Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden. looked at Sahl for a moment, and then said quietly, “No objections to using the funds for Zioth research. However, I am honor bound to provide what help I can to the people injured by the quake, so I must reserve some of my time to spend at the Temple, doing what healing I can. Other than that, I am familiar with doing library research, and my clerical school has an extensive library, with a large history library.
“Perhaps, with a letter of introduction from me to the dean, one of our researchers might be given access to that library. I do not know if there are any documents there about the last Zioth – I never thought to look into it. But, it may be a resource. I doubt the dozen of the library would be willing to part with any documents, but, again with a letter from me, may allow a copy to be written.”
Sahl continued to speak as they headed out of the castle. “The Baron has been very generous. There are one thousand gold here. But not so generous that we can spend as much as we like on ourselves. I propose that we first use it to set up an institute to study the Zioth, and then split the remaining funds among ourselves, so that we can buy equipment. Does anyone object to this?”
Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden. shook her head. “No objections.”
“I propose buying or building the institute on high ground close to the city. A large sturdy house that has survived the quake should suit us. It should be made secure by building an external wall, installing bars and locks etc, and should be guarded by two hired guards at all times. It needs a meeting room, some guest rooms for example for us when we are in town, stabling for a few horses, some study rooms, a library, a safe, a secure storage room, a laboratory, and a public exhibition hall for visitors to see our work. Hal can hire the academic staff with whatever the baron is giving him for his post. We need a legal charter and a committee of concerned citizens to run the affairs of the Institute, accounts etc. We can help support the Institute by giving public displays and explanations of our findings. Selling souvenirs etc, Letting people pray at the shrine of the Saint Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden.…” Sahl coughed delicately here… “A few personal relics might be useful… for example strips of the actual dress Saint Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden. wore when descending the pits of darkness to battle the minions of the Zioth…. Collecting donations. The committee can oversee and run all this.
“What's important, is that we have a place which we can use as a base, which will study and draw conclusions from our findings, which will educate the people, and keep the Baron engaged with regular reports. We will not be concerned in the day to day running of the Institute but will go on missions and report our results to the Institute.”
“Who will then run the 'day to day operations' of the Institute?” Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden. asked. “A scribe perhaps? Would you be willing to hire a scribe from the Temple?”
“Maybe it would be better,” said Kayplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigKay Wanderwit
Kay is an attractive, eighteen year old girl. She has dark brown hair, tanned skin and hazel eyes. The bow she carries is of a very fine quality. Kay wears brown calfskin breeches, and a green wool vest. When traveling, she wears brown deerskin breeches and a red linen vest. Her old cloak is black, and made of fine but worn wool. She has become a close friend of, “if we bought property, or maybe even an existing building, away from town - say maybe an hour's ride? Prices are sure to be lower away from the rift and the bigger destruction. Then, once things calm down here we could sell that place and move our operations closer to home. It strikes me that an abandoned farm would do quite well. We could use the farmhouse as a dwelling, a place to study, a place for meals. Then we could convert the barn - if it is sturdy enough - for your library, for your collections of whatever - about the Zioth.
“Oh, and yes, I also agree that we should follow this trail. It is obvious to me that something_terrible is happening. And that it could be the coming of the Zioth is not strange to me. In my village there were tales I thought were tall - about a time of destruction. Even the troubadours that came through the village sang songs of destruction and what they called 'rebirth.'”
“Kayplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigKay Wanderwit
Kay is an attractive, eighteen year old girl. She has dark brown hair, tanned skin and hazel eyes. The bow she carries is of a very fine quality. Kay wears brown calfskin breeches, and a green wool vest. When traveling, she wears brown deerskin breeches and a red linen vest. Her old cloak is black, and made of fine but worn wool. She has become a close friend of's idea has some merit,” said Sahl. “Especially if the farm is abandoned and we can get it for free, or for some minor registration charge. We can clean up and use the buildings as they are for now. There's already stables for our animals and plenty of grazing. Long term, we need something grander, close to town, because we need to impress important people to act on our findings. I'm looking at town houses.
“If we can get this started in the next few days, then I suggest a longer expedition into the Rift, with more supplies and more men.”
Kayplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigKay Wanderwit
Kay is an attractive, eighteen year old girl. She has dark brown hair, tanned skin and hazel eyes. The bow she carries is of a very fine quality. Kay wears brown calfskin breeches, and a green wool vest. When traveling, she wears brown deerskin breeches and a red linen vest. Her old cloak is black, and made of fine but worn wool. She has become a close friend of asked, “Men? Do you discount women?”
Sahl smiled and continued. “Redbelve seems like a good man to have with you. We could also use some porters to carry up anything we find. But this depends on Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden. being able to create a longer lasting light source for us. Light is our greatest weapon in the darkness. Torches, or short lasting spells simply don't allow us much time or safety. There's no way we can do it fighting each step of the way with those sh'kurdaruplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSh'kurdaru
In turn 88, a rift opened up in the earth near Huerten City. Creatures were found inside, which could eat a man alive before he even knew what was happening.
The creatures move like lizards, and are extremely sensitive to bright light. Sh'kurdaru think only of food. They sneak up on their prey, and emit an anesthetizing poison through their skin and mouth, numbing the skin and muscle of their prey, and eat them alive before their prey are even aware of the attack..” Sahl paused for a second, then looked at Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions.. “What does sh'kurdaruplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSh'kurdaru
In turn 88, a rift opened up in the earth near Huerten City. Creatures were found inside, which could eat a man alive before he even knew what was happening.
The creatures move like lizards, and are extremely sensitive to bright light. Sh'kurdaru think only of food. They sneak up on their prey, and emit an anesthetizing poison through their skin and mouth, numbing the skin and muscle of their prey, and eat them alive before their prey are even aware of the attack. mean, in Terradian?”
Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. glanced at Sahl, then away, eyes flicking from place to place. One corner of his lips pulled to the side, his brow furrowing; after a few moments he admitted, “I not know the just words in Rouchplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigLanguage
Rouch
Rouch is the vernacular, or common tongue, spoken throughout Rang. Because of Rang's influence, it's also a trade language in the surrounding kingdoms.
Sarnam
Sarnam is the “old tongue,” spoken by the priests of Andritha. Most of the nobly-born are familiar with the language.. It is close to, ehm … hungry … hungry-silence.”
“The Hungry Silence, yes that is a good name. Sh'kuradu.”
It was nearly midnight, so Sahl was forced to wait out the night before finding out how much his project would cost. He was awake before dawn, and out of the inn as soon as the first sounds of the city could be heard.
Despite the frantic labor going on in Huerten, people were generally willing to speak with Sahl. They knew him. They knew that he'd saved the baron and many others besides. They knew he associated with Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions., the Terradian pathfinder, and Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden., about whom each rumor was more extravagant than the last.
However, Sahl met with a lot of disappointment. The task would be more difficult and more expensive than he'd hoped. First he'd have to get a land grant from the baron, if in fact the baron was the direct owner of the land he wanted. It might already have been granted, in which case Sahl would have to deal with other people. He might have to clear out trees to avoid building on existing farmland.
Then would come the actual construction. Labor, normally so cheap that it was insignificant next to the cost of materials, was becoming expensive. True, there were a lot of people newly out of work, but there was also a lot to rebuild. Materials, on the other hand, would be less expensive than usual, if Sahl was willing to work with damaged timbers from destroyed houses. If he wanted fresh lumber, then that too would be more expensive than usual.
It didn't help that winter was coming. The foundation would have to be built before the ground froze, which would mean either an inferior, rushed job, or even higher labor costs.
In all, Sahl found that to fulfill his plans to the letter, he would need several times the money the baron had given him.
He looked into alternatives. If he could get the land cheaply, he could afford to build a modest but secure structure, with perhaps three rooms and a stable, and it might be finished before the snow made building impossible. He could also buy a larger, ruined structure and attempt to rebuild it. There were many of those within the city, though he would be limited in future expansions, and there was the chance that what he bought would turn out to be unsalvageable, at least until winter ended.
Then Sahl heard about a few people trying to leave town in a hurry. With the earthquake, and then rumors of the sh'kurdaruplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSh'kurdaru
In turn 88, a rift opened up in the earth near Huerten City. Creatures were found inside, which could eat a man alive before he even knew what was happening.
The creatures move like lizards, and are extremely sensitive to bright light. Sh'kurdaru think only of food. They sneak up on their prey, and emit an anesthetizing poison through their skin and mouth, numbing the skin and muscle of their prey, and eat them alive before their prey are even aware of the attack., some of the middle-wealth residents had had enough of Huerten. One of these had a reasonably large house near the lake. Another had a smaller house closer to the center of town. A third owned three adjoining tenancies in a poorer neighborhood. None of these were ideal, and all were likely to cost more than Sahl had, but one could negotiate with desperate people.
Sahl mused about his options. “The house by the lake is no good, as the lake may flood if earth shakes. The town houses may be better if they are on higher ground, but I really want a new building built to withstand the earth shaking. Perhaps these properties are already strong. I must see them.”
Sahl arranged a time when he could see the two town sites with the owners.
Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions., who was utterly bewildered at this point, tagged along with Kayplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigKay Wanderwit
Kay is an attractive, eighteen year old girl. She has dark brown hair, tanned skin and hazel eyes. The bow she carries is of a very fine quality. Kay wears brown calfskin breeches, and a green wool vest. When traveling, she wears brown deerskin breeches and a red linen vest. Her old cloak is black, and made of fine but worn wool. She has become a close friend of. They stopped by farmhouse after farmhouse, looking for news of abandoned land or people selling. In the process, they discovered two things. First, all land in this area was owned by the baron, though most was managed by some knight or other. A transfer of land was possible, as long as they acquired the title of serfdom from the people currently working it, and got the approval of whichever minor lord managed the land.
Second, they found that it was easier to find land as they got closer to the Rift. Many people around there were anxious to flee their ancestral homes and find their way in the towns, preferably towns as far from Huerten as possible. About half an hour from town, pretty close to the Rift, they found a piece of land with a reasonably large farmhouse, which they could probably get for two or three hundred attles, all told. Maybe six hundred by the time they repaired the damage and fixed it up a little – not to Sahl's specifications, but a start.
As evening approached, Kayplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigKay Wanderwit
Kay is an attractive, eighteen year old girl. She has dark brown hair, tanned skin and hazel eyes. The bow she carries is of a very fine quality. Kay wears brown calfskin breeches, and a green wool vest. When traveling, she wears brown deerskin breeches and a red linen vest. Her old cloak is black, and made of fine but worn wool. She has become a close friend of and Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. watched a series of bonfires appear around the Rift. Sahl's advice was being heeded. They were widely spaced, however, and there weren't many men on watch at all. The Rift was just too big, and the soldiers of Huerten were spread too thin with all the rebuilding that had to be done.
Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. spotted movement out of the corner of his eye, a rustling in the grass. He sent Vanatra after it, and followed himself. Kayplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigKay Wanderwit
Kay is an attractive, eighteen year old girl. She has dark brown hair, tanned skin and hazel eyes. The bow she carries is of a very fine quality. Kay wears brown calfskin breeches, and a green wool vest. When traveling, she wears brown deerskin breeches and a red linen vest. Her old cloak is black, and made of fine but worn wool. She has become a close friend of strung her bow, wondering what had caused Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. to spring to action so suddenly. In moments, Vanatra emerged with her prey. It was just a field mouse, this time, but somehow, seeing the wide spaces between the fires, that was not much consolation.
While Sahl waited for his meetings to come to pass, he continued to train his horse, and tried to organize a small committee to oversee the activities of the Zioth Society, writing its charter and rules, and so forth. He visited various people he thought could help – orators, merchants, tradesmen, noblemen, people with a stake in society – looking for men and women who were educated and knowledgeable, honest and committed.
Sahl was generally welcomed with friendship, but people were hesitant to offer any actual help. People who believed in the Zioth and thought it might be possible to do something about it were common, but when it came to devoting real time and energy towards the enterprise, most backed down. Sahl had hoped to find ten people who would help without payment. He ended the day with two – a glass-merchant who wouldn't be able to travel north for another shipment until after the winter, and a scribe with some legal training who had been out of work for almost a year, being unable to afford the guild fees.
He needed a different approach.
Sahl arranged interviews with guild masters. If he could convince them to let him speak at guild meetings, he'd be able to reach large numbers of people at once. There, he could get his message across that the recent problems were due to the Zioth. These problems would get worse and would be bad for business. Sahl's society, he would say, had been set up by the baron to investigate the Zioth and find ways to mitigate its effects. The society needed a committee to oversee the finances and put out regular reports of progress for the Baron. It would not be an onerous duty – perhaps a few of hours a month.
If he could get one or two people out of each guild meeting, he would have a respectable team within a week.
The next day passed, and the next. Sahl spoke to the guilds, slowly collecting his group of volunteers. More joined because they were underworked and underqualified than because they were enthusiastic about the cause, but it was a start.
Huerten was busy. News from the outside didn't come or didn't spread. It was unimportant, with all the work that had to be done. Prices rose as practically everything became scarce. There was enough food for now, but with the stores gone and many of the ships damaged, it was hard to see how Huerten would last the winter. Requests for help were sent to the nearby towns and villages, as well as outside the barony, to Kalzen, Marchhanbar and Raboran. It was yet to be seen how far the damage from the earthquake had spread. It was possible that Huerten's neighbors were in no less of a bind.
The Rift was as quiet as its occupants. There was no sign of the sh'kurdaruplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSh'kurdaru
In turn 88, a rift opened up in the earth near Huerten City. Creatures were found inside, which could eat a man alive before he even knew what was happening.
The creatures move like lizards, and are extremely sensitive to bright light. Sh'kurdaru think only of food. They sneak up on their prey, and emit an anesthetizing poison through their skin and mouth, numbing the skin and muscle of their prey, and eat them alive before their prey are even aware of the attack. or of anything else. No one had actually gone into the rift since Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. and Sahl led their exploration, and no one had been hurt by it. The rumbling noise had become part of life, unnoticed until one really stopped and listened. It had become quieter, or perhaps just more familiar, but it never went away.
Sahl met with the owners of all three townhouses. The one by the lake was just too risky. It had been flooded during the earthquake, and that could happen again. The one in the middle of town was in an excellent location, but was small, crowded and expensive. It would be hard to find enough land to build a stable, so they'd probably have to rent space for their horses. The three adjoining townhouses in the poor neighborhood were looking better and better.
Outside the city, there were two categories of available farmhouses. One was far from the rift. There weren't very many of these available, and they were small, expensive and in desperate need of repair. They were in high demand, however, as desperate serfs vacated the Rift side of town. These places were one to four miles from town, and were generally attached to thirty to fifty acres of land. Nine hundred to twelve hundred attles would take care of the land, farmhouse and repairs, which meant they would probably have to draw from their own funds, in addition to the thousand the baron had given them.
The cheaper land was near the rift. There, they could find a place nearly untouched by the earthquake for much less money – perhaps five to seven hundred after repairs, but they'd have to deal with the sh'kurdaruplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSh'kurdaru
In turn 88, a rift opened up in the earth near Huerten City. Creatures were found inside, which could eat a man alive before he even knew what was happening.
The creatures move like lizards, and are extremely sensitive to bright light. Sh'kurdaru think only of food. They sneak up on their prey, and emit an anesthetizing poison through their skin and mouth, numbing the skin and muscle of their prey, and eat them alive before their prey are even aware of the attack..
Sahl's vote was for the townhouses. Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. agreed, citing a couple of examples back home when a rather run-down neighborhood's quality and reputation improved after a well-established entity (a combat training institute in one case, a financial consulting service in the other) set up shop in the vicinity. No doubt the baron would approve of rising property values. Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. carefully avoided mentioning that one of those went out of business shortly afterward.
The four of them went together to look at the townhouses.
These days, all of Huerten was a mess, but this area was the worst off of any. It had been a poor neighborhood before, well-known as a den of beggars, con men and cutthroats. Since the earthquake, it had become dramatically worse. A poor neighborhood meant poor construction. Flimsy tenancies had been the standard here for at least a hundred years. Now they were all gone. Whole blocks had been flattened into rubble, much of which was being scavenged to throw together new houses which were just as delicate as the old. Strong men and women had been pulled away to rebuild the houses of people with money. Here were the weak, young, crippled and elderly trying to do what they could. Only at night could the real work commence.
Scattered through the area were a few good, sturdy structures, some of which had been standing for over a hundred years, and one earthquake was not enough to destroy them. These were more common near the northern edge, where some of the poorer or less experienced journeymen lived and worked. This was where Sahlmanplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSahlman El Musafir
Sahlman's hair is blue-black and graying. His skin is dark and weathered. A huge handle-bar mustache sweeps down to cover much of his lower face, and Sahl is always careful to keep it properly groomed. He is generally very particular about his clothing, equipment and appearance. Sahlman wears the desert robes of his homeland, with headgear that blocks out the sun and hangs over his neck. He wears light trousers and high hard boots, and when his robes are wet, the hard links o… found the three townhouses.
At first, they looked totally unsuitable. Each one was a small, cramped two storeys, with two rooms on the first floor and an open second floor accessible by ladder. As Sahl stared at the houses, though, he came to see them as a whole. Without too much work, they could be joined together, and a few walls could be broken down, and a stable could be built into one of them, or built on some of the ground where other buildings had been destroyed….
”…a lot of potential.” The representative of the owner, an immense man in his fifties with wisps of graying hair splayed out from the sides of his balding head, was still making his pitch. “And if you need more space, the neighbor's land won't be too hard to come by, what with all but an elderly woman crushed under the rubble. I can negotiate a price myself if you like. Now look here, how well this one withstood the quake. Good solid wood, the way they used to build everything in the eight hundreds. Nothing will knock this down. Nothing. Sure, there are a few loose parts, and some of it's been neglected, but that won't cost you a thing to repair, not with sturdy construction like this holding everything together. This place will hold up to whatever reconstruction you have planned. I have a friend who's done excellent work of this kind, and I can connect you, no question. For a little extra, he can get the work done before the ground freezes, even with all the building that's happening now. You could have luxury accommodations inside of a few weeks.
“So what do you say? The owner's on his way out of town, so you're in luck – he's in a hurry to sell. Twelve thousand aglars will get you all three, plus I'll get my friend to fix things up the way you want them for no extra charge.”
“Twelve thousand aglars!” Sahl said. “I would not buy from my own kin for that amount! Look at these wrecks! The houses are unsuitable and will need reworking. The area is dirty and poor. We will probably get our throats cut in the night If the rats don't eat us first. How can you ask 12,000 aglars for these slum houses?! It would take you lifetime to recover that money in rent from the scum who would want to live here! But I know you are in a hurry to sell and I am feeling generous today, so I will offer you 8,000 aglars cash, and I have it ready as soon as you give the word!”
Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden. watched and listened to Sahl's negotiating, and marveled at his skill. She kept her mouth shut and just let him do his thing. Although she liked the farmhouse, she saw the advantage of the town houses.
Kayplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigKay Wanderwit
Kay is an attractive, eighteen year old girl. She has dark brown hair, tanned skin and hazel eyes. The bow she carries is of a very fine quality. Kay wears brown calfskin breeches, and a green wool vest. When traveling, she wears brown deerskin breeches and a red linen vest. Her old cloak is black, and made of fine but worn wool. She has become a close friend of, although grown up in a family of bowyers and fletchers that did a lot of business, had little skill herself at bargaining, so she also kept her own council, letting Sahl do the talking.
The representative's eyes lit up. “You know, you're right. I can see you have a good eye, but I can't very well go back with just eight thousand. This is top-quality construction here, and it'll appreciate, you can be sure. So what do you say to this? Nine thousand, and I'll work out a deal with the neighbor for some extra land. Combine the properties, work it down to one land grant, save you on cost and paperwork.”
“Hmm.. I could go with that price, but with some conditions. Lets go over what you've already agreed to for 9000 aglars cash.” Sahl slipped easily into the speech of a merchant, learned during years of watching trade deals pass through his father's hands.
“You will sell us the three properties, plus some extra land, to be seen and agreed before agreement signed.
“You will do the necessary conversion work – knock the three properties into one according to our design and fence off the property for security.
“Complete the work before winter.
“Leave the property in a neat fashion with all building work finished to a good standard.
“I would like to add some clauses to this agreement. I'm willing to give a further 500 aglars for the building of a new stable, and the money is to be paid in installments as the work is completed. Here is what I want:
“You will build a barn and stable suitable for 6 horses on the extra land.
“The money for all work to be paid to you in installments as work completes:
“4,500 aglars to be paid on transfer of title deeds for properties and land.
“500 aglars to be paid on completion of stables.
“500 aglars to be paid on completion of perimeter fence.
“2,000 aglars to be paid on basic gutting and joining of the three properties.
“2,000 aglars to be paid when all interior & exterior work on main property is complete.
“500 aglars penalty to be paid if work not completed to satisfaction by agreed date, before winter.
“Is that agreeable to you?”
“I see you have experience in these matters,” the representative said, “and you make a good bargain. I'm a bit limited by the owner's requirements though. How about this – make it sixty five hundred in advance and two thousand at the end, with the rest of your payment schedule left the same. I'll still have to find out whether he'll accept that little in advance, but I think I can talk him into it. I have a little trouble with the penalty. We've already had one early blizzard this year, so who knows when winter will really start? How about this – the penalty will apply if the work isn't completed within five weeks, excluding weeks when no work can be done. Personally, I think it'll be finished before that, but I'm sure you know that this kind of padding is always worked into contracts. There will be a contract, of course. I'll have it drafted by the time I bring the deeds over.”
“Ok, I can agree to some of that. How about 6,500 aglars to be paid on transfer of title deeds for properties and land, with the remaining 3,000 aglars to be paid on completion of all the work. That's 9,500 aglars in all. I still want to keep a penalty of 500 aglars if the work is not completed on time, but I can give you even more time, say six weeks to complete the work, but no excuses about weather?”
“A risky venture for me… Alright, agreed. But one more condition: If the ground is unworkable within two weeks after we start, the term will be extended until the ground thaws. That way, we split the risk.”
“Why should the ground affect you? The foundations are already there, you're only making alterations to the structure above ground. The only thing that requires digging is fence posts and some light foundations for the stables. Get that work finished in the first week and you will be ok. However, if you're worried, I'll agree to your clause, but remember I hang on to the 3,500 aglars until all the work is complete. Do we have a deal?”
“That we do. You said you were staying at the First Knight? Good. I'll draft the documents right away, and have them to you by tonight.”
The documents arrived as promised. Sahl paid the man and signed the contract, and work was commenced. Hardly eighteen years until the Zioth, but something was finally being done.
After the field mouse incident, Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. went out to the Rift every night, helping the men guarding its borders work out safer and more efficient ways to go about it – how far to space bonfires, planting torches in the gaps, figuring out how much light was enough to scare off sh'kurdaruplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSh'kurdaru
In turn 88, a rift opened up in the earth near Huerten City. Creatures were found inside, which could eat a man alive before he even knew what was happening.
The creatures move like lizards, and are extremely sensitive to bright light. Sh'kurdaru think only of food. They sneak up on their prey, and emit an anesthetizing poison through their skin and mouth, numbing the skin and muscle of their prey, and eat them alive before their prey are even aware of the attack., timing and pattern of patrols, and so on. He also stressed again and again the importance of keeping watch in pairs.
Things were calm and quiet for the first few days, but despite Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions.'s diligence, many of the guards just couldn't take their job seriously. They had never seen the sh'kurdaruplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSh'kurdaru
In turn 88, a rift opened up in the earth near Huerten City. Creatures were found inside, which could eat a man alive before he even knew what was happening.
The creatures move like lizards, and are extremely sensitive to bright light. Sh'kurdaru think only of food. They sneak up on their prey, and emit an anesthetizing poison through their skin and mouth, numbing the skin and muscle of their prey, and eat them alive before their prey are even aware of the attack., and none were emerging from the Rift to prove their existence. The increasingly rare sightings of distant movement deep in the Rift didn't help.
Worse was that many of them stopped taking Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. seriously, and some resented this unauthorized foreigner trying to give them orders. More than once, he left a group to hear them snickering behind him, and he often caught Terradian jokes on the wind. Vanatra seemed to sense that something wasn't quite right, and Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. had to calm her when this happened, to keep her from diving at the guards.
The night of the 11th brought light flurries and heavy wind. The snow seemed never to touch the ground. As soon as it dropped an inch, the wind lifted it another two. There were times when the snow, flickering yellow in the light of the bonfires, actually seemed to be falling upward, back to the clouds.
It was hard to keep the fires lit. The bonfires produced a lot of smoke but kept burning. The torches, on the other hand, were almost impossible to keep up. Hoods were constructed over them, but it seemed hopeless.
Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. rushed from torch to torch in a panic, helping where he could, watching the Rift intently at each gap, and hoping that he wouldn't see that silent movement. He wanted to capture another sh'kurdaruplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigSh'kurdaru
In turn 88, a rift opened up in the earth near Huerten City. Creatures were found inside, which could eat a man alive before he even knew what was happening.
The creatures move like lizards, and are extremely sensitive to bright light. Sh'kurdaru think only of food. They sneak up on their prey, and emit an anesthetizing poison through their skin and mouth, numbing the skin and muscle of their prey, and eat them alive before their prey are even aware of the attack., but not tonight.
Then he saw it. No field mouse this time. The spherical head and tiny jointed limbs gave it away. Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. checked his own body quickly to be sure there wasn't another gnawing at his leg or back, and then charged over. It wasn't hard to kill, here on level ground, but he'd been lucky to see it.
Then he saw another one.
And another.
I couldn't work in Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden.'s new spells this turn, so it'll be next turn. Ardithplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigArdith
Ardith's long hair is tied in a bun with cords dyed with berry juice, two each of red, blue and black. She wears an unbleached linen shift and bodice, a deerskin jerkin, and low brown boots. Ardith always wears the Sign of Andritha on a chain around her neck. The Sign is a three inch circle of copper with a large onyx in the center, obviously quite heavy, but Ardith wears it with the ease of one long accustomed to the burden. – please tell me which spells you want. If you don't, I'll pick them for you. You can also, if you like, ask one of the other players to pick your spells.
Daluarplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigDaluar Sulanguan
Daluar is a wiry, coal-skinned Terradian in the gray-and-blue uniform of a Calipperi soldier. He keeps both his face and head clean-shaven, and his leather armor in good condition; he has even tried to shape the rough patches on the collar, vambraces, and headband into regular contours. A rapier frogged at his hip, a quiver and longbow on his back, and a couple of pouches on his belt comprise most of his possessions. went up a level! He gains 4HP. See your character sheet for the list of new abilities etc.