Archon's Curse [Pathfinder Kingmaker]

Saraenith 4710
The longest day of the year, enough sunlight to work to work until late in the evening. At least that had been the plan up until... about midday when a loud cracking noise had begun to be heard. Fears of something breaking had been put aside, as all the beams seemed fine, but the growing heat from the egg and the repeated increasing crunching mounting from within provided an answer. One of the junior priests, and a mason in service to the church of the Inheritor, had rushed to fetch him shoving their way past Jhod and some others as they'd waited in line.

For good reason too they barely made it back to the site of the cathedral as noon took shape over head, and the wyrmling finally freed itself from the egg. An explosive burst of flame from the egg's boundary harmless smashed itself against a half completed wall of masonry brick. The cracking of shattered egg fragments redoubled as the wyrmling leapt out of the incubator to survey the 'lair'.

"Big."

"Aye."

The outburst from kobold, and then Harrim's reflexive simple acknowledgement was met with a sudden shift. Golden eyes flittered underneath a crown of sharp horns. He'd, Eire, was inclined to agree, the wyrmling on hatching he'd expected would have been well probably bigger than Linzi, but not the size of a full grown human. "Harrim pull everyone back." He ordered stepping to body block the incoming fire blast. A hundred and thirty something pounds of muscle, ungainly as the charge might have been, had followed after the charge.

Wrestling the crimson scaled wyrmling to the ground, and avoiding getting bit in the process took some effort but Eire was fully acclimated to being immune to fire so the errant fire bursts did nothing but make a big light show. The frenzied hatchling took the better part of a few hours to calm all the same which left him sitting in the cathedral while everyone else went about the business of the day.... though part of the problem was new comers just made the dragon more irritated... but within a few hours it was conversant in draconic if nothing else, and by nightfall could carry on a conversation in that language.

"This was not how I wanted to start the work week." He muttered, not out of any wish to not be heard, but really to grouse. The Wyrmling's incubator and fragments of egg had had a partition wrapped around most of it giving the dragon a vantage point to look out, but where it didn't have to contend with most.

Jaethal snorted, "That should go without saying." She threw a pointed glance at the two kobolds leaning out of their provided chairs.

The dragon hatching put them now in the spot of having to... him having... to mind the wyrmling, "We will give it a couple of days, Valerie I want you to ride out to the Nixie's glade and mark out precisely where it is and then map everything back to the southern crossing. I want a watch post there in the future, but once you've done that speak with Kresten. We're going to go north west and look for a crossing over the river."
--
That would be what led them into the woods, and eventually to remote section of the skunk river, where several sandy islets created the ford they had been looking for. At some point probably within the last few generations someone had tried to build a crossing that had since collapsed in, but had left large chunks of rubble strewn across the river's passage.

Amiri swung on instinct turning her giant's sword towards a nearby maple tree just as a six foot creature leapt from a hole at the base of the tree. The verdant reptile had clearly draconic features , and from its mouth wafted greenish vapors. "Another one over there." Linzi shouted pointing towards one of the isles in the river. The second green reptile had reared up from where it had been sunning itself making a shrill cry, that was drowned out by the beat of long red wings as the wyrmling took flight.

Amiri parried claws and hissing brought the thick blade to lever the Tatzylwyrm she was fighting back towards the brush. "I got this." She snapped.

"Clearly," Jaethal agreed as the best circled back towards the barbarian. The inquisitor made no move to intervene in the fight as Amiri corrected her stance and rushed towards the lizard, just as a crash sounded from the river. The stream of haughty condemnations of the false dragon's lineage rained from the hatchling red as she dived to meet the other Tatzlwyrm on the pile of rocks it had been leisurely occupying.

Linzi blinked and let her crossbow rest limply, "Should we be do something?" She asked in her high pitched squeak.

"Let them fight, we'll never hear the end of it if we don't let them." Jaethal counseled, not clarifying to mean one or the other. It was just the five of them after all. Harrim had remained at the site of Shrikewall to mediate and deal with matters of religion, particularly regarding the Erastil faithful and what was to be done regarding rebuilding the temple of the elk farther north.

The young dragon gave an attempt at a triumphal bellow as it roasted the Tatzylwyrm with a fifteen foot cone of white fire that completely burned through the reptile's upper half. A moment later Amiri had successfully decapitated the Tatzlwyrm, which she proceeded to pick up, "Trophy!" She declared happily.

An angry huff of flame, and then the dragon pointed towards the water, "Treasure." Then jumped into the churning waters. Within a few moments the wyrmling had dragged out the meager horde of the tatzlwyrms, the possessions of a long dead explorer.

"That's cold iron." Jaethal remarked inspected the masterwork longsword before moving to the decaying leather satchel. There were some coins, a ring, she scoffed at a jade carving of a nude female elf, but then tossed a watertight scroll tube that Eire carefully opened.

"What is it?" Amiri asked.

"A map, looks like he came down from the north," The map had some kind of scrawled signature in Taldan, but probably not a Taldan name, ABU IJN, the rest unclear due to a tear at the end. The map had the Temple of the Elk marked, as well as the source of the Skunk river, at the time it had been written Abu whatever his name was, had been had indicated to the north a village to the north west, "What's this mean?" He indicated an icon

"Tiger Lords, I believe," Jaethal said translating, "At one point they stretched all over this territory, but I don't know if they'd still be there. This map is probably at least fifty years old. It appears he trekked in from Numeria, it looks like there maybe ruins further north" She added indicating somewhere maybe eight or ten miles on the eastern side of the Skunk. "Probably more taldan ruins."

It was possible that if they had used the crossing here that they'd have been able to north and then find another one to cross back over, but they decided not to chance it, loaded up the small cache, and returned to wence they had come and followed the river north as it jinked easterly and then straightened north. Slowly away from where the fast moving curve kept the water relatively clean and free the land turned into a soggy mire, and in the distance were definitely old fortifications of Taldan make. Blocks of mud and moss stained black basalt lay half sunk into the earth The Taldan buildings were probably the remains of a fort and had likely been surrounded by a curtain wall given the sheer amount of stones all lyring around...

Somewhere a loud croak sounded, and then an equally froggy voice cried out 'TRUCE! TRUCE!" The male boggard was a pitiful sight as he hobbled out from one of the smaller buildings. He stank of booze, and had a badly maimed left hand, but lowered his hands when they didn't attack, "Garrum," He used his good hand to indicate himself, "Slurk" He pointed to the magical beast that had joined its master, "You?" They made introductions, and Garuum offered them a half way passable moonshine made from what he assumed was a salvaged still from somewhere and some crickets covered in some kind of sauce that while crunchy were edible. That was about the limit of Garrum the Boggard's common though. Magical means rectified that. "Escaped from home swamp," To the west in the lands claimed by Drelev's charter. "Many statues of Elk man in north. Moss covered, and then across river big stone, pool, many monstrous animals."

"No longer. Monsters destroyed." Linzi replied, Garrum had been living in the area for a while and knew about the tatzlwyrms, as well had seen Tuskgutter a time or two, but not sense Amiri had killed the big pig.

The reason though for Garrum the Boggard's injured hand and his flight from hooktongue slough with Drelev, he'd been escaping his own chieftain after having launched... a failed rebellion on his lonesome. The pulverized left hand though was easy to fix with healing magic, which amazed the frog man into telling them about a dead unicorn that didn't rot in glade across the river, somewhere south of a statue of Erastil but north of what he described as a huge stone kingdom. Given his description is must have on the Murque river given the implied western distance, and southerly location.

They made the decision to keep trekking north, but veered eastward to make for the Temple of The Elk. "What do you make of the boggard's tale of a stone kingdom?"

"That's what he called his home," Eire remarked as they approached the Temple grounds. "I expect if he describes it as bigger its probably a more intact Taldan fortification... but if its as far as he says it is then its too far for us to do anything about just yet, but it does suggest there are a number of recoverable fortifications." In truth though, "The possibility of that village in the north, I would want to investigate that first." Garrum had made clear he hadn't gone into the big stone kingdom saying he'd had a bad feeling about it, but it had at least appeared abandoned to him. Not really a surprise.

They slowed their approach as Beaky the Owlbear gave a trumpeting call, which was not so much a warning as it reminded them that the dragon hadn't met the owlbear, or Akiros for that matter who appeared shortly thereafter.

He did a double take, "We only just received word the egg had hatched. I didn't expect him,"

"Her," Eire corrected.

"We are Shaoyu, the radiant sword of midday." The wyrmling declared imperiously flaring her wings.

Akiros Insmort glanced to Eire, "Praise Iomedae?" He asked unsurely.

There was no guarantee that she'd stick with this one, but there were only so many things to read, especially given the hatchling's limited grasp of common without using comprehend language, and that was first level magic. There was also the fact that there was a very real chance the foisting of the egg off had been the age factor. As a young adult dragon a hatchling would be a comparatively much greater draw on resources and potential rival.... but Eire hadn't voiced that as it was pure speculation on his part. "How are things here?" Eire asked changing the subject.

"I can show you, but pretty well I think."

Destruction of the evil bear treant had purified the area... probably the destruction of all of the corrupted guardians had purified the area, but there was a difference between that and the cleaning of a more mundane sort in terms of physical appearance. The Taldan had preferred stone construction, and that showed with the way the grounds were laid out, restoring the mix of stone arches and wooden beams to hold up the roof would take longer, but the surrounding acreage was now occupied with tens of tents and masses of people who had made the trip from the surrounding area. For good reason, purged of the taint the pool at the stairs was capable of healing wounds even if you couldn't bottle the water and have it retain the effect.

 

Erastus 4710​

The Temple of the Elk wasn't really set up or in condition to celebrate Archer's day thus the commiseration of the Erastilian holy day had been somewhat minor. There had technically been an archery contest among the men and boys who had journeyed to the shrine. The boggard's word of a statue of Erastil to the west had been shared, and Insmort had stated he would at some point in this seventh month of the year he would investigate.

Shaoyu had managed to gain the ability to shape shift into... Eire wasn't sure if it was human or assimar... or maybe some near-er to the latter tiefling... regardless form to join practicing with the longsword taken from the loot of the tatzylwyrms. That was what was the thing currently occupying most of the wyrmling's time.

"I didn't know that was a thing."

"I admit," He replied to Akiros's comment, "Its very early." He couldn't recall anything in the lore, of Faerun admittedly, ... well silver dragons maybe? Not reds though... on the other hand he was almost certain that alignment wise Shaoyu was Lawful Evil not Chaotic, but he could have been wrong... and really that was more inclination than a hard fact. "In any event I'll be continuing north to visit Oleg," While finding crossings in the river had been the point of this venture, he was also circling the domain to familiarize himself with the landscape. He'd been baron for really only about a month and change, "Oleg's, and then survey the eastern riding." Eire was debating whether or not to visit the old scyamore and the Sootscale kobolds, but was presently leaning against it. It would ultimately depend on how far to the west he intended to ride before turning back east to reach the north of the shrike river, and then make south along the north banks until they returned to Shrikewall. "Its a near certainty to see about Kressel, and Davik," and the crossing there. "If you do cross the river be on the look out for any Kellid communities, at one point there was a Tiger Lords village in the northwest I'd like to open contact sooner rather than later."

"Yes my lord."

He was somewhat repeating himself, since the first thing that they had done had been to make and distribute copies of the Tatzlwyrm map and to make it clear that Garrum the Boggard like Melianse the Nixie were not to be harmed. "If they're still there." Jaethal pointed out.

Eire nodded, "Yes, the map we found is somewhat old," and in complete at the time it had been lost at that, "The immediate goal is to map out the territories from the eastern banks of the Skunk to the western Thorn, and then we'll move on to the western Thorn to the eastern Shrike with crossings over them." Technically the work at Nettle's crossing had already started the latter. "Have there been any issues here? Interesting developments?"

"Interesting?" The shaggy haired ex paladin shook his head, "No, well I think one of the acolytes rescued a thylacine from a trap. Jhod thinks we might a worg problem, at least according to the peasants, but I've only seen boars, and thylacines."

That was good news.
--
It was a forty mile ride, including cross the Thorn River crossing to the immediate east of the Temple of the Elk, and through forest for most of the way to reach Oleg's Trading Post, or what would become Oleg's Town. The old border fort sat just off where the South Rostland Road did a ninety something degree turn and formed the defacto northern border of the barony, even technically the south rostlandic road turning north meant that the 'legal' border in the west moved increasingly northwar following the old road. By the time the road made another ninety degree turn to follow the East Sellen river towards New Stetven it had already crossed their westn border into the lands of Hannis Drelev.

"Just in time for soup." Svetlana remarked as they entered the old fort currently in the process of being rennovated into the effectively town center, "Oleg's favorite, Bokken found some moon raddishes somewhere that he decided to share.

Jaethal and Eire shared a look, while Linzi was too busy scrawling praises on Bokkens generosity, Svetlana's hospitality, and Oleg's favorite. Still the three of them, and the polymorphed young dragon entered the hall where Oleg was was faced with his own side of things. Oleg Leveton was a rotund city man of middling talents firmly grounded in his capacities, for the most part. The exception might have been his willingness to fight bandits but even that he could largely be talked out of. There was a reason that despite sitting on, rather immediately adjacent to, what probably was the best farmland in the region Eire's letters patent specified his right to the town. The south rostlandic plain was great farmland.

"Another list, your grace?"

"Yes, though admittedly I was coming to ask if there had been any news from Restov, or from Varnhold."

"Nothing from Varnhold, and nothing unusual from Restov." The paunchy merchant replied, "Haven't had any bandit problems. I think all the travel has spooked them off, or they heard what happened to the Stag Lord." He added after a moment once he was sure that his wife was out of ear shot.

That Eire had found it was going to be necessary to introduce the three field (or any later crop rotation system of farming) system had actually been something of a sharp surprise. Part of that was because potatos were an available foodstuff. In hindsight the three field system had been exported from France, and its spread had... been slow. It had taken centuries for it to spread into northern Europe... so perhaps somewhere on Golarion it might have existed but it didn't seem to exist in Brevoy or at least wasn't common.

"Oats and barley feed horses," and on top of well feeding horses who could work the field he planned to use horse farms in order to facilitate something akin to the pony express / mongol style relay station. It was too late in the year to start planting regular crops. The normal field system standard planting would have started in Gozran before had set out for Restov, but if they could have the horses, the plows, and harnesses ready by the time harvest was finished they could start the reorganization of farms and that was what he was aiming for. Then potentially go to a Townshend system to support livestock breeding all year round. ... and part of it was that for the time being Restov was both in a good mood, he assumed, and willing and available to trade. "This is an investment into the barony for its future prosperity."
--
A comment that he would reiterate to both the dragon, Jaethal, as well as Linzi over the next few days when they asked. Elves, or at least Kyonin was a heavily stratified society along class and professional lines Jaethal knew nothing about agriculture as that was left to professional elven farmers in the countryside. Linzi had at least grown up on a farm, but her description of it wasn't precisely flattering, and wasn't inspiring either.

One of Oleg's friends, Loy Rezbin thought that the 'Tatzlford' sounded like a great place to establish a village in the Narlmarches, which had prompted the latest discussion, which had developed. Loy hadn't been the least dissuaded by the fact he'd have Garrum Boggard to the north and the Nixie a bit further to south. They would have to see how that worked out, but it certainly wasn't the sort of thing Eire would have refused. The Skunk river needed to be secured before they could begin to really move further west and explore to the legal western border of the narlmarches. "Rezbin's offer to consolidate a village on the river is something we should support because it will benefit in the long term." He looked into the summer sky, in a month it would be First Crusader's day... but quite frankly they were no more likely to have any major celebrations of that than Archer's day had been, but the feast of Inheiritor's Ascendance would likely warrant some commemoration.. Armasse would likewise might or might not see some measure of celebration, but hardly the traditional week long festival after the ides. In three months it would be Ascendance Day, the day he was keeping in reserve to proclaim the domain officially.... but if everything were ready he would choose the 19^th of Rova, the Day of the Inheritor to celebrate Mass, and the local coronation... but that more than anything would depend upon the status of cathderal.

He got up and returned to the communal hall, "One other matter," Two really, "Oleg, I'd like any information Jamandi has about the Iron Wraiths, when was the last time she heard from them, and anything about the Tiger Lords tribe." That would prove to be ultimately a rabbit hole, but was a question that would take months to even begin to unravel, and years to see to its conclusion, long after a young barony had become something else entirely.
--
Notes: Tomorrow I am going to plan for updating Out of the Dark, that is very tentative, and may not happen.

 

Erastus 4710​

They had returned to the hall of Shrikewall for libations, "I don't ever want to be king." Regongar declared loudly to the other half orc, crossing his arms just as Kessil finished catching them up on the last week's work. As it was the emancipated slave had spent the last week ranging across the northern banks, simply because he hadn't had the patience to just sit and guard the crossing to the other side... and he had gotten tired of the exhortation that patience was a virtue.

"Its not normal that we're not getting reports of bandits in the south." Harrim interjected before another argument begin, and the absence of bandit activity was suspicious.

"They're probably fighting amongst themselves." Valerie pointed out, "To see who will be in charge, its an excellent opportunity to strike them all down, and root out any camps we can find." On that matter she had Garress's support, and Octavia, and Regongar's.

"We might consider," Tristian remarked, "That the lack of bandit activity may be that they have recognized the opportunity to to turn over a new leaf, so to speak. To repent. Word has by now spread of the pardons and offers to depart peacefully extended to the stag lord's followers."

Octavia paused, and nodded, "Well it would be one thing if they had gone straight." The wizard agreed.

"They should still be made to answer for their crimes," Valerie declared, "They can't accept a pardon without having first confessed."

Looks were shared around the table, and nothing was said for a few moments.

"Maybe they got eaten by dragons." Harrim suggested. Everyone looked at the dwarf, "What, they could just as easily had some terrible fate befall them." He ran his hand through his beard, "We don't know what's going on, but we will need to find out one way or another." His tone implied that regardless of what happened they probably wouldn't like it.
--
They had accompanied Bokken back to his hut, where he had provided them with a few magical potions, and then ridden south for about thirty miles. A lone oak stood, the only tree in a couple miles stood on a low hill, from the direction they road it looked almost like a claw. It made as good a place as any to stop and camp since it provided a fair view of the surrounding area.

Amiri kicked at the treet's old roots, "Somebody was digging here," The barbarian declared. The hollow under the scorched dead tree showed what looked like where a shovel had bit into the roots, but they were probably months old. Ten minutes of digging yielded a heavy leather traveler's cloak used to wrap a wand a dagger, masterwork, a silver ring, and a water damaged spellbook. Eire had no use for the spellbook, or the wand, but they were backed up to be taken back anyway, and Amiri took the knife because it was the only thing she was interested in.

The following morning they had ridden for the lands he had named to Svetlana's sister. Dead Dave was supervising a work party to create arch inside of what looked to be a simple caisson around the pilings. Davik Nettle seemed in quite a good mood as he worked with the stones. Kressel, Svetlana's half sister, was with a second party supervising a small hall and stable complex on the north shore. The division of labor was probably a recent decision Eire judged. There was a divide in building materials as much of the effort for the bridge crossing was stone, where the hall and stables were simple log construction. Most likely this was probably not intended to be a motte and bailley no raised mound had been constructed, and no palisade had been thrown up.

Svetlana's sister ran her hand through rough shorn brown hair, "The Stag Lord apparently tried to rebuild the crossing we used a camp here when we started, but it was never meant for horses." That explained a second campfire aways further Eire reckoned as he looked beyond, across the Shrike River to the south to the Kamelands beyond. Krestle was their western most outpost not quite the legal border of chartered land, but close enough, and he was banking on that her ties to Svetlana would keep her honest. A dozen miles to the east was old Scyamore and the koblds and mites

"Has there been any trouble?"

"None, once the bridge is back up Davik thinks we will be back to having regulars tolls," there was a waterfall up river that kept the shrike moving fast enough that it didn't freeze over in the winter and that made it hazardous to cross in the spring as well. That meant a potentially lucrative, but more likely reliable modest income.

To the east were the Nomen Heights, and the Dunsward, the lands bequeathed to Megar Varn in his charter. Varn's Varnhold was about fifty miles south of restov, and Varnhold was about the same distance, if through a mountain pass and across the crooked river as well, from Nettles' crossing.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Well, I was going to say," She began, "There have been legends about a silver dragon to the south the silverstep lake,"

"have you asked around?"

Only Dead Dave as it happened, "He said that there might be two. One at the lake, and another one in the Tors further east named Amvarean, but he hasn't seen either of them in person."


"Perlivash has mentioned a silver, I'll ask him," And ask the faerie dragon to consult any of the other faerie dragons as well. "You shouldn't have any trouble, silver dragons favor diplomacy, if you see one send a rider to Shrikewall, and if one appears in person, in dragon form, be polite, and ask they go to the capital themselves." Eire paused, glancing at Shaoyu's humanoid form, "Silvers like taking the forms of half elves, so that bears consideration."

Jaethal parroted his tone once Kressle had returned to her own companions, "What is it?"

"There are two possibilities. Mendev has a surprisingly large population of silver dragons in service to Iomedae," A snide naturally from the inquisitor interjected, before pressing him for the other, "The other is Galt. The Silver Dragons have made it clear they dislike that kingdom, and its policies. Either are close enough to our western frontier to explain the rumors as well as to explain why we haven't seen them lately."

"And?"

He paused, and turned from looking south, to the east, "Farther east, in Iobaria there are white dragons, that's beyond Varnhold's lands, but they are out there." He shook his head, "I'll mention it in any letter I draft to our eastern neighbors as a precaution." He would have to check the maps regarding exactly whose domain Lake Silverstep fell under, but probably the entirety of the claw shaped lake fell to the eastern barony. Even if the lake shores were part of his own domain it would still bear informing his neighboring of dragons on the doorstep. A courtesy that if he were being honest he wasn't likely to extend Hannis Drelev.
--
They continued to ride along the north shore after leaving Kressle to resume her work the following morning, and elected not to pivot west away from the river. They'd travel to Old Sycamore some other time. It was the last leg of the trip, in terms of the trip and comparable to most. About thirty miles down stream from Nettles was a ford about three feet deep where the thorn and shrike rivers met that made for an easy crossing, and once over it was another fifteen miles along the north shore of the Shrike to the site of the capital. That ford was almost certainly ideal for their needs in terms of a watch post north of the capital... but Davik Nettle was still occupied with his expanded bridge over the crossing so any work there would have to wait... possibly even until spring next year.

"Ah we're back everyone." Linzi declared waving excitedly several sheafs of maps documenting the ish two hundred mile circuit that they had ridden around the realm over the course of about a month. That journey was simply a facet of being a feudal lord, and in order to reduce the time such trips would take in the future they would need better roads, and better maps. Linzi was just happy to show everyone her work.

Eire took his place at the head of the hall's great table and began preparing to return to his agricultural concerns ... in the case the matter of 'royal miles'. When the knight cleared her throat to draw his attention, "My lord, during your absence there was a petitioner to whom we could not adequately address their concerns." Mouri declared, this must have been news to Tristan because his face clearly expressed his surprise. The Knight of Torrent had apparently been assisting Kesten while Tristan had been assisting with the southern patrols... apparently having had no other recourse a peasant woman from a nearby village had come begging assistance for her missing son. Ordinarily that would have been the sort of thing he'd have expect Tristan to be all over. He put the fountain pen down without having started.

"I see." He could feel the headache, "Very well, Saeya you, Tristan, may gather Jenna Tannersen and Kesten," Who was presumably off doing his job. "Regongar, Octavia Valerie, this bandit matter, did you ever reach a decision?" No they had waited for him. He nodded at the response. "I want to form a second party and accompany us south of the Skunk River, we're going to investigate that abandoned village, Bokken has a brother I'm afraid. He lives somewhere on that side. I would prefer if you could take him alive," Truthfully Bokken believed his brother beyond saving, but it sounded as if the mad hermit had been cursed in childhood... and Eire wanted to investigate that possibility. "As to bandit camps, if an attack needs to be launched on such camps you're to take Jaethal."

"What?" The elf protested.

"You're the strongest person after myself," He pointed out, she grumbled, "I want to know however as much as possible about any other bandits, and what's going on you may consider that your official duty." Spymaster. "Harrim, I had hoped that we'd be able to start investigate ruins on the other side of the river, if we find any dwarven ones we will bring you to them. Amiri depending on what Kesten has to say I may ask you to remain here with him and support the guards , alternatively you may need to accompany Jaethal as support to any bandit hunts." All of those were contingencies He didn't like stripping the town in progress of most of its defenders but he had a good idea of sorts of what was coming... Amiri's concern focused more on being wherever the biggest fight was. "The bandit hunt is important to the realm's security, we need to secure our southern frontier and prevent anyone filling the Stag Lord's place."

 

Erastus 4710​

Eire cleared his throat as the noise in the hall settled back to a more reasonable clamor. "Shaoyu, we are going to have a very long conversation about this later." He informed the furious red head dragon in human form who had justed called out Jenna Tannersen's ... well lack of truthfulness. "We will inquire with the old witch the location of your son Jenna, his running away will be investigated thoroughly." Eire kept his hand on the dragon's shoulder, "We will depart immediately."

The shaking nervous peasant woman nodded, bowed, and was helped out of the room by Tristan who was all too happy to console the distraught mother.

"She was lying." Shaoyu declared exhaling a burst of sparks and smoke.... and perhaps the best of the indignation explanation was in how she had responded to Akiros's store of his own exile, and fall from grace, and how the dragon had parsed that story.... versus how it should have been

"Yes, obviously." Eire agreed with the hatchling, "And casting blame around rather than accepting one's own responsibility is a common facet in all life. Calling people on it is not generally productive, your outburst contributed little to our thing."

"She's going to stay at the tavern," Tristan declared stepping back from the entry / mudroom of the great hall.

Eire raised an eyebrow... but he supposed given the volume of workers establishment of a place to drink, eat and rest made sense. "Good. I don't like this Candlemere place we're going to mount an initial search, and apparently the Old Beldane lives near that village," It had been her house that the other party had spotted, "We will ask her about the missing child. In the mean time Harrim see what all you can learn about the isle."

"You think the boy might have gone to the ruins?"

"I hope he's not that stupid." he replied, preempting the dwarf from certain doom, "but we'll need to mount an expedition to the island and clear out whatever monsters live there anyway. Truthfully though I want that for after we've proclaimed the city, Valerie you said you believe there is a bandit camp somewhere over the Skunk River?"

"We think so on the other side of the Nixie's glade, or nearby at least."

He nodded. "We will inquire with the witch, and go from there." Go from there meant most likely riding south for Candlemere, and then trying to find a crossing to the Lizard Folk Village, "Most likely that will mean your party scouring to the west, even ahorse finding sign of the boy in the woods will take the longest," Assuming that Tig Tannersen hadn't in fact drowned in the lake. They did leave as soon as the horses were ready. Harrim promised to send a messenger north to the Erastil priests when Jhod returned, or if someone headed for Olegs, but other than that they set off for the west, and crossed the river leaving Kesten and his guardsmen posted at the simple wooden watchtower on the bluff overlooking the Skunk.
--
It had been nearly dark by the time they reached the village in the distance that Valerie had spied with her far eye weeks earlier from the then recently completed wood stand. The Old Beldane's farmstead stood separate and lonesome from the rest of the old decaying village along the south east bank of the Tuskwater.

Perlivash and Tyg didn't care for it. A dark force, a malevolent oppressive miasma hung over the ground, and they weren't simply feeling the profane feeling of Candlemere further away. "Could the old witch be a hag?" Saeya asked leaning on her polearm and staring at the mud brick farmstead isolated away from the old village a hillside beyond the marsh. The home was ringed by a wooden fence around it, and if the crow on the cypress tree wasn't a familiar then Eire would have been shocked.

The two fae were more comfortable walking towards the Old Beldame's hut than they were towards the village abandoned a half century earlier. Shaoyu hissed a burst of flame at the mosquitos buzzing around as they continued to trundle through fetid mud to reach the gate of the fence. "Scarecrow's enchanted," He told the others, and reached for the rusted bell.


"What in damnation are you doing here?" A voice from the porch of farm house demanded.

Saeya's hag guess was ... well that speculation might have made sense given the gray haired woman's appearance there was a near greenish tint to her skin, "Elga Verniex, daughter of Settrex." Eire declared as Shaoyu drew her human form... to its relatively insubstantial average human height, "I am Eire, baron of Shrikewall overlord of the Narlmarches. I come, because you have been accused of stealing a boy named Tig Tannersen."

Behind him there was a flurry of whispering, 'who's Settrex?' 'A satyr' The cat sized Fae replied to the barbarian's grunted question. Shaoyu's head snapped backwards to look at Amiri, who'd asked the question.

"Oh, and-"

"And it is a false accusation." Eire declared. "I am not blind to your heritage." He made a show of waving to the ruined village in the distance. "My ward," He indicated the human formed red dragon, "knew it was a false accusation as soon as it was made, but the matters stands. The boy is missing, and I have questions besides about this place now." and truthfully it was the best way he could think of to open dialogue with the old woman.
--
"Rude woman." Shaoyu snapped angrily as they walked back down the hill an hour and change later.

"But useful all the same." He replied to the dragon's protests, "Her list of herbs may prove useful but in truth the Black rattlecaps are not a priority though," The village, had been abandoned longer than he had thought, the Old Beldame had said 'six or seven dozen years, at least ' when the question had been put to her. His lecturing was cut off as Shaoyu dropped her human guise flaring her wings just as the sound of a lumbering mass, and branches with the noise of rattling bones emerged from the marsh.

"HA!" Amiri shouted looking up at the scythe tree, "For GORRUM!" The Barbarian shouted right before Shaoyu unleashed a cone of flame that lit the branches up like a bundle of kindling. The giant's sword hacked into dead limbs with the strength of her beserker rage.

There was no room to maneuver the path they had been walking on had probably never been especially wide, and sixty or more years had done it no favors to be sure. There were stunted marsh trees all around, and fallen cypress trees that just made it more so. "Tristan, Valerie to my left, spread out" Eire ordered imperiously "Valerie cover him."

"There, in the bushes," Perlivash's companion declared, and the faerie dragon nodded buzzing up and looking north with a declaration he saw 'them'.

Whoever 'them' were, they hadn't actually entered the village he hadn't planned to bother with the Scythe tree just yet. In the game it had been stuck to its area box... but he supposed it made sense... especially as large of a group as they were in... maybe it had heard them... assuming cursed trees could hear. Eire placed a hand on his sword but didn't draw it. "Octavia, Regongar cover the side with Perlivash and Tyg, Jaethal form a rear guard look out for undead, willowisps anything else that might come up the road behind us."

Jaethal wrinkled her nose in disdain, "Giant slugs?"

"What," He crooked to look to where in the bog she was looking. "Let me know if they attack, or come closer but otherwise ignore them." Purifying the area was unlikely to effect natural creatures like the slugs, or fey for that matter.

The Scythe trees teeth made angry snapping noises as it tried to fight Amiri and the dragon at the same time, but it was clear it was loosing fighting both a ground target and now a flying one. Amiri was too busy cursing the tree to notice the sweeping, well named, scythe like branch. Tristan was already prepared as the priest brought his magic to bear.

That really was what settled the matter. The Scythe tree might have outlasted Amiri unsupported but between Amiri and the Wyrmling together and even without him joining it couldn't last. Branches broke, barked blackened and crumbled to ash, and after a few minutes it crumbled and fell into the roadside. What once had been a dryad queen broke off at the trunk and tottered into muck, and mire.

"Hah, did you see that." Amiri declared.

Shaoyu dropped down on the old path as well. "What about them?" She asked. A satyr and dryad appeared.

Linzi glanced from the the felled scythe tree to the two others, "Ooh its a satyr, is she a dryad?" She asked, "Holy Kittens Real Fae." The halfling squealed.

"You realize Tyg, and Perlivash are real fae? They're all over the stolen lands." Jaethal snorted, while Regongar growled, and accused the two fae of probably baiting the monstrous tree into attacking him... which... actually might not have been too far off the mark, he suspected...

"I believe, introductions are in order." He declared rather than voising the accusation.

"My name is Tiressia. I've lived here since my tree awoke from the earth and first sought the sun. And this is Falchos from far away. We're..."

"Yes, yes," He waved the togetherness of the lover's away. He pointed towards the scythe tree, demanding that they get on with it, "That, explain."

A sad look crossed the dryads face, "Our queen Callitropsia, lost her heart, and became... became that." She whispered quietly... "She destroyed the village, drove away the humans and the fey who used to live here in peace."
--
Eire wiped the sweat from his brow, not so much from the humidity but the exertion of magic poured into the land, and then looked down into the smote form of the ghoul, and bared his teeth. "Well this may not have been a complete waste of time," He declared.

At least the village no longer radiated evil's taint. "I think we've searched everywhere," Wilbur had shown them around before they had cleared out the well, and Tiressia and Falchos had returned. "But those coins?" Linzi asked, "Were they the cause of it?"

"A pawn of someone more powerful still." He replied. I would guess Calistropia had a rival, who wanted to be rid of her competition, and no scruples about how they went about it. Dorsy was just a pawn." He pointed his hand at the ghoul's hollowed out chest and watched as sparks in the corpse began to glow and dissolve the blackened bones into smoldering embers. "I wouldn't want it to be our only option, but this is well placed for a village, even if I might want it closer to the Tuskwater proper." He continued. "Falchos you said you could show them to Bokken's brother?"

"I can show them to the mad hermit." The satyr replied, "If he's this Bokken's brother, I can't say." With all the fae running around he had to wonder exactly what it was that was wrong with Bokken... or maybe it had nothing to do with the fae at all.

"Then we will divide as planned."

"Wait you might want these," A handful of tokens were offered from the Dryad, "Linzi told me of the troubles Melianse had."

Eire glanced at the decayed village, "Thank you, and I might need Corax for this clean up before long, assuming that the lumberjack was satisfied with the coachwoods near where they had killed the tatzlwyrms. "I will be riding south, but I will return in a few days." There was one last thing to be done now that they had taken stock of everything here. He lifted the ring taken from the broken tree monster.

 

Erastus 4710​

The humidity only really got worse, and to be fair it was the height of summer, the hottest part of the year... and the ground was prone towards swampiness. There were a lot of bugs as a result. There was the advantage though that he knew where to go, he could see Candlemere's central island to the west and the outline of its ruins again the lake's skyline. Shaoyu over head was directing them towards the outline of a palisade, a protected village... just not a human village.

"Oh she's coming back." Linzi squeaked from her pony bouncing up and down in the saddle to the tan and white beast's discomfort... or maybe just Shaoyu's approach

The wyrmling had banked sharply and was turning hard back towards their position with significant speed as she adjusted her wings. Eire sighed, "Clear the road, she's going to panic the horses if she lands like that otherwise." They dismounted and kept the animals well off the path as the dragon skidded down kicking up a mass of mud and small stones.

"I've found him. I can him crying for his mother inside the lizardfolk village."

The lizardfolk, unlike boggard, were easy to communicate with. They spoke draconic. That was such a massive simplification that it really couldn't be understated. The lizard folk who predated human, or elves on Golarion spoke the language naturally ... or magically naturally... unlike needing to learn Taldan... the common tongue of the Inner Sea.

Linzi was left to frown and chew on the tip of her quill, trying to choose the best words to translate into common. "Warmblood?" She asked.

"Warmblood," The aged Lizardfolk agreed to her question. "You're people, not Lizardfolk." He tapped his chest with long nails, "Kagar Rattler, play rattler, sing songs, keep history of the long tail tribe alive." Linzi was astonished to meet a lizardfolk bard... but that wasn't why they were here. Nor for that matter was the Longtail tribe's grievances with the lizard folk from the Thickskin tribe. Admittedly from Kagar's recounting it sounded as the Thickskin were coming into greater conflict... an aggressive lizardfolk tribe to the west could be dealt with later.

... still... "Is that what prompted Vesket to listen to the spirit?"

Kagar nodded, "Yes," He hissed in draconic, Vesket thinks will bring him much glory. Can have many more females if save tribe. Think save tribe maybe, maybe too late for that. You come for youngling..." The shaman trailed off, bringing them full circle. The Longtails had survived this long possibly for their willingness to learn common and trade goods with 'warm bloods', particularly for iron weapons and tools... that hadn't given them too much of an advantage against these 'Thickskin' lizardfolk to the west, but enough of one to avoid destruction. The exact details of the spirits arrival spoke of a show of lights 'over a dozen moons ago, the draconic number was more accurate than Kagar's common Taldan usage... and equated to sixteen, but the lizard folk didn't use that many common words, and while ten, and twelve and such made sense for trading, sixteen less so. Draconic filled in some of the details. It thereby didn't escape him that the light show on Candlemere coincided with his own appearance on Golarion more than a year before.

More problematic was that the spirit seemed to be delivering on his promise, which seemed like Vesket might do something stupid... more stupid.
--
The old rattler said that he could make the spirit visible, but the bigger advantage was that he could get them in without an overt show of force or threat... though with the knowledge that the longtails traded with 'warmbloods' maybe they could have tried the trade route... but that would have involved improvisation that he really wasn't sure would have worked.

No, Kagar getting them into the village was the better option. If they didn't need to fight there way in they might be able to get through this without fighting their way out... though there was the will'o wisp masquerading as an ancestor spirit that did need to be killed.

The lizardfolk village was not much further than the outskirts of ... maybe mangroves in the lowland swamp of the lake shore. He wasn't even sure that the island was natural, or if it hadn't at one point been a projection off that the lizardfolk hadn't dug out. It was a very shallow transition from the swamp to the island about two miles west of the much larger more significant rocky protrusion of candlemere. Or it was entirely possible that the island had been cut off by centuries of winter freezes and subsequent spring thaws.. It wasn't even a particularly large island, and wasn't significantly higher than the surrounding water, maybe five meters and the outer edges were probably prone to flood waters in the spring thaw.

The Lizardfolk seemed to recognize this and had built up mounds on top of the island's surface inside the defensive palisade of various 'huts'. The center most chief's hut was the most built up, but even the smallest huts were build on mounds tall enough to weather most floods presumably. Eire certainly couldn't imagine that hte tribe would have built any that would be vulnerable to such a perennial danger.

The lizard folk, besides the rattler, wasn't much for small talk though and just insisted that he had to see their king. Vesket was bigger than his tribal warriors and had slathered body paint to extol scars across his muscular frame showing his hardiness in surviving the test of battle.

The king's attempt to intimidate them by size, and boasting ... didn't really work. Vesket was big, and might very well been able to wrestle a steer to the ground, but the lizardfolk probably wouldn't have done well against the Stag Lord... or for that matter Akiros in one on one fight. Certainly there would have been a disparity in equipment. "Warmblood why you come here?"

Shaoyu began to bridle at the final senence, raising the temperature a few degrees celsius at least over what the stoked fire already had it at.

"We're here to take the human child back to its nest." He replied in draconic.

The rebuttal clearly hadn't been what Vesket was expecting. He bowed up to full height hissing loudly. Draconic as a language defaulted to an imperative tone, and the command prefix to a statement like that was considered... rude when used to a social superior.

... which was what a true dragon was, period.

"You can't take warmblood youngling! Great Stishcak claimed youngling for himself! You not anger Stischack!" The chieftain protested, managing to get it all out before the young dragon shed her human disguise and pinned the lizard folk ruler to the wall of his hut overturning the chief's throne in the process.

Kagar made a throaty conciliatory preface in draconic on a choking Vesket's behalf. The old rattler shaking his instrument in entreatment.

"Shaoyu put him down. We have a will o wisp to kill not this idiot." Idiot was an imprecise translation of the actual derogative term in Draconic, but for all simple purposes the word basically a very long word that meant an idiot.

--
Notes: Oh I have so much I need to catch up on, and put down, I've gotten behind. This week is going to be annoying. Anyway so Tig, basically this quest is getting done and out of the way early. We aren't finished with 4710 just yet, but we're getting there. Its one of those things where this needs to happen even though its not really going to be a major event in the story as things go on, and frankly lost child quest in the Jenna Tannersen fashion really wouldn't be something an established baron would do, that'd be hedge knight fetch and carry quest hence why its occurring before the barony has been around for a while... and in PNP the AP suggests giving time to set up a fief and get the ball rolling on kingdom building before starting the events the meat and potatoes of AP2

 

Erastus 4710​

The young red dragon lowered her head and the flame growing in her maw receded before she finally released the lizard folk. "Thank you," Eire remarked in draconic. "Now about the human youngling, and the spirit."

It wasn't as if the Lizardfolk king had much choice. The whole village might have been able to drive off Shaoyu together, but not if they were in close quarters. One good sized group wouldn't mean much other than inviting a short ranged fire blast. Being able to melt anything not immune to fire's touch in forty five degree arc in front of you out to beyond spear thrust range was a potent defense against close range..

... and of course Shaoyu wasn't alone.

At the same time though it wasn't that the lizard folk weren't dangerous, but they weren't inherently hostile. Eire really did want to avoid opening a conflict with the tribe given their location. That meant though that the will o wisp masquerading as an ancestral spirit needed to go.

'Great SstishChak' was going to need to go... and to that extent Eire wasn't prepared to say he wasn't going to say he wasn't say anything about not resorting to violence or peaceful resolution. It wasn't that Draconic didn't have appropriate translations for that . Draconic reflecting conversational trends in-between dragons held social cues.

"Great Sstishchak claim young warmblood." The lizard king protested a bit weaker. Vesket was probably still willing to believe in his ancestral spirit against other lizard folk tribes, that the spirit might bring them victory against them... but confronting obviously at least one true dragon directly wasn't the same thing.

"Then we will resolve this with the spirit."

"I show," The next word was probably within the local lizard folk, or maybe lizard folk dialect in general of Draconic that didn't translate into mainline draconic or taldan well, but probably meant something referring to Dragon folk... or maybe meant visiting dignitary... he wasn't sure, "To spirit hunt where youngling is." The rattler announced.

"Yes go."

Vesket's statement was met with a flare of sparks and smoke as Shaoyu huffed and turned resuming humanoid form with the motion. Still they left the chieftain to stew there in the large center. "Vesket was not bad chief in beginning. Get swollen head, but also doesn't want to be wrong." The rattler punctuated by shaking his instrument, "Want Great Ancestor to really be spirit so tribe strong." Vesket had been willing to make excuses saying that Sstischak obviously came from a time when the tribe had been more like their thickskin rivals to the west in hooktongue slough, and that that explained the spirit's bouts of malevolence and cruelty... and after all they hadn't killed Tig so maybe there was a point.

It could have been the lizard folk bard making excuses or trying to win some good will and placate the possibility of hostility from their side in light of any disrespect from Vesket. In particular Kagar was conspicuously avoiding using the imperative inflections in draconic.
--
Kagar lead them to where they needed to go filling them in on a handful of details that helped explain the will o wisp's success at sticking around around. The more he heard about these 'Thickskin' Lizardfolk in the southern slough the more he suspected they'd be a latter problem to deal with.

Once they entered the 'spirit hut' which was not quite full ossuary but held the remains of various lizardfolk heroes of the tribes past, as well as their great rivals, or other impressive defeated foes, or animal companions. There was a triceratops skull mounted into one wall, and number boney fish skulls of significant size among other polished remains lining around the central hearth of the shrine to the dead. It was not however the natural source of the malignant aura hanging over the bones.

"ooh spooky." Linzi whispered shaking.

"Sacred space." Kagar lamented.

The fear effect in hindsight would have perhaps been a reason to bring Jaethal along. 'The Great Ancestor' had been using it to weaken the Thickskins when they fought in battle against the longtails. Shaoyu exhaled a burst of angry black and red sparks taking a step towards the bound human child, and Eire held out a hand to slow his ward.

There was a flutter of witch lights darting from the logs supporting the roof. Before the willowisp could launch into some grand speech or villainous monologue Kagar sprung into action pulling from his pouch a handful of sparkling black dusk throwing it at the lights. They'd already been in the process of turning into a skull anyway so it wasn't so much the effect but rather the spirit's cursing in surprise that signified it had done something.

The malevolent fae jinked left and right in irritation almost drunkenly swaying through the air. "RUDE!" He settled for stabilizing his hovering. Then they were given the villainous monologue as one 'Count Shimmerglow' introduced himself, -

"The laughing lie, the candlewick, cares little for your well being." Eire retorted.

"Hmm," The witch light lurched forward, "You, not wearing blue or gray, but still I feel the many's hands all over you." Shimmerglow's expression set in a petulant snarl... and if the fey had had arms he likely would have crossed them to sulk. Red began to leak into Eire's quicksilver eyes, "Too bright, its like staring into the sun, a riposte for my lord." He snapped and then with no further warning attacked in a flare of lightning rushing forward.

The centuries old aberration strike stung, but Eire had already begun to move in twisting flame invoking gesture as sunlight boiled around his body. Shimmerglow roared as his closing to attack invited a flare of light and fire in retribution.

"Oh its show time," Linzi muttered digging her instrument out, and beginning to play, a motion that Kagar mirrored with his rattler. There was a rasp of metal as cold iron drew from scabbard as Shaoyu unsheathed the longsword from her hip. The dragon's eyes wide with fury and flame.

Shimmerglow shrieked, the creature of air and darkness recoiling away. The cold iron had left a poisonous looking wound where it had struck the monstrous skull.

"There is no one left. No home to return. Only a final dawn to see." A will o wisp enjoyed a near unparalleled immunity to most magic, the corona of divine flame sheathed the weapon itself as the sword drew from the scabbard.

"NO." Shimmerglow hissed defiant as fire lights danced off the wall of skulls filling the lizard folk shrine. "No," He repeated quieter. "I wont die here. I am," Whatever he was going to say faltered as magic sword blows rained from Eire and Shaoyu's strikes until after a few minutes the magical essence of the glowing creature splattered onto the knit reed carpets.

"Not ancestral spirit." Kagar remarked.

"As one of the Lantern King's court Shimmerglow was probably old enough to remember Shistchack's time." Eire remarked. "Whatever the case I'm sure as a member of it, Shimmerglow likely knew quite a lot, that he had seen much of the history of htese lands." He sheathed the long sword, "What now?"

"Spirits magic helped us defeat Thicksins, maybe we move further east, to great dragon's lake." He shook the rattle, the more accurate common translation would have been ancient Wyrm, "But small dragons there, and Amvaraen keeps court... not know how Silver Wings would react to Longtail tribe. Tribe must talk about it, like you say... and winter is coming."

--
They left the lizardfolk to have their conversation to discuss what they might do, and promised that they would be in touch. There would be things to talk about Saeya, knight of the torrent, took custody of the missing boy as they rejoined the others on the road north. "Dragon lake? What do you think he meant by that?" Linzi asked.

"Silverstep, Its flows down into the Gudrin river, it looks like foot print," He unfolded the map to show boundary, the border area between their barony and that of Maegar Varn,"see," He gestured to the printed sketch of the lake's banks. "Apparently and this is from Perlivash its named for silverstep who left to live in the First World years ago. There is a community of faerie dragons, which are probably the small dragons he mentioned. I'll ask about Amvaraen when I get the chance." but that would be after they returned home.

Behind them tig was buttering up the blue knight with questions about how to be strong, which prompted Tristian to ride up and attempt to caution moderation, and wisdom ... and all those virtues of Sarenrae.

... and speaking of the divine... returning to Shrikewall... preparations needed to be held for the feast of the Inheritor, but Shimmerglow had... the willowisp's comment about Shyka the many raised other questions for him.

He shook his head, "We need to get back, there are other tasks that need to be done... and Kagar had another point the end of the year will be here before we know it."

 

End of Year Epilogue​

19^th Rova 4710
Inheritor's Day, the feast of the mantle passing, of Aroden's own church joining the faith after the last Azlanti's death. A day of comradery and one near ideal to conduct the solemn matters of state. A day to remember the dead, but to welcome new and old comrades into the process of building a better tomorrow.

He pondered the map of the stolen lands... not that it was painted as such on the map of the river lands... but the lands that conformed to it made sense. The four baronies that Jamandi Aldori and her co conspirators had hoped to carve out all confined nicely to manageable geographic locals. It made sense. .. and now that the ceremonies were complete, and mass had been said it was time to begin the next stage.

It had been a political pronouncement done for matters in the local. It was one thing to be acknowledged by ones neighbors as ruler of a land... but the assemblage, in many ways ratification, of his rule came in demonstrating it to the masses. That had required far more time to prepare than simply attending a feast Jamandi Aldori had thrown in his honor.

The coming winter months would need to see the continued charting of the domain. The continued changes. The introduction of new laws, and work in the 'royal' estates. The work on the estates of his accepted retainers, both feudal, and merchant. For that matter there were the non human subjects that would be needed to address.

Then of course beyond the borders, beyond just Brevoy, there were matters of foreign policy. Now that he was settled in, now that there was a foundation for the apparatus at state it was time to open dialogue with Varnhold to the east. That letter would need to address the dragon issue perhaps foremost of all... discounting the faerie dragons, who didn't really grow any bigger, there were at least three known silvers to the east, which potentially suggested there were more and that there was some sort of kin group... or political entity based in the east.

What that meant, if it meant anything was unknown. With any luck, since they were silver dragons they posed no threat to their eastern neighbor, and thus no threat to Shrikewall. Part of the reason he had not prioritized construction of curtain walls for the baronial, besides of course the expense of quarrying them at this point, was geography. There was little point to building a motte and bailey on the high plateau here, and reason to actually scrape the plateau looking over the lake. The projection of the plateau that extended as a sharp high peninsula overlooking the tuskwater presented a natural defensive outcropping, which had created an idea ground for settlement, and then as it wound and descended places for a lakeside inhabitation, and then a route north. With water on three sides a narrow wall could be built eventually to provide defense for the city. Walls wouldn't do much against a flying threat, though in the future it might not be such a terrible idea to provide maritime defenses along the shore line and elsewhere.... but the barony was young.

Linzi gave an over dramatic sigh and flopped her face down on the table as she clambered into her pillowed seat that provided enough height for the halfling to sit. She wasn't the only one tired from the festivities. Regongar had clearly been exhausted from having to sit through mass, and Amiri had faced a similar issue of such high society presentation. He would make it up to them. The barony would need a strong martial arm, and Iomedae as swordmistress required her shrines, churches, and especially cathedrals space to practice with arms. Golarion, or at least the segment of Avistan he had seen and almost all of which he had heard of was inherently polytheistic... the simple reality of divine magic meant rejecting the gods existing was an exercise in futility, and thus whatever form the state church developed into it would reflect the multitude of gods in some capacity or another. The training yard while a tenant of Iomedaen faith did not require adherence to the faith to use, which meant Valerie shouldn't have any issue taking advantage either.

Eire raised a hand to direct attention to the map, "Establishing Oleg's town, and work on the Temple of the Elk play an important role in anchoring our northern boundaries. The rostlandic plain has extensive good farmland that could be settled, but our main concern will be to the south, and west." He traced to the ford, "Oleg's friend Rezbin, the boggard Garrum," or as Linzi had nicknamed him Gary, "the Nixie are all somewhat ideally placed along the river," Admittedly Melisanae less so than Gary's taldor era ruins, which might be turned into fortifications "Further south, there is the Lizard village, and candlemere, on average that puts roughly twelve miles between each position, through marsh, and woodland." Of all of those the lizard folk probably could be depended upon to keep a watch on that southern shore, and to the west even with the usual sluggishness of winter, especially if the lizardfolk could be brought into a common trade exchange. If not, if they migrated elsewhere there was matter of candlemere... but that would require more signficant effort. He tapped the candlemere, "This will be our southern extent," He placed a pair of polished stone tokens on the lizard village, and Candlemere island, then east twelve miles, and north to Oleg's, "running north to Oleg," A trace twenty four miles easternly and then south about midway between north and south, "And Nettle's crossing forms our eastern most outpost." With Old Scyamore west of it. "We need to explore the land that fills in, and where nature forms natural boundaries before we move beyond them."

They needed to complete exploration of the North Narlmarches first. Then the south, or at least the parts of the south between the Skunk and lizard folk village. Then the Narlmarches, and then perhaps finish exploration of the southern marches.

So began the delineation, or in so far began the business of the barony now that the day's events had been concluded. Valerie, Kassil, Garess would all form part of the interior bureaucracy of sorts...to advice and provide input internal law, and civil defense. Amiri, and Regongar would be better suited to the army along the frontier, and since Regongar worked well with Octavia and neither he nor Amiri were really suited to administration it made sense there to coordinate Kressel, and Akiros. Jaethal, and Harrim had their positions on the council already, and the exact staffing arrangements would be on them.

The larger issue was, best summed up in Amiri's grumbling about it all. "This doesn't even touch on the matter of farming," He pointed out, "or the crafts," of goods, "while not directly martial, armies need supplies." And he wanted royally administered, centralized farms to get around traditional conservatisms in order to hopefully get to commercialized agriculture. Cash payments would certainly be preferable to labour services, but they weren't anywhere close to that. Monetization of services was uncommon, and payment in kind was basically unavoidable at this simple largely subsistence agricultural level of community. "The barony is established, now we must keep it that way. Our priority," ... well they were basically going to have to have linzi tally up their own domesday book, a great survey of the land. "Is to keep the peace in the countryside, and to do that we have to know the countryside."
--
The end of 4710 Absalom Reckoning
The Barony of Shrikewall, County of Narhold, the River Kingdoms, Avistan
Ruler: Eire
Chancellor Valerie
Warden Kesten Garess
Marshal Amiri

*Commander Regongar
*Commander Akiros Insmort​

Spymaster Jaethal
High Priest Harrim

Councilor Kassil Aldori

Commander represents specifically a military investiture outside of a strictly feudal sense, in this case a southern, and northern posting along the barony's western area of influence in the Dire Narlmarches. This is distinct from the Council positions of Marshal, and Warden with the prior being command overall of the armies, while the latter is captain of the guard within the capital. Captain of the Guard is nominally subordinate to the Chancellor in the capacity of 'Regent'. Commanders are nominally far more regional areas of responsibility in peace time (and outside of cities the idea of a civil guard is unusual in the feudal system law enforcement is handled by the military apparatus, Constable, and Sheriff are or were both effectively military commands, and we'll touch on that later).

Linzi's position as bard, and record keeper is not listed in the above. Nor is Octavia's ministerial capacity to the frontier. The baronial council of late 4710 is almost entirely martial in character, and lacks much in the way of 'civil' bureaucratic administration, hence the aforementioned, or Tristian, or Jhod not being listed officially in this delineation of ranks.

We will resume in spring of 4711 barring possibly some interludes and snippets that are other wise confined to a separate side story document that I keep scraps in. This isn't all of what happens in the year but this is the epilogue for the year's main events.

Anyway yeah, this is rather short, and over the course of this story overall we'll get for a want of a better term side chapters focusing on other characters, party members generally people like Regongar and Tristian who keeps auto correcting to Tristan and I don't catch it most of the time.

 

Interlude I: Early Spring 4711​

He thought back to the winter months, and the conversations and work that had been done over it. From, the month of, Rova on. It was spring now.

The planting season was in full spring, no pun intended, as the peasants continued to sow seeds in their communal common fields across smaller villages, as well as at Olegton and Tatzlwyrm. The baronial seat had with the help of heavy draft horses, horse collars, and plow designs of steel from c. 19^th century America along with seed drills and other tools had finished planting, of all but new fruit trees. The real business of the barony was elsewhere until there were actual results from this years harvest, and possibly not even then, most peasant farmer would dismiss or even deride the baronial estate's efforts. With a steward, or at least exchequer of the treasury the council was he expected sufficient for all day to day matters. The task of agricultural labor, and maintaining and repairing their possessions would dominate spring.

It was in this that Eire had to contend with the distinction between village and town. Perhaps the simplest was that a village was the organized peasant labor in the common enterprise of agriculture... a permanent community for agricultural production. Shrikewall, Olegton, and Tatzlford all represented a more specialized creation. They had agricultural production, they needed peasants to tend farms after all, but there was greater emphasis on economic specialization. Rather than those specialist professions being largely incidental they were the purpose.

He traced the greenbelt plains laying west of the Thorn river, and the forests of the northern narlmarches on table's map. Unfortunately there were no ideal natural boundaries or defensive positions that they could fortify in the north. The best in the short term they could do was a watch post to run messengers back to Oleg's, or Akiros's fief, or the Temple of the Elk. The central lands west of Tazlford were forest until it buttressed into Hooktongue Slough and the ground became swamp and fen. That was in itself something of a better natural barrier

That left the south to contend with. "I'm going to leave for Candlemere in the morning," To the east of the lizardfolk village were the ruins of candlemere, and they had put off purging the isle over the winter, but that needed to be done, and in the west was the 'stone kingdom' the injured boggard had spoken of... a fortress that they would reclaim. Candlemere would allow much more effective control of the lake region, and with control would prevent any repeat of the Count Shimmerglow incident with tig. The lizard folk seemed to be settling in for permanence which had been debated among them. Kagor remaining was a benefit to be sure, and also placed to him the feudal obligation to visit the village.

Jaethal nodded, "From what's been described the western castle is elven." Which was an oddity given the origins of other fortifications, "I'll deal with the evil fey there as needed," Perlivash had warned them about the 'Dancing Lady', and her blood sucking habit," preying, "on passing travellers. "What do you plan to do there?"

"I suspect the castle," Candlemere, "Is probably either situated on, or somewhere on the island is a portal to the First World. Dispel Chaos should cleanse the land, and that can be followed up by other efforts in repairing the site." Candlemere would once cleansed, and rebuilt would form their southern border for the foreseeable future. Technically the legal border were the joining of the Shrike and Little Sellen, with the little Sellen flowing from the Tors of Levenies. It was unfortunate that Mivon's northern border was not so neat stretching across a wide western expanse until it reached the southern part of the slough and continued until it struck up upon Pitax's borders. The southern swordlords might or might not be a matter of contention.... and the truth was while Candlemere was ideally placed he needed something to anchor the center of the border with Mivon just as a precaution... and they had yet to find any suitable ruins south of the Murque, but some of that delay had been winter, and the lack of their knowledge about the land. Just Oleg's to Shrikewall was a straight seventy miles... or would have been if they had a perfectly straight wonderful north south road, which they didn't. "Is there anything else?"

"There is always the tree."

Right, the Old Scyamore, that had slipped his mind admittedly. The mites and the kobolds remained at peace with one another. At the same time though Shaoyu's hatching distinctly encouraged the sootscales to be more active. It gave them more reason to participate in events beyond their little subterranean kingdom, and that did mean trade. "Do you think that's going to be a problem?" He knew Jaethal was as dismissive of the Koblds, and mites as most of his court, but that wasn't what he was asking, not really.

What he was really asking was drawing on the fact that Jaethal had centuries of experience to draw from, and that he wanted her to do so now.
--
Regongar was glad winter was over. It wasn't that he didn't like the cold... not that Amiri had really considered winter to be all that cold, but it had been that there was little to do over the winter months. It had been boring in other words with no one to really fight. Winter had let go, and brought with it a frenzy of other activity... that the half orc had no trouble admitting he had no interest in.


The Technic League hadn't shown back up... there had been no subsequent confrontation even as the settlement grew around them. Of course that was a matter of origin. There were some people who had come from Numeria, but most of the initial settlers were all from Brevoy it seemed like... rushing to get away from the conflict between north and south or whatever. Then from up the river boats of people arrived from Eire's church. Most were tall fair skinned humans with dark hair, but there were others to, but the story was the same, departing conflicts in the south for a new chance.

So he'd been left to stew by the fire as winter sat in, but, "We're going to do something?"

The elf glanced at them, "Well unless you'd prefer to continue wearing a tread into the floor." was the biting rejoinder, "Two days of riding, maybe three,"

"We go to vanquish bad, fae bigginses," The grig remarked springing from the door way onto the table. The faerie dragon zipped along after. and agreed. Along one side a knit work pouch held a recovered wizard's spellbook.

Regongar glanced around, gestured to Octavia, "Is anyone else coming with us?"

"Valerie and our sour head guard, and our equally dour dwarf will be remaining here. Since Tristian isn't back yet we'll leave without him I think," She declared tapping her chin. Jaethal knew that they could have waited a few more days, but, "Eire is planning to depart with Linzi and Amiri tomorrow, if Tristian is back by then he might be a bit more useful for clearing out Candlemere, assuming of course he doesn't just draconiform the whole misbegotten spec in the middle of the lake." They'd already discussed the willowisp isle with the others and there were probably dozens of the little bastards for as frequently as the witch lights could be seen, "We're riding westwards towards the eleven castle, and clear it out." Not only was it situated in the high hills that the Murque's source ran from it was about twenty miles from their border in the west. It was near to ideal to anchoring defenses against any threat that came at their middle from the slough.
--
Notes: This is well not extra material but basically part of a chapter I wrote that occurs before I had actually planned to resume, the next chronological main chapter is Desnus 4711 roughly a year after the Stag Lord's demise. It should be three or four parts alternating between Jaethal's expedition, and the Candlemere wandering depending on how things go, but we will be sticking to a usual monday update. (I will be posting my planned scheduled updates for this month probably later today in the misc thread.)

 

Interlude I: Early Spring 4711 Part 2​

They didn't need to really bring the horses. One of the first things they had built in Shrikewall after shelter had been taken care for hte growing population had been a pier, and then a simple dock before winter had set in to stop them from doing much more. Part of that had simply been to manage fishing, but riverine travel couldn't be overlooked, and it was possible to sail down to the lizardfolk village, or down the Shrike further south where it met the Little Sellen where there were the remains of an old ferry station, and in the opposite direction there places up river as well. Nettle's Crossing, and up to the thorn ford on the other side both came to mind.

Candlemere's ghost lights were more willowisps of course. They knew that, and the isle had been abandoned long enough that most of its ruins had been overgrown to the point that realistically they were probably going to have to scour the island with fire in order to clear space. Given the similarities between the ruins on Candlemere and the oldest ruins of Shrikewall, particularly the towers they had probably been constructed by the same builders as the ancient tomb father north.... but they wouldn't be sure without extensive investigation.

There would be reason to investigate once they had sanctified the grounds, but purely from a geographic location the island was simply too useful.

Amiri ground her teeth and looked around. "ngh." She grunted.

Most likely Candlemere was apart of the same glacial erosion that had created the peninsula Shrikewall occupied. Thousands, even millions of years of erosion had created promontories as softer stone and dirt were eroded away creating high points. Certainly Candlemere didn't appear to be volcanic in origin, and it gave no indication of having been caused by tectonic shifts. No given its couple mile length in the middle of the deepest part of the lake most like they were sitting on a karst of hard rock that had been surrounded at one point by much larger body of material. There were even more significant projections on the eastern banks than the one Shrikewall was situated on including the peninsula that nearly bridged the Shrike river. Most likely there had been a bank of softer rocker that had been the place of least resistance that the river had sheered through whenever the glaciers had melted... or that was his best guess.

"Well then, we know that there are willowisps here, clearing them out should be our priority." And that was going to be no small chore, but he sensed nothing like Shimmerglow's presence here. The wisps here seemed to be roughly the bog standard aberrations, "We'll set up camp here, and then start clearing the nettles." And the brambles that had overgrown the island."
--
Like the Iobarian, cyclops ruins, the forgotten keep long predated the Starfall, but these were not building wrought by the Koloran giants. The castle was elven. dating to a time when the Verduran forest stretched all the way to the shores of the Lake of Mists and Veils.

"Now that's a castle." Octavia observed, and Regongar grunted in agreement.

It wasn't the most impressive martial fortification she'd ever seen, but they were right that it was at least more impressive of one than the baronial seat. Shrikewall was protected still by a simple series of palisade walls, and rammed earth. This keep's exterior walls were stone blocks five feet thick, and twenty feet high... not the tallest walls but they still bore worn ancient carvings of elven script. "The southern wall has been breached," She observed, and that would require masons to repair, and the north and south east towers had long since lost their roofs to time and the elements, for whatever reason the taller northwest tower seemed to have better withstood those ravages, and the central keep's tower was in better condition still.

"We don't want to go through the gate house?"

Jaethal scowled at the half elf's pique. "And risk getting trapped there, no I think not." She shook her head, and glanced to the debris strewn hole in the wall... that would require masons to fix, and they would need woodcutters to thin the forest around the walls and other laborers beside. This place looked like a dump. Thousands of years of transient inhabitants, and neglect had left the ancient fortress to stand idle, and unkempt... so while it was a more impressive fortification with its ruined curtain walls it was less livable than the barony's seat. It was going to be a lot of work, and the first task would be clearing the maleficent fae occupying it.
--
Shaoyu turned into the wind catching a choice updraft from the flames clearing the nettles and thorns along the isle's eastern side. He couldn't be sure, and wouldn't likely be until they conducted a proper survey, but Candlemere was several miles long, probably something two miles at its widest point. The island was roughly oval in shape with suitable places for docks and piers scattered across the island... which was a double edged matter to be sure. That could be good for trade, but meant potentially defending the island from ships attempting to land troops. Candlemere wasn't quite as deep as the Tuskwater either. It was still deep enough for a harbor, and thus plenty deep to run barges, and river boats up the Murque and back to the keep Jaethal should have arrived at.

They had killed several willowisps the first night, but most were now giving them a wide berth. He expected that as Shaoyu cleared out more and more of the overgrown vegetation, and they got nearer to the cyclopean ruins a confrontation with more of the aberrations was inevitable, but they would probably be here through the end of the month at this rate.

It was hardly the stuff of inspiring epics, to Linzi's lament, but it needed to be done. Unfortunately it was also one of those things where he could only really help by using a wand because wasting spell slots on this was... well dumb. "We need to clear the island. We probably will not establish a town here in the short term," And in all honesty Jaethal's expedition would probably be the more important sight in terms of resource expenditures in the short term, "But this island guards candlemere lake and thus protects the approach to Shrikewall."

Amiri grunted, "I never really liked boats." The barbarian grunted.. They had talked about this. Amiri had been born in the 'Realm of the Mammoth Lords'. Nearly nine hundred miles from the eastern border of the land to New Stetven so no small distance without the use of a boat... and it wasn't as if Amiri had come directly from the eastern reaches, she'd left her ancestral home and headed west first to Irrisen, and only come to Jamandi's manor ironically from Qadira... by ship. Amiri might not have liked ships but they were really the most practical way to get around the Inner Sea, and across most of Avistan quickly. Amiri had been all over.

Out of everyone she had probably travelled the most, and stayed the least in anyone place after leaving. That she hadn't moved on after the Stag Lord had lost his head had marked something of a change in how she lived her life. Whether she liked that change, or decided to go back only time would tell.

Maybe it was just the novelty of being on the ground floor, seeing a kingdom spring up. "Despite it being the river kingdoms I don't know how important it will be to have a chartered fleet, but river boats and barges really are a practical way to get around."

"Until your run into a water fall." She grunted, and that was true, that or any particular fast rapids. There were definitely limitations to riverine travel, but with next to no really significant roads they were the best way to get around... and canals were an industrial impracticality with their labor force, and material resources. It just wasn't feasible.

Eire glanced up towards the summit of the island, and the broken cyclopean outpost's lone tower. It struck him that probably at its original height it might have provided a view, "If we can rebuild this, and the Iobarian tower at Shrikewall we might have enough visibility to set up a heliograph."

"What's a heliograph?" Before he could answer Linzi's question a willowisp appeared out of the burning brambles covering the hillside...
--
Notes: I was fooling around with gis (map) for another problem and the Stolen Lands, or at least the Narlmarches and Varnhold region visually reminds me of the eastern part of the Sarmiatian steppe, with the tors of levenies taking the place of the Urals, and such. Its not a perfect match but I suspect that combination of forest and grassland zone is what influenced the Stolen lands. Just a casual observation that may or may not be a coincidence. I really wish that we'd get a better world map for Pathfinder, particularly for Iobaria but especially an overhauled more detailed River Kingdoms / Brevoy area.

Anyway what we don't really see in this is the purpose built clearing of sites to build entirely new construction. Like settlement and migration will play a role in the development, but mostly it'll be using existing structures and particularly rebuilding and repurposing ruins as the basics for settlements and other kingdom infrastructure. This allows some sidestepping of the limits of medieval construction, beyond what can be done with a sufficently large labor force and handtools. (Basically, corvee labor). Narhold is divided into basically two geographically distinct areas a 'forest zone' in the west and then a steppe/grassland zone to the east. To the north is the fertile rostlandic plain, which is a somewhat marginal territorial area, and to the further west are the marshlands while further in the east are the mountains that form the Tors of Levenies.

Thus you have two main kingdom areas. The Narlmarches proper and then the Kamelands where the forests end and proceeding east until you hit the mountains Which I have posted maps of the region to convey this. Admittedly Golarion has the advantage of magic to speed up construction, and from a kingdom building perspective we will be delving into the aforementioned migration and settlement over time to explain the nascent kingdom growth.

 

Interlude I: Early Spring 4711 Part 3​

Valerie occupied the head of the table, but admitted that Harrim might as well have been in her seat, at least for today. The cleric of Groetus might have worshipped the 'wrong god', but he was still a cleric, and more importantly he was responsible for the actual council position of managing the day to day religious affairs of a kingdom with a great variety of religious representation.

Harrim had been left in charge of religious affairs, and supported a set down list of codified laws. They had originally been transcribed in Common, but she'd seen a number of copies begin to circulate in Draconic. She could understand why, the clerics of Iomedae who had travelled from Mendev had spoken of silvers dragons who were apart of Iomedae's church. Their response to Shaoyu had as a result been somewhat more mild than she expected the clerics and paladins of Shelyn might have been but then it was similarly possible these were simply inured enough to dragons in general.

Whatever the case was the draconic translation of the law code had found its way into the hands of the kobolds, who were something of a nuisance in their presence and their seemingly unending questions about watching a 'big person' kingdom unfold. That was what was happening, a kingdom was taking shape before their eyes. It was going to be a religiously diverse one. No, it was a religiously diverse one. That was clear as Tristian returned to the chamber, with Jhod who was himself followed by a handful of other Erastilian faithful, and a smaller cloister of related faiths.

Erastil wasn't the issue, not old dead eye nor his wife, even though there had been grumbling about the farming institutions put in place in the baronial administered farms, but they had been soothed enough by the fact that those changes only applied to the baron's personal lands, not to those of traditional farmers and croft communities. No, the issue at hand was Pharasma's lot. Maybe if it had just been Jaethal it would have been one thing.

If it had just been the mid wives, and various minor village clergy dedicated to Pharasma they'd have probably heard less complaints. They had less of an issue Jaethal, or Davik Nettle being undead than clerics from Rostland, or for that matter from Pharasman visitors from further south. Of course Nettle's patron deity was Abadar, which was sure to be less controversial than Jaethal having been directly reanimated by the Pallid Princess... and well it wasn't as if Kyonin was precisely thrilled. Though that, could be just as much Jaethal's position at court as it could be the elves issue with her undead status.

Harrim grunted in excessive surly-ness as he sat down.

She glanced from the Mendevian delegation of Iomedae's church to those from Cheliax far to the south. Iomedae had been a Chelish noblewoman before she had ascended, but that had been before the present infernal monarchy had come to power, and there was a diaspora of those who the church was helping to resettle away from the infernal dominated courts of the nation. The problem was the Iomedae clergy didn't want to deal with her or Harrim... they would work out religious matters with the dwarf if they had to but, the truth was she gathered they wanted to wait.

Any doctrinal issues that might have existed between the southerners and the crusaders or Eire's branch of the church were secondary to just venerating the same goddess. It was no secret that the baron was an immensely powerful cleric, and his first significant building project had been the cathedral rather than a castle, or palace.

"The worship of Pharasma is not proscribed," Harrim grunted a bit louder than normal, as he banged his hand on the table looking at the elf across the table from him, "The dead one hasn't managed to start a plague and if we're being frank about it her goddess doesn't talk to her any more than I hear from Groetus but even if she did the laws are written down, we've all agreed to follow the barony's laws. Sentient undead are still people." He grunted.

She doubted the argument was convincing the elf, but they'd only really been complaining since Eire had left... and actually that was probably why. "Jaethal's position as advisor to the coronet is not up for discussion. She fought against the corruption that occupied the temple of the elk as well as against the stag lord, and is even now charged to the destruction of a group of evil fae." She declared in her best regent voice hoping that would be enough to put an end to the matter.
--
A flurry of archons whirled through the air firing rays of holy light at the fleeing willowisps who had realized that the messengers of heaven were immune to their electricity. Shaoyu dropped back to the ground folding her wings beside him looking around.

He glanced around. They were making progress, even if it was slow going. The fires had to be controlled. It would have been so much easier if they had wanted to just scour the whole island with an inferno, but that wasn't the goal. Small controlled burns cleared swathes of nettles and thorns bit by bit.

... and of course once they dispelled the malignant aura and destroyed the wisps they could bring in horses to plow the grounds with steel plows to churn through the burned soil, but that was getting ahead of themselves. They weren't to that stage yet.

A stream of ectoplasmic... gunk bled from the flying skulls side as the archons convreged in for the kill down the hillside Short of just spamming magic missile , and since willowisps could fly simply setting the terrain around them wasn't practical, summoning was his best method of countering them. Calling entire flights of archons in had the added advantage of they served as excellent scouts and seeing what needed to be burned in addition to ferreting out the willowisps infesting the island.

They were slowly making progress clearing a traversable, with horses, path to to the summit where the iobarians had built ... whatever it was the tower and ruins surrounding it had been in the time before the starfall. He was eager to go over the ruins, even though they had likely long been stripped of any valuable easily transportable items. The ruins would let them side step around starting from scratch. Enough of the ancient curtain walls, and the tower appeared at least from a distance to be intact that repairing them should be easier, and more importantly was the simple geographic location of Candlemere.

"I think we'll need another few days," He announced, tonight would be the flood moon, which might encourage an attack from the remaining willowisps, or they might choose to remain away. Whether they stayed away or attacked they weren't in a position to mount a final approach to the summit yet. Once they approached he wanted to be sure he had enough time to not simply cast Dispel Chaos, and sanctify the grounds, but take other precautions, and part of that included being in a position to do that only after all the willowisps had been killed or at least driven off... and as the archons were certain they weren't there yet.

"How do you think Jaethal and the others are doing?" Linzi asked.

"I'd hope they're done already, but I'm sure either way they're fine." It was the larger of their two parties, and he was relatively sure that Perlivash and Tyg would be of some use. "The bigger issue on their end is the distance overland," and the river's noxious smell due to its tendency towards algae blooms making it difficult to travel it by barge made part of the journey by horse all but a requirement. It was also through the countryside, any elven path or other civilized concourse had long since been broken up and overgrown... and making new roads or bringing old roads back into service required a much greater work force, labor pool, whatever as well as organization than he could afford, so overland travel was going to have to do without the luxury of paved roads for the time being.

"and," Scribble scribble, "What do you think Harrim is doing right now?"

.... probably cursing being made head priest of the kingdom...
--
Notes: Alright so we will be going into the original planned lead into spring 4711 next week, but more or less this is as a chapter an example of the AP's explore the hexmap and see what your people find, carve out territory and make your kingdom.

 

Desna 4711 Absalom Reckoning
​

--
Eire exhaled for probably the tenth time, but only really because within the cloistered safety and privacy of the room made that possible. There were several days more until the full moon, which in the riverlands the blossom moon was tied to different deities even though it also served as Iomedaen equivalent to memorial day. For worshippers of Erastil, even those of Taldan stock were so far divorced from the empire of the shining crusade against the Whispering tyrant that they had little reason to associate the day with the southron conflicts and instead prioritized the spring and the planting and matters of farming.


The instruments of Feudal Power were an intersection of both social and economic realities. Of military power and religion. It was all well and good to talk about the free market this or regulation that, but the reality was much more complex.... even before you added magic into it. In the long term Eire absolutely intended coinage and financial book keeping to give way to a more centralized bureaucratic financial institution. A national bank though was a long way off though, and he knew it.

Across Golarion, Avistan, the countryside especially were only partially monetized economies. Oleg traded with hunters, trappers, farmers, and other crafts on barter just as much as any of them took coin, even if he bought and sold goods in restov's markets using coin. Not even always Brevoy's bits either, the trade road could easily bring foreign coins from the distant south, or from Numeria or Iobaria. That was discounting just other older coins, which still had some degree of if for no other reason metallic content. Restov was their connection to Brevoy, and from there to the other northern countries, and their markets. Monetization was necessary to sustain both long distance trade, and also a territorial monarchy.

That was the goal of course, and so as spring approached, and their was plowing, and planting to be done Eire's focus was focused on matters closest to Shrikewall. Spring's approach, and winter letting go, would also mean the lizardfolk, all of the lizardfolk, would be becoming more active. That promised potential problems with the 'thickskin' tribe to the west in the Hooktongue slough. That was hardly the only western threat either.

Golarion though was for all its medieval development also a world with magic. Lots of it. It had the written word, agriculture, and your proper clerics could create clean water... access to clerics resulted in a marked improvement in mortality rates across most social strata but were especially pronounced in the feudal elite... because unsurprisingly the clergy were well represented among the clerics. It had other social effects, but Avistan, particularly with Brevoy still relied on keeping ancient infrastructure in good repair. The ancient Taldan roads were an excellent example, and the dwarven shield fortresses would likely be another, in his own kingdoms.

It was in this reality that Eire focused. The road to Oleg's, and then from their Restov was a vital trade route, and lifeline that had to be protected... and so any disturbance there needed to be addressed. "Do we know much?"

"Definitively, no. Jhod believes its probably a worg." Jaethal replied. "Its been enough to terrify the townsfolk though." She replied in a mix between exasperation and resignation.

"What about Oleg?"

"He thought he could settle it himself, but he's had no luck, the hunting party turned up nothing other than some of the slaughtered livestock."

Eire nodded, "I see. The shepherd boy with his flock?" Jaethal confirmed that that was the principle reason Jhod believed that they were dealing with a worg.
--
Olegton was as a settlement set south of the main thoroughfare. The old border fort that Oleg had opened his trading post in had been build on a built up hill overlooking the road. That made it visible given nothing in the burgeoning town had the height to obscure the northernly view. The scroll of teleport was specifically keyed to Oleg's, he simply hadn't had time to to make ones for Nettle's crossing or the Temple of the Elk, or for that matter the village of Tatzlford, even though at least the latter had been linked with a sending stone for emergency communication with shrikewall.

Getting back to Shrikewall would be even simpler, Recalling by divine magic to the cathedral of Iomedae was a comparatively trivial task. That was one of the realities of the intersection of divine and arcane magic and how it effected feudal power. Eire could make this trip with little notice, even if it was limited to really Oleg's, for now it made potentially travelling to Restov that much easier.

Oleg's town had not substantively changed in the few weeks since he had last been here, only Desna's beginning, and thus planting season had marked the change over from winter activities in town to other labors. There was a noticeable difference in construction just this far north. Olegton followed a tradition of largely waddle and daub construction, the use of wood predominating in the round houses all the way to the public house, and the market. It hewed far closer to the Rostlandic peasant building tradition than the log homes, and joinery never mind the masonry brickwork of construction in Shrikewall. That was far from the only difference between the two. Olegton lacked the clear grid lines and organized structure of the capital. There was a communal field here, and overall Oleg's more resembled any other simple burgh or thorpe of the rostlandic plains.

Right down to the worried peasants clamoring for something to be done... and when the village elder, or mayor, or whoever had that problem the matter moved to the next rung in the feudal ladder, which meant him... or probably technically someone on the council acting in his name... but Eire didn't mind.

--
Oleg's search party had recovered ten sheep, living ones. There was little that could be done for the shepherd boy, or the barmaid. Yes, Eire could have expended raise dead spells, but he had no idea if they'd successfully be able to weather the ordeal of being brought back...assuming that was a thing.... and he didn't have the material components necessary. The boy was dead.

Jhod leaned on his walking stick, and reiterated once again his confidence it was a worg. It could have been a large wolf, but there was the issue, "There is only one set of tracks."

Worgs while possessed of an, often malign, intelligence were social pack hunters the same as wolves.... of course that didn't exclude the possibility of an animal with rabies. "Insmort is correct, that is suspicious." He agreed. "Especially with two dead bodies," Two dead humans, "what about the night before?"

"Just wolves howling."

Jhod was quick to protest jumping to reject the possibility of werewolf despite it being on the full moon. A rabid wolf could still be an explanation, and a worg might be prowling a lone even if it was unlikely. Wolf howling was not definitive proof, of anything really. The full moon was circumstantial.

Eire looked around the scattered livestock, the mutilated bodies of the sheep, and quicksilver eyes glowed as he search for the possibility of magic... that still wouldn't eliminate worgs, but the presence, residual confirmed that it wasn't any ordinary wolf.

The Full moon suggested werewolf, but only because he knew those were in fact real. "Jhod assemble a party of hunters," As soon as the old priest was gone, "I want you to go into town and see if there are any strange visitors... would Beaky," The owlbear, "react to a werewolf?"

"One in human form? I have no idea." The former paladin replied, but followed after behind Jhod.

The presence of magic strongly suggested that it wasn't a wolf... not a normal one. A worg would not have headed back to town either, which was the direction that the large tracks departed from. He turned to Oleg, "Assuming it is a werewolf, we should be able to break the curse tonight, but ideally, is the stockade in good repair."

Oleg waffled, "I don't know about holding a werewolf in it though," Well there was always hold monster.
--
Jhod was astonished to have been proven wrong. The afflicted kellid barbarian was a man named Kundal. Jaethal found Jhod have been wrong to be amusing at least. The church of Erastil or at least any of the other members of Jhod's co religionists had little else to add to the matter.

In a major contrast to Shrikewall, Olegton lacked a clear religious grounding. There were no shrines, though Eire suspected at somepoint a Shrine to Erastil would be established or possibly some other divinity, but Oleg had been more concerned with establishing and expanding trading opportunities, and seeing to the common field.

Jhod, and Insmort were probably not in the best standing with Erastil's church given their respective pasts either, but the nearest religious institution was the Temple of the Elk... and it would probably only be a matter of time before the church of Erastil wanted some official religious presence in Olegton.

A year had passed. A year since the Death of the Stag Lord, if not quite a year since Jamandi had proclaimed him baron in Restov. It had taken Jamandi months to ... well to conclusively come and say that there had been no sign of the Iron Wraiths or what had become of them. One of her four expeditions had failed, which to be fair the Surtova dynasty had tried to mount an expedition before Jamandi and it had also been destroyed. The best, and it to be honest, guess was that barbarian tribes in the region or nomadic ones from numeria had been responsible, but there had been no claims of responsibility for the mercenaries' destruction.

Kundal had little knowledge of the glenborn highlands htough to share he had wandered through there, but along the road from Numeria proper not through the wilderness. That meant he had come along the south rostlandic road.

"Which is disappointing, I admit." He shrugged, "once the planting seasons begin we will need to resume explorations." It was a pity that at some point in the half century the Tiger Lords village on the explorer's old map had either been destroyed or they had moved on, having a village in the north west would have been useful. The land was good at least... but they simply didn't have the people to establish farms or grazing in the north west. "Still, I am glad we could resolve this quickly Oleg," He stated to the sending stone before Oleg signed off.

--
Notes: Regarding the Empire building / Kingdom building part of this I am going to make a minor tweak to 'census' data for Pathfinder, city populations are in 'family units' not individuals for this... because otherwise they are entirely too small in my opinion.

So this is the originally planned post timeskip scene its a couple weeks in the timeline after the previous 'Interlude 1' in early spring. It is based off of material from Kingmaker AP2, but its also an opportunity to get into some of the kingdom building and explore some of the demographic stuff when we follow up on this. Right now I'm doing the Sorrowflow quest next up, just because it adds the twins, and then we will begin going through day to day events up until high summer which is when the first troll warnings 'trobold crisis' will start and just in general working from there.

Probably what will happen is that in terms of yearly events each year in the story will probably focus on basically the months of the medieval (western european) calendar spring, summer, fall, and then the winter months happen off screen like we did for 4710. Now admittedly 4711 will entail more than 4710 did because now we have the braony established, and I will be referencing other adventure packs to an extent.

 

26 Desnus 4711
The end of the month was right around the corner, and Eire was looking at their Tiefling guest less so than the map that dominated the table. Sorrowflow was technically on his side of the border, but it was very very close to what Varnhold, so much so that he wasn't even sure if they could access the ruins of an alleged Taldan settlement without switchbacking over the border as things were... but that was purely guess work... and it wasn't as if there was the advantage of GPS to really be sure of the border.

The going alone thing was not something that was a popular condition with anyone, but particularly vocal was Linzi, "The last time some pretty lady asked you to come by yourself you came back with your eyes all red, and a bunch of severed hydra heads!" The bard squeaked standing on her chair

"And the manticore." Amiri added.

"Yes, don't forget the manticore." Jaethal agreed sardonicaly, before glancing at the tiefling. Kundal who was sitting in on this meeting along with Insmort, both having come down from the crossing, hurriedly asked Akiros to explain in Hallit.

The young red dragon, still in human form, exhaled a breath of steam. Shaoyu crossed her arms and sulked, either at the reminder of being left out of those, or at the prospect of not coming along to face whatever might appear this time.

"If Kaessi's information is correct, and accurate, by which I mean the Taldan settlement's existence, or the ruins there of, we should be able to confirm that with a spy glass." He remarked, "Once we have confirmed it the party may remain there, until I return." There were protests of course, Linzi bringing up the trip to the Verdant Chambers, and Nyrissa' ambush within in the first months of the year did him no favors, but he couldn't risk bringing that large of a party over the border recklessly, if they had to cross. "More importantly Akiros will lead the wagons to help Kressel finish the western border works."

There was little point in trying to establish the Ford River camp as anything more than a manorial defensive fief. The Temple of the Elk was too near, and would likely make a larger more natural place of settlement. Kressel's domain though represented a much more reasonable, and arable place to construct a settlement... and the truth was there might actually be a worg problem to her south across the river.... and they were gradually expanding to explore that way.

He gestured to Kaessi's map, and then to the domain. The latter was much more recent presenting the stolen lands and their southern neighbors the kingdoms of Pitax, and Mivon most prominently. It did not show really an eastern border for Varnhold, but Varnhold had been established close to Maegar Varn's charter's western border in a mountain pass and with the Kiravoy river flowing nearby. As the most easerly of the four charter areas much of the domain of Varnhold's official Restov recognized borders were in the dunsward, the steppes that flowed into iobaria further east. Varn being a professional mercenary had probably picked the most defensible spot in the north to establish his baronial seat .

... and Drelev, and his imaginatively named Fort Drelev had been given his for the course ran all the way to new stetven, the capital. A mess of fens, and swamp were cut through by navigable smaller rivers until they reached the broader trade rich artery of the east Sellen river. The East Sellen ran to Mivon and that eventually ran all the way to the greater Sellen River in the south which reached the Inner Sea.
--
They rode the roughly forty miles to Nettle's Crossing and spent the evening there before continuing across and following the southern bank of the Shrike as it moved north. The waxing half moon had provided a relatively clear evening at Kressel's hold before they had ridden on. Eire didn't presume to understand how Jamandi had chosen to, assuming she had been the one to draw up the charters actual geographic boundaries and of course they were closer to where the lord of the Dunsward had staked his capital than they were to Shrikewall. If they'd been doing anything else he might considered an outing over the border to officially visit their neighbor., but not this outing. Even with just a spy glass it was another reminder that the ancient taldan built things to last, but that there were limits and it was obviously Taldan construction that had seen better days.

"Abandonned like the ones further south," He remarked shutting the glass, "Too far from Taldan settlements and then left to sit as the ages wore on." and those settlements had broken apart and been succeeded by other communities with few to any political ties to the Taldan heartland as the empire had declined.

"But it could be restored in time."

... and provide a source of income. "True, but not why we're here." He dismounted from the horse, and handed the reins off to Jaethal who was scowling more than usual, an expression mirrored by Amiri, and Shaoyu as well. Linzi was more sulking than anything. "This will not likely take long," He remarked looking along where the river carved through the mountain pass to the east, stones rising above before it began its northern course through the hills before the crook wound its way from between the hills and furrows to the Shrike... this part of the country of his domain likely was mineral rich if the Taldan records were anything to go by.

His eyes continued to move over the rise as foothills with green grass gave way to more windswept, eroded places where the earth, the dirt and clods of soil couldn't hold on to leaving only the rocky exterior. The path to the summit over the rise and into the depression was clearly artificial. A thousand years could not erode away where likely oxen and thousands of laborers over years had cut through the hill to make the mine into the side of the sorrowflow. Its Taldan origins largely masked by the passage of time, save its presence on maps recovered from within old scyamore that had been left within that mine.

The Qadiran accent on the common tongue gave it an almost song like inflect, "You have a far away look in your eye,"

"This is the borderland." They were closer to Varnhold than Shrikewall, and by no small distance either, but it was more tha that, "The Taldan expended so much effort to advance this far north, and kept going." Humans of taldan stock were common throughout Brevoy to the north the descendants of those ancient explorers even if many of the more urbane culture of the inner sea had blended together with the kellids of numeria and presumably the iobarian humans. Brevoy was a young country unified by choral's armies backed by his dragons.

The Tiefling nodded, "Well, if this this will not take long we should still be going." The blue eyed girl remarked.

Amiri grumbled and kicked the dirt. The Tiefling was right though and they began to move through the ancient wide cut road. The remains of large several foot paving stones having kept the road intact over the centuries though not nearly in as good condition as the regularly travelled and maintained south rostlandic road to the north of them.

After several minutes of walking Kalikke looked up at the stone face, and pointed to a rocky thoroughfare leading into the hills only partially visible in the dark slate gray, "There," She declared. "That leads to the tower."

"You really believe this disk of the eclipse will be here?" He asked. The thing that might permit the twins to exert some measure of control over their constant shifting between one in this world and one on another plane waiting.

Kalikke had said that Nethys had once been a mortal wizard. That meant he had ascended to deity status at least some point ... by at least the fourth millennium before absalom reckoning before Aroden had taken the test of the starstone. Eire personally suspected that meant he had likely done so without that aid... and given Nethys's dogma and parables probably meant the method was perhaps more dangerous than the test of the starstone.

Whether or not that was the case, whatever Nethys's origins were, the story went that one of his worshippers had crafted the magical artifact... and at some point Taldan raiders had looted it. Why they had brought it here who could say, but at some point a flood had torn through the taldan reaches, and he doubted that had been entirely natural. Not as he felt the magic lingering beyond.

"Something of power remains here."

"Indeed." He agreed sensing the for lack of a better term blips of elemental extraplanar power... the epicenter almost certainly the remains of the Taldan settlement, or somewhere there in. He looked at the haggard Taldan tower, "it occurs to me, given our conversation on the disk being a tool of planar travel that it may have, by design or misfortunate event have been responsible for the flood that swept through here."
--
Notes: Kaessi's introduction chapter will be roughly three parts and involve her setting up a permanent home in shrikewall, the capital, this is in contrast to the game where she has her home when you do the Sorrowflow quest with her. It will also touch on some of the migrants from the Inner Sea. That will touch on the church of Abadar as well as the sweet teeth who will probably show up in Part 3. Again, thats a change from the game.

 

Desnus 4711

'The Sorrowflow Part 2​

They hadn't had much further to go, and on reflection, while not visible from the distance by spy glass it was clear that the Taldan had not been the last long term denizens of their mine, and that made sense in hindsight. The Taldan ruins of the Sorrow flow had at some point been appropriated for other purposes, and probably after that had played host to no shortage of transient tenants ranging from animals to bandits, and outlaws of other sorts... but newest ones were about what he had come to expect for the Stolen Lands. Eire lifted one of his boots, and stepped over the charred remains of another slurk and looked around for any remaining threats, before turning his gaze towards the the path that should have lead to the Taldan town center, and then to the one leading presumably to the, or a, mine entrance.

"Your suspicion on the flood might be the case." they diverged from the road that lead to the mine itself and into the ruins of the Taldan settlement. There was debris everywhere but shrouded from general view in how the valley was obscured from nearly all sides. Why the taldan had erected a mining settlement here was in question he doubted whatever ore could be mined couldn't have been easier to extract from some other patch, holla, or river valley along the mountain chain. Why had they picked here? Of course if his suspicions on the geology was right, that was potentially good for him, and for his eastern neighbor.

Like a beacon to his magically augmented sight the magical circle was not Taldan in origin though... it might have been Qadiran or one of Taldan's other rivals but it certainly didn't look like the styles of binding used to trap extraplanr creatures by the countries of the northern coast of the Inner Sea.

"The circle here binds the elementals." And if there had been others, or worse ones binding larger stronger water elements that very well could have sparked a flood in retaliation... but that didn't explain the magical style used to bind them.

"They've been trapped here for a very long time." Kalikke remarked moving around the circle straying, but also not getting close enough to touch. "I think, someone used them, bound them here to attack the Taldans."

It seemed absurd to think they'd been here that long, "That would have been two thousand," Or even twenty five hundred years ago, maybe more, but probably not much less. "Years ago."

"Yes a very long time." She whispered, and glanced to the braziers, a burst of water sprayed out, and doused each of them, and the fluidic arms waved in exuberance as the light from trap dimmed.

"Did you know that was going to work."

"I... think the trap was Qadiran, or atleast known to my homeland, I've seen similar used to bind genies in the east." Kalikke paused her tail swished, at the thoughts swirling in her head. "It was an educated guess more than being fully sure it would work." The elementals were free but not obviously hostile.


After a moment of conversation among themselves the gestured some more and spoke in a gurgling voice a language Eire did not speak... apparently introducing himself and warning them, according to Kalikke's translation, of danger ahead, and that they could call upon them for aid.

"Lets hope you're right, but even if the Taldan were destroyed by the bound elementals," He gestured to the ruined foundations, and the brick structures that had once been homes and shopes, long long ago. "something else must have destroyed the tower." It was further up the hill and while from a distance the face of it looked fine now that they were closer it was apparent the other side had not been so lucky.
--
The climb up to the ruins took the better part of forty minutes. The path which the Taldan settlement had used when it had been a thriving community had long been covered up by fallen debris from the destruction of the town itself... and probably whatever had happened in the interim. The Tiefling looked warily around the structure, and the debris that had fallen down from the north facing, and the squat square adjoining structure. The latter's wooden timbers having long since rotted away.

Kalikke's breath hitched.

He tracked her gaze to a towering mottled stone fleshed creature. The gargoyle was gigantic, and had stuffed its nest among the ruined building down below with an assortment of pilfered jewels and from among them something periodically flashed. White, and then black. It was a disc like object that shone even brighter, standing out under magical sight.

Eire looked down the worn path that lead down, at least this one was largely free of the debris, they could climb down here, assuming the beast didn't fly a way. Kalikke leaned forward as well, "The disk of the eclipse that must be it." She exclaimed, a little louder than he would have preferred but her excitement was reassuring.

... and then she froze and the expression was the only warning before the surge of magic and the portal switched her for the other sister. Kanerah replacing Kalikke. The red eyed girl raised an eyebrow, "What a view." She remarked.

He held a hand to stymie the charade, "You may dispense with such charades, given the physical differences between you two I'm surprised it has lasted this long." Though admittedly his eyes had a particularly problematic habit of turning red... and during those episodes he wasn't sure what was happening.

"Exactly," She crossed her arms putting forward a brave face to hide a momentary flash of fear, "Yes I always thought that the herald of nethys must be having us on, a joke at our expense with all this secrecy business." She gave a forced laugh, that was vaguely otome like in character. Her noblewoman's laugh finished she nodded, "Yes with us switching with no warning at all, there was no sense worrying about it." She smiled. "Last we saw one another , you had just received your barony, and now we're on a mountain side looking out over monster infested ruins, why are we here?"

He gestured idly extending a flannel sleeved arm and pointing a glove clad finger towards the gargoyle's nest, "The disk is down there."

She made a small 'oh' noise, "Admittedly when I told you of it I hoped that we might simply relax and send some questing knight to retrieve it, spend time by the fire in your castle while it was fetched back."

"While I do posses a fortified residence, which is the legal definition of a castle," He remarked amusement tinging his voice as his grip shifted, and he doubted she recognized or noticed the red bleeding into his own eyes, staining the ordinarily quicksilver crimson, "I've yet to actually raise a stone keep or undertake crenulations. So much to do, and I very much prefer to be hands on. Kings should set exemplary notice to their vassals, and I have a young ward who needs a good example more than most." He remarked in an almost leonine purr. "I suppose of course" he remarked resting a hand on the large chiseled rock at the top of the stairs, "had your sister remained we might have summoned those water elementals she befriened, but no matter. We will deal with this problem directly." Fire burned from his finger tips, discloring the rocky outcropping he was gripping and long wings expanded from his back.

She blinked at the massive scaled wings, but did little more than raise an eyebrow further. "Of course lead the way, I'll be happy to add my own fire to the matter."

The Gargoyle roared at the sight of him, but it meant little to him as he soared down the ray of solar flame scouring the monstrous humanoid's wing. The creature was probably a thousand pounds easy and covered in barnacle like brambles and moss... clearly touched by the faewild... the first world, but its stone like hide likely would have denied him the use of a sword effectively... if he'd have cared to use one in this fight.

As soon as the solar ray struck two more fire rays lashed from Kanerah's hands towards the creature. It growled and sort of barked at them trying to avoid the following attacks. Its eyes narrowed swinging its taloned hands toward him even as flame boiled from around his body, "Silly thing, you may as well strike at the sun herself." the backhand sent long raking clawmarks in solid stone that turned molten at the blow as the gargoyle backpedalled and he landed.

Kanerah rushed forward bounding closer to continue to strike at its flanks with fire bursts that ignited patches of moss, and the briars.

Apparently the Gargoyle understood the common. It bolted for one side likely trying to snatch the tiefling hoping she'd be an easier target, which might have been easier if Kanerah hadn't been shooting fireblasts at the monster... or if it hadn't had to turn exposing tail and wing. Eire extending burning hands to grab the creature, and it shrieked in pain as fire burned through its joints. Kanerah wasted no time and didn't fail to seize the opportunity to bring her hands together in a gesture that fired a larger combined blast of flame that slammed into center mass resulting in an almost wet crumbling gasp as the gargoyle folded in on itself.

Eire exhaled a glance at the remains, "Nicely done," He remarked... and they looked around the nest... even assuming the disk proved to be a bust, which he doubted turning quicksilver eyes on it and looking again at the pulsating magical aura, the haul from the jewels alone would be well worth the trip in the short term... and in the long term sorrowflow was almost certainly worth the investment. "The disk," Eire waved to it.

The twins flashed seeming to blur under magical sight after Kanerah picked it up as they switched back and forth a few times at will, as they expressed power over the artifact.

"Hah we can change at will. How wonderful."

He nodded leaning against one of the ruined foundations.

It took almost half an hour for the two, the twins, to finish swapping back and forth and chattering excitedly. Kalikke naturally was the one who volunteered the interest to remain in the lands, but she doubted Kanerah would mind. "We will need to build a house though." Her comment was playful even as she rested a finger on her chin in contemplation of the prospect. It wasn't as if Shrikewall was lacking in space to build a home, in fact living quarters were likely what they very well needed to be expanding on before summer really set in.

--
Notes: Acclimating to Golarion's calendar is annoying, need to adjust some of the summer events or they're all going to run together, and fall will have less...

 

'The Sorrowflow' [Conclusion]​

31 Desnus 4711

To the reckoning of the Church of the Dawnflower, probably in no small part due to the month bearing their goddess's name, was the formal beginning of summer in their calendar. It had taken longer to return from Sorrowflow due to having swung up north to Oleg's, and then coming south. They were going to have to do something about the road situation eventually. At the very least they were going to need to construct a main north south thoroughfare. Regardless though given the volume of gems the gargoyles had horded the trip had been worth it.

Treasure hunting wasn't specifically a royal task of course. Of course he wasn't a king yet either, but he supposed that would devolve endlessly into semantics. What really though most people expected his time to probably be focused on were other matters of state, and foremost among those was the question of religion... or at least the faiths. It was partly the reason he was keeping the Sarenith holy day in mind. Even if he, personally, didn't really think of it as summer yet.... but in three weeks it would be the solstice.

Whatever the case, it was true that there weren't that many followers of Sarenrae in the capital or the kingdom, but that might not always be true, and there were enough of them besides Tristian to bear it in mind. Sarenrae's worship was more common to the Inner Sea than in Brevoy. Of course, Numeria had more of Iomedae's church than Brevoy. The envoy of Abadar's church though had come up from the south with others from the Inner Sea... ironic since Brevoy did actually have a strong church of Abadar.

Eire hadn't had any interest in becoming a pathfinder, but maybe given a few years if he hadn't been told of Jamandi's quest and recognized he might have set out for Absalom on his own... or Numeria or Mendev. Arsinoe and the caravan the golden eyed aasimar had arrived with mostly hailed from the jewel of the Inner Sea.

The problem of course was the Abadar cleric was late. Not to this meeting, but she'd come weeks, months even after clerics from other faiths had arrived... even if admittedly the Temple of Abadar in Absalom's trade mission / envoy had come with resources themselves. Which was by no means Arsinoe's fault, he had written to the church hiearchy, reaching out to Iomedae's clergy and that had meant the nascent barony had been coming into being with Iomedae's church soon to receive clerics and acolytes from Mendev, Numeria, and indeed the heartlands of the Inner Sea long before Abadar's clergy had likely heard of the development.

It was actually somewhat impressive that the Church of Abadar in Absalom even cared about the nascent barony enough to send someone... but it was still a bit much to hear her say things like 'I cam here assuming the citizens of your young barony could use the services of a priest'.... especially when there were perhaps a dozen clerics besides himself and Harrim in the room, never mind other members of faith hierarchies like Jaethal or Tristian.

Tomorrow being what tomorrow was the recent Sarenrae delegation from Absalom were also present.... Jhod was conspicuously absent but he had the Temple of the Elk to contend with like most of his coreligionists.

Harrim two seats down grumbled and reached for his tankard of ale. The Kyonin delegation last month had been the first major non human group to visit. That wasn't to say that the caravans, and missions didn't include non humans but more to say that thus far there hadn't been any dwarves... and while he wasn't really expecting any Orcs either... five kings mountain wasn't much farther than Kyonin.

Eire adjusted his position in the chair, but didn't mirror Harrim's drinking. He was silently grateful for the books he had had in his backpack... not all of them were as useful as he had probably hoped them to be. Golarion was not earth after all, but it was still useful to have various examples of English common law, and information on how medieval kingdoms structured their taxes. "I have promulgated a written codex of the laws of the realm." Not all at once of course, some things weren't necessary to cover all at once, but the truth was given the situation he was increasingly writing missives in Draconic rather than Taldan common, which surprised him. The reason for the draconic though was the lizardfolk, and kobolds all used the language, and so did a surprising cross section of his human population... and of course Shaoyu spoke common well enough now, but preferred the much more august and ancient language of dragon kind.

They still hadn't gotten the printing press. They weren't exactly easy to buy. Not the sort of thing that was kept in stock. He thought about the tiny diagram of Paige's compositor... and wondered if that might be doable... but that'd require precision he wasn't sure they had. The compositor was also prone to being finicky... a linotype would be slower but more reliable.

"A most commendable initiative your grace."

He'd gotten used to that. The right honorable or lord would have been how he would have thought the title should have been. Your Grace would have been appropriate to a british duke, but then golarion or at least this part of avistan's peerage system still remained somewhat opaque to him.

Once the Aasimar had been settled in with a copy of the laws they adjourned. The introduction and some small business before it had taken a decent amount of the morning, and thus he'd had to turn his focus from the hall temporarily to the ongoing development of the domain's growing main square.

At one point in time this had all been paved, there were ... he was loath to call them catacombs per se but there was a natural cave network that had been excavated and expanded upon by the cyclops of Casmarron and then later appropriated by the Taldan, and then abandoned by them and then used every so often as a storage area. The Stag Lords bandits had exploited it to store loot, and they'd probably not been the first ones either.

Kalikke had demonstrated no shortage of fungible assets and had secured a place one one of the main thoroughfares developing. It would take time for a house to be raised to her specifications... and really calling those specifications a house was inaccurate.... he'd have probably used the term villa though it was more oriental instyle. Qadiran he presumed.

She sat down at the for lack of a better term, the royal pavilion. They had collected up the impressively large shelters the Technic League had left behind and were using them as temporary outdoor dining areas. "You are going to build a castle?"

"Technically as a fortified residence, I have one, but yes," he gestured to the consecrated ground and the long strands of rope, across a span of a few hundred acres, "A stone keep will eventually take shape over there, the curtain wall to guard the city," Once they got that far, "Will be adopted to the coast, so yes eventually there will be a castle." As it was the high town, Shrikewall proper was already growing distinct in terms of organization from the settlement of houses and farming community down from the plateau in the nearby dale. They'd probably have to construct another exterior north facing wall to enclose that at some point, but large fixed fortifications were not a priority.

Whatever Kalikke had to respond to that was cut off by the sharp greeting cry of "Elder," from a tiefling approaching the pavilion. He made a point of discretely waving Garess who was hovering nearby to ease off. He wasn't sure why the guard was so paranoid, but it was like this whenever he went around in public. That the other tiefling boy had mentioned that he'd heard the baron could breath fire elicited a dirty look from Garesss... but it was hardly untrue.

The third, and only girl in the group shushed the two, and bowed which only emphasized their jester like appearances. "The sweet teeth you spoke of?" He asked to confirm.

"Yes." She proceeded to introduce Tevi, the girl, and then Naiho and the last as Elki all who had come from Qadira. "they were instrumental in tracking down the Taldan ruins." He nodded suitably impressed by the three's helpful exploits.

Naiho remarked that they'd actually been hoping to find work in town, and Kalikke shuffled her feet under the table, "As it happens," Eire remarked, "I can help with that."

"Really?"

"The barony is young," He gestured, "Can you tell me the original architectural style that that was built in? Is it taldan?"

The sudden question caught them off guard, and they stared at the old tower. They were stumped. Then after a minute Elki shook his head, "I don't know your grace, but not Taldan, too old. Doesn't look elven either, but I could find out." He remarked honestly. The other two sagged in defeat.

"Its Iobarian, there are several of their ruins we know of scattered through the lands, but there are Taldan ruins, and elven also. I need the countryside explored, particularly in the east where you've already started." There was no rush between the two rivers they were talking about a million and a half acres, maybe a bit lesss, and he certainly wasn't expecting them to map it all. "Those Taldan ruins you found, Sorrowflow," Which they would definitely be renaming, "Will make an excellent settlement. I need the land surveyed, I'm not asking you to explore the ruins, map and identify and we will involve you the exploration, and we can go from there."

It was more than the sweet teeth had been expecting, more than Kalikke had been expecting. She sighed, "Thank you. That should keep them busy."

"I would hope so. Thats just the eastern part of the domain. There is still north and west," And the south, but the southern frontier was not at this stage a priority. "Did you sit in on the council meeting?" He was aware that the church of the dawnflower, Sarenrae was not Kanerah's favorite, but he wasn't quite sure how she felt about them or for that matter the faiths in general... besides presumably the Church of Nethys. "Tristian has my permission to hold his festival tomorrow," There was really no reason to refuse the request, "I have never been to Qadira, but this is not there whatever the Qadirans feel about tieflings that is not true here."

 

9 Sarenith 4711
The following day, star day on the calendar, would mark Sarenrae's festival of burning blades... it wasn't of course intentional. It was probably helpful that the Sweet Teeth had been gone about a week and a half, or not. This wasn't Qadira. Eire looked across the field, surveying the posts driven into the ground, the lines of string, and rope strung to plot, and measure. Progress was predictable, especially with harvest season here, construction would slow as more hands moved to the field, but there were still things that needed to be build.

Trees were cut down, and some did go to mills to be sawed into planks, but given the need for houses and barns most were delimbed and turned, and hatched to join them for cabins, and loghouses, and barns, and from there once the frames were done.

The broad valley north of Shrikewall's promontory was bounded by the rising hills that pushed Shrike and Skunk into the courses that lead them down into the Tuskwater itself. The north eastern prominence of hills helped shape turning the tuskwater more southerly till it opened into the big lake. The hills flattened out in-between one another creating a dale that was pretty decent farmland as a result, and thus he'd had surveyors working to plot and measure, in preparation for all the work that had been needed since this time last year... and it was starting to come together, made simpler as more people became available to do the work.

"Kagar is here, he seems alarmed." Jaethal remarked without any kind of preamble or salutation. She was actually due to leave soon, and make for the elven keep that had been abandoned to history... and really the task of visitors and petitioners really should have been Valerie's job... but not much point standing on ceremony given their current conditions.

"Oh?" He replied.

Before she could reply there was an excitedly fwoosh of air as Shaoyu arrived. "An Interloper." She declared furiously, "The bard," She meant Kagar, "declares a green dragon in the south." There was a crackle of sparks as she exhaled loudly.

Jaethal shrugged at his look, "Probably from more tazylworms," She replied, "I'm sure the lizardfolk are just panicky. Don't know why they're complaining all that much, it seems just as happy to attack the Thickskins," The long tails rival tribe, "As it is them."

That was another problem they were going to have to contend with as summer neared. The Thickskins were a much more aggressive lizard folk tribe, and not nearly inclined to mercantile ventures and cooperation as the Long Tails... whatever bad side Count Shimmerglow had had he had been helping Kagar's tribe and the Chief 'King' Vesket to not just keep the Thickskins at bay but beat them back and prevent them from coming further into the area around candlemere.

He considered, "What do you know?"

"Acid burns seem to be the case." The Tatzwyrms who had nested where Loy's town was taking shap had also used acid, so possible. "But a dragon seems a stretch." Jaethal seemed intent on not elaborating as opposed to simply settling on what she was sure on. She had made her judgement that it probably wasn't a dragons much as tribesfolk, and apparently humans turning a somewhat rare predatory monster into something bigger and meaner with each tall tale. "Do you want me to handle it?"

He thought about it, "No. I'll go." The castle in the west needed to be examined, they needed that underway. The simple fact was those ancient ruins, not just the elven castle, but here, and at Candlemere were all at useful geographic locations, appropriating and using the ruins as the basis was a practical choice for establishing power projection through the narlmarches. The three sights even forms a rough triangle projecting into the forest to the west. "I was meaning to visit the lizard village anyway," The matter of a universal promulgated law was going to be complicated applying it through the narlmarches.

If there was a dragon issue... well the dense forests to the west made sense, but he was a bit surprised that they hadn't seen the young adult who had laid Shaoyu's egg, or the Silvers supposed to nest to the east. Of course... it was possible if it was a dragon it was a young recently hatched and solitary green that had been left to its own devices.

"When?" Jaethal queried

It occurred to him she had moved on to the matter of Tristian's festival. "The day after I think." Sunday." The prospect of meeting the interloper addressed Shaoyu interupted to to turn the matter to dinner. It was Fireday, and so thus well Tuskwater was an abundant lake for fish and it was fireday so fish for everyone. The religiously inspired diet caused him to consider the legal code he'd been working on. The simple reality was that pre modern societies... most societies simply didn't generate the food resources to allow large prison populations. Lex Talionis was the norm for that, in conjunction with other resources... but in a world with magic, well hello fines used to pay the local church to magic a cure provided an effective solution to at least most cases of simple battery, or common injury.

He glanced to the local public house in the valley's farm community, and they kept walking.
--
Sarenith's day of blades was mostly looking to be a small affair. Tristian was allowed to do his thing, and that kept him busy for most of the day. Unwilling to overshadow the other priest Eire had retired to his private study and to the books, and papers.

The roll top desk was dominated by a large sheet of paper that he'd used a cantrip to copy the paige compositor's patent image from the book onto the larger medium. The compositor, and any movable type was likely a distant project. He'd need it to have the characters for Taldane, or in Draconic... or both. Realistically the system of weights was going to be another issue for kingdom records and standardization... something else to do.

Eire moved to rest a wool sock covered foot on one of his bags. Two years... more. Count Shimmerglow had said ... something about Shyka the Many... was that what had happened. The lack of electronics in his gear pack weren't the only factors that had stood out... even if it was foremost of them.

He'd, even though he didn't remember, had packed oddly. One of the things he'd noticed was the lack of any of his Koistenten books. He'd brought wood working books, joinery, foundations, engineering medical... but nothing he didn't regularly have. The book on machinery, and physics was useful... but he hadn't brought anything with diagrams for late 19^th century firearms... which might also mean nothing. The simple reality was the tooling diagrams were more likely to be useful.

Besides he knew guns worked, even if had moved almost entirely away from using them. He hadn't needed them. They were also too complex to hand off to or reproduce. He thought about the cyclop's heligraph system or the remnants of it. He suspected he was missing something, but he had neither the resources or use for right now to implement a telegraph system.... and given the magical communication that allowed him to communicate with Oleg's, he wasn't sure that was necessary.

Magic allowed him to sidestep a variety of logistical hurdles, and that meant when he had to parse down the principle need... it was usual proving to be the basics. The farming revolutions, and tools, to make tools. Infrastructure, and people would be next... but the next matter would be contending with going south to see if there really was a green dragon predating on a village of lizardfolk that he did want to keep around.

Valerie's knock was unnecessary, he'd left the door open... in part because high ceilings or no it was summer and the air flow helped with the heat... it was nice that they had magical heatless lighting but that only helped so much. His regent was frowning.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Your grace Sir Kesten reports that there has been a fight."

"I see," He stood up. "Do you know what happened?"

"It is religious in nature." She declared, carefully guarding the statement.

He nodded, but didn't repeat his first response, "Do we know the nature of it? And who it involves?"

"A paladin of Irori, a cleric of Nethys, as well as a Willas Gunderson and apparently Kaessi seem to have had some sort of argument about Candlemere. Messer Gunderson seems to want to travel to Candlemere to treasure hunt."

"That doesn't seem the sort of thing to cause a religious dispute." He remarked looking out to the ... what passed for a central square, it was hard to think of that given that paving it had yet to reach a high enough priority to warrant actually doing it, especially since they were still exploring the catacombs.

"Rismel, the cleric, apparently believes he received a visitation from his god and that the island is therefore sacred to nethys."

He cleared his throat, and snorted, he was a little doubtful Candlemere would be sacred to a god of the far south without an explanation, but sure, "No, sorry, do go on."

"Kaessi finds it very odd her god would directly communicate with Rismel."

Eire nodded, but decided not to ask for a clarification on why that was 'odd'. "And the paladin, and Mister Gunderson?"

"Those two want to explore the ruins, the paladin appears to have been part of a party of adventures which includes, or perhaps included now, Rismel. They were hoping to explore the island, and from what I gather publicize or sell whatever they found."

"Have they been to Candlemere?"

"No, Messer Gunderson seems to have come to the barony from our neighbor to the east, he has a letter of introduction from Lord Maegar, apparently neither were aware of efforts to the isle before departing Varnhold."

He nodded, "Very well, have garess put it on the docket and we will deal with it."

 

13 Sarenith 4711
They had returned to Candlemere collected Kaessi and Tristian along with a very disappointed Gunderson and his party and returned to Shrikewall. Any discussions of a temple of Nethys would have to wait until Candlemere had a more permanent presence, but for the time being it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and inform Harrim of the project.

"Gunderson and companions have departed?"

"Except the priest of Nethys, but yes they stated their plans to return to Varnhold."

That simply reminded him he really needed to do better about maintaining contact with his eastern neighbor. There was no easy way to reach out to Varnhold. No roads that were actually worth calling roads crossed the stolen lands so the only option he could see besides sending someone overland up into the mountains would be to go up to the south rostlandic road, and cross from the Brevic village of Nivakta's crossing and follow the kiravoy south.

That was a long way to go around, but with no established mountain path and regular course there was not better option available to them to manage regular correspondence. "Yes, well do keep an eye on Rismel, I have a letter to compose to Lord Maegar that will need to go out to Oleg's first thing in the morning." Morning, because regardless of how things were, regardless of the plenitful conveniences magic could offer, travel was still largely contingent on daylight hours.

Eire move to seat himself behind the center of the sprawling realm map. He still considered baron a somewhat title to hold. It was too fundamentally from his thinking tied to either is later english position in the peerage, or its norman era connotations and his rank as an independent ruler and the volume of land he nominally held by the charter didn't fit neatly into either role. He supposed, knew even, that he was overthinking things.

He traced a line down the western border, recalling that twenty seven hundred years ago the fifth army of exploration had reached the western border of Iobaria. Twenty seven hundred years. The south Rostlandic road didn't pass directly through the stolen lands, and he wasn't sure why.... but there was enough evidence of Taldan inhabitation to suggest there should have been a major taldan thoroughfare... at the same time he supposed if it had been there then he'd have not been building the barony at all.

The even earlier third army of exploration had begun making inroads into the River Kingdoms in 1520 Absalom Reckoning, but Razmiran sat on the shores of Lake Encarthen. That was easily six hundred miles to the south east.

"You have another great project look."

"We were always going to have to build roads, Jaethal." It was just a matter of state, but seventy odd miles was no small, or cheap feat. "Oleg's needs to be physically linked-" She stopped them there.

"The kobolds are back," Which wasn't unusual, "And given what we know of Taldan settlements," The undead elf gestured to the sprawling table map, and charted a path up from where the thorn river met the Shrike north east of Shrikewall.

He leaned back, "Jaethal you find the sootscale nearly as annoying as Valerie does," Which was not something that had escaped him, but he felt it bore mentioning, given she was suggesting actually linking Shrikewall to the Old Scyamore and running the road north to meet Oleg's. She deflected even dismissing the grating squawking, even inspite of it that they could still be useful. Of course they had to cross the Thorn River at some point to run a road to Oleg's.
--The lands north of the Tuskwater between the skunk and thorn rivers were part of a hilly region that caused the forests to the east to become progressively thinner the abutment of the zones were just a factor of the land. The Kamelands had plenty of water, but were less suited to supporting forests. There were still enough trees to harvest to address the growing settlements needs, and more importantly the hills provided access to stone to quarry, which was useful beyond measure given how scarce sources of building stone was in much of Brevoy to the north.

"We will need to set up a more effective timbering solution, but for the moment our needs are satisfied." The barony had two main zones, and unlike with the rostlandic plain to north which did have some light forests the kamelands had enough quaryable stone that they could prepare more permanent structures in addition to having nearby sources in the narlmarches proper to have good quality heavy timber.

Still he had to balance that with the reality of potential fae problems, and keeping the lumberjacks from causing other kinds of trouble. It was all about balance. Ironically the wood resources were the easiest thing. Manufacturing nails, never mind more complicated metal projects for common building projects was the bigger hang up.

... still regardless of whether this bored Amiri or not this needed to be done. Harrim grunted, "Well, I've looked around the island," Candlemere, "And it seems as if all the will o wisps have met their doom, but we can't know for sure if they'll return or not."

"I've taken that into account," It wasn't just Harrim doomsaying, while he'd cast dispel chaos, and sanctified the island's ruins, that was in part to dispel the malevolent aura that had presumably been drawing the will o' wisps from the First World in the first place. "We'll see what happens but for now we need a more permanent encampment set up there." The shrike river eventually flowed into the east sellen to where it flowed into Kallas Lake, and thus the Sellen and that provided them a river route all the way to the Inner Sea. "But Candlemere lets us project into the lake and that lets ships sail up the Shrike once they reach Mivon without having to go up the east sellen and come overland." The Rostlandic road was well built, but being able to cut Brevoy out entirely was desirable for the sheer amount of time it seavd. "Now, while that river passage needs to be secured there is the castle," Or the ruins of the elven fortress, "to the west."

Amiri glanced up from playing with her knife as Jaethal straightened. "Its a dump. Can we fix it yes," She continued before she could be interrupted. "The walls need work, including rebuilding the southern wall, and smaller breach to the south west. Leave aside all of the scrub, and weeds that have grown up, most of the roofs are gone from the towers. If it wasn't a concentric keep I'd say the towers might as well be demolished." That wasn't a great start to reports on the survey. "The north west tower is the only of them not really ruined."

"I see, and the keep itself?"

"Overgrown but its probably the most intact out of the whole place. Its livable."

But with the breaches to the walls it could hardly be considered a proper fortress. "Is it?" He was actually surprised processing the last sentence.

Jaethal gave him a dirty look, "Its bearable. More cleaning would be in order."

He nodded. "That's something at least." There were short on people. "Alright, I want you to prepare a party I'll send them to guard the lumberjacks and see what we can do, I'll try and talk to Kagar about helping... if Kessel isn't using Dave's services, get him to look at the castle." He basically the only full time engineer they had not committed to a project here. The temple of the elk didn't even have engineers it was all itinerant masons supplied by the temple of Erastil. There were two Chelixans, a couple more professionals from Absalom, but none he was comfortable sending to the west. The Chelish engineers were vouched for by Iomedaen church officials but by that same token were engaged in affairs on behalf of the Inheritor's church.

"And the timber? Corax I assume."

He nodded at the not really a question. "He's available. Just try and avoid antagonizing any more faeries." Eire added after a minute, and quietly contemplated requesting Akiros and Kundal join the western party. Mouri was another possibility, and had the advantage of being in Shrikewall while Akiros was at the temple of the elk not at his own hold.
--
Notes: this and the following, or more accurately day after, section have undergone minor revisions as I contend with trying to get the days straight for the summer.

Also I don't know if there is some snafu on the wiki, or if someone vandalized wiki intentionally ... or what but I'm sticking to the original 4711 kingdom date (I will be going back and changing the 46 revision I did back to 47), despite the wiki currently saying that the AP for some reason started in 4611 and its on both the wikis so fuck if I know whats going. I have been told by more than one person that the timeline is supposed to 47XX AR. On an unrelated, and much smaller scale timeline snafu, on my part, as a result of the summer planning issues.

It is also why we don't have a Kaessi section to go along with this. It is also why we will probably get a second update later in the week (probably Thursday or Friday).

 

16 Sarenith 4711​

The kobolds were back, or more accurately by this point their small delegation had returned for another visit. There was technically a small guest house attacked to the hall for guests of the baron. It was the same style of log tongue structure as the hall itself. It had been an effective and expedient structure to raise, and furnish given the timber stands to the west that could be floated down to the lake before the previous winter. It hadn't been Corax's first project but the ranger had made sure the wood was suitable for the task and it had only taken about a dozen men two weeks of work to raise it. The structure itself had taken less time than the interior furnishing, and as it was designed for normal sized people it was bordering gargantuan to kobolds.

The visiting party from old Sycamore were all kobolds, occasionally the monthly party contained a few curious mites tagging along on their queen's behalf but not this time. It features the same principle pair of Mikmek, and Napkik and a few older kobolds than them. Apparently what would have ordinarily been too far for either party was remedied by being able for the sootscales and longtails to meet in Shrikewall to trade. The lizardfolk, the longtails, being able to take boats from shrike wall, and just being being larger, had the easier time of it. The sootscales were smaller and had to go over land.

He hadn't been aware that this sort of trade was going on, but then again it had only really begun after the spring thaw and the realization that the baronial seat was a safe location the two tribes could meet. Perhaps more importantly, not that the trade and the alchemists work wasn't important, was confirmation that there were other kobold tribes south of the river, and to the west. He'd been wondering. There were probably other tribes to, but the sootscale enjoyed a relative isolation from their caverns beneath the old scyamore, and their peace with the mites. That peace, and the fact it was holding was good, and it encouraged him that trade between the two draocnic speaking races would prove useful in the longer term.

That was part of what Kanerah wanted to talk about, but that in turn had been somewhat overshadowed by Celadon's introduction to court. Only the fact that the Lizardfolk, the longtails, had pretty much been living in the wilderness on a subsistence life style that compelled them that meat was meat kept them from taking issue with the drake's recent predation of their kind. That history meant they didn't object to his eating their own dead, never mind eating the dead of thickskin. It was a cultural thing that humans or at least the barony's human settlers would have been a bit more unsettled by.

"We could even construct an alchemists workplace." The tiefling commented, settling it so that both parties could bring their goods here and then make whatever they hoped to make would require more than just one building. Both lizardfolk and kobolds would need housing, and space not just for an alchemist to work but also for a herbalist. That wasn't unreasonable, and it was precisely the sort of economic foresight and planning that Valerie wasn't suited for. It didn't address the long term need for eventually moving to a national bank but the Tiefling twins provided a steward for the kingdom to be.

At least for now, in the Stolen Lands, maybe even in most the riverlands, land was plentiful and people scarce. They had the land to set aside and plan districts and quarters even if they didn't necessarily have the incomes to act on that in its entirety. Jaethal's suggestion came to mind, "Running a road to Old Scyamore would make it easier for the Kobold to reach the city," And that in turn would make it easier for the smaller creatures to travel back and forth. Jaethal was going to have to go without any such benefit but at least her efforts had the benefit of being able to take a boat up the murque, but that was still less of an issue than getting most places. "Will you be able to see about that?" Because realistically Kanerah, or Kalikke was going to need to coordinate with Valerie when it came to finding the personnel among settlers and immigrants coming from down river, or from Brevoy to fill those positions.

Kanerah idly fanned herself, throwing a glance at Jaethal, "i'm sure that I can find some people. Abadar's followers might be able to recommend an engineer if we need them but we'll need to reach the river first." Dead Dave would be tied up with the abandoned elven keep's salvage, restoration or whatever word one wanted to use.

"Actually I can help with that." Jaethal remarked, "There is someone."

Her tone had a certain... je ne sais quoi that put him on edge, as if she wasn't so much doing them a favor so much as ... "Why do I not like the sound of that?" He asked.

Jaethal's pale face remained placid, and she sat a small figure on table. An elven woman holding a solar icon. "We could wait to see if Abadar's church spare anyone but there is a cleric of the church of Findeladlara who needs something to do."

"Does he?"

"Very much so, he's proving to be quite a nuisance," Apparently Dead Dave's craft wasn't good enough, and from Jaethal's accounting it was a wonder the elf hadn't petitioned to be added or even replace Davik Nettle's position on Jaethal's staff at the keep. "Oh I'm sure he's going to ask." She snorted, "But I haven't actually mentioned the keep is elven in construction. He thinks its another iobarian ruin, or Taldan like we have here. He's looking for something to provide a 'guiding hand'."

"That's his goddess's title isn't it?"

"Yes, how terribly witty, but I'll admit he could be useful. Just get him out of my hair."

He paused, "Should we not be advertising the keep is originally elven," There was no telling how much work was going to be required for, hell Eire was relying on personal report he hadn't even made his way over there to investigate.

"Only if you want an influx of smug self entitled know it alls who think just because elves in the distant past thousands of years ago might have walked through a glade makes something theirs." She scoffed, "Kyonin is going to be annoying enough, and the only sufferance to that is we're likely going to be just as aggravating to them, I wouldn't ah advertise until its complete and we have it staffed." Well that was why they had a council, but it was one more thing they'd need to contend with. "Now about the letter to our eastern neighbor," At least she'd stopped calling him baron meat head any longer... and that was far more complimentary than the description she had dubbed Drelev with.

--
Eire lifted his field glasses and looked out over the farmland along the river, and the handful of developing homesteads in the wide valley between the Shrike and Skunk river to the north. He let the ten power styrka fall to his chest and rest against the printed blue tee shirt. It was plenty warm enough for it.

They were heading into summer or maybe it was already here, depending on how one wanted to count. Regardless harvest season was beginning, and in particular he was looking at the dale's distinct field shapes. The short fields of oxen driven erastil owned homesteads, peopled mostly by settlers from Restov. Long narrow fields of the royal estate contrasted them. Those were drawn by the horses, the collars, and steel mold board style heavy plows that would cut the soil take it and turn it over.

There were wing beats to signal Shaoyu's impatience with walking and she had bounded into the air to hurry ahead of Amiri. On the other hand that wasn't unusual. Shaoyu exercised caution not to hit anything even if the sudden transformation did tend to spook animals, and anyone not in the know. Amiri grunted at the landscape spreading out over the valley to the north.

He decided not to turn this into a lecture about how the farm and the crop rotation and so forth would allow them to sustain animal herds all year long with fodd crops, and so forth. Amiri's last attempt to have complex agriculture explained to her had boiled down to her liking real food... which fell a little flat given her use of seasonings and spices on chicken and duck and goose... and the fact all of those could be raised on farms.

Farm raised livestock, and being able to sustain large herds of livestock through the winter was probably the biggest change in food raising. It was a long term investment. He entertained Shaoyu's questions on the harvest and on the differences... but the truth was the first harvest while it would be different wouldn't be as telling as Harvest 5 or a harvest in as many years either. That would be really when they should begin to see the real difference... and that would require patience. It would also mean creating a bureaucracy and that required literacy.

He turned away from the dale, and looked in the direction of the Tuskwater to the south. They needed an actual road from here to Oleg's. Pretty much all southern traffic came in to the lake pier and didn't require or make a priority a road in that direction. That wasn't going to be true forever given the community on the ford Oleg's friend was building up... and beyond that there was the castle.

"Have you settled on a name?"

It wasn't finalized yet, "We would be getting ahead of ourselves given all the work Jaethal seems to think it requires." They weren't sure of the fortification's original name... cleaning was required and maybe cleaning up the place would eventually yield that. Amiri raised an eyebrow, "I am considering Hereford."


The name meant nothing to Amiri, but then he hardly expected it to.

"Ah will we station crusaders there?" Shaoyu questioned, "To guard against western brigands, and the inflated soft heads," An inexact translation, but loosely she was calling Fort Drelev's ruler a stupid preening lizard that had flared its crest against a much more powerful foe, "in the marshlands?"

That question drew Amiri's attention.

"Realistically conflict with the west could come from any number of factors," He replied, "And a strong military presence will deter Lord Hannis from leaving the slough." It was something he was taking an abundance of caution with, "It also shields Tatzlyford from the west, which is important, and not just because of Drelev. "I've been speaking with Akiros, and he thinks for whatever of Drelev's personality flaws he's proving competent in pushing bandits and other threats out of the lakelands of the Hooktongue, and that potentially threatens Loy's town to be."

... and if that were the case that created an issue the ford and its community was about thirty miles north of the elven ruins and maybe fifteen east. Gary's 'castle' as the boggard called it was on the wrong side of the river to protect the community.

"And?"

"And Kundal found a dead unicorn in the woods west of the town," Akiros had told the Kellid man that he'd investigate it when they when south from the Temple of the Elk to make for the elven ruins, and that once he found out more he'd report back... but the dead unicorn had disturbed the barbarian, "He said someone sheered off its horn."

"Poachers." The nearly year old dragon snapped a burst of sparks accenting the growl... and she was probably right, but it bore investigating, and the Church of Erastil were planning to send a party with them so they might be able to find out more.
--
Notes: Alright So the tentative plan is that tomorrow and sunday Ghost Who Walks (BT) will get two relatively short interlude updates, and then hopefully on monday we will gett back to a somewhat normal pattern of updates. In theory that will mean probably alternated between Essence wielding social general and the Luxen Contract side story on Thursday... but right now I'm dubious about managing to actually stick to that. I do also want to finish overhauling S.A.M. but thats sort of stalled out.

Among some other things which (besides the previous sections lack of a Kaessi centric perspective scene) is that the farmland section was abridged

 

11 Sarenith 4711
The boat ride allowed them to reach Candlemere directly from the castle or at least from Shrikewall's coast, and it was far quicker than overland travel to the village. Tristian had decided to tag along. It seemed that Valerie's information hadn't been quite accurate. At some point before they'd cleansed the island Willas had visited the island and then decided he needed back up, and returned to Varnhold, with Rismel in tow, to recruit others for the party.

Kanerah was openly contemptuous of Rismel's claims to have been in direct communication with their patron deity. That somewhat complicated the matter of the twins switching out, but even kalikke agreed that Rismel's claims breached Nethys orthodoxy regarding the faith. Nethys apparently didn't talk to his clergy directly... apparently ever.

While, though potentially heretical delusions aside Rismel was insightful useful even for other things. He'd been able to lead them straight to the gateway to the First World. That more or less put paid to his claims he'd been talking to Nethys directly, but not a waste of a visit. "I trust I can leave this in your hands?"

Kanerah tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Delusions of grandeur aside, Rismel is not wrong the island would make an excellent site for a temple of Nethys." That hadn't been what he'd asked, "I should be able to keep them from killing one another, I think I'd like to look around actually," He wasn't sure if Kanerah was saying that or if she meant Kalikke wanted to search the ruins. She paused as a flight of archons twisted around before zooming across the landscape, "I don't know if I'll get used to that," Her tail twitched and she rested her fingers on her chin, "How did you clear all of this brush."

"Dragon fire mostly."

"Ah of course, silly me." She laughed, and then spared a look at the rows of beds terracing the hill, "Are they planting potatoes?"

Planting was something of a misnomer, it was really planted, since they were largely finished now, "Candlemere is pretty marginal rocky farmland," and prone to rain, more so than Shrikewall was, "so they're the best crop for cultivation here." He acknowledged as her eyes tracked the riverboats and vessels coming up the shrike river from Mivon.

"The river goes all the way to Star bay, and the Inner Sea." Absalom, Oppara in Taldor, Almas in Andoran and the other ports of those countries beside. Never mind the ports of Qadira, and Osiron, Thuvia, Rahadoum, Cheliax. "Your young barony has attracted a great deal of attention." It had occurred to him. It wasn't as if somehow that fact had eluded him in terms of what they were doing. ... and there was so much more to be done.
--
Vesket at least, once they had arrived in the lizard folk village later that afternoon, was certainly convinced it was a green dragon. The lizard king was pretty close to hysterical but there was good news of a sort in his account. He had an idea on how big it was.

From the description it was probably only a young Green Dragon, not yet a juvenile. Still of all chromatics greens were supposed to be the most reasonable to deal with, and Eire was hoping that they could track this one down, and it could be made to see sense. ... given its size, and thus age there was always the chance the parent might or might not be around. "Vesket seems very confident."

Kagar grunted, "It is so." Then after a moment the rattler glanced back. "It is because now village has dragon here."

Of course. That made sense. The hysteria had probably abated quite a bit with Shaoyu flying around looking furiously for the green interloper. She didn't seem to be having any luck with that. Linzi followed his gaze, "What happens if she sees the green?"

"Most likely she'll trumpet a challenge." He replied, and hopefully she wouldn't go charging head on, he wasn't sure how far her flying ... what kind of distance the vantage gave her right now. The rattler's comment highlighted one more detail of how Golarion differed in political organization. Vesket was not a slouch as a fighter, and he had a magical weapon so in that sense he made sense as a tribal elite warrior being chief.

That was a fairly simple organization.

Brevoy followed a fairly conventional feudal arrangement of its own despite the fact ... frankly that it shouldn't. He wasn't sure how the House of Rogaravia had managed to maintain power for two hundred years, but they had just vanished, obviously due to magic, and not been deposed by civil war.... he really didn't understand how politically they hadn't erupted into civil war.... especially given that they didn't have a unified church to provide that stabilizing factor.

In all honesty, out of all of the neighbors Numeria... or Pitax made their own sorts of sense in terms of factions, and organization from what little he did know of the neighboring countries.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Well if anything we'd better start looking."

"Right." Linzi agreed.

"I can show you where last sighting was." Kagar remarked. They departed the Long Tails's village and made their way south and east into the forest on horseback with Shaoyu continuing to fly overhead looking for any sign, but given the tree cover he doubted she's see through the foliage. They were meandering about to the west looking for a clearing that Kagar thought was about another half a mile when a tree overturned.

From up above Shaoyu threw herself into a meteoric dive as the wyvern like creature shifted onto the bend of the road on top of the broken oak. Its wingspan must have been about thirty feet, but the give away was its lack of forelimbs.

"Dragon."

There was a roar.

"Drake." He corrected.

Shaoyu hit the drake at the thunder of her dive in a massive crash.

Whether dragon or drake it didn't matter, they needed to get off their mounts and get them out of the way. Shaoyu was actually smaller than the adult drake, but that size difference probably didn't count for much. Not nearly as much as he had expected it to against an actual green dragon. Having a full set of limbs to attack with also provided its own advantage. Linzi and Kagar began to play their respective instruments even as the two broke apart and started to circle.

With another bellow the drake reared back throwing its head suddenly forward and sptt a mucousy green blob towards Shaoyu. Not a true breath weapon the glob burst, the ball of acid splashing and turning into a sickly greenish yellow miasma covering the young red.

That was a mistake.

A blast of fie exploded in reply from Shaoyu's maw, catching not just the drake but the broken tree as well, that exploded under the sudden heat. Even if it had been a young green dragon at that point it probably would have decided enough was enough, the drake shook from its burns and turned to flee, but Shaoyu was unprepared to let that happen and pounced, smaller size or no, getting hit by a sprinting clydesdale sized object from the side still sucked.

The impact jarred, and bowled the drake over and a mass of crackling flames wreathed the red's claws, "Yield." She demanded in Draconic.

The drake yipped pitifully covering its face with its wings.

... and that was that, save of course for the red trying to deafen all of them with her victorious triumphant bellow.

Celadon, which was accurate to the drake's coloring, wasn't especially intelligent. In terms of book learning Amiri was probably smarter, but it was conversant in draconic, and intelligent enough to work through what rules were and why breaking them was a bad idea.

That it even had a name was testament to a more peaceful time in the stolen lands. Before Nugreah, and the Stag Lord's ritual there had been more druids than just Bokken, his crazy brother, and the Stag Lord's father, but the others had dwindled. Druids were hardly the most sociable people and tended towards isolation. The last Celadon had seen of the druid who'd given him the name had been at a distance going to the land of bones of the linnworms in the east, near where the silver dragons were. That had been at least a decade earlier and Celadon had already been mature by that point... mature and for that matter most of its siblings killed off by the life in the southern narlmarches.

Not that his brood had been the only drakes, but he'd never encountered any of his own kind, never mind an actual dragon this far north. The Greenbelt was plentiful with wolves, and he did occasionally see a wyvern coming in from either mountain range in the distant east or west, but for the most part the challengers were mundane. Humans, boggards, thylacines, giant spiders and that sort of thing. He didn't cross the shrike, not only because there was vastly less cover but because there were a pair of mated owlbears in the kamelands that the drake knew better to trifle with.

The recent fighting between thick skins and long tails had simply been too good and opportunity for the drake to pass up given how frequently one side or another with dead or wounded on both sides. Shaoyu was quick to call this being a buzard, but the young dragon had never gone hungry either. If Celadon could towards law abiding, and follow the rules this was actually going to be pretty helpful.

... also he had mentioned linnworm bones, and reiterated what Perlivash had mentioned previous regarding the silver dragons in the east. Sooner or later they were going to have to actually visit their neighbors in the east, both Maegar, and the dragons too.


--
Notes: Don't ask. I don't know how this got missed. You will notice from the date that this is supposed to have occurred before the previous two updates. It got put in the wrong file apparently.

 

20 Sarenith 4711
The news of poachers in the western woods had irritated her... but Jaethal would probably handle the matter, and it wasn't as if Valerie wasn't aware that she had no shortage of other things to deal with. The summer solstice was tomorrow, and she wasn't entirely sure was the expectation was, given the dragon's birthday. Midsummer, or high summer, was upon them and among other festivals besides Desna's ritual of stardust, lay the Sarenite Sunwrought festival. Their liege's own sect of Iomedae apparently also held the longest day of the year to commemorate the Chelish sun goddess in some capacity that was wholly separate from her status as inheritor of Aroden's legacy.

Leaving aside the dragon's birthday she had other preparations as well. It was no secret of course, the explosion of activity the last two months had prevented his grace from dedicating time to construction and farming projections. Her growing staff was responsible for the managing the rolls system. That insured the meals, and residence of farmers in direct baronial service. The baronial farmers were provided directives from the coronet with instructions on farming and application, access to tools and seed stocks, and housing. In return her staff saw to the dispensation of cash payments for wages, and fed them from the baronial pantler.

That was only one part of Valerie's job. Then there was managing Garess's reports. Then the matter of contending with cataloging the exploration reports, the charts, the mapping... and keeping special tally of any reports of banditry. Her duties as estate chancellor were many.

Including the Qadiran was something she had agreed to because it was beginning to be too much. "Jaethal wants to see about importing cotton?" Valerie looked up from the elf's looping script, and set the missive aside.

The red eyes blinked at her. "I will see what I can do." The other woman replied, "Did she specify what kind of cotton?"

A glance at the missive, to confirm "She did not." The blonde replied.

"I will consult the merchants, perhaps someone from Absalom, though Katepesh or Osirion would be the likely best source for such." Kaessi tossed her hair over one shoulder with a huff and ran her fingers over her brow.

She left it to the tiefling, it was another task delegated. As estates chancellor she needed to be able to delegate the matter of foreign trade to the Qadiran. It was not the same thing about contending with the matter of religion and state that she did occasionally feel the need to pass to Harrim as high priest of the realm. That had entirely different motivations.

The doors opened to admit the remaining council with the young dragon giddly excited as she bounced in her step across the hardwood floors. Valerie was grateful whatever magics rendered the cathedral of iomedae also seemed to make at least the baronial estate's structures largely fireproof. There had been a few incidents in the square, but those were or had been instances of stalls or other temporary structures. The plateau was increasingly developing and the lakefront would probably be its own town ... and the community of the valley to the north its own administrative district as new houses were built and people arrived.


"are you regretting allowing the sweet teeth loose, yet?" The tiefling asked referring to the trio of also tiefling hangers on.

The baron worked his way around the table to his seat at the head of the table. "I am reconsidering how prudent prioritizing the east country was..." He admitted running his fingers along the table map that dominated the council chambers.

The prevailing theory was that Hannis Drelev the installed baron of Hooktongue slough must have been at least a passingly capable administrator and leader because it certainly seemed as if his knights had succeeded in pushing out the remaining bandits to the west... unfortunately driving the brigands over the border. They didn't have proof that was what had happened, and certainly none that it was intentional but it didn't matter.

"There was no sign of the village on the map." The map had been probably half a century old, so that wasn't some great shock per se. "I've spoken to restov the Tiger Lords were probably dispersed by force." To deter raids into the fertile rostlandic plain.

Kassil Aldori nodded recounting that had probably been a decade ago when a tribe of the tiger lords had begun to raid into the rostlandic plain, "The survivors probably were driven westwards, perhaps all the way into Numeria." He declared confirming the suspicion.

That prompted a nod. "Well regardless the site is useful." The site was about thirty miles north of the statue of Erastil north west of Tatzlford. It made a decent enough place to put a watchtower even if didn't warrant any more complicated fortifications. They were getting good at throwing together such structures from local timbers.

Seeing the opportunity Valerie spared a brief glance to the two emancipated slaves, "If the east is a concern perhaps Regongar should ride to join Jaethal."

"She's not going to let me do anything," The half orc complained, "Let me join Loy, I'll range out to see if I can find anything, see if I can find what killed that unicorn."

Eire considered the request. "Regongar is likely right Jaethal's priority is less pursuing poachers and bandits around the woods." But on the other hand the barony had assured Corax that he and his men would be furnished with protection. "Dispatching you to tatzlford is probably not the worst idea-"

Any further was interrupted by the doors banging open again, which was unusual, Valerie had assumed that Garess would have the usual guards posted in front of them. It was true that she wouldn't have put it past Jaethal to simply barge into a meeting, but she was deep in the western lands making for the ruined elven fortress... and even if she was on the way back, it wasn't she who was barging in.

"Your grace apologies." The brevic envoy bowed sweeping his hat off his head. "I apologize for the intrusion, I've ridden from Restov with dire news." and that news came in the form of another charter from the swordlords of Restov. "Lady Jamandi has been informed by Lord Hannis," The baron's mouth twitched into the beginnings of a scowl, "Of seeing an increasing number of trolls in the southern lands."

There was a pause. The baron broke the wax seal broke to unfurl the parchment, and confirming that at the bottom was the Aldori crest. "Trolls?"

"Lord Hannis claims that they have begun preying on shipping from the south, and attacking his peasants, laying waste to outlying settlements. Restov had questions about the decline in trade coming up the east sellen river."

They had discussed over the winter months the set of falls that prevented traffic from using the shrike river from sailing to Restov, but the securing of Candlemere and Shrikewall's location allowed traffic to sail up the shrike to the barony bypassing the last half of the East Sellen River.

"How long has that been going on?"

"Since the start of spring your grace." The brevic envoy declared his voice clearing showing his alarm sellen river trade being cut... and good reason The Sellen flowed all the way to the Inner Sea, and all the great cities upon it.

"You've had trade impacted for three months now, and Jamandi or the Lord Mayor hasn't sent word." Valerie watched as pointedly glanced to the swordlord's heir apparent.


The envoy from Restov glanced down and colored... "In truth we ... thought the initial problem was on our side of the border, your grace. That the delays were just delays and that New Stetven had made new policies, as they'd been talking about.... but then Lord Hannis began to complain about ships not making it, and we received warnings from Mivon that one of their ships in the slough had been attacked by monsters, and that they presumed that that had been what happened to several others."

"And trolls?"

"That took longer to confirm, the Mivon ship captain said they'd been attacked, and they'd managed to turn back. Some of his crew had been poisoned, but later when we sent word to Dreleve he confirmed that some of his outlying peasants had been attacked by monsters as well. He'd thought at the time it hadn't been any more than the trouble than the previous ones with bandits and barbarians, and responded accordingly... and then they saw the trolls. Hundreds your grace."

She resisted the urge to scoff at the courtly fool. "Go on?" Mivon it seemed ad reported its own further troll troubles last month though those had not started to threaten the river traffic along the shrike... but if they were responsible for Drelev's misfortune then it was only a matter of time before they moved from attacking timbering parties in their portion of the southern narlmarches' great forest.

The baron idly moved a weight to hold the charter's edge to keep it from trying to roll up. "Jamandi describes this a problem of the southern greenbelt."

"We have no further details than that your grace." That wasn't helpful. Even as far south as Shrikewall was, it was considered still to be in the 'northern' greenbelt on maps that described the stolen lands in such terms

 

Summer 4711
'Troll Trouble'.​

Restov was almost a hundred miles from Shrikewall... admittedly the larger problem of that distance was on their end. On Brevoy's side the south Rostlandic Road an impressively well maintained wide and paved Taldan road, the river ran half way down, and that was an easy and mostly pleasant ferry ride. With banditry suppressed that made the flow goods, people, and thus even despite the distance they should have gotten some indication that something was happening sooner than this.

Eire paced, he had abandoned his seat in the middle of the map. He had not planned for this. He had been gearing towards agricultural reforms, and building the kingdom up... and to do that he needed explore the lands the charter laid out as his.

The troll threat made little sense... at least the warning coming from Restov. He had expected Harrgulka, but hadn't seen the trolls, and while there had been kobolds in the south not what he had expected... and thus his attention had turned to high summer and matter of baronial administration. Restov's news was not particularly helpful they claimed that trolls were coming from the west as well.... "I want more information." but in the mean time, "We'll fortify our southern borders, and we will decamp to Hereford." It would actually be the first time seeing the castle, and he knew it wasn't ready yet.

Trollish regeneration was stopped by acid or fire. The forest Drake, Celadon, would be useful against them though that would probably mean cajoling the somewhat dim drake to assist. Tristan should be able to cast base fire magic of course, The Dawnflower held the domain of fire after all. Tristan would be ideal to man a hospital in the south near the southern border.

"Flaming and caustic weapons enchantments are going to be in high demand." Alchemists fire came to mind in particular, but in a pinch burning pitch, and more mundane flaming arrows would suffice.

He wondered how fast they could have the kobolds of the sootscales start making those. An alchemists workshop was no longer an idle fancy aimed at magic items and commodities for trade. He nodded gruffly at the comment. Kanerah's greater fire affinity would have been useful... "Yes, we'll need to focus on that, see if the Kobolds can make a batch quickly for Garess's guards," Maybe even stick around in larger numbers.

The elven keep just wasn't in any shape to be... Eire tapped his foot, "How many people are still waiting to be settled?" He asked glancing to Valerie, who was forced to consult a ledger.

"There is a group from Cheliax."

People fleeing the diabolist realm who had been helped here by the Church of Iomedae. Iomedae was willing to tolerate Asmodeus and the church acknowledged that the diabolic house of Thrune enjoyed a legal right to rule, and that made rebellion unpalatable for much of the church.

"That'll do," He replied, shifting around to look at his council, "Kessil I want you to speak with Jamandi, in person, I want to know everything about when this started, and as much in the way of details as possible."

The half orc, to his credit, didn't protest being sent to Restov. He glanced to Amiri, then to Regongar and Octavia. The other half orc didn't wait, "We're going right? Crack some skulls?"

"Yes, we'll concentrate at Hereford and see what can be done... see if any threat presents itself. I want to sweep thoroughly the area around the Murque river, and make sure the long tails village is secure." That would mean more caustic weapons, or alchemists fire or something. He'd have to contact Oleg about stocking up on alchemists fire, assuming that whatever wasn't on the market hadn't already been bought up, or wasn't subject to exorbitant prices as people panicked at the prospect of a troll invasion.
The next priority after that trying to make sure Valerie and Garess could be sure Shrikewall was prepared for what they could do. "You could summon Kressel, and Akiros." Valerie suggested.

Akiros was a maybe, but he shook his head all the same, "No. I want them where they are and on the look out for bandits." The trolls would be no excuse to let anti bandit patrols lapse. Besides, "Send word to Akiros with Jhod," because he certainly wasn't going to take the old priest down to the abandoned keep, "I want the Erastil church combing the north woods for us just as a precaution." Valerie nodded. He'd been meaning to visit the Temple of the Elk some time later in the summer as he'd promised to do now that it was nearing complete restoration, but this took priority. "Your priority as regent is to keep settling anyone who comes up the river, or down from Brevoy... and anyone who comes up the Sellen I want to know why we didn't have any warning from Mivon on their eastern causeway having monster problems."
--
The murque was prone to silting up, particularly in the spring thaw, but he had concerns that any especially heavy rains might prove a problem but that hadn't been the kind of thing he'd had time to concern himself with as the summer had become increasingly busy. He had expected that once Kaessi's expedition to Sorrowflow had concluded he'd be free to focus on the matter of infrastructure, and overseeing the harvest.

Not to be however. Corax though had been busy the last few weeks. Parts of the forest had been cleared, but the walls hadn't been completely cleaned of the vines and moss as of yet. The walls, except where the breaches were, were twenty feet high, and had at one point probably been painted to accentuate the faded carvings. As Jaethal had described in her reports there were four towers , south east, south west, north east north west and then within the walls themselves a central tower. Unlike the walls Jaethals small work parties had begun clearing the vines and other plants that had grown up the forty foot south eastern tower.

"Which one did you find the statue in,"

Jaethal threw an annoyed look over her shoulder at the emergency party that included the cleric of Findeladlara, "That one," She pointed to the south west west which was easily the most wretched looking of the towers. It had two breaches in its walls on either side , which was not encouraging, and it was clear that Jaethal had had workers trying to clear the debirs as they had worked on the project. "I told you it was a mess." The elf shook her head and grimaced throwing another irritable look back to the parties as they slowly disembarked on simple pier that must also been corax's doing.

Amiri shoved her way through to join them, "Its kind of runty." She remarked, which probably wasn't fair. The main gatehouse was only about ten feet wide... and despite the four perimeter towers he doubted this had been a major military fortification.

It wasn't really small, but Amiri was right the gate, and the foot print... "Castle in the term, fortified residence meaning." He remarked. An outpost more than a major fortification, "The real giveaway is how thin the outerwalls are." In a way he was disappointed... on the other hand, once the rest of the debris was cleared they could probably patch the walls, especially the smaller breach on the western side... it would just be a matter of getting the space. Jaethal's priority had been clearing foliage, trees and debris in the interior of hte castle. "You said the Grand hall is intact?"

"Its weathered time the best."

It was the most complete structure, the same uniform five foot thick walls, and the tallest tower, reaching a height ... just over twenty odd meters... seventy feet, and with an intact roof from Jaethal's report, but the height was deceptive. The elves had in another example of poor design choices for a military building opted for comfort. The upper floor had a ceiling that took up much of the tower's height in private suite clearly intended to be cool in the summer... he assumed they'd probably used magic to keep warm during the summer.

... but as an outpost... this would work.

Amiri and Regongar both agreed it was small, but he ignored the comment, "How was the snow over the winter?"

"It hasn't made clearing out the towers any easier."

He nodded, and glanced back towards the river and the brooks that must have been the source of the murque or at least the start of the aquifer that fed the river . He hadn't seen any ice, but he hadn't expect to either, not at this time of the year, but it had been obvious that they had been gaining altitude, but he was pretty sure once they got over the hills, they probably swiftly dropped back down until they became the wooded swamps of the eastern slough.

They'd need to confirm that. Ideally that would keep anyone from marching up the backside of the hills. "We should settle in, and see how Corax is handling things." He replied. That left them really to wait. He'd been hoping that enough of the keep would salvageable to make a good garrison, but it might not even be sufficently large enough for that even if it had been in good repair. More like the wooden redoubt Loy had set up on the east side of the ford to serve as stockade for the nascent tatzlford town.

"What now?" Jaethal demanded.

"Just thinking of the issues of crops." A chelish yeomanry settled in the area perhaps? Would that work he wondered... no they needed to wait for Corax to report before getting too far ahead of themselves. This troll trouble was going to require a refocusing of their efforts.
--
Notes: Not unsurprising, you see this WotC, or even under Gygax's tenure with other settings is that medieval buildings are often smaller than they should be in maps or in descriptions, and thats especially true of things like castles in the AP. In the video game you can make the excuse of limitations on the programmers memory and what not but in this case I'm going to use the canonical details and lean on the mold of scottish fortified tower residences even though those don't one to one match

 

Erastus 4711

He looked around the hills. Corax had no shortage of high quality timber to work with from all appearances. This part of the rise hadn't been touched, probably hadn't even seen an axe in two or three centuries. It was true he had to work through some dead wood, and clear space, but since it had been so long since anything had been touched he wasn't short on anything, which made the extra work clearing a trade off.

"You're certain this is local stone?"

"Most certain your grace." The man from the inner sea agreed. That made it unanimous. Dead Dave, the Elf, and the mason from Iomedae's church were in concurrence over the source. "I'm not saying that the ancients couldn't have transferred stone but I'd wager a talent, begging your grace's pardon, that they quarried these stones from the nearby hills."

Perhaps the other giveaway was even though the main residence had large survived most of the supporting structures had not. Even though it wasn't an exact one to one match the keep was effectively a stone shell keep built around a donjon tower. It was a fortified residence, but little more... and with the breaches to the walls and the decay that had set in on the towers it was hard to call it fortified.

"And there is no sign of a forge or smithy?"

"No your grace."

He nodded and pointed to the elf, who h had been waiting a little impatiently, "You may take over the interior work supervision." He turned to Dave, "I need you to supervise throwing up a palisade further afield as Corax pulls the trees down." The shrouded undead man nodded leaning against his stick, and then to the last man, "I need an organization of the debris, to reuse as much of it as possible." The mason nodded. The division of labor also kept the three experts from arguing ... or at least would reduce the amount of arguing they did. He hadn't been here long bbefore he'd gotten to see what Jaethal meant first hand.

Eire glanced high into the summer sky as the sun beat down. Sending Dave to set the palisades was probably at least something of a waste of the undead's abilities but they had an abundance of timber to work with, and he needed the work done. That was only part of it. The abandoned elven fortification even leaving aside its state of disrepair was too small for what he needed, but it was large enough to serve as a manor home, and as the seat at least for an administrative area.

To that end it would be a combination of factors. He wouldn't be able to promise a stone church to the inheritor yet, a nave of wood would have to suffice in the short term, but the benefit of the Iomedaen faithful, human or half elf was that grateful weight of the sword. From the Chelish diaspora they had gathered a core of about fifty to form the basis of a militia in the area to garrison. As settlers they were unlikely to be able to plant crops here, not this year. They might depending on how much they could get done plow up enough with horse drawn steel plows to plant a small winter cover crop, but it wouldn't be a priority. The truth was he expected to support settlers here from the baronial farms and granaries of Shrikewall.
--
Summer was building... and so were they. Trees were felled, and work camps assembled. It was nothing fancy. Heavy logs were hewn down, notched and used to make rectangles. At some point they'd need to make a mill, and then further down the road a pond and use the water from the murque's source further up to turn a wheel, but they didn't have time for that. They needed wood now, and structures.

"He's going to be positively insufferable."

"He is insufferable, I just want to punch him in the mouth." Amiri grunted to Jaethal remarks about the elf.

"Yes, but its going to get worse." The undead elf remarked to the barbarian.

Eire leaned over his ledgers and did his best to ignore both councilors complain about the elven cleric. They'd yet to actually see any trolls, but Regongar was currently out on patrol having won the game of lots with Amiri over who got to go first. She'd grumbled and he was sure they'd argue some more but there were other priorities.

The geography of the murques sort was heavily forested hillside. Once one passed over the river the hills became more pronounced cut by the Shrike, and Gudren, but effectively he could recognize that the Tuskwater was effectively the center of a more massive river valley. The Narlmarches rose up slightly descended into the slough, and on the other side the glenbon uplands rose until they became the Brantheld and the crags of eastern Numeria in the distant west from them. The further south one went the further the elevation declined except where geography shaped and twisted the rivers through the river kingdoms.

"Hey." Amiri was looking at the map, "Isn't that place you killed the manticore near here."

He blinked at the question, thinking of the Verdant chambers. "Its north of here, but yes," Probably not even ten miles, but further up the hills through a winding pass." It had occured to him it too had been probably elven ruins, though at the time he hadn't given the small outpost much consideration, and really hadn't given much consideration of it since. "Its not much different in size here." He'd assumed given the remains it had at one point been some kind of fortified temple or monastery. It had had small squat walls, but lacked towers, and didn't seem to be a fortified residence. The entryway into the main structure hadn't matched what he'd seen in the abandoned tomb. "Even here is considered the northern greenbelt," If it was elven then at one point before the starfall there had probably been some kind of larger elven community in the region, but they'd seen scant evidence of that nearer to the tuskwater. So far it had been Taldan, and then even older cyclops ruins. Thus far no evidence of the dwarf ruins that Harrim had expressed an interest in exploring either... but he suspected those were either further south or to the west.

Celadon, the drake, knew what a troll was, but had only ever encountered them as solitary threats that he could kill or drive off using his acid. Even tazlwyrms were probably dangerous to trolls for that feature, which probably explained why there weren't more trolls in the narlmarches before this point, but that he would admit was speculation.

Jaethal agreed. "If its been going on for months now something must have stirred it up."

He nodded, and Amiri made the astute observation that one of the trolls a chieftain had probably knocked enough heads together to be made king. Jaethal was a little contemptuous of this idea citing that trolls were generally too stupid to really organize for that and required too much food for a collection of tribes as such to organize without eating themselves out of an area.

Simply put that without an especially intelligent leader to organize the necessary food stuffs and and larder there would be no way to keep the trolls fed. This wasn't the same problem of tribal barbarians of human or even orcs where the bigger issue was rewards and gifts to secure loyalty but the more basic need of sustenance. "That's why they're raiding the losers to the west, and south, they need the cattle, and pigs," And eating Drelev's horses too, he considered added, but decided against it, "The trolls have an army they have to feed and they're taking it from the weaker neighbors."

He was mildly flattered that Amiri's explanation for why they thus far hadn't been attacked was that the trolls somehow knew better than to challenge shrikewall directly. He doubted that was the case. Geography was the more likely explanation. He doubted the trolls knew about the Drelev demesne at least as such either. Mivon they might know about but they hadn't actually attacked the southern swordlord settlement so much as attacked its shipping... which in itself seemed odd, but he supposed attacks of opportunity made as much sense as anything else.

He took out a few tokens.

"We need to secure from here to the long tail village." Which when one got right down to it wasn't that far , but there was a gap, where the bend of the murque was, once the detla of the murque was reached and it flowed into candlemere well Candlemere was right there... and it seemed unlikely that the trolls would manage an attack over the river. Any threat was probably going to be from the south, but as measure of completeness he gestured to the north, "Akiros, Kundal, and Gary along with the Erastilian church will sweep the west down to Tatzlford and meet Loy there." Loy was in the process of finishing a simple wooden stockade type fort that had already been underway as part of his charter. "Melianse, Tyg, and Perlivash will with Mouri's assistance continue to monitor the area around her," The Nixie's, "Grove." He moved interior towards the tuskwater, "Valerie and Garess are organizing the town militia to contact the old beldame, Tiressia and Falchos." The dryad and Satyr and the small fae population there, but that missive was particularly just an example of an abundance of caution. The reason he'd sent the young knight of the torrent with the fae was it placed them close enough to respond in any direction. North east to Tatzlford, or south east here, or due south to the long tail village.

That did leave one problem.

Shrikewall, and for that matter Oleg's town, were now by the standards of the Stolen lands before the stag lord's demise now relatively large. It was true Mivon and Pitax were larger population centers with about ten thousand each. Mivon being the slightly larger of the two, but they were really the only two proper 'cities' in this part of the River Kingdoms. The more common form of settlement were hamlets which mostly never reached the scope of proper villages. Even if they did most were simple isolated agrarian communities that may as well not even known about the stag lord or other problems more distant.

That didn't change the text of the charter which established Narhold's boundaries. It was hard to say exactly how far north the border with Mivon was. After all The sword lord's respite was was north of the confluence of the East Sellon and so called Mivon Sellen River, the latter flowing down through kamelands from the Tors of Levenies. Regardless of where the 'real' border was there was a good chance somewhere in that southernmost forest zone he had trolls on his side of the border.

Jaethal looked at the map, and the polished stones he'd placed on them. "If the trolls are really attacking the southern Slough all the way to Lake Hooktongue itself, then it makes no sense why we haven't seen them to our west. The hills shouldn't create that much of an impediment to them after the first major rise,"

And if they were able to hit targets a hundred miles distant from one another with supposedly forces 'hundreds' of trolls strong, they should have had more sign. It was probable, from what he remembered, that yes this was Hargulka, and that Hannis Drelev must have been having some trouble... but he had to wonder if Drelev wasn't exaggerating the troll problem to explain other problems... bandit troubles? Restov had stated Mivon's shipping had been attacked coming up the east sellen by trolls near the border between Drelev's barony and the Mivonese as it entered the slough... that certainly suggested Drelev couldn't have been overplaying the troll threat that much.

 

Erastus 4711
There were far fewer holidays in Erastil's month than he would have thought there to be. They'd missed Archer's day in the travel times... but the truth was it hadn't precisely been a priority. The full moon was at the end of the week, veritably right around the corner, and there had been thus far no sign of trolls in the dire narlmarches thus far.

The only beast of note had been a hodag, whose lair Amiri had found because Celadon had smelled the giant spiny lizard's recent prey of several bandits, specifically the stink of their rotting corpsese. Killing the beast had at least given them something to do, but still no sign of trolls.

The plan sat to return to Shrikewall ahead of the first, which of course was Ascendance day... though he supposed the simple wooden nave would suffice to commemorate the Inheirotr's Ascendance if a challenge presented itself... but thus far there had been no signs of trolls. The bandits the hodags killed had probably not been the only ones of their ilk and that would need to be dealt with as well.

They didn't have the numbers to run patrols, even without needing to watch for a trollish threat. In the River Kingdoms as a whole the nearest thing to a large troll kingdom was in the west in the Loric Fells... that was too far away. There was no direct route either. "Only Jamandi will be able to provide more answers," And that would mean waiting for Kassil Aldori to return at the start of the coming month, which did them no good right now.

"When we return I think we will need to reorganize." Hereford would require more settlers, and more than horses and plows. They had cleared almost a dozen acres of land around the abandoned keep, but it wasn't enough, and they'd need steel plows to break the soil, and clear roots, and prepare to plant.

... that was banking on getting anything down at all. With more settlers from the inner sea that might be possible before Rova ended, if only just. He wasn't going to leave the elf in charge, his only focus was attempt to restore the keep to spec, which was not feasible without more stone, and significantly more refined wood finishing.

As for the martial aspect Regongar might have been willing to fight trolls but the half orc but had always relied on his blue dragon's heritage to generate lightning where as he'd need to generate fire to fight the trolls. Honestly getting him a flaming or other enchanted scimitar would probably be the easier option. Certainly getting Regongar to take a new sword would have been easier than convincing Amiri, who absolutely wouldn't hear of the idea.

The Murque's length was a problem. Large swathes of it were shallow, and brown to marshes developing which marked where the spring thaws flowed down burgeoning the normally place river full of silt and fast moving sluice until it reached the delta with much of that energy spent. "We could build a watch tower."

"The hill is on the wrong side of the river." A little less than half way to the Long Tail Village the hills rose abruptly in what he was pretty certain was a limestone carst forcing the river to turn north before coming back south and then continuing on to finally join Candlemere lake. The natural promontory of that hill would have been a good place to build. "Also it has far fewer trees than anywhere else." Because of course it id. The hill, for reasons of geography had far fewer trees than the rest. That meant they'd be probably hauling up building material up the hill to build anything. That wasn't ideal given their existing situation.... it was downright impractical with summer waning, "Now here, and and the Long tails will need to patrol their respective parts of the area, and we'll have to find some way to bolster them to meet in the middle.

Jaethal then dealt with the other ticking clock. "What about when winter comes?"

The longtails didn't hibernate but they did markedly slow down their activity in the colder months of the year. Candlemere didn't freeze, but the swamp wasn't exactly great in winter, but up here they would definitely have snow, and probably more than a foot of it if he were to guess... which was another problem.

... and if the trolls were really pillaging for food stuffs because they didn't have the ability to support themselves by civilized means... that meant raids might get worse over winter rather than them not campaigning during those months, which presented them yet another problem form the feudal perspective.

... and one he didn't have a good answer to.
--
He walked through the cleared space. Eire had grown accustomed to the facets of medieval building with posts dug into the grounds on the outskirts of the footprint of the building, and string stretched around the outside, and across the interior to help survey and measure. Each building followed the same general pattern. The long houses were just glorified log bunk houses stretched out, sod floors, and only limited ventilation and not the best heating. For summer that was fine, for winter, they'd have to find out, but they might be able to put better floors in before the cold really set in. They were building for expediency though at the moment.

Each house thrown up was one that could shelter from the elements and house workers to expand the inside of the broad palisade. What they really needed was a good forge, and a smithy to start turning out nails and other iron mongery. They needed iron for that, and they didn't have a good source to mine yet, so that was another thing in the very very long list of things a feudal overlord needed for his kingdom to run.

The main focus was now moving large stones out of the way, and using a fire hardened tree trunk as a roller to pave a pathway down to the muck where the large flat barges sat moored at the posts that had been driven early in the spring by Jaethal's original work parties.

Linzi was even now busily brainstorming words to describe the work ongoing. Amiri grunted every so often, but seemed to be approaching the end of her patience with the discussion of verbiage. "I can't believe we didn't get to fight any trolls." She grunted. "I thought they'd show up eventually."

"Just because we have yet to seem them doesn't mean they're not out there." What really needed to do was to organize more riders to try and search out any of the crofts that didn't yet know about the alleged threat. Hamlets, and smaller settlements were the most vulnerable to even a few trolls , even if there really wasn't an army of marauding monsters a few trolls attacking would be enough to destroy any farm busy ploughing or gathering their summer harvest. "I admit..." He paused, looking at the northern barbarian "I don't know enough about the ecology of trolls."

She mouthed foreign word back to him.

"Beyond the usual, solitary, fire and acid work." But really not much more. Even if this had been faerun, Eire wasn't sure if he'd have been able to give much more than that... well besides that there were other sub types. The prospect of a troll army, regardless of what he knew about Harrgulka... and he considered that as possible still... he still wasn't sure what he needed to do about that. The process of exploration took longer and require more manpower than he was expecting, and they had yet to turn up any dwarven fortifications which complicated his initial, original plans to concentrate resources in that direction.

Amiri kicked an errant rock towards the banks of the murque's meandering course, "So what then?'

"We see what Jamandi can tell us," Whatever Kassil Aldori could tell them on his adopted mother's behalf. "Maybe that will give us some insight." There was nothing but woods for miles north, and west of the skunk river until one reached the statue of Erastil, "I see no other recourse but to secure our northern and western frontier, and that means sending Gary to show us the path he fled up here when he left his tribe." If the frog riding boggard could get up the hills then Jaethal was right there was almost certainly a path trolls could manage. There was also the issue of where exactly the legal border was between the slough and the narlmarches.

She grumbled somewhat at the rearing again of 'lines on a map'.

"Trolls won't care about the line," And neither were bandits, "But Drelev is likely to use any excuse he can," He just struck Eire as that sort of person. Paranoia aside, "Besides Gary's path down," Into the slough, "I want to know where the waters that flow into Lake HookTongue begin.
--

 

Arodus 4711
Eire leaned over the basin and washed his hands. Taldan, and Absalom had been founded by the Last Azlanti, Aroden. The sobriquet marking him as the heir to the first human empire to emerge in ancient history before the star fall. He had recovered the starstone and that had allowed him to ascend to divinity. His rule had allowed Taldan to prosper and stretch across Avistan.

Aroden had been the god of humanity, of innovation, history and culture. In the fifth millennium of the absalom reckoning with Aroden increasingly distant from affairs on Golarion Cheliax had torn itself away from a weakning Taldor.

And just over a century of before the present day the Last Azlanti had perished under mysterious circumstances that no one could explain. Thus marking the age of lost omens. Despite the thousands of years the church had existed, and uncounted martyrs and saints only Iomedae stood out among those retinue, only she could fill the void.

She alone stood to inherit the mantle left by Aroden's passing.

Shrikewall's cathedral thus blended the dome and columns, and eventually stained glass, of the old faith but taking the broadly cruciform shape rather than the more typical basilica of the ancient azlanti architecture of Aroden's early church. Today signaled, recalled the day Iomedae had succeeded Arazni as herald of the last azlanti. It recalled a time before, when she had been 'just' a fledgling goddess. Two weeks from tomorrow, would mark another holiday originally of the Aroden church. Armasse.

... and so he moved to his prepared notes at the lectern addressed the gathered clerics, acolytes and other members of the Inheritor's faithful to outline what would take place on the sixteenth. In that past epoch of human history, before the age of lost omens, it would have been to gather the whole able bodied community, he meant to head off any of the partying and week long festivities it had become across the inner sea. Not the least of which was that as the ruling authority he had to contend with how the trolls might indirectly effect living in his realm besides just the martial aspect of any fighting.
--
The baron was meditating, quiet reflection after the gathering of his co religionists. That left Valerie with the prospect of having to mind an incorrigible dragon, in human form, to contend with. Shaoyu was excited at the prospect of Armasse being used to prepare the community for battle against the trolls.... which did at least explain what it had been the.... what the meeting had been held to address.


It wasn't that she didn't understand the young dragon's exuberance as she bounded from end to end of the table. The prospect of something more than the usual disputes over grazing rights, the prospects of flocks, forestry and other mundane concerns was at least something of a welcome change.

... or It would have been if the chamber to which the council met in was not full of clamoring for the inevitable conflict. Valiere crossed her arms over her breastplate, "We wait for Kassil Aldori to return." The half orc wasn't back yet. He had left Oleg's that morning, which was a delay that they hadn't expected, and the magical call of sending hadn't included any details.

They were going to have to wait for Kassil Aldori, whether or not Amiri liked it or not. Whether or not the baron's exuberant ward wanted to wait for him or not. Regongar grumbled along with them, adding another voice of discontent and impatience to the throng.

She remained firm, "We need to know hat is happening with our neighbors. It is entirely possible that the trolls have not crossed into our own lands." and if that were the case that meant they had time... but it also meant that they were going to have other problems. Including dealing with bandits displaced by things. Neither were conventional military threats, and the young barony had only a limited number of town guards under Garess to call upon, and few proper warriors. Its real fighting power was concentrated in the council membership, and other friends at court.

More than that, even if they could arm the farmers, that was likely to be useful against an attack by monsters than it was bandits, and peasant conscripts were far from ideal in stymieing that... as shown by the inability of the local Erastil worshipping river folk to deal with the Stag Lord. Of course the clergy of Ersastil, not just Jhod, were promising that they'd help, but Valerie was skeptical of this. Tristan espoused that they should be grateful for their good fortune but didn't let that stop him from suggesting they remain vigilant.

As if that didn't go without saying, but... "We need to consider supplying arms to at least some of the peasants."

Amiri scoffed, "In my village every man was a warrior."

Kundal nodded besides Akiros, "It is so."

Valerie wanted to question that response to ask why the both of them were here then, but bit the comment back. Akiros nodded, "What about the volunteers?" the ex paladin of Erastil asked, "I heard the baron had gathered some."

"Fifty brave souls." Linzi declared waving her quill.

"They owned swords already." Valerie replied, "I was speaking more of light infantry, spearmen, watchmen to reinforce the walls." Linzi made a small noise of inspiration as she took notes, and Akiros held off from any further questions, and she continued on. "Besides the volunteers are with Jaethal," She was the only one not present really but the undead elf inquisitor was confident she could deal with a few trolls if it came to that, but really she'd stayed behind because they hadn't seen any yet.

An hour later Valerie braved the sweltering heat with Shaoyu in tow... the young dragon didn't even seem to notice the great flaming braziers of course. The baron was a tall man, his red hair loose and unbound, and the silk coat hanging open a long sword nearby. He wasn't even sweating in the heat, but she supposed if he couldn't be burned heat wasn't going to do much.

There were similarities between the baron and Tristian beyond simply the overlap in their respective goddesses' domains. They were both from faraway lands, and frankly though both said they were human she suspected perhaps that like Arsinoe, the priestess of Abadar, who admittedly even somewhat resembled the both of them they were closer to being Aasimar. Not that it mattered, people often flattered her own beauty as bordering the divine.

It was possibly the explanation, but even if that were the case it didn't matter. The baron was as barons, monarchs should be, regal, and wise, and most importantly worthy of their position and status.

Eyes of quicksilver rose to look at them as they entered the chamber, and the book closed. He extended a long arm, and long fingers and gave a paternal head pat to the dragon. "Patience pays dividends," He counseled the young red dragon in human form. She wondered if he had been supernaturally aware of the council meeting , or if he just surmised the matter. "Anything?"

"Kassil still hasn't arrived, probably not until the morning." A nod, "There have been no riders to warn of troll sightings," He nodded again, "To the best of our our knowledge the bandits that the hodag ambushed fled eastward, but we're unsure where they might have gone, and there has been no sign."


"Then as the only confirmed threat to the peace we should focus on finding them, you think they came from the Slough?"

"From that direction at least, probably pushed out by House Drelev's knights, merely misfortunate enough to stumble upon such a rare beast in the woods."

"It is so," He agreed. "Mik mik and the other kobolds are still here?"

"Yes," She replied. They weren't growing on her, but she supposed they were at least somewhat civilized.

"Alchemists fire is going to be our primary recourse I expect."

Valerie nodded, "Of course your grace," She replied perfunctorily.

The young barony had not had the time to even consider putting together a military force, or compiling a rolls given its age. She had no answer to how many hands they could possible provide arms for for Shrikewall, never mind Olegton. "Oleg' town should be fine, given its location, at least for the time being." Loy Rezbin's settlement of Tatzlford though was small, and they would need to see about it." He paused drumming his fingers, "if we can confirm the trolls have crossed our borders then we're probably going to be in the unenviable position of needing to uproot any and all crofts, and thorpes that exist... and that will be contentious. Is Jhod here?"

"No your grace, he should be at the Temple of the Elk." She replied dutifully.

"No sense summoning him until we're sure we'll need Erastil's church for that." He muttered more to himself, "We will wait to hear what Kassil Aldori knows. "Because they really didn't have much choice. Thus the next stage of monarch of regent was the contingency to what was to be done if indeed they confirmed the threat of trolls... and that would be attempting to convince the native riverfolk to uproot themselves and move somewhere safer that could be protected... and the best solution to that would be probably Olegton given its more northern location, but there were problems for that. Displacing the peasants from their ancestral homes would be as unpopular to say the least.
--
Valerie knew better than to meet the barbarian in the clench. Amiri's strength bordered on the supernatural , and weapon to weapon she knew it was a losing battle. Her shield was necessary to deflect the giant piece of metal the kellid warrior woman called a sword.

The prospect of fighting trolls had reinvigorated Amiri.

Even if they had yet to see any.

"It'll be fun."

Fun wasn't really the word Valerie considered when contending with the prospect of invading trolls, but Amiri wasn't alone in looking forward to the conflict, even Kesten Garess seemed excited at the prospect of a martial challenge. "We will need to do all we can to prepare the militia for battle." The baron had arrived with his ward, both having sheathed their longswords, and slung them over their padded tunics. A safety precaution that seemed farcical, but was being done more as an example to others.

"What about the mammoths?" Shaoyu asked causing Amiri to perk up.

"Its true that there are probably herds migrating to winter pastures, but even so I wouldn't count on that being a food source to be depended upon." Trolls were not exactly fast, on top of, "I doubt the trolls have any experience hunting mammoths migrating from the glennebon, or near lake Silverstep. I'm glad we were told the herds exist, and that they'd move into the southern grasslands, but they'd have to be ambushed in the slough for the trolls to catch them." He shook his head, "If they are raiding shipping into the slough they'll likely find that the shipping dries up, and stops coming up river," which meant whatever they were were stilling wouldn't be available to steal, and meant they'd probably have to move further to steal food or other goods, weapons? "They're already disrupting trade," Since Jamandi had actually complained. "I don't believe they can actually threaten our portion of the Shrike, but we should still be prepared to reinforce Candlemere."
--
Notes: Mammoths (among other 'prehistoric creatures') are common on Golarion, and particularly exist in the River Kingdoms ranging from dinosaurs to Mammoths and appear to be found in Casmarron as well, and as fauna will be showing up every now and again, with Amiri wanting to organize a mammoth hunt later, and of course sab toothed cats, and other large fauna appearing as well.

... because Golarion is kitchen sink.

 

Arodus​

Eire stretched and swung his legs off the bed. The first rays of dawn's light already beginning to enter through the window, and with it the start of his day. That meant getting up, pulling on a clean change of clothes, a mix of locally made attire, and clothes he had brought with him from another world, and then washing his hands and face before heading out to the business of state.

He wasn't sure how other noble estates worked, how other barons conducted themselves, but he supposed he was something of a morning person, and that he'd been informed last night after dinner of new petitioners via the cathedral's charge d'affairs. That side stepped two different offices [Harrim as High Priest, or Valerie as Chancellor] of baronial governance... which was why at the late call it involved the Church itself.

Armasse had originally been a holiday of the church of Aroden so it made sense that in hindsight the church of Milani would celebrate it as well.... even though he had basically forgotten she even existed. He had not plans to admit that to the members of her clergy of course, minor goddess yes, but she had been a saint in Aroden's church, and truth be told there were a lot of minor divinities. The reality was, particularly with religious tolerance enshrined by law he was going to have lots of minor faiths he hadn't thought about to contend with.

Apparently trouble with trolls, coupled with an announcement of Armasse had been enough to get the Everbloom's clergy to make themselves known at court. It was actually Eire would admit somewhat embarrassing that he hadn't remembered them.

"And?" He asked.

"They're from elswewhere in the river kingdoms." Valerie replied looking somewhat annoyed at the abrupt change in courtly itinerary, "Apparently their assistance wasn't welcomed in Fort Drelev, and decided to come here after hearing of the cathedral to Iomedae. That was how they came to us."

He nodded. That made sense. "Of course." Parts of Cheliax also had churches of Milani and it was possible that they were likely to attract more from there or Galt depending on how things went. Eire supposed it was better that she'd told him before he had embarrassed himself in public with the reminder that Aroden's church did have other splinter successors.... but since Iomedae, and Aroden before her, had had only a limited presence as a result of the Mendev crusades he had not expected anyone. That had been his mistake. "I'll speak with them once we have a better picture of the matter, where is Kassil?"

"Waiting in the council chambers." She replied.

"Good, we will find out from him first, and then the Milanites can be brought in."

It was a short walk, and Kassil Aldori didn't really look any worse from the wear of the ride from the north. "I trust you have something more effacious from your mother than her first messenger." He declared taking his place at the center seat. Unlike Jamandi's 'mansion' there was no raised platform in the hall for the table, it simply wasn't the sort of priority for architectural design at this stage in the barony that adding platforms was necessary, especially as they needed to rearrange the tables, and furniture with some frequency to contend with the combination of town administration, and other affairs.

"He means useful." Jaethal declared making her presence known. She looked unbothered by the early morning hour, which was more than one could say for the living members.

"Tch." Amiri snorted.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." The Kellid replied

Eyes in the room returned to the half orc. "The sword lords of Restov think part of the problem of communication could be remedied with road construction." He started with. "We are going to continue to have a problem communicating facts if this continues."

He took the statement, and the written portion of it in the missive in stride as he browsed the letter that the half orc handed him as everyone sat down. "A road, yes, I will take that under advisement." Not that they hadn't already considered that but Jamandi probably didn't know that.... it was true a link to the south rostlandic road would probably help, "In the mean time, Akiros will provide a ferry to run messages down the Thorn hence forth at least until we can finish a road."

"Right," the former paladin declared agreeing. "I'll get on that."

"Thank you." He replied, "Moving on, that provide lines of communication. Now. As for actual details?"

"Yeah we haven't seen any damn trolls!" Their kellid barbarian snapped banging her hands on the table. Amiri was not a morning person. "We barely see any bandits." Her attitude implying that might actually be a bad thing.

"Lord Hannis insists he had been attacked by many trolls." Kassil replied. "He says they're coming from the south narlmarches."

He hoped this wasn't going to turn into a matter of having to send Kassil back and forth between Shrikewall and Restov. That was impossible, but maybe that was what Jamandi expected to be necessary given the apparent decision with the abysmal condition of the infrastructure... as if he didn't already know that. The thorn river ride down to the shrike and to the tuskwater was at best a temporary solution, they couldn't rely on that, but it would work for the summer months. "That is little different than what we were told last month," He replied, "I cannot presume to know everything, but thus far I have seen no instance of trolls."

Kanerah, her red eyes flitting only briefly to the half orc, nodded, "I have spoken with some of the mivonese and they have heard rumors of trouble up the east sellen but they haven' specifically said trolls. It seems to me that the western baron has run into a problem that he cannot handle on his own." There was a barb there.

Eire held a hand to stymie a further, "Jamandi may take it as such that we will endeavor to establish better roads and lines of communication with our friends in restov, but we have thus far seen no sign of trolls. We will remain vigilant, and we will take precautions but thus far Kaessi," and he had nearly called Kanerah by her name, only barley catching himself, "is right. This, appears by all instances to be a problem that Lord Hannis has found himself in... and perhaps one unique to his realm."

They had stopped there for a short breakfast to be brought in, and then rejoined. The breakfast had be been public and had not been a working one... and of course part of it was to forestall any irritable statements made from hunger.

Saying it was Hannis Drelev's problem was all well and good, but that wasn't the end of it, and Eire had no intention of pretending it would be, but he was glad to know traffic coming up the Shrike River wasn't experiencing problems which was the priority he had set the twins towards. "I am merely saying we've seen no evidence of hundreds of trolls that Drelev's people claim." He replied, and that in itself was another problem.

That was why he found himself pacing the room. A part of him wanted to declare a state of emergency but there was no apparatus by which to express such a condition. It was true that they had in a sense a promulgated law, but in a feudal society never mind one ... in their present early years he didn't need a legal justification to do something... or he didn't need to explain why he was doing it in a legalistic format. He was overthinking things. He didn't need a legal justification to do something, he just needed to declare that there was a threat.

"We will collaborate with the church of Erastil and hopefully find all the hamlets that might be threatened and see if we can convince them to see reason." Tristian promised him.

That did little to stop Eire's padding across the hardwood floors. He nodded, "Jaethal?"

"Its not the worst idea, if anything it might impose a little more order on things being able to settle the lands, rather than the back woods."

He wished she hadn't said that, the truth was the river folk were unlike to take well to that kind of high minded attitude regardless of how much Jaethal was right about the benefits... and of course it late in the year. "We need to know where they are, but our first priority needs to be Armasse, and a body of prepared citizens." Even though he was willing to admit that since most of those would be migrants from the Inner Sea there was a good chance that there would be other matters. "I will speak with Milani's clergy once we finish." He informed the others, reiterating what he had told Valerie earlier. In real terms he wasn't sure what that would yield, almost certainly Milani's church would be looking to win converts but Eire wasn't sure he opposed the peasants learning how to fight .... especially with the consideration of troll attacks being a foreseeable challenge in the near future. "However I will need more information, actual details about Drelev's problems before I can be expected to do something."

The council was settled on doing something, but there was nothing obviously going to settle the problem of the trolls when thus far the trolls hadn't made an appearance before them. The introduction to Milani's clergy, and their recounting of their own contact with Baron Hannis Drelev to the west underscored another part of the problem.

There could be little doubt that Hannis's parents, Lord and Lady Drelev of the Drelev barony of Brevoy had educated their son. Hannis was a competent enough duelist that he hadn't gotten his ass kicked in Restov for acting snooty to the wrong person. It was clear that he knew enough about fighting, political management, and the way of an estate to make money. He wanted to have a noble domain, and Hooktongue Slough and the East Sellen river flowing up to Lake Reykal, meant the opportunity to charge tolls. Drelev had wanted to secure his access and his moneyed rents, and drive off any bandits.

He had no interest in peasants knowing how to fight. For better or worse Hannis Drelev was no efete noble without any talents. To compound that he certainly the sort to want any new faiths running around that might undermine his rule by teaching the peasants how to fight.
--
Mikmik gleefully hopped from one foot to another. The kobold liked being involved, and he gleefully scribbled away notes in draconic to record everything that was said in the meetings, including perhaps less desirably all the side bars and arguments. Mikmik was a stenographer of great ability in that regard.

"There is an option." Tristian suggested, "The Old beldame's village."

He paused to consider it, and the map in front of him. The decrepit remains of the village were close by, just a few miles south west of Shrikewall over where the Skunk river opened up to flow into the Tuskwater. It was doubtful that a relocation there could be easily attacked. It was certainly better than the Kamelands as those hills opened up on the other side of the tuskwater. The eastern frontier was something they'd have to put aside for the time being, and he needed to call back the sweet teeth from their ranging. If there was troll fighting to be done then having everyone on hand and aware... and he wasn't even sure they'd been told yet about the threat.

He nodded. "Kaessi, I need you to recall the sweet teeth, and have them introduced to Tiressia, as well as the Old beldame." Tristian's idea had merits, but had the potential for complications as awell. They'd had discussed rebuilding the village, and repopulating it, but it had not been an immediate priority, and dealing with the scythe tree had been a happenstance not a planned facet of the expedition those several months ago. "Doubtless any significant relocation will be temporary," Thankfully they had the Rostlandic plains and their farms to the north where they could simply procure food from Restov's markets because the hamlets in the south, and particularly the south west directly bordering the slough as a region were probably going to have problems with either this harvest or in the face of the peasants unable to sow and prepare the winter crops. That this was not a human threat but rather a monstrous humanoid incursion only made the potential damage a much greater trepidation, the trolls might very well eat any villagers... and that left them with the matter of organizing what would be needed for Armasse.

 

16 Arodus 4711
In Arodenite orthodoxy Armasse was intended to be a week long festival. It was intended to have a number of functions, a myriad of ones related to societal maintenance across social classes and occupations... that... regrettably that had largely fallen to the wayside in favor of a week of raucous partying in the Inner Sea where Aroden's faith had once been strong. For the church it was intended as a period to ordain apprentices into the rites, knights to choose squires, and to teach the history of warfare and train the peasants in the science of arms.

Such had been the crux of the baron's speech, and much of the morning had been dedicated to matters of practice with the sword that had included Shaoyu being tutored in the favored weapon of Iomedae's clergy alongside others in the community. A week was not ultimately likely to be enough, but Valerie suspected it would be enough time to identify the commoners most likely to be useful for additional training and prepared to supplement Garress's small contingent of guardsmen in the event of an attack on Shrikewall itself.

Valerie doubted such an attack was forthcoming, but it showed forethought especially given that the baronial estates had pulled in a miraculous harvest to stock the domain's granary. Of course, miraculous was probably inaccurate, Valerie doubted the gods had anything to do with it so much as the innovations and the horses that had worked the fields, but there was no shortage of praise.


Eire gestured to the Brevic map, and placed four of his polished stone tokens on it. One for Varnhold, one at Shrikewall, one on the western banks of Lake Hooktongue for Hannis Drelev's Fort Drelev. The fourth, and final one, Valerie noted was for the lost expedition in the highlands further west of the Drelev demesne.

"It occurs to me that Jamandi's ambition may have created the problem, leaving aside that one of the expeditions failed, and that it seems unlikely Maegar Varn has anything to do with our present troll troubles. The settling of Hooktongue slough as like has created we'll call them the ecological conditions of Drelev displacing denizens of the region that has either directly or indirectly stirred the trolls up. Indeed its entirely possible that we've contributed to this shift by creating another pressure in the east, and Mivon is to our south, driving something to provoke the trolls to unify, and thus creating a potential danger capable of contesting Drelev's control in the southern Slough."

Some discussion followed, and Harrim gave the beginning of one of his homilies about men making their own misfortunes before finally getting to his point, with a cough, "Drelev might well be inviting his own doom. If the trolls are in the south then he might be the closest to them. Their lair could be there."

"I had considered that," The Baron remarked, and he reached for the small felt bag he kept the polished stones in, and put another on the East Sellen river. The border between Mivon's claims and those of Drelev's charter. "It would explain the attacks in this region, and on shipping from there to the lake itself, but Drelev's reports specify trolls, and not I assume, though can't be sure that means normal trolls not aquatic scrag trolls. That is normally a distinction I think would warrant mentioning, if only 'blue trolls' as opposed to greenskins." he gave a shrug, "They would have to get through the slouth though and cross the siltstrand river to threaten Drelev's fortress according to Kassil." The comment caused the half orc to glance at the map and away from the rest of the council's looks.

The details about 'Fort Drelev' had probably been a detail he hadn't considered the impressions of sharing. Regongar, the other half orc, had vocally declared that he wouldn't piss on the neighboring baron if he was on fire. Which, vulgarity aside, was perhaps not the best statement to make for other reasons given his grace's penchant for fire... or his ward's. Not that Valerie expected a great deal of discretion from their emerging military elite, and with Kaessi arrival at court that was another fire thrower to contemplate as well.

Couple with his grace's clear antipathy to their neighbor, Regongar's sentiments might have been not so quietly agreed with.

"As much as I distrust Drelev, it seems he's telling the truth about his problems, and we will need to concentrate our efforts on securing the western narlmarches. That is our priority." The provision of security to Narhold's charter's own boundaries. "What we cannot allow it to do, is stop our own farming in the northern districts, and if Drelev's access to the Sellen had been interrupted then we cannot allow this to disrupt our own connection to the Inner sea, and the flow of goods and people."


And of course there lay the burden of being regent to the realm. Amiri, Regongar, even Kesten Garress among others were all likely to be arranged to take positions on the front line against any threat, where as given her position as the second in the council... she had the responsibility to the matters of the estates, and the arrival of new settlers. She would be here, addressing those matters, while the others fought the monsters.

--
Kanerah shuffled the papers. The collected reports that she had from the Sweet Teeth meant for her sister, their 'elder'. She had been exempted from the rolls of military service, and was grateful, even though the exemption was really more of a matter of contingency... that and her skills were better served here rather than lobbing fireballs at trolls...

... especially given the lack of their presence thus far. This was so much a better use of her time rather than stumbling through the unexplored back country.

The priest of Sarenrae had also been exempted. The eccliutheurge along with the old cleric of Erastil had been allotted to emergency medical responsibilities in the event something went wrong. The surly dwarf was sure that was going to happen, but had still volunteered to lead a party against the trolls if they came.

The blond threw a look from the table as the baron corrected his ward's posture and footwork. "You shouldn't rely on brute force. An adult troll will likely be as strong as you or I, edge alignment and crippling their regeration are what will win the day." They started the set again.

Kanerah was happy to be exempted from the prospect of the fights to come, but that didn't seem universal. Even the Sareanite who was happy to be responsible for healing lamented he wasn't to be in the front. She had no experience managing a village militia, and understood implicitly the best thing to be done was to focus on the matter of coin, and trade. Those differing responsibilities had divided the council into differing committees of responsibility.

All Qadiran citizens were supposed to serve two years in the military of the satrapy. It was not something she had brought up because it was too easy for denizens of the western most satrapy of the mighty kelishite empire to evade service through any of a litany of exemptions. For good reasons of course, the Jewel of the East needed to grant those dispensations because not only was the padishah less interested in war, than he was trade, but because that trade was the life blood of Qadira.

Kanerah had been occupied, her sister managing the Sweet Teeth as they prepared to see if the Sorrowflow would actually plan out, among other tasks, when Narhold's promulgated written laws were being drafted. It created a single body of text for laws, and standards, but it also created a basis of the tax code, and a recommendation of how tax money should be allocated.

While it was clear they had been written in Taldan, they didn't match what Kanerah understood of the Taldan or the Chelish legal codes, and of course it was impossible to miss that the legal codes were also being promulgated in Draconic. It was not unique to the Kobolds, there were a noticeable substrate of the Brevic settlers who all spoke draconic as well, and of course plenty of settlers drawn up the sellen from the Inner Sea spoke the language, but most of those were arcane dabblers.

"The problem with the tax code is it hasn't had time to go into effect." She stated softly drawing the lovely blonde's attention back to their own matter, "The fall harvest needs to be accounted for," among other things, and if they were going to have to put commoners under arms that was going to be a problem as well. They couldn't expect to harvest crops if they were having to stand guard somewhere. Kanerah recognized that it was financially viable to purchase grain from Restov's markets, but it was also a sure way to be taken advantage of, as it had been from Restov news of the present troubles had arrived.

"The harvest should already be underway." Valerie replied straining to ignore the dance of swords, "But that could last into Rova," and never mind actually processing of the crop. Tying and winnowing were nothing she could speak of, but they had to be done at the farms.

"Milling could be done here." The baron remarked turning away from the sparring clang of blunted longswords.

That was the sum of what they could do. They would transport who knew how many small folk's harvests from plots here to mill their produce, and leaving aside that the baron would prepared to allow the displaced farmers to use his mills at a discount, maybe even generously allow them to use it for free given the crisis that carrying trade would be a consuming haul.

That was also just the prospect of their crops, not their other possessions.

 

Arodus 4711
As far as a first crisis went Eire admitted it was the lack of having definitive answers that was the most annoying. It wasn't just the lack of being able to pinpoint Harrgulka, or he supposed Tartuk, either... it was the greater complexity of real life factors made everything harder. There was so much more as a medieval ruler that he had to deal with than just heroically questing.


Like winter. They should have been preparing for that, the stockpiling of crops not preparing the peasants to face monsters that might literally eat them.

On that, Valerie had volunteered to help train the peasants, in spite of her own personal religious beliefs... that was to say her own irreligiousity. Valerie's atheism didn't bother him, admittedly Eire found it strange, and more than a little odd to hold the positions she did... but they were her's.

If she had some kind of issue with Shelyn it would have made more sense to him to simply pay homage to another goddess or other deity... but her faith or lack there of, was a personal matter, and he had no interest in interfering in it. There was a reason, freedom of religion, that he had made Harrim the council's chaplain despite no one else venerating Groetus. It certainly wasn't that he agreed with groetus philosophical outlook towards the inevitability of entropy.

Armasse marked the halfway point through the month named for the dead god. Once it was over the next calendar holiday was the Sarenite celebration marking the end of summer... and of course thus Rova and the beginning of autumn. They had roughly five weeks until the fall equinox.

He was painfully cognizant of that time. Cognizant of his responsibilities, and and the real expanse of the charter. Given the scope of it, he wasn't surprised one of the expeditions had failed straight away. He still didn't know what had caused the iron wraith to disappear but it didn't' really matter he supposed. That they had was probably the more important detail, and ... and the likelihood that Maegar might possibly be next... assuming Drelev didn't end up a troll snack. He wondered if that wasn't what was fast approaching.

If that was what Drelev faced Eire accepted that Jamandi wasn't likely going to be happy, but the reality was there simply weren't the resources to do anything about that. He had too many other responsibilities to go rescue Drelev.

That might have been a reasonable expectation if they were both more developed domains in a more structured feudal order. Or if there was something more than Jamandi's ambition involved in sponsoring both baronies, but the cold hard logistics of it was Eire didn't see how he was supposed to mobilize the manpower to address this.

As something of a facet of this concern Amiri scoffed, "Most of these so called men can barely string a bow, they're not going to be any help at all." She shook her head hair swaying, and smacked Regongar on the shoulder, "Its going to have to be us that have to deal with this."

What Linzi recorded in her book as 'Valiantly Sally Forth'.

Even in purely conventional terms unprepared peasant militia weren't much good against bandits. "Well, that is the point of Armasse, I'll need to speak with Jhod," And the broader Erastilian clergy about encouraging archery. He doubted his having to miss the previous two archer feasts had anything to do with the realms' peasants not practicing for war, but Erastil's church might be able to encourage some extra practice among the doughtier types. "Amiri is right, even if we can put together a larger levy, it'll be to better protect the city while we sweep the countryside, or road wardens to lead groups through the woods to safety, not a standing fighting force, not against trolls in numbers."

Amiri nodded leaning against the post. The Kellid warrior woman full of anticipation, and excitement at the prospect of riding again... but also a pent up irritation given the failures to find the foe over previous rides. "They should at least be able to stand guard." which was probably the most charitable thing she'd managed thus far about the prospect of 'weak city people' being able to fight.

Eire had to wonder how much of that was compensation, or airs she put on to try and emphasize how separate and aloof she was from the Taldan village folk, how much of it was Amiri trying to remain distinctly Kellid, and from the lands of mammoths from the north west. ... and there was going to be mega fauna to contend with too.
--
Another two nights and then the half moon, Eire took a bite of the meal of the fish He had noticed the abundance of, or at least that they were common enough not to attract second looks, of what he considered new world crops tomatoes, zucchini, fagoli the list went beyond just potatoes. The issue was that they were largely ignored due to the productivity of the rostlandic plain. The traditional farmers knew what worked and continued to rely on long fields plowed by oxen.

"Its a start, your grace." The Cleric of Iomeade bowed to the high table, and ceded his place to a cleric of Milani... who contended... in somewhat less judgmental terms that Amiri was right. Most of the common folk had never been called to martial service. Only a few persons who had been displaced here from afar knew how to drill. There were a handful of hunters who could use a bow, but few had any but the simplest weapons, and not enough arrows to fight a battle. In short they were not ready... and they weren't likely to be ready any time soon. The best they could do was knock together simple spears, and make more arrows, and hope.

Armasse had in Aroden's time been an institutional cog for lack of a better description. It had not been intended to start from scratch and built itself off of Taldor's storied traditions of martial figure... and had become a more raucous celebration, on the modern day, because of Taldor's pursuit of leisure. The pursuits had started long before Aroden's death, and the decline of the empire had begun before as well.

A week was just not enough time... and they would need to invest more time, and also investing time in this short term ... unproductivity was cutting down on the time they invested in managing the economic apparatus of the domain. Bakeries needed to be built, and drying sheds stocked with wood, and so forth for the coming winter. There needed to be more mills, especially if they had to manage significantly more crops from peasants hauling it in from the countryside... if it came to that. They needed mills and yards to treat lumber as well for future building projects as well.

The vagaries of geologic fate had made the curve in the murque river a problem... and that created an issue with defensive frontage. "We will consider these things," He declared. "The barony's western frontier will need to be patrolled to see if we can find sign of the trolls coming in from those foothills, but if there are trolls operating on Mivon's frontier we must look to see if they cannot be located." It was the official party line so to speak, a rehash of things that he'd already basically stated

... but in terms of any political responsibility not just the matter of feudal ones that was what most of the policy was, you tried to keep on message and moving towards a goal. It was just the goal was a bit more complicated than the 'don't get eaten by trolls', and 'don't let trolls eat the peasants'.

The last of the entertaining reports, and petitions finished along with dinner they moved back into the council chambers which unlike last year's meetings involved its own rooms instead of just pulling a shade across to create a temporary division.

The red eyed tiefling signaled she had something that hadn't warranted public mention. "I've spoken with some of the merchants, whatever the situation was with regards to the east sellen... it has deteriorated that merchants from Mivon are no longer comfortable going up the east Sellen, either to lake hooktongue or to brevoy beyond."

He looked to Valerie and Kanerah. "Candlemere needs to be expanded, and we need a team to explore down the shrike." He thought about Jamandi's complaints about the road system. If ... as he suspected Drelev had been settled on Hooktongue for its trade value... if the east sellen was closed then there was no trade flowing up it to Reykal and that meant no trade flowing east to Restov along the Rostlandic road. Two sets of falls prevented anyone from taking the shrike all the way up to restov from their side. "Our priority needs to be insuring our own trade and flow of goods is not interfered with."

"I know you wished to send the sweet teeth but perhaps I could borrow the little devils to investigate down river." She suggested.

He waved in acknowledgement, "That would perhaps be best." They didn't have the resources to spare, and going down the river, and back up was easy with as frequently as travel had been managing. He was dimly aware that given the relocation and having to then go over land up to the Rostlandic road... there were probably going to be an influx of new passers through.

It was only the beginning of troubles for the barony found on the shores of Lake Hooktongue. It had been Jamandi Aldori's intention to install the Drelev scion to what should prove a prosperous and thus easy to manage trade community. Hannis Drelev was the scion of an established baronial house and thus a potentially vital link in throwing off Issian oppression and declaring an independent Rostland, but of course Jamandi and her coteries ambitions had overlooked politics beyond Brevoy.

Hannis Drelev had been able to prove himself capable of dispersing the small kellid tribes 'squating' in his new domain's northern frontier, and he'd been quick to pursue other bandits. The monstrous threat caught him off guard, but that point he'd already attracted the attention of another political threat as well. The 'Kingdom of Pitax' to the west of his chartered lands.... and the growing barbarian presence that Drelev had managed to disperse originally had only been a small tithe of what was brewing.

But of course there was also the fact that the Issian rulers, the House of Suratov had noticed the baronies that had appeared to succeed where earlier expeditions had failed. The disruption of trade to Lake Reykal was enough to alarm House Suratov, and set into motion other factors.
--
Notes: Despite the ending of this segment's tone this is not actually the end of the year's events in story material, but it is needed foreshadowing for stuff that happens off screen to the west beyond Shrikewall's borders.


Tomorrow, I will be putting up a new LitRPG story that I started writing, friday, on a challenge we will see how that goes, but its slated to be a hundred thousand words.

 

Arodus 4711
He ground his teeth as they bounced along the narrow dirt trail. Regongar hated patrolling. He had come to despise it. It had been fun at first. Exploring a new area, delving into the unknown woods... now though nothing. It was the nothing turning up that aggravated him to no end... because somewhere out there there were trolls to fight, but they sure as fuck weren't here.

"Reg," Octavia complained, "You're spooking your horse, you have to ease up."

The half orc grumbled and tried to 'ease up'. The attempt didn't last long they were riding through the places they were always riding through, and nothing ever happened.

Except when it finally did. Regongar probably wouldn't have even noticed the stupid horse noises, he certainly didn't at first. Horses were stupid panicky animals after all... and given where they were Regongar would have been just as happy if it was those idiots who hadn't wanted to move. The villagers had said they didn't recognize the baron's authority, and hadn't paid any mind to the stag lord either so why wouldn't they be just fine against the supposed troll problem, which the local bard had stated couldn't possibly be real because 'no one' in the community had ever seen a troll before so the threat was probably just made up.

So they rode for the noise, and made for the river crossing to the south. In truth Regongar could have cared less about helping some stuck up pipsqueak gnome. The gnome seemed like a nuisance, and helping him fish the cart and the damned horses out of the river, but that was a lot easier with summoned help.

Regongar wasn't sure if Tieflings were empathic or something but Kaessi's eyes tended to shift with her mood or something like that. The blue eyed tiefling was now presently waving to the water elementals who had helped raise the cart back on to the bank.

The filthy mud splattered gnome might as well have been trying to look down his nose at them. Then after a moment he swept his hat off, "Jubilost Narthropple, at your graces service." He said, with a slight bow. The gnome surveyed them a little closer now, "Your help with these kobolds and my almost-drowned cart was timely indeed."

The baron waved, "You may thank Octavia for her word of sending to call us, or we might not have heard the commotion." He replied.

Regongar bristled against gripping his scimitar's, sheathed, hilt at being called a servant by the pipsqueak, but Octavia beat him to it glowering at the gnome. "Sounds like your servants are nothing but tools to you. Truly, with masters like that being a servant is not much of an improvement over being a slave!"

"What's this then?" The little bastard looked Octavia up and down, snorting and, rolling his eyes. "Run along, little girl, the grown-ups are talking."

Octavia placed her hands on her hips and loomed over the mouthy midget. "So you're not only arrogant, but a boorish swine as well. Why am I not surprised at all?"

The gnome cleared his throat and didn't respond, "Also, while I'm on that, I'd like make an official pronouncement: the roads in your barony are in terrible condition. People must search for wading fords to cross the rivers because no one has bothered themselves with building bridges, and honest travelers have to take the risk of being attacked by kobolds at any moment."

"I have been informed," Eire had rested a hand on the dragon in human form stilling his ward, "Admittedly it was something of a distant priority before my neighbor to the west decided to go stirring up trouble in the south." He replied with a shrug, "road building is now something of a more pressing concern."
--
Eire grimaced as he looked at the map. Jubilost's comment on the roads... or lack there of had been annoying, but it was just reiterating what Jamandi had said. It hadn't helped that they'd found him just on the south side of the skunk river., but even if he'd been on the murque the point still would have had a point.

They needed to focus on a north south linkage from Shrikewall to Olegton, and it made more sense to run it through to access Old Scyamore, especially if they were going to engage in trade with the sootscales for alchemic goods. Goods they were going to potentially need for fighting the trolls.

"You may assure your mother we will take all respectable measures to begin the process of connecting Olegton and a general line of communications in hte face of this trollish threat," He supposed he was technically repeating himself... they had still yet to actually clash with the trolls, but reiterating to Jamandi regarding the roads seemed prudent at this course. They needed to find the trolls, "As for the Kobolds who accosted Jubilost, that will require investigation as well."

Mikmek and his fellow sootscales all shifted somewhat.

The fact that Juiblost's encountered had happened so close to the capital was a concern. At the crossing of the Skunk river was an issue. That needed to be investigated immediately, since that was for all intents and purposes right in their back yard. A mere couple of miles outside of the dale. He thought of the ruined village, left abandoned after its nymph queen had under gone the monstrous transformation to scythe tree. They needed to send word to Tiressia and the fae, and the old Beldame as well in order to keep them apprised, but so far this month's progress wasn't much in excess of lasts.

One more feudal obligation to see to though. One more aspect of being king, and building a kingdom.

He glanced to the scratching of quills to where there were both Linzi and Jubilost were both hastily taking notes of the meeting... it was a surprise the kobolds didn't seem to be... but at least there were only two of them right now. He returned his focus to the map. Besides the road, Arodus was on its wane, the month of the dead god was nearly over, and winter would be approaching soon. Autumn was due to begin with Rova, the following month. They needed to bring the harvest in as quickly as possible, and stockpile it safely.

They needed to secure the surrounding area. That meant dividing labor between his companions, and the court to secure the borderland and insure the peasants could carry out their own labor.

Speaking of companions it seemed as if Jubilost didn't uniquely rub Octavia the wrong way. The gnome had managed to run afoul of Valerie as well it had seemed... how he'd found the time Eire didn't know but it had happened. Linzi at least seemed impressed by Jubilost's publishing history... something about eulogies to Pitax or such. ... and of course with regards to his seneschal he turned, "I will need either you, or possibly Garess to ride for the village ruins south of the river," The Skunk, "I want a wood stockade, or Palisade, and guard posts established there to protect the boats." There wasn't a settlement there, but having boats to carry word back and forth would useful and faster than overland travel even once they built a road... but south of the Skunk wasn't going to be a priority.

"Of course your grace." she paused, "And what will you require the other to do. You mean to approach the kobolds unless I am mistaken?"

"I do, but they're not an immediate priority in comparison to ranging to try and locate any settlements who aren't yet aware of the troll threat."

"Regongar said that some of the villages are dismissive of the threat."

"We haven't seen the trolls in person either," Which very well could have been a good thing, if they were only plundering Drelev's land... then, no he needed to be proactive. "We need to ascertain them, and perhaps that is best left to Garess while you treat with Tiressia. The nymph should be aware of what we're doing, and why, and that rebuilding the settlement in the face of the troll threat."

"If Lord Drelev has not exaggerated the monsters strength, mere woods alone is unlikely to be an effective deterrent against them." Valerie remarked

He was aware, but it would be the quickest sort of semi permanent defense they could expect to raise quickly, and being quick was the point. "I'm aware." The old town wasn't really a port or natural harbor but its lake side banks, and the inletting made it relatively ideal to build a pier and ... and if it came to that evacuate any threatened residences across the tuskwater, either to shrikewall or to the 'kamelands on the opposite side. "i'm going to go talk to the Kobolds," The sootscales, and their mite neighbors too, "about the matter of a road from Shrikewall to the Old Scyamore, and then beyond." Hopefully this time there would be fewer sudden distractions, and he'd be able to gather settlers from the inner sea to assist in the project.
--

 

Rova 4711
The noise of the attack had already disturbed the fall air... and with a bellow of wrath and rage Shaoyu dived towards the ground fire rising from her scales wreathing a thousand pounds of angry dragon in a haze like an asteroid hurtling through the atmosphere. The nearest trolls attacking the hamlet met a fifteen foot cone of shock black flame as she landed. The lead of the ranks, simply, disintegrated from the chest up, and another lost an arm, while a third had the good sense to jump out of the way barreling into the nearest thatch home to get clear.

Shaoyu had no intention of letting the troll escape her long teeth snapping towards a flailing limb as the others, on both sides, began to react... on all sides he supposed. He doubted the villagers had expected rescue to come from a strange party that included a dragon of all things... but this was also the first time they'd actually seen a troll raiding party.

Eire waved a hand to his right letting one of his Chelish coreligionists take his reins as he swung off the skittish horse. "Circle round." He ordered. Valerie nodded dismounting and leading a second party.

It was a fairly simple village, no doubt like any of the other small thorpes, and hamlets, crofts and collections of farming communities by other names, that they might have encountered through the riverlands. Most likely he suspected the chief god among the shrines here was Old Deadeye... the wood and thatch town was... nothing he had not seen before, save that they had finally found a settlement threatened by the slavering greenskins.

Eire kept his head moving, left and right. They had a rear guard, and in a world where firearms were not a concern his greater worry from a flanking attack would be magic, but he supposed he had a more pressing matter. Shaoyu's wrath was enough that she'd increased the local temperature several degrees Celsius, or in imperial units bumped it to ninety plus degrees as if it were once against the heat of summer despite the sun's waning position in the sky. Sunlight wreathed his hand, and the bolt extended reaching out to touch an unfortunate monstrous beast and boiling through the simple leather jerkin the troll wore and sending it toppling to the ground.

A larger troll stumbled back divided as they were recognizing the threat posed... and its squinting expression must have meant it was calculating exactly how badly they had miscalculated... right before a dark skinned man fired a close range long bow into one of its eyes. The troll howled in pain... which caused Shaoyu's horned head to jerk towards the noise and pounce like an oversized house cat her claws wreathed in fire. "Goddess Victorious." She invoked.

A handful of spearmen formed ranks along one flank probing at trolls who had since made the shift from predator to prey in the span of a few mere moments. He would have preferred not allowing them to escape, but it there was a tactical prudence here were allowing them to quit the field might have its own benefits. Trolls didn't have the best eyesight, and Shaoyu could fly, so potentially tracking them from the air back to where they were laired seemed useful.
--
The village was all things considered ... damaged, but it certainly could have been worse, "You are the baron." It wasn't really a question.

Shaoyu had returned to her human form. He had noticed that since the solstice she could sheathe her own longsword in fire at will, or seemingly at will. It would have been an interesting development rather than one to look upon as a tactical and strategic one given their war. "I am that." He replied to the ranger's question. He had admittedly simply assumed the man worshipped Erastil... Toarg was something of a surprise but, it was a quirk. He need not have considered it. "This is my ward, Shaoyu," He indicated, and then to Valerie, "Chancellor of the Realm, Valerie."

Valerie in something of a brusque matter questioned why they hadn't heeded the directive to evacuate, or at least take precautions. "Truthfully we didn't believe. No one in the village had seen trolls before, never mind so many. It seemed absurd to pack up and leave just because we were told." The truth was he wasn't surprised by the answer.

Eire had come to expect the village insularity, and it was only good fortune that they had been ranging through the area like this. "Will they heed my warnings now," Or did he have to contend with their abstinence further... or were they going to have issue with his court. He thought of Shaoyu but given the trolls would they take issues with the longtails, and the sootscales?

Ekundayo glanced to his wife and daughter. "It is not safe here." He replied, "If not for the barking we would have had no warning at all."

A nod.

He had seen the wolf. They had b een lucky in that.

In fact that had only merely ... perhaps somewhat unfairly, inclined him to assume the veneration of Erastil. Whatever the case, whatever intercession there was or wasn't it did not matter really.

As feudal overlord these lands and the people were under his protection.

The troll threat, this initial encounter confirming its existence in his land, needed to be answered. He could not permit it to remain in his lands. Realpolitik of allowing it to happen in Drelev, or even Mivon to the south, was one thing... but only acceptable because he didn't have the resources to be expeditionary over his border. If they were here... no since they were here. .. well...

"We shall expunge this menace with the sun's holy wrath," Shaoyu barked. Paraphrasing the church's usual doctrine of vigilant crusades. Born in Cheliax, and ascending to godhood only in the early 39^th century by the Arodenite calendar, the church of Iomedae was a militant one, in a way beyond that of Aroden before her. The last azlanti had had martial character, but was... well he supposed the Roman Republic, to Iomedae's Roman Empire... no that wasn't quite right. Iomedae was goddess of paladins, knights, and warriors of virtue. Temperance, Justice, Valor. To that end he wasn't sure the Empire was the right comparison.

"For the grateful weight of the sword." He echoed. Religious solemnity aside, there were more practical issues to contend with. Holy War was all well and good, but one still had to contend with not just actually finding the enemy, but it wasn't immune to logistics. "Make sure Tristian has everything he needs, if he needs aid, be sure to come and get me." The ecclesitheurge presumably had everything in hand, but sometimes it helped to check... even if they tended to have very different methods of medical care once you got past the curative magics. They had confirmation of the trolls now. "We will need to send word to Jamandi confirming the trolls." and with winter around the corner he had to wonder if the voracious omnivores were trying to squirrel away as much food for the cold months, and if that was what had pushed them this far east. It seemed a safe guess... he had had to introduce crop rotation principles, , but it was true that kobolds and goblins, and trolls all at least seemed to have succeeded in animal domestication. The kobolds seemed to practice agriculture with various cultivars, including radishes, cabbages, and others... but trolls didn't seem to have made that shift in organization, probably never achieving the stability and population density necessary to make the jump... or least not here... which meant they were probably raiding for basic necessities like food as they carved out a larger territory in anticipation of the winter.

... which if true meant there would be more attacks.

"This might not have been the first attack." He nodded in agreement to Valerie's comment.

"The thought had occurred to me," Regongar had told him that some villages were more insular than others... and they were going to have to do something about that. He returned his focus to the village. The nucleus of which was the water feeding the common farm plots, and near which the communal buildings had been raised. He could see the long strips where the cattle had plowed the rows of the communal field, basically right up to the tree line. If there had ever been any sort of wall, or palisade it hadn't existed in generations... and he doubted there had ever been one at all. A hundred or so families and woods, and water ... the most dangerous threat had probably been wildlife for generations... maybe the occasional bandit or feud with a neighboring village, but nothing like the sort of threat the trolls had posed.