I can't trust what people claim about their ancestry. If they were really pure then they wouldn't be so short of both body and longevity. It's not like the old days, when the records meant something, now the genealogical records are just worthless bits of paper. Similar with the culture, if anyone can follow the culture, but they are still as weak as an Adan, then there is nothing special about them. The only true proof that can been universally acknowledged is what you can see, the expression of their Numenorean traits.
"I've decided, I'll go with Khrâd's crew."
"Alight" he sank his drink, "I'll introduce you."
We walked over to an older man with an immaculate mustache.
"Good day Khrâd, all right with the world?"
"As good as can be, given the lack of good jobs here."
"Can't be a war every month."
"You here for a reason, or just want someone to talk at while you get pissed?"
"Just came over to help a local lad with an introduction. No real experience to speak of, but he seems to have a good head on his shoulders and be of good stock."
He looks me up and down for a moment.
"Hm, tell me, what languages can you read? Can you do sums?" He asks me
"I can read Adunaic, Black Speech and Westron, though the latter two not nearly as well. I can make do with numbers, they don't intimidate me."
"No Haruze?"
"Should I?"
"Most of the common sailors and corsairs in this part of the coast are Haradrim, of one variety or another, it would be convenient if you at least spoke it."
I shrugged at that, there was no helping my current ignorance, and a promise to attempt to learn the language would be utterly without value at this point.
"Still" he continued "most of the shipments we'd end up hauling aboard, either seized or purchased will either be in Westron or Adunaic of some variety, so it's not that big of a problem. I don't much need another blade at this point, those are so cheap I don't even have to break out the silver. What I need is someone to work out how often we need to stop to turn a ready profit and how long we can stay at port before we start eating into those profits."
"Alright, but why?"
"Waiting for a large deal isn't important, the important thing is to at least break even before you start to lose money. Every day you are sitting in port or at sea without a viable contract is just one more day of wasted provisions and wasted expenses. Ideally, you should time every stop near the end of your provisions, to resupply, and you should be able to sell your cargo for at least as much as what it cost to buy it plus what it cost to get from the last port to the new one."
"I understand."
"Good. There's a ship in the merchant port flying a Mardruak flag. Be there in two days. Travel light, nothing too expensive or easily damaged. Don't worry about arms nor armor, we'll get you kitted out with something if needs be. But you might think about oil-cloth or waxed leather, unprepared clothing will get soaked all to easily, and that can easily lead to a decrease in your health over time."
"Thank you for the advice. I'll see you then."
With that I turned to leave the bar.
Just to be sure that I knew where to head in a few days time I headed down to the docks to look at the ships. Sure enough, a draugaer was flying the iconic golden eagle. No visible weapons to speak of, but they would hardly want to make that obvious if they were to sneak up on other unawares. Oar ports though, to aid in catching up with their prey, which could give the game away.
Looks like about fifteen to thirty people could crew it, depending on how many strong arms you wanted and how many days at sea you wanted. If this is a quick trip to the south, then they will probably offload much of the unnecessary crew and aim for a cargo run, fewer provisions and fewer people to pay at the end of the day.
Heading back to the market I buy some cheap oiled and waxed clothing. Canvas with leather sandals, for everyday wear on ship, I can always pack away my decent clothes for when I get to port, no reason to get them damaged by the salt and the damp.
Over the next few days, I should really focus on. Choose 2
[X] Making local contacts that want me to do things while I am south. – Low chance
[X] Searching my manor for anything that might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Looking into the religious aspects further, seeing what I can find. – Average chance
[X] Looking into the history and geography of the region I am going to, or passing by, there might be opportunities waiting to be grasped. – High chance
[X] Write in
Again, I'll mention that if you dislike a choice that has been decided by vote about the character's personality, it can always be changed later by different votes. I mention this, because I know sometimes I have personally dropped quests because the voters have been idiots, and the changes they have made been locked in forever.
[X] Searching my manor for anything that might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Looking into the history and geography of the region I am going to, or passing by, there might be opportunities waiting to be grasped. – High chance
These seem like a good idea anyway and also have the highest chance of success.
[X] Searching my manor for anythingthat might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Looking into the history and geography of the region I am going to, or passing by, there might be opportunities waiting to be grasped. – High chance
[X] Searching my manor for anything that might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Making local contacts that want me to do things while I am south. – Low chance
Its a low chance but its very useful to our new job..
[X] Searching my manor for anything that might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Looking into the history and geography of the region I am going to, or passing by, there might be opportunities waiting to be grasped. – High chance
[X] Searching my manor for anything that might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Looking into the history and geography of the region I am going to, or passing by, there might be opportunities waiting to be grasped. – High chance
[X] Searching my manor for anything that might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Making local contacts that want me to do things while I am south. – Low chance
At first I wanted to go with geography as the second vote but Veekie is right. If we can find sources of income other than our salary that would be a major plus. And if we decide to not do the "quests" we agreed to worst that could happen is that someone in our home city wants our head *shrug*.
Not to mention that local maps will probably be better anyway, so we can read those once we're in a port there. And our captain or some of the smarter crew members probably know the place better from experience than we will from a few days of study.
[X] Searching my manor for anything that might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Making local contacts that want me to do things while I am south. – Low chance
[X] Searching my manor for anything that might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Making local contacts that want me to do things while I am south. – Low chance
[X] Searching my manor for anything that might be of interest, before it gets stolen by some opportunist while I am out of the city. – High chance
[X] Making local contacts that want me to do things while I am south. – Low chance
Since the two tied, I'll just try to work with both of them. Except for NuclearConsensus, who posted at the last minute
A ship of that class will average about ten knots, or roughly ten miles per hour. The nearest major port would be Ramlod, about fifty miles away, but I doubt that we would put in there as it's too close. By land, Umbar isn't that far from Ramlod, only about 150 miles in a straight line, but by boat it's closer to 600, because you have to follow the coast, go around the peninsula and then curve back in. That would be about sixty hours, or three days, if everything goes ideally. We might put in there, but only if the captain wants to get some work there. We still wouldn't need provisions because we would probably have at least 20 to 30 days worth with the smaller crew compliment.
From Umbar, it would be about 650 miles along the coast to get to Narik-Zadan, the old Numenorean citadel in Mardruak. Give or take a day or so if he wants to get to some other place in the Dependancy.
So, reasonably, a week to get to Mardruak, though that may not be his end goal. For all I know he might work in a cycle, going as far south as there is work and then making his way up the coast throughout the season. But if I try to study every possible place to the south, I'll never get anywhere at all.
The first real difficulty would be the Isles of Shegga, remnants of the Red Cliffs that have fallen into sea along the Southern Coast. They are famous for ship wrecks and pirates, though they may know gristle when they see it, I'm unsure.
Sure, I would love to see Vamag, the ancient palace of the Lady Ard, patron of the Demit Halraba. But at most we'd be passing by it, I'm not sure if you can reach it from the ocean side of it, and I really doubt they would let the ship stop for a few hours so I could visit.
On the other hand, the grand lighthouse of Tarma Tar-Calion near Umbar is one of the two greatest feats of Numenorean architecture I've ever heard of. The other being the Iant Harnen, the bridge across the Harnen river which is over a hundred feet high, five miles long and wields three fortresses. If we stop in Umbar I could probably get a chance to see the lighthouse. Umbar also sports the Ar-Pharazon's Isle, which was built in the bay as a defensive and administrative position by the last king of Numenor. He used a Covenant Stone as the light, and as a monument to the humiliation he made Sauron face.
There are plenty of other rumors and insights to be had about Umbar, but it's hard to know what is still true and what was ever true.
Mardruak is easier in many ways. Whenever Umbar and Bellakar fight, Madruak goes to the victor as a dependent state. In that sense, they have a lot in common with Harondor, but they are more resigned to it and less proactive. Probably because they used to be a kingdom on pare with their neighbors, but then the mutual plots of Umbar and Bellakar resulted in the rise of a local usurper, the assassination of the old royal family and the eventual dissolution of the kingdom into a puppet state.
The two major cities in the region are Nykkea and Narik-Zadan. Nykkea is much younger, but also much about twice as large. The Nykkea is a trade hub, while Narik-Zadan is a fortress town. The local religion focuses on the worship of a pantheon. With Narik-Zadan being dedicated to Najm, the god of the sea. Supposedly that pantheon was the cause of the drowning of Numenor, but Najm warned his followers so they could escape. Probably best not to bring up my skepticism there.
Searching through the various belongings in my family home was tiring and emotionally draining. So much history, languishing in dust. Mostly just some old clothes, furniture and art work of various stripes. A lot of it in disrepair. There were however a few writings laying around.
Of the two great lords to have ruled in this land before the fall of Numenor, the Storm-King Akhorahil may have been the greater, having founded the most powerful and enduring of our kingdoms in Endor, one which stands unbroken to this day. But Adunaphel was by far the more impactful. It was her establishment of a kingdom, independent of Numenor, in northern Harad that set the stage for all the kingdoms to follow.
Not only that, but her rule lasted for nearly four centuries in the region of Nan Umbar, making her easily more powerful than the greatest kings of Numenor. With another thousand years of rule over the Kingdom of Ard in our ancestral lands. This clearly indicates that, to some extent, she learned one of the secrets of immortality, or at least of extending life or preventing death.
Perhaps it was Ar-Pharazon's envy of her long life and fabled beauty that led to him destroying the Kingdom of Ard on his way to Mordor.
If my suspicions are true, then there may be clues at either her old palace at Vamag, near Umbar, or at Lugarlur, which overlooks the pass of Kal Nargil. Both locations are reputed to be haunted, and I can well believe it. Any who is capable of living for so long must clearly have been a sorceress of great power and wisdom, as such protections are only to be expected.
Some clues I have put together. She was originally considered very beautiful and melodious, but after some centuries she hid away her appearance and voice. Which indicates a few possible options, either she had to sacrifice her youth to ensure her life, or she had to alter her fea and in so doing prevented much appreciation for beauty.
There may be some secret in music, she was renowned for her voice and ability with the harp, as are the Elves. She may have uncovered some magic of the elves and tried bend it to the purposes of Men, with unforeseen consequences.
And my mother's writings.
I have recently come to suspect that the Aina Amarth may be a small splinter group of an older and larger religious group. Comparatively, from what I can determine, the cult is actually quite recent. While they might have been able to hide in secrecy, there are no allusions to their existence in older texts, no rumors in old journals, and the writings I have seen them use can only be a few centuries old at the most. Not even properly prepared for long term usage, as most good books of any great age should be.
This is not to say that what they say is untrue, but rather that their existence is not so very ancient.
By contrast, I have heard tell of a group in An-Balukkhôr, the Mulkhêrhil. Or the Children of Morgoth, whom even the original King's Men called black. While the old texts, from immediately after the diaspora, do claim that the kingdom of An-Balukkhôr was overrun with the worship of evil, later trade journals suggest that the new wave of settlers from Numenor shifted their beliefs back to something more traditional.
Here is where the realization that the king was actually victorious starts to appear, as witnesses of the Akallabêth encounter those that were never of The Faithful. They then began to see that Numenor was not beneath the waves, but instead a part of the Undying Lands. With Ar-Pharazon himself as the conquering king of those lands, enthroned upon the bodies of the slain Valor.
However, this is where the ideas start to differ. While the Aina Amarth aim for physical immortality, with the promise of the gift of immortality when the king returns for his final judgement of the world, the Mulkhêrhil instead focus on the idea that the fea of his followers will be kept within the Undying Lands upon the destruction of hröa to live forever in his presence.
If the two groups are indeed related, and I fail to see how they could not be, then the resulting schism would undoubtable be based in the split belief over what immortality meant. This schism would also help in explaining the needed secrecy of the Aina Amarth, as their parent branch would be far more powerful.
If these rumors and resultant conjectures are true, then it may be useful to learn from the Mulkhêrhil in An-Balukkhôr and compare their teachings with that of the Aina Amarth. It is always possible that the Aina Amarth left with incomplete records, or that the schism resulted in great changes and a push for learning among the Mulkhêrhil.
Aside from that, all I found was an unopened letter from an uncle that had died abroad. Mostly smeared, but a few lines could be made out which mentioned Fuiner's Well, which mostly likely is a reference to one of the two founders of the Empire of Harad, but I know not where it might be nor what exactly it refers to. As well as another that seems to talk about the Eyes of the Well. Perhaps it is haunted.
Making sure to pack away what I'm planning to take, I head over to try my luck at finding a secondary source of income on this trip.
Slumping down in a chair I glance over at the half drunk form of an old drinking companion, or rather a young one.
"Berengar, how's the drink tonight?"
"Not so good. I keep trying to drown this wretched hangover, but it doesn't seem to be working."
"There is a reason I keep telling you not to drink two days in a row. Give your body a chance to rest."
"If you're just here to chide me, then I invite you to leave."
"Not at all, I'm here to inform you that I am leaving on a trip of unknown duration."
"Safe trip."
"My thanks. I was hoping someone could make sure I don't get robbed while I'm away."
"Never fear! I'll hire some local lads to steal everything that isn't nailed down, and much of what is, right away. I'll put it in a room for you at my place. If everyone knows that there is nothing to steal, then they should leave it alone."
"A truer friend no man could ask for. I'll brook no refusal, any task I am able on my trip and I will accomplish it!" People are more likely to give you things if they have already done you a favor."
"Where will you be stopping?"
"At the very least at Umbar possibly further south and mayhaps a few smaller ports along the way. I really can't be sure."
"If it's Umbar I can think of a few things. Message delivery, nothing urgent or I would use a mail carrier, but I wouldn't trust this sort of thing to a man I don't know."
"Just tell me how to deliver it and it shall be done. Plus, if you know anyone else around that has similar needs, I'm always open for a bit of work on the side. Anything for friends."
"It just needs to be delivered to my cousins in the Vinyamar district. I'll ask around, I don't think that anyone else would give you a message to deliver, not if I'm the one asking, but they might have a list of things to purchase, if you are able. Though I'm unsure if you would have the ready cash to fulfill their wishes."
"To be honest, I doubt that I could possibly fulfill more than a few, unless I get terribly lucky in the next few weeks. But so long as they know that it is not a promise, and they don't hand over any coin to me, it should be fine."
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow as the tide goes out."
"I'll try to get you a list by tomorrow, along with the message to be delivered. If I don't make it, then don't worry about it."
For the voyage south, I have some ideas, mostly related to the mechanics of running a successful shipping enterprise, but is there anywhere aside from Umbar that you specifically want them to stop at? It could be on the way, a bit out of the way, past Umbar. I'm not picky, so long at it sort of makes sense.
If my suspicions are true, then there may be clues at either her old palace at Vamag, near Umbar, or at Lugarlur, which overlooks the pass of Kal Nargil. Both locations are reputed to be haunted, and I can well believe it.
Right, there's a city that is a prison fortress, some pirate havens, some towns that produce a lot of medicinal herbs, a small island that is a major hub for the slave trade, and an area where underground rivers have carved out a vast cave system. I can't remember the names off the top of my head, but I do remember reading about all of those recently.
Names would be good because I don't remember half of them. Hearing it once, with no apparent relevance to the story at the time it was mentioned, and with the map on another page, means that I forget what's it called almost immediately. I am probably not alone in this, seeing how most other readers are equally at a loss.
I just need a reminder 'oh yeah we had that plot hook', because without it the map is just a lot of fancy sounding places with not a lot of reasons to visit them sans curiosity.
Names would be good because I don't remember half of them. Hearing it once, with no apparent relevance to the story at the time it was mentioned, and with the map on another page, means that I forget what's it called almost immediately. I am probably not alone in this, seeing how most other readers are equally at a loss.
I just need a reminder 'oh yeah we had that plot hook', because without it ithe map is just a lost of fancy sounding places with not a lot of reason to visit them sans curiosity.
Ok, that's a really good point. I can't really do anything about the complicated sounding place names, but I can try to insert maps when they talk about certain areas, to give a point of reference. Not that it will always help, since not all of these places show up on maps, but are instead found "near x and y"
So far there are only actually a very few plot hooks. Only Umbar, Vamag, Kal-Nargil, An-Balakkhor and Fuiner's Well.
Umbar and Vamag can be seen near the bottom of this map
Maros and Isigir, also on that map are supposed to be really good for plants, crops and herbs. The prison fortress I talked about before is Ramlod, but on that map it is called Kas Shadoul. The area around the river that flows near Annabrith, south of Umbar, is the one with the underground cave system. Basically every point along the Isles of Shegga is a pirate base of some sort, especially the MoonStone Fortress.
An-Balukkhor and the Well of Fuiner are on this map
I don't know what is it about Middle-earth Role Playing Wiki, but its images don't look right in Chrome for some reason, loading only a thumbnail where I can't read anything. Possibly because those aren't images but vignettes?
Far as I see, none of the locations are on the path the ship is sailing through, except for possibly Tol Glingal... maybe Ramlod, even though that's a bit out of the way?
An-Balukkhor is too far south, and the other two are inland locations.
Basically, it would go way better if you had a possible list of locations for us to choose from, considering the ship's destination. Maybe with possible reasons for us to visit, because while the character may have an idea what he could find there that would help his cause, we certainly don't.
[] Ramlod
[] Tol Glingal
Ramlod is one of our biggest cities, but is there anything we could want from there?
Tol Glingal is mostly for curiosity's sake.
Yeah, maybe it was a silly question to ask, trying to get a vote out of vague ideas. I just didn't want to post with no options. Because the last chapter and this next one have taken quite a bit of time to write, and are kind of on autopilot until there's a regularly scheduled plot interrupt.
You could have us interact with the crew and have the vote influence our first impressions of them and theirs of us if you can't think of another vote in the next chapter.
I want to take a look at where the slaves are coming from. Besides, it's probably a major port for other corsairs. It might do us some good to know who else is in this business.
Due to the wise suggestions of voters, the vote here is actually worth something.
Getting up an hour before sun-rise I made my way to the harbor. The whole stretch was covered in braziers and torches to light the hustle and bustle of daily exodus.
"Akhazôr Telengûr?" A beggar child asks. At my nod he hands me two sealed envelopes. Looking at me expectantly I quickly flick my head off towards the city, he gets the idea and leaves before he gets the boot.
It's worse when they try to clamp onto your leg and won't let go till you throw them off or pay them. The older ones know better, fewer broken bones when they don't even try it.
Khrâd looked up at me from across the map.
"Your basic calculations aren't actually wrong, but a tad naïve. We don't ever buy supplies at major ports, it's too expensive, so we go from a large port to a small town and buy our food and water there. Then we go off to some other small ports and towns to pick up decent trade goods and then sell them in a major port. The large ports, like Mirlond and Umbar, are good for selling things and finding contracts, but the costs of hiring people and buying goods is far too high for it to be worth it. So, while we could pretty easily do one straight stretch all the way to Umbar, or even further, that isn't what we will actually be doing. There will be a few other stops along the way to keep the margins wide."
"Alright." I acknowledge. "How much extra time does that add?"
"More than you might think. Following the coast at a decent cruising distance so as to catch the winds and currents without getting caught in the shallows is a pretty fast and easy way to sail. But turning from there into a port will take at least half a day, pulling into a harbor safely, without running the risk of damaging your ship can take hours to do right and can sometimes require the use of oars, especially if it's not a good harbor. So often you'll lose the whole day because you'll then want to wait for the tide to leave the next morning."
"So, at least three or four extra days."
"Right, and as you said, that's under ideal conditions. While a lateen sail can sail diagonally into the wind, it still doesn't help if there is a calm period. And if the ship does get damages for whatever reason along the way, we'll have to find a place to make repairs, either a port or just someplace calm and safe to do it ourselves. Ultimately, the oars are mostly to help guide the ship or give it a bit of extra chasing power, not a primary means of moving it."
"Where to first? And what do we need there?"
"Ramlod first. Ten days of food and water for fifteen men."
"That's… 140 gallons of water? So call it three fifty gallon barrels. Food, that will depend a lot more on what kinds of things you want them to eat and what you are willing to pay for. You might be able to avoid paying for alcohol, if you put into port a reasonable number of times, but I think they'd still be unhappy about it."
"That is true, but it's easier to having a small ration on the ship and then let them get drunk at shore. That way, if they do damage then it's not on anything that's going to sink and kill us all. Easier to get rid of a drunkard or problematic man that way too, just leave without them. Saves on paying them too."
"If my main job is going to be being a clerk, then that's only really something that will come into effect when the contents of the hold change. I doubt you're going to be paying me for a few days' work a week."
"You're right. Everyone has to pull their weight on a ship, there's simply not enough room for idle hands. Unless it's a passenger run, in which case we get to charge a lot extra. You'll be under me and my second, Hunthor. That doesn't mean that you can order anyone around though, you're so green you still smell of grass. But at the same time I don't expect someone that I'm paying to do more than be a strong arm to be considered one of the rabble either."
"You mind if I take it from here?" Said a skeevy looking man from the doorway.
"Not at all. This is Hunthor. He's more or less the expression of my wrath aboard ship."
Ah, so that was it. The captain is the father of his crew while his second is hated by all. Not only does it pare off most of the negative sentiment, but it also makes any mutiny lead by the second all but impossible. The only downside being that the second is never going to be able to take over any of the more complex duties of the captain.
Training behind Hunthor I broke the silence.
"Have you been on this ship long?"
"About eighteen months now."
"Forgive my ignorance, but is that long?"
"Longest of any of the current crew. Can't say it's the same for cargo haulers and the like, but fighters usually don't stay in the business long unless they are lucky, skilled, in command, or have no other choice. They either die or leave when they get enough coin or they decide that it's too risky to keep on."
"And most don't last a year doing that?"
"Not exactly. Most contracts last from when you board to when the ship turns around. So a lot of crew jump off in the south to find something that pays better, or take a few months off to spend their money before they find another ship. But again, that's just for corsairs and other mercenary groups like us, for more peaceful crews, I know some that are my age who have been on the same ship since they started shaving, same for pirate crews that base out of one place and raid the same shipping lanes seasonally. It's because the Haradrim can't stay put for long, it's made it common in this part of the world, up north or down further south it's less so."
"Is there anything I should know before we head out?"
"Hm, yeah, a few things. Sandals not boots. Unless we're in a fight, you want footwear that will let the water flow out. The other is that we're going to have to help row the ship out of the harbor, when you do, don't try to move the oar with your arms, move it with your whole upper body."
"Thanks."
How do you want the crew to see you?
(What kind of respect do you want, and what will you have to do to get it?)
[X] Considerate
[X] Knowledgeable
[X] Tough
[X] Write In
Part of the whole reason you chose the idea of joining a crew was to get hands on experience, what do you want to focus on?
(For basic comparison, Khrad is like a merchant/mercenary class trainer, Hunthor is like a rogue class trainer, and the crew are basically just sailors. While the crew do have skills of their own, most of their knowledge and fighting skills aren't actually as useful on a ship as what Hunthor and Khrad kno, they're cheap fodder.)
[X] Focus on the manual tasks involved in running a ship. Ask the common crew a lot of questions and observe how they work.
[X] Focus on the use of short bladed weapons. Ask Hunthor about fighting on ships and in close quarters, get his advice and instruction.
[X] Focus on the numbers side of things. Ask Khrâd more about the specifics of how a ship runs day to day and season to season, as well as the numerical and social mechanics that go on behind the scenes.
[X] Write In
In your job as clerk, do you plan to find ways to skim off the top or focus on professionalism. (Remember you are a rogue)
[X] Knowledgeable
[X] Focus on the numbers side of things. Ask Khrâd more about the specifics of how a ship runs day to day and season to season, as well as the numerical and social mechanics that go on behind the scenes.
[X] Skimmed
Know your numbers, know how much you can take and make sure you look like you know what you're doing so nobody checks.
We're not primarily a fighter if we want to eventually captain a ship we need to know both how to actually sail it as well as how to plan supplies. Since we already know a bit about accounting I feel like we should start learning about sailing. [X] Considerate
[X] Focus on the manual tasks involved in running a ship. Ask the common crew a lot of questions and observe how they work.
[X] Whole
Never ever skim of mercenaries especially when you're as new as we are.
