Minrath and Vistra

With more news of Minrath pouring in, Nevin would like to get back in touch with Vistra. If we are close enough, he will try to have dinner and spend some off time with Vistra.

Nevin will also try to find out the following information starting with the people he knows and adventures with in Lord Corona's keep.

What is the proximity of Minrath to Corona keep?
What is Lord Kelvin's proximity to Minrath and Corona keep?
What is the diplomatic situation between them?
What are the miltary statistics for Minrath? Size of army, provisions, that sort of thing.
Who are the government officials for Minrath and what background information can he dig up about them?

OOC:
Some of this Nevin might already know but Chris doesn't. Just trying to get a good grasp of the situation.

Nevin is an honored guest at Bakkra's home in Bree. There he has a fine dinner with Vistra. She is elated that you have come to visit her and she is excited to show you the sights in the city the next day.

The City State of Minrath is 15 miles south of Bree and about 50 miles south of Corona Keep. Lord Kaylen Bloodstorm, Lord of Bloodstorm Keep is located about 65 miles due east of Minrath and about 65 miles south-southeast of Corona Keep. There is a very uneasy truce between Dray and Minrath and thier allied forces at the present time. Lord Corona is allied with Dray and Kaylen is allied with Minrath. The two lords have clashed twice before. Once when Lord Kaylen invaded the lands of Lord Donsolot, Lord Corona intervened on Donsolot's side, defeating Kaylen's forces. When the forces of Dray and Minrath clashed near Corona Keep, it was Lord Corona's men that lead the final charge that defeated the Minrath forces, including Kaylen's men. Nevin already know's all of the above as it is common knowledge. I'll post the rest of the information soon.

Chris, see post under People Places and Things for the army summary. For a list of the towns allied with Minrath and Dray and a map of the area, go to the Westron links which are sticky under General Discussion and find the Westron Sourcebook.
I'll also post the political structure of Minrath under People Places and Things also.

Thanks Stu,

Once I digest that information I will most likely have some more things to do. Meanwhile I will stick around Minrath for a couple of days visiting Vistra.

Chris,
See my original post, Bakkra and Vistra live in the town of Bree, not Minrath. So at this time, Nevin is in Bree, correct?

Sorry, that is correct, Nevin is in Bree.

Forgot to post the following things:

Nevin is the one taking these actions and unless someone pipes up and says they came with, no one else came with me to Bree. I did let everyone in the party know where I was going and that I would be visiting with Vistra and that they were more than welcome to come along.

I took all my normal gear and took pains to make sure that I didn't broadcast where I was going to anyone.

Zazoo will go with you.

Espirit would go, but he has a family matter to attend to on the Isle of Cassandra. He'll be out of action for a bit.

If you happen to run into an unusual looking fellow named Norrin (purplish skin...) on the way to Bree, he'll be glad to accompany you.

Zazoo, Nevin, Bakka and his three cousins, Vistra, Thia and thee uniformed constables, are all having a private dinner at the Sparkling Waters Inn in Bree. The meal is over and the group is engaged in conversation over drinks. The three constables excused themselves and Nevin and Zazoo can see one of them standing on the deck outside the window, she looks alert as she scans the surrounding area as the sun light fades over the lake.

If you (Ross/ Chris) have any questions or want to say anything, please post what you say and clearly indicate who you are looking at when you speak.

I think that Luusi might be in a position to hear lots of things that might shed some light on this subject. Has anyone befriended her? *Nevin looks at Bakkra when asking this*
Salgone is definitely mixed up in this; he has directly benefited from the increase in raids and has gotten into fights with Lord Corona's men. I also believe he can't be working alone. It might be useful to pay attention to where the money is going to and from in the docks of Bree.
There are direct connections from D1 to D3, who appointed Thom and what politcal backing did he get? *Nevin will look around the room at each person but moreso at Thia*
I'm not sure what I can do about Krem, I would probably need to ask my friends about this. Do you know his current movements? *Nevin looks at Zazoo and Thia*


Sorry, this was hurriedly done, might have more later but answer these for now.

Still having dinner in Bree, Nevin asks a few questions...
Bakkra " Luusi is near impossible, she'll say one thing today and change her mind tomorrow. She wields little political power, unlike Hayes before her. She was just in the right place at the right time. If you want to try and be her friend, be my guest (laughing)."

Vistra "She's not your type Nevin, perhaps master Zazoo can charm her."

Thia "It is clear that Brice was keeping Salgone, as well as the raiders, well supplied. Before the raids, there is no history that Brice, Salgone, and Kaylen had any sort of relationship with each other. It had to have taken a considerable amount of money to establish supply points, purchase initial supplies, plan and implement this whole effort. Neither Brice nor Salgone had anything close to that kind of available funding, Kaylen, maybe; but why would Kaylen trust these two business men from Bree whom he doesn't know? I find it hard to believe that these three got together all on their own."

Kathra "I don't think this is all about money, perhaps for Brice and Salgone it was, but there is something else going on here and we have to figure out what it is. (Bakkra and Orsik nod their heads in agreement)"

Orsik "There are political connections between all of the districts, not just D1 and D3. Ministers move around from time to time and assistants from one district become head ministers in a nearby district. A MoT might move up and become DM in a nearby district and so on. Thom was appointed by the Consulate, just like all of us. Many supported his appointment, all of us (the four ministers present) included. I believe that even Kardella Gecon supported Thom's appointment; I think she just wanted to get rid of him."

Thia "No, we only catch sight of Krem occasionally. We'll follow him for a time, but he always manages to vanish when he notices he's being followed, I think he's part Eladrin. Do any of your friends even know what Krem looks like?"

To Thia:
I was actually thinking there was a connection between Krem and Brice/Salgone. From what I have heard, Kardella strikes me as the person to delegate that sort of interaction. Those three are all in Bree and had a much higher chance of getting together.

To Kathra
I never said it was all about the money, I said to watch the money trail going in and out of the docks. Money is power in those sorts of places and someone pumped some money in that caused the bandits to appear. I wouldn't be suprised if I found out the bandits were S&S mercenaries.

To Orsik
Hmm, I know it maybe a coincidence but when ministers from one district that is decidedly pro Minrath move to another district that is decidedly pro Minrath and then bad stuff starts happening to the pro Dray district in between them ... something in my gut tells me that there is foul play afoot.

To room
So it seems to me that there are three places we could start checking.

We could find Salgone and find out if it really is his mercenaries being used as bandits and who paid him to do so. However, we already have suspicions about who that is and that leads me to number two.

We could find and question Krem. Something tells me he might be hard to find and even harder to capture.

Or we could go at it from the D3 side of things and find out what Kaylens role in all of this is.

OOC:
I wasn't at most of the bandits sessions so I don't know if there are other things that I should know that I don't.

...is this Nevin saying all of this aloud at the dinner table or is this Chris thinking?

Aloud, except for the speculation on what we could be checking on the statements were answers to specific people. Ill edit it to say who I am responding to.

Thia "Yes, if Kardella Gecon were involved, she would have Krem make any contacts with Brice and Salgone's representatives. It would be rare for Kardella Gecon to directly connect herself with someone she was having questionable dealings with. In that respect, she is like most polititians. (a pause) My pardon madams (glances at Kathra and Tobera) and masters (looks at Bakkra and Orsik)."

Bakkra "...well yes, Kardella Gecon would not contact Brice or Salgone directly, she would use someone like Krem. Finding Krem would be a challenge. Perhaps Master Zazoo could think of a plan to draw Krem out into the open. Krem likely knows much of what is going on, we just have to figure out how to find him."

Kathra "Yes, money is power. If we're to watch the flow of money, that would be a job for Bakkra. From what I've heard, the bandits are not S&S, Thia, Bakkra?"

Bakkra "Yes, I'll have some of my people take a reading on trade levels for the docks of Bree and let you (Zazoo/ Nevin) know what I find out. Yes, Thia and her sisters have determined that for the most part, Salgone did not use his own men."

Thia "The first group of bandits were ogres and goblins, clearly not S&S mercs. The third group was comprised of former prison inmates that Salgone convinced Quinten to release into his custody. The ranks of the inmates was bolstered by hired professional mercenaries and the whole group was commanded by Evilmar. After these bandits were dealt with, then the Nightmares took over. As far as we can tell, the raiders were not S&S regulars. Salgone couldn't risk having men wearing his colors raiding caravans and villages, that would be bad for business when your company is suppose to be guarding caravans. Salgone is easy to find, just contact him at the S&S Guildhouse in Bree but you're wasting your time, it's not his mercenaries who were the raiders, only Evilmar and he was likely in disguise."

Orsik "hmmm.... I wouldn't call any of the districts pro-Dray. D1 extends across the lake all the way to Dray just as D2 does. In fact, D1 and D2 would be pro-Dray in that they are the two districts that extend toward Dray and have the most people within them that are allied with Dray. Ministers are always on the move, advancing in position, I wouldn't make much of the moves between D1 and D3."

Tobera "Yes, if the Roughnecks could figure out a way to travel in D3 without being noticed by Kaylen and his forces, you might be able to determine how deeply Kaylen is involved. Your diversity works a little bit (looks at Zazoo) against you here. Not too many dwarves, eladrin, dragonborn, halflings, or loud female paladins of Avandra near Bloodstorm Keep. I have a feeling that Lord Kaylen would know that you were in the area."

There isn't much else Nevin wants to know, that should provide a good starting off point for the next session.

Nevin will chit chat for the rest of the night and leave for Corona Keep in the morning.

Chris Wrote: So I will concentrate my investigations to District 2 and District 3. All the ministers for those two regions. There has got to be some sort of connection for them wanting to get rid of us nobodies like maybe trying to get rid of Corona Keep or something.

While letting his food digest and enjoying the view and pleasing company, Nevin gets the feeling that he is on the right track and that something he heard earlier in the eveving, along with what he's heard from his fellow Roughnecks could lead to a plan of action that will blow the whole situation wide open. If only the Connection between ______ and _______ could be figured out and why __________ ....

I think the DM is trying to get his super secret storyline revealed so we all can enjoy his super deep thoughtpower.

Well, I have been assuming that the connection is between Kardella and Kaylen. The why I have no idea except for guesses.

To get rid of Lord Corona is my best guess since there seems to be bad blood between them. Not sure what Kardella's take on it except maybe for political power.

Was I that far off base?

So our mission is to take out Lord Corona, right.

That's been a given since day one.

Whatever Zazoo commands, I will follow. Zazoo Roughnecks!