From: Naron (naron_at_bigpond.net.au)
Date: Sun Mar 02 2003 - 06:24:56 GMT
Veltus pays full attention to you as you each in turn accept Sara's request. He nods at your questions and smiles at your suggestion. He turns and looks to Ferrock.
"You have chosen well my friend!" Veltus returns his gaze to you all.
"Pean, you will, or should, not know this but it is your father along with Sara who take care of all of the books in regards to the spiders and their produce. Whilst I have had a glance over them, I am a T'skrang of action and the numbers in them seemed OK but I am uneducated in such things. I believe Sara has also looked over them," You see Sara nods her head as Veltus continues "but also has not had the time to dedicate a thorough search of the books."
Sara stands, smoothing her fine ballgown down. She moves around the desk and stands beside Angavorn laying a light hand on his shoulder, continuing where Veltus left off.
"I have not heard of any departures from the village in the past couple of months and disappearances are rare so I feel that all of the farmers and their families are still in the village. Gossip of people leaving the village has a tendancy to reach me extremely quickly." She smirks to herself. "Of course, there are those that have left previously who all know of the secrets of the silk, including where it is farmed. You are right to be suspicious as it could easily have been taken from one of the farming areas in the old Kaer if done by one with the knowledge and the right abilities. We have had no reports of missing spiders, but also it is hard to keep an exact figure on how many we may have in the Kaer itself. After all, we only have definitive numbers of spiders in the farms within the village walls."
"With the merchants arriving within a cycle of the moon we must solve this indiscretion. It is not that we are concerned with the bandits but more the fact that someone is obviously less commited to keeping the source a secret from the merchants. We must stop this leak as quickly as possible or the village may become only another dot on the maps of merchants. Ferrock and myself have duties that we must attend to and cannot investigate this as fully as either of us would like. Veltus must also be away this evening to begin screening the merchant caravans as they move toward us. With such responsibilities it is important that you conduct this investigation swiftly with results."
Ferrock gathers up a leather satchel laying on Sara's writing desk.
"As for your concerns as to your backing and support. Sara has prepared an open letter for each of you." He opens the satchel and one at a time hands out a letter to each of you. Looking over the letter, you see that it is an open letter asking that whomever it is presented to to show full support to yourselves in your duties ensuring that all things are in place for the merchants arrival. The letter has been signed by Sara, Ferrock and other noted Bush Namur counsellors.
"Should anyone question your authority or refuse to submit to your questions or needs, feel free to come to me or Sara. But be fair, as you rightly say Pean, many will not like having to display such willingness in showing their business dealings openly. Especially with those they may be in competition wit." Ferrock looks to Kaleb and Pean rather pointedly.
"We have little information on the bandits themselves. It is hard to infiltrate them, as they are a close knit bunch. Veltus is the only one that we know of that has had any contact with them at all."
Veltus pushes himself up from the edge of the desk. "Aye, and that was no pleasure at all may I say. They are disorganised but tough. They fleeced me as I made my way back to the village. It is lucky that I always keep a spare, lighter pouch for such circumstances. I would dearly have loved to return and take one of the armour suits back with me but they were vigilant of their goods. They care little for each other as two nearly fought to the death over who would search my packs, and I was badly wounded by the leader myself. They called him Dorbul. A troll who clearly knew his way around a blade."
"Of the ones that I saw, there are maybe a dozen in the area. They haunt the trade path at the base of the foothills almost a full days travel from here. After I was fleeced, I followed them for some time and they seem to have a central base of operations in a cave to the east of here about 6 hours travel away. They seem to use that more for the storage of their food and a place to rest or recruit. Their weapons and armour are mismatched and probably come from those that they accost on the roads. I even saw one simply armed with the branch from a tree! They seem to be made up mainly of humans apart from Dorbul, another Ork and to Dwraves."
"Of the bandits, I know little else." Veltus returns to the desk, but only to pick up a backpack from behind it. "I must now take my leave. My friends, it is good to make your acquaintance but it is even better to know that you will not speak of me or my presence here to anyone?" He looks across you all to see if he is understood before bowing low to you all. "Good luck with your duties and I will see you again my lady!" He looks to Sara and with a quick nod to Ferrock leaves through a door at the back of the library.
<Your posts please>
<Cheers>
<Mark>
If you are into role-playing, check out http://users.bigpond.net.au/naron/
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