Game Log

Viscount

Game Date: 06/02/06
The Donati arrive at Mondavi Island

Veldi, Quintus 9

The Donatis' chartered boat left Reinascienza under clear skys and fair seas. That did not last long.

It was not a terrible storm by the standards of any sailor. But the ship rolled and pitched and nearly everyone got very ill. It was a miserable day and an even worse night.

Amordi, Quintus 10

The storm abated after the dawn. Its strong winds had spend them along, and Chiarisa was expected by noon.

The island was a breathtaking sight. The bare tops of the mountains reached high into the air, all mist burned away by the afternoon sun. Steep and craggy, their rocky expanses contrasted sharply to the hives of buildings that clustered all over the island. First among these was Chiarisa, the prince's home city. It perched on the side of the tallest mountain peak, although its top was well below the treeline.

It would take the rest of the day to reach the palace. Their ship put in at a well-kept dock, and they and their belongings transferred to gondolas. These carried them away from the docks and toward the mountain, traveling through the outlying, low-lying districts of Chiarisa. Away from the dock, the sights got a little shabbier, then a lot shabbier. The sea-level elevation was home to the poor here: the lowest and most common genne, the street vendors with dubious meats, the waste-haulers and drunks and gamblers.

The farther towards the mountain they got, the taller the buildings around them became. Soon, they were at the bottom of a veritable canyon of walls - houses built on hillsides, houses built on houses, up and up. Flat piazzas were carved out of the mountain to support churches - churches didn't stack well with other buildings. Then, at the base of the primary peak, they found their journey over. This dock was again sparkling clean and inhabited only by liveried servants of the prince. The gondolas approaching were challenged, but allowed to put in when their noble cargo was declared.

Waiting for their trunks to be unloaded from the gondolas onto porters, the Donati saw an odd sight: a royal stable, ostentatiously taking up a large patch of open ground. While the countryside would certainly afford better riding, this was close to the palace - perhaps for the instruction of the prince's children in horsemanship.

The walk up the mountain was long but not too arduous. The steps were wide and shallow, and open-air tavernas were stationed along the way. The porters, for their part, hurried along, but the nobles could take as long as they liked to reach the top.

At the palace, there was little to do but get a suite of rooms and retire after a long day of travel. The Donati had not slept well the previous night, upon the ocean, after all, and the climb up into the thinner air was taxing. Don Salvador, invoking his father's record of past service to the prince (and passing over a few coins) convinced the majordomo to take them to superior lodgings. A request for an audience with the prince was put in, and all went to bed.

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