The Free City of Rottweil, AD 1570
That's in Wurttemberg for those that are curious.
Things are winding down. The musicians have returned to their tents, the commonfolk to their hovels, the sword-eaters to the healers, and the performing animals to the earth. Fading rays of sunlight slowly turn to wisps of moonlight, signalling an aged man to climb onto the stage. After a slow minute of unintelligible shouting the remnants of a crowd begin to gather around him.
"...come, come! We'll never get started if you fools keep stumbling around like half-dead hogs."
"Are you calling for the resurrection of the elephants? I'm afraid to say it, but your living audience has already arrived.""The now-haggard man surveys his dozens large audience, nods in satisfaction, and begins his tale." "After the simply unseemly amount of tales of distant lands and distant kings told today; I'm certain that we can all appreciate a story of local lands and local heroes?" The man nods to the crowd and the crowd does not nod back. "I see. Let us not waste time then!"May 29 Anno Domini 1400, Rottweil
"Our story begins with four valorous men drained of purse and far from home. The year was 1400, the place Rottweil, and the men were known by... a variety of names. None of their own as what hero names themselves?" The story-teller points to a vaguely noble-looking figure in the middle row. "Anyway, for our purposes they'll be known as the Heroes of Rottweil."This inn scene is why I wanted a full party before starting. Almost certain we can't get it later.
"A winter spent in close company breeds bonds and no sooner did winter end did our heroes begin planning travels together." "However, there were some issues issues with leaving for the wilderness immediately. Namely, a lack of equipment. Most of them had been accosted by bandits (and nobles) during their travels and left with little money and little swords." "Hanse, the veteran of the group, was able to keep his old armor from harm but was not able to keep his great-sword from the Turks." "Francoise might've been a giant stature, but not exactly giant fortitude. Frisian Bandits overwhelmed and stripped him of almost all he had. T'was a lucky thing that he used such an unpopular weapon." "The Frank... well, The Frank had many heretical enemies. The Polish gentry in particular didn't care for his teachings and he was soon deprived of all but his life." "Jack was an alchemist. I feel as the perils he faced are obvious." "How exactly did men stripped of all but their lives survive a German winter?" "The same way Hercules defeated the Hydra: sheer will and godly favor."
"Wasn't Hercules kil-" "If you want to tell a story of your own, do come forward. If not, speak of such things no more." "Having been stripped of all valuables our heroic band decided their first feat would be visiting the Markt and buying two pairs of pants. Only two. They were empty of purse, after all, and no one could seriously insult the virtue of The Frank. "
"Of what quality were these pairs of pants? They must be of some value if the historians remember them." "Their value was that of not gathering the attention of the guardsmen while also protecting the honor of Rottweil's women." "Returning to where we should be... Having wasted all of their money on pants of dubious quality, our heroes attempted to refill their purses at the Hansa office. "It went as well as you might expect. Perhaps running about in the nude had given them a reputation that the Hanseatic League did not appreciate." "Disappointed and dishonored, our pseudo-knights retreated to the Grove of Rottweil with the goal of resting until more dangerous hours." "Some time later they awoke and set out on their grand journey of scum-finding." "Suffice it to say it didn't take long to find scum in the side-streets" "Nor did it take long for one of them to do something foolish like trying to shaking a club about in an intimidating manner." "Nevertheless, the battle that followed is the one that sets them upon the path of their destiny! For whatever reason they, in little more then padded pants and nightshirts, were able to kill men who spent their lives robbing and killing. Clearly someone or something had a plan for them." "Although whatever plan it was it certainly wasn't clear to them as they lost themselves in the side-streets of Rottweil many more times. "For instance, once they even made it as far as the docks before turning back." "You're not exactly painting a heroic picture of these supposed heroes at the moment." "That's because they weren't heroes yet! Most of them were young and untested and were incapable of even injuring thugs without being injured themselves." "It's a good thing there were a lot of them and that Hanse knew what he was doing, otherwise they might've never gained a reputation." "Or saved the unprotected populace from the seemingly infinite hordes of bandits." "The thing is, despite their destiny and fortitude they couldn't save the populace or gain a reputation without getting a bit fatigued or injured. They had to return to the Baren, eventually, whether they wanted to or not." "So the not-so-injured worked, and the significantly injured rested. After their wounds healed they set out in search of criminals once again. One might think they would've ran out of criminals eventually, but perhaps it is just an embellished way of saying they trained." "Regardless, endless resting, working, and training whether it involves men of poor character or not is bound to lead to dull storytelling. Let me instead tell you the tale of their first venture into the wilderness together..."
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Topic: Let's Eventually Play Darklands Part 2: Catholic-Consuming, Cranky, Cathars (Read 23698 times)