Many Choices
By: TheGM
Posted: Sunday, September 15, 2002 09:29:47 PM
Viewable By: Faliol, TheGM
Faliol, You have been in the Tallon area for several days, looking for work. You have heard rumors of a caravan of silks and other goods that Merchant Hamilton is preparing but have no details on where or when it leaves.

There are three routes you often take:

The Karkul Road (or Uzon Road) is a well-maintained path that follows the shoreline north to Karkul. There are even small forts along the way, spaced at one-day intervals. These are seldom occupied since the war twenty years ago, but again, the rumor mill has it that they are once again garrisoning small troops as sabre rattling gets louder along the Uzon coast.

More dangerous but profitable is the Lizard road, leading to Adala and points beyond. Here the road is less maintained and attacks by gators not uncommon. You know the riven gator warlord Garlok has just suffered a defeat and will likely be in disarray for months.

Easier, safer and quicker is to take the Rivermaster's ships Columbia or Sunrunner up the Theron Inlet. Of course, he charges a high premium for this convenience and this reduces profits. The Theron Inlet joins the Lizard Road at Fort Lizard, a stockade and bailey type fort that is maintained by the city of Tallon. here there are about a dozen people and a like number of soldiers. The soldiers maintain the fort, while the civilians run a small trading post. It is the halfway point between hera and Adala.

Other merchants can take sailing vessels around the Merikian Coast, but the waters and weather can be treacherous, and the you are not a sailor, so you stick to the first three.

The foregoing is to give you a smattering of "factoids" to use in your character's dialog. I got more. Attached is a map.

Merchants (and guides and guards) register for caravan passage at Merchant Hall in Tallon Circle. They do not usually open until slightly before sunup, but when a Caravan is due to go out, activity can sometimes be found around back, where goods are registered and weighed. Going here means taking a chance that the Caravan has not left early, to get a jump on the day. But mostly, the Merchant Guild will want a piece of your pay (as a courtesy for providing you with a job reference).

You can often get a better deal by speaking directly with the caravan driver. If you can impress him with your skills and get him to hire you directly, you can negotiate your own fee and avoid the guild.

Caravans leave either from the Uzon Gate (Going to Karkul) or the Promethean Docks (either on the Rivermaster's boats or the ferry to the far side of the Theron Inlet and the head of the Lizard Road.

As a side note, you have not seen Jaleel since you came back from your last trip. Normally, he is at one of his regular watering holes in the Beast Quarter.

[EDITED on Sun September 15, 2002 @9:30 PM (PDT)]

Map.gif
 
 
 
 
So many choices, so little time
By: Faliol
Posted: Monday, September 16, 2002 04:35:50 AM
Viewable By: Faliol, TheGM
Faliol jingled his purse. The small clinking noise generated by his shaking hand was depressing in the extreme. He needed work and he needed it today! Merchant Hamilton was due to leave soon, if the rumor mill was to be trusted, and Faliol was determined to get a spot on that caravan.

Only one little problem. Jareek had been curiously absent of late. The barkeep at the "Singing Turtle" had not seen his best customer. Faliol couldn't leave without first checking the jail for his foster father, just in case.

A plan quickly formed in his head. The most lucrative caravan would go to Adala via the Lizard Road. Faliol decided to head first to the Promethean Docks (location of the ferry to the head of the Lizard Road) and then work his way back along the road most frequently used by the caravans towards the Merchant Hall. In this fashion, he should catch any caravan in transit from the Merchant Hall to the Promethean Docks.

Once reaching the Merchant Hall, he would sneek a glance behind the building, to note any familiar faces. Faliol did not want to register with the Merchant Hall since they always took a large chunk of his pay for the formality of posting the caravan jobs. Since the Palace of Justice was close-by, he would quickly swing by the jail to see if Jareek was into more of his typical mischief. He could not leave Tallon in good conscience without making sure that his foster father was not rotting in jail. Beasts could receive harsh treatment from some of the guards

If he still had not found the caravan or Jareek, he would head to the Uzon gate. His belly sounding the too frequent alarm, Faliol swished his tail and set off for the Promethean Docks. Maybe fortune would smile upon a poor fox, down on his luck...

[EDITED on Mon September 16, 2002 @6:38 AM (CDT)]
 
 
 
 
One last check
By: TheGM
Posted: Monday, September 16, 2002 10:33:05 AM
Viewable By: Faliol, TheGM
On an impulse (and because it is on your way as you head to the bridge to Promethean Hill. You cannot resist a last try at the Singing Turtle (thanks for the name, I love it). As you round the corner that leads to the bar, your keen eyes pick out a foxe's tail disappearing into the building. It is very late at night, but the Turtle has customers nearly round the clock, since many beasts are nocturnal.
You hear a song coming to an end.
Also, to give you more setting, the Turtle is built in the area of the quarter that was never rebuilt after the Night of Small Fires twenty years ago. As such, the architecture here is overgrown with trees, shrubs and vines: very natural-looking. The streets are hard earth with a few large stepping stones to use when it rains heavily.
 
 
 
 
Aha! Jareek ahead!
By: Faliol
Posted: Monday, September 16, 2002 02:16:49 PM
Viewable By: Faliol, TheGM
Faliol moves faster to catch up with the fox he assumes to be Jareek. The old Fox needs a reminder to stay outta trouble at least until Faliol can make it back to town.

Pushing the door open, Faliol calls out a greeting to the barkeep and then lets his eyes adjust to the bar's illumination (or lack thereof). Squinting, he looks over to Jareek's favorite table.

Does he see his foster father?
 
 
 
 
No Jareek :(
By: TheGM
Posted: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 09:24:42 AM
Viewable By: Faliol, TheGM
The fox is not Jareek. He is an older kit with a lean hungry look. As you stand there, the door opens behind you, brushing your tail. A Raccoon enters.

Please go to At the Sign of the Singing Turtle
Cripes! The boss is coming!