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I believe our best option for dealing with the Unrest is to pause construction on the other districts we have planned and instead build a City Wall. It's cheap, it's efficient, gives us a good defense boost, and if we get unlucky enough to get another Unrest point it subtracts 2 Unrest total, still bringing us down to 0. What does everybody think of that?
Why is Grigori on there? Unless I'm having a massive lapse in memory, we didn't recruit him, we just used him to gain some publicity. Right?
Yeah. RL takes priority over games.
"I agree with the rest of the council here. Carry on."
"They should at least know, so they aren't surprised when this inevitably gets out and starts a scandal. By that point, we should have plenty of pretty speeches to calm down the people with. Hm, speaking of that, we should also prepare contingencies in case somebody finds out about Kundal's previous affliction and blows the story wildly out of proportion. These issues could all cause unrest, we need responses to them before they pop up."
Raven crosses her arms. "Hmph. He made a mistake. We've already forgiven him for being one of the Stag Lord's men, I think we can forgive him for being foolish and in love."
Raven nods, apparently calm when Svetlana delivers the news. "I see. I'm sure we can all handle this like reasonable, responsible adults." *** The general barges into Akiros' office, barely constrained fury apparent on her face. "Now, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for the charges of rape and murder," she growls. "But I would like to hear it quickly, and if it isn't satisfactory I'll take the liberty of dragging you outside and executing you myself." Perhaps "constrained" isn't the right word for Raven's wrath.
Heads up, everybody, I literally cannot see the Gameplay or Discussion threads. If anybody else has this problem, or a way to fix it, PM me.
"He seems an honorable man. We could use more people like him in Hopefeld," Raven says. Returning to Kundal, she claps him on his shoulder. "You honor us with your offer, Kundal, but your blade is also the blade of your forefathers, and is not ours to take." Raven gives the Shoanti a craggy smile. "But, if you would have it, we would have you put that blade to use in defending Hopefeld. And help train the sorry mess of new recruits we have to do the same."
I would agree with that, with some additional provisions. Vorsirion/Thurl, could either of you make a relevant check to determine whether or not binding Kundal in silver chains would a) sufficiently restrain him in wolf form and b) have any non-beneficial effects?
Raven adds. "You'll only remain in our custody during the time of a full moon."
Raven shakes her head. "From what I've seen so far, you lose all self control while you are in the form of a beast. Although living in the wilds for a few days reduces the chances of another casualty, it does not eliminate it. We will try to find suitable arrangements for you during the full moon while we work towards a cure." She extends her hand. "I believe that it is impolite to talk of such serious matters without knowing each other's names. In case you have just arrived in Hopefeld, I am Raven Sirkas, current commander of our limited military. Over there is Duchess Alamina, the leader of our little settlement. Thurl commands our scouts and is helping me train our militia, while Vorsirion is our advisor for all things arcane. Could I ask your name?"
Listening to the conversation, Raven steps inside. "I can't say I'm familiar with anyone of your condition. But I don't see why there's any reason why you can't continue living your normal life. We'll devise some kind of containment method to keep your wolven form from killing again on nights of the full moon. But I can't in good conscience let you be tried for crimes that you did not, in truth, commit."
Raven stays behind to cover the front door in case he tries to bolt.
Raven looks at the door and gives a simple nod to Thurl, and gestures towards the door. She quietly moves up to the entrance and sticks to the wall, in case anybody notices Thurl's snooping and attempts an egress.
Raven nods gravely. "I see. Did Osgrove have any bar buddies? Anybody he talked regularly with?" She slowly begins wandering towards the boy's side of the room, under the pretense of inspecting the tables and mugs, before finally arriving at his spot. "Perhaps there is something you could tell us?" Raven asks idly, her hand within easy grasping distance if the boy tries to bolt.
Raven gives a polite nod to Grimm. "Thanks, but we're not here for alcohol. This may be a somewhat sensitive subject, but we need to know everything about the night a man named Osgrove was murdered. I understand he was a regular here?"
Raven peers at the wound further, grumbling. "The wider cuts seem to be made by claws. See that tearing there, and there? Characteristic of natural weapons. The knife appears to have been used to try and cover up the actual wounds, I would assume that they were made postmortem." Raven wipes her hands against each other and sighs "Werewolf's looking more and more likely."
Raven delicately inspects to wounds, opening them up with precision, peering inside, and inspecting the tears in the skin, in order to ascertain what precisely killed the man.
"Perhaps Ryle can fulfill that role instead? I mean, uh, you are our ruler, after all," Raven objects.
Raven shakes her head. "We might be getting too fixated on these lycanthropes. Remember, the only evidence that a werewolf might be behind the disappearances and killing is a silver knife. It might be just a superstition piece, might be the signature of a serial killer, or it might be a werewolf. We need to keep our options open. Werewolf is a possibility that we need to investigate, but we can't jump to conclusions here."
Hey, Wolfspirit, you good? Did life drop another ton of rocks on you?
Raven nods. "Thanks for the offer, Jhod. I might need your assistance in autopsying the body." She gives a wry smile. "I didn't always have the luxury of someone who could heal me with a light slap, you know. Had to make do with a needle, thread, and a canteen of whisky."
Raven sits somewhat awkwardly in one of the chairs, then clears her throat. "We're all too aware of that, Jhod. Thank you for having us. You've been somewhat... quiet, ever since the rumors have started circulating. Could you perhaps enlighten us to any troubles you or your congregation have been facing?" The young general begins asking a variety of questions, some meaningless, some relevant enough to maybe get some clues.
Raven nods. "Thank you, Kesten. I'll see if I can draw any common threads if we have time." She then turns to the rest of the group. "Jhod seems to be our biggest lead at the moment, then. I suppose we should go visit him."
Raven nods and steeples her fingers. "Kesten, I need you to get Lloyd to compile dossiers on all the victims and deliver it to my desk within a week. I want to see if there's any common thread among the victims. Thurl, give me a rundown of everything you know about lycanthropes. We need to know our enemy. Where's Jhod? Let's set up an appointment with him, see what's got him so jumpy. Ryle, I need you to track down any skilled blacksmiths in Hopefeld, or within easy range of it. A silver dagger isn't exactly a common request, we might be able to get a description of the killer's human form from them. Vorsirion, do some research on lycanthrope weaknesses. Silver's apparently a common one, but it would be immensely helpful if you could find others, and see if you can distill the effects of silver somehow. An alchemical process might work, Ryle can work with you on that. 'Mina, could you go on damage control? A speech should calm the populace, I can help you write it, if you wish. I'll train my squads on dealing with more bestial enemies, keeping discipline, and adhering to tight patrol patterns. We don't want any random guardsperson wandering off and getting eaten, and if the lycantrhope gets bold, they need to be able to defend themselves."
Raven has been working with Thurl on his training excersises.
Raven, for her part, has been setting the groundwork for her Blades program. She spends the majority of her time training the volunteer militia, and despite her harsh manner, the men and women under her guidance begin to develop a strong loyalty to their general. Raven also plans out the future defenses of Hopefeld with Kesten and Akiros, and often makes public showings in the growing settlement at pubs and areas still under construction, offering both guidance and help where it's needed. Hopefeld is still small enough to do those kinds of things, after all. She also makes good on her promise to Ryle, discreetly informing all of the producers and holders of alcohol to not to sell anything to him, including brewery supplies. At Akiros' report, Raven picks up the dagger and inspects. "What night were the attacks?"
Raven nods, deadpan. "Thank you. And, Ryle, if I ever see you this drunk again, I will keep you captive in my room until you sober up. You're an alchemist, you know exactly how excruciating the effects of that will be. We can't have the person who's keeping track of our coinage a complete lush, and you know it. You're barely functioning as is." The young mercenary gets up and turns to leave, before tossing over her shoulder, "I will also notify every distillery, inn, pub, bar, and wine cellar owner in Hopefeld that they are not, under any circumstances, to give you alcohol. And, if you get desperate enough to either start brewing the stuff yourself or start paying out of your own salary or the kingdom's treasury for bribes, I would advise that you look at the series of decisions that lead you to that point," Raven says coldly, before walking out of Ryle's room.
"Ryle?" Raven walks in. "How hard would it be to make synthetic blood? Blood that is realistic enough to-" Raven wrinkles her nose at the scene, then, sighing, props up Ryle and slaps him, while pouring the sobriety potion into the puddle of vomit with the other hand.
On the way out of the disturbing room, Raven gives an order to Akiros. "Keep me apprised of any mysterious disappearances or grisly murders."
What Alamina said. Hope you (and your car) recover soon.
Raven scowls. "We might be dealing with some sort of serial murderer here. Even if the person who committed the spree is long dead, somebody who's that crazy might come back as some sort of undead, and still a threat. We need to keep an eye out."
Raven inspects the wall further. "Hmmm..."
Raven leans forward to inspect the scrawl. "There," she says succinctly, pointing to the southern wall. "The entire structure of... whatever this is seems to be based around that. Seems like some kind of prayer, or poem. Do any of you know what it could be referring to?"
Raven grunts as Alamina and Vorsirion help her up, although she gives the elf a quizzical glance. "Thanks, 'Mina," she says as she retrieves Harbinger from the ground. "I, um... I probably would've been dead if you hadn't healed me." She pauses briefly, looks like she's about to say something, then simply mumbles, "Thanks," before turning to the rest of the party. "Alright, let's hope that the settlers haven't been eaten by some other damn thing and get on back to Hopefeld."
"Keep pressing the attack! Focus on the vines! You can cut me free later!" Raven roars.
Just realized I forgot to factor in the attack bonus from my increased strength. D'oh.
As the tendrils of the mound begin slowly crushing her, Raven doesn't hesitate to drop Harbinger and begin fiercely stabbing at the rotting plant with her magical spear.
Raven doesn't pause her brutal assault upon the shambling mound, even as Vorsirion begins taking heavy hits. She lightly skips back, then lunges forward, slamming the supernaturally sharp point of Harbinger into the plantlike monstrosity.
Raven rushes towards the shambling monster, her face serene even as chaos explodes all around her. With casual grace, she sweeps Harbinger in a wide arc, it's polished blade gleaming in the sun.
Harbinger already in Raven's hands, the young general yells, "Focus on the vines binding the more solid parts together! If we hack them apart, we'll be able to bring the whole damn thing down!" She then smoothly slides to a new position, already setting up a charging lane for herself.
Raven snorts. "I'd rather risk our personal safety than our peoples'. We're able to take care of ourselves. To put it bluntly, I don't trust any of them not to get killed in a fight with a dangerous monster." Raven turns towards the settlers. "No offense."
Raven nods. "Yeah, I don't believe we want our new settlers mauled by some savage plant monster. That sounds like a good plan."
Raven, resplendent in her new armor, kneels down to inspect the barge.
"Looks like there were two separate beings working together," she begins as she gets up to pace around the barge. "One at least semi-intelligent, one relying on brute force. Almost no blood other than the chickens', although it appears that some kind of animated plant was wounded, by the evidence of the sap droplets here and here," she points, "and the various non-indigenous plant detritus." The newly-anointed General of Hopefeld once again sits to inspect the large furrow in the ground. "A trained bandar could follow the trail, but I can't tell you about whatever made it. It's strong, definitely-as evidenced by it dragging a large object-but it might be smart enough to also cover it's own tracks. Or might be unhappy coincidence."
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