OOC: Thatkid, you sure are much more generous in what you consider to be acceptable loot for a '4'.
I probably wouldn't even have given more than 1 ducat on a '5'. Sadly, I can't put up the summary of current events until I've rewritten the rules for the simple reason that there isn't enough space in the OP!
Take 3 regiments to Preston, leave 3 regiments guarding Miring.
Your forces will arrive at the end of the season.
Have regiment continue light drills to maintain preparedness for the upcoming battle
Send a letter to the Southern Prestoner Army asking to reconsider their refusal to talk.
[1] No reports out of the ordinary come to your attention.
[1] There is no response to the letter. The next morning at dawn your scouts report movement from the Prestoner camp beyond the bridges. Minutes after, a second report tells of the fort drawbridge lowering. A messenger must have snuck between the camps and escaped your notice! This would explain their decision not to attack immediately; they were waiting for orders from above. It looks like Preston is going to bring the full extent of its force upon you.
You have a little time before the battle starts. You can pick your position and take any last-minute preparations to give yourself an edge. You are also strongly advised to consider any tactics you might want to employ.
Raw force breakdownElbreth: 1 Piker, 1 Archer, 2 Heavy Inf, 1 Ambush, 3 Infantry [Tactics: +1 w/ Ambushers]
Preston: 10 Infantry (1 Tactician), 3 Catapults, 1 Cavalry [Tactics: +3 w/ Cavalry]
The Battle of Preston will soon commence. There is enough time for last-minute preparations and tactical decisions/plans for the fight.
Unless Pompular objects take him to meet Dr. Johnston. While I'm back also take some time to recover and try and heal my shield arm.
[3+1] Grievous wounds cannot be cured with the simple application of bandages, contrary to myth. They can be healed with careful medical attention and time however. Dr Johnston splints Jormund's arm and treats the wound, cleaning it and doing his best to repair the damaged muscle with sutures so it will heal back over time. It will probably be a couple of seasons before Jormund's arm heals properly, but the splint will enable him to operate normally (albeit without use of his arm or a shield).
[1+1] Ehndras' injuries are much more severe. Although Johnston does his best to clean the wounds and repair the damage, Ehndras lost a lot of blood and soon becomes dangerously feverish. [1] His condition does not improve over the next week and he grows dangerously close to death. [2] Dr Johnston for his part knows precious little that can be done from a medical standpoint to help him.
[3] Pompulion on the other hand does recognise the fever. Partly it is just the common fever that can follow on from grievous wounding, but there is a darker component worsening the illness. A shard or seed of one of the shadelings that fought him is trapped within his body, consuming him from within. Unless it is removed quickly, he will die within days. Freeing him of the curse should give him another chance at recovering from the mundane illness.
Question other members of the crew on their own feelings regarding our sponsor, current captain, and their thoughts on the odds we'll survive the year under the command of Miring forces given their history thus far
[5] Whilst the opinion of the crew is that their 'sponsor' was just one more client, they aren't idiots. Word of the de facto ruler of Miring has spread; apparently Terenos d'Avistral is infamous for being both an elite assassin and killing every single man who has ever been put under his command. Since he took control, the Mirish fleet has been utterly crippled in ineffective assaults (albeit in part because you were under orders by Chicane to pull out of engagements and be ready to turn on the fleet). Sticking with the fleet probably means more pointless sacrifices under that idiot's command.
Unfortunately for most, the captain either doesn't realise this or (more likely) he's holding out for a letter of marque or more direct reward from Elbreth for showing 'loyalty' during the changeover. The crew do not think much of their chances of living that long and are beginning to get vocal about the subject.
Obtain more parchment, and more ink, and a backup quill. Then continue making the maps.
[3] Parchment isn't an issue - the goatherds in the region have the raw material (goatskin) and just dry it out to a suitable thinness. Quills are easy enough to obtain, though getting a good one is a pain. Ink is a problem, though. There aren't many berries in this part of the mountains suitable for the black ink you're used to. You make up a sort of rough red ink out of local ochre, but it isn't fantastic and you might have trouble recording fine detail with it because of its tendency to run.
[5-1] Despite the temporary problems with the quality of your cartographic materials, you spend a good week or so journeying through the Eelspine making a more than serviceable map.
(Actual maps to follow.)
Call on the spirits to aid us against Preston. Offer Locanil's blood once again. Scribes continue to work on the commission.
[1+1] When you are called to the palace, the scribes try to work independently but simply end up getting in each other's way. Arguments break out and by the time you eventually are able to supervise them again no work has been done at all. [Progress: -2, Time Left: 3 attempts]
Summoning: [2+1] Blood drains freely from your arm as you repeat the words of the rite, chanting quickly in your sibilant tongue. As blood continues to flow you start to feel faint and worry that the spirits have not heard your call, but part of your mind becomes aware of the subtle, invisible presence around you.
Command: [4+1] You persist in the chant, communicating your intent through thought if not word. The service you request will be momentous, a great demand but one that the spirits seem willing to grant. There is always the question of price, however.
Banishment: [6+1] You form in your mind and in the words of your rite the offered payment for the task and the price you are willing to pay to see the spirits return to their world when the work is done; blood. Often inexperienced summoners risk being unable to successfully banish spirits once summoned, but you seal the bond with the spirits you call; once they have taken the agreed sum of blood they will leave. [5] The spirits demand
ten whole regiments in blood, though it appears they will not be picky about whose. Once this many have been slain they will leave the field of battle, though the effects of their intervention may persist a while thereafter.
You feel the spirits leave your presence, vanishing to Preston to carry out the bargain. The flow of blood from your arm is waning and you try weakly to bind it before collapsing on the king's chamber floor. You awake later in the physician's chambers, alive and treated but rather weak. You will not be able to assist in your scribing project until you have healed (-1 to the next scribing attempt).
The pact is made. Spiritual assistance of an unknown kind will be provided to the coming battle at Preston.
try to enter the city( if need be bribe the way in), if the tithes are not taken from us use them to support radical Cyclist groups within the city. Use them to stir unhapiness and unrest among the populace, carefully. Be sure that these men are paid completely anonymously and can't recognise the Jarl or his men...
[4+1] The ruse works perfectly. You smuggle not only yourselves but all your weapons and equipment through the gates. As you do so you get a good look at the city's defenders as well; longbowmen with a mixture of heavy brigandines and lighter armour. Those in lighter armour have special markings on their tunics, possibly a sign of status or specialist training.
[2] Unfortunately you don't have a lot of luck finding any radical Cyclicist groups in the city, [6] but all too easily you learn about the suppressed 'paganist' population in the city. Most of them seem to be Jorgumundists working in various menial trades. Awkwardly, they spot you for what you are very quickly (though not who you are, or where you are from), putting you slightly at their mercy should they betray you. [4] This seems fairly unlikely, as they have very little love for the Archbishop or the established order. One of your guards lets slip about the stolen tithes and they comment that their own resistance group could very happily make use of the money to cause some trouble.
Disembark in(or near, don't know exact geography) Miring and head for the inn. On the way there, observe the the place and the people.
[2] Miring is chaotic, but in an impressively ordered way. Armed patrols of Elbrethan troops march down the streets, keeping the peace through the medium of sporadic but extreme violence. A curfew is in effect and you are firmly instructed to observe it and get indoors. [3] You note that you would happily obey if you knew where you could find an inn, so one of the guards gives you directions to the Red Lion. Along the way you note that whilst the port and surrounding buildings are all surprisingly intact for a warzone, further inland much of the town looks burned and looted.
The mood in the inn is subdued but angry. You settle down for a drink and listen in to the rumours; [5] surprisngly well-informed for a pub. One of the regulars was a member of the royal guard before it was mostly butchered and was reassigned to patrol duty after the fight. You hear from him that the King was murdered by his long-lost younger brother, himself assassinated by Lord d'Avistral the "Black Shadow" of Elbreth and present de facto regent. The lord had promised to retrieve the current heir to the throne of Miring, a serious problem since the two younger sons of the Trubaldsome dynasty had been 'removed' by King Leuki to 'a safe location' once he had learned of the discontent in his court.
On a more mercantile front it becomes immediately apparent that the trading agreements Miring previously enjoyed are almost certainly going to be null and void after the war's conclusion. The populace are low on basic supplies and there is an unsurprisingly high demand for weapons. If you could loan/hire a ship you could make a killing taking advantage of the situation. Even
grain from the
Duchy of Malchor would be worth taking a voyage right now, though if you wanted to make a real profit (potentially at the risk of annoying the new authorities), smuggling in
arms from the Storm Coast would get you a fantastic return from the private citizens here concerned about their own protection. On the flip side,
luxuries of all kinds are relatively cheap right now because people are willing to sell them in return for the things they need to survive.
Normally this would be a pretty terrible situation for anyone, but as a
Storm Coast Guildsman you have one advantage ordinary merchants don't;
credit. You don't have a penny to your name, but you can get up to
five ducats in debt by drawing on your guild's name. This should help set you up nicely with regard to ship hire and trade goods purchasing
Rules for Merchant Adventures do not exist yet, but they will. For now, let's explore this avenue of the game together!
Author
Topic: You are King! (Spring 315a) (Read 188932 times)