achtungnight posted:

Question farmhands. Alright, rednecks, who adjusted the sign?

Tiggum posted:

achtungnight posted:

Question farmhands. Alright, rednecks, who adjusted the sign?

achtungnight posted:

Question farmhands. Alright, rednecks, who adjusted the sign?

The Cauldron of Fear posted:

Like most southern Anarian peasants, these farm hands are simple folk. They have heard nothing of the war in the north, and know nothing about the Darkland armies that are poised to assault their capital. All they are able to tell you is that a great many wagons carrying ‘Takas’, or rich city folk, have travelled the road to Navasari in the last ten days.

They would be happy to share their humble meal of corn soup with you, but the smell of their dung fire has destroyed your appetite and you refuse their offer politely. Banedon, who has been talking with the owner of the house, returns to his horse and nods at the signpost. ‘It’s pointing the wrong way. A few days ago one of the Takas’ wagons ran into it and nobody has bothered to fix it yet.’

With a wave, the farm hands bid you farewell as you urge your horses back onto the highway. You are now hungry and must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

Five miles along the highway you reach another junction, where a cart track bears off to the west. A whitewashed stone marker at the side of the road says:

SIDARA—5 MILES

nelson posted:

Remember that woman Banedon made love talked to?
"She advises us to steer clear of a village called Sidara. It’s rumoured to have already fallen to the enemy."

Onward to Tahou!

nelson posted:

Remember that woman Banedon made love talked to?
"She advises us to steer clear of a village called Sidara. It’s rumoured to have already fallen to the enemy."

nelson posted:

Remember that woman Banedon made love talked to?
"She advises us to steer clear of a village called Sidara. It’s rumoured to have already fallen to the enemy."

Onward to Tahou!

nelson posted:

Remember that woman Banedon made love talked to?
"She advises us to steer clear of a village called Sidara. It’s rumoured to have already fallen to the enemy."

Onward to Tahou!

nelson posted:

Onward to Tahou!

Helios Grime posted:

Onward!

The Cauldron of Fear posted:

The afternoon passes swiftly as you ride across endless miles of treeless grassland. You stumble upon no village or hamlet and spend the hours listening to Banedon’s account of recent events in Sommerlund and the Lastlands. Three years have passed since you were last in the land of your birth, and you are hungry to hear all that has transpired since then.

It is an hour past sunset and night is drawing its black cloak around you when you see a flickering red light on the road ahead: it is the village of Chadi. A great fire roars in the hearth of Guyuk’s Tavern in Chadi, inviting the travel-sore to stop and warm their weary bones. You decide to stay overnight and, as soon as you have stabled your horses, you enter the tavern to ask the price of a room. The taproom is surprisingly quiet. It is full of villagers and farmers but they are a sullen crowd, content to sit in silence and brood over their glasses of lovka, a strong Slovian rye spirit named after the town where it was first distilled.

Guyuk, the tavern owner, greets you with a nervous nod of his shiny bald head and shows you to a table. There are no bars or counters in Anarian taverns; instead, the customers sit at long banqueting tables and wait for the owner and his staff to serve them. He smiles uneasily as he answers your enquiry about a room. ‘A single room with a bed would be twelve Lune each.’

Guyuk gives you each a key to your room and offers you both a glass of lovka on the house. Gratefully you accept and down the warming liquor in one gulp.

You notice that at the far end of your table a man sits with his two young sons. They appear to be gambling with a group of plains farmers seated opposite, although you can see no money changing hands.

quote:

They would be happy to share their humble meal of corn soup with you, but the smell of their dung fire has destroyed your appetite and you refuse their offer politely. Banedon, who has been talking with the owner of the house, returns to his horse and nods at the signpost. ‘It’s pointing the wrong way. A few days ago one of the Takas’ wagons ran into it and nobody has bothered to fix it yet.’

With a wave, the farm hands bid you farewell as you urge your horses back onto the highway. You are now hungry and must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.

achtungnight posted:

Chat up the Innkeeper. He seems friendly.

ShadowWraith posted:

Talk to the innkeeper. He'll probably have some important information for us.

The Cauldron of Fear posted:

Guyuk is a nervous and jittery sort of man. He is afflicted with all manner of tics and twitches and is given to worrying about anything and everything. Recently his condition has worsened, and in light of events in the north, it is not difficult to understand why.

‘Oh! What’s to become of us? Where will it all end?’ he mutters, wringing his pudgy hands and casting his eyes to the rafters. ‘Every day for the last two weeks wagons filled with women and children have been leaving Tahou for the south, yet the Senate tell us that nothing is wrong, that we should go about our business and not concern ourselves with city affairs. Well, I for one am not fooled. I tell you they’re keeping us in the dark about what’s really happening and I’m not going to wait around to suffer the consequences. I’m closing up and moving out at the end of the week, and if you two gentlemen would take some friendly advice, you’d be wise to do the same.’

Someone in the tavern is calling for more lovka. Before you can question Guyuk further, he snatches up a bottle and scurries away to serve his thirsty customer.

achtungnight posted:

Bedtime. That story made me yawn.

Comstar posted:

Shall we order some food

The Cauldron of Fear posted:

A serving girl ushers you into an adjoining room, where smoke from an open charcoal fire spirals up to the roof, filling the air with its pungent aroma. You seat yourselves at a round oak table and the girl brings two plates loaded with broiled ghorka steak and roasted parsnips. Two tankards of ale serve to wash down the feast which Banedon, in a generous mood, pays for with twelve silver Lune.



Having satisfied your hunger and revived your strength (you may restore any ENDURANCE points lost on your adventure so far), you bid Banedon goodnight and retire to your room.

The room, which overlooks the courtyard and stables, is small yet surprisingly clean and comfortable. You sleep well, but you are rudely awoken at dawn by the clang of a brass hand-bell. Guyuk’s wife is walking around the courtyard ringing it for all she’s worth. ‘Daybreak, daybreak! All awake, all awake!’ she cries, her voice only slightly less piercing than her bell. Quickly you wash and dress before gathering together your equipment and heading for the stables. Banedon is already there, having risen before dawn to prepare the horses.

The sky is cloudless and the air is warm and still as you ride out of Chadi. Open grasslands stretch before you, broken occasionally by the low, whitewashed farm buildings and peasant dwellings. It is noon when you arrive at a mass of standing stones that line the highway approaches to the village of Phea. Banedon recalls a local legend that the Black Zakhan of Vassagonia once came to wage war on the defenceless inhabitants of Phea, who had no army. The besieged people offered up prayers to the Goddess Ishir, who was sufficiently moved by their plight to cause the wicked Vassagonians to become petrified right where they stood, clad in full armour and clasping their weapons. It strikes you that the Pheans may very soon have cause to pray for Ishir’s help a second time.

A mile beyond the village you see a cloud of dust on the highway.

Using your improved Huntmastery you focus on the distant dust cloud. It grows larger and sharper as your telescopic vision magnifies the image. You see a patrol of Anarian cavalry riding towards you, led by one who wears a crimson cloak. You count twenty lances, each of them bearing a small flag embroidered with the arms of Tahou.

Mikl posted:

Hello friends! I hope you're friends anyway.

The Cauldron of Fear posted:

Slowly the cavalry draws nearer; the faces of the soldiers are stern and unsmiling beneath the peaks of their winged helmets. Their leader, a sergeant, makes a signal and the horsemen change formation, drawing into a circle that quickly closes around you. ‘State your business here!’ bellows the sergeant. ‘Why do you ride to Tahou?’

At first you are suspicious of their identity, but your basic Kai Sixth Sense tells you that these men are genuine Anarian rangers.

achtungnight posted:

Banedon’s invitation sounds like a good cover story. They may not accept the truth at face value.