Iron Kingdoms: War and Glory

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-23 06:07am

Ivana poured mugs of steaming hot tea for each of the travellers and then brought forth a tray with black bread, butter, honey, and cheese on it. Olga laddled thick stew into wooden bowls. The stew had a creamy potato base with radishes, onion, garlic, a bit of rabbit added to it. A salad of lettuce, cabbage, and carrots with an egg based dressing was added to the mix. Peasant food, but well prepared and appetizing for all that.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2007-01-23 06:27am

"Aaah, motherland." Guren sighed loudly, taking at the food with relish. A single mouthful of the stew had him laughing heartily, and he said it was as fine as anything he had ever eaten. "Real food, ye ken."

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-23 07:33am

Arkady, eyeing the reactions of the family, took advantage of the distraction provided by Guren's exclamation to quietly cast his cantrip on the food. He could use his alchemical knowledge to determine if anything was awry.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-23 02:55pm

Arkady was able to discover the food was not poisoned.

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-23 03:09pm

Konrad waited for his hosts to start eating, as was only polite, before digging in himself. It was probably the best meal he had eaten since going on campaign. He allowed himself to relax, at least as much as he was able to do so. Konrad told a few small jokes, an anecdote or two, and generally tried to keep the mood joyfull and light. What he really wanted to do was ask his campanions about their past's and plans for the future, but that would have to wait until they were alone. Until then he enjoyed himself, while occasionally sneaking a peak out the windows in case of danger.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-23 03:25pm

His mind easied by the readings of his cantrip, Arkady was able to enjoy his meal after having covertly signalled to his companions that the food presented no risk. He kept to himself, but did not appear overtly sullen, even shedding a smile to some of Konrad's jokes.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-24 02:49am

"So," said Arkay Ivanovich after consuming half of his stew, "where are you headed?"

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-24 09:18am

Konrad took a few long seconds to finish chewing his food, in order to give himself some time to think on his response.
Can't really lie to him, no other city besides Tverkutsk anywhere near here. I'll just have to bullshit on the route.

"We're heading back to Tverkutsk. But before we do, we have to swing North. A cache of supplies was left for us a few days march from here. Our mision was suppossed to be long, but wasn't. We might as well retrieve them, and try to salvage something out of this disaster."

Damn, that's weak. hopefully he's just curious.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-24 01:37pm

Arkady almost jumped as he heard Konrad's response, but managed to control himself. He finished his stew and drank some ale.

Damn, he's even more paranoid than I am. A good thing, unless he begins to suspect me, I guess.

He seemed like a good idea to prepare his spell of Detect Thoughts, and cast it in the morning. He would try to get his companion's impression before changing the makeup of his magical arsenal.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2007-01-25 12:31am

Auric watched the goings on of his companions in relative silence. These people seemed to be just as they appeared, simple country folk. His companions on the other hand seemed to be overly wary.

Konrad appears to be paranoid, more so than. And it appears to be at least rubbing off on Arkady. That will make things more difficult.

Auric leaned back a little, contemplating matters. They had not turned out well and he wondered what to do now. Either way, getting going early in the morning was probably a good step.

"Arkady, thank you for your gracious hospitality. If you will please execuse me and give me directions, I do believe I will retire for the night. Things have been quite wearing and i would appreciate a good nights rest."

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-25 12:37am

"Of course," said Arkady. "Ivana, fetch the blankets and pillows for our guests. I must warn you that north lies more of the forest and trolls. If you wish to reach Tverkutsk with the minimum of risk, go south and skirt the forest, travel west and then north. Go straight through the woods to travel quickly, but beware the trolls. They pay a bounty on their heads in Tverkutsk, should you encounter them and win."

The young woman came back with a pile of blankets and laid them out on the rug, with a thick blanket on bottom to act as a matress and lighter ones on top. A thick pillow as placed with each. Each blanket and pillow was sewn from strips and rags of cloth combined into a multicoloured whole.

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-25 08:02am

Konrad was quite glad to see the bed spreads come out. The meal had momentarily distracted him from his weariness, but now it had come back full force. Konrad said
"Thank you for all your hospitallity and advice. The meal was excellent."

After sharing dinner and getting a feel for them, Konrad didn't really think this family was much of a threat. Therefore he wouldn't push for posting watches during the night. Besides, he didn't want to give up any sleep at this point. Konrad then took off his various belts and pouches he used for storing his gear, as well as his leather armor, and slept. Of course, his pistol and dagger were close at hand in case of any problems.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-25 11:41am

Arkady lied down on his couch. Sycorax landed on one of the wooden beams supporting the roof. The raven would cover them just in case.

He fell asleep clutching his Fire Staff.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2007-01-25 03:05pm

The adventurers' sleep was uninterupted and peaceful. The Ivanovich family got up early to go about their day, breaking their fasts with thick black bread and porridge.

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-25 03:56pm

Konrad woke up about an hour before dawn. The Ivanovich's had already been up for at least half an hour already.

Amazing what some sleep will do for you. I'll have to talk with Auric and the others and see how they want to run covers in the future. I may have been pushing things a little. The kind of shit I was pulling on these farmers is probably best reserved for two bit snitches. That's the kind of stuff that happens when you go two days without sleep though.

Before grabbing some breakfast, Konrad went outside and did about 30 minutes of exercises. Then he did some basic weapon practice, which was rather limited as he could only do so much alone. Konrad always started his day this way if he could, as he was a firm believer in hard training and practice.

EDIT: for clarity

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-25 06:04pm

Arkady, upon waking up - with the help of Sycorax's insistent picking in his hair -, walked to break his fast, maintaining only the barest appearance of politeness to hide his discomfort and sullenness - mornings didn't get along well with him, but yesterday he had come close to his last one, so he deemed himself lucky after all.

He thereafter took his spellbook, and spent a quarter of an hour readying his magic allotment for the day to come. The family wouldn't ask questions, he thought - Konrad's little lie had made them scholars and explorers, so him reading a book in the morning would not look that suspicious.

He then waited for departure, anxiously cleaning his Fire Staff and crossbow, fiddling with his dagger.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2007-01-26 03:08am

Humming, Soloman went through an almost ritualistic examination of his guns. His magelock, the single barreled The Person in the Forest was never a problem, hardier than a normal man's weapon and simple in design. But his other pistol, the finely crafted and extremely expensive Crossfire was somewhat more tetchy. It's four revolving barrels had to be able to turn. Had to.

As he went about disassembling his gun with practiced, mechanised precision, he looked up at the wizard, then at the spy, each of them distant and busy with their own chores. "You know lad, they strike me as being rather paranoid." Guren paused for a moment "A little bit o' paranoia seems healthy - we are in a dangerous line of wark. I like them well enough, they seem like fine men. I'm jus' worried they might be too paranoid."

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-26 01:05pm

His morning rituals complete, Konrad got ready for departure. It didn't take very long at all, as he was traveling fairly light. He thought that the Ivanovich's would be too polite to accept any payment for their hospitality, but Konrad felt like leaving them something for their trouble. He decided to leave a few coins in a small pouch on the kitchen table along with a small note, even though it was unlikely that they could read.

It said:
Thank you for your gracious hospitality. I'll look forward to returning the favour in the future.
-Konrad

Konrad then asked his companions,
"It's been nice here, but is everyone ready to leave?"

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-26 01:38pm

Arkady sheathed his dagger, slung the strap of his crossbow over his shoulder, and got to his feet with a grunt. "As ready as I can be."

Sycorax landed on the top of his Staff. "I'm ready to go, boss."

"Then get ready to fly, lazy bird!" he grinned. "You've got a path to scout out."

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2007-01-28 12:32pm

Auric had awoken a little later than his companions. That was unusual for him but he chalked it up to the battle and the long march they had already made. That didn't stop him from cursing softly under his breath as he rushed to get himself ready.

He appeared a short time later, gear stowed in his pack, pistol at his side, and his great sword where it might be drawn quickly.

"I'm certainly ready to go."

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-28 12:46pm

The mercenaries then set out for the city. If the Ivonavich's asked about their direction of travel, Konrad could say that they had to go down the road a few miles before heading towards the mythical supply cache. With Sycorax scouting blundering into trouble didn't seem likely, but they were all alert and weary on the march just in case. After they had been walking for awhile, Konrad said to his companions,
"We should probably get a cover story worked out in advance for when we next meet someone. I usually default to high level of operational security whenever I'm talking with others, but I would like it if we could agree on an approach we are all comfortable with. I also got one more matter I'd like to bring up. Do we want to stick together once we get back into town?"

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2007-01-28 03:25pm

"Well, I'd say we drop the cover story altogether," Arkady replied. "I mean, we just look like what we are: a handful of mercenaries. How could we benefit from pretending to be anything else? We were lucky the farmers bought your story."

His gaze swept across the landscape, and finally came back to his companions. "As far as staying together goes, I'd say that we should wait until we reach a city alive to make any long-term decisions. It will obviously depend on employment opportunities, but I am not against keeping on working with any of you should the opportunity arise. We have some experience as sell-swords - or sell-spells, in my case - and I think some people would find some use for a small group of experts. We should get one or two additional members to thicken our ranks, though."

His gaze returned to the landscape. "If we make it that far, though." He thought for a moment: "Let's try to gather some information on this bounty on trolls. We shall then decide if the risks inherent to a troll hunt are worth the reward. The money should help us starting anew when we reach Tverkutsk." He lifted his Fire Staff, stroking it : "I think I can provide some assistance in the matter of troll regeneration," he chuckled.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2007-01-28 04:10pm

"Out here in the wilderness, it's probably not a good idea to advertise our occupation. People can get funny ideas. And it's best not to look for trouble; it's quite good at finding us." Auric said. "Once we're in the cities, we can drop the act. We'll likely be known anyway."

Auric simply walked, scanning the landscape around them. He was far more concerned about the potential for a troll, or trollkin, attack on the party than than matters ahead.

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2007-01-28 04:59pm

"Well, the unlucky survey party has been alright so far as a cover, so we can stick with that if we run into anyone out here. Even a handfull of mercenaries get hired for work of that sort sometimes. When we get back to Tverkutsk we can discuss things over drinks, on me. Until then I'll watch our backs. "
Konrad then fell back and took up the rear guard position as they continued onwards.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2007-01-28 08:41pm

Guren tipped his hat back on his head and kept his hand on the butt of his magelock. With trolls about, it would be best to keep at his sharpest, and he was sharpest with steel on skin. He stepped out a little ways ahead of the others. His swinging boot picked up a loose rock and sent sailling a few yards ahead.