1221.3 All the Leaves Are Brown

It's an unusually wet fall. One of the villages, Étang-sur-Arroux is particilarly hard pressed by flooding and they've had to evacuate the village. It seems as if the water isn't draining away and the clergy in Autun have asked Apollodorus for help in this matter.
"Jormungand, the village of Étang-sur-Arroux is within our covenant boundary, and it would behoove us to assist with the flooding problems they are experiencing. The bishop, Etienne the second, has asked me for assistance. Since you're the current Princeps, I'm placing this matter in your hands."

"A matter that shall have mah utmost attention - as soon as Ah finish this hotcake in the library," Jormungand confirms. "Whomever brought or hired Jean-Claude should be commended. By the by, as its the jotun clergy that's asking for assistance, how is our relationship with the usurping Saints and Gods? Did they say where they've all temporarily moved to?"

He will be sure not to drop any crumbs on any books nor get any grease anywhere while in the library. He will pull out the Covenant map to see where exactly Étang-sur-Arroux lies, and the main bodies of waters/rivers around it. Vaguely remembering some construction on the Somme River up North, he will inquire of the majordomo which shepherds, if any, graze around there, and will try to ask them if there's any kind of bank reinforcements (dykes) or irrigation ditches near those bodies of waters near the village. Lastly, he'll look for a Grog willing to accompany him and be the "Foster Uncle" if necessary (OOC: I just realized I hadn't created any grogs for myself yet... I am slack, sorry.). He was hoping for Seumas if the shepherd wasn't busy but then realized he had no way to communicate with the man.

With a final prayer to Thor for better weather he'll pack an overnight bag just in case and set off for the evacuee encampment.

"I do my best to intercede with the Church and the Duke, so that these matters don't concern the covenant as a whole. In truth, I wine and dine, and it is mighty fine. As to where the villagers are staying, I can't rightly say, but my guess is the bishop has used some Church property to keep the villagers safe, warm and dry."

OOC: go ahead and whip up some grogs that can aid in your communication efforts. You could've brought up to 4. Also, you might want to see if someone wants to run a companion on your story.

Seumas does speak French, with a score of 2. However, he has a bad stutter (the Afflicted Tongue Flaw).

And every time Alexandria clunks by as she attends to her duties, she looks at him with a Marge Simpson-esque grumble.

So who's being rounded up for this? I saw Seumas, and then Peregrine pointed out he's basically unintelligible when it comes to speaking French. I just want to get a clearer picture who's going along.

Jormungand to lead.
Seumas to guide.

Wilhem's getting dragged into another adventure. I'm probably going to have to suggest a bonus since we keep yanking him from his duties/done more than his fair share of work.
An unnamed Maul-wielding Shield Grog I'm posting tonight (sorry, work's been kicking my butt)
And actually, if Daffyd allows, I'd like to grab Deykin for his caprentry to look over the village houses if necessary. If we actually updated the Welsh family, he should have French 2 also.

Hmm... still need a talker... screw it. I'll just suck up the negative from the Gift. Unless someone else can think of a companion or character they want to introduce connected to Jormungand, we're good to go.

If Peregrine wants Willhelm to come, it's fine. He still has two other seasons to do as he please, which is within the normal course of things

I'm thinking he probably shouldn't (he has the Poor Flaw, and has to work three seasons a year...which, in his case, is sustenance hunting). Unless Jormungand does make it worth his while i.c. I would like to, as I think he'd be useful, but...shrug

That's right, you're playing him as unattached to the covenant...

Right. He's basically a woodsman, kind of like the mountain man in the old westerns who just comes into town every now and again to trade furs he's trapped, sell gold he's mined, and so on, who just uses the covenant as crash space when things get rough or the weather gets too icky for too long for him to think he's going to be able to survive on his own.

If the rain is so bad that it's flooding out whole villages, I can easily justify Wilhelm seeking shelter in the covenant, since the hunting's likely pretty scarce. For all I know, his shack might have gotten washed away. And his participation in the Winter thread already says that he met up with the group as he's out trying to hunt.

Okay, I've managed to justify it. Wilhelm can participate, since the rain has not only driven all the game to ground but washed away his shack, so he's had to seek shelter in the covenant for the time being (and if Jormangand wants to compensate him for taking him away from his livelihood, having a new shack/cottage/manorhouse would work), that way he can get back to his preferred lifestyle by winter. Sound good?

After he's done checking out the maps in the library and inquiring/informing Moire and Daffyd that he requires the services of their loved ones, he'll let Ostter(Shield Grog) know to prepare for a trip out in the morning, ask him anything he knows about bows, and wait for Wilhelm to bring in his catch in the kitchen. After he enters and moves to briefly warm himself by the fire, Jormungand approaches...

"Hunter Willhem! Mah good man, just the man Ah was looking for. Has hunting been good? Lots of rain, Ah hear. Makes tracking a bit difficult, Ah would assume. Matter a fact, been a bit of flooding down by a nearby town. You catching all of this?" As the look of bewilderment spreads on Willhelm's face, the magus will realize Willhelm's light grasp of French, and try to slow down. "Another newcomah, Ah see. Let me trah - let me try again. Is hunting bad with all the rain? Rain so bad, it is flooding South. I need to try to fix the flooding. I have guide for fields, someone to look at how the village walls are built, but I need a guide for the forest and rivers. Can you help? I will pay good silver. And your bows -" he points at the short bow currently strung across his back "-Ah will buy best sheepgut off next mutton slaughter and give you to make string."

If/while Willhelm pauses to digest what Jormungand says, he'll take this as a bargaining tactic, and add, "If you have a small garden, I will bless it in the Spring. They will grow big and fast. Help make what you hunt taste better next year. It is a good offer."

((OOC:: Let's play out the bargaining in character since neither of us have Bargain. I doubt Jormungand would know your shack was washed away)).

Wilhelm speaks enough French now (score of 2: "Basic conversation. You can sustain a short conversation on a common topic.") to pretty much follow what Jormungand is saying. He nods, sadly. [color=green]"Hunting's been very bad," he says with a heavy German accent. [color=green]"Animals have all drowned or moved up." He then pauses and looks thoughtful.

He had heard some of the locals talking about how the covenant has tried to help them, but isn't sure how much stock to put in it. [color=green]"My shack was by a creek, near the river. I stay here until spring, when I can rebuild."

Wilhelm chuckles. [color=green]"I have no garden. The herbs I use, I find in the forest. Along with everything else, I make myself or trade for."

"Oh." Jormungand seems thrown off that his offers were discarded. He had expected his offer of Blessing to be his trump card, and it fell flat. "Well, then, Ah guess you seem very capable of yourself." He seems a little lost as he mumbles back over what Willhelm said. "Wait! Oh! Rebuild? Was your home washed away by the flood? Ah could... Ah could offer you finished wood! Onesiphorus has an order in already to get through the factors for his work, Ah just need to add some more to it. And nails! Blacksmith apprentices always need more work - nothing like making nails, yes. And if you come on this trip with me, you'll meet Deykin. They're usually busy with their herding, but Ah remember we used to make time for our friends and neighbors at our old home. More friends, more hands, eh?"

Wilhelm thinks for a moment. [color=green]"Ja. I am not carpenter. Can't build good home. But good enough for me. More hands make work go better, make job faster, ja?

"Umm... ya? You still need to ask them though, but Ah can definitely get you the materials. Great! Well then, we leave tomorrow morning. Ah believe they're currently holed up on Church lands - Ah believe it would be better to talk to them first. If you don't know where these lands are, though, Ah've looked up the way to Étang-sur-Arroux on our maps."

You know, while he's here, Jormungad'll ask the Cook/Chef to help put together a food pack for four and a half (Deykin's a teenager).

A pack of food is prepared and the group head off towards the village.

When they arrive they see most of it inundated by water. The river appears to be flowing well, nothing is stagnating, but the water level just isn't going back into its traditional banks

"Hmm... Ah assumed there was something damming up the rivah," Jormungand drawls, "but the water still flows. Mah affinity with the elements is lacking - Ah can't speak to the Aquam like some might. There might be something in the riverbed... hmm..."

"Wait here a moment, lads. Ah'm going to see if Ah can see any signs in the water. Seumas, Willhelm, you two are the best Ah got who know the area, how about finding out which way is better to go for more information, upstream or down?" He walks a little bit into the slow-moving part of the flooded waters, and then with wild waving and shouting he'll try to spont a "Clear Sight of the Naiad", with Concentration if possible but he'll take what he can get.

Sta 2 + Int 5 + Aquam 5 + Gestures & Yelling 2 + 1d10.extra(10)=5 = 19, just barely short, unless this place has any kind of aura. I don't feel this is worth Confidence, so he ducks under in finishing the spell and tries to quickly glimpse left and right to catch anything causing the flood block in that brief moment.

Seumas's Area Lore roll: Int 0 + Area Lore 1 + die roll of 0 (with a Botch Check of 3) = 1.

Wilhelm's Area Lore roll: Int 0 + Area Lore 1 + die roll of 7 = 8 (9 if this counts as Woodlands).

When Jormungand comes back out of the water, Seumas says, "If I had known you wanted to go into the water, we could have asked Fiona for one of her potions." (with a heavy stutter and a bad accent).

(ooc – Clear Sight of the Naiad is Level 5, so that should be a success, shouldn't it?)

For non fatiguing spontaneous spells, you don't roll a die, unless you have Difficult Spontaneous Magic, and in that case it doesn't get added to the CS before dividing by 5. So, in this case your CS is 2+5+5+2=14/5=3. Just for future reference.

In any event, going into the water doesn't get Jormaungand any information other than it is extremely cold, and it is also rather clear, but not so clear that he thinks his spell was effective.