Before long it is time to return to Midmarch, a great caravan sets off from The Drover’s,  and many more people turn up to watch.  Even members of the council are there to wave off family members, friends or even apprentices who are off to start a new life in this new land.  A priestess of Abadar has taken up a position in one of the barns, where she is taking notes and making a list of some of the settlers.

But eventually, you all set off with Henry in the lead, riding a fine new horse and Bai riding at his side.  Immediately afterwards come the Officers of Midmarch, as befits their new station accompanied by Zauria, Quinn and El – three new members of Henry’s inner circle.  A wild looking cat lopes along, close to Jicca.  After them come their Squires, Servants and Assistants.   Lolli, Brother Bart and Jack from the old guard ride alongside their new colleagues who recruited in Restov - Alanna, Robert, Gandred, Wilbur and Serenity (Pipre’s new ‘friend’ who is dressed elegantly in black and rides side saddle).

Then there are the new settlers – people sanctioned by the Church of Abadar, countrymen sent by the Church of Erastil,  townsmen, country folk, small holders labourers of every type.  Some are on foot and carrying their meagre belongings, other have carts or small wagons, some have pack horses or other animals, but all looking for a new start in Midmarch.  And at the very end there are soldiers recruited by Henry, both infantry and light cavalry, all wearing the sign of the Sword and Sickle on their breast.  But it doesn’t stop there, more join in at Nivakter’s Crossing and more still at Fort Sarenko.  By the time you roll into Oleg’s the caravan includes hundreds of people, cows, sheep, chickens, goats and all sort of other animals.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:13, Tue 07 Nov 2017.

Later Henry takes to the roof of one of the towers to address  both you and the crowd.

“You are now in Midmarch, the newest, freshest and best part of all Brevoy, won by the hand of my company of Officer.” With a wave of his hand he indicates the group of you who have fought your way through this part of the Stolen Land to clear it and claim it.  “To them will go the greater portion of our winnings for they have won us this land by the Sword.  And they will win us more land the same way, as they explore further into wildlands that surround us.

But is you who will hold this land for us, your labour, by the sweat of your brow and the Sickle that you swing to cut the crops.  There will be towns and villages, and a place for everyone -  but it is those who work the land, who make all of that possible.

The Sword and The Sickle shall be our symbol, celebrating the way we claimed the land by the sword, but hold it by the sickle. All those of you who want to work the land, will have it.  Enough land to feed you and four family, more if you can work it.  And land to pass onto your children, and then onto your children’s children.  There will be taxes and rents of course -  but that will pay for the soldiers who help us keep order and root out those criminals among us who would take our land and livelihood.  For them justice will be swift and severe.  But abide by the laws and you shall prosper!  Camp here, rest for the day tomorrow, my men will come among you to find your strengths and desires, and we will find you a place where you can prosper.   We have roads to be built,  towns and villages as well as  farms and small holdings – there will be a place for everyone.

But for now, the ale is on me.” He indicates to Oleg and Rusty  who pull the covers from a wagon to show a stack of barrels – all set up and tapped ready to go.  “Tomorrow we start work!” 

The crowd, who are all tired from the traveling, listen quietly - although the whispers of approval start when they are told there is land, and rise to a cheer when they are told there is free ale.

Raising his  arm in salute, henry smiles broadly at the crowd one last time, before descending onto the walkway around the walls.  “That seemed to go well …”  he says to no one in particular.

Next Henry turns to you, “As I said, YOU have won this land for us and your rewards will be greater.  But even we must labour to hold the land we have won.  We must ensure that those who have accompanied us find what they need to make a living for themselves and their families, and have a bit left over so that they think life is good.  I have asked Brother Bart to visit them and list their skills.  There are a couple of Pharasman Acolyte with him, and I am sure there was an Abadarian acolyte in the crowd as well – they will be pressed in to help.

Then I will you to work with them.  Escort them, guide them act as their father figure, help them find the right people to talk to.  Your rewards will be a claim on their time to help you build your homes, businesses and strongholds.

Ringbridge, I have given in trust to Cyrus and Val -  to build their home there and to watch that bridge across the river.  At the moment it is the only way from the wilds into our lands from that direction.  Rook and Aris’ta, I have tasked with maintaining a watch in the Northern Narlemarch and keeping an eye on the fey who live there...“ a glance towards Bai, Zorah and Pipre, “ … in accordance with the discussions you had with them.”

“I claim the Stag Lord’s fort in the name of the Governor of Midmarch – it will be the heart of my administration.  However, the land that surrounds it I give to you as a Free City, for you to run as you wish.  It will be the beating heart of our land.  Our capital city, the port from which we can trade to the south, our administration.  You, who choose to live in that city, will chose your own mayor and your own administrators, and even the name of the settlement.  That is your reward.”


?

OOC:  Henry's survey will find just the sort of people you want to work with.  If you need a shrine building - you will get shrine builders, The same goes if you want a brothel, tavern, jetty, dump, Tannery or anything else.

You can spend your BP to start building Strongholds, Businesses, a merchant business or an Organization (such as a Church or college)

Andalon had been busy throughout the journey, moving among the settlers as they travelled, introducing himself and finding out about them, particularly those most inclined toward Abadar. He was always happy to talk of his plans for building a place of worship for Abadar in Henry's planned capital city on the banks of the Tuskwater in the south of Midmarch. He encouraged those most likely to form the basis for his congregation to join him there.

He was particularly pleased to discover the young Abadaran acolyte among the new settlers and encouraged him to join him in the new Tusk Town too.

At Oleg's trading post he joined in the celebration and mingled freely with the settlers, making more contacts all the time. He made plans to hold his first church service early the next morning. It would probably be an open-air event, weather permitting, but that would help all who attended to understand the benefits of the chapel then temple he fully intended to build in Tusk Town.

Nervous. That was one way to put it. The nerves that built up in the system and made a person so anxious that they could hardly stay still.

There was only one problem, El didn't get nervous. It simply wasn't allowed, wasn't a part of the job. Raising a hand to the bridge of her nose, the young woman attempted to ward away the headache she could feel approaching. She was tempted to run a hand through the tangled mass of chestnut hair about her face, but that was far too obvious. It was the people. It had to be the people. Oh, El was no stranger to crowds, but this was different. As her eyes roved over the mass of unfamiliar faces, she couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment rise up in her.

It had nothing to do with the crowd, it was the lack of a face within the crowd that gave rise to the emotion. It was her own fault. Having worked the journey to Midmarch, El had given herself little time to rest, but rumor had it that a familiar name was among those traveling and yet her duties had not allowed the time to research it further. She'd written the small missive some time ago, and it could certainly take time for her 'companion' to make the long journey, if he did so at all, but she was certain he would.

He better.

Removing her fingers from their perch, she allowed herself to gaze about the room, attempting to familiarize herself with the names and faces she would no doubt find herself working with in the coming weeks while she worked towards what she wanted. She only had to figure out what that was, but this was the perfect place to start. A place full of people, and no one around who knew her name.

A smile spread along her face, the night was looking up after all. Freedom from work, free ale,.. things were looking up indeed.

It had been a long, long trip.  Sore feet, sore legs, sore everything.  Especially his eyes.  He'd been moving about the group for as long as he could remember since setting out looking for the source of that sweet little missive.  The excitement at the beginning of the road had soured into fatigue and despair as he wondered, "Did I have the right place?" "Is she even here?" "Did something happen to her?"  He had started in his fine clothes but had long since changed into something more road worthy as the dust and mud from wheel and horse began to leave their earthen mark on his person, no his clothes, in his eyes mouth and nose!  He giggled at the little rhyme, one of the few things that amused him.

Unlike most others Quinn was an academic.  He was not built for the road and as such the long trip had tired him more than most.  Used to lifting little more than books, his arms and shoulders felt almost dead after lugging around a pack of possessions several times his usual load.  His walking stick had become more of a crutch, something to lean on to catch his breath and rest his weary muscles.  "Where are you..." he mumbled to himself as he listened to the speech meant to rouse the crowd though succeeding only in buying him a respite to set his possessions down and allow blood to flow through his shoulders and arms again.

"Well, there is ale."  If he knew anything about her...  Memories of the night came back to him and filled him with renewed vigor as he hoisted his pack and started towards the festivities.  She'd probably laugh at him for the way he looked with his soiled clothes, unshaved face and dirty hair.  But she'd be worse!

And there she was!  By the gods there she was!  Quinn moved quickly and with bundless energy as he raced forward to find the woman he had sought so desperately.  He reached out, he put a hand on her arm, she turned!

"Oh, I'm... terribly sorry," he fumbled as he instantly realized this was not her.  "I thought you were someone else."  The man she was with apparently didn't find it funny by the way he looked at him, either.

This was beginning to border on the ridiculous and she was just about to head to the ale and get herself flat out drunk when a familiar voice resounded behind her. She turned, only to find him not 10 feet from her current position and blustering his way out of what appeared to be a rather awkward situation. If she weren't so damned happy to see him, she might have sat their and watched, but given the look on the man's face it was probably for the best that she step in while she could. No need to have someone mash up that adorable face of his.

A sigh left her lips and she couldn't help the half-hearted grin that lifted a corner of her mouth. Even in travel apparel, Quinn still out-dressed most of those in the room. It was nice to see that some things hadn't changed, but a part of her wondered what had in the months apart.

Stepping forward with some rather abrupt force, she dropped the smile and settled on a rather hard-lined look as she made her way to the pair. Lofting a brow was pretty well all that was required, given her own attire, and the moment was dropped before it could get out of hand. El could have gone easy, but she had always found herself more comfortable hiding behind hand-cleaned armor. Luckily, she'd minimized it for the occasion to a simple breast-plate against an otherwise clean shirt with an accent of red. Some habits died hard, by showing the family color. It tended to make her rather muted colors more vibrant.

"What seems to be the problem," She remarked in a low, authoritative tone and simply waited. Or tried to for the length of a second before wrapping her arms about the man and lifting him an inch from the ground in a rather sharp bear-hug. "I knew you were here! I knew it! I heard the name whispered along the caravan, but I'd been so busy..." She set him back upon the ground and waited for him to turn before giving him a solid once-over.

"You need a shave. You look like a barbarian." Knowing the comment would rile him, if only a little.

When she hoisted him off the ground all he could do was grunt as the air was forced from his lungs.  Surprised, his desire to wrap her in his arms was defeated by his sudden departure from terra firma.  Only when she let him down and after taking a breath did he grab her in a totally unceremonious way and hug her tightly.  Armor got in the way but he didn't care as he pulled back and kissed her lovingly.  Then he did it again because it had been so very long that a second was not only called for, it was needed.  Desperately.  He let his possessions fall to the ground caring not for how they hit.  "Of course I am here," he said softly.  Totally lost in her eyes he just stared at her for a while, hands grabbing her firmly as if she were about to leave again.  A soft hand that had not known a life of toil and struggle came to her face and caressed it, pushing hair back from her cheek.  "You look amazing," he said with the most heartfelt words he could muster.  He did look like a barbarian but at this point he didn't care.  Taking her hand, he put it to his facial hair and let her brush against the stubble.  "I'll shave as soon as I can get to a place to settle and clean up.  But first, there are free drinks and after this long road, I could sorely use one."  He put his hand behind her neck and guided her head to his chest.  "I will always come for you, El," he vowed as he gave her a delayed response to her statement about him answering his summons.  He kissed her again, this time even more lovingly than before.  Oh how he missed her so terribly since she left, by the gods she missed this woman.  He really did not want to let her go.

A mix of emotions over the reunion, El wasn't quite sure how to react. She was one part professional, one part emotional, and one part she couldn't even name at all. In the end, a mix of the three won out and a school-girl giggle left her lips as he first kissed her. This quickly produced a more feminine reaction from the reunion that caused a spring of tears to suddenly well up into her eyes, causing her to step back and sniff over the sudden wave of realization that he was here and they were finally together again. The third and final kiss, though met with the same love he gave, was eventually broken from with a playful and half-hearted flustering of fingers as she glanced around as though afraid of embarrassing herself in front of 'the guys'.

There weren't any, she'd kept herself professional and strict, but she liked to pretend she had an image, as her behaviors had at least been noticed by Henry, and that was the whole reason she was here to begin with..

Stepping back, she nodded to his profession for a good drink and started over with him to get the pair a glass. "I've got some small arrangements for our place to stay, nothing fancy, but in time..." she trailed off, suddenly all duty and no fun, but the look in her eye spoke of her relief in finding him here and having him close again. True friendships never really died.

"I'm glad to see you're not still hung over," he quipped in reference to that fateful night which brought them together as more than lifelong friends.  He took her hand and walked with her marveling at how much she had changed in the.. by the gods it had been a long time.  And he probably hadn't changed one bit.  Embarrassed by his current condition and that of his attire he waited for them to stop and when he had enough space for the movements he wiggles his fingers and spoke a few words of power.  The majority of the dirt and grime simply fell away from his clothes and landed gently in a fine cloud on the ground.

Once a drink was before him he all but downed it in one go.  He wasn't looking to start a drinking competition, El proved that she was superior in that though he could hold his liquor better, rather he simply wanted something to drink to slake his thirst.  "So what has the world done to you since you left?"  There was no bitterness in his words, only genuine interest.  "I finished school and worked with Uncle Doyle until I got your message.  Why did you wait so long to contact me?"  He scratched at his neck. the damned stubble was becoming a royal pain.

El cast him a sideways glance, for once her hand only rounding the glass in front of her instead of lifting it to her lips. "It was safer that way," she remarked on his last question, her tone dropping some as a far off look came across her features. "The longer I remained silent, the better that chance that I, that we could,.." But she shook her head and the thoughts away. Now was hardly the time for such thoughts. He was here! At long last, they were together again and El didn't have to be alone.

Oh, she had friends along the last year. Mostly people she jested with and sparred with, but hardly anyone she could call a true companion and certainly no one like Quinn.

Stopping, she turned and gave him a look over and noted all the differences from the last she'd seen him. The attire remained the same, and she couldn't help the subconscious roll of the eyes, but it was all in fond remembrance. The boy, though, the boy she'd grown up with was all but gone. She had never thought Quinn could fill out in the way he had, though one would hardly call him bulky. Still, it was a far cry from the lanky child she had rescued from raging school children all those years ago.

"You've changed," she remarked, but there was no negative connotation to it. "It suits you."

"I understand," was all he said on that.  He knew that was the answer bu it was still good to hear her say it.  She might have said she'd been too busy or even that she didn't want to see him again but no, she'd said exactly what he wanted to hear.  Relief filled him.

"A year and a half will do that to someone," he said.  "That armor you wear hides your own changes.  When do you think I will get to look at you as you look at me?"  He gave her a sly smile.  "More importantly, where do we go from here?  I brought enough money to get started and acquire material and I have all my tools."  He referenced his working tools to tailor and craft clothing.  "I worry my studies in magic might lessen, I don't exactly see a school or anything nearby."  Putting his hand over hers he vowed, "I don't need a school though, as long as I have you nothing else matters."

Twisting her head from the compliment, El crinkled her nose against it, but couldn't hide the steady blush that crept into her cheeks from it. Feeling the warmth from it, she turned and gave him another sideways glance and let out a sigh. "I still can't believe you are really here, or that I am here for that matter! I thought I would work the passage forever, but word of this," she gave a sweep of her hand to the gathering, "Spread around and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Start fresh, start on our own, and leave it all behind us." She relaxed some, pulling her hand away and patting the back of his before taking her drink and finally lifting it to her lips.

"Opportunity. It's not your uncles shop, to be sure, but eventually,.. it will be your shop. It will be our lives!" And if that wasn't music to her own ears, nothing was. After living under someone else's thumb for so long, El had relished in living her own life. Even though she might admit missing some of the perks of the old existence, nothing could replace the value of the sense of freedom she had gained.

"Look around some more, El, at the people.  They've had a long road and a lot of them look like they could use a laundry, some mending, some tender loving care.  I mean their clothing of course.  If we're on a trade route of some kind there is a potential far beyond anything back home."  His hand went to his purse as he dreamed of the future.  It felt so light compared to what he figured he would need in the end.  "We'll do it together, just like we vowed.  I can handle the crafting and you can handle the customers.  Between the two of us we shouldn't need to hire anyone for a while unless business picks beyond what we can handle.  It won't be my shop, El, it will be our shop."

El pursed her lips some as she listened to him speak. He was right, they would make it work, but he had to remember "I still have a job to do, Quinn. I won't exactly be around to tend to the customers, when you get them. I have work to do." she took another drink, then turned and smiled.

"But enough of that, tell me about your journey. How is your uncle? How-how was my grandfather? Had you spoken with him at all?"

That was not the answer he had hoped for but it was what he expected.  "Just as long as you come home at night in one piece.  Besides, once we start our family I'm not sure how you're going to continue with your current... job... anyways."  He wasn't picking a fight and let it drop from there.

"My journey sucked.  It took too long, my entire lower body hurts from horse and chair and walking, I had no idea where you were or if I would even find you at the end.  Still, looking back it wasn't terrible, not like we were attacked or anything.  I haven't said much anything to your grandfather but I know he is in good health.  He and Uncle Doyle would catch up from time to time but I avoided it for fear that I might slip and say something I shouldn't.  Uncle Doyle is well, business is business and he's happy to go to work every day though he practically interrogated me when I told him I was ready to come out here.  I'd been laying the groundwork a little planting ideas about one day going out on my own and getting restless so that when I did go he wouldn't be suspicious but the way in which I went so suddenly, I think he thought he might have done something to offend me.  He's fine though.  Aside from that..."  Quinn spent a few minutes bringing her up to speed on events back home.

"What about you?"