Conquering the Barbarian Altanis: Session 186 play-by-post
This report covers an expedition to New Hara by Heinrik. Events described happened in parallel with sessions 184 and 185. Report written by Jan, Heinrik's player, with minor edits by myself.
Adventurers
| Character | Race | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heinrik | Human | Magic-User level 2 | Muscular mage with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. |
Gloomfrost
After his conversation with Ambros, Old Crus spent nine days in deep thought, during which the old man was barely approachable. Heinrik was already familiar with this behaviour of his. He then instructed Heinrik to fetch Ambros and explained to him, in his long-winded, slow manner, that the only way he could survive without fighting was if he appeared pathetic, lame and mendicant to Racoba. The old man instructed Ambros to hand over his regalia – his ceremonial armour and weapons – to Heinrik, and told Heinrik to fetch Sig and pack up Ambros’s belongings.
Heinrik did as he was told. He fetched Sig and afterwards went to Ambros to fetch the box containing his gavel of justice, signet ring and chain of office.
That night, Sig returned from the magician’s tower and immediately had his men prepare a boat and stow the box containing Ambros’s possessions on board. Meanwhile, Heinrik brought Old Crus down from his tower to the docks.
The old man had dressed elaborately in wizard’s robes and handed Heinrik three identical scrolls. He explained to him: ‘One is cursed and will explode upon reading. One will make you, and everyone within 10 feet, invisible.’ And the last one should only be read if you return here without me.’ Heinrik asked him which scroll was which, endured the old man’s outburst that followed the question—which he attributed to the old man’s great agitation at the imminent departure from his tower—and marked the non-exploding scrolls with dog-ears. He then tucked his daggers and throwing darts into his belt, and grabbed his staff.
Getting the old man onto his horse was more exhausting and involved greater hardships than many a battle Heinrik had fought. Even the sight of the cannibals’ horrific shrunken heads in the Ghinarian Hills did not shock Heinrik as much as the sight of the old sorcerer’s withered manhood. Heinrik wondered whether the study of magic brought about such deformities and whether it might not be safer, after all, to follow the path of a warrior. At least the magician’s leathery sack was neither particularly large nor heavy.
On arriving at the landing, Heinrik, with similar physical and emotional strain, unloaded the old man from the horse onto the boat, where Crus immediately fell asleep like a baby while Heinrik began rowing alongside Sig.
They set off at midnight.
During the journey, Sig suggested to Heinrik that he join him to help with his plans for Ironburg. Heinrik was not averse to this suggestion, provided he could remain the old wizard’s apprentice. Heinrik had by now grown fond of the stubborn old man, with all his rough edges, and sensed that beneath the hard shell lay a good heart.
The next day, they passed through Hara. Sig said to Heinrik, “Behold, Heinrik, the work of your good and trusted friend Ambros. This is all his doing. The fires, the flooding. Now it is nothing but a blighted ruin, inhabited by the desperate and despicable.”
Heinrik replied, “I respect you, Sig. You’ve always been fair to me, and that’s why I believe you really believe what you’re saying and aren't just trying to mock me, but you’ve been misled. You’re an experienced warrior yourself and know how things go after an invasion. The new ruler does everything he can to drag the previous ruler through the mud, and no one who wants to stay alive will contradict the new ruler. All I can say is that my experience of Ambros has been different. He has always selflessly stood up for the people. You could see that with your own eyes in Ironburg, when Ambros helped those miners all those months without ever expecting anything in return, and it was no different in Hara.”
As night fell, after an uneventful journey, they finally arrived in New Hara, which was currently a vast building site. Banners depicting a green creature with yellow tusks hung from wooden towers. They landed at a makeshift dock.
Heinrik woke the old wizard, who had slept through the entire journey.
Sig introduced himself to the guards at the docks as Sig of Dostrogoths, Baron of Ironburg.
Heinrik could not remember the last time he had seen so much life as was present here. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were gathered here. Red-skinned Altanians in chains were driven to work by taskmasters wielding whips. Guards armed with leather armour, shields, clubs and spears in the king’s colours patrolled the docks.
There were only a few completed buildings; most of the inhabitants of New Hara still seemed to be living in makeshift tents, which formed vast tent towns on the outskirts of the settlement.
Sig told the wizard that they would not be granted an audience with the king at that time and instead escorted him to the Circled Star Inn, which, according to Sig, was currently the finest establishment in the city, whilst Heinrik kept watch over the boat’s cargo. A few shady characters cast glances at Heinrik and the cargo, but held back.
After a while, Sig returned, covered in blood, with porters to carry the load. He explained to Heinrik, “Some people mistook us for easy targets.” He then took Heinrik to the Circled Star Inn as well – a large L-shaped inn with a spacious ground floor, a roomy second floor and a cellar that was off-limits to patrons.
The old wizard had a room of his own, whilst Heinrik remained in the communal area, where he finally fell asleep with one hand on the pommel of his dagger.
The next day, Heinrik woke early to the noise in the communal area and had breakfast with Sig, who generously invited him. Heinrik used the opportunity to ask Sig about his connection to Racoba.
“We heard of great unrest in Hara and thought to ourselves, ‘Hey, we could be of help.’ And so we arrived, seemingly in time to help the king drive the enemies away and establish a kingdom of Law. Initially we fought barbarians around Ahyf, then in the valley, and then around Midway. The king then offered me the title of Baron of Ironburg if I were to march there, pacify the region, capture the traitor Ambros, and re-establish the flow of iron. And here we are now.”
When the old mage was still asleep late in the morning, Heinrik went to wake him, but was shooed away by the mage and told to come back the next day.
Heinrik spent the day mapping New Hara. To avoid attracting attention, he walked through the streets, trying to commit as many details as possible to memory, so that he could then record them on a map that evening from memory, without many onlookers.
While mapping, Heinrik bumped into a lanky and otherwise unremarkable man called Penniman Darwood, that complimented Heinrik and recognized him as a scholar. “I would be happy to be of service. Do not hesitate to pop round to my tent. I am sure we could help each other.”
On his return to the Circled Star Inn late that night, Sig and Crus informed Heinrik that the king had granted them an audience two days from now.
The next day, Heinrik did not wake until midday and then continued his mapping of the city. He also visited Penniman’s tent that was located in an area full of shady characters.
Penniman's tent actually was a cluster of adjoining tents, filled with various goods for trade, most of which is either junk or mundane stuff. Penniman greeted Heinrik cheerfully. “You are a wise man. The goods on display are not for you. What you need, I can get. And what you need to get rid of, I can help with as well.” He winks.
Heinrik told Penniman that he does not require his services right now but might in the future.
The following day, Sig and Crus set off for the King’s Tower early in the morning, whilst Henrik continued his mapping work.
During the day, Heinrik accidentally stepped on a passed out drunk, which riled him back to life, assaulting Heinrik. Heinrik thought to himself “If this guy showed the same tenacity he is showing in harassing me in other areas of his life, he probably wouldn’t be lying drunk in an alley.” This attention was really the last thing Heinrik needed. The man made a few attempts to hit and kick Heinrik, but Heinrik managed to dodge the uncoordinated blows and keep his distance. The man chased Heinrik through the streets and alleys, all the while hurling insults at him at the top of his voice. A few times, Heinrik thought he’d finally shaken off the scruffy man, before the man's foul smell hit his nose again and, shortly afterwards, the verbal abuse and attacks resumed. After this game of cat and mouse had gone on like this for an hour, Heinrik turned into a dark alley and hid behind a few barrels full of rubbish. Shortly afterwards, the man appeared too and shouted, “Where are you, you son of a bitch, I’ll kill you!”, whilst spinning round, disoriented, searching for Heinrik. Heinrik emerged from behind the man, wrapped his muscular arm around his neck from behind and said through clenched teeth, “Not if I beat you to it.” Heinrik checked for possible witnesses, disposed of the man’s lifeless body in one of the barrels and carried on with his work.
That evening, whilst exploring, Heinrik discovered a scroll wedged between two rocks. The tightly rolled parchment contained a series of letters:
xrlcykjsx+lklwcmblqbdsmtecfnzfsustabawlmoblfrdqnxsltajeprhgrlpqgiuhufemkjpedjkkbewrruxdtifbbvikvdzrfkhxfjvcobigddkrlqkbqcxknfkfmpbssgcvbtjbvtkqtxjtimliaumntsmwnlblimvzpdtekwistsqbsqheezaljngeevob
When Heinrik returned to the tavern, Old Crus was already asleep, but Sig was still sitting in the inn’s communal area, already quite drunk and unusually quarrelsome. One word led to another, and shortly afterwards a fierce argument broke out between him and several other guests, which quickly escalated into a full-blown brawl, during which large parts of the communal area were trashed.
“This is really not my day” Heinrik thought to himself as he tried to carry on with his mapping work, whilst at the same time fending off the drunken, rowdy louts staggering and flailing about. After several of his attempts at mapping had been torn up or doused with wine by angry guests, he gave up in exasperation and threw himself into the thick of the fray.
The next day, Heinrik woke up bruised and sore. At breakfast, Sig slapped Heinrik on the back with a laugh and complimented his right hook, whilst old Crus complained that he’d had a restless night’s sleep because of the brawl.
Then old Crus urged Sig to hurry up, whereupon the two of them set off once more for the King’s Tower.
Meanwhile, Heinrik spent another day mapping New Hara.
At midday, he was followed by two pushy beggars: “A learned man like yourself surely has some coin!” “Come on, we know you have coin!” “Coin, give some coin...” Heinrik replied, “I only have one gold coin, but I’ll gladly share it with you,” whilst taking a single gold coin out of one of his pockets to toss it between the two.
On his return to the tavern, Crus informed Heinrik that the Ambros affair had now been resolved: “As with all wizardly matters, to no one’s delight. But your friend will live. Oh, and by the way, I wouldn’t advise annoying Sig too much these days.”
Heinrik expressed his sincere and heartfelt thanks to Old Crus for his help and asked him what had put Sig in such a bad mood.
Old Crus said cryptically that Sig was now learning what it meant to serve. “A lesson that proud warlords often find difficult to grasp”.
He then instructed Heinrik to run a few errands for him the following day.
At breakfast the following day, Sig was not in such a joking mood as usual; rather, he was serious and moody. He informed Henrik and Crus that they would set off the next day at first light.
Henrik spent most of the day running errands for the old man and a smaller part of it mapping.
That evening while mapping a particular shady part of the settlement, Heinrik had the feeling someone was following him. Three men approached him menacingly, but stopped when a familiar voice rang out. “Heinrik! Are you lost? Come, walk with me. This is no place for such a fine scholar. Heinrik, I hear you’ve been doing a lot of shopping today! I must admit, it hurts that I was unable to provide even a single item to your satisfaction. I will endeavour to do better next time… if you give me a chance?” It was Penniman. Heinrik walked with Penniman, telling him that he would be returning to Ironburg soon but would certainly come back, and then they would meet again! Heinrik began to realise that this man must wield some, or perhaps a great deal, of power in the underworld of this settlement – something that might come in handy at some point in the future.
The next day, Heinrik was woken far too early for his liking, before sunrise, by a smack on the head, followed by old Crus’s croaking voice, “Wake up! It’s time to go!”
Old Crus and Heinrik set off for the harbour, where they met Sig and some hired helpers he’d brought along, who were in the process of loading the boat.
The return journey to Ironburg was uneventful. This time, the old man stayed awake for the entire trip and spent the whole journey complaining in his slow manner, much to the displeasure of the helpers, who exchanged annoyed glances but realised they’d be better off not getting on the wrong side of the old wizard.
Sig, meanwhile, seemed distracted and lost in thought as he rubbed an emerald hanging on a chain around his neck.
They reached Ironburg at midnight. Sig immediately summoned his men for a meeting, leaving Heinrik and the old man alone on the pier.
“Heinrik, my boy. I am tremendously tired. Let's go home.” Crus, who had been surprisingly energetic all day, could now barely keep himself on his feet. It took Heinrik what felt like an eternity to hoist the old man onto the horse. Heinrik realised that, unfortunately, this task did not seem to be getting any easier with the practice he had at this point.
By the time he’d finally got the old man, who was now sleeping like a baby, into bed, there were only a few hours left until sunrise. Exhausted, Heinrik finally sank into his bedding and fell into a deep slumber.
Heinrik's map of New Hara by Jan.
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