Getting to Tashal
Some thoughts on the relationship between Indama and Dariune:
These guys don’t
like each other professionally. Dariune has big economic plans that involve
helping large streams of the kingdom’s trade flow into Kiban. He’s miffed that
Indama dammed one of those streams by moving a troop of mercenaries to Naniom Bridge.
Dariune is be the type of guy to be
haughty and aloof. He is, after all, definitely the richest and possibly
the most powerful man in the kingdom. He would take pleasure in making
fun of Chimin’s “ox-like” mental
agility.
Indama, on the other hand, finds none of the virtues that he values in
Dariune. Chimin is the kind of guy who would be sitting in a
pavilion watching a melee or a joust with his friends, dismissing Dariune as a
politician. “My wife’s good at politics,” he’d say, implying that Dariune’s
natural talents are better suited for the women’s salons and boudoirs than the
field of battle where men do their work.
The long and the short of it is that Indama won’t stop in a Dariune manor. It is
unlikely that Sir Chimin would be outright insulted. Sir Troda isn’t dumb enough to give
Indama a reason to go to the King and make the Dariunes look bad. Instead, Indama would be subtly disrespected. Given poor and cramped quarters, less than
the best food, that sort of thing. |
The Baron's retinue is roughly half of what Earl Caldeth is taking with him
to Olokand (q.v., The Earl's Progress). Remember to
include guards and servants. Every knight will have a squire and a groom. Every
lady should have a maid and a varlet to do the heavy lifting. Add on the
teamsters for the pack animals, falconers, minstrels, etc. etc.
The group’s movement is planned with two things in mind. First, it’s
summer, so the sun is up longer and, therefore, it is convenient to travel two
watches a day. Second, if Baron Indama isn’t visiting friends or political
contacts, he’s got to travel through the Earl of Balim’s land, so there’s no
reason to dilly dally.
Assuming that the train travels 2 watches at the pace of a person on foot on
level unpaved road, the Baron takes the following itinerary:
Day 1: Getha to Jenkald (if you needed something to happen there) or have the
vassals meet in Getha and then everyone proceeds to Brynd. It’s an easy day and
the group gets to meet with the Baron’s friend the Rekela.
Day 2: Brynd to Shebra is another easy day. This evening is a lot more political
because now the two sheriffs could be talking about the destruction of Galdyk’s
bandit band. The less said about the failed (?) apprehension of Squire Galdyk
the better.
Day 3: Stopping at Matrass is really the only option. Everything before that is
Dariune land.
Day 4: There is no stop in Querina unless the GM has another political subplot in
mind. Tashal is a day’s travel from Matrass, so the train is likely to be eager
to sleep inside the city's walls.
Once in Tashal, the Indamas stay in their townhouse (the rightmost of the two
larger buildings immediately north of H10) and use the fanon article The Wool
Merchant* as a basis for their lodgings.
A real brain teaser is what Lysella does or is allowed to do?
* The Wool Merchant was written by Kerry Mould and is
available at Lythia.com.
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