Year 2, JulySummer is on your lands. It is very hot this month. Work in the fields is mostly watering and weeding, leaving you basically free to do as you will. You instruct Irlof to work in the market, but trade is slow in the heat, and he doesn't expect much besides local trading. You also tell Wood that he is to construct an obstacle course out at the barracks, and he gets to work.
Armed with the knowledge that the brigands are infringing on your growing town, you set yourself about the task of clearing them out. After some discussions with your squire, you decide to start by finding a veteran to be the captain of your militia and train up some infantry to go along with your bowmen.
You ride to Sir Percival's land to begin your search, asking people you pass what they know of the rugged bandits. The general story seems to be that they keep to themselves, confining their banditry to passing barges and merchants and leaving the people alone outside of the occasional shakedown. Their size seems uncertain. You hear as few as ten, and as many as thirty. The top number would be most troublesome.
As you arrive, you begin riding from town to town, seeking out a skilled warrior. Much to your delight, you almost immediately stumble upon a man with the hard look of a soldier about him working at a local mill. You find out that he was once a soldier, and he is delighted by the opportunity to work under you as your Captain. His name is Tor Bismith, and he is a skilled spear user. After consulting with your squire, you decide that the spear will be an easy weapon to produce and train in given your relative poverty, and decide to take him on. He only asks for a homestead, food, and a small portion of pottery each year. This seems reasonable, so you agree.
The ride back is uneventful, and you spend the rest of the month trying to drum up new recruits for your militia. You tell the people that, if they join the military, their land will be worked by a neighbor, and the neighbor will receive a percent of the profit. The militia and their family will be fed off of the communal plot from now on, you decree. People seem skeptical of this new arrangement, but five new recruits show up to train as spearmen, and five of the archers you had been training decide to come on full-time.
Still, it is a start, and the training begins. You work with the men during the day, playing at the sword and riding with your squire while the new men work with wooden spears and the archers shoot and spar. The obstacle course is run. You feel as if you are getting better with the blade, and you feel well. After a few more weeks, you are much more confident than when you began, and in better shape to boot. The heat of the summer has forged you into a stronger warrior, although you still have far to go to be considered competent.
Age: 20
Great Health
Good Fitness
Somewhat literate
Very Poor Swordswman
Poor Rider
Militia-grade Short Sword
Old Brown Mare
Worn-down Farmhouse
Bound New Testament
28 Citizens
Modest Inn with kitchen
Small Market
Nascent Trade
Modest Communal Kiln
Modest dock
Brewery (Unfinished)
Two nightly patrols
Low population (Loyal)
River Parlon (fertile banks on both sides, light forest to the north)
Modest parcel farms south of the river
Crude Roads
Small Warehouse (low supply of food)
Adequate Communal Farm
Bare bones Barracks, Armory, and Obstacle Course
Rocky outcropping north of the river
Five veteran archers
Five green archers
Five green spearmen
Five green archers (reserve)
Skilled Potters
Novice Trappers
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
Land of Sir Percival - Adjacent to Sir Denton's land
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 - Polite
Sir Alan Percival - Polite
Alan Alanson - Squire - Companionable
Tor Bismith - Captain and Spearman - Happy
William Dent - Steward - Companionable
Ian Wood - Overseer of Construction- Devoted
Marge Kannity - Daughter of a brewer - Mildly Upset
Victor Irlof - Master of the Market - Devoted
Curtis Stumpf - Miner - Happy