of the True as it was whilst of excellent quality rather spoilt by all the rivets and washers being brass topped and polished like gold and all the intervening leather painted with gilt paint some of which was flaking where the quilted leather had flexed in use. In the end the company settled on two suits of plain but Thans & Heradin assured every one sturdy and good quality quilted leather of the type the Fhokki people faviour as its good armour and will keep you from freezing in the winter cold. Granted it’s not nice in the south but it’s nearly that cold sometimes around here especially in the mountains and mercenaries who have worked in the north along the ragged northern Cosdolen frontier for  example  going to work in the warmer south often sell it on so its available second hand in large markets an the faire here is as large as you will find for many a weeks march either east or west not to mention being the very sort of place where a mercenary might want to off load unwanted gear.

In the morning Fawlit woke with a bad head having passed out under a merchant’s wagon and went off to look for a tavern tent to serve him some food and a couple of tankards of ale to clear his head. 

Dvorn awoke in the arms of an easily impressed serving maid who was no doubt late for work as it was some what past dawn, not that he cared she had saved him the price of a room for the night after all and spent some time with a real hero. He dressed quickly and quietly and left with a blown kiss. Going off to seek some breakfast, in the nearby tavern tent he noticed the damned half ork head down in a bowl of stew and his first drink of the day wretched sot he thought Dvorn did not a knowledge him best not make a point of letting people know the hero Dvorn the axe even knows such a low life, let alone counted him as a comrade in arms. Having eaten and wanting to avoid the stupid clingy beast Dvorn stepped out onto armourer’s row to seek an axe fit for the hero he was. He soon found one a beautifully balanced piece with a blade covered in gilt and the handle reinforced by steel strip decorated with brass polished to look like gold wrapped in fine sot calfskin and counter balanced with a pommel in brass that was in the shape of a screaming Orks head, it was made for him, he also picked up a coat of heavy quilted leather as used by the northern tribes and edged in soft grey fur he thought looked like wolf. His purchase complete and his purse empty of gold he decided to go looking for every one else, how lucky they where he thought to be in the company of such a great hero. 

Sondan took his coin to the armourer’s row to look for some better armour and perhaps a cross bow though that was not the essential it might once have been as he had grown quite fond of the short bow the use of which he had practiced at the Holdfast not least of which because his likely enemies seemed to favor it and therefore a ready supply of arrows could be recovered form them, he had yet to see a goblin with a cross bow or any one else exempt the strangers who where very odd indeed and the elves bow with its steel span looked like it was made to take down charging caparisoned horses or the sort of monster Sondan would rather give a very wide birth to, owl beasts sprang to mind, not that he had ever seen an owl beast powers be thanked.

He browsed the armour available and had set his eye on a coat of studded leather and an open faced plate steel helm when he spied the majority of the company further along the row. He sighed and like the good soldier he was decided to keep hold of his gold and may be save up for a coat of mail at a latter date. He walked up the row to where the rest of the company where examining a very flashy suit of studded leather armour and more than slightly turning their noses up at something only a priest of the True would be see in dead or alive. By the time he reached them they had purchased a couple of suits of leather armour in the fhokki style.

Dvorn saw the company outside on Armourers row as he left the tavern tent and resplendent in his new armour with his new axe shouldered, he would he thought have to think of a name for that after all even the scummy half ork had one he remembered not that he could read the dwarf scratchings on the sharpened club it was so fond of. He wondered whether or not to say where the half ork was and half hoped they would forget about it and leave it behind.

When he joined the company they and the “corporal” Sondan where talking about getting good but unflashy weapons and discussing a couple of coats of fhokki style armour they had just bought doubtless for the fool dwarves or perhaps just one of them and the more fool elf, he did not really care.

With most of the company gathered together again and with those that had gone to D’rek’s house, last night wanting something to wash down the small mountain of food just being in his company again could cause you to consume It was decided to retire to the very same tavern tent Dvorn had not long left for a mug of small ale and a longer discussion of what to do next. Here they met up with Fawlit who was already the wrong side of a couple too many mugs of small ale and was quite effusively pleased to see every one and offered to buy them all a drink. The discussion continued on the subject of unflashy weapons of quality and bemoaning the fact that they where not to be had locally. Eventually however the discussion turned to the possibility of getting such made and wondering who they could get to do it. D’rek’s name was mentioned by Heradin and backed up by Thans because any dwarf blacksmith could turn his or her to weapon and armour smiting and D’rek was as far as they could see a rather good one, even if Thans did note not as good as a dwarf of course. However Telec and Aetlred who had known him longest said that he had no skill with weapons and they had never seen him make any thing more complex than an arrow head.  To prove his point, literally, Aetlred hunted through his quiver to find one of the arrows he had made with an arrow head D’rek had forged at the Meliac’s farm. Having found one he passed it round and those who knew their weapons where forced to agree that whilst there was certainly nothing wrong with it there was certainly nothing exceptional about it either. Some what smug his point being proved Aetlred returned the arrow to his now brimming quiver with a flourish. Sondan commented that even so D’rek might have some good steel as even a blacksmith had uses for it, for good measure and to prove his point in Aeltred’s manner he drew his own razor and nail clippers from his pouch commenting that they where of the best steel and doubtless blacksmith work. Telec agreed and wondered if their old friend might sell them some steel and they could seek out a smith to make weapons out of it.  Aetlred blurted out the fact that they already knew such a smith then coloured as he knew he shouldn’t have said so here.  The discussion fell into silence and every one drunk up and left feeling it was time to go and see D’rek then to leave.

The company walked quickly out of the tavern tent and down armourers and then weapon smith’s rows to the main line of the king’s road through the faire passing as they did the line of stalls and tents which formed clothier’s way and past the inn to D’rek’s house where he was to be seen working away sustained as before with bites of honey oat cakes and sips of small ale. He sent his apprentice over to say to them that the cloth and other stores had arrived. He also had the apprentice ask if they wanted to stop for a snack, but the company still uncomfortably full from last night had not even made a start on the packets of honey cakes he had insisted they take to keep their strengths up whilst shopping. Even the Halfling could not face the thought of eating for quite a while and felt more than usual like the barrel big people occasionally refer to her kind as.

Putting the offer of food aside the Company stopped to chat instead about where they could get high grade steel from in the faire. D’rek laughed saying that he had a load he did not need as he had over estimated the demand for tools and was in any event far to busy supplying the nearby Farrier and Waggoner’s with metal fittings for their trades not to mention iron barrel rings of all sizes and nails by the box even if he did delegate most of the latter to his apprentices, it’s the way I learned he adds with a chuckle and a small bit of errant oat cake escapes form his beard falling to the ground. D’rek rests on the handle of the heavy hammer his wields as if it where a tenth of its weight and size and sends his apprentice out back to get the steel bar stock. Shortly the lad arrives dragging a heavy box. D’rek deftly flicks the lid open with his hammer revealing that it is full of long twisted bars of dark steel how much do you need he asks there is another box like this out back but you cant have all of it as I will need it when the knife grinder moves on and I stop having his competition.  A look passes round the company, how much do they need they are not sure. So D’rek asks them what they want making and whilst he is no weapon smith he has a much better eye to the amount of metal needed for any item than they do. The company reels off a list and as they do so D’rek lifts the amount of bar he thinks it will need from the box with a pair of tongs and piles it on the ground beside it. When they are finished he smiles and laughs upending the rest of the content into the heap adding incase he is wrong as he is not weapon smith. The company looks at the pile and tries to assess how much it might cost them.

Aetlred hazards a cautious how much?  D’rek laughs not a penny it’s for old time’s sake and for keeping me alive whilst I learned the adventuring lark is just not for me. They shook hands on the deal and then departed to the Livery to get the extra pony and tack for it before returning to the blacksmiths to load up with their goods.

There business at the fair completed Heradin, made sure that all the ponies where properly packed up with the goods they had bought in preparation for the return to the Holdfast.  

The return journey was as easy as the outward one had been and just as untroubled by hostile encounters. So that by mid afternoon on the day they left A’Rakham the company had descended into the Dell and swung east to arrive at the Holdfast early in the evening.