Larva = 7
Lance = 2
I'll count the votes to stay chaste as a -1 to all other options, so nothing happens here.
Political Speech = 2
Wedding Toast = 6
You launch into a deeply personal speech about the years you spent with Keanu and Kaylee in the desert.
Skill = 4
Roll = 4
King Addressing Subjects: -1
Final Result: 3
"...And that is why I know this union will work. They want to make it work. And they will put the work in. They have been putting work in since the day they found out that they were matched to wed. Kaylee and Keanu are not perfect for each other, because people are not perfect. 'Marriage is like any other skill, it can be mastered' is a quote commonly attributed to my Great Grandfather King Geralt. Geralt, of course, famously murdered his first wife, stole her throne, and killed all her sons. But looking past his rough beginnings, he mastered the skill of marriage in the end with Queen La'akea, and we are all here because of it.
Keanu and Kaylee are of lesser birth than Geralt, but I'm positive that in matters of the heart they are better people than a King dubbed 'The Heartless'. I am confident they will need far less trial and error to master the art of married life than he did!"
You get a roaring round of applause as you conclude your speech. You wait for it to die down before hugging both the bride and groom, and returning to one of the campfires to indulge in more drink.
---
The following day you speak with druids present before departing. They agree to help you put the insect larva into a state of suspended animation. Everyone involved is pretty confident that somebody at the grand temple will be willing to watch the critters and maintain the spell until you are ready to take the time to figure out what they are and what they eat.
---
Eventually the victorious raiding party arrives at Hau's raid camp, about a quarter day's journey by road or river from Bride Price. A delegation of imperial clerics are waiting to heal the wounds and attempt to save the souls of the victorious raiders. Among them is your brother Anders.
Anders personally tends to Andre, who was born before your parents met and thus can be easily argued as exempt from the Imperial restrictions on healing royals. Andre's injuries amount to several broken ribs; an easy fix for an Imperial Cleric.
After he completes his duty as a cleric, Anders pulls you aside, and introduces you to a chubby balding Imperial man called Horton De'Ville. Horton explains that he is your steward, and that you are to meet with your council shortly upon your arrival in Bride Price. The primary order of business is to present you with the list of possible Imperial Brides that you requested from The Titan Canyons, but the King, of course, is always free to raise any order of business he wishes at the meeting.
Horton asks if you have any issues that you would like the council to discuss or brief you on. If so, he will ride ahead and pass the news along so your other councilors may prepare themselves to speak on the desired topics.After Horton leaves, Anders speaks with you one on one. You can see the lines of exhaustion on your half brother's face, and deduce that the rumors that he is overworking himself are likely true. Nonetheless, he gives you a personal briefing on the state of your court.
Right now your council consists of Bishop Guthrey, an old friend of your father's, as your court chaplain, Queen Mother Anne as Lady of the Court (a role she is expected to concede to your eventual wife), and Anders himself as your court mage. Your marshal, steward, chancellor, and spymaster all come from the House of De'Ville.
Anders explains that the De'Ville Patriarch Burt was the son of a powerful foreign Duke who had inherited lots of money but no land. Burt turned to trade and investments to further expand his fortune, and by the beginning of the crusade against the Eunuch League he was perhaps the richest Imperial to not wear a royal crown. Zealous and hungry for land, Burt and his family fully committed to the crusade, in which Burt lead as a general and most of his sons fought as clerics or officers.
When the crusade ended, Anders explained that although Burt easily had enough money to buy passage back home, he instead chose to import the non-combatants in his family and his worldly possessions to New Mahallo, where he had purchased both land and influence from your desperate mother. When Queen Anne abandoned her regency early to join you on the hunt, the De'Villes more or less took control of the Kingdom, and now they dominate your royal council.
In the short term, Anders suggests that the De'Villes goals may align with your own. The wish to develop the frontier and build an army that can participate in a second crusade that will hopefully begin in a few decades once your Brother Felix can no longer keep his confederation united. In the long run, however, Felix warns that most of House De'Ville is less tolerant of the Mahallo people than the average Imperial, and that Burt would love nothing more than to quash their culture and religion. He is wise enough, however, to avoid antagonizing the locals before he has developed a base of power for himself.
Advising you on the upcoming meeting, Anders warns that the De'Villes know you are sniffing around the temple and considering Druidic Brides, and as thus they are likely to apply heavy pressure for you to pick a spouse from the list Penteram's Bishop has prepared before you leave the meeting.
You might want to think of a diplomatic way out of that situation unless you actually are planning on taking an Imperial spouse.Although Anders does not favor antagonizing or firing the De'Villes at this time, he admits he is frustrated with your spymaster Mathias De'Ville. Although your spymaster is seemingly competent at most aspects of his job, he pays no heed to your brother's concerns about a dangerous Orcish spy ring, as he believes the 'sub-humans' of the Bloodstone Plateau incapable of such sophistication. As Mathias himself is a cleric able to use magic, Anders suggests that he would willing to resign as your court mage so that you could give Mathias that position and appoint a spymaster who is not blinded by delusions of human supremacy without having to cause a scandal by firing anybody.
Do you favor Anders' idea? If so is there a friend or confidant you'd like to apoint spymaster? Is there a powerful figure or group, such as Penteram, Hau, the Merchant families that you like to ask to propose qualified candidates?