[Royal Guard] Unto Yago ul-Anerr Aginor, Lord Protector of Southern Arangoth... (Banner SL)

[JD]

The following message, encoded with the Chancellery cipher, is delivered by
an exhausted messenger to the residence of the Lord Protector:


UNTO YAGO UL-ANERR AGINOR, LORD PROTECTOR OF SOUTHERN ARANGOTH:

Parmi has been secured, though whether it will remain so will depend on the
haste with which you can relieve us here.

We are fourteen retired *watchmen come here at the request of Nedixe Sallod,
widow of Corporal Gerd Sallod, one of our deceased brothers, Menxvan's light
be upon him. *Tespin Sallod wrote to me in Drache shortly after *Her Grace
directed Branth ul-Alfrith Truxton, Lord Privy Seal, now among our number,
to dispatch the Royal Guard to the Whitepool area in response to the letter
of Gerd ul-Alfrith Elgire, the late *aptentrod of Valkthres. In her letter,
Tespin Sallod told me of the dire straits facing Parmi. They were terrified
of attack, but equally afraid to flee their homes for fear that the bandits
would cut them down on the road as they did so--a fear that turned out to be
grounded in fact, for the messenger who rode out of the village to bring me
Tespin Sallod's letter took heavy bowfire and was very nearly captured.
Having apprised me of the difficulties facing Parmi, Tespin Sallod, feeling
she had nowhere else to turn, beseeched me as her late husband's brother to
ride to Parmi's assistance. I did as she bid me, raised a band of my
brothers, and we rode for Parmi.

On our way up to Parmi, we were set upon by bandits at the Sarla Brook
crossing and a brief skirmish followed. We captured two of the six that
attacked us at a cost of two wounded, one slightly and the other seriously.
I ordered *Vorfon Truxton to scout ahead while the rest of us tended to the
wounded and captured. He returned within an hour; the road to Parmi and
Parmi itself were free of foes. We arrived in Parmi a few hours later. On
our arrival, the town elder called a general assembly and the citizens, by
unanimous vote, named me aptentrod of Parmi. Having deputized the rest of my
band and the fitter men of the village, I went about interrogating the
prisoners and securing the village as best I could.

Our prisoners, initially unresponsive to questioning, became quite talkative
after we *gave them a drink. They were part of a six man group--the one that
set upon us at Sarla Brook--tasked to watch the Parmi road. Two similar
groups are routinely tasked to watch the Parmi-Valkthres and Ruthmarma
roads. These groups operate out of two camps. One is located in the forest
between Sarla Valley and the Parmi-Valkthres road and the other at an
abandoned logging camp due north of Valkthres; their exact locations are
unknown. The first camp is smaller with perhaps sixteen to twenty men
gathered there at any given time. The second camp is larger with perhaps
thirty or thirty-five. Communication between camps is achieved by way of
mounted messengers. As best the prisoners can tell, all their fellows are
from Elgar Forest. They are lightly armed and armored: bows and leathers.
Being from the Elgar, they are all good woodsmen. The prisoners' immediate
superior is a man named Silgoth and he has often been seen at the smaller
camp. Silgoth's immediate superior is man called Brannoth, who is
second-in-command to Gaskalamun, the bandits' ultimate commander. Little is
known about Brannoth or Gaskalamun save that they command the fear and
respect of their subordinates.

One of the prisoners has been kept alive for further questioning. The other
has been tried, executed, and his body displayed in a way similar to the
banner raised by the bandits. We have planted ours in the middle of the
Parmi-Valkthres road just outside the village.

In securing the village, I have barricaded the roads leading into the
village with wagons turned on their sides and am in the process of
converting the granary--the only stone structure in the village--into a
makeshift command post and shelter by knocking out a few of its stones to
make bow slits. In the event of a raid, this is where I will move the women,
children, elderly and infirmed, and hope to hold out.

In addition to the weapons we brought with us--each of my band came with
good leathers, a short sword, and a bow or crossbow--we brought five
crossbows, five bows, and ten swords. I have divided these weapons evenly
among the twenty fittest men in the village. Men without bows or crossbows
have been ordered to hammer two pieces of wood together that they might at
least appear to be carrying a crossbow. Men without swords have been ordered
to make replicas of same. At night, barring a good moon, Parmi should appear
to be defended by a force twenty-three strong with standard kit. I've
divided my force into two watches, one of eleven and one of twelve. The one
keeps guard during the day, the other at night. The perimeter we have
created is far from ideal, but not unmanageable; however, I hope we will not
have to manage it for too much longer.

Make haste.

Aptentrod Abraxas ul-Bralk Caros, Magistrate of the Realm


*watchmen - members of Southern Arangoth's Border Watch, a light infantry /
ranger unit charged with protecting the country's eastern border, mostly
against Assi bandits. Watchmen tend to refer to one another as "brother."
*Tespin - Arangothian for "Lady" or "Mrs."
*Her Grace - correct form of address for the Sithire, Southern Arangoth's
duchess-governor.
*aptentrod - Arangothian for "guard," but here as "sheriff."
*Vorfon - Arangothian for "Sir" or "Mr."
*gave them a drink - a form of torture developed by the Border Watch to make
Assi bandits talk. The prisoner's mouth is bunged up with a piece of cloth,
so he can only breathe through his nose. His head is then tipped backwards
and beer fizz poured into his nose. The pain is usually so intense that the
prisoner will pass out. When he wakes moments or minutes later, he will
usually be more than happy to talk.


--JD