Age of Ice and Blood: A Pathfinder System Heroic Fantasy Quest

The Twenty First of Elnu-hamba [Elnu Descendent], Year Unknown

It does not take more than a glance to read the conviction in Zaia's eyes, he will not swear by any other God save Him who is Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Left to his own devices perhaps Antonio might, but not here and surely not in public. Yet the choice is not upon any of them, for they did not claim responsibility for bearing arms, it is upon you to speak for your sake and for those few sons of Normandy set upon this strange shore. "Your god is not our god, and so it would be an ill thing and false to swear by a name strange to us. By our Lord in Heaven I vow to do no evil to those who do not do evil onto us, to shed no blood rashly or with malice and in all things to act as guests in the halls of the King of Lirman."

Beside you Inge whispers something to Tom and then somewhat to your surprise the doughty warrior repeats in Anwari 'I so vow' though he knows not the meaning of the words, the others echo him, trusting in him and in you.

The old man stands there for a long breathless moment, then a genial smile spreads over his features. "The tree strong rooted does not bend in the west wind. Know that Ohun Greenbelt finds your vow right by Elnu, whose name you would not speak, as leaf on wind to your honor."

There are a few cheers from the crowd, though mostly confused shuffles... which quickly grow to stepping well back as the first horses are disembarked in the wake of lines being cast and planks laid. You wince as you see even Silver walk on shaky legs, shivering as he tosses his head this way and that at the light and noise. "Easy there boy, easy now..."

The paths of Apuku were not really made for horses and it is clear from the gaze of the locals that they have never seen the like before. The sorcerer Ohun speaks to Inge briefly, too quick for you to catch the meaning, though she quickly turns to translate. "He asked if horses were work beasts or free beasts, and I said work like the goats and pig. He asks if they need their own pasture away from others or if they can share..."

Zaia clears his throat. "When she says 'pig' it would be more accurate to think of them as boars, tusks and all, from what I understand of those the Anwa keep."

With a nod of thanks to the scholar you consider the options. A common pen would make it more easy for others to get near the horses which you had just found to be uncommon and therefore potentially quite valuable, but on the other hand asking that they be given their own pasture would mean that your men would have to do all the feeding and care, not to mention that it would be a greater request of your host, one you would have to repay eventually in gold or favor.

What do you reply?

[] Ask for a separate pasture

[] The common pasture will do

OOC: Rather brief because I needed the vote squared away before you make it to the king's hall, those horses need off the ship yesterday. Also you found a very good place for a diplo crit.

The Twenty First of Elnu-hamba [Elnu Descendent], Year Unknown

"Hugh, see to the horses," you call to the young man. It should keep him away from the drink he is all too likely to indulge in at least, not that he has the coin for it. For the first time in months you wonder what the coin you had brought back with you from the Holy Land is worth. You reach out to the coin pouch under your tunic, feeling the familiar, reassuring weight. It comes to about forty golden nobles worth in the coin of six realms, gold and silver plundered and saved alike, a poor reward for so much blood shed and so many lives cut short to the hollow fury of a war signifying nothing, but still they might serve you well in a land where you have nothing else of worth. Almost nothing, recalling the arms and armor taken from the dead. The bows you have found a use for, but blades and scale coats alike you could sell.

'Gain' 40 Gold

The thought cuts off instantly as you turn the corner following Ohun and come face to face with a monster, hand already reaching for your sword before you realize it is not scales, but bronze glinting dull green in the light of the bright southern sun, a silent sentinel on the road leading from the sea to the hall of the king. It's front half is familiar, feline but with the touch of the sea about it like Ripper, but this effigy has wings halfway between bird and bat and rather than the tail of a fish it has that of a serpent.


Ohun looks back at you, his features carefully composed. "That is the King's beast, fearsome and strong," you do not catch all the words for he is still speaking too quickly for you at times.

"Is that the seal of the Kings of Lirman in Apuku?" you ask, at once intrigued and strangely repulsed as though seeing the face of a half forgotten nightmare.

The girl shakes her head. "That is the Blood-Drinker of Lirman, he was king before the kings, Lord of all from a throne of stone atop the highest peak until the first Anwa king came and killed him, making a coat from his scales. Now men lords of Lirman..." she stops to think a moment. "Kings of places were men are at least. Beasts of wild not care, beasts of seas even less."

You nod, not taking your eyes off the statue, though you soon have to as it is lost in the noise and tumult of a marketplace. Hardly the great bazaar of Alexandria this, which had befuddled you with the sight of silk, the smell of spices and the song of a dozen lands, but it is no village market either. Arrayed on narrow twisting paths which coil around hall and hearth tree are stalls hawking everything from flatbread and roasted lamb sizzling on hot stones to carvings of bone, hardwood and ivory to beads of glass, amber and polished stone for which you know not the names of even in French or English much less Anwari. Here Antonio too lingers, looking with interest as a grey haired matron counts small square coins on a string on her belt before sweeping them over.

It is only now that you notice many women wearing their coins thus, not just around the waist, but the neck and even the wrist... some of the men as well, it had just been harder to tell due to the many braided beards about. In fact the only people you see without such monetary decorations are shabby enough that they might be beggars or vagabonds. Do they not have pickpockets here to flaunt their coin so readily?

That seems a rather churlish question to lead with so you follow your guide until you come out of the market, past the largest homes of more established clans to stand at last before the doors of the king. Of heavy oak they are but unbound with any metal and when the sorcerer touches them they slide open with the merest touch.

Inge catches your eye and shakes her head. It takes you a moment to realize what she must mean. 'Not magic.' Truth be told you are not entirely sure what to feel about the fact that the girl already knows you that well, but you know gratitude is a large part of it.

Thankfully you are not lead at once into an audience with the king, for you are surely not fit for any sort of royal presence as you are smelling of salt and the sweat of long rowing. Instead you, Antonio and Zaia are all given plain serviceable chambers in the keep while your men are quartered in what looks to be an empty barn. The view of the sea from the high window is really not worth the fact that the bed is a stone slab, you would rather have hay on the floor, but one can hardly complain.

In parting the sorcerer tells you that his master, King Ansefu, will see you two days hence and that in the meantime you have the freedom of the city as his guests.

What do you do over the next two days (Choose Two)?

[] Accompany Antonio to the market, both to buy, sell and to keep the merchant safe

[] Keep an eye on Inge, a sorceress she may be, but she is still a child

[] Accompany Zaia as he seeks out scholars and navigators trying to discern where you are

[] See if you can find a healer for Hugh the Elder's wounds

[] Exercise Silver and the other horses after their long sea journey

[] Speak to Ohun about the strange words of the Stout Folk in order to try to deal with this unseen magic

OOC: You guys obviously did not gain that gold, it was just kind of pointless to have it on the sheet before you made it to civilization.