Order Anders to take it easy. He's our premiere magic specialist, we can't have him performing his duties while ragged.
{Do not remove Anders from his Court Mage position to inoffensively replace your spymaster}. We'll rephrase it instead- the orcs may be subhuman brutes, but there's no shortage of human traitors willing to profit from their crude bribes. Ideally we'll use our vampire contacts to uncover an example first, which will force him to acknowledge there's something going on here.
You instruct your brother to slow down a bit. "You are my premier magic specialist and my brother Anders. We're in this for the long haul. I can't have you sacrificing your health or performing your duties while ragged from exhaustion."
"So you'll let me off the council then?"
"Probably not. That is where I anticipate that I'll need you most."
Anders explains that in addition to his political work, he spends many hours training in divine magic, performing the duties of an Imperial Priest to impress the common people and other key members of the clergy, and secretly studying other 'less conventional' magics that he thinks might be of use to you or the realm in the future. He asks where exactly it is you want him to cut back.---
You give Keanu, Kaylee, and Kane a discrete mission: Report back to the merchant houses and discretely gather a list of qualified candidates for the position of spy master, without tipping the De'Villes off. Your friends accept their mission, but before they depart, the twins each put their own name forward for the role. Although neither has formal training in spy-craft, they are both fairly clever, and their secret practice of Dragon Magic has taught them much about discretion. Kaylee and Kane are also loyal, perhaps to the point that someone might consider them your toadies or sycophants.
Hiring Kaylee would also come with the benefit of keeping her husband Keanu around; As a skilled outdoorsman with blood ties to several merchant families, your best friend will be expected to eventually leave your side and start running caravans across the desert if you can't come up with a good excuse for him to be at your court.
---
Ideally we'll use our vampire contacts to uncover an example (of Orcish treachery) first, which will force him to acknowledge there's something going on here.
You skip the royal procession, and ride into town with Anders and Andre quietly dressed as a common raider. On your way in, you ask your brothers to wait outside the gatehouse where you take care of some business.
Sergeant Corbin smiles at you from his desk. His rank is only middling in the Bride Price city guard, but as the eldest Bleachedkin Vampire in your home city, he is far more influential than his public rank implies.
Corbin tells you that he has been spotting the occasional sign that some sort of extensive spy ring might exist in Bride Price. Usually some vampire or another would get roped into such a scheme, and he would know the details, but the fact that this hasn't happened allows Corbin to make a key inference anyway.
"If your Orc Spy Ring exists, my King, its leadership runs in circles that Vampires would want to avoid. That means a place with lots of divine casters." He gives you a sideways glance, "I'll put some active effort into looking into this for you, but I can almost promise that whoever is running the operation in town will be closely tied to the Druids at the Grand Temple or the Imperial Clerics running amok at your own court."
---
The council meeting begins. A table is set up in your throne room. You sit at the head, your mother at your right hand, and your half brother Anders at your left. Your other councilors, none of whom you know personally, sit elsewhere at the table. An audience is allowed to assemble at a respectful distance. Anders points out Burt De'Ville in the audience, a portly and elderly gentleman who seems physically burdened by the amount of gold and silver jewelry he is wearing. You notice his sons on your council often glace at him to receive a nod of approval whenever they speak.
"Its not usually like this," Anders whispers. "Burt is usually out of town overseeing development of his own projects, but when he is around, half the council suddenly loses the ability to think for themselves."
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.
Economy and living conditions of our people.
The common citizen of Bride Price has so far escaped the worst of the blockade's economic impact. Some people have lost their jobs, either because the merchant cartels require less labor or their bosses have chosen to employee starving and stranded crusaders willing to work for cheap. But the unemployed so far have had options; The raider clans have built more canoes to take advantage of the larger pool of potential raiders, and Druids at the grand temple have been willing to help the less fortunate set up homesteads out on the frontier.
The real victims so far have been the merchants and the crown. Your mother explains that at the start of her regency she sat down to negoiate with Archdruid Tamar. Historically, the office of the Archdruid ruled and taxed New Mahallo in the name of the Volcanique-Imperial Kingdom. Often times the monarch would even exempt the Archdruid from paying taxes to the crown.
A new arrangement had to be made with New Mahallo receiving a local secular ruler, but Tamar felt that as a blood relative of the King he would have a conflict of interest if he were to negotiate with your mother on the Grand Temple's behalf, so instead a temporary arrangement was reached: The crown would take taxes from the merchants, and the temple would take taxes from the raiders. At the time, both groups had been providing about the same amount taxes, so everybody thought the arrangement would work out until Tamar died or retired and his successor could sit down with the monarch and work out a binding tax code to last the ages.
The Blockade has thrown things out of balance. The raiders are still making money for the temple, but the amount the merchants bring in for the crown has been dropping year by year.
"This year, we expect to receive only 20% of the taxes we got during the first year of your reign, my liege" your mother explains.
"That sounds bad when the honored Queen Mother puts it like that," your steward Horton interjects, "but the blockade wont last forever, and between King Penteram and my esteemed father you will have money if a need arises. In addition to sponsoring the crown, Imperial interests are working hard to civilize this savage land and its people, to ensure future generations of Kings will have respectable and productive subjects to tax."
"The optics of the situation are bad," chimes in another De'Ville at the table, "but in reality there is no true cause for concern. If anything, it will break the power of the heathen merchant families, so that proper and loyal Imperials can take over trade in New Mahallo."
Ask for the council's assessment of the orc situation. We can establish early that it's not just getting swept under the rug.
The De'Villes all laugh.
"The Bloodstone Plateau represents only a minor threat. Unless they luck into committing full force to a raid while the Mahallo raiders are occupied with their own primitive business, they are unlikely to cause any real harm." Mathias explains, "to make matters even better for us, the savage idiots actually picked a full blooded orc to lead them! Such inferior leadership should render them less of a threat. If there is a spy ring in town, it answers to the blasted Eunuch who is attempting to frame the savages."
"If certain
uneducated lowborns," Mathias shoots a look of disdain at Anders, "take Felix's bait and think the true threat are the mixed breeds, that speaks more to their own intelligence than the skill of Felix's spies."
No. We'll rephrase it instead- the orcs may be subhuman brutes, but there's no shortage of human traitors willing to profit from their crude bribes.
Skill = 3
Roll = 5
Formal Setting: -1
Dealing with own Subjects: -1
Final Result = 3
"The orcs may be subhuman brutes," you counter, "but there's no shortage of human traitors willing to profit from their crude bribes."
Your statement gives Mathias pause. "Huh... I suppose it could be possible that The Mahallo might be stupid enough to trust an Orc. I'll have my agents start grilling the merchants. If anybody is hurting and desperate enough to take orcish bribes, it would be them."
The topic then moves onto the matter of brides. Before the list is presented, the council brings in several scribes and criers, as well as a tailor and a jeweler.
"Mathias' eyes on that raid you partook in tell us you remained chaste even in the face of great temptation." Old Bishop Guthrey states, "you should be commended for your behavior. Devotion and loyalty to your spouse, even if you have not met her yet, speaks highly to your character. But it is not a King's place to remain a virgin. It is your duty to produce enough heirs to cleanse your realm by the rite of Partition should it grow large enough. The council agrees that you should be wed as soon as possible."
The Bishop smiles. "Our generous benefactor Burt De'Ville has offered to pay for the celebration. All you need do is select a name from the list your requested King Penteram's clergy compile, and stick around to be measured for jewels and garb suitable for a royal groom. We will handle the rest. By the grace of Agusta your wedding feast will be spectacular enough to cause the realm to forget its troubles, and your wedding night will relieve you of and reward you for carrying the burden of chastity."
Possible Brides-Gisele: Age 20. Gisele has been granted a copy of Agusta's Red Journal, a tome reserved for women who embody the highest standards Imperial Virtue. The secretive journal is said to contain both mundane and magical tricks for both the bedroom and life employed by the God Empress herself. Obvious potential fun aside, having a wife permitted to study the Red Journal is considered a high honor. It also makes her the closest thing to a magical talent on the list.
Marion: Age 16. An orphan raised by the imperial clergy while skin paler than a vampire and eyes as red as a cave dwelling monster. Her albinism, specific birthmarks, and date of birth have lead many clerics to believe that she is the 'Eclipse Mother', a prophesied figure fated to found a house that will one day win a great victory for humanity. Marrying her will likely win the loyalty and patronage of Imperial clerics and wisemen who value prophecy.
Simone: Age 19. The daughter of King Penteram's court chaplain. Like many people at your brother's court, but unlike many women, Simone is renown as a hunter. She apparently has killed canyon trolls in single combat without the benefit of fire. As a hunter yourself, the council thinks she might be a good match.
Juliette: Age 24. A young widow whose first marriage was to an instructor at the prestigious Imperial Academy. Juliette learned much about the art of war from her late husband, and also is said to be a student of engineering and architecture. She has two daughters, whom she tutors personally and to great effect. It might do the realm good to ensure your heirs have a qualified and experienced mother to help raise them and teach them.
Do you pick one of these women? If not, what is your plan to escape your council's hard sell? Do you have any follow up to the other topics, or any new matters to raise?
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Topic: (SG) Petty Kingdom of New Mahallo: Reign of King Arawn (Read 20259 times)