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[Ardas]

Edgard looked  displeased and annoyed at Richard's comment.

"I will have you know that Duc Parnoth is my family through marriage and a future vassal to Windheath. You shall not touch him if you wish to keep this kingdom intact. Secondly, I thought we are here to discuss the solution to the kingdom's problems, not humour you and bow to your wishes. If you are in such a hurry to attack me while I am willing to negotiate then please, do so. I wanted to speak to both Cyril and Renart too, but it seems that you have have them on a leash and bound to your will, even though you are currently rebelling angainst the crown with a very dubious evidence."

Then Edgard smiled.

I will also have you know that I currently hold all bridges between north an the south, as well as all of Kingdom's cities: Lorvese, Stormstead, Arborvent and Spiritusaer, with Altaregia cut off by Westwatch and probably surrendering to Parnoth as we speak. Marquis Cyril, Renart, I would like to inform both of you that Prince Richard has no place to ressuply himself, and come winter, he will have nowhere to stay with the army and levies. No doubt he will burden you with the costs and quartering of troops and he will lose many men over winter, trying to siege any of my strongholds. I only want to resolve this confilct and settle this in amicable way. Prince has no way of winning and it will only get worse with time. I implore you therefore to either join me in Stormstead for further negotiations or remain neutral and return ot your fiefs for the winter."

Edgard ceased smiling and spoke sternly.

"Richard, you are in a hopeless position. Either spare the lives of your men and subjects of this kingdom or face defeat. Disperse your levies and hand over the army so we may continue the negotiations. I do not wish to see any more blood spilt."

[Shootandrun]

Richard bowed mockingly to Edgard, a false smile on his lips.

"I can see you planned this well, O master of politics and intrigue, O supreme general of the north... You are as blind in political matters as you are in war. Charles wants Parnoth's head - your good friend is in rebellion against the crown of Arendalis, and his lands will be seized. The northern part of the kingdom - the one which I control - is the richest, and come spring you will find yourself short on money before I do. Arendalis stands behind me, and by alliance so does Normark. And while the armies of these kingdoms are of no use, since they're busy fighting a war, Charles still has a fleet... One mightier than Parnoth's, if I remember well.

Spirituaser belongs to you only by name - with the few troops you left there to defend, it can be stormed overnight with minimal losses on my part. Your entire spy network is infiltrated and I know how many men you have in all the position you own - which means that I know how weak the garrison at Lorvese truly is, and that the entire south is left undefended. You are at war with the North of all of Adranic lands, Edgard, thanks to your folly with this alliance you offered to Parnoth. I am well willing to negotiate, Edgard, but know now that you will not trick me into believing my position is worst than it actually is - I know the number of men you have with more precision than you do, poor man, and I am not short on allies.

By spring, two thirds of the kingdom's income will be on my side, I will have the support of Arendalis and Normark, Parnoth will be forced to disband his forces unless he can pull money out of his arse, and you will be forced to defend your half of the kingdom against a force that is more than twice as powerful as yours. Your bluff has failed, Edgard.

I do not demand much. A council for the Regency, your forces to stand down or perhaps even to assist mine, and Parnoth to be put down, in order to preserve what's left of our relations with our neighbors. Is there truly so much harm in that?"

[Ghazkull]

Harald spit at the feet of the Prince.

Coward. A Prince who cannot hold his land alone. You would reign this land? Laughable! You cannot even win a war with your own nobles without outside help.

You are weak Richard. More than that you are a treacherous bastard. Your brother is dying and you have no better thing to do, than invite the hungry wolves into our lands? What do you think will they do, the Men from Normark and from Arendalis, once they have stormed our fortresse,s our Cities, looted the countryside and burned down our homesteads? Do you think they would leave? Why, tell my why oh great genius of Outside Affairs? What should keep them from staying right where they are?

But no it is not even that that takes the biscuit! Not that you invite foreign dogs into our lands because you cannot mount enough men to keep authority in your own land no. Your brother is dying of Grey Death a fact which you seem to coveniently forget every few minutes after somebody brings that up. You don't care for the well being of your brother. For you he is already dead isn't that so Prince Richard?

You already hungrily eye the throne while he lies dying, stretching out a hand in need of help and when somebody comes to grasp it you hack his hand off, just watching as Albert slowly dies in pain. But why should you care? Yes why? It's so convenient that if your brother dies you are the new king.

Most convenient. I call bullshit. I say you arranged the poisoning of your brother. It all fits so perfectly together. Your brother contracts the Grey Death. You leave the City. INSTEAD of staying with your brother. Instead of standing by him. You leave him and go. And the moment Edgard is so conveniently declared Regent you have a scapegoat. Isn't it so Prince? How convenient that Edgard is in the Capital when you raise the Royal Army how convenient that he raises his own men at the call that he is a traitor and a poisoner. HOW very convenient. And more so that he is in the Capital with your brother. And suddenly you can't reach him. Even now. All you cared for was the surrender of Edgard. I didn't hear one word out of your mouth how your brother fares.
Not a single moment you tried to get to him. You didnt even ask or command or at all tried to get to your brother to see him. To make sure he still lived.

You could have taken him with you to Altaregia. You could have called the Crown army to arms in the Capital and immediately arrested Edgard. But you didn't because your damn brother owuldn't die. Would he? And so you draw things out. Instead of negotiating peace and finding a way to help your brother you lay before us terms that we cannot accept, which forces us not to accept just so that we look like the traitors, so that this war draws out. And then there is of course Parnoth which must be dealt with first. And then there is the thing with the Raiders. And then Parnoth mus tbe given to Arendalis and then the Council mus tbe reinstituted. All before taking care of your brother, before helping him or trying to find a cure. And then when all is said and done you arrive in the Capital and with terror you realize that he has passed away. Very,very convenient isn't it?

while Harald talked, he dismounted his horse and had walked up and down between the two groups of nobles.

Isn't it so Richard?

[Shootandrun]

[2-3] Richard looked away for some time, lost in his thoughts. The silence stretched for a while, until he looked back at Harald. When he spoke again, his voice was but a whisper.

"Harald... I did not invite any foreign intervention in our lands. Your Lord Regent brought this upon himself - if he had not brought foreigners into the war, neither Arendalis nor Normark would have gotten involved into this, and-

Bah.

Perhaps I am indeed a fool... Perhaps I made a mistake. I have repeated my words many times, and yet it appears that I speak to deaf men; you are not the first one to call such conjectures, Harald, but I am tired of repeating myself. I am speaking to a wall made of lies, or perhaps stupidity; and I am tired of hoping for a logical response.

It was foolish of me to attempt this all in the first place. It was foolish of me to hope I could reach a peaceful settlement with a snake, a man they call mad and a noble who hates my family and my kind. It was foolish of me not to take this city in the beginning, even though I was not sure I was right. I should have stormed the palace, hanged the Regent and all those who decided to come to support his rule, and then made a council with the others.

The three of you do not wish this to end in peace - or at least, not in a peace I can agree to without fearing for my life. Goodbye, my lords. There is a man in the east that I must kill, and there is a kingdom that I must save. I have no time to waste on words, especially not with the likes of you.

[4] Once this is over, I will not execute any of you if you decide to surrender on a latter date. You will be allowed to keep most of your lands and vassals, although I will take what will be necessary from your demesnes to pay for the costs of this entire affair... If any of you three are not snakes but truly brave men - I am thinking about you, Theor, for I know Albert trusted you, even though I did not - and die on the field of battle, I will not punish your heirs for any crime you may have done.

If you do not surrender, or if Albert dies before the war is over, I'll plant your heads on spikes on the Iron Tower, and your successors will be able to watch them and meditate on the virtues of accepting an outstanding offer when it is given.

Gentlemen, may your deaths be swift and painless. Cyril, Renart, let's go back to the camp - we have a war to end."

[Iituem]

Talinth sighed and took off his helmet, long hair falling over his armor's collar as he sat down with Sahainn dutifully resting by his side to think for a while. His gaze shifted to Barran and Mary.
"Both of you. Whilst the criminals who plotted to make the King fall ill are still roaming free, we can not decide about your fate. It would only be proper to do so when they are caught and our King starts to heal. We now have another clue: before the elder brother died, he talked about Liodnya, and apparently tried to give me a name, but he was killed by an assassin...And I heard about a curse around town."

The knight stood up, swiftly putting his helmet back on before moving to leave with his worg friend, shooting a look at the Bravo before doing so.
"But Barran, tricking someone, and a maiden at that, is not what I would call befitting of someone who still considers himself a man of honor. Even if no one ever discovers about this, your image is stained for the afterlife. That woman loved and trusted you, and you paid her with treachery. I feel ashamed for you."

Talinth explains what he saw then moves to continue his investigation by a) trying to track down the source of what the brothers took to the castle the last day Barran allowed them in, b) searching for clues on that ralkarian assasin and c) try to discover what he can about the activities of Liodnya's agents around town.

Karas rejoins you in the morning, should you wish his assistance in your quest.  [6] You head to the castle and ask around about any indication of what the brothers might have brought in.  The Bravos, seeing Karas and having been informed ahead of time by their captain of his own investigation, allow you access to the king's wardrobe.  You spend about an hour searching through clothes when you stumble upon a slightly rough blue scarf that rings bells in your memory, though you do not recall why.  You pick it up and start feeling the texture when you become aware of a slight pricking in your fingers; as the scarf falls away you see a tiny spot of blood on your finger and notice the iron thorn woven into the threads.

You suddenly realise why the scarf looks familiar; it had been resting on the king's desk when you had been to see him.  Some servant must have taken it and replaced it in the wardrobe after he fell ill.  You stare with horror at the tiny speck of blood on your finger and try squeezing it and rubbing it away, but the prick in your skin is still there.  You barely noticed it happen; a man wearing the scarf might just think it an insect bite or itch.  Even though you feel fine now, you have fears about what this will mean for your immediate future.

Talinth has acquired Grey Death.  He is not yet showing symptoms.

[1] You follow up leads on what you believe to be the assassin who struck you, but find only that they either refer to some Selenid rabble-rouser stirring up cutpurses in the streets or to your own comrade (probably just because he is Ralkarian, so you give it little thought).  You have not been as subtle as you would like about it; chances are the assassin has probably noticed your search.

[3] Liodnya's agents, to the best of your knowledge, simply work in the local temple as priests and acolytes.  There is talk of dangerous magicians among His following, of course, but what more would one expect from the god of magic?  If you wanted to risk it, you could always just visit the temple.

Hire the Merc Regiment. (i'm not sure if i read that correctly...3 Ducats price and 0,5 Ducats upkeep?

You send Lady de Braganca away with a heavy purse of gold (3 ducats' worth) to arrange the contract.  If you are still alive, she will return come Winter with her allies.

Gather up every haegar loyal to the old regime and then ask them why exactly they still prefer the old regime.

[1+1] Only a handful of the old loyalists respond to your efforts; it seems being known to have supported Sigurd is a bad thing under the current regime.  [3] Those who do turn up cite blood-related reasons; Sigurd's father founded the clan and more importantly they prefer a Varchban ruler.  [2+1] They seem hesitant, but eventually agree that if Sigurd made his presence made known openly they would stand behind him.  They are not so sure about the hidden loyalists.

[3] One of the loyalists offers their house for you to stay in.  As you head back to it under cover of darkness, you become aware of whispers through the town; someone has reported seeing you and Sigurd searching for those who would support him.  It will not be long before news reaches the Jarl.

Trent's force were small compared to the rest as they marched out of the camp of the Prince's army, the flag waved about lightly in the win nearly at the head of the column, in front of it was Trent himself and eight other men. Their rugged cloaks colored to blend into forest and marshland alike, the bows tipped in green metal on either end placed in the quivers on their backs, and the way they carried themselves as if ready to blend into the ground at any moment set them off as Rangers.

"The last of the Rangers, the end of an order I was charged with leading ...", Trent thought bitterly as he turned back to face the road ahead of them. After a few seconds Trent just shook his head, and kicked the horse into a trot as the men behind him picked up pace to keep up with him.

March for the bridge northwest of Lorese and set up camp there.

Send scouts out to Harald's Demise and Lorese as well as the land north of the two, have them bring me knews of enemy placement, numbers, and movement.

Send three men to watch the coast the river for sign of the ships from Shipbreaker Isle, have them bring me notice of their sighting as quick as they can if they do.

No forces leave Lorvese to oppose you, so you hold the bridge easily.  Your men at the coast similarly take up position and will alert you as soon as they see ships coming toward Lorvese.  [5 vs 5, 6 vs 6] About half your scouts return, as the scouts at the named forts appear to be quite good at spotting their own kind.  Nevertheless they report a regiment of archers camped out in Lorvese, practicing drills and two more regiments garrisoned at Harald's Demise (both in addition to the standard fortress garrison).

[mesor]

Follow the guard cheerfully and ask the guard in an absent sort of way.
"What can you tell me of your master? He is a man of power here that much is very clear but what more can you tell me?"
Muse to myself as I wait for the guard to respond
"Hmm a man of wealth and power, This has a great deal of potential."

[Tiruin]

"Wait, wait!" Renart said, holding his hands up for all to see, "I understand the meaning of spatial dislocation for Richard and the King, but...accusing Richard of sending in foreign men to attack our lands? Where did you get that conclusion, my friend? If you mean the raiders who've sacked Dechire and Northwatch, then...I really see no beneficial outcome for Richard to attack his own vassal."

The notion was suspicious, where did that tangent come from?

"Before we all shoot each other, at least answer me this. Why are you bringing in foreign affairs into this," He looked at Harald, "my Comte?"

((I seem to have forgotten your title, Ghaz...))

[Kestrel_6]

"we have to show Aveline this! It clears both the Prince and Regent of the crime! This civil war could end! And so not worry, friend, I am here to assist in any way. We will get some revenge on this Assassin."

Karas carefully grabbed the cloth, and slowly went to Aveline's office

"We have found the method of poisoning. it appears to be a piece of iron coated in it, small enough to go unnoticed. Saer Talinth, sadly, has been infected. We need to tell the Regent, the Prince, every noble! We can stop this stupid civil war!"

Finally, Karas felt as if he was doing good. No more blood spilt by brothers, and this sensation was unusual.

Assassin's identity unknown, have to assume similar abilities. Another assassin with a bow, recruiting and army isn't good either.

Make sure Saer Talinth is watched by me or a Bravo. Trind to find this third Assassin, recruiting an army, to talk.

[Ghazkull]

How i come to that Notion? Why else would they dare to mount armies Renart? They dont have the power to defeat us. Arendalis has Donnerstein on its borders and Normark is too poor and thinly settled to bring up more than 10 Regiments. Even together both lands could not win a war against us. And now suddenly Richard behaves like we had to fear them? Nonesense. He invites them in here
for Normark the promise of Arborvent for Arendalis the promise of Parnoths head and maybe a Pact of Neutrality or an Alliance.

And why not they do the Dirty work for him and then he thinks he can get rid of them. But thats not the point the point is that he is again running away. I stand here, Theor stands here and Edgard stands here. Each and everyone willing of us to negotiate. And 5 minutes into the talk our prince runs off claiming that we are unreasonable men unwilling to strike peace and that he has to kill a traitor. Ridiculous

Time spent to await the Death of his brother. Time spent somewhere else while his brother is dying. And you Richard running off like that only gives weight to my point. If you were not a traitor if you would really care for you brother you would stand here and strike me down for my words. But all i see is a frightened little princeling wanting the throne desperately so desperately that he poisons his brother. So desperately that he strikes a deal with Arendalis.

[Ardas]

"My lords, I do not know to what extent you will be swayed by this but..."

Edgard gave a long whistle and waited for some time for a servant to come from the city and deliver him with a paper scroll.

Investigation done by Rakon and his men to find out how was king poisoned have borne some fruit. Apparently all of the nobles who died have had contact with blue Pactish cloth. A cloth for which the dye was produced and imported from Arendalis. All people who had contact with that exact load of dye have also died of Grey Death. Most interestignly of all, Grey Death first appeared in Pact. As it stands, we have fallen victim either to foul play or a merchant's mistake. The investigation is still ongoing, but as it stands right now, neither Prince nor I are guilty of His Majesty's illness. However, I would like to point to a fact that Prince Richard is still guilty of high treason for stealing royal army and using it against lawful Regency."

Edgard passed the scroll to Harald.
After you have a read, give it to others.

"As it stand now, we can all call it peace and get to the bottom of what are the Arendalis scum planning. Harald is very much right, Richard. You have been played for Charles' pawn and tool for revenge not only on Parnoth but also on us for our rising power. I give you chance to either surrender now or to ride off and continue this petty war. But everyone here is my witness, and we all have pretty much the same feeling about the situation. The choice is yours, Your Highness. Cyril, Renart, please, tell me what you think. Will you keep supporting the prince or finally say stop to this madness?"

[Shootandrun]

Richard turned around, frowning. He took the scroll and read it, and thought for a while.

"This changes everything... From Arendalis, hmm?"

The Prince shook his head. Then he spoke, reluctantly, looking down.

"I never had the intention to simply kill Parnoth, Edgard. I am not the fool you believe, though I stand here embarrassed. I planned to wipe out his armies before claiming his land for the crown. I must say, I did abuse of Charles anger - to borrow his fleets while plotting to take half of his lands. Now, however... I believe a meeting is in order, my lords. After all, we have to voice our allegiance to Lord Edgard for the duration of his regency, and, well... I think we have to talk of war. Parnoth and Charles may be behind this all - plotting to kill Albert to spark a civil war, then sending Parnoth in to ensure that I would not have an easy victory, thus making sure that most of the realm's armies would be destroyed in this affair..."

Realizing he was thinking aloud, the prince stopped, then dropped from his horse and kneel in front of Edgard, his head looking at the ground.

"Lord Edgard, in my name and that of all my followers, I apologize for my folly and the fact that I doubted the truth of your words. There was indeed an assassin behind the illness of my brother, but I accused the wrong man, and helped the rise of chaos. Though I committed no crime in the eyes of the law, I did in the eyes of the gods; thus, I will not complain if I have to pay for the damages to the bridge, once Spring has come.

However, I renew my demands; I wish to know who exactly raided the lands of my allies, and I wish for him and his men to pay for their crimes. There is no honor nor justification in attacking peasants; the culprits should at least pay for the damages, if they are not hanged."

[Ardas]

The Regent smiled and then assumed serious tone. He got off his horse too and raised the prince to his feet.

"My Prince, you only did what you thought was right, although it hurted me to see such a fine young man being blinded. There are many problmes we have right now, but i will not judge you or others at this time. Someone is undermining our kingdom and we need to stop it. As for the damages to your allies: I will pay them out of my own treasury, come spring. I hope this will settle the matter. I look forward to your men rebuilding the southern bridge.That should make us even."

Then Rgent turned to the gathered nobles
"Gentlemen, I believe we have ben out in this autumn cold for too long. Lets fold our banners and retire to the castle for serious discussion. If you don't mind me asking, Your Highness , could the army remain outside the city for next few days?  I need to get the city back to normality, and you can bring your bodyguard with you if you wish. Same goes for Renart and Cyril."

[Ghazkull]

Already did that my liege. The City is nice and calm now. And the Crows are fed.  I took the freedom to reestablish order.

[Shootandrun]

"I'll send word to lift the siege but remain there. However, there are a few things we need to talk about concerning Parnoth, Edgard, and before anything else I believe a messenger should be sent to him, informing him not to burn the bridge down. His reaction will tell us a lot about who's working for who, I believe."

Richard will attend the meeting in the city, bringing a few bodyguards along

[Ardas]

"Fair enough. I will give signals to everyone about the cessation of further hostilities."

The Regent declares the end to all hostilities against forces of Prince Richard and his allies. He declared himself to do the same.
Stormstead keep is chosen as the site for the council and negotiations. Security detail will be handled by Edgard's bodyguard and Bravos, but each noble is allowed to have his bodyguard close to him.

Spoiler: Letters to Parnoth and Rakon (click to show/hide)

Richard just heard of new evidence and surrendered. He agreed to call for white peace and to negotiate.
Cease all agression against his forces and do not destroy any more bridges or buildings. The conflict is over.

Come to Stormstead for negotionatiopns and withdraw from Altaregia.

Edgard