An Arl's Ransom

[mgbevan]

Davne realised she was a little stumped when it came to finding out smaller quarry. Suddenly the hours spent with her sword seemed wasted, its not like she was going to parry or riposte a rabbit out here.
Perhaps snaring would suit her better. They had practised tying up prisoners once...
DEX Trapping (3d6+2=17)

[JadedDM]

Simone and Alenka (Campsite)
Alenka looks Simone right in the eyes. "Of course I have my own reasons. Namely, gold. You aren't a mage, so you don't understand what it's like growing up in the Circle. It's a prison, make no mistake, and the templars are the wardens." She looks away, off into the horizon. "Always watching you, ready to kill you if you so much as twitch." She shakes her head and then looks back to Simone. "I was lucky that my family has served the arl for generations and before my uncle--the previous steward--passed, he managed to pull some strings to get me released from the Circle to become his successor. I was so happy to finally have my freedom...only to learn what an awful master I was now forced to serve. With all that gold, I can grease enough palms and bribe enough templars to get a nice, cushy position somewhere far, far away from here. Perhaps Denerim, if I'm lucky. Or even leave Ferelden altogether."

Davne and Wallace (Grove)
Wallace carefully sneaks up on the fennec, readying his staff. He's nearly in position, when he accidentally steps on a dry twig which snaps audibly. The fennec's ears shoot up and it bolts at full speed. Today is just not Wallace's day, it seems.

Davne, however, has better luck. She manages to create a simple snare with some vines and sets some bait. Then she finds a place to hide, downwind and wait. Eventually, she catches something. When she steps forward to investigate, she finds that she has snared...a nug.

Nugs are subterranean creatures that are small, hairless, nearly blind and have pointed snouts for digging. They resemble a cross between a rabbit and a pig or a naked mole rat or an aardvark. The dwarves often eat them. Despite being so weak and helpless, somehow they have yet to go extinct. The most disturbing thing about nugs is their paws...which eerily resemble human hands.

Nug.png (613.17 KiB) Viewed 5710 times

There must be an entrance to the Deep Roads nearby. That explains what a nug is doing here and where the genlocks came from, as well.

========

Wallace does a Dexterity (Stealth) test to catch a fennec [TN 11] (3d6+1): 10, fail.
Davne does a Dexterity (Trapping) test to set a snare for an animal [TN 11] (3d6+2): 17, pass. She catches a nug.

[HorizonsDream]

Simone purses her lips together as she listens to Alenka's story. She had heard stories of a mage's life, and it was always a mixture depending on what circle they were from. She didn't know much about the Ferelden circle, so she couldn't correctly judge how bad her life might have been there. "Ugh, if you can convince the other two, then I'll go for it," she finally said.

[mgbevan]

Davne returns to her trap some time later and is surprised to find it successful. She walks up to the Nug to inspect it, eyeing it cautiously. It obviously posed no harm but the jitters of being ambushed kept her on edge. She calls on Wallace to bring him over.

"Sorry I wasn't any help earlier. I just froze. Put me in rank and file and I get on just fine, a bit ironic I didn't know where to start out in the wild. How've you got on?"

[JadedDM]

Simone and Alenka (Campsite)
Alenka smiles. "Your help will go a long way in convincing them, I'm sure," she says. "For now, let us wait for them to return with the food."

Davne and Wallace (Grove)
When Wallace returns to Davne, empty-handed, he sees that the warrior has managed to snare a nug.

[HorizonsDream]

"We might have to spin the story a little bit," Simone says. "Something along the lines that we got word, that this has turned into a ransom situation," she says.

[JadedDM]

"Word from who?" Alenka asks, not following Simone's line of thought.

[HorizonsDream]

Simone shrugs. "You said that one of the arl's men are all ready with the children, and he has other men with him to keep them protected. Perhaps it is from one of them," she offers. "Or, say you suspect that the children are being held against their will. I just highly doubt these other two are going to go along with the plan if we tell them the truth of the matter."

[JadedDM]

Alenka shakes her head. "If we tell them that Ser Blaker is holding the children against their will, don't you think they'll try and do something stupid, like rescue them? That won't work in our favor at all."

[HorizonsDream]

"Hmm, I suppose," Simone said with a sigh. She just didn't see how she was going to convince the other two to agree to this plan.

[JadedDM]

Davne and Wallace return to camp with the nug.

"A nug? Well, at least it's not blighted," Alenka comments. They get a fire going, skin the nug, and begin roasting it over the open flame.

"Simone and I were talking," Alenka begins, "and we have an interesting idea we'd like to share. You know, the arl is quite wealthy. And yet he only offered you a measly 50 silvers each for escorting his own children safely home. If we hold the children for ransom instead, we could get 50 sovereigns each out of him instead. The children wouldn't be harmed, of course. Once he pays, we take the kids home and walk out much wealthier as a result."

This is quite a bit of money Alenka is talking about. One gold sovereign is worth 100 silver coins, and 50 sovereigns would be enough to buy three dozen good riding horses or a Denerim townhouse outright. A person could live on that sum for years; it’s more money than most Fereldans will see in their lifetimes.

"The children's escort back from Denerim is Ser Blaker and his men. We're meeting them on the way. Now, I know he's some gambling debts and in need of coin. We don't even have to let the children know what is happening. We'll tell them there's a darkspawn incursion that makes the road too dangerous and they must stay with Ser Blaker a little longer. While he does that, we return to Stenhold with the ransom note. Well, you've met the arl. You've seen firsthand how he treats those around him. What harm is there to spread his wealth around a little? You'll take your share, won't you?"

[mgbevan]

Davne looks nervously around at the others. She understood what Alenka was saying, what Alenka, the bard's steward, was saying. Davne blurts out, "But I want to join the Arl's ranks!"

She holds up her hand to cover her mouth, wishing the words back inside, but it was true. Her ambitions are to join the army, earning a wage and building herself a decent reputation. What noble prestige was she to gain through being a sell sword forever.

[spyguy1503]

Wallace looks at Alenka. "Well now, that's certainly an interesting idea. The arl certainly is a jerk."

[HorizonsDream]

"You could still join his ranks," Simone points out. "He isn't going to know that we are the ones holding the children ransom," she adds with a shrug. "But really, you could probably find another arl."

[JadedDM]

"Indeed, as someone who does work for the arl, let me assure you it's not worth it," Alenka says. "And with the gold we could make, you can hire your own army, if you so choose. Maybe even become an arl yourself someday."