clean

Leaving for the mountains

The morning air is bitter and cold, but no one grumbles much as they mount their horses and ride out of the courtyard of Viggo's manor. With weeks of rest behind them, it's easy to set a brisk pace, though they're careful not to go too quickly for the weeks of rest have also let them get a bit out of shape and they cannot afford to stop too early or be too sore in the evening.

The first part of the journey is easy, across flat fields and along established roads, so they are able to make good time. It will be about two days at this pace before they reach the foothills and another day or so after that before they reach the mountains proper. After that, it will take them about a week to reach their destination, assuming, of course, that David remembers the way.

Feelings in the party are mixed for, while most are glad to be on the road and actually doing something again, it is difficult to face the prospects of long days in the saddle and cold nights on the hard ground when they have become accustomed to relatively lazy days and nights spent in warm, soft beds. Many are reluctant to leave that behind, but this must be accomplished or there might not be any soft beds to return to. If this menace they are fighting doesn't destroy their homes, the increasingly agitated peasants are likely to rise up in order to ensure that their demands for safety are heard.

Something must be done, so the call of soft beds must be ignored.

About mid-morning, two of the guards break off from their party, taking the route that leads to the last known location of the Elves. They are going to pass along the information that has been gathered and see if the Elves or Craig, who is with them, acting as liaison, have found anything else that might be useful. They arrange to meet in a small mining village two or three days ride into the mountains should anything of importance need to be relayed.

Lunch is an almost idyllic affair along the bank of a stream. Their food is still fresh and was cooked in the kitchens of Viggo's manor early that morning. Soon they will have to hunt and gather to supplement dried rations, but for now, their food, at least, is unchanged from the previous weeks.

They linger perhaps a little too long over lunch and then ride hard in the afternoon to make up the time. There is a fair sized town with an inn that they hope to reach before nightfall. There, they will be able to get news that doesn't come directly from the king and better gauge the mindset of the working class. It will also be one less night that they have to sleep on the ground, though the beds likely won't be as soft as those they have become accustomed to.

They reach the town at dusk and while the guards see to the horses, Viggo arranges for rooms and dinner for everyone.

(no subject)

Okay, guys, here's the deal.

I'm really getting the feeling that people just aren't interested in this game anymore, so I'm seriously considering shutting it down.

Now, I would love to keep the game going, but I can't do it by myself, and I can't make any of you play.

So, here's what I need. If you want to play...post something before this vanishes off the f'list. That gives you two weeks. If you don't want to play, just tell me. I'm not going to be mad. I just want to know.

Please don't tell me that you want to play, show me. I'm tired of being told that people will play and then people don't play. Just play if you want to. I'm willing to play with anyone, but I'm done trying to get people to play. If people don't want to play, then at the end of two weeks, I'm just going to shut the game down.