Re: 8 Nuzyael 720

[Barak Daas]

Kugald said “Why would Clan Daas muster their remaining men? Where are the Clan Gerherbt men?

Barak tried to answer these questions: "At Rojanstad there were old and young men at the Daas clan house - like the other thrans we visited. I assumed the fighting age men are at Ygresdram at the muster. However, around the Gerherbt's house there were just the very old Gerherbt men. Far more were "missing" - including the young men - than we've seen at the other thrans we've been through. I was wondering if Reike might have sent his young men to Ygresdram, and kept his best fighters to hand for his own purposes. Like the young bullocks will range around a wisent herd, but the bulls stay with the lead bull to defend the cows and their calfs. Keep your strongest fighters were you need them, and let the young run free there loss is not so important." Thinking he has already said too much, Barak shuts up.

Barak finds somewhere comfortable to rest whilst Thorin and Hovik ride off. Today will be a long day and he'll conserve his energy. Once rested, if Thorin and Hovik are still not back, he'll check over the fishing boats himself (as long as he can stay in sight of Kugald and co.). See if they are similar to his father's and see if he has any idea of what they catch.

[Algared]

Algared loosens his gambeson and sets his helm beisde him in easy reach. Whislt Algared may not seem to be perspiring as much as would be expected after a march in full kit, he does look warm and appreciates the coolness of the morning. Rather than drink any water he pours some over his head then sits resting as he waits, he closes his eyes and listens to the sounds of the day. Whilst it is true that if Clan Gerbhert plan to take Rogenstad the Dass there would likely be killed in their defence or driven off. There band whilst also in danger from combat, would likely tip the balanace against the, especially if they were able to join up with the small contingent of Daas followers unseen by the Gerbhert's men.

While Rieke may be easily manipulated Algared has a feeling his brother is a different matter, and wonders whether it is he who is actually pulling the strings. Algared looks up at Kugald watching him. he considers speaking his thoughts but as he watches Kugald in thought, and knowing he has already given the gist of his thoughts, knows kugald who is the warrior amongst them will likely have already realised the possibility, it was always kugald who seemed to see the solution before Algared when they were youths running havoc with there adventures. Algared smiles remembering the lad Reike at Asama and sees not one lad by two the older and the younger counsin racing off to fight some imagined foe.

[Guest]

Hovik responds cheerfully. "Sounds like a plan. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Daaslund ends between here and Milnheim, right?"

"Are you really loaning me your horse? Yee haw!"

"Let's go, Thorin. We can come up with a plan on the way. You got any silver?"

The last words you hear from Hovik as the two ride off is a laughing, "Hey, Thorin - no trotting! It hurts my tender butt."

[Barak Daas]

Barak calls out after Hovik, "Remember you can't run, you are still a thrall of Daas even when you are outside of Daaslund."

[Guest]

Barak calls out after Hovik, "Remember you can't run, you are still a thrall of Daas even when you are outside of Daaslund."

Only Thorin hears Hovik's response to this. But everyone can see the obscene gesture.

(OOC: They just don't have the right smiley for this situation.)

[Borygg Raal]

About a quarter-watch after Barak and Erdrick arrive in Upsala, Borygg strolls into town and finds the group. After greeting them, he tells Kugald and anyone else around the following...

"As Barak and Erdrick must have told you, I remained behind to watch Rojanstad for a bit after Barak's conversation with Madrin. Shortly after we left the thran, I parted ways with them and made my way to a copse of trees on a hillock from where I could watch Rojanstad without being seen.
Shortly after I started my watch, a rider came down the road from Ygesdram and entered the thran. He looked to me like a huscarl from the Jarl's household. He went directly to the Daas clanhouse and went in. He was there but briefly, then got back on his horse and took off at a trot east toward Asarna.
I remained in hiding and watched for about a quarter-watch but saw nothing of interest. There was no obvious reaction by anyone to whatever message the huscarl brought.
So have we found out anything here in Upsala? Where are Hovik and Thorin?"

[Guest]

Thorin seems none too pleased to be riding with Hovik....

"Ill make sure he brings your horse back, Kugald..."

[Barak Daas]

Borygg said "a rider came down the road from Ygesdram"

"Hmm, maybe he was looking for us."

[Guest]

Sometime around midday Hovik alone comes riding up and awkwardly dismounts. He hands the reins of the thoroughly lathered horse to Kugald. "Gerherbt slept last night in Milnheim. Thorin is waiting for us there."

Hovik perambulates several laps around the group, his legs splayed as he works the soreness out of his legs. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

[Barak Daas]

Whilst waiting for Thorin and Hovik to return, Barak ponders Hovik’s status; something that impinges on Gelda. To be at someone else’s property must be a tough thing: to be at their beck and call: to not be able to go hunting as takes you pleasure. It must be worse than being a huscarl. It is rather like the difference between being a cow and a stag, he muses. The cow is confined to a field, and call to be milked twice a day. The stag roams free through glade, over mountain and is the king of the moor. But the cow does get fed hay and has a cowherder to look after it, shelter it from winter and wolves; whereas the stag can starve in winter and rather than providing protection, man hunts the stag. Which is a better life? The thrall or the poor freeman? Maybe every man should be free. No, that would be against the Ljarl and clan teaching. But maybe... Maybe Hovik should escape and enjoy his freedom though inevitably he’d be hunted down and punished if not killed. Unlike Gelda it dosn’t appear that there is anyone who wants to buy Hovik’s freedom. But then why did Kugald take his thrall with him? Was that to give him the opportunity to escape, or the chance to distinguish himself so that he might be set free? Barak, decides, again, that he dosn’t really understand clan life, and why everyone isn’t free to hunt and live as equals. Barak decides he’ll try and go a bit easier on Hovik for a while. You should respect the stag, even when you have to hunt it.

When Hovik rides back in to Upsala, Barak gather’s round to listen to his brief report: “Do you know if Reike is still in Milnheim?” he asks.
Whilst waiting for an answer and instruction on what the warband are to do next (‘Now, why would a thrall be accompanying a warband?’ he askes himself), Barak picks up his gear from where it has been dumped: his spear and shield, and his knapsack. Barak quickly checks his knapsack to make sure it is intact and that nothing fell out in the hurry to unload Kugald’s horse before Hovik departed. He says to himself ‘I guess I am going to have to carry this to Milnheim’ and dons his pack, and carries shield and spear in each hand.

[Jurri Grebel]

Jurri stands up, gathers his things, and looks at Kugald.

"Good fortune!"

[Kugald Daas]

"The hunt is on!"

Kugald quickly loads the extra baggage on to Gauk, frowning slightly at how hard he has been ridden.

"We must move quickly if we hope to catch him."

"Just in case that horseman that passed through Rojanstad is looking for us: Jurri, go let someone at the Daas clanhouse know that we have heard tell of Reike Gerherbt and are following him to Milnheim."

As soon as the baggage is loaded and the Daas clanhouse warned, the war band heads for Milnheim at a hard forced march.

TTYL

- Kerry

[Jurri Grebel]

Jurri does as requested and returns quickly.

[Barak Daas]

Barak shrugs, puts his knapsack on the horse, and prepared to march off carrying his spear and shield.

[Borygg Raal]

Borygg gets up from his rest, retrieves and checks his weapons and gear, and marches off with the group.

[Guest]

As we march, Hovik fills in the details. "As far as we can tell, he didn't cross the river to Trond. None of the men at the wharf recalled seeing him or taking him across. We can't be totally sure, of course."

"What we know we gleaned from the serving maid at the meadhall - a woman, I regret, that I abandoned to Thorin's attentions, may the Elkyries save her!"

"She recalls him having arrived mid-morning yesterday, and then leaving this morning. She didn't see him meet anyone here."

"So it seems he came here fairly directly - we don't know exactly when he left Rojanstad, but if he stopped anywhere it wasn't for terribly long. He was probably extremely tired, and the weather was terrible yesterday. I imagine that since he was out of Daaslund he was feeling safe enough to sleep through the storm."

"One other thing. Tejaalund doesn't seem to be on any kind of war footing. From what we could see, they haven't made even the most cursory preparations for war. It seems very unlikely that Gerherbt is conspiring with Tejaal. But at the same time it makes it more likely that Ibanvaal has agents here - from here they could spy and conspire against Daaslund in relative safety."

"Did anyone grab something to eat? All I have are these carrots. I'll trade anyone for some bread or cheese or something."

[Barak Daas]

> "I'll trade anyone for some bread or cheese or something." <

Barak says "I have some bread and chesse you are welcome to." he gets it out of his knapsack, on Gauk, and gives it to Hovik.

[Kugald Daas]

Kugald listens to Hovik's additional information. "This is very good news. If Reike only managed to reach Milnheim last night and no one saw him cross to Trond, then there is a good chance he is still on this side of the river. We must be cautious though. Now that we have left Daaslund, our Jarl's authority no longer applies. We will have to be very subtle and cautious. Once we catch up to to him, we must snatch him quietly and smuggle him back to Daaslund and Ygesdram."

The weaponcrafter sets a grueling pace as the war band marches to Milnheim.

Along the way, he takes the opportunity to speak to Hovik privately. "Your hunch was a good one, my friend. I know the others and myself doubted you. Your determination and confidence in your own ideas has served us well. I apologise for my doubts." He extends his hand to Hovik and gives him a solid handshake and slaps him on the right shoulder with his left hand. "Don't let it go to your head, though!"

TTYL

- Kerry

[Barak Daas]

Kugald says "We must be cautious though [...] our Jarl's authority no longer applies. We will have to be very subtle and cautious."

"Should we then", says Barak, "be tramping across their lands, dressed in armour and carrying weapons, like the warband that we are?"

[Guest]

Hovik takes Barak's offer. "Thanks, Barak. I left Milnheim without getting a chance to eat. Want a carrot?"

"By the way, I think you've heard the story wrong. I'm not a thrall of the Daas. I'm a thrall of Clan Surenaal, the former lords of Froyby. I ran away in the chaos that followed the fall of Froyby to Ibanvaal. You might have heard that Kugald claimed me as his thrall - that was just a ruse when we were on our mission to Froyaheim to prevent trouble with the Surenaals there."

"Apparently Cunate Daas has known for some time that I was a runaway, but he never said a word. For months he has allowed me to live in Ygesdram as a free man, and even when he invited me on this warband he never said a word about my past. I didn't know what to think - at first I was mad at him because I thought he was holding the threat of thralldom over me. But now it's clear he's not."

"Now I realize I'm the freest man in Menglana. You are all on this warband because you are Daas and Daaslunders. You are fighting for your home, your families, and Cunate Daas, and it would be unthinkable for you not to be here. But that's not true for me. I can leave at any time - it's not my home that the Ibanvaalers would burn, and my family is already in chains."

"Of all in this warband, I alone am free to do as I please. And as you can see, it pleases me to be with you here."

[Algared]

Algared marches along with the rest. Before leaving he refastened his gambeson, As hovik once more tells of his standing he says'Hovik I think you speak too much. We leave Daaslund and that means you may yet find yourself less free than you imagine."

Algared changes the subject slightly and continues. "That Reike hasn't crossed to Trond doesn't mean he hasn't already communicated to whoever he intended. And his clansmen seemed to be missing from Rojenstad." If they get into another battle, the second in a ten day it occurs to Algared that their band will have seen more actual combat in recent months than many Dasslunders, even if they are not as trained as the huscarls who train for such but are rarely called upon to employ their skills of war. As the march continues Algared remains quiet, occassionally adding to the conversation but being more content to merely listen and concentrate upon the march.

[Jurri Grebel]

We must be cautious though. Now that we have left Daaslund, our Jarl's authority no longer applies. We will have to be very subtle and cautious. Once we catch up to to him, we must snatch him quietly and smuggle him back to Daaslund and Ygesdram."

Jurri asks: "Do all here know our foe by sight?" (OOC: I know Jurri and Hovik do; anyone else?)

"If we catch up to him in a crowed area, I will be glad to distract attention while others deal with him as quickly and quietly as possible. I think we should consider hiding our heavier arms and armor, or leaving them in Upsala. It would do no good to attract the suspicion of the locals. We shouldn't need war gear to deal with Reike in any event."

[Guest]

Hovik shrugs off Algared's comment. "If I am boring Barak I'm sure he'll tell me. And I'm touched by your concern, but I'm rather used to that particular danger."

To Kugald, he says, "Don't worry, I know I'm wrong sometimes too. If this was Fox and Geese, where you can see the entire board, I'd beat a Rieke Gerherbt every time. But it isn't, and I won't.."

"Keep in mind, doubt is a tool, if you care to use it. Think of doubt as a stone, and action as your dagger. Strike the dagger upon the stone and it dulls the blade - just as the weak leader blunts his actions by second-guessing and indecision. But if you rub the stone along the blade it hones it - just as the wise commander uses his doubts to improve his plan and sharpen his actions."

Hovik has a hard time keeping the pace. He ran a half-marathon just a day ago, and has hardly had any chance to recover. And Algared's sniping has taken its toll on Hovik's normally sunny attitude. "If he rides me one more time, I swear I'll snap", he thinks crossly to himself.

[Barak Daas]

Hovik asks, "Want a carrot?". Barak will accept one, but will be a little suspicious of it "I will save it for later." he says, and continues "So you ran away from Froyby and now you are free.". Barak will mull that one over: 'A runaway is not the same thing as a freed Thrall.' he thinks to himself 'It might be dangerous travelling with Hovik, but not as dangerous as it is to be Hovik. I guess if it comes to it, I will defend his chance for freedom. As long as Kugald dosn't claim him.'...

"Did Cunate free you?" he'll eventually ask. Withyout waiting for an answer Barak says, "I too am here because I choose to. I may be Daas, but Dass dosn't have a claim on me. Not any more. If I want to leave Daasland I will."

Jurri asks: "Do all here know our foe by sight?" to which Barak will respond "I don't think I know him. I've heard of him of course, but I can't remember seeing him. How will we know him? What does he look like?"

Hovik later says "If I am boring Barak I'm sure he'll tell me." Barak says, "Don't worry Algared. He isn't boring me at the moment. He is harmless I am sure - and I may even learn something from him. If not, I am sure I can out pace him. You two should make your peace, or ignore each other. It isn't good to have such disagreement in the warband."

[GM]

By early afternoon your warband has crested a small rise and the thran of Milnheim is laid out before you. The thran sits on low ground with higher ground to all the way around. To the east stands the Imua River. On the other side of the river stands an intimidating fortification and thran of Trond. Numerous fishing vessels can be seen in the distance to the south along the river. From your vantage point it also reveals about twenty main buildings with numerous smaller outbuildings scattered throughout. A wharf also catches your attention.

The thran seems alive with the activity of a thran going about it's daily business.

Between the fortification and the wharf sits a market, it bustles with activity, it is a little larger than the market of Ygesdram but not by much. Much of the activity around the thran is centred here.

You draw looks from some of the local clanhouses as you approach.

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