Lord Weapon - Turn 200!!!!
The King across the Seas
The path of the righteous is narrow and hard and few can walk it - thus says the Book of Corgul. The Law is unbending, that is it's strength, the quality that makes it impervious to all corruption. Those who have not seen the light of Corgul often mistake this inflexibility for a weakness, even good men are guilty of this error, but it is this quality which embodies the divinity of Corgul. It takes a rare breed of men to appreciate this hard fact and to maintain the faith that their long lonely road leads eventually to the highest ground. Lord Weapon takes comfort in these words, they echo the sentiments that are carved upon his very soul and define the man he is.
With high office come many responsibilities, many calls on one's time and for too long now Weapon has been sacrificing his own instinct to the will and needs of others. The taking of Meln closes that chapter and whilst service to the community in which he lives, to the liege lord whom he serves, will no doubt play a central role in other chapters to come Lord Weapon now resolves to follow his own will for a while. His quest to find the Shield of Justice never really passed the planning stage but now is the time to act on that research and to move things on. These are the thoughts that pass through the Corgulian's mind as he kneels in prayer before the statue of the Law God in the temple hall.
Before leaving the temple Weapon arranges an audience with high priest Hendrus then sets off across town to the home of Selba's aunt. Weapon has taken pains to remove all traces of the trail from his person, not to mention the grime and gore of battle. He knocks and asks for Selba who appears at the door quite swiftly, clad in a striking dress of Southern silk with a dyed woollen shawl across her bare shoulders to keep out the chill. It feels as though he's been away for months though in truth it is under a week and Selba has been fretting, knowing him to be leading a siege. Now her relief is evident and she allows her suitor all manner of pleasing liberties while she asks naive questions about the battle, her conversation turning quite swiftly to the proposed visit to King Tarka's court. Selba is more than happy to dine with Weapon at Runes and the pair enjoy a very good meal there, noting that the place appears to be doing good business. Lord Weapon can't help but monitor the conversations around him as he makes small talk with Selba and he picks up on talk of a newly passed law affecting merchants. It seems that in partnerships the new statute decrees that if one member is shown to be guilty of any non-trivial crime and sentenced to serve time then the other party legally gains control of their assets. It seems to be an eminently sensible law aimed at cutting out Cartel involvement in legitimate business,
though the Marquis does note that some merchants are arguing that it might encourage unscrupulous businessmen (i.e all of them) to try and frame their partners....
Dempster Khan sets off from the temple to carry out his master's instructions. He returns later to report that he has booked the two best cabins upon the Saline Soliton which sets sail for the Serpent Isles in three days. During his talk with Hendrus Weapon mentions the problem of financing his expedition and the priest immediately sends for a scribe to note down actions from the meeting,
"Action 1.0, Temple accountant to cover costs of passage to Serpent Isles for Lord Weapon's party.
Action 1.1, Fifty cadocs to be drawn from temple coffers to cover expenses incurred in Lord Weapon's visit to Trefato."
Hendrus agrees that the trip is a good idea and that he would very much like the opportunity for a swift interchange of letters and documents with King Tarka and his officials that might be achieved by use of the Gauntlet-Coupling. The priest is happy with Lord Weapon's aspirations regarding scroll time and listens sympathetically to the Marquis' concerns about Meln and the castle.
"I will make sure Chevalier doesn't forget about the castle or its strategic importance. Have no fear, the church of Corgul will keep an eye on your interests in your absence. Kings come and go Weapon, Dukes more so, but the church has been and always will be here, we're your family - you can rely on us as we know we can rely on you."
The Serpent Isles are a long way off. With half decent weather and the indifference if not the favour of Somol one might hope to make the crossing from Bisha to the Isles in under twelve weeks. Lady Selba was always aware of this in an abstract numerical way but faced with the stark reality of twelve weeks, eighty four days, two thousand and sixteen gut wrenchingly dull hours at sea she goes rather stir crazy. Certainly it is an excellent opportunity for Lord Weapon to study his wife to be in extrema. Selba is not so much shallow as inexperienced. She is essentially a nice young woman who may well develop the depth and self-reliance needed to endure such a journey without complaint but has yet to do so. Weapon is close to a decade older than the girl and aboard ship it tells. Selba simple hasn't the breadth of experience, the bellyful of life that Weapon has had and without these resources twelve weeks in strange and limited surroundings tell.
Despite the hardships, despite the occasional storm that convinces every landlubber aboard they'll be sitting on Trorindar's lap within the hour, despite the tedium, the journey does eventually end and without any major mishap. The only time when Weapon was called upon to act was when a sailor, a northman, went berserk and half killed another man, wounding several others. The Corgulian was called upon for a ruling and given various almanacs on maritime law. In the end the offender was found guilty of reckless endangerment and sentenced to thirty lashes, after which he was confined to the hold for two weeks.
The voyage also affords Weapon the chance to get to know his squire. Everything Weapon discovers about the young man improves his opinion of him. The Marquis spends many hours instructing Dempster in the faith and in the art of sword play. The lad seems more adept at the former but does steadily improve his martial skills as well.
The Saline Soliton calls in at the port of Chunda on the volcanic isle of Bromo first and it is here that the Bishans get their first taste of the Serpent Isles. Immediately they are struck by the warmth, the strange local weather patterns giving the isles a climate quite similar to the north of Erythria despite that they are far closer to the ice-locked Northern Isles.
Lord Weapon doesn't wish to be distracted or diverted from his mission so he does no more than briefly sample the port of Chunda and bides his time, waiting for Nebros before fully making his acquaintance with the Serpent Isles.
Lord Weapon immediately warms to the port of Nebros, the city is well ordered, friendly and peaceable. Immediately Weapon feels at ease. He books his party into the King's Arms, an inn of the highest reputation. The place is not quite up to the standards of the Divinity Arms but it isn't too far off and after months aboard ship it is heaven.
Dempster is dispatched to the court with a sealed message seeking audience with the King. It is only a matter of some four or five hours after Dempster returns that a court official, Kulcha Naan, appears at the King's Arms to formally invite Lord Weapon and his party to court. Kulcha explains that King Tarka is very pleased to have a visitor from Bisha and has heard of Lord Weapon from his inspectors who even now are conducting an investigation into the city's finances. The King welcomes Lord Weapon's visits and is keen to have his insights into Duke Chevalier's running of his affairs down south.
Mark