Caravan of Inquisition

The Caravan of Inquisition was the overland journey of the crew of the HMS Dancer to the Temple Lands, where they were to received the Question and Punishment. It began in mid-YOG 895, and was led by the Schuelerite upper-priest, Father Vyktyr.

Wagons
The wagons were big enough for fifteen or twenty men to be crammed aboard with room for perhaps six of them to lie down at any given moment. They were heavy framed, without shock absorbers, springs, or anything resembling seats, sided with iron bars and roofed with iron gratings. They were basically dungeon cells on wheels, and the only overhead cover were canvas tarps which were tightly rolled and stowed behind the drivers' seats a lot of the time. Each wagon was drawn by two hill dragons. 

Route
The approximate route it travelled was from the city of Gorath to Zion, along the road network. Major stops included all villages on route, as well as the city of Twyngyth. The route within the Kingdom of Dohlar was along the Dohlaran Royal High Roads. From Gairlahs in the Duchy of Fern, they travelled via an undersized coasting brig to Shakym in the Princedom of Tanshar where they were once again placed in wagons.

Once the crew of the Dancer arrived in the Temple Lands, they were housed within the notorious prison, known as the Citadel of Schueler. While in the Citadel they were tortured, to include limb, and bone breaking, sleep deprivation, and other punishments. 

Guards
The Caravan had around fourty guards, mostly drawn from the Temple Guard and equipped with matchlock firearms:


 * Father Vyctyr Tahrlsahn – Leader of the caravan
 * Father Myrtan – second in command
 * Captain Walysh Zhu – Commander of the prisoner guard
 * Sergeant Wynn Zhadahng – well known for his cruel treatment of prisoners

Journey
Long before the crew of the Dancer were transported to the Temple Lands, it was decided to take them via land, as much as possible, so they could be paraded before the people along the route. It was also safer than a sea voyage, however short, due to the Charisian control of the seas.

When Father Vyktyr took possession of the prisoners, he verbally berated them, and when he finished his speech he had them all physically assaulted, "to instill discipline"; and packed within the wagons. Due to his over-zealousness, he ensured that every village was able to see his prisoners, which often led to assaults, and injury. He was noted for taking few precautions to protect his prisoners, and even fewer to ensure their health and survivablity.

During the first five-day and a half, they suffered about twelve deaths from the brutality of the guards.

Small Village Incident
While passing through a small Dohlaran village approximately 20-30 young men kept pace with the wagons and pelted the prisoners with stones. This resulted in one prisoner losing an eye, and another being knocked unconcious. The same prisoner later went berserk the following day while let out of his wagon to relief himself; he attacked a guard. This led to a mini-riot amongst the prisoners in his wagon, and required over forty guards to subdue. Afterwards, two guards had been injured, the berserking prisoner, and another had died, along with two others over the following days due to their injuries; and six had received broken bones. 

Twyngyth Incident
The Twyngyth Incident was noted for its lack of injuries or deaths among the prisoners; better security precautions had been taken, which resulted in fewer casualties.