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[Skyrunner]

"I do not know, your Majesty, of how many ships would be needed. However, I am a believer of the idea that the ship-building should be centered in no more than two cities, one of them Dechire. Dechire has shipyards of the scale needed for a new military, abandoned for military use a long time, but still commissioning and launching mercantile ships every season. The sailors and soldiers to man the ships should, indeed, be called from the whole nation."

[Ghazkull]

You are all tallking here about war and offensives. Although the Heagar are known for their Raids everybody seems to forget that they are also known as traders? What do you think do they do with all their loot and their slaves? A great part of the things they loot, they sell off again. But not to us, the Eldans or the Selenids. They are selling most of their loot to the Ralkarians and the only reason the Ralkarian ships and cities are mostly unravaged is because of the massive bribes the Princes pay the Haegars. Still the Haegars despsie the Ralkarians, as untrustworthy, weak wimps waiting to be pressed for money. In my eyes, the Haegar would jump at the first offer of a, in their eyes, more honorable tradepartner. If we manage to position ourselves as better tradepartners than the Ralkarians and additionally manage to gain their respect, we would not only end up with a trade monopoly with them, i figure we would also have quite the Allies on our hands. But that is of course only my humble view of the Haegars.

While Harald spoke his haggard pale face had reddened and his grey foggy eyes, suddenly began to shine with intensity. Somehow his appereance seemed to look less like an impoverished noble but rather like a ragged explorer daunting the elements to find a new continent.

[Skyrunner]

"No!"

Rasgar stood up abruptly, making a cutting motion with his hand, then pivoted and bowed to the King.

"Forgive me, your majesty."

He then straightened and continued, looking at Harald.

"Trading with the Haegars will only serve to rationalize their raids. Would you pay a thief to buy the silver plate taken from your own house? As for trading . . . it is in the merchant's interest to agree to a monopoly with us, for a cost, then trade behind our backs, especially since we have proved to them that we cannot guard our coastline and must resort to buying our own plates back from them."

[micelus]

Osir laughed most unusually, and began to reply, but was interrupted by the Duc Rasgar. He glared at him. Eh, smart in a way.

"I be agreeing with the Duc Rasgar about that, I should know."

Osir stood up.

"Even so, the lord of the Pact is correct. The Haegar do trade with the fleshy cowards in the south...but not just because of the pay. Its simply too much of a journey for most raiders; they have to cross seas and storms and then risk an attack on the Ralkarians. And then if they do succeed in a little raiding, then what? They would have few to sell to. Besides, the Haegar have their own fields to till, and wouldn't risk a fallow field for too long...Nor would they even consider a trade monopoly, most Haegar are too crafty for that."

"Oh and yes, how is an embassy in anyway offensive? Its utterly peaceful!" Osir said with a hint of glee.


Done with his tirade, Osir sat back down.

[kingfisher1112]

After much more rowdy drinking, Tiakath finally closed up her bar. She starts feeling adventurous, maybe she could get inside the palace. She walked up some streets, seeing the castle guard. She decided, dammit, she was going to try it.
" Hello there, I have an audience with the king, and it is quite urgent. Can you let me in?

[Ghazkull]

Duc Rasgar, you may have understood me wrong. You seem to have forgotten the second part i said. We need their respect. Of course we shouldn't trade witht hem while they raid our coasts but that is the point. If we make an impression on them, gain their respect and manage to position ourselves as valuable tradepartners, the Haegar will stop raiding us. If we make them figure out that it's far more worthwhile for them to do their yearly raids down the Coasts of the Eldanic,the Selenids and the other Adranic nations, then coming back up and trading with US, instead of travelling  down the whole way to the Merchant Princes, we are already set with a Trade Agreement , about this you can be sure.  However this is not enough. As you say merely trading with them won't stop them from raiding as seen with the Ralkarians. The Haegar don't raid somebody if they respect him. When a Clan leader shows to be a "wimp" in their eyes other clans unite and plunder his lands, enslave his clan and so on. What we NEED additionally to a good position as trade partner is their Respect.

Harald grinned as an idea came to his mind.

Above all the Haegar respect good warriors. Let us invite their Clan Leaders to the tournament. They are not impressed by Wealth or men in shining armors. But they are impressed by men who can fight. If our Knights match theirs in the tournaments, they had to pay us respect. And during the tournament we could drop a few commentaries about our new built superior fleet and about that practical land route that is so much more convenient then travelling the whole way to the Ralkarians.

[Ardas]

"My lords, please settle down. Haegar trade with southerners only because they see them as good source of income, whereas our country ceased to be an attractive target for raids.
One way or another, we can attract them as traders and ensure that our shores remain unmolested.

Arborvent is the biggest city on the coast and I of all people would love to see more trade flowing there. If we can agree to organise two naval bases, one in Dechire and one in Altaregia,  both southern coast and river and the northern approch will be protected. Haegar do respect strength, but of a different kind. Tournaments and good presents will not placate them. What will impress them hovever is a sight of hundreds of sails along our shore, with thousands of swords that stand on the coast.

They will respect strength, and as such levies and navy are an immediate priority. But only in defensive capacity. We need to become their equals, not their enemies."

[Tiruin]

Renart listened to the conversation, it was fully focused on the Haegar and to answer that, he leaned forward to address the rest. "Navy or army, I agree with a meaningful show of strength. Our realm has been silent for too long, it's potential harbored by the occurrences of yesteryear.

"My King, and my fellow Lords, after the tournament - hoping it would occur soon, I take it upon myself to send at least two regiments of scouts past the Northwatch border and into Haegar territory for but a reconnaissance mission. As you all may know, the Northwatch is located near a small pass flanked by swampland, a passage which stretches to the border. Unfortunately, it is filled with raised mounds, mostly natural hills and gullies and to furthur that, the only arable land past the border lies within the perimeter of a castle, built after the War of the Longaxe in the Haegari retreat.

"In short, come the Summer, I would pledge most of my land's earnings into a venture into their territory and into building up a sizeable cavalry force, if feasible, to take advantage of the terrain while the Royal Navy is rebuilt."

If the stories told in the past were as true as he remembered, a successful embargo would ease the Realm's fortune, if ever a war should present itself. He trusted the might of naval superiority under Duke Rasgar.

He leaned over to Richard to ask him a personal question, "Lord Richard, when will the tournament commence?"

[Shootandrun]

Richard let the lords debate. He was looking at the scrolls of lord Edgar and making calculations in his mind. He listened to the discussion, of course, but only vaguely. Eventually, though, he decided it was time to intervene.

"My lords, please settle down. Trading with the Haegars is profitable for both of our peoples. While it may seem tempting to stop buying their slaves and cut their profits, I would strongly recommend to avoid doing that. Slaves can only be bought from them and the Duluks, and trade with these eastern savages is extremely uncertain - after all, they have to send land caravans through the Selenid lands and then merchant fleets across the sea to reach our shores. However, I agree that we should not encourage the Haegars to raid our own shores. We can simply refuse to buy Adrans from them, and inform them through our embassy that any raid against our ports will be considered an act of war. While these are empty threats when they come from other nations, we share land borders with them. Should the need arise, I suggest sending cavalry in their lands in retaliation to their raids. Haegars work in a clan system, and it is common in their culture to see a clan retaliate to a raid by raiding the culprits. They will learn to respect us quickly enough, since if I remember well their strength rests mostly at sea.

As for the tournament, it can probably begin in only a few days. There is some organization to be done and announcements to be made to the populace, and we must give time to the landless nobles that are away from the capital for them to come back, but it can otherwise be done rather quickly.

And finally, concerning levies. I do not know just yet how much troops the kingdom will raise, but I believe that we can all agree in that a show of strength may be necessary. I will probably demand at least one regiment from every landed nobles in times of peace, if only to man the forts of our realm. Keep that in mind when spending this year's taxes. I do not believe it is necessary to put a limit on the number of personal regiments a lord can have, but that is for the king to decide."

[Dragor23]

Theor remained silent in the discussion about the Haegars. He didn't know a lot about them and they managed without him. Perfect. Talking was not his strength anyway. Funny, that he mostly agreed with Richard in his cogitations. The culture of the Haegars was mostly based about strength. Finally he spoke up according to the plan of the Prince "I concur with the Marshal. Every noble should raise at least one regiment, the generals even three." Now to a other idea... "Also, I dare to ask if the generals and the marshal can pay our taxes to the crown after we paid our troops. With this system, we can have bigger levies for His Majesty."

[filiusenox]

Rust rested face first against the table, giving a yawn, one hand rubbing absently at his temple, the other still holding a cup of boiled water, which he could actually see the bottom of his cup through. He took a small, scalding sip, trying to get the pounding in his skull and dryness in his throat to go away. Far away.

"Oh gods I need something to do...this boredom, it must be killing me." he groaned under his breath, before looking over at Kylila, if she was there.

"Want to go spar?"

[Deep Waters]

Kylila had spent the majority of the day leaning against the railings of the stairs that led to their bedrooms, eyeing the patrons of the tavern for any potential threats to her liege. She'd been assessing one particularly dangerous-looking mercenary for a few minutes when a middle-aged man came up to her, dressed in the dusty, soiled rags of a peasant who had fallen on hard times, even for a peasant.

"Y's be th'fo'runner peacock* whose'a lookin' fer t'be hired?" The raggedy man asked in a thick regional dialect, which took the Ampyrian several moments to puzzle out. Before she could answer, the peasant continued, the question apparently being rhetorical, "Some purdeh'rag b'th'name'a Val-shay Nah-may been askin' 'round fer y's. He be askin' 'bout who y's ahr an' what y's b'doin' an' what y's b'wantin'." Kylila frowned as she attempted to decipher the man's accent. When she finally managed to get the gist of what the middle-aged man was trying to say, her frown turned from confused and thoughtful to outright stormy. She proceeded to interrogate the man, though it soon became obvious that he knew little more than what he had told her. As Kylila mulled over this new information, she noticed the worn-looking peasant's gaze on her, eyes hopeful.

'He's hoping for a reward, She realized with a sigh as she pulled out her money pouch (her share of coins, which had been given to her by Elric with much protest and reluctance on her part), dipped her hand in, and pulled out three coins- all of them silvery, though two of them had wolf heads stamped on them while the last had some sort of lizard or serpent. Kylila eyed the coins for a moment, still unfamiliar with the coinage of the realm she had found herself in, before reluctantly handing them to her wide-eyed informant, who immediately began to thank her profusely and rain the blessings of his gods down upon her. The knightess attempted to refute the praise and shoo him away, barely succeeding before her leige came almost-stumbling down the stairs.

-------------S------------

Rust rested face first against the table, giving a yawn, one hand rubbing absently at his temple, the other still holding a cup of boiled water, which he could actually see the bottom of his cup through. He took a small, scalding sip, trying to get the pounding in his skull and dryness in his throat to go away. Far away.

"Oh gods I need something to do...this boredom, it must be killing me." he groaned under his breath, before looking over at Kylila, if she was there.

"Want to go spar?"

Kylila frowns, though she answers wryly and with a hint of reluctance, "I have not drawn my sword for battle since before the mutiny. It would be wonderful to know that my skills have not deteriorated to unacceptable levels."

Kylila spars with Rust, holding back in the fight. Afterwards, barring unexpected happenings, she seeks information about the man who's been asking around for her. She also keeps her ears open for employment alternatives to the Comte Osport's offer.

*An archaic term used by Adrans in disparaging reference to the plumed helmets worn by Eldan soldiers during the bloody wars between their cultures. It has fallen out of use amongst the nobility, but amongst peasantry it has evolved into a term used for all foreign warriors- and sometimes even Adranic warriors they don't like.

[filiusenox]

Rust pushes his head and the rest of him from the table, heading toward the back door, if there was one, heading to a wider space with less people.

Rusty spars with Kylila, holding back as well, hoping to learn about the Ampyrian style of fighting, using sheathed blades. Then heads out and looks for a better place to live, such as a mansion, using his charisma if need be to find, letting Kylilia come with if she wishes.

[Iituem]

Outside the Castle...

When the powerfully moustachio'd Habarre returned to his office, he found a be-ragged middle-aged peasant waiting outside.  The presence of such filth highlighted the desperate need for decent protection in the Chemise.  As Habarre came into view, he saw the peasant stuff half a dozen silver coins into his rags and give an obsequious nod to him.

"Y's be th'fo'runner hen'messr* whose'a lookin' fer m'scle?"  The raggedy man spoke some thick hill dialect, confusing even to natives from the city.  He didn't bother waiting for a response.  "Th's a purdeh'rag b'th'name'a Witless John s's th'rs two ruff'ns at th'Ir'n Hn'd, arm'd'n'all.  O'n'f'm's a fo'rn'r p'cock.  S's th's in-fo-ma-shun's free, j'st m'k'n 'n 'n-tro-duck-shun.  S's t' k'p 'n 'r 't."

"What?"

"K'p 'n 'r 't.  Kee-up uuh-n ee-ee-er uh-t.  's'all."

The grubby middle-aged middle-man hangs around for a few moments on the off-chance of a tip.

*Henwife, a common slang for a brothel matron.  Henmaster would be the male version.

[Dwarmin]

"Sounds good enough for now.

Now, does anyone have further business to bring to this assembly?" The King Inquired.