What happened Saturday?
Here were the key players in our day of drama:
Alice Moon, Empress of Falton. Hearing of a Roam settlement being built nearby, she decided it to be in her best interest to befriend them. She wanted to help Falton, but having been stabbed in the back by them before, she felt it time to look out for #1.
Dimitri settled in the nearby fort of Roam. He had the full support of Roam serving both as Ambassador and Imperator. Initially he was undecided if his mission should be one of a partnership with Falton, or one of domination. He and his fellow Roamans had the authority to determine the fate of Falton based on what they found, and what they could enforce. Having his fill of the negative Falton propaganda and their rebellion against the modest taxes requested by Roam, he felt he had no choice in his role as a servant of Roam, than to enforce Falton’s respect.
Cole Van Helsing, King of Falton continued to be loyal to his people as he has been in the past. He began by greeting Roam with diplomacy, but when his people were pushed, muliple times he fearlessly put his life on the line. Beyond offering his own life, he used his gift for bringing Faltonians together into a well-oiled military machine to face Roam head-on.
Woodren, owner of the East Woodren Trading Company and a neighbor of Falton. She is an extravagant woman with simple motives – increased profits! The privilege of wealth allowed her to choose to serve no one. She did however choose to partner with Roam, the highest bidder, as she had previously done for the high bidder in past wars.
And now the story:
Roam entered with peace, honor, and promise. Many accepted Dimitri’s invitation to join Roam and benefit from the privileges thereof. As tension grew, as is often the fate of the good people of Falton, some began posting slanderous messages against Roam and their intentions. Skirmishes on the outskirts of Falton and the Roam settlement showed Roam the strength of good Faltonians, but increased their resolve to tame this wilderness land.
At one point when tensions grew especially high, the King of Falton was called out to a dual by the Dread Pirate, John Sterling Beauregard. The dual began with honor as both men obeyed the one rule — there are no rules. The people were chanting as is the ritual at Falton duels, “Two go in, one comes out!!! Both men seemed up to the challenge and a mighty spectacle of weaponry prowess was enjoyed by all. Until, that is, the pirate they call “Fat Mike” got swept up in the excitement and charged the King of Falton with his mighty hammer. This breach of dueling etiquette was like a match to lamp oil. Within seconds the upright and honorable dual had become a brawl with pirates, Faltonians, and even some Roamans getting caught up in the excitement and jumping into the melee with weapons swinging. While there was blood and bruise ‘aplenty, there were no serious injuries, and the event ended with everyone retiring to the Lonely Rode Tavern for the new batch of Frothless Ale where stories where created and told, and quickly blown to epic portions — as oft happens with good stories.
Having tasted the thrill of combat once again, Roam began plotting how to tame this town once and for all, and Falton began plotting to rid themselves of the pompous ones. Seeing the mounting tension, Roam placed an economic sanction on Falton that was more than the people could bear — Roam seized control of the bank! Humiliation Faltonoians could bear, and taxation simply gave them a reason to enjoy rebelling. Loosing their hard-earned funds to a faceless government in such a distant land, however, was beyond their breaking point. Upon receiving this announcement, the king was quickly able to muster an army and the attack on the Roam settlement began.
What began as many a battle into which the Faltonians have marched, quickly evidenced itself as a conflict with a higher power than that to which they were accustomed. Before they had come within an arrow’s shot of the Roam fort, they were met by assaults from a trebuchet of Roam! This was immediately followed by a sound like the crack of a mighty whip, but it emanated from a small hand-held device which belched smoke in retort to the cracking sound it made. With these “first shots”, blood began to run on the field and the battle was on.
Faltonian battles are often characterized as being swift and deadly as a snake. They charge in, they exact their toll on the enemy, and they are back to their houses before their supper has time to cool. This battle was not like that. The attack was swift, but the retaliation was equally swift and strong. The trebuchet continued to be a menace, and the alliance Roam had made with the East Woodren Trading Company, and the Empress of Falton, provided a non-stop stream of Warriors, Healers, Rogues and Explorers who were intent on toppling the proverbial Tower of Falton. As the battle raged, it slowly began to dawn on the living that this was a scene never before seen in the land — Falton was losing the battle! Roam’s military tactics were winning out over Falton’s raw determination and courage. In the end, Roam took control of Falton, and the few remaining Faltonians retreated to the countryside with the hopes of living to fight another day. As Fat Mike and Whisky Jack stumble into the sunset, the stage was set for Falton’s next dawn.
While the military conflict was the headline of the day, other encounters occurred that are worth describing.
There was a band of brassy women who had the nerve to kidnap one of the “lady” pirates and demand a ransom for her return. Of course this caused a great stir among the pirates who served as Woodren’s brute squad, and they went to retrieve their fellow sailor, but with steel and not with gold. One of the pirates used stealth and cunning to release the prisoner which left the brassy band with no tool for negotiation. The King of Falton intervened just as the pirate’s judgement was about to be meted out by their swords, and he called for a trial. For, as he explained, every man (woman) should be innocent until proven guilty.
A trial was conducted with many proposing a burning or a drowning or a hanging, but in the end the accused perpetrators were freed due conflicting statements of the kidnapee leaving the majority uncertain of the guilt of the accused. More than one commented about the semblance of this trial to the famed “Vanity Fair” trial many witnessed earlier in the year.
In another part of the village, in preparation for battle, many throughout the day practiced the art of knife throwing. Many a bulls eye was struck as evidenced by the degradation of the city wall used as a target.
Meanwhile, back at the gambling house, with “The Greek” vacationing, others stepped up to run the games of chance. Dice and cards, have an appetite. Fortunes were lost, fortunes were made. Everyone enjoyed the day.
And finally, did you see that the Lonely Rode Tavern had running water! Perhaps taxation without representation, but not taxation without benefit! Roam provided Falton with adequate lead pipe to bring water from the mountain spring directly into town. Many enjoyed partaking of this cool delight as an alternative to the Tavern’s frothless beer.
What else happened? About a thousand things! But, you’ll have to tell of those events. Send your story and receive gold in payment. Until we understand the ramifications of Roam’s control of the town, and of the Bank, 1000 gold in your purse may be more valuable than 100,000 you can’t access in a bank…
