Adoven says "Candlemere....is that the island with the abandoned, haunted keep? That was a chilling adventure, let me tell you. Perhaps some day I'll write a ballad about it, if I can ever get my muse to marry me. I've been stuck in a mental rut ever since her last refusal."

"Ahh.  Chain Ferry.  It is literally a chain ferry.  Normally we just tie up on the bank for the night and exchange greetings on the way past,  But I am sure they will let you aboard, if you want to visit.  They might charge you the fare though ...."  Helga responds, glancing across at Magatha.

"Oh," Zelona said, she sounded disappointed that the chain ferry was just a ferry. "I'd thought it would be something more interesting than just an actual ferry."

"You've been to the island in the Candlemere Adoven? What was chilling about it? Do tell!"

The fire crackles quietly.

Adoven settles into the story. "First, I must say that the keep is far inland. You must cut your way through the undergrowth to reach the keep. Just seeing the place fills one with foreboding. Necromantic energies are bound into the keep itself, and it would take a major religious cleansing to free the spirits bound there. The first thing we found were a Dire bat and stirges, twisted by the dark energies of the place. We were set upon by Will 'o the Wisps and undead. Within the walls of the keep itself, we found rich furnishings long since succumbing to the decay of time. And a ghostly woman dancing amid the hallways. The sight of the spectre caused several to flee, although I managed to put her soul at rest temporarily with soothing music. The darkness inside was so powerful, and still mostly unexplored. I wished to press on, but too many of our company had been unnerved by what they had experienced. One day I will return to cleanse the place and set the souls trapped there free. There was something so sad about the dancing woman, I...I need to help her find peace."

Adoven breaks off to look at Captain Helga. "Tell me, Captain. Are we likely to have trouble with pirates along the Lesser Sellen? Given the Five rules of the River Kingdons, piracy may be a way of life for some along the rivers."

Helga's face contorts into her strangely unnerving smile for a moment, "We aren't." she says emphasizing the 'we'.  "No one puts anything of value on a Shallop, so it isn't worth the risk.  There have been reports of Lizard Folk boardings a bit lower down, but I haven't been involved in any of those," she adds with a shrug.

OOC:  I had forgotten how much fun it can be to write for a character with -ve Cha Modifier,  Diplomacy and Bluff.  But a high Intimidate  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 10:49, Tue 28 Apr 2020.

"Hmm," Zelona said as Adovan told her of the island. "That sounds like some bad stuff going on on that island. What kind of undead did you encounter? Zombies? Was the woman actually a ghost or something else? We should bring...hmm Dara or Alisa and go back there. We can't have an undead infested island tower in the middle of one of our lakes. Plus it could be a great outpost on the southern edge of Midmarch to defend against attacks coming up the river towards us."

"Were people scared of the potential of the ghostly woman or did they actually suffer from the effects of a ghost? I've heard they can age people and such?"

She looked at Helga, "A pirate would find us a spiny morsel if they tried to bite down on us."

In reply to Zelona (msg # 23):

Adoven says "the ghostly woman exuded a Fear effect. I suspect it was a Haunt. Where she danced, the place had three long wall hangings. The central hanging depicted a dark grey tree man with long thin branches that appeared to end in sharply pointed twigs and an angry face.  Another depicted a twisted octopus-like creature with twelve tentacles, sewn in a dark purple thread. The third had a black dragon with two heads and three tails.  All three were faded and stained with a rust brown mold. Outside, we encountered swarms of stirges, the two Will 'o Wisps, and a Direbat ghoul. "

"Yes... definitely sounds like a place we should clear and inhabit. We'll need some good strong divine magic if there are undead. I mean I'm strong with nature magics, but not really against unquiet spirits and the like."

She furrowed her brow, "how much work do you think it would take to get it back into shape? I wonder if Lord Henry would invest in southern defenses like that or if he'd look to one of us to do so..."

Next morning you get the chance to see the Tower for yourselves, although it doesn’t look too threatening in the light of day.  However, you can clearly see the overgrown briars that you need to hack through to get anywhere near the tower, and flock of crows circling eerily above it.

Even so, Helga keeps a goodly distance from the island and from the swamps that she says are inhabited by Lizard Folks.  According to Helga the Lizard folks live around the mouth of the Murque River, a slow flowing and shallow river which leads though the swamps and into the Narlemarch.

Then it is out of the lake and into the Shrike River.  14 or 15 miles down stream, the shrike merges with the Little Sellen river, and the pair continue on their way, as one larger river, deep into the River Kingdoms and beyond.  At their confluence right in the middle of the stream, equidistant from all three banks -  is the chain ferry.

It appears to be there is a sizable raft – built up at one end with a ramshackle series of mismatched cabins and decks - make a home for the residential crew. Passengers and livestock travel on the flat bed of the Ferry/Raft Right at the top is a roof garden - with plants in baskets and troughs overflowing down towards the water. There are even sconces to hold night-time torches, and it looks like it can be lit up like a Christmas tree if its occupants choose. An everlasting torch burns like a beacon from the top-most deck.   Aboard the ferry you can see half-a-dozen Halflings tending to the plants, clambering across the structures or just fishing from the sides of the raft.
On the upper decks are four Large Heavy crossbows, which have seats and are mounted on gimbals.

”They are repeating crossbows.” Helga says as you glance towards the strange vessesl, And, Jaig tells me, they have exploding bolts for them ….”

OOC:  The group 0 map will help you work out where you  are.  From here on in, you will be off the map!

"See? It is just as I told you." Magatha informed Cass. "A flat bottomed ferry attached to a large guide chain. A gnomish invention, that. It allows the vessel to travel back up river nearly as easy as it does floating down the river. And secures it during churning waters during storms and such. No sails needed nor too intense of a crew."

"Jaig, that's the captain, she charges a gold piece per head for this convenience of conveyance. Maybe the same for mounts and such. Excessive cargo too, most likely. You can try to haggle with her a bit, but it just gets time consuming."

Cass listened, leaning forward to get a good look at the contraption. He was especially interested in the repeating crossbows that it bore for defenses. "Exploding bolts, you say? I would like to learn more about how that works."

"Interesting contraption," Zelona said as they came on the chain ferry.

She looked at Cass, "were you coming on this to see the chain ferry? Thinking of something similar up in Midmarch at some point or points on the rivers?"

OOC: we're in Hex 25 on the group 0 map at the merge point of the two rivers... just to help based on your OOC2 thread comment ;)

In reply to Cass Mordane (msg # 28):

Adoven says "if I understand the concept, an alchemist puts a contained substance like Alchemist's fire in a ceramic bulb at the tip. Upon impact, the ceramic breaks and exposes the concoction to air, which makes the volatile liquid expand into a fireball. That, or a Master Alchemist or Magus 'charges' the bolts with arcane energy that releases on contact."

“I may have seen this configuration, once before, during my early days in Midmarch.” Cass admitted. “But if so, it had completely slipped my mind. I am not sure it would provide as useful along the rivers of Midmarch as here. I usually leave such developments to the experts at V&A Shipping.”

Cass thought that this might be a good time to explain his reasons for coming along on this mission. Once his companions were informed about his intentions, they might be able to assist him in taking the appropriate actions to fulfill his intentions to the best of his abilities. “I believe you could consider my motives mainly political in nature. I perceive the River Kingdoms as a threat to the growth and perhaps even continuance of Midmarch. As such, my hope is to provide Midmarch with as many footholds in the area as possible to neutralize any such threats.”

Cass nodded along as Adoven explained. “I see. It sounds as if it might be a rather expensive strategy, but one that could prove supremely effective. Maybe I will consider something along those lines for my own troops as they are organized.” After saying so, Cass continued on with the flow of the other discussion. “I believe that it is in the best interests of Midmarch to see V&A Shipping expand into the area of the River Kingdoms and to do so as heavily and as quickly as possible. And every other interest in Midmarch, business or otherwise. Jovvox in particular could be a most strategic location, and if Midmarch might gain a contract with the gnomes of that city to supply arms to the troops of Midmarch, then a large obstacle to military success might have been overcome”

“Andalon’s words about the differences of ideology between Midmarch and the River Kingdoms are paramount. Unless we are able to show our strength upfront, then every opportunist that can crawl out of the River Kingdoms will try to better his part in life at the expense of Midmarch and its people. It may only be a matter of time before the exiled Aldori swordlords decide to use our little burgeoning nation as a springboard to their return and dominance of Brevoy.”
This message was last edited by the player at 00:06, Sun 23 Feb 2020.

Zelona listened to Cass talk about his motivations for coming on this trip politely, nodding at points. "That all makes sense."

"All the more reason for us to secure the Candlemere if you have concerns about our southern neighbors. Nothing is better for defense than a keep on an island! It would be useful as both a river and ship defense and as a place for Midmarch to strike at land troops." she said.

She pondered for a moment, "I know that some have stated an interest in founding a sort of mages college. Perhaps the tower could also be home to such an institution. Arcane might can be an even stronger bulwark along the southern flank of Midmarch."

Seeing as none of her passengers express an interest in visiting the chai ferry Helga sets off again bright and early next morning.  They crew exchange waves and greetings with the small folk on the ferry, then continue down stream, doing little more that  float on the current.

It is only a couple of miles before Helga steers across to a small tributary and the crew bring out long poles to guide the small ship upstream.  It is slow going, and there are places where the river is very narrow, other where it is only just deep enough, and it takes an hour of hard work before Jovvox comes into view.

Jovvox is a small, walled town and looks as if it could once have been a military outpost, although Helga tells you that it was once a fortified monastery and probably dedicated to Torag.  Now it is home to many 'small folk' (Gnomes and Halflings) and a few large folks  (Mainly Human).  The old forges of Torag are still put to good use, and the gnomes and their assistants are renowned for making weapons.  Often not the best quality weapons, but they can make them quickly and like to sell them in bulk.

The town itself has a plethora of multi-coloured flags flying from each of the towers that you can see.

Eventually, Helga brings The Lady of the Lake alongside one of the jetties, and throws a line across to some halflings - who  help to moor the vessel.

OOC:  http://rp.baileymail.net/doku....d=stolen_land:jovvox

Adoven notes "I see the shalliw draft precludes the use of merchantmen or other large vessels on the Lesser Sellen. Any advice about dealing with the locals, Captain?"

"Well, from what I've heard, if ou offer to buy a bunch of weapons, you'll be a popular guy and probably get to talk to whoever you want." Zelona said.

She turned to Cass, "maybe we can issue a contract to supply the Midmarch guard's at their various points with something we're lacking right now? That would get you into whoever you need I suspect."

"Well, students at my sword school DO need weapons to practice with" Adoven comments.

Zelona laughed and clapped her hands together with some real joy.

"Perfect! If it's student weapons then being of the highest quality isn't even an issue," she added with a delightful smile.

“I believe your idea for a mage college on the island fortress has merit. Perhaps you can bring it up at one of the next council meetings. Or have a quiet word with Henry in private if you prefer.”  Cass suggested.

“I haven’t been given the authority to requisition arms, but I can agree to make the suggestion to the leaders of Midmarch. If Adoven places an order for weapons for his school, that might be the perfect door opener.”

Helga listens to the conversation between her passengers before she responds to Adoven's question.  "I normally just wait for one of their merchants to  come up to the ship.  Or sometimes we go ashore, if we have anything to se ..."  She pauses for a moment and then points at a male Gnome  with bright red hair who is approaching the ship.  "Look.  There is one of their merchants now ..."

Zelona chuckled as she saw the gnome approaching, "well now. They are eager for sales down here aren't they."

"I will speak with Henry when we return to Tusk about another expedition to scour that island clean and found a mage's college there. Or a caster's college. I suppose it doesn't need to be limited to the arcane." she replied to Cass.

Adoven smiles. "Good luck with that." as he sidles up next to Captain Helga. In a low voice he adds "any idea what that merchant's name is?"