Trouble is: He will now, with only half of a hand, find it real hard to make a living by working. It might have been better to flog him, or if we must maim him, perhaps cut off an ear." Frowning in thought, Anastacia muses. "I'm not sure those sort of punishments really do any good at all. He is not a child. Most likely, he knows that his deeds bear consequences. We need to found a sort of training camp, part prison, part school. Train any prisoners we take to make an honest living. If they revert to crime after that we execute, and let the Lady of Graves judge them. It's what she does."
Koilia genially replies,
"Αυτό γίνεται."
He imitates Viktor's gesture.
"Yes, I think you've hit on why I was disturbed by the sentence. While it was clear he kept company with bandits and murderers, his own guilt was not firmly established in the eyes of the law. Though I suppose out here Viktor is the law, according to the charter." Wilhelm pauses, pursing his lips and frowning in concentration as Anastacia continues. "I think from a more practical standpoint it would be difficult to leave a murderer's punishment at only a branding. A man like that has proven dangerous and isn't worth the trust of righteous men and women until he has redeemed himself. I agree that there is likely a better way and, though it pains me to say it, it is probably out of our grasp for the time being. We might bring it up with Viktor when our expedition is better equipped to handle it."
I'd like for everyone, ie both groups to weigh in on this. Current consensus is that you will use the presence of gold to provide incentive for colonists to come. I'm going to have Marik 'retire' from adventuring to run the mine he discovered and there is enough gold in the surrounding streams that if you do this there will be a minor gold rush (pun intended :) What will this mean in game? It means that we'll be starting the kingdom building the next game month, ready or not as a large influx of wannabe miners come flooding in. First few months the random event will automatically be Economic Boom and alot of the initial decisions will be taken out of your hands for these few months. Oleg's will become a chaotic neutral city district free of charge and Oleg's itself will become one of the following (Stable, Shop or Watchtower), your choice. However a Tenement will also spring up free of charge, along with the unrest that comes with it.
MONTH 1
Upkeep Phase-skipped
Improvement Phase
Select Leadership - as normal
Claim Hexes - Oleg's will be claimed, free of charge
Establish and Improve Cities - Oleg's becomes city district free of charge. Choose free Shop, Stable or Watchtower for Oleg's to become. A Tenement will be built free of charge, but this increase unrest by 2, possibly reduced by Watchtower. A Tavern is built for free as your new building construction for the phase.
Build Roads - No money to build roads, this will have to be skipped
Establish Farmlands - No money to establish farmlands, this will have to be skipped
Edicts - As normal
Income Phase
Deposits - As normal
Withdrawals - As normal
Sell Valuable Items - None available
Generate Income - As normal
Event Phase
This will automatically be Economic Boon
MONTH 2
Now that your country has money, the normal rules apply. When the Establish and Improve Cities phase comes up another Tenement is built free of charge (although you can have a House be built for 2 BP instead) and a Brothel must be your new building construction for the phase. But the Brothel is free, at least in terms of build points. Economic Boon will again be the event.
MONTH 3
The boom is dying down. No restrictions other than once again the event will be Economic Boon and either a free Tenement or 2 BP house must be built.
You can change the alignment of the city by making it your capital, but I'll be honest there are probably better choices for capital cities. Once you establish a capital, the alignment of your country can be set.
Ok. So this is going to be important. I vote for a shop as we can use the economic boost this will cause. As for leadership who is going for what?
Riding into Oleg's after a successful campaign amongst the kobolds, Dante dismounts and stables his horse.
Taking his backpack he sits down at the bench and table next to the firepit and begins cleaning a crusty piece of armor, throwing bits of nasty webbing and desicated flesh into the fire, producing a momentarily putrid stench.
After a few minutes of tinkering, he finds a piece of cloth with a map drawn on it. Studying it for a moment, he calls over to Felix "Hey Felix, come and take a look at this."
"What is it my friend?" Felix peers intently at the new find.
Alerted by the sounds of a large party entering the courtyard of the trading post, Wilhelm leaves his work cleaning and oiling his sword and makes his way to the courtyard. Seeing that the remainder of the group has returned, he breaks out in a smile and shouts, "Hail Felix and company. I'm glad to see you're safe and sound. What adventures have you been up to? I'm sure, in this savage land, you've managed to tangle with a few beasties. Come and settle in and I'll happily recount the events of the Battle of the Bandit's Ford and the Thorntop Hill. Oh, and even bigger news than that, though maybe that should wait..."
Lanya was busy reading a book and making notes when the first rider of Felix's group enters Oleg's. Dante was the first to return and she greeted him with a nod before she stood up from her seat upon a barrel.
"Welcome back sir Dante. It's good to see you back in one piece. How have your travels been?" she asks as she walks to his side and later back towards the others.
"No doubt Wilhelm or Viktor will boast about the events on our journey, it will do us good to hear your stories and news."
Vors smiles at Lanya's greeting. He lets the two speak as he guides his mount on towards the stable.
After having tended to it, he goes searching for the other group to hear an account of what happened to them.
Anastacia joins the others, eager to hear about their various exploits. "Good to see you made it back in one piece." She smiles.
Felix smiles as the other group approach him and his people upon their return. His smile deepens even further as Wilhelm begins speaking of their battle with the bandits. They have slain bandits and call it a victory, I am the man who has brought peace with the natives. They have returned some stolen goods to the rightful owners, I am the man who will return the Stolen Lands to their rightful place. They have dispensed justice to small men, I have finished a menace that would have plagued us. Let Viktor top that, now where is that man?
"It is good to be back my friends. We have news ourselves, though it is probably not as big as the news you wish to share. Come now, we are weary from our travels and need to wash the dirt from our bodies and the dust from our throats... although maybe not in that order."
"Welcome back Felix, and all of you of course as she lays a hand on Vors's shoulder. As Wilhelm has been telling already, we have some stroies to tell, but I am very curious as to what you encountered in your journeys. Next to that we have some important things to discuss, but drink your thirst away and rest your weary bodies before we get on with business."
She walks away, but towards Felix, as she brushes past him she whispers.
"I think you'll like what we have to discuss."
Knowing what kind of man Felix is, I can't help but judge him as full of pride. With Viktor going back to Brevoy already, he will surely be one of the people that will voice himself to be voted leader now. No doubt he's a good one, but you need to be fair as well as strict. I think he and I could more easily teach someone like Wilhelm to be more strict than we could teach him to ease down.
Anastacia chuckles. "By all means. Wash the dust from your throat and self. We can have a council after you have rested. There are plans to be laid, but nothing so urgent, as to keep anyone from a hot bath."
Anastacia doesn't mind the delay, she is still trying to get her new suit of armor adjusted just right.
Wilhelm smiles genially at Felix and replies, "Of course, how rude of me. You're likely tired from the road. As the others have said, let's get you rested and fresh so we can hear a recitation of your adventures." With that, he assists his arriving compatriots guide their horses into the stables and offers to care for them while the others get settled. His excitement for the impending exchange of idea's is obvious.
Still grinning excitedly, Wilhelm suggests, "It strikes me that it might be best if you begin with your tale. I have a feeling some of our news may well derail us from the telling of our respective valor."
"M'Lady." Dante says, dismounting his horse. "Our travels have been sound. I'm not one blather on in song or story. To surmise the report though, we have sucsessfully recovered the items requested, and due to lord Felix's silver tongue, have forged a lasting relationship with the militant Kobold populace in the area with no losses to our party and acceptable losses to the Kobolds." with that he hands her a five page report detailing the expedition.
"I am pleased to see that you are well M'lady." he says in a sincere tone and with a kurt bow.
"My Lord, I've seem to have discovered some sort of map. Map making is a hobby of mine and I can tell you that this is hand drawn on hide, crude, but readable. It seems to depict a tree similar to the one the mites were in, but I doubt it's the same tree, see how clearly the only two branches were depicted? I leave it to you to decide what to do with the map." with that he hands the map to Felix.
Having missed a good ale Vors settles down across from Wilhelm as the other waits for Felix to begin their tale. "You should take everything he says at face value," he says to Wilhelm.
Nodding as the tall swarthy barbarian settles in around the fire. He smiles and nods companionably at Vors. As the man speaks though, Wilhelm begins to look a little perplexed before saying, "Is there a reason I should not? We are among our own and it seems to me that it serves us all poorly if we aren't honest with one another."
"A tale can always be told in different lights, depending on whom and how much you want to shine," Vors replies grinning.
"I suppose that's true. A little embellishment here and there and the tale makes a man out to be the next Aroden." Wilhelm replies in a musing tone. Scratching slightly at his neatly trimmed beard, he looks serious and pensive for a moment before that breaks down into a return grin. "I guess I can't fault a man too much for it at that. We are here on a grand undertaking that may spawn something truly fantastic."
Wilhelm leans a little closer to Vors before asking in a quiet undertone, "That said, what do you make of my dear cousin, Felix. I'm afraid, despite being blood relations, I know little about him. I didn't even have a chance to speak with him at the start of this whole endeavor. Is he an honorable man?"
With a drink down his throat and the combined attentions of his allies Felix is ready to tell his tale.
"Ahh that hits the spot. Now my friends, I will begin where all good tales should begin... at the beginning. We were two days into our explorations and all we had to show for it was plains and trees. Well the sun was going down and I was about to give up on another day of nothing interesting to report when we come upon this little clearing in the woods. Now we cautiously creep into the clearing and find a small group of Kobolds gorging themselves on radish." Felix pauses here to take a sip from his glass, letting the tension build a little.
"Now they jump up, spears at the ready and worry in their eyes, and low and behold their squad leader shouts out that he wants us to leave. Well we stand our ground and reason with them, now all of a sudden they want help with a little war they have been having. Well we agree to go meet with their chief and head off." Another sip at his drink.
"Along the way they point out this tree that was where their foe lived, mites of all things. Well I get it into my head that I am going to try and reason with the mites... which ended instead in a rescue mission that saved a kobolds life and wiped out the whole of the mites. Dante and Vors slaughtered the little monsters by the dozen and Dantalion and Rowan picked off the little buggers... I more or less stayed back and screamed prophesies of doom at the mites, by far the most important of jobs if you ask me." This last is obviously humorous and not meant to be taken seriously as Felix raises an eyebrow towards the end.
"Well we managed to finally get back to the Kobolds and turns out that they had been infiltrated by some kind of gnome caster posing as a shaman and working towards the destruction of the tribe. Well Rowans pet managed to sniff out the creature as he went invisible and I managed to convince the Kobolds we were peaceful having kept healing the wounds they sustained during the battle. Well the tribe made short work of Tartuk and his schemes. Afterwards we convinced them to join our people and help with the taming of the stolen lands. So how have you all been?
As Felix begins to relate his squad's adventure, Wilhelm listens with rapt attention, periodically sipping at his tankard. As his cousin touches on each of the major events in turn, Wilhelm nods along and murmurs appreciation from time to time. As Felix finishes his story he whistles in appreciation and says, "That last bit seemed a bit understated, cousin. Based on what little I know of kobolds they can be a real thorn in your side. Tricksy and a thorn in the side of any nearby who they don't care for." With that, Wilhelm simply waits, listening to the ongoing conversations and occasionally glancing at Lanya.
Lanya sits close by any fire around which the stories might be told. She listens closely to Felix's story and makes notes on what he says.
She looks around the group for any signs of the others as Felix tells his story, then notices Wilhelm glancing at her from time to time.
As Felix finishes his story, she mulls over what he has told and raises her voice a little to ask a few questions.
"Felix, might I trouble you with the name of the tribe and perhaps a few names of important kobolds among them? If we would establish even better diplomatic relations with them it would do to know their names and courtesies."
She clears a lock of hair out of her face, pulling it back over her ear.
"Well it seems your sortie into the west has been quite adventurous and useful to us, perhaps even more so than ours. I am not our story-teller here, so I would like to give Wilhelm or Anastacia the chance to relate our battles, events and discoveries."
Wilhelm turns his gaze from Lanya to Anastacia and asks, "Would you care to do the honors, Anastacia, or should I?"
"The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began..." Dareon's road song keeps him company as his feet plod down the dirt road. He lets Molly, his weasel, run free as he travels and loses himself in his own counsel as he walks. Having left Restov several days ago, he's been musing since the moment that he left that perhaps it wasn't the smartest idea ever to leave by himself. At any moment, he could have been ambushed by bandits and gutted. Fortunately, his luck held out throughout the whole trip, and Dareon grips his Desnan symbol in thanks.
The characteristic silhouette of Molly rises in front of him, at a crest on the road as it passes over a hill.
"What'd you find, girl?" whispers Dareon softly. He can feel the curiousity and relief streaming from Molly's mind to his, so he already has a guess, but it's been a while since he's spoken.
Creshing the hill, he sees a rather run-down fort, surrounded by the beginnings of outside construction.
"Hm. Seems I'm here."
You ever go for a long walk and look up to realize that the walk's done without feeling like you've walked for very long?
Dareon has.
He grins widely and descends the hill towards the fort. Rumour has it that these "Stolen Lands" are practically filled with eldritch relics and mythical beasts. If ever there was a place to have a good adventure, this was it.
This must be it then
From his vantage point on top of his trusted steed Fhârn could barely make out the old fort in the distance. The sight filled him with joy - it represented a chance at adventure, glory and other excitement. But currently, its most promising virtue was a solid roof and a soft bed for he had been on the road for a long while.
The rumour he had been tracking down had led him on a merry chase across all of Brevoy until he finally tracked down its source. A charter had been given to a group of both nobles and common men, like himself, to reclaim these lands. He figured, or rather hoped, that always could use an extra hand here on the frontier.
//
As he close the distance he could see that repairs and reinforcements were already on the way - a promising sign. It seems like the charter-holders were doing all right after all, which meant one less thing to worry about.
As soon as he arrived he made sure to find good stabling. Hestor the Horse had carried him far and deserved rest even more then him. Still, he could not help but suppress a yawn as he removed the saddle and bags and took of towards the trading post proper.
The next thing he desired was somewhere to dump all all his bags and that meant renting a room. Oleg, the trade post owner, seemed happy enough to oblige and after parting ways with some of his coins Fhârn made his way to his room on the upper floor. Resisting the urge to fall asleep there and then he instead settled for splashing some of the complimentary, cold, water in his face. He quickly removed the worst of the dirt and dust with a cantrip and changes to his finest clothes - better to make a good first impression.
//
A few minutes after the weary traveller arrived at the Trading post he is once again in the bar area. He is alot cleaner now - but the weariness seems to linger. He is clothed in finer linen clothing similar to those of a successful merchant, but devoid of jewellery or insignias. A few paces after him flies a jet black raven that seems more alert.
Upon entering the bar once again Fhârn heads over to the barkeep to order a mug of strong coffee and sweeps his gaze over the room. There is a few trappers sitting in one corner, drinking dark ale and sometimes laughing course laughters. In the middle however is a misplaced group of people that he assumes can only be those he seek.
He makes his way towards them - trying his best to keep his cool and appear casual. He soon realizes that they appears to exchange stories - and he sees his opportunity. He quickly approaches the group and asks: "Care to spare a chair and a tale for a weary traveller ?" The bird following him settles on his shoulder and gives him a soft slap with his wings. He adds "And a lazy bird that spent most of the trip sleeping in my pack" The bird seems to roll his eyes but appears satisfied to acknowledged.
"Go ahead Wilhelm." Anastacia ponders on the things Felix has told them. The thought of Kobold allies is a little strange. Anastacia wonders what gods they worship. Perhaps they would welcome the patronage of Pharasma.
Dante watches the door as a new traveler passes through. He is sitting on the ground with his back to a bench as his friends tell stories. When the newcomer asks to join them, Dante nods and kicks a chair towards the man.
Kneeling as he stands at the open gates, Dareon extends his arm to the ground. "Come, Molly." The weasel scampers up his arm and curls herself around his shoulders while he straightens back up.
Seeing a multitude of individuals in the little outpost but no real event or organization going on, he finds a drink of water before wandering around the open spaces in the clearing.
Heariing an exchange of stories, Dareon decides to latch on to the group of apparent adventurers telling them and simply stands, listening.
Dareon doesn't grow tired of standing, or of walking. They are, to him, tantamount to divine tasks.
Nodding acknowledgement, Wilhelm rises from the bench he'd been sitting on and glances around, grinning, at his companions before beginning. "Our intrepid band left on the morning of the second of Pharast - some five days past. As you will likely recall, Viktor led our group in pursuit of one of the bandit ringleaders, Kressle, who led the group of bandits that had been demanding tribute of Oleg. We rode south, into the untamed Greenlands, in the direction which the captive ex-bandit, Ben, had indicated Kressle's camp would be." Wilhelm pauses for an instant to gather his thoughts.
After riding for some time through plainland, we entered a patch of rougher terrain. Not long after entering those hills, we spotted what appeared to a charnel graveyard. Bones of many animals -and a few humans at that- littered an area of ground near one hundred forty paces across. It was... disturbing to say the least. Speculating that we were seeing some form of spell circle, we approached cautiously to investigate. We didn't want to leave such a thing at our back and so near to Oleg's. After some investigation by the more magically inclined of the group..." Wilhelm nods towards Anastacia. "... we determined it was a natural occurrence. On the off chance, one of us -myself perhaps?- mentioned the idea of a beast's den in musing. Viktor struck on that and, clever as he is, cast a spell and made it sound as if a batch of horses was passing through." Wilhelm takes a moment to pause dramatically before continuing.
"We noticed, to our own horror, that there was a monstrous, horse-sized spider, hiding in a cleverly disguised hole in the ground. After some deliberation, Viktor elected to ride past in an attempt to draw the creature out. The rest of us prepared what bows we had and waited for the creature to emerge. It obliged us readily enough and, in an impressive flurry of bow shots, was dropped without a fuss. Investigation of its lair revealed one of the Stag Lord's men but little else of interest." Wilhelm mimes a few bowshots towards the end the spider's tale.
"After riding the rest of the day and camping for the night, we came to the trail Ben indicated would lead to the camp. We spotted a set of wagon tracks that will be relevant shortly, but Viktor decided we had best press on towards the camp. On our approach, Koilia scouted ahead of us a short ways and managed to spot a single bandit keeping watch from a platform in the trees. Viktor attempted to perform some charm on the man, but sadly fate wasn't having it. He shook off the magic and raised the alarm and managing to get a bow shot off at Viktor." Growing more animated, Wilhelm begins adds demonstrative gestures at appropriate times.
"The battle began in earnest at this point as Kressle, four bandits and yet another in the tree enter the fight. Viktor took another nasty shot at this point and the bandits start to cross the ford where we were waiting. Viktor managed to distract them a bit here with a fake image of himself, though Kressle saw through it almost immediately. As the bandits started crossing, Lanya managed to prevent them ganging up on me by slicking the ground."
Wilhelm nods appreciatively towards the woman before continuing, "Koilia drew a pair of them off and skirmished a bit with them before outrunning them and rejoining us. Kressle made a beeline for me and I called on Iomedae to guide my blows against her. We traded blows while Viktor, Marick and Anastacia fought the other bandits. Viktor managed to drop one here if I recall correctly, things were a bit chaotic though... Anyhow I managed to get catch Kressle with her guard down and beheaded her. The rest of the group managed to drop a few more of the bandits as I was doing that. The few remaining cowards started to take off fleeing at this point, but sadly for them arrows and javelins are faster. We interrogated one of the survivors after making the same offer as to Ben. From the man, Derek, we learned quite a bit about this Stag Lord character." Wilhelm grimaces in distaste at mention of the bandit leader.
"In any case, Viktor made the decision to bring Derek and the supplies captured from the camp back to Oleg's while the rest of us pursued the wagon whose tracks I mentioned earlier. Lanya was given leadership of the group and, without further delay, we took off tracking the bastards. We managed to locate their camp some hours after darkness fell the same day. Hearing them drinking and carousing -with not a watch in sight- we decided the strike the fools then and there."
Beginning to feel a little winded by his lengthy tale, Wilhelm pauses to take a sip from his tankard before continuing, "So then we take to sneaking up the hill with Anastacia, Marik and myself trailing behind. Sadly, the bandits were more on their toes then we expected and heard Lanya and Koilia approaching. In a dazzling display of quick thinking, Lanya managed to play the naive trader and convince the leader, Sweet, that she and Koilia were sent by Kressle to negotiate a trade agreement. The bandits seemed to accept her tale readily enough. While I sat on the hill like a flummoxed ox, Anastacia had a stroke of brilliance as well and stormed up the hill shouting about 'tracking down the red-haired hussy' for some crime in 'New Stetvan' or some such. I played along as best as I could and it seemed the bandits were taken in between Anastacia, Lanya and Koilia." Wilhelm pauses to look at his companions, grinning.
"From here, with the bandits right between us, we start our ambush with me making the fool decision to charge straight into their midst. I got a good blow in on Sweet, but he managed to keep himself up. With a few quick blows with this monster hammer," Wilhelm touches the hammer lying near his feet, " he dropped me like a rock. My memories a little shaky, but I think between Lanya and Koilia they managed to drop a bandit before I went down. As I was out for the count, you'll have to ask the others for details about what happened after. Next thing I can recall is waking up looking at the sky with Anastacia and Lanya ministering to my health. In any case, after gathering what supplies we could, we managed to get the wagon out of the hills thanks to Lanya and we returned here with two captive bandits in tow. Along the way, Marick made a rather interesting discovery while scouting." At this last Wilhelm glances at the newcomers and clears his throat. "As far as this last bit of news goes, I'm not sure what we wish to reveal to those not sworn to our charter. Not intending to offend you, friends, just that this is a touch delicate."
With that, Wilhelm concludes his story and stands, grinning wearily around at those assembled.
Dareon sits, fascinated and intrigued with this young man's story. Growing more and more pleased with the man as he continues to talk, Dareon is beaming by the time he finishes his tale.
"A gripping tale, my friend, he begins, looking at Wilhelm with a grin and a waggle of his finger. It rivals a few of my own, even. I won't intrude on your secrets, should you wish to air them here. I'll just...be over here." he says, striding away from the group and back to the fort's main building.
Fhârn gladly accepts the the chair graciously offered to him. He sits quiet while Wilhelm tells his tale, sipping his coffee. The bitter taste and heroic tale both seems to invigorate his spirit for when Wilhelm falls silent he is wide awake. He nods in acknowledgement
"It would be unfair of me to try and pry your secrets from you. I will make this quick then - Fhârn is my name and I have travelled from northern Issen in search for glory and adventure. If you should require another blade and a keen mind I will be staying here atleast for a few nights to rest."
He attempts what he considers a courtly bow and turns to leave. The raven seems to want to linger - his keen eyes looking around the table. Maybe he is interested in the scraps of bread lying about - or something else? However, after a hushed command from Fhârn the bird takes flight and follows the man outside, towards the stables.
//
Outside he makes his way towards his horse again to see that Hestor has been taken care of adequately. He takes the horses head in is palms and looks into the animals eyes.
"What do you think? Are these the people the rumours spoke about? Our chance at glory and riches..."
Hestor the horse returns Fhârns gaze with a blank stare - no doubt more interested in chewing the hay than his masters hopes and plans. When Fhârn raised his eyes towards the raven now perched on the horses head the bird nodded back. Its intelligent eyes met his for a moment before looking back towards the building.
"But I cannot help to wonder what they found *squak*"
Wilhelm nods appreciatively at each of the newcomer's as they politely take their leave. I hadn't really notice them coming in. That Ulfen fellow said he was interested in glory and adventure. There should be no shortage of that on this expedition. Setting aside the distracting thoughts, Wilhelm returns his gaze to his companions and pauses dramatically before saying, "The discovery that Marick made was of a rich vein of gold ore some twenty odd miles to the southwest." Wilhelm waits a moment to let the initial outbursts from Felix's group die down before continuing, "Yes, it's a bit hard to believe our good fortune at that, eh? It's right on the surface, according to Marick. I have no head for his alchemy, but he seems sure that it's there and it's rich. It seems to me that this could well be the stepping stone we use to found our settlement. Of course, with Viktor leaving for Restov, we might have need of a new leader..." Wilhelm trails off meaningfully.
Dante listens to Wilhelm's story intently and silently save for an impressed scoff at the young paladin's skillful beheading of a foe, and a loud laugh at the ambush in which the same young paladin was soundly walloped.
After the newcomers take their leave and Wilhelm divulges the information on the gold vein, Dante stands "Very good Wilhelm, indeed we should make quick preparations to access that gold quickly. We'll need laborers, perhaps some of the men here, or the Kobolds may be inclined to help. As for Viktor, he may be indisposed for the forseeable future so we should elect a replacement straight away." he takes a drink of his whiskey and a toot on his pipe. "We should continue our expedition. We've recovered the radishes and the ring, dealt with the Kobolds and nearby bandits, but there is still a Teztalwyrm out there."
Pausing to pick up a plate of bread and dried meats, "How are the repairs to Oleg's coming? I would do us well to have those ballistae up and functional."
Lanya listens quietly as Wilhelm recites their 'adventure' and brings in a few last remarks at the end of the second fight.
"After Sweet had knocked you out cold, Koilia and I finished off the bandit with the knives and lasso, I got out of there with quite some luck, the horse and rider could have easily bludgeoned me down as well. Koilia really saved me from him. Anastacia and Marick held their ground against the other two bandits after Sweet finally went down, that man had more life in him than an enraged boar. The bad part, for me at least, is that one bandit got away on a horse, we were too hard pressed to pursue him at that point and he vows to have his revenge on me for his brother we hanged the other day."
She leans in as she hears Wilhelm and Dante's words about the gold vein and their expedition.
"If the stories I've been told are true, Kobolds might be very good at mining, if we could get their help with that it would be most beneficial. The question is whether we want people to know right away, we can't guarantee their safety here yet. The biggest known threat are still the bandits, of course the Tatzlwyrm, the large boar, Tuskgutter I believe it was called are also possible problems for new explorers. We might want to handle that before we tell the news around Brevoy. Also we have a new bounty for one of the bandits, Falgrim Sneed, a deserter and traitor. Kesten Garess is offering the reward for this man that killed many of his friends and joined the bandits afterwards, preferably alive."
She looks at the others as she tries to determine whose side they are on.
"On the subject of new leadership, I'd like to say it's sad to see so many of our friends go or being tied up into new deals and orders, Viktor being one of them. As I see it we have a few good minds here at work, some military some diplomatic, whoever leads us in the future would be wise to listen to their advice."
She leans back into her seat and eyes everybody, then continues. "Our leader should not only be able to make sharp judgment calls, but also represent a face to the outside world of fairness, strength and determination when we ever found some cities here. People would look up to such a man or woman." She says that last part with a certain tone of pride in it.
"I had put my trust in Viktor before as he was young, friendly and charismatic not afraid to put his life on the line, there are a few people here I'd think would qualify based on the same principles. I'd put myself forward for the position, if none of them would take it."
She then leans back and looks around the group.
Considering his response for a moment Vors answers in the same lowered voice: "He has a tongue of silver that cousin of yours, but from what I can tell he is honourable."
Vors nods a few times as Felix tells his tale and laughs whole heartedly at the joke. As Felix sits again Vors gives him a thumbs up indicating his approval. "Good story," he says.
When the two strangers arrive at their table Vors looks sceptically at them continuing to Dante has the man kicks the chair out to one of them. Saying nothing while his fellow charters talk, he nods approvingly while they leave.
"Earth's fortune," he bursts out as the news of the gold is shared. Contemplating the find he doesn't follow the conversation until the topic of new leadership peaks his interest. At Lanya's bold suggestion he discretely shakes his head.
Rowan takes the time after returning to give Sleip a good brushing and a sack full of oats and grains. He then fixes a good meal for Argos before cleaning himself off and joining his companions for conversation. He appraises the newcomers carefully and notes that some of the previous company were no longer around. Such is the way of the world… he thinks to himself. Rowan listens to the tales of his friends with rapt attention.
"Earth's fortune, indeed" he replies to Vor's outburst. He was quite excited about the discovery himself. A resource like that would go a long way to helping their settlement grow.
"So where do you think we should go from here?" Rowan asks curiously, "Selecting a new leader obviously. But are we keeping our adventuring parties the same or shall we intermix some so that we may get a better idea of who would be best to take charge? I've seen the looks upon those two men earlier. I have a feeling they would like to join our cause as well."
Finally stepping forwards from the shadows is a young man his face mostly obscured by a hat and cloak."If you are looking for people to join your cause I am sure a Scout and Spy would be very helpful."
"I agree Rowan, we are not so many as to turn away soldiers." Dante says with a nod to the druid. He pours himself a glass of wine.
"As for your proposal Lady Lanya, I am not young, friendly, or charasmatic, but I am willing to lay my life, and more importantly, my honor on the line for this undertaking, but I followed Viktor because he understood that sometimes you have to do what is necessary. You may not like it and it may hurt, but that is leadership, making the tough choices and being humble enough to ask advice when you're out of your depth. The choice is apparent to me as being between you or Lord Felix." He stops to take a sip of his wine. Dante isn't gauging the room or suggesting himself either, he pretty much stares at Lanya as he speaks, switching his gaze to Felix when he talks to him.
"Felix is my friend and both you and he posses amazing diplomatic abilities, far beyond my own, my worry is that neither of you posses the fortitude of a true leader, I could be wrong and I hope both of you prove me wrong, but as it stands we're not among a vast gathering of canidates and either one of you would do. So I suggest you state the merits of your leadership to the group and then we shall come to an accord." with that Dante sits down and sips his wine further.
Wilhelm nods thoughtfully at the last from Vors and says with a smile, "I appreciate your insight, Vors."
Wilhelm nods appreciatively at Lanya as she fills in for what he couldn't recall. Little questions he'd had in the aftermath suddenly made things much clearer. Lost in tying events together, he almost missed hearing about the revenge sworn by the bandit, Jake. His brows furrow in anger and he makes a mental note of the fact.
Wilhelm listens to what Lanya and Dante have to say about the gold and current state of the expedition before answering, "Dante, I did speak earlier with the leader of the soldiers assigned to Oleg's. The man, Kesten Garess, said that every effort was being made to repair those ballista. He mentioned that only a skilled engineer could really help the work go much faster. Not having any knowledge of it, I left it alone at that. I neglected to ask about when he thought the work would be done. I'd ask him for more details, if desired."
The young man pauses and frowns, looking thoughtful for a moment. With a conflicted tone, he begins to say, "I suppose I might as well at that."
"Friend, I for one welcome you, but I'm not sure any of us has the authority to welcome you into our group just yet. Have a seat and we'll see about finding someone." Wilhelm says to the new new arrival while gesturing to a vacant seat. Sighing, he straightens and looks around before saying, "From what little I've seen, each of our groups has faced down tremendous adversity and accomplished much in a short time. For my own part, I find it hard to believe it's been little more than a week since we left Restov." The paladin pauses, chuckling ruefully and shaking his head a little before saying, "The point I was driving at is that I think we can do no wrong whoever is chosen. With the people who are here now, we've set the stage for a shining new era in these lands. Dante seems to have struck at the heart of things, but I'd like to say a few things before you make your judgements. Rowan, it seems that if we have multiple leaders pulling every which way, I've concerns that we might end divided. Perhaps each who wishes to lead should make his or her case?" Wilhelm pauses for a moment to allow for any objections to him continuing.
Taking a deep breath, he continues, "Lanya has aptly pointed out that whoever is chosen would be wise to listen to the venerable assemblage that we have here. I concur. This undertaking is about more than any one of us. It's a chance at a new life for uncounted many, a cleansing of darkness from the land and a chance to explore lands unknown. No one leader short of Aroden himself could possibly unite this land without the aid and wisdom of others."
Wilhelm grows continuously more impassioned as he continues, gesturing dramatically to drive home key points. "A leader is a face for his people and should seek to serve them as well as he," Wilhelm pauses to glance meaningfully at Lanya and grins, "or she is able. I also see wisdom when it's suggested that a leader must be a beacon of fairness, strength and determination. To Lanya's wise list, I would add goodness. I wouldn't wish to spawn a land that doesn't have the best interests of the world at large at heart. We aren't here to spawn the next Cheliax, eh?" Wilhelm chuckles a little at his own quip before continuing.
"I admired Viktor and am saddened by his departure. But it is true that we need to be practical and quickly align ourselves behind a leader. Lanya has already expressed an interest and, if I had to guess, Felix will do so also. I would like to throw my 'hat' into the ring as well, so to speak. I am young, true, but nobly born and educated as such. I know something of the court of our immediate neighbors and would command some respect for my name. But I believe, more importantly, I could be a leader you can trust to do what's right for our group. I've talked at length about the qualities of a leader, and in doing so I have made my case. Consider the virtues I extolled and decide if those are ones you'd wish to see in your leader. I'm curious to hear your thoughts, but I don't think we can choose wrong."
"I like both Lanya or Wilhelm as a candidate for leadership. A lot of this has to do with the fact that we have ridden and fought together so I know them both better than any of you in Felix's band.
Anastacia leans back in her chair, a twinkle in her green eyes.
"I like the idea of a woman, in command, for obvious reasons, but if I am to be pragmatic, I must throw my support behind Wilhelm. His words will hold more weight with the male leaders we may have to deal with. Some of our own people may find it easier to follow a man as leader as well."
The brief moment of humor passes, now Anastacia has a more serious, thoughtful look in her eyes.
"We should put something in our charter about a vote of no confidence. If a current leader is working out poorly we need the lawful right to remove them by unanimous vote, if need be."
The foreign man who moved to a nearby spot to stand nearby speaks up while removing his hat and pulling down the collar of his cloak and face mask."If I may speak..."
"A Land needs both a King and a Queen to last. Perhaps two leaders who work together is required. And as the lovely lady has said their must be a way to remove said leaders. Maybe make that a duty of the Military Command."Stopping he sighs."The two leaders would also be their own checks on each other with the Military being the final check and the bridge between the People and the Leadership."He then stops and realizing his place bows and replaces his hat and pulls back up the mask."Forgive my impudence my lord."
Investigating the fort, Dareon's interesting-dar began to buzz as the members of the expedition began to speak of politics and the election of a leader. That, and the unwelcome eyes of Oleg on him everywhere he went made him feel like an intruder.
So, Dareon returns to the square just as the strange Eastern man begins to speak.
Speaking up, his voice is incongruous with his face when he projects. It has power and purpose, although his face is still soft and childlike. "Such a plan, says Dareon, intending to address the Eastern man, has its merits but is dangerous. What should happen if the military's leader grows out of control? If the buck stops with them, they would be unstoppable."
"I had my doubts about Felix before we journeyed together and I have found those doubts washed away after both fighting with and watching him make an alliance with the kobalds. I will give my vote to Felix if there is one.
However perhaps we should switch leaders in each of the groups to let everyone have a chance to see the other candidate fight or talk their way out of nasty situations."