Find-A-Way04

Story Four: An Ill-Omened Visit

Scene One: Strange Tidings

In which a raven brings interesting news.

• That afternoon, while Tolbric is reading through his new book, he finds, in his books, a reference to Torrhen's Bull, one of Torrhen's cohort. It does not even give his name, but he was the founder of House Wisent. It mentions that he wielded a potent maul of Valyrian steel craft, named Yrfeal, which means "Bull" in the tongue of the First Men. He can't seem to find any information about what happened to it, however.
• While he is reading, a raven comes in bearing a letter. It bears the seal of Lord Rodrik Ryswell, the Lord of House Ryswell. Lord Josian has the Maester read it to him.

Dearest Lord Wisent -

Greetings. I hope this letter finds you well. Please render your lady wife my deepest regards; it was wonderful to finally meet the Moon's Beauty face-to-face at your daughter's betrothal tournament.

In regards to your generous invitation at said tournament, I should like to accept. I'm terribly afraid that my own affairs here make it necessary that I demur personally. That said, I am sending my heir Roger Ryswell to accept your offer - he is quite the avid hunter, and will do doubt do our name proud with the rich bounty of the Wolfswood. He will be accompanied by our House Champion, Ser Denys. Pray make them welcome in my stead.

Also accompanying them will be another cousin of ours, Jocasta. She is the young woman we were talking about. She is the daughter of a dear cousin of mine, of impeccable breeding and manners. Moreover, she met your heir at the tournament and is not at all put off by his reputation. In fact, she was quite taken by the young man, and that's saying something - she is notoriously difficult to charm, and has turned away more than one perfectly acceptable suitor who failed to live up to some standard she shares with no one else.

I look forward to seeing the trophies that Topher and his compatriots bring home, and hope that you will find their visit enlightening and perhaps even joyful - for the future, if naught else.

I remain, Ever Yours, Lord Rodrik Ryswell

• At dinner, Ser Thomas is a guest, reporting that they've had a great deal of success dealing with the bandits, though they haven't managed to find their main camp. They've rooted them out of a number of camps, although one of them turned out to be a trap - they'd rigged deadfalls and pit traps.
• Afterwards, Ser Thomas takes both Ayrant, Garwyn and Maester Tolbric aside, and thanks them for their part in talking Lord Wisent into taking a proactive stance on this. He is gladdened that he has someone he can come to with these kinds of things that is going to take them seriously - other than his son, of course.

Scene Two: Visitors

In which the House entertains visitors.

• When the Ryswell party shows up, they are accompanied by six guards, as well as extra horses.
  • Two of the horses are extremely fine coursers, and one is one of the beautiful red destriers that House Ryswell is known for.
• There are several ladies with the party - one of whom is Jocasta Ryswell, the cousin discussed in the letter. Among her ladies' maids, however, is Jonelle Branley, the pretty blonde who was so taken with Maester Tolbric at the tournament!
  • The young lady notes that she needs to speak with the Maester later that evening.
• Once everyone is settled in for the evening, bathing and eating something to rest up from their travel, Maester Tolbric seeks out Jonelle.
  • She tells him that she has a secret to tell him. She asked around to find out what had happened to Ayrant's bastard, and she discovered that he's been sent to the Wall! His mother Serise said that her uncle was a member of the Night's Watch, and that the black brothers will take in orphans sometimes, so when it was time to look for a husband for Serise, her father arranged to have his brother take the boy in at the Shadow Tower, under the care of his uncle Ruthlyn Dustin.
  • Jonelle is very excited to see the rookery, asking all kinds of questions about ravens.
• Later on, Lord Josian gives the Ryswell Red to Garwyn, a gift for his comporting himself so well as House Champion at the tourney.

Scene Three: Jocasta, Frankly

In which Ayrant gets to know Jocasta Ryswell.

• Elizabel comes to tell Ayrant that Josian is taking the Ryswell party hunting for a few days, and that's not the sort of entertainment Jocasta is interested in. Would he be willing to show her around? He should make arrangements with Garwyn to come along, too.
  • Kaila and Tolbric, who were listening in, immediately swoop down on Ayrant to torment him a little. Kaila chuckles and "warns him" that her father spent a lot of time at the tournament talking to this and this lord; she's pretty sure that Jocasta is someone that her father might be planning to marry him off to.
• Jocasta is pretty and pleasant. She asks to see the Weeping Gardens she's heard so much about. The nearest godswood they have in the Rillseat is about two days or so away, and she misses having one near. They are accompanied by Garwyn, Maester Tolbric, Jonelle (who shows some interest in the handsome, dashing Garwyn) and two Ryswell guards.
  • While there, she discusses that she's fairly certain his brother and her uncle are looking to marry them off to one another.
  • She's very forthright about herself - she has high expectations of suitors. She likes her men smart, not just sides of beef in a suit of armor. And she appreciates how well-traveled he is, too.
  • She is also upfront about a "delicate matter" - she isn't a virgin. She came to live with her uncle a year or so ago because she simply couldn't bear to live out on Stony Shore any longer. A year ago or so, she was ravished by ironman raiders along the coastline. It's taken her a long time to be able to sit next to a man again without shaking, and she's very content to never again see the sea.
  • But that's why she felt she could trust Ayrant, despite his reputation. She has been raped, and she knows what that kind of man is like, and Ayrant isn't one. Neither does Serise Dustin act or talk like a woman who has been ravished either.
• As the two of them sit talking, they are snuck up on by a group of six bandits!
  • Jonelle and Tolbric flee for the town, to rouse the guards.
  • Ayrant quickly takes care of two of them, gently pushing Jocasta toward the two Ryswell guards and Garwyn.
  • Likewise, Garwyn quickly engages the troops.
  • By the time the Wisenwood guard arrives, all but one of the bandits are dead.
  • Ayrant escorts Jocasta home, while Garwyn and Tolbric (who returned with the guard) put the surviving bandit to the question.
  • With some interrogation - including a fairly sinister threat of poisoning from the normally jolly maester - they find out that they are part of a larger group of bandits. They move outward and then split up, meeting up at two hours after sunset at a pre-arranged location.

Scene Four: Making Plans

In which plans are made for tracking the bandits back to their main camp, and go horribly awry.

• They return to Wisenwood tower, securing the bandit in the tower.
  • A rider is immediately dispatched to Josian and the hunting party, letting them know what happened.
• With some additional questioning, Ayrant, Tolbric, Garwyn and Daenar make plans to let the bandit go and have him lead them back to the camp.
  • They secure him in the stocks as punishment, but deliberately rig it so that he can break free if he struggles.
  • Then, once night falls, the guards who are supposedly watching him wander off to one of the local taverns for a quick drink. In the meantime, Garwyn watches from a tavern across the way and Daenar - a huntsman of no small skill - remains hidden, prepared to follow him when he flees for the rendezvous point.
  • Garwyn sees the man escape, and Daenar signals that he's following the man. The very un-stealthy Garwyn nods.
• A few hours later, a guard comes to the tower to let them know that they've found Daenar's corpse.
  • He was stabbed in the kidney. There are no signs of struggle at all - clearly someone simple snuck up on him and stabbed him, killing him almost instantly.
• In discussing options, the group decides to track the man using Lord Wisent's hunting dogs.
  • They catch the scent at the stocks and follow it out of the town. In the nearby woods - he even traveled through a nearby stream hoping to lose any scent - they find his corpse. He was stabbed by the same blade, again without struggle.

Scene Five: Josian Returns

In which the situation seems grim.

• As they near the town, a few hours before sunrise, they encounter one of the Wise by the name of Bory.
  • He tells them that the bandits are attacking the other domains.
  • A minor sortie was made against Palewood, and Lord Wisent's hunting party encountered them. Lord Wisent is grievously injured, and was only saved because of the presence of Roger Ryswell, who fought them off and got them to safety.

   One of the Wise arrives, injured from battle.
       While a minor sortie was made against Palewood, another larger force of the bandits hit Blackhorn Tower.
       Lord Josian has been injured, and seems near death. Several others of the hunting party were injured as well, although the Ryswell heir, Topher, comported himself very well in battle. He and the man of the Wise assigned to tail them were the only reason they got out of there alive.
       Lady Elizabel insists that she be allowed to go to him, Intriguing to get her way.

Scene Six: Travel to Blackhorn In which travel within the Wisent domain becomes dangerous. Details

   On the way, they encounter a smallcrofter's farm burning, and a couple of the smallfolk killed on the trail. They were butchered with axes - men only.
       Footprints from the area indicate that there were women there originally as well, but they have been taken.
   They are then attacked by axe-wielding bandits, led by an impressively strong leader - an ironman named Torgar.
       Abilities: Athletics 4 (Strength 2B), Awareness 3, Endurance 4, Fighting 5 (Axes 2B), Stealth 3 (Sneak 1B)
       Combat: Defense 10, Health 12 • Intrigue: Defense 7, Composure 6
           Hides: AR 5; -3 Penalty; Bulk 2
           Battleaxe: 5D+2B; 5 Damage; Adaptable
           Large Shield: 4D; 2 Damage; Bulk 1, Defensive +4
       Qualities
           Axe Fighter I: Fighting 4 (Axes 2B). For each Fighting (Axes) bonus die sacrificed on a Fighting test, may inflict +1 damage (which ignores AR).
           Berserker: Each time you take an injury or wound, may make a Fighting attack as a Free Action against an adjacent enemy, with no bonus dice applied. At end of a turn in which berserker should be defeated, may make a Will (12) test to keep fighting (penalties from Injuries do not apply). May make up to (Endurance) tests in a fight.
           Weapon Mastery: +1 damage with Battleaxes

Scene Seven: Tracked to the Camp In which the forces of House Wisent rouse their foes from their encampment in the woods. Details

   Terrain: Hills (Slow Move, +1B on higher ground); Dense Woods (+5 Defense); Ruins (+2 Defense)
   Wisent Forces
       Bulls of Wisent: Trained Infantry. AR 3, Penalty -2, Bulk 0, Damage: 4 Fighting
           Athletics 3, Endurance 3, Fighting 3
       Blackhorn Archers: Veteran Archers. AR 2, Penalty -1, Bulk 0, Damage: 1 Fighting, 6 Marksmanship (Long Range)
           Agility 4, Awareness 3, Marksmanship 4
   Bandit Forces
       Ironborn: Veteran Raiders, upgraded Equipment. AR 5, Penalty -2, Bulk 2, Damage: 4 Fighting
           Agility 2, Endurance 4, Fighting 5
       Bandits: Trained Guerillas, upgraded Equipment. AR 3, Penalty -2, Bulk 0, Damage: 4 Fighting, 4 Marksmanship (Close Range)
           Athletics 3, Marksmanship 3, Stealth 3

Domain: Taevis Hill

   Land: Hills • Dense Woods • Ruins (15 pts)
   Wealth: Godswood (5 pts)

Taevis Hill has a number of the smaller woodsfolk settlements in it. While it is nominally a Stark holding, no one from the Lord's House has been to the area in generations. They are conscientious to send their taxes to Winterfell, however.