Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #27 - A Letter From the Viscount Himself!

To Elsderth Greyhawk, in care of the scribes of his Royal Highness, Krugraf Mykul I

It is considered rude, without taste, and at best, quite unusual for a Head of State such as myself to relieve unsolicited correspondence from a mere commoner, even one that was in my rough employ, such as yourself.

But you are quite an unusual man yourself, Elsderth Greyhawk.

The audacity to personally pen me a letter, from paper from my own personal collection, no less, was almost infuriating.  Your tendency to to assume my geographic acumen in regards to the domain I rules was wanting would have elicited calls for your capture and execution among lesser rulers.

But I must admit a certain base admiration towards your effort, a recognition of your determination to continue to send letters from remote locations, and a particular amusement as you have your endeavor has been adapted from seeking knowledge to finding adventure wherever you go.

Let this letter state boldly that this letter, the first an unknown quantity to be sent in care of the Krugraf Mykul's scribes, was my first response to your entries.  The letter marks the arrival of your letter from Feraso City and confirms you never returned to your hometown, where Seneschal Torben Mikkelson was sending and hiding my responses.  In response to this knowledge Torben has fetched my letters, and in respect for your great efforts, I will attempt to answer your concerns and update you on the situations you first addressed.

In your second letter, you addressed the number of costumed banditry, illegally assuming the roles of legitimate toll takers harassing the travelers of the River Road along the Serrault River, specifically between Taymouth and Eastguard

While my trade advisers have never reported such issues, to comprehend the veracity of your statements, I ordered my military leaders to assemble small units of soldiers dressed as peasantry and merchants in attempt to draw these vile individuals out, if they indeed, in fact, exist.

Almost instantly, reports of engagements between the soldiers and your very surprised bandits returned to my hand, as well as letters from the local constabulary and trade officials, protesting the secret use of the Viscount's barracks for undocumented needs.

I discovered a sudden need to replace the local trade officers, as well as all local constables, some with aged but experienced sergeants and officers who should have retired after their recent "secret mission."

As the title of Viscount demands of me, I can assure you that stretch of road is as safe as I can make it without removing it from existence and chasing all forms of life away.

I have instructed my new Trade Minister, the gnome Lord Fulco Wanderblaze of Osnabrolt, to reinforce road patrols with members of the river patrol.  I have also instructed Lord Fulco to direct any horsemanship lessons to Master Mork in Taymouth, but to make no mention as to why he is benefiting such a windfall from the Viscount's men.

If barge pirates do emerge from this, the river traffic is much more important the lives of basic travelers.  I hope you, an educated scribe would understand, but I will not pine away, waiting for your acceptance.

***The next few paragraphs discuss the apple crop in Verbobonc in the season.  The crop looks successful, with only some minor concerns***

DM Notes:  The Viscount of Verbobonc is reading Elsderth's letters!  And has been for quite some time now, only Elsderth hasn't returned to Feldkurton to retrieve them!  With the new address for correspondence, Wilifrick has attempted to restart two-way communication with his agent in the field with some positives he acted upon his intelligence, but the success might be fleeting if the road bandits turn to raiding the river barges.

He's also warned Elsderth through the apple harvest.  As a scribe, Elsderth would frequently use apple harvest letters and documents to hide coded messages for the Viscount and his envoys.  Now, he has been given his own personal code for dealing with Royal Court and his advisers.  I pray we see his response whenever he gets back to Feraso City to fetch this letter.

At this rate, I anticipate a few more letters from the Viscount in the future.

Next #28 - The Purvmone

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