Out to the Canden Settlement

We met with some interesting people yesterday morning - there were, as expected, thirteen men provided by the big caravan companies.  Unfortunately we only had four of the other guards turn up.  We think our message to delay this meeting from the morning before confused several of them (they're not the sharpest of people that I've ever met).

We had seventeen of them - and the six of us.  None of them had horses, but we did.  This caused us transport problems, but in the end they just had to walk.  We didn't have far to travel, but this did slow us down.

Elenhugh and Mullory had gathered some food supplies - trail rations, enough for everyone for a day or so, but this was a heavy burden.  We loaded the supplies onto our horses and walked with the Hznamen guards.

It was mid afternoon yesterday when we arrived in Canden.  The locals were quite pleased to see us, and had been concerned by our delay.  We explained as far as we could - and they were overjoyed that we'd brought some extra blades to carry out this fight.  They seemed to thin that seventeen extra men was plenty - we don't think it's enough, but we don't want to hurt the settler's enthusiasm.  From their own people, they'd mustered six young men, these had all come from the local settlements.  More, they told us, were on their way - the other settlements were concerned that their young men wouldn't be up to a fight, but there had been some weapons training taking place here for their young volunteers.

The other aid that had been provided was a selection of food - salted pork and some fruit mostly - to feed our small army.  This was most welcome.  The food was very fresh - we've packed some of up so that our horses can carry it easily, but with the Bandit camp so close, we have decided to leave most of it here.  We'll be using Canden as our base, this job may take us several days especially if the bandits flee.

As many of those in our group are new to sword fighting, we've been holding some training sessions of our own.  Daran and Kenner lead these for us, and some of the other experienced guards have been joining in too.  There is one that has established himself as some kind of natural leader, his name is Onter Farley, but his closest friends in the group seem to call him by his nickname, Gripper.  From what the others tell me, he likes to punch his enemy very hard until they stop swinging their sword at him, but he doesn't have much opportunity to do that when defending the caravans.  He's not a pleasant man if you get on his wrong side - but he's very popular, and has a great rapport with the others.  Daran and Kenner talked long with him on the journey down about what we're facing and how the enemy is organised.

We'll be enjoying more of the hospitality of the local farmsteads here in Canden tonight. There is one large barn that we've been meeting in, and a couple more that have been roped in as barracks.  We might not be leaving in the morning as we'd hoped - we're still waiting for some more people from other settlements.  There has been no word of any raids on the farms since we were last here, but the settlers seem to be expecting one very soon.

Those fickle traders have really hampered our mission.  We want to hit these bandits hard, and some of the traders were initially keen to give us plenty of their men.  But there are some that weren't so happy to be fronting the cost of doing this job -  and they were vocally reluctant.  Under this pressure the seventeen men we'd been promised soon dwindled to just eight as we had a couple of the smaller caravan traders pull their staff out of the project.  That was yesterday morning.

We needed a little more time - the big caravan companies wanted to be involved, but they wouldn't commit immediately when we talked to them yesterday morning.  The eight guards that we'd gathered we sent off to meet with the Willesden family at Canden, who we were supposed to be meeting this lunchtime.  We sent a letter with the guards to explain to the Willesden homestead the problems that we'd encountered, and asked them to wait one extra day.  We promised to be with them tomorrow even if we were on our own.

It looks like we will not be on our own, though.  Another meeting with two of the largest firms this afternoon by Elenhugh and Mullory convinced them to provide us with some of their men.  When we'd met with them yesterday, they'd just had their teams return from the cross-country journey - they had wanted to help, but their guards were stood down.  They had rallied, though, and with the promise of a small bonus had managed to re-enlist some of their people for this extra work.  Both had faced the same problems, and both had arrived with the same conclusion - finding the location of the bandits base was excellent news.  One had promised seven more guards, and the other six.

It turns out that these guards often work together, and as part of a larger team of guards.  They'd all been on the attacked caravan only a few days ago, and they also knew some of the guards who worked elsewhere.  We met with them this evening over a meal, and there were another three guards that had joined them - we're not even sure who is paying the wages of these extra men during this trip. That's sixteen more men to our cause, along with yesterday's eight and possibly ten more from the settlements, we could have a force of thirty four, plus ourselves, of course.  This makes the numbers more reasonable, and we might have a chance of achieving our objective of smashing the Bandit camp.

We're meeting tomorrow morning, where we'll assess the men we've recruited.  We'll then move on to Canden after we've shared breakfast with them.  From their demeanour in the bar tonight, I'd say that most of these had missed the earlier fight with the Bandits, and were keen to be involved in some action.  I think that guarding these caravans is often a more dull job than they like to portray.

Where the Bandits Live

We watched the bandits all day yesterday, and well into the night.  As Barr and Daran had been carrying out most of the observation activities, the rest of us set about setting a camp.  We found a place where the ground is low, in a small depression, topped at the southern edge by some gorse and other bushes.  With winter now upon us, the branches look quite bare, but they provide shelter from the eyes of the bandit camp.

Not that they were watching us.  It looks like they've been busy out making raids - a small group of six or so rode in on horses as dusk fell.  We could tell very little of them from this distance, but they carried heavy sacks, and unloaded food.  Either they traded for this, or they've just raided one of the settlements.  There were some cut sides of meat that I could see among their booty, these were probably from a large pig, but it was really hard to see over such a distance in the failing light.

As they dismounted, one of the men had a heavy limp - he was clearly injured, which suggests further that they had raided this stuff, and had met some resistance.  When it was fully dark we all retired to the camp to discuss what we'd seen.

Barr informed us that he'd seen at least twenty different individuals in the camp.  There were another six who had been out raiding, and probably half as many again were inside the caves and out of sight.  We'd be expecting maybe thirty five of them in total, and all would be experienced swordsmen.  This is out of our league - unless we can catch them a few at a time by surprise.  That's unlikely to happen.  We may catch one small raiding party or patrol, but the alarm would then be raised.  If their patrol didn't come back to the cam, they others would probably blame the local settlements, and take retribution.

It was a difficult decision to make, especially in the face of Kenner's enthusiasm, but Elenhugh was clear and adamant - we need more help.  Greater numbers will be vital if we are to stand any chance of winning a fight with these people, and the back-up of the local law enforcement people would also really help.  This may be considered 'out of their jurisdiction' though, and leave it up to mercenaries hired by the traders.  Personally, I find I don't care where the men come from or who is paying for them (as long as it's not me) as long as we can assault this place and deal out justice.

If the Kings Guard don't want to be involved - and the only excuse they'll have that is valid is one of jurisdiction - then we'll be free to impose whatever justice we (or, more likely, the traders and settlers) want.  If they do get involved, then this will be official and we'll have to take prisoners into custody.  Again, I'm ambivalent to the choice here - either option suits me.

We stayed and watched the camp for a couple of hours more after sunrise today.  We watched a patrol leave and return an hour later, they appeared to do a circuit of the camp site, but they didn't spot us.  We did get a closer look at them as they rode past, though.  Barr was right about their armour - its a mix of leather armour and leather armour with metal studs, some also carried shields, but all seemed to have a bow of one kind or another, and they all had long-swords.  We moved out after they'd returned to the camp.

We dropped by the settlers once more on the way back and let them know what we'd seen.  When we told them of the group of mounted men returning at dusk, they told us that one of their small farmsteads to the south had been raided yesterday lunchtime.  They'd taken food supplies, including some livestock.

After a short discussion, we told the settlers of our plan to raise more help from among the traders around Loudman.  We asked if they had any volunteers from among their own people that would be willing to lift a sword and end their misery.  They couldn't, of course, make promises for the other settlements, but they had four young men among their own that wanted to take care of this matter.  I urged them to send word to the other settlements nearby to see if any other volunteers could be mustered - and that they should meet back at this same farmstead in two days.  I asked if they could find at least ten men willing to help defend their homes.  They were very eager to try and organise this.

The farmers helped us with some more food before we set out for Loudman.  The town was much closer to the farmsteads than I'd thought, and we were back there by nightfall.  We've been spending a little time with the traders, especially those in the last caravan that arrived - the one that had been attacked.  When they heard that there was a group of the bandits nearby, those that had a livelihood working these caravans were happy to help.

As a result, we've had several offers of the use of caravan guards to aid our fight.  We've asked everyone to keep this as quiet as possible, but the guards are assembling tomorrow lunchtime on one of the caravan assembly fields.  We've had promises of up to forty men - but we're not going to rely on all those turning up.

We'll speak to the Kings Guard tomorrow.  From what the traders told us, we'd be very lucky if they wanted to become involved.  We can only try, however.

Almost Civilisation

We were woken before dawn by a red-faced farmer's wife.  She had a plate of rustic bread and some bacon and sausages.  We certainly weren't expecting this - it was most welcome.  She told us that she and her husband had been talking together, and with a couple of the other families in this settlement, and they were keen to see some of the local bandits brought to account for what they'd done.  She told us of several times during the last year this settlement and others close by had been attacked, and the farm workers had been hard pressed to fend them off.  The raiders mostly took food or small numbers of livestock - perhaps they figured they could raid whenever they needed more supplies.  When the attacks first happened, they were quite sneaky, but were opportunistic and disorganised.  Recently, though, the numbers and organisation of the attackers had been growing.  This is quite a concern to the local people.  The food and accommodation overnight were a gift to us, she told us, in goodwill that the bandits might be dealt with.

After we moved on we rode between several small settlements, these were dotted around, little more than half a mile or so from each other.  Once beyond there, we spent the morning catching up with a rapidly disappearing trail.  Progress has been excruciatingly slow as Barr has had to walk his horse most of the journey.  As we approached lunchtime we were little more than six or seven miles from the last of the settlements, but we'd stumbled over a most interesting place.

Before us, and hidden from the view of the rolling plain behind us, was a sunken valley.  The land here had collapsed down, and on three sides there was a sheer cliff, here on the eastern side and curving around to the south and the north.  Across the area, on the far side, the land sloped upwards and was covered with grass.  The whole depressed area is probably three miles long from north to south, and a mile and a half across to the far slope from this side.  The location is perfect for anyone wanting to keep out of sight of either the caravan road or the settlements, both of which are away to the east behind us.

We carefully sneaked up to the edge of the valley, and peered over.  Below us is a drop of maybe thirty or forty feet, but the land at the bottom is level and grassy.  Set into the cliff further to the south are several cave entrances, some with small fires outside.  Looking carefully through the gloom we can see a paddock and some men walking around in what looks like leather armour.  These are quite possibly the bandits we seek.

Now we need to observe them - it would be nice to gather some information about their numbers, patrol sizes and times, and where their supplies are, etc.   We want to mount an assault, but I get the feeling this place will be too well defended for us.  We might have to bring in help - although there should be enough traders back in Loudman, and enough of the local settlers to muster some kind of force to assault this place.

Barr is still watching - and we'll probably gather information until late this afternoon.  Then we'll need to make decisions about how we attack these bandits.  We may choose to pick off their patrols if they're sending any out.

A Race Into the Wilderness, and Barr's Tracking Test

Yesterday was not fun.  We had agreed to go out onto the caravan trail to help and, if necessary, assist the incoming caravan, but an hour after dawn another scout arrived with news.  The caravan had been attacked by bandits, they'd done some damage.  The news was not good, but it was far from a disaster.  The report told us that there had been casualties - three caravan guards had been killed, and another half dozen injured.  But there were eight dead bandits, and they'd been turned back quite easily.

From what I could gather the guards had been caught by surprise, otherwise they'd not have been hurt at all.  The bandits were just not up to the job, and were hurt badly in the first counter attack.  Unfortunately, they'd used some kind of heavy crossbow and a lucky shot had broken a wheel on one of the back carts. As they were so far into this journey, they had no spares left and couldn't replace it easily, so the scouts are all returned mid morning with some new parts parts.  The whole column of carts was stopped, they didn't want to split up - it's much safer when they stay together.

We tried to get their agreement so we could go with the scouts, but they were keen to move quickly and get the caravan moving again.  We knew we couldn't keep up with them, so we decided to take extra food supplies out to them at a slower pace.  The caravan was a day away still.

We grabbed some supplies (on account) from the local traders and set out just after the scouts had left.  Riding quickly it took us five hours to reach the caravan, and we greeted them warmly, handing over the food supplies and the invoices that went with them.  The scouts had been here for a couple of hours before, and with the new parts they'd repaired the wheel quickly and moved on northwards.

After travelling with them back along our trail for half an hour or so, we left them and continued back down to the place where the attack had occurred and they had been stopped.  They'd piled up the bodies and burned them, so the place was easy to find  We were in luck - the bandit's tracks were still visible.  It was getting dark by this point, though, so we found a place to camp and settled for the night.

This morning, we picked up the trail from first light.  It was tough going - Barr was really tested in finding this trail.  We followed it all day, and in the lower lying land it was easy to follow in the frost.  On the higher, rockier lands we really struggled, and at times we cast about trying to pick the trail up again.  This really slowed our progress - we spent over an hour at one point trying to pick up the trail as it came over a high, rocky hill.

We've now arrived at a small settlement, it's named Candon by the locals, and we've found lodgings in a simple wooden barn.  The trail didn't come into this village, but went across some of the farmed land a mile or so to the south of it.  The villagers are surprised the bandits came this close, they're not welcome here.  There are about 150 people here, and about fifty of them are men who have been toiling in the fields all summer long.  Now it's almost winter, they have a little time on their hands, and they don't appear shy about defending their homes.

We'll be resuming our hunt in the morning.

The Incoming Caravan is Late

Barr was out among the traders to the south of the settlement yesterday morning when he was first of us to hear news of the imminent arrival of a caravan.  We've been waiting for this for several days - and it was due in this afternoon.  He'd met some of the early scouts, who normally ride in to let the people here prepare for the huge influx of trade, and they were reporting that it should be expected this afternoon.

We're now worried - as it hadn't turned up by nightfall tonight, and we can only speculate about what has happened to it.  The scouts seem a little agitated now, they were talking about returning down the path to find out what has gone wrong; that will not happen until first light now - and we're considering travelling with them.

I've been urging the others to go out down the trade route for a couple of days before these scouts arrived - I was getting quite bored sitting here among the traders preparing to leave in a few days time.  The others were intent on exercising caution, though.  Hopefully by first light we'll have agreed to go and investigate.

This is an Unusual Community

It is not the people who are unusual, it's the make-up of them, the mix.  I've been struck by how diverse these people are while I've been talking to them.  I've learned quite a bit about the way this transport industry works, and how different people slot into the smooth running of the caravans.

There are two large community groups here.  The biggest one is the traders that are just preparing to leave, these can be caravan participants who are gathering guards and maybe other parts of their shipment, and who may be hanging around in the town for a week or two while all their trade comes together.  This group gradually gets bigger and bigger until a caravan leaves.  One of them left this morning, we'd only been here for a day - but I watched it go.

The next group are the traders that are just arriving in the town with new caravans.  These are briefly the biggest group, for a few hours every week or two - there are people in these groups that are just happy to be back in civilisation, they're arriving dusty or muddy from the journey and often with tired guards and pack animals that have been hauling their loads for several weeks.  There is something of a euphoria that can overcome the traders as they arrive, so they say (we've not seen any arrive yet).

Of course, there are the locals.  All-in-all these are quite a small group of people, but they provide essential services - inns, equipment repairs, blacksmithing, etc., to the caravan operators, traders and their guards and passengers.  These people seem to be making a really good living from these temporary inhabitants.  Money would have to be good - you'd certainly get a quieter life doing this in a more ordinary town.

The other groups are the ones that are here for the caravans themselves - the van operators, guards, load/unload/labourers, even some bards and minstrels to entertain the people who ship their goods long-haul.  There must be something about spending long periods travelling the wilderness, because most of these people do this repeatedly.  The get off one caravan and immediately get themselves booked on another one going back in the opposite direction.  Although they're spending a lot of time in the wide open land of the wilderness, they're cooped up together - it's potentially dangerous to be away from the protection the caravan (and its guards) brings if your out in the middle of nowhere.  Many of the van operators have become traders, too.  There is quite a free market that has developed in the caravan waiting areas.

The cart drivers are quite polite to each other - and it took an hour to get them all going and plodding out through the exit between the holding areas this morning.  The large carts take some effort from the beasts to get them moving, but once they're rolling they seem to be difficult to control quickly, they're much more cumbersome than normal sized carts.

I spoke to some of the drivers and they all seem to prefer different places in the column.  Some of them wanted to be at the front, others at the back.  They all seemed to think that in the event of attack they'd be in the safest place, or in the place where they could escape easiest.  I suspect that means the caravans are not often subject to attack.

I spent the whole morning and into the afternoon just chatting with some of these people.  It was the van operators and guards who I focussed on for the most part.  These people are the ones most likely to have experienced any bandits recently.  The traders will have arrived with goods and will have moved on.  There have been attacks recently although the traders who just turned around at the far end of their last and come straight back have not been on the road headed south for more than two months (the journey time is four to five weeks, depending on the weather), so their information is not up to date - and many of them have just left once again on the latest caravan.

The anecdotal reports, though do confirm that the bandits have been working at this end of the journey, and they've attacked a couple of the smaller caravans, but only under cover of darkness, and only while they were still in the semi-civilised region of South Caldonacia.  Some goods were lost, but it was mostly foodstuffs - flour, honey, some root vegetables and the like.  The information is quite sketchy, and I've struggled to gain any coherent information about locations and times of attacks.

Perhaps if another caravan comes in during the next few days they'll be able to give us some better information.  News of attacks during this latest trip would be ideal.

A Caravan Gathering Site

Loudman is quite an odd town.  On one hand it's a proper town, but quite small (except for several large inns), and on the other hand there is a large series of light-fenced enclosures where I'd have expected farmland to be.  The enclosures are bustling with traders and their large carts, there is even overspill beyond the enclosures to the south.  It looks like the place is packed full of people, but it isn't.  All the carts and all the goods being transported make it appear as though there are more people here than there are.

Of course, it was dusk when we arrived last night, and none of this could easily be seen.  We did check-into an inn immediately upon our arrival, of course, and we cannot see any of the enclosures from the inn.

We'll be having a wander round this area today, but we really want to talk to incoming caravans.  It's hard to predict if any will be here - but it's been a few days since any came up the wilderness trail, so we might be in luck in the next day or so.  If we can't find anyone arriving soon, we'll just set off and speak to some of the locals in the area of South Caldonacia.  I've already talked to a few of the traders in our inn, but that's drawn a blank.  We need to try and locate where the bandits are hiding out.

The Road to Loudman is Extremely Busy

I seem to have mastered riding this horse.  As we're not trying to hurry to Loudman, controlling it is much easier.  It generally follows the others, and if I need to adjust its route only gentle persuasion is needed.  If we end up in a chase, though, I'll probably go to pieces.  But half a day in the saddle has left me feeling much happier with my level of control.  The ache in my backside and legs had all but gone my late yesterday afternoon.  But only an hour or so into our journey this morning saw the pain return again.  It doesn't seem as bad after this morning's ride - but there's plenty of time yet.

We've stopped for a break in the riding, and I tried to slip my legs back into their normal position.  This is not so easy as everything has become quite stiff.  I managed to sit down, though, while we ate some of the fresh food.  We brought some excellent pie with us for our early journey rations - made with chicken and mushrooms.  This wouldn't keep well for the long journey beyond Loudman, but this is so tasty that I don't think there is any risk of it making it past the end of today.

The freight along this road is quite heavy, it's busier here with trader's carts than I've seen it anywhere else in Caldonacia.  This volume of traffic would make it difficult to press on past all the people if we'd wanted to do that.  So we took it easy and just kept up with the others.  This did have the advantage of giving us the chance to talk to some of the traders and cart owners, though.

For some traders this is an annual trip, once per year selling on a large order, while for others it is a monthly or even weekly expedition.  There is a bewildering variety of trade goods - farming and industrial equipment, pottery and gilded or brass items are popular, as are the Caldonacian specialities - apple cider (and it's pear-based equal, perry) and a fire spirit they called whiskey.

I was intrigued by the whiskey they were bringing.  I managed to scrounge a taste of this locally produced drink, as we have a similarly named spirit in the delves.  Ours is nothing like this, though.  Hznaman whiskey comes largely from the northern coastline of Caldonacia, and from across on the water on the island of Tenagria, of which only the southern half is populated they said.  These are spirits of exceptional quality, and it seems they can fetch a high price in the south.  I managed to negotiate a deal for three bottles of the stuff, I have no idea of ten Gold Crowns is a lot for each bottle, but it matters little. I'm quite surprised that the Hznaman don't export this stuff to Gora - it'd fetch a high price there too.

A Little Light Shopping

We had a good talk about what these bandits could mean as we ate breakfast this morning.  Daran was perhaps the most reserved about the job - and even he was keen to get started.  They warned me that that fighting other Hznaman and possibly Dzarraf was nothing like fighting Gurgam.  These could prove to be quite a tough enemy.  Anyone who has been raiding defended settlements will be experienced, well trained and well equipped warriors.  And if they've been carrying out raids on merchant caravans, then they'll be an even more formidable enemy.

Loudman, where we're headed, is the southern-most town of this northern country.  Since the warring ended and one King emerged over all these Hznaman lands, trade has flourished, and huge caravans packed with trade goods pass from here in the north to the south, and back again, almost weekly.  These caravans have traditionally assembled around Loudman, but the growth in population further to the south has meant that some traders are joining caravans later.  It could be these smaller transports that are being targeted by the bandits - I really hope so because, from what I've learned in the last day, you'd need a small army to attack one of the big caravans.

We've been out around the city doing a bit of shopping.  It was important to ensure we had enough lamp oil and trail rations for the journey.  The others have been renewing bits of their equipment, but my kit is brand new.  Instead of that, I've returned to the inn, I intend to spent an hour or with the stable-boys here, learning about how to look after these horses.  I might need that knowledge during the journey we're going to be undertaking.

We Talked with Murtlley

Ennan Murtley is a quietly spoken, meek man who seems to be in complete control of the matters he's been handed.  His works for the Viscount of Fornan Bay, Donal Albury, who has been working with the Earl for several years now to support the growth of population that has been expanding southwards.

I was given a quick run-down of the history by Murtley when he realised I was so new in this land I knew absolutely nothing of the history of the Hznaman here.  Hundreds of years ago this land went to war against the kingdoms of the south.  More than once, as it happened, but the result of the fighting, which this land (Caldonacia) did badly.  The end result was a contraction of the population of Caldonacia, and an abandoning of the southern lands where the fighting was pretty heavy.  But it's been many years since the wars, and people have recovered in numbers somewhat.

Over the last generation, though, there have been a slow return to the lands that were known as Southern Caldonacia.  One of the things the Earl of Rhandan has been dealing with is the extension of the King's protection to this area, and he's been taking it easy as it involves both the imposition of law and order, and the imposition of taxation.  It all gets a bit political from this point, and I must admit I didn't perhaps pay as much attention as I could have as it was a bit dull, but the bottom line appears to be that the arrival of the Kings Guard was resisted before, until the lawlessness became a real issue.  I think he said that the larger settlements are desperate for protection, but the smaller places are still very happy slipping under the government radar.

The immediate problem that has developed is that some of the smaller settlements have suddenly become a target for bandits.  In one region, south and west of Loudman, there has been a marked increase in the number of refugees arriving at Loudman.  The Viscounts of Sparren Marsh and Fornan Bay have been asked to pick the matter up - the correct solution is to send in the Kings Guard, which is a solution that will be in progress when the go-ahead from Carlow (the capital of Caldonacia) is received.  In the meantime, the Viscount and the Earl have been considering hiring in mercenary help to sort these bandits out.

Of course, the details of even this plan haven't been agreed yet - but Murtley was quite candid with us - it would do no harm for a group of free-spirited mercenaries to go to this region deal with any banditry and take their reward from the stash built up by the bandits themselves.  I'm pretty sure Elenhugh's eyes lit up in gold at this point.  We asked for a simple map showing where the bandit raids have been happening, a list of the settlements that have been raided recently, and for any pertinent information about the bandits themselves.  Murtley handed over a couple of scrolls.

Later, after we'd retired to the common room in our inn, I wanted to know why Elenhugh was so keen to take on a mission like this with very little information.  He told me that the region of land to the south of Loudman was a gathering point for overland caravans that were headed south to Hebria.  This place was well guarded, and there was safety in numbers - but once the caravans leave their is much less protection.  The guys we bumped into a day or so ago mentioned that there had been some caravans attacked.  He was surprised that I, as an investigator, didn't pick up on this.  I had - I recalled it quite plainly - but I didn't understand what they had meant by the term 'caravan' in relation to this land south of Loudman.

Anyway, it looks like these bandits could be well off.  And they're probably well hidden.  We could do very well, financially, by finding out where some of them live and where they keep their treasure and helping the locals to deal with both of these matters.  We need to spend tomorrow preparing for this journey - this is the last city we'll be in before we go to Loudman, and we might not be able to get all we need once we're there.

Fornan Bay is a City

With all the fun we had getting here, I never noticed that I'd arrived in a Hznaman city for the first time.  It was dark last night when we rode in through the city gate, and I didn't really see - but this morning, as we went to get breakfast at yet another grill house aimed at the market traders, I finally got a look at the place we are in.  The scale is much larger, and there are many stone buildings here, it's quite a contrast to the towns we've been through.

We dropped by the Viscount's office this morning, Elenhugh dropped a note in to his friend Murtley to let him know we're in town, that we've heard of the bandit problem he's been facing, and that we're available to help.  The others know little more than that, and I know far less.

We've let him know that we'll be around at lunchtime.  We also let him know where we're staying, just in case we would be of no use solving the current problem.

Too Damn Slow No Wonder We're Late

It was truly embarrassing.  At first, I'd never been so frightened - I'm sure they gave me the tallest horse just for the fun of it.  I'm a little shorter than the Hznaman, as you've probably gathered, but I'm broader set across the shoulders which makes up for the lack of height.  But it's completely useless on horseback.  They pulled up the straps with the foot rests on them as high as they could and then helped me on board.

I cannot honestly say I was 'riding' the horse.  It was more like I was just 'sitting on' it.  I tried to steer, I really did, but it wouldn't obey my instructions.  Mullory, who was patiently teaching me, pointed out that normally they respond to movement from your legs, but as mine don't reach as far down the horse's flanks as theirs do, I was struggling to get my message across to the animal.

Fortunately, their natural environment is to live in herds, so mine naturally followed the others as we moved out.  As the morning passed by, so did the wilderness, but not as quickly as Elenhugh wanted.  It took me a while to gather the courage to allow my horse to pick up pace, it reached a canter at one stage, and the wind whistling through my beard was quite alarming.  But it wasn't quick enough for the others, who were insisting that we gallop the beasts for stints throughout the day.  When I really pushed the speed out the inevitable happened.  I fell off.  I went over the back of the animal and landed on my back in the mud and dirt of the roadway.

We had to slow down after that.  I was making it look like I was a slow learner, but really I was struggling to become comfortable with the speed and control of it.  I was just starting to get the knack when we broke for lunch later than normal, as we'd reached the small town mid way between Sparren Marsh and Fornan Bay.

We picked the pace up this afternoon.  I was finally getting a bit of speed out of my animal for periods, but we still weren't covering the distance we'd have liked.  We did get some galloping done towards evening, but the others were clearly frustrated.  We had to stop for an evening break too.  We did this as dusk rolled in, and the temperatures dropped.  We fed and watered the horses, and took some food ourselves.  I had to suffer the indignity of being the butt of the jokes (I'm starting to understand their humour a little, now), and it was all good natured.

We resumed our journey with lanterns and it was soon dark.  We'd probably have stopped and camped if we'd been anywhere else, but Elenhugh and Mullory are very familiar with Fornan Bay, and knew exactly where to take us to find lodgings at this time of night.  We've hired some rooms at the Woodleigh Inn, which is a quite an up-market place.  We don't have a suite as we'd normally choose, but we had to take what rooms were available.  They've stabled the horses and they've served some supper, mostly cold meats, bread and some cold meat pie.  There's also a couple of flagons of beer, which are very welcome.

We have no chance of visiting Elenhugh's friend at the Viscount's office tonight - we'll be heading there in the morning.  But not particularly early - we've had a long day in the saddle, and it has left me quite stiff in some unmentionable places.  I hope I'm still capable of moving in the morning.

Preparing to Leave, a first Horse Ride

We rose from our beds early - this time of year the sun rises late anyway, but it was still dark when we began our breakfast.  Elenhugh is keen for us to make the journey to Fornan Bay in one day - which is possible if we don't take the mule and we go by horse.  He's already picked up the smell of money and the chance to sort out a few bandits.  The others are keen, but he's really focussed on the income.  That's not a bad thing.

Mullory and Kenner went out and bought horses yesterday afternoon, before our visit to the bath house, and we've had those made ready by the friendly staff in the inn.  The others seem to have already sold on some of the gear we'd been given as gifts, and the mule has gone too.

I've never ridden on a full size Hznaman horse before, so this will be interesting.  We don't have to run the horses all the way to Fornan, which is a good thing as I have much to learn about controlling it.  We're leaving in just a few minutes, when we finish eating.

A Chance Meeting and a Bath

We did go to Langan's for breafast, the others were very keen.  They have, of course, been here before.  I quite like fried food, but on this occasion I think I just didn't enjoy it as much as I have in the past.  I think I'm just feeling a little homesick - I have a desire for a bit of home cooked rodent.

In the Grill we bumped into a couple of people who know Elenhugh and Mullory.  These are messengers working for the viscount out in Fornan, they're here running errands for their boss, Ennan Murtley who is one of the viscount's secretaries and the popularity of Langan's is too tempting for them.  They tipped us off that Murtley is currently trying to organise help with a bandit problem that has arisen in the new lands south of Loudman and Sparren Marsh.  The messengers are off to the west next, but they suggested that our team should drop in on Murtley who might be pleased for their visit.

That's made a small change to our journey plans.  It was clear that Elenhugh was really keen to move out of Sparren Marsh today, but the others calmed him down.  They still had stuff to do - Barr especially.  He disappeared this afternoon while the others dragged me around the local facilities.

We visited a bath house later in the day.  This is a large, open-roofed building with a rectangular communal bath set in the middle of it.  The others tell me that it's an import from the south - before the Empire ended these places became popular, but it's only in the last few years that they've begun appearing here in the north.  I think the weather is far too cold to be bathing outdoors here, although the water was quite warm.  I left my woollen shorts on while I was in the water, but it was quite pleasant to be scraped clean by the burly scrubbers - and for quite a low price too.

Arriving at Sparren Marsh

This town is much smaller than I'd imagined.  The marshland to the south and west provides a unique aroma to the place too, a smell we didn't pick up until we began our approach to the town and the wind changed from the north-east and moved round to the south.  I'm not a fan of this smell.  The town is set on the edge of the marsh; to the north we could see the farmland rolling off into the distance, but the south a haze hung over the marshland.

As we entered the town, the entrance was guarded, as always, but the Kings Guardsmen, but we were spared any special attention as we rolled into town.  As we'd brought a mule, we'd ended up travelling with the traders who had carts - and our arrival at dusk was at the same time as them, and we lost ourselves among the carts.

As we passed into the town, we went past Langhan's Fry and Grill, which had been recommended to us - so we can pop into there for breakfast tomorrow.  We've stopped off at another large trader's stopover called Marcy's Inn.  Elenhugh has hired us another suite of rooms, and he's booked us in for a couple of nights.  We don't intend to stay in this reek for very long, but Barr has some people that he needs to see.

The Road Through the Marsh

As we've travelled this road, especially during today, the land either side of this road has become wetter.  We've been travelling gently downhill, and these plains are low-lying and there are few farmsteads.  The land to the south has been turning into a wetland as we've travelled east through it.  It's such a contrast to the mountains which are visible on the horizon behind us.

The road is well made, though.  It's raised up, and is solidly made.  It'll be keeping our feet out of any marshland that may be laying in wait across the plains as we head to the town of Sparren Marsh.

We've met several traders on this journey.  Fortunately our fame has only short reach, and we seem to be back into normal anonymity.  There are quite a range of travellers here.  I thought this road was going to be the main freight-way from the mountains to Fornan Bay, but I was wrong.  The people taking this route are the smaller traders, most with just one small cart.  The heavier freight takes the road to the north, through a place called Glib Hallows, and avoids the marsh, and the really heavy stuff is shipped along the river.

This means that the traders we've bumped into aren't working for big trade companies, nor to tight deadlines.  Most have been really pleasant company.  I think we may have agreed to visit Dooley's tavern in Sparren Marsh during our stay.  And Langhan's Fry and Grill.  And Porkhaven, which seems to be a butcher who specialises in cooked meats, especially sausages.  We may also, foolishly, have agreed to pop into another dozen places when we get to Fornan Bay.

It's good to have made so many new friends on the journey.  Barr has enjoyed it so much that he's managed to cover the costs of our stay in the inn with his dice game.

Moving on from Saltley

It was nice these last few days, as word of the demise of the Gallam End gang travelled around town so did the stories of our victory.  It's a small but really heart-warming kind of fame, as it's only the traders from the north of town who recognise us, and they've treated us so well.  We had dozens of little 'thank-you' rewards, mostly food or equipment, but some cash gifts.  One even offered Kenner the hand of his daughter in marriage.  Kenner couldn't accept that, though it would have kept him here - which is what we suspect the trader wanted.  His daughter's eyes never left the tall warrior all the time they were with us.

My friends normally travel light, but the extra food supplies (fresh food mostly) and equipment, which is mostly ropes, poles, lanterns, oil, hand tools and such, meant we had to buy a mule to help carry it all.  Elenhugh was pretty unhappy at this, as it will slow our journey, but we can sell most of the gear, including the mule, when we reach Sparren Marsh, the day after tomorrow.  The objective is to try and eat as much of the fresh food as we can before we get there too.

We've stopped for a light lunch, which today consists of a generous slice of pork pie with bread and some delicious butter, followed by a generous slice of apple pie.  Trail rations like this leave me wishing the journey was longer.