On to Bergen

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Continued from Stavanger Again, Now in July

The DM: On the morning of July 25th, you leave Stavanger in a moderate rain, a strong steady shower, getting aboard the boat at 7 a.m. The rain doesn't matter much, since you'll only be allowed in the open once a day, for half an hour. By the time you're allowed on deck on the 25th, you'll see the familiar peninsula north of Mimmarudla passing on the starboard side, and the rain will have eased. You won't see anything again until the next day; it will rain all day and all night of the 25th, and still be raining the next day. By noon on the 26th, you'll come on deck during a deluge, with heavy rain sluicing off the deck, though the sea is relatively calm. The wind has been perfect all day and night, veering from a gentle to a moderate breeze, and the ship is making good time. You drift below again at one o'clock, and eight hours later, at nine p.m., the ship docks in Bergen.

Master Larsen tells you the Morkinskib will be departing on the morning of the 31st; he needs four full days in Bergen to unload and load goods. He will save your berths until then, if you wish to continue onto Trondheim. Your paid price so far only gets you to Bergen; it will be a like price again for the next journey to Trondheim.
Working out a market table for Bergen now.

Lexent: Funds deducted for passage. Vafrandir, can you tell me how much the party netted from the sales in Stavanger less what we gave to the hirelings? I'm assuming we're just planning to keep that as party funds for the time being?

Vafrandir: 516 after sending Nadia back to Treborg with 200 - shit, did we send Nadia back to Treborg? Yes, party funds, please.

Alexis: Never mind, found it Lexent. I've sent copies of the Bergen Market to the party. Prices have adjusted. Bergen has access to markets in England that Stavanger hasn't got; plus it has many more ships that travel direct from place to place, so prices are lower in Bergen than they are in Stavanger, in some things.

Vafrandir: Nice!

The DM: Total time of the journey, 36 hours. Costs only 2 lb. per person per day aboard ship to eat.

Vafrandir: Accounted.

The DM: Okay, you've got the equipment list; you can chat about how or if you want to approach the Hamish Ross question. I'm out for the weekend. I'll check in after a couple hours to see if there were any last questions. Thank you all.

Lexent: Funds now up to date. Well, I think its a bit late tonight to do anything, but in the morning we could try to find the seat of government and make inquiries, and also try to search out any local Catholic communities as Hamish Ross could be known among them.

Pandred: Surely.

Lexent: In.

The DM: In. Sorry, slept in.

Vafrandir: In.

Vafrandir: I assume we can sleep on the ship - if we want to go ashore, I don't see prices for rooms on the Market sheet you sent. Am I just missing it?

Vafrandir: Let's do some poking around on Ross. I've no idea where to go, though.

The DM: Can't sleep on the ship. You'd be in the way during the loading-unloading process.

Staying Overnight

Innkeeper.jpg

Use the file on the right for the innkeeper for the time being. Note the travel page for how an inn works.

Lexent: Well, given what we're carrying, I believe we should probably get ourselves at least 1 private room. Thoughts?

Vafrandir: I agree. One of us can stay with the shield, the rest, I'm fine with a common room.

The DM: Table gives a choice, doesn't it?

Vafrandir: Private rooms are a single pallet, correct?

The DM: correct. Let me know when you've settled things and we can start the next day. Do you wish to ask anyone around the inn any questions? The tavern is still in gear when you enter.

Vafrandir: I ask around if anyone knows Hamish Ross

Patron: "Hamish? You mean King Hamish?" (Hamish would be a rare name in Norway)

Vafrandir: "A King? King of where?"

The DM: Vafrandir’s question elicits laughter throughout the bar.

Vafrandir: Ouch, haha

Patron: “If you’re really interested in finding Hamish, you should try the Courtland Inn. It’s further along the waterfront.”

Vafrandir: "Thank you for your help; I hope to assuage my ignorance."

The DM: Action?

Vafrandir: Let's just get 7 private rooms. Lexent, can you pay? We'll also spring for a leg of mutton (3 sp) and a pint of meg (10 cp) each, before retiring.

Lexent: I don't believe it is possible for this inn to have that many private rooms still available at this time of night. I ask how many private rooms are available.

The DM: None. As the linked page on the Authentic wiki tells, “The number of private rooms in a common inn will be 5-8, with an additional 2-12 shared accommodations available. The latter depends on how many permanent residents lodging at present. This is the number that will be available at noon on any given day. For every hour after noon and before 6 p.m., subtract 0-2 from each total; starting with 6 p.m., subtract 1-2 from each total.” It is well after 9 p.m. now.

Lexent: So are our goods still aboard the ship, and may they remain there?

The DM: Worse, as it is a Friday, the 26th, the common room has only six spaces at this time. Yes regarding your goods.

Vafrandir: Would someone want to accompany me to the Courtland Inn to see if they have any room?

Lexent: I will. I recommend everyone else board here.

The DM: Pay for that and we'll move on.

Lexent: So, which entry on the table is that?

The Cour and

The DM: The dockside becomes more seedy as you move along north, as you learn to go when asking directions. Eventually you come to the “Courtland,” though the ‘t’ and the ‘l’ have been rubbed out on the sign. This is a flophouse, and as you enter you find that unlike the earlier place (the “Quaypost”), there’s only a ten seat tavern and only two seats are needed for the patrons. There’s no chatter, and nothing here looks to have been clean since 1647.

Vafrandir: I inquire as to bed availability.

Proprietor: “Nearly all taken ... but for fine gentlemen such as yourselves, I’ve a room in the attic that would serve you better that one of the pallets downstairs. There’s naught a place that foreigners like yourselves should visit. There are real mattresses in the attic, though I ‘pologize, their bound to be a bit ticky. Would 8 s.p. be enough of a bargain for yeh?”

Vafrandir: It's too late to haggle. "We'll take two. Also, we were told to inquire after a certain Hamish Ross here."

Proprietor: “Oh, it’s a room unto itself, sir. Privacy for the both of you, I assure you. Pardon me for asking ... did you say you were looking for Hamish Ross?”

Vafrandir: "That's correct."

The DM: He looks very surprised.

Proprietor: “One moment sir. I’ll ask my girl.”

The DM: You hear him talking beyond the door behind the bar, and a girl’s voice answering.

Proprietor: Marla, have you seen King Hamish tonight?

Marla: He was out in the back an hour ago.

The DM: The proprietor comes out and relays this information.

Vafrandir: "Can you tell us about him? We'd like to see him tonight if we can."

Proprietor: “Well sir ... it’s not my place to gossip about others; and if you don’t mind my saying so, you’re strangers to me, sirs. Most likely best if I hold my tongue sirs. I’d say you ought to go out back and see if he’s there. I’m sorry I can’t let you through the back of the house, sir. You understand I hope sir.”

Vafrandir: "No offense taken. Thank you for your help." Lexent, let's go around and see what we can see. When we're out of the building, I'll also mention that I don't think this the Hamish we're after.

Lexent: Oh, I suspect it is, and that he has fallen on hard times having expected items that never made it to him.

Lexent: Lodging and food paid for.

The DM: “Out back,” after checking all the possibilities, appears not to be some sort of yard or even a stable, but in fact no more than a scummy alley, full of offal, rotten-smelling bags and a single drunk, sleeping face towards one of the alley walls.

Vafrandir: "Oof." I cover my nose with one hand. "Hamish?" I call.

The DM: No response.

Vafrandir: Thought so. I'll get closer and gently shake him.

The DM: The figure groans.

Vafrandir: "Hamish Ross?"

Drunk: “Damn ‘im.”

The DM: Says it with a Scottish accent.

Vafrandir: "Are you him?"

The DM: Too drunk to answer.

Vafrandir: What do you think, Lexent? Come back out in the morning?

Lexent: It might be worth the investment to put him up in the common room of the courtland for the night and try to get some answers in the morning.

The DM: Action?

Vafrandir: Yes, let's try to get him inside. If we can get him up - if he fights too much we'll just come back.

The DM: you can pick him up, but when you try to take him inside the proprietor protests, refusing for the sake of the other patrons. The drunk does smell awful bad.

Vafrandir: Even the Cour and has standards. Well, we'll have to see to him in the morning.

Lexent: Okay, we return him to his previous location and head off to bed.

The DM: does it occur to either of you that he could disappear at some random point in the night? DM out.

Vafrandir: It did, but I'm not sure what we can do about it besides camp out in the alley. He's his own person, after all.

The DM: Probably is; but as a DM I'm tempted by the scenario of making him disappear into the bowels of Bergen, so that you're rousting every dive tavern and flophouse in city trying to find him again.

Saturday, July 27th

The DM: In. Want to confirm that you're leaving the drunk in the alley.

Vafrandir: In. I'll wait a few minutes for Lexent to chime in.

Lexent: In. I suppose since I only need 4 hours to be fully rested I can go watch over him after that if you think its a good idea.

Vafrandir: We can take shifts. I suspect he's going to sleep it off but we've come this far.

Lexent: Would you like the earlier or later shift?

Vafrandir: I'll take the second shift, if you don't mind.

Lexent: Okay, I let Vafrandir go get some rest and stay watching the drunk.

The DM: Not the most exciting duty; the night waxes on, you yawn, you wait ... Vafrandir’s long training causes him to wake up automatically every hour or two, so he comes down and relieves Lexent. The beds in the attic are VERY ticky, and Vafrandir spends some time watching the drunk and scratching his body ... nothing new for someone in the 17th century. Morning dawns, Lexent wakes and the day of the 27th starts.

Vafrandir: Are we able to wake the drunk?

The DM: This is a level of drunkedness that won’t be solved by shaking the drunk awake. He is completely sotted. You have to take more firm steps if you want consciousness before a day or two.

Lexent: How is the weather?0

The DM: Cool; it is beginning to rain, as it happens.

Lexent: Excellent. That should at least help with the filth and stench. I ask Vafrandir to wait here with Hamish while I go collect the rest of the party. Together we should be able to help sort him out.

Vafrandir: Sure thing.

The DM: It is about 4:30 a.m. Vafrandir, something you might want to think about is seeing if either the proprietor or Marla will come out and positively identify the drunk. They know what Hamish looks like.

Vafrandir: I was hoping one of them might come back here but looking at the alley I'm not sure why they would. If they're up, I'll go in and ask.

The DM: Marla is awake. She’ll come out and yes, confirm that it’s him.

Marla: “Why does it matter to you?”

Vafrandir: "We may have found something that belongs to him. But I need to confirm that this the Hamish I'm looking for."

Marla: “Well, this Hamish wasn’t always a drunk.”

Vafrandir: "What was he before, if I may?"

Lexent: Are we considering this being before I head off to collect the others?

The DM: No, Lexent is gone.

Marla: “He used to be a mercenary. He told people that he fought in the wars with King Christian; he boasted to everyone that he was to be made a baron, but when the King died in 1648, there were no patents to prove that Hamish was anyone but a Scotsman. He went around telling everyone that he was this important fellow, but he sort of became the town joke. That’s why we call him King Hamish. He would rail and shout at people in the street, but no one believed him. Since then, he’s become the worst drunk in Bergen.”

Vafrandir: "Sounds a shame. I hope to be able to hear that story from his mouth. Do you have any ideas? A cold bucket of water over the head, perhaps?"

Marla: “I don’t know what you mean.”

Vafrandir: "To wake him, I mean. Do you know how long these benders usually last?"

Marla: “He hasn’t been sober in 18 months. I’m sorry. You want to sober him up? Or do you just want him to be conscious?”

Vafrandir: "I'll settle for conscious at this point."

Marla: “Well, we can give him some hair of the dog. I don’t know how lucent he’ll be. Would you be willing to pay six c.p. for a bottle?”

Vafrandir: I have that on me. "Let's try that, if you please. Though I've found it of limited effectiveness myself."

Meanwhile ...

The DM: As Vafrandir and Marla begin to pour some drink into Hamish, Lexent meets with the rest of the party and explains what he's seen. Is there anyone here other than Lexent?

Lexent: They all must be quite tired from our sea voyage.

Pandred: I'm here. Let's trundle off to our comrade-in-arms.

The DM: The rain is increasing as Lexent and Pandred begin gathering themselves together to leave the inn. This might be a good time to secure those private rooms you wanted before. As it is a new day, there are 6 private rooms and 6 shared accommodations available.

Lexent: Are we still interested in all of them, and do we wish to secure them for multiple days?

The DM: Up to you. I know these details are troublesome, but these would be real everyday concerns.

Pandred: How much time are we spending on rehabilitating this guy? Does Remove Poison do anything for alchohol? Does Cure Disease help with addiction? Or are we just tagging him to come back later on our way from delivering this shield?

Vafrandir: I honestly didn't expect to find him here. I don't think it'd be a good idea to take him up to Bronnoysond - if we can get him lucid, we can give him some coin and pick him up on the way back. He does sound a bit like an ass to be quite honest, but he did get struck pretty hard by.

Lexent: I think we should spend the 3 days here trying to get his story out of him and find out if delivering his goods to him will be meaningful, or if he's so far gone that it would be a waste at this point.

Vafrandir: Let's secure the rooms for the full time remaining. I agree, we've got some time here in Bergen and it will be well spent to answer that question.

Lexent: I secure 6 private rooms through the 30th.

The DM: Understood.

The DM: This will sound strange, but alcohol is not a “toxic” substance. Drink enough, it will kill you, and faster than many things. But sufficient garlic, hot peppers, apple seeds and quite a lot of other things have an LD 50 level; we live in a society that emphasizes alcohol as poison because its politically expedient to focus on that aspect, but most people drink alcohol all their lives and are never poisoned by it. A 17th century world certainly wouldn’t design a spell that included alcohol as one of the poisons to be cured.

The DM: When the party catches up to Vafrandir, they will find him in a discussion with Hamish, who is asking consciously, if still drunk, what business he has buying a bottle of wine for him ... and would he be willing to buy another?

Vafrandir: "Are you the Hamish Ross who fought with King Christian?" To the rest of the party: What do you think?

Lexent: I think the first order of business is getting him to tell his story. Then we'll decide what else to pass on to him.

The DM: He will confirm that he is that Hamish, though he keeps interrupting asking for a bottle. He talks of places in Schleswig and Mecklenburg where he fought.

The DM: I also need to add that the rain is turning into a storm, the first you’ve seen in months; the wind has increased to a fresh breeze, the rain is rapidly becoming a deluge, with water running out of the alley and across the quay to the sea. Marla and the Proprietor have permitted you to ease this conversation into the back porch of the Courtland’s establishment, for shelter.

Alexis: I have to step out for 20 minutes.

The DM: In.

Vafrandir: I'm more or less satisfied he's the Hamish we seek. But it's going to be a struggle to get him sober. DM, does the answer to Remove Poison apply to Cure Disease regarding addiction?

The DM: Yes. Drinking is not a disease.

Arvid: “Perhaps we should tell him why we want him to be sober. Get him on our side.”

Vafrandir: Yes. I'm judging the wisdom in that. Can I get a second?

Lexent: Somewhat reluctantly, yes. I still think we should be very cautious about the information we provide.

Vafrandir: Then I'll let you dole it out, haha.

The Explanation

The DM: How would you like to word it?

Lexent: "Hamish, we've heard something of your tale, and have come across information that seems to corroborate it. Can you tell us more of what happened and what you were promised?"

The DM: He finishes the bottle he’s been given, and growls at Lexent, demanding to know why he should tell anybody anything.

The DM: Out. We'll continue tomorrow.

Vafrandir: Lexent, can you elaborate why we should be careful?

Lexent: If it turns out that Hamish is not the kind of person we feel should be running around with the items we have to give him, then the less he knows about the specifics, the easier and safer it will be to just leave well enough alone and use those items in a manner we deem more fitting.

Vafrandir: I agree.

The DM: I'd like to ask a question. It's quite clear that the document found in the airship gives Hamish the barony; unless you feel the document is a fake, and there's no reason to believe that it is, then that document comes directly from the King of Denmark and Norway, the sovereign rightful lord of the land, ordained by god by Divine Right, in the eyes of all the citizenry surrounding you, pretty much every soul in Bergen. I'd like to ask if you see yourself, a foreigner to this land, and not a believer in the Christian God, as above the King in deciding whether this man, reasonably identified as THE rightful baron according to the document in your pocket, is worthy of what he's been rightfully entitled to receive? And if that is the case, then why bother judging him at all? Why not just steal the money?

Lexent: In.

Vafrandir: In. Don't think I haven't thought about it. Call it altruism, I guess. Call it a weakness. You could say it would make us a powerful friend - or it could make US the powerful friend.

The DM: In.

I only want to make the party understand that they’re playing a dangerous game. It’s clear that this is THE Hamish; and that he’s entitled to his lands legally and ethically, by the standards of a monarchy. The phrase that Lexent just spoke about deciding “what kind of person” Hamish is, would receive a tremendous backlash from any of your followers – if they already know that Hamish is the owed receiver of the money, then failing to give it to him now would certainly have one of them rush to an authority to denounce the party as anti-monarchists ... and trust me, you don’t want to go there, without any means of getting out of the country, getting back your things or finding a refuge elsewhere. It is just the way the world works.

Lexent: I ask the party to confer for a moment and address my remarks to them (Pandred, Vafrandir, Marcule, and Arduin)

Lexent: "It seems as though now is the point at which we have to make a decision. We can either tell Hamish everything and give him what's his, or we can leave him here and hope that us using it won't come back to bite us."

Lexent: "Overall, I vote for giving it to him. Primarily because it is the right thing to do, but also because I feel like the risk of keeping it to ourselves outweighs the reward."

Lexent: "It appears as though he's had a rough go of things, but with what we can provide, he should be able to get his life back on track."

Lexent: "What do all the rest of you think? "

Vafrandir: It's what we're here for. My only concern is that he understand what he's been given - because he's going to have to pick up the gold at some point.

The DM: Actually, the moment to make a decision passed already; it occurred before you arrived in Bergen. You already accepted my having Arvid give advice as to what to do with Hamish. You didn’t cover your tracks that well as would-be thieves and you lost this one.

Vafrandir: I'm not speaking for the rest of the party but I never got the impression we were going to steal it. At least, not since we got back to Treborg.

The DM: If you don’t hand it over now, you’re “stealing” it. That’s how the era would see it.

Pandred: I'll be honest Vaf I was growing increasingly okay with keeping it until we roped the hirelings into things. Now we've found him, and all I want to know is if we're giving him his money -and moving on- or if we're giving him his money -and helping him back on his feet-. It's a question of investment in his wellbeing at this point for me.

Lexent: I go back to Hamish and hand him the pack from the wreck.

Lexent: "While exploring in Rogaland, we came across the wreck of an airship which contained this pouch in which we found this scroll granting you your land on the island of Askøy."

Lexent: "Later while dealing with a goblin tribe that was causing trouble in the area we came across three chests that seemingly had been removed from the same wreck bearing your name and containing a considerable sum of money. These are currently stowed aboard the Morkinskib, the ship we travelled on to reach here."

The DM: Hamish Ross does little more than blink at you. Marla on the other hand ...

Marla: “Really?”