Lordling (du Artois)

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothair looked towards Gideon and asked "Thank you for the report. Get some rest once you leave the hall. However, I must inquire more about what you saw before you depart. Lord Caleyston has abandoned his castle? What... abysmal news this is. Has the Sheriff of Redwold taken command of Clay Bailey or was a patrol merely passing by? What of the residents of Clay Bailey and its attached villages and hamlets? Were all the hamlets on the way already devastated by the curse?" as he poured a cup of ale to hand to the senior retainer. He then looked to his council and said "Depending on the circumstances, it may be prudent to evacuate the Clay Bailey fief and save whoever we can. The fewer who die... the less we have to worry about."

 

[Lorsh]

The man wipes some sweat from his brow. "The... ah, word was that the Lord Penn brought his family and sought refuge with the rest of his kin in Clayhold, leaving the Bailey behind. Some of the troops we saw bore Lore Penn's colors, others were the Redwold guards." He clears his throat. "The closer we drew to Clay Bailey, the more fires we saw, milord... on the journey over, some of the hamlets along the road were unscathed, or at least seem't to be. But all around the Bailey, we saw no villfolk except those whose heads were set on pikes... the leader of the patrol, a Redwold armsman, told us they had consorted with the Abyssals- or well, was it they were bandits?"



He seems hesitant as he admits this part, appearing be searching for a way to lighten his words. "Lord Penn's men and the Redwold men had carts with them- filled with all manner of provisions. The man-at-arms from Redwold, said unto us, that we ought to join him, but we replied nay- and returned here milord..."​

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothair looked towards Gideon and said "Lord Caleyston has abandoned his castle? What... abysmal news this is. This lot you encountered seemed to be little more than brigands... Emmortal knows what may have happened to the sheriff or if he is even alive." as he handed the man the cup of ale. "Drink and get some well deserved rest, Gideon. Job well done." Lothair returned his attention to his council and said "The situation is indeed dire if Lord Penn has fled and the only thing maintaining a semblance of order is a gaggle of self-appointed inquisitors. We must establish some sort of authority and order in the region, else we may risk having a Bandit King set themselves up in the east. Master Silas, how long has it been since the lands of Clay Bailey has had the colors of the du Artois flying over them? Any meaningful claims or legitimacy that we may be able to use to garner some respect, and dare I say fear to stamp out the banditry before its roots settle? The last thing we need is for the undead to take advantage of the chaotic situation in the east... perhaps... we should attempt to evacuate some of the hamlets that have survived so far?"

 

[Lorsh]

Your retainer is dismissed, and Master Silas hums...

"Well, my lord, it must be... at least a hundred years ago. It was when the family was still a member of the realm's baronage. I recall it now... King Cauran II confiscated Clay Bailey from Lord Aspen du Artois due to his 'incompetence' when, engaged in his lawful feodal duties, executed a Galdic warlord who just so happened to have held royal favor. Of course, this was many generations ago."

He shakes his head after lamenting the family's loss. "The lordship of Clay Bailey, in this era, is practically just a bunch of nonsense... the original stone castle, which had been occupied by House Kerrett some centuries ago, was ultimately destroyed by their lordship's own tenants and replaced with this shoddy wooden construction we see today- and aside from those two impoverished vills, there is little else to speak of... Most of the major landowners in those villages are, in fact, townlings from Redwold anyway... so personally, I am not surprised that the Sheriff of that township is somehow involved in Clay Bailey's affairs. From what I have heard, Lord Penn amounts to little more than a simple knight in practice; granted, he is one of House Caleyston's important bannerets, nonetheless..."

Your advisor continues. "We could try to evacuate a few of the surrounding hamlets... but caring for displaced peasants would be another matter entirely. It will put a strain on our resources," he states simply. "Our subjects also do not hold folk from the lands surrounding Clay Bailey in particularly high regard either, due to their association with... assorted riffraff... from the township. In the past, a family of yeomen was killed in Avendar by a band of most vile bandits associated with a certain Redwold burgher... who himself was later slain by the local Merchants' Guild over an unrelated incident. Overall, such a cutthroat way of life is not known to the simple du Artois tenants, making them quite wary of outsiders."


Sir Paryn thinks for a few moments after listening to the household clerk. "Well, they're violating the King's Law by raiding the countryside. This also poses a threat to our domains... I do not think anybody would think twice if we just slew them all- the rogues, of course. But aside from what we know from Gideon's report, there is precious little knowledge about the situation."

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothair listened attentively as Master Silas explained the history of the du Artois family. "A hundred years ago... at least plenty of time has passed since the Royal Family has passed judgement upon the du Artois family. I, for one, would not want to still have the attention of the Royal Family." Lothair replied to lighten the mood a bit. There was no use in mourning for the distant past despite the power and wealth that the du Artois family once wielded. "Let us focus on the present where we can still act. The people of Clay Bailey may have wronged ours in the past, yet the matter of family feuds pales in comparison to eternal damnation and corruption of the spirit due to this curse. Regardless, it is not my intention to have any displaced peasants be a complete burden upon our people. They will work where possible. Surely, there are landowners who can use an extra hand in the fields or the carpenter's guild must surely need more porters to aid in moving all the materials needed for construction? If the peasants truly despise the thought of sheltering the peasants of Clay Bailey, then we could keep them contained to the north in Darroworth and Stennon. In the end, whether we ride to evacuate the hamlets or not. There WILL be refugees coming from the east. We must prepare for that eventuality. Master Silas, will you inquire and gather information for any fields, fisheries, orchards, lumberyard, or workshop if they are in need of additional unskilled labor? Otherwise, we may have to consider sending refugees further west or north unless they possess particular skills or training."

"Given our obligations to the Baron, we do not have enough men to call upon to rout out the bandits and I have no interest in calling upon the levy given that we must have a productive harvest in the midst of all this chaos. We must utilize all that we have at our disposal. Master Silas, will you draft a letter to Sir Homwic and Lord Pelkey. Inform them that they, if unable to deal with the influx of refugees, should consider sending them on their way further west unless they have useful skills, training, knowledge or talent. I suspect that we will have an influx of many unskilled laborers from the city and farmers. We will likely not be able to help shelter all of them and sheltering them in cramped and squalid conditions would be cruel and unsafe. These people will have better fortunes in the west, away from the undying monsters. Those who are skilled will be fewer and more able to provide services that will aid us in our stand against the unholy."

Lothair fell silent for a moment as he then spoke once more "Food is a major concern... Sir Paryn, let us explore contingencies and backup plans for a bad harvest or a sudden wave of refugees. Will we be able to expand our fisheries to perhaps catch more fish? Perhaps, we should seek seamstresses to craft fishing nets and attempt to obtain more boats? Or would a large hunt be enough to supplement a meager harvest? In addition... perhaps we should consider ways to preserve food so that there is less waste and spoiled food? Would salting, smoking or perhaps... turning our surplus foods into pemmican be an option?"

 

[Lorsh]

Your clerk agrees to draft the letters, and also says he'll complete a survey of potential employers for potentially useful peasant & townling refugees, any charitable families willing to take in strangers, etc., and estimate how many extra hands your local populace would be willing to support.

As you bring up agricultural and culinary matters with Sir Paryn, he does not look like he can confidently answer. "Our way of life depends on collecting our rightful dues from the farmers," he remarks. "I could instruct our extra servants to focus on hunting and fishing, though the castle might be a bit less tidy. And while that could likely feed the mouths at our castle, we have many other tenants, of course. I could see what supplies we would need to create some proper boats, I'll send a message to Pelleck."

Your steward, also your kin, now remarks on the levies. "Not all lords in this shire are willing to deploy their levies- and well, some of the more... disorganized ones aren't able to at all... I am happy that our House is at least cultured enough to retain our ancient right to call our land's freemen to arms. We still have special constables in our villages that keep track of the eligible men, making sure they're practicing, all sorts of things. Not every man in the village is a part of it, since only a few have the proper equipment. If they're only deployed for a few days, I do not think it will interrupt the harvest severely. I believe Sir Marolyn, Sir Kelias, and Sir Horne are already using levies as part of their local patrols anyway."

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lothair nodded as he listened to Sir Paryn. The ability to raise the levy was... always available. Yet, he hesitated in raising it unless the situation was dire. However, they currently had the luxury to act and go on the offensive if need be... an option that could very well not be available later. "You speak the truth, Sir Paryn. And it seems that the best way to discern the truth is for me to personally ride to the east and head to Clay Bailey. I will take whatever men that we can spare and ride out to Darroworth. I entrust you to look after matters here and make preparations to further our food stocks as we have discussed. Master Silas, also write to the masters of the villages and inform them of my intent to ride east to help bring order and peace upon our doorstep. If the situation in Clay Bailey is not dire, then we will return promptly once we are certain that we will not be attacked and that lawlessness is not rampant. They are to levy all who they can without compromising the protection and security of the villages and meet me at Darroworth where our host will then march east towards Clay Bailey. Pray that this will be a quick and easy march and that we will be back in a matter of days. Master Silas, you will stay and aid Sir Paryn in his duties. Brother Holan, you will ride with me. We may have weapons and armor to protect our mortal coil, yet in the face of evil we will need faith to shepherd us."

With that, Lothair prepared to ride to Darroworth.

 

[Lorsh]

Sir Paryn nods. "Yes, my lord. When you are gone, I will hold council with the bailiffs and attempt to ascertain our vills' supplies. I reckon that we could defend this castle with just ten good archers- I do not yet believe that there are yet enough of the undead to oppose our bailey walls anyhow."

Sir Paryn sends some messengers to speed the word to your villages, while Brother Holan assists in some preparations for departure. You reach Avendar, and the retainers (1x Veteran Footman, 2x Footmen, 3x Archers) stationed there offer to attach to the rest of your retinue. Sir Marolyn, his squire, as well as the bailiff meet you in the village center with 22 levied footmen prepared to accompany you, along with a few carts, mules, and sumpter horses. There are 40 peasant spearmen also available, as Sir Marolyn had received a cart from Lastrahn containing the second batch of spears earlier today.

[+22 Avendar Footmen]



However, a rider wearing a Stromwood tabard suddenly appears with another development. "Lord Harwood grows near!" he declares. Apparently, his army has reached Bannon. "The du Artois are urgently summoned to the field. My lord bids me inform you that he will offer terms for the rebels to disband."

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Lord Wolff looked to his men and replied. "We will continue onward towards Darroworth and meet with the rest of the men and continue to rally our host. Our course has changed, once the men are ready and formed up, we set forth to Lord Stromwood and answer his call to aid. Without peace and order in the lands, mankind and the faithful have no chance to stand against the hordes of undead. May reason and faith prevail on this day."

He looked towards the rider and said "Has Lord Pelkey been informed of the situation or has a rider been sent to inform him? If not, you should ride with haste to inform him of the potential conflict. Otherwise, you are welcome to ride with the Host of House Wolff and guide us to your Lord." With that, House Wolff would continue to rally its men and then set off to the north instead of the east.

 

[Lorsh]

[Were you wanting to retcon any names?]

"Aye, your lordship. Lord Pelkey's forces has been summoned as well," the messenger confirms. He tells you he must go on ahead, as he can't afford to ride at the pace of the infantry in your party.

The march towards the village of Darroworth is rather uneventful. You see a few farmers on the roadside frields looking displeased and worried at the graying, even somewhat purpled clouds in the sky. As you draw closer to the village limits, you are greeted by the men you placed under the command of your knightly captain. 10 archers, 2 veterans and 7 footmen join your forces. "Ah, my lord. You came by much swifter than I'd expected," Sir Homwic remarks. "I heard that the Stromwood host is assembling to the north."