Lady Ceiling's Journal
Lady Ceiling’s Journal
Lo Li Market 20th Fourth Moon 707ATN
We were wakened up at dawn.
Yameh of the Placki told us that the huns shadowing us had been joined by
others, he was uncertain as to how many. “The sooner we can do our business at
the market the better! We are looking for two horse harnesses. I shall take two
riders with me and Senior Hetpak Ahhah will command the Polk in my absence. The
Market is held outside the East Gate of the city.
There is a silver florin charge to enter
the market or three florins to buy a token allowing you into the town. (10
silver florins = 1 Gilden Pezzo) Khan Li the ruler of the city is keen to
encourage trade with all comers but many of those living in the city will be
hostile to us. The market is managed by the Warden Know Li who is also senior to
the Captain of the Gate. They have springalds and archers in the towers and
guard Patrols to have a firm hand on any lawlessness.”
So once we had breakfasted
and all the baggage was back on our poor overloaded mules, we moved off. The
city soon came into view and around the seventh hour we were close enough to
make out the stalls and long tables piled with goods. On the road stood a guard
hut where apparently we would pay our entrance fee. As we approached Graf Silth
said, “Well we must decide what we need to buy and who is to do the purchasing?
There is no point in all of us going in!”
“I have the most money so I
will go!” said Princess Griselda.
“Yes you dvaus are usually best at
bargaining, but you must have Sir Shure and a couple of others to guard you.
This is a chaotic city after all! So what do we need, Two mules?”
“We might need more if we suffer any
wounded further on?” suggested Pouth.
Graf Silth agreed, “Very Well, and I see
what looks like a magic stall, the purple one. Perhaps Druid Barbver might find
something there to lift the curses, or to strike creatures hiding in the
Flaches!”
So Griselda took Druid Barbver,
Abigail Bonny and myself with Sir Shure and Warrior Knot to guard us. Yameh with
two of his riders rode off ahead and soon were allowed past the Guard Hut.
We therefore arrived there without any qualms, and the Princess paid the
required six silver florins. As we left along the road leading to the city’s
east gate Sir Shure commented, “There is a large force of huns approaching us,
along the wall!”
Princess Griselda replied
“Never mind, we will keep going. The City authorities will defend their market,
so we should be safe enough.” So we headed onwards towards the open gate. As we
passed it, turning right into the market throng, a drum started beating beside
the Guard hut. The two spearmen guarding the gate then went inside closing it
and a big gong on the top of the gate tower started sounding. The stall holders
and customers started moving into ad hoc units, so we turned back to rejoin our
party. These had retired back to the edge of the market and the Placki had
formed a long line to their right. These were threatened by another large unit
of huns. The first unit rode along past the market and heading towards the guard
hut. I saw missiles heading towards them from the city walls. Meanwhile another
band of horsemen, on larger horses than the huns were galloping along the road
towards us. The Warden had called out the guard spearmen but they were all
facing toward the first band of huns. So the road column of horsemen charged
through the gateway and engaged some of our party. These had closed up, so that
in most cases they had two to one. Bringing down a couple without loss they did
well! But the Guard spearmen then attacked the passing horsemen from their
flank. Realising they were trapped, the surviving riders fled away to the north.
Beyond us, the Placki and their opposing huns had charged one another. The
resulting melee proved that the Placki boasts about being a match for any number
of huns, was no great exaggeration. They destroyed the hun band for a loss of
two dead and two sore wounded. The first unit of huns meanwhile had exchanged
arrows with the guards who now blocked the road.
There was a brief melee but it ended when the Warden cast a blinding
flash spell which spooked some of the hun horses. By that time their commander
had seen both the road riders and the huns to the south routed, so he ordered
his unit to retreat. The battle was over so we could return to the shopping,
whilst the Placki and the City Guards collected the loose horses and looted the
bodies of the enemy. The Verdini and we dwarves had suffered no losses at all.
The Placki lost two dead and two sore wounded. The latter with some badly
wounded enemies were taken off, to be cared in a hospital within the city.
I suggested that there might be
some cheap hun horses that we could use instead of mules but Pouth advised
against it. “Mules are more reliable in dangerous situations and hun horses
would expect us to give them orders in Jedonese.”
“Yes.” agreed Lady Shalaka, “Besides,
their presence with us might trigger other bands to attack us. I think you
should buy mules as we originally intended. The fact that there are so many
captured horses around, should lower the prices that the market men ask!”
So Princess Griselda, Druid
Barbver, Sir Shure, Pouth, a couple of guards and I, set out once more towards
the market steed’s pound. The locals drew back at our approach and the Trader
and his wife seemed to be in some awe of us. They sold us two mules to us for
the very reasonable price of thirty Gilden Pezzi, plus two yaks for twenty-four.
These look like shaggy coated cows and although slower than mules can carry
more. Since we are travelling on foot they were ideal. Elsewhere we bought two
sacks of oats, two sacks of flour, a keg of oranges, a barrel of smoked
horsemeat and four leather water bottles. We found a stall selling weapons and
bought a crossbow and twenty quarrels. We knew that hun bows and arrows would be
in plentiful supply back on the battlefield. We could not find any stall selling
medical supplies. A trader told us that for those, we needed to go to a shop
within the city. However we thought this might be stretching our luck too far,
as Lo-Li is known as the city of a thousand thieves. There are definitely many
less than a thousand nowadays, as the city was sacked a few years ago by the
Lawic Army. For all these goods the Princess had expended one hundred and ten
Gilden Pezzi.
Meanwhile Graf Silth and the
Placki had decided that we should pitch camp near to the market steed’s pound.
It had an ever-flowing water trough needed for our many steeds. So we returned
there to rest. Druid Barbver however had heard that there was a stall
selling magic items at the west end of the market. So he with Graf Silth and two
guards went to see what it could provide. It was named Doctor Belsibub’s Magic
Emporium. After much haggling they bought one Magic Arrow and a Phial of Ghost
Killer, items thought to effective against creatures lurking in the Gheist
Flache. Also after testing it with a
Detect Magic spell, they bought a Pebble of Powani. When placed in the mouth
this allows a person to breathe under water. In the Lay of Two Unicorns Morgana,
she used one in the River Arwyn. They also purchased three spell scrolls,
Frigidity, Smoke Screen and Vertigo.
The druid wanted the Frigidity spell because he thought it might help counter
the strange sickness afflicting the nurses. They had both fainted again at
different times this morning These purchases had cost Graf Silth two hundred
Gilden Pezzi and he was a little worried about how much more he might need to
spend. Unless we crossed the bridge at Hamormaz a long way off our route, we
would need to hire vessels to ferry us across the river Dor. It might be easier
to cross into Delvon to use the usual route using the Hickwood to Homath ferry
that the Dimini used to send supplies to Hamora, but Graf Silth decided against
it. It would risk King Granbold and Bishop Bhorin detecting our whereabouts and
trying to block the wedding!
At the camp fire that
night we discussed the battle. Yameh of the Placki said that he had made deals
with the city guards and the Verdini. As a result they now had four good spare
horses lost by their enemies, the turncoat Quacki. One of the Verdini had found
a large bag of money on the body of Hetman Huki of the Quacki. They used it to
buy nine hun bows with forty arrows from the Placki. Now each spearman would
carry a bow with four arrows each. Before it got dark they practised loosing
them at short range, making sure to recover the arrows fired.
Apart from Hetman Huki, the Polk
Leaders Balido and Egglis were dead with over a score of their followers. After
such a defeat, Chieftain Yameh thought that Beevil would have a lot of trouble
recruiting any more huns to attack us! According to Natalie he had few spells
that were useful in a fight. He had to persuade others to fight for him.
The Warden Know Li called on us
in the evening when he was off duty. He was very curious as to why we had come
to Li-Lo. Graf Silth told him that having visited the Fimbrethin Forest, we were
going on a sightseeing tour. After sampling the beauties of the Hunara
countryside we expected to sample the sights to be had in Hamora. Know Li did
not look as though he wholly believed this but soon realised that he could learn
nothing else. He said that the Khan of L0-Li was pleased that the raiders had
been driven off. He said that if the city was to ever become prosperous again it
needed to attract more customers to its market and shops. We told him that we
were impressed by the range of goods sold in his market. In truth I doubt even
at Naug did we have it’s like.
On Restday 21st
we marched off to the north. Onwards across the never ending bleak grasslands
that make one feel naked under the vast sky! The few bushes and trees we
encountered lined the occasional brooks. These mostly meandered northeast
towards the river Dor and were small and easy to cross. However in the
mid-afternoon we reached a larger stream sized one. To the mounted Placki it was
no problem and even the Verdini could wade across with the water up to their
chests. “Could you not swim over?” asked Chieftain Vaggson. “That is if you put
all your weapons and stuff on the mules?”
“Swimming is not a normal dwarf
accomplishment. I cannot swim and neither will any of the ladies!” declared
Druid Barbver. In fact I think only three of our party could swim and so we were
eventually ferried over two a time on the Placki’s spare horses. By the time
that was done Graf Silth decided that we should camp here for the night. The
Placki called this the wild land stream and found us a old camp site a little
further to the northeast. They told us that they had sighted a few hun scouts
but did not expect any more trouble from them. Nevertheless we and they all set
our normal nights watches!
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