Week 2: March 28th - 3th April

Post here. I made this thread with Arch's permission.

I accept the terms of these 5 wealthy individuals as long as they know only their goods will gain passage through the Hub.

Biggs and Wedge are called back and I put them in charge of my current forces. Following my hierarchy, they are now Lieutenants. "Don't be racist, follow orders and you'll be fine. This is a promotion by the way." Roll diplomacy.

I have the 5 platoons turncoat their current companies. Biggs and Wedge will coordinate them.

Main goals:

• Rally the Blocs in the Holtburg region under the Exchange's leadership. I will send Qui-Gon as my representative (with a guarded escort) and coordinate with him through messengers. We need to be unified if we are to withstand the Naverre Raiders' approach, or at the very least be in a strong position to negotiate the terms of our surrender to them. Of course, this is not a coalition I'm forming; I want to merge all the Blocs under my authority. I must have proven that following me will be more profitable for all of us; after all, I managed to make a deal with the Hub Mites while securing the support of numerous companies. No worries: I will be fair to all who agree to follow me. Those who make this merger easier are also much more likely to be granted a position a power within the Exchange in the future.
  
• Have my spy network investigate Myra of Hammersmith. The goal is to blackmail/manipulate her into capitulating her post, and preferably in our favor. So my spies must provide me with objectives that will allow us to reach this goal. Everyone has weaknesses, so I want to know everything about her (in-character of course, so no need to tell me every detail).
  
• Establish a presence in the towns that have no Bloc.
  

1. The 20 men Gretta lent me will be divided between these two tasks.
   
   

Secondary goals:

• Expand my spy network. Find and hire someone who can train our spies when they're at home. We want to buy and sell information too, when they're ready.
  
• The Exchange must be operational by now, so let's move goods through the Hub and the Holtburg region (I'm willing to invest some money if required). My caravans are now protected, just in case. If anyone is offering my employees a bribe, I want them to accept it and inform my spies of what was asked of them. My spy network will coordinate with the Exchange proper to see what our rivals are doing, so we can resell the information later to other companies... or any client who wishes to know.
  
• Find a way to go through the Blockade at the docks and reach our contact in Sho who agreed to sell us food. I want to sell more, so send a ship when everything is ready. Of course, we'll continue to sell to the companies, not the military itself.
  
• Ask Antheol, Zeiss' childhood friend in Glenden Wood, if he would like to help us coordinate our relief efforts. Our people (the Guardians) should arrive soon in the city. If he doesn't want to, I'll find people who'll do it and set up some buildings to lodge the Guardians and take care of everything they need to do their job.
  

Tertiary goals:

• Hire a Marshal (someone to lead the Exchange's forces).
  
• Have the Exchange's forces turn into specialized units who are very good at what they do. Fahran of Silentblade inspired us in doing so.
  
• Keep good relations with the Blacbkrine. Pursue any opportunity that might be profitable for us all.
  
• Recruit weavers (if the budget allows it). I want them to form a Weaver "circle", under Kolson's command. They will help him weave stuff when he's in town and weave other stuff we can sell when he's not.
  
• Hire a white mage to take care of my employees (if the budget allows it).
  

What are the poor White Scarves doing while their master is away?

Kolson will:

1. Update Country Rider on his progress against the bandit group. He'll leave out the major details, only saying that he broke up a gang of them and is attempting to negotiate a settlement with their leader. If that doesn't pan out, Kolson promises to "eradicate" the threat himself.

2. Help Zeiss with building up support from other factions. I'll take the lead in the negotiations when possible. If I can't juggle helping Zeiss with this and keeping my appointment with Fahran of Silentblade then the appointment with Fahran is the priority.

3. I will keep my appointment with Fahran of Silentblade no matter what but I want all the info I can get about Myra of Hammersmith prior to seeing him so I know which way he's likely to blow in our coming meeting.

I need to negotiate an alliance with him for his support after the coup or during if he is willing, and to do it I will offer my fealty to get it. Hopefully he values intelligence in his men because that's the approach I hope to take with him.

A. If he put the dwarf there and is her master, I'll make the argument that I'm the better choice. If he wants proof, let it be in whether we succeed in our coup or not. For surely if she can't keep the position she doesn't deserve it.

B. If he did not, then I hope he'll see the wisdom in having one of his own people running the capital for when he makes his move. How do I know he'll make a move? The world is changing and Aluvia will need strong leadership to see herself through these troubled times and beyond and I believe only Fahran has what it takes to do so.

-Dorin of Songblade crushes all opposition but he is not subtle nor is he suited for long endeavors. Any rule under him would be a bloody one and would soon give way to fear and civil war.

-Raene of Shadowforge is clever and a true leader of men, but she is a mighty and proud oak, who will be laid low by its unwillingness to bend to the winds of change. She's too quick to turn to the sword when things don't go her way, a quality unsuited in the long run to building and running a country.

-Aayndia of Floralwind is a rock, strong and mighty but best suited for hiding behind and little else. But what reason would she have to complain anyway, so long as she continues to get her supplies and relief for her men?

-No, Fahran himself is the best choice. His force is a small one, but highly trained, highly motivated, and highly specialized. That says to me he prefers subtle actions over overt ones, leaving that to those most suited to it. It also says that he'll need other weapons in his arsenal, hence his political and civilian connections. When it goes down, I wouldn't be surprised if he did it all without bloodshed. Hell, people will probably cheer.

Hopefully that impresses him, rather than makes him want to kill me. If he does, it was nice knowing you guys.

Still more for Day 7 of Week 1: Rations: stored for emergency use or for travels.

Martial training
Regular practice, but set up wooden targets for archery. What's required is knowing the basics and being able to defend in close combat, and some basic archery. Recruits can now choose specializations in ranged or close combat(well, they're required to specialize in at least something). Lacking this option was probably a big turn-off to maybe 20-30% of them to begin with. Recruits may also choose to specialize in both ranged and close combat, and more than one specialization in either if they wish(examples of ranged specialization: combat archery and sniping).

Are you looking for a fence?
Use whatever is better, and sell the inferior quality. The copper weapons that aren't better than what we have will be melted down by the smiths and sold as materials. If the Veil doesn't have smelting equipment or smithy equipment, Rory will ensure that they are obtained. Gretta's people will fence... Unless we have people for that.

Another round?
Rory will have information gathered to size up another target. That is as far as we go for this week.

Veil-craft
The smiths shall have their smelter and smithy equipment(or what their method of crafting requires) if they do not. We shall buy materials to smith stuff with and get started on armor. smithsmithsmith.

In any event, Rory will be vigilant for the appointed date to teleport via hub to make the transaction of the rest of the contract payment for the ledger with the Blackbrine contact at said Sho territory hub. And possibly any letters of reply from the Olthoi(or Osteth, relayed from the Olthoi).

ooc:

Javan in this next week will:

- Return to Holtburg and join up with the White Scarves, as previously planned.

- Coordinate with Zeiss to find towns and villages known for having a very visible corrupt Mayor and Guardian. Will also do some homework so we can backup the next step, making sure the law (or lack thereof, in case of grey areas) is on our side.

- Approach the local leaders (minus Mayor) of one of those towns and sell the White Scarves as the 'People's Guardians', insisting that public security should be in the hands of the civilian population, not of those with military or political power lest they abuse of such position to force their own agenda on the population. They are also not meant to go against existing forces, but to serve as a 'buffer' to guarantee the citizens' rights and liberty, and unlike Guardians their actions will be under constant peer review in order to avoid corruption.

Zeiss of Dreamkeeper wrote:I accept the terms of these 5 wealthy individuals as long as they know only their goods will gain passage through the Hub.

Biggs and Wedge are called back and I put them in charge of my current forces. Following my hierarchy, they are now Lieutenants. "Don't be racist, follow orders and you'll be fine. This is a promotion by the way." Roll diplomacy.

I have the 5 platoons turncoat their current companies. Biggs and Wedge will coordinate them.

Main goals:

• Rally the Blocs in the Holtburg region under the Exchange's leadership. I will send Qui-Gon as my representative (with a guarded escort) and coordinate with him through messengers. We need to be unified if we are to withstand the Naverre Raiders' approach, or at the very least be in a strong position to negotiate the terms of our surrender to them. Of course, this is not a coalition I'm forming; I want to merge all the Blocs under my authority. I must have proven that following me will be more profitable for all of us; after all, I managed to make a deal with the Hub Mites while securing the support of numerous companies. No worries: I will be fair to all who agree to follow me. Those who make this merger easier are also much more likely to be granted a position a power within the Exchange in the future.
  
• Have my spy network investigate Myra of Hammersmith. The goal is to blackmail/manipulate her into capitulating her post, and preferably in our favor. So my spies must provide me with objectives that will allow us to reach this goal. Everyone has weaknesses, so I want to know everything about her (in-character of course, so no need to tell me every detail).
  
• Establish a presence in the towns that have no Bloc.
  

1. The 20 men Gretta lent me will be divided between these two tasks.
   
   

Secondary goals:

• Expand my spy network. Find and hire someone who can train our spies when they're at home. We want to buy and sell information too, when they're ready.
  
• The Exchange must be operational by now, so let's move goods through the Hub and the Holtburg region (I'm willing to invest some money if required). My caravans are now protected, just in case. If anyone is offering my employees a bribe, I want them to accept it and inform my spies of what was asked of them. My spy network will coordinate with the Exchange proper to see what our rivals are doing, so we can resell the information later to other companies... or any client who wishes to know.
  
• Find a way to go through the Blockade at the docks and reach our contact in Sho who agreed to sell us food. I want to sell more, so send a ship when everything is ready. Of course, we'll continue to sell to the companies, not the military itself.
  
• Ask Antheol, Zeiss' childhood friend in Glenden Wood, if he would like to help us coordinate our relief efforts. Our people (the Guardians) should arrive soon in the city. If he doesn't want to, I'll find people who'll do it and set up some buildings to lodge the Guardians and take care of everything they need to do their job.
  

Tertiary goals:

• Hire a Marshal (someone to lead the Exchange's forces).
  
• Have the Exchange's forces turn into specialized units who are very good at what they do. Fahran of Silentblade inspired us in doing so.
  
• Keep good relations with the Blacbkrine. Pursue any opportunity that might be profitable for us all.
  
• Recruit weavers (if the budget allows it). I want them to form a Weaver "circle", under Kolson's command. They will help him weave stuff when he's in town and weave other stuff we can sell when he's not.
  
• Hire a white mage to take care of my employees (if the budget allows it).
  

While Jinn is an accomplished diplomat, ultimately all he manages to do across his week is to convince the two Blocs he meets with to consider the Exchange as a player on the board, as neither have really heard of anything the Exchange has done as being noteworthy to indicate they can backup their claim to the region. He will continue traveling if so ordered to over the next week as well, since transit is somewhat slow at the moment in the area.
While some of your spies do manage to get some information on Myra, none of it is deemed particularly useful since it's more about her past military actions. Further, sadly, one of your spies is actually killed during his mission as he was caught and immediately suspected as a Naverre assassin, and was dealt with accordingly. Her security has gone up a notch as a result.
Antheol is still somewhat nervous dealing with all this, but he's willing to put up room and board for your Guardians so that expense need not be dealt with by them or you.
As indicated many times, an experienced leader being available is infeasible at the moment. Your choices boil down to several individuals amongst your own ranks who are, respectively; ambitious, intelligent, disciplined, and diplomatic.
Zeiss manages to hire a few more people willing to listen in and grease palms to get information for him.
The Exchange's bureaucracy is fully functional by now (finally) and is more than capable of finally starting distribution of goods. Of course this includes trafficking illegal goods in addition to the food stocks (that are thankfully preserved) that you are still selling off. As a result of this some of the local smaller groups start turning a larger profit as well, which helps cement relations, especially with the Blackbrine who are smuggling goods in and out of Holtburg. Their methods are only feasible for small scale stuff sadly, but they do know a way to get goods from ships in the harbor out through a section of the Hidden Veil which leads outside of the city, a route even your group wasn't aware of until the Blackbrine shared it as a thank you. Some ways south of the city is a small, crude harbor the Blackbrine have been using, one of many such they have along the eastern coast.
Weavers are in high demand and will be rather expensive to hire.
The entire week is spent attempting to find a White Mage to hire to no avail.

Kolson Wezrae wrote:Kolson will:

1. Update Country Rider on his progress against the bandit group. He'll leave out the major details, only saying that he broke up a gang of them and is attempting to negotiate a settlement with their leader. If that doesn't pan out, Kolson promises to "eradicate" the threat himself.

2. Help Zeiss with building up support from other factions. I'll take the lead in the negotiations when possible. If I can't juggle helping Zeiss with this and keeping my appointment with Fahran of Silentblade then the appointment with Fahran is the priority.

3. I will keep my appointment with Fahran of Silentblade no matter what but I want all the info I can get about Myra of Hammersmith prior to seeing him so I know which way he's likely to blow in our coming meeting.  

I need to negotiate an alliance with him for his support after the coup or during if he is willing, and to do it I will offer my fealty to get it. Hopefully he values intelligence in his men because that's the approach I hope to take with him.

A. If he put the dwarf there and is her master, I'll make the argument that I'm the better choice. If he wants proof, let it be in whether we succeed in our coup or not. For surely if she can't keep the position she doesn't deserve it.

B. If he did not, then I hope he'll see the wisdom in having one of his own people running the capital for when he makes his move. How do I know he'll make a move? The world is changing and Aluvia will need strong leadership to see herself through these troubled times and beyond and I believe only Fahran has what it takes to do so.

-Dorin of Songblade crushes all opposition but he is not subtle nor is he suited for long endeavors. Any rule under him would be a bloody one and would soon give way to fear and civil war.

-Raene of Shadowforge is clever and a true leader of men, but she is a mighty and proud oak, who will be laid low by its unwillingness to bend to the winds of change. She's too quick to turn to the sword when things don't go her way, a quality unsuited in the long run to building and running a country.

-Aayndia of Floralwind is a rock, strong and mighty but best suited for hiding behind and little else. But what reason would she have to complain anyway, so long as she continues to get her supplies and relief for her men?

-No, Fahran himself is the best choice. His force is a small one, but highly trained, highly motivated, and highly specialized. That says to me he prefers subtle actions over overt ones, leaving that to those most suited to it. It also says that he'll need other weapons in his arsenal, hence his political and civilian connections. When it goes down, I wouldn't be surprised if he did it all without bloodshed. Hell, people will probably cheer.

Hopefully that impresses him, rather than makes him want to kill me. If he does, it was nice knowing you guys.

1: The Rider is more than willing to negotiate if necessary as they just want the attacks (which are still ongoing) to stop.
2: Kolson's efforts are part of why Zeiss's have gone as well as they have.
The meeting with Lord Fahran of Silentblade goes interesting. Kolson feels like he's rolled well enough on his INT and Diplomacy to leave a good impression, and you learn a few things. First, Myra was one of Fahran's generals before being bumped up by the Council of Lords to replace the Lady Lightmane. Lord Silentblade goes out of his way to dodge any questions about Lightmane and what might have happened to her, and if asked point blank will admit simply that upon her vanishing one day she needed to be replaced immediately, as without the Lords the current Aluvian system of government would totally cease to function. And, naturally, replacement candidates for Lordship are always in mind across the Council, Myra being one of those. Kolson does manage to convince him to let slip that he personally pushed for Myra to take the open seat, and that he was not alone in wanting such a thing, as she has some other loyalties "as well". Lord Silentblade is admittedly skeptical of the idea of someone with no military history or experience taking the seat, but he never says outright that he's against the idea, merely that keeping such a seat would require 'support' and that support would probably come at a price.
The Lord Silentblade also speaks (at length) about how the war is tearing apart the entire continent, not just Aluvia, and is unsustainable. At first you think he's just speaking the party line, but after some Deception rolls you come to believe he actually means what he says. He's been trying to negotiate with Yaraq to resolve the hostilities but the only ambassador he sent was returned in a casket. Literally. He also lets slip that Yaraq has been forcing other States into staying in the Confederacy, and that in his opinion they won't be called a Confederacy very long if this keeps up. He believes the best path to resolution is to try negotiating with the States directly, but doing so is not as easy as it sounds.
The entire time the Lord Silentblade is very well spoken, quiet, and polite. He lets none of his emotions show except when he does so deliberately, and he makes no pretense of not watching your reactions very closely.

Rory wrote:Still more for Day 7 of Week 1: Rations: stored for emergency use or for travels.

Martial training
Regular practice, but set up wooden targets for archery. What's required is knowing the basics and being able to defend in close combat, and some basic archery. Recruits can now choose specializations in ranged or close combat(well, they're required to specialize in at least something). Lacking this option was probably a big turn-off to maybe 20-30% of them to begin with. Recruits may also choose to specialize in both ranged and close combat, and more than one specialization in either if they wish(examples of ranged specialization: combat archery and sniping).

Are you looking for a fence?
Use whatever is better, and sell the inferior quality. The copper weapons that aren't better than what we have will be melted down by the smiths and sold as materials. If the Veil doesn't have smelting equipment or smithy equipment, Rory will ensure that they are obtained. Gretta's people will fence... Unless we have people for that.

Another round?
Rory will have information gathered to size up another target. That is as far as we go for this week.

Veil-craft
The smiths shall have their smelter and smithy equipment(or what their method of crafting requires) if they do not. We shall buy materials to smith stuff with and get started on armor. smithsmithsmith.

In any event, Rory will be vigilant for the appointed date to teleport via hub to make the transaction of the rest of the contract payment for the ledger with the Blackbrine contact at said Sho territory hub. And possibly any letters of reply from the Olthoi(or Osteth, relayed from the Olthoi).

ooc:

The move to start specializing forces has a rather positive effect on morale, as Rory is smart enough to approach the troops as if it's their choice and let them decide whatever they want to work at. This allows them to focus on what they either enjoy or are good at, and training in general has just taken an upturn in quality.
The total salvage from the previous, disastrous operation comes to about 23g.
Most of the week will be spent in setting up smithing operations, since old-fashioned smithies are somewhat uncommon and non-existant within the Veil itself, the infrastructure, construction, materials, etc. take some time (and about 212g total).
Rory also wakes up one morning towards the end of the week with a letter nailed to his door penned in noticeably Human handwriting that informs him that his refugees have arrived at Hebian-To and are stocking up on supplies to make the remainder of their journey southward. The note is dated several days prior, and mentions that according to rumor around the docks the Republic's doors might currently be closed, though it is just a rumor and they intend to continue on without hesitation.

Essoje wrote:Javan in this next week will:

- Return to Holtburg and join up with the White Scarves, as previously planned.

- Coordinate with Zeiss to find towns and villages known for having a very visible corrupt Mayor and Guardian. Will also do some homework so we can backup the next step, making sure the law (or lack thereof, in case of grey areas) is on our side.

- Approach the local leaders (minus Mayor) of one of those towns and sell the White Scarves as the 'People's Guardians', insisting that public security should be in the hands of the civilian population, not of those with military or political power lest they abuse of such position to force their own agenda on the population. They are also not meant to go against existing forces, but to serve as a 'buffer' to guarantee the citizens' rights and liberty, and unlike Guardians their actions will be under constant peer review in order to avoid corruption.

The GM can't help but notice Javan hasn't decided which Trials he did last week.
Javan's... reform attempts go interestingly. At the moment the military is somewhat occupied with the war and so opposition to his attempts to take over local duties goes somewhat unchallenged. The one town he and his mercs have some success taking over is Mallowmont, where the local Mayor had been freely working with the military to ensure support for his levying personal taxes on all trade going in and out of the city. The Mayor in question vows that Javan and his 'thugs' won't have heard the last of this, and Javan has the option to kill him without being caught, trying to imprison him himself, turning him over to the military authorities, or letting him go.


Higaide stands and stares at Tufa.

Is this one of those things where i didn't write enough of what i was going to do again?

I posted on the 20 - 27th thread. If that didn't constitute an action, it was at the very least an attempt to gather knowledge in order to formulate an action. I have next to zero knowledge of my surroundings; one would think i need at least that in order to make a non-suicidal move in this situation.

I'll post it plain, both here and in the 20 - 27th thread: Higaide tries to find a way to sneak into Tufa.

*ahem* Higaide has encountered a small platoon of Dragonkin Sworn Dragoons who, he is informed, are on a mission from Yaraq's High Council itself to liberate several leaders of Tufa. They have a plan of action for breaking into the siege that involves some trickery, some stealth, and a lot of luck... They can be convinced to take Higaide and Sareth with them, should Higaide agree. Higaide could also theoretically betray them in order to affect his own ingress.

If it doesn't involve bloodshed, at least on principle, Higaide will go with them.

This is not just him being squeamish. It would be very bad if he were suddenly pegged as an enemy of Alluvia, all things considered.

It involves a fairly large amount of killing Aluvian soldiers.

Suggestion: let Sareth say you will join them (he has a high deception) but as soon as you're over the walls, ditch these guys. Maybe even warn the Aluvians.

I remember that I put a specific order for the temple visiting, so I thought it was understood that Earth and Dark the trials he attempted. Sorry.

Javan's decision for the fate of the Mayor is to keep him incarcerated for now until next turn, since I doubt he has any more time left to act.

My suggestion to Javan: if you are to take over the police duties, you should be prepared to manage prisoners long-term. Take all the responsibilities.

But feel free to ignore me.

Just to throw it out there Javan but we could use a legit place to stow prisoners. I know you and I like to minimize killing where we can and having a prison or whatever would help greatly in that.

There are no soldiers past the walls, Zeiss. That's why it's a siege.

Oh yeah, I misunderstood something. Dumb me.

Well, good luck.

I have a pathological fear of coming off as a dick, and i'm feeling that fear right now, so allow me to lay down my reasoning for being reluctant to take Arch's way out of this situation.

It's not that Higaide feels any particular allegiance towards Alluvia or any side in this war, and it's not his usual no-kill policy. These are soldiers after all - it's their job to put their lives on the line, cold as that may sound.

The thing is, Higaide has been living in Alluvian land, guarded by Alluvian lives, for a good while now, so i guess it's inevitable that he feels somehow indebted. More, he's not part of this war, has no reason to have any kind of problem with any of the forces here, especially Alluvian. The Dragonkin are a different matter, this is the duty they're sworn to, but for he himself to go now and take the lives of people just doing their jobs, for his own personal reasons, when they're not even his enemy just feels despicable. Especially, after he took Olthoi Janeway for a retard after that dumb rebuttal of hers a week earlier.

I know it's not a pragmatic decision, and i hate that, but this just feels way too many levels of wrong, even if he wasn't a Monk.

It's okay K. You'Ll just need to find another plan.

Or just go for another city.

Every other city with a hub is way too far away. I gotta find a way in, somehow. Heck i'd take the sewers if need be, but i don't know if Sareth would be up for it.

Higaide takes a few agonized moments to mull it over, then agrees to go with the Dragonkin.

However, if it comes to battle, he'll be doing nonlethal damage. If it comes back to bite him in the ass later, them's the breaks.

Also, Higaide bought a willpower boosting robe when he was having elemental difficulties. The thing should have a hood. If so, he'll pull it over his head.

Higaide moves with the Dragonkin Sworn into an outer area where a large number of Aluvian troops are stationed near an abandoned aqueduct that leads inside the Walls... clearly indicating someone on the Aluvian side had realized this was the single best way to bypass the various city gates. However there are no emplacements or artillery here, merely troops with weapons. After some planning, and some insistence on Higaide's part, the troop concoct a plan to slowly knock out / kill the outer edges of the troops one by one until the alarm finally raises, then rush the rest. The group manages to take down quite a few before they finally notice something happening, and when they do the rest of the troops fight back ferociously. Higaide limits himself to non-lethal combat, but it's still a rough fight and one that leaves Sareth feeling a bit woozy by the time it's done, with several dozen Aluvians and at least two of the mercenaries dead by the end. The group takes no time to mourn their loss however, and immediately issues orders to charge into the aqueduct and get into the city pronto and find the damned Governor.

Higaide of course takes this moment to separate himself from the group, though he may be left wondering why Yaraq-hired mercenaries want to go after just the Governor of Tufa, but regardless once inside the city he has no real issues reaching the Hub and finally making his way back to Holtburg, leaving the war behind.