@Tomcost: I think three of those curses are to ensure she gives you updates on whatever she learns about Fortune. You'd best get six more. Also, per my dump on Orcish Clans, Clan Ivy likes hosting curses. You should have plenty of volunteers. Bad news is the results of this turn indicate you may need a new druid.
2334th Year of Man, 5th Month, 6th Day:FridayChanging the topic, you ask Spittle to teach you about Tetha's present conditions and motivations, and find the discussion enlightening, as you have never been able to acquire a written account of her recent activities.
You learn Tetha still cares deeply for the mortals of the world, but is presently in little condition to be of much help to them. She can only keep a few dozen prophets at a time, and their powers are mostly limited to making vague or minor predictions. The foretold events surrounding your daughter are supposed to drastically reverse Tetha's fortunes, but the goddess has had to compromise herself greatly to gain the resources to set whatever she is planning into motion. She is a part of a large harem of divine concubines belonging to Hammerhead, the Orcish God who endorses Clan Shark. Tetha also whores herself out to Yukmondor, a stronger deep deity who is Spittle's primary object of worship.
---
Deciding to be honest with the prospects for the post of Master-at-Arms, you inform them that although you are presently leaning towards Baron Wilder, you have not yet made a decision. Both canidates understand, and Baron Wilder goes so far as to add that a Master-at-Arms will likely be redundant while Glen Horton is around anyway.
You tell Angie Pence that you will instruct Gregory to waive her two weeks notice, and ask her to wait around after dinner so you can compose a letter to the mayor advising him on the situation. Shadow of Clan Spear, the other canidate for the job of Master-at-Arms, notes that he would be willing to take Angie's job while the mayor finds a permanent replacement, so you include that in the letter as well. Once it is finished, you hand it to Angie, and inform her she need not quit right away; You are not going to start setting up your facilities for the practice of dark magic until Monday.
---
After dinner, you track down a confessor, and advise him of your spies in town. You request that they send Wednesday back home if they encounter her. Also, you make a few requests regarding the executions on Monday; You intend to raise the bodies into undeath, so you would rather the scum be killed in a way that leaves their corpses mostly intact. In addition, you would like one of the victims from your share of the souls alive to be used to repair an animation table. The confessor promises to pass your message along to Rash, and suspects she will find your requests reasonable.
2334th Year of Man, 5th Month, 7th Day:SaturdaySaturday for you is another mostly lazy weekend day spent at Groghall, dealing with family, friends, underlings, and allies.
You try to check in with Virgil first thing in the morning, only to find that he has left for the day to explore the city, and has managed to talk Tempest into sending five of her Orcs to accompany him.
Next up you head to the yard, where you catch Glen running through some pre-breakfast training routines with a handful of Orcs, from both Groghall and Clan Ivy, who have taken the initiative to rise early and train under him. You watch for a while, and quickly pick up on the fact that these exersizes are clearly his means of working through his emotions regarding the loss of Sylvester; The young officer spars with aggression and purpose, and absolutely manhandles one of Clan Ivy's Scourges, an Orc at least a hundred pounds heavier than him. The drills end when all the Orcs are either worn or beaten down, and a sweaty but calm Count Horton spares you a few words at that time.
Unwilling to talk about his emotional state, perhaps because others are present or perhaps because he just doesn't like you, Glen instead speaks of the orcs. They are powerful, well trained, and dedicated to your cause after spending only two nights under your roof.
"They are impressively dangerous, m'lady. I can understand why Sylvester had them banished, the temptation to turn one's back on civilized behavior for their support must be great. Even I kind of want to see them loosed upon the land held by the trecherous counts."You hang out in the yard after Glen leaves, deciding to get to know some of Clan Ivy's troops a bit better. Word of your new kinship with the clan has already begun to spread, and the orcs in know are quick to take advantage of the opprotunity to develop a closer bond with their new sister before the others catch on and start competing for your attention. Within thirty minutes you are pulled into a small clique of soldiers, who speak to you informally as a friend and equal and reveal bits about themselves.
The leader of this group is Tonsil, a veteran scourge who is approaching advanced age. Tonsil regails you with his war stories, and speaks highly of your husband as a worthy foe. Tonsil fears growing old and becoming a burden to both his clan and his goddess, and tells you up front that he hopes to die in your service so that his soul may feed your demonic allies and build a stronger bond between them and Trance. Tonsil has also achieved the title of 'medicine elder', which permits him to carry and distribute sacred herbs and narcotic potions, and most of the other Orcs in his little group hang around in large part to take advantage of this fact.
Tonsil has two daughters staying at Groghall, both enforcers. The girls are engaged in a red-hot rivalry to earn the right to inherit their father's demonic gear and title of scourge. Hairsplit is a decade younger than her sister and already as good of a fighter, but Femur knows the basics of fire elementalism.
Another set of siblings, Elite Rangers name Fletcher and Vine, are also part of this group. The pair have some demon blood which grants them an impressive healing factor capable of regrowing a limb in a month, and superorcish endurance that allows them to sprint for hours at a time. To maintain these useful traits, the clan has banned Vine from taking any mate other than her brother, and is currently carrying Fletcher's child. She hopes to give birth on the battlefield, which is a sign of great fortune for most clans including Ivy.
Krait is the young agent who alerted the rest of Tonsil's group to your kinship status. As fortune would have it, you are also his assignment; He and another agent have been tasked with discretely tailing you whenever you leave Groghall, to protect his new kin from spies and assassins. Krait, a hardcore religious fanatic, informs you that such covert activity is the domain of his goddess alone, and as such you need not fear any interfearence of that sort while under the protection of an agent or confessor.
Narrows is a Blood Shaman whose primary deity is Shaft, the youngest of the eighteen who's domains include The Physical Body, Polyamory, Child-rearing, and War. Narrows wishes to distinguish himself in battle in hopes of winning the cushy and respected role of childminder, but blatantly admits that developing a close bond with you might be an easier means of scoring some prestigious position or another.
Two Pale Shamans, named Dingo and Fingers round out the group. Dingo primarily worships Retuy, a deep diety of indeterminate gender associated with Threats, Theft, Career Criminals, and Powder Weapons. Fingers worships Tromolion, a deep god of Exploration, Piracy, Fear, and Excitement. The pair are good friends and occasional mates, who are usually attached to Clan Ivy's diplomatic mission to Clan Shark, but have come in hopes of witnessing their old friend Tonsil (who is also the father of some of Finger's children) earn a glorious death in battle.
Like most Orcs, they are blatantly upfront with their feelings and intentions. They know they have new demonic kin through your bloodline, and would each love to support them by subjecting themselves to minor hexes that do not interfere with their ability to fight. Hopelessly unaware of human romantic protocol, all the male orcs in the group, as well as Tonsil's daughter Femur, offer to tend to your needs until you find one or more new regular mates to pair off with. This is more a courtesy commonly provided by some orcish clans than an expressed intrest in a relationship, but on the other hand, both Krait (who thinks such an arrangement will inspire him to perform better at his new job) and Narrows (who notes your importance to the clan and figures close ties to you benefit him) bluntly offer longer term open relationships as well as their motivation for seeking them.
After socializing with the new house guests, you turn your attention to your daughters. Fortune is enjoying her new pet, which she is teaching to answer to the name of 'Jungle'. She has also made friends with three enforcers, three elite rangers, a scourge, and a blood shaman who she informs you will be the first of the Clan Ivy orcs presently under your roof to give their lives for your cause. Fortune implores you to bless her new friends, so that they may take many of your enemies with you. She doesn't go so far as to ask, but implies that it would be neat if you brought one or two of them back afterward so that she may learn how they fared.
With new-found fervor, your daughter Joy has decided to make a habit of delivering daily sermons to the public of North Bank City, and when you seek her and Redding out for conversation you wind up having the honor of listening to her first such address. The speech is passionate, and centered around the concept of loyalty. She reminds the residents of town that they are loyal subjects of the Kinkaids, who are in turn your loyal subjects. She the reminds everybody that the Duchess is loyal to the King, before coldly reminding everybody that loyalty is a two way street'. She concludes the address by encouraging the civilians present to enlist, and the mercenaries to offer their services 'to the true Duchess of Redleaf' at a reduced cost.
You drag Joy and Redding back inside afterwards, as the subject you wish to address is a bit sensitive. Once you have them alone, you break the news that you are fairly confident the child will be half-goblin. In explaining this, you reveal that you had a demon mucking about with Joy's soul to Redding, but the two of you employ deception to keep the man calm by fooling him into thinking the procedure was a safe one.
Redding proposes that the easiest coverup would just be publicly denying the child even exists; He suggests eventually spreading the rumor that his wife miscarried, as some people might have noticed her pregnancy. His reasoning is simple: if you swapped the child out with a more human one, you would have delay the birth announcement and hide the kid for at least three months anyway, so that Redding could have feasibly been with Joy at the time of the child's conception.
Joy wonders aloud if tracking down the child's biological father might be a good idea. She doesn't know his name, but the Bonedusts keep extensive records of all goblin captives, and Joy might know enough to make looking him up feasible; She knows where and when he was held, that he was of good birth, fought with a whip, crossbow, and heavy armor, and was a slave driver and judge in civilian life. Redding counters that if she wants it to have a proper Goblin father figure, Caddor would be an acceptable solution.
Before dinner, you sit down and compose a letter to Archibald Horton. You inform him that you are commuting his sentence and allowing him to return to the Duchy. He is not, however, exonerated, and is not permitted to hold land or lead troops without your explicit permission. You then soften your tone, and note that these measures are mainly to pacify those who feel wronged by him, and that his family needs his help; Glen is temporarily a wreck, and you suspect permanently disinterested in producing a heir. Miri, who you firmly remind him is your best friend, requires the assistance of her father-in-law in running the County on her own, and perhaps the discrete assistance of one of Glen's half brothers in ensuring that the Horton Bloodline is continued.
Count Gulf wanders back into Groghall just before bedtime, exited. He had spent the day exploring the ruins of what used to be the cities' South Bank District. He initially made the trip to investigate the old bridges across the river, to see if any might be easily rebuilt, but found something far more interesting in the basement of what appeared to be a ruined temple; A sealed chamber marked by the Valkyries, the advanced order within the Steel Sisterhood tasked with providing souls to the High Masons, and the Order of Eternity, the advanced order within the high masons tasked with using those souls to make the most mighty artifacts. He thinks it might be possible, albiet a bit risky, to crack the seal; Although he is not a part of the Order of Eternity, you do have a Valkyrie you could lend him, and together they might figure it out, however the seal may be rigged to harm those who prod or tamper with it. It would also be possible to make a new entrance into the chamber with pic-axes and earth elementalists, although doing so may harm or bury the contents.
2334th Year of Man, 5th Month, 8th Day:SundayYou decide that today is as good a time as any to check in on Cartel business, and disguise yourself for a trip to
Mogpan. The place is clearly much better organized than it was at the time of your last visit, and Peat seems much more happy as well. Not only is he thrilled to not be stuck running the business, but he has also been able to recently catch up with some old friends in Clan Ivy. You ask about taking more meat-brewing lessons, and the Orc smiles and claps you on the back. He could use an extra pair of hands; He is trying to brew and sell as many narcotic potions as he can before the soldiers of Clan Ivy blow their discretionary spending allowances on prostitutes and other such vices Peat is in no position to profit off of.
Peat makes room on the bench, and you take a seat next to him. It is kind of embarrassing for somebody of your skill level to be reduced to another brewer's assistant, but you find that it is easier to learn by watching him mix the same meats into the same half complete potion over and over again than it is to learn from Peat's lectures. Rather than stress about the complexities relating to the amount and variety of meat chosen, you focus on the actual techniques used to incorporate the animal bits. By the end of the four hour session you are confident you understand how to add meats to a brew, and with that down, you can experiment on your own to figure out the 'what' and 'why' through trial and error.
On your way out you talk to Palm, promising to put a good word in with Chieftess Ape if she calms down and quits messing with Peat's brewers. She is not interested, however. At her age and condition, she would be considered a burden to the clan, and strongly encouraged to seek out some sort of respectable death, or even flat out commit suicide. She does, however, offer to quit her current job teach your students the secrets of meat-brewing so long as she is permitted the joy of reprimanding slow learners through mockery and corporeal punishment.
---
You send word that you would like Syzzik and Mable to join you for dinner at Groghall, but your underling politely declines. He and his staff are pulling an all-nighter at the shop, as Clan Ivy has already cleaned him out of all his common non-import potions. He suggests that if you wish to spend time with him, have your chefs prepare a warm meal which can be enjoyed in his office. He adds that Mable and Joy could be sent to the gun range if the need to talk business arises.
Seeing no reason not to agree, as the thought had struck you after you sent the invitation that perhaps being seen openly and undisguised with Syzzik should wait until you lower potion prices and take heat of the cartel, you accept the merchant's invitation.
The two of you and your daughters enjoy a meal of warm pot-pie in Syzzik's well kept office. Mable rushes through her dinner, and then harasses Joy to finish up so they may go down to the range and shoot together. Once they leave, you bring up the good news.
"I stopped Glen Horton from executing Lindwurm Strongcurrent last week," as you speak you pluck a well used quill off your date's desk, and find its connection to him strong enough to use as a medium to unweave the fear hex,
"the mayor of Port Lionfish owes me. I'm fixing it so that your ships are free to unload whatever they wish at the docks."The Merchant's eyes light up.
"M'lady, you may have just won yourself the Duchy back right there. I've been thinking about your... political situation, and came up with something that may be of use to you. They are called cannons, powder weapons designed to kill fortifications as easily as the one I gave you kills men. They are too big to smuggle in quietly, but I believe they could be used to turn things around.""Oh? How so?"Syzzik shrugs and offers you a sly smile.
"A regular cannon is about as effective as a highly skilled Earth Elementalist at tearing down walls, and can function at a much longer distance. On land, most military officers just find it more cost-effective to hire the mage. What I'm thinking of doing, however, is bringing in artifact cannons. An artifact cannon... Lets put it this way. I am worth around forty million silver, and I could commission such an artifact for around six or seven million. This means I can get you several. With that sort of power, you could level any castle in this kingdom to rubble inside of an hour."You blink. You have heard of pirate ships from Titan Rock employing such weapons, but never have you entertained the idea of using them on land, or making artifacts out of them.
"You would blow your savings for me?"Syzzik laughs,
"I would blow my savings to prove my life philosophy correct; All one needs to succeed is a bit of Moxie, and a willingness to apply existing ideas where they are not yet entrenched. Nobody was shipping powder weapons to Redleaf, so I got rich shipping powder weapons to Redleaf. The potion market in North Bank City was poorly regulated and even more poorly organized, so I created a cartel. No military officer on this landmass has likely spared more than a passing thought to the idea of artifact cannons, so I get some for the woman I deeply admire, and give her the keys to the kingdom.""Y... You think I want the kingdom?"The merchant takes a deep breath, and at long last lays his cards on the table.
"If I commit to getting you the big guns tonight, it would take a year and a half to send word and payment to gearport, have them made, and have them sent back. By then the crown could have pissed you off to the point that, yeah, you might just want to level the capital city... Or," he says with a smirk as he places a hand on top of yours,
"by that point you will have been my lover for a year and a half, and my ambition will have rubbed off on you."You say nothing. You were pretty sure something like this was coming, and decide to let him continue.
"Listen, you could have had us all killed when Gregory dragged us to the guardtower. You have the brewing knowledge, and that goblin of yours has the business sense. You could have run the potion business in this town without our help. At first I thought you were just using me... I know I was prepared to use you. I won't deny that I still am... and expect no less from you... But when you took an interest in my daughter, let her meet her hero and gave her what she needed to hone her craft, I think we both knew something deeper was at play."He looks you in the eye,
"Look, I'm not dumb enough to be hearing wedding bells. I know someday it will be in your best political interests to get married again... To somebody of your own status or higher... But I'm a drifter. I've moved on before. If you'll have me now, I'll enjoy it while it lasts and move on again... if you want me to." He offers another smile.
"I'll respect your wedding vows if you do anyway."It is hard to tell how much of what Syzzik is saying is or isn't the truth, but you note that by investing as much as he proposes to, he is clearly prepared to play the long game when it comes to gaining any profit off his relationship with you - whatever that may be.
---
After the heart to heart that follows the above, you mention that you wish to start your potion class. Syzzik tells you he can have the basement ready by Wednesday, but would like you to commit to a firm schedule so that he can best manage your student's, who are still his employees, time.
---
Confessor Rash is waiting with her report on the sweep of the city, she also has Wednesday with her, and aparently hasn't let the ghoul out of her site since an Agent picked her up this morning. You suppose when you ask Clan Ivy to send somebody to you, Clan Ivy delivers.
You can't help but frown a bit as you read the report. Not only are they killing the druid who was going to help you with Fortune's python, and one of Redding's major assets, but the brutality of the mighty clans is on full display as they have chosen to invoke the Orcish concept of guilt by association to have the families and employees of those they picked up killed as well. Still, that leaves a lot of souls for you to collect upon.
Clan Ivy Purge Report:Captured and Sentenced:
-The Druid Scales has been found guilty of doing business with Prince Rubicon, and Harboring a Divine Caster of Null, a divine enemy of Trance. She is sentenced to public execution by both crucifixion and the ingestion of the White Lady's Kiss, a particularly agonizing poison that takes several hours to kill its victim. Scales' employees (seven orcs, two of which are druids) and family (an ageing orc mother) have been deemed guilty by association and shall be publicly executed by hanging.
-The Elven Druid and Priestess Shaleheart, Scales' business partner and half sister, has been found guilty of practicing the divine magic of Null. She is sentenced to public execution by both crucifixion and ingestion of the White Lady's Kiss.
-The Human Smith Joss has been found guilty of acting as an agent for Prince Rubicon, and coercing information about your household from Mason, a scholar under your protection. He is sentenced to public execution by both crucifixion and the ingestion of the White Lady's Kiss. His employees (5 humans including a skilled enchanter), and family (3 humans) have been deemed guilty by association.
-The Human Mercenary Captain Trevor Wikes has been found guilty of plotting the assassination of your business partner [Given Name Unknown] Syzzik. He is sentenced to public execution by both crucifixion and the ingestion of the White Lady's Kiss. Most of his mercenary company (22 Fighters and Mages of various races), his investors (3 humans), and his family (7 humans) have been deemed guilty by association and shall be publicly executed by hanging. One of his business partners, Redding Strongcurrent, and one of his employees, Greent Strongcurrent, shall be spared because they are kin to you, and upon questioning knew nothing about the assassination plot.
-98 Members of clans at war with Clan Ivy, including Clans Hound, Grass, and Horn, have been captured in town and shall be executed by hanging.
-11 Kobold Spies were captured snooping around you, your allies, and your assets. 3 were captured tailing you, 3 were captured tailing mayor Rothwell, 3 were captured tailing General Charlie Kinkaid, 1 was captured snooping around outside Groghall, and 1 was captured snooping outside the inn where the Kinkaids and their allies prefer to stay while in town. The Kobolds all claim to be working for a middleman out of Six Shrine City in Cleanriver County. Each is sentenced to public execution by both crucifixion and the ingestion of the White Lady's Kiss.
Notes:
-Per your request, every effort has been made to keep corpses whole. Several prisoners were sentenced to some combination of blinding, tongue removal and/or castration in addition to execution. These sentences have been commuted. In addition, victims of crucifixion shall be bound to their crosses with ropes instead of nails.
-Orcs marked as warriors with the proper tattoos have the right to request a warrior's death inflicted by any common weapon of their choosing. In consideration of your request, they shall not be reminded of this right, but little can be done to preserve their bodies should they invoke it.
-Fifty eight orcs, twelve humans, and three mutts below the age of sexual maturity have been captured as kin or employees of the condemned. Orcs will be sent to the territory of Clan Ivy the next time a trip is made, and will be inducted into the clan. The fate of the humans and mutts is up to you, but if you have nothing in mind, Clan Ivy will take them.
-You are entitled to up to forty souls, as donated by the condemned. You may also take one of condemned of your choosing alive, to be used in the repair of a reanimation table.
-Your cut of the currency seized comes to fifty eight thousand silver.
-As ruler of the land, all seized real estate and large furnishings belonging to the condemned will be returned to you. See Confessor Rash anytime after Wednesday for a summary and tour of your new holdings.
-Smaller belongings of the condemned will be divided among the forces of Clan Ivy in town.
Confessor Rash informs you that although she suspects your skills in the interrogation chamber are formidable, her Confessors are on another level entirely and should be the ones to handle the questioning. You are welcome to give a list of questions you want the condemned to answer, or to drop in if anybody has offended you to the point where you would like to torture them personally for any reason.
Wednesday sheepishly informs you that everybody she was going to report to you about has been pick up by Clan Ivy, and then apologizes for being useless.
I have a feeling that next turn will be largely spent following up on this turn. Starting Wednesday, however, both your dark magic and potion brewing students should have classrooms ready for you, so it might be time to come up with a schedule to follow moving forward.
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Topic: (SG) The Redleaf Epic (Formerly Widow: A Duchess Scorned) (Read 66275 times)