Red Moon Over Sartar Campaign

Summaries for December 17, 1995

The Party: Det Tavar {Dave}, Dept Kaleel {Karra}, Inspector Ahmet {Joe}, Det Cpl Marc Tracius {Daniel}, Det. Yasna {Ray}, Pvt. Rockfrug {Scott}, Sable Rider {Eduardo}

Dear Col. Orbius,

This is a report of some recent events, which may interest you. Shortly after the end of the sacred time, two Sun Lords, {whose names may well be known to Yasna, but were never mentioned to Ray}, arrived at Runegate fort. They tore the place upside down, not merely taking a complete inventory but even measuring the height of the latrines. I must admit I was impressed with the quality of their armor ... gold and iron make an impressive if somewhat tacky effect. The next day, their leader, Prince Khordavu the brother of the Dara Happan Emperor, showed up, riding a griffin. This is the same individual who first provoked, and then suppressed, a rebellion a couple of years back, known in the capital as Golden Boy. He has an impressive array of titles, almost as many as our own Emperor. Some of them seem pretty outlandish though - Son of the Lord Favored by the Sun when the vultures went for the right eye first {?} and Slayer of the Sacred Baby {?}.

Anyway, the day after that he called the Constables into his office, and after some preliminaries, demanded that we produce a plan to round up a hundred Sartarites and kill them in reprisal for the attack by disease upon our fort. Yes, the same one we traced to a Malia shaman resident in the Tarsh exile lands. His experts had informed His Highness that the affair had been caused by the locals, and if examples were made the locals would fall into line. Wonderful. To obey this order would be neither just nor politic. To disobey, well, me, I'm fond of my head.

This resulted in a long meeting among the constables. Various proposals were floated. I wanted to go off, talk to you, and find out where there were a hundred Sartarites it would be in the Empire's interest to kill. This didn't work because we needed a plan by noon the next day, and I was held inside the fort by an order that no one was to leave without a variety of passes - including one signed by the Prince.

So after a long, inconclusive, meeting ... which might have been a meeting to end all meetings except somehow I'm not that optimistic. Still no plan. I went to talk to one of the Prince's advisers, asking to be interrogated under truth spells so that the Prince would know what happened. I woke up to find myself on the Prince's staff!?

Off to nine o'clock staff meeting. Proof positive that yesterday's meeting had _not_ ended all meetings. Staff meetings are very smooth by comparison, but I had to object when they proposed to reassign all women soldiers to cooking and cleaning duties ... this is clearly contrary to the teachings of our Blessed Goddess. I was amazed to find myself listened to. Pressing my luck I brought up the order to round up Sartarites, and informed the Prince of the results of our investigation.

New plan. We had to come up with some way to establish the Prince's authority without either killing innocent Sartarites and possibly provoking rebellion, or making him look like an idiot. The disease incident was blamed on Sartarite rebels who have refuge in Old Tarsh {I think there are such people}. A challenge to an Orlanthi champion was prepared, and the constables were ordered to bring the Chalanna Arroy from Tarkolor Keep to His Highness, presumably as a sign of submission. Not sensational, but it beat killing a hundred people for a crime we know they didn't commit.

Let me note in passing that the Yelmi advisers I'm working with are actually pretty smart. Their problem, which they share with many members of my own cult, is that they are in no position to admit ignorance. And the Yelmi love of regulation doesn't help much. So in Sartar, they are going to make mistakes ... but Yelm is not as flexible as our Blessed Goddess ... and they have to do things the Dara Happan way whether or not it makes sense in this situation. An ideal example is their idea of pulling down a wall of the fort and rebuilding it to Dara Happan standards ... the Dara Happan proposal actually looked like a pretty good fort, but there is a shortage of good stone workers in this area, and they might not look so good if an enemy attacked at night after the old wall had been pulled down and before the new one was in place.

My fellow constables were surprised and relieved when they were told to come up with a new detailed proposal to get the Chalanna Arroy and an Orlanthi champion. I went off, under the command of the corporal, to fetch the Chalanna Arroy. In fact, everyone but Inspector Ahmet went with us. On the way, we chanced upon some sheep roaming the countryside. Further investigation revealed that a Sartarite family under the protection of the Empire had been killed by broos.

The broos were disposed of in a sharp action, in which our Jakaleel types tried to sneak around the flank with slight success, we bagged a broo with long range missile fire, and they ran to cover. We then had a melee in which Cpl Tracius proved that Yanafali really are great fighters, killing four of the eight enemy.

As we were burning the bodies, a Sartarite warrior band, sent out to do what we just did, showed up. They seemed surprised that we had killed the broos rather than allying ourselves with them ... this is not the first time the Orlanthi appear to have been misinformed about us by their stupid rebel god.

Proceeding to Tarkolor keep, we discovered that we had narrowly escaped attack by the Colymar tribe, when they heard that Prince Khordavu had come. King Blackmoor appears to have had faith in our ability to restrain the Prince ... for once Sartarite ignorance appears to have worked in our favor.

The Chalanna Arroy came with us, but her looks did not prove up to the Prince's expectations. I would not be surprised if this was deliberate. She seems to be nobody's fool.Eventually, a Sartarite Orlanthi champion turned up, who did not last long against Prince Khordavu.

While in Boldhome, putting up posters, we discovered that Prince Hezbod has gotten involved in the wrong end of the slave trade, and been sold as a slave to some tribe called the Morokanth. Cpl. Tracius has asked a merchant friend of his to buy Prince Hezbod out of slavery ... but the Spoken Word may also have an interest in this.

Lessons and Problems

1. We still haven't got a really good way to establish the Prince's authority and make him feel he has done something worthy of his rank, without unnecessarily risking the interests of the Empire. Please, I beg you, come up with something interesting and worthwhile for him to do while here ... that I could pass to the Prince's male advisers and they in turn pass to the Prince.

2. Frankly, I cut a very poor figure as a member of the Prince's staff. I'm not expecting to be made a rune lady {though a little training to make IOT priestess wouldn't hurt}, but maybe an Irripi On-Tor magic and/or knowledge spirit!? And a clothing allowance, Sun Horse?

3. We are slowly winning over the Sartarites. While they'd still like a fight, and are suspicious of us, they are willing to obey the orders of their tribal king to leave us alone. Time was when they'd have attacked.

Personally, I'm doing fine. Have hopes that this will prove a career enhancing assignment, though these Yelmi men are sometimes hard to deal with.

May you be blessed by our merciful and beneficient Moon.

Yr. Dutiful Niece,

Yasna