Alandra finishes canting and a small puff of grey smoke appears and flies toward the creature on the roof.
"Meet my little friend!
Alandra then moves forward and shoots a shard of ice.
Appologies for the sporadic posting recently. I'm in marking time again (seems to be more and more prevalent in the job nowadays). I'll update as I can but this pattern is likely to continue for at least another week. After that, I should be able to get back to once a day or close to it.
Cheers
Elsbeth readied herself to drop down into the room. In the meantime, Alandra finished her incantation and a small form of air and lightning crackled into existance just behind the savage creature. The elemental pounced forwards and slammed into the creature, damaging it somewhat. Alandra moved as well, sending a dart of ice into the thing and searing its side with frost burn.
The creature snarled and snapped, ignoring the magical foes to continue pressing at Lev.
With the beast that quickly in front of him, Lev drops his bow and swiftly draws his handaxe, already regretting the decision to drop his greatsword a moment earlier.
Nevertheless, he slashes out with the axe, putting all his strength behind the blow.
Anya shot another arrow at the wolverine, aiming high as to avoid endangering her brother.
While all she scored was a glancing blow, it was enough to draw blood, and maybe keep the creature distracted.
Elsbeth reaches Anya's side and shoots another blast at the wolverine
Alannah clear the ladderway, quickly moving forward , her bow in hand, an arrow snapping into place only to be sent streaking towards the wolverine.
Another flurry of attacks from the party saw the strange creature brought low. Even as it collapsed in death, the thing twisted and warped, changing shape before their eyes to form into an old and beaten man. His body was covered in numerous scars from beatings he had recieved in the past and his face wore a cruel expression, even in death.
With his passing, the last vestige of organised resistance from Bandits in this region collapsed. The stolen lands were theres to settle.
With the beast dead, Lev wipes the blood from his handaxe and stows it away. Then he stoops and picks up his greatsword and bow, returning them both to their respective places on his back.
At last he turns and looks at his companions. "It seems that the battle is done. Now the hard work will begin."
"As long as I have a room for the thermal baths that fits my beauty, anything will do to me"
Elsbeth friendly teases Lev.
"Great work all of us"
Anya looked in astonishment as the creature fell. She could almost feel the weight lifting, even more than when the Staglord had been felled. These lands were no longer stolen - they were about to be reclaimed.
"I went over what to say this very moment so many times, in my mind and in the quiet hours of night. Finally, I settled on not saying much. No grand speeches, because those with me need them not. No grand celebrations, because those with me will reap much more than any simple feast or party could express."
She turned to face her companions, and gave them a beaming smile. "We did it. We won the day. Now, lets work on securing the month and year!"
Having cleaned out the fortress, the group took the time to explore and secure the location. A detiled inventory of the cellar region revealed the following gear as well
A large amount of stolen wealth can be found in these three rooms—the bandits have been stockpiling their ill-gotten goods for months. The majority of the wealth kept here consists of mundane trade goods like
pelts, furs, tobacco, iron, bronze, miscellaneous weapons and armor (none masterwork or magic), and miscellaneous adventuring gear and tools worth a combined total of 6,850gp. In addition, one chest contains 4,500 cp, 2,052 sp, 894 gp, and 21 pp, while a large bag contains 2,900 gp in various pieces of stolen jewelry.
Elsbeth also stumbled across a number of journals and books that she poured over. To her great delight, a few of them turned out to be scrolls, tucked away within a journal of a mage.
She also found a very unusual strnad of rope that seemed to carry a magical aura. When she studied it more thoroughly, the rope seemed to enhance the carrying capacity of anything it attatched to.
Alandra had also disovered something amongst the weapons in the cache. A simple looking dagger which at first seemed too corroded and rusted to be of much use. However, somehting about the weapon drew her to it and as she picked it up, she could feel the power within. As she looked it over, a small symbol etched with flaking gold leaf could be seen. It was a stylised rose, the gold etched symbol carved into the blackened hilt made the distinct impression of a blacke rose. It was an old weapon, to be sure, but with some cleaning she knew it would be good as new.
Loose Ends
1. Stag lords body - As you move the bodies out of the courtyard ready for correct disposal, an image flashes before your eyes. A bloated corpse walking across a fast flowing river reaches out a hand and points at you "Remember our bargain"
2. Haunted hill - The hillside surrounding the fortress appears to be infested with undead. You first became aware of it when three of the badnits fled the keep and were torn apart by whatever it is that lives in the ground. Alandra and Elsbeth both feel almost nauseated as they head onto the ground to recover the bodies, and this most likely saved them. They stepped back onto the road just as the ground nearby shifted and a rotted hand burst from it. The hand clutched feebly at the air nearby, but pulled back into the earth once the women had left the grassed area.
3. Bandit warning - While the keep was now secured, the hills surrounding it most likely contain more groups ranging for loot. They would be unaware of the staglords death at this time. What are your plans to deal with them or warn them of the staglords defeat?
4. Message to the Swordlords - They need to know your mission is complete. How will do this while still keeping the fortress secured? It is a few days ride to Oleg's from here. In that time, anything could take up residence in the fortress you only just recovered.
5. Auchs - Auchs is still sobbing in his cage. He is a big and dangerous man. His thirst for violence and his trained hatred for women make transporting him a dngerous prospect indeed. You have already passed judgement on him, who is carrying it out and when.?
Lev, who had been helping with the bodies, stops at the vision and nods. Turning to the others, he says, "I'll take the Staglord's body back to where we encountered the spirit in the river as we agreed. If you like, Anya, I can go to Oleg's from there with whatever message you want sent to the Swordlords."
Alandra's eyes light up when she finds the dagger, and she turns it over carefully in her hands, wiping some of the grime off it with her cloak.
"They must have robbed a priest or a temple to get this. I'm glad we killed them."
When they are done exploring the cellar, Alandra busy's herself with proper disposal of the dead, enlisting the help of some of the others when she needs a body moved. When she and Elsbeth return from retrieving the bodies from the hillside behind the fort, he tells the rest about what they saw there.
"We need to go back up there and get rid of them before we can move in here." she pronounces, already having decided that the fort would become their new base.
Anya nodded, still flush with excitement. "yes, that would be for the best, I think. We should meet back here within two weeks. This fortress is too well-situated to simply abandon, and Oleg's is getting a bit far off-field for a home base anyway. We should look into settling in in earnest here.
Lev took the Staglords body and draped it over the rump of one of the pack horses. He steadied the animal as it moved in response to the new weight and ever increasing stench of the corpse. Just outside the gates, he could hear Alandra and Elsbeth moving around the fortress, incanting a ritual that Alandra had remembered to calm the restless spirits of the land. It was a time consuming ritual, taking both women many hours to cover just small areas of land. They would be at it for days, but everyone had agreed that it was safer than trying to destroy whatever was under the hill, particularly since they didn't know if the undead would just rise again the next day.
As he made to leave, his sister came out to bid him farewell. She stood at his stirrup, resting an easy hand upon his boot as Lev readjusted himself in the saddle. She had a slightly haunted look, most likely remembering the execution she herself had fulfilled. Auchs had blubbered and begged for his life, sounding more childlike with each passing moment. Even Lev had felt his heart lurch in slight grief for the simpleton, but he had steeled himself remembering the talk the man had with them after the battle. At least Anya had made it quick, driving her longsword through his heart and killing him instantly. His head, along with those of the other bandits and the strange shape shifter from below, now adorned pikes that lined the roadway to the fortress. A great sign had been erected with a warning to bandits, written in the common speach as well as whatever dialects this small group understood. The heads themselves were message enough though, with their swolen and black tongues and the eyes being picked clean by the carrior birds even now. No one could mistake that.
The big hunter nodded down at his sister, understanding her support for him without the need for words. With a click of his tongue, he urged his mount and the packhorse forwards, riding out to leave the body of a fallen madman so a water logged corpse could take its vengence. It was not a journey he particularly relished, but they all agreed it needed to happen.
A whistle from the parapets above drew his eyes to the mysterious Alannah. Her blond hair and silver bow gleamed in the mornings light as she stood watch on the towers. She slipped a wink and a wave to Lev as he left, then returned her vigil in keeping an eye on the two magic users as their slow and tedious ritual continued.
He sighed a little, looking around at this wild land. If Anya had the right of it, soon this place would be settled with frontiersemen looking to make a new home. In some small way, the woodsman was saddened, and it surprised him.
Alannah stood atop the tower, breathing the slightly chill air, the breeze tossing her hair, and lightening the load of her emotions somewhat.
She had spent the night after taking the fortress in mourning for her Mikhial and herself, quietly crying herself to sleep, but now she was the perfect image of quiet focus, her archer's gaze scanning the countryside to return to the two spell casters carrying out their intricate ritual.
She watched as Lev and Anya exchange parting words, brother and sister as different as night and day, yet they worked well together. As he prepared to leave, Alannah let out a piercing whistle, flashing Lev a wink and waving to the huntsman, she could tell that he looked forward to a little time in the wilds despite the danger and grimness of his mission.
Her gaze shifted to Anya, as she walked back to the entrance of the fortress, the definite leader of the group, and a good one despite a bit of aristocratic arrogance. If they intended to set this place up as a settlement, it would need a good leader, one who was used to the decisions of rulership.
It would also need a militia to keep the bandits and murderous scum in check, sooner rather than later.
After lifting his hand to acknowledge Alannah's farewell, Lev turns his gaze back to the wild landscape stretched out before him. After all that they'd done to make the region safe for a lone rider such as himself to pass, he knew it wouldn't be long before the peace and tranquility was overwhelmed by those who came here to possess it.
That was one of his goals, of course, to find a home for himself and others like him but he would miss the quiet solitude that he was now enjoying. The ranger decided to savor this trip to the best of his ability. This world would be different place before long.
Alandra works with Elsbeth making sure the bandits have a proper burial.
"Even though they were bad men in life doesn't mean they should not be buried right. They all go to My Lady in the end."
The graves are simple affairs, just holes in the ground with no headstones or other markings to show who was buried there. It is a patch or land just in back of the fort, where the dirt is soft and fertile and flowers will grow in the spring.
"Besides, if we do it right properly and Pharasma blesses it, they won't end up like those others up on the hill. Someday more will be buried here, maybe even some of us."
She points to a building showing just over the wall on the other side.
"I might turn that into a temple. We could cut a door in the wall right here and fence in this graveyard. This is a lovely spot don't you think?"
Alandra is very pleased to have something she has never had before in her life; a place of her own.
Anya was seemingly omnipresent after her brothers departure, taking a personal interest not only in the big picture, but seemingly into every private one as well. She could not possibly have any time left for herself, but her concerned looks grew more so each day. Not only because she had grown quite fond of her half-brother during their reunion, but also because the weight of rulership was settling on her in an ever more real fashion.
Slaying Auchs had been hard on her, harder that it ought to have been, but the sobbing simpleton had been a rapist and murderer before circumstance alone had forced into the childlike state he displayed. It was the only fair judgement, and as her father had been fond of saying: "If you cannot wield the blade, you ought not wield the gavel."
Additionally, she was franticly piecing together her lessons in rulership and the sciences of state. She had never been considered a likely successor - in fact, with so many brothers and eager uncles, cousins and "friends of the family" eager to console a widow, her catching so much as a glimpse of even her family-branches head had been close to out of the question. Consequently, her lessons had been an afterthought. She knew she would claim the title, but she also knew her friends not only deserved to be held in council - she was in dire need of them. Many important fields she would have to fill with relatively unproven and potentially untrustworthy people. She mentally counted them out to their positions, and found glaring holes whichever way she turned things. She would need outside advisors, and it galled her greatly to rely on strangers. But could Oleg be convinced to abandon his isolated trading post for equally rough comfort of a new colony, with additional responsibilities and only a slim hope of comfortable retirement? Could she really foist an office of state on a reformed bandit like Bergan? And if so, what was he even qualified in doing? The mad hermit Bokken wasn't a suitable magister, or was he?
These questions kept her awake at night, and deeper shadows clouded her eyes each morning.
Lev
He took the corpse in his arms and pushed it into the swelling waters of the river. The rain had only started an hour before, but it was heavy and relentless. Given the hills in these parts, he knew how fast water could accumulate in rills and gullies, rushing forwards to swell a rivers flow with their own contributions. The corpse caught the current, and began to float out into a deeper chanel. Lev had all but severed the man in two, yet enough corpse gas seemed to be trapped in his body to keep it afloat for now. As he watched, a solen hand burst from the water and clutched the Staglords body, dragging it into the murky and swirling depths of the water. Vengence, it seemed, had been served.
He rested deeply that night, sleepeing better than he had since he and Anya had travelled to this place in the hopes of settling the land. Beside his travel pack and other gear, a large Ranseur now rested. The weapon still dripped with water, yet it was free of corrosion or damage from being immersed. It seems the spirit had decided to reward its champions as well.
The remainder of the trip went without hassle, and when he arrived at Oleg's, there was much rejoicing at the news he brought. Within a week, a message had arrived back from Restov, a sealed note addressed to his sister along with a large parcel for her. The message was accompanied by a very long collumn of settlers and equipment, all of them looking to Lev and his companions to lead them into the wildlands and their new homes.
Elsbeth
The dream was far more vivid this time than the last one. The landscape smelled of smoke and ash, a grey void tinted red by a glow in teh low horizon. Elsbeth walked steadily along, following in the wake of a group of confused looking men, all of them staring wildly about as if lost and terrified. Each of them carried ghastly wounds, reflecting how they had died in the mortal realm, and with a resigned sigh, the sorceress realised they were the very bandits she and her friends had killed.
Again the air split with a sickening tear, sulphurous air blasting from the wound in the sky. From it stepped the demon from her first nightmare, grinning wildly at the sight of so many fresh souls to consume. The men screamed and tried to run, but it was amongst them in moments. Where its claws sunk in, flesh turned to vapours and poured through the rent in the sky. At last, only one of the doomed men remained. In desperation he reached for a weapon that was not there. Screaming in hatred, this one ran at the beast and tried to fight it with his bare hands, but the demon merely laughed and tore out his troat with a languid twist of its hand. As the man became smoke and vapour, Elsbeth realised it was the soul of Akiros, the bandit who had caused Alannah such grief in the real world.
The demon faced her again, smiling widely and allowing its long black tongue to poke sinuously from between serated teeth. "This is more like the feast I was promised by your ancestors, girl. Continue in this fashion, and your family bargain may yet be met before your time comes." With that enigmatic statement, the demon stepped back through the fissure and disapeared.
Elsbeth woke feeling refreshed and more powerful than before. It disturbed her a little to think that such a gruesome dream actually left her better rested than many of the nights she had spent exploring this wild land.
For All of you
As the staglord's body is borne away by the current, Lev lifts a hand in greeting and farewell. "Our bargain is fulfilled." He says into the quiet.
A moment later the hand emerges from the water to claim its vengeance and he nods curtly before turning and walking back to the horses to check on them one last time before seeking his sleep.
The next morning, he regards the gift the man? spirit? left behind and shrugs. He makes sure the ranseur is securely strapped to one of the horses before his departure and regards the river silently one last time. Then he leaves and thinks no more of what has happened here.
Lev feels a little awkward at Oleg's when he gets there, not quite sure how to deal with the warm welcome everyone extends him at his news. He's used to Elsbeth and Anya handling most of the reception and keeping largely to himself but he does his best to voice the appropriate platitudes and accept the extended congratulations.
His wait for the response from Restov is a slow one and he spends much of his time training with Bergan and any of the other guards who were interested in the same. Finally, when the news from Restov arrives, he breathes a sigh of relief. It was time to return to the ruined fortress at last, and begin the work Anya has put aside for him, though he was not eager to lead the new settlers in the process.
He speaks to Bergan before leaving.
"There is a great deal of work to do now that this land has been, for the most part, tamed. Will you and your woman come with me? I am certain I can find work for you, not as a servant but at my side. I have some idea of what Anya might have planned for me and I will have use for the skills you've developed here. With the Staglord dead, we can get started with making that place for ourselves that I spoke of when we first met."
Rising Nation - Kingmaker Part 2
Lev was three weeks away from the fortress. In that time they were probed twice by small groups of bandits, but on both occasions the bandits had left with very little prompting. The presence of the heads of their most senior leaders left little fight in the rag tag groups in the area.
In the second attack, Alannah had shot the leader of the bandits from a range of 180 feet, and driven teh shaft throgh his eye. That shot alone had seen the bandits stop and stare incredulously. As one they had left and obviously word had spread from there. There were new bosses in town.
When Lev finally did arrive back, it was at the head of a column of refugees, wagons and building gear. Lord Chanelor Deveton and the sword lords of Restov had oviously lived up to their end of the bargain. This land was to be settled, and they were providing what assistance they could in the deal.
Lev rode ahead of the collumn when the fortress came into sight, galloping his horse up to the gates and dismoutning in a fluid motion as his friends came out to see him. With very little preamble, he handed Anya the scroll and parcel from The Lord Chancellor.
Anya broke the red wax seal and unrolled the scroll.
Be it so known that the bearers of this charter, having delivered the
northern reaches of the Greenbelt from the scourge of banditry,
having provided detailed maps of the lay of the land, and having
done no small amount of work in the exploration of said land and the
culling of hostile monsters and indigenous hazards, are hereby granted
the right to rule. The nature and laws of rule are theirs to define, and
the wellbeing of this new nation is theirs to protect. In accordance for
providing a stable nation to the south of central Rostland, let there
be a generous stipend of funds, support, and advice provided to this
fledgling nation as a token of Restov and Brevoy’s goodwill, such
that future relations between kingdoms might be mutually beneficial.
So witnessed under the watchful eye of the Lordship of Restov and
by the authority granted by Lord Noleski Surtova, current Regent of
the Dragonscale Throne.
Within the long burlap wrapping, Anya foudn something that took her breath away. A jeweled scabbard held a mastefully crafted Duelling sowrd, of a type used by the swordlords themselves. The wepon was perfectly balanced, and gleamed with a bluish sheen as she drew it, reflecting the sunlight off its blade in a glorious display.
A small note fluttered to the ground as she drew the weapon, and when she picked it up to read it, the words ringing in her mind with great exhultation. "A Leader deserves a weapon of renown. This is weapon was crafted for you Lady Anya Medyeved, in the hopes it will bring you triumph in all you do. Use it well and rule wisely. You have my undying gratitude and hopefully a friendship we may continue as you rule. D"
It took another two hours for the wagon train to make its way fully up the hill, and two more days after that before everyone was settled and the base area sorted for the tent town that sprang up.
**Alannah was pleasantly surprised when Ulrich turned out to be one of the men leading the wagon trains. The great Ulfen had been the first person she had seen upon waking that fateful day so many months ago. It was he who had dragged her half dead back to Restov and helped her recover, and he had been the one to point her in the direction of her new friends. The big man smiled broadly through his shaggy blond beard, and embraced the young fighter in a crshing bear hug. "It is good to see you again waifling, ja?!" he boomed as he greeted her. She found the term funny, given her strength, but next to him she was almost childlike. He looked around the place, then purposefully touched the weapon at her side. "You found him then ja. I had feeling he might be here.". His voice was sad, carrying some type of regret, but he didn't go into it. Instead he looked up into her eyes and clapped her heartily onthe shoulder, rocking her slightly with his casual strength. "Come, there is much to be done ja. After we get these people sorted, we drink. To Mikhail."
**Lev and Anya were busy trying to organise the huge procession of equipment and lay out areas for campsights when a polite cough from behind made them turn. A tall and muscular man stood before them, decked out in armour of a strange design and holding the reigns of a beautiful warhorse. The mans feature were a blend of Taldan and Tienese, something neither of the Brevian nobles had seen before. The man bowed deeply, then presented a letter to Anya, bearing the red seal of teh Rastovian Chancellor. She broke the seal and read it carefully, before looking the man over again. "It would seem Lord Chancellor Devetion believes you have the requisite skills to help us settle this land" Anya spoke carefully. "You can start by helping us sort out these people. Lev is going to be needed to gather fresh meat enough to feed such a workforce, and you may just be what we need to free him up for that"
Within days, work had started on repairing and expanding the staglords fort intos something more regal. A bastion of defense in the wild lands that sould be capable fo bringing those in need within its safe walls. The hills were scoured for basalt and granite to replace the wooden palisade. The old fort and building withn was repaired and soon took on the appearence of a keep. These folk who had journeyed south were mostly unskilled, but they made up for it in work ethic. Everyone was determined to make the most of things while the months remained warm.
[ooc]BP spent so far - Clearing and preparing land = 3, Castle construction = 27, Houses = 3. Total of 33.
Two months of hard toil and work saw the rise of the keep on the shores of Lake Tuskwater. The frontiersmen bagan calling the place Shrikewall, fir teh river that ran beside it and into the lake. These were old names though, and some felt that new kingdoms should come with new titles. For now, the rulers were busy trying to keep the land progressing while feeding settlers and maintaining peace.
Lev - You need to make some roles to help keep the cost of feeding folk down for now. Until roads and farmlands are established, the people here will eat into your BP's in consumption. This is taking precedence over mainting peace in the wilds of teh land you have already established. The longer this goes on, the greater the chance banditry will increase.
Elsbeth - There are some roles that need to be filled, can you make a diplomacy roll to try and convince Oleg to join you.
Alannah - Trying to trian troops to form a defense force for the keep is proving ....complex. You need to make a str or charisma roll to get this sorted. Alternatively, a skill you think is suitable can be used.
Batsukan - Some of teh folk who travelled south aren't exactly law abiding. Your job is to keep the peace and maintain law - Please make a Str or Con roll. Alternately, if you have a skill that can help, please use this.
Alannah -The people need guidance to keep them on task. Knowledge religion or just a general wisdom roll please.
Your results will determine how well the kingdom is going.
"Last night i had another dream.Again a devil congratulated with me for the souls of the bandits in the fort.Akiros was among them.But this time it wasn't traumatic, on the contrary, i was almost pleased."
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In conversation with Anya upon our first meeting Batsukan replies, "The honor is in the service, Warrior Anya. However I may honor your cause, I shall find a way to see it be done." He awaits direction and is keen to tend to whatever request Anya has for him and once he has direction, he plans and proceeds.
Later, when I have another audience with Anya or Lev I would make a suggestion, "If I might inquire? Has there been any public declaration as yet of the order of things here to your new people? If not, then perhaps when we have a day of fare bounty we might have a quaint celebration and should make speeches to such an end. This way, the people themselves could serve as our eyes and ears of unusual behaviors or activities."
Str check
Alannah returned Ulrich's embrace warmly, a well of emotions insider her. That night she drank and laughed and cried, sharing a cameraderie that reminded her of happier days.
Though training the newcomers was proving challenging, even the average farmer understood the strength required to pull a bow. The magnificent bow over her shoulder and impressive sword at her hip soon began to earn the respect of even those rougher types who fancied themselves warriors, seeing the benefit of learning from a trained fighter, despite said fighter being a pretty girl rather than the typical man at arms.
Within a few weeks she had a regular group running daily combat drills, with another dedicated group taking regular target practice in the yard.
Lev frowns at Elsbeth's words. "I am not fond of a creature such as the one you describe reaping the bounty for our work. It makes us all complicit in an arrangement that we have no part in. Have you made any effort to find a way out of this agreement? Perhaps you should work harder to do so."
Lev nods his head to the stranger and sizes him up with cold eyes. "Welcome. I would like to discuss your coming here at greater length but for now there is no time. If you can deal with these," he gestures to the milling crowd, his voice taut with frustration, "I'll get back to work feeding them all."
With a sigh, he nods to Anya and the newcomer and strides off into the crowd, bow in hand.
Lev sees to managing the wilderness outside the ancient fortress with enthusiam, grateful to be leaving the work of dealing with the newcomers to others. He far preferred traveling alone through the woods or plains, bow in hand, eyes ever alert for his prey.
Alandra tends to her congregation the best she can, building a makeshift shrine at the back of the fort until an actual building is constructed. She also works on the graveyard, pulling weeds, planting flowers and the like.
Anya snswered the foreign-looking Warrior's introduction in all form, before settling down to business with him. "That sounds like a very good idea. In fact, feeling the people's pulse, so to speak, has been something I have thought a lot on, lately. It is one thing to hold court and settle grievances. It is quite another to make sure laws are upheld, understood and even known to the people."
She tried to overlook his unfamiliar features, and trust in the Lord Chanellor's knowledge, but still could not resist scanning his face time and again for any hint of just what that strange otherness in his features might be? Elven Blood? No. Lev looked nothing like him. Some darker influence, like the Hellborn she had read about in the Chelish Novellas? Unlikely, there was nothing sinister about it.
@Lev
"So far i never got the chance of talking with the devil appearing to me.Only think i can think of is finding a way to contact him myself.I'm becoming curious about this part of my life, no one ever told me anything about, and i don't like it"
@Batsukan
"We haven't been properly introduced.I'm Elsbeth Volarius of Westcrown.Nice to have such an exotic looking swordsman with us."
Elsbeth'll spend the first months of works learning the politics and the nobility of the new kingdom, and how to gain their favors.
She behaves as a sophisticated foreign noblewoman, not as follower of Calistria with such people of course.
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To Lev upon meeting.
"I understand entirely Huntmaster. I shall keep them from underfoot as much as I am able. Enjoy your hunt!"
Speaking with Anya.
"I am glad, for you too see the purpose in empowering the people and having them follow you in faith. Let me know as to any preparations I could assist with when you see fit."
He is well aware he is under appraisal still and until he mettle is truly tested, will he continue to be so. I worry not, for the time will come that they will know. He even manages a thin lipped nonchalant smile as he catches her 'assessing' him.
In meeting Elsbeth.
"Well met Elsbeth Volarius of Westcrown. I am the Ronin, Batsukan of the House Hanoki, descendant of the Tian La Clan of Tian Xia. Much honor to you and your family. Your welcome is warm and inviting, I thank you. May my arts protect you."
In the third month of the new kingdom of Schwertmark, the township began work on a smithy. For the most part, the township and keep ran smoothly. Alannah had trained a core of competent mena nd women to act as a permanent guard around the castle and its keep. The guardsman had no livery as yet, but with the equipment they had recovered from the Staglords hoard, at least they were armed and had rudimentary armour.
Lev and his cadre of hunters were also quite successful. They uhnted regularly for meat and other game, managing to bring good quantities of deer and bison in for butchering. The problem was that more and more folk arrived in the newly settled lands. Some came with a look to farm, others had experience in woodcutting and looked to hit the woodlands nearby. People were expanding into the settled land outside the township itself, and soon Lev and his men would need to police these folk.
Batsukan, the newest member of the group proved his worth when he caught a group of thieves who were starting to pillage from the stores. These men had gathered a quantity of the more expensive eqipment and some weapons and were about to make a bolt for Restov in the hopes of turning a profit when the Ronin had caught them. He had brought the men to Anya for her to judge, managing to subdue all three perpetrators without resorting to killing them.
Alandra was not so fortuitous in her endeavours with the people. Those who had come from Oleg's responded well to the young priestess, but there were some from the Restov contingent who found her worship of the deathgodess a little ghoulish. One man, by name of Chrisof Reckson, started a small worship of Abadar in his home, bringing a group willing to pay homage to the god of civilisation in the hopes he would take a hand in their guidance for the town. The splinter group were not much trouble so far, but Alandra had her doubts about the man who led them in prayer every night.
By the time work had nearly finished on the housing and smithy, Elsbeth had returned. It had taken her quite some time to convince Oleg and Svetlana to come with her, and in the end it had been Svetlana's friendship with the exotic sorceress that had swung them. Oleg had packed up his wares, leaving the old trade post to one of the trappers he had traded with regulalry, and moved south. He proved a dab hand at organising the wares though, and any chance of stealing more gear without being noticed vanished almost immediately.
It was a warm summer evening when word came to the keep that a young girl had been found wandering along the shores of Lake Neuenfang. She was in shock and covered with blood, though mostly it wasn't hers. The men who had found her claim she kept saying "Blue Worm" over and over, and asking for her Ma and Pa. No one local new them, but she had been found at the Western borders of the settled lands. Something had killed her family it seemed, and the smallfolk began to ask what the Princess and her men were going to do about it.
The kingdom grew with surprising speed intially. With the renaming of the rivers and lakes in the region, the town itself took on a new identity. Freiheitholme had become a small twn of 1500 people in the three months since settlement began. The majority of the folk here were tradesmen and their wives, though a fair gaggle of children were beginnign to amass as well.
The outlying kingdom had also grown, with a length of 36 miles to it now, the claimed lands took more than a single day to traverse. Alannah and Lev were beginning to feel the pinch for troops and marshals to spread across the land. Without more recruitment, things wold toughen up if the kingdom got bigger.
The outlyig population had increased as well, with folk setting up small tent settlements in the hopes of claiming farming land when the roads were constructed. These small outposts of tents and caravans couldn't contribute much to place, but they would be a boon when land became available.
The frantic pace of setting up their new capitol, drafting laws and rules that were not Brevoy's own, but did not deviate too far off to be cause for concern in the parent kingdom, tending to the everyday duties of rulership (she never would have expected just how frequently someone had to "check back at the top") soon kept Anya from the brooding and over-involvement with every step she had attempted during the first few days.
She had grown used to stamping edicts with the fine engravings in her new sword's pommel - a cocky wasp inside a spiral, once again inside a disk that she liked to think off as a coin. Three gods she held dear and near to her heart, and (despite the seeming frivolity of Calistria) she privately considered essential in the success of her reign. They would have to be smart, vindictive and willing to take risks to stand against the larger, more established powers. They would be rudderless in the storms of fate, and death would more than once have them in its jaws, ready to swallow if they let it - and ultimately, Abadar was going to be crucial, as taming and making safe a swath of wilderness was one of the acts this god embodied.
Matters of justice, such as the three captured scavengers, she had resolved to handle fairly but with strictness. While privately, she wanted to let everyone but the most heinous criminals off with the lessons to start a better life, she knew she had to set examples. So she heard the case, saw the things the men had taken. "You have tried to steal from all of us. The river kingdoms have a saying. A 'Freedom' as they call it. 'You have what you hold'. We'll keep what is ours. And offer you a choice. You can swear yourself to Schwertmark's service, for a year. You will be clothed and fed, but work hard day in and day out, receive neither praise nor pay. Or you can not take this oath, and lose a hand, so you don't ever attempt to hold something you don't rightly have."
The strange sensibilities of the River Nations had prevented her from just indenturing them outright - it might have been viewed as slavery, and the river kingdoms took a right dim view of that. But them submitting "voluntarily" should not cause any ruffled feathers - neither with the new colonists, nor with the locals. Or so she hoped."
She had just drafted a formal invitation to the Abadaran priest, when the news of the dead family reacher her. Somewhat reluclantly she put down the feather, and decided to look into the matter, before bringing it up in the morning council. The priest would just have to wait, and Alandra to suffer his "interference" for a while longer.
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Loyalty roll
I suggest we get farm animals as priority in bulk to provide lasting supply of meat and free up our hunters. Build pens and housing for these animals.
Deed out land further from the settlement in return for trade goods/ livestock, leaving the land closer to the keep to be settled by farmers and within the bounds of area we can protect at this time.
If i have to choose from the buildings above, i say Shop, run by some royal subjects so that taxation comes direct to us.
Send word of land deeds for sale to other friendly regions and with tax free incentives for a fixed time period.
Research the nearest hostile settlements with trade caravans that could be intercepted etc.
Alandra has no problem with a priest of Abadar conducting worship in her town, as she would if it was a deity like Urgathoa. Abadar would be good for the settlement she felt, the church could certainly help with things like banking and commerce. Although she doesn't completely trust the man who is leading them, he has nothing concrete to go on besides a gut feeling so she decides to wait and see before she takes any action.
Anya looked at their newest accomplice with some degree of shock, after she had nodded quietly to his plans to getting past subsistence-level economics quickly. "Just to make it plain from the get-go. The River Provinces are known as the Bandit Kingdoms by some. If I have anything to say about it, this has ended when we came here. We are not going to go raiding our neighbours. We are not going to sponsor highwaymen."
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@all
"As you wish Anya but of course we shall be guarding against the very same raiding of our caravans I assume? One thing that I know of this land is that if you cannot defend it ,then you will not keep it. But I am learning of the scope of your plans also. I had no idea sorry that you were intending to extend your region of influence beyond the borders. Do you mean to gain alliance with those south of the borders too?"
"Of course we build up defensive armies. Who knows, we may eventually even go to war. Right now, we need to worry about defense only. Doing otherwise we ruin our reputation with Brevoy, we incite the very lawlessness that we just bled out of this land."
She took a gulp from her wine. "That is not to say we don't intend to expand. I am looking for input here, but from what I remember, we had found a good bit of gold further north. If we focus on that direction, and bring it into our control, that would be a real boost to our growth, even if it plays out in a few years."
She looked at the rough map on their central table. "Another matter is the boy with the slain parents. We should take care of that, right soon. It could look really good if we brought the guilty to justice quickly - or really badly if we don't seem to care about an orphan."
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In council discussions.
"Shall I send for the orphan or are you happy with the information so far retrieved. Would you spare myself and Lev to investigate further or shall we send a larger force? In relation to the matter of your defensive tactic of establishment. Might Lev and I attempt to identify some skilled enough village peoples to act as scouts? Perhaps even those Lev has already been hunting with may prove worthy and trusted enough to fill such a role?
Stability roll
Alannah worked her recruits, hard, yet worked herself harder, instructing the archers in their craft, woking countless hours to improve her own sword work, while running the new soldiers through countless drills and sparring sessions.
Of special pride was the unit she'd selected to be Anya's personal guard, well trained, quick thinking and unobstrusive, she picked men and women who took their role seriously, willing to put their Princess' safety before their own.
Already she was keeping an eye towards those who showed the promise of becoming officers, the idea of defending the burgioning kingdom taking hold in the hearts of each recruit.
"The people need to feel a part of something greater than a mere bandit collective, and we need to establish our security first. The more capable we are of repelling any attack, the more people will flock to us as an alternative to chancing their lives to the whims of bandits and outlaws."
"Brining the boy here may not be as well recieved as going to him and his community. The people need to see a leader that cares with one hand, and crushes that which threatens tham with the other. They need to know that anything done to them will be taken the same as if it were done to you," she says looking directly at Anya.