Status: Vainly Valiant Vixen, PC played by Lazyfox, currently not in the party
Excerpt from Alyosha Yenod’s Being a True History of Calabria:
Near to the Paludestris, an area which is usually avoided by the rest of Calabria, a few small
and obscure gray fox kingdoms reside. They seem to be slightly xenophobic, which, in itself,
is not strange since they are rarely visited by other races, including other foxes (in fact,
they refer to themselves as the only real fox race). When telling them that there is a race
which calls themselves “foxes” which look very much like them, but are slightly bigger and
have no gray fur on their back but only red, most of them reply disdainfully that they are
the real foxes and that those “red foxes” have nothing to do with them. Though when I drew
both a gray and a red fox next to each other on a paper some of the females asked where they
could find such big and handsome foxes.
There are three gray fox kingdoms, or rather city-states, near the eastern shore of the river
Sauldre, called Arguron, Palarchon and Dendrophyloi. The latter two only have the size of
villages, Arguron consists of a city with a large castle near it. Some of the people there
claim that their empire once was as big as half the continent. This seems quite unlikely
though, given their small population and their apparently stagnating economy. They claim it
is because the Avoirdupois have laid heavy embargos and tributes on their trade, but I can’t
imagine such a noble race doing something like that. Instead, I think they are too xenophobic
to start trading with the rest of Calabria.
By far their largest export material seems to be wood from the swamp. This is of course very
fortunate for the Avoirdupois, who would otherwise be fully dependent on the Bisclavret for
it. They told me that they also export carved wooden items, paper and some strange food
stuffs, which I never heard of, to the lands east of them. When I went to an inn I tried
ordering a meal with spices indigenous to the swamps. After taking one bite it felt like
my mouth was on fire and I shouted for water, whereupon the rest of the inn burst into
laughter. After I had tried a few more bites while drinking a whole can of water, I had
enough of it. Who would ever want to eat such diabolic food? They tried to offer me a
beverage called “coffee”, but afraid that it would be just as hot as the food I left.
Apart from the strange food, another strange part of their culture is their clothing habits,
which appears half-atavist to me. Most men walk entirely naked, unless in battler-gear, and
claim that it is a sign of being proud of one’s body. According to them, having clothes on
means that one is somehow ashamed of his body. For that matter, the females aren’t much
better in that respect, wearing only minimal underclothing and no breast protection. Also,
I noticed that the females here often also do men’s work, which is unheard of in the rest
of Calabria! There are even females in the military. Then again, more than a quarter of the
population appears to be in the military and military service is 20 years. They say it’s
because they need to fend off undead attacks in the south every year.
Though they understand Calabrese (though they speak it with a heavy accent), they appear
to have a language of their own, and while it sounds like nothing I have heard before, some
the letters in their alphabet are similar to Calabrese. Of course, they claim that Calabrese
was largely influenced by their language but it was very probably the other way around. Also,
their religion seems archaic to me as they still worship several gods instead of one.
Selena of Arguron’s Diary
March, 23rd
Again, it was a beautiful day as it has been for a week now since the winter rains stopped.
The warm sun shined brightly and vaporized the remaining water droplets in the trees,
giving the forest a mysterious, and maybe even a frightening, look. Yet so far we haven’t
had reports of undead hordes, or worse, undead wizards invading the lands of our southern
neighbour citadel, Palarchon, as they used to do every spring after the rains. Perhaps our
continuous victories last year convinced them that we can’t be defeated? Yet people say
they aren’t capable of such feelings. Some say we actually wiped them all out, but they
are still afraid to enter the heart of the swamp. And others say this silence is some kind
of dark foreboding…
Anyway, let’s not spoil the end of a perfect day by rambling about such things.
I had great pleasure again training moves with our weapon master, Sisyphos, throughout the
morning. He said that I was improving by the day. Over the years, he had to come to give me
the nickname Quicksilver because of my tremendous agility, which the weapon master could
rival only barely. I liked it, and so apparently did my friends, all calling me by that name
now.
Even the disapproving looks my mother gave me as she strode along the court didn’t quench
my happiness. She’d rather have me study in a murky, damp tower where I would learn stuff
like administration and other things a “royal child should know”. I’ve already had enough
of that stuff in my childhood. But since my brother is going to inherit the throne, what
do I need it for?
But again, I’m straying away from what I wanted to tell. In the afternoon, Pelias the
Champion took me out on a dray ride to the northern grasslands along the river Saldros.
There we spent the afternoon doing silly things, like chase each other and trying to push
each other in the pools of the still flooded Saldros. He boasted that I would never be able
to push him in, but I showed him! Those tackling maneuvers I learned from the weapon master
this morning already showed their value. At the end of the afternoon we ate fish that we
could catch in the shallow, drying pools. Then we rode back, returning to castle Arguron
exhaustedly.
May, 19th
Of course, all happiness comes to an end and peace is an illusion. After the idyllic days
the past two months, in which I got closer and closer to Pelias, a messenger came from
Palarchon reporting yet again heavy undead raids and requesting help from the mighty house
Arguron. After some hours debating, my parents, or rather my father, as my mother’s look was
quite glum, decided that my brother was now old enough to lead a counterstrike against the
undead. The next day he was to leave with the reserve of our army to help defend Palarchon.
After I heard that, my happiness yet returned, even though I was ashamed by it, because
Pelias wouldn’t be sent to the frontier. Instead, my poor brother had to go, and though he
tried to appear valiant, it was clear he was scared to the bones.
May, 25th
Why do things happen as they do? Why do our gods allow such misery to happen to us?
A messenger had come from the south, and even before I heard what was going on, I knew that
something terrible had happened. My brother had died on the battlefield. Being too rash, he
chased the undead that were attacking Palarchon, straight into the swamp never to return.
Even though my brother is regarded as a hero by the people of Palarchon, my parents,
especially my father, were devastated. I was devastated too. My brother, who had been there
in my life for so long was now violently ripped away. But that was not the only reason.
Pelias would be sent to the front now, and I would be all alone. I locked myself in my tower
room, crying, and not eating the whole day.
June, 30th
Now, more than a month after my brother died, life seemed to be going slowly back to normal.
The undead raids in Palarchon have been decreasing over the weeks, and the last week nothing
much has happened there. People are rebuilding the woodworks, shattered by the undead. My
Pelias wrote me that he alright, but he has to remain in Palarchon for the next months for a
possible undead surprise attack.
My hopes of my life returning to normal and those months passing swiftly got shattered
though. Today, my parents took me in their private study and told me that, now my brother
was dead, I was the only inheritor to the throne of house Arguron. Therefore, I had to give
up my fencing lessons with the weapon master and my other pastimes, and start studying
administration, diplomatics and so on. They didn’t allow me to do anything else but sit in
my tower and study in this hot and humid weather.
Why can’t the law make an exception and appoint somebody from another gray fox house as
inheritor to the throne? I don’t want to rule the kingdom, I’m not the right person. But
there is no way out.
August, 14th
Yesterday, something special has happened that set me thinking. An emissary of the house
Avoirdupois came riding into castle Arguron that afternoon. It is well known that for years
and years, those horses got a part of our wood supply, and forbidding us to trade with
countries to the west of us, in exchange for continuous independence, and even, to defend
the gray fox lands in time of need, though of the latter I have seen nothing for quite some
years. What would they want to discuss now? It was speculated they wanted to send troops
again.
After receiving them with much ceremony (for some reason those horses seem to need that) my
father urged me to attend the negotiations between him and the emissary so that I would
learn a practical example of diplomacy. However, the negotiations turned out to be an utter
disgrace for my father. The outcome was that house Arguron was forced to give half of its
wood supply to house Avoirdupois from now on, plus a quarter of the yearly taxes for
“extended independence”. In exchange for that, my father demanded, or rather, begged that
Avoirdupois troops would be sent to defend the gray fox lands against the raids. And
roops were indeed sent. They rode into the castle later that afternoon, and such a
agged and undisciplined batallion (if one could call it that) I had never seen before.
It looked as if all the scum from the horse lands were gathered here. They immediately
settled themselves in a corner of the courtyard with unused barracks. After they started
to trouble the cooks for food, and make stupid jokes about those “little gray foxies”. When
I came inspecting them, one of those stinking horses even dared to say that “the size of
my breasts could rival those of any Avoirdupois mare”. But my father didn’t dare to say
anything about it, and so the emissary left this morning again, having made house Arguron’s
treasury even lighter than it already was.
October, 2nd
A messenger just came from Palarchon bearing a distress call for help. My parents are
mobilizing half of the army to march to Palarchon tomorrow morning. My father asked the
horse commander to join him, but the bastard said that he was ordered only to defend
Arguron. As my father wanted to hurry, he dropped the matter.
I just hope my Pelias is alright…
November 15th
This is the first time after that awful day, October 3rd, that I’m able to write anything
about what happened.
That day, I had slipped away from the castle and taken a walk southward into the woods to
relieve my anxiety a bit. I told only Sisyphos, the weapon master, about it. He urged me
to take my full battle equipment with me just in case, even though the undead have never
come so far northward since the otters have taken control of the lands on the west shore
of the Saldros, but I conceded to take my rapiers with me.
Of course, I completely forgot the time and I realized that I would come too late to see
my parents leaving. Oh well, I thought, that would spare me a nasty conversation. But just
as I wanted to return homewards I heard some creaking noise from behind me on the left.
I turned around, looked and listened intently but heard and saw nothing in that direction.
Suddenly, some rustling came from another direction and I turned towards it. I wondered
if there was something hidden in the shrubbery there, but heard nothing for some time. I
turned back to continue my journey and suddenly stood eye to eye with a skeleton who had
come from behind a tree. Surprise and fear had nailed me to the ground while the skeleton
advanced on me, much faster than I could imagine a skeleton to be. But when he was near me
and started to strike with his sabre I quickly wielded my right rapier and blocked his
attack. While he tried to keep hacking his way through my lightning-fast parrying I wielded
my left rapier and repeatedly stabbed his shoulder causing it to loose his arm after which
I solidly struck my right rapier through an eye socket, displacing the skull backwards
and disabling the skeleton. In that motion I noticed a swishing sound behind me and I
skilfully danced away, causing the incoming sabre only to inflict a minor cut in my side
(and I would have wished I had worn my armour then). I turned around quickly and blocked
his second attack with one rapier. Instantly, I stabbed back with my other rapier, which,
however, was turned on his shield. In that instant I saw the emblem on the skeleton’s
shield, and it was the emblem of Palarchon! My next strike was low, in his pelvis, causing
the skeleton to get unbalanced and miss his next strike. I crossed my rapiers then and
pushed him over, finishing him on the ground. But as I looked up, dazed, I suddenly saw a
multitude of skeletons coming. I ran as lightning, until I could run no more. But, looking
behind me, there was no sign of skeletons, nor even the sound of running in the distance.
So I rested for a minute, listening intently, and then realized what I had seen. There
haven’t been any undeads in these parts since scores of years, and the only way for them
to come here is past Palarchon. And the shield the skeleton was carrying, was from Palarchon.
It must have fallen! So again I ran and ran towards home, hoping to warn my parents. But I
was too late; they had already gone on their way. I told the weapon master what I had seen
and he fetched his mount and motioned me to sit behind me. So we went down the muddy pathway
to Palarchon at full speed. When we were halfway we spotted them far down the pathway, hard
to see through the trees. But as we sped down the path skeletons appeared from behind the
trees and out of the swamp. Sisyphos stopped his mount before them, for they blocked our
path. I cried to the batallion: “It’s a trap!”, but it was too late. Shouts and screams
already came from the front line. I leapt from the mount and screamed, charging straight
into the line of skeletons, blocking our path. I hacked in on them, decapitating them,
unlimbing them and splitting their spines. I don’t know how much skeletons I “killed”
or how far I had come, for Sisyphos pulled me back against my will. He dragged me while
I struggled, but when he seated me on his mount I went mostly limp, having no hope anymore.
The last I saw was that a huge batallion of skeletons had now assembled near us, still
blocking the path, but not advancing, not even when we returned for the castle. I didn’t
yet know why they didn’t follow, but at that moment I didn’t care.
When we returned Sisyphos alerted the castle and the town. The castle was made ready for
defense and scouts were sent out to find out the whereabouts of the undeads. Yet no
skeletons advanced, and only the survivors of the rear of my parents’ batallion had come
back to the castle. Later they told me that they were attacked from all sides and a huge
massacre followed, according to some with magical aid. Yet at that time I didn’t care
about anything anymore and settled down somewhere in comfortable catatonia.
Later, they dragged me into bed and tended me. But I couldn’t do anything for weeks but
ying there, hardly eating and having evil nightmares. I said nothing during that time,
nor did anyone dare to say anything to me. They didn’t need to, for I know that my parents
were dead, my Pelias unreachable and possibly dead and nobody could comfort me. Last week,
the treasurer, the chamberlain and the weapon master urged me to hold my coronation
ceremony. As I had no will left, I had nodded, and so I was carefully guided to my throne
where I took seat uninterestedly while my court took their time to put the coronet on my
head. But when my court started cheering pseudo-happily I got enraged, stood up, yelling,
and pushed every disdained court member outside of the throne room. After I regained
control over myself I went to bed and slept very long.
Today, I have found back in me a little resolve and crawled out of my long-lasting
catatonia. Tomorrow, I will probably care for nothing yet again, but today I had been
thinking. Now that I have my kingdom, I will not lose it. Even were all population of
Argurai turned undead, yet I would retain my kingdom. And I will defeat not only whatever
lurks in these swamps, but also the Avoirdupois, ridding my kingdom from their tributes
and threats. And I will restore my kingdom as it was in ancient days, glorious and
unconquerable. Now I just have to make a plan…
December 6th
The last weeks I have been busy taking control over my kingdom as it has been in the
hands of my staff for too long now. They are capable people, but they need a queen to
oversee their activities. The chamberlain had kept my household to my satifaction.
However, the military was still a mess as there was no chief commander anymore. One of
them, who had proved himself a number of times before, had approached me and asked to
be selected as new champion. He went on and on about how he would “protect his lady”
and such other sliminess. I actually think he is a lecher, but he was so persistent
that I chose him right then without caring. Nobody could ever rival my Pelias anyway.
After that, I started reordering the battalions, taking advice from the commanders.
The treasury was the worst. I scolded the treasurer for having made such expenses
and not having compensated it with something else. He answered that it was my father
who had made such expenses. I said it was bullshit and told him that I would cast
personally in the swamps if I caught him stealing from the treasury. That shut him
up. But I am afraid that I will have to raise the taxes to get the finances into
balance again.
December 15th
Yesterday I sneaked away from my duties and went into the forest (if I had done
this openly half of my court would have tried escorting, ands the other half would
try to stop me, the idiots). In only a few weeks the rain season would start and before
that I wanted to assure the situation at our apparent new border was still the same.
I walked all the way towards our it and found the undead army still standing there,
skeleton next to skeleton blocking the way, all standing precisely in a line. I wondered
why, and this evening I got my answer.
When I got home again and got rid of my overworried staff, I stepped into my throne
room and found our wizard sitting comfortably on my throne. Nobody really knows much
about our wizard, a robed gray-furred rat, not even how old he is. The tale goes that,
a long time ago, he got rewarded, for extraordinary services for the kingdom, with a
whole outer tower as residence without falling under jurisdiction of house Arguron.
Whatever practices he commits there no one knows, but sometimes strange sound can be
heard from the tower. The tale further goes that he had always defended the castle in
its greatest needs, yet I hadn’t seen him doing much yet. Tired as I was I told him to
stop his senile humour. Yet he ignored me, but stood up and motioned me to follow. And
out of sheer curiosity I followed him. We went into his tower but we didn’t proceed
upwards, but downwards through a trapdoor! Were there cellars in Arguron I didn’t know
about? Down, we went through an intricate maze of narrow tunnels. Finally, we came to
a massive stone door which he opened by a chant in some ancient form of our language.
The door opened automatically and revealed a round room with a pedestal in the middle.
And on this pedestal a big and beautiful gemstone lay in a socket. It was more
beautiful than anything I had ever seen. It seemed to cast off every colour of the
rainbow in all sorts of intricate patterns. Yet it was disconcerting to notice that the
gemstone made a soft humming noise.
“This is a Stone of Protection”, the wizard said, and it was the first time he spoke.
And before I could respond, he continued telling me about this stone:
“It was enchanted by our people in ancient times to ward off the constant attack of
undead beings which were eating the kingdom, a threat which hasn’t stopped since that
time. It gave the kingdom special protection, and it is the reason why the undeads,
gathered southward, haven’t yet eaten this final remaining part of the kingdom. Also,
it is the reason that our weapons, forged here, are more effective against undead beings.
The stone was too weak though, and didn’t protect all of the, in that time, huge kingdom.
Four more stones were made to cover the other land but they were even weaker, only able
to protect a radius the size of a village. The kingdom crumpled apart into the three
gray fox kingdoms as you now know them, Palarchon, Dendrophylon and our own Arguron,
each of them having a Stone of Protection. The two other stones got lost over time,
and now it appears the third stone has lost its effects or been obliterated. By force
or by treachery I do not know, but I, as keeper of the Stones, am worried about the
fate of the remaining kingdoms. I will teach you the way through the labyrinth and
the chants for opening the stone room’s door, so you will have access to the Stone for
all time. As to what you wish to do with this information, it is yours to decide.”
And so I was set to memorizing the way through the labyrinth and the chants. Afterwards,
I was full of questions, but could ask only few, for it was already late in the night.
The most important question, whether new stones could be made, was answered negatively,
as the formula was long lost and it isn’t even know of what material it consists.
Pondering, I went to bed, but couldn’t find much sleep…
January, 4th
I have finally made up my plan for restoring my kingdom. I will have to travel. It will
be hard for me to leave my kingdom, letting my staff rule it, but I shall return regularly
to supervise the development.
My main goals are obviously:
- Release the kingdom from the Avoirdupois oppression
- Free the kingdom from the threat of the swamp
Since the first two goals goals are more in the immediate future, the plan to achieve them is as follows:
- I must find countries which are prepared to ally with Arguron against the Avoirdupois and/or the swamp threat.
- New and secret trade routes have to be made with countries to the west to fill up the treasury again. Optionally, other money resources will also do.
- With my new allies I should be able to force the Avoirdupois, either by diplomacy or by force or both, to lift their heavy embargoes and tributes.
- With the amount of money my treasury gains from points 2 and 3 I should extend the army, hire mercenaries, scouts and spies, buy war machines and attract and train mage apprentices.
- I will use my newly made army for finding out whatever evil magic is at work in the swamps and destroy it.
The starting date of my journey is as yet unknown, since I have much to do here still, but I will know when the time comes…
|
