Unrest! We have unrest! The peasants are revolting!
OK, let's do the row 6 hexes to the right of Concord, and then come back and do the ones to the left.
Ok, will get this started ASAP.
Talia's going purely off what she thinks is needed for the kingdom, and as befits her low wisdom score, this will turn out wrong at times.
Like when she wanted to go from 0 to 12 holidays in one go? :p
So, advisers are important!
As long as she's OK with being told "no"... Or at least, provided that she'll pout where Kaalib can see her!
What can I say, Talia loves a good party parties.
It was a little over the top, but I thought it would be a good chance to show off her rashness and hopefully draw a chuckle from some of you.
OK, Turn 3 Summary and then I'll do Turn 4
Turn 3 - COMPLETED
Upkeep Phase: stability check passed with Unrest at zero: +1 BP
Upkeep Phase: pay Consumption -1 BP
Edict Phase: Claimed hex D4 -1 BP, +1 Consumption, +1 Control DC
Edict Phase: Terrain improvements: Farm in D4 -4 BP, -2 Consumption
Edict Phase: Settlement: Shop in Concord -8 BP +1 Economy, 500 gp base value
Edict Phase: 1 holiday/year +1 Loyalty, +1 Consumption
Edict Phase: Taxation generated 9 BP +1 BP
Event Phase: no events
Economy 19
Loyalty 14
Stability 18
Unrest 0 (yay!)
Consumption 1 (boo!)
Treasury 10
Control DC 24
...
..
.
Turn 4 - ONGOING
Upkeep Phase: stability check failed: +1 Unrest (still zero)
Upkeep Phase: pay Consumption -1 BP
Edict Phase: Claimed hex C5 with fangberry Resource -1 BP, +1 Consumption, +1 Control DC, +1 Economy
Edict Phase: Terrain improvements: Farm in C5 -4 BP, -3 Consumption
Edict Phase: Settlement: Park in Concord -4 BP +1 Loyalty, -1 Unrest
Edict Phase: Taxation generated 10 BP +1 BP
Event Phase: TBC
Turn 4 so far:
Economy 20
Loyalty 15
Stability 18
Unrest 0 (still!)
Consumption 0 (yay!)
Treasury 11
Control DC 25
OGGM, over to you for the event phase for Turn 4, then it's on to Turn 5 and the gold mine...
22 Rova 4707
The morning is interrupted by the sounds of clattering wheels and the baying of oxen outside the castle gate. A train of dwarves, one hundred strong, park themselves on the main street in Concord. Soon, two representatives appear before the Council, bearing letters from one Magnitofera Skeller.
"Aye milady," the leader says with a bow for Talia, "we came as soon as we got th' word there was a mine to be dug. Gold, we heard."
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Hold on Turn 5 for now. Let's get some of the exploration caught up, because I've launched this too fast and dates are getting crossed up.
They arrived!!! :D
Having set up something in the way of advanced patrols, Vosil is forewarned of their arrival. He swears luridly in all of the languages he knows (Ancient Osirian is particularly satisfying) as he runs for the keep, at the mere thought of the sheer number of Torag's folk who will shortly be in their midst. "Dwarves?! Who invited these little bastards?! And who's going to keep them under control, that's what I want to know..."
He storms off to get Talia. "Lady, we have problems." He doesn't even look at Magna.
If Magna hears that Vosil will have something else to worry about...
Bring.It.On.
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Talia looks up from the book she was reading. Alfonso Leroung's Fauna and Flora of the River Kingdoms, volume VIII. Edition three. Quarterbound in calfskin, with gilt-edged parchment leaves, quarto. A truly fine book, one could wile away the afternoon with. If there weren't apparently pressing issues to be dealt with.
"Yes? Problems? Plural?"
Vosil nods, momentarily distracted by the magnificent book Talia is reading; several extracts of it are found in his Pathfinder Journal (Natural Selections: Monographs on the Flora & Fauna of Golarion, Edited by Archels Beagle), but he's never had the opportunity to read the whole thing.
"Hm? Yes, problems - plural." He blinks. What was it? Oh yes.
"The first hundred or so problems are outside: there is a delegation of dwarves paying us a visit. I suspect they are here about the gold mine. If you do not see why that is a problem, then you know very little about dwarves. If ever you valued my advice, Talia Khavortorov, then listen to me now: if you plan to welcome them, make sure you do so as subjects of Fairhaven, bound by our laws and treaties; including the treaty with the kobolds. I do not need to remind you how Magna saw that." Vosil was not present when the treaty with the Sootscales was negotiated, but he has heard about the subsequent fallout. "Make it very clear that this is not an opportunity for them to extend their ancestral grudges into yet another realm."
Deep breath. "The other problem: we did not invite them. That is, I do not recall a Council meeting to invite them, and unless you extended them an invitation yourself, that means somebody saw fit to do this without running it past you - or us - beforehand. That does not set a good precedent, Lady."
Vosil has not been planning to invite any Varisians in to Fairhaven (although being who they are, doubtless they will come and go as they please without his intervention); but had he been going to, he would certainly have raised the issue with them all beforehand.
"Magnitifera Skeller? Me name is Barod. Barod Brighthammer. Me brother Gaerd leads this expedition. He wanted me to see ye personally afore he spoke to the Countess."
He looks around to make sure it is just the four of you.
"We scouted out the mine, should be a good payout in the gold lode. But there's more...as we came south, one of the lads remembered rumors of an old Taldan silver mine hereabouts. We found it...but it's overrun with kobolds!"
Magna bows before the caravan leaders, a wide smile in her face.
"Praise Torag! It is my pleasure to have you here, my kinsmen. Welcome to our new home."
She shakes her head, without losing the smile.
"Kobolds! This is a wild and strange land. One of those kobolds saved my live, and I owe a debt of honor to him. We need to deal with them, but for now we need to stay away. Do not approach their lands... for now."
22 Rova 4707
Talia closes her book and sets it aside on her desk, smiling. "Lord Comarenza, I'm very pleased you've thought of the ramifications of the dwarves' arrival, but not to worry. I mentioned to Magna that her people should be notified."
"As we prepare the gold mine and its surrounds for settlement, having dwarves on hand will be of utmost value to us - they can coax valuables from the earth like a mother coaxes truth from her children."
"I admit that I didn't think of the kobolds, however. Both dwarf and kobold will have to abide by the treaty, as does every subject of Fairhaven."
Smiling, Talia stands and heads for the door. "Shall we meet our dwarves?"
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Offering a quick curtsy, Talia takes the letters and smiles, giving them a cursory look over before handing them back. "Well met, master...? I'm happy to welcome you to our realm, the Viscounty of Fairhaven. We're in the process of making the gold mine and the lands around it safe for settlement, and of course you're welcome to work it. We would be a fortunate land indeed to have such able craftsmen and miners among our populace. Of course, you would need to do as all our citizens do: swear fealty to our realm, agree to pay a fair tax, and serve in a militia. In return, you shall receive two arpents of land and a plow, to do with what you wish."
"By swearing fealty you agree to honor all laws of Fairhaven, including its treaties and local customs. I await your people's decision. In the meantime, there is field, if you take this street - Tusk Way - further southeast. This field is reserved for new migrants to set up as they get settled, and our bureaucrats figure out the fine details, such as where your arpents will be located - near our gold mine, I assume, though you may wish to claim some here at Concord Town and sell them to land speculators."
Magna bows before the caravan leaders, a wide smile in her face.
"Praise Torag! It is my pleasure to have you here, my kinsmen. Welcome to our new home."
She shakes her head, without losing the smile.
"Kobolds! This is a wild and strange land. One of those kobolds saved my live, and I owe a debt of honor to him. We need to deal with them, but for now we need to stay away. Do not approach their lands... for now."
The dark-haired dwarf bows again. "Gaerd Brighthammer at yer service. Of course we will hold to Fairhaven's laws within its borders, Milady. As fer the land, we won't be doin' much farmin', not in our area of expertise."
Talia smiles, offering Gaerd her hand. "Well then, as you know, we claim all of the Greenbelt as our borders, Master Brighthammer. I'll send a scribe to the field to get your fealty, and those with you. As to the land, I'd caution you to accept it. As I said, you can always sell it, and use the money for other things as grabs your fancy."
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Gaerd tilts his head to one side, looking at Talia with a strange look. "Ye have what ye hold, Milady." Then he walks away to rejoin the dwarves and get settled for the night.
"They are subjects of this kingdom, and as such we can't move against them. But we must be ready for the correct time. Right now we must settle in, grow strong, and prepare ourselves. But let me be clear. We are subjects of this kingdom. We will be true to it's rulers and their laws, even if they ask for us to tolerate the Kobolds. The Queen is fair, and we will support and obey her. Are we clear? And we will stay away from the Kobolds. We will not provoke them. But we will be ready for the time when they show their true colors, and we will save this kingdom from them. And the one they call Coaltongue, one of their leaders, I owe him. I do not expect for you to tolerate him, but to treat him with respect. He saved my life, and I expect for every dwarf in this lands to know it."
"Master Barod, I have not finished talking to you."
Gaerd tilts his head to one side, looking at Talia with a strange look. "Ye have what ye hold, Milady." Then he walks away to rejoin the dwarves and get settled for the night.
Behind Talia, Vosil coughs politely (he accompanied Talia, not quite trusting that she entirely understood the geopolitical complexities of the situation). "Master Gaerd, you are correct - but you overlook two things that we hold. First, a Charter from Brevoy which gives us access to resources worth having; second, a treaty with the kobolds that binds us to mutual defence. You may have a share in both. Join us, and be bound by our treaties."
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The smile fades from Talia's lips as Gaerd turns to go. "You have what you hold. He throws the River Freedoms around as if they are Torag's gospel. Keep your eyes on him, Vosil. I'd hate to teach him that courts are for kings."
Magna goes after Barod.
"Excuse me, I think you didn't hear me."
The smile fades from Talia's lips as Gaerd turns to go. "You have what you hold. He throws the River Freedoms around as if they are Torag's gospel. Keep your eyes on him, Vosil. I'd hate to teach him that courts are for kings."
Problems, plural. Vosil bows smoothly, keeping his thoughts to himself. "It shall be done, Lady. And perhaps send word - or Kaalib - to the Sootscales, warning them? Any breach on their part - anything at all - and the dwarves will use it as an excuse to eradicate them; and at that point there will be very little we can do."
He pauses. "We did not, in fact, incorporate the River Freedoms into our law, did we? The Stolen Lands not being part of the River Kingdoms, I mean."
His voice turns grim. "But if Master Gaerd fails to heed us, he will find out exactly what a mere hundred dwarves can hold on their own in this hostile wilderness: precious, precious, little."
"Ahem." Ketsen clears his throat to get your attention. He and Asha have been standing quietly in the Council Chamber listening to the interaction with the dwarves.
"Fairhaven is a River Kingdom, Vosil, that is beyond our control. It's geographical, really."
"Which means," Asha adds, "that the River Freedoms apply to us, whether we like it or not. Gaerd didn't 'throw them around'. They are very real, and it would be wise to heed them. In other words, the charter means nothing. If we don't hold the territory, then our law and the treaty with the kobolds, it all means nothing."
Magna goes after Barod.
"Excuse me, I think you didn't hear me."
"I hear'd ye lass." Barod says, annoyed. "I jest ain't for listenin' any more. If ye want to make nice with the likes of kobolds, then that's yer business. But it ain't mine." Just then, another dwarf comes out from the castle, looking as flustered as Barod. The likeness between them tells you this must be his brother, Gaerd.
"Looks like it ain't me brothers, either."
At a nod from the brothers, the entire mining train loads up and heads out of the castle courtyard. They turn east and roll out of the town.
"Which means," Asha adds, "that the River Freedoms apply to us, whether we like it or not. Gaerd didn't 'throw them around'. They are very real, and it would be wise to heed them. In other words, the charter means nothing. If we don't hold the territory, then our law and the treaty with the kobolds, it all means nothing."
Vosil raises one eyebrow. "Correct me if I am wrong, but is not one of the Freedoms 'Oathbreakers Die' or something equivalently melodramatic? So our agreement with the Sootscale tribe is meaningful; irrespective of the territory, it is NOT something we break lightly. Even leaving aside the fact that Kaalib is one of us and we owe him."
He sighs. Dwarves.
"The dwarves didn't take the oath, Master Comarenza, we did. In fact, only Talia did by the letter of the law. She committed the money and the agreement. Fairhaven did not exist at that time."
"Brevic politics at it's best. If you look at it one way, the Brighthammer brothers could be manipulated into solving a problem for us. Father Erastil abhors a mine not being worked for the people's benefit."
Asha smiles...the Medvyeds are alive and well in Fairhaven.
"Well said, Asha. The reality is these kobolds will forever be a thorn in our side. If the Viscountess insists on holding to her word," Darrick says with a nod to Talia, "as well she should, the Brighthammers become our 'out', as it were."
"In addition, Master Vosil, the Freedoms are ranked in reverse order of importance, if my lessons on them is correct. 'You have what you hold' is the most important Freedom. No one can hold you as an oathbreaker if you did not hold the area in question in the first place. Technically speaking, the kobolds 'hold' the silver mine. If they can't keep it, well then..."
"...Fairhaven is not bound by their fate." Kesten finishes.
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"But I am." said a small but educated voice, having silently padded up during the conversation. His arms were currently filled with papers and scrolls, having another recommendation for the council that had suddenly been shelved.
He dropped the papers in a messy pile, and walked up to the rest of the gathered council members. "Those are my people, and I have to do something. The kobolds have kept to their agreement, which is rare enough in these parts. And you're going to let a hundred dwarves kill off allies that have not betrayed you to work a half spent silver mine when there's a gold mine a few miles north of there with no one to work it? Ah, yes. Very good policy there. I'm certain all your advice will be equally sensible.
"Never you mind that this particular kobold has already saved this land the loss of several of it's council members, including some present before we started this endeavor. Never you mind that he's saved more money than a silver mine fully functioning could earn us in a year. All so very smug to casually invite and off his family so you can feel more comfortable. It's pathetic really, that you would so quickly abandon reason to pursue the type of politics that has left Brevoy in shambles. And here, I thought we could surpass them, but with you stuck in the past, the people here fare no better."
He opened his mouth, and Orsheval flew out, making a beeline for the Kobold's home at his top speed. Kaalib turned on his heel and headed for his horse.
"Unfortunate, that." Darrick says, watching the retreating Kaalib. "But that doesn't change the situation. The kobolds do not work the mine, and there is no evidence that they will. Do we let a valuable resource sit idle on our doorstep? May I remind the Viscountess that we do not have an army or any force of note to protect a far-flung location like the gold mine?"
"Brevic politics at it's best. If you look at it one way, the Brighthammer brothers could be manipulated into solving a problem for us. Father Erastil abhors a mine not being worked for the people's benefit."
Vosil glares at Asha witheringly and opens his mouth to tell her just where she can go and take those 'Brevic politics' - when he's interrupted by a fine speech from Kaalib. Moving even, recalling the words of Guillaume of Galt:
"If you prick us, do we not bleed..." he murmurs.
As he watches Kaalib spin on his heel and depart, he angrily berates Kesten, Asha and Darrick: "That kobold has a better idea of what we're trying to do here than the three of you do! If you like 'The Brevic Way' so much, you can go back and live there. Or you can make yourselves useful and come up with plans to help him. Because I'd rather side with him and his people than with a bunch of genocidal, gold-crazed zealots."
He turns to face Talia. "Well, Lady. You wanted to tell me what sort of ruler you'd be? Now you get to show me."
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Edric, who has been standing silently on the walls, watching and listening to the various exchanges says nothing. He simply walks down to the stables, saddles his horse and scratches a note onto the stablepost with his starknife.
A few minutes later the guards watching the retreating dwarves see Edric riding after them. He doesn't hurry, since the dwarves are not travelling at anything like a horses pace. Once his horse reaches Barod and Gaerd he swings off and falls into stride with them, leading his horse loosely by the reins.
"Blessings of the Forgefather upon you friends. May the stars light your path and your dreams be peaceful."
Her eyes narrowing, Talia stares down Kesten and Asha. That the Lebedan nobleman would throw the kobolds to the dwarves is not surprising, but Talia had hoped for better from her longtime friends.
"I made an oath, and I plan to keep it. My word will mean nothing if not kept."
"So, if we need an army, we'd best raise one. There's a hundred dwarves, but they're miners, nothing more. If it comes to violence, we kill the brothers and offer terms to the rest. There's still time to salvage this, though. Where the hells is my diplomat?"
"We need to secure that gold mine as soon as possible. And we need to get the kobolds working that silver mine as well."
That said, Talia heads for the stables. She has a friend to catch up with.
The three: Asha, Darrick, and Kesten look on incredulously at Vosil and Talia.
"Are you listening to yourselves?? 'Genocidal gold-crazed zealots?' 'Kill the brothers and offer terms to the rest?' We are talking about kobolds here. Evil to the core. Maybe your friend Kaalib has risen from the depravity of that race, but rest assured they are as bad as rumor holds. This is not about 'Brevic politics', this is about our very survival as a fledgling nation. Do you know how many pissant kingdoms have come and gone in the Stolen Lands, Master Comarenza? How many have tried, how many have died? There is holding to your word, and there is madness. You decide which is which."
Now it's Darrick's turn to leave, followed closely by Asha and Kesten.
The dwarves are not far from the castle, maybe a mile, when Edric catches up to them. "What d'ye want?" Gaerd asks rather rudely.
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"To talk, sir dwarf. Nothing more. I understand that you have objections to the Viscountess' decision to leave Kobolds in the lands on her borders. May I ask why that is? I'm afraid I know very little of them, or of your own fine people." Edric flashes his biggest smile and decides to play the idiot for a little while.
It is no understatement to say that Vosil is caught utterly off guard by Talia's reckless declaration: despite her fine words, he'd just assumed that - when push came to shove - she'd embrace the Brevic realpolitik as any sensible, "pragmatic" noble would.
Because, dammit, they're not wrong, Darrick and the rest. An alliance with the dwarves - using them to do the dirty work - is the smart play here. He, Vosil, feels a strange kinship with Kaalib (a kobold who worships Abadar is an oddity along the lines of, well, a Sczarni brat who reads Ancient Osirion) - but he expected to be shouted down.
He gapes as Talia departs - but is brought down to Golarion by Darrick's words.
"This is not about 'Brevic politics', this is about our very survival as a fledgling nation. Do you know how many pissant kingdoms have come and gone in the Stolen Lands, Master Comarenza? How many have tried, how many have died? There is holding to your word, and there is madness. You decide which is which."
It is but the work of a moment to compose a worthy retort.
Yes, I know the history of this place, just as I know the languages of Elf, dragon and fey - among others. That was Ancient Osirion I just swore at you in, by the way."
"But I digress. The history of this place is of shabby men, who made shabby compromise after shabby compromise until they had nothing left. We are NOT going down that road. Do you see that castle? WE made that happen: elf, human, dwarf, kobold. It's called Concord for a reason. You were there, Asha. I'm ashamed of you, and trust me, when a Sczarni brat is looking down on you that is a long way you've fallen."
"Anyway. You're asking the wrong question. The right question is this: is Kaalib remarkable enough to be worth killing a few dwarves over? And you have a decision on that. Tal- Lady Khavortorov - has spoken it. Get the @€¢^°¥√÷¢$ on board or €$¢^¥$° the ¥÷|•¢¥÷×°$ off. And that was Varisian."