Year 1, DecemberYour intuition was correct. December is harsh and cold, with driving snow for most of the month. You find yourself huddling in blankets at night, fretting that this is no way for a lord to live. However, your people are not much better off, and they seem to appreciate the way you struggle with them.
They see you traveling from house to house, checking on firewood supplies, and they smile and nod. When you catch word of a few families that were sheltering in the woods, you offer them run-down farmhouses that were sitting abandoned. Similarly, a few new huts are put up in the main town, and the population nearly doubles, reaching 15 souls as the dead of winter sets in.
As you go about these tasks, you notice that people are smiling at you more and dropping their head slightly in respect on seeing you. You feel as if you are beginning to win the people over. They begin to talk with you about their wants and needs more freely. At the moment, many are pleased with the development in the area and simply wish for it to continue safely and surely.
During one dark night, you bring up your inability to read to your steward, Mr. Dent. He agrees to start working with you on your reading an writing during the dark winter months, when not much else can be done. Using a ragged copy of some long-forgotten decree of the Duke that your steward has on him, you begin the difficult work of learning these important skills.
The work is grueling, but by the end of the month, you have begun to recognize simple, common words like "and," "the," "of" and "for." You also have managed to learn how to sign your name by rote memorization. This will be a long task, but you are pleased at the progress you've made.
Age: 19
Barely literate
Untrained Swordswman
Untrained Rider
Militia-grade Short Sword
Old Brown Mare
Worn-down Farmhouse
15 Citizens
Modest Inn with kitchen
Bare bones Market
Modest Communal Kiln
Rickety dock
Brewery (Unfinished)
Low population (Loyal)
River Parlon (fertile banks on both sides, light forest to the north)
Mediocre parcel farms south of the river
Crude Roads
Small Warehouse (poor supply of food)
Mediocre Communal Farm
Bare bones Barracks and Armory
Skilled Potters
Rocky outcropping north of the river
Five veteran archers
Ten inexperienced itinerant militiamen
Market Town of Carshire - One day's ride on main road
Folesden - Land of Count Foles - Downstream
* Curbiston - County Seat of Folesden
Land of Sir Denton - Upstream
Hemswood Abbey - Far Upstream - Known for dark beer
King Edward Geronos IV, Lord of the Falls, Keeper of the Flame, Seer of the Dawn - Vaguely remembered
Count Aaron Foles - Your Liege Lord - An angry drunkard - Suspicious
Sir Blake Denton - Unknown
Ian Wood - Foreman - Pleasant
William Dent - Steward - Companionable
Ian Hermage - Personal Cook - Happy
Marge Kannity - Daughter of a brewer - Mildly Upset