"You will want a Granary." Rufus replies laconically, as he nods acknowledgment of Katya & the Doktor's suggestions. Turning to Katya, "Perhaps you might introduce me to those laborers & craftsfolk who presently have dispute. As I indicated earlier, aiding others in resolving their differences equitably is a particular focus of mine."
Vasily nods at the Doktor and Bea. "A road north to the trading post is a good call. I was thinking, though, that if we floated some boats down to Mivon the trip there and back couldn't be any longer than the overland route back to Restov. It might even be shorter." The young man shrugs. "I don't know anything about river travel, but looking at the map," Vasily gestures at a large scale map depicting the River Kingdoms and Brevoy, "I was just thinking it might be quicker."
He gestures in the general direction of the lake beyond the Fort's walls. "Do we know what kind of fishing there is in that lake? Clams would be good. Sturgeon would be better if we can cultivate their eggs for caviar; they pay a mint for the stuff up north."
"If you didn't care whether the boats or their crews made it down or back, certainly." Rufus interjects at mention of a river route to Mivon. "This swathe of the River Kingdoms is called the 'Stolen Lands' for a reason. No one has ever successfully imposed order here for any notable length of time..."
"Certain parties like it that way." He muses ominously.
Katya shakes her head "How bandits and ruffians wish these lands to be does not matter. We have been tasked with settling these lands, so we will. As for the laborers, I can take you to them easily enough. They are mostly camped near the bottom of the hill. Kesten will welcome the help."
Turning to Bea as she starts to roll up her papers but leave the maps, Katya says, "Can I tell the builders to begin work on the fort?"
I see it's not just their 'Leader' who ignores what she doesn't to hear...
Well Rufus, this time next year will you be forsworn & dishonored, or dead?
"I'm curious," Rufus drawls, "How many of your...
followers,
you are willing to spend on this endeavor?" He turns back to Bea.
Bea looks around to the others, "Yes Katya, unless anyone objects."
She was about to get up when she's stopped by Rufus' question. Pausing, she looks at Rufus quizzically. "What exactly do you mean?"
Finally! The beginnings of sense.
Looking directly into her eyes, Rufus replies. "I never said Bandits."
"That said, do any of you know what the difference between a bandit & an 'upstanding, responsible citizen' in the River Kingdoms?" Pausing a moment to let the question sink in. " is doing the naming."
"We have a charter from Brevoy, a Foreign Nation, to 'provide a stable nation to the South of Central Rostland'. None of us actually hail from the River Kingdoms. Riverfolk have a name for people like us. It's 'Invader'."
"Do you know how many successful, invasions of the River Kingdoms there have been?"
"None."
With an open palm toward Katya, Rufus continues. "How bandits & ruffians wish these lands to be ,"
"I'm certain that will be quite a reassurance to the farmers & craftsfolk & tradesfolk & bargefolk & 'upstanding, responsible citizens' who lose their lives or the lives of their loved ones because it is Brevoy's interests that 'matter'."
Turning now to the good Doktor. "You may not wish to lend your support to a laborer...
Why should this...
Laborer,
to lend his or her support to you?"
Arms spread to indicate the whole of the encampment, former bandit fort & all, Rufus continues. "You occupy the former hold of bandits, you impose the will of Foreign Rule. You expect that sending tradesmen down an uncharted, uncleared river system will be faster than establishing a road through lands you have already cleared to a nation you already have favorable relations with & when I attempt to point out that you are likely to meet resistance, even violent resistance, your response is ..."
"Such words will make a fine Epitaph."
Bea looks a bit surprised. "Please, calm down. I'm sure not one of us actually meant to imply that we'd send the traders down a river that we hadn't personally explored and cleared first, just as we didn't invite any settlers down here before clearing the land of the bandit threat that was here previously. And as to whether they were 'bandits' or just natives, we only punished those who were unrepentantly and actively engaged in banditry. Those who chose to leave that way of life behind them were pardoned, and while several left these lands, many stayed and live here today - much happier than they were before, too, I might add.
"We're not here to displace anyone, and we're doing everything we can to keep everyone here safe. I don't know where you seem to get these ideas."
Brow arced, Rufus replies. "I'm quite calm." Sighing, he continues. "Were any of us here at this time last year?"
"I'm not in the mood for games. Your point?"
Vasily nods. "I'm afraid I don't see what you're after, either. I made a suggestion about exploring a water connection to Mivon. I didn't suggest sending craftsmen and farmers down an uncharted river system. Gods, man, I'd volunteer to chart the way if we decided it was something to explore." The young man frowns. "You're acting like you're the only person here with any sense. Which would be rude even if you hadn't just arrived, but is even moreso because you have. Just calm down and listen instead of lecturing and maybe we'll hear something you like."
And...
it slips away again.
"You aren't in the mood for games?" Rufus replies sardonically. "Yet you have, wittingly or no, volunteered yourself for the most lethal game of all."
Pointing to Vasily, "For a mewling, duplicitous sycophant, you do a very good turn. For someone who claims to know their way as a castellan...
Well,
I wouldn't try it in Liberthane if I were you."
Turning once more to Bea. "I'm not playing . As neither of you," his gaze shifting from Bea to Vasily & back, "seemed able to grasp the least of what I was trying to relay, I thought perhaps you might follow better if I broke it down, piece by piece. As you still have yet to answer my very simple questions...
I still don't see evidence that you can grasp my point."
Aside to Vasily, "I have yet to see evidence that I'm not the only one present with any sense. I have seen significant evidence that none of you have actual experience with life in the River Kingdoms & this is not a 'game field' which forgives ignorance."
Bea frowns and shakes her head. "Rufus, I've been trying to be patient and fair with you but you're out of line. I will not sit here and allow you to treat me and my friends as children. Please leave quickly, and I'd not shed a tear if I never see you again. Good day, sir."
Oh, how of her! How magnanimous. , she is a among women!
"What exactly are you going to do to stop me?" Rufus replies. "Treating you & yours as children, innocent lambs really, I mean."
"When others tell you things you do not wish to hear, in a manner you do not find appropriate, how do you intend to respond to them?" He continues, his tone now genuinely curious. "When there is drought, or sickness, or anything else you cannot simply drive off. When the only way to keep your followers alive is to listen to what you don't want to hear, what will you do then?"
"When agents of the other River Kings come, to test your mettle, to see what you do when provoked, how will you respond then?"
Standing, Bea stares intently at the man. "This is not a road you wish to go down, sir. Leave at once."
Sighing, Rufus responds simply. " No."
Katya steps up closer to Rufus, her eyes narrow and leaving little to the imagination as to her opinion of this discussion. "Where Beatrix may be willing to step lightly around you I will not. I find you offensive, your tone rather convincingly shows a lack of desire to respect anybody besides your reflection in a mirror. You are far too eager to jump to conclusions about everyone around you without knowing the least bit of our intent or actions. I said what I said because this area of the Stolen Lands has been nothing more than a hide out for bandits, ruffians, scoundrels and myriad other forms of lawless pillagers and despicable opportunists. The reason their desires do not matter is because we, this group, have decided to bring civilization to the Greenbelt and we have been working towards this goal relentlessly for the past year. We have cleared the immediate area of banditry and monsters enough to allow Restov to send us supplies to begin this new township. You come here with hardly a hello and begin insulting people who have stood between me and death. I will not allow that insult to continue." Draconic sigils along Katya's robes flare up as her eyes glow with the beginning of arcane energy.
"We are here to begin a new town, perhaps one day a city, and perhaps one day into a nation. We are not just here to impose law, not just foreign rule, but a chance for anyone to make a new start so long as they wish for prosperity. The Greenbelt is NOT Mivon, nor is it Brevoy. Restov may send the resources and the people but we have been invested with the right to rule these lands because of our actions, not yours." A hot breeze flares up through the standing tent as Katya continues.
"Now, to the point you are so desperate to drag through the mud of your incessant pigheadedness. The difference between a bandit and a citizen is one of who is defying and opposing good laws and justice set by the ruler of a region and who is not. The Stolen Lands have no law yet, but that does not mean we cannot try to do so in the interest of helping others to start a new life in fresh lands. You are right that there will be others among the River Kingdoms who despise us because we come from Brevoy, and there will be more who claim we are invaders because we receive aid from a foreign power but what you are forgetting is that the River Kingdoms have no more a claim to the Stolen Lands than Brevoy. These lands are unsettled for more reasons than there is time to go into today and your insulting meandering to such a mundane point has tested my patience and wasted my time."
Katya lifts up her staff, pointing the crystal tipped top towards Rufus, an inferno of fire flaring up from the tip. "Now, you will excuse yourself from this company or I will show you exactly how I WILL deal with the threats and dangers of the River Kingdoms."
A smile, a genuine smile, splits Rufus' face like a knife wound. "Why didn't you speak up before? You still aren't quite getting my 'point', but you come closer than any one else has. My 'insulting meandering', by the way, was a 'test of patience', among other qualities, and experience has taught me that tests of patience are never wastes of time. Only failures of patience waste time."
"The 'point' which I was 'dragging through the mud with my incessant pigheadedness', is that every question I put to your 'well regarded leader' is going to be in the thoughts of every Riverlander who resides, passes through, or trades with this community. If she & the rest of you can't answer in a more satisfying manner than 'stop badgering me & show some respect' they will have very little reason to believe you when you say you aren't pawns of New Stetven, and you," his gaze swinging wide to take all present in, "will soon discover that there is very little difference between a 'fine upstanding citizen' & a 'lawless ruffian' here in the Riverlands."
Turning to leave, Rufus pauses, turns back. "So, you," gazing directly into Katya's eyes, "can 'magic' away sickness, drought, blight?"
"How fortunate for all of you."
Vasily, well aware of his status of a fellow newcomer, does not voice any threats alongside the established leaders of the community. Instead, the young man simply stands and steps away from the table, facing Rufus beside Katya and Bea and giving himself room to draw his sword if it became necessary.
Beatrix looks over at her other newly arrived companion. "Vasily, may I entrust you with a task? Please see this gentleman makes it safely outside our community and continues on his way. Report back here to me, if you please."
The good Doktor had been gazing in the general direction of the conversation with unfocused eyes until it turned potentially violent. His attention returning to the ongoing saga, he smiles an uncomfortable smile.
A moment? He suggests to Bea, then turns to the group. This discussion need not end so dramatically. Rufus has but disagreed in a disagreeable way, and added a few unnecessary, and in my opinion, incorrect personal insults that have raised tempers. If the man wishes to part company, by all means he should go in peace. If he wishes to stay and build a kingdom with us, perhaps a sincere apology to those he insulted, and assurances that he will be more civil in the future? We can not expect all of our activities to take place under a unanimous consensus; there will be dissenting opinions. It's not clear to me what exactly Rufus is dissenting against, to be honest, unless it is the possibility that others beside himself may have a valid understanding of our situation. In turn, we might provide assurances that all voices will be heard before significant actions are taken. Of course, once the dissenting voices are heard, Bea's decision is law.
He adds, I have not had the opportunity to read the relevant entrails as of late, so I have no opinion on river travel.
Bea nods at Zlotii, then looks at Rufus expectantly.
Katya turns her head slightly to see Bea's nods towards Zlotii and shakes her head. The fiery glow from her staff dissipating as she starts to walk away from the tent. "You can stand here and continue to argue with this blow-hard if you want. I'm sure the cows will be flying over the moon before even a single word penetrates his steel-plated skull." Sparing one last withering look towards Rufus "You are more than welcome to sit under a tree and run your little tests on every passerby. Actions tell far more than words, and so far your only action has been to blow hot air from between your teeth. The rest of us have work to do."
Stepping out of the tent, Katya heads off towards the builders with her maps and sketches in tow. Her staff slung across her back once again.
Half the afternoon sharing the fruits of nearly a decade's training, only to be snubbed because doesn't like Varisi...
Are going to snub them in turn simply because they ''? Is who Lord Parsall trained?
No.
A subtle, rising tension; only noticeable by it's abrupt dissipation leaves Rufus at the Doktor's words. Shaking his head ruefully, he mutters under his breath. "Ești aici pentru a atinge obiectivele dvs., sau sunteți aici pentru a umfla mândria dumneavoastră? Milani iartă-mă, voi strădui să-l prima și nu acesta din urmă face."
Breathing deeply, he straightens, before bowing, first to the Doktor & then to Bea. "I apologize. I allowed my temper to get the better of me. It won't happen again."
Beatrix watches Katya leave then considers Rufus' reply for a moment. "Fine. You may stay in this camp if you so choose, but consider yourself on probation. If you cause trouble with anyone else here you'll be immediately disarmed and thrown out."
With that she gathers her papers and walks out of the tent past Rufus, hoping to catch up with Katya.
Vasily had nodded at Bea when she gave him her task, then nodded in agreement when she changed her mind. He remains behind in the tent after they leave, though, giving the Doktor an appraising look. "So is the distracted air a sham or can you really pay attention without paying attention? And process a cogent response while thinking about something else, as well." The young man shakes his head at the Doktor's odd ability.
As the others go about their business, Rufus first makes some time to speak with Adam regarding those various logistical endeavors Adam has set himself. That concluded, seemingly now at his leisure, Rufus makes his way about the encampment, putting names & faces to the various craftsfolk, soldiers & farmers hoping to make new lives for themselves.
I'm afraid that I do not perceive reality in the same way that you do, and as such, I'm likely unable to provide a satisfactory answer to your question. Zlotii answers Vasily, prodding a particular clump of mud with the toe of his boot. I assure you that nothing about me is an affectation. I would drop it in a heartbeat, were it so. Before long, in your perception of time, you will come to understand our relationship for what it really is, and you will realize that my "ability" is actually more of a "liability".
He adds, If I had not yet informed you that I know the Manderly's and that I am fond of them, I feel it is appropriate that I do so in your now.
The good Doktor stares long and uncharacteristically lucidly at Rufus as he makes his way from the gathering. When he finally turns away, he sees Vasily, and a look of consternation flashes briefly across his face. He says, tentatively, Good afternoon...I am Doktor Zlotii Medvyed...It is my pleasure to...make your acquaintance?
Vasily looks confused for a second when the Doktor reintroduced himself, then gamely smiles and nods. "Vasily Lyesnayevich, of White Knife. It is my pleasure to meet you, Doktor. I am at your service, if you need assistance. For now, I am going to see to moving the settlers I came in with and see if I can help Katya get the farmers set up."
Catching up with Katya, Bea calls out to her, "Katya! A moment!" Catching her breath, she continues. "What you said back there about this place - making it a land where folk can make a new start. Well, what do you think about naming this town Nadezhda? I want us always to remember what we came here for."
Katya turns towards Beatrix slightly as she keeps moving through the fort. "Nadezhda... Yes, I think that will do nicely. I am sorry for my outburst but I have dealt with far too many problems this past week to be patient with it anymore. Hopefully getting this fort started will help move things along with all the new people who are coming down here."
Bea shakes her head. "Not at all. It needed to be said, and I'm just glad I'm not the one who had to say it. I know I've said it before, but I'm glad you're on my side. Really. Despite our differences, you've proven yourself a strong ally and true friend. I look forward to creating a land where all can come to make a new start with you.". She pauses and blushes slightly, suddenly aware of the unusual sentimentality. "Uh, let's get those builders started. No time to lose."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Over the next several weeks, Adam and Edvard do some surreptitious investigation. They are able to learn that Rufus had been promised control of the nascent kingdom by his patron, a Swordlord who most definitely lacked the authority to make such a promise, but who had assured Rufus that the fix was in for him. The halfling is able to smooth things over by pointing out to the other Swordlords that this can be used as one more way to draw a distinction between and Restov.
Income Phase: Assuming no deposits, withdrawals, or item sales.
Add 4 BP to the treasury.
Event Phase: After all of the difficulty getting here, the first month after construction is uneventful.
Turn 2:
Upkeep Phase:
Spend 3 BP for upkeep.
No magic item slots, AIUI.
No unrest.
Improvement Phase: Over to you!
Beatrix assembles the group in the newly restored keep, unusually dressed in her armor. "Friends, we've made good progress with the town here. But I don't feel comfortable bringing more settlers here without knowing what dangers might lie close to our home to the south. I'd like to take you again into the wilderness for a short time to explore and secure the lands immediately around the lake and possibly more, depending on what we find. Adam will be in charge of affairs here in our absence."
While Bea isn't looking directly at him, Adam's eyes light up and he gets a rather disquieting grin. By the time Bea looks down, though, his mien is far more humble. "I shall do my best to keep things going, my friend. Much as I would love to be back out in the wilds, sleeping under the rai--er, stars, and dealing with rotting rations, feral fey, and impudent insects, I'll suffer through the meals and accommodations here."
Vasily nods in agreement. "I'd be happy to accompany you all, if you'll have me. I know a bit of woodcraft."
From what the settlers said about him, Vasily was drastically downplaying his wilderness survival skills. But regardless of his reasons for understating his abilities, he has proven himself to be a hard worker, always willing to pitch in where help was needed.
"Of course, happy to have you along," she responds with a smile. "Katya and Zlotti, can I ask you to accompany us as well? Jacyn, please keep an eye on Adam while we're gone. Havrin, can I ask you to check on Sabrina at the temple? Let her know she's welcome to visit us any time, but I imagine she's busy enough with more travelers coming through these parts now. See if there's anything she needs, and we'll see to it when we return."
The gruff ranger nods. "Be happy to. It's not far out of the way, and Stepper handles the woods well by now."
Katya nods towards Bea "Of course, I will just need to send the next project to the builders before we leave but it would be nice to get out of the city awhile."
"Thank you. If possible, I'd like to leave at dawn."
The good Doktor stares vaguely at Bea long after she has asked her question and the conversation has moved on. Certainly. He casts a glance at the window to confirm the time of day. Dawn...tomorrow.
He seems a bit embarrassed when he adds, I would appreciate a reminder in the morning. Should we perhaps apply ourselves to more exploring?
Vasily nods at Bea. "We'll be ready." The young man referred, of course, to his horse and the forest cat who accompanied him everywhere, rarely seen but never far away.
He smiles at the Doktor's comment. "I'll remind you in the morning, Doktor."