| A Tarralan Winter: Report 1 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 28 2010, 08:31 PM (358 Views) | |
| James Baillie | Apr 28 2010, 08:31 PM Post #1 |
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A TARRALAN WINTER This is my first (long) report on our new online RP group, battling in the cold winters of Tarrala - a principlaity in the north of the same world that my story Guns, Swords, and Steam occurs in. Steampunk awayyy! PLAYERS: Friedrich (Declan Saye) Dendrek (therix) Hekkel (nwiddeson) Vulk (DeclanJones) Thrud (CN2) Keiran Lockahart (The Badger) Aloija (4hedrulez) Dywyn (Pentagathus) DAY ONE - Monday, February 1, 1731 Day dawned over the small town of Eklastorburg, in the southwest of the principality of Tarrala - a small nation of woodsmen and hunters thown back against the uncompromising mountains to the north and with thick forests and lakes cutting it off from the great nations to the south. Eklastorburg is in the southeast of Tarrala, in the little county known as the Wealdormark: to the South and across the S and SW of the principality lie heavy and dark forests, which start just a mile or so south of the town. Further southeast, a little under a day's ride away, lies the large town of Traklenich and the small fertile border region near the Union's huge armies. To the North lies the rest of the hilly Mark and shortly afterwards the huge expanse of lake Atatar (which covers most of the east of the Principality and has several islands). To the Northwest, two days cart journey away (though it could be done in a day riding sunrise to sunset on a fast horse) is the capital, Kialin, which none of you have ever visited. The town itself is small at eight hundred or so inhabitants; there is one grocer, one butcher, one tailor, a wood salesman, a small parish temple to Artemis (religion in Tarrala and its neighbouring areas is still quite polytheistic despite the best efforts of the Papacy of Jupiter), a small amber mine that is the foundation of the local economy, and an old jeweller who lives near the mine to take advantage of cheap scrap amber. All other goods are generally gained at the weekly market (which is on Fridays, though it has not happened for a month due to the bitter weather). As far as officialdom goes the priest, a small pious man named Nahlen, is more or less the village's leader. There is a blockhouse on a hill overlooking the town that acts as a stop-off for troops going from the capital to the frontline; it has only about ten to twelve men in garrison, Vulk included. Finally there is a small heavily-built prison house, with a night-watchman, two jailors, and a day-watchman who live there. As far as you know nobody has ever been imprisoned there, butt they'd have a hell of a job getting out if they were. Entertainment-wise there are two small poky inns and a larger "coaching inn", which in reality is a farmhouse converted so the courtyard has a couple of dingy rooms and space for horses. The weather is bitterly cold; no travellers have come to the town in weeks. Despite it only normally being two days travel to Kialin or one to Traklenich travel times are at least doubled in the weather, and bandits would be an obivous threat as desperate men decide to take on travllers rather than let their families freeze in their own homes. Across Tarrala, people are huddling around fires and wondering if the winter will ever end, regaling children with stories of werewolves and how Artemis (who, notably, is Tarrala's patron goddess, also goddess of the hunt and often appears in wolf-form) shot the thousand sons of Kaitar in the forests in olden times. As day dawned on this particular frozen day, the townspeople decide that due to the freeze something needs to be done about the road-blockages. The blizzards have temporarily stopped, finally allowing work on the roads. Ferrisch, second in command of the troops, and Nahlen the priest each took a team to clear some road. The north team met a prison cart delivering a highly dangerous prisoner, who was taken into Eklastorburg's prison. Nahlen's nephew also arrived, along with carts of supplies for the townsfolk. The south group met a group of refugees fleeing after a bandit attack. Ferrisch quickly organised the troops to get the wounded onto one cart which heads fast towards the town; the second cart takes the healthy refugees along later. Their leader explained that they were originally from Traklenich, and were trying to go to the capital in the hope of finding more food and work. They stopped near a village just a few mies away only to find that the inhabitants had gone bandit. Many of them were shot before they could escape. The village was probably Yalin, a small place pretty much wholly inhabited by the class of men who never raised families much - backwoodsmen and hunters. Everyone returned to the town and helped unload provisions. Nahlen's nephew, Klaus, brought grim news from the capital. The Prince, Liener, had been taken ill, along with his eldest son Julk. His younger son Bors, generally considered a slightly shady figure, has not been seen recently either so the place feels quite leaderless. Ferrisch, having been in deep conversation with Nahlen and the leader of the travellers, stood to talk to the townsfolk. He told them all that as soldiers it was the duty of his men to go and fight the bandits, but that they could not do it alone. He asked for any volunteers, but seeing the wounds on the dead the townsfolk seemed initially reluctant. Nahlen for his part told the people that the travellers' leader wished to offer anyone who wanted it transport to the capital - going there alone now would be suicide. Hekkel, Thrud, Keiran, and Dendrek went with the carts; Hekkel got a letter from Nahlen to take to the priest's brother in the capital. Aloija and Dywyn joined Vulk and the soldiers, while Frederich used his leadership skills to attempt to round up some men to help. Once the arrangements for the attack had been made, everyone went to bed. DAY TWO - Tuesday, February 2 In Eklastorburg, the militia and troops readied themselves for battle. Frederich had managed to get four of the village's miners to follow him, and the troops follwed Ferrisch into battle (ther captain was in bed with a hangover, as usual). THey eventually got to the village of Yalin, and there a man came out to meet them. "I am a soldier of the Prince's armies," called Ferrisch, "and there have been reports that people in your village have turned bandit, hunting honest travellers. I ask you to surrender any who have been involved in such crimes and lay down your weapons to preserve the peace." "Preserving the peace will not preserve my life," called the man. "If you wish to kill a man for trying to feed himself, be damned with you and leave before you get more than you came here for." "I will kill no man for that, but for murder the penalty in this realm is death." "We shall see what the penalty is for trespass where you're not wanted, then. Begone! Men!" Twenty or so woodsmen left the huts; two including the first speaker had blunderbusses, another four had bows. the remainder had axes and clubs. Ferrisch told his men to form a line ready to fire; battle was about to commence... The bandits shot at the Eklastorburgers, with an arrow hitting Fiskern the woodcutter in the leg. The replying volley of musket-fire was devastating, with four bandits dead and another 5 wounded. Two more also fled from battle. As the bandits continued to run in for the attack, battle raged. the bandits' blunderbusses killed one man, his face blasted off in a hail of shot and scrap metal. Two men behind him were also hit in major blood vessels; both later died. Frederich, with his sabre the fastest of the combatants, slashed down first as the bandits closed on. His foe attempted to parry the blow, but only succeeded in diverting the noble's sabre in towards his unprotected neck. He slumped to the floor, dead. However, the Eklastorburgers were soon to suffer a casualty. Ferrisch was attacked by the mighty bandit leader; the fighter's axe slashed across his neck, leaving him bleeding to within an inch of his life. The battle raged around them, and although slowly the Eklastorburgers were gaining the upper hand the sheer brawn of the bandits was leading to more and more fallen men. Dywyn the boatman stabbed one foe, and though Aloija the vagabond managed to barely dodge a blow that could have killed her she then retaliated by smashing a bandit's face into broken shards. Leading his still intact militia to victory, Frederich took his second kill of the battle by burying his sabre in a bandt's gut. Eventually all the bandits were dead, their leader the last to fall under a hedgehog of bayonets; the infantry recruits were determined to avenge their fallen. As de facto leader of the band after Ferrisch falling, Frederich ordered the men to take their wounded back, but cold-heartedly slew two bandits who surrendered and left the rest of the wounded piled up to die. No mercy shown, he and the others returned to Eklastorburg. The carts travelled relatively without event until they stopped for the night, whereupon Thrud the woodcutter found (by accident) the remains of a broken traction engine, a fast method of transport for some noble. As he and Keiran, the tinker, uncovered the wreck it turned out to be in no fit state to work; worse still, two liveried corpses were uncovered in the wreck. They and the refugees cleared the corpses out to try and clear a space for the night. Hekkel Scholl, the clerk, found two children carrying some mysterious papers to the capital; despite not managing to get a look at them, he offered to help them when they got to the city. Day 3 - Wednesay, February 3 As day dawned, Hekkel finally recognised the livery on the engine; it is that of Prince Bors, the second son of the Tarralan Prince whose whereabouts were currently unknown. In Eklastorburg, Frederich went out only to find the corpse of the town's jeweller, lying in a pool of blood. The plot thickens, and the adventure continues... TOP 3 PLAYERS, IN ORDER OF XP GAIN: Frederich Schwarzenburg - Declan Saye (63xp) With his devastating prowess in fighting, killing two characters a level higher than himself, Frederich is clearly the most powerful of the characters thus far. Gaining the "local tough" trait for his merciless and ruthless bandit fighting, he is gaining prestige and respect - as well as a little fear - in the small town. Aloija - 4headrulez (17xp) Her combat skills putting her in second place, the combination of raw brawn and nothing else at all seems to be working for the vagabond. Her toughness has stood her in good stead; on the other hand, the lack of any luck points makes the game particularly dangerous for her at the moment. Hekkel Scholl - nwiddeson (14xp) His roleplaying prowess and incisive mind are currently standing Hekkel in very good stead as he heads towards the politicking and intrigues of the capital city. Concentrating on a non-combatant seems to be working - not to mention being a sfaer option than the "CHARGE!" style of character favoured by others. Edited by James Baillie, Apr 29 2010, 11:54 AM.
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8:36 AM Jul 11