Reform the military. Turn the levies into levy reserves, increase discipline to Basic, increase equipment to Light.
Train a tenth of the troops apart from the others to begin with. Attempt to make them into non-commissioned officers; make them loyal, and teach them to raise the men's moral and keep them in line.
As specified, only converting Royal Demesne Troops.
NB: Using Anastasia to Train Troops this year means that she cannot lead armies in battle.
Recruitment Cost: Basic * 5 * 300 men + Light * 300 men = £21
Minus Commander Bonus = £11
Future Upkeep for Military: £9/Year
Full Royal Levy -
300 Basic Light Levies (Royal)
300 Militiamen Levies (Vassal)
Current Treasury Reserves: £69
Expected End-of-Year Balance: +£11[2] You do your best, but peasants are peasants, not warriors. You are able to train them to the standard you hope for the full army, but only barely. Perhaps, once these green troops have seen the elephant, you will be able to filter out the officers from the ranks.
Herr Gamel replies to the guards, "I am fleeing from witch! You should run too!" before running as quickly as he can. His long years on the hunt should enable him to slip the guards in the woods when he gets there!
[3 vs 6] "A likely story. You're coming with - hey, wait!" The pair of guards give chase, [1 vs 4] but catch up with you before you are able to reach the woods. They draw their axes rather than ask questions, and you panic as one swings his at you [4 vs 3], grabbing it and wrenching it from his grasp. You smack the man in the head with the blunt side of the axe and make another run for it, [4+1 vs 6] but his comrade is determined to catch you. He catches you by the leg with the head of his axe, tripping you to the ground!
The barbarian raises his axe for a killing blow [5 vs 4] but you bring your own axe around into his knee. He topples to the ground, screaming and clutching his leg, so you leave him be and flee rather than make matters worse.
The following morning, you meet Grewie of all people on the road...
The most senior of the blades turned briefly bowing to the mage as the 2 additional groups appeared from either side and joint the small group with the mage,
Delivered as promised mage, wait for us or return without us when you are done. All 15 head directly for the chiefs hall, if they arrive and Alexis is not spotted they ask the guards for anybody that is wearing the same equipment as them.
Attempt to convince the guards to go to the chief, if it works then head inside and find the treasury, fill my bag with gold and jewels.
If it fails then stay nearby in a concealed position and observe in case they leave.
Blades: Your blades do not arrive until the morning, too late to assist you here.
You approach the guards and attempt to get them to head to the chief to save him.
[2-2] You are wearing black leather armour and a
mask. The warriors draw their axes and advance upon you, shouting an alarm to any others who might be within hearing distance. Their numbers make up for your training advantage in combat, so the fight is pretty even.
[4+1 vs 6+1] You draw your blades in a flash, but they're already on top of you. An axe blade slashes past your arm, leaving a nasty gash. (2/3hp) [3+1 vs 6+1] You spin around to strike the one who just cut you, but another axe bites you in the shoulder. (1/3hp) You decide to make a retreat, [6+1 vs 5+1] slashing the guard in front of you's throat and leaping through the gap. [Flight: 2 vs 6] You run for it, trying to get to a safe hiding spot, but the guards corner you against a wall. [3+1 vs 1+1] You fight like a cornered beast, throwing a knife into the gut of one, stabbing another and tearing his axe from his hands before burying it in the throat of a third. The remaining two warriors hold back for a moment, giving you another opportunity to flee. [2 vs 2, 1 vs 5] You make it to the edge of the village before they catch up with you again, and one of them hurls something at you. [4+1 vs 1+1] The rock misses you, and you surprise them by turning around and catching one in the gut with a blade and the other with your fist. You piston your arm back and stab the winded one a few times.
Panting for breath and bleeding from two separate wounds, you limp back to the longhall and retrieve your other knife from the guard you threw it at on the way. [5] You manage to find a concealed spot in the rooftops and hide there overnight, trying your best to bind your wounds with torn scraps of clothing. [5 vs 2] Patrols scout the town through the night, but from your spot you are able to remain hidden until the morning comes. When it does, around mid-morning a crowd gathers around the chief's longhall [Stealth: 4 vs 6] as three young women wearing black leather armour are dragged into the town square. A young man wearing a brooch-clasped cloak emerges from the chief's longhall and denounces them as spies and assassins. [Torture: 1 vs 3] His allegations are alarmingly specific, going so far as to even name the murderer of his father as being an assassin from Meridian - you suspect the three of them broke under torture. You watch as the young chief orders nooses placed around their necks and they are dragged kicking and screaming to a tree to be hanged.
[1] You try to catch some sight of your other blades, but you can't see them. Either they're remaining in hiding or they've fled to avoid capture. Worse, the Alvings now have proof of your ill-conduct in their confessions.
"To clarify, I believe that it would now be a good idea to completely replace the roads on the outskirts of the city and begin construction of bridges. This would definetely allow for faster and kess codtly transportation of goods, no?
Commence the execution of the infrastructure project, with the King's permission. Start at the capital, and other sites were we have easy acces to resources and manpower.
((Someone should really find a name for those rivers))
As a result of investigations, you do determine that there are some infrastructural improvements to Meridon that could be conducted at a cost of £10. The works would provide a slight boost to the town's economy, but with the coming road plans there isn't much more improvement called for at this stage.
You order construction of the King's Road to begin, supervising the development yourself. Construction should take approximately a year, only after which will the results of the development become clear. [1+1] Unfortunately, during the following months there are several bad storms and replacement costs for materials drive the cost up by a further £5, even with your skills at construction.
[4, 5] Earls Gol and Breen both happily contribute to the cost of the road construction. In fact, Earl Breen contributes a full £15 rather than the expected £10. This goes a long way to covering the unexpected costs.
Outstanding Treasury Credit: £30
Treasury Reserves: £49Concerning the roads: have the town heralds announce that the Crown is offering a royal pardon to any briigands, formerly residing in Penters and displaced by the plague, who will join the road construction project. Should they have no surviving family, housing will be provided once work in the town's reconstruction begins.
[2] Your offer of amnesty is met by suspicion among the few bandits preying in the forests, who largely consider it to be a way to get them in one place for hanging. Only a handful of 'honest' labourers turn up.
<<Events Withdrawn Until Resolution Reached>>