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[Tomcost]

Let's try to be friendly, but determined in no killing Redding. We can still sign the treaty, with the clause that the Hortons have to agree, and delay everything as much as we want if we desire so.

"Who's a good ghoul? Who's a good ghoul always ready to MURDER?"

So much time has passed since the last time I sigged something. This is a fine addition to my small collection.

[IronyOwl]

I'd rather craft something everyone sort of wants than agree to the thing everyone else wants but then delay it indefinitely. Declaring Joy Duchess details pending sounds like a good idea, though.

[Tomcost]

But... everybody sort of wants this, right? Charlie wants even more influence over Joy, but she can just handle what she has right now.

And the Hortons would basically have veto power if we say that their agreement is pending.

So, everybody wins, right?

[IronyOwl]

We're not sure how comfortable we are with Redding becoming Duke if we die. Nobody but Mayor wants Mayor County to absorb Other County. We don't want to unconditionally declare everyone who's not with us against us, I don't think. "Here's a treaty, if you don't like it don't sign it" is probably not what the Hortons want, but we wouldn't know because nobody asked them.

I don't think "everybody wins" so much as "the Rothwells and maybe Redding wins big, unless we delay inevitably in which case nobody loses by virtue of nothing happening, except possibly whoever everyone thinks it holding up getting their sweet loot."

[Tomcost]

Oh, I forgot about the "All that aren't with us right now are enemies" clause. Yes, we may want to change that. And, unfortunately, if that happens, some people will lose their promised counties, and everybody will complain about that.

Damn, politics are difficult.

So, any suggestions? It seems that not declaring everybody our enemy will decrease our degree of "alliance" with these guys.

[VoidSlayer]

Give everyone 30-90 days to respond or be considered traitors after we declare Joy to be the Duchess in regency.

That should give us enough time to use what influence we have over the other counts.

We can offset it by taking the mayor's extra county and the one promised to our family and turning them into "to be dispensed to loyal counts who do not otherwise receive something" so that if their 'preferred' county is not included, they at least get something.

Also I was not saying we should kill Redding, just that it's not the worst idea.  Later though, maybe.

[Tomcost]

Give everyone 30-90 days to respond or be considered traitors after we declare Joy to be the Duchess in regency.

That should give us enough time to use what influence we have over the other counts.

We can offset it by taking the mayor's extra county and the one promised to our family and turning them into "to be dispensed to loyal counts who do not otherwise receive something" so that if their 'preferred' county is not included, they at least get something.

Also I was not saying we should kill Redding, just that it's not the worst idea.  Later though, maybe.

I like it. Give them 90 days just like with the Strongcurrents. The extra county's fate (King's Road it is called) could be decided by a democratic vote of some sort, from the new coalition.

On the other hand, Count Kinkaid is already attacking Silver county, so we have a problem with that. Even worse, King's road County is ruled by his wife. So, those two counties are already against us, unless we break with the Kinkaids. I think that the Marlowe are going to hate us and we can't do anything to stop that right now. That leaves us with two possible allies in the Strongcurrents and maybe the Gulfs. And we have a contact with the Gulfs (who is not important, but exists).

I also so think that killing Redding right now is not the best idea. Later, after Joy has given birth, it would be another story. It depends if we can just make him into a part of our family. But, considering how willing he is to murder his own current family for power, I doubt about it.

By the way, we should bless Joy with some kind of blessing that makes her safer on the battleground.

[3man75]

This is going to be a matrilineal marriage though right? Where Joy's children are of our household?

If yes and if Charlie promises to not kill redding then we can agree. Tell her that we are simply to attatched to let redding die for..what reason again?

[Tomcost]

This is going to be a matrilineal marriage though right? Where Joy's children are of our household?

If yes and if Charlie promises to not kill redding then we can agree. Tell her that we are simply to attatched to let redding die for..what reason again?

Because our daughter likes him, and he will prevent her from doing suicidal things in battle.

[IronyOwl]

Hm... come to think of it, this is a declaration to the rest of the world too, not just our allies and tangentially our targets. Like, it occurred to me that "Joy is Duchess, kind of" and "this dude's a traitor, his land and titles are forfeit" were declarations, but I kind of forgot everybody's going to be reading this to find out where we stand.

So to that end... hrm. We might want to declare a generalized plan of action modified by Joy's discretion at the time, so that other counties can calculate the exact political costs of joining us, opposing us, or doing one until they decide they want to do the other. For example, if we say that any county (I believe the document mentioned two) joins us immediately, they're safe; if they remain neutral or hostile until later, they may make reparations with a political marriage into a loyalist house; if they oppose us in battle but join or stop opposing us after a few poor engagements, they are to be stripped of position and their heir put in charge in a political marriage with a loyalist house; if they fight to the last their family is stripped of title and a loyalist house takes over.

The trick there, of course, would be to figure out what we want those claims to do and to who. Kinkaid and Rothwell obviously want us to grab everybody's land and give it to them, but I'm not sure how well it'd motivate them. Charlie has told us she wants to get everything back our husband took from her and maybe then some, but she might be willing to settle if the winds are against her and she's probably not going to fight any harder/better with more loot. Rothwell is basically just a Kinkaid patsy; he can't do much on his own.

Horton... Wife is our friend, General just wants to murder. So, uh. Not sure we can "motivate" either of them beyond promising COLD JUSTICE for more people Horton's declared traitors.

Everyone else... we want them to join us now rather than later, but we don't want to lock them out of joining us later. Especially before they've seen that we're a feasible force, they're not surrounded by enemies with our armies too far away to help, etc. So we'd want something that gets the maximum number of people going "wow, I should join the Duchess" at each stage where they're more useful to us as allies than as prizes for our allies.

So, uh... Silver County is former Kinkaid, which means Mayor and Charlie both want it; Mayor isn't actually useful to us beyond Charlie's power, but she might want/be fine with him ruling it anyway. Its current ruler was put there by our husband, though, so we might be able to get that and King's Road (both Marlowes) just by asking/demanding fealty from them. On the other hand, our husband's schemes were greatly slowed when the ruler of Silver County imposed ludicrous taxes on trade through there with the dwarves, so they might not be terribly loyal and/or competent. Charlie wouldn't like that at all either; we could potentially buy her off with a political marriage, but she's not going to want to wait for control without a very good reason.

Every other county is a prize, but not "mandatory" for any particular reason.

Give everyone 30-90 days to respond or be considered traitors after we declare Joy to be the Duchess in regency.

That should give us enough time to use what influence we have over the other counts.

We can offset it by taking the mayor's extra county and the one promised to our family and turning them into "to be dispensed to loyal counts who do not otherwise receive something" so that if their 'preferred' county is not included, they at least get something.

Also I was not saying we should kill Redding, just that it's not the worst idea.  Later though, maybe.

I like it. Give them 90 days just like with the Strongcurrents. The extra county's fate (King's Road it is called) could be decided by a democratic vote of some sort, from the new coalition.

On the other hand, Count Kinkaid is already attacking Silver county, so we have a problem with that. Even worse, King's road County is ruled by his wife. So, those two counties are already against us, unless we break with the Kinkaids. I think that the Marlowe are going to hate us and we can't do anything to stop that right now. That leaves us with two possible allies in the Strongcurrents and maybe the Gulfs. And we have a contact with the Gulfs (who is not important, but exists).

I also so think that killing Redding right now is not the best idea. Later, after Joy has given birth, it would be another story. It depends if we can just make him into a part of our family. But, considering how willing he is to murder his own current family for power, I doubt about it.

By the way, we should bless Joy with some kind of blessing that makes her safer on the battleground.

Not a fan of the 90 days rule. Gives them a while to stall, but still locks them in one way or another at the end.

It's true that Silver County is a problem because Charlie's already attacking it, which doesn't give them any time to react to our demands for fealty. We might need to let her have it as her expected fee for supporting us, though what exactly happens to the people currently in charge could do with some refinement. Maybe deliver the demand as Charlie's getting into position, and then if they agree immediately we call off the attack and promise Charlie something else?

We might want to figure out what Redding's angle was for letting the Port County clause in, but I'm guessing he figured that he could convince his father to support his son the Duke within 90 days.

This is going to be a matrilineal marriage though right? Where Joy's children are of our household?

We should check on this.

If yes and if Charlie promises to not kill redding then we can agree. Tell her that we are simply to attatched to let redding die for..what reason again?

Wh- he's potentially useful, stabbing everyone who gets in your way tends to go poorly sooner or later, and our daughter and heir to the Duchy loves him!

[VoidSlayer]

How about confiscation of lands is dependent on the desire of the duchess (or her regent).  The default can be confiscation (because they are traitors right now) and if it is confiscated it goes to the correct party.

But we can also negotiate for their surrender to include keeping some or all their lands, if it would be advantageous.

This gives us power in the long term, through it does not bind our allies as strongly.  We can always declare later that so and so's lands are forfit if we truly believe they will never join us.

This way Charlie will be pressed to take down Silver County quickly, to not give the current ruler a chance to negotiate with us.  And it allows us to negotiate with Strongcurrent for wealth and swords rather then making him automatically join under his terms.  After all, we have his heir as hostage.

[StrawBarrel]

I don't think Redding is the heir.

Your children are introduced oldest to youngest - First your son-in-law Redding and your daughter Joy. Redding and Gruel are already acquainted, the two having fought together for your husband, but it is clear to you that this is the first time in a while that they have been together, as Gruel asks some questions that most would know the answer to such as 'what happened to your first wife?' (died of Riverpox the same week Joy's betrothed backed out of the arrangement to marry the King's niece) 'who cut off the fingers on your right hand' (goblins on the Western front) and 'did you ever get named heir to your County?' (if I did I wouldn't be living with my mother-in-law).

Speculating, I think Redding and Ernie might negative relation or at least a distant one.

This is going to be a matrilineal marriage though right? Where Joy's children are of our household?

We should check on this.

Given Joy's surname is Strongcurrent and the wording in previous updates, it seems to me that it is a patrilineal marriage.

[Weirdsound]

2334th Year of Man, 4th Month, 18th Day:

"Charlie... I agree that we are on the same side," you sigh, "but I'm not going to have Redding killed... at this point in time. He has been instrumental in keeping Joy off the battlefield, which I think we can both agree is a good thing."

The countess considers your words for a few seconds, before offering a defeated nod of agreement. "Alright. That is fair enough. We can't have her trying to fight while this far along. What does she have, like two months left?"

"Pretty much," you admit, "there is a chance the kid could end up sharing my birthday."

"Good. You can use that time to try and tame Redding then. If you can bend him to your will before he outlives his usefulness, we might not even have to revisit this conversation later." Charlie sprawls herself out across your sofa, before remembering the other issue as an afterthought. "And the treaty then?"

You shake your head. "I know I'm in no position to stop you from taking Silver County if you can get it, but beyond that, I don't want to close the door on any of the other counts changing sides for us. I say we name Joy heir, pending future negotiations, and go about our business for now."

Charlie chuckles, "That is kind of a dumb reason when you consider our other ally wants all the other counts dead and might not be willing to let them switch sides, but I'll admit I'm not fully satisfied with the treaty either, and I'll gladly use 'lets wait for the Hortons' as an excuse to say no to their document without offending Gregory or Redding. Tomorrow, we can present Joy to my men and the town as their new Duchess."

"Wonderful, so we have a plan then?"

The Countess nods, and reaches into her robe to produce a cheap chain with two brass lockets, each containing a lock of hair. "Indeed. I think you realize you have little choice but to work with me, so now I can confess that I need your help as well. This is hair from Gregory's two younger children who are staying at my place. My scholar on Dark Magic tells me that this is all you need to hold leverage over him. I have reason to believe he will need to be babysat extra closely until this situation blows over, and I suspect I'll be far too busy on the front lines to do it myself."

You cringe, why would she need your help with Gregory after just telling you she could control him? "And why does he need extra babysitting, might I ask?"

Charlie frowns, "because I intercepted a message from his nephew Jordan. The boy is in Tradewind Duchy rounding up mercenaries at the ports to fight on behalf of the prince. He hates your family for starting the war that killed his family, Glen's family for killing his family, and my family for not demanding justice for his family. He wants us all dead Maeris, and he wants Gregory to act as his agent. I am fairly confident I have intercepted all of Jordan's messages, and that Gregory doesn't even know his cousin is getting involved on the other side, but I just want to keep the mayor on an extra short leash just to be safe."

You shrug, sounds about right. Gregory's brother would send death threats or challenges to duel to your husband a few times a year. It would make sense his son felt the same way. "I see. Do you have any more news. I have not heard much since it all went down."

Charlie sighs. "Honestly, things are looking a bit scary. Between us, the Orcs, and those forces put in place to keep my family in check, the Southern Counties have an advantage in available manpower for now, but the numbers are close enough that neither side should feel comfortable committing to the offense. The scales will tip slightly more in our favor when we bring back the Mighty Clans, but that is where the good news ends. I just found out that Rubricon has his cousin Prince Denzel, who is far more popular and 6th in line to the throne, serving as his squire. This significantly raises the odds of the crown actively backing our enemy."

She pauses for a second, and gives you a hardened look. "The short version is, we need to control either Port or Silver County before the Crown starts providing serious support to the prince, that way we can use the Port or the Winding Path to try and bring in more resources of our own. If we can't do that, we are fucked. But you needn't worry. Your husband helped Phineas and I work all the defeat out of our systems. The Duchy will be ours, mark my words."

As Charlie rises from her seat, and gives you a pat on the shoulder, you can't help but think that you know of a third means of possibly supplying the resistance should the crown get involved, but that it involves Goblins and high treason.

Back downstairs, you and Charlie announce that while you agree on naming Joy heir, that no formal document should be signed without the presence of the Hortons. Those in attendance are encouraged to spread the word, and after everybody finishes their lunch, the meeting is concluded without incident.

Charlie drags the mayor away for a private discussion, and he returns to you alone. There is a look of utter fear now in Gregory's eyes as he reguards you, but he does a pretty good job of masking the terror in his voice. "So, my Duchess, shall I arrange for the potion cartel to meet you at the guardhouse?"

Duchess Maeris Bonedust Riverland:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Status -

Age: 46
Health: Fine

Hexes and Aura:
An aura detector of average skill could tell you are the practitioner or victim of dark magic...
Hex of the Demon Tivavarav (Weak, Curse [Your soul goes to Tivavarav upon death], Self Inflicted, Grants knowledge of several demon hexes)
Hex of the Demon Pogpugrooog (Weak, Inactive, Self Inflicted, Grants knowledge of several demon hexes)
Human Soul Prepped for Scrap (Weak, Self Inflicted, Necromancy Materials bound to your own soul for lack of better storage)
Dwarven Soul Prepped for Wighthood (Weak, Self Inflicted, Necromancy Materials bound to your own soul for lack of better storage)

Mundane Skills:

Excellent: Demon Lore, Lore of Goblin History
Great: Herbalism, Deception, Goblin Manners, All Other Non-Exotic Lore
Good: Demonic Manners, Courtly Manners, Intimidation

Magical Skills:
Your parents arranged for you to be 'captured' by Goblins when you were young, so that you could learn their arts. When you grew older, you returned home on several occasions so that your relatives could teach you the Dark Arts that Goblins don't teach to women. The result is that when it comes to goblin magic, you are the jack of all trades...

Hex Weaving: The base upon which the Dark Arts are built. Every being has its own Hex (also called a True Name or a Hex Sign) that describes it perfectly, and by binding one being's hex (usually that of a demon) to another being's soul the Hex Weaver can work wonders. A Hex is, sadly, too complex for a carbon based mortal mind to retain, so to know a Hex one must have it bound to their soul, or held in some other sort of supernatural storage. Typically important demons include knowledge of their key minions hexes as part of their own hex, so a prospective Hex Weaver can get 2-4 for the price of 1. A Hex Weaver can bind any Hex they know to a being so long as they have phyiscal or emotional contact with that being, or physical contact with an object that being has been in extended physical or emotional contact with. Once a Hex is woven, it can be activated as a curse at any time; Hex Weavers who also have the means to negotiate with demons may also arrange to activate a hex as a blessing. When activating a blessing or a curse, you can give it any non-lethal effect reasonably related to the Hex you are using to place it. You presently know the following useful Hexes...

Hex of the Demon Tivavarav: Bound to soul. Relates to Control and Ownership of one's soul, memory loss, the cold, and entrepreneurship (This Hex Supports 7 Active Curses - The souls of yourself, your children, and your son-in-law Redding fall into Tivavarav's possession should that person die while effected by the curse)
Hex of the Demon Gungor: Granted by Bound Hex. Relates to servitude to the demon Tivavarav, Water, Nightmares, Torture, and Ill Health
Hex of the Demon Talcutta: Granted by Bound Hex. Relates to servitude to the demon Tivavarav, Aquatic Creatures, Scavenging, Fear, and Tool Use
Hex of the Demon Yaugur: Granted by Bound Hex. Relates to servitude to the demon Tivavrav, Fire, Aggression, Swordsmanship, and Warfare
Hex of the Demon Pogpugrooog: Bound to Soul. Relates to Lore of the Deep Pantheon, Divine Magic of the Deep Pantheon, and the Unshaped Realm of the Abyss
Hex of the Demon Kanisswo: Granted by Bound Hex. Relates to servitude to the demon Pogpugroog, Influence over the deep races, Caves, and Fungus
Hex of the Demon Yaas: Granted by Bound Hex. Relates to servitude to the demon Pogpugroog, Darkness, Perception, Deception, and The Act of Espionage.

Necromancy: The trick of animating the dead isn't terribly complicated, but to grant a walking corpse intelligence and longevity, Necromancy must be practiced in conjunction with the other dark arts. A Necromancer typically purchases the souls required to support useful undead from a soul cleaner, a demon who specializes in prepping souls to be either torn apart to fuel a hoard of undead with animalistic intelligence, or raised into a specific state of advanced undeath. You can raise any suitable corpse you find without any special equipment, but you need access to an Animation Table to make undead out of multiple corpses, or to add new parts to existing undead. You know it is possible to raise incorporeal undead and to put souls you purchase into inorganic animated constructs, but you would need training under a specialist to learn how to do either of those things.

Summoning: Summoning is most simple of the Dark Arts in Theory, but the most complicated in practice. Moving matter, information, and energy between realms is easy with the right equipment, but unless such a move is part of a negotiated deal with a demon or other extraplanar being, the consequences can be nasty. You need a projection stage to easily communicate with beings off realm, and a summoning circle to move most objects; Until you can acquire those the best you can hope to accomplish is to call imps (lesser demons made to move between the universes) loyal to a demon whose hex is bound to your soul. There are two ways a summoner can move beyond the basics; A Binder is a Summoner who knows her own Hex Sign and uses it to influence or control powerful demons without negotiation. A Manifestation is a Summoner who permanently defiles her own humanity to summon demonic aspects directly into her own body - a Manifestation who lives long enough will usually transcend mortality and become a true demon themselves. The following are your demonic contacts, and the deals and arrangements you have with them.

Tivavarav The Soul Dealer:
-Tivavarav will support one blessing through his hex or the hex of one of his minions for each two curses supported through his hex or the hex of one of his minions
-Tivavarav keeps ten sets of powerful demonic armor that he loans out to members of the Bonedust family on an as needed basis
-If Tivavarav gets a hold of the soul of somebody related to the Bonedust Family through blood or marriage, he will prepare it for useful undeath in the least intrusive way possible, and will not sell it to non-family members
-Tivavarav allows you to contact his minions directly

Gungor The Soul Cleaner:
-Gungor will unconditionally support up to two blessings through his hex
-Gungor will give you a birthday gift each year on the 23rd Day of the 6th Month

Pogpugrooog, Scourge of the Deep Gods:
-Pogpugrooog will support one blessing through her hex or the hex of one of her minions for every three curses supported through her hex or the hex of one of her minions
-So long as you have placed at least three active curses supported by Pogpugrooog or one of her minions, not counting those used to pay the support of a blessing per the above agreement, Pogpugrooog will tell you what she knows reguarding your daughter Fortune's relationship to the Goddess Tetha. This agreement does not include the exact details of the early death Fortune predicts for herself - If Pogpugrooog discovers this information, she will tell you so, and then it must be negotiated separately.

Potion Brewing: Potion Brewing is the art of exploiting the chemical and magical properties of plants by combining them with other ingredients to yield potions and salves. Most Potion Brewing can be done with the common kitchen equipment and still that is available at Groghall, but some more concentrated potions will require a specialized Potion Still. Some Potions are dangerous or lose their effects when exposed to air, and will require a Sealing Station and Flasks to safely produce and store. Many human commoners dabble in this craft, but the goblin tradition as you have been taught includes the trick of changing a plant's useful properties by using Hex Weaving to place a blessing upon said plant while it grows. The ability to identify useful properties in plants is tied to your Herbalism skill. Useful plants for Potion Brewing will be listed with your assets.

Household:

Joy Strongcurrent, Daughter - (Fighter/Divine Caster/Lorekeeper, Deeply Loyal, Pregnant/Cursed [Soul goes to Tivavarav])
Redding Strongcurrent, Son-in-Law - (Nature Mage/Socialite, Ulterior Motives [Desires Power], Crippled [Hand]/Cursed [Soul goes to Tivavarav])
Dean Riverland, Son - (Dark Mage/Fighter, Deeply Loyal, Strong Dark Magic Aura/Cursed [Soul goes to Tivavarav])
Fortune Riverland, Daughter - (Herbalist/Scholar, Deeply Loyal, Child/Touched by a God/Crippled [Blind]/Cursed [Soul goes to Tivavarav])
Caddor, 'Prisoner' - (Fighter/Merchant, Loyal)
Mason Greenplanes, Studies your Daughter - (Scholar/Socialite, Ulterior Motives [Curious about Fortune])
'Mackie', Lowborn Servant - (Laborer, Loyal)
Wednesday, Undead Creation - (Thief/Spy, Loyalty Compelled, Offensive to Polite Society/Maintenance [Drinks Living Blood])
Tuft of Clan Gruel, Minion - (Fighter/Archer/Orcish Socialite, Loyalty Tied to Site, Ageing)
Tempest of Clan Gruel, Minion - (Fighter/Divine Caster/Nature Mage, Loyalty Tied to Site)

Assets:

Home:
Dining Hall (Suitable for Formal Meetings)
Kitchen (Roomy and Well Stocked enough to perform basic potion brewing on a small scale without interrupting meal preparations)
Master's Quarters [1/2] (Luxurious Space, Comfort, and Decoration for you and whoever you choose to share your bed with. Could fit a single private workstation)
Noble Quarters [9/15] (Ample Space, Suitable for members of your household who are Highborn, Wealthy, or Military Leaders)
Servant Quarters [22/30] (Suitable for the commoners in your household, and for non-combat hirelings)
Barracks [60/200] (Suitable for common soldiers)
Basement (Currently Storing enough grain to feed the hall's current population for two years, and has space for 4 Workstations)
Yard (Contains a bathing pool. Has space for 10 Workstations, but the hot, rainy, tropical climate makes the yard a poor location for most labor)

Personnel:
Mackie's Children [6] (The two older girls help you and your daughters dress. The others maintained your family quarters back home and may be redundant here. Lead by Mackie)
Groghall Staff [15] (Orcs who perform the cooking and cleaning at Groghall)
Caiman Swarm [30] (12 Veteran Orcs of Clan Gruel and 18 Assorted Mercenaries. No standard uniform. Lead by Tuft)
Typhoon Swarm [30] (30 young and possibly green Orcs of Clan Gruel. Leather Armor, Obsidian Tipped Swords, Copper Tipped Ammo. Lead by Tempest)

Magical Goods:
Gregory Rothwell's Underpants (Can be used to place a weak-medium powered hex on the previous owner)
Locket of Rothwell Childrens' Hair (Can be used to place a weak-medium powered hex on Greg's kids)

Income and Tribute:
5% Share in Rivertower Knifehouse (Yeilds Aprox 300 Silver a Month)
Access to Magical Workstations under Rivertower Knifehouse
Regular Reports from the Goblin Spy Ring

Geopolitical Situation:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

(Map goes here when I get around to making one)

Redleaf Duchy:
The Kingdom's Southernmost Duchy east of the Ironheart Mountains. Its Northern border, shared with the wealthy Tradewind Duchy, is an imaginary line drawn from the lighthouse at Gulf City west to the Ironheart Mountains. To the east lies the Gulf of Monsters, a stretch of ocean famous for inhospitable currents and many species of fierce sea life capable of capsizing small boats. The Western border is considered the treeline of the Ironheart Range, mountains home to several several dwarven cities: Some independent, some vassals to the human kingdoms, and some vassals to the goblins. The Southern border of the Duchy, and the Kingdom, is the Roe River, which is formed by streams that come out of the Mountains and flows east and slightly south to reach the gulf; The jungles beyond the river are infested with Orcs, but the most dangerous clans have been driven far from the border.

The other major river in the duchy is the Silver River, which starts in the mountains of the west central Silver County and passes through Nymphgrass, a mirthful tropical marsh, before splitting into two forks in Port County. The northern fork makes the short journey east straight on to the gulf, while the southern fork dips south into Southjungle County and fills Basin Lake before veering east again to meat the gulf.

The main biome is tropical Savannah, with thick jungles near the Southern Border and splotches of desert to the north. Thin bands of temperate and alpine forest exist in the extreme western reaches of the Duchy where the elevation is higher.

The Counties:
Southjungle County [Friendly]: The Southeastern most county. Home to good fishing in Basin Lake, good farming in land cleared along the rivers, and for producing skilled rangers. Ruled by Count Glen Horton.
Roe River County [Friendly] [You are Here]: The Southwestern most county. Home to good farming in land cleared around the rivers, some silver mines in the northwest, the duchy's only crossing into Orcish lands, and the major mercenary market of North Bank City. Ruled by Count Phineas Kinkaid.
Silver County [Hostile]: The western central county. Home to many silver mines in the Southwest, the duchy's only crossing into Dwarven lands, and the Duchy's only Nature Mages Guild in the town of Balloon Point. Ruled by Count Horace Marlowe.
King's Road County[Hostile]: The Northwestern most county. Home to many farms, as well as the Major intersection of the Ancient King's Road and the more contemporary Royal Highway. Ruled by Countess Charlotte Marlowe.
Gulf County[Hostile]: The Northeastern most county. Home to many roads connecting to the ports of Tradewind Duchy to the North, some farming, and the Ruins of Gulf City, the ancient capital of the second dynasty. Ruled by Count Virgil Gulf III.
Port County[Hostile]: The eastern central county. Home to good farming along the river, and the only port of trade in the Duchy. Ruled by Count Ernie Strongcurrent.
Cleanriver County[Hostile]: The central county. Home to great farming along the river, and the capital of the Duchy at Cleanriver Castle. Ruled by Prince Rubricon Emmit.

Your Dependable Contacts:

Local -
Fugitap Bloodwalls [Old Friend]: A Goblin who grew up in Bloodwalls fortress where you were imprisoned. He is now part of a discrete Goblin delegation to North Bank City that hires mercenaries to fight Orcs and Subterranean peoples. You wouldn't be surprised if he knew where to find Workstations where one can perform Dark Magic in town.
Chieftain Foot [Old Mentor]: A Bankrupt small-time Orc warlord who lives in a small apartment in town. He is the Kingdom's leading expert on lore regarding the Orcish Pantheon, and will train anybody who has the coin in Orcish Divine Magic.

Duchywide -
Miri Horton [Best Friend]: A sheltered girl in her mid twenties who knew nothing but the highborn circles of the Royal Capital until she was married off to Glen at age 14. You bonded first as mentor and student (demon lore fascinates her), and latter as shoulders for each other to cry on when the relationship between your husbands came to light. She has the desire to do something wicked, such as learn Dark Magic or cheat on her husband, but can't seem to find the guts to follow through.
Lady Jane Gulf [Old Mentor]: A landless highborn who owns a small trading caravan that operates in the north of the Duchy. She is the best regional historian you know, especially when it comes to the Second Dynasty, when her ancestors ruled the Kingdom from the Banks of Monster Gulf.
Watcher [Undead Creation]: A wight you made with the soul of a skilled inquisitor and the biggest Orc Corpse you could find. This loyal servant roams the duchy, keeping tabs on and enforcing your will among the other dark mages of your land.

Worldwide -
Farquad Riverland [Eldest Son]: You arranged for Farquad to work in elf lands so that he could study nature magic from the absolute best, and by extension gain a better grasp of dark magic. He ended up falling in love with his tutor, and teaching her his family's craft in return. He is far more interested in his partner, children, and studies than politics, but you are sure you could get him to come home if you could get in touch.
Lindwal Bonedust [Mother]: Since dad ascended, your mother has been tasked with keeping the catacomb at Bleaksoil, the ancestral home of the bloodline. Her main duties involve buying the souls of fallen family members and adding them to the thousands strong family army of sentient undead that waits below their castle for such a time desperate enough to see their use.
Maerii Alleye [Twin Sister]: Not a practitioner of Dark Magic herself, your sister serves as the head of intelligence for the family. Her main job is to keep an eye on the inquisition, which is easy seeing as she is married to its leader, High Inquisitor Righteous Alleye. She is also responsible for seeing that captured goblin highborns are held by 'understanding' households.
Truman Bonedust [Uncle]: A powerful manifestation who has lead the Bonedust family since your father ascended. By his own estimation, Trueman is most skilled dark mage among humans, and 3rd or 4th among mortals overall. Most of his men are caught up on the Western Front, but you are sure he could send you some support. You are sure he would prefer you to name somebody other than Dean heir.
Rizza Bonedust [Niece]: At only 27, Rizza is already in charge of the families interests in nearby Tradewind Duchy. She is a powerful binder who can enslave mighty demons to do her bidding. Uncle made it clear that you are ultimately in charge of all family activity on the East Coast, so she technically answers to you, but you have never actually tried to pull rank and boss her around before.
Haggen Bloodwalls [Old Friend]: Fort Bloodwalls, where you were imprisoned, is the closest Goblin Fortress to your land. Its current leader, Haggen, was nothing but a trouble-making prince who became your best friend during your time there. Haggen has lots of available troops, and might even be willing to send them to your aid, but openly fielding Goblin forces would be a high treason from which there would be no going back.
Voxxy Taffers [Old Friend]: A girl of mixed dwarven and goblin descent you befriended at Fort Bloodwalls. Voxxy now runs a whorehouse at Chaingreaves, a Dwarven City in the Ironheart Mountains with heavy Goblin sympathies. She has dirt on many important dwarves and goblins, and is good at arranging meetings between important humans and goblins at the neutral ground of her establishment.
Omegiz Irongag [Old Mentor]: The lorekeeper at Fort Bloodwalls who taught you more about demon lore and goblin history than most human libraries will ever contain. He has since been promoted several times, and is now the personal lorekeeper to the Goblin Pharaoh, who leads the loose goblin coalition against the Kingdom and is easily the strongest dark mage in the mortal realm.

Extraplanar -
Tivavarav [Trusted Business Partner]: A small time soul dealer who partnered with your family generations ago. He offers fair prices to the Bonedust Bloodline, and even allows them to contract the service of his Balrog servant Yaugur, the sort of demon that under most circumstances only a skilled Binder could hope to control.
Gungor [Father]: Formerly Gunner Bonedust, your father ascended to proper demonhood on the eve of 70th birthday. Gungor quickly found employment and protection under long time business partner Tivavarav, for whom he preps souls for sale to Necromancers. Although it is bad form to do business with him directly while you know his master’s Hex, he still looks after you in his own way.
Pogpugrooog [Busniess Partner]: A demoness who serves as a consort and midwife to the Deep Pantheon, and trades their secrets to other beings as a side business. You sought out contact with her on account of the Deep Pantheon’s involvement with your daughter Fortune, and for a price she has thrown you a few useful tidbits of knowledge over the years.

[IronyOwl]

[Smugly] "Yes, I believe you should."

So, how we doing this? Reformed Potioner's Guild to ingratiate ourselves to the city and supply possible mercs with affordable potions, or business as usual only now we're the ones receiving disgusting profits for little to no effort?

I say guild, but then I've probably been opposed to every morally questionable yet materially profitable action so far.


When that's done, we should look into getting a messenger to Count Ernie. Charlie's probably got Silver County in the bag, if we could negotiate Port County onto our side without bloodshed we'd be set. Or at least double not-fucked, which is... kind of somewhat the same thing.

Only trouble is how to do that. Messenger service can be a dangerous job in war, and if the good Count has to maintain appearances our courier might not make it back. Probably safer to hire a merc for it rather than risk someone we know... but then they'd be unreliable, which isn't great for covert offers of treason.

A custom undead might be perfect for the infiltration part, but not so great at the "Hello here for a message" bit. Plus we'd need the corpse(s), which I'm sure are in short supply! Should probably ask Redding about the best way to get into contact, and his opinion on our chances of success/Ernie's demands/Port County's assets.

How about confiscation of lands is dependent on the desire of the duchess (or her regent).  The default can be confiscation (because they are traitors right now) and if it is confiscated it goes to the correct party.

But we can also negotiate for their surrender to include keeping some or all their lands, if it would be advantageous.

This gives us power in the long term, through it does not bind our allies as strongly.  We can always declare later that so and so's lands are forfit if we truly believe they will never join us.

Maybe, but I'm not fond of the vagueness. They won't know in the planning phases how we'd react, and prolonged negotiating is hard when you're talking with the enemy.

This way Charlie will be pressed to take down Silver County quickly, to not give the current ruler a chance to negotiate with us.  And it allows us to negotiate with Strongcurrent for wealth and swords rather then making him automatically join under his terms.  After all, we have his heir as hostage.

But... that's a bad thing. We want Silver County to join us instead of being overwhelmed and possibly butchered by the Kinkaids.

Redding's not the heir, but he's now officially the Duke or Duke Consort or in good with the Duchess or however that works. Well, the rebel Duchess who only comes to power if she wins, but that's a good argument for winning. The point is that Count Ernie now has incentive to join us based on family interest, and not of the "or else we stab him" variety.

We should get into contact with him very soon.

This is going to be a matrilineal marriage though right? Where Joy's children are of our household?

We should check on this.

Given Joy's surname is Strongcurrent and the wording in previous updates, it seems to me that it is a patrilineal marriage.

Ah, good point. Though it's possible her being the Duchess would make that different.

[Kashyyk]

Regarding the potioner's guild, we could halve the prices. We still make more money than true price, and we'll appear to be a decent person to the customers.

Custom undead: What about a bird of some kind? It'll be intelligent/controlled enough to actually reach the destination, and not look too suspicious or threatening for guards to be concerned. Unless we want our messenger to do the persuading, we'll only be sending letters, and Harry Potter has taught us that random birds work best for that.