Slightly frustrated, you iterated again that you could really read and write. Did the man need proof of it? Did he take you for a liar?

…surprisingly, the man agreed to let you demonstrate your literacy. Handing you the forms he supposedly wrote about the man who came in before you, he crassly demanded you to read.

“If you insist you can read, read you will. If you fail, I’ll assign you to stable duty.”

Shuddering at the prospect of spending the rest of your days shovelling horse dung, you began reading.

“Name: Robert Lewis
Age: 23
Former occupation: Peasant
Notable Skills: Cookery, claims to be a toolsmith.
Assignment: Infantry Support

Former place of residence:”

This is where you began to struggle – you’d never been able to pronounce the name of your town well; you had read that it was founded by a lord who came from lands across the sea many generations ago, and that he had named it in honour of his family’s dynasty.

The man behind the desk still looked at you expectantly, asking what was causing the holdup on what he supposed to be the easiest part of the document.

Struggling to bend your vocal cords into a feasible arrangement, you managed to wrestle something out.

“Former place of residence: Warmonceux, Carucate VI, Bowland, Cravenshire”

Finally, the face of the tired man behind the desk lit up in pleasant surprise, complimenting you on your reading ability and scratching one of his writings before scribbling something down on the similar sheet of paper he had in front of him.

Being just as surprised and a bit confused, you asked for clarification. The man explained that far from the only one who claimed that they could read, without actually being literate: it was apparently known far and wide that being literate provided a cushier job within the King’s army. It had gotten to the point where he’d write someone who said they could read up for trench-digging and other gruesome work, as their dishonourableness needed to be punished. You however, he assured, would not be headed for such employment; the man had written you up for something a bit more befitting of your abilities.

With that, he gestured for you to hand the piece of paper back and get out of his tent, letting you know that he hoped to hear more of you in the future.

Confident after receiving such praise, you decided to go to the camp the recruiters had set up next to the village. Arriving there, you saw a group of recruits from your village standing next to a few soldiers. You definitely knew some of these people – you saw the miller's son, one of your neighbours and surprisingly, the man you had recognized as Robert Lewis. You had restrained yourself from laughing a bit when the man had given you his file – this “Robert Lewis” was actually called Robin Llewellyn. You wondered what name he had made up for your file.

The soldiers were telling the new recruits stories from their time in service, clearly having seen much of the world that laid beyond the hills surrounding your village. You wondered how big it was in its entirety. How far could one go, how many different places were there to see? Was all of it inhabited by people like you? You had read stories of men who lived on a large singular large foot, men whose eyes rested within their shoulders and men whose skin was completely black to cope with the high amount of sun in their part of the world. You wondered if it was all real – you’d heard a lot of stories before which sounded almost ludicrous, like an old man in the village telling you there existed a land whose inhabitants herded sheep while resting upon three long wooden poles to avoid sinking into the marshy mud below.

Quitting your bubble of thought, you decided to join the group of new recruits. It was time to become more familiar with the army you just joined, one way or the other.

>Ask the soldiers about the war you will be fighting in.

>Ask the soldiers about the places they have been to in their campaigns.

>Socialize a bit with the other recruits about what they think their role in the army will be.

This will be a medium-sized one-shot based on an abandoned quest (>>6341880). That's all for me today, the next update will come tomorrow or when enough votes have accrued in this thread. Whichever comes first.

>>6349250
>Ask the soldiers about the war you will be fighting in.

>>6349250
>>Ask the soldiers about the war you will be fighting in.
Time for some lore. And I am a lore nut, to be certain. Ya dig?

>>6349250
>Ask the soldiers about the war you will be fighting in.

>>6349250
>>Ask the soldiers about the war you will be fighting in.

>>6349255
>>6349272
>>6349294
>>6349557

Noted - here's your next entry.

Joining the group of recruits, you got a few acknowledging nods. You quickly turned your attention to the soldiers who were continuing their stories without pause.

“…become quite a faff these last few years. We’ve been requesting new men for ages, to no avail. There’s not much time left before winter sets in and halts all battle until spring.”

Using this small gap between sentences, you decided to ask the question that you felt hung in the air amongst these recruits.

After their initial surprise, the soldiers quickly adjusted their posture. They had not realized that most people in these shires did not yet know much of the war due to their isolation from the rest of the kingdom. Frankly, they added, they didn’t quite know why the King sent them here to collect new men for his army. Joking amongst themselves, they doubted if there were even enough recruits here to fill half a rearguard.

Taking mental note of this, you adjusted your expectations for the rest of the world – it might be a lot busier than you had initially thought.

The soldiers didn’t mention much about the war, saying that it’d be best if such matters were not discussed with new recruits. The King was however definitely on the valiant defence against the neighbouring kingdom, with treacherous Duke Laumey de Galamad leading the charge in his attempted conquest of the King’s overseas territories. The King had a strong ring of castles and forts built in and around this territory to keep them at bay, but it would eventually be up to recruits like you to make sure these castles did not fall to the enemy.

Inexplicably, they also seemed very content and maybe even happy with their jobs as recruiters. You were a bit confused by this; why would anyone willingly stay behind and do nothing but persuade unwilling peasants to join the army? Weren’t there more thrills and glory to be found on the battlefield?

When the soldiers had finally stopped revealing their day-to-day banalities, they retired to their own tents, leaving you and the other recruits alone for some time. Almost immediately the question of why everyone signed on came up; most did it for a chance at a better life, some did it for a taste of battle, few did it to dodge consequences and responsibilities back home. You were wondering why someone who just got married immediately wanted to get out of town when the question was finally leveled at you.

When your response came, most were amused. In the eyes of your fellow villagers travel was a dangerous and expensive affair only afforded to those of noble blood; the idea of a peasant like you making it any farther than your shire was never considered. While you were definitely going to be shipped to the theatre of war, this would be a path solely dedicated to fighting. How would someone like you fight without possessing even the slightest interest in battle? If you were lucky, you could loot something from the camps of that treacherous Duke to take back home as a keepsake.

This response wasn’t anything new. This had been the common reaction you had encountered earlier when you expressed your desire to go and see the world to your family. Though you did not pay much attention to it, you did notice that this round of mockery was not unanimous. Maybe some people just didn’t care as much. When after a short while the subject of conversation shifted, you felt thoroughly relieved. You weren’t the best in handling this kind of demeaning sarcasm, and lashing out on your first day in the army would be a surefire way to be ingloriously killed in some anonymous ditch.

Your torment was interrupted by the soldiers returning from their tents. They had brought a few more of their comrades along to give you and the other recruits their clothes of duty. Everyone seemed to get something different: most got a vaguely red tunic with a yellow stripe, a few got a bit more armoured kits, some just got a plain red shirt with a separate set of pants. You yourself got… a rather green outfit. You hoped it meant you got the special job you were promised.

Shortly after you had dressed yourself in the green attire (which actually consisted of a smaller dark green vest which was to be worn over your green tunic) the soldiers escorted the recruits to the middle of the camp, where the man from earlier stood upon a small box. It quickly became clear what the purpose of this arrangement was when the man began listing off the various names of the recruits along with their assigned role in the army. Recognizing some names, you saw the group being divided into infantrymen, arquebusiers, trench diggers (to your great pleasure, some of those mocking you earlier were amongst this section), infantry support and… record keepers.

It would be more accurate to say record keeper. You were the only one.

With that, you were given a tent and started your training.

<><><><>

The first thing an army recruit learnt was how to make camp.

The next morning, you were marched out of the village along the old road, where at the nearest junction a larger number of soldiers and their recruits had set up camp. Alongside these recruits, you marched onwards, following the creek downstream. Though not much of the scenery here was different than in your hometown, you were having the time of your life seeing sights which you had never seen before. The creek that had began to flow parallel to your path became ever more calm and wide, with every stream from the hills around you adding to its livelihood. The next day, the hills themselves also gradually flattened out, their brown tops gradually losing out to a forest which crept nearer and nearer until it blanketed them in its entirety. The few farms and fields you saw here began to look more and more wealthy, small stone walls demarcating the fields in which well-fed cows grazed on luscious helms of grass.

You wished you could capture some of the idyllic charm of these places as you passed them by. The days you spent walking through them made you aware that you had lived rather poorly in your village high up in those brown-clad hills, limited to the land on which you repeatedly toiled for a meagre return in a matter of life and death. You’d definitely make a note of it, were it not for the fact that you hadn’t been given anything to… actually keep records with.

<><><><>

The second thing an army recruit learnt was how to row.

Three days had passed before you knew it. Around you, the hills had mostly subsided to a small gradient in the landscape, which now mostly consisted of fields and the occasional forest. The creek which endlessly flowed next to your path had become a small river.

Finally arriving in a new town after a long march, the soldiers ordered you to the riverside. You had heard that this town was called Long Aircliffe and that this is where you would get some further training. When you laid your eyes upon your next mode of transport, you finally realized why that soldier was chuckling when he said that.

You’d never been on a boat before.

Thankfully, you weren’t the only one, and you were far from the worst at handling this unexpected change. Most were still very shaky on the swaying hull, with some very unfortunate souls suffering from vomit attacks brought on by the boat’s unstable nature. You learnt that this phenomenon was called sea sickness. After making a few small loops in the river near the town, your group made camp on the edge of Long Aircliffe. You were ran through after a day of marching and rowing, so you (along with most other recruits) went straight into your bedroll.

Tomorrow they would give you a chance to roam a bit before noon. You assumed it was only happening now because you couldn’t just walk back home again. This town was a lot bigger than the village you hailed from, possessing many stone buildings along with streets that were paved. You hadn’t really seen much of it during your boat training today, but you were excited to see it tomorrow. Drifting asunder as the night progressed, you wondered what you should do next morning.

>Try accompanying some of the other recruits. It couldn’t hurt to get to know some of the people you were journeying with.

>Spend some time with the soldiers in your camp. Maybe they could explain you a bit more about your assigned role as record keeper.

>Head into the town. You didn’t have any coins on you, but maybe you could see the sights and talk to some of the locals. Maybe they knew (or rather, were willing to tell you) more about the cause and state of the war.

>Try your best to become adept at staying stable and healthy on a boat. Considering you’ll be traveling to the King’s overseas territories, you’d have to spend a lot of your time on these things.

>>6349991
>Try accompanying some of the other recruits. It couldn’t hurt to get to know some of the people you were journeying with.

>>6349991
>Try accompanying some of the other recruits. It couldn’t hurt to get to know some of the people you were journeying with.

>>6349991
>Try accompanying some of the other recruits. It couldn’t hurt to get to know some of the people you were journeying with.

How could could the protag grow up working the fields (and somehow become literate) and not know how to pronounce the name of the town he grew up in? Did everyone in the area just call it "the town"? Surely they've heard other people call it by its name. It'd be funny if he couldn't pronounce it because of a stutter, but I can't believe that anyone who knows how to write the name of their home town can't pronounce it.

>>6349991
>Try accompanying some of the other recruits. It couldn’t hurt to get to know some of the people you were journeying with.

>>6350146
Maybe they don't say the full name and just call it Warmon or something

>>6349991
>Head into the town. You didn’t have any coins on you, but maybe you could see the sights and talk to some of the locals. Maybe they knew (or rather, were willing to tell you) more about the cause and state of the war.

>>6349991
>Try your best to become adept at staying stable and healthy on a boat. Considering you’ll be traveling to the King’s overseas territories, you’d have to spend a lot of your time on these things.

Nah. I can believe it. Not like we meet many outsiders that we need to refer to our town's name to. And the name is foreign too.

>>6349991
>>Try accompanying some of the other recruits. It couldn’t hurt to get to know some of the people you were journeying with.

>>6350134
>>6350137
>>6350146
>>6350149
>>6350204

carry the vote, beating

>>6350170

and

>>6350195

Here's the next entry.

Coming out of your tent early the next morning, you decided to stick with your fellow recruits this morning. These were the people who would accompany you to the fields of battle, after all. Finding a group which was already up didn’t prove to be difficult; in their enthusiasm for some free time, most recruits had gotten up early to enjoy as much of it as possible. They more or less accepted you without hassle (some noting that your tunic was rather different to the rest of them, with most sporting the usual red tunic with yellow stripe, denoting them as infantrymen from Cravenshire’s Bowland Regiment) and before you knew it, you were on your way. The recruits were hungry, and your first meal would only be served upon departure. The first goal for your morning on the town was therefor set – you would try to get your hands on some foodstuffs.

On your way to the market of Long Aircliffe you got acquainted with some of your groupmates. For some ungodly reason, Robin Llywellyn had managed to find his way upon your path again, and this time you decided to actually try and have a conversation with the man, along with some others who were walking with you. Robin was apparently one of the oldest of those who were shipped out to war, with most being of your age or a slight bit older. You knew exactly why he had left, too; he had let you know that he’d been married off to the carpenter’s daughter, a reason which needed no further clarification. You could imagine how hard it must have been for what appeared to be a rather kind-natured man like him to know they would be eternally bonded to this malicious creature. Due to his advanced age, he had taken a sort of leading role in your group early on. Few of you knew if that age actually came with experience, though. If anything he really did know his way around food, explaining how the bread would rise be less voluminous due to the lower temperatures in this time of the year.

Next to him walked a rather small man named Morris Fenham. You found yourself struggling to make conversation with him, as he appeared to be a man of few words. Instead, you could see most of his intent within his eyes; this man was here to get what he wanted, and not much else. You heard from others that he was not actually voluntarily with the army, and that his local sheriff had turned him in just to get rid of the man. You understood him to be a profound kleptomaniac, able to get his hands on anything his heart desired. At least there was always the long Leonard Muswell to keep an eye on him, someone who apparently really did join the army just to serve the King. Though you admired the dedication to the cause, you wondered how someone who came from villages just as isolated as yours ever managed to gain such an attachment to a King he never even met. He was however one of the few people amongst you that had experience handling weapons: as the son of a hunter, he had spent most of his years tracking game with a longbow. He himself therefore bemoaned that he had been chosen to be an arquebusier.

In the time you had been talking to the people in your group, another group of recruits (wearing mostly grey tunics instead) merged with yours on their way to the town centre, surprisingly also in pursuit of food. Though they did speak the same language, their way of speech notably differed from yours. Dropping vowels and substituting the end of words with an ‘ah’, their speech almost sounded like it was chopped into bits. Though it took effort to understand a word they said (and vice versa), they were a nice bunch to be around, joking around often and stirring up banter by referring to you and some of the townsfolk you came across as “shy Bowlanders”.

The town itself was actually rather impressive; you knew your standards for wealth were not exactly high, but the paved streets and coloured houses had you in awe. The people walking through the streets did so on pointed shoes, wearing bright tunics which were sometimes even decorated. All of them seemed to have some kind of business to attend to: hauling wood, carrying tools or even softly speaking to themselves in prayer while they walked the streets. You got the distinct impression that these people weren’t just surviving – they lived. People actually wanted to be in Long Aircliffe. And more specifically, most of them wanted to be on the central market square appearing right in front of you. Bustling with activity, your nose was tantalized by the various obscure delicacies, yet also tortured by the stench of new leather and coal. You saw every trade and craft represented with its own stand on the square, customers theatrically haggling with the tradesmen to get their goods for the cheapest possible price.

Only then did you remember you had no coins on you. Luckily, you weren’t the only one. You saw recruits who were similarly bereft of funds grouping up with a supposed benefactor, hoping that their newfound camaraderie would afford them some food. While you yourself remained initially indecisive, you saw most recruits were already beginning to walk to the market. Afraid of being left behind (and most importantly, hungry), you started to look around for a sponsor of your own.

Instead, someone approached you.

You were rather surprised when someone tapped on your shoulder, asking if you would perhaps be willing to spare her some bread. Doubly so when she appeared with the same green tunic and vest as you did. You honestly didn’t know women could serve in the King’s army. Not that you knew much of the army at all – you hadn’t even seen another record keeper yet. Until now, you supposed.

Losing yourself in thought, the woman repeated her question. She had made herself rather clear, she thought. There wasn’t much time left, let alone people, and she didn’t feel like going hungry today. Quickly coming to, you were sorry to tell her that you too were skint. You had actually been trying to look for someone who did have money before interrupted the process.

After looking around to see you were left basically the only ones left, she sighed. There was now no way for the both of you to get any food before noon – a mistake which your stomach quickly reminded you of. The woman apparently found this rather amusing. Apologizing for blowing your last chance at finding a way to get breakfast, she introduced herself as Evin Lynne. She had similarly ventured into town to get something to eat before noon, only to find a bunch of Bowlanders stealing all her opportunities to mooch off of her fellow northerners. Speaking to herself, she wondered if it all would have been better on the streets of Pontsburgh. Then again, she reminded herself, it was not like she had a choice in the matter. The castellan had simply rounded up all beggars and hoodlums and drove them straight to the recruiters.

After asking her why a self-described hoodlum would get a job as record keeper, Evin laughed. You were a pleasant guy to be around.

<><><><>

The morning sun gave a beautiful glint to the rolling farmland.

Sitting next to Evin on the town’s bridge, you saw the sun rise like you had never seen it before. Back in the Warmonceux, it was usually only visible once it had risen above the brown hills which enclosed it. The town quietly bustled behind you, occasional shouts and cries occurring when you assumed one of your fellow recruits had taken a four-finger discount on the stalled food. You had learnt that Evin was originally not a hoodlum, originating from a family of fishermen which had become destitute due to the gradual impoverishment Pontsburgh had been suffering since time immemorial. The castellan's dynasty had apparently long been a crooked one, confiscating and selling off the livelihoods of their subjects to stuff their war coffers for the event in which Pontsburgh could claim its autonomy from the King’s southern oppression. With a bitter smirk, Evin added that the only thing the King oppressed in Pontsburgh were the castellan’s coffers.

Evin was a bit taken aback by the story you called your own. Did Bowlanders really never leave their place of birth? If so, what did you people even do for a living? Only when the answer came, did she begin to see your point of view. Thinking for a short while, she concluded that the recruiters coming to your village was possibly the best thing that could have ever happened in your life. Though you were glad she agreed with you on that point, you wondered if you were really ready for it all. Up until now, it had actually seemed like you were in way over your head. In a surprising bit of compassion, Evin offered to help you with that. In a tone mocking the soldiers you had been traveling with, she stated that any good record keeper sticks with their colleagues. Quickly becoming genuine again, Evin explained that she couldn’t in good conscience leave you out to the elements. It was a cruel world, and it would only be a matter of time before you got taken advantage of. Besides, she had never seen another record keeper on this trip – it might be handy to stick together.

You happily accepted her offer. You’d never thought of it before, but you really did need someone to help you if you were to discover a world of which you had before been completely unaware. Besides, she did have a good point – neither of you had an inkling about what you would actually be doing for the army yet. Record keeper was still a very vague term to the both of you, and the soldiers that accompanied you had repeatedly answered that explaining any of your future functions would be far above their pay grade.

<><><><>

When you returned to the market square a short while before noon, you were greeted with a scene much different from that which you had left behind a few hours earlier.

In fact, you weren’t greeted by much of a sight at all. Looking at the backs of recruits clad in red, you made your way to the bunch you recognized as your earlier group. When you and Evin joined them and were given a little space to see what was unfolding in front of the wall of Cravenshire recruits, you raised your eyebrows.

What previously was a semi-orderly market with stalls arranged in neat rows had turned into a battlefield with two groups squaring off against eachother. On the one side were the merchants, holding pieces of what you assumed were once stalls. They looked furious, with some featuring signs of earlier combat. Some of them even had knives, which although clearly not meant for combat, could still maim someone nastily if they weren’t careful. On the other side were faces you actually recognized – the northern recruits in their characteristic grey tunics had formed a band, which although superior in numbers to the merchants possessed little to no armament. They were clearly as angry if not more infuriated than the merchants, with one particularly large and slightly bruised man at their front looking like he could personally break the spines of all his adversaries.

It looked like things were about to get heated, and the other spectating recruits were fully aware of it. Most were enthusiastically talking with eachother while beholding the spectacle, shouting at and cheering for the northern recruits while making sure to maintain an adequate distance from the impending combat. Some were even placing bets, while others were simply digging into a piece of food they had managed to salvage from the now thoroughly ruined market. Amongst the latter was Robin, who gave Evin and you a very lucky break by giving both of you a piece of his sweetened bread. Both of you couldn’t thank him enough for it, rapidly and ravenously devouring your newly acquired provisions. Robin himself shrugged it off; he had already eaten a lot and still needed to leave room for lunch.

Amongst the taunts and jeers, the two combating parties slowly inched closer to eachother, and it wasn’t long before a melee erupted. Though the recruits were in the majority, they were absolutely canned by the much better equipped merchants, and they were shortly routed off of the market square. Having sent the northerners packing, the merchants suddenly turned their ire towards the recruits in the audience. Their reddened knives had already drawn blood on the northerners, and it looked like they wouldn’t hesitate to do so again.

Evin might have called you clueless, but you weren’t dim. At this very moment, every alarm bell in your head was blaring.

<><><><>

You didn’t know you could run this quickly. Almost flying out of the town, you had passed even the northerners on your way out. You finally subdued your flight instinct when you reached a small yard on the edge of town, not far from the camp where you were supposed to arrive in around thirty minutes. It was only when you looked around you that you realized you had left your entire group behind.

You had to go back and get them out of this town unharmed and alive – you had a feeling those merchants would not give any quarter to those who had ruined their livelihoods, and you weren’t about to lose your guide and newly made acquaintances. You may be a bit of a coward, but you could at least make up for that by not being callous.

The only question that remained was how you would go about it.

>Go back alone. You might not have any weapons or leverage, but you could be with them before it was too late. Besides, now you knew the quickest way out of town.

>Fetch some weapons at the camp before you return. Maybe you could fend off the merchants as they chased your group.

>Alert some of the soldiers at the camp and bring them with you into the town. It might not be the quickest and you would definitely be telling on your fellow recruits, but they were the only trained (and more importantly, armed) men in the area who could resolve this problem in your favour.

>>6350333
>>Fetch some weapons at the camp before you return. Maybe you could fend off the merchants as they chased your group.

>>6350333
>Alert some of the soldiers at the camp and bring them with you into the town. It might not be the quickest and you would definitely be telling on your fellow recruits, but they were the only trained (and more importantly, armed) men in the area who could resolve this problem in your favour.
One scrawny record keeper ain’t doing shit.

>>6350333
>Alert some of the soldiers at the camp and bring them with you into the town. It might not be the quickest and you would definitely be telling on your fellow recruits, but they were the only trained (and more importantly, armed) men in the area who could resolve this problem in your favour.

I'll write a new entry tomorrow, until then I'll let the vote stay open to hopefully form a majority that's a bit more solid.

>>6350469
>>6350485

defeats

>>6350347

with a narrow majority. Here is your entry.

You had to get help. You hadn’t been trained for combat yet, and you had nothing to defend yourself with. Wasting no time, you ran onwards to the camp.

Arriving at your destination shortly, you sought out a group of soldiers. Sitting in a circle playing a card game, you found it hard to catch their attention – after asking politely once, twice, thrice, asking a little louder and finally tapping on one of their shoulders, you finally got an irritated response from one of the group.

“What do you want, little runt?”

Not recoiling an inch, you politely told the man that there was trouble on the market square, and that some of the recruits might be in danger. Could some of the soldiers come along to hopefully get them back in time before everyone else was also delayed?

The soldiers who heard your story groaned. Begrudgingly standing up and fetching their weapons, they started making their way to town while loudly complaining about the “feeble recruits who’d make a problem out of every little squabble”. About seven soldiers found it necessary to accompany you, along with a sergeant who was the loudest in his dissatisfaction.

“I’m only going as a formality. If everything there is above water, you’re all going to be on latrine scrubbing duty until I’m rid of you!”

It didn’t take long to change their minds. Around the small yard on the edge of town where you had stopped earlier, the battered, bruised and sometimes even severely wounded northern recruits stumbled into view. Those who were cut up the worst were no longer able to walk, being carried by their comrades while wailing whenever one of their wounds was put under strain.

When interrogated by the sergeant, the most comprehensive word they could muster without drowning in their own breath was “merchants”.

Suddenly, the urgency of the situation had dawned on the soldiers. After barking some short commands at the soldiers who were with him, the sergeant began running towards the town centre. Giving you his knife, one of the soldiers told you to run along with them while drawing his own shortsword. Having drawn their weapons, the soldiers quickly began to follow their superior.

<><><><>

The market square had once again changed completely since you left it. Now being completely surrounded by the townspeople themselves, the mood had changed from fury to a spite which was now directed at whatever was happening on the market square. The sergeant started pushing the spectators aside, mincing few words in his brash attempts to see what was happening up front. The townspeople hurriedly responded, veering off to the sides as the sneers and shoves of this stout man-at-arms carved a path straight to the centre of the action.

Having found your way to the front of the (this time much larger) audience, you saw a grotesque scene of punishment unfold right in front of you. The remains of the stalls had been roughly assembled into a large scaffold on which your fellow recruits were being forced to stand in line, being hit and lashed by various utensils and sticks. Dishing out this punishment were still the same vengeful merchants, torturing your fellow recruits while the crowd cheered them on. You felt like this was far from the first time a group of recruits had acted inappropriately towards these merchants and that this was the first time they could finally get a proper round of retribution. It seemed the whole town agreed – looking around you, you saw the merchants’ emotions reflected in the faces of the audience which was loudly chanting obscenities. Some even went as far as throwing small rocks at your comrades.

It wasn’t going to be like that for much longer, though. Not if the sergeant had anything to do with it. You saw the man’s face first go white from shock, mumbling what you assumed were various curses, swears and other uncouth exclamations. When colour returned to his face it slowly began to turn red, until, brimming with anger, he released a shout that stopped the entire square dead in its tracks.

Walking towards the scaffold, the sergeant launched into an enraged tirade, launching various scolding insults at the crowd while threatening the merchants with the divine punishment of the King himself if they even so much as a thought of continuing their deranged behaviour. Drawing his sword in his fit of rage, he knocked one of the supporting beams of the scaffold out of place with the flat side of his blade. This quickly broke the makeshift structure, causing its entire load of merchants and recruits to fall or slide down onto the pavement. Grabbing one of the merchants by their black collars, the sergeant began loudly screaming into the man’s face, making the man quiver and slink back into his overcoat. It wasn’t long before the soldiers joined him on the scene, helping the mildly bruised and battered recruits off the scaffold while shooting lethal glares at the other merchants. Around this time, the audience began to disappear, probably fearing the impending repercussions for their part in the riot.

In the end the sergeant wrote up a royal decree for the merchants, requiring the town to pay double its war taxes for a year along with supplying any medical necessities the army required while staying in or around Long Aircliffe without charge. With that done, the recruits were marched out of the town. The merchants would think twice before hurting a recruit again.

<><><><>

You didn’t expect “telling the superiors” to be a move which made you popular. On the contrary, you expected it to be much more effective at making everyone in this camp resent you.

However when you came back to camp and the cooks rolled in with the lunch provisions, you were lauded by the Bowlanders as their saviour. Even though you felt like you didn’t actually do much in the situation, you decided to roll with it nonetheless. Your new acquaintances were mostly fine, with some minor bruising sustained during their time on the scaffold. You learned that this time was actually rather short due to your timely arrival with the soldiers. Robin was the one who caught the most bruises, volunteering to stand in front of the others to absorb most of the punishment – something for which Morris especially thanked him repeatedly. Meanwhile Leonard was still in disbelief, stating he had really thought that you just left him and the rest to the whims of the merchants and that he couldn’t thank you enough for coming back. Evin was rather silent, nudging you to just get some food on your plate. To her credit, you had almost forgotten to with all the commotion happening around you.

The northerners who were wounded most were immediately taken care of, being laid down in a makeshift infirmary while assigned medics tended to their wounds. Though their wounds looked fearsome when they were stumbling out of town, the medics soon told you that most of them will have recovered within a month. They would have to stay behind, though – the boats would not be stable enough to ferry them without causing a significant risk to their healing process.

<><><><>

The boat’s rocking was not doing you well. Though you were far from suffering from any sea sickness, you were beginning to feel the consequences of your mile-long sprint earlier. Your legs were aching when you moved them, and you had trouble staying on your feet while the boat gently swayed on the rippling river waters.

On this boat you thankfully would never have to stand much at all, though: sitting on your rowing benches, you were getting entranced by the continuous rhythm of your oars plunging into the river’s dark green waters. Your boat was one of the five long boats which held a sizeable number of oars on each side of their flat hull. The boats were much quicker than you thought, repeatedly passing by those walking on the road which still ran parallel to the river. Next to you was Leonard, trying his best to assist you with the large oar. His tall posture made the rowing significantly harder for him though, having to pull the long wooden stick over his knees as the short legroom forced him to fold his legs into the rest of his body. You found his appearance like this rather comical, but decided to not make any mention of it. He’d already been through enough today.

Instead, you once again contented yourself with looking at the passing landscape, which went through another one of its transformations before your very eyes. The stone walls from earlier were supplanted by thick hedges, which started to become more and more prevalent in divvying up the land. You also began to see lines of trees start to run alongside the roads, intersecting the patchwork of farmland that clad the slight gradient of these hills with lines of darker green. The crops themselves also started to change: where before you had only seen wheat and the occasional field of cows, the country was now filled by various plants you were unfamiliar with, along with a large amount of fields that held only sheep. While you looked in awe at the land that changed with each panorama, you were covering large distances – before you knew it, the afternoon was coming to a close. While you were rowing past a field in which rows of trees extended as far as the eye could see, the rowers were ordered to a halt.

All recruits were ordered to get off the boats, each boat being steered towards a small pier that was attached to the road next to the waterside. Looking in front of you, you saw a series of large barriers which seemed to stop the river in its tracks. You were told that these were machines called locks, and that the soldiers were going to work all the boats through them to get onto another river. In the meantime, all recruits were ordered to set up camp on a little field next to the other side of the locks. Because of the delay suffered due to the incident in Long Aircliffe, you had to make one more stop before you were delivered to the Royal Army Academy of Lintford.

<><><><>

It had been a while since the recruits had set up camp. After a couple times of doing so before, you had become rather proficient at setting it all up yourselves: even the cooks commended the recruits on the sturdiness with which their quarters were set up before starting their work on that night’s dinner.

While the sun was slowly beginning to set, you were sitting around a small fire with the small group that had quickly become a customary unit throughout the day. Through bragging and banter, you were sharing the experiences you had during the miles spent on the boats. Leonard was still busy stretching his legs – his poor limbs had remained folded for about five hours on the boats, and he lamented the prospect of having to spend another day rowing in the arduous position. Robin pulled the remains of this morning’s bounty out of his knapsack, giving you all a small treat before the rationed dinner that was still hours away. At some point, Morris took a bet that he’d be able to get some food out of the orchard you had seen earlier: though none of you had much money left (or, in your case, any to begin with), he still managed to get some pledges from his comrades. Two particularly eager betters were Simon Carter and Mira Palmer, both betting against eachother on whether Morris would make it out with any loot. Simon promised he’d try and make something special out of the spoils if Morris delivered it all to him. When asked what this special something was, he stated that the element of surprise would only serve to make it better.

In the meantime, Robin and some others expressed interest in going to see the soldiers work the locks. Many had never seen much of a river before in your lives, and the spectacle of the massive doors that blocked your progression had awakened some form of interest in many of the Bowlander recruits. The soldiers were taking their sweet time with the work, and everyone was a bit unsure if everything was going according to plan. Eventually the group was preparing to split itself into three, with some accompanying Morris to the orchard, others wanting to see the locks in operation and a few wanting to stay behind to play a game of cards they borrowed from the soldiers earlier.

You didn’t entirely know with which group to go, though.

>Join the group going to the orchard. It would be fun to see what Morris could pull out of it before the farmer noticed, and what Simon had in store for the bounty-to-be.

>Join the group going to the locks. You’d never seen these before, and part of you did want to make sure that everything was going according to plan with these seemingly complicated machines.

>Stay with the few recruits that were staying behind. Though nothing exciting, playing cards by the fire would be a safe bet for a fun evening. Maybe you could even earn some coins if you played you cards well. Besides, if anything happened to any of the other two parties, you’d be able to join them later on.

And with that we round off the leadup to the first major holiday of our winter break. I'll continue writing on December 28th.

Until then, I wish you all a merry Christmas.

I also finally got myself a tripcode. My apologies if me continuing to write as an anon caused any confusion before.

>>6351007
>Join the group going to the locks. You’d never seen these before, and part of you did want to make sure that everything was going according to plan with these seemingly complicated machines.

>>6351007
>>Join the group going to the locks. You’d never seen these before, and part of you did want to make sure that everything was going according to plan with these seemingly complicated machines.

The next entry is moved to the 29th due to a small bit of plot restructuring. My sincerest excuses for this delay, I hope the next entry makes up for my absence.

>>6351007
>Join the group going to the orchard. It would be fun to see what Morris could pull out of it before the farmer noticed, and what Simon had in store for the bounty-to-be.

>>6351953
Just wondering if QM is going to implement a dice-based progression system, as in more chance for a route if more people voted for it.

>>6351007
>Join the group going to the locks. You’d never seen these before, and part of you did want to make sure that everything was going according to plan with these seemingly complicated machines.

>>6352394

I'm not exactly leaving it up to the dice, but Harold does have a reputation level that will affect his trajectory in the future. I'll leave the rest up to interpretation.

The plot restructuring I mentioned was instead trying to fit in a bit more choices (i.e. making entries a bit shorter) to reduce the reading load on the readers. I hope it works out well.

Anyway, the votes.

>>6351238
>>6351257
>>6352404

beats out

>>6352394

with a 3 to 1 margin.

Pre-industrial train autism it is. I'll write up the entry shortly.

Tagging along with Robin and managing to convince Evin to come along, you headed to the locks. Evin was surprised that neither of you had ever seen a river lock, and openly wondered why both of you wanted to see a process as boring as a lock filling with water. She did however want to see if it was all going smoothly – according to her it would be nothing short of a miracle to have it all go off without a hitch. Not with this calibre of soldiers, that is.

A bit confused, you asked what she meant by that. You had perceived these soldiers to be at least decently competent, right?

This was something that made both Evin and Robin burst out into laughter. Though Robin had also never been outside of the village, he had very quickly clocked onto the fact that these soldiers were just going through the motions. Most didn’t seem to have much fighting prowess at all, let alone any of the “courage” the army seemed to regard so highly. Evin added that this might just be because they were plain old. Normally a soldier in the King’s army should be in their mid- to late twenties, while most of these soldiers were easily pushing forty. If she had to guess, they were just walking through it until they would be “honourably” (she seemed to scoff at the word itself) discharged for their veteran’s retirement.

Neither you nor Robin had been aware of this before. Soldiers never really came by the village, the only bi-monthly reminder of any authority over you being the count’s old sheriff and his bailiff visiting to account for any crimes which might have been committed. Their presence wasn’t usually needed or even appreciated much: most of what was considered criminal behaviour by the outside world in Warmonceux was usually tied into a larger family feud, whose ends only came at the hands of a third party intervening when their own goods were damaged. You remembered the feud between the Kriggs and Mires had gone on for years because they lived on the edges of the village and therefore bothered no one in their quest for mutual destruction.

You were snapped out of your trail of thoughts by Robin replying that both of you had never really seen that many soldiers before. When he himself was rather young a similar recruiting party had come through, but due to a recent disease outbreak the soldiers had to return from the village empty-handed. You didn’t recollect such an event yourself; it must have been before you were born. In either case, Evin was becoming slightly exasperated at your complete inexperience with the world – was there anything you two had actually seen before?

You both found that a very good question. To give at least some form of answer, you said that there were probably no better growers of wheat in the country. Lowering your voice slightly, you mumbled; ‘At least, I don’t know of any which spend so much of their time doing it.’

No one bothered to reply, as you could finally see the locks in the distance. Across the field in front of you was a row of the large gates you had seen earlier, linked by stone walls to give the illusion that the river was going up a hill. However, when you looked at the basins formed by the gates, you saw that there was no flow between them at all. All of them formed their own separate bodies of water arranged in a stairway up the gentle slope, ending in the river you would continue to travel on the next morning. At the last one of these “lakes” (which Evin told you were called chambers) you saw some soldiers working with the five long boats in which you had travelled earlier today.

And as Evin had predicted, they were not doing all too well for themselves.

For some reason they had decided to move all five boats up at once, completely overfilling the lock chamber with more boats than it was ever designed to handle. Most soldiers weren’t even busy operating the lock at all, loitering around the field on the other side of the lock, sitting in circles around small fires while loudly lavishing themselves on some drinks they had managed to find. Making a snide remark to Evin, you mentioned that you had definitely seen drunk people before. In an equally snide reply, Evin feigned relief; at least you farm boys knew how to get plastered once in a while.

Both of you snickered a bit before continuing to observe the poor situation the soldiers had managed to put themselves in. You saw that there were only three or four soldiers idly manning the large paddles which controlled the gates of the locks, absentmindedly leaning against them and eating some of their own food while everyone was waiting for it to be over with. You were surprised that they were already eating some of their own stock ahead of the dinner that would await them when they returned to camp. Amongst the soldiers in the field sat the sergeant himself, busying himself with signing some forms while trying his best to ignore the increasingly inebriated soldiers around him. You could see he had a bit of trouble reading, his eyes locked onto the paper with utmost concentration.

Upon further inspection of the soldiers on the field, you noticed that the wood used for their fires was blatantly ripped from some nearby farm fences. You began to sympathize a bit with the farmers of this area – not only would Morris be raiding their orchard, their supply of wool would also suddenly vanish due to the newly defective fences. Not that the army would care, it seemed rather par for the course for soldiers to make a mess of things in the country they were supposed to defend.

It was at that moment that a particularly drunk soldier on the far end of the field decided to imitate his sergeant. Making a mocking statement about the files he was supposedly checking, he then screamed at his comrades at the lock to open the gates – they didn’t have much time before the sun was going to set, and they all wanted dinner, right? The other soldiers around his campfire laughed at his impression. They complimented him for getting the voice spot-on, reaching him another bottle of liquor for his efforts.

It quickly became much less of a joke when the soldiers near the paddles began actually preparing to open the gates. None of the other soldiers seemed to notice them, but they started to slowly push. Not even the sergeant seemed to catch it, clenching his reading glasses in a concentrated attempt to read the fine print on his forms. From your vantage point you could see that the water level inside the lock chamber was not high enough yet, but the boats overloading the lock chamber obscured the water to the soldiers at the lock paddles. They kept on slowly pushing.

You damned the drunk soldier and his immaculate impression ability. Looking at Evin and Robin, you saw both were just as stunned looking at the disaster about to unfold before their eyes. While there wasn’t much you could do from your distant vantage point, you felt you had to do something. You were not going to lose all the boats on the second day. The gates were opening very slowly, though – there might be time for you to intervene before it was too late.

For any of these, roll a d100. Bo3 applies.

All given options share the same DC, while write-ins are independently evaluated.

>Make a mad dash for the soldiers. Though you were on the other side of the river, there was a small rowing boat docked on your side. It was risky, but maybe you could be there on time.

>Imitate the sergeant again to stop the soldiers from opening the gates. Though it would be the fastest option, you might be too distant for them to hear you. You also doubted if you were as good at impressions as the drunk soldier from earlier.

>Try to snap Evin and Robin out of their trance and see if you can achieve something with their help instead.

>Write-in.

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>6352455
>Make a mad dash for the soldiers. Though you were on the other side of the river, there was a small rowing boat docked on your side. It was risky, but maybe you could be there on time.
I expect no smarter from the army.

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>6352455
>Make a mad dash for the soldiers. Though you were on the other side of the river, there was a small rowing boat docked on your side. It was risky, but maybe you could be there on time.

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>6352455
>Make a mad dash for the soldiers. Though you were on the other side of the river, there was a small rowing boat docked on your side. It was risky, but maybe you could be there on time.

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>6352455
>>Make a mad dash for the soldiers. Though you were on the other side of the river, there was a small rowing boat docked on your side. It was risky, but maybe you could be there on time.

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>6352455
>>Make a mad dash for the soldiers. Though you were on the other side of the river, there was a small rowing boat docked on your side. It was risky, but maybe you could be there on time.

>>6352501
>>6352550
>>6352596
>>6352729
>>6352753

Thank you all for the votes. I'll leave the vote open until I start writing on January 2nd, but the dice rolls have been made (whether we like it or not).

Regardless, have a happy New Year! I'll see you all in 2026.

>>6350333
>Go back alone. You might not have any weapons or leverage, but you could be with them before it was too late. Besides, now you knew the quickest way out of town.
Getting a weapon would just escalate the situation.

>>6352907

We've moved on a couple of entries, you can't vote on this one anymore.

I've got a new entry for you. Just to preempt any confusion, here's a legend of the interruptions used in the text.

~~~~ = perspective change

<><><><> = scene/time change.

You could make it. You just had to be quick across the river.

Running down the slight incline towards the river, you were once again surprised by how quickly you arrived at the banks of the river. To be as quick as possible, you took a run-up and leapt onto the small boat…

~~~~

What you were seeing was actually too stupid for words. Every single person on that field combined probably possessed less common sense than the laces used to tie their own shoes.

You were completely stunned watching the soldiers open the gates like there was nothing out of the ordinary at all. These idiots didn’t even notice that it was much heavier to push out the lock gates than was usual. Morbid curiosity had taken its hold on you – you simply couldn’t look away from the almost natural disaster that was unfolding before your very eyes.

If it weren’t for… other things keeping you there, you would have deserted on the spot.

Not much time for thought about that, though. Something on the edge of your vision had caught your attention.

You saw Harold leave your side and make a run for it. What… what was he doing? Why would he-

Before you knew it, he had reached the bank and leapt onto the small boat that was docked at the small riverside pier. He however only managed to land one of his feet into the boat properly, the other overshooting its target and greatly destabilizing him before the boat could even sway in response to the impact. He tried his best to stabilize himself, but inevitably you saw Harold plunging rear-first into the clear river water.

You knew how cold these rivers were, even in the beginning of autumn. Now you had to do something all of a sudden.

~~~~

You might have overdone it a bit. For a moment, it was serene, hearing nothing but the slight metallic grinding of the rocks on the riverbed below you. However, slowly coming to your senses, you realized how cold it was down here. In an instant reflex you began moving every part of your body to get to the surface which was until then only becoming more and more distant from you. You had to get out of here. If only you could swim.

Though your lungs were burning, you managed to struggle and writhe your way upwards through the frigid stream that threatened to seal your fate. Breaking through the surface, you desperately gasped for air, your senses returning to their full capacities as the water released its grasp on your ears. You could hear someone screaming your name. Must be Evin.

Keeping your head above the water was another task and a half, and one you were not prepared for. Just after you had drawn a second gasp of air, the weight of your clothes again dragged you down into the silence of the water. You needed to keep moving, otherwise the stinging water would claim you forever. Straining your muscles against their urge to remain still in the icy abyss you made one more attempt to rise to the surface.

Once again gasping for air, you saw Evin had arrived on the riverbank. Once she had located you, she dove in. You were going to be saved.

<><><><>

The fire was warming you very well. Sitting in a circle with the rest of your group of recruits, you had just finished off the dinner that the chefs had supplied to the entire camp after the soldiers returned. Next to you was Robin, who had given you his overcoat as you slowly dried up amongst the rest of the recruits. There had apparently been a good amount of coins won and lost between the ones who had stayed behind, and the orchard party had returned with a small jute bag full of apples. Honouring his promise to Simon, Morris handed the bag to him. Simon in return promised him that he would get his reward in a week or two if everything went right. Though Morris was impatient, Leonard had withheld some of the apples from Simon and shared them generously with the recruits around the fire.

Though slightly dismayed at this, Simon as comforted by the coins he had managed to trick out of Mira with his earlier bet, a loss she didn’t take well. Upon their return she demonstratively sat down across from him, seemingly preoccupied with plotting her revenge.

The soldiers were significantly less well off. Though they had succeeded in opening the gates about a quarter of the way, the sergeant (and all the soldiers for that matter) were rapidly alerted to the mistake being made when one of the boats loudly crashed into another due to the wave of water coming in through the lock’s gates. In the end only one boat was severely damaged: this did however mean that a fifth of the camp was ordered to remain here until the boat was patched up. At the very least you were thankful that your group wasn’t the one stationed on said boat.

You could still hear the sergeant berating the soldiers as they were busy doing all the dirty work that the recruits were normally assigned to. You couldn’t help but smirk at the soldiers while your fellow recruits laughed at them. Though they had tried their best to keep the cause of the lock mishap a secret, you had recalled some of the events leading up to it while making sure you remained anonymous. It hadn’t been long before the sergeant wasn’t the only one heckling and ridiculing them for their incompetence. Though technically the soldiers were still there to escort the recruits, their image had been severely damaged.

Evin in the meantime had dried herself off and separated herself from the rest of the group. After spending your time having some dinner and catching up with the rest, you went to look for her. You still wanted to thank her for saving you earlier – you had been too cold to do so before.

Walking through the camp, you were surprised by how deserted it was, save for the few who desired to sleep in early. The sun had already set, and a few torches illuminated the rows of tents that were set up along the riverside. Those few people you met that were still awake either mentioned that they hadn’t seen her at all, or that she had walked past at some point, but that they didn’t recall where she was headed.

After checking all the spots she could be at, you gave up. Maybe she had just left and gone to bed. You weren’t allowed to enter others’ tents, so that was pretty much the end of your search right then and there. You decided to go to the waterfront for some rest before you too would go to bed.

Arriving at the waterfront, you looked at the stars reflecting on the rippling current of the river that had almost devoured you not long ago. You really ought to be more careful… just one misstep like this one could have lead to a very abrupt end to your journey. Regardless, you really needed to learn how to swim one day. It might not have been an issue in the dry hills of Bowland, but if you were going to cross the seas to fight in the war, you definitely needed to become better at this.

After gazing at the stars for some time, you realized that you were not alone on the pitch-black riverbank. After looking around you a bit, you spotted another vague silhouette in the darkness. You didn’t have to think twice about who it was.

<><><><>

Evin was not expecting you at all. Sitting down next to her, she made a stifled yelp before realizing it was you. After she came to and made herself comfortable again, she started making sarcastic remarks about your stunt from earlier. You really didn’t know when something was above your pay grade, hm?

Not really understanding the figure of speech, you wondered if soldiers in the army were paid at all. Despite her supposed displeasure with you, she snickered and answered that they might as well pay you nothing.

The respite didn’t last long though, as she continued to lament the state in which she had found herself. She had lost everything back home, been forced into the army and was now stuck in some lame duck training programme for something she would inevitably do better than most in this sham of an army. And to add to all of that, now she had to lead some life-sized infant along who had somehow taken every possible opportunity to get himself killed. All in all, she deemed it to be a rather thankless life.

Though her words hurt you a bit, you sensed that she wasn’t actually too bothered about having to put up with you. It came moreso from having an intense distaste for the intensely cold water she had saved you from earlier. Pressing your hunch, you mentioned the events in Long Aircliffe, and that she wasn’t exactly helping herself stay alive during that whole sequence of events. The witty return earned you a bit of chuckling from her, lightening the atmosphere around you a bit.

Returning to sincerity after the slight bit of banter, you really did thank her for saving you from the water. When she scoffed and played it off as just a minor bit of help, you mentioned to her that you couldn’t swim – if she had not intervened, you would probably have drowned. To your surprise, this actually caught her very off-guard; she fell silent for a while, softly murmuring to herself while she held her hand before her mouth. When you asked if she was okay, she quickly regained her composure and mentioned that indeed, you should really learn to swim one of these days. Adding to that in one of her snide comments, she wondered why you would be so hasty with that boat if you knew you couldn’t swim, let alone maintain your balance on a boat. You replied that she should have asked that to the soldiers who felt it necessary to open the lock gates when the water level wasn’t nearly there yet. Was getting out of this place not an admirable goal?

In the end, Evin couldn’t do much but agree. Though she resented being in the army and all that came with it, she had heard a lot of good things about the Royal Recordkeeping Academy of Lintford. While most others were going to spend their days in the city breaking their backs in basic training, you would get to study Varinian verb conjugations in the library. Being literate was at least good for something in the end, right?

After a bit more time spent talking about what the future could hold for you both, you decided to head to your tents. It was getting late, and tomorrow you would reach your destination.

<><><><>

You were much closer to Lintford than you thought earlier. After a short while of rowing on the boats, the river widened exponentially until you found yourself on a massive lake of which you could barely see the other shore. This lake gradually became narrower and narrower as your progressed, and at the shores of the bottleneck of the lake and (what you presumed to be) the sea lay the city of Lintford, its large and vaguely yellow stone walls basking in the morning sun. Arriving at noon, you and the other recruits were once again left to your devices and given the address of the respective training centres or schools which were expecting you in three hours. You shared the same given address with Evin, and upon asking one of the locals (who spoke a distinct yet still completely foreign accent) you learnt that the rest of your group was actually located at a training facility rather close by.

Now all that remained was figuring out what to do in those three hours.

>Go straight to the Academy with Evin. She urged you to come with her, as those who arrived early would get to pick their rooms in the dormitory first. You also thought it might be practical to learn something about your future role in the army.

>Go see the sights in the city. This was the biggest locality you had been to yet, and you had read that this was one of the grand cities of the realm. If you wanted to maintain a travel log, this would be one of the places you would definitely have to write something about.

>Stay with your group, which was going to see the sights while having gotten some pocket hush-money from a soldier who wanted to hide the embarrassment of yesterday’s debacle from his wife. It might not be as educative, but you were sure you were going to have a good time with them.

>>6353879
>Go see the sights in the city. This was the biggest locality you had been to yet, and you had read that this was one of the grand cities of the realm. If you wanted to maintain a travel log, this would be one of the places you would definitely have to write something about.

>>6353879
>Go straight to the Academy with Evin. She urged you to come with her, as those who arrived early would get to pick their rooms in the dormitory first. You also thought it might be practical to learn something about your future role in the army.

>>6353879
>>Stay with your group, which was going to see the sights while having gotten some pocket hush-money from a soldier who wanted to hide the embarrassment of yesterday’s debacle from his wife. It might not be as educative, but you were sure you were going to have a good time with them.

>>6353879
>Go see the sights in the city. This was the biggest locality you had been to yet, and you had read that this was one of the grand cities of the realm. If you wanted to maintain a travel log, this would be one of the places you would definitely have to write something about

I want to know more about the city.

>>6353895
>>6354127
>>6354180
>>6354332

Thank you all for voting. Unfortunately, I won't be able to continue writing for the foreseeable future. The curse has struck, and I'm stuck with a respiratory illness that barely lets me breathe, let alone sleep. I started this one-shot intending for it to be over by the end of my winter break (as I don't have the time in my regular schedule to write up entries), but I don't think this will have blown over by then. I'll continue this in another thread someday when I have both time and health on my side.

My honest excuses for all of this. I promise to come back and finish it whenever I can - I did not intend to lead you all on with the start of Harold's story without giving it a satisfying conclusion.

I'll see you all again at an (unspecified) later date. I hope you enjoyed it all so far.

>>6354682

Here's the archival link, if anyone's interested.

https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valcanville