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[Terenos]

Verin nearly choked upon a fishbone at hearing this plan, but covered it up with a small bout of coughing.

"A bold plan. But it has several flaws. No guarantee that you'd see anything near their hideaway, or be...Conscious? Capable? Of noting its location even if you did. I know not how capable the rest of these brigands are, but reports have reached me of late that Duke Severance has yet to roust the bandits from his lands. I am concerned you'd needlessly put your life in danger.

And there is always the chance that we'd merely evict or slay one set of pirates, not the whole lot. A piecemeal approach does nothing towards the security of the realm as a whole.

[filiusenox]

"The Duke sent peasants and squires by all accounts, when the job should've been handled by someone with a little less mud in their blood and a little more steel." Karac easily informs with some air of authority on the matter. Then the young man shrugs his shoulders, relaxing in his seat.

"Do you hire whores often, by any chance, Dear Earl?"

[Tiruin]

Aria made her way towards the table, "Of all places, I didn't expect here to be where we'd meet. Excuse my ideas on the matter but this is already comfortable beyond the point-though, may I know who I address?"

"Who I am, is unimportant, and so is who sent me here. Atleast at the moment. So, what brings you to the table today milady?" The supposed bandit said gruffly, leaning back onto his chair.

...That was silly to assume I'd be speaking with their leader. Nhh. Almost made-
"Pardon?"

[Taricus]

Wait a week and see whether any nobles show up with a captured scout, theirs or otherwise. Grant no claims, yet.
Likewise, wait a week before dispatching troops (two noble levy regiments) to deal with the corsair threat; allow them to get bolder so that they will be lured into complacency. If successful, take captives for interrogation.
Have nobles whom I personally know to be highly loyal to me try and determine which manor might be housing captured scouts, or even illegally enslaved peasants.


"Silk, you say? I am well aware of its value, and also of which, as it stands, we entirely import it from the far west, as opposed to producing it regionally. Likewise, I did not know those insects necessary could  be properly raised in one such a region; if, however, you claim that to be the case, I could easily see it as a worthwhile enterprise".

"Do proceed, I find myself highly interested in the possibility" concludes the Duke.

Set aside 4 pounds for the city's expansion project.
Train leadership for the season, under instruction.

[1] Unfortunately, none of the scouts have been released as of yet...
[5] The pirate-hunting seems to go well though, with more than a few ships scattered and sunk in the following days. [5] Even better is that they also managed to take the captain of one of the corsair vessels captive and ready for interrogation, and have placed him onto the dungeons for you to see him and your leisure.
[6] While this goes somewhat well, all it leads up to is all the noble houses of the duchy pointing the finger at every other house. Which means
[6,4,4,3,1,6] [+60] While the training itself goes rather reasonably well, you do seem to be slightly slow to pick up most of the skills from it, and would likely not have made too much progress at all without your trainer.

"Well, there's several types, but the two most valuable, and commercially trades would be your worm silk, and your spider silk. Now, worm silk is the more common of the two, and is generally what's inferred when someone just mentions silk on it's own. Producing it here shouldn't be too hard, provided we can not only find what the worms themselves are fed on, but how to get them without attracting notice. With the manor you gave me, I can turn that into a farm for them and we could reasonably see a large influx of trade from the nearby regions for it. Furthermore, since there are a number of western kingdoms that produce it, it won't be too hard finding how to obtain a decently sized sample to start production here, nor will it be hard to traffick it out as well.

Now, Spider silk is the more valuable of the two, and the difficulty of obtaining that is correspondingly higher. The dark elves are very covetous of their monopoly on the goods, and they're more than likely take greater steps to ensure it stays under their monopoly. If we could break it though, we could see much higher returns from producing it than would we would see from the standard silk. In either case though, we would need someone to oversee the operation to ensure it goes smoothly...

[4] The expansion of the city goes well, and with the additional labour from for various unemployed burghers, it goes swiftly enough that it would be able to provide more funds in the next spring. The size of Stormport has increased by 1.

[Charisma] After mentioning (truthfully!) that the duchess of Severance has not paid for any of the rebuilding in the county, despite being told to do so by the Prince, imply she chose instead to choose ventures favouring her more, in order to make the earl dislike her.

Ask if the earl still wants to have his independence from the duchess.

The Earl starts chuckling for a moment, then it turns into a full-blown laughter that lasts for a few seconds, when the Earl is able to calm himself down. "Send my regards to Duke Severus for such a fine jest, sir. I need not desire what I already have. While the king may think otherwise, most bonds of vassalage were broken during the latest war of succession.

As for her not rebuilding the kingdom, I was under the impression that the funds from the royal treasury were to be used towards this purpose. And if it wasn't, well, I think the prince could use a bit of a learning experience in dealing with vassals, and having a few expectations shattered. Gods know that most of us would refuse to use our own treasuries for a kingdom-wide recovery anyway."

Consult with the levies as to the local area, learn about where bandits may be using as a base, discretely surveil said locations.

[5] The levies are able to find the camps with ease, noting down the locations as they find them and sending them back as messages to you. They promise to keep an eye out, though nothing interesting of note happens at the moment.

...That was silly to assume I'd be speaking with their leader. Nhh. Almost made-
"Pardon?"

The bandit just folds his arms, waiting for you to explain why you are negotiating with the bandits...

[Shootandrun]

Anders took a neutral expression as the earl spoke, and replied in a polite, matter-of-fact tone.

"I am glad to hear you are freed from the duchess, my lord. With that being said, there is something you should consider. I can see you care not to contribute to the realm's treasury with your own coffers, and most of the nobility would agree with you. However, unlike most of the kingdom's nobility, you have the possibility to avoid those taxes. The Prince can only take money from his direct vassals - dodging that is a simple matter of becoming the vassal of a lord who imposes no taxes to his own."

He let that sink in with a moment of silence, before resuming.

"The Duke of Stormport would be willing to include a clause in an oath of fealty stating that you need not spend a single penny in his name, for as long as you live, if you are willing to call him your liege and answer him when he calls his banners."

[Charisma] Appeal to the Earl's greed by stating he would never be taxed if he swore fealty to the duke.

[Taricus]

[Charisma] Appeal to the Earl's greed by stating he would never be taxed if he swore fealty to the duke.

[1+1]"Yet it seems you have missed a point, haven't you? If I didn't want to pay taxes, I certainly would've stayed with the duchess otherwise. And nor did I say that I disliked the taxes that, while chafing, seem reasonable. Just the fact I would not be spending my own money to repair the estate of another. If that is all, I politely request you remove yourself from my lands in earnest and tell your liege my decision: I shall not bend my knee to him. Good day to you, sir."

[Shootandrun]

Anders took a neutral expression as he listened. When the earl was finished, he bowed deeply and spoke in a polite but veiled tone.

"It is a shame that we could not reach an arrangement, my lord, but I shall not abuse of your hospitality and attempt to convince you if you already believe the Duke has nothing worthwhile to offer. I will now take my leave. I may spend a few weeks in the city before leaving - the Duke has some tasks he wishes me to do in the north, but I must first receive news from a few friends. Thank you for your time, my lord."

With that, he left and went to find the best inn in the region, where he rented a room. As soon as he was alone, he sat down and wrote a short message.

Spoiler: To the Duke of Stormport (click to show/hide)

The Earl has no intention of becoming anyone's vassal, and already considers himself independent from the Duchess. Permission to take the initiative? I cannot commit further details to paper.

-AB

Stay at an inn in the town.

[Charisma] Over a period of several weeks, talk with the various clients of the inn. Slowly, try to piece together a list of potential successors to the county. Be on the lookout for those very unlikely to win the succession war upon the earl's death. Note if any of them have a close family (spouse, children, etc).

[Azthor]

With the steward...

"Worm silk it will have to be; a mercantile war with the drow, you must agree, would be madness at the present moment. The idea is promising, so I ask, how would you suggest we go about obtaining the necessary samples?"


In the dungeons...

"Good day, or is it night, you never know in these dungeons, Mr...? I don't know what you expect, but I can tell you, this will be a rather unconventional visit. I offer you more than the mere possibility of avoiding these dungeons, however, your ultimate fate hangs upon your choices from here onward"

Appraise the man's character and competence.

Spoiler: To Sir Anders (click to show/hide)

That is a shame, alas an expected outcome; fulfill your other tasks in the north and return.

- Severan, Duke of Stormport

[Taricus]

Stay at an inn in the town.

[Charisma] Over a period of several weeks, talk with the various clients of the inn. Slowly, try to piece together a list of potential successors to the county. Be on the lookout for those very unlikely to win the succession war upon the earl's death. Note if any of them have a close family (spouse, children, etc).

[?][4+1] While you do learn that the duke has a couple of brothers, you are unable to get anything further from the people you question due to their lack of knowledge on the subject.

With the steward...

"Worm silk it will have to be; a mercantile war with the drow, you must agree, would be madness at the present moment. The idea is promising, so I ask, how would you suggest we go about obtaining the necessary samples?"

Appraise the man's character and competence.

"We would need to obtain them from one of the western kingdoms, namely via theft or subterfuge. From there, we'd need to be able to smuggle them out without attracting notice. Once the ship has left port with them, it's done, and we only have to wait for our agent to return with the sample and we can get started in setting up some mills for it."

[6,5]
"Give me three days, and I'll be out of here regardless." The man says, Appearing to have an air of confidence, perhaps overly so. But this seems to be very well backed up by his skills, from what your troops tell you, having avoided them several times before ending up in their hands from sheer luck.

[Azthor]

"Of that I have no doubt, your eyes have that peculiar shine about them, that of an ambitious man. But, even were you to flee, what would that get you? You can't tell for sure whether you will be able to reunite with your companions, you risk being followed, or risk being killed because the fools believe you were followed, even if you were not"

"What is more, after your recent defeat, and I will say, I don't know anyone who could have pulled a victory in your situation, there is no way they will put you in charge again, and that is if they don't have you executed on the spot"

"Regardless, in that regard, you ought to know them better than me, but it stands that , given the proper resources, you could be something more, something that life as a rogue pirate will never allow you; as you well know, no so called pirate king lived to see their hair turn gray"

"I will cut the case. I need your activity in my Duchy's waters gone, I need someone to raid my own rivals' trade lanes, and you seem like the right man for the job; in sum, I would have you and your companions become privateers and, in time, should you ever tire of that life, your service might even be rewarded with a fief; and believe me, that life won't look so great thirty years from now, double so if you find yourself a wife and child somewhere down the road".

"You must have seen and created enough orphans to know that".

"So, tell me, which will it be, would you rather flee those dungeons, for I must admit, you could very well lie to my face and use this as an opportunity to flee, only to return to the uncertainty of yore, or would you rather see your activities continued ahead of a much greater force, this time around on the winning side and with the convenience of retirement?"

"If you care only about yourself, I am sure nobility will entertain you; if you care about the peasants, you will have the chance to do a fair lot of good for your own; if you care about your own companions, rest assured, their lot too will improve; if you care about nothing, you are clearly lying to yourself".

Try and persuade him to come under my protection; his old companions will be allowed to join him as privateers, and their leader, should he rather take his place, dealt with.

[Shootandrun]

[Charisma] Find out where both brothers reside. Try to evaluate which one is the weakest, and visit him; if it's too hard to tell, visit the youngest.

[Tiruin]

The bandit just folds his arms, waiting for you to explain why you are negotiating with the bandits...

Aria waited quite a bit of time until she got the notice that he might've misinterpreted.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I guess you didn't take my word of pardon correctly, or misheard it. The matter at hand being this."

She gets a map from her scribe-buddy and opens it, showing the lands Traviath mentioned but not marking them or signifying them from the other lands. "I have a proposal, however before anything I'd like to ask: why do your people haunt the roads of Severance or her outlying borders?"

[Ghazkull]

[Charisma][Professional Merchant] Try to convince the traders again.

[Taricus]

Try and persuade him to come under my protection; his old companions will be allowed to join him as privateers, and their leader, should he rather take his place, dealt with.

[4+1]

"...Well, that seems like a decent deal. Though there is the issue of manpower, as you have stated that they wouldn't let me back. You find me enough men to crew a ship, and a ship and I can do what you ask of me. Until then, I can't do too much"

[Charisma] Find out where both brothers reside. Try to evaluate which one is the weakest, and visit him; if it's too hard to tell, visit the youngest.

[5][1]
You re easily able to learn the locations of the other two brothers. Of course, both happen to be in distant realms, married off to foreign nobles or adventuring. Needless to say that it would be arduous getting to either one...

[Charisma][Professional Merchant] Try to convince the traders again.

Due to the circumstances, you are still unable to convince any of the traders to use your guards. ((AKA you got a 1, no re-rolling an action once you get it.))

Aria waited quite a bit of time until she got the notice that he might've misinterpreted.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I guess you didn't take my word of pardon correctly, or misheard it. The matter at hand being this."

She gets a map from her scribe-buddy and opens it, showing the lands Traviath mentioned but not marking them or signifying them from the other lands. "I have a proposal, however before anything I'd like to ask: why do your people haunt the roads of Severance or her outlying borders?"

"We don't just "haunt" the duchy, we have everywhere in our grasp with the exception of the capital duchy. And we do it for a variety of reasons, some just hate the kingdom, some are in it for money, and others have no-where else to go. A general pardon isn't going to really convince us that this is worth our time, so, you're going to have t make the deal... palpable, for me to take word to the chiefs."

After a couple of quiet weeks, dread news emerges from the capital: The prince has died after choking upon a fish, and the throne now lies empty, awaiting a new claimant. Though no other news has been forthcoming about the incident, the peasants have responded by hoarding extra food and goods to outlast the civil war that is sure to follow.

[adwarf]

Ramus was frantic as the news of the Prince's death reached him, his death meant no pay this season and that the chances of getting his men out of the prison just dropped quite a bit, he stared out the window of his room in the Golden Horn. It seems he had no other options, his only available path being to go ask the next in line for the throne to release them, and offer his services as payment for that. Sighing Ramus spends a few minutes donning his gear before heading out to the palace ...

Request a meeting with the heir apparent, soon to be ruler of the Kingdom.

---------

At a later time ...

Ramus skulked through back alleys as he made his way through the city, his face smeared with dirt and ash and covered by the hood of the dull brown cloak he was wearing place of his armor and sword. He'd already set the beginnings of the plan in motion, now it was time to solidify that plan, and begin to prepare for anything that was to come. Tonight he had a meeting with one of the mercs he'd met previously, using him as the mediators he could hire a handful of mercenaries and have them be his eyes and ears throughout the city to bring him any information that might be of use. Not to mention he had a lot more he was seeking ...

Using the .2 ducats I have hire a merc who will then hire a dozen or so other mercenaries, and have them act as spies throughout the city, reporting any information of note they get to the mediator who will then leave a letter containing the information in a dead drop near the Golden Horn that only I and he know of. Promise a steady flow of pay, and tell them to be ready to receive any orders (with compensation pay for having to do jobs outside of the starting agreement.)
Once the hiring is done, go to where the Stone Hounds are taking up house and change into a different set of clothing before going out and asking around about where the highest amount of bandit activity is occurring in the kingdom.
Inquire of how things are in the north, any information I can obtain, even rumors, is of use.
Learn about the condition of the kingdom, and its relations with the surrounding kingdoms.
Ask around about any problems the kingdom might be having besides banditry and pirates.