The Ogres of the Taralon Mountains [ Palacrisis ][Open]

[Palacrisis D Jones]

4th cycle of Kalendryas ~ Winter Era XIV

Over the hill and down the chute!

Some people called Palacrisis a risk taker but normally it was a calculated risk however this little mission was somewhat different it was not just risky it was on paper and in real fact plain stupid suicidal! No one in their right mind would get closer than a mile to an ogre!

It was not the former governors idea oh no! It was the brainchild of a certain Vagran by the name of Evyind Redbeard. Why Palacrisis had agreed to carry out this piece of diplomacy was beyond him. Perhaps he reflected that his ego had run away with him this time ! Oh well he was committed to this piece of nonsense and frankly he should be committed to one of Aelyria’s mental institutions for agreeing to contact these critters…It was too late to back out now he had given his word and well what was there for a man if his word meant nothing?


Several candlemarks spent in the Deangela Library had been well spent as a tome of some detail was found dusted off and placed before him. Its contents did nothing to reassure him that this mission would be a success and simply reinforced his initial reaction that he had gone stark staring bonkers.

Eyvind had been true to his word and the party had begun to gather at his estate two miles south of Taralon .A herd of sorry looking cattle looked unhappy in a corral. Two oxen pulled a flat bed cart on which roped down were barrels of dark red rum. This stuff was not the nice sweet stuff that he occasionally imbibed on a cold morning but for lack of a better word was “rotgut”. It was strong it was dark and it could be used as paint stripper but it had the effect he was hoping for, it could knock a giant flat if he took enough on board.

The party was made up of volunteers, the four knights that had acted as his personal bodyguard Sirs Tristan, Gareth, Percival and Tarquin all experienced fighters armed to the teeth and burdened down with plate armour. Dingwall the lad who could drive anything was in charge of the oxen wagon. Jericho Smike was the herdsman who looked after the cattle , he was one of biggest men Palacrisis had ever seen dressed in woven smock and britches with boots that could be used as an anvil to complete the ensemble he wore a wolf skin coat that stretched to the floor. Smike seemed happy with his own company any question or order that was given to him was answered with a knuckle to a huge forehead and a “ right ye are sur A man of few words apparently!

The military member of the expedition was the drummer *. It was indeed a very large drum and the owner* of said instrument took great delight in demonstrating. Bashing the enormous military percussion with enthusiasm and setting up such a din that the crows in the copse of trees a mile distant set off as one in protest at the noise.

Pala had reasoned that if they were to get into the mountains and try and find the ogres it was no use trying to sneak up on them so the drummer was going to start announcing their presence early on. Curiosity was a trait of character that might be used to his advantage if the ogres peace was going to be shattered they might send out a party to find out what was going on .Which was marginally better than coming on the big fellows by accident. Of course any plan has its downside by announcing their presence so absolutely in the northern Taralon mountains they ran the risk of alerting every Tom, Richard, Harry or Orc in the area.




OOC ~ * Name to be inserted later

[Erhıne]

Erhyne knew nothing about ogres, and usually she would not have been induced by vague rumors to do anything, much less risk her life. Rumors were uncertain things, and tended to stray very far from the truth in the Nimalni's experience. She also wasn't about to trust the word of her fellow conscripts at the Serpent's barracks from whom she'd first heard that the former governor Jones was going to lead an ogre-hunting expedition into the wilds of Sherian. The lot of them were foolish young humans more likely to kill themselves in the pursuit of momentary pleasure than to think of what the moment after that would bring.

Still, the rumor had started a spark in the young elf's mind, and having asked about from some more trustworthy sources assured herself that perhaps this expedition might be useful to her. Perhaps it was not orcs but ogres that were behind the disappearance of her family. It was a tenuous supposition, and Erhyne admitted that; but still, however remote, she found that she couldn't stay away and miss an opportunity, however slight. What if it was so, after all?

And after all, the Nimalni told herself as she trudged the two miles from the city to the estate of Eyvind Redbeard, it would be good to gain more experience before the Serpents were called out to war. She'd lived a quiet life in Vortex for the past few eras and even beforehand her initial response to a dangerous situation had always been toward diplomacy rather than to mindless attack. Joining this expedition was only prudent, whether it yielded the grey elf any positive results in her search or no.

Looking about at the assembled knights and the cart, Erhyne couldn't immediately distinguish who was the leader and, in fact, whether this was the party she had been told about. Why was there a need for an ox-cart, and what, in point of fact, was in the cart? And the cattle? Rumor had hedged a bit, and brought Erhy news of a war-party, not a peace-party; and the drummer, in the Nimalni's eyes, was entirely out of place.

[Palacrisis D Jones]

The tall man of mature patterns spotted the young elf as she watched the activities around the burgeoning expedition . It was not often that the ex -governor saw elves at the Kallimeyra estate they were not the sort to normally be interested in tobacco growing. Wiping his hands on a rag he arranged his dark silvering hair into its customary pony tail and strolled across the busy yard.

“Serale, welcome to the Kallimeyra Estate my name is Palacrisis D Jones may I be of assistance to you?

She would see a human man in his early middle patterns his hair had been dark but now was flecked with silver, a high forehead a beaky nose and hard blue eyes. He was dressed simply in battered old leathers and scuffed knee boots that had seen better days not exactly the brave adventurer of legend!

[Erhıne]

Ah, so this was the governor Jones! Erhıne turned as he spoke, nodding at his greeting. His clothing didn't look like much, but his eyes were hard and intelligent - not full of the sort of heady, youthful gibberish that could be seen in the whites of the raw recruits the elf had left behind for a short time in Taralon.

"Serale," she replied quietly, her voice tinged as usual by a heavy accent. "I am Erhıne, and I would be looking for the expedition - the expedition to the ogres? I heard talk in Taralon, and came here to see... and to join, if you would have me. I have some skill, though I am no knight, as you can see." The Nimâlni finished honestly, with another glance at those already gathered there.

[Palacrisis D Jones]

Pal hauled his pipe from a pocket and began the careful process of getting it lit to his satisfaction as he listened to the elf he did not reply immediately letting her offer settle in his mind but eventually he spoke in a deep brown voice.

hmm , it seems the rumour mill is active in Taralon still never mind eh, it has blown you to my door Erhıne. So you have a hankering to visit with the ogres? …..Very well I suppose it is worth outlining what we are hoping to achieve. The ogres are a mystery and an enigma, seen as little more as lickspittles to the Orcs, little more than beasts by the so called civilised races. That may be the case Erhıne and this expedition is doomed to absolute failure before it starts. Be under no illusion this is very dangerous and we are putting our lives on the line even setting out towards the mountains. Yet there is a certain piquancy about knowing this, it adds a little spice to life….he lit up the pipe again with a little brass gizmo that he had picked up in a gadgeteers shop in Archadoon….

The war with the Orcs goes badly that’s common knowledge they are a powerful opponent and so far they seem to be winning! So its time that people who care about this province took one or two risks. I am not a warrior, those days are behind me but I am a politician so I intend to talk with the ogres if they will let me. I hope to build some sort of relationship with these little understood creatures. Tradition and history tends to make us believe that the ogres are aligned to the Orc cause. Yet intelligence has reached us that a breakaway group has settled at Verongorn Keep in the mountains, this is our destination. If this group have indeed fallen out with their Orc overseers then they represent a strategic chink in the armour of the Orc’s. They control certain routes west to east across the mountains and if we can persuade them to control these passes against the Orcs then we protect the eastern side of Sheria from invasion.

He chuckled softly but of course my poor skills may not be enough and we could all end up in the cook pot. So Erhıne that’s the truth of the matter stripped of the more garish embellishments of the gossiping classes of Taralon. So do you still want to join an expedition of peace, one where we may have to fight for our lives simply to meet with the ogres and fail?

The pipe was finished and stowed away in a pocket, what the elf brought to the party by way of skills and knowledge could be discussed later but for Palacrisis it was imperative that no member of his party would be under any allusions.

[Erhıne]

The former governor withdrew a pipe and lit it as he spoke. Erhıne watched, oddly fascinated by the gadget with which he lighted it, but without the nerve to comment or to ask for a look at the curious thing. Maybe she'd get another chance later.

The whole tale seemed reasonable enough - a bit different from what she'd heard, but it appeared that Jones knew what he was doing, as well. Which, she supposed, was a good thing when discussing governors of provinces. The elf didn't know much about politics - actually, nothing at all - but she was definitely for talking first and fighting only when necessary. It wasn't like Ogres were inherently evil like Vysstichi.

"That is reasonable," Erhıne nodded with decision. "And I will join your cause." She paused for a moment, sniffing the not displeasing smell emanating from the pipe, and deciding that it would do well for the human himself to know something about her reasons for showing up, as he had trusted her with the information about the ogres.

"And I will do what I can. I grew up in Sherian, and my family were still here, the last time I heard from them - they fled the news of the orcs." Or at least, that's what Erhı hoped had happened; she didn't trust herself to think what else might have befallen her parents and her young siblings. "Perhaps somewhere on this journey I might find a clue where they have gone. So I will do what I can do help you."

[Palacrisis D Jones]

OOC ~ For the opening rounds of this story Pala will act as peer mod and employ his npc’s. If we manage to get to the Ogres GM Steve will take over although knowing Steve he will probably throw something in our way as he sees fit!


IC ~ The day dawned bright and cold , scudding clouds swept across the sky and the winds that blew these snow laden harbingers of the weather ahead of the expedition were cold.

The drover shrugged in his heavy wolf skin coat remarking It be a lazy wind rather blow through ye than around ye before pushing the herd of cattle out of the gate of the Kallimeyra estate and north towards Vers. The expedition would travel at the pace of the slowest member whether it was the ox cart or the cattle was debatable but which ever it was this would take some time. Fortunately the military had provided plenty of warm winter clothing, boots and camping equipment so each member of the expedition could dip into the war chest and find suitable garments and spare weapons of their choice,

Pala had opted for his old leathers and a fur coat that buttoned to the neck and fell to the ground. The battered old wide brimmed hat with the blue feather stuck in the band was pulled down over his face. He had opted not to ride his thoroughbred horse but had chosen a sturdy mare who looked as though she could walk all of the brightening without tiring.

He had been struck by the volunteer elf Erhıne she had a story which she kept close to her chest but it spoke of a tragedy as yet unnamed and unclear.The fate of her parents in the face of the advance of the Orcs clearly worried her as it should there would be many similar stories in the province of the Sherian confederacy. Who knows what they would find out on the road ?

Pala had told Erhıne that she was hired and explained that she could draw equipment and clothing from the war chest. If she wanted a horse she could draw one from the corral, they were all sturdy creatures shaggy and used to the mountains not race horses by any means but steady. If she did not want to ride she could sit beside Dingwall on the ox cart or walk as she pleased.

The drummer a Ragrhnd man of some 20 ordinations was only five feet tall a shock of white hair falling to his shoulders with three parallel scars on his left cheek went by the name of Ulgar, a Senior Legionnaire in the 9th Legion. Skilled with longsword spear and Pilaii. He came from the mountains and would act as guide on their journey into the wilderness of the highlands [As per Eyvind’s description] Ulgar had parked his great drum on the ox cart and for the opening miles of the journey was content to sit on the back of the cart with his little legs dangling over the boards.

The four knights of Aslangard rode ahead their war horses capable of enduring all conditions and hardships.

The procession wound itself out of the estate and moved steadily north. Their initial destination was the bridge over the Black River south of Vers. The town of the magi would be skirted and the expedition would move further north hugging the edges of the Taralon mountains to a trail that lead them west into the mountains themselves.

As is always the case for expeditions it took two brightenings for them to settle down into a routine and establish the pace of the march .It would take them about 15 candlemarks a brightening to travel 30 miles and it was by the third darkening that they were able to cross the Black River by the bridge and make their camp for the darkening.


Essentially this was the bad country from now on they would have to on their guard against the horde the line of defence that stretched from Draelmar Hold to Notus was behind them the mountains were full of pathways and tracks that afforded the horde and their allies the means to slip behind the Sherian forces and raid .

Thus it was that Palacrisis ordered the halt and each of the party set about their tasks .Pala lit a fire and settled down to making stew for the party , beef onions and carrots plain filling and hot washed down with ale and water and moped up with loaves of bread. The knights spread out marching the perimeter of the small camp. Jericho Smike was busy tending to his herd and would sleep close to his cows. Dingwall busied himself erecting tents and Erhıne was asked to fetch water from a stream 200 yards away from the fire. Ulgar was free of chores this time but kept a watchful eye open on their surroundings.

The stream was shaded by trees standing like skeletons bare of leaf , scrubby bushes accompanied them .The night was dark the moons yet to rise and Erhıne was hampered by several water skins as she made her way towards the dark stream .bending down to fill the bags her sharp ears would hear,

I tells ye there’s cows I smells em! there was a rustle of old leaves and a skittering figure came into view ……GOBLIN!

[Steve]

The Goblin took another step toward Erhyne and then stopped. Goblins were not particularly noted for their bravery and initiative but the closer they were to their own territory the more confidence they had and thus were more likely to be agressive. In this case there also were ample numbers of his comrades out of sight but nearby.

Erhyne was the only one in sight but the number of water skins she was carrying indicated that there were others as well, in addition to the cows he smelled.

There was a short sword hanging from his belt but the Goblin did not reach for it. There were sounds of movement behind him but no one else appeared. The night was dark and it did not take much growth to hide those who did not want to be seen.

The Goblin spoke to Erhyne, "Ya gonna use our watah?"

[Palacrisis D Jones]

Palacrisis busy by the camp fire making stew was totally unaware of the visitors down by the stream. He heard nothing of the conversation and his night vision was ruined by the light of the camp fire. None of the patrolling knights seemed to have been alerted at the moment and the rest of the party continued to work at their chores.

Ulgar was out of Palacrisis's immediate sight.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

Senior Legionnaire Ulgar had been thrilled when his commanding officer had told him that a certain expedition heading to the mountains needed a drummer. The thrill turned into extase when he discovered that the group was to climb to the top of the mountains to meet Ogres! The short Raghrnd's body couldn't contain all his stress and desire to reach the cold peaks and therefore instead of sitting still near the campfire decided to take a walk, maybe that Erhıne girl needed help with the water skins and having a cold bath in the river before going to sleep seemed the best way to calm his ever revolving body.

His Legionnaire armor had been left behind and he now used but a leather cuirass, more suited to journeys in high regions and over the protection he worn a jacket made out of rabbits' skins, a piece of cloth he carried since he had left the mountains in Arium to enlist the mighty Imperial Legions. Using his drum as a backpack, pending from his shoulders and swinging the wooden stick he used to play the instrument, Ulgar started seeing the Nimalni from afar in the middle of the growing shadows of the Darkening.

Oh it seemed Erhıne wasn't alone! But who was that? Too small to be any member of the expedition and...a Goblin? Well at least he wasn't being aggressive, yet. Not all Goblins had joined the Horde, that was widely known since Orcs usually feed upon them or used them for target practice or even living ammunition for their catapults. Maybe these would be friendly enough to provide some informations thought the always eager Raghrnd. As if it was nothing with him Ulgar approached the elven woman and offered the Goblin a smile that would make a child laugh.

[Erhıne]

The march northward had begun, and as Erhyne settled in among the company she found herself enjoying it. She liked the wilderness, and she didn't mind the gruffness of the soldiers - it rather pleased her, certainly more than the brash and non-stop talk of the recruits back in Taralon. She didn't talk much herself, but had listened intently to what the other had to say, particularly about the current expedition and any news she might not yet have heard.

She'd taken Jones up on his offer of looking into the warchest, but had contented herself with taking out a simple dagger. She had her own iron-capped staff, and much preferred walking on her own two feet to riding. Not only did she not know how to, but it had always seemed odd to let a simple animal have such control over one.

Having taken up the waterskins from the camp, Erhyne trudged down to the stream with nothing but the dagger at her side, having left her staff behind - it was too unwieldy to carry along with the waterskins... and she hadn't, to tell the truth, thought that there would be any danger in doing so.

Well, she'd been wrong about that! Seeing the goblin jump out before her the Nimalni stilled and, unavoidably, looked around the surrounding underbrush to see if there were any more of the ugly creatures about. Of course, there had to be, somewhere - otherwise the goblin would hardly have accosted her; maybe she was lucky that he hadn't attacked first, and asked questions later.

It was hard to see in the growing gloom, and Erhy refocused her attention on the goblin. As yet he hadn't made any threatening move, but the Nimalni wasn't the trusting sort. Carefully, she began slowly shifting the skins on her shoulders so that her right hand was free to grab at the dagger in her belt... should she need it.

But she didn't want to risk the possibility that there were other goblins about who'd dispatch her before she had time to make a move. "Yes, the water." She replied slowly and clearly, knowing, however, that it was too far back to the camp for anybody to hear her. "For the men, and the horses... there are many soldiers and many horses." She added significantly. "Is that a problem?"

[Steve]

The smile of Ulgar may have been one to make a child laugh but the Goblin simply returned a smile of hs own. It was an ugly smile, but then everything about a Goblin was ugly. He noticed that the Nimalni didn't seem all that trusting, but that did not matter. Trust was not something that a Goblin gave or expected. What did matter was the cows. Winter in the mountains did not offer comforts and luxuries. Food was not easy to come by. The Orcs and the Ogres staked out the best areas for themselves, so that left slim pickings for the Goblins. The pickings were even slimmer for the city people who came out to that area.

The Goblin eyed both Erhyne and Ulgar and replied to the Nimalni, "Ya got lotta watah skins. Dat no problem. First ya pay fer da watah, den no problem".

[Erhıne]

The elf suddenly caught the sounds of crunching underbrush behind her and, casting a quick glance backward with a thought to being surrounded by goblins was relieved to see one of the men from the camp. She didn't have time to wonder what the human - Ulgar, she remembered his name was - had wanted; for the moment it was enough that there were two sets of eyes to look for any untoward attacks.

She kept her hand near her dagger, but didn't make any moves to pull it out, either. Maybe they could settle this without having recourse to arms.

"What sort of payment do you mean?" she answered the goblin warily instead.

[Steve]

The Goblin was looking to make the best of this. Seldom were those of his race in a position where they had an advantage over others. An opportunity like this might not present itself again for an era or more. He was in charge of this foraging group. If he came back with something impressive it would do much for his stature in the clan. With that in mind, he replied to the Elf, "Da watah be cool, comes from da toppa mountins. We share wit ya fer always. Ya give us one womin, Humin or Elf an' one cow. Fair swap."

Having finally noticed that Erhyne had her hand near her dagger, the Goblin hooked his thumb over his belt, near to where the sword was hanging. He felt that was the right thing to do. He needed to maintain control.

[Palacrisis D Jones]

OOC~ Time to make an appearance

IC~ The camp was too quiet and Pala realised that Erhıne and Ulgar had been away from the security of the fire for far too long. He had not noticed them making eyes at each other on the journey north so he surmised that they had not slipped away for a canoodle. Collecting water should be a simple task and by his reckoning they could have filled the water sacks five times by now.

He gestured to sir Tarquin and pulling his long sword out walked carefully towards the stream accompanied by the knight. Pala was no elf woodsman so he crunched underfoot and the knight rattled and jingled in his armour so it was hardly going to be a quiet approach to the stream .

The goblin came into view as did Ulgar and Erhıne and the three seemed to be in some form of dispute. One goblin usually meant there were others around …according to his reading of such matters…and goblins usually meant trouble ……according again to his reading.

Pala had never actually met one of the nasty little types and according to his reading did not really want to , stereotypically the volumes he had read described the gobbo as being

Goblins have not been blessed with what can be called good looks They stand on average about 4.5 feet tall, knobbly and gnarled to the eyes. Their green skin clings to small amounts of muscle, but mainly to thin brittle bones, they have a head that is too large for their body, and big floppy ears to accompany equally wide eyes that were huge in relationship to the rest of his head. The goblin's face is normally shared by a fishhook like hooked nose, which often sports several large warts. the goblins have teeth that are long sharp and stuck out the mouth at daft angles, which the goblin are not afraid to use to inflict a terrible bite.

In the dim light of darkening this particular example of the race seemed to have signed up for all the characteristics he had read about.

However Pala was always someone , naively some said to put the character of an individual to the test rather than his looks or reputation and so he held the pig sticker loosely at his side gestured for the knight to do the same and drawled.

Serale sir goblin is there any trouble here?