Kethira-720TR-Harn-Chybisa-Meldun
Meldun (fortified manor)
The village of Meldun is right where two streams join together; the road crosses the first at a ford with the front gates of an inn directly on the east side, a 2-story sprawling building. It was old, but well-maintained. The lettering on the sign is faded but the hanging tankard is really all the sign necessary. [1]
The road turns to cross the other stream at a bridge of heavy wooden timbers; it is old but clearly had recently been repaired behind which is the manor house. Across the road lay a mill which clearly does good business. [1]
From In Genin's Footsteps by Julian Verdreth, 715 TR: [2]
About 2 leagues from Meldun, the trail runs right through the forest. This is a fairly dark stretch, with some unnerving sounds from the wildlife, but I have not yet been attacked by the Pagaelin while within the forest. It is a spooky place, and probably awakens superstitious fear within the barbarians.
Meldun manor will be visible right after leaving the forest, and the road improves beyond that. Meldun lies where two streams join. There is a simple ford through a small stream to get to the Hearthfire Inn, and a wooden bridge over the other stream to connect the Hearthfire’s commons to the rest of the village and the trail south.
Many people choose to stay for a day or two at Meldun, resting at the inn and resupplying. This ends the dangerous portion of the trip. Sir Ernald Kasing, bailiff of Meldun, is a stern man but fair. The village around the manor holds about a hundred and seventy people, nearly all serfs. The place is doing tolerably well, and the crops have the usual high yield that one expects of Chybisa.
Avoid Mad Dalya. Her tiny hut is close to the bridge across from the inn. She is generally regarded as a witch and terrifies many of the neighbors. It is likely that she would have been cast out of the village years ago, were it not for her extensive knowledge of healing herbs.
Once your nerves have recovered, the remainder of the trip is straight-forward. Beyond Meldun lies Docialon…
Places
Manor House
The manor house itself is a 3-story affair of stone and heavy timber, separated from the road by a wide open area. Archers can be seen on the roof if one looks carefully. Stout rail fences turn the area into a serviceable corral. A fair-sized stable lays off to the left of the main house with outbuildings to the right. [1]
Hearthfire Inn
The Hearthfire inn is decent and usually has a few rooms available. The ale’s good, the mead fair, and the food is... filling. [1]
It has a smallish common room, lit by lanterns set on an old wagon wheel up in the rafters. Five plank tables and benches are present plus a good-sized fire near the counter that often provides more light than the lanterns. The fire obviously is for both heat and kitchen; a round woman with thinning gray hair is stirring a kettle over the flames which smells of long-cooked meat and barley. Stew, or more likely a pottage. [1]
Baths are available. In the stables, Larry is the ostler. [1]
People
Some of the notable inhabitants of the village are described here.
Sir Ernald Kasing
Sir Ernald Kasing is middling tall and stout, with thick shoulders and well-muscled arms. Gray hair streaked with white and a neatly trimmed short beard gives him a distinguished look that goes well with the ruddy, smiling face it frames. He is often dressed in simple brown workclothes with short sleeves but holds an unmistakable air of command. [1]
He was originally a commoner, knighted for his exemplary service to the king during The Treasure War. See his tale, below. [1]
Sal
Sal is the bonded master ostler of the manor. He is a slender, middle-aged man with thinning white hair and a dark tan. He had a wide smile and a look of competence. [1]
Horses seem comfortable around him. He talks to them like they were people and cares for them like they were his children. He usually has some pieces of apple in his pockets for them. [1]
He has four apprentices: Jamiy, Evin, Liam, and Morton [1]
Mad Dalya
Her tiny hut is close to the bridge across from the inn. She is generally regarded as a witch and terrifies many of the neighbors. It is likely that she would have been cast out of the village years ago, were it not for her extensive knowledge of healing herbs. [2]
Lore
Sir Kasing's Tale
As told at dinner one night. [1]
Sir Kasing finished his ale and tapped it for a refill. “The tale is known to many in Chybisa, but few beyond our borders. If you like, I shall tell the tale over cobbler.” In a few moments, he continued. “Aye, I was knighted in acknowledgement of military actions. I was born in Caermel village to a minor clan, and spent some years as a hunter. When I came of age, I joined the King’s forces as an archer. In 675, I was on duty in Burzyn, helping to man the walls when the troubles with Kaldor began.
“When Kaldor’s advance forces rode south out of the Trail, we had little warning. Fast-riding men, to be sure; but there is only so much that can be done in two days to defend against an army. All over the valley we harvested what we could, working by torchlight. We put the animals inside and chinked weak walls. Men posted at every strongpoint watched and waited, sharpening their blades and crafting more arrows. The peasantry waited inside manor walls, or dispersed into the woods in hopes of being away from the battles to come. The usual ways of impending war, as I’m sure you see.
“Most of the war was fought as skirmishes here and there, with few simple battlefields. As such things often are, the Treasure War was a series of small contests over one manor or another. A series of contests over resources and whether soldiers could safely move about. But in our valley, we have hills and turns, box canyons and terrain that Kaldor seldom sees in such abundance – or so well surveyed. And we know how to use it to our advantage; we do not have such a need for stout keeps as you; we have more chances to use the land itself for our defense. And so, even without castles to project the power of armored knights, as do all right for ourselves. Every manor in Chybisa is stone, built to withstand the rigors of war. And we are a small place; there are only 3 actual keeps in the whole kingdom. And, of course, Caer Burzyn itself.
“But Larani seemed to favor Kaldor this time; the fields right here at Meldun were taken, as were the resources of Docialon. Shuris held out, and its’ fields were burned from one end to the other. Its’ garrison was killed to the last man, and any peasants they could still find were rounded up and slaughtered. It’s just down the river from us about 2 leagues; you could pole a raft there and see the damage even today.
“With those three manors in Kaldor’s hands, they had a secure foothold and could block the trail from merchants, yet resupply their own troops with impunity. Before long, Aecelrin fell, and then Kynadin and Shenadun. Caermel held out longer, but soon the enemy was besieging Brigmer, just across the river from Burzyn itself. Wynere fell in a day; they sent troops south from Shenadun and east from Brigmer. Faced with troops on two fronts and nowhere to go, the Lord of Wynere capitulated.
“And that gave Kaldor all of Chybisa north of the Ulmerien. Worse, it gave them control of the river. Troops down the river from Shuris opposite Onden, troops at Wynere, and all along the shores between. Burzyn could only resupply by land from the south, and far too soon the troops of Kaldor overran our southern manors as well. Erenes, Aneril, Ieardel; without those, Burzyn was cut off from eastern Chybisa. They took Harik in only three days, then Touwyn and Brigasel; without those, we were largely cut off from our western manors – and they had beachheads. They had cut Chybisa into thirds, and lords started to capitulate.
“Onden held out for six months, but when it fell, it took less than a month for all the manors within three leagues to surrender. Lerenil held out eight months, but as soon as Kaldor took Gallar and held Kesdunid, the matter was never in doubt. Geda held out for nearly a year, but it hardly mattered to those of us in the royal castle. We couldn’t leave; Torastra’s men had kept a cordon around us since Brigmer fell.”
His voice swelled with pride. “But Burzyn never fell. For three years, we remained inside that castle. For three years, we lived on long-dried scraps and water, waited for the occasional boat to slip through the river blockade and deliver food. For three years, I and a few others chanced slipping outside the walls to run through the enemy lines and bring back whatever food we could steal, whatever meat we could scavenge — I have eaten more rat than I care to remember. Whatever I could get from people still secretly loyal. I managed to disable some of Torastra’s supplies and equipment from time to time.
“For three years, we worried about how long before disease and starvation forced us to surrender. Towards the end, I was one of the leaders of the garrison, trying to keep the men ready to fight. More than one man died in my arms as I tried to help them, victim of hunger and Kaldor’s arrows. Finally, in 678, King Balesir had enough. We were all too thin, too weak, and our morale too low. Too many times, soldiers had deserted, went over the walls to capture and food. He obtained the honors of war from Torastra and surrendered the castle.
“I had the chance to put an arrow in Torastra’s head from my battlements as he approached, but the King himself bade me hold.
“Those of us who were not noble spent a bad few months after Balesir — no longer King — went to Melderyn, even worse than the past years. Torastra killed many of us, but he imprisoned me instead for interrogation. Soon enough, he let me go — with Chybisa firmly in his hands, there wasn’t much he needed me to tell him. I went back to being a hunter. Those were bad years, trying to keep distance between myself and the Kaldor regime.
“Then in 687, Balesir returned at the head of an army. He moved as swiftly as had Torastra, and retook his kingdom. Even before the ceremony to again anoint him King of Chybisa, he had sent word that he wanted me to be there — me, and all the others who had stood with him to the end.
“Most of the others were dead. Killed by Torastra’s men, or dead from the usual hazards of being a professional soldier. But me he remembered. Me he remembered by name, had kept records of my whereabouts. After all, he was deposed, but not without contacts here. He remembered what I had done, how I had acted.
“And he honored me and my clan by knighting me for my deeds in defense of the Royal House of Chybisa. Knighted me and gave me this position. I’ve held Meldun for the House of Geledoth ever since.”
“I have learned riding, and swords, and all the other skills expected of a knight. I am good enough to teach others. But I still rely upon my bow. I train every day, and I lead my men in training every tenday. We have created places all over these lands where an archer can command the road and the fields. And my men know these places, and how to get to them.
“Further, I have not trained only the yeomen and the garrison. Most every able-bodied man among the peasantry is skilled with a bow, and no small number of them made their own bows. All can make their own arrows, and we have no small supply of them cached here and there. They know simple weapons and how to use them to good effect. The roof of this manor is an observation platform that commands a view of the road almost as soon as it exits the King’s forest, manned constantly by archers.
“I have had thirty years to plan, and to train. Many of the men I am training now are the sons and grandsons of those I first trained. The peasantry are not nearly as good as the yeomen and the men-at-arms, of course, but they are more than good enough and they know that if I fail they may be asked to stand between Chybisa and another invasion.
“So be forewarned. The taking of Meldun in 675 was the beginning of the war. That shall not happen again. The knight who held these lands in 675 died soon after. Now, it is I who guards Chybisa’s northern reaches, and it will not be easy to take Meldun again. We do not need to wait for reinforcing knights to arrive on horseback, we train in how to move unseen about our lands, and we will not stand still to be engaged in close combat. The knights who believe they can slaughter my serfs with impunity will be dead before they can be surprised at their error.
“So long as it is the King’s will that I am here, I will hold Meldun for Chybisa. I will hold it against the Pagaelin. I will hold it against Kaldor. I will hold it against Melderyn. I will hold it against anyone who seeks to take our lands, or to depose the House of Geledoth. May Larani have mercy upon them, for I will not.
“And even if every other manor in the kingdom were taken, I have pledged to the King as I did to his father that I will make of Meldun a staging ground, a strongpoint where others may rally in safety to take back our lands!”