- Location
- Russia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Future archeologists are very pleased
Of Winding Ways and Cunning Devices
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy Alt. History
Arc 1 Post 10: A Rooted Ship, a Silver Tree
A Rooted Ship, a Silver Tree
5th of May 867 A.D.
There is something uniquely uncomfortable about the narrow northern houses, not so much the shadows crowding away from the opened door into every nook and cranny, you are used to shadows, but the way the beans curve inwards like the hull of an upturned ship. Quite a lot has been getting upturned of late eh Eriol? you ask yourself. It probably does not say very many pleasant things about you that you are more upset at how little sense this journey into the unknown makes than you are for those lost in the drowned land. Not that you were a hermit far from it, having wiled more days than you now care to count to the sound of drinking songs and congenial company, yet you find yourself missing them less than you might have thought. The hills and vales you had wandered at a boy certainly, but few of the people in those halcyon memories are still alive, your father dead in a hunting accident than you had made very sure indeed had just been an accident and not some ambitious rival looking to make use of a bear's paw for a weapon, your mother having simply faded in a manner that was still counted 'graceful' even as the ill intentioned whispered behind their hands about the failing of the blood.
"What?" the word, harsh like the cawing of a raven in the northern tongue recalls you to the present, to the task at hand.
"Sweet has been the mead under your roof and restful slumber knowing we had friends to watch it..." You are not entirely sure what 'mead' is, but it is probably a finer drink than the beer you had actually drunk. "Fair have you done by the spinner and by the lady of the Hearth, but now the tide rolls in again to bear us to the farther shore and no sailor may deny the call of Njord long if he wishes to have sea-luck."
As you speak the old man nods gravely at the mention of his gods, of whom you had but recently learned. It seems that no matter how humble a doorway you step through flattery is never wasted.
"And in that journey there is no skill more precious than knowing the tongues of the land, yet as you have found us it is one we lack. Yet it seems that fate has favored us for one among your kin who speaks many tongues agreed to serve as an interpreter and teacher."
So saying you step aside and let Liv play her own part. True she does not manage it as smoothly as you had with the experience of the Harbormaster's Court in Armenelos, but the desire to be gone from this place as swiftly as she can before she is exchanged for two goats or a cow can breed great courage just the same.
"So you mean to do this of your own will?" from the tone it sounds as though Falki thinks the girl is going to fall overboard and drown on the first night
"Yes'm I mean and no other," Liv answers, meeting his eyes looking as determined as someone barely five foot two can manage.
"Well there's a matter to settle. I know you don't mean to wed her but..." the old man does not sound all that wedded to the notion of asking you for money to begin with, but at the end of the day he finds his courage in the face of your looming presence. "Ten, no seven of those pieces of silver should be enough to see to the lass' honor."
From Liv's answering snort you would judge that she could do without the kind of honor that is measured in coins left behind, even though following the ill-fortuned feast with the horse she is technically counted a maiden among her own people and so worth bride price.
Personally you are just glad the men had the good sense not to show off just how many pieces of silver you have on hand. Seven you will hand off without much regret.
Lost 7 Silver Trees
***
Of course not every transaction is as easy as straightforward as that one, you are starting to run rather thin on supplies, but on the other hand Falki's folk do not have that much themselves despite the harvest, it's going to cost you a lot more silver than it's worth to even get back to a month's supply. On the other hand the men are still under a dark cloud, the rumbling of a hungry belly makes for a poor accompaniment to a heavy heart.
What do you do?
[] Buy supplies for at least a month (Cost 30 Silver Trees)
[] You'll get by with fishing
Which way do you head?
[] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
[] Turn back west into the Baltic Sea to take the longer sea route into the land of the Romans, hugging the southern shore. If you can always trade or raid for supplies there.
[] Write in
OOC: Well you have a translator and you know a bit of the local language, alas it was not without cost as you are now dangerously low on supplies.
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Must mean a discount.
Kind of confused at the option that talking to her caretaker means not being able to look for where the remaining silver is at.
- Location
- Germany
And he still asks for money?
Not really relevant of course, but there is an implicit threat in the leader of 60 (extremly well) armed giants saying he wants to take just one thing from your village...
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- Well yes, he would have asked for a lot more money otherwise
- You could write that in, the problem is that you need to ride past the village and all the way to the cairn and none of your men are what you would call stealthy so it would loose you a lot of goodwill
The village is in a pretty poor way so far and the strange visitors have shown themselves to be brimming with goodwill so far and you guys did choose the option that involved paying rather than just taking her
Ah grave robbing. Generally not appreciative by anyone.
To be fair even if she went willingly, the rumors spread by her disappearance will mean negative rumours by word of mouth.
Being honest the amount of silver she hid probably (it's a secret, had to be small enough to hide in the grave) isn't worth the effort to get it. Anyway I am of the opinion we go meet Rurik, trade, learn more about the wider world, then resupply then go back towards the Baltic so that we properly explore the world via the sea and not narrow ass rivers.
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
[X] You'll get by with fishing
If the write is unnecessary or something let me know @DragonParadox, seemed like the options were either or, And I wanted to do both lol. Talk, trade, then go west.
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
[X] You'll get by with fishing
If the write is unnecessary or something let me know @DragonParadox, seemed like the options were either or, And I wanted to do both lol. Talk, trade, then go west.
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I mean once you get there we will have an update where you meet Rurick and can offer to trade with him, maybe help him out with some things, you know the normal CK2 wandering knight stuff that shows up in flavor events.
Fair enough, I'll edit my post.
[X] Buy supplies for at least a month (Cost 30 Silver Trees)
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
@DragonParadox does Liv know how much silver she hid?
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
@DragonParadox does Liv know how much silver she hid?
- Location
- Over the next hill.
[X] You'll get by with fishing
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
Honestly Rurik is the interesting character in this region, it would be disappointing if we didn't meet him. Hopefully we can trade for furs there which we can sell once we get to say France or down into Iberia.
We can get by with fish until we get to Rurik, should have better supplies there.
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
Honestly Rurik is the interesting character in this region, it would be disappointing if we didn't meet him. Hopefully we can trade for furs there which we can sell once we get to say France or down into Iberia.
We can get by with fish until we get to Rurik, should have better supplies there.
- Three silver arm-bands of the kind that chiefs hand out to successful warriors
- One bone and amber lilted knife
- 'A handful of silver coins', she was not counting for obvious reasons
- A silver crucifix that had some kind of stone on it, she does not know which kind
K von Carstein
Likes to go for a walk
- Location
- Belgium
- Pronouns
- He
@DragonParadox If we go to see Rurick, will we go faster to Constantinople than the other option?
You could, but not by this ship, there is no way you are getting the Daring Wanderer through portage, a longship she is not.
Almost certainly not, our ship will not be able to travel along the river route and this is in the opposite direction of the sea route.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
[x] You'll get by with fishing
[x] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
[x] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
K von Carstein
Likes to go for a walk
- Location
- Belgium
- Pronouns
- He
[X] Turn back west into the Baltic Sea to take the longer sea route into the land of the Romans, hugging the southern shore. If you can always trade or raid for supplies there.
[x] You'll get by with fishing
[x] You'll get by with fishing
[X] You'll get by with fishing
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it. But try to find where Liv hid the silver (and maybe give them back to her) before we leave the village.
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it. But try to find where Liv hid the silver (and maybe give them back to her) before we leave the village.
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You have to include it in a write in.
[X] You'll get by with fishing
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
[X] Buy supplies for at least a month (Cost 30 Silver Trees)
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it
[X] Make for Alode-joki where Rurick reigns, he is said to be a rich king by the standards of these lands at least (Modern day Ladoga). It's hard to tell how far the river road will take you without seeing it, but at the very least it should give you a chance to sell your wine to those with a taste for it