3821, the third month of the year, and the first month of spring.
Adeeb Wasirri, Lord Governor of Dhum-Blud
20 years old
Health and Physical Abilities
Fit
Healthy
Social Skills
Practiced in Court Manners
Rogueish Charm
Practical Skills
Competent Swordsman
Competent Tumbler
Mediocre Rider
Novice Sneak
Personal Possessions.
A well bred riding horse. (Mare.)
An aging riding horse. (Stallion.)
A Fine Duelling Saber.
Several Sets of gentleman's clothes.
Walders old clothing and perfumes. (The former is gaudy and a little big, and the latter is a little too strong.)
Councilors, Vassals, Allies and Agents.
Formal Councillors
Aldagor. Barrister, Elderly noble courtier.
Balpher. Garrison Commander, noble courtier.
Desan. Steward, young noble courtier.
Elerik. Junior Garrison Commander,Low-born Wasirri Guardsman.
Agents
Vest. Friend, Lowborn duellist and former smuggler.
Eduard. Lowborn Courtier.
Vassals
Mayor Veera
Sir Madagor
Holdings.
Bonewatch
-Tiny Stone Keep on a hilltop.
--Sparse Furnishings
--Well Stocked Larder (Decent quality, including wine, salt pork, local spices and the other imported goods)
--Small dungeon under the castle. 12 cells.
-Stables (10/25)
-Barracks (Sufficient space and bedding to hold a little over a hundred men.)
-Armoury (Stocked with Spears, swords and bows of mediocre quality. Stocked with Quilted armour and padding of poor quality. Stocked with plenty of poor quality arrows.)
-Rickety wooden outer palisade.
-patchy overgrown "dirt" roads.
-Mostly Unmanned rickety wooden watchtowers.
-a handful of wooden homes within the walls.
-A well with plenty of fresh water.
-A few nearby farming families.
Bleak-Haven
-Village
--The Wretched Mut A seedy Tavern
--A well maintained Windmill
--A small shrine to the local patron spirit
--A few scattered homes.
--A few poor craftsmen.
-Your Manor
--A few Fine furnishings.
-Overgrown Patchy "Dirt" Roads
-An interconnected farming community in the local area.
Military
-Bonewatch Garrison. (53 soldiers of weak discipline and limited combat training. Armed with bows, spears and short-swords of varying quality. Girded in quilted linen armor, steel caps, and the occasional breastplate. Wearing the King's colours.)
-Unnamed Fortified Watchtower Garrison (20 soldiers of good discipline, wearing the King's colours.)
-Household Gaurd. (19 Skilled Fighters trained in urban and close-quarters combat. Armed with arming-swords, bucklers and longknives. Girded in Quilted Doublets, steel breastplate,open-faced helms, greaves and bracers, all of good quality. Loyal to your family and wearing your family colors.)
-Bleakhaven Community Watch. (A group of locals that fluctuates in number, protecting, keeping watch on and patrolling the town and outer farms.)
-Bleakhaven Garrison. (6 soldiers, functionally identical to Bonewatch Garrison)
Assets
-A heavy bag of gold "Crowns" (7/8)
-A chest half full of Silver "Crowns" (Many clipped and restamped.)
-Eight Light Riding Horses (local breed, frisky and quick, but also small and unsuited to long hard travel)
-4 Rickety Wooden Carts
-7 Months worth of poor quality local grain. (at current consumption)
-5 Months worth of Imported Food-Stuffs (at current consumption, includes beans, pickled vegetables, salt, butter and wheat flour all of decent quality)
During the brief pleasantries your eyes are inexorably drawn to the blade at the Mayor's side, it's sight filling you with a familiar swell in your chest. "
I see you have a dueling sword Mayor Veera. Would you be interested in a friendly duel with a lover of the noble art? I'll have you know tales of my adventures into the sport are not few and far between."
Your Vassal chuckles at that. "
So i've heard. I'm tempted to take your offer, though i'm afraid i'm growing a little old for the sport..."He gives the barest moment of hesitation. "
... especially with live steel, which i've heard is my Lord-Governor's preference. If my lord would permit i would like to give it some thought and preparation before making a decision on the matter. Perhaps tomorrow morning we might have at some sport, once i've rested from the ride at least."
You reluctantly let the matter lie for the moment, and welcome the Mayor's party into your home. His guards and daughter are cared for by your servants, while Veera you usher into your sitting room along with an Eduard who has been instructed primarily to observe. You suppose that both the Mayor and your courtier are lowborn, and so differing only somewhat in rank, but that all the same it is good practice in having the boy learn how to behave around his betters.
You and the Mayor spend some time sipping your wine and speaking about matters of state. You primarily question him on the state of his charge; the town of Stokeswood, of which he has plenty to say. His holdings primarily consist of the town and the lands immediately surrounding, which include farmlands very similar to your own,a little river upon which is settled Stokeswood, a small copper mine and a modest lumber operation. The town lands however, are considerably smaller than those currently within your personal grasp, and so he claims he currently has little recourse for economic expansion. As for safety he claims that the town lands are probably some of the safest in the province, with well maintained roads that he even modestly tolls. As such Stokeswood sees the most trade out of any of the other settlements underneath you. Almost all of his modest military though, is focused on the task of keeping the roads safe, something that can be a constant struggle, his forces mostly consisting of a voluntary militia. The people of Stokeswood themselves are beginning to recover from the plague that struck several years ago, something that the Mayor partially attributes to his own work of quarantining the city, and hiring skilled experts to help him see to the town affairs. You mention that you are expecting him to honor his tax obligations to you, something that he seems to graciously accept.
Subtly and with respect, your vassal begins to offer his own advice to you, and begins to fill you in on some of the recent history of Dhum-Blud. He stresses that the province is vast, very vast, and much of it entirely untamed, some of it even unmapped.It may even be wise to attempt to survey those lands currently under your direct administration. He explains that Walder once had a better hold on the province, having had seven settlements and fortresses under his personal control rather than the two you currently hold now. Even then his military and administrative abilities were stretched thin, but after returning from the war a decade ago with next to nothing of the army he had set out with he could no longer hold all of his territory. Eventually the press of the wild, Bandits and monsters forced him to abandon one hold after another to whoever and whatever threatened him there. He granted the disgraced Knight Sir Madagor a holding hoping that an experienced warrior could help him, though neither significant gains or losses have been made since then. The King granted Walder freedom from traditional taxation, which is quite a lot heftier for appointed governing officials than feudal lords, so that he might have a chance of setting the province to rights after the King's war, but he never managed. Cautiously, Veera suggests it might prove prudent to think about strengthening your position and taking back some of those holdings, though you might need help to do so.He also seems to vaguely suggest that Sir Madagor may be more trouble than he's worth. The mayor advises that you might be able to trade some of your rather extensive autonomy for military support from the crown, or perhaps gain an alliance that might strengthen you. All throughout he stresses that he is willing to help you if you require it as is his duty as your vassal.
Author
Topic: Delegation: A fief management suggestion Game (Read 25606 times)