CAMPAIGN: Queen Arkwyn's Crown (D&D5e)

[Bob the Hamster]

"Oh my!" says Oxnar, shielding his eyes with his hand and squinting in that direction.

"I better go help with whatever that is." He looks simultaneously annoyed and delighted, and starts jogging down the road back towards town instead of back to Erato's wagon. "Good luck, Hyne! May the sun warm your backside!"

[Newbie Newtype]

Hyne rejoins his carriage to temporarily resume the travel to the city.

[Bob the Hamster]

Whatever is happening outside Bovo Township is hidden behind the ridge of the hill.

When she sees Hyne catching up, the coachwoman slows to wait for him to come aboard, and gives him a wordless look of respect and admiration.

The road switchbacks gently down the long slope towards the capital. The city is actually visible in the distance with the tiny dots of large buildings, and the tiny white specks of sails on the ships at harbor. It will still take all day to get there.

To the right the mountains turn into jagged chalky cliffs as they get closer to the sea.

To the left is a vast valley full of dense forest. A huge broad river can be seen snaking through it, eventually reaching the coastline right at the capitol, emptying into the harbor.

Goduvna gushes on, telling Hyne how brave he was in the attack. She doesn't ask any questions about the fragment of the magical-shell conversation she overheard. She worries aloud at length about the brazen Jenn attacks, which she insists are unprecedented this far from the Gnur-Jenn border. She also talks a lot about how stressful this all is for poor Plucksley, but she is obviously talking about herself.

Jasputin has his book out, but keeps staring nervously out the window at the sky. He turns about one page an hour.

After a while, some straggling wagons are visible going over the mountain crest pass. Perhaps these were the ones who turned back after the initial attack, and then turned around again after whatever happened back at Bovo township.

Midway through the day, a fast-moving column of about 60 well-equipped soldiers on horses appears on the road ahead, moving fast. The whole procession moves aside to clear the road and allow them to pass.

[Newbie Newtype]

Hyne keeps himself detached from the praises and song from the others. He's about to leave these people soon.

He watches the men on horseback pass by.. or hopes they are passing by. Word could have gotten out quickly that somebody named Jarrod is on the loose.

[Bob the Hamster]

The commander of the soldiers salutes as he passes the King's body. The soldier's behind him repeat the gesture like a wave as they pass, but they do not slow down.

"Reinforcements!" declares Lady Goduvna. "They'll put down those nasty Jenn. Plucksley feels so much better! Don't you Idjy-widjums?" She tickles the tiny owlbear's feathers. It looks nonplussed.

As they get closer to the capital, there is more and more farmland mixed in with the forest.

The road begins to intersect many small side roads, and barns and farmhouses are often seen near the road.

There is still a lot of forest to the left, and a lot of chalky hills to the right. Every so often the road goes over a little rise, or through a clearing on a slope, and the ocean becomes visible again.

The procession is likely to reach the capitol just before sundown.

[Newbie Newtype]

"They look like they're going to try," he responds simply. All he can do at this point is wait until he is actually in the city.

[Bob the Hamster]

The forest opens out into pastureland around the capitol, with herds of grazing cows, and more farmhouses.

The smell of salt air grows strong as the sun gets lower in the sky.

The road finally catches up with the big river, and goes along its east bank, northward towards the capitol. There are taller buildings, and the spires of temples. The topmasts and flags of numerous ships are visible just beyond the rooftops.

What can only be the royal castle is perched on top of a craggy cliff on the east edge of the harbor. Half of it looks very old, half of it looks rather new.

There are no city walls, the farmhouses just grow closer together and taller, while the actual farmland in between them shrinks down to garden plots, and then vanishes entirely. as the buildings press together.

The streets appear to be narrow and cross at odd angles, as if the city's plan was layed out long before it grew to its current density.

[Newbie Newtype]

Hyne looks around from inside the wagon, already scouting for any relevant place he can get off. He needs something like a library to find a map- he needs a place to learn about the ship travel routes.. if they're even enabled during this war period. He considers any other place of interest as he looks around.

[Bob the Hamster]

The King's wagon slows, and stops for a moment. The rest of the procession stops behind

The three exhausted guards seem embarrased about the state of the King's wagon, and they set to tidying it before proceeding.

Most of the flowers that had been piled on the wagon yesterday had been blown off by the wind from the wyrmling and hippogriff's wings, and the flowers that remain look disheveled and sorry.

Some people have come out of the nearby farmhouses, and when the understand what is happening, they start to help, one old woman is trying to harvest her entire flower garden and mobilize grandchildren to carry them over.

Someone from one of the other wagons produces a stringed instrument, and is trying to play an adapted version of the drums-and-trumpets march that had been the processions' constant companion until all the guards with drums and bugles got left behind with the Duke.

All the buildings close by are houses, except for one that looks like a schoolhouse. Anything like a library must be closer to the center of the city, which Hyne could probably reach faster by walking than by waiting for the procession to start up again.

The city looks very easy to infiltrate. There are no walls, and no other guards have yet come to meet the procession. The main road is big and obvious, but there are multitudes of other smaller roads that criss-cross and almost any of them could lead into the city.

The people in the farmhouses seem eclectic, humans, dwarves, elves, orc-kind, with many colors of skin and styles of clothes. While the inland towns that Hyne has passed through already were full of people who looked like they were more or less of a common Srappan nationality, this capitol city of Srappa appears to be full of diverse immigrants, and Hyne will probably draw more attention for his Ranger's clothes and traveller's pack than he will for looking like a foreigner.

[Newbie Newtype]

Realizing soon that he won't make it far before finding a resource center, he decides to hit a clothier of some sorts. He needs to change his appearance promptly since Srappa doesn't look like a place full of strapping warriors looking for odd adventures like he would be.

If he can see a proper clothing store nearby, he will leave the wagon and head for it.

[Bob the Hamster]

The guards and their helpers finish tidying up the king's wagon, and the procession starts moving again, this time accompanied by lute music.

A few minutes down the road, an old man with a flute and a big hat comes out of a farmhouse and joins in with patriotic ferver. Just a moment after that a second stringed instrument joins the procession, and then two dwarven kids with drums. This is apparently a thing that is happening.

The evening is moving into twilight. Lanterns are being lit beside the road.

Hyne spots a cluster of shops within sight of the road, and one of them is displaying a Taylor's shingle.

When he reaches it, the door is locked. There is no light in the window, but there is a rhythmic sound coming from inside.

The other shops nearby are a bakery, a glass-blower, a papermaker, a bootmaker, and a butcher. Only the bakery and the bootmaker seem to be open this late in the day.

[Newbie Newtype]

Hyne figures there's no choice; he needs an inn. At least he'll be able to change back into the "nobility" clothing he bought already and drop off a bunch of supplies at a rented room to appear far more vulnerable.

[Bob the Hamster]

Hyne goes searching for an Inn.

Although night is beginning to fall, there are plenty of people out and about. Hyne overhears people talking about the arrival of the king's wagon, and the ceremonies to come tomorrow. If any rumors are traveling about the Jenn attacks, Hyne doesn't overhear any of them.

A few blocks closer to the water, Hyne spots a tall brick building with a sign out front that says "Rooms by the Week". There is no attached tavern, just a small office where an old orc woman with thick spectacles quotes a price of 3 gold for the week, plus a 3 gold security deposit to be returned if the room is in good shape when he checks out.

[Newbie Newtype]

Hyne smiles and accepts the price, delivering the remainder of his gold coins that were split from platinum pieces. Somehow he already feels like he'll be at peace at this tavern, but you never know.

[Bob the Hamster]

The building has a narrow central stairwell leading up. Hyne's room is on the top floor.

It is a small room with a narrow bed and a big nearly-empty bookshelf as its only furniture.

The door has a simple iron deadbolt for locking from the inside.

There is a hook on the wall to put a candle on, but no candles are provided.

Three walls are plain wood that shows hints of termite damage. The fourth wall is the bricks of the outer wall. That wall has a window in it, that commands a pretty good view of almost half the city, almost all the harbor, and a lot of nearby rooftops.