<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style></style></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p> Here is a new Metamor Keep story! Chris The Lurking Fox <o:p></o:p>Journeys and Destinations<o:p></o:p>By Christian Okane<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>Takes place after <a href="http://metamorkeep.com/story/Taking_Account.php" target="_blank">http://metamorkeep.com/story/Taking_Account.php</a> in April 708.<o:p></o:p>Also read <a href="http://metamorkeep.com/story/Pondering_the_Past.php" target="_blank">http://metamorkeep.com/story/Pondering_the_Past.php</a> for more information<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Edmund had kept the retinue small. Only forty soldiers and brothers would accompany him on the trip. Those were enough to scare off any bandits or raiders. Along with them were three wagons filled with supplies. At the head of this small group a woman in full armor carried a pole from which hung a banner. The banner was of dark blue and had a gold Follower Cross on it. It marked this small group as an official procession of the Order of Protectors. While their weapons and size would keep most bandits at bay the banner would scare off any meddling or overly hostile nobles. It was also sure to attract a lot of attention.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Edmund could go covertly, just himself and a few others and easily and quietly make the trip. He had done such things before in the past but the paladin wanted people to know that this was a group of the Order of Protectors. Letting all know that the order was in the area and there to stay. It was sure to stir up trouble and it was an unsubtle message to Lord Donel that the order would oppose the man's ambitious expansion.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>*******************<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> At Castel Roegh the Knightmaster of the Order of Protectors was also preparing for a journey. He was traveling with a far larger retinue. Besides himself there was a close guard detachment of twenty Knightbrothers. another one hundred Lay swords and two wandering Brothers (whose special skills were always useful). All were to help protect the two hundred lay brothers and servants and ten wagons full of the records and material that went along with running a large organization like the Order of Protectors. Also two more wagons came along for the food and supplies needed for the trip.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> In spite of the short time and the number of people involved. things went remarkably well. Still there were some issues. There just weren't enough wagons to haul all the needed material. So after unloading at the destination the wagons would make a second trip. Patricia Samantha Fitz Hues (wife of Lay brother Joseph Fitz Hues) was in her third trimester. No one wanted to risk mother or unborn child so the couple would remain behind. Their skills with the bow would be missed but all wished them well.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The distance involved in traveling from Cantel Roegh to Chough castle and then on to Kelewair didn’t overly worry the Knightmaster. Even though it meant traveling across most of the width of the Southern Midlands. The roads between the two points were well maintained and the weather was good.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> What worried Kenward was who they would meet along the way. They were traveling through an area that was highly populated and had recently suffered through the brutal civil war. One of the after effects was this very journey. He knew the route. As a Knight of the Order of Protectors he had traveled it many times. There were few places he hadn’t gone over the years of serving the order.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The Southern Midlands like all of the Midlands was badly divided religiously. Half the population was Lightbringer, a pagan faith with a bewildering array of many gods and goddesses. They were diametrically opposed to the monotheistic faith of the Followers and the two groups had clashed and fought many times over the centuries. Of the remaining half most were Follower but a good portion were the misguided Rebuilders. A group who, although they worshiped the Great One opposed. (often violently) on HOW to worship him. With some of the Rebuilder sects it was hard to tell that they weren’t Ecclesia. So trivial were the differences from the True faith. But some were very odd. Even in more peaceful times it made for a trying trip. With tensions and emotions running high after the civil war it made it all the more difficult. It was why he was taking along so many Knightbrothers and Lay swords. Their combat skills might be needed.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> He was placing great hope in the two Wandering Brothers. Both brothers Sedgewick and Aelfrick were paladins. Being a knightbrother of the order was difficult. Being a priest was equally difficult. But a real paladin mixed both the rules and measures of a knight with the vows of a priest. It made for a difficult path that few could follow but those difficulties had their own rewards. They could dispel the undead, heal the sick and injured and accomplish other impressive feats of faith. Both had a long history of working with people. Of being able to solve problems by word and prayer rather than by sword and bow. Something all too rare in the Midlands.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>*******************<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The City of Laselle itself was decently if unimaginatively laid out. Its city walls were square with a gate on each of its four walls. The western wall hugged close to the river that brought so much trade. The western road left the western gate and crossed the river on an overly grandiose bridge of stone. It then ran arrow straight to the sea of Stars. The road itself was an old empire construction and had stood up to the centuries well. The road that ran from the east gate went continued east and eventually reached the city of Midtown. But it didn’t stop here. Instead it continued onward before ending in the town of Medalia.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Sitting at the mouth of the Metamor valley meant that as many times as the valley had been invaded and destroyed, So had Laselle. It left all of its citizens a touch paranoid and its walls were tall, thick and studded with many towers.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Laselle was geographically to the west of Midtown but it was politically midway between Metamor Keep and Midtown. The Duke and Lord Donel were at odds for control of the important town. There are two factions that vie for control of the city government. It showed in the treatment Stealth received. Some people were friendly and helpful, while others showed hatred. Most seemed to waver in between showing something between indifference, disgust and nervousness. But all were quite happy to take his coin when he showed interest in buying something. Stealth was not here to shop. He was here to see what the town was like and to meet someone.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Edmund had stopped his small group outside the city in a small grove of trees just out of sight of Laselle. “The order has sent a Lay brother as a guide. He’s meeting us in Laselle. I want you to find him and bring him here.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “That’s it?” Stealth asked.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The paladin shook his head. “No. We have heard rumors of,” he paused for a moment. “Problems between the people of Laselle and Keepers.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Stealth tilted his head to one side. “Problems? You mean Keepers being attacked? Or just being rude.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “We’re not sure,” Edmund responded. “Mostly word of harassment but no open attacks.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “You want me to find out,” Stealth responded. “Go and see what occurs?”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Edmund patted his friend on the shoulder. “I know that you have the common sense to avoid trouble and the skills to get out of it if something happens.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Moving at a moderate pace (making sure to not too fast or too slow) so as to not attract attention the cheetah made his way through the town. He would occasionally pause at a shop or at some vendor but he always kept his true destination in mind.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> It stood in the center of the city where the two old, empire roads crossed. Literally. It was a tall, squat rectangular building at least forty or fifty feet high. It was made of a tough stone that had weathered to a smoky gray through centuries of battering by weather and armies. At first Stealth thought it was a massive gate tower. Its most unusual feature being that it had gates on all four sides instead of just the usual two. Massive, thick wooden doors bound with iron stood open but were ready to be closed at a moment’s notice. But as he got closer he saw things that confused him. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The battlements on top were of stone of a different color and were obviously a much latter addition. The walls should have been smooth but they were covered with nooks, niches and alcoves. All manner of things that recessed into the stone or protruded from it. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to them but as he got closer Stealth saw that most were empty but several held the battered remains of what might have once been statues. Above, below and alongside those were the remains of writing in old Suiel, carved into the stonework. None of the writing was complete. Just parts and pieces of words and sentences that made no sense.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Over the gate in front of him was a particularly large niche. It held a battered, stone torso that was barely recognizable as being human. It had no head or arms and just two chipped and cracked bits below that might be legs. Above the niche was writing in large, bold lettering. “HAIL EMPOROR TAGIL . . . CONQUER . . .“ Nothing else was legible.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Stealth looked around. The plaza was filled with people headed about on their own errands. Some were simply moving through going to places unmentioned. Some were browsing the shops and booths that lined the edges of the open area. All of them seemed intent on their own business and paying him no mind.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> It was a quiet sound that came to his sensitive feline ears. He heard it over the hustle and bustle of the town around him. It was the soft rusting of leaves. A sound so out of place in a town. A shiver ran down his spine. Stealth slowly turned around and looked again at the monument.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Gone was the battered gray tower of stone. In it’s place was a tall, towering victory monument clothed all in white marble. Its sides were covered with statues of proud, courageous, legionnaires killing tall warriors who all seemed to be naked and wielding long swords and spears.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The thick wooden doors that could close the archways was gone, He looked up at the place over the arch at the niche. There stood the statue of a tall man dressed in the full ceremonial armor of a Legion general. He had a proud, regal look on his face. “ALL HAIL EMPOROR TAGILLINUS CAVARILLI CONQUEROR OF MARACTANIA” were the words over the statue.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “Are you all right sir?”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Stealth turned away from the strange tower and looked in the direction of the voice.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Standing next to him was a man slightly taller than himself. He was black haired and had a full beard and mustache. He was wearing a shirt and breeches of a dark brown and had on tall boots. Over the shirt he had a short coat of dark blue. In the center was a gold Follower cross. A short sword in a plain scabbard hung from his belt and a box was strapped to his back. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Stealth turned and looked back at the tower. It had returned to it’s modern, battered and worn appearance. “I . . I was just looking at the monument.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “It was built to celebrate emperor Tagillinus’ conquest of what’s now Northern Midlands in -570,” the man explained. “This is the place where the last Centli chieftain Louernios surrendered.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Stealth gave a chirp of laughter. “It’s pretty battered.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “It’s over a thousand years old,” the man responded. “It’s a miracle that it’s survived at all.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “It was pretty impressive back before the invasion.” Stealth commented.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “It’s still impressive now.” The man put his right hand to his chest and bowed. “I am Lay brother Emile Mosin. Your guide.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The cheetah returned the gesture. “I am Stealth and I’m glad to meet you.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “Brother Delacot is close by?” Emile asked.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “Just outside of town,” Stealth responded. “Please follow me.” He turned and looked at the monument and saw it was still in it’s old, worn form. Then he turned and hustled off down the street.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>*************<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> In the small tent that Edmund and Stealth shared a council was held. Aside from the two cheetahs Terrie was there. Also with them was Emile. Stretched out on the table in front of them was a map of the Northern Midlands.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “Which way do we go now?” Terrant asked. “We can follow the main route and go east but that takes us through Midtown. Lord Donel is sure to stop us. I know you want to confront him but that is a taking him on at his strongest.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “We could avoid Midtown,” Stealth responded. “But how? The main road goes through Midtown.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “I was born and raised in the area,” Emile said. “I know every road and trail and there are ways around Midtown.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “We can’t go east,” Stealth said. “So we must take the road south or west. The west road leads to the Sea of Stars and eventually Menth and Soran.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “And south?” Edmund asked. He traced the road south of the city with his finger. The river flowed south out of Laselle and the road followed it. Some miles south the river branched into two smaller ones and road split too. Each smaller road following one of the river branches. One branch meandered west and eventually reached the Sea of Stars. The other branch went south and ended in a large green spot.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “That is Tearmann marsh,” Emile commented.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “I’ve traveled the main road many times but I’ve never left the road. Never been in that marsh.” Terry said.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “No reason you should,” the scout answered. “The road detours around it for a very good reason. Travel there is difficult at best. It’s even parts earth, water and mud. Lots and lots of mud. Travel by walking or riding isn’t possible because of the mud and water. But the water is too shallow to really use large boats.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “How are we supposed to get across?” Edmund asked.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “There is a trail that picks up where the empire road ends,” the Lay brother commented. “It crosses using the few bits of hard ground that there are. For the rest it uses a causeway, a low bridge, to cross over the worse parts.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “What is the causeway like?” Terry asked.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “It’s wood and about five to six feet wide,” Emile answered.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Terrant made a pained expression. “That’s barely wider than the wagons.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “What happens if we run into a caravan going the other way?” Stealth asked.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “There are various islands along the path. Some large enough to hold the whole group. “The trail leaves the marsh here,” Emile said and pointed to a spot south of Midtown. It then heads east and ends at a spot south of Medalia.” He tapped a spot on the map to the south of Midtown, close to the Great Barrier Range. “There’s a small road that heads south from there.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “What’s that road like?” Edmund asked.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The lay brother traced his hand along a faint line on the map. It hugged close to the mountains following each curve and twist of the terrain. “Been a long time since I was on it. It’s not paved like the main road but it was in good shape. It skirts the mountains before it ends in Kormley. It’s not straight like the main road and it will add several full days to the trip.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “I don’t mind the extra time involved,” Edmund said calmly. “But I will not skulk around in the wilderness. I want people to know of this trip.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Emile was quiet for a moment and seemed to be counting to himself. Ticking off numbers with his fingers. “We’ll pass through at least eight, good sized villages.” He tapped several spots of the map. Each representing a town or village.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>*******************<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> They left before dawn when most of Laselle was either still asleep or just waking up. The group packed quietly and quickly. Then they headed south, moving quickly but not too quickly. They didn’t want to be seen as fleeing. But they also wanted as few people as possible to see them at all.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Dawn found them several miles south of the city and moving along a road whose stone had been laid down almost a millennia before. Roads branched off at irregular intervals heading in different directions but the main road continued south following the river closely.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Finally, they came to where the river branched into two separate parts as did the road. One branch with its road went west to the Sea of Stars. The other continued south.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The passage of the centuries had worn the stones smooth but they were still strong and the road flat. They passed mile stones at regular intervals that marked the distance from somewhere. But the numbers shown didn’t match the miles to Laselle or Midtown. The further they south they went the higher the numbers became.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> They passed small towns and villages interspersed between fields of wheat and corn as they traveled. The people there gazing at them with a mix of curiosity and confusion. The villages grew smaller and further between until they vanished leaving just woods and fields laying fallow and returning to the wild.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The Suielman road simply ended in a field of knee high marsh grass. They could plainly see where the gray paving stones simply stopped. It wasn’t that the rest of the pavement had been lifted and stolen long ago. The road had been cleanly and deliberately stopped at that point. The stones ended in a neat straight edge. A trail of gravel continued onward as it wound its way south quickly disappearing into brush and low trees in the distance.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “Ahead is the marsh,” Emile said solemnly. “They say the empire engineers got this far before they realized they couldn’t get through the marsh.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Dasan knelt and felt the ground. “I’d believe it. Even after a small rain this would turn to mud.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “Knee deep mud,” Emile responded.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “Can we cross it?” Terrant asked. “Will the wagons make it?”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “They should unless it gets worse,” the scout answered. “Small groups and caravans use this route all the time. Mostly to avoid paying tolls.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “It remains gravel and earth till it reaches the trees,” Emile said. “Then it crosses the swamp on a wooden causeway.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>*******************<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The marsh didn’t suddenly appear. Instead it slowly crept up on them as they moved. The grass around the trail gradually got higher and thicker while the ground grew softer and wetter. Walking on the trail was hard enough with each step being more labored. The horses pulling the wagon had to strain more. Any step off the trail would see the person’s leg sink into the mire. Finally, the gravel and dirt of the trail gave way to roughhewn planks which squeaked and squished when pressure was applied to them. The planks gradually lifted off the ground, held aloft by pilings made of tree trunks.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The marsh itself was a mix of swamp, streams, slow moving rivulets, rivers. small islands and mud humps that were an equal mix of earth and water. Interspersed with all of that were islands of grass and brush and dense stands of trees. Any movement through that was impossible. A person would sink up to their hips in mud that seemed to be everywhere. The only reason the group could make any progress at all was the causeway which ran arrow straight through the marsh.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The going was slow as the boards were slick and covered with moss in spots but they were generally sound. Worse still the causeway was only slightly wider than the wagon wheels.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “This is a great place for an ambush,” Stealth commented. “Out in the open on this causeway we’ve got nowhere to hide.” He looked at the marsh all around and below them. He spotted a hundred places where someone could hide.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “No need to worry,” Emile said cheerfully. “The locals won’t bother us. So long as we stick to the causeway.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “Locals?” Edmund asked as he looked around. All he saw was mud, trees, waist deep water, more mud and plants. “People live here?”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The lay brother nodded his head. “Oh yes. Have for millennia. They say when the empire first conquered the Northern Midlands Centli survivors fled here. Centuries later when the Suielman empire collapsed their survivors fled here as well. To escape the Lutins.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “Certainly a place no army would go,” Adelyte commented.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> “And I see lots of birds and fish to hunt and eat,” Dasan added. “Lots of plants too. You could easily survive here. So long as you don’t mind the wet.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Just then a flock of birds spooked by their noise took off and flew away squawking their fears.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p>End part 1<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p></div></body></html>