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Looks good!

After a restless night, Urvan Kron is pulled out of slumber by Iwo Behyd calling "Wake up!  Wake up!  The day is upon us and wasting away."

After checking that the hallway is empty, Iwo leads the lad down to the garderobe at the end of the hall, where there are two seats that Urvan can see are just openings down through the castle wall, perhaps six inches square.  He can see, and smell, fecal matter smeared on the walls of these openings and he immediately intuits what they are for.  Their business complete, Iwo leads him back to his room, where he explains his plan.

"I'm going to sneak you out of the palace, and you'll have to find a friend of mine who will bring you back, announcing that you are Urvan of Tamecia, which is a county in Laconia, just north of Sparta.  You are the son of Count Aravecho Brogovan and you are here to become a page in the palace.  I'll make sure you are accepted, and you'll be housed with the other pages.  The Spartans are very warlike, and tend to a large size, so the other pages will not want to challenge your story too much.  The other nobles won't care, and there are none from Laconia in the palace at the moment.  This should keep you safe from Erastoo, at least for a while."  He walks Urvan through the story, talks a little about what Laconia is like, and then tests his knowledge on the story again.

After they have some coffee and the last of the chicken and potatoes from the previous night, Iwo shows Urvan how to open the secret door out of his room.  Reaching behind the cask of wine to a latch behind the bookcase, it snicks open and the bookcase slides easily open, revealing a passage behind.  He walks the boy through several passages, pointing out a locked gate that he says leads to the royal quarters.  "Do not go that way unless invited.  I won't be able to protect you if you do."

Several of the passages requiring climbing up and scrambling on his belly over a ceiling, some are so thin that he must creep along sideways, and there is one narrow passage straight down where there are barely fingerholds, but it is so tight that Urvan can hold himself in place by bracing his a foot behind him and the knee on the wall ahead.  There are additional secret doors, inside the secret passages, which Iwo explains are to limit what is revealed if someone stumbles on one of the entrances, or spots someone using one.

Finally they reach a room large enough that they both can stand up, where muffled voices and some banging can be heard just beyond.  Urvan sees several bottles of some sort of liquor in the room, and a cask of wine like the one that Iwo has.  There are some dirty mugs on the cask, and the whole room has an illicit feel and smell to it.  Iwo silently closes the door behind them, and it seems to disappear.  He very quietly shows Urvan how to open the door by inserting a knife in the right crease in the wall panels and pushing down.  It's tricky to get right, and they practice it several times before returning to Iwo's room.  Urvan leads the way and makes only a few wrong turns, Iwo gently pointing out the secret doors he missed.

"That room was just outside the pages' dormitory.  You'll have to figure out how to get into it, but it is not that hard.  It's a small panel in the closet where the spare bedding is stored, and it slides up.  It's considered a big secret among the pages who know it, and they go there to drink, smoke, and hide from their masters.  Of course, all the masters know about it, too, but they pretend not to.  None of the pages know of the second door, and they had better not learn it from you.  Make sure you are alone when you open it, and close it again quickly and silently when you do.

"Once you are settled in as a page, perhaps after you've been here a week or so, come through the passages to find me.  I'll have an assignment for you, just a little thing to hone your skills."

Finally, he leads Urvan down to the kitchen, out a door in the rear of the building.  The smell of rotten food coming off the kitchen dump pile is pervasive.  On the way, Iwo gives Urvan a letter and instructs him to bring it to Rosco the wheelwright.  A pony wagon pulls up with a delivery of flour in heavy sacks, and Iwo pushes the boy to help unload while he talks to the wagon's driver.  The cart empty, Iwo instruct Urvan to climb beside the driver, and the two ride out of the palace gates without even being challenged.

The sheer preponderance of new experiences threatens to overwhelm young Urvan at first.

There are the things he is well accustomed to like getting up early and attending silently and without unnecessary "backtalk". His father had always been laconic.

There were the the things that are not difficult in themselves, but require attention and focus to retain. All the new and different names, the myriad passage ways and how to access them as well as the names of these various castle positions. The details of his assumed name and background.

Then of course the things that he finds surprising and difficult to accept at first. Defecating off the edge of a wall instead of burying it well off into the woods. The rank and sour odors of the surrounding cityscape, the middens and the kitchen. The shock of the city itself, the vaguely unhealthy looking populace, their teeth and strange dress, the sheer size of the Capitol and its various structures that constantly draw his eye and threaten to overwhelm him.

Before he knows it he is seated on the wagon next to the driver with his fingers covered in flower, with another stranger, clutching a letter protectively as the conveyance rolls along to the sound of hooves on cobblestone and the clatter of the wheels echoing in the various protected alcoves and defensive spaces.  Everywhere there are people and everywhere their attention is elsewhere, even the very driver seated next to him does not seem to spare him a second glance. Nobody knows him, nobody cares, nobody except Iwo it seems, and he would not be seen for a week at least.

Anxiety creeps into the boys heart again. He has no idea what a Page does, he knows so little about who he is supposed to be. The only thing he feels he can latch onto is that he is supposed to be from Tamecia, Laconia, Sparta. He has heard of these places, but could not honestly pick them out on a map. A boy solider, something like that, is his closest approximation.

He suddenly feels very, very alone despite being surrounded by more people than he has seen in his entire life up to that point.

He needs to find Rosco the Wheelwright, but how? how among these endless twisting streets and towering structures? Among the frantic throngs of people? Among the stink, and the wretched looking dogs and scavenging birds in their filth encrusted perches?

How is he going to do this?

He tries to get a handle on himself, to still these self doubts and growing worries.

He would do it because he has nowhere else to go. There is no retreat here, no home to run back to, and if he fails and Iwo finds him useless, if he is turned out, he would be be completely lost, hopeless. He knows he needs to do everything to avoid such a fate, and so he steels himself, his lips drawing into a tight line. He could find this Rosco. He would find him.

After a time Urvan begins the speak to the man next to him, thinking that it would be logical enough that as a man who works with wagons that this very one might need repairs from time to time.

The man does not know Rosco himself, but the wagon was purchased just a few years ago from a merchant named Burle, who is one of the larger dealers in wagons and tack for the working class people of Olympia. Unfortunately his shop and warehouse are on the outskirts of the city, he can give directions, but it's far out of his way.

The sun is significantly higher in the sky by the time Urvan finds Burle, a leathery former caravaneer with a wide brimmed hat and a ponderous gut. A very direct man, without the use for a lot of niceties. Knowing the lad does not have the kind of coin to be worth his time, he gives a very direct answer to the child's question.

Rosco works on "higher end" conveyances mostly, coaches and the like, and is of course nearer to the castle and the more prestigious communities where his customers dwell. At least the brusque fat man is very precise. There is a famous bakery that faces the square, brightly colored and heavily decorated, it's a few minute walk towards the Castle from there.

Back across town, another hour of walking at least, but Urvan eventually finds himself at the Bakery where the sweet scents within cause his mouth to water. He checks with the very young, costumed girl standing outside greeting the higher class clientele, and she knows of the place, pointing it out to kindly enough.

Sure enough, the placard outside bears the shape of a wheel, and Urvan knocks on the door with his letter in hand.

06:38, Today: Urvan Kron rolled 20 using 1d20.  Diplomacy Check, Gather Information.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:52, Mon 07 Mar 2022.

After a few minutes, the door snaps open, and a broad man with a thick, bushy moustache stands there.  "What?  What are you wanting?  I have no work for you.  Go away."  He shuts the door.

Urvan stands there, a little shocked at the rudeness, then knocks again.  The man starts with, "I told you ..." but Urvan holds up the letter.  It has no name on it, but the man seems to recognize the stationery, or maybe he just is curious about a sealed package.  He snatches the letter and shuts the door.  A minute later, the door opens again, and the man is smiling, or maybe it's a leer, or just gas pains that he is unsuccessfully trying to hide.  "He'll owe me a favor, then.  Good.  Gooooood."  Roscoe waves Urvan into the workshop and shuts and bolts the door behind him.

The man looks the boy up and down.  "So, you're to be the son of a count from Laconia.  You'll be needing better clothes, maybe some armor, and probably a weapon.  You won't have the accent, but none of these yokels can tell a goose from a nightingale, anyway.  If the clothes look right, they'll believe it."  He turns to a boy who has been hammering on the iron band around a huge wheel, "Boy, go get your mother.  Tell her to be bringing some of Cherin's old clothes.  The nicer stuff.  Go."

Eventually, a shapely young woman appears, carrying a woven basket heaping with clothes.  The man explains what they are trying to do, and the two discuss the different articles of clothing without ever consulting Urvan.  Finally, they choose a pair of black pants, a light blue silken shirt, a dark blue jerkin, some hose, and a pair of soft boots.  Urvan is embarrassed to remove his homespun trousers, and he turns away.  Roscoe stops him as he starts, then digs through the basket to pull out a pair of shorts.  "These are smallclothes," he explains.  "Wear them under your pants."  he waves the boy around a carriage where he has a little privacy to change.  All the clothes are a little loose, except the boots which are snug, but nothing is terribly wrong.

As Urvan comes out from behind the carriage, Roscoe emerges from a small side room carrying a belt and scabbard containing a long sword.  He buckles the belt on, ties the scabbard around Urvan's upper thigh, and declares, "Well, now you are being a proper young lord.

(I'll pause here to give you a chance to react.  He will put a team to a fancy carriage and bring you to the palace, where you will be met and accepted as a page.  You can write that up, if you like.)

It would be unfair to say that Urvan was destitute, although it was true that he had no money. With his modest "inheritance", everything he was able to carry away from what remained of his families property, he was probably better off than most children his age, albeit at the cost of his family and their lawfully owned land.

But he is unused to luxury, that much is certainly true.

The clothes that are set out for him are finer than anything he had ever touched, and indeed his fingers are so rough and calloused that they snag on the silk of the blue shirt when he goes to feel it.

He suspects that it would take a whole seasons earnings to just buy any one of these articles, and that was before he sees the sword.

At the urging of Roscoe and his family Urvan discovers small clothes, clothes you wear under your clothes, and soon he has a blade worthy of a young scion of a notable family girded about his waist. He feels...very different.

He washes with a provided basin, and a small hunk of soap, and the lovely young woman combs out his tangled hair like one would with a horse's mane, little ivory colored knots tearing free now and then.

Within a short time he finds himself standing there trying to act natural when all over the strange sensations presented themselves. The feeling of tailored boots on his feet instead of loose low shoes, silk on his skin instead of homespun, the way his belt tugs with the weight of the weapon.

Despite the assurances that he looks the part, he feels very strange to be dressed so nicely.

He thanks then all, despite everything having been arranged with Iwo, and gingerly steps up into the carriage that had been hitched to a team of fine looking horses. There are cushions in there, and places for luggage, remarkably clear glass and some sort of suspension that gives a little as he eases himself down. He finds that his heart is beating fast, the strangeness of it all assaulting his senses at every turn.

The coachman, courteously disinterested, gently flicks his whip and the coach eases into steady motion, the graceful wheels spinning, people hurrying out of the way at the mere sight of the stately vehicle.

It seems like it was just a few hours ago he was dodging filth in the gutters during his hike through the city streets, now he watches it all from remarkable comfort, feeling surreal, feeling false, thinking of what his parents would say if they could have seen him now.

It is a short ride to the Palace, and although he can barely see anything ahead, he recognizes a few guards coming to attention with their halberds clinking as the coach rolls easily into some sort of courtyard and circles around into a spacious area in front of a grand flight of stairs.

A man is already waiting to open the door for him, not meeting his eyes but sort of staring off into space.

There are others, waiting for him. A little reception befitting the son of a Count. Roscoe must have sent a runner or a rider.

"The young master Urvan, son of Count Brogovan, of Tamecia" the voice comes from somewhere off the to the side, and Urvan, his face drawn tight with the strain of the act, steps down from the coach with all the confidence he can muster under the circumstance.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:47, Tue 08 Mar 2022.

As Urvan steps out of the carriage, he suddenly realizes how hungry he is.  The sun is setting, and he hasn't had anything to eat or drink since early morning.  He puts the thought aside as he is brought through a series of meetings.  First the gate guard to the palace, who hands him off to Zaan, the steward's assistant.  Zaan brings him the steward himself, whose name Urvan never catches.  The steward calls for one of the pages, a small boy wearing a toga, and tells him to bring Urvan to Acutus.  On the way, the page introduces himself as Gerroldivus and he chats amiably, describing the duties, "carrying messages; leading guests around the castle, cleaning armor, weapons, trophies; occasionally helping to carry trays of food to the great hall, but never serving the food.  Oh, no.  We're not servants."

Finally the pair arrive at the pages' dormitory and meet Acutus.  The young man sniffs, "It's not like we need another page," and he shrugs extravagantly, as if accepting what his superiors decide is his hard lot in life.  "You're what, 14, maybe 15?" he asks, but doesn't wait for an answer.  "Well, there's no beds in the older boys' room, anyway.  Gerro, put him in kids' room.  Get him a blanket for the bed, and a toga to wear.  He can't be wearing this fancy stuff as a page.  And NO SWORD.  You'll have to turn that over for safe-keeping."  He reaches down to touch the scabbard and gives a tight-lipped nod of appreciation.

Urvan changes into the toga, getting a little help from Gerroldivus tying it so that it doesn't just fall off.  It feels ridiculously loose, but Gerro explains that it is a tradition in the palace that all pages wear togas.  "The knights all used to, too, when they weren't armored, but hardly any do it anymore."

They bring all of Urvan's things back to Acutus, who carefully writes a list and ties them all into a bundle.  He makes a big show of drawing out a key on a chain around his neck, then unlocking a cabinet to put the bundle inside.  Urvan can see similar bundles with personal items, though none have a sword.  Acutus locks the cabinet again, dramatically drops the key inside the front of his toga, and taps his chest with a show of importance.  "Your things will be safe here, under MY care."

Four days pass with not very much to do.  Urvan sticks with his practice of calisthenics every morning.  Gerro seems very curious about the exercises and wants to join in.  The smaller boy seems very eager to help, showing Urvan where to get food (not that good, but plentiful), where the toilets are, where to wash, etc.

Acutus shows Urvan were the page stations are, explaining that if he isn't busy, to go find one and wait there for someone to make a request.  Urvan runs several errands for people in the palace, getting lost and having to ask directions several times, but no one seems to be surprised nor to mind.  He is surprised to be handed a silver or a few coppers now and then, which he collects because he has literally no where to spend them.  Gerro promises that they will have a chance to go into town and buy sweets, or some new sandals, or even to see a puppet show.

On the fifth morning, Gerro wakes up excited, "the knights are sparring today.  We'll have to clean their stuff when they are done, but it's worth it to get to watch them."  He leads Urvan through a back door into the courtyard, where some of the knights are already suiting up.  The two stand ready for hours, fetching practice weapons and shields, or water, or ointments.  Gerro knows all the names of the knights and he chatters on about their skills, the strengths and weaknesses of the weapons, which maidens they have wooed, monsters they have slain, and an endless series of anecdotes with varying levels of believability.  Afterwards, they spend two hours cleaning the sweaty, dirty gear, but then they are told to take a few hours off.

Finally, Urvan has a bit of time alone, a chance to look for the secret passage.  He finds it with little difficulty, closes the first door, and finally makes his way through the passages to Iwo Behyd's room.  He is listening at the door before opening it, as instructed, when it pops open.  "Secret passages are no good," Iwo explains with a wry grin, "if you're going to tromp around in them like an elephant."  Urvan has no idea what an elephant is, but figures that it isn't good to sound like one.

Over cups of tea, Iwo catches up on all that Urvan has been through.  Finally he announces, "I've got your first assignment.  This is to train and test you.  You won't be in serious danger, unless you are foolish, but you will want to make every effort to succeed -- it will be worth it.

"You are to find a way into the kennel where the Apollo Dogs are kept and I want you to befriend the largest bitch; her name is Leila.  You'll know you've succeeded if she allows you to hold her pups, which are due in a little over two weeks.  These are fighting dogs and can be fearsome if they feel threatened, so be careful not to lose a finger, or a hand."

Iwo continues, "I am quite sure that Lady Stilwell, the Master of Hounds, will not be pleased to find you anywhere near her kennel, so you'll have to avoid her.  If she catches you once, it will mean a stern lecture; a second time will be a problem; but a third time will be probably a beating and you will have failed the trial.  How you avoid her is up to you, but, obviously, don't kill anyone, don't harm any animals."  Iwo waves off any questions with "You'll figure it out," and eventually ushers Urvan out of his room, just the normal way, not through the passages.  "Since you're here, you can deliver a message for me to the kitchens:  I'd like a good meal for two brought to my room this evening, along with a bottle of good wine."  He hands the boy three silvers, saying, "Give two to the cook, keep one for yourself."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:03, Tue 08 Mar 2022.

The days pass.

Urvan is just beginning to find his feet in the Castle, finding much as when he had first arrived that there were tasks he seemed well suited to, tasked he endured without complaint, and the tasks which he found particularly difficult.

Iwo had selected the boys new identity with care and foresight. Although a few comment on his quiet demeanor few seemed surprised, especially when they realize where he is supposedly from. Urvan does not disabuse them of their assumptions, about his age and other things, feeling that the more he opens his mouth the more trouble he may invite upon himself.

As a page he is an industrious sort. With a strong back and almost no ego he tackles the manual labor aspects of his role diligently. He watches the Knights and soon learns their names, the names of each piece of armor and equipment, the terminology of the fight and both the official and unofficial rules of a sparring bout. He excels in his calisthenics, but finds no need to show that he finds them easy, yet.

But he generally underperforms in other areas. The Castle is a living, churning place with its own politics and allegiances. In his ignorance he passes up opportunities to network and to make introductions, he fails to befriend Acutus and remains at arms length, and although he is polite and cooperative with the other boys he fails to make any particular friends. Perhaps it is his anxiety about being discovered, or his parents failure to properly socialize him in their remote mountain retreat. Either way, his courtly skills progress slowly.

He considers himself extremely fortunate in his first task however, and is immediately excited about the prospect of trying to befriend Leila. His family had a dog when he was very young, to ward off bears, and he remembers it fondly.

As he delivers his messages and lingers to ensure that the request is promptly handled, he turns his mind to how he might go about it. It occurs to him that Lady Stilwell likely has both extensive experience with these particular animals, as well as the possibility of owning books on the topic. However he does no know her, and has little reason to trouble her.

His instincts, rightly or wrongly, are to simply throw himself at the task directly. It is certain to be the fastest way, but likely the most dangerous, and he was on a clock. Two weeks does not seem like a lot of time.

He starts with simple observation, trying to see when people are there, what they do and how they do it, in order to try to pick out his most promising window of interacting with the Leila himself.

14:24, Today: Urvan Kron rolled 7,25 using 1d20+6,1d20+6.  Stealth Check, Perception Check, Observe Kennel Habits.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:33, Wed 09 Mar 2022.

BTW, you're in the palace, not the castle; the castle is where the Rheam faction lives.  I realize that the two words are the synonyms, but keeping them separate it helps to keep it straight in my mind.

Oh!  I just looked up the words, and they are different.  A palace is not fortified.  Well, this one certainly is, so I guess castle is more appropriate anyway.  Let's just say that this is referred to as The Palace for historical reasons which are no longer true, but the name stuck.

---

I'm assuming that you haven't entered the kennel area yet, just observing from the outside, so that natural 1 is not going to cost against you, much.
16:52, Today: Zag rolled 14,2 using d20+8,d20.  Lady Stilwell perception.  Urvan luck.  Ooo, that's not good.

Urvan recalls hearing a number of dogs barking when he first arrived at the palace, when Iwo dropped off the horse at the stables.  Since it makes sense that the kennels would be near the stables, he heads over to where he thinks it was, though it was such a whirlwind he might have it completely confused.  He heads out of the palace proper and turns right, and soon enough his nose leads him to the stables.  Not far from there is a fenced area where several dogs are running and playing, attached to a low building with a flat roof.

The boy decides to stand and observe, leaning against the wall of the stable.  He waits almost an hour.  When the sun is close to setting, he spots a woman coming out of a building not far away, one that he had thought was a barracks.  She is tall and very lean, and wears a crisp, dark outfit with a Lexagenol tabard -- yellow with red trim.   The woman heads directly towards where he is loitering, and she looks directly at him.  "You, boy, what are you doing just standing around?  Make yourself useful and clean that up," she says as she points to a pile of road apples.  She has the air of one who expects to be obeyed, and she turns to head into the kennel without waiting to see his response.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:27, Wed 09 Mar 2022.

As Urvan dips his head to the woman and hustles of to grab a rake in order to clean up the piles of horse droppings, the boy tells himself that this was why he had not rushed in. Perhaps he is just trying to keep his own spirits up, but he has accomplished something at least. He knows where the Kennel is, he knows what Lady Stilwell looks like, and he knows more or less what time she had arrived.

But she now knows his face, which is not ideal, even if he has just been spotted nearby.

If he is to look on the bright side, he now has a reason to linger in the area while Lady Stilwell, and whoever else may be around, does their work. He knows that he cannot stay too long without arousing suspicion, but he keeps alert and tries to position himself in such as a way as to learn what he can while he is there.

Urvan heads into the stables to grab a rake.  He spots one, along with a flat shovel lying across the handles of a wooden wheelbarrow that already contains a decent pile of horse droppings.  He cheerfully wheels the barrow out and cleans up the poop.  Urvan starts to walk around the stables looking for more, while keeping a surreptitious eye on the kennel.  A boy about Urvan's own age comes out of a door that opens into the run and starts to whistle for the hounds.  Two come running over, but the third one is stubborn and obviously wants to stay outside.  After disappearing with the first two for a minute, the boy returns and spends several minutes chasing the last dog before he manages to get it into the building as well.

Urvan hears barking increase within the kennel for several seconds, then suddenly stop. It's not clear what caused the sudden silence, but it reminds him to get back to pretending to clean the area.  By walking all the way around the paddock, he is able to get a good look at most of the kennel.  The run covers only about half the front and all of the side towards the stables, but none of the back.  Behind the kennel is the outer wall of the compound, with only about 7 or 8 feet of space.  The kennel is about half way between two towers, and the archers' walkway of the crenellated wall is not quite 10 feet above the roof of the kennel.

Urvan is not able to see the back of the kennel (the part close to the outer wall) without leaving the paddock area, which might be suspicious.

Urvan learns a remarkable amount of information for a few minutes work. It was true he had been spotted, but being able to capitalize upon the mistake means that he will not walk away empty handed. He is able to work nearby and in the open, for a few minutes at least and reflects upon what he has seen.

Lasy Stilwell herself and the boy, that they arrived at the location at this particular time and that the hounds expected to be fed, or so he assumes.

The three dogs, all larger than himself, and that one seems less obedient than the others.

The physical layout of the kennels themselves, along with a few avenues he may be able to take advantage of in the near future.

The kennels prove an impressive sight that leaves quite the impression, the huge dogs the size of large men, any one of which more than capable of killing trespassers if they had a mind to.

Urvan does not press his luck, and after he has learned these things he puts the tools back and retreats, the beginnings of a plan brewing in his mind.

The first phase of this plan is to determine what the dogs are being fed, the boy believing that the pack was quieted by their meal. It also stands to reason that the boy either receives or restocks this food from the Palace kitchens.

Finding out where the boy resides may also give Urvan some clue as to what others habits the kennel helper has, , and if it came down to it, how Urvan might steal some of the boys clothes to mask his own scent from the huge wardogs.

Summary: Urvan hopes to follow the boy the following day to see where he gets food for the kennels, what sort he gets, and where he lives.

I was waiting to respond to this, because I thought you have basically a good idea and want to let the others catch up a little.  But now that I've read it more carefully, I realize that I have to push back a bit, because I don't know the parameters of what you are  doing.  You say you want to follow the boy, but how, when, and where are you going to wait for him?  Will you be hiding somewhere? It was just before sunset when Lady Stillwell came to the kennels.  You can still do something tonight if you like.

Make whatever roll seems most appropriate:  If you are hiding and following, tell me where you are hiding and make a stealth roll.  Or you could contact him, which would be either diplomacy or intimidation.  (... or a Sense Motive, and then deciding whether diplomacy or intimidation seems more likely to succeed.)

I had assumed that you spent about 20 minutes pushing the wheelbarrow around and finding, or pretending to find, piles to pick up, which is about the maximum you could drag out that task.  In that time, you did not see anyone leave the kennel.  It's not out of the question that someone left while you were at the farthest point you dared to go around the paddock, but probably not; you could still see the area in front of the kennel for most of it.

By the way, I wasn't clear before, but the barking you heard was clearly more than three dogs.  If you had to guess, you'd say something north of 10, but probably not 30.  Also, while the dogs are bigger than you, they are not significantly bigger than a grown man; they run about 200 pounds, so definitely terrifying if they are snarling.

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/besti...es/dog/breeds/apollo

Nice.

Yeah, I think this is where the challenges of Urvan's rural background are going to start coming into play. Monk's get Sense Motive as a Class Skill, but I couldn't justify it in my own mind because of his isolation. They don't get Diplomacy or Bluff, etc. I knew this would be part of the challenge, and part of the fun coming in.

As such he is likely to rely on his robust physicality a little more, or to try and employ it where he can.

He is going to back off for the first day and try to spend the rest of his time perusing the library if he has access, trying to find academic resources on Apollo dogs and on working with hounds in general. But he does not want to risk getting "burned" twice in the same day.

The next day he will try to find a good spot near to kitchens to see where the boy is coming from, when he comes and hopefully what he takes away to feed to Apollos.

06:47, Today: Secret Roll: Urvan Kron rolled 9 using 1d20.  Day 1, Knowledge: History check, peruse library.

06:46, Today: Secret Roll: Urvan Kron rolled 21 using 1d20+6.  Stealth Check, Hide Near Kitchen, day 2.

According to Pathfinder, Knowledge skills are "trained only," so you can't use one if you haven't applied at least a point in it.  On the other hand, the roll would be for a specific fact, to see if you already know it.  For the purposes of just finding something in a library (assuming it's there at all), I would just use a general Intelligence check.  For these sorts of checks, I generally double the bonus, because I feel that the difference between an 18 intelligence and a 10 intelligence should be more than +4 on a 1-20 roll.  Unfortunately, your roll of 9 is not going to be enough, but I'm going to give you a Diplomacy roll, too.

13:54, Today: Zag, on behalf of Urvan Kron, rolled 20 using 1d20  Diplomacy
Well, that should work.

Urvan enters the library with a little trepidation.  His mother had a fairly big library, with 80-odd books spread over several bookshelves, but the library in the palace is daunting.  There are hundreds, maybe a thousand or more books, in all shapes and sizes.  He starts looking through the shelves wondering if they have grouped together all the books about animal care together, maybe, or just about dogs, or what, but he doesn't find anything useful.  His hopes rise when he sees one book titled "Greatest Canines," but it turns out to be about Cerberus, Sirius, and other famous animals of the gods.

An older woman enters the library and peers at Urvan.  He recognizes her as someone he delivered a message to the day before.  It was ... he racks his brain ... oh, a letter from an older man who was staying in the visitors' wing, and it included a package of plump, perfect figs.  He remembered that the man has warned him not to eat any himself, and that the woman was happy to receive the package and gave him three coppers as a tip.  "Greetings, Madam Sevempto," Urvan starts.  He sees no sign of recognition on her face.  "It is an honor to see you twice in two days.  I do hope you enjoyed the figs that I delivered to you yesterday."  Finally her face brightens as she realizes who he is.

"It is good to see a young page looking to improve his mind," she says, but then her look darkens, "or are you just here on an errand?"

"I'm just here for my own learning," he chimes in, it being clear that this is what she was hoping to hear.  "I was hoping to learn more about the palace dogs, they are such handsome animals."

She smiles and shakes her head, muttering, "boys."  She turns towards the corner of the room, the far left from the door and looks through the books for a minute before pulling one out.  "Here you are.  This should fill your head with all the tales of hunting and fighting that you could want."  She hands him a book titled "Our Gift from Apollo," and it is written by "Lexagenol, Markus II."

After thanking her profusely, Urvan sits down to read.  The book tells of the year Markus II's several greats-grandfather, Caitlenner I, won every single event at the Olympic Games one year.  Impressed, Apollo himself manifested and gave to him a dog and two bitches of fine war hounds.  The book includes many fanciful tales of the dogs' prowess in war, including when they helped to turn back the Persians, and in hunting, including a tale about Saxton III's famous pursuit of the Hadhayosh.

While the tales were entertaining, the second half of the book includes much more of what the boy was looking for: extensive information on the care and training of the Apollo Dogs.  There is a section on appropriate housing and bedding for the animals; a section on training techniques for different purposes; a section on physical care of the animals, including preventative care as well as treatment of wounds; and a section on feeding them, including recipes for different stages of their lives.

Having studied this, you now have a free trait:  +1 bonus in Animal Handling when applied to dogs, and Animal Handling is always a class skill for you.

I'll let you react to this, and perhaps elaborate, before we go on to your plan to track the boy who works at the kennel.

It seems almost serendipity that their resident librarian, Madam Sevempto, would take an immediate liking to the quiet and somewhat introverted Urvan. Perhaps she recognizes his earnest desire to learn, or perhaps she does not get many visitors, especially young ones, but she is friendly and helpful, while Urvan remains modest and grateful. They seem to get along well together right from the start.

The boy takes the valuable tome carefully to a nearby table, well within easy observation distance of its caretaker and begins to plod through it at a steady unremarkable speed.

It proves entertaining, more entertaining than most of his mothers books had been, and Urvan is fascinated by the tale of Caitlenner the First. Too young or too naïve to suspect embellishment on the part of the author, he treats to tale as at least plausible and semi-historical and marvels at the sort of man who was not only of noble blood, but who was able to master each of the different games. It made a certain amount of sense to him, as there would surely be a great amount of "overlap" in the strength, skill and endurance needed to excel at the various contests. For the first time, aside from his own father, he has something of a heroic image to carry around in his mind.

The Champion Caitlenner himself with his god given hounds.

In time he moves on to the more practical lessons. Some of these are understandably difficult for a young boy to grasp, notably the material on breeding and veterinary matters, but Urvan's retention of what he does understand would be considered above average. He pays especially attention to the matter of pregnancy, the changes in the dogs behaviors and in the manner in which they are trained for their work.

Suspecting that he will have to prove proficiency to Iwo by interacting with Leila and her puppies in his presence, he of course reads and rereads these sections carefully.

When he feels that has gleaned what he can, and after noting the color and size of the book should he need to find it again in the near future, he returns it with sincere thanks to Madam Sevempto.

He walks away feeling far more confident than he had about completing this task to Iwo's satisfaction, and in not getting mauled by the great hounds in the coming days.

Excellant, great stuff. I added that information under a third bonus Trait I have named "Canine Studies" for now.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:20, Sat 12 Mar 2022.

Urvan looks up from his book when the candle he was using for light sputters and goes out.  He realizes that he is alone in the library and at least four hours have passed while he consumed all the information he could cram into his brain.  He suddenly realizes that he has a job which he's been neglecting.  I hope Acutus hasn't been looking for me.  He puts the book away and runs out to find an unoccupied page's station that he might credibly have been waiting at for four hours.

Urvan heads towards the guest quarters, since that area usually the biggest call for pages when he runs into Gerroldivus holding part of his toga to his face.  Urvan can see that there is a significant amount of blood staining the toga already.  "Gerro, what happened?" he asks.

"Nothing.  It's nothing," the smaller boy replies.  "I don't want to talk about it."  As he walks past, Urvan can see that Gerro's left eye is swollen nearly shut.

Urvan follows Gerro, obviously concerned, and glances  around to ensure that they were not being followed in turn before he speaks up again. "Come on, let's get that blood out before it sets." He encourages the younger boy. It was a phrase his mother had used on occasion. Cold water, soap and lots of scrubbing.

Gerro turns away from Urvan, but then turns and walks along with him.  The two head into their dorm room where Urvan gets a towel for Gerro to hold to his nose.  As the smaller boy climbs into his own bed, Urvan takes his toga to the wash basin.  However, the amount of blood in the fabric quickly overwhelms the little pitcher of water that the boys have.  "I'm going to have to go ..."

where?

There is a nice shade tree near the center of the palace grounds, on the south end, that was near one of the wells. Urvan figures it was as good a place as any to be able to talk candidly and it was outside in the fresh air.

"Let's do it right, I'll draw you a bucket." He takes the pitcher as well, for convenience, and urges young Gerro in that direction. "You don't look too bad, I think you'll heal alright." Urvan tries to calm the boy, or at least make him feel a little better about his predicament. "Is it just your eye and your nose? He asks, trying to ease him into the story.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:01, Sun 13 Mar 2022.