Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[CyberGenesis]

Ask for work

"An interesting proposition, but i'm not sure if I have any work at the moment. You should check with Lord Cain, he might have some work. If you're going to be around a while, I might have something. I do, however, almost always need more materials and the wilderness is starting to get a little too wild for someone my age. It's minor, but there's pay involved."

[NUKE9.13]

((How could i properly remove the stone from a fifteen foot skeleton, removing the stone underneath without damaging the bones. How could I get roughly fifteen feet of solid rock out on three horses, in one day, without no one seeing the bones and reporting it to the church? Where would i get the chisels, hammers, manpower to do this properly, it would take longer then one day.))

((I don't know. Details details, right? Keep this up and you are going to spend an entire season trying to... I don't even know what you are trying to do))

"Of course- but the Baron's son is studying in Shola, and his daughters have been married off. In these situations I have the authority, technically. If you can get rid of that skeleton, I will allow anything!"

[2] Circumstances conspire against you- John himself takes days to get back to Ligoria, and your regiment takes even longer whilst following him back. ((You want a roll you get it))

However, the castle has construction supplies, manpower, and wagons to spare.

Meanwhile, the local priests arrive, asking permission to bless the bodies and sanctify the area.

Max Yeskly escorts him to the trial. He watches it intently as he is wondering about the archbishops past now that it was mentioned.(if I was only suposed to escort him then i do that. But i doubt his men will attack me.)

((Trial... who said anything about a trial? Oh, right, yeah, the Archbishop. He lied.))

You drag the man and his cohorts through the streets. The Scorched Square is only the other side of the city, so it is a long walk.
The Archbishop is standing upon a podium, addressing the crowd that has gathered. The Archbishop's personal guard greets you, to take the prisoners from you. It occurs that the prisoners were struggling a lot more once they realised where you were going, and it takes some force to keep them from escaping.
This can probably be explained by the three large pyres which have been set up on the square, which do not appear to be intended for use roasting marshmallows.

"Ah, commander! Good, you have brought the traitors. Please hand them over to the guards, and your task shall be completed. Your god will be pleased with you."

[filiusenox]

Let the preists come in and sanctify the area and bless the bodies. Ask them alot about their religion and such. And ask if it costs money to convert and such.

[Shootandrun]

Kathos was furious. Reading slowly the letter for the third time, he tried to stay calm.

"So?"

Adrian was waiting a few feet away from him. He was still waiting to know what the letter was about.

"The queen. I know why she didn't try to get the support of a few nobles before going in a rampage in the palace."

The lieutenant tried not to look nervous. His lord was obviously in a terrible mood.

"Why is that?"

"She was too paranoid to try. She is a megalomaniac and paranoid young woman, trying to get as much power as possible. She knows she will need nobles to reach her goals, if only because she will make lots of money by taxing them... And yet she is trying to keep all the power for herself. She wants us to help her and then stop doing anything, like good little pawns."

He spat.

"The nobles cannot have more than three regiments at their orders. We cannot upgrade the equipment of our men. Our heavy infantry will have to sell everything I bought for them a few months ago. The fool... I guess she's only expecting us to wait and do nothing until she needs us... At that moment we will have the right to move, and then she will want us to go home and wait again... Fine. I will not raise troops. I will make money and wait. And if one days she has the guts to ask for help from her nobles, she'll have to ask the others. I'll watch her ennemies coming to get her, and wait."

He stormed out of the room. Adrian followed him. He knew the orders were coming.

"Sell the equipment we can't keep. I will leave the estate soon. I think we should start thinking about having a future elsewhere, Adrian. Unless I find a way to rise in the Queen's esteem and convince her to have a few good ideas, this Kingdom will not remain independant for long. The Storm Coast is not a place for novice rulers."

Sell the Heavy Infantry upgrade of the personal guard. Leave the estate and visit the unclaimed lands near Ligoria with a few men. Avoid dangerous roads, and do not anger the owners of the lands.

Spoiler: Holdings (click to show/hide)

-Personnal Guard (no upgrade)

2.4 ducats (this season's 1.4 ducat from the wine, +1 from the sold upgrade).

[NUKE9.13]

Let the preists come in and sanctify the area and bless the bodies. Ask them alot about their religion and such. And ask if it costs money to convert and such.

The priests are let in. They look around, wave scented candles about. Chants are spoken.
And then they ask to see where they died. They are shown into the dungeon. A merest hint of a smile plays across their face.

They look at the bloodstains, and wave their candles. They then head further into the dungeon, until they come to locked door to the catacombs.

"Open it", they demand. "Dark spirits like to hide in the depth and the dark. If we do not sanctify the area, the Baron's troubled soul may return and cause havoc"

(Your questions about their religion are met with the request to inquire at your local church; they are too busy to explain it at the moment. See also this wiki page for information on Taloisism which is probably general knowledge.)

Leave the estate and visit the unclaimed lands near Ligoria with a few men. Avoid dangerous roads, and do not anger the owners of the lands.

[2] The Storm Coast is taking the opportunity to live up to its name. Lashing rain, harsh winds, and frequent thunder make travelling difficult. You spend days travelling in short bursts between villages, barely avoiding a cold. During your travels, the storms make it hard to observe the surrounding countryside.
Of course, you already know a few things about this area. To wit, that it is boring:

The unclaimed lands are... boring. Minor noblemen rule a village or two from their crumbling castles. Everyone is poor, but not so poor as to complain. They are accustomed to the larger cities protecting them from major foes, and accept the bandits that roam the land as a part of life. Some villages are clearly bandit havens, although the actual bandit presence in the region is curiously low.

[filiusenox]

"Of course."
William smiled a not so nice smile. He was still wearing his armor- now clean - and his two sickle like swords were strapped to his back, and the red blade was still strapped to his waist.
Open it, let them in and follow them in.

[Elfeater]

Sir I've brought the prisoners for the trial. I would like to stay for the... Sir this doesnt look like a trial, but an execution.
(he doesnt know that)

[Shootandrun]

The journey had been long and rough and a wise man would have waited until the end of the storms, but Kathos was having none of it. He was a man of action, and a man of action did not wait until the end of the hard times. He had a plan.

Try to find a noble who holds at least one parcel of land, not more than two. If possible, his parts should be as bandit free as possible. If the parcels look rich, go away.

((Basically, find a noble who's holding lands but not too much, and make sure it's not a bandit infested place))

[NUKE9.13]

Open it, let them in and follow them in.

[1] The priest barely take the time to glance around before their eyes fix on the shoddily rebuilt wall. Even as you watch a piece of masonry drops away.

"Ah. What have we here? I hope you don't mind if we take a look behind this wall, do you? No? Good."

Before you can react two of the priests take hammers out from under their robes and smash a hole in the wall.

[5] One of the priests sticks his head through the hole. He shouts in terror, and jumps back, hitting his head on the stonework. He slumps down, not unconscious, but in a lot of pain. The other priests look surprised, and the second hammer-wielder looks through the hole with more caution.

((These priests are dead, aren't they?))

Sir I've brought the prisoners for the trial. I would like to stay for the... Sir this doesnt look like a trial, but an execution.

"Ah, my son. It is a trial. A trial by fire- their gods shall judge their souls. The guilt of their mortal form is not in question."

"I sense you are troubled. Do not fear- this is the right thing to do! For too long they have pestered the good people of this city with their hate-filled message! Their attempts to force their religion on others have led only to suffering. They can worship the Gods on their own terms, within their own walls, but I have to stop them from attempting to interfere with the affairs of others."

The guards take the priests from you, and lead them to the pyres. A few struggle, but most seem to have resigned themselves to their fate, and merely mutter silently to their gods.

Try to find a noble who holds at least one parcel of land, not more than two. If possible, his parts should be as bandit free as possible. If the parcels look rich, go away.
((Basically, find a noble who's holding lands but not too much, and make sure it's not a bandit infested place))

It is hard to judge the wealth or bandit population of an area whilst squinting through the rain, and the locals don't exactly keep precise statistics on these things. However, there are plenty of nobles with a parcel's worth of land. Two parcels, not so much. Finding a noble that fits your description is simple.

[Shootandrun]

Since all the lands around where just like he needed them, Kathos simply visited the first castle he saw. He told the first servant he saw he wanted to meet the noble holding these lands.

Meet with the nearest noble.

[filiusenox]

"Huh...Never noticed that before."
William looks at the priests and smiles.
"Lock the door Thom."
William and Jan draw their blades. While Thom locks the door and pushes the key into William's hand. With that done, Thom draws his blade as well.
"It seems we have a problem"

Kill them all.

[Elfeater]

Watch the burnings then contact the Archbisop privately(Loving this story arcish thing)

[NUKE9.13]

Kill them all.

((But of course))

"But of course. Should I draw silver, or will cold steel cut your hide, demon?"

The head priest reaches into his robes and draws two short swords. One silver, one steel.

"Oh, wait. I don't need to choose."

COMBAT: William (3hp), armed and armoured (+2), with guards (+1, +2hp) VS Priest (2 hp), armed (+1), with guards (+1, +3 hp).

[2+3=5] VS [4+2=6]- The priest blocks your first strike with his steel, and strikes with his silver. Thom strikes at the priest before he can hit you, distracting him long enough for you to recover, but Thom is left open and a priest with a hammer smashes his chest, sending him sprawling. [-1 guard William]

[6+3=9] VS [2+2=4]- You jump away from the priest's next strike, turn around, and stab the two priests who were attacking Jan. [-2 guards Priests]

[6+3=9] VS [3+2=5]- Together with Jan you block the priests' attacks and send one of them sprawling- only the head priest remains. [-last guard Priests]

[2+3=5] VS [2+1=3]- The priest puts up a good show, but you have the upper hand, and he is put on the defensive [-1 hp Priest]

[3+3=6] VS [5+1=6]- The priest makes one last desperate lunge, thrusting both blades straight forwards at Jan. The blades cut deep, but Jan's own sword has run the priest through as well. [-last guard William, -last hp Priest]

You finish off any priests who weren't quite dead yet. Jan and Thom are injured, Jan perhaps dying.

Meet with the nearest noble.

You are invited to wait as the lady of the castle is out hunting. In the storm. After sunset.
After an hour or two your host arrives, soaking wet but smiling and laughing happily. She shakes your hand, excuses herself to get changed, and returns shortly afterwards in a dress with covered in pink frilly bits. Her hair is still wild from the storm, though it has been tied back with a ribbon. A pink ribbon.
If you were looking for people as allies against Psychobitch, perhaps this was not the best place to look. Or maybe it was. You can't tell.

"So", she says happily, "Are you one of Laythe's nobles? Are you here to ask me to join Ligoria? I can't do that, I'm afraid."

Watch the burnings then contact the Archbisop privately(Loving this story arcish thing)

The pyres are noisy. The roar of the flames, the screams of the priests, the hiss of fat and the crackle of skin- it all adds up to quite a din. The crowd looks on impassively. Some are obviously in favour, some are obviously opposed. The majority seems neutral.

The pyres burn long into the night, though the priests are nothing but ashes long before that. Last rites are spoken by a variety of priests from different religions, and the remnants are cleaned away. The Scorched Square is a little bit more scorched.

The Archbishop is busy over the next few days- the remaining Eastern Shriners are nonplussed, and much work has to be done get the city back to its regular state. Eventually things settle down, and you are granted audience with the Archbishop.

[Elfeater]

"Archbishop, as you have stated in the creed, all men are created equal and have equal opprotunity. I propose that If we want to spread this, to conquer nearby lands and add them to are territory. I have seen many oprresive nobles who teeroize there people. This must stop If everyone is to be under Mouns creed."

[CyberGenesis]

Yak yak yak

[4v5] You grab the nearest guard and before they could react use their face to open the door. Fortunately for you the other guard is completely shocked by this turn of events and stands his ground, staring at you. [1v2] Their lack of attention and ambition works in your favor, they don't attempt to stop you from throwing your axe at Eshir. [6v3] Eshir, however, wasn't nearly as slow. He moves to the side, just enough, as your axe plants into his chestplate. [3v3] You turn in time to see Dala pull a blade and lunge at you. You dodge nicely, though unable to turn the attack into his last breathing act. [6v1] The dodge, however, was yours - as you hear (and feel) the wet thump of a crossbow quarrel. You suddenly feel tense, unable to reach back to remove the bolt. It seems to have lodged just under your right shoulderblade, puncturing a lung.

Moments Later

A loud, metallic, clatter breaks the silence while Dala and Ives stare at the corpse on the floor. Both turn to see Eshir, slightly bleeding and fingering the blood-soaked hole in his shirt. His armor, now complete with an axe adornment, laying at his feet.

"So much for that plan, eh?"

"Aye sir...you ok?"

Eshir meanders over to the pair and Dala hands him a vial, "For the wound"

A hearty laugh erupts from Eshir and he pushes it back to Dala, "I'll be fine...I think we've had enough surprises in glass vials."

Dala conceeds, "Heh, perhaps so"

"Someone clean up this mess and find me some sutures. Time for Plan C..."

A pair of guards remove the corpse and their wounded comrade.

Over the next few weeks

Over the season, with their leader dead, the remains of the Weyland mercenaries are rounded up and arrested. Most die fighting, but several are imprisoned. Numbers dictate that either their leader kept terrible headcounts - or some of them are still running free.