Main IC-Scene: The Officers' Assembly Room

Without a word to the guards, giving them a respectful nod instead, Reiner headed past the piles of denars without a second glance, gold not having much use on the steppes, he had never acquired a true understanding of it's importance. As he entered the chamber that held the treasures that were more than gold, he paused, his new lances' tip almost scraping the ceiling as he looked around at the untidy piles of treasures.

This seems like a great deal of wealth to be left in one spot sir. But it isn't my place to offer an opinion on the Order's relics. What should, or more importantly I guess, shouldn't move?

I'd like to get a picture of what we actually have here, Iskar replied. So search through everything and see whether you can find anything of interest.

[OOC: The GMs decided we would be able to find the following Noldor artefacts: Most is useless junk, then 3 daggers, a quiver of arrows, a samite pouch with 5 pieces of jewelry (rings, bracelets, etc.), an old sword, a shield and an old chronicle written in Noldori.]

Reiner waded into a pile of shin high clutter, figuring anything important would likely be in the back. I take it back. I seem to have joined an order of pack rats. To emphasize his point he nudged a pile of rusty swords that collapsed immediately, though the ones at the bottom were still in decent enough shape.

Constable. These look important. Reiner held up a long dagger and semi bettered looking rune sword, their sheaths decorated with a single, prominent Noldor rune etched in a silver metal, a pair of similar daggers still on the ground by his foot. At least they do compared to the rest of the pile they were in.

Excellent, put them aside so we can take them with us later.

He continued moving piles of more or less useless junk until his gaze caught a rectangular object wrapped in old moth eaten cloth. Removing the cover he examined what turned out to be an old tome.

Look at this, he said excitedly. Carefully he blew the dust off the book and opened it. Cover and binding were in remarkably good condition and the pages were covered in Noldor runes and some delicate drawings. Using what he knew of noldori he tried to decipher parts of the content.

It must be some sort of chronicle, he finally said, but my high-noldori is not good enough to fully understand it.

Fascinating. I don't even know how to speak Noldori, let alone read it. What does it chronicle? Battle plans? Ancient History? How to make more of those? He gestured towards something further back in the room.

Picking his way through even more of the room, he came to what had caught his eye, a full quiver of Noldor arrows, made with a craftsman ship that would put any Ravenstern fletcher to shame, that much could be seen even without removing one from the quiver, after taking one out, it looked like it had been crafted yesterday such was the workmanship.

What are these doing in here? Shouldn't arrows belong in the armory? Come to think of it, these should have been in there too. He nodded towards the small pile of daggers and sword. What makes them so special that they get sealed away in a vault?

Iskar shrugged. I guess some predecessor of our current grandmaster locked it all away and it was simply brought to this vault unchecked when we moved from the forest camp to the Clarion Hall. Noldor weaponry is hard to come by, even for us, and perhaps it was thought that these pieces were too valuable to be wasted in battle.

As for the book, I think it says something about a voyage, but for more we have to consult Quigfen. He put the tome aside and went on searching the room for more interestng things. Beneath a pile of crumbling rags that might once have been valuable clothes he uncovered a large kite shield. When he cleaned it from dust and dirt its glistening blueish surface became visible. Engraved on it was an ornate fleur-de-lys, whose design was far more elaborate than the Silvermist fleur-de-lys.

Now that is interesting, Iskar said and pointed at the shield. Here you can see firsthand where our coat of arms comes from.

That's a symbol I've seen a lot since I arrived here. Reiner was referring to the banners hung in the hall and the sigil being emblazoned on what seemed like every other door down here in the vault

I think that treasure outweighs the last thing worth more than 5 denars in this vault. Reiner tossed Iskar a small leather pouch, heavy for its size, a golden bangle with rubies the size of his thumb studding the circumference, and the weight of the bag told him there was more still inside it.

The rest of this looks like junk to me. In a few moments their find were in Reiner's arms, the blades piled atop the old book, whoc was wrapped back in its old covering, the precious Noldor arrows slung over his shoulder for simplicity's sake.

I don't suppose there is another vault to search through?[i]

No, this is the only one of this kind, Iskar replied, giving the pouch a closer look and raising an eyebrow at the delicately worked rings and brooches within.

Get this all up to the officer's assembly room, he told Reiner, leading the way up the stairs again.

As Iskar and Alaric went past the Guards, one of them stopped them for a second.

"Constable, a messenger just arrived and he was looking for you. I told him to wait outside the assembly room for you."

The Guard bowed shortly and hoped he made the right decision.




[OOC:I will pm you the letter in few minutes so you can post him yourself]

I'll try not to drop anything while I'm at it.

Soon enough, there was a small pile of Silvermist relics piled on a table in the assembly room, Reiner leaning back against it and giving one of the Noldor arrows a closer look, letting slip a curt curse as the tip cut his thumb in a moment of carelessness. Still sharp... of course they are, dull arrow heads wouldn't be much use.

Send him in.

The guard nodded and complied. Some moments later the messenger entered and handed Iskar a sealed letter.

Do you have any further orders, milord?

I will call for you when I need a reply delivered, Iskar answered. In the meantime you can rest from your journey and get some food.

He beckoned for one of the guards outside. Show this man to the refectory.

When the guard and the messenger departed Iskar broke the seal and read the letter. At first he smiled, but towards the end his expression became more and more worried. He went to the door and told the remaining guard to summon Aldric of Marleons immediately.
Finally he handed the letter to Reiner.

Letter from Sir Cumberbatch:

It seems we have a small problem in the steppes, which had best be solved as quick as possible, and I think this is a perfect opportunity for you to prove yourself and get to know our ways better. Since you probably know the steppes better than any other of my men I will give you command of the 20 mounted rangers currently patrolling the steppe villages. Technically Lieutenant Grafton will be in command, but he will just be there to give me a report of your accomplishments in the end or to step in should things go wrong.
I want you to take these men, meet with Sir Cumberbatch at Eastcrown, collect all information you need and root out the local Red Brotherhood cell endangering our work. I have recently detached additional men to the steppes as garrisons, and they will be at your disposal, too.

Reiner read the letter a few times before nodding and answering. These Red Brotherhood types are getting bolder, they were even trying to shake me down not a few days ago.

I'll put the rangers and footmen to good use, hopefully we'll come out of this with a full complement. Am I authorised to use force if necessary? This particular branch of the guild has a nasty reputation that includes fighting back rather viciously from what I heard of them from the villages around the steppes.

Iskar nodded grimly. To put it bluntly: I want all of them dead. Best have them executed publicly to state an example.

Understood. Hopefully the villagers won't mind a few corpses in gibbets near the enterance of the town. I will leave immediately.

Reiner banged a fist against his chest plate and bowed his head to his superior before turning and exiting the room, a sense of palpable excitement in his step at the prospect of his first assignment.

Iskar traveled so fast back to the Clarion Hall that the missed a weird sight. Two riders coming from the east and traveling as well to the Clarion Hall. Their Clothes and their Horses as well were colored in a light Brown and they left a cloud of Dust in their wake. If you tried you could follow their way from the entrance of the City to the Clarion Hall. The horses were haggard and near collapse, one of the riders was nearly falling of his horse as it turned around a corner but at the last moment he regained control of himself and managed to keep himself up.

They reached the stables and handed over their horses, the Stableboy was shocked at the sight of them.

"Is the Constable inside?" One of them asked.

"He just arrived a few moments ago." Answered the Stableboy.

Both made their way to the entrance. They marched straight to the room of Iskar, with every step they left a footprint out of sand on the floor.
From inside his room Iskar heard the two man approaching long ago, they stopped before his door and cleared their throats before knocking.

Iskar returned from Quigfen in the evening. Having ordered the payment to be delivered he ordered the reports, maps and letters scattered over the great oaken table in the assembly room into neat piles on the side and spread his new collection of Noldor artefacts on the table: The ancient chronicle, the three books from Quigfen, the sword, the shield, three daggers, a quiver of arrows, four rings, a clasp and a bracelet.

The books, the sword and the shield he put aside, then grouped rings and two daggers together, left the quiver, the bracelet and the third dagger as they were and finally examined the clasp.

It was silver in the shape of an ornate Noldor fleur-de-lys. He fastened it on his cloak. Perhaps its refined design and craftsmanship would help remind some nobles of his order's power and wealth.

A look to the window confirmed that it was already past nightfall, but there was still work to do. He dipped the quill into the ink well and wrote two letters, one to Duke Aldemar of Poinsbruk, one to Lady Luciana of Ethos.

Letter to Aldemar:

Letter to Luciana:

Silnord, Kelren, he then called and the two officers entered the room shortly thereafter.

He pointed at the largest pile with the books and sword. Have this carefully wrapped and brought to Poinsbruk as a permanent loan to the university and this letter - he handed the one for Aldemar to Silnord - is to be delivered to the hands of Aldemar.

Sir Kelren, this other letter and the bracelet are meant for Lady Luciana of Ethos. I suggest you ride armed, but not displaying the fleur-de-lys. Simply ride as a knight in the service of the Lord of Isenfeld.
You will both depart at dawn.

As you command, milord.

Silnord called a squad of rangers to carry of the artefacts destined for Poinsbruk while Kelren took the bracelet and the letter to prepare everything for his journey. When they were gone Iskar settled in one of the high backed chairs around the fire place and poured himself a glass of wine. It was three days now until the feast. 'Let's hope they all show up for it', he thought.

However, there was not much time for respite. Some minutes after the officers had left a guard stepped in.

Milord, there are two men that wish to speak to you. They arrived earlier, but we held them back since you were busy.

By all means then, Iskar said, rising from his chair again, send them in.

The two men entered stepped before Iskars desk and bowed.

"Constable, we rode as fast as we could." They both looked at each other. "We have the report of the D'shar steppes as you asked."

Iskar looked at the two dusty, emaciated men in their tattered clothing.

Excellent, but do sit down for a start. He pointed to the two chairs near him.

Guard! he called, some more wine, hot broth and bread for these men.

Soon after a servant came clattering in with the food and drink and when the messengers had somewhat regained their strength Iskar took up where they had finished.

Now, I am eager to hear your reports.

The two men looked at each other, and gestured each other to start. No one wanted to start for at least 30 seconds. Finally the older one looked at Iskar and cleared his throat.

"I don't we can't deliver what you expected. First of all we were welcome very friendly by the D'shar people. They answered all our questions eagerly and without any hesitation. Unluckily they were not able to provide us with any insight to their agriculture because there is no such thing."

He stopped a second and drank bit wine.

"They life as nomads and they get their food from their cattle or other animals. There are Oases scattered scarcely around the area but the soil available for agriculture is mostly used to grow trees which spent some much needed shadow. We saw some Olive groves but nothing more of worth."

He looked again at the other one and gestured him say something.

"Another problem in the area is soil, there is nearly none. Everywhere you look is sand, even under the sand is more sand. Some of the older people told us about some Oases vanishing within a year due to the dunes moving, and then reappering two years later."

He cleared his throat and looked and didn't dare look at the Constable.

"I am sorry but we found nothing of value."

Oh, I think you found out something of value, you just don't know it yet, Iskar replied with a reassuring smile.

For a start: You saw their cattle and they talked to you about it. Was it of any special kind, different in build or characteristics to usual cattle that would make it predestined for a live in the steppes?
And then the groves: What can you tell me about the olive trees and whatever other plants and trees can survive despite the winds and harsh climate.

The two man smiled at each other, they thought Iskar would get mad but now he was smiling at them.

"Their herds were made of Horses, Cows and Goats. The Horses are smaller than the ones common in this lands and way more sturdy. Their Cows looked haggard and near starving and their bones showed below their skin. They mostly use their animals for their milk, only on special occasion they slaughter their animals for food. We even saw a tribe that trained huge eagles to hunt for them."

After a short pause the other one continued.

"Mostly we saw Olive Groves planted on the rare fertile soil. They grew some Dates as well. The trees had a thick bark and the leaves were very thick as well. We spoke to some of the elders and they showed us how they dried the fruits and stored them for later. They also showed us that the Roots of the trees go very deep to reach the subterranean Water."

The man stopped and smiled at Iskar, suddenly he noticed that he missed something and quickly added.

"Oh and we saw many palm trees."




[OOC: I left Camels out of the Story because I never saw any in the game.]

Well, I doubt palm trees would survive our winters up here, but the other information is quite useful.

Swaying the wine in his glass he pondered the issue for a moment.

Since you now already know the D'Shar lands I have a new task for you. Of course only after you have recovered from your hurried ride back here. Take some days out, let your horses regain strength, then equip yourself plainly and go to our mercenary outpost at Isenfeld Castle. There you will hire a hundred D'Shar raiders to assist you. Officially you will travel as a trade expedition of a rich merchant from Marleons, so you do not draw too much attention. Avoid displaying our colours or coat-of-arms lest some Griffon, Eventide or Gauntlet patrols might give you trouble.
Once you reached the D'Shar steppes go to the south-western part, where the steppes rise to meet the Whitepeak and High Pass mountains. Whatever grows there should be able to survive in arid climate as well as in cold winters. I want you to collect seeds and saplings of any trees you find there, especially the olive trees in that part of the steppe. Furthermore you will buy cattle, cows and goats alike. Always choose the sturdier and furrier ones so they can survive our harsher winters. I will provide you with 5000 denars for expenses and sealed bills worth another 3000 denars. When you have acquired a sufficient amount of saplings, seeds and cattle return here.

"Very well Constable, I guess we need around two days to pack everything again. Then we can leave for Isenfeld Castle."

He looked at his friend who seemed not very happy with the decision to return to the Desert. Suddenly he stood up.

"We would like to get cleaned right now, do we have permission to leave?"

As he stood up one could hear another knock on the door.