Tbp
This message was last edited by the player at 13:57, Wed 01 Aug 2018.

Haakon smiles and nods, cutting strings for each measurement and placing them in a pouch temporarily marked, Lady Swift.  He thinks a while and shows her a swatch of colour.



"This is the softest green I have, Lady," he says.

OOC Aaargh how do I DO that?
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:09, Wed 01 Aug 2018.

Matisco is the southernmost point on the Saone-Rhone river system currently controlled by Burgundy.  Between Matisco and Visigoth land is a strip of virtual “no man’s land” with only a small trading post set in a ruined riverside town- Ludna, which splits the two day journey into two manageable one day journeys, with the trading post in the middle.  Not a coincidence.

But it does mean Matisco is the “last friendly port” for anything the party might need or want.  Not so very long ago, it was a hub for slave traders, a business that the Burgundians overlooked as long as it didn’t involve Burgundians.  But here and there, some people took issue with that, and Burgundy, including Matisco, is no longer tolerant of the slavers.  Since Burgundy is directly on top of the key north-south transport links, this has greatly disrupted the slave trade, though rumors persist, it has not ended it.

It isn’t here, though.   The old slave market is being rebuilt by a crew of Dwarves, setting new stone and erasing its past.

Merchants traveling south to the Visigoth lands have figured out, long ago, that there is safety in numbers.  More of them means less of a chance of being singled out for particular interest, such as a shakedown for extra fees, which often happens.  It also means more resources for dealing with the other dangers along the river, because although the Visigoths control the towns, their hold over the land and water between is very iffy.  Often, merchants traveling south with nonperishable goods will wait in Matisco until they think they have “enough” and then travel in a convoy.

So it is that two other boats want to join the party.  One belongs to a collier, a coal merchant, who sells the valuable black fuel-rock mined in Lucimburic (a place Swift and Haakon know well, for it is the home of the Were-folk).  The other has a boat load of cloth:  wool houses of Belgica, linen from Gaul, and some fine, silvery Elven fabric.  Both are human, whole families traveling together on the “family business”.

Haakon, naturallly, looks through the fabric, buying the best he can in quantities he can transport.  He needs to meet the needs of the ladies of Massilia for decent clothing in lovely colours and so that is precisely what he will do.  After all, a fashion guru is always the sort of place where ladies and gentlemen may talk.  Especially a coutourier who speaks constantly of fashion issues and yet listens carefully but never seems to repeat any other matters that may be discussed.

Einar likewise took some time to greet and discuss business with the riverside proprietors. He perused the goods on hand and tried to glean some insight into the business atmosphere that awaits them further south.

Nursing a pipe, he looks out over the river and the other vessels as he talks, enjoying the chance to stand on solid land and to mingle with the other crew members with which he had yet to be aquainted.

The merchant with the coal boat is a burly, unkempt looking man.  He feels left out, with all the fuss over the other goods, and not much interest in his.  It's not the prospect of losing a sale- he was on his way south, and he new there'd be people to buy this, because coals were the best for working iron.  Better than wood.

His complaints were more in jest.  "Oh yes, gawk at his fancy linens, make some underpants and things.  Don't get your hands dirty with good, solid coal!"

As for the cloth merchant, he is skeptical about selling his stock here.  Very skeptical.  Being a crafty merchant, and on his way to Massilia himself, he knows that the only reason Haakon and Einar would want his goods would be if they expected to get a more for them there than they paid here.  In which case, why would he sell here?

The merchants of Europa, Titus and Einar included, know that the best things to buy are either local goods, or goods that a merchant does not intend to bring further.

The local goods of Matisco include wine, beef, leather, and a Burgundian herbal condiment fast rising in popularity: mustard.  Between here and Divio to the north, there are shops with tables stacked high with jars of the stuff.  South of here, you will not find it.

Swift looks at the fabric "Oh, that would be wonderful. Just remember, it can not bind my limbs so I can move freely if I need to protect someone. I guess you can't make it with hidden sheath for my short sword, maybe I can hide some daggers on me." she says with a smile.

She looks at the coal merchant "I have gotten dirty plenty of times, I am a scout and hunter, I have killed a lot of things in the war and skinned some of them. What to know what my boots are made from?" she says with an evil smile.

Haakon grins at the cloth Merchant.  "I offered more than a fair price," he says, "But I can understand why you might be suspicious.  Very well, carry it to Massilia for me, and when we arrive, I will offer less.  Remember that I am not a cloth merchant and what I aim to sell in Massilia is clothing, not cloth so I will profit whether I buy here at a grossly inflated price, or in Massilia at the market price."


*******

Haakon nods as he considers the outfit he will make for Swift.  It will be a half-culotte with a rather risque slit exposing one leg, and thus preventing the clothing from binding her limbs.  This will allow a hidden pouch in which a shortsword and scabbard can be hidden.  The blouse will also allow several daggers to be hidden and easily accessible.  He makes a drawing and agrees it will take only three days to make since she is his first customer.

The cloth merchant easily evades Haakon's attempts.  He is a skilled merchant too, and hasn't been wasting his time fighting Orcs and things.  And every now and then, he looks towards his wife- making a bad deal will earn her ire, which he does not want.

But Haakon's efforts are not wasted.  This man has been to Massilia before, and in talking, Haakon learns a few things.  Knowledge is always useful.

He cautions Haakon against acting like Massilia is just like Matisco, and trying to make informal deals at the dock.  The Visigoths there are pre-occupied with collecting taxes, and want every transaction to be in its right place, so it can be watched, recorded, and taxed.

"You'd think a bunch of savages wouldn't have such a regard for systems... and some don't, I've seen Orcs who think it's all a big joke and are willing to walk away and pretend they didn't see you for a few coins.  Roxious Glorge, who is supposed to be enforcing the law in the Women's Market, to him the job is an insult.  So Roxious and his clerks just pocket money and fill out whatever they want in their books.  Orcs, with ledger books, right?  Harridog isn't going to come down there and check himself, right?  And that's where you have to be if you want to make dresses to order.  They might break the rules and take bribes, but they can't hide what's too easy to see.  Slaves are sold in the Slave Market, Animals in the Animal Market, Spices in the Spice Market, and if you want to sell made to order dresses the only place you can have a shop or a booth is in the Women's Market.   Massilia is no market fair!"

The two merchants with their cargoes aren't doing any selling here, either.  They are in this for the journey south.

But again, there are local goods for sale.
Tanned hides are only 1GP each.  Jars of Mustard, only 3 SP for a 1 pound jar.  Both of these items can be sold in Massilia.

Haakon checks out the best of the tanned hides.  If there are some he can use to augment his dresses, or even to make shoes, then he will buy a couple, maybe even three.  If they're not that good.  Why then he'll use some of the hides he already has.

Meanwhile, Swift talks to the coal hauler, and there is a hint of mutual recognition.


 The wereboar is quickly convinced that since Swift is neither a buyer nor a seller of coal, or anything else he wants to trade in, there is no point to talking to her, and quickly finds a reason to be doing something else, muttering "I'm a collier, not a bootmaker.  What are boots made of... grumble grumble.. made of boot stuff, like all boots..."

Swift just grins. So these merchants have no sense of humor either. She will go up to the front of the ship to see where they are going, watching around. The scout in her always seems to what to know where they are and where they are going. She does hate being on the water, it gives her so few options as to were to go.

Mystal divided her time on this voyage; bow riding, in the crows nest chatting to seagulls or wetting down the sails with sea spray she entices to drift across the vast canvas sheets.

They never intended to stay longer in Matisco than they had to, since the trading was intended only as a cover for Burgundian/Gallic scheming.  They soon pull away from the city's stone riverside wharf, now with company.

The Surf Sprite will have to wait for sea spray and gulls, as they are still on the Saone River.  Plenty of ducks, though.

South of Matisco, for two days travel the river belongs to no one- they enter the area held by the Visigoths at Lugdunum.

At Lugdunum, the Saone joins the Rhone.  The enlarged Rhone river, from this point south, is usable by much larger vessels.

Here, also, the Visigoths start shaking down the merchants.  It's a tough call for them- how much can they demand without shutting down trade completely?  It is a call even the smarter Orcs are ill equipped to make, and many of them make little extra demands to speed things along.

At Lugdunum, the level of corruption in Visigoth society is clear.  There's no system for tracking what's in each boat, and what each merchant should be charged.  The old Roman system worked on quantities of various types of goods, but that has fallen apart.  It's very easy for an Orc to give out one "official" price, and then mention that another price might move them along faster.

Having Massilia documents helps.  The Orcs here are smart enough to know that the more they take, the less the Overtyrant in Massilia can take.  And that can make the Overtyrant mad.

The party also learns a key fact here:  The Visigoths along the Rhone, at least, their chieftains, are supporters of the Harridog the Overtyrant.  They have to be, because Massilia controls trade up the Rhone, which they depend on.

On the other hand, they are friendly to the new, young Half Orc Visigoth king Amalric.

But... Harridog does not support Amalric.  Visigoth politics can be complex, and the Orcs often violate the "enemy of my enemy" system.  It is clear that anything that weakens Harridog benefits Amalric, and causes the Orcs here to consider their positions with care.

Titus handles the details, and passes coin after coin to Visigoth tax collectors.

Some merchants get leaned on harder than others.  Coal transporters, it is assumed, are not wealthy- they pay with portions of their load.  A nip here, a bite there, it adds up.  The Collier will be lucky to have paid out a quarter of his load by the time he delivers in Massilia.

Titus advises strongly against tarrying in any of the river ports here, interesting though they may be.  Massilia is days away, and any "exploring" beforehand can only lead to complications.

"So?" asks Haakon mischievously of a coal merchant.  "Is it true that diamonds are made from coal? Or is that just a rumour put out by bards to raise the price?"

Swift stands back and just watch's, these are true thieves and its legal, what a racket. She tries listening in  to the wheeling and dealing as much as possible. She will glare at any orcs that get fresh.

The collier explains something about coal.  He is a little amused, but not very.  He simply thinks that Haakon, like so many others, is ignorant about the realities of coal mining.

It turns out, according to his explanation, that diamonds are not made from coal.  Everyone knows that gems are made through the magic of the nymphs that reside in the deep earth.  Semiprecious stones, on the other hand...

There is one that is found in coal, and it is as black as the blackest coal, so very black that its name has come to mean "very, very black".  Jet.


It is found in the coal beds by lucky miners, and unlike most coal it can be given a high polish, though it is not translucent or gleaming like a gem.  Still, people with an affinity for black love the stuff.  Most of it actually gets sold in the Orc occupied areas, because its very fashionable for evil shamans, necromancers, and evil wizards.

Obviously, when the gods were making the Earth and got up to the installation of the coal seams, here and there they squeezed a little too hard and lo, there was jet.

Haakon nods and grins. "Meanwhile gold grows on river beds."  He winks.  "Especially in the sand at the bottom.That is why the snows of Kyiv shine so brightly and so yellow."  He never so much as glances at the orcs while he is speaking, but he is listening just as intensely as the most rapt audience member for an Orcish play of such a thing existed.

"A black diamond would be nice. I would settle for any diamond though." she says with a smile.

South from Lugdunum they are in land that at first doesn’t seem so different, but soon they realize, compared to further north, civilization had fallen from a greater height.

In one day on the river they reach the city once known as Colonia Julia Viennensis- but longer names are falling out of fashion, since the fall of the Empire it has just been Vienna.  It had a reputation as a great center of drama and music.  Bacchus was the patron god, suitable for a land made profitable by wine.  The wine here is well known- the producers employ a Celtic innovation, the oak barrel, which imparts a very different taste to the fermenting wine than the clay vessels of the Romans.  It’s much in demand by those searching for something different.

But the city is a shattered remnant.  Most of it is abandoned, theaters lie in ruins.  It was never a warrior city, never built as a fortress, and after the last great battle here, just 14 years ago between the Visigoths and Gundobad’s Burgundians leading a desperate Imperial Roman remnant, the city has yet to recover.

While the wine of the region is valuable, it is also closer to Massilia, and the traders who come here have set up “arrangements” with local vineyards.  The merchants here are quick to realize that.  Just passing through, they cannot hope to compete with better offers, or even equivalent offers.  Such things take an investment in time they cannot afford.

So they continue.  They pass a series of smaller towns, Figlinae, Ursalis, Tegna , and others that lie in ruins.  This was an agricultural heartland.  The coming of the Visigoths has cleared the rural population.  Humans live in the cities and smaller strongholds now, not on scattered farms, and dozens of those are abandoned along the river.  No Orcs, though- they really have no reason to be here.  Their armies in the larger cities enforce their rule.

At Valentia, the Rhone joins with the River Isara, and the river valley becomes much wider.  The Isara river comes down from its source in the Alps Mountains to the east.   That’s where the Savoy Elves have a city, Cularo.  There’s no trade up the Isara. First, it’s too shallow, swift, and variable for any but the smallest boats.  Second, the land between  Valentia and the Elves is a war zone.  Elves and Orcs of any kind have always been hostile, and it looks like things have become intense, recently.   The party can see the ashes of fresh Orc funeral pyres, six heaps in a row.  Here, there are Orcs, and they look much more alert and concerned than the ones at Lugdunum did.

Einar lingered at the railing, watching the cities drift by as they moved ever southwards. With his cloak pulled about him and his hood down, the sun played upon his fair hair and reddened his pale skin to a faint pink.

Apart from purchasing a quantity of mustard at their first stop, his desire to visit the shore and the towns they passed waned with every dock they passed. He had come this way en route to the Kings summons of course, but in the mixed company of the these more squat craft it seemed...different.

He wondered more about what had been, and what may be again. Would these cities ever recover? Would some cunning people eject the Orcs from where they hunched over their prizes or would the trend continue...the goths ever breeding, ever spreading, until all the world looked as such?

"They call you Swift?" he asked the woman as he attempted to strike up conversation. "Is that a given name...or?..." he asked, trailing off.

She grins at Einar as she stands by the rail, also leaning against it. "Just a nick name, I have always gone by it. I can move pretty quickly if I need too, comes in handy as a scout. Its one reason I dislike boats. I can't control where I go, I am stuck here" she says as she watches the coast line.

More days, more riverside towns, strung out like pearls along the Rhone.   Many are damaged, they have the look of struggling, desperate places.  Avenio was the scene of a great battle between Ostrogoths and Visigoths six years ago- no battle is as chaotic and violent as one featuring Orcs on both sides.

Then they reach Arelate.

Arelate is the southernmost important city on the Rhone river.  It was a provincial capital, a purpose for which it is no longer needed.    Taken by the Visigoths in 471, it has shrunk, as the Visigoths found the city wealthy, but couldn’t really understand what they city was for.  Now, abandoned government buildings stand like tombs.  It still as the “best of everything”, though- theaters, a gigantic “circus”, luxurious baths, all better than those in Massilia.

But economically, it’s not Massilia.  Without the bureaucracy of the Empire to pour money into the city, it has not been prosperous.  Most merchants pass it by, despite the wonders within.

South of Arelate the landscape changes.  The Rhone is no longer in a valley, instead, it flows across a marshy plain, known for flocks of flamingos.  The river splits into a delta, but the Romans thoughtfully provided a relatively straight, easy short cut.

The very last leg of the trip is the roughest, as the little boats contend with ocean, on the short stretch of coast between the mouth of the river, and Massilia.  But even when far from the city you can see the famous lighthouse tower, the Pharo.

Arelate Circus:  (Massilia doesn't have one of these!)
http://jeanclaudegolvin.com/wp...cirque-jc-golvin.jpg
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:43, Mon 13 Aug 2018.

OOC: So sorry for this much delayed appearance. Hopefully work-related matters will stop getting in the way!

Titus has been present and friendly, but distracted. He had done what is needed of him, but it obvious that this voyage has him on edge in a way. At some point, though, he seems to break through whatever is distracting him and begins to interact. Seeing Einar and Swift speaking he wanders over, "From what I recall, the Lady's name not only refers to her movement, but her mind.

"Her physical grace and speed are matched by a mentality that gives us a definite advantage in this mission."

[This is a post somewhat out of time and is subject to change.]

At Matisco, a relatively young woman, but a seasoned fighter by her looks, scars, and sword,— showing a pinned coat-of-arms (Shield with red surrounding blue with a single yellow fleur-de-lis centered and the middle frond holding an upright white dagger) of Princess Gondioque Bourgogne, supervises the lading of cargo and personal goods. The cargo has the seal of King Gundobad; the personal goods, the seal of the Princess. Anybody interested can find out that the cargo comprises honey-coated hams, mustards (honey, grape, fire (brown)—all select rather than common), and rare vintage wines. They are for her table in Massilla and for gifts to whom she wishes as part of her diplomatic activities. As all is in place Gondioque and her personal maid arrive escorted by Lord Gogovorn and his wife Marissa [made-up name] with their children and retinue. The two board after the formal leavetaking, which includes Marissa curtsying, Godovorn kissing the Princess’ hand, and hugs between Gondioque (who still is in her teens) and the children.

She warmly greets her on-board attendant and approves the lading with pleasure. Observant pesons will see that she bears a ring with her seal and that she is dressed in well-made traveling gear. Her belt is uknusual in that the buckle is also a sheath for a dagger with the handle to the right.

Once the boat is underway, she becomes as one of the passengers, approachable and friendly.

When she meets Visigoth officials as the ship moves south, she shows her diplomatic bona fides. If necessary, she will state that that she’s on diplomatic business and show her writ. Further, whe will take names and descriptions of the officials’ behavior and make report.