Equine Endeavors
As told by Sir goin2mars, Earl of Vesrof, 21st/II Bt of CK, TB, QJB on this day of 07 May, 1666It was nearly two years since the Earl’s last adventure into the unknown, and it really was the unknown. Words of wisdom rang through his subconscious on a weekly basis, about fear and its needlessness for kings and peasants, and how it was meant for only the most base forms of life. “What about those above, in between and below?” pondered the Earl.
It wasn’t exactly fear that had postponed his explorations, it was mainly curiosity. The curiosity had lead to extended periods of meditation, often for days at a time. Upon returning from his Delvin expedition, lightning had struck three times. Once, on making a Vesrovian-styled traditional meal of chili, once again when drinking from unfermented wine, and once a third time in his dreams. Their timing in relation to his previous venture has been regarded as, uncanny, to say the least. Surely, minor frays could have pins put in them and the deployments could continue in their splendor.
It was simply time to get back to reality, and that, more often than not, is what can be made of it. For one, a reality in the Crypto Kingdom is that it happens to be filled with people waking up and carrying on about their day, constantly, people always waking up as if to imply that they weren’t already for some period of time. It’s a positive vibration to experience the realization that many have come, and will continue to come, to a corner of the world where people are often to report, among first and foremost, that they have awoken. As if some form of primal power had coaxed them in this particular direction, offering perhaps to manifest some of its magnificence in the hopefuls. Something truly extraordinary.
His meditations had revealed to him that there were specific threads that had come loose in the tapestry that had been woven in such a way as to portray reality in some form of experience the Earl could understand and see before him unfolding in his daily life. It had been mentioned to the Earl once, many decades ago, that if one were to exist in some different form of multi-dimensional space time, this tapestry could read as a book, or in another to exist as some form of painting, or in another yet that could be heard gracefully reverberating from the vocal chords of an unknowing singer, and so on.
In this existence, it had manifested as Sir goin2mars’s human life. But, it’s also well understood by the Earl that ones existence is often a constant grapple with the unknown, despite all efforts to know it. There are many doors that can be pushed open, and very rarely do they close without making a discontinuity in what could form a very long hallway full of doors. There’s no reason not to push them at all, sometimes doors seem to open of their own accord and some seem to just enjoy that doors exist. One could spend a lifetime in meditation, and a few do. So it was at once that he decided to set out yet again, despite creased pages, voice cracks, or deceptively misspelled words, curiously perishable chili, and the threads be damned.It was the middle of the day, March 1665 when a courier appeared at the Civil Street Office relaying a message from the King, who had been making rounds sharing a message to all interested. It had been a vivacious year and it could be seen that the bloke hadn’t been spared from the voracity that had engulfed the Kingdom. What had arrived by message left the Earl quite stunned, as if again lightning had struck, for the courier had dropped off a message describing a prominent creature in the Kingdom. Only it was more than just a creature, as just six months ago, this very being had passed through the Earl’s dreams.
“Surely fortune has not spared me from the frays,” the Earl audibly murmured.
“I will pass the message along to the King,” responded the off-put courier.
“No, don’t send that message. Please let the King know that at least one explorer will be searching for a FluffyPony. Have you heard any specific information about these creatures that isn’t listed on this parchment?”
The courier responded, “I’ve heard a tale that a FluffyPony accompanied one of the more fearless warriors into battle, and to take one into your stables will grant you an abundance of health, happiness and wisdom.”
“I’ve only heard the stories of their existence, and didn’t know any of them had been tamed by citizens,” the Earl said.
Not missing a beat, the courier replied, “Times are changing quickly, Sir, within two years there will be an elixir created that will grant the imbiber eternal youth. It’s no wonder that fantastic creatures are coming to the aid of citizens in times of such fortitude. I can only expect more will follow.”
“I suppose not, we’ll set out on this search at once,” were the words the Earl spoke as the courier departed.
The Civil Street Office is where the Earl typically spends his days. It’s a good-sized structure of 336 sqm with a shopfront sharing a first floor of 112 sqm. The building is square and is approximately 10.6m x 10.6m. It stands around 24m high and has many windows, enough to cover about 25% of the four building faces. It has a sloped roof and has a Very Elaborate finish. The first floor is a shopfront, in front of which any marketeer may peddle their wares for a small commission, and inside the Earl’s own wares are sold on the first floor.
The second and third floors are office areas, which housed a small library, and the fourth floor is assumed to be mostly storage. It’s location tag is 22-N-D13 on the town registry. The exterior facade of the building is adorned in slate-covered timbers to form a main structure. This is filled with an off-white plaster, like stucco, coating a wooden framework underneath. To the south-east of the office is the King’s Esplanade Square, and East is the Barbican Carriage Parking area.
Following the jubilant exchange with the courier, the next day was spent researching in the Office’s library for any information relating to FluffyPonies and their whereabouts. Finding little information, the Earl dispatched a waitress to seek out HH The Duke of Forte Spagnolo, so that information from his Fluffy Pony Scientific Library may be retrieved, which might point to folklore on finding a FluffyPony. Fortune had it that His Highness was generous in granting a few hours with the precious library of information.
Hours of research indicated that the horses were most readily found at the morning dawns of a year preceding a new age, taking solace at the base of the east side of twin-peaked mountains towering over beaches, where the sun would rise and they might be the last living thing in sight for the sunlight to hit that day as the sun crept over the horizon, only to chase it off to the north and south west far into unknown lands.
”Surely one of these creatures could be found near the shores of New Liberty at the foothills of the Basbel Mountains”, the Earl thought to himself. Unsure of whether or not a new age was upon the Kingdom, the Earl decided that the successful creation of an elixir of life should be a suitable event in which one might be able to witness a FluffyPony. As fortune yet again had laid a beautiful path for the Earl, it would only be a short wait in which he may have the opportunity to encounter a FluffyPony. Such encounters with fortune had become the Earl’s livelihood over his lifetime.
It wasn’t fortune into which the Earl was born, yet it was fortune that had found its way back to the Earl. As if something that needed to be kept, like time, fortune presented itself and it was with compassion that the Earl embraced it for all it could be. You see, fortune has as many faces as there are days in the universe. And to embrace all of them is no small deed, surely more than the Earl ever could hope to see alone. Growing up, he was shown but one face of fortune.
His father had labored in factories, trading his body, mind and soul for three healthy children and a wife. At some time in his life, the Earl’s father reached for more, and found it. He found fortune and took it for all it was worth to him, but his broken body and soul remained. It was his mind that had expanded ever so slightly, and it’s his mind that to this day still toils away in factories, seeking it out yet again. And it was upon the departure of that fortune that his mind remained.
Able to only observe due to a youthful lack of understanding of the world, the Earl could only watch, as he still occasionally does, to embrace every detail of his father’s life. Fortune was found and squandered in less than seven years, and with more days in the universe, what chance does the Earl have to see all of it? He spent most of his childhood in poverty, only to see fortune fall from the trees for five years, and then watched as it was carried off in a direction only the wind knew.
It’s with these eyes that the Earl watches the world, and these eyes that the Earl continues to observe, rarely being impressed by much, often leaving it with an unnecessarily cold demeanor. But, it was in the Kingdom in which the Earl saw some facet of life that impressed him, and it’s fortune that still seeks him to this day. He had decided some time ago, to mirror his life in the Kingdom on his life in childhood, only this time fortune might follow him, or not.
It’s much more than money, was one of the few truths he had been imparted with all those years ago. Maybe all it will take is attentiveness, and everything he’s got to see it back. He knew one thing for sure was that, if anywhere, it may be found here, within the Kingdom and its surrounding lands. If not kept here, then surely observed. It’s with this knowledge that the Earl loves the people in the Kingdom, who hopes they allow fortune to find them, so that it may bless all in sight.After about a month of researching the FluffyPonies, the Earl was faced with acquiring provisions for the journey. It called for a routine setup of about a month’s worth of supplies for around 6 people, weapons and travel arrangements would need to be secured for all involved.
With the list in check, the Earl traveled to the King’s Esplanade Marketplace where he recruited some privates and a Sergeant in need of a fair adventure. The Earl also submitted some desperate bids to the town ledger for some curiously collectible gold and silver coins in hopes that one or two might find their way to him in his coming months on the road.
The marketplace was composed of various wares-sellers ranging from drinks, tonics, food, clothing, weaponry, livestock and building materials. It could be seen in its peak in the mid-month days, but that day the Earl was moving with slight haste, and stopped by in the first week of the month. The scene of the marketplace was rather paltry and skimp, being in the winter months most city dwellers would rather be found sobering up in their beds any time of the day, incessantly overcoming the months that were fought with little sunlight and heat.
Skimming through the weathered stalls, one could hardly find more than the necessities for sale. Nonetheless, a suitable cargo was arranged that would last for two month journey East. The goods were to be delivered to the Barbican Carriage Parking area, where his carriage and horses awaited. Following procurement of the logistics, the Earl was approached by a preacher, who was eager to catch a moment of the Earl’s presence.
“My Lord, I’d ask for some of your time. I heard that you’re setting out to search of a FluffyPony.” The clergyman abruptly stated.
“Hello Minister Richard,” the Earl Replied, understanding the man who had caught his attention to be none other than a Missionary that had come to town before the Winter fell. His word had been spread amongst the town for the past season, and surely he was considering moving on to the next settlement with the coming spring.
“These horses are surely Blessed and Powerful, and I was told to find you before you had left, so that I may offer you some of my guidance,” Richard continued.
“We have room for one more, if you want to come with us,” responded the Earl. It had become obvious to the Earl that the Minister had shown up on his own accord.
“I’d like to accept your offer, Sir.” the Minister continued, “I’m unsure whether or not my time professing the reformation has been well spent, but I can surely help you.”
The Earl then asked, “What do you know of the FluffyPonies?”
“Little, but I hope that my years in service to our Lord can be of service to us, and I’ve recently been given a Blessed Silver Cross, that has been known to awaken a dreamer.”
“Alright, we’ll set out first thing tomorrow morning, but first please show me this cross.”
The reverend, a man of about forty, extended his hand to the Earl, displaying the cross. The Earl studied the special cross, which seemed to vibrate if only for a moment. It was quite elaborate in its design, and seemed to encase some jade that had been divided in four pieces among its points. A peaceful feeling overcame the Earl, followed by a momentary astuteness that could only be found in moments of clarity. There was no doubt that this relic held power.
Very little physically stood out of the ordinary when assessing Richard, the reverend. He had trimmed brown hair and wore a gray robe that came about six inches from the ground. He stood with a posture that condoned that he was on a mission, he always seemed to be leaning forward. A taller man, he had spent years professing the protestant reformation in the countryside. Having little religious knowledge himself, the Earl had decided the character would be welcome in his party. They were about to track down a mythical creature, and surely any assistance from one to profess the Holy word would be more than welcome in his party. For nothing else other than to hear from.
The night passed swiftly and in the morning, The Earl’s carriage departed toward the shores of New Liberty. There were four privates, a Sergeant, the Reverend and the Earl. The military men were all on horseback, leaving the Earl and Richard in the Carriage. As they departed the East gates of Crypto Town, much was to be reflected on. For one, what could they hope to achieve with encountering a FluffyPony? Did they pack enough supplies for a two month journey? Where could such a seemingly normal clergyman acquire such an astounding artifact?
Their journey east took them past Haljala, toward a thick forest. Two weeks were spent traveling on roads in clear need of repair. The carriage needed repaired twice due to the deep ruts in the thing that might pass as a road. It was more of a small narrow path that had barely been cleared of trees, let alone rocks and dung. If only the citizens of the Kingdom could see the utility in well built roadways and paths to destinations, the Earl thought laboriously. Traveling caravans had little more luck than the Earl, as they passed by.
“I sure hope the mission to Sweden is fruitful,” thought the Earl.
The days continued on in great struggle, as the road became more and more treacherous, the Earl had to make the call to send one of the privates back to town with one horse and the carriage. The privates’ return journey would be slow, but safe. The roads were routinely patrolled on horseback. The Earl’s party continued on their horses, deep into the woods. There is an area between Crypto Town and New Liberty that has been scarcely mapped, and also scarcely patrolled.
At some point, the patrols from New Liberty would turn around and head back to New Liberty, and the patrols from Crypto Town would only go so far as well before turning around and heading back to Crypto Town. That any caravans made it through from one area to another was a miracle in itself as the area wasn’t even properly mapped.
The Earl had decided to follow one of the caravans into the thick woods. After a day’s travel into the dense pine cover, barely able to see the sun or stars to navigate, one of the privates started up a fistfight with a traveler in the other caravan. Apparently there was a disagreement over a courtship, which only the private seemed to have any details about. In order to spare the two groups any hardships, the caravan continued ahead on their route to New Liberty. The Earl’s group surveyed the area in an attempt to better map it out.
The group scouted the area in parties of two. Both return reports included hearing ruffling in the rocky hills on the ridge south of their area. As the night came down on them, the Earl felt a sudden tiredness wrack his body. As if he hadn’t been sleeping for days, he set up camp and laid down. The comfort provided by the end of winter foliage was little as it dawned on the Earl that the party hadn’t rested in roughly twenty hours. It had been the end of the previous sunset since the he’d remembered sleeping last.
In his repose, a pain became persistent in his right temple. Like it had always been there, he then realized that he had been with some sort of headache for what seemed like two days now. As the aural pain grew in his consciousness, the party started a fire and made camp for the night. They had hardly gotten a fire together when the rest of the group collapsed.
The sun was setting when the Reverend stirred, his pocket was humming. Searching his person, he retrieved the Silver Cross from his pockets. Examining it, the trinket had a faint glow, the humming was audibly louder now. This was the same noise he had heard in the last moments of sleep, calling to him. Quickly, he returned the cross to his neck so that it may continue in its methods. First of the group to rise, he quickly roused his comrades. It took them only a few minutes to realize that the fire had long since gone out. It quickly dawned on the party that it was at least a day later since their collective onset of slumber.
Thankfully, the headache seemed to have subsided with the deep rest. Suddenly, a figure emerges from the trees. It swiftly and silently grabbed one of the less conscious privates and lumbered off into the dusk in the blink of an eye. All that could be seen was a black and green figure, followed by what sounded like heavy travel over a densely wooded forest floor as branches were crushed by a heavy body.
“We won’t last past the night if there are more of these creatures!” The Earl yelled.
“It’s called a Sidnatch, Sir” Richard proclaimed boldly, as he withdrew a scepter from his cloak.
He muttered an incomprehensible incantation and a crystal fixed to the top of the weapon began to glow brightly, piercing the dusk that had crept further during their brief encounter.
“There isn’t much time left for your ensign, but if we don’t hurry out of here there will be nothing left to distract the creature from coming back for us,” he continued urgently.
“Sidnatch are creatures that have been long forgotten from most of the land, described last in the stories from from the turn of the first millennium,” Richard explained.
“They’re absolutely terrifying beings, some stories have refer to them as demigods, and they hunt by turning one’s mind against itself, and feeding on what remains.”
“Then it’s time to leave right now, we just aren’t prepared for an encounter with something that powerful. Hopefully on our return to the Kingdom we’ll be able to form a diplomatic coalition in which we can depose of this beast” The Earl decided.
The group packed hurriedly and set off to the east in full retreat. With the local area illuminated by Richard’s rock, a vine was discovered to have fallen from the creature. The object was wrapped in haste and stowed away. After a tense few hours had passed, the Earl and Richard began a conversation about their situation.
Richard went on to describe the creatures in more full detail. Typically, they travel alone and inhabit remote regions of the countryside. While clearly not men, the humanoids stood just over two meters high. Their bodies were a combination of obsidian entwined in vines with budding leaves. The buds would emit a pollen which, when in bloom, would permeate the air up to fifty meters from the source. Anything that was to breathe the air in their direct vicinity would be slowly overcome with a euphoric delusional paranoia that would culminate in the prey falling asleep, only to awaken later if it was not the direct target of a Sidnatch, none the wiser. The creatures had the strength of about three strong men and was known to pummel its enemies with stone appendages. It was attracted to magic and wisdom, and would attempt to consume the souls of its prey in the hope that it would acquire more of either. “How did you come by this knowledge?” The stunned Earl asked.
“I’d like to apologize as I’ve not been entirely direct with you. I’m not solely a preacher attempting to convert the countryside. I’m a wizard, studying the teachings of Zenon himself.”
“I’m on a mission from the School of Advanced Memetics, to learn more of exotic creatures and do what I can to prevent the more dangerous ones from harming the countryside.”
Taken aback the Earl responded, “Why would you hide this information from me?”
“As magic becomes more and more involved with the day to day activities of a realm, it’s history that bends more and more to it. We’re working with a highly unpredictable force that would, if pursued, change the very face of history.”
“With that in mind, we were taught mainly to respect history to the best of our knowledge, and attempt to refrain as often as possible from meddling in it. The sheer magnitude of pursuing more of that which is unknown, on compare to that which has a well laid out path is astounding. There are infinite possibilities, of which our current history has surfaced to date, largely barren of magic.
While we don’t know for sure what the future holds, we’ve learned that with every infusion of magic the future of the land inevitably changes in response to the history it’s been shown. In order to retain our edge, we’re taught to focus on the threads that will escape history, that our collective path will remain intact. We were taught to be maintainers.”
Seemingly satisfied with the answer, the Earl thanked the Magician and returned his thoughts to the remaining journey ahead. Two privates, a Lieutenant, Richard and the Earl emerged from the forest in full flight in the middle of the day, knowing that they had narrowly escaped with their lives. With the danger behind them, they took a look at their surroundings. They were in a field only about half a kilometer from the main road, approaching the top of a hill. As they reached the top of the hill, four kilometers west one could see the outskirts of Riga, a settlement on the northern coast of New Liberty. A short distance away a wedding procession was observed. Not wanting to delay their destination any longer, they continued South-East towards the mountains and coast.
They arrived at the coast a day later, with no issues, where they set up camp and began a search for a FluffyPony. They were at the base of the Basbel mountains, looking west towards the ocean. The scenery was absolutely transcendent, a scene that was best left to be observed.
The Earl dispatched one of the privates and the lieutenant to scout for any trails that the FluffyPonies may have left in the area. Days went passed searching the area. The scouting returned numerous reports of horses, tracks in the beach, dung and chew marks on the sea oats along the coast, indicating hundreds of horses in the vicinity.
With the main food source identified, the group only had to wait until a lucky dawn was upon them. After the second day, a gigantic horse appeared. The orange hue of its brindle overshadowed a rich brown coat. The horse was easily as large as two normal horses. Its coat appeared to be made of long flowing hairs that seemed to refract the morning sun. It moved on four muscular legs in a powerful manner that reflected its stature, indicating that it would be a likely powerful adversary. Malice wasn’t apparent in its demeanor; however, the Earl didn’t set out to make an enemy.
In contrast to the short haired horses that the Earl had been riding with, now seeming dull in comparison, it was decided that the FluffyPony in front of them would have to be drawn back to the Kingdom. The intelligent eyes made contact with the Earl’s party. For a moment, neither moved as waves crashed near by. The group watched as the horse continued onward, stopping by the sea oats to have a snack, and bound off toward the mountain.
Assuming that horses would hardly ever suspect magic, the Earl instructed a private to scatter the vine taken from the forest among a patch of sea oats. After doing so, the drowsy private was tended to by the remaining private and lieutenant. The next morning, the FluffyPony returned. Less hesitant this time, the horse seemed to disregard the group and trotted directly over to the patch of oats. After watching the FluffyPony consume the vine-tainted oats, they watched as the creature fell into a slumber about half a kilometer down the beach side.
Knowing they had roughly a day before it would awaken, they fashioned slings and a sled using pieces of driftwood and rope from the carriage. The horse was strapped to the apparatus and they set out north toward Riga, where a more proper introduction and breaking in could be performed. It’s no small step to tame a feral horse, let alone one as majestic as a FluffyPony. Cunning and wit would likely be no match for the wisdom of the Duke of New Liberty, who was the intended recipient of the horse from the Earl. Richard would stay in Riga for a time, continuing his mission in the spring and summer traveling north out of New Liberty.
The horse would find a home within the only port city in the Kingdom. News would eventually reach the King within the coming Months that a FluffyPony had been captured. Perhaps, the acquisition of such a legendary creature would be a boon to production in the city, and lift the spirits of the inhabitants so that they can look toward the sea and one day claim it as their own. As the Earl and party returned toward Crypto Town, the Earl reflected on fortune and horses. A legendary horse finding a home in a legendary Kingdom; it was surely fortune that bound them together in this realm. As a brief wind stirred on his trail, he knew where would be more to be had, even though there was little need for the Earl to do anything at all.
END.
TLDR Summary:
Earl is philosophizing, when a courier comes in. The courier announces the taming of the FluffyPonies. The earl does some background research on the FluffyPonies. An artifact is introduced, the blessed silver cross of 5 grams. Its use is to awaken a dreamer. The cross is introduced by Richard, a missionary. The Earl collects a group of fighters and Richard and sets out to the adventure. The adventure involves a trip from Crypto Town to the far east land of New Liberty, to the base of some mountains. While on the trip, the party encounters a Sidnatch in a forest. Sidnatch are known to cause extreme paranoia by some mechanism like pollen or spores and in-turn cause the adventurers to persist in their awakened hours by some apparent time distortion experience, which in turn causes them to suffer from extreme exhaustion, and partial delirium. After the party has been knocked out for ~26 hours straight, the cross begins to hum and wakes them up. Sidnatch engages and the outcome is revealed. They then continue on their journey and end up at the base of the mountain, where they find a FluffyPony at the turn of 1665. They roofie the horse and bring it to Riga so that it may be broken in by the good Duke of New Liberty. There was no trading to be had, they just return to the kindom with a story.
(Can we maybe do an encounter on Sidnatch with your new black box encounter mechanism Syksy?)
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