Post
by waysoftheearth » Fri Aug 21, 2015 11:04 am
| Play will begin here... |
Spring dawns to find the Hinterlands are a turmoil! Soldiery is come now from neighboring baronies, from Maine, and from even farther off. Not all these Men are scrupulous sorts; many are scarcely more than brigands and ribalds, looking to contrive a personal gain from the torrid misfortunes of others. Yet there must still be some Men of valorous heart out there, somewhere... surely?
The plains hereabouts are dotted with the encampments of various minor nobles, mercenary companies, brigands, hobgoblin forces, and the inevitable refugees. The strengths that all concerns can muster are assembling. Dozens of skirmishes and several pitched battles are rumored to have been fought already, and it is abundantly clear there will be further fighting. The prize: Ket itself.
The fortified camp of Captain Kord Manfred is a muddy ruckus of activity overspilling its basic trench and stakeline to sprawl over a hundred yards of tents, feedlots, and makeshift shantytown. It's as settled a place as his 200 strong force of men-at-arms are likely to see this campaign season, and it's as safe a home as the 300+ refugees there are likely to find. For all its semblance of regular village activity it is a military encampment; a strict military chain of command is observed by Manfred's ranks. Ket lies within two days march to the north of north-west; an uneasy distance for the veterans, but comfortably beyond sight of the refugees. The Hinterlands are an ever present slab of rough, grey hills that rise steeply to the east and cast an early shadow across the camp each evening. Manfred has scouts and riders overlooking those hills continually, the gossips say, to forewarn of any threat...
Just yesterday, a pair of trackers scampered back into camp with proper news to tell. Tongues were soon waggin'; these lads were supposed to have spotted a goblin stronghold in the nearby hills; a wee fastness brooding over a complex of mines, they say. Unbelievably, it's only two days good hiking, three at most, south-east of Manfred's position. All day yesterday the talk was about the goblin fort being undermanned; their chief force supposedly being committed toward Ket. There was talk that Manfred would soon organise a contingent of hard Men to sort the goblins out. That may be, but meanwhile Men with their own motivations are speculatin' 'bout putting together a private venture of their own...
[f=32]
Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak,
lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges;
torch[/f]