It is a short walk to the border, with the group arriving there in about 10 minutes. At the border, three guards look the group over carefully, with one of them asking everyone to deposit their belongings on a table. One of the guards begins asking questions of everyone “What is your name? Where are you coming from? Where are you going to? Why do you want to enter the Kardagen Empire?”
In the meantime, the other guards are going through your backpacks and other items with an extreme attention to detail. All of your hidden secrets are being dumped on the table (Lukas’ collection of My Pony figurines, Quiller’s unopened 138 pack of condoms, Quin’s Powerpuff girls figurines, Lorgar’s complete collection of 1984 Playboy magazines, and Balthazar’s complete collection of Disney Princesses).
After searching through the remains, the guards push them disgustedly in your direction. One of them leaves and comes back shortly with someone who appears to be their superior. Quin, Balthazar, and Lukas overhear the guard whisper to his superior “They match the description we were given, but, they don’t have any of the items we were told to look out for.” His superior responds “We were told to be on the lookout for five individuals with a wagon full of grain. These people are on foot. Stop wasting my time.” And with that statement he turns and walks away.
The guards wave you through and allow you to collect your belongings.
OOC Please do not take offense at the contents of your belongings. It was purely random who ended up with what content, particularly since none of those items exist in this universe. I’m trying to add some levity to the post.
Lorgar waits patiently until they leave the sight of the borderwatch before remarking somewhat cheerfull: "Phew, that could have been quite a pickle. Good thing we managed to get over the border without getting into trouble. We should be carefull, it seems like our troubled merchant friends know a noble or two, or atleast someone in the military. On a more pleasant note, does anyone know how far we are from Springholde? Have any of you been there already? I have neer crossed the border before."
(OCC: they better not have damaged my mojo jojo or I'm gonna be pissed!)
Once out of earshot and back amongst his friends Quin comments, "Well at least we know we're on the right track. Either our phoney freight masters tipped off those border guards off or another member of their ring did."
"i'm more annoyed that my figures were mucked with......I respect Japple for her honesty, and they think i'm some sort of.....of......HORSE-LOVER!" Lukas shouts, mortified at what just occurred.
(used to hate the bronies, now indifferent, prefer reading fics rather than watch the show. after all, a show that actually can be grown up in its themes of love and tolerance can't be all bad, just the fandom has the crazies)
"You're right, Quin - this seems to go deeper than a simple racket of two smugglers. Those guards had a tip, specifically for us. They expected us to take the wagon, and the other items. Let's move on to Springholde. Maybe we'll be out of their immediate effective range there. This is starting to get quite annoying, though - I won't stand for us being harassed by every guard we meet. Seems like the only way to fix that will be to draw out the smugglers in some sort of trap that proves our innocence and their perfidy."
Quiller pulls out a dagger and begins to carefully clean his fingernails. “Find us a smuggler and I’ll be happy to loosen their tongue. I very much object to being set up as a patsy, and that’s even before anything to do with gold promised for our aid.” He studies the tip of the blade, “Let’s find the bustards, shall we?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
After a moments pause Lorgar begins as if thinking out aloud: "I don't think we will be out of their reach in Springholde. I can only imagine that they inteded to let us take the fall for the smuggling, and that they have a deal with a contact in the borderguard to retrieve the items once they have been taken from us. Logic dictates that they must remain near the border then. And Springholde is the first town after the border, is it not? We might just bump into them there."
It takes the party about half an hour or so to finally get through the gates, but, once away from party starts moving away from the border, the guards quickly lose interest in the departing group. The landscape consists of a fairly level plain interspersed with a few small knolls. Vegetation is dominated by grasses that grow several feet high, with a few small woodland copses on the knolls. The grasses and trees look very green and healthy. After about half an hour, the road begins to parallel a small stream that slowly grows in size. To the east, a large forest can be seen. There is something not quite right about the trees, although the party can’t tell what the issue is from this distance.
After about 45 minutes, the party starts seen the occasional farm house, with fields scattered around the area. Small groups of people can be seen working in the fields. The crops all appear to be fairly healthy. As the party continues down the valley, the density of houses and agricultural fields slowly increases. A little before mid-day, the party finally reaches a small village.
After passing a half-dozen or so small cottages, the party comes across a larger building that has a sign with a crowing rooster painted on it. Across the road is a stable, with a bridge over the river just a couple hundred feet ahead.
"There is also a church of Davidri here somewhere, most likely acros the bridge. I am supposed to deliver a letter to a priest there." Lorgar pauses for a brief moment to see the reaction of his companions to the statement, and upon witnessing a lack of interest in the topic he continues with a short lesson for any who would hear, and even those blasphemous heathens who would not: "Davidri is a goddess of the harvest and the hearth, so it is no wonder she has followers among farming folk. There has always been a mutual respect between her priesthood and the Helmite order, and the two groups communicate rather often with one another."
"We could look around a bit...or do you want to go inside there and ask?" says Quin as he indicates the building with the rooster. "All this walking has left me pretty parched and that place has all the makings of a tavern. Shall we get a drink before we deliver Lorgar's letter?"
"The Crowing Rooster - it's a tavern, somewhere around here. I'd go with you to the temple, if you don't mind. I wouldn't say I was one of the most faithful, back in Gillesburg, but I tried to attend a service every week or so, to clear my head if nothing else. There's something comforting about a well-kept temple."
"Well, let's go to the temple then. It's most likely across the bridge. Once that is taken care of we will get back here to the tavern. My chore at the church will probably not take up too much time, but should I take longer and you get tired of waiting you can go to the tavern without me and I will meet you there."
“My throat is pretty dusty,” Quiller rasped out. “But I also think we should be careful and stick together. So, temple, grog and a bit of planning with food seems to be a good order for the moment.”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
As the party crosses the bridge, a large ruined building dominates the landscape beyond the village. The building is composed of orange brick, with the upper portion of the building having collapsed. Trees and vines can be seen growing out of the ruins. Behind the ruins is the forest the party has been seeing for some time. At this distance, you can tell the trees are immense, with the average tree towering about 400 feet high. But, the trees do not look healthy. Even from this distance, the party can see that the leaves are a mix of green and black, with the black splotches looking very unhealthy. The understory of the forest looks nigh impenetrable.
As people pull their gaze away from the ruined building and the forest, everyone notices the two largest buildings in the village are immediately to the right of the road on the northern side of the river. The closest of these two buildings appears to be a church. As you approach the building, you can see the plow and scythe that are the most visible symbols of Davidri.
Between the church and the other large building is a small plaza, with a tall structure to the west of the plaza. This structure most closely resembles a silo of some sort. The doors of the church are solid oak, but, open easily at the touch. The inside of the church is fairly empty, with a few benches at the far end of the church. The building could easily hold 400 or 500 people. A woman is sweeping the floor when the party enters, with a man appearing to be dusting the benches up near the front of the church.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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It is a short walk to the border, with the group arriving there in about 10 minutes. At the border, three guards look the group over carefully, with one of them asking everyone to deposit their belongings on a table. One of the guards begins asking questions of everyone “What is your name? Where are you coming from? Where are you going to? Why do you want to enter the Kardagen Empire?”
In the meantime, the other guards are going through your backpacks and other items with an extreme attention to detail. All of your hidden secrets are being dumped on the table (Lukas’ collection of My Pony figurines, Quiller’s unopened 138 pack of condoms, Quin’s Powerpuff girls figurines, Lorgar’s complete collection of 1984 Playboy magazines, and Balthazar’s complete collection of Disney Princesses).
After searching through the remains, the guards push them disgustedly in your direction. One of them leaves and comes back shortly with someone who appears to be their superior. Quin, Balthazar, and Lukas overhear the guard whisper to his superior “They match the description we were given, but, they don’t have any of the items we were told to look out for.” His superior responds “We were told to be on the lookout for five individuals with a wagon full of grain. These people are on foot. Stop wasting my time.” And with that statement he turns and walks away.
The guards wave you through and allow you to collect your belongings.
OOC Please do not take offense at the contents of your belongings. It was purely random who ended up with what content, particularly since none of those items exist in this universe. I’m trying to add some levity to the post.
(gasp. how did you know? lol.)
Balthazar, red-faced at the shakedown, hastily repacks and passes through, waiting a little beyond the guardpost for everyone to get through.
"We shall never speak of this again!"
Quiller waves the 138 pack, “Wouldn’t want to be disappointing the ladies ‘n Donna wantin’ t’ be Lea in’ no brats.”
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
Lorgar waits patiently until they leave the sight of the borderwatch before remarking somewhat cheerfull: "Phew, that could have been quite a pickle. Good thing we managed to get over the border without getting into trouble. We should be carefull, it seems like our troubled merchant friends know a noble or two, or atleast someone in the military. On a more pleasant note, does anyone know how far we are from Springholde? Have any of you been there already? I have neer crossed the border before."
(OCC: they better not have damaged my mojo jojo or I'm gonna be pissed!)
Once out of earshot and back amongst his friends Quin comments, "Well at least we know we're on the right track. Either our phoney freight masters tipped off those border guards off or another member of their ring did."
**This Space for Rent**
"i'm more annoyed that my figures were mucked with......I respect Japple for her honesty, and they think i'm some sort of.....of......HORSE-LOVER!" Lukas shouts, mortified at what just occurred.
(used to hate the bronies, now indifferent, prefer reading fics rather than watch the show. after all, a show that actually can be grown up in its themes of love and tolerance can't be all bad, just the fandom has the crazies)
"You're right, Quin - this seems to go deeper than a simple racket of two smugglers. Those guards had a tip, specifically for us. They expected us to take the wagon, and the other items. Let's move on to Springholde. Maybe we'll be out of their immediate effective range there. This is starting to get quite annoying, though - I won't stand for us being harassed by every guard we meet. Seems like the only way to fix that will be to draw out the smugglers in some sort of trap that proves our innocence and their perfidy."
Quiller pulls out a dagger and begins to carefully clean his fingernails. “Find us a smuggler and I’ll be happy to loosen their tongue. I very much object to being set up as a patsy, and that’s even before anything to do with gold promised for our aid.” He studies the tip of the blade, “Let’s find the bustards, shall we?”
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
After a moments pause Lorgar begins as if thinking out aloud: "I don't think we will be out of their reach in Springholde. I can only imagine that they inteded to let us take the fall for the smuggling, and that they have a deal with a contact in the borderguard to retrieve the items once they have been taken from us. Logic dictates that they must remain near the border then. And Springholde is the first town after the border, is it not? We might just bump into them there."
"oh, i hope we meet them...."
It takes the party about half an hour or so to finally get through the gates, but, once away from party starts moving away from the border, the guards quickly lose interest in the departing group. The landscape consists of a fairly level plain interspersed with a few small knolls. Vegetation is dominated by grasses that grow several feet high, with a few small woodland copses on the knolls. The grasses and trees look very green and healthy. After about half an hour, the road begins to parallel a small stream that slowly grows in size. To the east, a large forest can be seen. There is something not quite right about the trees, although the party can’t tell what the issue is from this distance.
After about 45 minutes, the party starts seen the occasional farm house, with fields scattered around the area. Small groups of people can be seen working in the fields. The crops all appear to be fairly healthy. As the party continues down the valley, the density of houses and agricultural fields slowly increases. A little before mid-day, the party finally reaches a small village.
After passing a half-dozen or so small cottages, the party comes across a larger building that has a sign with a crowing rooster painted on it. Across the road is a stable, with a bridge over the river just a couple hundred feet ahead.
Map of the Village of Springholde
"whereabouts would we find your contact?"
"There is also a church of Davidri here somewhere, most likely acros the bridge. I am supposed to deliver a letter to a priest there." Lorgar pauses for a brief moment to see the reaction of his companions to the statement, and upon witnessing a lack of interest in the topic he continues with a short lesson for any who would hear, and even those blasphemous heathens who would not: "Davidri is a goddess of the harvest and the hearth, so it is no wonder she has followers among farming folk. There has always been a mutual respect between her priesthood and the Helmite order, and the two groups communicate rather often with one another."
"We could look around a bit...or do you want to go inside there and ask?" says Quin as he indicates the building with the rooster. "All this walking has left me pretty parched and that place has all the makings of a tavern. Shall we get a drink before we deliver Lorgar's letter?"
**This Space for Rent**
"The Crowing Rooster - it's a tavern, somewhere around here. I'd go with you to the temple, if you don't mind. I wouldn't say I was one of the most faithful, back in Gillesburg, but I tried to attend a service every week or so, to clear my head if nothing else. There's something comforting about a well-kept temple."
hmm.
Lukas goes to the temple, for spiritual guidance with regards to his sudden bout of wrath. then the rooster.
"Temple first then." says Quin as he falls in step with the rest.
**This Space for Rent**
"Well, let's go to the temple then. It's most likely across the bridge. Once that is taken care of we will get back here to the tavern. My chore at the church will probably not take up too much time, but should I take longer and you get tired of waiting you can go to the tavern without me and I will meet you there."
“My throat is pretty dusty,” Quiller rasped out. “But I also think we should be careful and stick together. So, temple, grog and a bit of planning with food seems to be a good order for the moment.”
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
As the party crosses the bridge, a large ruined building dominates the landscape beyond the village. The building is composed of orange brick, with the upper portion of the building having collapsed. Trees and vines can be seen growing out of the ruins. Behind the ruins is the forest the party has been seeing for some time. At this distance, you can tell the trees are immense, with the average tree towering about 400 feet high. But, the trees do not look healthy. Even from this distance, the party can see that the leaves are a mix of green and black, with the black splotches looking very unhealthy. The understory of the forest looks nigh impenetrable.
As people pull their gaze away from the ruined building and the forest, everyone notices the two largest buildings in the village are immediately to the right of the road on the northern side of the river. The closest of these two buildings appears to be a church. As you approach the building, you can see the plow and scythe that are the most visible symbols of Davidri.
Between the church and the other large building is a small plaza, with a tall structure to the west of the plaza. This structure most closely resembles a silo of some sort. The doors of the church are solid oak, but, open easily at the touch. The inside of the church is fairly empty, with a few benches at the far end of the church. The building could easily hold 400 or 500 people. A woman is sweeping the floor when the party enters, with a man appearing to be dusting the benches up near the front of the church.