Ruins of Calrad: A Mount and Blade RP Game Thread (started/ pm to join)

[SamtheDeathclaw]

Sorry for the late post. Busy day yesterday.

Though Gerick's smile stayed friendly and easy his eyes held a steely edge as he watched the caravan leader for a response.

The caravan leader looked suspiciously around the area. He didn't see anything unusual, and there hadn't been any bandits on the road. Except this rather scruffy-looking man, but he seemed to just be a tollsman.
"Well enough, lad." he said the Gerick. "Jonaas, fetch the man's coin. Traveling this area is a relief from the Woods of Ehlerdah, from whence we just come. Tell me, then, who keeps the roads safe? A militia?" he asked, as a caravaner fetched a purse. Several of the guards shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't a large sum, but it was a strange request nevertheless.

"I'm willing to act as escort for you this night James. So what's it going to be?"

He was obviously uncomfortable- his possessions were important to him, and he seemed to not trust Maelum too much. Ultimately, however, he knew he didn't have much choice.
"Well enough." he sighed. "Take what you like. I'm not likely to be able to stop you." He sounded quite defeated. It was obviously not an ideal settlement for him. "However, would you allow me to leave a note for my wife? She's in Veluca with her mother, and I would loathe for her to come back to me being gone and the house ransacked with no explanation. "

"All of the bandits are dead, your village is safe now." Trish said, the village elder seemed relieved.

"Oh, gods bless you." the man said, kneeling. "True knights are a rare sight in this accursed land. You are one such, and destined for great things."
The bandits hadn't had much. A five days' provisions, and a few rusted knives. Not much worth carrying back with them, in truth.
From here, the world was wide open. She could ride south, to Suno or Praven, and look for bounties. She could ride east, into Nordic lands. The world was her oyster, as it had been for many before her. It was up to her to make it what she wanted.

Galen favored speed over strength any day.

Galen was, unfortunately, wrong. No merchants ever appeared on the road, having been driven away, and the village elder knew nothing of a bandit. They did, however, know of a certain Khergit party who'd lost most of their horses and been cast out. The ancient, wrinkled man assumed they had been preying on the merchant, even this far west. None of the villagers knew where they were, but they always came from the direction of forests to the north.

snip

In the city of Bariyye, the local lawman is signing warrants. He stops at a particular one, and laughs.
"Wily bastard's still alive? Not for long, at a thousand denar. Seems the lord is tired of the pest."
The bounty was, of course, Raddas. One thousand denar for his head, 50 for each of his accomplices. "Desertion, Murders and Banditry. Armed and dangerous, approach with caution." The man laughed, and signed his name on the warrant, and called for the poster. He wanted this bounty out as soon as possible.
It would not be long before serious bounty hunters were after him. A day or two, before word got out to the townspeople. Before three days would pass, he'd have serious bounty hunters after him.

 

[Tyrannical]

Raddas sat in his tent counting out his coin. "right..." he muttered under his breath "That makes 250, which makes my cut 50, and 20 for each of the men... not counting the leathers... which should fetch another 200... which brings my cut up another 150." Most of his men couldn't do simple arithmetic, so it was very easy to fleece them out of their fair shares of the loot. "Now if I take the equipment we took and add them to the loot, I think I'll be able to..." Raddas didn't finish that thought.

One of his men burst into the tent "Raddas!" he shouted fearfully. "Boy, you'd best have a good reason for disturbing me. Remember what happened to the last idiot?" he growled angrily. "Y-yes sir... you cut off his ears and left him in the desert to starve, but this is important!" he thrusted a piece of paper at his boss, which was promptly snatched from his hand. "1000 denars! Ha! So what? They upped the price?" he laughed, as his hand dropped to his knife. "That's not all sir! Heavily armoured slave drivers have been seen on the horizon. They'll be here in a couple hours!" That caught Raddas' attention. "Right. Grab everything we can. We're leaving. We can't fight that. Anyone who isn't ready in an hour is left behind. Kill the captives. Leave them burning here. Show those Bariyye pigs what happens when you anger me."

 

[Floris2123]

"Oh, gods bless you." the man said, kneeling. "True knights are a rare sight in this accursed land. You are one such, and destined for great things." Trish smiled as she looked at the man, "It is always the duty of a knight to help someone in need. Perhaps our paths will cross again." Trish turned around and headed back to her party. They had gathered at the edge of the town with their horses. Sir Henry rode towards her and said, "The bandits didn't have much of worth sadly. They only had a few rusty knives and about 5 days worth of rations."

Trish nodded, it wasn't much but it was enough for now. She was thinking about her next move. "How does going to Praven sound?" she asked Sir Henry, he replied with, "That sounds like a good plan Tristan, I am sure we will be able to find work there." Trish nodded, she had thought the same thing. "Everyone follow me," she ordered as she rode south towards Praven. She also saw that Jonas looked more confident, he looked more at ease and her party seemed to be in good spirits. Just like her, her party were all people with noble intentions. So when they helped defend the weak, or acted honorable they usually got in a good mood.

Trish gave the order to stick close together and watch out for enemies. Forest bandits were very numerous in these parts, and she didn't want to be ambushed. Though even if they did attack, most of their bows were not good enough to pierce their thick armor. Still, she didn't want to risk it so her party rode in a tight formation, with their hands close to their shields and swords.

 

[Dogmatic99]

"However, would you allow me to leave a note for my wife? She's in Veluca with her mother, and I would loathe for her to come back to me being gone and the house ransacked with no explanation."

"Well can't say that's not fair enough James my lad." And with that Maelum had the man unbound and had Lucius fetch him pen and paper. He also made sure that the boy watched over his shoulder to make sure James didn't write anything he might regret. James was quick and finished his letter promptly. During the hurry of the men loading the cart to high heaven Maelum managed to take a peek at the letter. Maybe he didn't know much about words but he'd seen enough to know when someone was writing in a hurry and let their pen get sloppy.

He whispered to Lucius. "Think you can copy that?".

The boy nodded like a whippet. "Easy enough sir."

"Good man." Lucius set about making a crude forgery of James' note. Ticking off all the needed points.

My creditors are coming after me, I can't take the shame, I am fleeing the country to start a new life with my Saranid mistress blah blah blah.

This made sure that it looked like James had fled in the night. Which made sure that the authorities didn't come looking for him or his killers. After he was done Lucius sealed up his own note and tossed James' into the fire.James was too busy gathering his belongings to see it.

Their work was done quickly and the party made their way out of Tihr and into the night roads that linked the Nordic coastal towns. Half-way between Tihr and Sargoth their party came to a stop. "For natural matters." Maelum said. Some of his men leant or sat by the cart to rest their legs. Another went behind a nearby tree.

James was sat on the seat of the cart, starring wistfully at the full moon. Maelum ushered him away from the group and out to one of the rising hills, common among the rocky coastal routes. The two of them stood side by side looking out at the roaring sea. The sea was a nice change of scenery from the endless trees of Swadia. Maybe it was because he was still new to the northern coast but Maelum never tired of the sound of waves or smell of salt and seaweed in the air. If a passer-by had seen them stood there they might have thought the two looked respectable.

"You can see the fisher out tonight." Maelum said, pointing up at a random constellation.

James looked up, exposing the soft crown of his head. "I think that's th-" he was cut short as Maelum drove a hatchet into the back of the man's head. Quick and painless. James slumped silently to the ground. Maelum sighed in his own personal frustration. He longed for a straight fight but there was no need to make James suffer more than he had to.

"Needs must." he muttered to himself. He undressed the corpse and proceeded to hack into it with a vigor. Finishing up by cutting off the ring hand. The blade was dull so it took him a few strokes, blood squirting everywhere and the soft wet slap of cold meat. Oh for the battlefield. His work done, Maelum wrapped up the bloody hand in James' coat and took the rest of his clothes back with him to the gang. Someone could make use of some new trousers and when someone finally found James it would look like a bandit or sea raider attack and a messy one at that.

"We're done here." He called to his lads and they grouped back and were on their way. none of them asked why he came back alone.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sargoth, later the next day.

Maelum was waiting out the back of an abandoned warehouse in one of the shadier areas of Sargoth. Alone, or so it seemed. He had sent Lucius off with two of his lads to sell off the contents of the cart they had managed to swindle from James. They were nice bits, he hoped to get a good price for them and was sure the boy knew enough about math stuff to get it for them two bearded Nords could give him the appearance of someone not to be trifled with.

He had the other seven hidden and scattered around the nearby street corners in case his contractor decided to try something. His boys blended in nice, looking scruffy and in place with the neighbourhood. He loved ambushing ambusher, they always looked so surprised.

Eventually a ragged looking man approached him. Maelum casually held up the bundled jacket.

"You have what we agreed on?" The ragged new comer asked, his voice rasping.

"Do you?" Maelum growled back.

 

[SamtheDeathclaw]

"Right. Grab everything we can. We're leaving. We can't fight that. Anyone who isn't ready in an hour is left behind. Kill the captives. Leave them burning here. Show those Bariyye pigs what happens when you anger me."

The hunters- slave drivers, to look at them, but somehow not- came over the dunes, scouring the desert for the damned bandit.
Unfortunately, all they would find were the charred remains of the captives, and some hoofprints. Knowing they'd never catch the wily thief that way, they turned away and returned to Bariyye.
Not all would give up so easily, and there were a few who would hunt him out of principle more than for money.
The next crowd wouldn't be fled from so easily. A group of Sarranid cavalry, faster by far than anyone else in the desert. It would take them a few days to set out, but they would set out eventually. And it would be a fight, for certain. Where and when would be up in the air, but come they would.

Trish gave the order to stick close together and watch out for enemies. Forest bandits were very numerous in these parts, and she didn't want to be ambushed. Though even if they did attack, most of their bows were not good enough to pierce their thick armor. Still, she didn't want to risk it so her party rode in a tight formation, with their hands close to their shields and swords.

Strangely, they encountered not one bandit. It would seem their victory at Azgad, small as it was, had sent the local banditry into hiding, for the moment.
They arrived in Praven without incident. It was quite odd, but not that unusual. Bandits this place to the capital weren't all that brave.
Trish could do as she wished in the city. The banner of King Harlaus flew over the gates, and the city seemed prosperous. The lord was in his hall, and the guild master was in his pavilion, ordering people about and... Whatever it is a guild master does, exactly.

"Do you?" Maelum growled back.

There were two noises, both terribly familiar to Maelum. The clink of gold, solid and heavy and lovely, and the rasp of a knife. Both were presented to Maelum, one to his hand and one to his throat.
"If you're ordered to come alone, come alone." the man hissed. "Our employer does not take well to being disobeyed." The knife dropped, and the purse of coins slid into Maelum's hands.
"We have more work. This was just a taste. I have the notices here, if you want them." The man produced a small bundle of pages from beneath his ragged cloak, and offered them to Maelum. "You'll find men like yourself are well payed by our employer."

 

[Fishtie]

"Jonaas, fetch the man's coin. Traveling this area is a relief from the Woods of Ehlerdah, from whence we just come. Tell me, then, who keeps the roads safe? A militia?"

Gerick smiled, it was good to see things going so well. "No, nothing of that sort." He said. It was a touch surprising that this leader apparently hadn't heard the rumors about the area, though Gerick thought that wasn't much to complain about.

"A band of like minded fellows, driven by survival and greed make no mistake, but I understand they're kept in line by a man of great strength and skill." He shrugged a bit, "Something like a wolf to keep the jackals at bay, right?"

Gerick continued with a bit of small talk as he waited for the purse trying to keep the desire out of his eyes. "The locals don't seem to mind either." If anything Gerick thought the small villages liked it when his crew spread their take around a bit, buying goods and services from them.

 

[Geth Reich]

Jakob had been watching the sentry waddle along back and forth for the past few hours, commiting his patrol to memory in the fading light. The man ambled towards the furthest extent of his route from the barracks, a bored expression on his face as he passed several store-houses and out of view of any witnesses. At last: it was now or never. The nobleman crawled out of ditch he had been hidden inside and crept as quickly as he could towards the watchman, senses honed by years of border conflict alert to anything that might indicate a change in guard. He reached a sand-stone house just two dozen feet away from his target, pressed himself flat against the wall and, satisified that he was hearing what he needed to hear, steeled himself for the deed at hand. It was beneath him but he was painfully aware he had little choice.

Pausing only to sigh at the indignities of life, Jakob slipped around the corner with muddied sword drawn and approached the guard. The distance might have provided an alert soldier a good chance to detect his would-be assassin but even Calradia's finest watchman would have been as clueless as this man was in his shoes. Jakob approached quietly and with a sudden gesture ended the man's life and his pissing break, a startled squeak escaping his mouth only to be stiffled by Jakob's hand. Dragging the unfortunate Sarranid's body into some undergrowth and moving quickly lest he risk his prize being ruined by blood and urine, Jakob stripped the corpse and put on his uniform, taking the contents of his purse and hiding his spear amongst the foilage for good measure. Wearing a uniform allowed him to stand a little taller then he had in prison rags though it still offended his sensibilities that he had been forced to resort to the practises of midnight assassins when by all rights he should have been escorted to the local lord by a guard of honour, but there was no time to think on that. Sure that the body was hidden well enough to avoid discovery for at least a day and counting on the watch commander to dismiss a missing sentry as merely another unwilling peasant deserting, Jakob took the reins of his steed and made haste to Castle Jameyyed, intent on presenting himself to the local margrave as a eager sell-sword (no matter how much the idea of being a common mercenary stuck in his throat).....

 

[Dogmatic99]

"We have more work. This was just a taste. I have the notices here, if you want them." The man produced a small bundle of pages from beneath his ragged cloak, and offered them to Maelum. "You'll find men like yourself are well payed by our employer."

He left Maelum standing in the cold rubbing his own throat. That could have gone better, could have gone worse but could have gone better. He silently waved in frustration at his lads, he didn't know how they were onto him but it must have been his men's fault. They just shrugged.

He met up with the rest of his crew at the tavern, with the job done it was time to consolidate. Lucius had come back with an empty cart and a well stocked looking purse. "Looks like you got a good haul, Lou." Maelum grinned.

Lucius beamed back at him. "Nice bonus for us Captain."

Captain.. that sounded nice. But he couldn't call himself that, right now Maelum felt like a low down crook, leader of nothin' but a gang of thugs and thieves. Not a captain, not a solider or a leader of anything close to respectable. Maybe they were right about him, maybe he had fallen too low to be saved. No; there was no sense dwelling on past things. Lucius got out the ledger book, its more present pages sadly blank. He laid it out on the table and Maelum shuffled the work papers his mysterious contact had given him.

Bit by bit he and Lucius went through every word and number, he liked to take these quiet moments to practise his words and numbers. With time he wouldn't need any help with it at all. Right now his exercises consisted of working out how much they had with the thousand denars he'd been paid plus the extras Lou got at market, then checking out his papers, seeing if there were any good jobs in them.

 

[Floris2123]

Trish was surprised by the lack of bandits. She didn't mind though, a short rest was never a bad thing. The party of heavily armored knights rode into town. A few people looked up and were a bit surprised, before going back to their daily activities. Trish saw the banner of King Harlaus and also heard whispers that he was in town right now. "Everyone, we will probably stay here for about one day, so make the most of it." The party quickly dispersed leaving only her and Sir Henry.

"Could you try to find us a quest Sir Henry?" Trish asked him. He nodded, "I will be back as soon as I can." Sir Henry rode off and Trish went towards the castle. She looked at the palace guard, who was protecting the front door. "I would like to go in and see the king. My name is Tristan de Molay, also known as the leader of the knight order." Trish was looking at the guard from her horse and wondered how long she would have to wait. A second guard was called. He listened to the message and then disappeared inside. He would tell the king, Trish wondered how he would react.

 

[Tyrannical]

"Where are we going Raddas?" asked one of his men. They had been riding for days now and were almost into Swadian territory. "We're going to set up camp near Tihr, and try to intercept as many Nord caravans as possible! They won't know what hit em, slow bastards." laughed Raddas.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

The word "Khergit" made Galen's eye visibly twitch. He looked at the forests where the elderly man pointed out where they were coming from. Those tall trees were his environment and those Khergits were his sworn enemies. His hands began to shake with excitement and Galen strode towards his men. Verdan followed close behind. There was a fire in his chest and he would have to ask for a bigger cut.

"Men!" Galen shouted. At an instant they all stood and looked towards Galen. "Today we hunt men."

-----------------------------------------------------

Galen and his men reached the forests quickly but by the time they reached it the sun had sunk below the horizon. That was no change to most of his men who were accustomed to the night through frequent hunting. They set up camp just a walk from the town and the men who were not used to the night watched the camp as Galen and 8 of his men went into the forest with darkened clothes, and mud-covered faces. Galen and his men draped nets with loose holes in them over their bodies. They filled most of the holes with branches, leaves, and other foliage nearby. Galen learned this trick from his father and his father before him as a way to hunt or stalk dear without being spotted so easily.

The plan was simple, track down the Khergits or whoever was hiding in the forest but Galen's pace was slow. They were to keep their eyes out for any trace like always. On the way they would enhance their camouflage to the point that it would be harder to spot them. If it was day that they come upon the camp then they would simply wait until night came again. For food they would rely on forests for sustenance and since most of them were all hunters then it would be no problem.

When their suits were done Galen led his men into the forest with slow but steady steps. While the rest of Calradia were probably in their beds, Galen was hunting a different kind of animal.

 

[SamtheDeathclaw]

Gerick thought the small villages liked it when his crew spread their take around a bit, buying goods and services from them.

The lad whose name was apparently Jonaas brought a small bag of gold, and handed it to the merchant, who weighed it carefully, then smiled. He tossed it to Gerick.
Anyone else likely wouldn't have noticed it, but to a bandit used to the sound and feel of gold, something about it was subtly wrong. The merchant smiled innocently, and turned to go.
He turned back, struck by a thought. "The man who leads these men, he is not a engineer, is he? I have heard stories of the bandit engineer of Suno. I would like very much to make his acquaintance." Whether or not to reveal himself to this strange man was up to Gerick, or whether to order his death for paying with evidently false coin.

Jakob took the reins of his steed and made haste to Castle Jameyyed, intent on presenting himself to the local margrave as a eager sell-sword.

It took him an hour to reach the castle, his horse terribly wearied and not entirely sturdy to begin with. The dawn was still a distant thought when he arrived at the hilly gates, however.
Jameyyed Castle seemed to be a fairly prosperous place, the walls clean and solid and the night guards outfitted in shining armor. They glanced askance at the dirty peasant seeking entry to the castle so late at night, but opened a side door for him anyways. He obviously wasn't much of a threat.
The banner above the gates, Jakob remembered from his lessons on the varied nobility of Calradia, was that of Emir Mundhalir.
Unfortunately, there was little to see inside of the castle, and nothing to do but wait for the dawn, it would seem.
Dawn. At dawn, Jakob was allowed in to the castle proper and out of the courtyard. The lord was breaking his fast, but was willing to take a supplicant, so Jakob was ushered in.
"What's this, then?" the man asked, hardly glancing up. "Out with it."

Maelum shuffled the work papers his mysterious contact had given him.

There weren't terribly many, actually. Only four. However, several required more than one page of description.
In short, they were all illegal and dishonorable, but well-paying. Another murder, for infidelity this time. Hunting a group of bounty hunters outside the city. Delivering a bribe to a certain nobleman in Suno. Attacking a particular caravan. Nothing too difficult, but all unpleasant. The rewards were vague, though each promised around a thousand denar. If he took them on, Maelum would soon find himself with more money than he knew what to do with. Though whether or not his Nordic men would stay with a common bandit or not was a different question, even if the gold is good.
The bounty, stuffed into Maelum's pocket in a hurry, was produced and smoothed out. The choice was still there, now that he had some denar to get started with.

Trish wondered how he would react.

Evidently, she didn't have to wait long. The guard was sent back out, with firm orders to bring in the godly knight. The king had been at the tournament when she bested her mentor, and was eager to see the knight up close. And offer a job, if the opportunity arose.
"Ah, Sir de Molay." the king remained seated in his ornate throne. "My greetings. What brings you to my court this morning?"

"We're going to set up camp near Tihr, and try to intercept as many Nord caravans as possible! They won't know what hit em, slow bastards." laughed Raddas.

The bounty hunters were still hot on their tail, and would overtake them before too long, somewhere in on the Swadian border, likely.
[Will be finished out once I know where you're at, roughly, so we can figure out which mods you need for your combat roll. :|]

Galen led his men into the forest with slow but steady steps. While the rest of Calradia were probably in their beds, Galen was hunting a different kind of animal.

While the rest of Calradia slept, the 14 Khergit remnants were gathered around a meager fire, trying to warm their bones as they watched a spit turn. A horse. A soldier sat nearby, obviously the owner of the horse. The Khergit and their horses always had special relationships with their horses, but it seemed that they'd had no luck hunting or pillaging.

Galen and his men quietly observed this scene as they approached over a low rise. The moon was high in the sky, with only a few clouds scudding across the brilliant stars. Even this far south, spring nights are cold, and Galen's breath hung white in the air.
They were ready to start the attack, any time. Just waiting on a signal from Galen.
[Roll a d20 with a +9. +2 for forest ambush, +1 for decent commander, +3 for mostly archers, +3 for them having no idea of enemies. There's 14 of them and 9 of you, so get 13 or above and you'll win. Sound good? @ me in the chat if you have a problem with it.]

 

[Geth Reich]

The castle's oppulent interior was the closest thing to home Jakob had seen in a long time and it was making him nostalgic. What he didn't appreciate were the inhabitants; from soldier to steward, every man he passed had looked down on him with barely concealed scorn, seeing only a dirty peasant. To be subjected to such withering gazes by his inferiors was an outrage! Not to mention this margrave's casual contempt for him; especially infuriating for Jakob considering the man looked more like a senile old man then a soldier. Drawing on every ounce of tolerance he had and knowing that any attempts to put these lowly desert curs in their place would be met with force, Jakob spoke:

"Honoured Emir Mundhalir."

The Sarranid lord glanced up in mild surprise at the "peasant"'s lack of deference and distinctive accent but continued to pay more attention to his meal then Jakob.

"Honoured Emir, I wish to enter into the service of the Sultanate. I am a veteran of numerous border-wars in my native Swadia, forced to abandon her by the incompetance and weakness of the King and now I seek a new master to wage war for. I swear upon the honour of the gods themselves that there is no finer commander in Swadia then I and I will gladly perform any service required of me: all I desire is a chance to prove myself."

 

[Dogmatic99]

The bounty, stuffed into Maelum's pocket in a hurry, was produced and smoothed out. The choice was still there, now that he had some denar to get started with.

That tore it! This whole business has stuck in his throat from the start, screw 'em, the lot of 'em. Maelum scrunched up the dirty job sheets and threw them into a near by fire. As he watched them blacken and shrivel into nothing a plan formed in his head. From what the bounty said his mark was a slippery one and had given more than his fair share of hunters the slip. no way he could commit a list of crimes that long and get away without help, odds are where ever they were hiding they had men with them. Well Maelum wasn't about to be caught unprepared.

If he was going to get back into the job of honest soldiering then he was damn well going to do it right!

His troupe numbered at eight men, not including himself and Lou. Maelum himself was well armed ready, Lou didn't belong on the battlefield so he never included in in any fighting matters. The men themselves were a ragged bunch, two of them had brought their own shields and hatchet axes; the rest made do with large two handed things, more suited for chopping wood that skulls. But they had a fighter's spirit, each of them and a natural talent for violence. Yes sit the Nords were living up to their reputation.

Now he had the coin he could afford to get them some better gear and maybe hire a few extra hands... maybe some archers, they'd come in handy.

"Lou, give me a report on the company." He knew about the thousand Denars they'd collected but hadn't covered his bonus funds yet, nor had he paid much attention to the men. It was time to get a grip on his new company. "Tell me how much did you get for James' stuff at market?"

 

[Floris2123]

Trish didn't have to wait long. The guard came back with the orders to take her inside. Trish was happy to hear this. She dismounted and gave her horse to a stable boy. She then walked inside of the castle, lookeing around impressed. She entered the hall with the king. "Ah, Sir de Molay," The king said sitting in an impressive looking ornate throne. Trish bowed before the king. "My greetings. What brings you to my court this morning?"

Trish rose and looked at the king. "Greetings King Harlaus. As you know I lead a group called the knight order. I have come here today with a proposition for you. I would like to make the knight order into a large and mighty group, our goal would be to protect the weak and fight against injustice. I hoped that you would be so kind, as to allow our base to be made in the Swadian lands. "

Trish seemed a bit uncertain before continuing. "And I also had another question. I hoped that you might also be interested in investing in the knight order. We would use this money to hire new members. Because if you were to support us, we would be able to help protect the Swadian civilians much better from bandits and other scum. I would be indebted to you if you accepted to either or both of my request." Trish bowed once again. She prayed that she hadn't insulted the king in anyway.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Galen's breath left his nose in wisps as he looked towards his men who were as ready as he was. There wasn't any movement but he knew that it was the time. A breeze rolled in and several arrows were released. The Khergits weren't famed for their armor or how covered they were. In the first volley, several of them fell to their barbed arrows while the others spun around to try and determine where the arrows were even coming from but soon they also fell. The Khergits could have only seen their quick movements before an arrow was pulled. Their shields only could absorb so much and their bodies could only take so many arrows.

Galen aimed at the man with the horse. He rose when the others began to fell but as he did, an arrow met his chest. That didn't kill him at first. He yelled in pain before trying to rip out the barbed arrow but his hands became bloodied. Galen stood with anger and walked down from the low rise. He let loose another arrow at the Khergit this time it hit his leg.

"Galen!" Verdan shouted but he couldn't hear him. A Khergit charged Galen but was struck in the neck by an arrow. "Galen!"

Galen let loose another arrow into the Khergit's shoulder but he was already on his way to the ground. Verdan drew his sword and ran towards Galen, protecting him but all the Khergits were already dead or dying. Their choking and gasps replaced the grasshoppers's chirping.

"Galen what the hell are you doing?!" Verdan gasped.

"Get that damned horse." Galen growled. He walked to the downed man with axe drawn. The Khergit was on the ground, writhing in pain trying to draw his sword but the pain was too much. Verdan grabbed the horse by its reigns, calming the beast. Galen drove his axe through the Khergit's hand and into the dirt. The Khergit screamed again.

"Remember this face." Galen pulled the man to a tree and threw him into it. The Khergit slumped down. "The horse."

Verdan led the horse to Galen. He took the Khergit's sword and stabbed it through the horse's neck. Galen pushed the dying horse onto the Khergit, pinning him to the tree.

"Galen! Is this necessary?! We could have used him! Sold him even!" Verdan shouted. The men started to go around the meager camp scavenging what they can.

"Men, look around for that merchant's things. If any of them are still living tell me. The dead ones you can scalp."

"Galen, this one is still moving!" One of his men yelled out. Galen walked over to the man who was riddled with arrows but was still alive. Galen pushed down on one of the arrows.

"Why are you here?" Galen questioned.

 

[SamtheDeathclaw]

"I desire is a chance to prove myself."

The emir looked up languidly, studying Jakob in more detail. He seemed unimpressed.
"And who are you, then? Breaking an oath to a liege-lord is grievous treason. Risking our tenuous peace with Swadia for a common mercenary is hardly worth it." he said dismissively. "However, this is not for me to say."
He stood, and beckoned to a servant. The servant approached nervously. Mundhalir was not the gentlest man, even in his age.
"Fetch me the good captain. We will try our Swadian friend at arms, before he misspeaks himself and find himself short a tongue."
The captain soon appeared, a tough gray man in his fifties, probably. He led Jakob back into the courtyard, and tossed him a sword, Sarranid in style. The man drew his own blade, and stood straight and waited for Jakob's attack.

"Tell me how much did you get for James' stuff at market?"

The lad thought for a second, adding up the denar from various merchants.
"About 350 denar. Which is outrageous. But when a salty warrior-merchant Nord gives you a price, you take that price." the lad said with a shrug.
So he had 1350 denar for a day's work. A nice and tidy profit, one would think. Enough to get his men some actual weapons, and hire an archer or two, if he'd like.
Though a thought had presented itself as he watched the pages blacken and burn. He could try and ignore it, but it would come back to haunt him. These men, whoever they were, weren't the sort to be easily turned down. They'd be back. Whether with more cushy jobs or with some mercenaries. One could never tell.

Trish bowed once again. She prayed that she hadn't insulted the king in anyway.

The lord looked at hes bemusedly, then shook his head incredulously.
"A bolder knight I've never met." he said with a laugh. He turned to a courtier- apparently at random- and asked how much they could spare from the war effort. The noble looked confused. A man on the other side of the room, apparently the master of coin, answered for the bewildered man.
"A thousand denar, m'lord. The winter was hard, and the fighting to the east is fierce. With Rindyar fallen and Dhirim teetering, it may be foolish to throw away good coin to fight bandits."
Another man spoke out. "And you would let the bloody knaves run wild, and make a mockery of the king's justice?"
The room erupted into arguing, each noble feeling the need to state his opinion. The king looked around quietly, then sighed.
He spoke to Trish and only Trish. "You will have a thousand denar. However, if Dhirim does indeed fall, you must needs aid us in the eastern wars. This I ask of you. Otherwise, you have my blessing to root out the bandits who infest my kingdom."

snip

The bounty hunters fell on them in the woods north of Weyyah Castle, straight west of Almerra. They were eight strong, the others having fractured off to follow other trails.
[You're mostly cavalry, so -1 for forest, -1 for fighting other cavalry. +2 for good commander.(I assume? It's not real clear. But he seems to be a competent commander, anyways.) And they've got better kit than any of your men, so -1 I guess. I really need to go add some things about that to the roll mods. :| So roll a d20-1, and try for 9 or above. If that sounds reasonable to you?]

"Why are you here?" Galen questioned.

The man screamed, and thrashed about for a moment before going still, breathing heavily.
"I was on my way to fuck your mum." the man spat, then laughed harshly. He was dead, anyways. So why not take the opportunity to strike out at his killer? "We got thrown out, you fool of fools. We lost most of our horses, and the Khan don't want no horseless soldiers in his army." he added, as Galen moved to hurt him again. So much for heroic resolve.

 

[Fishtie]

Whether or not to reveal himself to this strange man was up to Gerick, or whether to order his death for paying with evidently false coin.

Gerick internally sighed as he weighed the bag in his hand. It had all been going so well. "You have heard correctly." Gerick replied in a slightly disappointed tone. "But in times such as these a man is only as good as his word..." As he finished the sentence Gerick flipped the bag over allowing the contents to spill out on to the ground.

"I might have been able to arrange a meeting, but it's such a shame that you can't trust anyone these days." The second part was said a bit louder then the rest, it might have made sense enough but it was also a simple enough code. A signal that three or four hidden arrows might end the leader though there was no reason to kill the others unless they attacked.

 

[Floris2123]

Trish was looking at the king with an worried look, she had made a bold request a very bold one.If she had made this request of a Kahn he would have probably had her tong cut out, but King Harluas was known to be a more sensible king. "A bolder knight I've never met." King Harluas laughed and then looked at a nearby courtier, he asked him how much money they could spare from the war chest. Trish stood there in disbelieve, she hadn't though he would give her the money. The man across the room answered he looked like an intelligent man, Trish assumed he was the master of coin.

"A thousand denar, m'lord. The winter was hard, and the fighting to the east is fierce. With Rindyar fallen and Dhirim teetering, it may be foolish to throw away good coin to fight bandits." Trish looked down, it seemed not everyone agreed with the decision. "And you would let the bloody knaves run wild, and make a mockery of the king's justice?" A voice shouted. Trish looked back up, it seemed some people did agree. Suddenly the whole room was filled with people shouting at each other, she stood there surprised. The King sighed and looked at her "You will have a thousand denar. However, if Dhirim does indeed fall, you must needs aid us in the eastern wars. This I ask of you. Otherwise, you have my blessing to root out the bandits who infest my kingdom."

Trish bowed before the king. "You have my word King Harluas." Trish looked back up, she was smiling but the king couldn't see that obviously. Trish had one last thing to talk about. "While the others are arguing let me ask one last thing. I have heard rumors that some lords work together with bandits. They are paid bribes to allow them to continue to raid trade caravans on their land. What am I to do when I find such a noble? Report him to you?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

Maelum. Sargoth. 1350 Denar. 10 men (Nord recruit standard)

Well what could he do? it wasn't as if these folks left a forwarding address. He would just have to hope that they didn't think he was a threat to them if he left, and if they did, well he would have to show them he was.

He scooped up a portion of the coin for himself, no reason Lucius had to do all the bartering. "I'll see to getting supplies for us and the boys." He reckoned he had enough to buy food for a week, though he hoped the hunt wouldn't last that long and while he was at it he could get himself a horse. Make sure he looked the part of a company man.

"You make sure to get you and the boys some proper gear now, good stuff, uniform stuff." He grunted at Lou. "And find some men who can string a bow." Lou nodded and left to do his errands. No doubt there were men in this tavern who would sign up with them, as for the buying well the two of them could get to that tomorrow morning, when the stores opened.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was the next day and the sun hung at its midday point. Maelum had found himself a tough enough horse and a healthy thing at that. He liked the Nordic horse breeds, they were less dandy than the Swadian breeds and their coats were thick and shaggy. His had a main (was that what it was called?) the was so long it hung like a fringe, covering the stocky fellow's eyes. It made him smile a little every time he looked at the dopey looking thing. It was friendly too, he would have to think of a name for it.

He fed the horse one of the carrots the stableman had thrown into the deal and checked his map, making a plan of how to go about cornering his prey while he waited for Lou and the men to finish their business.

Spoiler: Actions

Buy horse and food for company.

Hire 4 - 6 Nord huntsmen (GMs discretion).

Upgrade 10 recruits to footman standard.