| Date/Time: | 12/2/2002 3:29:34 PM |
|---|---|
| Subject: | The Escort of the Merchant, Lyonne, an account as told by Zog |
As a participant on the Ministry Council, word came to me from Mayor Minsk regarding Lyonne, a mining merchant who had recently sought her audience in the town of Paxlair. Lyonne had evidently spoken more with Minsk, privately, regarding an escort of his goods, overland, from a remote location in Felucca, to the town of Paxlair itself. Lyonne had expressed an intention to join the citizenry of the town, and perhaps aquire property that his goods might be displayed there, and sold to the populace. Lyonne's specific request was for an escort of four or more guards to protect his wares while travelling overland in Felucca. The use of Gates, or Moonstone Portals, was not to be possible. Lyonne had indicated that his wares represented gifts to the town itself, and that the escort guards might benefit of his largesse for their deeds. General debate took place within the Ministry. Lord Luthien, for example, strongly recommended the use of Moonstone Portals to safely move to a remote wilderness area before finishing the journey to town. Lord Earl strongly beleived that the missions successful outcome was highly dubious. However, his astute investigations regarding the location of the merchants home led me overland to these coordinates: 20o55'S,27o59'W Earl also mapped out several potential travel pathways, which made me chuckle, for I had not heard anyone mention the Forest of Samlethe in some time. I doubt many know where that forest is, do you? Minsk, knowing that the Knights of Paxlair were in disarray, after Doom's failed attempt to lead them, asked Lord Cross, of the Paladins of Virtue, to organize a guard force for the escort. Simultaneously, Lady Kyrsten, long time squire within the Knights, sought to lead and revitalize the Knights of Paxlair. Kyrsten began to organize, and Lord Cross swore that he would assist the Mayor and aid the Merchant. I spoke an Oath to Cross, pledging my assistance, although most of us, I think, thought in our hearts that we, and the caravan, and the merchant, were doomed. Minsk encouraged all of us, hoping that the merchants successful venture would brighten the spirits of Paxlairians, even as a valuable merchant asset might be added to our town. Cross and I began in a state of confusion, weeks prior to the Caravan date, thinking the escort to be needed on differing nights. Even the night of the Caravan, the alignment of the stars in the sky confused me - yet the extra time gained allowed me successful use of Earls valuable information. I arrived in Paxlair early, hoping to meet with Lord Cross and the Noble Lady Kyrsten. I noted with great admiration that the Old Man was still hard at work on the library, and that the Lady Winmere was ready to take part in what must be done. Seeing no one about, I thought the escort might already be at the merchants shoppe, so I gated there on my marked runes. Suddenly, through the portal there emerged the insane nobleman, Angriff. Not knowing how powerful his possession was at the time, I prepared myself for a most gruesome death by the fell force of his magics. Fortunately, he seemed content to let me be. Still, I thought, his appearence did not bode well for the escort, or the town, as he was prowling the town early, and now knew the location of the start point of the caravan. If he had been following the current news, I knew him quite capable of tying the facts together and preparing a devastating ambush. I journeyed back to town, to find Winmere indicating that Minsk was under attack. It seemed the nobleman had indeed gathered a most fearsome army, and the overwhelmed citizens of Paxlair were falling to the machinations of his horde. In the midst of these many factors, I gated to Lyonne's shoppe, where I noticed three packhorses sealed within the locked building, being loaded by orcish servants. I returned to Paxlair, gathered Minsk and Cross, said a prayer for Winmere, and we returned to Lyonne's. We were met by an orcish looking servant, who asked us if we were friends. Under Cross's leadership, we entered the building, and Cross negotiated privately with Lyonne. Each of us was granted care of a specific horse, and the overall protection of the merchant, and we set out on our way. Almost immediately, our lack of planning resulted in the party being split. Cross and I considered returning back to the merchant shoppe to regather Kyrsten - who happened to be caring for a packhorse and the merchant - and start again. Having faith in Kyrstens ability, with some reasoning regarding that splitting the group might lead to at least one group making through to Paxlair, we continued. Would we fail? Would we be ambushed? Would the army surrounding Paxlair be our Doom? Before these worries could even begin to bother me, I realized abruptly that the packhorse in my charge, Anvil, was a rather spirited and battle-hardened beast. The horse seemed intent on fighting Liches, Magical Trees, Ogres, and just about any other creature it came across. Cross saved my animal once, through his ability to heal and the deft use of his battleaxe. Quite the Captain, he was, once instructing me to meditate before moving again, as my mana was used up for the nonce. Following his sage advice, we moved on again, approaching Paxlair from the West. Lady Kyrsten and the other mount had already safely arrived. It seems that the battle to the north, where elements of the Fifth Legion, and folk of Paxlair, were successfully distracting Angriff and the horde of combatants. We were most fortunate to be able to safely enter the tower, regroup with Kyrsten, and present our safely delivered beasts. The meeting was then moved to the Tower we had staged the merchants mounts in, and many citizens entered the Tower for the town meeting. Lyonne presented many wonderful gifts, among those I recieved were sets of wondrous armor, weapons, and finely crafted clothing. All in all, it was quite the interesting experience, seeing the many ways individuals contributed to the successful outcome of the escort mission, which we now know is possible, even in Felucca. Thank you all - Minsk, Earl, Kyrsten, Cross, and Lyonne. 'Thou shalt defend with all ye might and strength those who are weaker and in need of thine aid. Do not shirk of such responsibility when the need arises, for a Knight is honor-bound for such a thing' 'Thou shalt defend the Kingdom of that which ye serve and swear loyalty. For the Kingdom must survive if ye are to remain as a Knight' 'Thou shalt defend the Lord of the Kingdom of that which ye serve and swear loyalty. For without the Lord, the Kingdom can not be led, and Knighthood has little meaning' Zog, Minister of Lore, Paxlair |
|