Destined to Become Queen

I have arrived in Durquba, too late in the evening to inquire about the tournament—the arena doors were locked.

The tavern held no joy for me, either. No interesting prospects, only moderately interesting wine.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Ah, Beltane. Best not to think about that too much, and instead discuss happy things.

I won another tournament. This time at Tulga. What a grand tournament! All javelins and archery. I think I may have found my niche. Another 3500 in winnings.

After the show, I went to the tavern. And who should I find, but Bunduk! His 200 fee was easily paid, and he is now a member of my party.

I decided it would be prudent to again invest my winnings, not just go off and buy a round for everyone at the tavern (tempting as it was). The guild master set me up with a brewery for 2500, with an anticipated profit of 187 a week. Not much, but decent given the investment price. I think if I continue in this vein, spreading my investments out across all of Calradia, I'll end up with a steady income stream regardless of who is at war with whom.

Headed back to Praven. Perhaps Bunduk will still be there; I'd like to hire him.

Morale is dropping among my men. The tournaments were good for me, but the men need blood to cheer their souls. Hopefully we will encounter bandits or deserters on our way to Praven.

Unfortunately, Katrin is not untouched by the melancholy of our group. She thanked me for taking her into the company, but told me she finds this life no more to her liking than driving a wagon. Too much cold, she said, too much hunger. I asked her to stay, but she wouldn't hear of it. I am sad to lose her.

When we reached Praven, I found that Bunduk had gone, but I met a man named Nizar, who fancies himself a warrior poet and a great lover. He is a good looking black man, to be fair. And he's on a horse. I decided to take him into my party.

So, yeah. The tournament in Sargoth.

It did not go well. I'm ashamed to even write these words. I didn't have much money, but I bet nearly everything we had. In the second round, I was given a two-handed sword and no shield, and got on the wrong side of some blokes who were wielding axes. I did not last long. We are now nearly penniless. 35 denars, to be precise. 390 less denars than will be necessary to make payroll this week.

Some good news, though - that lame hourse I bought just five days ago seems to be all better. I've decided to ride it and have given my courser to Baheshtur, who seems to be quite a good horse archer.

As for the cash flow problem, which has now become an even greater issue due to my poor showing in the tournament? I guess I'll start flagging down passing nobles, and hope they need me to do profitable things like collect taxes or hunt down more murderers. I don't think I have the patience to just run letters all over creation, as they generally only pay 30 or so denars for that and I need a bit more than that just now.

I think I'm desperate enough that I'll start visiting villages and towns after dark, hoping to get jumped in the streets. I'm generally pretty good in actual hand-to-hand combat (I have much better armor than what's allowed at the tournaments), and bandits usually have some cash on them. It's sad that I've been reduced to this.

There's a tournament in the land of Rhodoks. In Veluca...

I collected taxes for four days. People got angry, but no one actually threatened me with violence, thankfully. I was then able to easily track down the King, and he allowed me to keep 1335 denars for myself. Excellent! I then asked him where Count Meltor was, as getting that other 300 denars is also important. The King told me the Count was at Rindyar Castle... but I've since found out that Rindyar is currently under siege.

That complicates matters.

But I rode that way anyway, through the night...

...and was jumped by some forest bandits. Only seventeen of them, though, and I've been doing a decent job of recruiting men, so I had twenty-five in my number. I decided to take the bandits on rather than pay their toll. My first real battle! My first true test!

Stupid me, I am the only one in my party with a horse, and I rode straight into the bandits before the others could catch up on foot. I hate to admit it, but I was nearly killed. However, ultimately the rest of the men arrived and saved my arse. We lost four recruits, but captured five bandits. That'll make for a bit of change at the next town if there's a ransom broker to be found, and I can always find more green recruits.

Better yet, I was able to finally loot some Not Silly clothes. I was able to ditch the toque for a fashionable black hood, as well as a better outfit than the nomad armor (which, quite frankly, made me look like I had a dead animal draped around my shoulders).





I immediately changed clothes, right there on the field of battle. I am very pleased to tell you that I no longer look like a gnome.

I then headed on to the city Dhirim, in search of the horse merchant. I could use a better steed, and could no doubt give this old swaybacked saddle horse to Klethi, if she knows how to ride. If she doesn't, I can teach her. The ride to Dhirim was somewhat eventful... we nicely eliminated some bandits from the village of Emirin en route, and the villagers paid us in grapes, cheese, and grain, for which my men were grateful.

At Dhirim, after picking the best of the spoils gear-wise for Klethi, I sold off our loot but was unable to find a suitable steed in my price range. Sigh. Oh well, having some money in my pocket is always good, I suppose. I headed on toward Rindyar, recruiting as I went. That siege on Rindyar, it turns out, was unsuccessful. I located Count Meltor, who was out patrolling his lands. 300 more denars for me.

These odd jobs are making me weary. I think I shall instead ride from city to city, looking for allies in the bars and participating in any tournaments I can find. If some bandits show up, we'll fight. Gods willing, we'll win.

At Reyvadin I found a nice courser, and I bought it for 1200 denars. That left me nearly broke, but I'll find a way to make up for that at a tournament soon, I hope. Coursers are fast, and that's what I need right now: speed. Speed to run from larger groups of bandits. Speed to find glory more quickly. Or perhaps I delude myself.

It also turns out Klethi doesn't know how to ride a horse. Silly girl.