Red's Journey with Silverlocke
[After returning from the Magician, the party presented the books they had found to the Duke, and met two new individuals. The meeting again took place in the side room where the Duke liked to conduct his business. Both wore green; the younger man the party eventually deduced was Prince William. The older man wore on his chest a gold version of the symbol Red wore...]
The Duke was standing, still cradling in one arm the book of instruction for his armor. He turned back from the man he'd called William to look at Red. "It does seem that you are part of the same Order. Swordmaster Silverlocke is leaving for an important scouting mission. Would you be willing to go with him?"
Red blinked a moment. The Duke was asking him? It was confusing, they were supposed to just tell him what to do. He saw Paris out the corner of his eye, nodding slightly. "Um, yes, sir, lord," he said slowly.
The Duke turned to other business. Silverlocke approached Red, and Red took a good look at the man. The first thing he noticed was the stripe of white hair in the black, from which he obviously took his nickname. He and William were about the same height and build, and had the same intense look about their eyes; but there the resemblance stopped. Silverlocke was bearded rather than clean-shaven, and his face was older and weathered. The green he wore was muted rather than bright, the leather of his equipment in good shape, but lacking the obvious polish of the other man's. He stopped in front of Red, appraising the younger man in the same way, and looked up at him. "What's your name, lad?"
"Rhori. Miller, Rhori Miller, sir."
Silverlocke nodded, and put his hand out to shake. His grip was strong, perhaps the equal of Rhori's. As he dropped the hand, he spoke. "When we're alone, call me Silverlocke. If we're with anyone you don't know, call me Captain. I've got a hell of a lot of other names, but those will do. Come along, we better get moving." With that he started moving to the exit.
Rhori turned to the party. "Um, is it all right? Are you going to need help?" There was a chorus from the others encouraging him to go. He noticed Paris staring at William with a look of...he wasn't sure. He'd seen puppies looking at their masters that way, but she seemed to be ok. He looked at them all a bit uncomfortably. "Well, bye then," he finally said, and turned to follow Silverlocke out.
They moved quickly through the palace to a courtyard next to some stables, next to a gate he hadn't been through before on the west side. Some grooms were putting horses away, and there were pells, quintains, bales of hay, and other training gear about. A group of young boys, only a couple as old as Red, were just getting out of armor on the other side of the courtyard.
"Gryphon!" Silverlocke shouted across the courtyard. "Mind if we borrow a few things? I've got a recruit I've got to test out."
A big man, Rhori's size but Silverlocke's age, turned and grinned. "Silverlocke! Good to see you! Back already?" He shook hands vigorously with Silverlocke, while looking Rhori over. "I warn you, it's getting pretty hot now. Got yourself a big one this time. What's your name, son?" he asked turning to Rhori. After Rhori replied, he shook his hand, replying "Gryphon."
His eyes fell on the emblem on Rhori's chest, and he looked back and forth between Silverlocke's and Rhori's. "Ah, this will be interesting. I'd like to stay and watch a bit, if you don't mind."
"No objection," Silverlocke said, as he finished putting on his helmet and gauntlets and moved to a rack of wooden swords. "Rhori, drop your real weapons and shield. I want to see how you handle a sword by itself." He got the two of them positioned, facing each other, swords touching. "Go ahead, start any time."
Rhori looked at the older man. Hit him? Well, the wooden sword wasn't as dangerous as a real sword, and he was wearing armor, but it didn't seem right. "I hit pretty hard," Rhori said, unwilling to start.
"It's ok, lad, I've gotten a few bruises before. It's only practice. Come on, let's go," Silverlocke said. Shrugging, Rhori hauled the sword back and swung it low, so as not to hurt him too much. Silverlocke blocked. Rhori swung again, trying to be careful, and Silverlocke stepped in, grabbing Rhori's wrist. "Look, lad, I want you to try your best to hit me. Quit holding back or I'll never figure out how good you are. Now, COME ON!" He released Rhori and backed up. Rhori swung again, and the battle started.
"Good," Silverlocke said, blocking again, and launching an attack that Rhori easily blocked. "Oh, while I'm thinking of it, Samuels!" he shouted. "Samuels, see about getting another horse packed up and ready to go. Full kit. I still want to get out of here today." Steadily Silverlocke increased the pace of his attacks, forcing Rhori more defensively. "What do you think, Lord Gryphon?"
"Not bad," the other man replied. "Good reactions, native skill, no training though. He isn't even seeing the combination moves, I don't think anyone's taught him those." Rhori could barely follow the conversation as the fighting intensified. "Ought to try him with the axe as well."
Rhori tried ignoring the next attack, waiting until Silverlocke was committed and then swinging at him. His opponent sidestepped the blow, grinning, just visible through the cage on the helmet. "Good. If the blow won't hurt you through your armor, just take it and deal with the opponent quickly. Good instinct." He stepped back, raising the wooden sword. "Hold. That's a good tactic in real fights, but we don't do that in practice," and he proceeded to explain the rules and point system for mock combats. "Let's move on to sword and shield work."
Through the next hour, Rhori was tested on all the weapons the swordmaster could find. Bows were fired into bales of hay, both from on foot and on horseback. It was, as Lord Gryphon had warned, very hot in the courtyard where the sunlight reflected of the walls down onto the packed earth. At the end, Silverlocke looked him over from top to bottom. "You'll do, lad. We'll work on some of the rough edges while we travel." He grinned at Lord Gryphon as he took two practice swords. "Don't mind, do you?"
He gave Rhori time to wash up while he inspected Rhori's pack and equipment. There was some discussion as he sent runners for things, replacing Rhori's last few potatoes with dried rations, rope tied bags with leather sacks, and even finding him the large axe he wanted. The same critical eye eliminated excess weapons and gear, although he left anything that seemed to be personal. And, he added a small book in a waterproof pouch. "Do you know how to write?" he asked. "I'm going to teach you how to keep notes in a code, so that when you get back from a scouting trip, you can report accurately, but if the book is found by the enemy they won't know what we know." He looked at Rhori seriously. "Each of my scouts keeps such a book. If any of us die, try to get their book and get it back here." Carefully folding a green tabard, he slipped that into Rhori's pack.
They moved over to where three others were readying five horses. Rhori was introduced to them. Anson Samuels was the shortest of them, but stocky and quick. Jim Tillerman was tallest, almost as tall as Rhori. Finally, Lucas Tanner, who was introduced as the man Rhori should listen to if Silverlocke wasn't around. They all reminded Rhori of the foresters, Kivan and Georges and the rest. None wore the emblem, although all were wearing the green tabard of service to the Prince.
The gate was opened and they set off in the middle of the afternoon, turning north as soon as they exited. A short distance from the gate, and they were in a yet unused part of the city. They passed through one occupied area, somewhat north of the park Rhori had found. "This is where one of the Duke's villages wound up after the change," Silverlocke replied to Rhori's puzzled look. "A month ago, this was well outside the Duke's village, one of his local baron's." He shook his head. "I've had deLacey Reserve wine a few times, some of the best I've ever had. I think it's going to be a long time before they get back into wine making again."
The city's north gate was open when they reached it, and the guard saluted as Silverlocke rode past. Outside the gate, peasants were working at clearing the hillsides of brush, looking like they were preparing it for planting, probably grapes based on what Silverlocke had said. One advantage, Rhori realized, of being on a horse was that it gave a much better view of where they were going. Not having to focus on where he was stepping made it a lot easier to look around. They were headed up into some hills, that rose higher to the right of the trail as they headed north.
At the first forest edge, Silverlocke called a halt. Dismounting, he and the others stripped the tabards from themselves and the blankets from the horses, folding them carefully and putting them away. In a few moments, they looked much like the foresters, drab, dark, and harder to see in the forest.
Silverlocke looked at them, speaking softly but clearly. "From reports we've had, the only thing we might encounter between here and Tauban are bandits, there've been no reports of fell. If we see bandits, I'll decide if we engage or not. Once we're at Tauban, we'll spend a day asking some questions. Then, we're off on a reconnoiter." He looked at Rhori. "That means we avoid any combat we can, find out where the enemy is and their disposition, and get back. All without fighting, if we can. We want to get in and out without being spotted. Clear? Any questions?"
As it began to get dark, they pulled off the trail to a small clearing. Rhori, being the junior member, was put to work bringing in water and wood.
The others quickly got the horses dressed down, and Anson soon had something tasty smelling simmering in the pot. Rhori had just gotten back with one last load, when Lucas handed him a small shovel. "Over there," he said pointing. "We need a hole, three feet deep, to bury wastes. And hurry up," he grinned, "I've been on that horse all day."
The stew was spicier than Mia usually made, but good nonetheless. Silverlocke looked up from where he'd been discussing one of the horses with Lucas. "Anson, where did you get the pepper? Never mind, I don't want to know," he said with a chuckle. Rhori waited patiently while they all went to get seconds before he took his second helping.
Jim Tillerman looked up from where he was cleaning his sword, sharpening the edge. "So, Rhori. How did you get that?" he said, nodding at the emblem on Rori's chest.
Rhori: "Pro'lly just like the Captain did, do you know how he got his gold one? Or did he always have that?" Regardless of response Rhori will eventually tell the story as best as he can remember it to anyone who cares to listen. A solid theme of the telling is how difficult it is to get people to cooperate and that Anton is even dumber than Rhori is.
They gently prodded Rhori until he told his story first. There was a long moment of silence as they absorbed the slowly delivered story. "Whew," Jim finally said. "You went into a hole armed with clubs. Holy..." and his voice tailed off as he shook his head.
Silverlocke stood up. "I'll be back in a few," he said, wandering off towards the waste hole.
Anson watched him leave. "You asked how the Captain got his. I'll have to make it quick. We were traveling with the Prince to see what had happened to Westmore [the Duke's city], we'd had the messenger from the Duke telling us about all the strange stuff that happened to you. We were staying with the grain wagons, you know, make sure bandits didn't try to bounce it. About halfway between Fort Carcassonne and Westmore, where the hills on both sides get pretty steep, we heard a baby cry and then a woman's scream. Prince William just kind of looked at the Captain, shouted to his cavalry commander to stay with the wagons, and took off up the hill. The Captain told us to spread out, and we three followed the two of them. We got to the top of the hill after the two of them had already started down."
Anson was quiet for a moment. Jim was looking into the fire, and even Lucas seemed to be recalling unpleasant memories. "I froze," Anson finally said. "Never done that before. Down the hill there was a big flat rock. There was a baby on it, newborn, and its mother...god, there was blood everywhere. Two things, bigger than the large orc you described, bigger than a man on horseback, with stone clubs the size of your legs. And something man-sized in a cloak, with a dagger about to skewer the baby." He took a drink and continued. "I think I saw the Prince leap the stone, driving his horse into the cloaked guy while he tried to block one of the clubs. The Captain took the other big guy on. We charged, but hit some kind of blue light that was a circle that kept us from getting in. I saw the Prince knocked off his horse, but roll and keep fighting. I saw the two of them, the Prince and the Captain, back to back on the rock over the baby, and the guy with the dagger standing up."
Anson nodded to Tillerman. "Jim got us in. He had that big iron hammer, and swung it at the blue wall. The wall went down, the...thing in the cloak looked at us. Glowing red eyes, man, that chilled you to your boots. And he just disappeared. We charged, but the Prince and the Captain finished theirs off before we got there. I gotta say, though, we stomped those big guys pretty good just to be sure." He smiled. "The Captain was just wrapping the baby in his blanket when she showed up. So beautiful, made it hard to sit on the horse, if you know what I mean. I'm still not sure exactly what she said, but she thanked the two of them and took the baby to take care of it. The mother was dead. The Prince managed to ask her who she was, and she said 'Dierdre.' She gave the Prince and the Captain each a card, I could kind of see what you described, the vines around it, but gold. As soon as they took them in their hands, they started to glow. When they finished glowing, they had the badges you see on them now." He looked around again, and leaned closer. "The Captain then went to the Prince's horse, which was lying on its side because of the blow from the big thing. He put out his hands and chanted some weird stuff. There was this light, and the horse was as good as new. And that's not the least of it..." Anson suddenly stopped, as Silverlocke came around a bush. "Hush though. He doesn't like a big deal being made of it."
The next day they ran into bandits. They were moving along the trail side by side, with Anson a half dozen meters ahead. Silverlocke narrowed his focus looking ahead, as the road descended from the crest of a small hill to a forest edge ahead. "Tanner," he said, his voice quiet but clear, "you and Tillerman ease slowly back and get your bows ready. Samuels, Miller, make sure your weapons and shields are ready but don't get them out yet. There's three on the right of the trail and four on the left, hiding there. We ride up there, nice and normal. I'll give the word, the three of us break right into the underbrush and come up on them from the side. Lucas, you and Tillerman keep them from crossing the road until we're ready for them." He glanced to see that all of them heard the orders. "Anson, a song. Something bawdy." And so, to the tune of sailors finding happiness on shore leave, a song that left Rhori absolutely scandalized, the small group approached the forest edge.
Just before they entered, as the song was reaching its peak, Silverlocke shouted and turned his horse into the brush to the side, swinging back again to parallel the trail. He had to reach down to skewer the first bandit, who was so surprised he was still crouching. The second bandit tried to turn as Rhori approached, but the long spear he was using caught in the brush and he could not turn it in time before Rhori arrived. The third bandit faced Anson, holding him at bay until Silverlocke arrived and ended the battle. When Rhori looked in the trail, there were two other bandits dead of multiple arrow hits, and the other two were running away. "Do we pursue, Captain?" Anson asked.
Silverlocke frowned. "No," he sighed. "We might get the horses hurt. We'll let those two go." They spent a moment checking the bodies, but these were ordinary bandits, so they dragged the bodies away from the trail and continued on. Rhori wondered how the song was supposed to end.
There were three watches set up. Normally, there was just one person on duty each watch, and Silverlocke would join one of them randomly. Rhori would be rotated through the watches in order. Each watch lasted for six turns of a sand glass, about three hours, then as long as it took to get the next watch up. While voices are generally kept low, there was opportunity for Rhori to get to know each of the men during the watches. Over the course of a week, he learned that Anson and Jim were both from small villages around Pellier, the capital of the kingdom. Anson was the most talkative; in addition to cook, he was also something called a `veterinarian,' who could heal animals as well as people, although not with magic. He delighted in telling Rhori of his village, its environs, its people, etc. Jim was a weaponsmith and armorer, but preferred travel and the woods to plying a trade in the city.
Lucas was quieter than the other two. He said he was "from the islands," as if Rhori would understand what that meant. From the way he talked, he'd traveled with Silverlocke for longer than the other two. He tended to turn the conversation away from himself or Silverlocke to some subject that Rhori was supposed to be taught: moving quietly, the reading of tracks, scout code, etc.
Late on the third full day of travel they reached Tauban. It was a fortified city, probably as large as the Baron's place had been, perched on a hill overlooking a river crossing, just above a small waterfall.
They stopped as soon as they saw the town and replaced the tabards and horse blankets with the greenery of the Prince. Rhori found himself wearing the tabard Silverlocke had placed in his pack, trying to sit so it wouldn't get dirty as he rode. It was easily the finest piece of cloth he had ever seen.
Rhori would eventually 'demand' to know what it means that he is wearing the "nice green suit". He would probably start with Lucas then go through the rest of the men and eventually to Silverlocke if necessary.
Lucas smiled at him as he finished getting ready. "Means you're working for him," he said, gesturing at Silverlocke. "Keeps folks from getting confused out here where they don't know you from any other drunken sailor. Anyone messes with you, they're messing with the Captain. And anyone messing with him is messing with the Prince, cause these are his colors. The Captain doesn't like to travel in these, claims the color stands out like a sore thumb." He leaned over, voice only sort of dropping to a stage whisper. "I think he just hates doing laundry."
Silverlocke, in addition to the tabard of green, had pulled on a shield cover with a red diamond on a green background.
There was some consternation at the gate as they approached, soldiers lining up at the approach of the Prince's colors. They slowed as they reached the gate, to give them time to be recognized. Finally, the commander stepped forward. "Um, greetings, ah, Baron Ruby?" The poor man stood for a moment, waiting to see if his guess was right. "Ah, what brings you to Tauban?"
"My horse, idiot," Silverlocke whispered under his breath. Louder, "I bring messages from Prince William, Light of the Silver Throne, to Baron Tauban, loyal Guard of the Frontier."
The guard captain realized, finally, where he was and started shooing guards out of the way. "Enter, please, Baron Ruby. Is the Prince coming along? Ah, do you need an escort to the keep?"
"No, good captain, the Prince is not following. And, I believe I can find the keep on my own," he said as he spurred his horse past and through the gate, heading for the only large building apparent in the center of town. At the keep, the reception was somewhat speedier. Anson went with the horses to see them stabled, and the other three set off with Silverlocke into the keep.
They were ushered into a huge hall in the center of the building; as big as the great hall at the Baron's place, but paling when compared to the Duke's new palace.
"Sir Phillipe," Silverlocke said, smiling as he walked in. "You old oak tree, how are you?"
"Silverlocke," the Baron said. Rhori looked up at the man, then down to see where the floor was, then up again. The Baron was a full head taller than Rhori, but thinner. He did look a little like a tree. "So, what brings you out here?"
"Business, I'm afraid," Silverlocke replied. "First, let me give you these messages from the Duke and Prince," he said, passing over a packet of papers. "I've got to find out where the orcs are. Thought I'd stay here a day, find out what you know, and use this as a base for exploring."
The Baron put the papers aside as he listened to Silverlocke. "We just had those half dozen bodies brought in over two weeks ago. If I hadn't seen those, I wouldn't believe the tales I've been hearing. The mines have been clear. Well, the guards haven't seen anything, the miners are talking about things moving around in the mine, but they always say that. But I'll be glad to go over our maps with you. How about we get your men settled down and get to work?" He called for his seneschal, and gave commands. Silverlocke nodded to Lucas, and as the three of them left, they saw Silverlocke and the Baron return to talking.
Their rooms were in the troop area near the stables, where Anson joined them.
Rhori noticed he was breathing hard after hauling all the stuff in to the rooms, and wondered if he was getting sick. Anson looked at him, and commented "You're fine. We've been climbing to get here, probably three or four thousand feet higher than you're used to. The mountains get higher to the east of here. Once you acclimate, you'll be fine." Anson looked around, a wicked grin on his face. "Well, I was going to go, ah, look around town. See if I see anyone I know, you know. Anyone want to come along?" Lucas and Jim both turned him down.
They had a day free in the town to check over gear, re-provision, and rest.
Rhori spent a little time sightseeing. This town was much more of a fortress than either Jouet or the Baron's place. Maybe that was why it was unchanged. It was...uncomfortable wandering around a town that looked so normal; it brought back memories of what life maybe should have been like. He returned to the keep, where they put him to work learning more moves with sword and shield, and the memories were kept away.
They left Tauban and traveled north, skirting the edge of the forest, no longer following a trail. To their right, they could look up the hills as the land sloped up and away from them. After three uneventful days of travel, they stopped at a swiftly moving river. For a while they searched, but found no easy way to cross it. Silverlocke looked at it for a while. "Unless they are good swimmers, I don't think the orcs are coming that way. And if they were crossing uphill, they'd be seen by Tauban. So, that means downhill. Let's make sure we know where we are."
They camped, and that night Lucas pulled out some arrangement of tubes and went about looking at stars with it. He noticed Rhori watching. "Something I learned to do sailing. You use this, and, well, you can figure out how far north you are. Need something when you're sailing, there aren't any landmarks in the water." He turned to Silverlocke. "We're almost as far north as Lions. Maybe forty miles south of that."
Rhori: "I have heard about lions. I didn't know that they didn't move around...I thought they were more like big mean pumas than statues?" Eventually this leads to questions about Lions the city and what/where that is as well as what "sailing" is.
Lucas looked confused, but Silverlocke just nodded. "You haven't had a chance to get east of Westmore, have you?" he asked. "Most of the kingdom is east of there. There's a big, flat fertile area where most people live and grow food. You go north from there on a big river between two big mountain ranges. Lions is a pretty big town, well, more people than Westmore, but not nearly as big as that is now. There's another town to the north of Lions, and that's about as far as the kingdom goes that way."
They headed west the next day. By midday, Rhori was having trouble controlling his horse. Looking around, he could see why. The healthy green forest was a darker green, bothersome. Eerie. "I don't like this, Captain," Lucas said.
"What?" Silverlocke looked around, noticing that the others were all having trouble with their horses. "Dismount. Here, hold mine, Tanner. Miller, come with me." Quietly, they crept ahead where the forest grew darker, the greens running nearly to black. "Hm. Something evil lives in this forest. Can you feel it?"
Rhori had not seen Silverlocke quite so surprised. "They are mine," he said quickly. Glancing left and right, he could see that they were surrounded by archers to both the right and left, all lowering drawn bows. Lucas leaned forward, a sharp smile on his face. "Tag, you're it," he whispered.
Silverlocke shot him a glance that should have killed, and turned back to the figure in front of him. "My greetings to you, good sir. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
The figure pulled back the hood on the cloak, revealing an angular and oddly different face. The pointed ears didn't look out of place on that face. "I am Encorial, Clan Ja Tal. Please, Guardians, come with us and we will make you comfortable. Our King will be well pleased to speak with you." And he gestured to lead them deeper into the forest to the southwest.
"What's a Clan Jatal?" Rhori 'whispered' to the nearest man to him (presumably Silverlocke). "Are they part of your kingdom?"
Silverlocke continued to glance around, apparently trying to see everything in detail all at once. "I don't know," he whispered back. "I would guess that it's what these...people call themselves. I've never seen anyone quite like them. Stay close and keep quiet, we have to find out all we can."
Rhori looked around, then leaned in to whisper again. "Does the "Guardians of the key of nature" line ring a bell?"
Silverlocke frowned. "I know we're Guardians of some Key. It's on our emblem. And, Willy is trying to figure out what we guard. Sorry, Prince William. And we have something to do with lions, or strength, or fortitude. These...people, seem to think we Guard the Key of Nature. I'm going to try to get them to talk some more without letting on how little we know." He grinned ruefully. "Sure wish Carly were here, she's really good at that. Sorry, Princess Carline."
They left the horses in a clearing that Encorial indicated. Anson, a bit nervous, stayed to see that they were cared for properly. The others followed Encorial up a tree, to where a series of rooms had been built in the branches. To one room, larger than the others, where a regal figure sat.
"You three follow behind me and do what I do," Silverlocke whispered to the others. "Aye, captain," Lucas replied, licking his lips nervously.
Silverlocke walked in, stopping a half dozen steps from the seated figure, as a voice called out "King Agrillion of Jatala receives the Guardians of the Key of Nature."
Silverlocke bowed stiffly from the waist, holding it for a count of three, and stood up again. "My greetings to you, your Highness. I bring greetings from the court of the Argent King of the Kingdom of the Isles and the lands of Tara."
King Agrillion nodded. "Thank you, Guardian. So, Prolerian is no longer your emperor?"
Rhori couldn't see Silverlocke's face from where he was standing, but there was a moment's pause. "No, milord. He has not been an emperor in ... a very long time. May I ask how long it has been since any men have visited you?"
"Hm," said the king. "Not more than a long day or so, Guardian. I know that time passes differently for the elves than for men. But let us not be so formal. What are your given names, Guardians?"
"Martin," replied Silverlocke.
The king looked pointedly at Rhori. "Rhori Miller," he finally replied.
The king looked back at Silverlocke. "Is there not a second name, Guardian Martin? As I understand men, there are always two names."
Rhori could see Lucas looking stonily ahead as Silverlocke answered. "No, milord, just Martin."
"Well, Guardians Martin and Rhori Miller. Let me see that you and your friends are fed and made comfortable, and we shall continue our discussion."
He stood and led the group to another room, where a table had been laid with fruits, nuts, and bread. Anson came in, wide-eyed at the display. The bread in particular was filling and fragrant; Rhori's healthy appetite could barely consume a quarter of one of the large rounds of bread, and he felt invigorated. "Our waybread," Encorial mentioned to Rhori. "Makes it easier to travel further quickly."
Anson leaned over. "Say, Encorial. I do a most of the cooking for the Guardians, you know. Do you suppose I could learn how to make this waybread for them?"
Encorial shrugged. "I suppose so. Some of the ingredients are difficult to get, though. I will speak to the teachers."
Rhori mostly tried to listen to the discussion between Silverlocke and the king. They had encountered a few orcs on the westernmost part of their lands. To the immediate north was indeed an evil something, but they kept their forest clear. Rhori was a little surprised to hear that the capital of the Empire was north of the forest, even further north than the evil forest. Silverlocke didn't seem surprised, though, so he must have known.
Lucas kept looking out through the trees. Rhori was about to ask again, figuring that Lucas hadn't heard him, when finally the man spoke. "Happened before I met him. Silverlocke was the swordmaster out in Nice Place. That's a little burg as far east from here as you can go before you run out of land. I hear it's where the first folks from the Isles landed, long ago. Anyway, it's custom for the King to send his sons all over the kingdom, to learn what all parts of it are like. When he was ten or so, Prince William was sent out to Nice Place, and Silverlocke started teaching him to fight. I guess that Nice Place was hit by some pirates, who wanted to kidnap the Prince and ransom him back." He shook his head. "I'm no storyteller. If you're ever out that way, get one of the bards to sing the tale. You listen to them, you'll hear that there was a mound of bodies as big as a ship around Silverlocke and the boy before the day was done, and Silverlocke had a dozen mortal wounds. I don't know the truth, but after he healed up, he and the boy went back to the capital. The King made him one of the Precious Barons." He noticed Rhori's blank look. "There's seven Court Barons named after precious stones; no land with the title, but they are special awards from the King, which is why they wear royal colors. Silverlocke is the Ruby Baron. King didn't seem to care he was a bastard." He looked narrowly at Rhori, and his voice got very intense. "I owe Silverlocke my life twice over. Out here in the woods, I don't care what any man's father was, I care what the man does."
Also Rhori will ask Lucas if the islands that Silverlocke spoke of were the same ones that Lucas comes from...
Lucas chuckled, happy to change the subject. "Yes, lad. I'm from Firenzi, a little, dinky island off in the Isles. One tough old pirate by the name of Bran conquered the Isles, and then landed to conquer here, long time ago. Kids of his kept expanding the kingdom, till here we are."
They spent the night with the elves. Unobtrusively, Silverlocke still posted watches, but there were no disturbances.
In the morning, they set out with some elves for guides through the forest. Encorial was there, on a sleek white horse that seemed as angular as he did. With him for a guide, and with the horses and them fed by waybread, they practically ran through the forest.
After one day, they had to slow down, as they had left the areas normally patrolled by the elves. Still, they started before first light and stopped only late at night. The next day found them on a small rise, hidden among some trees, looking to where two rivers joined. On the right, the one that had blocked their northward progress; on the south, according to Lucas, the river that started near the Duke's city. In the join of the river, but on the north side, was a low, rude city surrounded by farms.
Silverlocke studied it as the sun set. "There's no city here that I know of. And one hell of a lot of open ground between us and it." He thought for a moment. "Tanner, you, Samuels, and Tillerman wait here and hide the horses. Encorial..." he turned to the elf. "Should it be Lord Encorial?"
The elf shook his head. "No, not as I understand the term. I lead a group of others when the need calls for it, but generally each of us is responsible for our own life. The closest your titles come, and one I rather liked, was 'Captain.'"
Silverlocke smiled. "I understand the feeling. It is my favorite title as well. Well, Captain Encorial, would you be willing to accompany Miller and myself as we try to sneak closer? I'd like to take three in to make it easier to sleep, and I have a feeling you can move quietly if you want to."
The elf smiled. "Captain Guardian Martin, I need to see what they do as well. I will be happy to accompany you."
They pulled back from the crest line to a small hollow where the horses and men could be well hidden. The plan was to sneak in at night; the moon would be nearly new, so they were not likely to be spotted. Encorial warned them that some of the fell creatures, not orcs, could see by the heat of the body; but, they would not know whether it was humans or some animal, and if they moved as he instructed they would think them animals.
Silverlocke went over Rhori's equipment and stripped it down again; he would not need his heavy armor-or rather, if he needed it, they would have failed. Lucas would wait for three days, or until his position was discovered, and then try to return to the Duke's palace.
In the dark of the night they started for the town. Lucas spent a moment to show Rhori the stars he should keep in front of him on his way out and way back, some combinations that he thought he could recognize.
With Encorial ahead, almost a ghost, and Silverlocke behind they started moving across the open ground. Encorial would walk forward quickly, pause, turn and shuffle sideways, then walk forward again.
By dawn they were at the buildings on the near side, slipped in to one of them and climbed up into the rafters, kicking the rats out of the way.
As the town came alive, they could see orcs in limitless numbers, most armed with something. They saw them driving groups of slaves, both human and orc, out into the fields to work them. "Where did they get all the human slaves?" Silverlocke whispered. He shook his head. "Try to count the banners you can see. See if there are any patterns to them, like maybe they are all part of one group." And he set to scratching in his diary. The sun climbed higher in the sky, and the three settled in to sleep, one on watch at a time.
During Rhori's watch, the door to the building they were in opened; a half dozen bags were tossed in by an orc, and the door closed again. He looked at the knuckles on the hand holding the sword, white with his grip. He had kept quiet, not moving or calling attention to them as he had promised.
That night they slipped out and crossed the river, here slow moving, on one of the bridges. They had their cloaks fully covering them, hiding their shapes and faces, and were not challenged. There seemed to be little in the way of nightlife or night patrols inside the town.
For many long minutes, they hid across from the building that had the most flags flying from it during the day, which Silverlocke thought was their command center. "Better let me go first, I'll signal if the way is clear," he said. He then stepped out of the alley they were in and flattened himself against the wall around the corner. Rhori kept watching, waiting for him to appear as he tried to slip across the street. It was a long wait, and then Encorial touched his arm and pointed. Silverlocke was across the street, with the door to the building opened. Rhori had never seen the man move. Quietly, the two moved across the deserted street to the building.
"Come on, I'll show you what I found," Silverlocke said. He gestured to a stairway and led them downstairs. He lit a lamp, and they could see the room was windowless, buried into the earth. "This is what I was hoping to find," he said gesturing at the large model in the center of the room. "Don't touch it, Rhori. It's a relief map of the surrounding area, showing where they all are. But it only shows this area, near this city. That means that this is only a regional command post and they get their orders from somewhere else. We need to look around and see if there's something else here. Encorial, you have to look at the messages here and see what you can figure out. Rhori, help me search, but make sure you put back anything you touch."
In an alcove, empty but for a dirt floor, Rhori noticed a familiar circle of stones in the dirt. "Captain," he pointed, "I don't know, but the magic users I traveled with said that this was a way to send scrolls to orcs. In the cave where we found them before."
"I think I've found what you're looking for, Captain Guardian," Encorial interrupted. "Most of the messages deal with how much food they are growing and when to send it northeast. Those are unsigned. Then, there's also a number of messages about some special ambush operation south of here. These all have this mark, a sword being driven through the word for world." They copied the mark into their books.
Encorial found a few other papers. "It looks like they are sending only half of the troops to this ambush that they are supposed to, while sending back messages to their boss that all will be there. Only maybe...five groups of three hundred, rather than the ten they were supposed to send."
Rhori was getting nervous. "I think we've got enough," Silverlocke said. "Let's shut off the light and get out of here." They let their eyes accustom themselves for a few minutes, and then slipped out of the building, continuing westward.
At dawn, they found themselves outside of town, looking at the biggest lake Rhori had ever seen. "It's the ocean," Silverlocke said after a moment. "I recognize the smell." Sure enough, there was pungent odor of salt and dying vegetation. "A lot of folks have wondered if the land just kept going or reached an ocean. Now we know." He slapped Rhori on the shoulder. "Congratulations, we've just discovered the western ocean."
Encorial looked confused. "You must have lost a lot if you have lost this. You humans used to have good maps of the lands, and sailors who went many places. I remember hearing of the ocean, and the lands beneath the Teeth, and the exotic lands of the east, for years. It has been a while, hasn't it?"
That night they skirted south of the town, reaching the others when they were tired and the sun was already up. "Encorial," Silverlocke said, "thanks for your help. You'd better get back to your people. We're going to follow the southern river back. I want to know what kind of ambush needs three thousand fighters, and it's always easier to scout an ambush from the back." He reached out to shake the elf's hand. "Thanks, Captain."
They set off that afternoon. Encorial had given them also the remaining waybread he had, so their packs were full. They moved cautiously through the forest to where they could spot the river. Alongside the river was a churned track reminding Rhori of the path made by the band of orcs in the Baron's forest. Across the river, he could see a parallel path. The track was so disturbed they could not tell how many had passed, but Jim offered a simple, "Lots."
Midway through the next day, the orc track stopped. They could see the track on the other side head almost due south. Silverlocke shook his head. "But, there's nothing due south of here! This is even west of where Jouet was. I don't understand." He and Lucas conferred for a few moments, estimating distances on a small homemade map the latter had been making. Finally, he shook his head. "We have to leave that for another day. The Prince needed information in three weeks, and we just have time to get back." He looked wistfully toward the south. "Sure wish I knew what they were up to."
Three days passed as they continued to follow the river upstream. The horses continued at their fast pace, fueled by the elven meal. The river had dwindled to a small stream, which could be crossed at many spots. They camped for the last night at a spot well north of the Baron's old castle.
During the night, for the first time in their weeks of travel, they heard wolves in the distance. Rhori recalled Kivan's comment, that there hadn't been any wolves since the night the orcs appeared.
It was midmorning when they heard the wolf howl again, closer. Looking back, they saw riders chasing after them, orc riders on wolf back. The horses needed little encouragement to run ahead. "Horsebows!" Silverlocke commanded. "They can't keep pace with the horse's sprint. Follow me!" he shouted as he got his own bow out and strung. There was a chorus of "aye, captain" from the group. Rhori found it hard to control both the horse and get the bow out, but barely managed.
The horses darted ahead, Silverlocke called them to a halt, they turned sideways, fired, and spurred the horses on again. The first time, Rhori used the time to get the bow strung. The second time, he loosed an arrow with the rest of them, and was gratified to see two of the wolves and riders go down. The third and fourth times, the maneuver seemed almost coordinated. The fifth time the remaining wolves scattered; they turned to kill the ones that had fallen only wounded. They recovered five blank cards from the five dead bodies. Silverlocke briefly considered taking one of the wolves, but a distant howl and the state of the horses made him drop that idea quickly. They hurried to the town, the sound of wolf packs all about them.
The wolf sounds stopped as they exited the forest and neared the cleared area around the city. Silverlocke stopped them where they had a clear field of view, and changed them all back into the tabards. At a more sedate and restful pace, they rode unmolested into the city.
They reported immediately to the Duke's working room. The Prince and a woman, whom Silverlocke greeted as Princess Carline, were there with the Duke, and a lot more soldiers in the Prince's colors. Silverlocke collected the diaries, replacing them with blanks, and gave an overview of his report, with some of the details to be filled in from the diaries. While he didn't discuss any of their methods in detail, he made sure to mention each of those he traveled with by name. The Prince thanked him profusely and excused him. Rhori noted that the Princess seemed to be glad to see Silverlocke alive and well.
"Well," Silverlocke grinned. "Now for the one true benefit of civilization. A bath. Oh, wait a moment." He called over to one of the Prince's men, and after a hurried discussion, came back with four small bags that he handed to the four men. "Here's your month's pay. I don't want to see you for a week."
[GM: OK, Mike-during the three weeks, there were some things you could have done that would result in EP's. For example, if you didn't have riding at the start, you do now (and we should insert a few bits to that effect). :) You get a point in scout code (it's a language, only needs one point), you get area knowledge Tauban. But then, depending on what you are trying to learn, you would get some additional points. For example, Silverlocke is trying to teach you all kinds of weapons skill, in the three weeks you can get either 1point in each of three different things or two points in one thing. The evening lessons cover tracking, scouting, geography; you practiced stealth, concealment, etc. I need to know what you were trying to learn. In general, the three weeks of intense activity would result in 3 to 5 ep's, not including the scout code or area knowledge. If there was something else you were interested in, let me know and we'll see if it was possible.]
[M: Here we need to address the lack-of-sneakyness issue and then I will continue with the rest of the story and the eps issues.]
[GM: Okay. Option 1, Rhori stays with the horses, Lucas goes in, and you only hear about the slaves and the ocean. He manages to remember the stone circle when they describe it, and mentions the scroll teleporter; but this is done after they get back, so they may not have some information. Option 2, reduce the clumsiness by some number of points due to training. I think the three weeks should be no more than 5-6 points (except for the area knowledge and the scout code), so maybe four of them could go into that. Not sure what you put in as a disad; I don't have a copy of the character sheet (hint, hint). What would you like to do?]
[M: Obviously Rhori has some talents for some things and none for others. Certainly he is not a great student (he has never been taught to learn) but he is very attentive and willing to try to learn. More on this later I am sure (like when we get to the stealthing into Orc town because by then they would know Rhori is MR-ANTI-STEALTH (base dex roll in no armor is 8 or 9 - I forget if he has -2 or -3 clumsy). This is an issue you and I need to address, certainly if we want to make him a efficient character he should get better at this and we can say that a lot of it is self-consciousness and lack of confidence so he can even improve relatively rapidly if you want. I am open-minded on this especially as I am in full Goodman mode and keep tinkering with the character sheet instead of finishing it.]
[GM: Well, that was why I showed you the things you had an opportunity to learn.
It is also true that the others could be made to talk about other skills Anson's veterinary medicine, Tillerman's weaponsmithing, etc. One thing about this journey Rhori is traveling with people who have assumed he is competent.
Yes, he gets all the scut work, but he is the youngster of the bunch. They seem to make allowance for his being slow, because manifestly he pulls his weight out here. They are also training him in moving, fighting, riding, etc. So, it is entirely reasonable that some of these points go into buying off clumsy rather than the skills I suggested at the end. If his stealth roll is really that bad by the time we reach the orc town, they won't have any choice but to leave him with the horses and take Lucas, probably leaving Jim in charge. Thus, Rhori would have only heard of the slaves and the ocean.]
"Rhori's Story" copyright 1999 P.Shea & M.Kennedy. The contents of this site are copyright 2004 Sheryl A. Knowles unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved.