Chapter 4: Preparations

[cybersavant]

Andrew

Andrew stopped. Eyes wide he gaped at the scroll in his hand. Iatromantis! Does this mean what i think it does?" Origen came over and read the proffered scroll.



"Let us see. If i read this right, and it is hard to be sure, but i think it tells how to smelt metal. How to fashion arms and armor. By Zeus lad, this might be just the thing these people need."

"I'll bring the King here. He must see this. How can we rewrite it so his people will be able to read it? Should we hold classes for writing?" Andrew runns off to find the King and request that he come to the Scriptorium.

Iatromantis
Iatromantis is a Greek word whose literal meaning is most simply rendered `physician-seer,` or `medicine-man`. The iatromantis, a form of Greek shaman, is related to other semimythical figures such as Abaris, Aristeas, Epimenides, and Hermotimus. In the classical period, Aeschylus uses the word to refer to Apollo and to Asclepius, Apollo`s so...
Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iatromantis

[tibbius]

The King's Hall
It was the middle of the morning. Alec sat on the porch of the white stone building with a fishing net spread around him in the sunshine, diligently tying cord to mend a gap in the mesh. He looked up when Andrew approached at a run.

"Hey philosopher," said the king. "You look excited. What has stirred you up?"

Andrew explained what he had found in the scriptorium.

"And your master Origen, he thinks the same? This is good news!" Alec slapped his thighs. "But none of our smiths can read, only Alexander learned from his uncle who has passed away some years ago. Alexander vanishing was a great loss for our kingdom. We will need your help to explain to the smiths what the scroll says, how to construct the ... smelter? Or what one looks like. For all I know the ancients left one or more somewhere in the kingdom. Are there diagrams in the text?"

There were. Andrew unrolled the parchment and showed the pictures to the king, who nodded thoughtfully.
This: (without the car and tourists, done in sepia ink with brushstrokes


"There is something like this up in the hills," said Alec. "Children picnic there when they escape their chores. I remember the route to get there. We could be there by mid-afternoon if we stop to get Sidirourgos. Come with me to his workshop. Bring the scroll so that you can read it to him while we look at the structure."

The Axe and Serpent
On the way to Sidirourgos' workshop, the king stopped at the ruined armory where Marcus trained the militia. He walked up Marcus as the champion was demonstrating how to make a spear thrust through the cutout of a shield.

"I see that you are doing things backward," Alec said quietly. "I said seek and survey, then train. But perhaps your way is wiser. It would be ill to be found unprepared while you were away! ... where is your little brother? I am surprised he is not here." He shrugged and thumped Marcus on the shoulder of his shield arm. "Carry on!" and he strode away with Andrew following.

No longer living with his parents, Marcus paid little attention to his annoying teenaged brother. But it was interesting that the rapscallion had not showed up for training. If nothing else, Frona would have loved the opportunity to pester and embarrass his big brother the champion by misapprehending every instruction. Where was he?

[tibbius]

The Axe and Serpent
After King Alec left with Andrew, Marcus continued training his squadron of spears and axes. They got good at thrusting, dropping to simulate the spear getting stuck, snatching axes from belts, and striking sidearm with a hooking motion to disarm a shield. Footwork was going well.

But Frona's absence troubled him ...

[Mr Stereo1]

"The scholar was caught on some scrolls like a hound on a scent." Marcus tells the King with a shrug. "I could not force him away or go alone, I thought it best to make use of myself 'til he was ready." The champion gestures to the training villagers. "As for my brother... well, it doesn't do to speak ill of family." The knowing smile on the King's face as he left told Marcus his cousin had told her husband enough of the wastrel's ways, even if he was too polite to say it.

"Bran!" Marcus calls to the man, marching his squad towards the training dummies as a fast walk. "I must find Frona again, can you see to the drills?" At the Herald's agreement Marcus wonders to the hills, still in his panoply, knowing the spot where his brother liked to shirk from work and idle away the days. Marcus saw the smoke and smelt the roasting meat on the fire before he saw his brother, sitting in a makeshift camp in the shade of an old tree, his bow on his lap.

"You come to see me, brother mine?" A lilting voice called to him, leaning against a hallow. "I can guess why."

Marcus fought the scowl and urge to snap, knowing his father had tried and failed to change Frona's manners in such ways. "Aye. There's war on the horizon, and you've a mind for it if you choose to use it."

Something in the seriousness of his tone must have finally touched his jaded brother who let the mocking smile on his face fall, and busied himself with the hares on his spit. He carved some meat for them both onto wooden plates and passed one to Marcus. Taking it he sat by the fire as he watched his brother reflect. With unusual thoughtfulness Frona spoke quietly to him.

"You know they offered to take me with them, at the wedding?" The brother admitted, with a wistful note of irony. "I drank and japed with them, and they saw I wasn't a man meant to work the fields and toil like you and Father are oh so happy to. Their way of living would have suited me, I think, even if you hated me for it."

Marcus did scowl then, unsure how to feel or think about this revelation. "We would not hate you for things you did not do, brother." He spoke with hurt.

"Nor should you." Frona shrugged uneasily, a forced smirk on his lips. "I just thought it funny is all. Aegium fights for it's friends but to me those friends are strangers, and our enemies might have been as brothers."

Marcus scowl did not fade, as the two ate together in an uneasy silence and returned to the village. There was much to trouble his thoughts, but Frona took up his spear and shield and trained as well as any other. Marcus could see some of his own talent in the youth, if Frona ever found it amusing enough to develop. With Bran's help the militia was soon moving as well as one could hope in formation and would at least be used to their new arms in melee. There was little time to truly teach skill at arms but at least their numbers and new equipment would be a boon and no hidden trap in battle.

[cybersavant]

The King's Hall

Andrew explained what he had found in the scriptorium.
"And your master Origen, he thinks the same? This is good news!" Alec slapped his thighs. "But none of our smiths can read, only Alexander learned from his uncle who has passed away some years ago. Alexander vanishing was a great loss for our kingdom. We will need your help to explain to the smiths what the scroll says, how to construct the ... smelter? Or what one looks like. For all I know the ancients left one or more somewhere in the kingdom. Are there diagrams in the text?"
"There is something like this up in the hills," said Alec. "Children picnic there when they escape their chores. I remember the route to get there. We could be there by mid-afternoon if we stop to get Sidirourgos. Come with me to his workshop. Bring the scroll so that you can read it to him while we look at the structure."

Andrew, delegate from Delos

Andrew followed the King to the smiths.

"Do you have apprentices? How to you fashion metal now? I haven't studied the arts, but i have seen them. It's requires a lot of physical fortitude. The furnaces are hot. You'll need some protective leathers."

[tibbius]

Sidirourgos was a thick man, short and bald. He mumbled when he spoke. His teeth were rotting or missing entirely, and his breath was foul. But he was of a cheerful temper, with a ready smile.

"My sons are my apprentices," he said, "my eldest here will be named Sidirourgos after me." He jerked his meaty hand toward a similarly thick short youth, a little less than Andrew's age, who had just paused from working bellows at the fire. A long-handled clay pot filled with a sagging lump of red-glowing bronze sat in the coals. "We call him Katagis mostly. As you can see," he added with a grin, "we do wear leather aprons." He slapped his hand against his own leather-clad chest. "But what is this? You say these are instructions for making bronze? Can you read them to me? It would be good to have our own supply of metal. Now we trade fish for ingots, when merchants come from Egypt or from Tyre, but they come rarely - not so often as they did in the old years. Maybe twice or three times in a year. We often are short of metal. It is hard to be asked for an adze-blade and to answer that a new one cannot be made, an old one must be reformed. Each time the metal is cast I think it weakens."

[cybersavant]

Anrew, delegate from Delos


"I can and i will. First though, we must find the old smelter up in the hills. See if it still works. You will have to use that, or study it and make a new one here."

[tibbius]

It was an easy matter to follow King Alec's memories up into the hills to the old smelter. There, Andrew confirmed with Sidirourgos that the structure before them matched the brush-stroke diagram on the scroll. Then Andrew read to the old smith the details of operation. The burly man nodded and smiled with eager understanding. "There only is the ore to find," he said, "and most likely that is nearby. Why else would the ancestors build this up in the hills, instead of right in town?"

Waiting for Bran to speak with King Xantho, even as a summary. How's it going with resolving the potential id theft?

[Leitz]

"Aegium is happy to provide for her friends, King Xanthos." Bran said. He smiled, and lowered his voice as the two men walked away from the group. "And I was specifically directed to deliver the fish to you. King Alec said you would understand the import."

Bran looked at the villagers, and saw their need. His eyes found the older man's. "There are other thoughts and events to share with you, and I apologize if I do not convey them well. Three of us are armed and armored. Aegium has a store of weapons, shields, and helms, just like these. Can Temeni say the same? Aegium has fields with crops and an ocean with fish, can Temeni say the same? Aegium is right now drilling her militia, and could likely field a force to drive the lycanthropes away. Even now, Aegium talks of hunting down those who have attacked you. Can Temeni say the same?"

"Sir, Aegium has a multitude of empty buildings and good land that can be farmed. Boats that can be manned. Would you speak to King Alec about allowing your people to move to Aegium?" Bran paused. "It would be a matter for Kings to discuss, a herald merely conveys the message. If I have said something wrong, please forgive me. I know there will be issues to resolve, and challenges to face."

"What would you like me to convey to Aegium?"

Xanthos frowned. “I like the content of your message,” he replied. “It is a good deal to consider.” He crossed his arms. “The manner of your message is a little hard to take - too much rhetoric. I am not a man to be convinced by a herald arguing a position. I will make my own decision, in consultation with my peers. Still, I thank you for the message, and I thank King Alec for the gifts. I am impressed by the quality of arms you bear. In our current situation we have few fed well enough to carry them. However, matters could improve. I will consider what you’ve said. Eolas will bring our answer to Aegium, after Temeni deliberates.”

Bran smiled and nodded. "Aegium has much to offer. Deciding how to lead your people requires time and thought. Thank you for letting me speak. Aegium will also offer Elaionas weapons and shields for their militia. The hope is that should the lycanthropes or their kind return, everyone will have a much easier time fending them off."


Assuming 2d6 for "Drum", with an additional 1d6 for talking with Xanthos while bringing food.
[1d6] = 1[1d6] = 6[1d6] = 2

Adding one dice, the exploding 6 from above.
Additional Die [1d6] = 4

[cybersavant]

Andrew, delegate from Delos


"It should be an matter to search. Most likely higher up. It's easier to haul heavy lodes downhill rather than up. Andrew heads up a little way. then begins to walk back and forth in an arc, slowly moving higher.

[Mr Stereo1]

Still awaiting the appointed time for travel Marcus intensely trains the small band of the most aggressive young men he can find, now including his brother among their number. The younger man was still distant but gave none of his usual demurring or pulled any of his typical tricks to get out of the hard work. The skill that Marcus knew Frona shared with him showed. Together the small band would make for a fierce tip to Aegium's advance.

[tibbius]

It was time for Bran to visit Elaionas with gifts of armaments. Who would he bring?

.

A few hundred yards up the hill, Andrew eventually found a cut into the hillside that formed a near-vertical face about ten feet high. The rock on the vertical face and underfoot was green like shallow seawater. It was early afternoon, he was hungry. The shadow of the wall was cool. Sidirourgos stood beside him, fingering the rock and yanking at outcroppings. "I am not sure what this is," he said with a smile, "but it's different for sure. And it looks to me like it was dug out of the hillside for whatever reason. I guess it might be ore for the smelter?"

[cybersavant]

Andrew, delegate from Delos

"Excuse me", he said as his stomach rumbled. "I will check the scroll." Andrew read through the scroll to see if the ore was mentioned.

[1d6] = 5 [1d6] = 6

[tibbius]

The green stone was mentioned as ore of copper, but a marginal note recorded that a second ore was needed to make "Poseidon's metal": a stone dark purple like the deep sea, which could be gotten "by trade" or "from the banks."

Sidirourgos rubbed his shiny scalp, scratched his stubbly cheek and chin as he grimaced. "I don't know what that is," he said, "a purple stone? When the merchants come with bronze they only have the finished ingots, which are brown. Let's get some lunch. Your scroll doesn't seem to say that we can find the purple ore here on the hill."

.

Marcus had good success in training the militia. Several of them seemed competent with their arms.

[cybersavant]

The green stone was mentioned as ore of copper, but a marginal note recorded that a second ore was needed to make "Poseidon's metal": a stone dark purple like the deep sea, which could be gotten "by trade" or "from the banks."

Andrew, delegate from Delos


"It says from the banks. We could check with the fishermen. Perhaps someone has seen it, not knowing what it is."

[tibbius]

Andrew of Delios

The scholar and the smith went looking for fishermen - more like lads - who frequent the bank of the swift-running stream to the west of Aegium. The two men spent the rest of the afternoon along the stream asking questions about purple rocks. They got no helpful answers.

Have any of the lads seen purple rocks? [1d6] = 1[1d6] = 2[1d6] = 4 yyn
- I'll use the Recluse oracle for this kind of stuff.

Marcus

Training of the militia proceeded. They had at least become familiar with their weaponry.

Under the most recent version of the rules, they'll roll 2d6 as a group in combat.

Alec came to the building toward mid afternoon and watched the exercises for a time. Then he approached Marcus. "The time is now for you to bring Andrew on a tour of Rododafni," he said bluntly. "Tomorrow, follow the hunters' directions to the path around the stream. Find out whether the lycanthropes lurk there. Come back and let us know the facts, so that we may decide on attack or defense."

[cybersavant]

Andrew of Delios

The scholar and the smith went looking for fishermen - more like lads - who frequent the bank of the swift-running stream to the west of Aegium. The two men spent the rest of the afternoon along the stream asking questions about purple rocks. They got no helpful answers.

Andrew, delegate from Delos

Andrew bid his goodbyes after querying the fishermen. He returned to the Scriptorium to find Origen immersed in scrolls. "We found the old forge, but there must be a source for the ore. The scroll indicated some sort of metal found on the banks, but non of the fishermen recognized the description. I wonder if maybe it was further out, when Aegium's borders were larger."
Andrew looked for the scrolls that listed the neighbors and territories, to see if anything marked on them would indicate the purple metal.

[1d6] = 5 [1d6] = 6 [1d6] = 2 [1d6] = 1

[tibbius]

Andrew of Delos - the Scriptorium

Toward evening, Origen lit an oil lamp.

Later, as the lamp was burning low, Andrew found what he was seeking. A trade of fine wool and timber to Rododafni in exchange for purple ore. "from the high bank."

[cybersavant]

Toward evening, Origen lit an oil lamp.
Later, as the lamp was burning low, Andrew found what he was seeking. A trade of fine wool and timber to Rododafni in exchange for purple ore. "from the high bank."

Andrew, delegate from Delos

Andrew jumped out of his chair and held the scroll aloft. "I found it! I must show the King right away."

Origen looked over, surprised by Andrew's outburst. So unprofessional. "Let me see that."

Andrew handed over the scroll for Origen to read.


Andrew rushed out into the evening, scroll in hand. He rapped hard on Alec's door. "King ALec! Please fogive the late hour, but i have important news."

[tibbius]

Andrew at King Alec's hall

Andrew heard footsteps within. The heavy wooden door, a signifier of authority and respect, swung open easily at Alec's hand.

"Good evening," grumbled the King. He had not bothered to dress. The silver beads in his beard, his only adornments, glinted in the moonlight. "I know this must be important. What have you found in those scribblings?"