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[filiusenox]

((OOC: Screw Waiting.))

 A black cloaked figure sweeps into the throne room. The hood masks his eyes but a hint  of malignity sweeps through whoever tries to find them in that pool of inky blackness. A sword crimson in color is strapped to his side, his pale hand holds the black leather hilt tightly as he approaches the throne. He draws the blade and instead of attacking or anything like that, he bows before the king with his sword in front of him.
   “ My king, I vow my blade and the blades of the wret- soldiers that have followed me here. My father used to be your great grandfathers friend and ally. I wish for a chance to serve your stretching kingdom as my father did for your great grandfather’s kingdom. The only question is would you have me fight beside you?”  his rasps this out before falling into a series of grating coughs. Still kneeling he pops a blue pastille into his mouth. “My body isn’t as weak as my vocal cords may lead you to believe.”
    He stares dully-…actually you don’t know how he is staring- at the King. Waiting.

[Knave]

((OOC: Screw Waiting.))

A black cloaked figure sweeps into the throne room. The hood masks his eyes but a hint  of malignity sweeps through whoever tries to find them in that pool of inky blackness. A sword crimson in color is strapped to his side, his pale hand holds the black leather hilt tightly as he approaches the throne. He draws the blade and instead of attacking or anything like that, he bows before the king with his sword in front of him.
   “ My king, I vow my blade and the blades of the wret- soldiers that have followed me here. My father used to be your great grandfathers friend and ally. I wish for a chance to serve your stretching kingdom as my father did for your great grandfather’s kingdom. The only question is would you have me fight beside you?” his rasps this out before falling into a series of grating coughs. Still kneeling he pops a blue pastille into his mouth. “My body isn’t as weak as my vocal cords may lead you to believe.”
    He stares dully-…actually you don’t know how he is staring- at the King. Waiting.

Very nice start.
GM has asked that you don't bold anything unless it is an action, may want to edit

[Terenos]

((Okay, I just want to go on record as saying this. You do not have to join with soldiers. You do not have to try to wrangle a position as a noble right off. Being a simple advisor will not make you less of a player. I have no troops. And I am waist deep in intrigue and enjoying things immensely.
By the by, Its time for ol Terenos to do something downright crazy. I regret absolutely nothing. I only pray that the Lady favors me.))

Alright. Heres how this all breaks down.
Stage One: Copy the !Incriminating Evidence! Murder the hell out of anyone who catches me. Its a Ministers office, if it doesn't have paper and inks I am going to simply be very unhappy.
Stage Two: Grab both the original !Evidence! and the copy!
Stage Three: Light something prominent and potentially life threatening on !!FIRE!! Fort walls, council buildings. Whatever. ESPECIALLY the War ministers office.

Phase 2! Diverting blame!
Stage Four: Escape to regiment.
Stage Five: Rally them to assist with fire Be prominent. I want these people to have a good opinion of me.
Stage Six: Make whatever excuses I need to, but leave the next morning.

Stage Seven and beyond can wait till I see just how ridiculously this goes.

[Little]

((Iituem, PM sent.))

[Iituem]

Alright. Heres how this all breaks down.
Stage One: Copy the !Incriminating Evidence! Murder the hell out of anyone who catches me. Its a Ministers office, if it doesn't have paper and inks I am going to simply be very unhappy.
Stage Two: Grab both the original !Evidence! and the copy!
Stage Three: Light something prominent and potentially life threatening on !!FIRE!! Fort walls, council buildings. Whatever. ESPECIALLY the War ministers office.

[2] You grab a pen and a blank notebook from the Minister's desk.  You work as quickly as you can to copy the correspondence and other notes, but are only two-thirds done when the door opens.  [5]  A minor functionary steps in, carrying a lit candle on a holder.  From the way he's swaying, though, he's drunk to the gills.  [5]  He doesn't even see you before you clamp one hand over his mouth and stab him in the throat.  You force him to the ground to avoid blood spraying absolutely everywhere as you finish him and hold him down there until the twitching stops.  Fortunately, the candle despite dropping onto the floor has not yet started a fire.  You quickly scribble a couple of extra notes and then just grab both the sheaf of correspondence (you tie it with some string) and your notebook - you'll have to finish copying it later.

[2]  Gods damn it!  Why won't the damned curtains catch fire?  You try to get the candle flame to set the hangings alight, but they just won't catch.  You fling the candle away in frustration.  [6]  The candle lands on the Minister's desk, which is presently full of paperwork.  It goes up like, like... well, like a desk full of paperwork.  You hit the floor hard to escape the sudden WHOOMPH of flame, then try and crawl to the door.  Oh no!  The flames have spread to the carpet in front of the door!  [2]  You try to rush through it, but are pushed back.  Fire is starting to encroach from all sides.  You look for other exits.  [4]  Of course, the window!  Grabbing the apparently fireproof curtains and dragging them part-way from the railings you knot a couple together and break the windows to escape.

Phase 2! Diverting blame!
Stage Four: Escape to regiment.
Stage Five: Rally them to assist with fire Be prominent. I want these people to have a good opinion of me.
Stage Six: Make whatever excuses I need to, but leave the next morning.

[2]  As you are emerging from the window, you find a sheer three-storey drop directly below you.  Someone in the street points at the fire in the window (and you) and shouts.  [6]  You adjust your hold on the curtains, boost yourself off the wall and swing down through the window on the floor below... directly into the back of the Minister for War's head as he sits eating dinner.  [3]  He's out cold.  [4]  Luckily, the only creature eating with him is his dog... [2] who starts barking and snapping at your heels.  You leave the dog behind and make it to the corridor... [2] where a servant is standing guard.  [2]  You quickly tell him that there's an emergency upstairs he should be dealing with.  The servant narrows his eyes and asks how you know - and what you're doing in the Minister's chambers.  [5]  You stab the hell out of him before he can ask any more troublesome questions and flee.

[6]  Fortunately the news of the fire has spread.  Everyone is rushing back and forward throughout the keep, trying to deal with the situation in their own way.  This ends up with you being pushed to the floor in all the havoc.  [5]  You deftly escape the stampede of desperate footmen and manage to claw your way to safety.  You brush off the burnt parts of your clothes and check yourself for obvious bloodstains, then join the nobles fleeing the keep.  [3]  Fortunately, everyone is too busy to ask questions about where you are going.

You reach your regiment outside the city walls and exhort them to assist with the inferno in the keep.  [5]  They are eager to assist and chip in to the effort, forming bucket chains and otherwise aiding the inhabitants of Preston to stop the fire.  Within half an hour, the crisis is over.  [4]  The councillors express their thanks for your aid, apologising that the minister for war cannot be present as he was the subject of a failed assassination attempt.  They will be conducting an investigation throughout the town and invite you to stay until it is resolved.  [5]  As graciously as you possibly can, you decline and make up an excuse about your timetable and a delegation awaiting you at your next stop.  If they are suspicious, they don't show it and you and your men are able to leave untrammelled at dawn.

[thatkid]

OOC: If I gave favor for OOC statements, you'd totally be up to two now just for the "I regret nothing."
And, actually, starting as an advisor or something else actually is better in the long-run if you plan on being loyal to the crown...assuming King Erik doesn't die tomorrow or something. This is because if you're showing up as some noble or other from another land you're going to be seen as a greedy opportunist with no real loyalty to the throne. Erik isn't a fan of that sort of thing. That's not to say it's impossible to garner favor when from another nation, it just means that you're going to need to work a little harder.


Some time before leaving for Eelspine...

King Erik studied Mahtan for a moment longer, allowing the silence of the courtroom to prevail as he tried to ascertain the innocence of the man. After a moment, his eyes flicked over to one of Mahtan's accusers: "Who actually witnessed the conjuring of flames? And, more importantly, how many people were hurt? What damage was done to the town?"

A little after that...

"You may rise, the King replied, studying the masked figure with a curious expression. "And tell me, what is your name and that of your father's? I would gladly have you and your men in my service, and, if 'tis true that your father fought alongside my Grandfather, I'd have you ride to battle with me soon, to honor the memory of our ancestors if nothing else."

Sometime after that, in the Eelspine...

In the middle of the night, the King and his regiments arrived at the Eelspine Settlement. Quickly, the soldiers put up a camp. From each cardinal direction, the King's banner, and none else ((Unless fillusenox and his regiment agree to accompany the King)), waved in the chill mountain wind. It was early in the morning, as the citizens of the overpopulated village rose to see that they were under siege, that the King slowly stepped out of his tent. "I know not where Sir Taricus' men are, your Majesty," a scout quickly spoke as he strode alongside the King, only a step behind to show an unneeded deference to the tall, straight-backed monarch. "Perhaps he had something to do with the corpses and blood we found on the mountain pass on the way here. You are dismissed." the King mused before sitting down by a cooking fire with several of his infantry for breakfast.

Around noon, a single long keening note went through the air and the King, surrounded by a single regiment, marched up to the gate. Though he remained far enough back to avoid any ranged weaponry the defenders might muster, his voice boomed forth and his royal coat of arms could be clearly seen on his shield: "Pretenders of Eelspine! I have arrived, and I bear the death of all who raise arms against myself and Elbreth! But I am not without mercy!" The King drew his magnificent longsword and pantomimed drawing a line in the hard dirt with the tip, "Those peasants and lowly soldiers amongst you who lay down your arms and cross this line into my camp shall be spared. Those amongst you who continue to fight shall die alongside your cur of a leader!"
He thrust his sword into the air as he finished, and then sheathed the weapon before turning to march back into his camp.

Lay siege to the town. Send out scouts to survey the area and warn of any advance attacks from outside forces. Fortify the camp using what supplies can be gathered from the surrounding area and otherwise prepare the battlefield should they try to break the siege. Send a runner back to Elbreth with 4 ducats, for the purpose of raising 2 regiments and creating a supply train into the mountain. The 2 new regiments will defend the supply train.
Using open land to recruit the regiments.

[Knave]

(( Hey king, can you respond to me too, please? ))

[Taricus]

((Hey, Can either the GM or the king roll for my action?))

[King_of_the_weasels]

((No one saw me they were just always suspicious, also for damage i'll let the gm roll and determine that))

[Iituem]

Diplomacy in Suul

Your troops pitch camp some distance from the city whilst you return with a small escort to explain the situation.  You are invited into the city... [1] where you are surrounded and taken prisoner.  [2]  You ask to be taken to the Archbishop, at least to provide your explanation.  Your captors instead throw you in gaol.  [2]  You attempt to gain an audience with some of the Archbishop's advisors from your cell, but are laughed at.  [2]  A grim-faced man with a bag full of menacing tools is sent to your cell instead.  [6]  He explains that he is the local locksmith and has been sent on behalf of the city's rebels to break you free.  Before you can stop him, he has already unlocked the door.  Guards arrive.  [6]  You deftly explain the situation to them before matters can get any worse.  They accept your word and are willing to take you to the Archbishop to explain things personally.  But first they brutally murder the rogue locksmith in front of you.  Oops.  The rebels in town probably won't want to give you any favours after that.

[5]  Archbishop Thring turns out to be a kindly, understanding man.  The whole business with your troops is explained and he apologises for your mistreatment, though he does insist that for the sake of his guards your troops remain outside the city walls.  [2]  You explain that Elbreth's intentions are peaceful and that you seek a profitable trade agreement with Suul.  The Archbishop's response is polite but non-committal.  You suspect he does not entirely trust your kingdom's peacefulness, and in any case declines to discuss trade with Elbreth further.  [5]  You do manage to get him talking on the subject of their other trade partners, during which time the Archbishop casually mentions the Storm Coast city-states (of which there appear to be several) as well as the Duchy of Malchor and the Republic of Groan, all the way across the Gulf of Storms.  [2]  You press the matter of their relations with these states, but the Archbishop expertly deflects your questioning.  [6+1]  You demonstrate your ability as a mapmaker and ask to make a map of Suul.  The Archbishop agrees and welcomes you to take a full tour of the city.  He laments the unfortunate state of his own cartographers and so insists that the full team accompany you and watch you work.  This might make it rather difficult to move undetected in the city.

[5] Although you are not able to find native herbs in Suul unavailable in Elbreth, Port Suul regularly imports herbs, spices and other luxuries from across the sea.  You are able to expand your alchemical portemanteau considerably.  [5]  During your expeditions you note three monastic orders within the city; the Order of St John, a monastic order of sailors and pirate-hunters tied to the Archbishop's own rule; the Order of Thyme, a monastic order of the same faith as the Archbishop's devoted to maintaining their herb gardens and providing aid for the poor and sick and the Order of the Burning Circle, a tiny Cyclicist sect that is largely ignored or frowned upon.  The latter order owns a small pub where members meet, rather than an actual monastery - it is clearly a very small chapter.  [4]  You are able to develop reasonably good relationships with all three Orders, though the Cyclicists prove somewhat insular.

[1+1]  You work on making a map of Suul, but the constant interference by the apprentice mapmakers attached to you completely destroys any chance of you getting work done.  You eventually lose your temper and give up on the job for a time.  The damage to your reputation as a mapmaker will make further mapmaking duties difficult, [3+1-1] but you are still able to manage a reasonable map despite the interference.  [5+1-2]  Even more so, you are able to get the apprentice cartographers busy enough that you can make surreptitious measurements of the defending forces.  You estimate there are about 6 regiments of infantry in the Archbishopric, though easily nine light ships in harbour.  There do not appear to be any vassal regiments; the Archbishop is an absolute ruler.

Please feel free to draw your own map of Suul.


Taricus:  You take some time to plan out your design, but when it comes down to it what makes the difference will be who attacks first.  If the enemy comes to you, you'll be able to keep the terrain advantage.  If you march on the enemy, they will be able to keep the terrain advantage.

Weasel King:  [3]  Damage was extensive, running to the destruction of at least three peasant houses.  Several roofs will need to be replaced.  Fortunately, these are all things that the peasants are perfectly capable of repairing themselves, leaving the Treasury unharmed by the damage.

Siege on Shizume's Camp:  The siege will work as follows:  If the king breaks siege first and attacks, Shizume's rebels maintain the terrain advantage.  If Shizume's rebels attack, the king gains the terrain advantage.  Shizume's rebels and outside forces cannot enter or leave the town without having to attack the king's forces first (giving the king the terrain advantage).

The siege can last years if it has to, but every now and again both sides will get war weariness checks with associated penalties for either being cut off from the outside world or for maintaining a large force in hostile territory.

[Taricus]

Head to the king. ((I'm going to assume this'll need a roll due to the fact I don't know where he is at the moment))

[thatkid]

OOC: Sorry 'bout that. Whenever there's more than a page of stuff for me to sort through I'm bound to miss some things. Just give me a headsup like you did just then and I will get on it

E: Iituem's answer to Taricus' supercedes mine. Also, editing this post in a bit to respond to other things.Actually, I'm just gonna make a new post for other stuff.


Sometime before the hooded stranger's arrival in the court...

The King did not immediately reply, first reading the scroll several times over. After a long moment, Erik rose to his feet and descended the steps leading from his throne so that he might be at eye level with the Grand Master. "I would gladly grant your order such a request. You shall have two parcels of our newly conquered land, and two ducats with which to develop it. Should that not be enough, more can be arranged after the rebels have been dealt with. As well, it would greatly please me to have you and your men accompany me and fight at my side. Now come, walk with me so that we might discuss the needs of your Order in this land."

[Iituem]

Head to the king. ((I'm going to assume this'll need a roll due to the fact I don't know where he is at the moment))

You find the king with little trouble, as his army marches towards you to lay siege to Shizume's Camp.

NB:  I have edited the last post to include responses to some actions.  See that post for details.

Edit:  Speaking of which, for timing reasons I'm going to say that filius' troops (if he does join you) won't get to arrive immediately.  If adwarf acts first, they won't arrive until after that action (sliced time, away!).  Whatever IC excuse may be used, but it's simply an order of events thing.

[filiusenox]

((Four new replies!))

Accompany the King to battle.

"My name is Kain Vadud the second. My father just called himself Darkknight or some pretentious thing like that. The only reason I did not come sooner is that I was occupied with the beast that devoured my father. I beg your forgiveness with not being here sooner."
"My lord if you wish to capture the rebel leader, I know various methods to make people talk."

[Taricus]

"Milord!, I assume you received word then" *Sir Taric bowed before Erik* "My knights were killed in honourable battle with the rebels, And I captured. I fought my way out of the camp. We can't afford an assault on their fort, however it would be a dishonour to just starve them."

*Taric mused for a few moments*

"Maybe if a few of our men got in disguised as peasants and burnt their food. 'Tis only fair for these vermin"