5. Mounted Borderer Station - Anshan

Timber stacks, rope hoists, and a half-raised platform over a stone footing. Boots out on patrol, bunks half-empty, standards tight. Law rides from here.

Read-aloud (arrival)

Gate Guard: “State your purpose in Anstan—trade, patrol support, or looking for trouble.”
Sergeant (without looking away): “Keep those planks moving! Lash the brace, then the pin—no, in that order.”
Sergeant (to you): “Weapons stay sheathed and peace-bonded in the yard. If you’re carrying trophies, keep them bagged.”
Gate Guard: “You’ll report to Captain Roanik. He will want your route, what you’ve seen on the road, and anything that smells like raiders.”

The post at a glance (map notes)

• Gate rail & yard: Open rail, hitch posts, two feed bins under a lean-to; blackwater puddles everywhere (difficult terrain when rushed).
• Stone tower base: Square, 20 ft a side; interior stores, ladder well, and a roofless ring of merlon stubs.
• Scaffolding: Two levels of staging, rope & pulley, tarred lashings; Athletics/Acrobatics DC 12 to move at speed; DC 14 in rain.
• Bunkhouse shed: Eight cots, usually three free; boot-rack, oil chest, oaths carved into a beam.
• Stable strip: Four stalls; tack hook with spare steel caps and two tower shields (loaners).
• Board & desk: Bounty notices, patrol rota, a slate with bridge status, and a brass stamp for receipt of reports.

Who’s in charge

Captain Para Roanik

Brisk, even, and allergic to surprises. Treats civilians like provisional scouts until proven otherwise.

• Tone to the PCs (2nd person, quick): “Names first, business second. If you’re headed east, you’ll report back what you see. If you’re not, say so now and I’ll sleep easier.”
• Powers & remit: Keep roads open, suppress banditry/smuggling, act as justice in the field, and haul noble offenders before the Viscount if needed. Values small, efficient teams, high readiness, and clean chain of custody on intel.
• Supply tie-in: This site’s expansion rides on Sir Simon Milinous’s network—stone, nails, and drafts routed from his holdings; politics are… present.

Services, gear, and expectations

• What they’ll sell (at cost): oil flasks, twine, nails, canvas bandages, 1 day coarse rations, torches; rare loan of a tower shield.
• What they’ll trade for: solid intel (map marks, tracks, tokens), labor on scaffolding/bridge, escorting a plank train from the mill.
• What they won’t share: troop schedules or patrol timings (“Information is coin I can’t spare.”).
• Report protocol: Speak to the desk, hand over one physical proof (track sketch, token), get stamped receipt; serious items go by rider to Ostverk for the Longriders’ files.

Personnel you’ll meet

• Desk sergeant (“pen-hand”): makes the yard run; has the brass stamp and the dry humor.
• Quartermaster’s lad: all elbows and inventory tags; can scrounge a coil of good rope if you didn’t waste his time.
• Two lance pairs in rotation: shortbows cased, steel caps, studded leather; one veteran with chain and his own opinions. (Ranks run Trooper → Sergeant; officers by Knight grades.)

Hooks & micro-scenes

• “Boards for the Bridge.” Escort ten planks from Alston’s Mill and hold the span while they nail. On a failure, the bridge groans and drops a rail—Dex save DC 12 or go knee-deep.
• “Raise the Platform.” Help rig the next staging tier: Tools (Carpenter’s), Athletics, or Survival checks (3 successes before 2 failures). Success buys you a day of rations each and Roanik’s attention.
• “Floodlight.” Fog pushes at dusk; Roanik wants the tower beacon lit and sighted. Spot checks at height; on a fail, you glimpse a silent watcher in reed-color just before it slides away.
• “Justice in the yard.” Two villagers and a netter argue over a leech barrel. Mediate (Persuasion/Intimidation) to avoid cudgels and debt notes.

Law, fealty, and where this post sits

• Fealty: Borderers swear directly to the Viscount; on the ground they liaise with nobles but retain arrest and field-justice powers. Expect friction but firm courtesy.
• Local nobles: Outpost expansion is logged under House Milinous provisioning; land itself lies on House Asbury’s marches. Paper travels both ways; Roanik keeps it tidy.

If steel comes out (battle features)

• Scaffold lanes: Narrow; Acrobatics DC 12 to avoid slipping when dashing.
• Rope hoists: Use Object to drop a sandbag (1d6 bludgeoning, prone on failed Dex save DC 12).
• Shield rack: Two tower shields count as half cover for a 5-ft square if planted.
• Yard puddles: Difficult terrain; a forced march through the yard risks a thrown shoe (lose 10 ft speed for an hour unless tended).

Rewards & relationships

• Roanik’s regard: Deliver a clean, timely report or complete a site job → Dispo +1; at +2, she’ll vouch your Mirewatch Writ of Custody as “useful to patrols.”
• Borderer favor (minor): One free message-carry to Ostverk with your seal added to the dispatch pouch.
• Material: “Scout’s bundle”—oil, twine, 10’ pole, and a stamped chit for one stable night in Verbobonc depots.

Mounted Borderer Patrol

North–South Stream Trail (Fens of Tor)

A lean, mobile screen riding the stream’s bank to keep the marches quiet and the Viscounty safe.

Standard Complement

• Patrol size: 4 riders (a lance pair ×2) led by a sergeant. In surge conditions, 6–8 with a junior officer.
• Mounts & tack: Marsh-conditioned light horses, high pommel saddles, reed-waders (canvas wraps) for fetlock/cannon, feed for 2 days.
• Kit (each rider): shortbow w/ 20 arrows, cavalry spear or light lance, arming sword/hatchet, studded leather or chain shirt, steel cap, rattle-string (tin/shells), 50 ft rope, 2 oil flasks, poncho, insect veil, 1 day coarse rations.
• Shared gear: pole hooks, collapsible plank slats (4), small hand-axe, tarred canvas, signal horn, 2 spare horseshoes, field chalk, beacon kit (pitch-pot & wick).

Daily Pattern (typical)

• Dawn: Stand-to at nearest high point, horn check with nearest post/tower.
• Morning leg (southbound or northbound): Ride single file along the stream trail, scouting 30–60 ft ahead. Mark fresh sign with blue chalk and a twig flag.
• Noon: Water/hoof check in shade; rotate point rider; quick plank repair on bad boardwalks.
• Afternoon leg: Cross-check side ditches and culverts; question gatherers/herb-cutters; log livestock losses.
• Dusk: Establish a noise ward (rattle-string, kettle tap, drip line) and a small smokeless beacon if visibility drops; bivouac on known knolls.

Rules of the Road (SOP)

1. Names first, business second. Civilians hailed, not harried. Trophies stay bagged.
2. Weapons sheathed in settlements. Bond blades at gates; report at the desk for stamp/receipt.
3. Silence kills. Maintain continuous noise at night (hymn hum, rattle-string, drip line) to deter “things that drink quiet.”
4. Do not chase into open fen at night. Track, mark, report. Live riders carry better news.
5. Every plank is a promise. If a boardwalk fails under your horse, you replace it or flag it before moving on.

Signals

• One short horn: Halt/eyes up.
• Two shorts: Form line, shields front.
• Long & short: Beacon or smoke up.
• Rattle-string fast tap: Night watch rotation; keep the ward alive.

Likely Contacts & Responses

• Gatherers & leechers: Offer road advice; buy info with a water skin refill or escort to next flag.
• Eel-oil runners / smugglers: Confiscate oil, cut culvert boards, leave writ at tavern.
• Striders of Fharlanghn: Accept blessings, request trail conditions; reciprocate with safe bivouac notes.

Threat Book (swamp dangers)

• Stirge clouds: Target mounts first. Response: torches, oil smoke, shield two-by-two; drive off rather than slaughter near herds.
• Quaking mats / sink patches: Probe with polehooks; lay plank slats; never cross at a trot.
• Lizardfolk scouts/raiders: Test you with javelins then fade. Mark spoor (webbed toeprints, reed fetishes), fall back to firm ground, call for a second patrol before pursuing.
• Bog-owl & fen-cats: Harriers at dusk; keep mounts masked/hooded; loud clap to break stoop.
• Will-o’-wisps & false lights: Treat steady hovering lights as hostile; form up and keep talking; no single riders to investigate.
• Rot-fever & bite-rot: Clean wounds with boiled water + sweetflag; report fevers to parish for tincture.
• Whispered quiet (unnatural hush): Immediate noise ward; rotate sentry every 20 minutes; no whispered councils—speak normally or sing.

Interaction with PCs (use at the table)

• Challenge: “Halt at the rail. Names first, business second. Purpose on the stream road?”
• If cooperative: Share today’s pins (fresh spoor, broken planks, missing gatherers), sell at-cost kit (oil, twine, torches), request a bridge/boardwalk assist.
• If entering the fen proper: “No night pursuits and report by dusk—Captain Para will want your map marks and any tokens.”