BaltoAfter our foray into the monastery, Fergus and I fared south. If Ja’Kar was going to settle the odd goblyns he and I rescued at Meesha’s shrine, they were going to need protecting. Not a one of them seemed to know the first thing about weapons! I wasn’t all that sure a baker and a few hangers-on would be able to do anything if orcs came raiding, either. And Ja’Kar isn’t going to be around to help them, either, anymore. I miss that monk!

So, anyhow, Fergus and I decided to go recruiting. Pickings in Enonia were pitiful – the Marshal had taken the best men, and those who didn’t want his banner had gone to new bands of mercenaries. Not wanting to take on the black or white or gold cloaks ourselves, we chose to go south towards Riverton. A young blacksmith’s apprentice, Wikton (Wiki for short), was going the same way and joined our party. He didn’t say much, seemed a bit lost. And he followed yet another god! Asterix or something like that. I figured Wikton’s master had been one of the men ridden down by the orc cavalry at the battle a couple of weeks ago. Still, one more person in the party meant one more to stand watch – and one more to fight, if it came down to it.

We were slowed a bit as we had two steeds between three of us, but we did alright. We saw a few Wild Men in the forest verge a little after passing Sir Reynalt’s fort, but they were shy and we did not trouble them. We pass by a few small villages, and the children are charmed to see me – I’m thinking it has been years since littlelings came through here. Or maybe they just liked my pony.

Comes nightfall, and we are at Draycott, a larger village, where we take a good meal and a room at the inn. Wikton helps a local blacksmith and earns some cash, and I sell the garb I acquired from Rho for a few coins.

The next day, all hell breaks loose. A posse of liveried guards tried to collect a heavy toll on us, and as I’m arguing with them, Wikton goes all weird and religious. He casts some magic spell on the captain of the guard and gets ready to fight, but Fergus and I make him stand down and he gets hauled off to answer for his crime to the local authority, Lord Winright. Fergus and I go along to see if we can help him – though we don’t know him, Wikton is a travel companion.

We establish that the guards were trying to shake us down, and Winright is annoyed at that. He’s also annoyed that Wikton tries to convert him, and that Wikton cursed one of his guards. Impressed he was, though, that Fergus and I had been named heroes by the Marshal, and he offered to let Wikton continue with us if we’d free him of several trolls stealing the ore from his mines. I wanted to get back to help free Ynnivax, though, and Fergus wanted to get some fighters to Ulichton to defend the place, so we left promising to return by the end of the summer.

We did manage to recruit a couple of farmboys, Josef and Willie. Close friends they were, sharing the same mug at the Raven’s Nest in Draycott. We promised to get them into the action in the rescue, and if they did well, we would make them the first recruits to the Falcons.