IC II

[VonAlric]

Gardo

He drinks in the Baron's words, intent on hearing any detail he can glean. He lets the silence grow for a moment then plucks it.

"My henchwoman, Notai of the Longstriders, is the one who found these items. They are from a place called Isengard. Since your people come from the north, I was wondering if you have any written records of places and things of the north. Information like that could be useful to our company and others who would go north of here to expand the influence of civilization and push back Chaos."

Holding up the lier, he continues. "Are these weapons magical or possess unusual abilities? Or have been stupid in carrying this item around without having my companions help with that information?"

[thirdkingdom]

Gardo

He drinks in the Baron's words, intent on hearing any detail he can glean. He lets the silence grow for a moment then plucks it.

"My henchwoman, Notai of the Longstriders, is the one who found these items. They are from a place called Isengard. Since your people come from the north, I was wondering if you have any written records of places and things of the north. Information like that could be useful to our company and others who would go north of here to expand the influence of civilization and push back Chaos."

Holding up the lier, he continues. "Are these weapons magical or possess unusual abilities? Or have been stupid in carrying this item around without having my companions help with that information?"

Baron Xelazo

The Baron looks at Gardo for a long while, his eyes the color of smoldering coal. "I don't know if your blade is enchanted or not; I am no wizard or sorcerer. Leir is stronger and lighter than steel, does not rust, and holds an edge virtually forever. If that is enchanted, than that is what it is. My personal opinion is simply that the Ancestors were better craftsfolk than we are today, and the knowledge of forging such weapons is lost. But yes, we do have a small library that I could be convinced to grant you access to. Provided . . . you do a favor for us, in return."

He spreads out the adventurers' map again and traces a line with his finger. "Since you are already going north it should not be a major issue." His finger lands on Hex 232.118. "My grandmother fell in battle somewhere around here, her body entombed where she fell. She was buried wearing a ring that I desire, a band of iron chased with bronze. Bring me this ring and I will grant you leave to use our library, for whatever purpose."

http://orokos.com/roll/762837: 2d6+1 11

[sulldawga]

Telemachus

"Were I also allowed access to the library, I would vote in favor of this expedition. It's only 30 miles or so off our assumed path."

[The_Wanderer]

Feargus
"If we were to take this deed, I'd like to be totally clear so there is no misunderstanding. In dealing with an ancestor's resting place, we are in territory rife with cultural disconnects. Is there any place we should avoid in this tomb? And what of any other valuables there? Will you be expecting them to remain there untouched? One final question, and know, my lord that I mean no disrespect. I ask that Telemachus be given your leave to at least see your library - not to inspect it mind you but to see how much value we should place upon this. After all, you are offering it to us, in a sense, as payment."

[VonAlric]

Gardo

"Retrieve a ring? I'm fairly certain we can do that. What I don't quite get, Baron, is why a capable leader with the forces you have at your disposal, hasn't retrieved it? Is there something there that I should know about? If I'm going to get into a fight, I really like to know what I'm facing. Ain't that right, Mariusz? You remember the time we were going to collect Ol' Sal's money from that crazy guy that lived outside of town? Someone forgot to mention those dogs that were more like stinkin' wolves and Barry..." He trails off, remembering who he started talking to.

"Um, sorry about that. Right. So, what might stop us from getting this ring for you?"

[thirdkingdom]

Gardo

"Retrieve a ring? I'm fairly certain we can do that. What I don't quite get, Baron, is why a capable leader with the forces you have at your disposal, hasn't retrieved it? Is there something there that I should know about? If I'm going to get into a fight, I really like to know what I'm facing. Ain't that right, Mariusz? You remember the time we were going to collect Ol' Sal's money from that crazy guy that lived outside of town? Someone forgot to mention those dogs that were more like stinkin' wolves and Barry..." He trails off, remembering who he started talking to.

"Um, sorry about that. Right. So, what might stop us from getting this ring for you?"

Baron Xelazo

"I have a multitude of responsibilities, and cannot hare off through the wilderness in search of a ring that I would like to have.:"

[thirdkingdom]

Telemachus

"Were I also allowed access to the library, I would vote in favor of this expedition. It's only 30 miles or so off our assumed path."

Baron Xelazo

"That's fine with me."

[thirdkingdom]

Feargus
"If we were to take this deed, I'd like to be totally clear so there is no misunderstanding. In dealing with an ancestor's resting place, we are in territory rife with cultural disconnects. Is there any place we should avoid in this tomb? And what of any other valuables there? Will you be expecting them to remain there untouched? One final question, and know, my lord that I mean no disrespect. I ask that Telemachus be given your leave to at least see your library - not to inspect it mind you but to see how much value we should place upon this. After all, you are offering it to us, in a sense, as payment."

Baron Xelazo

"I would much prefer it if you leave the tomb of my ancestor as intact as possible, and do not loot it of valuables, nor desecrate the body. It is likely to be protected by traps of some nature, of what variety I am not sure. As to our library, it is rather small, containing only two dozen or so books, but many of these were brought from the north with us when we came south, and are of cultural and historical significance. Will you find anything of interest to you in there? I do not know."

[VonAlric]

Gardo

"Of course, responsibilities. Understandable." He continues to look at the Baron.

[thirdkingdom]

Feargus
"If we were to take this deed, I'd like to be totally clear so there is no misunderstanding. In dealing with an ancestor's resting place, we are in territory rife with cultural disconnects. Is there any place we should avoid in this tomb? And what of any other valuables there? Will you be expecting them to remain there untouched? One final question, and know, my lord that I mean no disrespect. I ask that Telemachus be given your leave to at least see your library - not to inspect it mind you but to see how much value we should place upon this. After all, you are offering it to us, in a sense, as payment."

Baron Xelazo

"I would much prefer it if you leave the tomb of my ancestor as intact as possible, and do not loot it of valuables, nor desecrate the body. It is likely to be protected by traps of some nature, of what variety I am not sure. As to our library, it is rather small, containing only two dozen or so books, but many of these were brought from the north with us when we came south, and are of cultural and historical significance. Will you find anything of interest to you in there? I do not know."

To clarify, you can spend an hour or so examining the library before agreeing to the deal.

[sulldawga]

Telemachus

The mage wants to examine the library for an hour first, before the party agrees to the deal. He's prepared to do so now.

[thirdkingdom]

Telemachus

The mage wants to examine the library for an hour first, before the party agrees to the deal. He's prepared to do so now.

The Baron leads Telemachus into a small and somewhat dusty room. An oak table and chair stands in the middle, and there's a high window letting in a small amount of light. A bookshelf on one wall contains a total of 21 books, bound in a variety of materials.

"There you go," he says, "have at it. I've got some work to do, but Eonis here will help you as she can."

Five of the books are bound in a similar dark leather and seem to be ledgers. Accounts, almost, or records of crop harvests. At a glance they seem to stretch back from the current year almost five hundred years, to the middle of the Thirteenth Cycle.

Another seven are in languages that Telemachus does not speak, but seem to cover a variety of subjects. Of the seven at least one is another ledger.

Three, all bound in a greenish, mottled leather, look to be journals. The pages are old and brittle, and flipping through the pages the mage can guess that they are a record from the time the Ironborn came south.

Three more books are old, likely almost twice as old as the oldest ledger. Each is bound in a different material; one in beaten copper, another in thin sheets of mica, and the third in snakeskin. They are all written in the Common tongue, but an archaic kind that he has difficulty reading.

The final three are much more recent, and they, too, appear to be journals or something of a similar nature, written by one "Chelan Chetcla".

[sulldawga]

Telemachus takes notes for the hour he has.

With the ledgers, he's looking for clues on the locations of the settlements growing the crops.
With the books in a foreign language, he copies down the titles and a few sentences of each, so he can get them translated later.
With the green leather journals, he'll look for clues on locations where the Ironborn used to have settlements, or battlefields.
The three really old books, he spends five minutes each trying to determine the subject of each.
The final three, he treats like the previous journals. He also writes down "Chelan Chetcla"'s name and makes a note to ask the Baron who he or she is.

[thirdkingdom]

Telemachus takes notes for the hour he has.

With the ledgers, he's looking for clues on the locations of the settlements growing the crops.
With the books in a foreign language, he copies down the titles and a few sentences of each, so he can get them translated later.
With the green leather journals, he'll look for clues on locations where the Ironborn used to have settlements, or battlefields.
The three really old books, he spends five minutes each trying to determine the subject of each.
The final three, he treats like the previous journals. He also writes down "Chelan Chetcla"'s name and makes a note to ask the Baron who he or she is.

It's hard to tell. Places are named in the ledgers, but none that make any sense to him. None that he's heard of. There are three maps in one of the really old books:

Map #3 10.10.19.png (351.19 KiB) Viewed 479 times

Map #2 10.10.19.png (208.56 KiB) Viewed 479 times

Map #1 10.10.19.png (205.22 KiB) Viewed 479 times

He's going to need more time to piece together the maps, and read the text.

The second of the ancient books seems to be some kind of a guide to . . . an alchemical process? A blacksmithing technique? It's difficult to tell. The third of the ancient books is where he strikes gold, at least as far as he is concerned. It is a treatise on the elemental plane of earth, and seems to contain at least two or three spell formulae, as well as instructions for creating a "diviner's rod".

The others . . . he's really going to need to spend more time with the books to get any kind of context.

[sulldawga]

Telemachus

The mage returns to the rest of the party and says, "I honestly can't say whether or not it would be worth it for all of you to go on this mission. But it sure would be for me.

And... this is just a wild guess on my part but one of those books may have information on how to make weapons out of leir."

[VonAlric]

Gardo

Eyes widen out at the mage's words. "Make something out of leir? I bet one could have a small country that way." His face returns to normal. "I have no problem going, only thing I think I have issue with is that the Baron has ignored my question as to what we might have to face. I have a hard time believing he hasn't sent a group of his troops in that direction to check."

[thirdkingdom]

Gardo

Eyes widen out at the mage's words. "Make something out of leir? I bet one could have a small country that way." His face returns to normal. "I have no problem going, only thing I think I have issue with is that the Baron has ignored my question as to what we might have to face. I have a hard time believing he hasn't sent a group of his troops in that direction to check."

Hahahaha! Looks like I missed your question about that. For some reason the only part that registered was the question about why he hasn't gone after it. I can retcon an answer, or leave it be and let you guys be suspicious.

[sulldawga]

Telemachus

The mage shrugs. "They are few and orcs are many. It could be that he can't afford to send men so far away from home when there are dangers closer by. In any event, we can leave and decide on the way. Either we bring back the ring and gain access to the library, or we don't and we don't. Surely these metal men will understand that logic."

[The_Wanderer]

Feargus

"Easy to say now but I just say we do it and earn some favor. Maybe we want to hit Kimrid first and then this tomb on the way back?"

[VonAlric]

Gardo

"I'm liking what Feargus says. Also, we do have the guild lady that we might need input from. She may have her own ideas on how things should go."