The river from Neloar gains strength and passes between steep banks and becomes a swift river as it passes under the strange bridge. There is a quarry near the Village of Neloar and you can get stone from there cheaper than other locations, but getting it to your Keep location is a hassle. You will either need to build a road from Neloar or build a landing zone at the base of the bridge and build machines to lift the stone up to the bridge. One saves you time, but costs you money, the other is cheaper but will take longer. If you choose to build the road, the wood you clear for it might be used to build you keep.
Where are you going to build it? On either side of the road with a hundred foot gap where the road is, on the road with a combination of wood and stone? Which side of the bridge? In the centre of the bridge?
Do you wish to make this a straight fortification or do you wish to this to be more?
The Road heads straight to and through the Orc lands, as does to head off past the Duke’s lands which areas do you wish to explore and what things do you want to know.
You sent your minion to talk to the Orcs, I remember.
Hey Korrin,
The building of your keep took a little longer to set up. You contacted a crew of engineers that were looking for a challenge and they went with you to your land grant. While in Jarda you also raised a few eyes at your appearance. This was the first time that you had been to an actual city, it turns out that Greysteel is not a city! There were towers over five stories tall and there were more people than trees! The view from the city walls was also odd, no trees! It was fields as far as the eyes could see. But the people did not think this was odd, they did think that you were odd though. When ever you brought up the subject no one knew what you were or where your people were from. There was one person who knew something, he said when he was young he traveled far and he saw someone similar to you but they were blue. He did not elaborate.
You also were able to hire about 100 people to come and help you. Upon arriving in Neloar, the local merchants you contacted were able to build you a few rafts that would be able to float down the river. With a few supplies. You could only put twenty people on the first load with the supplies so you had to arrange for accommodations. Once you arrived at the site the engineers assessed the situation and told you that they could do what you wanted, but they needed more supplies and it was going to be costly.
It was nearly a week before all the crews had arrived and they began to clear and survey the site for your keep. After a month things had started to take shape. Stone had started arriving from a quarry nearby, and the stumps outnumbered the people ten to one.
A few months later all the supplies had been gathered and the building was half completed. The landing at the foot of the bridge included a small square building with a cargo lift from the centre. The cargo lifted up to the bridge level over 200’ above. The Engineers chide you for your inaccuracies, saying 208’4.5”, “Every foot above 200’ cost you 10gold in chain and reinforced tackle, so by The Warder, be accurate!” That’s the other thing, your crew is multiracial, about a third of your crew is Orcish including your carpenter, and your priest; apparently the Gray Warder is revered greatly in Orc lands. Anyways, things were going good enough that you allowed yourself time to explore.
You allowed yourself a week to explore where the road went away from the bridge. The road remains straight for as far as you can tell forever. But you thought, it must lead somewhere. After about a days traveling you saw the start of a ridge of mountains on your left. As you continued the next day you encountered a new road built perpendicular to the oldest road. Interesting you thought. There were signs of regular traffic too. Half of the traffic went to the mountains and half away. The traffic away from the mountains was heavier though, as you could see places where the wheels crossed. Intrigued at the thought of a relatively close neighbour you investigated, but at night.
Section accidentally deleted Gah :’( basically you have found Vistra’s land grant and she is building a town and a mining village. She is smelting ore and building a town too. She shows you around the town is on a river the flows to map North. She is building the village to give the orphans from Neloar and the area around the Temple of Elemental Evil a home and a future. Laudable goals, but you think that they need to learn to stand on their own, still no one else is doing something like this.
You think if you have the time you could clear a path to allow trade to pass from your Fort to Vistra’s Fort, but it would take a month, and over a year if it were to be for Carts.
It took nearly five months to finish building the keep and you were able to explore the area thoroughly. The sun was setting on the bridge as you were admiring it with wonder, you often did, from different angles, and you saw something different a shadow marring it’s perfectly smooth surface. You marked its location carefully and bounded to the river and up to the cargo elevator and ascending too slowly. In the morning’s light you found the indentation and managed to activate the secret door. The rom was filled with stale air and the corpse of some unfortunate. The body fell to dust as you touched it, skin guts and bones. All that was left was the clothing it wore which was a fine tight weave that you dagger could not penetrate, but was so thin that it did not stop any of the force, you cut your hand with the sharpness of the blade in the cloth. There was a map made of a similar substance on the table when you moved the map the notation fell away like dust too, but no matter; you could not read the notations, nor the ones that remained.
Your keep and your fame attracted some notice among the people of Jarda and they wished to join your Cause. They joined you in traveling from Jarda to Greysteel and the journey to your new place. The journey is traditionally from Greysteel to Sunnydale, and to Neloar with a camp in the woods halfway, but now there are two changes. First there is a new road below Sunnydale heading to the mountains and it is well travelled. And the camp between Sunnydale and Neloar there is a thriving new village. You did not notice going to Greysteel because you dislike roads and you are faster by yourself, but with the hundred infantry, you had to take the longer route. You had to go to Jarda because many of your work crew wanted to stay and sent for their families.
The new village is being set up by your colleague Caeldrim. He has built a berm around a halfway point between Neloar, Sunnydale, and Hommlet. The village looks like it might fill the berm and the palisade, maybe spill out of that. His words of creating to you are calm and reassuring, but he makes no mention of free room and board for the people with you. You see that the night watchman are all stooped over and still are seven feet tall. They smell like bugbears. The day watch is composed of five foot tall Human with masks and black fur around their head. It is not fooling you. Maybe it fools the dukes men, but you warn your people not to get rowdy, as you think the watch might be especially brutal.
When you arrive home, you new home, you are greeted with two unexpected surprises. First is that you have a sortie crew made of Orcish cavalry and Orcish ballista regiment, both have little experience, but you think that if word gets out there is war with the Orc nation, well you would not attack them anyway now. The Engineers have decided to join up with you too and you have a group who can fortify any position or build bridges quickly.
One of your Kobolds has picked up the trade of mason and has started working the local quarry. As mentioned before you have an Orcish priest and an Orcish carpenter. You also have your minion who is back as a peaceful representative of the Orcish nation, Gnösh-Kå Confederacy.
After staying in your keep for a week:
Priest • when you roll wisdom and get less than 12, you may take a 12 instead x3, as you remember wise words he made.
Carpenter • 5% reduction in repairs and builds in keep per level of carpentry shop currently level 1
Mason • 5% reduction (see carpenter) level 1 quarry
Spy • your ambassador is also your spy, he can tell you what is happening around your keep in both the Duchy and the Confederacy.
You have 72 families, 360 people, not including military assets. They are farmers, hunters and woodsmen. They provide food for you and your people. There are four other artisans in the village not associated with the keep.
8 artisans earn 2000gp/year, 72 peasant families earn 400gp/year. Total 44,800. Dukes taxes minus your cut of 40% means you have an income of 4,480gp per year.
Questions?
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