3821, the fifth month of the year, and the last month of spring.
Adeeb Wasirri, Lord Governor of Dhum-Blud
20 years old
Health and Physical Abilities
Fit
Healthy
Social Skills
Practiced in Court Manners
Rogueish Charm
Practical Skills
Competent Swordsman
Competent Tumbler
Mediocre Rider
Novice Sneak
Novice Field Commander
Personal Possessions.
A well bred riding horse. (Mare.)
An aging riding horse. (Stallion.)
A Fine Duelling Saber.
Several Sets of gentleman's clothes.
Walders old clothing and perfumes. (The former is gaudy and a little big, and the latter is a little too strong.)
A worn mail shirt and open-faced helm. (Slightly ill-fitting)
Councilors, Vassals, Allies and Agents.
Formal Councillors
Aldagor. Barrister, Elderly noble courtier.
Balpher. Garrison Commander, noble courtier.
Desan. Steward, young noble courtier.
Elerik. Junior Garrison Commander,Low-born Wasirri Guardsman.
Agents
Vest. Friend, Lowborn duellist and former smuggler.
Eduard. Lowborn Courtier.
Adventuring Trio.
Vassals
Mayor Veera
Sir Madagor
Holdings.
Bonewatch
-Tiny Stone Keep on a hilltop.
--Sparse Furnishings
--Well Stocked Larder (Decent quality, including wine, salt pork, local spices and the other imported goods)
--Small dungeon under the castle. 12 cells.
-Stables (11/25)
-Barracks (Sufficient space and bedding to hold a little over a hundred men.)
-Armoury (Stocked with Spears, swords and bows of mediocre quality. Stocked with Quilted armour and padding of poor quality. Stocked with plenty of poor quality arrows.)
-Rickety wooden outer palisade.
-patchy overgrown "dirt" roads.
-Mostly Unmanned rickety wooden watchtowers.
-a handful of wooden homes within the walls.
-A well with plenty of fresh water.
-A few nearby farming families.
-A single Blacksmith.
-Nomegar the Ratspeaker and his specimens.
Bleak-Haven
-Village
--The Wretched Mut A seedy Tavern
--A well maintained Windmill
--A small shrine to the local patron spirit
--A few scattered homes.
--A few poor craftsmen.
-Your Manor
--A few Fine furnishings.
-Overgrown Patchy "Dirt" Roads
-An interconnected farming community in the local area.
Military
-Bonewatch Garrison. (53 soldiers of passable discipline and mediocre combat training, but decent morale. Armed with bows, spears and short-swords of varying quality. Girded in quilted linen armor, steel caps, and the occasional breastplate. Wearing the King's colours.)
-Unnamed Fortified Watchtower Garrison (20 soldiers of good discipline, wearing the King's colours.)
-Household Gaurd. (19 Skilled Fighters trained in urban and close-quarters combat. Armed with arming-swords, bucklers and longknives. Girded in Quilted Doublets, steel breastplate,open-faced helms, greaves and bracers, all of good quality. Loyal to your family and wearing your family colors.)
-Bleakhaven Community Watch. (A group of locals that fluctuates in number, protecting, keeping watch on and patrolling the town and outer farms.)
-Bleakhaven Garrison. (6 soldiers, functionally identical to Bonewatch Garrison)
Assets
-A heavy bag of gold "Crowns" (7/8)
-A chest half full of Silver "Crowns" (Many clipped and restamped.)
-Nine Light Riding Horses (local breed, frisky and quick, but also small and unsuited to long, hard travel)
-4 Rickety Wooden Carts
-5 Months worth of poor quality local grain. (at current consumption)
-3 Months worth of Imported Food-Stuffs (at current consumption, includes beans, pickled vegetables, salt, butter and wheat flour all of decent quality)
You bring up the possibility of lighting the wooden fortifications on fire in the black of night, perhaps by using oil. Madagor seems of optimistic though mixed opinion on the issue. Oil is expensive, but pitch and resin could also be used to supplement such a strategy. Briefly he remarks it is a pity that neither of you currently have access to the potency of black-powder. He does however, warn you to consider the risks of attacking at night. He states it is easy for ones own forces to suffer disorganization and chaos at night, making night attacks very much a double-edged sword, particularly given the mixed discipline and experience of your forces.
You state that for this effort, you will commit half of the Bonewatch Garrison and the entirety of your personal gaurdsmen, leaving Elerik behind to manage the remaining forces in your absence. You extend to Madagor that you would be willing to send some of your own troops in defence of his holdings if it would make him more confident about committing more of his own forces to this offensive, but he waves away your offer, stating he would prefer not to leave the defence of his holdings to troops with no stake in them. He will leave the troops he's brought presently under your command, and return to Bone-yard to retrieve more of his forces. You state for your council that you plan on calling your other vassal to arms, and ask what they might know about his forces. Through information offered by several of those assembled you gather that most of Veera's forces are lightly armed and focused on keeping the town and roads as safe as he can make them. They rarely see much in the way of combat, but arn't poorly disciplined or inexperienced. He does try to keep skilled archers among his forces though.
Briefly, you ask wether the adventurers are willing to join you, and they respond favourably. Blaire does however, mention that they havn't yet seem any real pay yet, in reminder of their expectation to be paid for their services. Before the council is dismissed you explain to Madagor that there are some refugees wandering your lands, and that you would like him to find them and summon them for an audience with you, or if necessary, crush them. He agrees to do so on his way back to his own holdings, and with that, the council is soon dismissed.
...
Balpher, at least in this understanding his duties, begins to make the preparations to make the troops ready to head out. He begins putting together the supplies and logistics necessary, as well as briefing members of the garrison on what to expect. Before he leaves, you take up Madagor on his offer of armour, and soon you have a shirt of chainmail and an open-faced helm, which you believe was formerly being worn by his squire. It doesn't fit perfectly, and it's a little worn, but you suppose it's probably a great-deal better than no armour at all. Briefly you take the opportunity to inspect the soldiers Madagor brought. They strike you as disciplined and well equipped, ten being crossbowmen, and ten being shieldbearers with large kite shields and short-swords, apparently assigned to the defence of the former.
Once Madagor has ridden out, you set to giving a few of your councillors other tasks. Aldagor you send out to Bleakhaven with a great list of tasks, including finding a suitable captain of the Bleakhaven watch, preparing a victory feast for your return and gathering the information you will need for efficient taxation, expansion of the bleakhaven garrison and enterprise in the future. He seems a little intimidated by the list of tasks you give to him. Desan and Vest you instruct to seek out sorcerers and other spellcasters on your lands, mostly so that you can keep tabs on them in the future, and seek them out if you need to. Vest you privately instruct to use this opportunity to deepen his understanding of your rather introverted young steward.
...
It does not take long for Madagor's riders to return escorting the group of refugees. Once you catch sight of them their appearance is striking. There are a little under forty of them, more men than women, and no children. They are dirty, many of them too thin, but all of them bear a deeply harrowed expression, and eye you and the soldiers gathered around them with suspicion. Most are lightly armed, with knives or hatchets, or crude wooden spears, but it is clear very quickly who among them is the warrior that Vest mentioned. He's not great in stature, nor heavily muscled, not even armoured. He does however bear a wicked looking falchion at his side, and his countenance is pockmarked with blotchy scars. He lacks the harrowed expression of those who he has apparently led, and as his eyes settle on you you cannot help but feel intimidated by his cold stare, even surrounded by your own soldiers in your own fortress.