Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow

The shadow is what we think of it.

The tree is the real thing - Abraham Lincoln

“I was able to get into the town council records.” The wagons had arrived the day before, so Hank had gathered what we coming to consider his key team, Sabine, Gruffly and Jamie to his suite in the Cockerel. Jamie started the discussion.

“They stretch back many years before the kingdom existed. They contain both good and bad news.” Jamie was coming on the expedition out of gratitude Hank assumed. Wanderers didn’t travel with others, ever, certainly not important ones.

“Good news first, the records cover any prospecting done between the Tillerman and Tigeress rivers.” He paused as Gruffly looked on hopefully.

“Bad news. Everything this side of the Spine mountains appears to be mined out. People have been thorough in their prospecting. I can’t see any obvious gaps to visit. You have to go north past the Tigeress or east beyond the foothills of the Spine as far as I can tell. I know that works better for you Hank but I suspect that it will be problematic for Gruffly’s lot.” Jamie Continied

“No, It’s a problem for me too.” Hank was concerned. “It’s 600 kilometres to the Tigeress. I have a deadline. We will have to travel fast. Based on the maps we’ve seen, there aren’t any roads between here and the Tigeress. It’s also too fast to cross. Looks like we have to travel east of the southern tributary, cutting back west around the Spine before hopefully crossing the northern tributary here.” Hank pointed to a spot on poor map he had purchased the day before.

“That crossing is awfully close to naturalist territory.” Jamie observed

“Oh, fabulous day, all we need is those nature loving airheads to interfere.” Sabine translated Gruffly’s complaint. “I guess that means we're crossing the Spine then.”

“Well actually the Spine is pretty much impassable this far north.” Jamie replied. “You would have to go south, either through the Osaka Pass or right down to the base of the Spine.” He paused for a moment.

“The first requires us to cross through the Duchy of Sarness. Who, may I remind you all, hates us each for various reasons. He has one of the best spy networks this side of the Spine, take it as given, Sarness would find us.” Jamie glanced at each in turn getting reluctant nods.

"The second option?” It was a reprisal question. “It’s close to two thousand kilometres, four hundred lìog in the old measure, travelling to the base of the Spine. For that we would need to go back the way we’ve come. Call it six months travelling.” Jamie pointed on the map, measuring as he spoke.

“Well that rules that out.” Hank’s comment received nods from the rest of the table.

“So that simplifies a few things.” Sabin pulled out a checklist. “First, we will absolutely leave the families here. We’ll plan to move them in early spring.”

She moved onto the next item. “Now, some of the slaves want to go home. Not as many as I thought. At this point it’s all the underage males, two of the older women and the second youngest girl.”

“She glanced up at Jamie. “I assume that Azar will remain with your people, Jamie.”

He nodded in response.

Sabine returned to her notes. “So Hank, what do you want to do about everyone else?”

“Oh don’t worry about those wanting to go home. Wanderers will look after that. I’ve told them my people will be back from Perison soon and we will look after them until we can take them home sometime between now and spring.” Jamie answered before Hank could reply.

Jamie scratched his jaw. “We will need to accommodate them somewhere here until then. Azar included. I am not taking her north, no matter how much she screams.” The last comment seemed to be directed towards himself.

“And the rest?” Sabine was sharp. Looking at Hank she continued. “Hank you’re going to have to find lodging for them all. I also understand that it’s your fault that the other seven don’t want to go home.” She pointedly glared at Hank.

Hank took a breath and sighed. “Well some of them, especially the young girls were sold by their family,. They're just as likely to be sold again. None of those people want to go home. The two men and the oldest woman mentioned they don’t have a home to go back to, so when I mentioned I would be starting a new village, and they could keep what they earned, they decided to come with me.”

With a breath he continued. “There’s also Agneta and Cristal, both born in captivity. Cristal, the one with red hair, is a third generation slave who literally has no idea what free means. When I told her I was freeing her, she asked me if she was no longer pretty enough to get a good virgin price with a new owner. I told her she didn’t have to sell herself and her virginity anymore she could go wherever she likes and be with whomever she wants. She started crying and asked me who would tell her what to do.”

Hank took a deep breath, rubbing his face with worry. “I don’t even know how to deal with whatever that is. So that rules out sending them to anything they might recognise as home.”

Sabine’s face crumpled. “That’s dreadful. I didn’t even know there were people like that in the kingdom.”

“Neither did I.” Hank was struggling to deal with what Cristal’s life had been.

Gruffly said something under his breath that nobody bothered to translate but Jamie was a different story. “My people have known about it for a long time. Where we can, we free slaves. But our position as Wanderers, in this kingdom, like in all the other lands, is precarious. If we get too involved, we too will be slaved or killed.” It is truly a horrifying business.

He took a breath. “My mother is a ruminator so once my people come north she can start helping them through those mental issues.”

“Thank you for the offer. I am sure that her rumination services will be taken up by many seeking solace. However, for the former slaves, I actually think Joanna might be a better place to start.” Hank replied.

“Joanna?” Sabine was confused. “Who’s Joanna?”

“Oldest of the slaves. She says that she has been plotting her escape for the twenty-two years she has been in captivity. But couldn’t leave all the younger ones behind. She’s sort of taken on a mother role for most of the girls. Taught most of them to read and write and is generally considered the mother most of them haven’t got. Where she goes the others follow. Even those who’ve chosen to go home are reluctant to leave her.”

“That’s her name.” Sabine obviously connecting some dots. “She said she’s a journeyman level leatherworker.”

“Really?” Hank was excited.

“Yes. She asked about work so she could afford to feed herself without relying on us.” Sabine smirked. “She said she was grateful for the freedom but didn’t want to be indentured through kindness. And promptly told me she was free and quite able to provide for her own food and lodging.” Sabine smiled. “Though by the sounds of things she isn’t the only one who will be aiming to pay her way.”

Hank didn’t ask a question, he just raised an eyebrow.

“Last I saw she had all the former slaves heading out to talk to the locals about paid work.” Jamie chimed in.

“All of them? Even the youngest? She’s what, seven?” Hank wasn’t impressed.

“Eight I believe. But no, neither she nor the eleven-year-old are to work according to Joanna.” Jamie paused. “I think she is planning on looking after them herself.”

Hank made a mental note to talk to Joanna about all the former slaves after they finished the meeting.

“Which brings me to the next item,” Sabine looked at her notes. "There have been a number of job offers made to various members of the families. We’ll take them to earn some Tsuki but only until the snow melts here.”

Sabine ticked off an item. “Naturally the best-paying jobs are security, so really for my people.” She was positively gleeful as she ticked that off. Though it earned her an untranslated grumble from Gruffly.

“I thought they were all your people.” Hank was confused.

Jamie cut to the chase. “Her people, the hammer brethren vs the wider wee people group.”

Gruffly’s grumbling continued so Sabine couldn’t respond to Jamie as she stuck to the translation. “Which means most of our preferred exploration team won’t be coming.”

“Understood, but, with smaller numbers we can afford palfreys. We’ll get an extra ten to fifteen leagues a day over normal horses.” Jamie was lost in thought.

Hank thought he heard Fritz mumble “three lìog” to himself, but he wasn’t sure. As he turned bending over themap again. “So about ten days hard ridding to the Tigeress.”

“More like fourteen or fifteen. “Jamie shook his head. “Have to factor in the countryside, and a visit to Big Tree.” Jamie, like all Wanderers knew travelling.

“Big tree?” Hank asked.

“Yeah, the naturalists named their city after some tree in the centre of their town. Only I can’t remember its name, as there aren’t many who have returned from visiting, mostly everyone just call it the place Big Tree. Anyway, we had better factor in five wasted days with the naturists. Then we can head for the hills to look for your minerals.”

“Actually, Gruffly has a lead on that.” Sabine translated again,.

Hank wasn’t sure why she was translating rather than Jamie. After all it’s what Wanderers do. Still he was intrigued by Sabine’s comment. “Really?”

“Yeah. There’s a ship’s log that details finding gold in the mouth of the Tabor. Unfortunately the forest is dense there, and the captain lost three men to arachnid attacks so nobody went back. Since we’re going that far north we should definitely try that. Gruffly likes gold.” Hank assumed that Sabine had added the last sentence herself rather than just translating.

She paused before continuing. “That’s another three to four hundred kiloms of travel through dense forest with untold monsters.”

“Oh goody.” Hank wasn’t sure who mumbled that. It might have been Jamie but it didn’t sound right.

Instead Jamie spoke. “Actually, nobody knows much about the Tabor.”

Wanderers travelled everywhere and so knew a lot about the lands, peoples, flora and fauna of Indlu Hank reflected. Jamie was no exception.“It’s not mapped apart from its mouth. You have to go through the Great Northern Forest to find it. By all accounts, people only go through the GNF if they’re nuts. Usually they die horribly and end up in depressing songs. Well those who don’t become naturalists.”

He paused. “Which is the same thing, really.”

“Who in their right mind wants to be a naturalist?” Sabine nodded her agreement as she translated Gruffly’s comments.

She continued, obviously replying to Gruffly directly. “Not you, that’s for sure, your idea of wildlife is something to do with drinking and nothing related to the great outdoors.”

“Anyway, the plan is. Buy palfrey’s. Go to the Tigeress fork. Get through the naturalist parts of the GNF. Make for the headwaters of the Tabor. Find gold. Build a village. Enjoy life.” Hank needed everyone to get back on track.

“Well it’s the start of a plan. It needs detail.” Sabine was way too sensible for the rest of the team.

There was a collective groan, but they all turned back to the map and started planning. Naturally at some point it degenerated into a verbal brawl best summarised as a series of frivolous arguments such as; “I am sure two pack horses each is fine.” Or, “I need my book on the smelting temperature of metals for sure”.

Whilst they argued over detail Hank didn’t care for, he pulled up his quest log which was blinking. There were a couple of quest updates he skimmed through before a quest completion he had forgotten about.

Quest : Save the Wanderers

Part :

4 - Save Azar

Description :

Azar is being taken to the slave action in the north. Rescue Azar before she is sold and you can no longer trace her.

Status :

Complete

Reward :

100 xp

Relationship with Jamie changed to lifelong friend

Possible settlers for your village

That last line reminded Hank he needed to have a conversation with Joanne and the other former slaves.

Joanna had heard from Jamie that Hank was going to start a village in the far north. She had approached Hank asking if the rumour was true. In the following conversation it had become apparent that she had a measure of trust for her rescuers. It was a very limited measure and it didn’t extend past her actual rescuers namely Jamie and Hank. She also planning on earning money before she journeyed with Jamie and the Wee people to any village Hank started. A journey she would only make if Hank didn’t take too long.

When Hank asked her about the other former slaves, she was clear, they would all be going where she went. She also re stated that neither she nor anyone with her would welcome any kind of handout. She seemed firm in her opinion that freedom meant meant providing for yourself. Not eating for a handout.

Hank, however, did manage to talk her around on a few things. Firstly she would allow Hank and Jamie to assist with providing for the two youngest children. Secondly that the youngest four would go to school in Klontarif until everyone travelled north or school finished. Lastly they would remain with the Hammer Brethren for protection. This last one was the most contentious and Hank was only able to get Joanna’s agreement on the understanding that the former slaves would contribute during their stay. She flatly refused to stay with broader Wee people population, opting instead to remain with the Hammer Brethren, a sentiment that made little sense to Hank.