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[Dwarmin]

'Tala' nodded.

"This is indeed an honor. All I require is your preferences, and I shall do the rest."

She adopted a more casual tone in her body and speech at this moment.

"I have given some thought to it, as well-can I assume the Queen enjoys tests of skill, risk and daring? I was thinking of sponsoring a small competition on her majesties behalf...tell me if I miss the mark with my guess-it may be a bit bold.

I shall of course, arrange a formal function fit for a Queen-music, food and drink naturally enough. But, I have something in mind to liven up the affair, if you desire.

Let your most important guests gather each, a personal Gladiator to serve as their champion. We shall have a day of bloodshed and battle in your honor-tests of personal combat, wit and skill, to the death if you wish. In the end, the survivor-if you deem him or her worthy, shall be set free, and the person who chose the winner will no doubt be proved a strong judge of character in your eyes.

Nothing showcases her majesties strength more than holding the power of life and death over her subjects, after all.



'Tala' let her voice trail off. It would be a gruesome affair no doubt-hopefully, one the Queen approved of. This was an important moment. She would glean much of the Queens personality from this little meeting.

[Taricus]

"Heh. You think big, and I like that. However, I'd prefer something more... Low-key for this."

[Dwarmin]

'Tala' smiled.

"Perhaps we can save that for the end of year celebration, then...

If you desire nothing more than a small function, I can do that as well. We will only have a little entertainment-enough to keep things from getting dull, but showcasing her Majesties humility. If the Queen wishes a night of merry making, it will be done."

[Taricus]

"Very well, I'll send the invites then. Thank you Tala."

[filiusenox]

William was in the tallest tower of his new castle with a small smile on his face as he surveyed his new land, and the city on it. Regardless of whatever stupid name it had before, was now named Vale. A small honor to his father, but an honor nonetheless.
He took another sip of wine.
"Hmm...Has the work on extracting the skeleton started yet, John?"
"Yes sir, started today."
"Good. Whats the word from the Capital?"
"Well, the queen is going to give a scholar a place to build a university,"
William gave no reply as John told him small tidbits of information that made no real difference, until, "Oh...and someone burnt parts of the library concerning the queen, your lordship."
"Really now? That's quite interesting...But onto more pressing matters."

William begins excavating the skeleton.
He also sends messages to the lords of the surrounding lands(Like around his new parcel) with requests for a meeting.

[Elfeater]

Max Yeskly frowns as he enters the city. He doesnt like having no back up. But since he is in a regular noblemans guard the Cultists wouldnt know him. (In moun he wouldve been fully helmeted with no chance to see his face.) He sets off and begings to
look for the cultists

[Fanofgaming]

Poor Thomas blew through his father's money with all the fleeing. He needs some cash.
Use newly established friends to find some source of income, even if it means... bleh... physical labor.

[filiusenox]

A letter was slipped under the door of Harold's one room apartment.

The light from the grimy and ink stained window shined upon a piece of parchment, tacked to a piece of board. The paper was thick, cheap stuff made from rags and the sawdust that no one would use for their bedding in this slum ridden, flea bitten part of town. The writing on the parchment was thick and cramped, but the words were elegant, and written with respect and tenderness.

Harold was sleeping in the only bed that the room had, it was a small affair, and covered with thin blankets. He occasionally gave a small shiver as the draughts crept in from the autumn winds. He awoke from his twisted nightmares and rubbed the sleep out of his grimy eyes, with even grimier hands, if that was possible. With a tired look he pops a plank of wood out of the floor and pulls a bottle filled full of a dark brown liquid, and with a wired top, from the hidden niche located therein. He untwists the top and takes a large sip, before heading over to the makeshift desk, before stopping and looking at the base of the door.

"Godsdamnit!"

With a number of other curses in Northlandic ((becuase thats the best language to obscene in. It has fifty words for bastard.)), most of them insulting William's heritage and ancestors. Grabbing it up and reading it, the relief is palpable.
Harold puts up posters requesting learned men and intelligent people to apply for a job. It pays one ducat a year, room and board are provided. Must be good with writing.

[NUKE9.13]

"Well, Kraai, I guess we can safely say your lord isn't coming. Its been a month, and no reaction. I guess I was wrong about him."

Hugo flicks a piece of bread towards the raven on the windowsill. It pecks it out of the air with practised grace; this same raven has been fed here every day for weeks.

"Well, no use sitting around then, is there? Come, Kraai. If your lord won't come to us, I guess we have no choice but to go to him."

Hugo snaps his fingers and the raven jumps down onto the floor and hops along behind him. It follows Hugo through the corridors of the Embassy, down a flight of stairs, and hops onto his arm for the walk through the main bar. Hugo nods to the innkeeper and the smattering of human customers, and makes his way out onto the street.

"So, where should we start looking? Ah, I know. The lady Alanis- I wonder if she still has the guest list from the party? No one was allowed in without an invitation, so your lord should be on there."

Raven in tow, Hugo sets of to visit Tala.

William begins excavating the skeleton.

With enough time and manpower, it is simple enough to remove the skeleton from its rocky embrace. There is still a lot of rock attached (in hard to reach places, or at the joints were it holds the thing together), and you have to separate it into smaller pieces to get it up the stairs, but ok, you now have a fossilised dinosaur skeleton.

He also sends messages to the lords of the surrounding lands(Like around his new parcel) with requests for a meeting.

You send messages to all of your closest neighbours. [1] Several days later a reply arrives, signed by all of them. It says, 'No'. It elaborates by suggesting in diplomatic tones that waltzing into the castle of an psychopath with a history of murdering nobles and stealing their land would be, to put it lightly, foolish.

look for the cultists

[4] They aren't too hard to find. They have purchased a small building in town, which they are busy converting into a church.

[filiusenox]

Fine then. Send a message that says he would like to speak with them on uncontrolled land. They can each bring guards, but no weaponary.

[Dwarmin]

"It's truly my pleasure. I will not bother you overmuch with the planning from now, except for issues of security and venue.

If you'll excuse me, I've got some work to do. your majesty."

'Tala' bowed and exited the throne room. So much to be done-but first she needed a bath...

Actions for Party: To-Do list!

1. Contact the Royal Chef and find out what food and drink Queen Laythe prefers. Hire my own chefs to try and improve on the usual fair.

2. Start construction of a large wooden gazebo and veranda overlooking a neaby scenic lake/river to serve as the venue, if the Queen approves of the location.

3. Hire a troupe of sword jugglers, acrobats, fire swallowers, musicians and actors.

4. Get in touch with Thomas Talboh, that magic man I've heard so much about and see if he can whip up some stage magic for the party. What could go wrong? :


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later...

When Hugo came a-knocking, 'Tala' was busy planning the party and only half dressed-no surprise, for someone who spent most of her time in the latest complex fashions, she preferred to relax and think in more simple attire. She heard a gentle rapping on the door and threw on a thick green robe..

"Just a moment..."

She cracked open the door and saw Hugo Von Visserdorp, with a bird on his shoulder. She favored him with a wry smile.

"Well-well. What brings you to knocking on my door, Hugo? It's a bit early for gentleman callers."

[NUKE9.13]

Dear Lord/Lady [Name],
Given the present diplomatic and economic situation in the Storm Coast, and particularly in our Kingdom of Ligoria, our Queen finds herself with no choice but request that you:
    - Accept to swear allegiance to her highness and Ligoria
    - Accept the inclusion of all land under your supervision into Ligoria's territory
    - Accept to let a percentage to be determined of your personnal army be integrated to the Queen's army.
To which in exchange you will be offered the following counterparts:
    - Unconditional protection by the Kingdom's army against any danger, be it enemy troops, bandits or other.
    - A 75% tax exemption for one [1] full year after you join Ligoria.
    - An official Ligorian nobility title, along with all the rights and obligations that go with it.
    - Full control over any parts of your domain that will not be deemed essential for the Queen, under the laws of the Kingdom.
You can send back this here letter signed and sealed if you wish to comply to this demand immediately or within a month. You can request more information or the presence of an official to expose you this contract in deeper details.
Failure to comply within a full season, or failure to answer within a month will undoubtedly tarnish the high esteem the Queen has for you.

Yours sincerely, Avitus Traianus, advisor on Diplomatic issues, on behalf of Queen Laythe of Ligoria.

Send letters to the landowners in "unclaimed" territory who share a border with Ligoria.

The replies come back to the tune of are you kidding.

No one is inclined to accept such a terrible offer.

"Well-well. What brings you to knocking on my door, Hugo? It's a bit early for gentleman callers."

Hugo replies with a laugh and a smile.

"Ah, milady, it is never too early for a little fun. Ah, but no. I am here on business, unfortunately. Perhaps some other time, hmm?
Anyway. The art viewing you held in summer- did you keep the guest list? I'm looking for someone I met at the party, you see."

[Dwarmin]

'Tala' responded with a shy grin. She had to admit, Hugo was good-very good...he was just the sort of person you dropped your guard around. He would make a very good spy.

"Yes I did, though my guards may have been a bit lax in checking invitations for the additional guests...still, the names of everyone who attended and the number of servants and guests they brought with them should still be around here somewhere. Give me a moment.

'Tala' had, in fact, been studying the list herself not too long ago-trying to deduce the identity of the Lord of Crows. It was a fools errand, in her opinion-you would have to interview nearly everyone and look for discrepancies, assuming the Lord did not just stroll in uninvited alongside another guest. Even then, it was probably a good start, but it would take time she could not spend.

She backed away into her room, and plucked the dog-eared copy she had been studying from her drawer and returned, handing it to him.

"I hope you find who you are looking for, Hugo.

Anyway, we must talk at a later date-I'm planning the Queens birthday party right now. You have some skill in architecture, I recall? I am in need of one to build the venue, assuming your duties allow you the time to do so.

But, we can save that for later. Perhaps when I'm more presentable?

I'll be sure to swing around your studio sometime later this week, my dear."

After hearing his response, she leaned out of the doorway and gave him a parting kiss on the cheek opposite the shoulder with the bird, before retreating into her room.

[NUKE9.13]

Hugo accepted the list with a smile.

"Thank you, milady. I'm sure I shall.
Ah, the Queen's birthday? I would be honoured to help- I do dabble a little in the art of construction, I'm sure I could whip something up. Just give me the call, and I will be there."

Hugo accepts the kiss with grace, bows, and leaves. The raven turns around to stare at Tala until she closes the door.

"Leave her alone, Kraai. She is an elegant and modern woman. You will behave around her. Now, let's see this list."

Hugo leafs through the list as he walks. Looks like Alanis spent a few hours looking over this thing as well. No doubt trying to find the same person as he, though for a different reason.
Once back in his room, makes a copy of the list, and starts work. Women are crossed out. The man looked like a servant, so those who would have worn fancy clothes were off as well. There were several people he knew, so those were off. Of course, the lord was probably among the unnamed servants, but the Lady Alanis's guards had made surprisingly meticulous notes of how many had accompanied each guest. Now, would the Lord be an actual servant? If he was, then Hugo didn't want to find him. No, he would merely be disguised as one.
So... he wouldn't come in with a small group- too easy for someone to notice he wasn't supposed to be with them. So servants who came in twos or threes were off.
That still left a fairly large list of potential Lords, many of them anonymous servants, who would be hard to track down. Still, if he wanted to find this person, this was where to start.

What next?

Ah... Vadud. Didn't he go chasing after the man? He wasn't in town at the moment, but surely he would be here for the Queen's party. As would many others- including a lot of the people on this list. Ah, yes, perfect. Lady Alanis, what would I do without you?

Hugo narrows down the list of suspects and waits for the call to build the venue for the party, which he will do to the best of his ability in whatever manner Tala desires. ((ie don't bother having a conversation, just assume he does whatever you ask))

[Fanofgaming]

Walking around the town, Thomas comes across a poster requesting well-educated men for some unknown task for a man named Harold. He takes note of the instructions on the paper and decides that it would probably be in his best interests to take the job, so he follows the provided directions. On his way, he is approached and is told that some noblewoman is looking for him, with frightening mention of magic. Thomas denies resolutely and puts on a thorough show of why magic is dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. He had also caught word that some Hatcuri might be looking for a good worker, but associating with Hatcuri might not be the best way to fit in.

Thomas walks through the city, looking for his would-be employer, Harold.