G01 — Session 5

1626, Earth Season

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Season, Week, Day
Up to the first day of Earth Season

Events

Arim and Serala took the letters Jorrim wrote back to Leika and the Feathered Horse Queen, with the intention of catching up with the rest of the party in Alda-Chur in a few days’ time. They split up to make sure they would get at least one letter through.

Meanwhile, Jeepol explained the lie of the land around Alda-Chur, both physically and politically. Three political factions held the area.

Alda-Chur itself was held by the Vantaros tribe.

The pass through the mountains was held by the Princeros, who had grown rich trading with the Lunar Empire. The fort preventing Sartar’s armies from advancing was the seat of by this tribe. Historically they had always aided the Vantaros but their king bore a reputation for being wily so his allegiance was uncertain.

The Dinacoli held the farmland around Alda-Chur. They were peaceful farmers who tended to follow the other two tribes’ lead.

The Tovtaros Tribe was just a remnant. With their king gone and their wyter dead, Jeepol was pretty much their spokesperson.

Three Orlanthi tribes around the city of Alone on the other side of the mountains to Alda-Chur – the Amad, Bachad and Tres. All three tribes were known as fighters, the Amad had fortified mountain villages, the Bachad were night warriors who fought trolls, and the Tres had suffered much and hated Lunars with a passion. Jorrim deemed they’d make good allies but the Tarshite tribes around Alda-Chur itself would be harder to convince. However, Jeepol felt the news of the Granite Legion’s defeat and the Battle of the Queens would get them up in arms.

Jeepol felt that news of Kallyr’s death would not harm their cause, as Kallyr was a controversial figure in the region. The Dinacoli in particular were friends with neighbouring Durulz and blamed her for the Duck Hunt.

The group decided to head directly to Alda-Chur, warn the Vantaros and Dinacoli of the raiders and share the news of Leika’s promise of food. They arrived in Alda-Chur on Godday. The Lunar fort in the north of the city had been burned down earlier in the year and replaced with a Lunar camp. The Lightbringers’ temple was locked up with Lunar guards posted outside.

Jorrim headed to the Earth temple in search of a Maran Gor priestess. Finarvi and Ivalla went to the marketplace to trawl for gossip.

In the temple, Jorrim asked for Maran Gor and was sent a priestess of Ernalda who told him there was no such person there, and offered to send a message. Jorrim requested blood, terror and destruction. The Priestess suggested these commodities were much in demand and perhaps that was why there was no such person to be found that day. She gave him an apple and told him to stick around for a day or two. Jorrim bloodied a rock on his arm and left it at the altar, and a junior priestess helped him bind the wound. He invited her out, and she accepted.

In the market, Ivalla met a group of hunters and shared news with them. Most were from the clans out east the party had already met. Their biggest news was the pass being closed. No trade was flowing to or from Alda-Chur, and lots of wealthy merchants were stacking up wondering if they were about to be caught in a war. With the Lunar army having suffered two major defeats in a row, rumours were flying.

The Dinacoli spoke of the Lunars’ supply-gathering as an ‘orderly requisition,’ but the farmers sounded less happy. One hunter from Blue Deer clan told Ivalla he had seen a burning village and thought the Lunars had lost control of the Pentan auxiliaries. Ivalla invited the hunters to see the horse races with her, so she could tell the one who had seen a burning village that it had indeed been his village – but alone and discreetly.

As the day wore on, Ivalla noticed Gaius disguised as a shopper in the market and warned Finarvi. They pretended not to notice that they had noticed, but were conscious that Gaius had his men watching them.

Jorrim and Ivalla spent the evening watching the horse races, Ivalla with the Blue Deer hunter and Jorrim with the Ernaldan Initiate he’d picked up earlier. Finarvi and Garath rented beds in an inexpensive merchant inn, then headed for a much more expensive merchant inn which had nicer baths (Finarvi having been thoroughly –corrupted– converted by that one trip to Nochet in the company of Varanis).

Whilst in the baths, Finarvi overheard a conversation between a Lunar and a well off looking man, discussing whether the Empire would retreat to Tarsh or hold Alda-Chur. They both thought the Lunars would hold if the tribes supported them, and that it all depended on which way someone called Engred decided to go.

At that point, a newcomer entered the baths, a decidedly less-well-off looking man with a farmer’s tan (or a soldier’s), who sat down opposite Finarvi.

In the evening, Ivalla and Jorrim went to try to speak to the King of the Vanstalos, but noticed they were being watched, so Jorrim wrote a note instead, asking for a meeting, and sent it with a local boy, with instructions to watch out for interception, and to come back and describe anyone who tried to take it or stop him. The boy reported a burly man tried, but the message was delivered.

In the morning, Serala caught up with them.