3821, the last winter month of the year.
Governor Adeeb Wasirri
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
Agents and Councillors
Aldagor (Barrister): Unoccupied
Balpher (Garrison Commander): Unoccupied
Desan (steward): Unoccupied:
Allies
-Vest (Friend, Duelist, former smuggler)
Vassals
Mayor Veera: Unknown relationship
Sir Madagor: Unknown relationship
Assets
-A well bred riding horse.
-An ageing riding horse.
-A Duelling Saber
-Several sets of fine gentleman's clothing.
-Twenty Wasirri Gaurdsmen
Wealth:
-A heavy bag of gold crowns.
-A chest of somewhat questionable silver crowns.
Bonewatch
Infrastructure
-Tiny Stone Keep on a hilltop.
-Empty stables
-Barracks with crowded quarters.
-Poorly stocked and kept armoury.
-Rickety wooden outer palisade.
-patchy overgrown "dirt" roads
-Mostly Unmanned rickety wooden watchtowers.
-a handful of wooden homes within the walls.
Supplies
-Six months worth of poor quality grain.
Population
-Undisciplined, poorly equipped, poorly trained garrison of ninety men.
-A half dozen personal servants.
-Various farmers and their families in the surrounding area.
Exhibiting both grace and attention to social protocol you introduce yourself and your companion, beginning with an elaborate bow that while flattering is still clear in it's expression of social superiority. You're unsure whether the intricacies of the gesture will be properly communicated to those so far from a proper court, but this bow is one you are quite practised in, as it's popularly used as a snub when expressed between two people of equal status. When the introductions are out of the way you have your councillors show you into the keep for a proper conversation.
The keep itself is cramped and sparse, and the first decoration of even the slightest quality that you come upon is the council-room table, which is far larger than necessary for such a small council, and of relatively fine craftsmanship. When everyone has had a seat you begin your probing into the affair of the province. "
Firstly i find it necessary to ask why so few of the garrison are on watch? If me and my men were an enemy force we might have been able to breach the bailey before the garrison even assembled itself to fight."
Balpher shifts uncomfortably in his too-small seat at this. "
I'm afraid that the population we have to draw from for the garrison is not as large or civilized as i would like, i have had to make choices about what to neglect. I have a proper watchtower further out in the frontier manned by twenty men to keep an eye out for any enemy forces, and the men here arn't fond of waiting for hours out in the cold around the outer wall, the towers around the palisade cannot keep fires safely you understand."
After some "hmming" and "hrmming" the aged Aldagor interjects. "
I think it's absolutely disgraceful, nothing is more important than the protection of the governors keep, as the late governor Walder used to say, before he met his, hrmm, most unfortunate certainly, hurm, end. What's the point of having defenders that won't defend the keep hrmm? Freezing in the cold in service of the crown is no different than dying in battle in service of the crown surely."
Over the course of the meeting you have it more or less confirmed that your holdings are in a sorry state, often in the most roundabout and evasive of terms. Of your three advisors only Desan strikes you as willing to offer straight answers rather than having them prodded out of him. You learn that a half-day's ride away lies a small village under your stewardship, named Bleak-haven, and that as governor you've inherited a small manor there that you may choose to live or stay in at any time. You also have two vassals of note, one being Veera an elected mayor in charge of administering the town of Stokeswood four days ride away, and a Sir Madagor, lord of the township of the boneyard, sitting over a week's ride away. You notice that the latter vassal is spoken of with great hesitance. Desan admits that there has been little luck as of late in getting either the provincial vassals or your direct subjects to pay much in the way of taxes lately. When it comes to talk about where the local bandits are keeping their strongholds though you are able to squeeze out little more than "i have some leads i've been following." from Balpher. It is mentioned, almost offhandedly, that the man who killed the last governor is imprisoned and awaiting your judgement, a fact that you consider surprising, as you had not known the governor had been murdered to begin with.
...
After you bathe and change you take stock of the late governors possessions, and overall find the keep rather... threadbare. Save for a meagerly stocked kitchen and sparse furnishing you find little more than the man's clothing, perfumes and personal records. Within your new chambers though, you do find a locked chest that you open with your new personal key, and are excited to find the container half full of silver crowns. Your excitement is dampened though, when you realize that half of the coins in the chest are clipped and clumsily restamped, the sort of coin a commoner could be hanged for trying to trade in.
Vest arrives in your chambers to conversely privately before you head abed, to offer his advice. "
You can't trust a single one of those fools, or i think even, the things that they've told you so far. I think you might need them for now, but it might be a good idea to get rid of them, eventually, if it becomes convenient."When you question why you might need such buffoons as your councillors your friend elaborates. "
Just about everybody who winds up sent to these parts is going to be either incompetent or untrustworthy, i think, and not a lot of people come to this ass end without being sent or forced. You should see to anything real important yourself obviously, but you can't do everything, you'll go mad if you try, you're going to need to delegate the less important stuff to other folks. You should still do whatever you can to find competent folks you can trust, but that sort of person is hard to come by, in the meantime you should at least try to gain leverage on and figure out the rest of the folks you have working for you. Personally i think that those blowhards are leaving a whole lot out, or maybe even lying through their teeth about things, so if you ask me you should send me out to figure out exactly what's going on about whatever things you're most concerned about, so that i can tell you what's really what."
His advice dispensed, he shoots you a grin. "
Gotta worry you that a scoundrel like me is probably the most trustworthy sod in this place don't it?"
GM NOTEWith exceptions, turns are going to be about a month long. The next few updates are likely to be a little bit more interactive and short however, as will roleplay sections.
Author
Topic: Delegation: A fief management suggestion Game (Read 25547 times)