Imars
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Post by Imars on Apr 25, 2007 15:33:29 GMT -5
40 Doveko seemed like a good sum [ooc: how much does that afford?]. Imars nodded his head.
"I consent to this. Although it seems awkward to tell me this, as we are already in the city. From whom shall I arrange this purchase?"
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Post by Assistant Gamemaster on Apr 26, 2007 2:49:34 GMT -5
"No, no, you misunderstand we are going to buy the goods from Nysarinda, not here. And I am hiring you to be the navigator and help the crew not to buy the goods. The reason we are going to Nysarinda is because the prices of the goods there are cheaper than here," Lennand said to Imars.
((300 doveko per month would be a good rate of pay. An imperial army soldier gets paid one bayla per month, a bayla is equal to about seventy five doveko. Of course, imperial army soldiers are provided food and housing for free, which is why they get by on so little money. The total cost to the goverment per soldier for food, housing, and pay comes to forty two baylo per year. Note that the Zekresh calendar has only ten months per year and forty two days per month.))
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Imars
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Posts: 20
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Post by Imars on May 7, 2007 10:58:14 GMT -5
"Alright. I heard something and read something else else completely different."
Imars nodded as he walked on board the ship, carefully watching his surroundings. He remained suspicious of the ships in the port, with their sails all set for sea, and the armaments aboard each ship. Wouldn't they be better put out at sea against the barbarian hordes that wreck the livelihood of the citizens they protect?
He still kept his arms by him, which would have easily made Lennand uneasy [and indeed it did], but after several voyages together, despite some dislike, they worked well together. Aside from that, 40 doveko for one roundtrip to Nysarinda was not a bad pay for Imars [he had received worse from equally worse payers]. And the profits reasonably from the merchant trade of goods would mitigate the costs of the trip altogether.
The skies seemed to forebode a coming storm, but Imars knew the way to Nysarinda well, rain or shine. Perhaps it was this confidence that bade him prepare the sails for the trip.
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Post by Assistant Gamemaster on May 12, 2007 0:58:43 GMT -5
(OOC: You will not have any expenses while onboard ship. Lennand always provides food for the crew. Also, he has not proposed that you receive any share of the profits, if any. He has said that the trip is to begin day after tomorrow. Today is the second day of the first month so the departure will be on the fourth day of the first month. You are falling behind the other players. If you don’t have anything else you need to do first, we can skip ahead. Would you like to skip ahead to the day of the departure?)
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Imars
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Posts: 20
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Post by Imars on May 13, 2007 2:42:57 GMT -5
[ooc: we can skip]
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Post by Gamemaster on May 13, 2007 5:51:34 GMT -5
Aboard the ship "Coastal Sun" en route from Lisatrom to Nysarinda
Oron 7, Salgan 1, Adonsik 41 Vylor Cledman VI
The ship, "Coastal Sun" set sail from Lisatrom to Nysarinda on the fourth day of the first month. The weather was good and though the route was a maze of small islands, treacherous currents and dangerous shoals, the ship made good time. By nightfall of the second day out, the ship was almost to Nysarinda and lay at anchor through the night in order to make the final approach to the port in the daylight.
The next day, Lennand, Imars and the three other crewmen were up at daybreak and hoisted anchor. The sea was dead calm and covered with scattered mist. At first, sailing was impossible because there was no wind. It was like the ship was sitting upon a mirror in the fog. None of the men on the ship had ever seen the sea quite like that before.
After a while, the faintest breeze came up and they were able to move.
Then, rising up out of the mist, they saw the ancient stone watchtowers of Nysarinda and its famous seawall. Nysarinda was sometimes called "the White City" because so much of it was made of white granite, but on this overcast day, those ancient stones looked grey and old. It was as though the sufferings of that city in the millennia that it had stood had long since sapped the vigour and youth from the city and left it like a crippled old veteran, dreaming of the days of his youth and knowing that they would never come again.
Nysarinda was the capital of Ilania province. Today, it was just another province of the Zekresh Empire, but the men on the decks of the Coastal Sun could still see Nysarinda Castle rising above the city. It was ancient beyond measure and in ancient times it had been the residence of the Princes of Ilania in a time when Ilania had been one of the greatest and most civilized nations in the known world and this city had been the largest and most splendid city anywhere. The great wars that had ended that ancient era and made this land part of the Empire had shattered the ancient world and left Nysarinda as a crumbling garrison town. So it had remained for over a thousand years, but looking upon the defensive wall that surrounded the city, the watchtowers and the castle, it was impossible not to remember what it had once been no matter how many centuries had passed since.
At Lennand's instruction, the ship made way to the harbour. The Warna River met the sea just south of the city. The harbour was just north of that where the city looked westward into the Western Sea. Despite all that had brought this city down from its ancient heights of glory, it was still a busy port. As the Coastal Sun arrived at a dock and Lennand negotiated with the dock owner how much he would have to pay to tie up there, it was obvious that the port was busy with life. Ships were loading and unloading. Another ship was departing just as the Coastal Sun arrived.
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Imars
New Member
Posts: 20
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Post by Imars on May 15, 2007 10:34:49 GMT -5
[ooc: should i dock the ship?]
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Post by Gamemaster on May 16, 2007 8:23:52 GMT -5
(OOC: The ship is already docked. You now have an opportunity to see Nysarinda briefly until Lennand is ready to go. Or you can just wait on the ship.)
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Imars
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Posts: 20
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Post by Imars on May 20, 2007 17:47:22 GMT -5
Imars got off the ship, setting to explore the riches of the ancient and venerable city. He thought about what made the city successful in spite of a lost grandeur. He sought to import more than the goods that Lennand was bringing back to sell. He wanted to make peace on the land, to restore order and permit the family to exist. He had seen too many lost to let it pass him as another cheap commodity. The thought struck him as extremely odd, but in the age when the rights of an empire were being tested in its own provinces, the only odd thought was to conceive a return to the old ways - they were certainly dead.
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Post by Gamemaster on May 20, 2007 23:00:08 GMT -5
The port of Nysarinda is unusual. It has docks where ships can tie up and it has warehouses right by the docks. But the warehouses are built up against a huge seawall that was constructed to protect the city against both the sea and attackers coming by sea. There is no gate in the seawall. For people to enter the city from the docks they must follow the wide street that runs along the docks all the way to the landward side of the city to the North Gate. Other cities do not have any such seawall and it is a simple matter to walk directly from the docks to the town.
As Imars walks along the dockside road past longshoremen offloading cargo from ships and sailors lounging around, he is approached by beggars dressed in rags and speaking to him in the Ilanian language. Imars is not entirely fluent in Ilanian, but he knows enough to understand that they are asking for money or food. He is also approached by someone who speaks to him in Ravelonian, a language in which he is fluent, "Do you speak Ravelonian?" he asks. Imars nods.
The Ravelonian man says, "Sailor, I am not a beggar. Hear me out. I am a pilgrim on a vital quest that will determine the fate of the world. I need only passage on a ship for me and my four companions. We have money, only not enough to pay what the shipmasters ask. If you have a ship, please give us passage. We are only going a short way up the coast. We are going to the northern boundary of Grogia, but Shalthan or Groglinth would be far enough to be a great help. We will walk if we must, but there may not be enough time. There are others upon the road ahead of us on the same quest, but with a darker purpose. We are trying to save the world. They are trying to rule it."
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Imars
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Posts: 20
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Post by Imars on May 21, 2007 18:54:57 GMT -5
Imars thought to himself about the circumstances. He wasn't certain when Lennand intended to debark, but he was almost certain that Lennand wouldn't take it too nicely - borrowing his ship for a minor quest. He recalled his navigation charts; Grogia was a land north of Ilania and even of Lisal Koppa. It was the land beyond his childhood home in Groglinth. There was something that the Fates told him - to go with them.
"I will try to help," he replied in the Ravelonian tongue. "But I must see if things check out with my shipmaster. I neither own the ship nor own much to give. I know my ways to and from places, but to get there is another matter. But tell me of your quest and what warrants a righteous action from it.'
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Post by Gamemaster on May 22, 2007 3:26:07 GMT -5
The man said, "I hope you can help us. The world around us is crumbling in despair. Everything is tyranny, corruption and poverty. Surely you can see that, can't you?" he asks with the tone of a fanatic who is accustomed to being ignored.
Seeing that Imars is still listening, he launches into a new rant, "There is a reason for all that. We are cursed! It's all in the ancient stories. The scrolls tell of it. We are not meant to be ruled by an Emperor at all! Any who bear that title also bear the curse of Toralin. But the curse is not just upon Emperors, it is upon all of us who are subjects of the Empire, all the people, all the lands, even the animals and plants. We have suffered under this curse for so long that it seems normal, but it's not. For two thousand years our world has suffered from this curse until no one even remembers what it was like before! But there is a way, there is a way to lift the curse! Do you understand what I am saying? That is our quest, to lift the curse that darkens the world. For two thousand years that curse has been slowly strangling the life out of every living thing in all the world. We have ignored it and forgotten it because it tightens its grip so slowly. But after all this time, we can no longer breathe. Time is running out. Our only hope is to go back to the place where the curse began and to regain what was lost. It was at the banks of the Seagull River that all the princes and warriors of the world fought the emperor and forced him to agree that all nations would be free and there would be no more empire, no more emperors. All of them, even the emperor himself, swore an oath upon the ancient crown of Ilania that was lost and then found by Prince Toralin. By the magic of the crown, the most ancient crown in all the world, this oath was sealed and guarded by the most terrible curse. But the oath was broken, first by the Emperor and his men, then by Prince Toralin and then by everyone who swore it. Then the curse descended upon all the world. Prince Toralin's son tried to remove the curse by giving up the throne and casting the crown into the waters, but he knew nothing of magic. That was the wrong way to remove the curse. The crown must be redeemed, not discarded. There is only one way to remove the curse from the world. There is only one hope. There is a man who has studied for all his life, the secrets of the ancient magic. He discovered how the curse was placed upon the crown and how to remove it. The curse was made by men who had the crown in their hands. To remove it, our mage must have the same crown in his hands. Yet it is lost. It has been lost in the waters of the river of fate for two thousand years. It was as if Toralin's son threw away the world when he cast the crown into the river. But there is no alternative. We must have the crown."
The man stops to draw a breath and then continues quickly as if fearing that Imars will tire of listening and walk on without him, "The crown is far more ancient than any emperor. It is a treasure from the days when the world was young. Anyone who wears it becomes a prince and can command the obedience of nations. This is its true purpose, its ancient magic, from the days of the first princes, before the curse, before the Empire, before it was lost for centuries in the forest of Ravenwood. This power it still had when Toralin found it, put it on and became master of the world. This power it still had when his son wore it. Now and forever, the crown has this power. That is why we are not the only ones who seek the crown. The others all want the crown so that they can make themselves masters of the world. We are the only ones who know how to remove the curse. If the crown is found and used as the others would use it, if it emerges from the river only to rest upon the head of a new emperor, then we are all doomed. This will only accelerate the effects of the curse and the world is already nearly destroyed by it. Do you see? There is no time to spare. We must return to the place where the curse was made, enter the waters and find the crown before anyone else does. Then we must bring it back here so that our master may remove the curse once and for all. Will you help us?"
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Imars
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Posts: 20
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Post by Imars on May 23, 2007 10:27:26 GMT -5
Imars was somewhat torn between what he heard, what he believed, and what he felt was right. He had long trusted the Empire and was a faithful citizen. But hearing what the man had to say, this quest was not for its destruction but for its preservation; or even if that, it was to preserve the world. Which was the greater right?
Imars naturally became suspicious. "I hear this marvelous tale, and I tempted by some thought to wonder if your intentions are as true as you state them to be. After all, in my experience, the ones who seek power are seldom those of the type to share its wealth or even to impart any restraint to follow their obligations. I feel this curse is a great burden, but if I am to help you, I want full and absolute assurance that this is your quest and not the quest of those we are racing or even of the divine. I am loyal subject of this Empire, and I will do whatever is present to save it and its subjects from harm's way. By my sword and my bow, I will do all to preserve it, so may the Fates grant mercy upon you if I discover your intents to be more maligned than you present them to be, because I will spare none for you. What does your heart speak?"
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Post by Gamemaster on May 24, 2007 19:15:08 GMT -5
The man says, "If you are uncertain about us, you need not join us. We ask merely that you give us passage in the direction we need to go. If you cannot take the use whole way, any part of it would be helpful."
Then he says, "I understand that you are a man of honour and a loyal citizen of the empire. I mean no disrespect to our sovereign, the emperor. Yet, there is still the curse. He did not create it. Nor can he remove it. Though we imagine him to be the master of all things, in this matter he is only a passenger on the ship of fate, not the master of the ship. Indeed, the ship is sailing on after the ship's master has long since died. The ship is sailing towards certain death and we must change its course. We must. All we ask of you is passage on your ship. And we have thirteen doveko we can pay you. Alas, it is all we have."
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Imars
New Member
Posts: 20
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Post by Imars on May 26, 2007 14:30:06 GMT -5
The money seemed to be of good use, but as the pilgrim had said, he was a man of honor.
"Save your money," he replied. "Your words speak of good-intentions, though I cannot say that they will bring them. I will help you in your journey, but I first check with my ship master, as he commands the vessel. If he grants you passage, I can take you as far north as need be. Perhaps the Fates may intervene and make this easier for the both of us, but I cannot say what they will say. In any case, I must return to the port. Come with me, but mention very little of your quest. I don't know the temptations of the ship master, but he may be inclined to profit from your ventures if he grants it." He paused. "I can't say for certain. I never could trust him completely, though he was always willing to take me on his boat. I suppose he is more trusting than I am."
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