Return to Dr. Johnston and give him the 2 ducats and turn the soldiers back over to him. Return to the veteran soldier and resume studying tactics now that I have my own parcel of land. Lastly, attempt to build a wall or earthen defense around the Valley area.
[3+1] Having completed one of the tasks, the veteran takes you on an extended hunting trip with several other soldiers. You are taught several important lessons on practical leadership and how to get men to respond best to your will in battle. You come away with a sense of great progression. [50 Tactics points]
The veteran suggests raiding a town or other settlement for slaves, or failing that just buying a ducat's worth of them from High Fane - if you can get someone there without the Munros realising your allegiances.
[3-1] Your initial attempts to build the wall whilst saving money prove ineffectual. Local stone just does not make an effective mortar, forcing you to import lime mortar for the wall. [3-1+1] The latter attempt proves much more successful, although it is worth noting that you have built a wall bordering a valley essentially in the middle of nowhere. If you station troops there specifically you can probably get a defence against any raiders or invaders coming from the eastern part of Weyland, but walls are better placed to protect specific structures such as towns or markets.
Not that you cannot in the future build something protected by the wall.
Raise one heavy ambush regiment (2.5 ducats) Use that and the other ambush regiment to attack the McKinley's land and attempt to take one parcel of land
Sadly, you expended what manpower you had available when you allowed Jormund to raise the first ambush regiment. You upgrade that to a heavy unit instead (-1 Ducat). [4] Two regular infantry regiments meet your force when you try to infringe upon their territory, presumably the local kinsmen of the vale you are presently attacking.
McKinley: 2 Infantry (Str 2, +1 Terrain)
McJohnston: 1 Heavy Ambusher (Str 4)
Skirmish: [6+4 vs 5+3] -
Close Victory (All units lost.)
Heavy wind and rain picked up during the start of the battle and though this aided the ambushers in springing their traps on the defending forces this also got in the way of their ability to fight. The ragged remnants of the regiment report a success, though. [5] In fact, because of the size of the force brought against you, you are able to claim
2 parcels for the Jarl. Hopefully this might go some way towards explaining why the treasury is only
4 Ducats and the army is minimal.
The extra parcels will let you raise that new heavy ambush regiment, though.
Escape the city.
[2] You and your companions (monkey in tow) run away from the fire as quickly as you can, trying to head towards one of the city gates. As you flee you notice a number of archers travelling across the roofs and through the streets. You get about half-way towards the city gate when a tavern nearby bursts into flames as several jars of lamp oil are thrown against the walls by the archers and set on fire.
You're not trapped, but you can hear screams from inside. Stick around to help, or flee with your skin intact?
No I will fight hold the bar
You and the rest of your men quickly mob the two knights in the bar with extreme violence and shift some tables into place to make a temporary barricade. Then you set yourself for a serious battle with the Royal Guard.
Palace Guard: 1 Infantry Regiment
Sir Joseph: 1 Infantry Regiment, +1 Circumstance Advantage
Fight: 4+1 vs 3+2 -
Draw (Both regiments destroyed.)
Because of your barricade advantage what would have been a swift, ignominous end for you turns into a protracted siege. You sneak out the back door of the inn and are already halfway out of the city by the time your men realise you are gone. Most of them are butchered, taking a lot of the palace guard regiment with them, but some are dragged off to the dungeons for the attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
You however are not. You escape the city of Sheepstead with nothing more than the ducat's worth of extortion money and your sword and chainmail. Time to start running, because there is no way the King is going to look favourably on
that.
Later, Kain tortures a few of the higher up spies to see where and if the group of tratiors would meet.
[1] You learn nothing of use. Several of the spies lie outright before they die (or at least their stories conflict both with each other and the truth), but you get nowhere before the last of them is exhausted. Times like this you wish you had a competent inquisitor.
A couple of days after the last of the traitors expires, you receive a fresh order of business, dragged in by several ragged members of the palace guard. The guardsmen look to have sustained battle wounds, as do the prisoners in addition to several broken bones where the guardsmen must have taken their frustration at the deaths of their comrades out. [1] The prisoners are either too broken or too scared of their master to reveal anything under 'polite' questioning, but the palace guard suggest that it was some sort of mercenary. No witnesses have come forth to explain why the fight started.
Head to Suul and begin making prepartions with contacts in the Order of St John and the Order of Thyme for a trip across the sea.
[3] The Order of St John is willing to hire out some of their ships at merchant rates - a light ship for 1 Ducat (for a year's hire) or a defensively drilled crew on a warship for 1 Ducat per season. [2] Sadly, whilst the Order of Thyme is more than willing to give you whatever apothecary supplies you might need they cannot spare anyone to make the journey with you. You will have to get any assistants for the cartography on your own.
Information gathering:
Is the captain of the Yalasan still alive?
-If no, loot his quarters for marques, money, maps, etc
-If yes, meet with him in his quarters about the business arrangements i have for us
Where was the ship headed when we hit them?
What are the crew's feelings about a) piracy, b) legitimate work in service to a pirate?
-Assure them that any crew not up for being pirates/working for a pirate will be given free leave at the next port we make
The captain of the
Yalasan is quite, quite dead. Sadly, his quarters only contained minor personal effects of little real worth. The Yalasan looked to be headed to the Storm Coast. Some of the crew don't feel too comfortable working for a pirate, but the most experienced hands have a much more flexible attitude towards legality and morality alike. They're willing to sail with you for now, provided they get their fair cut of the take. You should indeed be able to drop off the more objectioning members at the next port.
King Erik raises a personal guard using the squires and pages, he then personally leads his guard to meet with Zandor's regiment and deal with the bandits. He brings with him weapons for the villagers in Zandor's regiment. Kain also offers his support.
Both regiments arrive quickly enough at the village, where the supplied weapons are enough for Zandor to raise several of his comrades to arms. News of the bandits' hideout has spread, so the three regiments travel quickly to the crude collection of wagons where the lawbreakers are holed out.
[2] It isn't perfect news. Your scouts report back that although there are only some twenty men, most of them are in heavy chain and dangerously well-armed. From the scratched crests on their shields, it looks like they must be exiled knights or men-at-arms from Brighthall. You'll be in for a tough fight, but you have something of the advantage. If you have any special tactics in mind, this is the time to mention them.
Terenos settles into military lodgings in the city. Keeping his and Manning's regiment close. He endeavors to return 2 ducats of his plundered goods, to the populace at large, on the down low, as it were.
In addition, Terenos and Manning practice their swordplay, with each other, their regiments, so on
[3-1+2] Bizarrely, despite the fact that you took their property from them the people are quite happy with your decision to redistribute it. This might be because you did ultimately steal from the nobles for the most part (given they had anything worth stealing) and so the average commoner has ended up slightly better off as a result. This should win you a little popularity here if nothing else.
[2, 3] Manning does not really make much more progress [50 points], but his instruction is quite helpful to yourself [10 Swordplay points].
Spend 1 ducat from the raided treasury to help repair the damage that was caused to the city in the previous battles
[4+1] Your gesture is received well by the people of Preston. You learn that you are not the only one making such gestures, but perhaps aided by the fact that you did not loot them specifically, you appear to be slightly ahead in the popularity contest (if such a thing even exists).
Action- Find some new students. If any are found, teach them.
There aren't many students available, but you are approached by a local noble who would like a private tutor to help teach his son Ztahren. Fortunately, this is one of the many languages with which you are familiar. This is a Project (Difficulty 0, Progress 3, Time 2) which will pay
1 Ducat on completion.
Load our dead onto the sloop, and head to port so we can give them a proper burial.
You accept a'Valti's bargain and take possession of the
Nalia, sailing her to Suul and burying those of your crew on dry land. You also take on new crewmembers to fill your ranks.
Tearakudo a'Valti: You now have possession of a new ship, the
Yalasan. She has 2 Cargo Bays (from an upgrade) and is a Heavy Ship (3 str, 3d upkeep/year). There are 2 shipments of
tin in her cargo bays.
"{Quick get the mini crossbows out and shoot the king, then lets fight out of here}" Yells commander Zacmar to his troops
[The King has previously stated that he holds open court with Kain present, as well as a regiment of Royal Guard. I see no reason to contradict this.]
[6-2] Against all expectations, Zacmar managed to smuggle in a single crossbow and bolt under his cloak. He draws and aims it at the King.
Zacmar: +1 Weapon (1 shot), +1 armour, Ranged Weapon (free shot), 3/3hp.
King Erik: +1 Weapon, +1 Armour, +1 Guards, 6/6hp.
Kain: +1 Weapon, +1 Armour, +1 Guard, 6/6hp.
[3+2 vs 1+3] Zacmar lifts the bow up in one smooth motion and fires, the bolt travelling true and straight across the King's temple. It turns out that skulls are built to withstand glancing blows like that, as the King just receives a heavy gash, a pounding headache and a lot of blood coming from the wound.
Of course, now Zacmar is unarmed.
[5+3 vs 1+1], [2+3 vs 2+1] The situation is resolved swiftly and with extreme prejudice by both Kain's guard and the King's own palace guards. Any Zimtar who do not immediately surrender are butchered on the spot. Zacmar is the first to go down [3] and when all is done only two had the presence of mind to surrender. They are carted immediately off to the dungeons.
Head towards -my- castle to see what state it's in, soldiers armed and ready for any trouble. Have a soldier march ahead of the group shouting,
"Make way for the King! The rightful King of Miring! Make way! Way for the King!" And so on.
[3] There is a degree of uncertainty in the minds of the Elbrethan occupying forces, and your very forthright manner plus the fact they know your allegiance lay with King Erik is enough to give you the leeway you need. You are able to ride all the way to Castle Sleen unimpeded, your men declaring your arrival along the way. [3+1] There is no doubt that time and absence have changed your features some, but enough of the old guard and citizens remain to recognise you. One or two almost believe for a moment that it is Leuki, returned from the grave, but overall the citizens around the port seem pleased to see you.
Also, once I reach the castle and find out what state it's in, barring any major incidents, I want to get it neatened up/repaired, and organize a large meeting with the who's-who-and-still-alive of Miring. Making sure there are tonnes of guards, naturally. Any remnants of Miring's army, find them and order them to do as I say. They swore to serve my family, after all!
Occupying the castle is simple enough with your archers, as the populace are quite literally welcoming you in. You cannot raise any additional troops from the population though, thanks to the heavy war exhaustion already experienced when your brother raised any troops he could for the intended war with Preston. Every regiment of loyal Mirish soldiers was slain under or as a direct result of Terenos' command.
[3] Including, you learn, the last loyal forces of Miring who would have fought for your place on the throne. Not many survived the implosion of the army as it made to travel north to Preston, but the few who did report that Terenos admitted to killing Chicane and claimed that Chicane had killed Leuki. You can easily believe that, given Leuki was almost certainly the one that had Chicane shipped out on a doomed voyage one night. Then you have a double-take regarding Chicane's survival - apparently he had been masquerading as a minor noble the whole time. Nobody saw that coming.
You gather a council of survivors and leaders from the local Mirish population. [6] In general, there seems to be a great (even surprising, given the ineffectiveness of Leuki's rule) degree of loyalty towards their royal line. Waery at one point notes that this may have more to do with their accruing enmity towards Elbreth and especially towards Terenos d'Avistral. With only his word as to the order of the deaths of your elder brothers, many of the populace believe he killed them both. Any overtures you make towards Elbreth - and definitely towards Terenos - are likely to be viewed with extreme suspicion by your subjects.
[1] The Elbrethan troops are decidedly
not your friends, you discover. Even a short conversation with their commanders reveals the influence of Sir Taric amongst their ranks, and his lack of love for you is well known. The man did try to murder you, after all. You cannot count on any of them. The fact that they outnumber you 3 to 1 does not help. [6] You are able to anger the commanders enough that they move their regiments out of the castle out of 'respect' for your arrival, but the soldiers take their frustrations out on the populace. Not a popular move, but right now the anger is still directed at Elbreth.
[5-1] Economically, Miring is relatively stable. The decision of the Elbrethan troops not to loot the port has left enough money and wealth in the city that people will not outright starve, although you receive a rather worrying report about a shipment of illegal weapons imported into the city. Things haven't been destabilised by them, but if your loving subjects turn against you they will be more likely to respond with real violence.
Your popularity with your subjects is shaky at best, you don't even have the physical Crown and you can only trust a quarter of the troops in your own city. On the bright side, you do have exclusive control of Castle Sleen, and Sleen is nothing if not a fortress.
Head back to Miring with my regiment, And two royal regements in addition to Black/Terenos'. Send a runner ahead of the main force to alert the royal forces in Miring to arrest Trubaldsome for treason.
You set off with the two royal regiments under your command, as Terenos has elected to stay for his own reasons and Grandmaster Black has not specifically authorised any other regiments to leave with you (not that any Crown forces actually remain intact in Preston - the only regiments now remaining there belong to Trubaldsome, Black and Draven).
The runner arrives shortly after the pikemen under the command of Aulon yl Marchis enter the city. [2+2] The regiments jump at your instruction to arrest Trubaldsome for treason, but the message does not arrive quite early enough to prevent yl Marchis' men from marching into the castle alongside Trubaldsome's archers.
[6] The Crown regiments decide not to wait for further orders but to outright attack, now that their orders allow them to. They surround the Castle, preparing to bring Trubaldsome down for the glory of Elbreth...
The 3 Crown Regiments in Miring are about to attack Trubaldsome. Trubaldsome has 1 regiment of Longbowmen and yl Marchis' Pikemen at his command. They also have control of the Castle, granting a +3 defensive bonus. If either side has anything special in mind, they should mention it or the battle will commence as normal.Follow Trubaldsome's march to the castle and try to make way to the big meeting.
You follow the march to the castle and listen in on the big meeting as one of the audience there. You work hard to suppress a grin as news of your recent exploits comes up during the discussions, news which seems to make the would-be King rather uncomfortable. The meeting is lengthy, but informative. It seems that the position in Miring is not going to get any
less volatile in the near future.
You hang around the castle for a few days, hoping to get in close with any customs officials, when you notice the Elbrethan patrols converging into solid regiments. You experience a sudden grip of fear as you realise what is happening.
Will you stay, and offer what support you can to the Prince (not to mention remain safe in this nice, well-constructed castle), or get out before the regiments arrive? Strange as it might be, this is probably a rare opportunity to get close to the future ruler.
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Topic: You are King! (Spring 315a) (Read 188645 times)