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Author Topic: You are a Lord II  (Read 33933 times)

Iituem

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #285 on: June 22, 2013, 04:29:12 am »

'Steward, I seek your assistance. The King has requested me to approach the spirits of the land. I will need sufficient sacrifices to appease them - your largest boars, wisest birds, fastest hounds. His Highness would be most pleased.'

"It is as good as done. I need a break from this pondering on the kingdom's taxes."

Go hunting for a Boar, an Owl and a Wolf.

Catching live beasts is always a challenge, but there's a reason you're the best.  You set out before dawn with the horses and hounds, ranging through the Royal Woods in search of your game.  [6+1] You come across the boar early on, but the creature catches you by surprise - and a great beast he is, too!  Easily the greatest boar you've ever seen, but he has the advantage and rushes the dogs before you can get a shot in with your bow. 

[2+1 vs 5]  Four of the hounds go down immediately, and the boar even gores one of the horses.  You try to get a clear shot in with your bow but miss wildly. (5/6hp Hemel)  [5+1 vs 6] The boar goes for another of the hunters, but you manage to shoot him in the flank.  The arrow barely phases the creature, but it draws his attention away from the hunter and over to you.  [2+1 vs 3] The boar squeals and charges you, but you expertly leap off your horse (it bolts) and roll away to safety.  [4+1 vs 5] The boar turns and charges again, and you manage to get out of the way but drop your bow.  [3+1 vs 6] You manage to get hold of the boar spear, but the beast charges and one of its tusks tears a nasty gash along your arm as you barrel out of the way. (4/6hp Hemel)  [5+1 vs 4]  You turn as the boar does, bracing yourself and planting the spear in the ground.  The boar charges again, and you catch it him in the shoulder with the spear.  The boar squeals and thrashes, trying to get to you.  [6+1 vs 1] You hold position as the boar drives further into the spear, but one of your huntsmen gets there in time with the club and smacks the creature hard at the back of the head, stunning it.  The peasants move in quickly, binding the boar by its legs and trussing it up for transport back.  The creature continues to thrash, but it is helpless now.  You locate your horse again and continue on.

[6] The hunt for a wolf seems to go fruitlessly for most of the day until late in the afternoon you stumble upon a huge she-wolf, larger than the boar, and a litter of pups.  You have a terrible realisation; this is no ordinary grey wolf, but a dire.  Once again, the wolf gets the drop on you and you fight desperately as she goes for your huntsmen.  [1+1 vs 3] The dire she-wolf hamstrings one of the horses immediately, the huntsman falling to the ground.  Instantly, the pups set upon him, worrying his flesh.  (3/6hp)  [3+1 vs 6] You helplessly fire an arrow at the beast, missing, as she takes your horse by the leg and brings it low, throwing you to the ground.  You hit the turf hard, but manage to roll away.  (2/6hp)  [2+1 vs 6] The wolf goes for your throat, catching your armoured bracers instead and digging her fangs deep into the metal. (1/6hp)  [3+1 vs 3] You draw your belt knife with your free hand and in a fit of desperation drive it into the she-wolf's throat.  She half-growls, half-howls and you feel her jaws loosen on your arm.  [2+1...] You try to stab again, but your fingers slip from the blood.  The wolf begins to tighten her jaws again [vs 6] and you feel the bone crack.  (0/6hp) As the world fades darkly you ball your fist [6 vs 2] and pummel her skull again and again in desperation until you are suddenly aware that she is no longer fighting.  You somehow managed to beat her senseless, though she still lives.  You collapse.

Later, when you awaken, you learn that they bound and brought back the she-wolf, subdued and alive, as per your instructions.  The peasants were able to slay the wolf cubs, bringing back their pelts - a buyer has already been found and you collect a windfall of £2 from the sale (to be used as you wish).  Finally, one of the falconers was able to bring down a snowy owl, [5] wounded but alive and of particularly white feathers.  All three beasts have been collected, and you are certain that this would constitute a truly magnificent sacrifice.

As it had better.  Apart from the three men you lost in the hunt, you have your own injuries to consider.  [4+1-2] Physician Kyle does his best, and fortunately his best is just good enough.  Your arm is fractured in several places and he resets it, extremely painfully, and you suffered a broken rib from falling off your horse.  He poultices the gash on your arm, and it festers for a time before finally healing with an ugly scar.  [6+1-1] Worse still is the fever, but Kyle is able to get you through it with a tincture of poppy seeds to manage the sickness and the pain.  Unfortunately, given the pain from your arm, you develop something of a habit of taking the poppy draught as a result.

You have earned £2!
Your arm is slowly mending, but for the rest of the year you will lack your archery bonus.
You have developed a mild addiction to poppywine.
You have acquired all three sacrificial beasts, all truly magnificent specimens.  You have no doubt that a very impressive spell could be accomplished with all three of them.


Grewie is silent for a moment.
"Thank you for this information. I am glad you have been so open."
Chat with him as long as is proper. Answer any questions I can that do not threaten royal security or somethignlike that. Once this is done, head out.

Return to the Alvings' land. Attempt to gain an audience with their leader.

[6] You return to the Alford, escort in tow, and are brought immediately to see their leader.  Unfortunately, before you can really react you are grabbed by burly men upon entering the longhall and forced to your knees.  Chief Sigrid, a wiry man with thick black hair and beard, stands from his wooden throne.  He carries a long, bright steel sword, and behind him are spiked the heads of six young women - all with a distinct family resemblance to Alexis.

"Beg for your life, Meridian," he orders, "and please, do your best to persuade me not to kill you.  I could use the entertainment."
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ansontan2000

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #286 on: June 22, 2013, 07:10:45 am »

The Lord Mayor leaves the council hall hurriedly, an idea fresh in his mind, and rushes into the castle with a smile on his face.

Audience with the King, plox.
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When a captain makes a mistake, a dozen men die.
When a commander makes a mistake, a thousand men die.
When an emperor makes a mistake, well, there is a game save for retry.

Ardas

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #287 on: June 22, 2013, 07:24:29 am »

The Lord Mayor leaves the council hall hurriedly, an idea fresh in his mind, and rushes into the castle with a smile on his face.

Audience with the King, plox.

Lord Mayor is ushered into the king's chambers without a delay.

"Yes, Lord Mayor? What do you want of me?"
« Last Edit: June 22, 2013, 08:09:22 am by Ardas »
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ansontan2000

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #288 on: June 22, 2013, 07:44:15 am »

"My King, I've just had the most brilliant idea! While conversing with some of my advisers, one of them started telling me of how a summer fair held in a nearby kingdom has brought with it much wealth and had some of our prospective merchants return with outright wagons filled to the brim with gold! Having such an event here would surely boost the economy of the Royal Demense, and give you much prestige, no?"
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When a soldier makes a mistake, one man dies.
When a captain makes a mistake, a dozen men die.
When a commander makes a mistake, a thousand men die.
When an emperor makes a mistake, well, there is a game save for retry.

Ardas

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #289 on: June 22, 2013, 08:11:02 am »

"My King, I've just had the most brilliant idea! While conversing with some of my advisers, one of them started telling me of how a summer fair held in a nearby kingdom has brought with it much wealth and had some of our prospective merchants return with outright wagons filled to the brim with gold! Having such an event here would surely boost the economy of the Royal Demense, and give you much prestige, no?"

"It is a wonderful idea, yes. I suspect however that such fair would need some investment, no? anyway, You are free to take from the city tax and institute the fair. Let it be an annual thing."
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ansontan2000

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #290 on: June 22, 2013, 08:16:17 am »

The Lord Mayor is obviously excited by this prospect, and bows before the king before taking his leave.

Find out how much it would cost to begin a yearly summer fair.
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When a soldier makes a mistake, one man dies.
When a captain makes a mistake, a dozen men die.
When a commander makes a mistake, a thousand men die.
When an emperor makes a mistake, well, there is a game save for retry.

Azthor

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #291 on: June 22, 2013, 10:40:46 am »

He finishes munching on a piece of veal before replying "Actually, Your Majesty, there is, indeed, much to be done here if we are to prevail over Sigrid's ambition, but as far as my part to play goes, it should not take too long. I shall head east as a diplomatic envoy. Is there anything in particular you'd like me to achieve while there?"


The day after, in the Throne Room.

Atsam calls a page over "Go and find us that mercenary captain who was around earlier, he must still be around the town. Tell him we are willing to pay full price for his services (£15), but there shall be no looting. He is to come to the castle grounds within the day if he is in interested"

Trace all paths (bridges) into Highreach and Meridon through the river from Alford, using Gamel's maps.
Send a page to find the mercenary captain, inviting him to the castle grounds for an audience.
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Digital Hellhound

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #292 on: June 22, 2013, 10:59:40 am »

With the hunt finished - providing able sacrifices - Hulen left the city with his servants and entourage. He would need to find an old place, a wild place, never before touched by man. The peasantry still hung to old superstitions in part, but if the wild ones hadn't been sacrificed to in a while... They'd always been feral, slaves to their animal wants and needs. But they knew power and they knew blood. He would be safe. As safe as he could be.

Hulen sets out with the boar, owl and she-wolf as well as the royal hunting birds. He seeks out a location of untouched wilderness and prepares for the ritual.
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Iituem

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #293 on: June 22, 2013, 11:06:06 am »

The Lord Mayor is obviously excited by this prospect, and bows before the king before taking his leave.

Find out how much it would cost to begin a yearly summer fair.

[6+1] Your creativity runs away with you a little bit.  You devise plans for a truly magnificent summer fair that would attract visitors from all across the neighbouring countries, and not surprisingly it costs an absolute fortune.  The good news is that with your experience in stewardship it's bound to be a success.

The cost of the fair would come to £8 annually, extravagant as you would make it.  While you would see some returns immediately, it might take a few years for reputation to spread and the fair to become actually profitable.  The returns on the fair will also likely be proportional to the amount of trade with other countries that Meridia is currently seeing; if you want more profit, engage in more trade.

He finishes munching on a piece of veal before replying "Actually, Your Majesty, there is, indeed, much to be done here if we are to prevail over Sigrid's ambition, but as far as my part to play goes, it should not take too long. I shall head east as a diplomatic envoy. Is there anything in particular you'd like me to achieve while there?"


The day after, in the Throne Room.

Atsam calls a page over "Go and find us that mercenary captain who was around earlier, he must still be around the town. Tell him we are willing to pay full price for his services (£15), but there shall be no looting. He is to come to the castle grounds within the day if he is in interested"

Trace all paths (bridges) into Highreach and Meridon through the river from Alford, using Gamel's maps.
Send a page to find the mercenary captain, inviting him to the castle grounds for an audience.




One trip to Gamel later and you have records of all of Meridia's bridges, plus markings of where the new Royal Road will be.  Wooden bridges are in brown, stone bridges in stone, and there is one recorded natural ford near Brighthall, deep in the forest.

With the hunt finished - providing able sacrifices - Hulen left the city with his servants and entourage. He would need to find an old place, a wild place, never before touched by man. The peasantry still hung to old superstitions in part, but if the wild ones hadn't been sacrificed to in a while... They'd always been feral, slaves to their animal wants and needs. But they knew power and they knew blood. He would be safe. As safe as he could be.

Hulen sets out with the boar, owl and she-wolf as well as the royal hunting birds. He seeks out a location of untouched wilderness and prepares for the ritual.

What preparations will you make?
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Let's Play Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magic Obscura! - The adventures of Jack Hunt, gentleman rogue.

No slaughtering every man, woman and child we see just to teleport to the moon.

kj1225

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #294 on: June 22, 2013, 11:17:14 am »

Kyle walks into the throne room.
"Chancellor I wish to speak to you about opening a college in the capital."
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ansontan2000

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #295 on: June 22, 2013, 11:50:54 am »

Replan a... Less extravagant summer fair that wouldn't run into debt. We can get more extravagant as we get more famous.
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When a soldier makes a mistake, one man dies.
When a captain makes a mistake, a dozen men die.
When a commander makes a mistake, a thousand men die.
When an emperor makes a mistake, well, there is a game save for retry.

Digital Hellhound

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #296 on: June 22, 2013, 11:51:43 am »

The clearing was perfect for their purposes. A few scattered boulders lay around, like altars created just for this purpose. The forest rose high around them, pressing down on their feeble band. Hulen felt a chill even through his furs and robes. This was their place, primordial, old. His servants had lit torches, making a perimeter around him and the sacrifices, forcing the power of man into the darkness. Light was good, always.

There was not much to do, here. Blood was the oldest and most powerful of all the forces in the world. The wild ones would hear the call of blood as surely as he heard the distant sounds of the forest now, and the nervous hooting of the captured owl, carried by a servant, and the whispers of his retinue. The royal falcon sat obediently on his wrist.

'We begin,' he whispered.

With one, swift move carried by years of experience, Hulen grabbed the bird with two hands, slamming it down against the rock. The falcon's skull cracked with a cry of pain, blood and broken bone falling on the dark soil.

'Spirits of the earth, I call to you! Stormborn! Woodshapers! Bloodied ones, great and terrible!' he shouted, feeling his voice crackle with power. At his side, his servants plunged spears into the vast boar. It thrashed and bled as it died, its blood gushing out on the ground. Good.

'Wolfblooded, I name you! Hounds of winter! Furies of the trees and the springs, children of the land! Born of blood, called to blood! I call you, wild ones! Come!'

With that, Hulen stepped back, and waited, and feared.

Begin the ritual, sacrificing the boar, the owl and the falcons (for good measure). Summon forth the wild ones, the nature spirits of the land.
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Ardas

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #297 on: June 22, 2013, 12:30:19 pm »


"Crusade you say? It is a holy undertaking, but a costly one as well. I might be inclined ot move out against the heathens if I am furnished with funds for it, and as you may have heard, the bishops of my country refused higher taxes on account of breaching ancient rights, even though the money is being collected to battle said pagans. If you manage to persuade bishops to accept higher taxes and transfer said money to my treasury, I shall be able to prepare an expedition.


"I could indeed attempt to persuade them, though my word alone would not be able to influence them so easily. If, perhaps, they were allowed to enact papal law upon their personal demenses, if they have not yet been able to do so, would surely sway them towards your point of view. Otherwise, it would take a show of faith, if you will, to convince them. If you need any ideas, I'm more than able to list a few for you, lordship."

Arcadius was intrigued. He was desperate for funds, appeasing papists in short term seemed worth the price.
""hat options do you have in mind, chaplain?"
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GreatWyrmGold

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #298 on: June 22, 2013, 12:36:45 pm »

Why did I come here? I knew something like this would happen...

Grewie calms himself, concentrating. If the worst happened, which chances are it will, the mage would need his magic to escape with his life or do as much damage to his killers as he could.
After several seconds, Grewie spoke.

"Greetings, Mighty Chief. I am honored to be able to speak with you directly. I humbly come before you to discuss the matter of the tribute requested by your tribe. It has recently gone up quite sharply; in part due to the needs of a transitioning court, we are having trouble procuring the required sum. I was sent to inquire why you had requested the larger sum and, if all went well, to find a peaceful solution that makes both nations more powerful and prosperous."

Make the speech, prepare a spell. If and only if anyone attacks or otherwise acts hostile, cast a spell to kill as many of the guards in the room as possible and ideally the Chief himself without harming me too much.
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Iituem

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Re: You are a Lord II
« Reply #299 on: June 22, 2013, 12:56:38 pm »

Begin the ritual, sacrificing the boar, the owl and the falcons (for good measure). Summon forth the wild ones, the nature spirits of the land.

You aren't quite as familiar with the correct summoning rites for such spirits, but blood is always a powerful call.  The blood of the birds and boar soaks into the earth as you complete your call, and for a moment you think you have failed.  When the dying screams of the beasts have faded, you hear nothing but the rustling of the leaves in the breeze, like the gentle whispering of a thousand souls.

It is only when you look around you that you realise there is no breeze, and the leaves do not move.  The whispering grows under it becomes like the crashing of waves, and the flames of your torches flicker and gutter in a wind you do not feel.  The flames seem to physically tear away from the torches and come unstuck, flying away from their source and streaming into the blood on the ground.  The bloody soil ignites, and the flames rise and take the shape of three beasts; a great and terrible boar, a falcon with eyes of blue fire and an owl cloaked in smoke whose fire only shows in its eyes.  The whispers coalesce into clear voices in your ears.

Worthy beasts, worthy sacrifice.  We accept your offering, spirit-caller.  You may speak.  What bargains would you make with the forest?

You have called three very powerful spirits, and likely just as mercurial.  Tread very carefully indeed.

[2+2]

Why did I come here? I knew something like this would happen...

Grewie calms himself, concentrating. If the worst happened, which chances are it will, the mage would need his magic to escape with his life or do as much damage to his killers as he could.
After several seconds, Grewie spoke.

"Greetings, Mighty Chief. I am honored to be able to speak with you directly. I humbly come before you to discuss the matter of the tribute requested by your tribe. It has recently gone up quite sharply; in part due to the needs of a transitioning court, we are having trouble procuring the required sum. I was sent to inquire why you had requested the larger sum and, if all went well, to find a peaceful solution that makes both nations more powerful and prosperous."

Make the speech, prepare a spell. If and only if anyone attacks or otherwise acts hostile, cast a spell to kill as many of the guards in the room as possible and ideally the Chief himself without harming me too much.

[3]  The chief, at least, refrains from killing you outright.  "Your words ring hollow, Meridian.  A dozen and more of your assassins came to my town, killed my father, several of my best men.  I will tell you truthfully that I sent that demand to insult you.  We will no longer be kept back from your lands, Meridian.  We will no longer accept weregild to ignore the blood that stains our common past.  This land, all this land, is ours and the gods', and we will not rest until it is returned to them."

The chief signals to two of his men.  "Escort this 'ambassador' to a hut.  Lock it, guard it.  Ensure he is fed this evening.  I hope you enjoy this night, Meridian, because at dawn you will be hanged in the light of the old gods.  Make peace with your ogre pope, it will be your last chance."

The warriors move to escort you away.  Do you let them take you, or unleash your spell?
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Let's Play Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magic Obscura! - The adventures of Jack Hunt, gentleman rogue.

No slaughtering every man, woman and child we see just to teleport to the moon.
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