Barlow grinned and swept up his glass, " To the Kings Health and The Health of all Ereworn".

"A few different things have brought me up North," says Leofwyn, thinking and phrasing her next sentence carefully. "I'm looking for something... I'm running from something... But I guess I'm just looking to help others more than either of those 'something's." She smiles and looks around the room at the other people eating and conversing. "It's nice to find so many like-minded people here."

In reply to Mammon o' Greybridge (msg # 43):

"Maybe we can go on some expeditions and fight some evil. It bears much risk but also rewards! For now let us eat before the food gets cold," Lann says.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:38, Mon 28 Oct 2019.

"Well, they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder... so right now I think it the most beautiful part of Ellesland." She pauses and smiles, "The trees, the coast... even the Marsh seems pretty to me now..."

"Though I remember a time when I could not wait to be far from it." Her eyes look down slightly, and her smiles falters a bit before she hastily asks,

"Where do you hail from, sir? This is the furthest I have been North!"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:01, Mon 28 Oct 2019.

Caith does not move, but she is avidly curious now, not fearful, and regards the impression in Dairmund's head with the detached expression of a healer presented with grave wound, yet a surprisingly healthy patient.

"Warhorse..." she murmurs, then looks to Dairmund, and listens in silence, as understanding slowly dawns on her.



Caith smiles, not a gentle one, but the wolfish grin that speaks of nature red in tooth and claw, and nods as she says softly "And that was more merciful a fate than he deserved."



"The countryside is beautiful, aye..." Caith replies warmly, then concludes more politely "As for the city? I am told it is a most civilized place."



Caith looks puzzled by the question as she replies calmly "Myself, my oaths, the Gods, great and small, and folk in need of help." then points towards Brannon and adds "Though of late, yon Hearthwarden, as traveling the land be a most dangerous business for those without comrades in the wilderness."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:46, Mon 28 Oct 2019.

Brannon nods, gravely at this. He regards Diarmuid with great interest. "Aye. Glissom is a dangerous place. Shadows are moving there. It has become hard to know who to trust. For myself, I serve Brigantia and do what I must against the tide of darkness. I fear that the corruption has reached the rulers of our city. It is hard when you can no longer trust your King. Less hard if I knew him corrupt: that would be  a practical difficulty, to be sure, but this uncertainty makes for a moral difficulty. I will disobey any order I believe to be evil: but who do you obey when you don't know who is clean and who in league with the evil? Lies and half truths abound - and no one knows who to believe. I cling to my Goddess, then, as the one I can be truly sure of in dark times. But it sounds like you have already faced great darkness, Diarmuid - and lived to tell the tale. I would hear more of your dealings with the old Duke and Rimfax. There may be lessons for us there..."

"Your story could be my life. I wonder how many of us travellers are running from something. Are we all convicts of the road, I wonder? Well here's to home and may we find peace there some time." Raising his glass to Leaf.

Out of the corner of his eye Deise spots The Boar engaging in what seems like heated conversation with The Hearthwarden and the witch. Eager to know more, but cautious not to intervene he leaves Leaf to pass the conversation on the way to speak to the Barlow and Drummond.
"Gents, I am Deise out of Cornumbria. Seem's as though good King Corbin is attracting a busier court than this old
place has seen for many a year. Pleased to make your aquiantence."
Offering a hand to each in turn.
M
This message was last edited by the player at 10:31, Mon 28 Oct 2019.

Diarmuids great head swung across to regard Brannon, his lip curled a little but he seemed satisfied after a few moments.

" Not for Diarmuid. I always know who to believe...it is why I follow Corbin."

" Rimfax is gone. Darian gone."

" I did not meet your King, he was in seclusion contemplating the sacred fire.  I met your Steward....him I do not trust."

" Corruption....power-lust.....stupidity....but the Boar is not a Man and it does not understand politics...."

" Perhaps these are common things among politicians...."

" What do you want from Corbin? Do not lie."

"My plans for the future... nothing firm comes to mind. I left home primarily to find out more about the world and myself and to earn some money - my father is a cripple, and supporting my family falls to me - we hold some small lands from our Lord, when we grow some crops and we keep bees as well - the original reason my father took that symbol. Balance? Yes, I think I agree with that - you take too much from land, you don't manage things carefully, in the long run you do much more harm than good. But, I suppose if I have any plans - it's to use what I've been taught, which honestly is mostly strengths of arms, to try and do good for others as well as for myself. I am a Knight - my calling is to serve in the way a Knight serves. Perhaps to find somebody who will accept me in their service in that role."

Brannon nods, thoughtfully. "Aye - it has always been so these last few years, and that's what troubles me. The King has not been seen, the Steward who claims to rule in his place is untrustworthy. Innocents have been slain, of that I am sure. But I have no proof - and must labour upon suspicion alone. It makes me uneasy."



"I fear that they are." Brannon sighs, rather whistfully. "For myself, I would sooner root through tomes or the ancient ruins of the Selentines and learn of history. But politics cannot be avoided. Unfortunately, wherever people meet the truth gets contested. As long as one man can line his pockets at another's expense."



Brannon mulls this over, and answers earnestly: "In truth, I wanted mostly to see him with my own eyes. We have had many troubles on the border, many fleeing into Glissom, with dark tales of the new King. Of course, they were all followers of the old Duke - hardly the sort to speak highly of those who overthrew him. The question in my mind was whether he had been overthrown by an equal or greater tyrant. From what we have heard and seen here, my fears were unfounded. But also... I want information, I suppose - anything about what is afoot in Glissom. And aid I suppose - if the King were unseated by a pretender. A mere war for the throne would be bloody, and unpleasant, but nothing new. But when worshippers of darkness and plague priests stalk the land, I feel it is no mere tussle between ambitious nobles that we face, but a battle for the whole of Glissom. Perhaps the whole of Ellesland..."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 08:46, Tue 29 Oct 2019.

"I was born in the Glen of Cernach, in the Gliss highlands of the Pagan Mountains.  I have spent all of my life as a hunter, mostly of game, but recently of men.  My beliefs of natural order and balance have been shaken by Dark Priests, Bestial Marauders, and Daemonic evil.  It is time for everyone to stand for what they believe in, by feats of arms and heroic deeds, to restore the land."

" Expeditions? Fight Evil? Rewards?", Mammon says almost to herself then continues eating.

Barlow swung about, dragging his eyes away from Usopi then blinking in surprise and looking down,

" Barlow Greencap at your service, Deise of Cornumbria.  And I yours!  This foul smelling curmudgeon is Drummond, he's likely to stab me at some point soon but I feel it a fair chance he won't do so before the King."

Diarmud made a contented rumbling sound in his chest and stood back to his full height turning to look at Cene and Corbin who stopped their conversation.

Cene grinned and moved quickly away from Corbin and began walking quickly towards the other end of the table.

Corbin stood up and rested a hand on the table then his voice rang out once more.

" HEAR ME, FRIENDS!"

" Please...continue to eat and drink your fill!  But I have a request to make that I hope will sit well with all of you."

" There is more to be said by some of you and words already spoken support the trusted words I heard last year."

" But first!"

" Hearthwarden Darrow! I will speak with you now."

Brannon inclines his head, respectfully. "Of course, your Highness."

OOC: not sure about the courtly forms here - Brannon's trying to be respectful, not sarcastic!
This message was last edited by the player at 06:36, Wed 30 Oct 2019.

Cenes mouth creased a little as Brannon used the wrong honorific but Corbin himself didn't seem to notice or, more likely, didn't care enough about courtly procedures to worry about it.

Corbin swept down the table and gathered an arm around Brannons shoulders and guided him over towards the windows, " Bring your drink!"

" Now!  Going off what my dear friends have told me I have an interest...and I feel responsible that your hillfolk have suffered as Ereworn has prospered.  Speak plainly, and then I will tell you my request."

In reply to Barlow Greencap (msg # 57):

"Well Barlow Greencap, Drummond dont smell half as bad I did this morning, but a day in a crypt with clay and old bones, I'll do that to a man, eh.Where you from lad? Are you running from something like the rest of us?

For a moment, Brannon's composure drops a fraction as he see's Cene's reaction and realises he is in error. The curses himself inwardly, but he knows better than to dwell on it. At the King's invitation he takes his cup and accompanies him.



"Thank you, Your Majesty." Brannon replies, correcting the honorific. "I have much to say, so please bear with me. I have said that all is not well in Glissom - and it is true. But the Waidwoes and the Duke's old followers crossing the border are not the greatest threat we face. The plague priests create problems... but I fear that our greatest enemy is already within Glissom. Not merely within the nation, but within the city - perhaps, even, at the very heart of our court. To the North, in the Mountains of Brack - we have found Priests of Darkness, and evidence of the worship of the dark god Balor. The mighty Clann Cernach was accused of worshipping that fiend, accused of treason against the crown, and destroyed - their lands and property given to other Clanns." He frowns. "Your companion claims he can scent the truth. All the better: he can testify, then, that what I am about to tell you is true. I will swear upon the undying love of my Goddess that what I am about to say is the truth." He grasps the holy symbol about his neck as he speaks these words - it clearly means a great deal to him - and continues to hold it as he speaks.

"I know for a fact that Clann Cernach were falsely accused. Aye, they were always one of the most stringent enemies of Balor and his minions. I know them well - I have travelled with them, fought with them, studied with them. If the rot had set in there, I would have known. Nor was the false accusation any accident - it was orchestrated. Nebulous and circumstantial evidence, at best, yet taken as enough grounds to wipe out an entire Clann. Men, women, children - all: even if there had been real evidence, the punishment meted out was beyond anything that might be considered justice."

Brannon's knuckles have whitened, as he grasps his holy symbol - he is clearly agitated at the thought of what has happened. "This was not justice! It was the surgical removal of a rival. At best, it was dirty politics, corrupt men lining their pockets at others' expense... but I fear that it was much more. The darkness in Glissom grows unchecked, and the Temple of Flame does nothing. The King secludes himself in his chambers, and only the Steward is seen. And the Steward does nothing! I cannot tell if it is he who is corrupt, or if he is merely ignorant and self serving, but I do not trust him."

He calms himself. "I told you that I had been sent to investigate the darkness on our borders... and so I have, but not by the Temple. I will tell you the truth, though it would land my head in a noose back in Glissom City. I dislike deception, but I no longer know who I can trust. Nevertheless, you seem honest: your people speak well of you, you have confronted darkness, you have shown justice in how you distribute the treasures we returned. I will trust you."

He draws a breath, then declares: "The wronged Clann Cernach yet live. They are few in number, true, but some survived the massacre of their peoples. Their Hearthfather Colm Cernach yet lives, and would see the Clann restored, and the darkness threatening Glissom driven back. I have fought with this man. I have studied with him: I have stood by him as we stared into the abyss of the Darkness Elementalists, and he has fought them at every turn. I know of no one more dedicated to the opposition of Balor. I have therefore declared myself for this wronged Clann.  It was Hearthfather Cernach who sent me out - to right the wrongs that the Steward and the King and the Temple will not. To serve our Goddess where others forget, or close their eyes. To draw allies against the Darkness of Balor. May the Red Fern Unfurl!"

He pauses, and looks at the King. "I know we ask much of you. To side with a slighted Clann, against a nebulous enemy. And I cannot say precisely what we will have to ask of you, because I do not know where this journey will take us: how much we will fight men and how much we will fight demons. But I fear that what is happening in Glissom will not stay tidily within its borders. Balor will doom the world, just as surely as Fengris. Indeed, I fear that Rimfax, that Fengris... that this is connected. I do not know the wills of the Gods, or their machinations. But your friend here claims to be able to scent the truth - then he must know that I speak true! I ask, on behalf of Clann Cernach - will you stand with us agains the Darkness? And aye, the Clann is loyal to her allies. I pledge that if you will aid us, and your cause be true, we will put everything at our disposal to aid you."

Brannon sighs. There - the cards are on the table. He has said enough to have himself returned to Glissom in chains to face the noose, or the headsman. Enough to jeapordise everything the Hearthfather has worked for - perhaps the whole future of Glissom. It is quite a gamble. Please, Hearthmother... let me not have misread these people...
This message was last edited by the player at 09:13, Wed 30 Oct 2019.

Caith looks ever so slightly relieved at Dairmund's apparently positive response to Brannon's explanation of a sinister set of facts, but little proof to be drawn from them.

She listens, silently intent on following the thread in this tangle of uneasy speculation that ties to the one she holds most responsible of crimes too numerous to list.

A grin of amused agreement at Dairmund's comment on politics and politicians crosses her face briefly before her expression falls back into quiet intensity.



The hedgewitch's gaze flicks to the Hearthwarden face for a moment, less in warning, and more in reassurance.



Caith looks bleak faced at the prospect, and would speak, but stays quiet as the King makes his own pronouncement.

She looks Brannon and says "Ye need me for the moment, Hearthwarden? Nay far away if ye do." then to Dairmund as she says quietly "There is something well beyond mere greed at work in Glissom, aye that much I am sure of." then shrugs as she adds in absolute certainty "I trust in the Hearthwarden's wisdom to track them to their lair."

"Ye still up for a drink?" she asks Dairmund, and offers "There is someone I would like ye to meet. A good man in the wild..."

Despite her amiable air, she watches the discussion by the windows in flickered glances, but holding her wariness in check.

Caith's ear prick up as a certain cadence in the discussion reaches them, and hopes she has been as wise in her trust as she has been in her silence.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:42, Wed 30 Oct 2019.

" Oh, here and there. Running to something perhaps? Always on the look for greener pastures."

" Its nice here...smells better than Clyster and Ongus."

In reply to Barlow Greencap (msg # 64):
"Spent some time in Ongus, never been to Clyster though. Anyway good it is to meet you. I suspect we will all be spending much time in each and others company. Theres a lot of work in this land for the likes of us"

Diarmuid looked at her carefully then nodded, he whistled loudly and Cene came over.

Diarmuid handed Cene a goblet of wine and lifted his own ale mug.

" Lead on, Herbwitch."

King Corbin looked at him carefully, " Ereworn has signed a number of trade agreements and understandings with the Steward."

" My good friend however knows that you believe what you believe is true."

" To this end I would like to attach to your band a fact finding group, so it cannot be said that Ereworn did not do her due diligence."

" I also have another.....condition?....request? I am sending a group to the source of the River Ereworn to seek out one of Darians secret research projects. I cannot risk another source of infection boiling up."

" I have a team. A killer, an expert in eldritch threats and someone with a very light touch.....but I need a bridge. Someone who is all three?"

Brannon breathes a sigh of relief. "I can ask for no more. And I emphasise that I can say nothing for sure about who is behind Glissom's woes - the Steward may yet be an innocent party. I welcome your proposal, and would give you this." He takes from his pocket one of the Cernach Necklaces Colm has given this. "A token of friendship from Clann Cernach. We seek only to right what is wrong, and ensure that those truly loyal to Durindar and Glissom are in power."



Brannon muses for a moment, then glances back briefly towards Lann. "A reasonable request, and I think we have the very man. Our bard, Lann, is a gifted warrior-mage, and light enough on his feet when the need arises. He has studied the arts of war and the arcane, and is curious enough to take an interest in such projects. "