Introduction
Gosafall, what a joke. This little village stood a couple of miles from the outer wall of Goswin, one of the three capitals of the Green Baronies, the ruling houses of the Salt Plains. There were maybe thirty houses here, and half of them belonged to farmers, the remainder being grocers, smiths, bakers, and the like.Unlike Arkatrash, which relied on the fertility around the shores of the Giranja, the Saltplains were green as far as the eye could see. Just an ocean of grass and gentle hills, which seemed oddly uncomfortable to those who had grown up in the Red Sands.
The Saltplains were one of the most fertile lands of the Great Land, and salty ground water regularly seeped up to enrich the soil and grass with minerals, making it ideal for raising cattle and rich crops. And with the disputed Salt Fields of Friedbert, which technically lay within the Red Sands, the Green Baronies had become one of the wealthier nations of the Great Land. They traded with the Yamato Kingdom, Arkatrash, and the Middle Lands, being a prosperous go-between and food basket for the surrounding nations.
Of course there were always frictions here and there: bordering nations trying to cut themselves a little slice of the salty pie, bandits, poachers that stole herd animals, and the like.
Heru, being low on coin and lower on places to go had used her talents at gambling and sweet-talking to make it this far, escaping the Arkatrashian army only by a hair's breadth. She had managed to hitch a ride on the back of a trading cart that was delivering Friedbert salt to Goswin. In the capital she had located one of the taverns frequented by the city guard and sweet-talked herself onto a table, taking them for all they were worth; then generously returning some of her winnings to get into their good graces.
This way she managed to learn more about the current climate and get herself hired as a mercenary to reinforce the patrols near the Yômabayashi woods, which had been won in previous disputes with the people of the Yamato Foothills; an outcome apparently not recognized by the inhabitants of surrounding Yamato villages, who believed themselves in the right poaching in the woods, and sometimes even stealing livestock from honest Saltplains herders.
So Heru had taken a small up-front payment as well as a writ of employment and dragged her ass over to Gosafall, the next stop on her way north-east. She could have made a lot more headway on her heyday, but the old prosthetic leg was a real anchor around her neck; or her hip to be more precise, so she had to rest up early. Getting a horse, well... Maybe she'd have enough coin to think about that after a month or two of honest work.
Scene 1, A Tavern in Gosafall
Aspect
It's not very lively in here.Aspect
Something smells good.Additional Information
* The Saltplains are governed by a loose feudal system, but there are many independent farmers and herders that simply have to pay taxes to the baron responsible for their corner of the Saltplains.
* The Saltplains are fairly wealthy, because they are so fertile, but do not have as much use for cutting-edge technology as for example the Middle Lands.
Anything more modern will most likely be in one of the three capitals, which are steadily expanding, already importing magic engines from the Middle Lands. The roads between the capitals, Arkatrash, and the Middle Lands, are also being steadily improved.
* Think Scottish highlands.
* There are three other patrons: two men who are enjoying a beer together and talking about the current harvest, and one lone woman reading a book.
* The owner of the inn seems to be in the back, cooking something.
* The owner's wife is at the bar, humming a tune and counting coins.
* There is an upper floor with beds for staying over night.
* It is early afternoon.
Rule Notes
1. You may comment as many times as you want.2. The first comment at any junction will progress the story.
3. If you comment twice in a row, your second comment will not progress the story, but once someone else had a chance, you can go again.
4. Aspects are the heart of the Fate Core system, they are archetypal phrases or concepts that describe a person, object, or situation. Heru has a number of aspects, and this scene does too.
5. Heru has 5 Fate Points. At certain points during the game, she may have to perform Skill checks to progress. There will sometimes be a choice involved as to which Skill she may use for this, which will be up to you. I'll do a roll on it, and if you want to change the outcome of that roll, you can spend 1 of those Fate Points to improve it. To do so, you will have to "invoke" an aspect. It may be one of hers, or one attached to the situation or someone else, as long as you can justify why it makes it more likely that she will succeed. For example, if she is gambling with someone and losing, you may say something like
I would like to spend a Fate Point to improve her check, because you should "Always bet on Heru!"because "Always bet on Heru!" is one of her aspects.
6. You can also use Fate Points to introduce an aspect to a scene. for example: "There are barrels standing in the corner". This aspect would then be invoke-able. I may veto such a Fate Point use if it is problematic.
To give you a chance to do a bit of introductory role play, I am not providing too much direction in this scene yet. Of course you do not have to write lengthy inner monologues, descriptions, or recollections of the past, and can stick to as little as one sentence. I will paste your gameplay and my storytelling in the following part. Posting is now open! Let's have fun and tell a cool story ^-^
We can spend 5 more Fate Points to discover new Aspects of a scene, person, or object, or to improve or re-roll a skill check we make with Heru.
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"Heru in the Green Baronies", Session Log
Walking over to the bar, Heru asked the owner's wife what the owner was cooking, and how much a room would cost for the night.The innkeeper's wife looked up from her busywork. She was a broad-shouldered woman with arms to match, impressive locks of curled, dull-red hair. Her face wasn't as impressive, but a warm, welcoming smile went a long way. "Hm? Oh, yes, Edger is making a mighty fine stew with a rack of ribs back there. The gentlemen over there have ordered them, it's a regular celebration for them around this time of the year, they got a lil' arrangement with us you see. If you got two copper shekels, you can have a piece too, my husband is quite the magus in the kitchen, and it's a good time of year for some good eats. If you want to stay the night, that's another copper shekel, two, if you want breakfast in the morning. You look like a tough girl that's been a little down on her luck, if you prefer to work for the stay and breakfast, I got a few errands; fetching water and firewood and such."
''You know... I suppose that doesn't sound so bad. I can go fetch some water or whatever you need, uh, Mrs. Edger. I am new to the Saltplains, but it seems to me like you people don't turn away anyone who's willing to lay on a hand.'' Heru lifted her hand, offering it to the Innkeeper's wife.She shook it firmly and gave Heru a warm smile, "Now why would we ever do that, ma good lass? There's always more work to go around, and always more bread to share! Livin' the green life, that's what we like to say here. It means enjoying the bounties of nature and sharing with our neighbors. Oh, and it's Liz, if ya please. there's a well just a couple of minutes down that way, if you could go back into the kitchen, Edger will give you a couple of buckets. We'll need about four or five I'd wager."
''Sure thing.''Edger looked up and mustered her briefly, before getting back to crushing some garlic with his cleaver. He had wild brown hair that was still quite thick upon his head. Being within the long span of youth granted to most people of the world, it was difficult to guess his age; anything from 25 to 55 perhaps. Though tough looking, he was actually not as broad-shouldered as his wife, and judging by the zeal and proficiency with which he was preparing this evening's meal, Heru had the strangest hunch that he was more of an artist, albeit he seemed to act it out in the kitchen, and perhaps a nice herb garden somewhere around Gosafall.
Walking past Liz, Heru stepped into the back room, a kitchen / pantry with garlic braids and bundled herbs hanging from heavy wooden crossbeams along the ceiling. The man whom she presumed to be Edger was chopping up some sage while eyeing a copper pan placed on the fire hole of a wood burning stove. In it something delicious sizzled away, covered with a couple of twigs of rosemary. The smell was quite enticing and somewhat steered something deep inside of Heru. Her stomach, she wagered. ''Uh, Edger, is it? Heru Nahas, your wife offered me room and board for the night, if I helped our around the Inn. Got a couple of buckets around here?''
"Under the table with the large kettle on it," he mumbled distractedly. "You gon' be alright with that leg?" Apparently he was also quite perceptive. Only the way Heru walked and shifted her weight could have given away that she was an amputee. At least with this brief an exchange.
''Yes, I should be fine. I'm used to it now,'' she replied with a nod, heading over to the aforementioned table, grabbing the bucket. There were several stacked on top of each other, but she decided to pick up only one to take it easy. More trips were preferable to a heavier load..Edgar had apparently already forgotten that she was there.
The town well was indeed not far, and water easily drawn. A young lad who played a pan flute to amuse a couple of children playing by the well gave her a curious look, bit did not venture a greeting until the third time Heru came around on her water run: ''It's a mighty fine afternoon, friend,'' he said with a kindly waving of the hand, ''Fetching water for Ed 'n Liz by the looks of it, eh? Ah, they're a fine couple they are.''
The children, a young boy and girl finally managed to shift their attention away from a scrappy but enthusiastic border collie that promptly followed them towards Heru, tail wagging and happily panting.
''Ohhh! your skin looks like gold and you have two different eyes!'' the girl said delighted.
''Wow, are those real guns?! Like the pirates have over on the ocean!?" the boy exclaimed awestruck.
The dogs comment was of a more non-verbal kind, but she did walk up to Heru to sniff her and give her bare leg a lick. Heru was wearing a broad bitania1
The bitania is a typical clothing that has been worn in Arkatrash for thousands of years. Though there have been irregular waves of Middlish and Yamato fashion in the great desert city, the white wool cloth is still prevalent throughout its populous. It is a relatively simple piece of white or sometimes colored cloth of up to 3 meters of length, which is wrapped around the body in a specific fashion, learned at an early age in Arkatrash. It can be tied to expose more or less skin, depending on the weather and time of day, providing variable protection from heat, cold, and harsh sunlight.
, tied tightly about her, but leaving her legs mostly bare. Her guns were tucked into a fold going across her upper body.
Heru didn't mind being practically assaulted by the black and white furred dog, putting her arm around it to stroke its soft fur. "Well, well, who are you, pretty girl?"."Her name is Glenli!" the girl exclaimed.
