Chapter 5 : Des' Industries
5 May 1257
Dear Diary,
i was really busy last month. But it began approximately after my last writings.
To remind you, i was wandering around the streets of Khudan, thinking how to make more money in long terms.
I watched the industry which the city deals, and decided in moment - i will open a productive enterprise!
Therefore I visited guild master. After I told him what's on my mind, he openly agreed.
He finds the good location for my business - price varied for different types of industry.
Then it came into my mind - i will open the brewery!
We will make a new type of beer for the market.
I paid 2500 denars for all necessary expenses.
I decided to name the enterprise - Des' Industries ( Des' = Desmondes).
I stayed in the city overnight, in the noon ( next day ) I went towards city of Curaw.
Curaw was located in the heart of Vaegirs land. Northeast of the Reyvadin and west to Khudan.
On the my way there i encountered two boyars.
First, Boyar Marmun, who was rude to me, and second, Boyar Mleza.
Who i gave a message from Jarl Rayeck.
When i finally got there, it was late night.
In the dawn i visited the local guild master, who gave me a dangerous quest.
He promised me 100 denars if i hunt down some troublesome bandits.
I accepted, but i was to weak to hunt down a whole gang.
So, i headed to tavern, there i hired 4 mercenary horsemens for the sum of about 1060 denars.
We started patrolling around. After some time we spotted near the village of Rebache.
We encounered them. Us, 5 riders against 29 looters. Sounds fair to me.
I ordered my men to follow me.
We clashed in a forest. I decided to use my old tactic, to take advantage of the cavalry.
We hovered around them, killing them off one by one.
But they are taking advantage of manpower, so 3 of my men were wounded in that battle.
We killed almost all of them, only 5 of them managed to escape.
After we collected our loot, we headed back to Curaw.
There i recieved the prize from the guild master and sold the loot for 530 denars.
I have also bought some bread,cabbages and salted fish - to fill the food supply.
For the rest of the day we patrolled around town in search for new adventures.
I eno****ered Boyar Druli and Boyar Naldera, but they did not have any job for me.
So, we camped near the town during the night.
Next day we taken to north, to the coastal city of Rivacheg.
It was late afternoon when we managed to there.
There i got the new adventure, i needed to deliver some wine to the town of Yalen.
Yalen was located in the south of Rhodoks land, so we needed to travel a lot.
The time to deliver was 8 days, but prize was 320 denars.
We started our travel right away, because we were short on time.
Although overnight travel is not a good idea. We realized that soon,
because we were ambushed by the group of sea raiders,
as soon as we set foot on the land of Nords. But we were lucky, because there were just 5 of them.
So we killed them easily and collected their armour and weapons.
In the morning we encountered the three different Jarls ( nobles of the Nords).
But no one of them needs our help. Close to Sargoth ( Nord capital) we encountered another jarl, Jarl Bulba.
He neither didn't need our help, so we continued to Sargoth.
We decided to stay overnight there, because it was almost dark, and we were tired of sleepless night.
In the morning i sold the equipment of sea raiders for incredible sum of 720 denars. I was so astonished!
We killed just 5 of them, and our prize is 720 denars. Amazingly!
*
In the dawn of 20 April, we approached to Suno. We rested there whole day,
and continued in a dawn of next day. In our way to Suno we eno****ered a lot of jarls,
including Nordian King, Ragnar, but i forgot the names of others.
During our rest there, i visited their guild master. He gave us a job of driving cattle to a market of Praven.
Yeah, he asks me to do that - like i'm a little cow boy. But i accepted the job,
only because Praven was located very close.
Praven is indeed close, but when you are driving huge herd of cattle, it tooks it all day to got there.
It was almost night, so we stayed there.
I hymself paid a visit to a city castle, where i expected to meet king.
But he wasn't alone there, there were 3 men, speaking with him.
I spoke with every of them, there were counts: Beranz and Rochabarth.
They wanted to gave me a letter for deliver to several Noyans of Khergit Khanate.
But i disagreed with them, i'm not just another errand boy.
King left me the impression of incompetent fool, which is just a puppet of more powerful noblemen.
The last man who was standing there was pretender for the throne of Khergit Khanate, younger brother of their current ruler.
I immediately realized this intrigues, king and counts are helping him to get to the throne.
And their wanted me to deliver a letter in which they persuading some Noyans to get to their side. Really smart.
I immediately left that brood of conspiracy and headed to the tavern, where the rest of the company are waitnig for me.
Next morning we headed south, towards Yalen. Fortunately, we avoid all possible threats.
In our 2 days long journey we only enountered Count Montewar, who asks me to work as a mercenary for Kingdom of Swadia, again. And i reject it, i'm not in a mood to be a servant of King Harlaus.
I said two days long journey, yeah, we travelled all across lands of Swadia and Rhodokia.
The most dangerous part of the trip was when we turned into the mountains. They were full of mountain bandits and looters.
We finally got there, it was late night. I ordered my mercenaries to waiting for me in front of the city gates.
I went in, and fell into the bandit ambush. Luckily for me I'm easy on the blades, i immediately took an axe and killed them all.
Soon i was standing alone in the streets, while most of my attackers were dead or dying.
Searching the bodies, i found a purse which must have belonged to their previous victim. Or perhaps, it was given to them by someone who wanted to seen me dead.
I thought whoever sees me as a threat, he wanted me to die. It first came to my mind - Boyar Taisa!
I never gave him back gathered taxes. I spent all of it on equipment when i was preparing to save Boyar Naldera.
I finally entered the tavern and delivered wine.
The next morning I rode the town, in search for the local guild master.
Yalen is much nicer in the morning, when you are not getting ambushed.
The town was parted on two sides, divided by the river in the middle.
On the other side of the river i encountered the guild master.
He gave me the assignment to catch a defined gang of bandits. It's already been a little more serious task.
He gave me a description of their leader, who terrorized the city for a long time. I accepted that, i already needed an adventure.
We immediately began patrolling around, but it was useless. I questioned passers-by, but in vain.
They just told me that roads are full of brigands.
We spent the whole day on a quest, but in the dusk we were ambushed by the gang of 16 mountain bandits.
Occurred in bloody battle, we managed to slay them all. We collected our loot and headed to Yalen.
In our way we encountered Count Fraichin. He hadn't met the bandits, too.
We spent the night in tavern in Yalen. In the morning we tried again, with the same luck.
But in the noon we fighted with another group of bandits, who attacked us. Now there were 18 of them.
Piece of work was experienced warriors like us. We slashed them in parts. We collected some loot, and headed back to Yalen.
We recieved 800 denars on marketplace for the loot we collected. Good job.
We decided to find their hideout. We were looking around, as long as it did not show.
We found it by following a group of bandits, who were returning home with the loot.
When they approached near to hideout, we ambushed them. They were dead in a moment.
We were surprised when we realized that they took with them a prisoner, a manhunter hymself.
He was hardened warrior, so i offered him a job. He gladly accepted my offer.
We attacked them at dawn. We approached the hideout. The bandits didn't spotted us yet, so we could sneak unnoticed.
The hideout was surounded with mountains, so we were unable to bring the horses - we lost our advantage.
We came down from the mountain towards them. They used cottage as a storage for their loot.
The battle ensued around the cottage. It was tough, but we managed to slay them all.
After the battle we broke into the cottage and took their loot. We took what we could bring.
We then set fire to the cottage, along with other loot in it.
We were back in Yalen at 25 April, and i sold our loot for the sum of 500 denars. Then i paid the wages to my troops, 170 denars. I also received a letter from the guild master of Khudan that my brewery became operational. He sent me also my first profit from the brewery, 106 denars. I gave my troops two days of rest.
We went after these two days to the capital of Rhodokia, great town of Jelkala. Before the rise of the Great Calrad Empire, Jelkala was the one of the most powerful city-states.
Way to get there lasted all day. Finally there, i immediately headed towards the castle.
Castle was built 1000 years ago, so i expected the old ruins, but it was amazing there.
This is for me the culmination of architecture, and i stopped and admired.
I climbed the stairs. There were three noblemen, but i didn't recognize the king.
He wasn't there. I approached them and introduced myself. There were 2 Rhodokian counts, Rimusk and Laruqen.
The third man was the Nordian prince in exile, Lethwin The Far-Seeker.
I have not had time to talk with him and hear his side of the story. So I asked if they heard about some bandits, and i gave them description of their leader. I was lucky this time. They answered me that they sighted them 5 hours ago near Jelkala.
In exchange for that information i had to do them a favor, to deliver a letter to Emir Uqais of Durquba. I accepted.
We spent the whole night in the patrol, searching for them. At dawn the fog came down so the visibility decreased.
We already gave up and headed back to Jelkala when we met villagers who noticed them 2 hours ago. It gave us new hope.
So we continued. Finally, we spotted them near the town, they were in search for the location of their new hideout.
They were just 9 of them, rest of them already escaped. We barely noticed them in the fog, but we finally circled them and killed them - but not without casualties on our side. They killed the manhunter, he was with us just for the few days.
This time we have freed 4 villagers, i advised them to return home.
First we buried a fallen comrade, and then collected the loot. His horse was used as cargo carrier.
I cut off the head of a leader of bandits and put it in the bag, as proof that we hunt them down.
We returned to Jelkala. We drank all day in the tavern. There was wine and beer in abundance, we spent all money which we took from the bandit. There was also a letter with a stamp, which says that if they kill me they would be richly rewarded.
On the stamp was Boyar Taisa's crest. So i realized that he paid the bandits to killed me in the dark alley in Yalen.
The irony is that he had paid to the same bandits which i hunted all across the kingdom...
Next day I sold our loot for 110 denars, so we drank that day, too. So the next day we set off early in the morning back to Yalen. The fog has not dispersed yet. We traveled very carefully, so travel lasted all day.
Guild master was so happy when i brought him the bandit's head, that instead of promised 100 denars, he granted me 1000!
We stayed in the tavern overnight, in the morning we headed back to Swadia.
This time we got there in the evening. We decided to stay overnight in Praven.
Although I decided to leave, I changed my mind when I heard that this day were tournament in town.
I decided to participate. Praven tournament is traditionally held with horses and lances - real knight challenge.
In the first two rounds I broke box office records of mostly knocked down, i knocked down 9 of them. Just in the 2 first rounds.
My advantage was the fact that I was a former knight who learned a lot about handling a lance.
I delighted audience with my technique - they were screaming my name.
In the third round, the fighting continued in pairs. Though my comrade fell, I managed to defeat them both.
In the fourth round i was laying in the dust. The catastrophe happened to me! One Swadian count ( i didn't remember his name) knocked me with the fatal couched damage. We were rode towards each other, with lances in our arms, i targeted in his head, but he was fastest - and better. I was eliminated, so i drank in tavern with my company.
Next morning we were at Suno, there i collected my prize for the cattle buisness. We continued our journey back to Kingdom of Vaegirs. On our way we were pursued by 5 bands of bandits at the same time.
Surely somebody put the prize on my head - again.
In the late night of 3 May, we were back in Dhirim. There we rested that night.
In the morning i recieved the letter from my master brewer ( from the brewery in Khudan), he promised me to sent every salary brewery had, in this letter were 141 denars. He also explained to me that he sold our beer to the Royal Vaegir brewery,
who sold it under their name. Not bad for the start, but i wanted to have my own brand of the beer.
About noon we continued towards Reyvadin. Battles were fought near the city - between Nords and Vaegirs.
Seems that Nords have launched a new invasion. On the field i recognize the banner of the King Ragnar hymself, the ruler of Nords.
I didn't fight, because i didn't choose side yet. Next morning i opened a branch of my brewery in Reyvadin. That costs my another 2500 denars.
Next day I went out of town to see whose army wins, and i have been told that King ragnar was captured, and Nords retreated back to their lands. There were large army of Vaegirs, i approached to their Royal army, led personally by King Yaroglek. I had a talk with him. He gave me a job to kill some deserter who slayed his guards and betrayed them to Nords.
I accepted that. I was told that traitor is hiding in village of Tismirr.
In the evening i was in Curaw. I decided to enter there brewery, too. My plan was to open brewery in every town of Vaegiralla, then to expand buisnes to other kingdoms.
I met their guild master, too. I bought the land for the brewery, the prize was the same like in other towns - 2500 denars.
I'm sitting in the tavern and writing this at the moment. Tommorow i will hunt that traitor, i promised that to great King Yaroglek. I will write what happened there soon. Live long, or die bravely. Cheers.