All Part of the Bargain

This adventure was written for a character named cornelius who was 7 years old. While it touches on the ideas of politics and intrigues there is a lot going on in the background that few need to know about. Characters are provided to help flesh out the plot and sample dialog is given as an example. Feel free to expound, or shorten, wherever necessary.

Maps:

the City of Coranan (all the # in this text refer to specific locations on this map.)
The Litigant's Home (#97 on the Coranan Map)
The Inn in Omagil (I used the Haven Inn)

Characters:

Vurnt of Masane, Howard of Rutgas, Lobir, and Sylud are given in great detail.
Benjamine, and Fionna are given as character histories, and psychologies only.
Petrius, Malcome, the Innkeeper in Omagil, Master Ostler, Josrath of Asain, and Master Jeweler Cyzor of Udirel are left to your imagination.

The Setup

Coranan has several local dens of inequity. These can range from various taverns to bawdy houses to back alleys. Most locals will frequent such places at some point in their daily lives for they are a source of local gossip, amusement and sometimes a way to gain money.

In this case, there is a game of dice going on between two strangers in the back. The game has been going on for quite some time and there's a pile of 30 denarii piled between them. The players, Malcome of Gedas and Petrius of Coranan, are old friends and come here often to gamble. At the last minute Petrius calls over the character, and asks him to throw the dice. Being Halean, Petrius believes the young lad will bring him luck. The lad throws - and wins him half the pot.

Before Petrius can ask the player to throw again, the other player, Malcome stops him and makes the following bet:

If the lad throws and wins, he gets half the remaining pot. ''Tis only fair as it would be his luck that's winning it for you.
If the lad throws and looses however - he has to do your job tomorrow.

If the player-character agrees, the toss is made. And naturally - the player-character looses the throw.

Petrius and Malcome immediately gather up their money and begin to depart. Petrius, sore now that he lost to his friend is not talkative. Only when the PC confronts him about the wager will he give information. Roll Vs Oratory and see how much the PC gains / Or role play it out (PC's preference.)

CF	"Go to the house of Litigant Vurnt of Masane. He needs a messenger for four days. Do what the Litigant says and ye should be fine."
MF	"Tomorrow at dawn, go to the house of Litigant Vurnt of Masane. He needs a messenger for four days. He should pay you a denarius a day. Do what the Litigant says and ye should be fine."
MS	"Be at the house of Litigant Vurnt of Masane tomorrow at dawn. I dunno why, but he wants a messenger for the next four days. He's paying a denarius a day - so be there promptly. All ya gatta do is take his messages to wherever he says, and do what he says. Easy money. I canna tell ye no more, because I don't know it."
CS	Add the following to the MS result: "I got the job from a friend o' mine over at the Guild of the Mangai. If ye do well ye may get more such jobs. Tell me yer name kid, and I'll be telling ye mine." Once the names are traded. "Tis a pleasure doing business with ye. Now get ye home and ta bed. Dawn does come early. Do well and the Litigant may pass yer name on."

No matter how much you continue to ask - he will not say anything more. He heads off towards home. If the PC follows and continues trying to get more information - Petrius will become angry and either push the PC away, or proceed to try and loose him. After affects of such a confrontation could easily be another adventure.

Working for the Litigant

Coranan #93 Litigant (Vurnt of Masane) Vurnt has a small office over looking a central courtyard. He often eats his meals in the courtyard in the summer months. When the PC arrives he will be greeted at the door by Lobir, one of Vurnt's slaves. Lobir - after hearing that the PC is here as either a messenger, or to do tasks for the Litigant, Lobir will escort the PC to the central courtyard.

When the PC arrives, Vurnt will be reclining on a stone couch in the courtyard. On the table before him will be a sumptuous amount of food. But Vurnt is barely picking at the meal. Roll Vs Oratory and see how much the PC gains / Or role play it out (PC's preference.)

CF	PC is left alone with breakfast and no explanation.
MF	"Well now, what am I to do with you - hmm? Help yourself to what you will for breakfast. Stay about and I'll find something for you to do."
MS	"So you're what my request has got me? Tell me then have you ever been a messenger before? No? Well then how ever did you get his position? ...Well I suppose if you are a gift from the Lady of Opulence, I can not possibly just send you away... Stay about and I'll find something for you to do. Help yourself to breakfast. I'm no longer hungry."
CS	As MS, but he takes a liking to the PC - perhaps even offering the PC a clientship. He may even extend the job of messenger, at 2 sesterci a day, until the PC turns 16.

Deliveries of Trust

After about an hour, Benjamine and Sir Howard of Rutgas will arrive. Benjamine will give the PC two scrolls to deliver. The first is to #43 The Roundels (to the Master Ostler, Josrath of Asain), and the second to #73 Master Jeweler Cyzor of Udirel. Both are sealed with a drop of wax. The symbol for litigants is embedded in the wax.

To the Roundels - Master Josrath, Please have my Horse and carriage ready for tomorrow by second watch.

If the PC inquires - Master Josrath will admit not understanding why Vurnt insisted on a written notification as he knew to have the horse ready anyway. Vurnt usually sends Benjamine round with such messages. Besides, even if he wasn't warned both the horse and carriage are his anywise, and they could be readied within a few moments (half an hour) notice.

To the Jeweler - Master Cyzor, the necklace must be ready by tomorrow. I shall be around to pick it up before second watch. Full payment will be made then.

If the PC inquires - Master Cyzor will admit to not understanding why Vurnt insisted on a written notification. He was expecting the Litigant tomorrow by second watch. The necklace is worth about 25d, and is a nice strand of gold with a few semi-precious stones attached along its length. It appears to be made for a small neck, possibly that of a little girl.

When the PC returns he/she will have another hour or so to wait - and might then bump (literally) into Sir Howard. Benjamine will depart immediately after the PC arrives to verify if (a) the messages were delivered and when and (b) if they were opened upon delivery.

Watching and Waiting

If the PC did open the messages, Vurnt will call him/her into his private study and either ball them out, or chastise them mildly for it (depends on how the two got along - see above.) If the PC did not open the messages, Vurnt will praise him/her.

When Benjamine returns, the PC is told to go with him to a house near the Palace of Pentacles. There they will watch, and count, the number of people going in and out of the building today. The PC will be freed from this duty at the change of the fifth watch (10pm) so he can go home. But he must return first thing in the morning.

Benjamine is quiet by nature and asks only if the PC can read or write. If he/she cannot - Benjamine will show them how to make counting marks beneath columns on the paper. He will then begin dictating a count of the people travelling to and from the Palace of Pentacles.

The columns read: Freedman, Citizen, Merchant, Legionnaire, Foreigner, Priest

By days end the tally is 4, 8, 6, 59, 12, 12

There is only an elderly maid in the household. She will serve them a light lunch around third watch. She will come in quietly, and leave equally quietly.

The PC will be sent home at the changing of the fifth watch.

Benjamine will never tell - and really only Vurnt or Howard could tell the PC this, but from 1 GM to another - here's why Vurnt wants those numbers:

He believes (from an anonymous tip) that several legionnaires are being paid off at the Palace of Pentacles by a member of the Lia-K'avair. There should be only about a dozen legionnaires daily travelling to and from the Palace. In fact there's about 50 or 60 different legionnaires coming and going. This is the first bit of information Vurnt needed to validate. Once proven, he was going to give the case over to Samuel the Finder.

Murder Most Foul

The next morning when the PC returns, the door to the house is unlocked and slightly ajar. In the main sitting room, lies Benjamine apparently asleep on his papers. Benjamine died late last night from a sharp blow to the back of the head. The house is otherwise empty and quiet. The list that Benjamine was working on was carefully replaced by a blank tablet of wax.

A search of the house will reveal that it is sparsely furnished, and very clean. The same woman that came in the day before will arrive at second watch today. She will begin cleaning the house as normal. When she discovers Benjamin’s body (if it has not been moved) she will quietly close the door thinking him sleeping. By fourth watch however, she will go in and try to wake him. Then she'll scream.

She is Fionna of Masane, a distant cousin to Vurnt. She's worked here for five years. Vurnt inherited the property from a friend and has, as yet been unable to sell it. Occasionally Vurnt sends people to work in the front room, or uses it as a safe house for some of his clients. She comes here daily and prepares meals as necessary. She liked Benjamine (such a quiet fellow.) She comes in by second watch and leaves just after fourth - staying as late as sixth watch if the occupants need her. She is paid 4 denarii every 10 day. She hasn't seen Vurnt for quite a few years (he rarely visits the residence) and she knows next to nothing about the previous inhabitants. When she left both the PC and Benjamine were still in the front room counting passers-by. No she never tells anyone what goes on in this house.

If the PC does not encounter her, Sir Howard will. He will kill Fionna quietly and then have both bodies removed and dumped in the river Thard by more "professional means" later that night. There is a slim (15%) that someone will see this and alert the guard. If the Guard is alerted there may be an altercation on the docks. Determine its success and tell the PC about it as gossip on the following day. Regardless - Sir Howard will not be there.

Finding Information

If the PC leaves by the front door of the house he will be spotted by Sir Howard (who is lurking around the Palace of Pentacles, waiting to see who enters or leaves the house.) If the PC finds some other way out of the house (back door, window, roof, ...) he will escape detection.

Sir Howard will send out two thugs (Malarak and Sylud) to try and find the PC. They will have a rough sketch of the PC, and begin their search in the market place. The thugs are not very smart, and the reward is a mere 2 denarii so they will not receive very much information. If the PC has friends in the market place, he/she will hear of the search and easily avoid detection.

By nightfall, Sir Howard has found the PC's home and stays with the PC's parents until he/she returns. When the PC returns, Sir Howard will explain that the Litigant wishes to speak to the PC in Omagil. He will admit to not knowing much more than that. The message was delivered to him this afternoon and he's spent all day looking for the PC. Sir Howard will use his Oratory to try and convince the PC that he is telling the truth (he's telling a half-truth) and should be believed.

CF	This man is lying through his teeth, you're pretty sure the Litigant hates him and you're beginning to question if he truly is an Equestrian in disguise. Your parents have been duped and its up to you to save them.
MF	Well, maybe he's uncomfortable talking to you in front of your parents, but you're pretty sure he's lying about something. But what? There's something very wrong here. Could Benjamin’s death have hit him hard?
MS	The Litigant wants me. The Litigant needs me. Me? Me! I'm important. And he's jealous.
CS	You're completely convinced and probably want to leave before your parents can feed you supper.

Saving the Litigant

If the PC goes with Sir Howard to Omagil, a small town just outside of Coranan, Lobir and Sylud will ambush the PC and take him to a nearby Inn. There they will tie him up and throw him in the storage room. When the PC awakes he can hear snippets of the following conversation.

Lobir: "By tomorrow’s second watch it will all be over."

Sir Howard: "We shall not kill the child. Leave him here with the Innkeeper to recover his wits."

Lobir: "Whatever - I still say we shouldn't try to ambush the Litigant so close to his home."

Sylud: "Everyone knows the root he will take. The corner of Syuld Way and Thard Street offers us the best access. Besides he's travelling without a guard. It's pretty rare he does that."

Lobir: "So its agreed. How many 'friends' can we count on?"

Howard: "None - we do this alone or not at all. Consider it an initiation task."

Sylud: "You'll be there right?"

Howard: "Aye."

Lobir: "Well, it's just a carriage and livery. Shouldn't be too difficult."

They will continue to drink, and talk, until the end of fifth watch when they will finally retire to the rooms above. The PC will not be checked. The Innkeeper may notice the PC and help him escape ("Go warn that Litigant boy/girl. You're his only chance!") if necessary. The Litigant will be returning by the main causeway across the River Thard (ah the privileges of rank).

If the PC is in the vacinity between first and second watch, he/she can spot the Litigant's carriage. (It's the only one crossing the causeway this morning). Once warned, Vurnt will call out the guard. With 12 legionnaires running with the carriage - Lobir and Sylud will be spotted, chased and probably captured. Howard will flee instead of fight, and disappear for a few days. If the PC tells the Litigant that Sir Howard is involved, Vurnt will nod sagely and procure the PC's silence on the matter.

"Let me handle this, it is after all my business. Besides if Howard is involved, I doubt you'd want that kind of enemy."

If the PC tries to ambush Lobir and Sylud with friends/help - the battle will be an interesting one. Lobir is a brawler without skill and Sylud is neither cunning nor deadly in hand to hand battles.

If the PC informs the guard, the PC will be taken into custody and Vurnt's carriage will be stopped. Vurnt will speak for the PCs innocence and the legionnaire guard will fan out around the carriage. Lobir and Sylud will be spotted, chased and probably captured. Howard will, once again flee.

If Vurnt is not warned by the PC he/she will be approached by a representative of the Lia-K'avair (the gang that operates in the region of the PC's home). He/she will be offered membership, as they've been sponsored by an older member (Howard). It is not an offer easily refused.

But that's another adventure.

Characters

Vurnt of Masane, Howard of Rutgas, Lobir, and Sylud are given in great detail in their own files.

Benjamine

Benjamine is one of Vurnt’s clients. He works daily as a scribe, litigant and whatever else Vurnt may require. He considers himself a "procurer of rare goods." Those goods may be information, people or actual goods. He speaks eloquently, and very little. He is dutiful and diligent, but often disagrees with Vurnt’s choice of cases. Benjamine would prefer Vurnt to earn more money and make less enemies. But it would be out of place for a client to speak in such a fashion to his patron. So he says nothing.

Benjamine began suspecting that Lobir was more than just a slave. He believes Lobir to be a spy. Benjamine is in the process of figuring out for whom Lobir works, when he dies.

Fionna of Masane

A calm woman with a gossipy streak, she will talk willingly to anyone about almost anything. She never willingly speaks of what goes on in Vurnt’s house near the Palace of Pentacles (#1.) She is a distant relative of Vurnt, and appreciates the position she has been given. Too old to marry, she has no children, nor anyone special in her life. She is a citizen, but only barely.

How it Really Went

Cornelius stumbled into the bet and decided – what the heck. He scouted out the Litigants place the day before arriving for his duties. He delivered the messages without peaking as fast as he possibly could. On his return he ran (literally) into Sir Howard, but ducked beneath the irate knight’s legs and raced into the courtyard to recline casually upon a bench.

As Sir Howard came forth to give the boy heck, he was stopped by Benjamine who summoned the boy into the Litigant’s office. Fuming, Sir Howard departed. Benjamine and Cornelius went off to the house near the Palace of Pentacles.

They watched, and counted until around 10pm, when Cornelius had to go home. His mother was upset that he was home so late, but her worries were quelled when she learned he was acting as a messenger for the litigant Vurnt of Masane.

Cornelius told his younger brother about his days adventure, and the young lad begged to go with him the next day. Cornelius agreed, but warned they would have to rise very early.

The next day Cornelius was up at dawn, his brother was not. His mother fixed him a breakfast and sent him off to work. When he arrived at the house, Benjamine lay slumped over the table. It took the bright boy only a few seconds to realize he was dead.

Cornelius left by the front door and spent the day with his friends. By nightfall however, Sir Howard was eating a meal with his parents. Cornelius tarried, but eventually went in. Within a few words of Sir Howard’s "come with me" speech, Cornelius knew he was lying through his teeth. Cautiously, Cornelius went with him more out of fear than trust.

Try as he might, once in Omagil, he could not defend himself against his three, full grown attackers (although one of them will limp for weeks.) After hearing some of the conversation, Cornelius freed himself and took off home. He spent the night there in safety and met up with the litigant’s cart the next morning.

He warned the litigant, who called forth the Red Guard to protect him. Lobir and Sylud were captured, but Sir Howard fled. Cornelius informed Vurnt as to Sir Howard’s treachery, and was paid 10d for his troubles.

This page was last updated on June 17, 2002
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All works are Copyright their respective authors, 2002.

Pax Tharda

All Part of the Bargain

Finding Information