Red Moon Over Sartar Campaign

Summaries for February 4, 1996

To: Lord Asterius, Lord Aurelius {Ray naming two unnamed Sun Lords},
Copy: Col. Orbius
From: Staff Officer Yasna
Subject: Possible Attack on Runegate Fort

It seems to me likely that an attack on the fort may occur in the near future. I therefore ask that you prepare for possible night attack, by constructing a temporary earth wall behind the new stone wall currently under construction, having regular hawk flights to watch for bodies of troops approaching, posting watchmen on a nearby high hill, doubling guards at night, and conducting two or three exercises in awakening everybody and responding to night attack. Feel free to blame it on me ... I would point out that you win either way. If there is an attack, we all look good for being prepared, if there isn't _I_ look stupid.

My reasons:
1. There has recently been a provocation, in the form of the killing of our soldiers and their tribesmen, very nearby in the Lismelder lands. If the Lismelder did what I asked them to, and had their Lankhor Mhy check out the killing of the tribesmen and found that the killing was done by the Storm Khan to incite a fight between the Lismelder and the Lunars, we should be in good shape. IF not, or if they didn't believe their scholars {this has been known to happen}, they may resent having their people killed and their town burned {note that the Storm Khan left shreds of Imperial Uniform and a couple of short swords at the scene to implicate us}.

2. The clan chief at Swan asked us to get out of town for a while. This may merely be due to the fact that the Storm Bull spread the word that Consulting Detective Severus has a connection to chaos, but it may have a darker significance. They did pay the Lismelder some silver, but whether this was merely weregild for sending the Storm Khan after them or part of a wider plot, I have no idea. So this can be interpeted as either a desire to stay out of trouble with the Lunar authorities {the clan chief doesn't want to have to explain our being attacked, or worse, killed}, or a desire to make sure we don't see something. Have no idea which.

3. As a result of recent history in Alda-Chur, the Prince has gained a reputation ... which could easily lead the Orlanthi to fear that he plans to attack them out of desire to gain in wealth. Inspired by this fear, they might reasonably decide that their best move is to attack him, together, at a time of their choosing, rather than wait to be attacked. If they do this, the idea of attacking while one wall of the fort has been torn down and before it has been rebuilt may have a certain appeal.

Thus my recommendation that a higher than normal level of alertness be maintained until we are sure that recent events in Lismelder territory do not escalate, and until further progress has been made on reconstruction of the wall.

May the Light of the Conquering Moon Preserve Us,

Lady Yasna

Dear Uncle Orbius,

Enclosed you will find a copy of an offical memorandum to my fellow staff officers. As I am all too aware, you have more than enough paperwork from your own people to read, but please read it and tell me what is wrong with it. I feel far from worthy to be a member of the staff of the brother of the Dara Happan Emperor.

Since this memo will make no sense without an account of some of my recent adventures, I now offer one.

We {the constables} have been posted to a small town called Swan. Things began with an invitation to a feast, held jointly in honor of ourselves and the Storm Khan ... less than thrilled with this I debate the wisdom of suddenly discovering an urgent need to attend a staff meeting, but the Inspector orders me to attend the feast. So we attend, and survive. The inspector and a fellow scholar offer toasts, mercifully rendered incoherent by alcohol. There is a slight contretemps as it is discovered that Consulting Detective Severus has been gifted by the goddess, and as the Storm Bulls act less than enthusiastic the inspector hastily reverses his order to Severus to attend, so Severus leaves the feast ... but in the end we survive and the Storm Khan goes on his way.

After a few days of dull patrolling and weapons training {you know, I'm starting to think my father may have been right when he told me army life is mostly pretty dull} word comes down that something has happened in the Lismelder lands between us and Delecti's swamp. A patrol of eight lunar soldiers has been killed. Since this is the only thing that we've heard of that our investigative talents might be usefulin dealing with {and patrolling is less than the most exciting duty our merciful Goddess has offered us}, we head on down to investigate the crime scene.

When we arrive, we meet up with Capt. Jannisor, leading fifty soldiers. He readily accedes to our investigating the crime scene, and offers a guard of twenty spearmen. We get to the crime scene, and start to look around ... and the first thing we find is a foul and obnoxious ambush by sixty of the local barbarians. Well, it would have been an ambush, if we hadn't noticed it. I was ordered forward to parley with their leader, but when they stood up and engaged in a screaming charge, my father's wisdom in providing me with a fast horse came in handy again. Our advance changed direction and we returned to Capt. Jannisor's main body. The only useful thing welearned was that it was high llama riders like the Storm Khan and his entourage who killed the patrol, not local Lismelder tribesmen {our tracer, Pvt Rockfrug, noticed High Llama spoor}.

We marched to the next town, where the ambushers came from, and fought a sharp action against them under the command of the Captain. Though outnumbered we won handily, but I'm afraid the action revealed that my parry skill needs some work. But don't worry, I'm fine now. I have some sympathy for the women whose homes we were burnt, but since their men were trying to kill me a couple of days before, this sympathy has its limits.

Interrogation of the prisoners revealed that they were trying to get even for the killing of some of their tribesmen, which they erroneously blamed on us. A look at _that_ crime scene revealed that it was also the work of high Llama riders. I asked the Lismelder to check out the crime scene with Reconstruction, which their grey sages have reusably {you have no idea how much I wish I had it reusably}. I have no idea if they did so, or if they believed the results.

So we returned. A brief contretemps ensued when the locals in Swan asked if we were the constables who had fought the Lismelder. Our leader said no, our other scholar told the whole truth {I thought this a great time to keep my mouth shut} and in the upshot the clan chief, after assuring me they had good relations with the Lismelder {who they had just entertained at a private feast, at which some silver was transferred} advised me that it would be wise for us to leave town for a while. We did so.

This led us to go out on a long patrol. We discovered that a troll had killed someone at the far end of our jurisdiction. While investigating this, Det Tavar and I found a house of late EWF construction hidden in a ravine, surrounded by a magical grove. I said I was going in, and sent Det Tavar back to report I'd been killed. After my fellow Detective left, I had an attack of sanity and decided to explore with a crossbow bolt with a light spell cast on it, instead of my person. A dark shape which later proved to be a cave troll, grabbed the arrow and put it inside. I decided to await reinforcements.

There resulted a brisk, confused, action between us and two cave trolls plus about five trollkin. The cave trolls were none too bright, but at times, it seemed they were brighter than we were. Pvt. Rockfrug, who I mentioned earlier tackled and killed a shaman while alone also distinguished himself in this, by killing both cave trolls. I had to use a Heal Wound spell to heal Det. Tavar's arm in this fight {my parry skill is not the only parry skill that needs work}.

We then investigated the house. To make a long story short, we found a dryad dating back to the EWF era, and a large supply of magical seeds, which grow fast and have high fertility. The dryad regarded the seeds as hers, which I was willing to respect and Det. Severus was not {I'm not averse to loot, but I hate to irritate heroic spirits, and I had hopes of learning things about the late EWF era from the dryad - if I only spoke Aldryami, Spirit Speech, or late Auld Wyrmish}. Anyway, Det Severus now has a saddlebag full of the seeds, analyzed as magical sesame seeds here in Boldhome. We are debating what to do with them, and I urgently desire to speak with you both about the seeds and about my place on the staff and how I can best serve Goddess and Empire.

Apologies for being so verbose, but I am a scholar you know.

Yr. Dutiful Niece,

Yasna

Dear Zela,

Hope your studies as a sorceress are going well. I'm starting to think that the perspective of a sorceress could be of value in studying the era of the EWF, and I know you've also expressed some interest in the EWF and its magics. I can testify that it is cold and wet, but if you're looking for stuff from the EWF era, or even weird magic generally, Dragon Pass is the place to find it.

If you're interested, I might be able to swing a modest stipend for you which with some of my own funds could support you, if not in the style to which you want to become accustomed, at least at a decent level while you help me investigate, and yourself learn about, the EWF and its magic.

In hopes of seeing you soon,

Yr Friend,

Lady Yasna

Final note: Ray knows, but Yasna does not, that after she left for Boldhome with Consulting Detective Severus the constables were invited to Tarkolor Keep by Chief Blackmor, and are going to the Keep.