Ritone, a County of SaromatiaWelcome home.Ritone (rih-TONE) is the most southwestern county in Saromatia. It borders both the mountains and the southern seas. The Countess of Ritone has traditionally been an initiate of the Warrior Maiden, ever since the Lady Ritone received these lands for her service to Queen and country during the Second Dwarf Wars. Thus, the county has gotten a reputation as stern and warlike, which is mostly (if not entirely) true.
The Countess of RitoneCountess Charlee (shar-LEE) di Ritone is a distinguished woman in her late forties. She is, like her mother and grandmother before her, an initiate priestess of the Warrior Maiden as well as a countess. She greatly prefers the stark, blunt atmosphere of a general's office to a more formal court. While she is not too proud to listen to her advisors (that's what they're there for), once an order has been given, Charlee expects it to be followed.This is the woman you are to guard. Charlee doesn't mind an honor guard, but she chafes when her bodyguards follow her outside of the council chambers. Her the annoyance typically manifests as biting, sardonic wit directed at the guards. Luckily for you, you don't actually perform guard duty too often. You have other duties to attend to, after all. The countess is a big believer in the chain of command. She is not your direct superior. Sir Beatritz is your direct superior. If you go over Beatritz's head and go straight to the countess, you have better have a very good reason, or she will be very upset. The countess is married and disdains to take lovers, as so many of her peers do. Count Delfin is a grizzled veteran, a son of a northern baroness who fought extensively against the centaurs. Vicountess Aelis is their eldest daughter. Aelis, to her mother's dismay, is more interested in courtly love and poetry than tactics and strategy. Speculation runs rampant that Charlee may name someone else her successor.
The Castle LariLari (la-RYE) is the name of both a castle and the town that surrounds it. Lari is the home of the Countesses of Ritone. It was built by the third countess at the mouth of a pass leading down from the mountains, and has repelled dwarven attacks in the Third and Fourth Dwarf Wars. This is a military, fort-like castle, not a palace.The castle houses the Countess and her family, a score of knights, special skilled laborers, guards, and servants. "Special skilled laborers" includes a weaponsmith, a falconer, a physician (who also treats the knights' rhacos when the bird-mounts are sick or wounded), an alchemist, two seige engineers, and you all. The castle walls protect a large courtyard (used by knights and soldiers for training), the castle itself (which houses the aforementioned people), a stable and corral for the rhacos, a smithy, a mews (where the falcons live), and a stumpy, dumpy tower for the alchemist. (Rumor has it, when Countess Charlee's grandmother first hired an alchemist, the woman demanded a 'wizard's tower' as a condition of her employment. Unamused, the countess had a tall, round stone hut built for her.)
The Town of LariBehind the castle (no one wants to be between the castle and the foothills) lies a mid-sized town, also named Lari. Several dwarven families have set up low, semi-underground homes here and trade human goods for dwarven ones. Lari is one of the few places a human can, for a pretty price, actually purchase a small dwarven knife or hand axe. Lari also houses no fewer than three blacksmiths, all of whom can make average quality armor fittings, daggers, and arrowheads. The military-minded countess ensures their livelihood.There is a town market every Maidenday (the first day of the week). If you want to go shopping on another day, the best bet is to ask around at the "Kort and Carrot," Lari's inn and tavern. Zazabeth is likely to know which of her neighbors makes, say, pottery, and can direct you straight to the merchant's door. Three times a year (spring, summer, autumn), Lari hosts larger markets, with the Autumn Market Festival being the largest and most fun. Dwarves come down out of the mountains to enjoy the new ales, and merchants from all over Saromatia make the trip to Lari. Several egg-merchants from the north come every year, and those knights and noblewomen in need of a new rhacos buy them at this time.
Your BossSir Beatritz is, officially, Commander of Her Grace's Bodyguard. Her assistant commander does most of the actual work of recruiting, training, and scheduling the bodyguard unit. This frees Beatritz up for her unofficial job: Spymatrix of Ritone. She has a network of homing and pining pigeons that keep her in touch with agents around the county. She collects and synthesizes all sorts of information and rumors to assess threats both abroad (dwarves, mostly) and at home (other members of the Council, mostly).Sir Beatritz is a quiet woman; she long ago learned the value of silence. She keeps her voice soft, her movements small, and her posture still. She never figets. Her face is usually calm and composed, rarely giving any hint as to what she thinks about an agent or an assignment. That's in private; in public, she's much the same, but more outgoing and expressive. Of course, you all know she's a fine actress. You've seen her laugh and flirt with noblemen she personally dislikes, just to extract information from them. You all know better than to trust anything she says in public. And you're not entirely sure if you should always trust what she says in private. You are among the best of her recruits. You are entrusted with investigating those rumors and dealing with those problems that most directly affect the countess and county. Intrigue usually follows the court closely - and that's why you're usually kept with the court.
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