Ninestars, seat of House Templeton

[Dirty Chai]

Ninestars is white-grey castle overlooking a high valley beneath the southern wing of Mountains of the Moon. It is perched upon a low rock, and uses a gorge and a few small rivers as its moat - with the portcullis entrance spanning across the chasm from a long wooden bridge and drawbridge. The rock it is seated upon descends to the river on the other side, and the lower part of the fort contains a small village within the walls, while the higher peak of the plateau holds the lord's holdfast and the might pointed towers of its keep.

Ninestars is so named for the stonecircle in its courtyard, composed of nine ancient runestones with large stars carved into them, often painted red by the inhabitants of the castle so that they are easily visible.

Recently, the lord's sister has disappeared, and ealdormen have been nailing notices in their villages declaring a large bounty will be paid for the safe return of the lady Lorraine Templeton.

Lord: Ser Symond Templeton
Liege: Ser Artys Waxley
Lord Paramount: Lord Jon Arryn

House Templeton:
- Symond Templeton, aged 25 in 270 AL
- Lorraine Templeton, aged 25 in 270 AL
- Erren Templeton, aged 17 in 270 AL
- Ben Templeton, aged 38 in 270 AL

Infrastructure & Government of Ninestars

Buildings/Upgrades

- III. Barracks: +2,500 Militia Points, 15% cheaper professional troop hire.
- III. Holdfast: +3 Siege Defence rolls. Holdfast acts as a second castle within the first, which has the basic +siege bonus plus the Tier I and Tier II bonuses. Will survive a 6 month (3.5 day) siege from when the outer castle falls.

Edicts

n/a

Trade Treaties

Ninestars' Resource: Stone
- no trade partners yet..

Tax, Excise, & Census Survey

- 30,000 dragons in avg. land revenue from Ninestars

Military of Ninestars

Levy n/a Militia n/a Standing Forces n/a

[Oznerol]

Templeton:

She was ours once. Maybe twice. Or more. No longer is the case, I do not know the whereabouts of your sister. I have her son with me, however. You might like to meet your nephew one day.

Signed: Harrold Hunter.

[Lord Dread]

With the war having come to an end and letters from the Eyrie arriving at Ninestars, men of House Arryn would deliver at some point the promised sum of 10,000 Dragons as reparations for all Vale Houses.

With news of the disappearence of Lady Templeton, Ser Garth Stoneborn, Sentinel of the Eyrie and current steward would ride out to investigate the case at hand, appearing with a small retiniue on Ser Templeton's court, requesting a meeting.

[Dirty Chai]

With news of the disappearence of Lady Templeton, Ser Garth Stoneborn, Sentinel of the Eyrie and current steward would ride out to investigate the case at hand, appearing with a small retiniue on Ser Templeton's court, requesting a meeting.

Ser Stoneborn and his party cross over the wooden bridge and under the portcullis, entering into the small but robust fortress the Templetons had built over the course of centuries. In the center of the courtyard, true to legend, sits nine great stones arrayed in a circle, with great stars carved into them painted blood red.

Once dismounted, the steward and his followers are led up some stairs and into the keep, where the lord meets them on that lower floor. The Knight of Ninestars is a young man though no child, with dark brown hair hanging to his shoulders and a nose crooked as if his mother had been a witch, though handsome enough otherwise with cold blue eyes and a shapely jaw.

"Hail steward, what business do you bring before me?"

A lone rider clad in mismatched black plate approaches the keep atop a painted horse, one that has clearly seen some wear. On his wrists are golden ringlets of various shapes and sizes, and a dirty chain of the same colour hangs about his neck like a torque. As he gets closer, he takes off his helm, tucking it under his arm, revealing a shock of dark red hair and a gaunt, clean shaven face. Loudly, the knight requests for the men of Templeton to open the gates, claiming that he wishes to see the Knight of Ninestars.

The hedge knight is allowed across the bridge after some haggling and, after passing under the portcullis, he enters into the courtyard - where nine large rocks emerge from the muddy square in a rather exact circle, with great stars carved into them, currently painted with crimson dye.

He is made to dismount, his horse taken to the stables a few feet away, and emerging from the keep is the ser of the fortress, with three lackeys at his side. The knight strides across the dour courtyard, glancing at the grey sky above him just once.

"I assume by the armor you possess that you are a knight," the ser said as he stopped ten feet from the dark-plated visitor.
"What do you want, .. ser?"

[Gandalfus]

A lone rider clad in mismatched black plate approaches the keep atop a painted horse, one that has clearly seen some wear. On his wrists are golden ringlets of various shapes and sizes, and a dirty chain of the same colour hangs about his neck like a torque. As he gets closer, he takes off his helm, tucking it under his arm, revealing a shock of dark red hair and a gaunt, clean shaven face. Loudly, the knight requests for the men of Templeton to open the gates, claiming that he wishes to see the Knight of Ninestars.

[Alexandrine]

A Raven arrives, Ser Symond Templeton is invited by his liege to visit him at Wickenden.

[Gandalfus]

With a crude grin spread across his face, the hedge knight walks forward, a tattered dark-coloured cloak flowing behind him. Staring down his lengthy nose at the Knight of Ninestars, there is a pause, awkward yet brief.
"I've come to find what you seek, Knight of Ninestars." Something about him was awry, clearly, he was Westerosi, yet his voice had a lilt that was hard to pin-down, like a mixture of a dozen tongues. Studying his counterparts, the wanderer's gaze was sharp, never resting on one figure for very long.

[Dirty Chai]

The knight grimaced. He had a frown that suggested he wasn't pleasant company, revealing a dour, cold demeanor.
"Come inside, then," he beckoned, looking around the courtyard as if he didn't want words of his sister spoken so loud, even when the whole Vale already knew.

The keep was a robust, square thing, with a round, curving cap - the stonework old and practical but the wooden roofing new and stylistic.
Inside was a bottom-floor hall, with a floor of wooden planks covered by rugs and room for four tables only - not even a dais for the lord.

Templeton turned around as they entered into the entry hall, and stood expectantly.
"Where did you hear of this?" he nearly growled, though it seemed that was simply how he spoke much of the time, even when not agitated.

[Gandalfus]

"Hearsay as I passed through the Riverlands." He replied dismissively, still keeping the unnerving smile as his watchful eyes scanned his new surroundings.
"I can get her back for you." That was no guarantee, of course - it depended largely on the reward, as well as who held her. For certes, she had been captured, or killed; noble ladies don't just go missing.

[Dirty Chai]

The knight glanced at one of his men-at-arms.
"This is a delicate matter, wanderer, she must be returned unharmed. And she will not likely go with you willingly."

[Gandalfus]

"I understand, perfectly." Running a hand through his fine red hair, Lothston paused for a time, before clearing his throat rather obnoxiously.
​"And what would the reward be, milord?"

[Dirty Chai]

"Sixty thousand dragons," the knight answered, still growling out a harsh tone.
"And I think I know who has her," he admitted, somewhat ashamedly.

[Gandalfus]

Lothston's grin remained, and he nodded, contented with the price.

"Who, milord?" ​He enquired, leaning in to listen.

[Dirty Chai]

"That bastard cretin Lord Hunter," answered Templeton, nearly yelling.
"He claims otherwise, but his words insult me and my house. He has a shameful history with her."

[Gandalfus]

Biting his lip to stifle a chuckle, the urge to laugh thankfully passed before it could be noticed.

"Lord Hunter... Of Longbow Hall." He said, making an effort to recall the various houses of Westeros, and their relative importance.

"I'll return her to you. Unharmed, as you say." Now the contract was hashed out, Lothston could make a start. With a curt bow of the head, the hedge knight left as quickly as he arrived, ready to depart north in search of his quarry.

[Poach]

Ryon Lefford arrives at Ninestars in the company of a few men at arms and scribes, seeking an audience with the Knight.

[OOC: I assume you won't say no.]

Once in the hall, Ryon made his case.

"Ser, I come as a representative of Lannisport," said Ryon, "The city looks to expand and will need skilled stonemasons and craftsmen to do so. The Vale is renowned for such men, and I hope to contract some from you. Lannisport would be willing to negotiate hiring these talents, and I have 13,000 gold Dragons with which to do so."

[OOC: Trade gold for stone. I don't think they'd literally ship huge stone blocks across a Continent so I'm improvising on what he actually wants.]

[Dirty Chai]

(Am I trading mechanically with the Golden Tooth or with Lannisport?)

It was a small, square hall, at the bottom of a cold, grey rectangle of a holdfast. The floor was wooden planking, lazily covered with rugs. Symond frowned. Westermen were rich, famously. He wondered if his fortress was .. quaint, to their eyes. To be honest, he might agree with them. However, the walls were sturdy and robust, something one couldn't argue with. And perchance something the Westermen were after.

"There are two score villages or so in my lands. I can easily round up a company from half of them within a week, send them back with you," the Knight answered, thinking aloud. He had cold blue eyes, a crooked nose. Couldn't call him handsome, but he wasn't ugly, either.

"I 'ave naught any building plans for the future, so I'll gladly take coin for a handful of serfs, if you'll wait out a week or so."
That wasn't entirely legal, but who enforced these laws?

[Poach]

[OOC: Lannisport.]

Ryon nodded in agreement.

"I'm happy to wait a while," he said, "from what I hear of Valemen construction it's worth it."

"Did you serve in the war, Ser?" he asked after a moment of silence. Ryon knew the Vale fought against Daemon as the Westerlands did, but had little understanding of their defeat at King's Landing.

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