Post by Alined on Jul 23, 2017 7:51:48 GMT
In autumn, war broke out in Hibernia!
The soldiers of Alined prepared themselves for battle, and the sailors prepared for the lengthy trip. the Mastiff and the Penn, the two ships that served for Alined's trade with Gawant--and occasionally a bit further north or west--were called into service for king and country, and began to gather adventurers.
But, nothing happened. Or at least, nothing that interested them. Many signed up for the expedition, but weeks passed without any word of who would be riding the waves westward with them. Eventually, they heard that the eastern king had defied an ultimatum and started a war with Alined. Hadn't he just been defeated? Apparently, that didn't matter.
The Mastiff and the Penn, laden with a shipment of lumber that had been left idle and unused just as they were, sailed around Dumonia to the southern coast, where they delivered it to the builders, in place of their assigned mission. Finding no orders or soldiers waiting for them, there, either, they instead found a travelling bard who convinced them to transport a large flock of volunteers, refugees, and reprobates she'd gathered, most hailing from the enemy kingdom.
Were they the ones who were going to fight in Hibernia? No! They wanted to dance, drink, and enjoy themselves on the beaches of Helna, apparently! With their orders vague at best, and nonexistent more often, Captains Webster and Clover saw the gold she provided and her official-looking paperwork, asked the harbour master, and received a shrug. The invasion of Helna began, and ended in a complete victory, not only for the invaders, but also for the local taverns. No one was injured, but many were drunk. The Helnites never knew what hit them!
The Penn and the Mastiff sailed the southern sea for what was left of the season, before the war that was promised began in earnest... months after they'd first been promised one. They received their orders at last: They were to join the blockade, at the mouth of the river Nem. And so they did.
Incredibly, the official orders to join the war and assist in conducting it turned out to lead to even more boredom and idleness than the long, confused, bureaucratic nothingness that had been their experience within Alined's leidang throughout autumn before. The winter weather didn't help, though at least they remained safe close to shore, while other leidangs became lost at sea...
Mercifully, the far away soldiers of their king undermined the castle's walls and they saw a few shining figures dash in and toss some of the ones in Nemeth colours over the walls, which brightened things up a bit. As did the fires. The crew retired to their cabins, and broke with the blockade long before Gawant's fleet received orders from their distant rulers. Their king was in sight, or at least his banners, so at least that one day, they didn't have to stand a day on ceremony.
They returned to dock in Alined and a week later, received further orders that were a caused for great celebration. The war with Nemeth was won, and the court of Alined no longer required their services. They were free to return to more profitable work! They'd been paid well, too. After a few nights of drinking, the Penn returned to Helna for some new opportunities involving a load of hemp, while the Mastiff began the lengthy trip back around the tip of Dumonia to its old splashing grounds in the northwest.
The peace didn't last long, though. Captain Clover found out on the island that the castle in Nemeth had been abandoned, because King Glendall had come to conquer it! They weren't calling her and her crew back to service to help fend him off, though. Gawant's fleet were there to rescue the soldiers from Alined who were still in Nem, but the Penn and the Mastiff were needed to carry the king and his finest soldiers from Alined's southern cities all the way to Vel Abri!
It was what they'd all been waiting for... for six months! And just when she'd gotten a good deal on hemp, too, all of which she now had to leave behind with the brokers on Helna. What would they ever do with it all? At least there'd be gold, at the end of the day... Captain Clover left her cargo behind and hurried westward to intercept Captain Web and his Mastiff before they could pass Ocean City.
They were en route to Gawant with a load of felt, but there was nothing to do but bring it back. No time to give it to Dumonia, even, they'd have to buy it... if they felt like buying old felt, for some reason. It turned out they didn't, and the felt was sold at a loss to some merchants in Tir Mor, who wanted to turn it into cloaks. But that shipment was made by another captain, because Captains Webster and Clover were off to Vel Abri, with King Arthur and Prince Lewis aboard!
It was a bit of an honour, though they didn't get paid this time, and the excitement wore off after the Valiant brothers had ridden off into the sunset and left them to swab the decks and take orders from the missing Admiral. It seemed just like old times. In lieu of any other instructions, they left the unfamiliar coast of Hibernia to return to their homes in the northwest of Alined, where at last the Admiral and the local guild liaison told them what would be their next adventure...
The soldiers of Alined prepared themselves for battle, and the sailors prepared for the lengthy trip. the Mastiff and the Penn, the two ships that served for Alined's trade with Gawant--and occasionally a bit further north or west--were called into service for king and country, and began to gather adventurers.
But, nothing happened. Or at least, nothing that interested them. Many signed up for the expedition, but weeks passed without any word of who would be riding the waves westward with them. Eventually, they heard that the eastern king had defied an ultimatum and started a war with Alined. Hadn't he just been defeated? Apparently, that didn't matter.
The Mastiff and the Penn, laden with a shipment of lumber that had been left idle and unused just as they were, sailed around Dumonia to the southern coast, where they delivered it to the builders, in place of their assigned mission. Finding no orders or soldiers waiting for them, there, either, they instead found a travelling bard who convinced them to transport a large flock of volunteers, refugees, and reprobates she'd gathered, most hailing from the enemy kingdom.
Were they the ones who were going to fight in Hibernia? No! They wanted to dance, drink, and enjoy themselves on the beaches of Helna, apparently! With their orders vague at best, and nonexistent more often, Captains Webster and Clover saw the gold she provided and her official-looking paperwork, asked the harbour master, and received a shrug. The invasion of Helna began, and ended in a complete victory, not only for the invaders, but also for the local taverns. No one was injured, but many were drunk. The Helnites never knew what hit them!
The Penn and the Mastiff sailed the southern sea for what was left of the season, before the war that was promised began in earnest... months after they'd first been promised one. They received their orders at last: They were to join the blockade, at the mouth of the river Nem. And so they did.
Incredibly, the official orders to join the war and assist in conducting it turned out to lead to even more boredom and idleness than the long, confused, bureaucratic nothingness that had been their experience within Alined's leidang throughout autumn before. The winter weather didn't help, though at least they remained safe close to shore, while other leidangs became lost at sea...
Mercifully, the far away soldiers of their king undermined the castle's walls and they saw a few shining figures dash in and toss some of the ones in Nemeth colours over the walls, which brightened things up a bit. As did the fires. The crew retired to their cabins, and broke with the blockade long before Gawant's fleet received orders from their distant rulers. Their king was in sight, or at least his banners, so at least that one day, they didn't have to stand a day on ceremony.
They returned to dock in Alined and a week later, received further orders that were a caused for great celebration. The war with Nemeth was won, and the court of Alined no longer required their services. They were free to return to more profitable work! They'd been paid well, too. After a few nights of drinking, the Penn returned to Helna for some new opportunities involving a load of hemp, while the Mastiff began the lengthy trip back around the tip of Dumonia to its old splashing grounds in the northwest.
The peace didn't last long, though. Captain Clover found out on the island that the castle in Nemeth had been abandoned, because King Glendall had come to conquer it! They weren't calling her and her crew back to service to help fend him off, though. Gawant's fleet were there to rescue the soldiers from Alined who were still in Nem, but the Penn and the Mastiff were needed to carry the king and his finest soldiers from Alined's southern cities all the way to Vel Abri!
It was what they'd all been waiting for... for six months! And just when she'd gotten a good deal on hemp, too, all of which she now had to leave behind with the brokers on Helna. What would they ever do with it all? At least there'd be gold, at the end of the day... Captain Clover left her cargo behind and hurried westward to intercept Captain Web and his Mastiff before they could pass Ocean City.
They were en route to Gawant with a load of felt, but there was nothing to do but bring it back. No time to give it to Dumonia, even, they'd have to buy it... if they felt like buying old felt, for some reason. It turned out they didn't, and the felt was sold at a loss to some merchants in Tir Mor, who wanted to turn it into cloaks. But that shipment was made by another captain, because Captains Webster and Clover were off to Vel Abri, with King Arthur and Prince Lewis aboard!
It was a bit of an honour, though they didn't get paid this time, and the excitement wore off after the Valiant brothers had ridden off into the sunset and left them to swab the decks and take orders from the missing Admiral. It seemed just like old times. In lieu of any other instructions, they left the unfamiliar coast of Hibernia to return to their homes in the northwest of Alined, where at last the Admiral and the local guild liaison told them what would be their next adventure...