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

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[X] The young lord himself, Odorin Koire looks as though he had been asked to sit on a bed of needles, perhaps you can offer some advice and in the doing mend any loss of goodwill the moment might have cost

Well, we spent a lot of time and effort to help Koire. Let's continue with this quest.
 
@DragonParadox, editing for the last update:
Matching the Wager

Thirty-Sixth Day of Ikomi-eza (Ikomi Ascendant) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)

"Pardon, I do not speak your tongue well." Your tone is anything but apologetic and a lack of sword and armor does not mean you cannot loom if you must. "Why you say she won because witch?" Alas you must still sound like a half-taught foreigner, though that is probably better than sounding like an Anwa reaver. "Proof? Witness?" You raise your hands in front of your face and part them to show the air. "Nothing. The you say witch now, before sure you could beat one you did not know yes."

Trying to say two things, one aloud and one silently is akin to trying to listen to two different conversations only about ten times harder, but still you manage to get something across. "Ask for priest, show proof?"

Esha is obviously not happy with the notion, but you can read no such feeling upon her countenance, instead she picks up the thread of your words gracefully. "I cast no spell upon the bones as they were cast to make them fall to my will and not that of Nikure who brings fortune to men, if you would wish for proof of this then summon now a priest and I shall under their spell answer all they might ask about the means and manner of my victory."

"Bah... truth spells are easy to cast off by the wicked as much as the righteous I..." Toki looks at his wife whose attempts to restrain him, not to say 'drag him away' had grown a good bit more forceful. He cuts himself off and looks around at the steadily growing crowd you had drawn. They watch with avid eyes and quiet they are not.

"Can you imagine being such a poor sport you still argue about something half a year later..." a tall thin fellow with a curling mustache that gives his face almost the image of a bird in flight says.

"What sort of woman makes her silver betting on Senim?" This from an older lady who wears her head covered with an embroidered cloth circle in the manner of a widow.

"The kind that travels with a parcel of mercenaries nan," this from a younger woman, probably her granddaughter or grandniece if you understand the honorific aright.

Esha does not seem to be paying much mind to the words of the onlooker and instead follows Toki and his young wife as they turn on their heels and without another word leave the hall. "I shall not disturb the feast, ill chosen though the honor may be to haggle like a peddler at market, good day to you all," the man says in a tone that struggles and fails to contain his outrage.

So swift indeed are they that you can hear a servant calling out for them to take their shawl and cloak... so swift are they not even the host has a chance to say farewells. Thus you are left among the storm of whispers, rendered more interesting by moment, though not in a manner you might have preferred.

Who do you approach?

[] Bragi seems apologetic, drinking in a corner away from the crowds he had so eagerly sought beforehand, he he claims he has an offer of employment, still even if you do not take it at least you can learn more of where he fits without blurting out a question

[] Antonio motions you over to speak of the raising of horses, particularly with an eye to capturing the wild horses of this land to perhaps breed with your own stock

[] A man wearing not robes but red fringed pants, one of the first such garments you have ever seen would like to speak of your journeys. According to Esha he is one of an order sworn to carry messages to far off places while keeping them secret and safe from all eyes, likely he wants to hear of the less fantastical parts of your journeys, perhaps more

[] The young lord himself, Odorin Koire looks as though he had been asked to sit on a bed of needles, perhaps you can offer some advice and in the doing mend any loss of goodwill the moment might have cost


OOC: These are not your only options, more will appear as you do things that interest people or as Roland notices interesting guests.
 
While you guys are dealing with the vote I also have a bit of a meta question, would you like to see interludes from the places you have visited? Like I would not want to ruin the fun of discovering new places with the characters, but within reason I think interludes from say the Boar Folk of Lirman Might be interesting.

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?

I thought that we we do with this sort of out of arc interlude I could start them off at the end of every arc while you guys debate level up and featchoices since those tend to take quite a bit of time
 
While you guys are dealing with the vote I also have a bit of a meta question, would you like to see interludes from the places you have visited? Like I would not want to ruin the fun of discovering new places with the characters, but within reason I think interludes from say the Boar Folk of Lirman Might be interesting.

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?

I thought that we we do with this sort of out of arc interlude I could start them off at the end of every arc while you guys debate level up and featchoices since those tend to take quite a bit of time
That sounds great to me, DP. I'm always a fan of different interlude POVs, and seeing how things are playing out elsewhere due to our actions seems like a reward to me.
 
While you guys are dealing with the vote I also have a bit of a meta question, would you like to see interludes from the places you have visited? Like I would not want to ruin the fun of discovering new places with the characters, but within reason I think interludes from say the Boar Folk of Lirman Might be interesting.

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?

I thought that we we do with this sort of out of arc interlude I could start them off at the end of every arc while you guys debate level up and featchoices since those tend to take quite a bit of time
I would very much like it, more info, especially one our PCs can't directly see, would be good.
 
While you guys are dealing with the vote I also have a bit of a meta question, would you like to see interludes from the places you have visited? Like I would not want to ruin the fun of discovering new places with the characters, but within reason I think interludes from say the Boar Folk of Lirman Might be interesting.

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea?

I thought that we we do with this sort of out of arc interlude I could start them off at the end of every arc while you guys debate level up and featchoices since those tend to take quite a bit of time
That would be interesting, we could one day see what's happening in Not!America and Not!Asia.
 
I enjoy the way you tend to world build, and using interludes to check in on the effects Roland et al caused via their travels/trials seems a grand idea to me.
 
@DragonParadox
Weird question, but does Antonio know how his crossbows are made?
Or could a craftsmen figure it out without destroying the weapon?

So far his are the only ones in this world besides the work of a mad genius mage (and we looted those too).

We could propably sell the design, just like chainmail to the Anwa.
 
@DragonParadox
Weird question, but does Antonio know how his crossbows are made?
Or could a craftsmen figure it out without destroying the weapon?

So far his are the only ones in this world besides the work of a mad genius mage (and we looted those too).

We could propably sell the design, just like chainmail to the Anwa.

Antonio is not a craftsmen so he does not know how it is made, but on the other hand you do have mending which means as long as the testing does not destroy large parts of the thing it should be possible for a craftsman to take it apart for study. The only trouble is figuring out who would be best to hand it to. If you asked the locals they would say 'a wizard', but that is rather beside the desired outcome of mundane crossbows.
 
Antonio is not a craftsmen so he does not know how it is made, but on the other hand you do have mending which means as long as the testing does not destroy large parts of the thing it should be possible for a craftsman to take it apart for study. The only trouble is figuring out who would be best to hand it to. If you asked the locals they would say 'a wizard', but that is rather beside the desired outcome of mundane crossbows.
What kind of crossbow is it, wooden bow, composite bow or metal bow?

For the wooden bow I'd ask a carpenter or boyer, for the metal bow a smith.

Edit: Not sure who to turn to for a composite bow, propably a boyer.
 
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Wooden, though the local carpenters are not used to working with mechanisms. Even something as simple as springs are far less advanced in this age, I checked.
The most basic crossbow relies on very little in terms of mechanisms, besides being a bow, which I guess is a mechanism:


A sled to hold the string, that can be drawn back by hand (not enough force to require anything complicated) and locks itself just through little carvings in the wood.
Edit: The lock for the string itself is another extremly simple mechanism, as far as I can tell.

All of this is less complicated that a metal spring.
 
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Wooden, though the local carpenters are not used to working with mechanisms. Even something as simple as springs are far less advanced in this age, I checked.
That might be something covered in Ipsit's books on metallurgy we looted. IIRC, part of what allowed us to track him down was a piece of spring bronze, which is a tricky alloy to produce.
The most basic crossbow relies on very little in terms of mechanisms, besides being a bow, which I guess is a mechanism:


A sled to hold the string, that can be drawn back by hand (not enough force to require anything complicated) and locks itself just through little carvings in the wood.
I doubt Antonio's crossbow is that simple, though. He could have afforded good quality stuff prior to arriving here, and that likely would have included metal fittings and firing mechanism for his crossbow.
 
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I doubt Antonio's crossbow is that simple, though. He could have afforded good quality stuff prior to arriving here, and that likely would have included metal fittings and firing mechanism for his crossbow.
Right, the picture is supposed to be an ancient greek crossbow, so I think with a model of a crossbow and a decent tinker/carpenter/bowyer they could easily make this simple crossbow with their bronze age techlevel.
 
[X] The young lord himself, Odorin Koire looks as though he had been asked to sit on a bed of needles, perhaps you can offer some advice and in the doing mend any loss of goodwill the moment might have cost
 
Vote closed
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jan 31, 2022 at 2:46 AM, finished with 37 posts and 10 votes.

  • [X] The young lord himself, Odorin Koire looks as though he had been asked to sit on a bed of needles, perhaps you can offer some advice and in the doing mend any loss of goodwill the moment might have cost
    [X] Antonio motions you over to speak of the raising of horses, particularly with an eye to capturing the wild horses of this land to perhaps breed with your own stock
    [X] Bragi seems apologetic, drinking in a corner away from the crowds he had so eagerly sought beforehand, he he claims he has an offer of employment, still even if you do not take it at least you can learn more of where he fits without blurting out a question
 
Arc 10 Post 26: Unspoken Offer
Unspoken Offer

Thirty-Sixth Day of Ikomi-eza (Ikomi Ascendant) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)

Among the throng of folk who had come this way to see and to be seen it seems to you that the one who finds least joy in the company, fine food and finer drink is the host of it all, whose rising star it is meant to mark. Oniso Nkosi Odorin Koire, that is Trade Master in the tongue of the city, seems neither particularly masterful, nor all that engaged in trade. He goes through the motions of greeting and smalltalk with the air of one doing it half by rote and passing from one to the other as swift as he can manage it, and yet he has no company for it, no trusted advisor or steward of the family's fortunes at his side.

It is as much for curiosity's sake as sympathy that you approach him offering apologies for the disturbance you have just been party to, sincere apologies as far as they go, but still making it clear that you could not let the affront to any in your company pass without note, or simply stuff a man's mouth with gold to silence him. Here the demands of honor and those of good stewardship of one's purse go hand in hand.

"I understand... you were not... that is you did not start the trouble and it was I who failed to put an end to it," he offers, stumbling his way into what was probably more of an admission of fault than he had meant to.

"Fights like that, like squalls at sea are." What a pair you make, each struggling to find the right words to the moment.

Thankfully you spot Swift Pebble nearby sampling some of the local pine nuts with a quizzical tilt to her head as though she cannot quite make up her mind if she likes them or not.

"Easier to speak without words if you like?" you offer to the young lord.

He hesitates, but only a moment before nodding, the uncertainty of strange magic overcome, or so it seems to you, by the anxiety of a naturally shy disposition thrust into a stage he was not prepared for.

"Thank you, you saved my family from the death of dishonor," the raw admission spoken without the artifice and the veils of polite fiction all but stuns you.

"It was no more than we would have done for any ship being boarded by pirates and the journey north was its own reward as the profit of our holds shows," you finally manage to get out.

"Mother says it is dangerous to associate with foreign magicians, not knowing whence their powers spring, but you are no magician for all you are a foreigner and you have acted with nothing but honor to me and mine. I think you are a worthy friend and as the head of the House I offer friendship in return." Swift Pebble stops as the boy gathers his thoughts. "Many are the debts we must pay and not all of them can be paid with coin alone. We have had to take the muddy road in many places where the dry one would have been too costly..."

The thought cuts off as the otter-kin realizes the meaning is not getting across, eventually she manages to tease out that it means something like 'pinching pennies', though she is now confused as to why one would want to pinch metal.

"Our guard has seen better days, many of the most experienced of them have been sent as levy to the war, leaving no one but greybeards and striplings to guard our interests in the city and the former do not have as much luck training the latter with the weight of many winters on their shoulders. Though I cannot now pay for the services of such a skilled warrior to train them I would give bond-oath to repay the service when the fortunes of the House are not balanced on reeds."

You are getting a bit better at teasing out the meaning of Swift Pebble's translations, he is offering a favor to be repayed at a later time in exchange for the training of the sworn men of his House. You nod and say that you would give him an answer soon after you had consulted with your fellow founders of the Fellowship.

Unlocked Train the Soldiers of House Koire

Who do you speak to next?

[] A broad shouldered bear of a man wearing the tall cylindrical hats of the Priesthood of Ashinu, he had been the one to bless the opening of the feast thought you had not seen him since, yet now he seems interested in speaking to Swift Pebble, though she is hesitant to approach alone as she does not understand the gods of this realm all that well

[] Antonio motions you over to speak of the raising of horses, particularly with an eye to capturing the wild horses of this land to perhaps breed with your own stock


[] A man wearing not robes but red fringed pants, one of the first such garments you have ever seen would like to speak of your journeys. According to Esha he is one of an order sworn to carry messages to far off places while keeping them secret and safe from all eyes, likely he wants to hear of the less fantastical parts of your journeys, perhaps more

[] Zaia managed to find a book seller of all things among the guests, but unsurprisingly rare books are quite expensive, too much so for him to make any promises of the company finances on his own account

OOC: You cannot speak to Bragi at the moment, Roland can no longer see where he is.
 
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[X] A man wearing not robes but red fringed pants, one of the first such garments you have ever seen would like to speak of your journeys. According to Esha he is one of an order sworn to carry messages to far off places while keeping them secret and safe from all eyes, likely he wants to hear of the less fantastical parts of your journeys, perhaps more

Reliable messengers seems like a good connection, more so for Antonio as a trader than for us personally, but still.
 
[X] Antonio motions you over to speak of the raising of horses, particularly with an eye to capturing the wild horses of this land to perhaps breed with your own stock

Okay... Our horses are an important asset, let's take care of them.
 
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