Press down into the low lands after putting the horse down and hiding the bodies, giving the rider's weapons to Tess and Lock(his two companions). Head to Stormstead. Use the wooden pikes if there's a fight and send the others on forward if the riders' attention is focused on himself.
The lowlands were left mostly unaffected by the war. Untouched by raiders from either side, the peasants managed to remain somewhat prosperous. [4] The road to Stormstead is also relatively peaceful; although dozens of messengers were intercepted by Richard's intelligence system, banditry remained quite scarce along the roads, due to increased patrols and decrease of trade. You even meet a few bands of soldiers on your way to the Capital, tasked with dealing with any deserters or troublemakers exploiting these dark times. [4+1] That and the relatively good weather allow you to quickly travel to Stormstead without any interruption.
[6] The Capital is another matter. Although the levies have been disbanded a few days past now, the royal army remains in the capital, waiting from further orders from the Prince, who is apparently still dealing with a few matters with Edgard. When you try to approach the town, you are chased off - the soldiers are trying to limit the number of travelers coming and going in the city, in order to slow down the spread of the Grey Death, and much mistrust has started growing since evidence of Albert's poisoning started appearing. Since you are not a merchant nor someone living near who could be looking for something to buy, they figure you're up to no good; a few benevolent soldiers recommend the huge Altaregia or the extremely active Arborvent if you're looking for a job, and the others just tell you to bugger off.
You could try to infiltrate the town, announce your true identity, disguise yourself as a merchant or simply give up and live out your days as a farmer. The choice is yours.Edgard presents peace treaty documents to Richard to be signed. Rebellion is declared over.
Arrest warrant is issued on Trent Nathal. He is branded as a bandit and a renegade. Lord Harald is issued with the papers and ordered to arrest Trent.
Siege conditions of Stomrstead are to be lifted. Food rationing and policing are to be returned to peacetime status.
Blockade of trade to Stormstead is to be lifted. All of the noblemen's trade routes are to be restored.
Trade with Arendalis to be restricted. Blue dyes and other cloth materials from Arendalis are to be destryed too in the entire country.
[/] Richard signs the document without protesting, although he reads it at least three times to make sure he is not consenting to his own execution or giving away all his lands and sending himself in exile. The siege is lifted and the trade routes are restored; Richard orders the rebuilding of the bridge and will pay for the expenses come Spring.
[1] Charles does not take the ban on trade with his kingdom well. With his part of the Arendalis entirely impossible to navigate and Windheath embargoing him, he is cut off from the rest of the world, with his economy on the brink of collapse; the harvest are poor, there is no trade to import all the necessary goods and his troops are busy keeping Donnerstein at bay and as such cannot enforce peace in the country side, where bandits roam wildly. [4-2] Between that and the treason of Parnoth, Charles is now extremely cold towards Windheath, and more specifically Edgard, whom he blames for all his troubles.
Talinth sends a letter to the Regent detailing his findings so far and resumes his investigation, paying a visit to the temple of Liodnya.
A letter is sent to Edgard.
[5] You visit the place where you are most likely to learn anything - the Temple of Lyodnya in Stormstead, which is also the biggest temple of Lyodnya in the Adranic world. You manage to enter without any trouble, and after some time spent pretending to be praying, you are left alone. There are no guards around - this is a perfect opportunity to investigate, but you do not know where to begin.
You could go in the upper towers, where the High Priests of Lyodnya reside. If the heads of the religion have a hand in this, you would have good chances of proving it there. However, if this is an independent act done by a few disciples, they would probably reside somewhere in the lower levels. Where do you go?
A letter is sent to Dechire, alongside with a Palatine( NPC governor), to take over administration of the province in the name of the Crown until an appointment of new lord.
5d that was given to the duc of Dechire for navy building is to be used to construct basic warships, as overseen by the Palatine.
[1] The barons protest loudly and send you back the Palatine. They decided previously that they would choose who would rule over them, and that the crown would have no affair in it. Some also point out that it is not in the Lord's Regent authority to do permanent land grants, and others make comments about the fragility of your claim (you remember they did not side with you during the war).
The five ducats previously spent by the crown are all gone... Spent on troops, it appears, instead of ships. You'll have to send more if you want to have a royal navy.
Return North to Northwatch.
Once there declare the Order of the Ranger's Guard dead, those who were Rangers before its destruction shall remain Rangers but no new Rangers shall walk the lands.
In its place a new Order shall be founded, it shall be called the Band of the Black Wolf.
Order my levies to be disbanded but offer the men who rode with me places in the Band of the Black Wolf as well as those Rangers who remain.
Begin preparations for Winter upon my arrival, send scouts out to check the surrounding land, check the food stocks of Northwatch, etc.
Have scouts sent to patrol the border, and set up a schedule of patrol with three bands of riders with six men each to constantly patrol the border.
[4] The men who rode with you accept to join your little band (you conserve your regiment). However, some point out that you have no land to support them in the long run, and they start asking how you plan to remedy to that little problem.
The food stocks of Northwatch should hold through a normal winter, and the peasants will do the same.
Your men start patrolling the border; since there is no attempt to cross it, this quickly becomes one of the least popular chores in the fort.
Author
Topic: You are King III: Spring 938 AAL (Read 133285 times)