Vinric Lahes
Vinric does what he can to familiarize himself with the town and its markets.
Not sure how much he can do timewise, but my goals are to a) gain the Venturer benefit of a better market class and b)determine what trade goods are in demand and in surplus.
Leila drops a few gold coins and spiffs herself up. She drops some more coin to get past the suspicious doorman, and even more coin to get the locals lubricated and talking.
She hears mostly local chat: whose wife is cheating with whose husband, who is traveling back to Ket to make an appearance in the Queen's Court, who is up for a promotion with the local lancers.
She does hear a few interesting stories, however.
Egil spends a full 100 gp and discovers that the courtesans of Avauntar, while somewhat lacking in beauty, are quite skilled at their chosen profession.
Vinric visits the market and chats up everyone he can find who spares the time to talk back.
He learns that Avauntar does not lack for Wood, Meats, or Furs. It's mostly self-sufficient for grain but probably lacks the ability to grow larger without more farms or imported foodstuffs. There is a small but thriving group of vineyards that produce decent warm-climate wine. Avauntar imports about everything else. Tools and Mounts are especially prized.
Wood, common; Meats, preserved; and Furs/Hides are -2. Wine is -1. Grain is 0. Tools and Mounts are +2. Everything else is +1.
Location: Avauntar
Date: Fourthmonth 7, 300 YE
Weather: 60 degrees, Heavy rain, thunder and lightning (Avauntar)
Vinric, Mundo & Billious, Arnolt and his henches, Godric and his henches, Mikyun the guide, and eight platoons of mercenaries travel the entire day of Fourthmonth 6 and camp beside the road. They awaken, get back on the road, and amazingly find themselves on the cusp of arriving at Avauntar. The leaders of the group are silent as to the origin of the miracle but the mercs suspect Godric has worked a wonder. The fact that Godric, immediately upon arriving in town, rents a suite and retires out of sight only reinforces their suspicions.
Only a man with the blood of the Nobir could have done such a mighty feat! And yet he is still only a man. I bet he sleeps for a week to recover his strength!
A powerful storm system rolls in right after Godric and the others arrive. The rain lasts for six hours, soaking the town and further spooking the mercs, who assume the thunder and lightning are additional evidence of Godric's connection to the Gods.
I fast forwarded a bit to get everyone together. Godric and his entourage will remain in Avauntar until Dave finds some free time to rejoin the party. The rest of you can retroactively give me actions for the 6th, or we can get moving on the game!
Arnolt
Arnolt will get some rest and make sure his men are safely encamped. In the morning, he will make the rounds of the temples in the city. He will ask if there are any opportunities nearby to spread the word of Ammonar. He will also ask for any information concerning the Arm of Ammonar or the fight between the centaurs, ogres and orcs.
Arnolt makes the rounds of the town very quickly. It's not a large town at all. Despite its small size, there are three temples in town. Amazingly, two of them are dedicated to Ianna! There is a temple dedicated to the Dancers of the Veil and another one on the opposite side of town dedicated to the Dancers of the Blade. One might assume there are a fair number of both prostitutes and bladedancers in town.
The other temple is more of a multi-faith building with shrines to all of the other six deities, except the most venerated priest in attendance, and the de facto head priest of the temple, is Madono of Istreus. Why the Master of Secrets has a presence in Avauntar is quite a mystery indeed!
Location: Avauntar
Date: Fourthmonth 8, 300 YE
Weather: 59 degrees, clear, breezy
The party is together in Avauntar. The wilderness of the Eastlands await.
What's next for the adventurers?
Alistar
"So. Let's restate what we know for certain:
There are a lot of very excited tribals and beastmen in the Badlands. There is a considerable volume of unsubstantiated rumors, most of them wildly contradictory. Personally, I believe the odds of a real treasure existing are slim. I'm more interested in the logistical value of clearing out beastmen and eliminating any problematic variables for my project.
To this end, and after consulting with my esteemed cohorts, I propose the following plan: We begin by locating and eliminating the Red Blades. Execute the second most powerful beastman tribe in the region, and any minor satellite groups will fear extermination and begin consolidating. Ideally, the Blood of Hargosh will absorb them, creating a single, centralized opposition. At the same time, having struck an impressive blow against the enemy will, er, impress the local tribes, and make it easier to work with them and their equiform allies. We can follow up on rumors and do a spot of light excavation and spelunking while we wait for Hargosh to rally, and then finish the war in a single fell swoop.
Naturally, of course, I am not the expedition leader; I am merely submitting this as a possible option for peer review. I'm eager to hear your thoughts."
Taerad Orc-bane
"It's a sound plan, Alistair, though I wouldn't discount the possibility that something much larger is happening in the Badlands. Something is stirring the hornet's nest. I would like to try to make peaceful contact with the Chag centaurs at some point."
Egil
Egil looks at Alistar saying "Sure that could work boss! How do we find the Red Blades though? These orcs look all the same to me. Why not just ride out and crush whatever tribe we find, looting their camps one after the other? The nomads and horsemen can then deal with whatever scraps we left."
[quote="susan_brindle"]
Alistar
"So. Let's restate what we know for certain:
There are a lot of very excited tribals and beastmen in the Badlands. There is a considerable volume of unsubstantiated rumors, most of them wildly contradictory. Personally, I believe the odds of a real treasure existing are slim. I'm more interested in the logistical value of clearing out beastmen and eliminating any problematic variables for my project.
To this end, and after consulting with my esteemed cohorts, I propose the following plan: We begin by locating and eliminating the Red Blades. Execute the second most powerful beastman tribe in the region, and any minor satellite groups will fear extermination and begin consolidating. Ideally, the Blood of Hargosh will absorb them, creating a single, centralized opposition. At the same time, having struck an impressive blow against the enemy will, er, impress the local tribes, and make it easier to work with them and their equiform allies. We can follow up on rumors and do a spot of light excavation and spelunking while we wait for Hargosh to rally, and then finish the war in a single fell swoop.
Naturally, of course, I am not the expedition leader; I am merely submitting this as a possible option for peer review. I'm eager to hear your thoughts."
[/quote]
Vinric Lahes
"This sounds like an excellent plan to me! I think the thing to do would be to make a few sorties with a relatively small force with the intention of capturing a a handful of beastmen. Our spellcasters can then attempt to extract the knowledge we seek."
Alistar
Alistar nods to Egil and Vinric. "Certainly, there's nothing stopping us from consuming their tribes one at a time, and if we see a target of opportunity, we'd be well advised to strike it. Consolidating the battle simply saves time and generates more profit spoils. Taking them one at a time means that some will flee, others will obfuscate their valuables... Prisoners is another excellent plan, well stated, honorable Vinric."
Alistar
Alistar gathers his party before venturing forth.
Arnolt
Arnolt agrees with the plan and readies his men to depart.
Taerad Orc-Bane
Taerad sets to work on getting the platoons of the expedition in order for their venture, working with his colleagues and their lieutenants. He expects the first day of travel to have some rough spots and confusions as the many forces get accustomed to working together, and sets that expectation for the members of the party and their lieutenants. The goal is to be a force comfortable with itself and its units within the first 3-5 days of travel.
He proposes the following plan:
Forward Outriders: four platoons of Taerad's veteran horse archers, two each on both the right and left forward arcs
Forward Main Body: four platoons of Arnolt's veteran light cavalry
Main Body: three platoons Taerad's veteran cataphract cavalry
Rear Main Body / Reserve: six platoons Alistair's veteran light cavalry
Flank and Rear Outriders: four platoons of Egil's veteran horse archers, with one platoon on each of the right flank, right rear, left rear, and left flank positions
Taerad will ride at the head of the column, in front of the forward main body, and he invites his comrades to do the same, that they can avoid the road dust kicked up by sixty horses.
Tohopka plans to travel in owl form, with he and his owl companion Gawonii sleeping on the back of Tohopka's horse so that they can be active and watchful throughout the night, with Tohopka able to act as night commander in the event of an attack on the encampment. During the days of travel, the horse will be minded by a groomsman, that the owls can have relative peace and stability while they rest.
Sulldawga, I'm uncertain how to reconcile this last bit with the rules. I'm assuming an owl can sleep even while traveling, though it's likely interrupted sleep. My expectation is that Tohopka will have a difficult time with this plan recovering cast spells, but the idea of him trying to be on a night schedule and the two owls being able to scout and keep watch at night is an intriguing one.
Alistair
Alistair assents to this plan, and rides in the exact center of the PCs. This is one of those bits of Academy training that he never complained about. Mages cannot surround themselves with armor, so they use the armored flesh of others.
Egil
Egil agrees with the plan and sends Reinhart to prepare the men for departure adding: "I will also have Leila stay back to see to the woodcutter. Dont want to see an innocent man hang for murders he didnt commit." though if he does that to prove what a kind soul he is or if he has other plans is anyones guess.
He will give Leila 150 gold for some bribes and the best attorney she can find. "Here, make sure he gets out of this mess in one piece. I want to talk to him once we are back."
Egil does not object having his men guard the rear and will join Taerad in the front, leaving Reinhart in the back with the Rouge Raiders.
Leila quickly discovers that Avauntar is a small town and attorneys are not exactly in demand. There is no one willing or able to serve as a lawyer for the accused.
However, the local officials are unnerved by both the mere presence of Godric and the storm that followed his arrival. They see it as some sort of sign that the gods are angry with them. Godric is unavailable but Leila is able to convince Cenric to speak to the authorities in his place.
The cleric speaks with the authority of the Wonderworker, and the respect accorded to him (+5) equals out the heinousness of the crime (-5). Cenric is not an attorney but is able to quote chapter and verse quite convincingly, having one rank in Theology, and this makes him the equivalent of a Rank 1 attorney (+1). The bribe is enough for a +1 bonus, though not enough for +2.
Cenric is able to convince the local court (the High Mayor, the Lieutenant-Colonel in charge of the Lancers, and Madono of Istreus) that there isn't enough evidence to convict. The woodcutter goes free!
When asked, Mikyun relates that he knows of two routes across the hills to the sea.
One is direct through the hills, around hexes 05.28 and 06.28 on Vinric's map, but it tends to get swarmed by orcs. The other, which loops around the hills to the north, then cuts though 08.27 to the river, is safer from an orc perspective but sees more ogre activity.
Mikyun does not know where the orc or ogre villages are. "We know where they tend to attack but I've never traveled with anyone who's tracked them back to their homes."
Alistar & Co
After a brief huddle with his cohorts. "I still believe that exterminating an orc clan would be the best start, and the Summer Knight says the men prefer to fight enemies their own size, so I vote we skip the ogre road for now."