2334th Year of Man, 5th Month, 14th Day:
Sunday
You ask Cal for more details about her god's rules of conduct, particularly as to what would be considered 'aiding' kidnapping or murder, and luckily her answer leads you to believe that her behavior is far less restricted than you might have otherwise thought.
She can act so long as it isn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt, through either direct testimony or circumstantial evidence, that her actions would aid an act of killing or kidnapping. She couldn't open a door for a clearly armed group of warriors, but she could sell a key to and her notes on a building to somebody intent on slaughtering its residents, so long as she didn't happen to know that fact.
Cal could steal the belongings you need to preform Dark Magic; She knows enough about the black arts to reasonably assume that is why you want them stolen, but also knows there are many things a hex could do other than kidnap or kill. You order her to do just that. She promises to get you belongings from all the hostile Counts within the next month or so.
Next you ask about your daughter Chasity, and if rescuing her would be considered kidnapping. She considers your question briefly before giving you good news.
"Normally I'd say we couldn't do it without her consent, which I do suppose we might be able to get, but otherwise one's spouse has a stronger claim to one's liberty than one's parents. Chasity should be fine, however. By Elven Law, which is the law our diety holds himself to, your daughter is too young to wed."
She grins, and rises from your bed. "My husband ranks high enough in the elfish clergy to perform annulments legal in the eyes of all elfish gods. Simply provide him with a written request, you can leave it with Zeph or hand it to him in person while he is in town, to declare the marriage invalid on the grounds of an underage bride, and he will take care of rest."
Before she leaves, you ask her to survey the castle, and to make a report on the guard situation that 'another thief' might find useful. You also tell her about the secret passage beneath the trophy room that leads to your old dark magic workstations. The prince and his cronies may have had them destroyed or removed, Chasity, as well as a good handful of the castle's servants, knew aoubt them, but if they are still in place and intact, you could use Clan Ivy's gate to send orcs directly into the basement of Cleanriver Castle.
2334th Year of Man, 5th Month, 15th Day:
Monday
Before Chieftian Foot leaves, you track down Spittle, the pale Shaman who practices Tetha Worship and is assigned to Groghall while Clan Ivy is in in the city, and get her to agree to teach Foot about the deep deity. As both student and teacher in this scenario are already divine scholars, Foot reckons he should be able to pick things up quickly, and will be ready to teach about Tetha by the end of the month.
---
You inform Rash that you will take the War Ogre as a host for your Grub, on the condition that Clan Ivy helps feed it. Rash answers that Clan Ivy presently lacks the required surplus of Gems in town, but suspects that something can be worked out later once you have met with the Chieftess and discussed the longterm rights and responsibilities of Clan Ivy on your land.
Seeing as you have more than enough gems to get the grub started, you tell the confessor that future negotiations over food are acceptable, and in turn Rash agrees to to send a War Ogre to accept your demon.
---
You know enough about Goblin society to understand why the conscripts are slaughtered so freely; A dark lord provides his vassals with slaves every year, but never more than than they are capable of providing for. Unless it is thought that they can be trained to the point where they are worth more alive than as a soul within a year, new slaves are cursed with servitude and soul collection by way of the demons they are earmarked for and made to serve as conscripts for the better part of a year. Those who survive the year and show the most promise are given their freedom, proper gear, the training to use it, and a soldier's wage, but the rest are slaughtered en-mass before the population audit, which usually occurs at the end of winter, so that more slaves will be sent in the spring.
With that in mind, you instead ask how the gang divvies up the conscript souls every year.
Vartalaix explains that Axebeach loses about two to four thousand conscripts on the Western Front every year, and that those souls all go to the demon Ovinsail, who in exchange provides several key services for the gang. After taking into account those loses, and conscripts promoted to replace actual soldiers lost in annual scuffles against the Fiend's Eyes, between twelve and fifteen thousand conscripts are slaughtered every winter. The first three thousand and two hundred souls from each annual slaughter are earmarked to pay small annual contracts to various demons, and another five hundred souls are sent directly to the Pharaoh as tribute. Of what remains, 10% belongs to you, 40% is split nine ways between your underbossess, and the remaining half goes into the gang's joint account.
The joint account, as it turns out, is managed by Ovinsail, and can only be touched with the agreement of five underbosses, or one underboss and the overboss. As part of the contract that grants Ovinsail the souls from the western front, the pharaoh's vassal grants free transport of souls from the joint account to eleven demons, one of whom is Niechbaux, while each of the rest are selected by one of the ten bosses of Axebeach. Vartalaix tells you that you can contact the messenger with your selection of demon to receive shipping, but warns that Ovinsail only allows you to change your pick onece per decade. Vartalaix states that her loyalty belongs to the gang, and, by extension, the Overboss; She will happily endorse any use of the joint account, so long as such use benefits Axebeach.
When you inquire about the state of the account, Vartalaix informs you that is was emptied out upon the death of your predecessor. "It was likely the sea-bosses who did it. They are close friends, and would only need two other conspirators to get the job done. Furthermore, they know full well that you can't afford to punish them too harshly and risk losing your entire naval high command."
With all this in mind, you doubt getting Axebeach to supply a slave business would work. It seems like all their normal slaves are spoken for in the budget, and anything extra they capture can be sold to Ovinsail, likely for a better price than any small business you start could offer.
You instruct Vartalaix to negotiate with Armageddon Pier herself; You are confident that she, like any Succubus, will make a fine negotiator. Your goals are mainly to set up dependable lines of communication, as well as a means to coordinate the armed forces of both gangs against external threats going forward. Your second-in-command agrees to do just that.
Wrapping up the meeting, you inform those present that you have recently come into a large sum of silver in coins, and would like to help Axebeach handle the shortage in exchange for souls. Vartalaix states that she would be willing to serve as your middledemon and sell any silver you send her for a 10% cut of the souls. She would need to do some market research to give you an estimate of how much silver a soul should buy, and guesses it could be anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand coins for a soul.
Before leaving his home, you request that Niechbaux dip into your monthly tribute as store credit, and produce you a Scythe of Joker's Steel and a decorative orc sized set of armor made from Hide. He agrees, and makes a note of your order. It should be ready by the end of the day, but the Armor Fiend helpfully suggests bringing Chieftain Half-Moon to the summoning circle, so that measurements may be taken and adjustments made, before finalizing the deal by collecting the gear.
2334th Year of Man, 5th Month, 16th Day:
Tuesday
Deciding to get Virgil out of town before news of the additional deaths arrive, which could happen anytime this week according to Fortune, you begin to hurriedly plan your trip to meet Chieftess Ivy at Current Castle. You make arrangements in the morning so that you can leave by the end of the day.
You tell Redding about the abrupt travel plans, and inform him that he is to be in charge, as you will be taking his wife. You instruct him to leave messages for you on your bed, so that they may be brought to the knifehouse and transmitted. Your son-in-law is also instructed to work with Caddor and pressure Finch to start setting up the smithing/enchantment shop.
Redding, eager to show his worth, agrees to do this, and also offers to handle the Trevor Wikes situation on his own if you would write out a decree specifically naming Redding as your representative to run the trial.
Next you round up your children, and inform them of your travel plans, instructing them each to be ready to leave by dinner time. You then pull Dean aside in private, promise to get his contraceptive potions ready upon returning to North Bank City, before asking him to sell the augmented ceramic, transfer the souls gained from the deal to Nragelth, and purchase for you, if at all possible, two Dragon's eggs and a crate. Dean promises to see the transaction through before leaving, and hurries off.
Virgil is approached next, and you tell Count Gulf that you are visiting Clan Ivy tonight, and that he is invited so as to perhaps help organize a proper excavation of the shrine. When you add that Clan Ivy is looking to entertain their guests for at least a week, and that a vacation to Orc Country might help him get over recent events, he agrees.
Wednesday will be trailing both Redding and Greent while you are gone, and ferrying messages to the knifehouse if necessary. Rugath will be coming with you to serve as your bodyguard. Both servants agree to their roles over brief meetings, and likewise Lily agrees to keep attending class and behaving herself. Just in case, you weave your own hex upon all your demonic minions; Usually a contract is voided once the beings involved are no longer on the same realm, however your status as a binder should allow you to overcome this limitation.
Word is then sent to Crank and Rash that you will be traveling to visit their Chieftess tonight - with at least five guests in tow. You get word back that the troops in town will help enforce Redding's will in your absence, and that if you instruct the demon to obey Confessor Rash while you are gone, and provide the gems you have gathered for it, she will set up your grubspawn farm for you while you are out.
You then prepare messages to Palm and the wights, informing them that you will be traveling for at least a week, and they will be in charge of running class on their own. Similar notes are sent to your students.
A message from Syzzik while you are wrapping up your last student letter, inviting you to be his date to a party on Friday night; This weekend marks a major feast of the Goddess Trance, and to celebrate Peat is hosting several high-ranking Clan Ivy soldiers, as well as other important individuals from town.
This message brings up two minor issues for you, the first of which is how to turn Syzzik down while also informing him of your departure. The second is the Feast of Trance itself; After racking your brain and checking some of the documents you received from Chieftain Foot, you conclude that the Feast this weekend is an event known as Celebration of Risen Blood.
The feast occurs only once every ten years, and runs from sundown Friday to sunrise Tuesday sometime during the 5th month. It marks the major anniversary of Traaaacieant, said to be Trance's great-great-grandson and Chieftess Ivy's father, earning the status of greater demonhood and entering into his goddesses' service as a ranking minion. The main festivities are shrouded in secrecy and take place in the Chieftess' personal chambers, and are said to be attended by all eight of Trance's notable demonic minions, angelic and demonic representatives from other Orcish and Deep Dieties, and dignitaries from other important orcish clans.
A festival is also open to the public, featuring twenty-four hour merriment and major events every evening. Friday features an opening address by the Chieftess, who makes a rare public appearance. Saturday features a battle royal of fights to the death staring female warriors from across orcish lands competing for the opportunity to birth Traaaacieant's offspring should they win. Monday is the men's battle royal with either Chieftess Ivy or one of Trance's female greater demon minions as a prize, followed by a closing address, often by Traaaacieant but very occasionally by the Goddess Trance herself. It is the Sunday night festivities, however, that most interest you; From Dusk until dawn, Clan Ivy's ban on dark magic in public is lifted, and an open stage with proper equipment is provided for foreign practitioners to showcase their power. Called 'the night of black acceptance', Sunday night is a fairly popular setting for Dark Mages along the east coast to meet, mingle, and network with both each other and the assortment of important orcs who represent many clans.
This Feast raises a few opportunities and concerns. To start, none of your guests save for Dean (and perhaps Joy thanks to the recent demonic modifications made to her) know a thing about demonic protocol, so they might come across as rude, or worse vulnerable, when socializing with any greater demon who might show up. To make matters even more dicey, your orcish social skills are rather subpar. Usually you can mask this in an individual setting by flaunting your noble birth, status as a dark mage, or knowledge of their lore, but when dealing with a large gathering of important orcs, you might be a bit lost. Joy might be able to cover for you now, but even if she has the skill it might be prudent to find somebody else to help out. If you don't mind the Kinkaids eventually learning of whatever you discuss in front of her, your Court Priest Snakeyes is a solid pick. Redding might be able to find you a merc for the job, but getting somebody with a clear schedule, the right skill set, and no strong ties to Greent on such short notice might be asking a bit much.
You might also want to plan and make any arrangements should you choose to demonstrate your dark magic on Sunday night - doing so may or may not be worthwhile, it is an awesome opportunity to network, but you have to be careful with what you do and who you are seen with at the public festival - there are likely to be at least a few other guests from the Kingdom who could go back home and spread rumors. The festival will also take place less than a day's journey from territory controled by Axebeach, so some of your underbosses might very well show up; If you play your cards right you might be able to dispel the rumors regarding your identity.
This train of thought is interrupted by Fortune, who pulls you aside just after lunch. "This trip we are taking could be the point of no return for us. You will be given the opportunity to forge a mighty collation, that will plunge the kingdom into a war that shall not cease until your descendants are either royalty or extinct."
Before you can respond to this, Dean struts into the main dining room of Groghall, followed by a goblin with a cart containing four blue-grey scaly eggs that are each slightly larger than your head. He shrugs and gives you an apologetic look. "She just sold all the crates to one buyer last night, but the owner of those eggs was threatening to come and search her holdings for them, so she was desperate to unload. I got the lot for four souls, which is all you had after the shipping fee anyway."
+4 Dragon Eggs
Nragelth's Stock is out of date
You have the afternoon to make final preparations for your journey. What else needs to happen before you leave?
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Topic: (SG) The Redleaf Epic (Formerly Widow: A Duchess Scorned) (Read 66280 times)