搜索结果: *

spartan012 说:

Haha, that's a very interesting chapter. I like how the merchant is being so bit"hy

点击展开...

Yeah, he sure is ... but he has something unexpected coming.

MatthaisRagnarsson 说:

Paraipan 说:

“You’re leaving Sargoth, brave Nord, but when you return, bring back the heads of your foes.”

点击展开...

That's awesome.  I'm regretting not reading this one lately...keep it up!

点击展开...

Thanks, I have to catch up with your new updates, too.

And everyone who might be reading this, please tell me which version of chapter two I should stick with.  I have to decide before posting any new updates.

Cao_Monk 说:

Hi Paraipan just wondering how you do it I can't seem to figure it out yet
Sorry Joe I will get back to culling those Swadian villages (poor Swadians have enough problems as it is)

And finishing a AAR in a single player role playing game like mount&blade warband seems a tad difficult any who back to it

点击展开...

After you upload a picture don't copy and paste the direct link but the "forum code". Like this:



or this:

There's really an inflation of AARs lately. But that's never a bad thing. Also, if you want to post pictures using imageshack and you want them to appear in your post, instead of the link you should use the forum code, like this:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Anyway, keep going and good luck.

I realised that I forgot to mention which version of chapter 2 I continued the story from. Well, that's because I'm not sure yet. Seeing how things developed in the third chapter, both version of the second one, could work, so I'm asking you guys, which version should I stick with. It's completely up to you.

Just read both chpaters. Great story! You know what you should do? Hire some mercenaries and pretend their your countrymen, since the mercenaries don't have any specific Calradian nationality.

I'm bumping the thread here. Did the update went unnoticed, or there's just nothing to say about it ? Please let me know what do you think about the last chapter.

The roosters from the tavern’s kennel, announcing the dawn of a new day, woke up Decebalus from his sleep. Shortly an annoying noise started to fill the sleeping hall, but it seemed that only the young Dacian was disturbed. The noise was coming from the other animals, which, just like Decebalus, were probably waked up by the cocky shout of the roosters. Unable to go back to sleep, Decebalus dressed up in his leather jerkin, and equipped himself with his arms. Going downstairs into the empty drinking hall, Decebalus headed towards the exit, when from behind the other end of the hall a voice addressed him.

“Where are you going, sir?” Decebalus startled, looked back, to see the tavern keeper, busy, washing dishes.

“Outside, I want to explore the town, before everyone wakes up and the streets get crowded.”

“I would advise you not to.” said the tavern keeper a little concerned. “The night is not over yet and the streets are not safe.”

Decebalus smiled. “I can defend myself. Besides, everyone can see my crossbow and my sword … who would dare to attack me?”

“I can’t keep you here. I did what I was supposed to do, I warned you. And keep in mind that you’re in Calradia, now. A crossbow on your back and a sword at your waist only make you a more attractive target. Here, even the lords don’t walk around alone at these hours.”

"Yeah, yeah. I prefer to encounter one or two bandits on the streets at this hour than to have my pockets picked at noon.” said Decebalus and left the tavern.

After only ten minutes of walking around aimlessly around town, a man cut Decebalus way. The hilarious hat he was wearing, made Decebalus think that there’s no way this man could be a bandit, but his beard and scarred face, told him otherwise. Also, Decebalus observed that this man was carrying a short falchion, so he didn’t waste any more time. Being too close to strain his crossbow, Decebalus grabbed his sword and shield. “Stay back, I warn you.” shouted Decebalus adopting a martial stance behind his shield.


The dark bearded man didn’t seemed impressed and took out his weapon, taking a swing at Decebalus, who blocked it with his shield and quickly initiated a counter which only scraped the attacker on his abdomen. Another blow from Decebalus, missed by a little distance, the bandit’s neck, only to cut his ear and leave another mark on his face. The man, infuriated by his inability to hurt Decebalus, raised his falchion over his head, and attempted to put it through Decebalus’ forehead, but with an agile move, he evaded the blow, and thrusted his sword into the bandits neck, killing him. Standing a few moments to catch his breath over his enemy’s body, a familiar face appeared from behind a corner.


“Decebalus, Decebalus!” shouted the man, worried. “Are you all right? Well… I guess you’re alive, at any rate. I’m not sure we can say the same for the other fellow. Come on let’s get out of here before someone sees us standing over a dead body.” the man said grabbing Decebalus by his hand and pulling him.

“Leave me alone, Wahrton, I’m not going anywhere with you.” said Decebalus on a hostile tone.”And besides, I did nothing wrong. This man attacked me, why should I be concerned about killing him?”

“Don’t be stupid, you’re new here. Do you think someone cares that you defended yourself. You killed a Nord man and that’s all that matters around here. Come on, already let’s go!” continued Wahrton, the merchant, pulling Decebalus harder and finally making him to accept to leave.

Wahrton took Decebalus to his house. Even though Decebalus was being cautious, Wahrton looked like he forgot all about their quarrel on the ship. When they entered the house, the vapors of the soup, boiling in a large caldron over the fireplace, and the smell of fresh, hot bread, reached Decebalus nostrils, making him leave all of his uncertainties about Wahrton at the door.


The two ate like two old friends, Decebalus asking for a second bowl of the delicious vegetables soup in which he dipped the fresh bread and ate it like that, just like you eat a stew with a lot of sauce. After they were done eating, Wahrton brought a jar of mead and they started drinking just like they did on the longboat.

After a couple of rounds, Wahrton thought this is a good moment, and asked Decebalus again if he would work for him. The expression on Decebalus face changed. “Again, about this? I thought I made myself very clear. That’s why you brought me here?” Decebalus asked annoyed.

“No, no, no, it’s not like that. Let me explain my proposition.” said Wahrton before starting to tell a story about the horrors of banditry and something about a brother of his, which he never mentioned before, being kidnapped by some of these bandits. Decebalus, didn’t paid much attention to the story, which Wahrton was telling almost with tears in his eyes, asking him in the end if he would save his brother from the bandits. All that Decebalus could think of was the strange development of the day and he started putting the pieces together. He thought about the coincidence of being attacked by a bandit, and just after killing him, Wahrton shows up from around the corner. Also he remembered something he missed because of his hunger when he entered Wahrton’s house. Although no one else was home, the table was set for two persons and the soup was almost ready. “Who cooks at that hour” thought Decebalus.

With this clear picture of what really happened in his head, Decebalus refused Wahrton, but he didn’t confronted him about what his alleged set up. He told him he has other business and left, while Wahrton was shouting from behind. “I’m disappointed in you, Decebalus. I’m a rich, man, very rich, and would show you my gratitude in coin.” at which Decebalus replied before he shut the door behind him “If you’re so rich, why don’t you just pay the ransom and leave me out of this?” and left.

With his stomach full, Decebalus continued his walk around town. The streets were becoming more populated by the minute, as the men and women of the town were leaving their houses to attend to their business. After a couple of hours of wandering through the town, Decebalus returned to the tavern. There, men were already drinking, in spite of the still early hours, and Decebalus thought this was a very good idea. He headed towards the tavern keeper to order a jug of ale or mead, whatever he could find, but in the middle of the drinking hall he accidentally crossed eyes with a man wearing the same type of ugly hat, as the bandit he killed earlier. This intrigued Decebalus a bit and made him stare for a couple of seconds at the man, who incidentally was just as ugly as his hat. “What the hell are you looking at?” asked the man, feeling offended for being starred at. “I’m not sure… some kind of animal, clearly.” answered Decebalus boldly.


The man, furious, took out his sword, coming at Decebalus, who skillfully, defended himself, and killing his attacker after a well placed sword hit in the man’s head. The tavern keeper approached Decebalus, telling him that according to the “Tavern fights” article of the “Codex Ragnarius” he is entitled to a drink on the house, the dead man’s sword and his purse, and because he acted in self defense, he was not accountable for killing that fellow. “Strange men, these Nords, having laws for bar fights.” thought Decebalus, before happily taking the dead man’s purse, and lifting up his sword, inspecting it. The sword, though very rough and unremarkable, was clearly better than Decebalus’ rusty sword, so he took it, putting it at his waist instead of his old one.

As two of the tavern’s employees were taking out the dead body through the back door, Decebalus took his free drink and sat down at one of the free tables from the drinking hall. Drinking the mead, he saw with the corner of his eye a figure that made him get up from the table and grab the man by his collar.

“What are you doing here, Wahrton. Oh, I should have figured, you were behind this attack, too. I won’t work for you, understand that.” said Decebalus, very angry.

“Are you sure, Decebalus?” asked Wahrton with a devious voice. “I’m a rich man.” repeated him, the same thing he said back at his house. “I could make you rich, too, or I could destroy you. You would do well to reconsider my offer.” threatened the merchant.

“Get out of here, Wahrton, and next time I’ll see you, your thugs won’t be the only ones who will die.” Decebalus also responded with a threat.

“You won’t see me again, but don’t expect anyone in this city to give you any jobs, I’ll make sure of that.” concluded Wahrton, making his way out of the tavern

Decebalus returned to his drink calmly, while the tavern keeper was bussing the tables around him. Remembering Wahrton’s threat about not getting any jobs in Sargoth, Decebalus asked.

“Have you heard about anyone in this realm who might have a job for a man like myself?”

The tavern keeper, having just assisted to the performance of Decebalus skills with swords replied without thinking more than one second.

“King Ragnar often looks for mercenaries to fight in his wars … also the guild master might have some work for a man like yourself.”


Satisfied that he will find a job eventually, Decebalus enjoyed the rest of his drink, during this time entering in conversations with a group of five crossbowmen who offered him their services for more than six hundred denars. This gave Decebalus a good laugh, as he didn’t had nowhere near that amount of money, but he politely refused the soldiers of fortune, thinking he might need their services at some point. As Decebalus finished his drink, he left the tavern, heading towards the king’s castle, already thinking about the fortunes, kings pay the men in their service. Arriving at the large wooden door of the keep, a guard approached him, asking his name and his reason for asking to see King Ragnar. “Decebalus.” said him proudly, unsuspecting anything.

“Oh, so you’re Decebalus. I’m sorry, but I just got paid with one hundred denars by a fellow to stop you from seeing the king.” answered the guard honestly. “He also promised another hundred if I keep my word, so unless you can match that bid, I can’t let you in.”

“Wahrton!” said Decebalus angrily in his head, before checking his purse. After killing the ugly drunk in the tavern he had little over one hundred denars, so he thought about paying the guard, but then he thought: “What if the king doesn’t have any jobs for me? I’ll better see the guild master and see if he has a job for me. Guild masters don’t pay like kings, but still, it’s better than working for a merchant.” so he left, asking around, where he could find the guild master. He finally found him and asked for a job at which the guild master replied with a shaky voice, as if he was intimidated by something: “You’re that new Westerner, right? Decebalus if my memory serves me well.”

“And what do you care?” answered Decebalus, behaving more cautious.

The guild master leaned towards Decebalus whispering in his right ear: “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t give you any work, I could lose my position if I do so. Wahrton is one of the most powerful men in Sargoth and he has many merchants and craftsmen in his pocket, including myself, unfortunately.”

“How can a merchant have so much power?” asked Decebalus annoyed.

“Well… a merchant … yes, that’s how he styles himself. But he also practices the trade, which the new “Codex Ragnarius” defines as “usury”. Almost everyone is indebted to him, including some lords, and some say even King Ragnar borrowed a large sum of denars from him to pursue the war against the Vaegirs.” said the guild master on a hushed voice, looking left and right, making sure no one is eavesdropping.

“Well, then, there’s nothing left for me in this town in this case.” said Decebalus, leaving the guild master and heading back to his tavern, where he paid for his stay, ordered a last flagon of mead, drank it, and took his horse from the stables, leaving Sargoth, through it’s southern gate, on which an inscription was carved on the inner side of the wooden gate: “You’re leaving Sargoth, brave Nord, but when you return, bring back the heads of your foes.”

Argeus the Paladin 说:

Both the bandit from the beginning of the game and the belligerent drunk I encountered in the tavern would have been his own men, paid to cause Decebalus trouble, in order to make him work for Wahrton. On top of that, Wahrton had staged the kidnap of his own brother for the same purpose and also the attack on the captain of the watch an attempt to cover up his own misdeeds.

点击展开...

Problem with that beginning is that when you ask the merchant "How do I know I can trust your words" in the game, he will say something to the effect of "I don't suppose you believe a merchant can hire some dozen bandits just to give a complete stranger newcomer to Calradia a false image of the continent," i.e. that entire premise had been kinda sorta... may I say "debunked" by ingame text itself?

点击展开...

Well, I don't plan to follow the in game dialogues word by word. And in the second chapter there's a small hint for the reason why Wahrton (the merchant) wants Decebalus to work for him so badly. Also, everything the merchant says in game, including what you have posted, seems very fishy. I mean, maybe it's just my impression, or maybe the developers wanted this, but every time I play the game, that merchant seems to have his own hidden agenda.

JosieJ 说:

Aww, I actually liked the original version better.    For one, it was funny.  For two, I don't see that it was that bad of a bridge to getting him to the tavern and his inevitable meeting with the merchant.  For three, he came off funloving and raunchy in the original; in this version, he comes off as full of himself.

点击展开...

It wasn't about getting him to the tavern. Initially, I was planning to make Wahrton (the usual merchant) somekind of a mischievous bastard. Both the bandit from the beginning of the game and the belligerent drunk I encountered in the tavern would have been his own men, paid to cause Decebalus trouble, in order to make him work for Wahrton. On top of that, Wahrton had staged the kidnap of his own brother for the same purpose and also the attack on the captain of the watch an attempt to cover up his own misdeeds. Now, if I go with the first version, I was thinking about making the bandit a member of the insulted fiance's family and the belligerent drunk, the fiancee himself. But this kind of messes with my original plot.

And about Decebalus coming of as full of himself, well that's how he is. Until the hard reality of Calradia will hit him in the face, and realize he is nobody in these lands.

bonez899 说:

Definitly the first one and if you use the fiancee as the belliegerent drunk even just in passing, it would fix that mistake without ruining the story.

点击展开...

I'm still not sure about what path I will follow. I explained the belligerent drunk problem above.

Beny 说:

Coming along nicely, keep up the good work

点击展开...

Thanks.

MatthaisRagnarsson 说:

Either way, keep at it.  You'll come up with something good.

点击展开...

I will try.

I hope you won't mind, but I used your great idea of naming taverns in my AAR. Anyway, great AAR you have here, I've been following it for some time and now that I have an account, I will also comment.

bonez899 说:

Paraipan you can make the fiancee the Captain of the Watch who lets in all the looters.

点击展开...

Argeus the Paladin 说:

^That can work IMO, but it will lead to another potential problem in terms of storytelling.

Though that problem, I'd admit, is fairly minor compared to a deadend. 

点击展开...

Yeah, or I could make him the bandit you kill at the beginning of every game, or one of the bandits who kidnaps the merchant's brother, or a belligerent drunk I killed in the tavern of Sargoth. But this really messes with what I had planned for the merchant quests.

Anyway, here's the revised chapter III. The different stuff begins, as I've said, after Decebalus gets slapped. I will post it, but I'm still not sure witch way I will go. If I think of a plot developed from the first version of chapter III, I will use it, if not I will continue from this one, as I have planned when I started this AAR. Also, tell me what you think about this version.






“Around this corner, to the left.” answered one Nord when Decebalus asked him about the location of the stables. Arriving there, just before sunset, he saw his horse, inside, eating from a hay stack and a young fit woman standing in front of the stable door. Decebalus went to his horse and started to saddle him up, but the girl stopped him, grabbing him with her gentle hand by his left arm. “Is this your horse, boy?” asked the girl with a superior tone. “Boy, I’m no boy. I’m a warrior.” said Decebalus. “And yes, this is my horse. What do you care, anyway?” continued him, a bit annoyed.

Turning back to see the girl who called him a boy, Decebalus was calmed down by the looks of the girl. Every Nord woman he met so far, on the longboat, or in his short time spent in Sargoth, made him to think that all Nord women are the same. Tall, blonde women, better built than some men back from his old lands, and always carrying a knife, a small hatchet, or even a sword in their dresses. But the stable girl was different. Although a bit ragged, her blue long dress, covered her fragile body and her assorted blue hood covered her gentle head and her slim neck. Her skin, visible only on her hands and face, was neither too white, as the skin of the rest of the Nord girls, nor too sunburned, as the skin of the peasant girls, back home, with their brownish-red skin, acquired from the long days spent under the Sun, working the land in the open fields.

“I beg your pardon, my lady, for the way I talked earlier. My name is Decebalus, may I make your acquaintance?” said Decebalus, trying to use the courtly manners he learned at the Prince’s court.

The unimpressed girl answered: “My name is Terwa. And you owe me 30 denars, Decebalus.”

“Thirty denars! For what?” Decebalus turned again into his annoyed self, knowing that he only has one hundred denars left, although he had left home with almost two hundred, but lost half of it playing dice with some Nords, on the longboat.

“For what? For not finding your horse froze or starved to death. That’s why. Do you think firewood or hay are for free around here?”

“So why do I owe you thirty denars? Call the owner of this stable, girl. I want to talk to him, because I don’t owe him anything, I didn’t asked for the horse to be fed or brought in. And anyway, the horse stayed here for what, twenty minutes, a half hour at most.”

“First of all, you’re talking to the owner of this stable. Secondly, are you kidding me? This old hack almost died on his own. If we didn’t fed him you would be asking for compensation saying that we’ve killed your horse. And after we avoided having him die, the horse almost killed himself, eating like he never saw a hay stack in his life. But I understand the poor animal, just look at him, you can see his bones through his skin. How often did he ate in the last two weeks? And what’s his name? I like calling horses by their name; some of them are smarter than some men I know.”

Decebalus, now more embarrassed than annoyed tried to put an answer together and explain why he won’t pay any denars. “Thunder.” said Decebalus, unconvincingly. When he took the horse from the Prince’s stable, it was a dark night, and from all the strong, beautiful stallions, he could have picked, Decebalus randomly took this old horse, which he didn’t even knew his name or to whom he belonged to. “And I must admit, he didn’t ate too often, during the voyage to Calaradia. I didn’t had enough money, and the Nords were only giving him enough food to keep him alive.” continued Decebalus visibly ashamed.

“Thunder. That’s a proper name for him.” Said Terwa, amused. “But you still owe me thirty denars, you know. Otherwise I will have to keep the horse.”

“Come on. You can’t leave me without my horse, I need him.” plead Decebalus with a humble voice.

“I’m sorry, Decebalus, but we don’t run a charity here. I will have to sell him, even though I won’t get for him even half the price of the hay he ate.”

Decebalus thinking about a way to escape from the payment, suddenly thought of something. Believing it’s a great idea and it can’t fail he opened his mouth, before thinking twice. “You’re so beautiful. Why don’t we go in to the stable and have some fun in a hay stack, so I could repay my debt to you.” said Decebalus out of the blue, with a very confident and masculine voice, leaning his head towards Terwa and giving her a bold look.


“Slap!” the sound of the warm skin of the girls palm sticking on Decebalus’ cold cheek sounded loudly.

“Just pay me and leave, sir. And stop being rude.” said the girl embarrassed.

Decebalus, with his left cheek presenting the reddish shape of Terwa’s palm, looked at her angry and mumbled something, but he remembered about the codes of chivalry he briefly learned while being a squire at the Prince’s court. He didn’t knew them by heart, like the other young men who were training as squires, because he always preferred hunting in the woods, riding his horse in the fields or practicing with weapons on the training grounds, instead of the cold, huge study rooms where the old poems of chivalry were taught to the students, but he knew enough so that he wouldn’t challenge a lady. Disgruntled, he dug deep into his almost empty coin bag, and paid the stable girl, who, before Decebalus could say another word, turned her back at him and entered the stable, slamming the heavy wooden door behind her.

Annoyed, Decebalus saddled his horse, and wandered off to find a place to sleep. In their friendly talks, before their argue, Wahrton once mentioned the “Smoked Herring” tavern, in Sargoth, as a good place to eat, drink or spend a night or two, so Decebalus asked around about the tavern. He asked for directions an old Nordman, who after his merry looks, Decebalus figured he would know one or two taverns. Between a few hiccups and babbles, the old man managed to give Decebalus the location of the tavern, but not before telling him a dirty joke about Vaegir women.

Decebalus tried to get on his horse, to ride him to the tavern, but the lazy old horse, didn’t showed the slightest intention to move with his master on his back, so Decebalus had to walk alongside his horse the whole way, like two old friends.

The tavern was somewhat far from the stables and with the memory of the recent unproductive charms he spelled on the stable girl still fresh in his mind, this was all he could think of the whole way.

If back in the Western Lands, the noble ladies at court found him an intriguing young man, and truth to be said, compared to the noble kids around, spoiled, soft and always whining about something, Decebalus looked like one of the brave knights from the stories that young girls loved so much, here, in the lands of the Nords, where men were tall as oak trees and strong as bears, Decebalus was just another kid. But he couldn’t understand this, nor how his court was rejected by Terwa. He eventually came to the conclusion that Nord girls must be a strange kind, if one of them found him unattractive. This thought made him a bit melancholic about his old home, but another thought relieved him.

“Maybe not all of them are like that stable girl. Yeah, they can’t be … weird one, that Terwa, refusing me, ha! She wasn’t even so pretty.” thought out loud the vain Decebalus, walking slowly through the narrow streets of Sargoth and looking at his horse, appearing to some by passers to be talking with the animal.

Argeus the Paladin 说:

Well, to say that it sucks is a vast overstatement. The chapter is in terms of both technical writing and content decent. It, however, is not what I or the other readers was looking forward to. If we wanted an epic story with some steamy scenes, I, personally, could always go to Fate/Stay Night*.

As for rewriting... I doubt it happens very often as far as AAR goes, for it would require loading the relevant savegame and replaying from there. This is, suffice to say, impossible for realistic saves players like myself. However, since you haven't even gone into the game yet, it really could go either way. If you merely thinks this chapter is not good enough, I think you shouldn't rewrite. However, if it drives you into a deadend, then by all means scrap this and start a new one.

Either way, good luck and godspeed!

* Disclaimer: Argeus the Paladin has never been and will never be a fan of Fate/Stay Night owing to its having, first and foremost, Queen Arthur wearing a suit of 15th century ridged half plate with tunic and wielding a 13th century bastard sword.

点击展开...

As, I've said, not only that the chapter is not good enough but it also got me into a dead end. Continuing from here would mean changing all that I initially planned. I'm also a not a fan of reloading, as I want to tell the story as it happens in the game, but since I didn't started the game yet. I think I'm going to rewrite the chapter from the moment the girl slaps Decebalus. That was actually the moment when I got carried away. So Decebalus will ransom his horse and go straight to the tavern, nothing special. The next morning the game will start with what I've tried to make of the merchant scenario.

Argeus the Paladin 说:

Eh...

The first two instalments were excellent - the writing quality and the backstory are both top-notch, but the last one I found a bit iffy. I mean... getting laid before the game even begins? That's kind of random IMHO, unless you are planning to revisit this lady later in the course of the game.

Either way, godspeed on the game and the writing! I look forward to seeing your excellent writing hammering down in-game events in novel form.

点击展开...

OK, first of all, thank you for the sincerity. It helps me a lot and I would encourage all the readers to say exactly what they think about this AAR. Secondly, thanks for regarding the first two chapters as "excellent".

Now about the third update. I have this problem that I encountered almost every time I tried to write something. I tend to prolong the introduction too much, for no good reason, before I move on to the action. Hell, a couple of times I didn't even got past the introduction because of this. I started this third update with the intent of having Decebalus getting back his horse and going straight to the tavern. From this point I would have started the actual AAR, but for some reason I got dragged into the stable girl story, after seeing her in the screenshots I took.

Argeus the Paladin 说:

I mean... getting laid before the game even begins? That's kind of random IMHO, unless you are planning to revisit this lady later in the course of the game.

点击展开...

Here you got exactly to correct picture. It was a completely random event I introduced because of my tendency to stall the actual story. I don't plan to revisit her further in the game or anything like that. I just got dragged into this while writing. And not only the chapter sucked, it also got me at a dead end. I have no idea how to continue from here. I thought about making that bandit you always fight at the beginning of the game, her fiancee, but this also screws with my original plot and I will have to change almost everything I imagined in the first place. I'm thinking about rewriting this chapter. What do you think, should I rewrite it and get straight in to the game as I initially intended, or should I try to find a way to continue from here. Either way, the actual game will not be affected, as I didn't started writing about it, yet. Also, is rewriting an update something that authors around here do, or is it like "you wrote it, you leave it as it is".

“Around this corner, to the left.” answered one Nord when Decebalus asked him about the location of the stables. Arriving there, just before sunset, he saw his horse, inside, eating from a hay stack and a young fit woman standing in front of the stable door. Decebalus went to his horse and started to saddle him up, but the girl stopped him, grabbing him with her gentle hand by his left arm. “Is this your horse, boy?” asked the girl with a superior tone. “Boy, I’m no boy. I’m a warrior.” said Decebalus. “And yes, this is my horse. What do you care, anyway?” continued him, a bit annoyed.

Turning back to see the girl who called him a boy, Decebalus was calmed down by the looks of the girl. Every Nord woman he met so far, on the longboat, or in his short time spent in Sargoth, made him to think that all Nord women are the same. Tall, blonde women, better built than some men back from his old lands, and always carrying a knife, a small hatchet, or even a sword in their dresses. But the stable girl was different. Although a bit ragged, her blue long dress, covered her fragile body and her assorted blue hood covered her gentle head and her slim neck. Her skin, visible only on her hands and face, was neither too white, as the skin of the rest of the Nord girls, nor too sunburned, as the skin of the peasant girls, back home, with their brownish-red skin, acquired from the long days spent under the Sun, working the land in the open fields.

“I beg your pardon, my lady, for the way I talked earlier. My name is Decebalus, may I make your acquaintance?” said Decebalus, trying to use the courtly manners he learned at the Prince’s court.

The unimpressed girl answered: “My name is Terwa. And you owe me 30 denars, Decebalus.”

“Thirty denars! For what?” Decebalus turned again into his annoyed self, knowing that he only has one hundred denars left, although he had left home with almost two hundred, but lost half of it playing dice with some Nords, on the longboat.

“For what? For not finding your horse froze or starved to death. That’s why. Do you think firewood or hay are for free around here?”

“So why do I owe you thirty denars? Call the owner of this stable, girl. I want to talk to him, because I don’t owe him anything, I didn’t asked for the horse to be fed or brought in. And anyway, the horse stayed here for what, twenty minutes, a half hour at most.”

“First of all, you’re talking to the owner of this stable. Secondly, are you kidding me? This old hack almost died on his own. If we didn’t fed him you would be asking for compensation saying that we’ve killed your horse. And after we avoided having him die, the horse almost killed himself, eating like he never saw a hay stack in his life. But I understand the poor animal, just look at him, you can see his bones through his skin. How often did he ate in the last two weeks? And what’s his name? I like calling horses by their name; some of them are smarter than some men I know.”

Decebalus, now more embarrassed than annoyed tried to put an answer together and explain why he won’t pay any denars. “Thunder.” said Decebalus, unconvincingly. When he took the horse from the Prince’s stable, it was a dark night, and from all the strong, beautiful stallions, he could have picked, Decebalus randomly took this old horse, which he didn’t even knew his name or to whom he belonged to. “And I must admit, he didn’t ate too often, during the voyage to Calaradia. I didn’t had enough money, and the Nords were only giving him enough food to keep him alive.” continued Decebalus visibly ashamed.

“Thunder. That’s a proper name for him.” Said Terwa, amused. “But you still owe me thirty denars, you know. Otherwise I will have to keep the horse.”

“Come on. You can’t leave me without my horse, I need him.” plead Decebalus with a humble voice.

“I’m sorry, Decebalus, but we don’t run a charity here. I will have to sell him, even though I won’t get for him even half the price of the hay he ate.”


Decebalus thinking about a way to escape from the payment, suddenly thought of something. Believing it’s a great idea and it can’t fail he opened his mouth, before thinking twice. “You’re so beautiful. Why don’t we go in to the stable and have some fun in a hay stack, so I could repay my debt to you.” said Decebalus out of the blue, with a very confident and masculine voice, leaning his head towards Terwa and giving her a bold look.

“Slap!” the sound of the warm skin of the girls palm sticking on Decebalus’ cold cheek sounded loudly.

“Just pay me and leave, sir. And stop being rude.” said the girl embarrassed.

“I can’t leave, I just can’t take my look from your eyes. They’re so beautiful. Blue and deep, like the waters of a mountain lake.” continued Decebalus confident in his charms, but trying to be less direct and more romantic this time.

“Please stop, sir.” Terwa said, becoming more and more uncomfortable. But she also let a small, shy smile, appear on her face, that made Decebalus more confident, and continued his waves of compliments. Shortly, the girl was blushing so obvious, that her face looked like a ripe red apple, and Decebalus reading this as the right time to make a move, leaned again his head towards Terwa, trying to kiss her. The girl charmed by all the sweet words, Decebalus thrown at her, didn’t resisted and kissed him back, dragging him inside the stable and throwing themselves on a short hay stack, just in front of the stall of Decebalus’ horse, who curious, put his head over the stalls railing and watched the whole flamed event from above, breathing warm air over the bodies of the two lovers.

When it all finished, Decebalus, very proud of himself, thinking about the skills he possessed, just proven by Terwa’s screams and moans, started dressing himself, while Terwa was still lying in the haystack, was still drawing her breath. Decebalus finished dressing and took his saddle put it on his horse’s back, trying to take him and leave.

“Wait.” said Terwa, lifting her naked body from the haystack.

“What, do you want to go again?” asked Decebalus, with the same naughty look in his eyes.

“No, I’m good, thank you. But you still have to pay me those thirty denars.” responded Terwa smiling. “My father keeps a harsh inventory, and he’ll know that someone didn’t paid, if I don’t take your money.”

Decebalus, disgruntled paid the thirty denars, thinking “At least I got laid …”, but when he was trying to leave the stable with his horse, a man entered to find Terwa standing naked in front of the haystack and Decebalus, with his long hair full of the straws that made up the haystacks, leaving the stables.

“What is this Terwa?” asked the young man, making his unaesthetic bushy moustache to move, as if he had a living furred animal under his nose.

“What’s it looks like, Yurrus?” said Terwa unconcerned.

“You’re going to be my wife, Terwa. You’re promised to me. Your father promised you to me.” continued the redheaded Yurrus to move his matching moustache around.

“I will not marry you. You got my father drunk and you pulled this promise out of the old man. He didn’t even remembers promising me to you.”

“And who is this guy?” asked Terwa’s wannabe fiancée.

“He is a friend of mine, from the Western Lands.” answered Terwa.

“And you slept with a dirty Westerner? You whore!” shouted Yurrus.

“That’s no way to talk to a lady, you fool.” intervened Decebalus.

“Shut up you savage!” shouted again Yurrus pushing Decebalus and going towards Terwa grabbing her by the hand.

“Leave me alone, you idiot!” shouted Terwa, while Decebalus, only being moved a few inches by anemic Yurrus’ push, grabbed him by his collar, dragging him towards the door of the stable and throwing him out.

“You need to learn how to speak to a lady!” said Decebalus, after putting his boot in Yurrus’ arse. Yurrus, offended tried to come back and punch Decebalus, but the Dacian, dodged the hit, and slapped the skinny red haired man over his head and punched him in the stomach, causing him to collapse trying to regain his breath.

“Thank you Decebalus” said Terwa with gratitude. “I had enough of this fool, for three months now he tries to make me his wife.”


“I have to leave” said Decebalus. “Close the door and tell me if this fool makes you anymore trouble. I’ll be at the tavern for now.”

Decebalus left the stable with his horse and when he reached the “Smoked Herring” Tavern, in Sargoth, it was already past midnight. He left his horse in the tavern’s stable, entered and paid for a bed. He hoped for a room only for him, but after the tavern keeper told him the bed is upstairs, Decebalus went to the second floor of the tavern, only to find a large hall, with some matrices scattered around the floor. “That’s better than a haystack.” he thought and went to sleep exhausted by the long journey and also by the earlier encounter with the stable girl.

MatthaisRagnarsson 说:

I like the amount of detail you put in the journey to Calradia.

点击展开...

Thanks, I tried to make this journey something of an initiation for Decebalus in the ways of Calradia and of the Nords.

bonez899 说:

Can't wait till the next part.

隐藏

When Wahrton comes running up to you and begs you to save his brother

点击展开...

You got me there. Now I have to think of something else ...

Nah, just kidding, this is what will happen.

The first days of the voyage were a nightmare for Decebalus. Coming from a nation of highlanders, the sea was not his usual setting, and although he had been a few times on a ship before, it was nothing compared to sailing in a longship.

The galleys he had been on, never left the comfort of the coastline, but this time, the beautifully decorated knarr was cutting into the waves head on, sailing towards the horizon. The wooden carvings on the ship’s hull made a great impression on Decebalus, but for him the most intriguing aspect of this ship was the dragon head carved in the front of the boat, similar to the Drakones used by his own people when going to war.

After a couple of days of sailing the land behind them vanished, and Decebalus feared that the land has been swallowed by water, but when sharing his fears with one of the sailors he became the laughing stock of the experienced seamen.

In the fifth night of the journey, the sea was strangely calmer than in the previous nights, so the crude Nords, remained on deck. They started drinking and soon everyone was either gambling, singing or fighting each other, only Decebalus, feeling left out from the party was starring at the black sky. The noise of the Nords didn’t bothered him, though even their laughter sounded like the thunders of a great storm and their singing like the howl of wolves.

Undisturbed by all this fuss, Decebalus was startled when someone grabed him by his shoulder. Even though the grip wasn’t so tight as one may expect from a Nord, he immediately grabbed the handle of his sword, drawing it halfway from it’s scabbard.

“Leave your sword where it is, friend.” an unexpected soft voice adressed Decebalus, who turned around to see a short, dark haired man, completely different from all the other men on board, holding in each hand a jug and offering one of them to Decebalus. Happy to have some company at last, Decebalus introduced the sword back in it’s scabbard and accepted the drink. Used to the Dacian strong, pitch black wine, he took a small sip, only to taste a very sweet and weak alcoholic beverage, he had never drank before.

“What kind of wine is this?” asked Decebalus frustrated.

The man started laughing. “This isn’t wine, my friend. This is mead, is made from honey. Drink it, you’ll get used to it. I didn’t liked it at first, neither. My name is Wahrton, by the way. From the famous merchant house of Madak” said the man with a hint of pride.

“Good for you.” responded Decebalus, trying to show he is not impressed by Wahrton.

“Eh, I was hoping you would tell me your name, too. You don’t look like you belong on this boat.”

“Neither do you, you know.” replied Decebalus, showing a discrete smile on his face, amused by his own response.

“Well, I may not be the purest Nord, but I’m still a Nord, you know. Don’t question my origin.”

“I’m not questioning anything, I’m just saying, you don’t seem to be very accustomed with the other Nords on this boat, since you’re drinking with the only foreigner.”

“Bah, this is what I get for wanting to share a drink with you. You westerners don’t know to appreciate anything. Including your own products. I just bought a shipload of wool from your merchants practically for free.”

“Good for you, again.” answered Decebalus, bored by the bragging of Wahrton.

“Not a chatty one, are you? Eh, well, if I bother you so much, I’m off to my cabin. Enjoy your mead, boy.”

“Wait.”, said Decebalus before drinking the whole jug of mead in one long sip. “Bring a couple more of these and you’ve got yourself a talking partner.”

Wahrton, desperate for a companion, complied and after the second round of jugs was over, Decebalus, became more willing to talk.

“My name is Decebalus, I’m a Dacian, but my mother was from the Namzat tribes.”

“So that’s how you talk our language, your mother was a Namzat woman. I read about the Namzats but never seen one. I must say, your dialect is intelligible, but it’s nowhere near as pure as our Nordic language. Eh, but that’s not a problem, I don’t think you’re going to recite any sagas any time soon, anyway.”

“You know you don’t talk as a Nord, neither.”

“What are you talking about? I told you not to question my origins!” responded Wahrton, visibly irritated.

“Relax, I’m not questioning your origins. I’m just saying, you don’t talk like the other Nords around here. Just listen to them.”

The two stood in silence for one minute listening to the thundering voices of the two meter tall Nords. Wahrton expression changed, shame being read all over his face.

“You’re right, I’m not a true Nord.” said him with his shaky, soft voice, sounding more like the voice of a child. “My father was a true Nord, Fordik, was his name. But damn him for taking that Khergit Moor for a wife. He was a merhcant just like me, but he wanted to enter the wool trade, which was controlled by Khergits back then. So he married my mother, the daughter of a damned Khergit sheep owner. Why couldn’t he take a proper Nord woman for a wife.”

“You’re half Khergit?” asked Decebalus surprised. He had heard about the Khergits, from the stories of a Calradian bard who ended up a few years ago at the Prince’s court. Also, some of the learned men, who knew about the history of Calradia, from the old books of the Calradic Empire, were often speaking about the Khergits. Decebalus, knew that they were horse riding nomadic populations, always in search for better pastures for their flocks. When they invaded Calradia and preyed on the dying Calradic Empire, conquering a significant part of it, stories about them crossed the Middle Ocean, and it was said that if their horses had rode on water, they would have conquered the Western continent, too. Unlike other men from his lands, who considered the Khergits, savages, and despised them for delivering the final blow to the Calradic Empire, Decebalus admired them for their skills. He had often imagined himself as a Khergit rider, wandering the steppes and sacking cities, even though this wasn’t an objective view of the Khergits, neither. This made Decebalus to regard his new drinking buddy more highly and although he didn’t liked him very much at first they became closer and closer in the next days, always spending their time together talking and drinking. Although not being what you would call a patriot, Decebalus told Wahrton stories about the bravery of the Dacians, shown in the wars against their conquerors, and after that too, when a large part of them retreated to the tall mountains to escape foreign rule, while Wahrton always bragged about his wealth and skills as a merchant.

“I keep the Kingdom of the Nords together.” bragged Wahrton. “If it wasn’t for me and my family, King Ragnar would had lost his crown a long time ago. He is highly indebted to me. Also many Jarls are in my pocket, you know.” This is how Wahrton’s speech sounded like, even when the discussion was about a completely different topic.

Even though Decebalus wisely took Wahrton’s words with a pinch of salt, he always listened him carefully, wanting to acquire as much information about this new land as he could. He found out this way about the endless war between the kingdoms of Calradia and about the opportunities that ;aid ahead of him. Stories about simple men becoming mercenaries and conquering a castle for themselves and becoming lords inspired him. He didn’t wanted to be only a soldier, or a knight at most, in these lands, but he never revealed his intentions to Wahrton, who was thinking about employing Decebalus himself.

In the sixth day of the voyage, Decebalus found himself in a quarrel with one of the Nord sailors and even though he got himself thrown to the deck after the first punch he received, Wahrton was impressed by Decebalus’ courage to challenge a man almost twice his size. So he offered Decebalus a job in his personal service, but Decebalus refused, saying he didn’t left the service of a Prince to enter the service of a merchant.

“I may be only a merchant,” Wahrton said “but the wealth I posses, your petty Prince wouldn’t even dream of it. Ten generations of his won’t gather my wealth.”

“I don’t care about your wealth, I just don’t want to serve anyone, except myself. I’ve done enough serving for one life.” replied Decebalus, annoyed by Wahrton’s proposition.

“You will still have to serve someone eventually. What do you think, that you come to Calradia and start your own Empire?” asked sarcastically the merchant.

“Yes, I have thought of that.” Decebalus responded boldly.

“Oh, well why didn’t you said so. Then let me salute you my Emperor. HAIL DECEBALUS, Emperor and Autocrat of all Calradia!” shouted Wahrton mockingly, an old imperial salute, making all the Nords around to stare at them. The two left in different parts of the ship and avoided each other for the rest of the voyage.

The next day, after exactly one week of being at sea, land was sighted for the first time. Soon the fast knarr, entered in an enclosed gulf, while dodging ice slopes, still floating around in the last week of the first month of spring. The sea was calmer in this gulf and the already high speed of the longship increased even more, so in a few hours a large town appeared on the horizon. The Nords started exclaiming “Sargoth! Sargoth!” so Decebalus, alone again, as he started this journey, knew the capital of the Nords stood in front of him. He had heard stories about the beauty of the city, but as they came closer and the view of the city became clearer he was stunned. The city, completely made from wood, looked like a giant ship. He had seen big cities before, but all of them were made from stone. Back home, only villages were made from wood, but the buildings of Sargoth didn’t looked anything like the small Dacian villages. Here the wood had a beautiful shine, just like metal, and magnificent carvings decorated every building. The dragon head from the front of their longship was also visible on many buildings.

The boat anchored almost 20 meters from shore, so the men on board had to walk this distance through water. The Nords started unloading the ship, taking to shore live animals, furs, wool, wheat and other products. Only Decebalus was carrying just two bags, one with his sword and shield and one with his crossbow and bolts. His horse had been taken previously with the other horses to the stables, so Decebalus went there to get him.

DogSoldieR 说:

Nice posters. Well done. Striking heroic pose there!
You may want to scale the posters somewhat to fit into the forum boundary. 640x480 to 800x600 would do nicely

I havnt heard about Dacia since Roman RPGs.. Dacia & Thracia. Nice use of ancient historical background there. Keep it up.

点击展开...

Thanks. I scaled down the posters to 800x600, they kind of look better now, too.

Captured Joe 说:

I like the first one...
Is he Romanian?
(Decebal = rather famous Dacian king; And there are 'Dragon standards' near your pictures, Dacians used them too.)

点击展开...

Yes, his name is inspired by the Dacian king. He is from an unnamed imaginary land (until now, I may give it a name later), west of Calradia, inhabited just like Calradia by several nations. One of these nations is the Dacian one, a tribal nation. They had been conquered by an unnamed, more advanced civilization (until now, I may give it a name later), which are their overlords. Most of the Dacians serve as frontier soldiers for their overlords and in return they were allowed to keep their tribal organization, but they still have to answer in front of their imposed, non-native "Prince". But more of this will be covered in the actual AAR.

Just made two posters. Which one should I use ?

This one:



or this one:



?

bonez899 说:

Personal preference but the way you write I can see great promise if you do include the merchants mission in the way you wrote the rest of it. Best of Luck.

点击展开...

MatthaisRagnarsson 说:

You've got a good story going so far.  If you're sick of the merchant's quest at the beginning, like me, don't worry about it.

点击展开...

Thank you both. Let's see if I can turn the generic merchant mission into something a bit more original. I will try to include it, but if I can't think of anything I will leave it out.

Kilaeil 说:

Nicely done

点击展开...

Thanks.

DogSoldieR 说:

Put in cover pictures for each chapter! Like a book cover!

点击展开...

I thought of that, but my graphic skills aren't very good. I will try to make something, though.

Cleomenes 说:

Good luck with this, have good feelings 

And please make sure to finish it 

点击展开...

Thanks. And let's not get that far ahead of us right now. I will definitely try to finish it, but there's a long road ahead for that.