Denmark, April 8th, 853
All of you have lived in the small village of Skyfa By your entire lives. This morning, a rider summoned you all to the nearby ringfort of Skyfa, wherein dwells Jarl Sigurd Haraldsson, your liegelord. As you walk into his longhall, with its smoky interior, rich tapestries, and kettles of rich stew crowding around firepits, you feel welcomed. Your Jarl is a kind and generous ruler.
At last, he speaks. He is an old man, but strong still, with white hair and beard. 3 golden rings adorn each of his upper arms, signifying his rank. He says:
"Aaah, good. Fresh warriors. Now, I am given to understand you are all strong fighters in your own right, and I most definitely did not instruct my men to pick up some random people from the village. Now, one of the raiding crews was killed to a man on a disastrous expedition into Frankish territory. They are with Odin now." Here he pauses for breath and a swig of mead.
After a deep drink, he continues "Now, you will take their ship,
The Bryding, and take their place. We will not mount expeditions tor Frankish territory for some time after that, but you are to put together a warband and gain loot, glory, and victory. Of course, as your Jarl, I'll take a little bit...." He trails off into dreams of gold for a minute.
He then suddenly comes to his senses. "Anyway, the ship is down at the docks. I've told the workers it belongs to you now. Take this parchment with my signet ring. Go buy food for the journey and find some drunks or bums to help you not die. Of course, they'll want a share of the take..."
Item Acquired!Deed to boat!
New Ship Acquired!The Bryding!Crew Space: 11 people
Prisoner Space: 3 people
Cargo Capability: 20 pounds
Oars: 10 + Rudder
Sail: 1
Minimum crew required to operate: 6 oar + 1 rudder
Of course, to know how much food you'll need, you want to know where you are going.
This is a map.
You are in
Denmark.Norway and Sweden are friendly.
The other locations, in ascending order of difficulty and treasure gained, are
FinlandThe BalticEnglandThe Frankish Empire.Finland is one week travel time there and one week back.
The Baltic is two each way, England 3, and the Franks 4.
What do you do?