Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

You first visited Karak Hirn five years ago, shortly after joining the Expedition. Since then, you've visited most of the surviving ancient holds that date back to the Time of the Ancestor Gods, and the differences are many and obvious. Though its population is significantly smaller than the Old Holds, Karak Hirn is filled to the brim with Dwarves, as its population has never been significantly bigger than it is right now, and parts of it ring with the sound of excavation and construction as more room is dug out for their still-growing population. It was never connected to the Underway, so any enemies it might face must approach overland or tunnel through untouched rock to reach them, and if anything does manage that feat, a warning and call to arms is sounded through the massive caverns that give the Hornhold its name. And situated where it is high in the mountains between Wissenland and the Border Princes, it does not face the constant threat of nearby enemies that the World's Edge Mountains so often crawl with.

It's a tragic contrast, and you hope one that Karak Eight Peaks can begin to change - though thinking of Kragg's seemingly doomed obsession with the ancient elemental Bok, and how the Dwarves of the Karak are already spreading themselves thin trying to populate the same halls as their ancestors instead of more practically calling a single mountain home, it might be that your hopes are already in vain. The ancient masterpieces from before the Time of Woes are a source of great pride for the Old Holds, but also a constant reminder of how far they've fallen.

You shake your morbid thoughts as you enter the Hornhold, your name alone being enough to grant you entrance, and see to the tedious task of making your way up the chain of courtiers and officials before you can gain access to the heir apparent. In contrast to how this usually goes, the higher you climb the faster it goes, as the more important Dwarves in this process are more familiar with events in the distant south, and do not doubt your claim to having reason to meet with the Prince you once fought alongside.

At last you're led through the bustling passages, and you find your lips quirking in a smile as you finally set eyes once more on Ulthar, who could not be more different from the last time you saw him. Though he's still wearing the universal Dwarven 'casual' outfit - leather and chain, with a hand weapon on his hip - the small differences you've learned to spot are the equivalent to a particularly vain Altdorf noble. The chain is a silvery colour, not gromril but pretending to be, an expensive and militarily pointless variation on the silversteel of Karak Eight Peaks, his axe glints with jewels instead of Runes, and instead of braids, his sable-black beard bears silver rings, dotted with sapphires. He looks up from the table overflowing with accounts and reports, and takes a moment to blink in shock before leaping up and hurrying forward to greet you, clasping your arm in his. "Utkazakali!" he roars in delight. "Grimnir smiles on this day. What brings you to these mountains?" He waves a hand dismissively at the courtier who brought you here, who hesitates a moment before scurrying off.

"Mostly a social call," you say, returning his smile. "I hear the Head Ranger of the Karak Eight Peaks Expedition has gone up in the world."

He barks a grim laugh. "You could say that, but I'd disagree. Chains of gold still chafe, and I'd kill to be back on the open road."

"Nobody would give me a straight answer about this whole..." you wave a hand vaguely.

"Of course they won't. Some shames are too great to speak aloud in polite company." He sighs, and runs a hand over his face. "Good thing neither Rangers nor Zhufokri are polite company. I was third in line, and had my differences with my father besides, and in my rebellious youth I joined the Rangers to aggravate him further. And found astounding success in doing so - I was disinherited. Which at least meant he'd stop hounding me to get married. Then during the Expedition, my two more traditional and favoured brothers went out hunting together, and were found days later with their axes tangled in each others' guts, and their bodyguards similarly slain by one another. The only surviving bodyguard blamed the paranoia of the elder before his execution, but some dubious evidence was uncovered in their quarters that suggested the ambition of the younger was the cause."

You wince. Such a tale wouldn't be out of place in human histories, but to Dwarves these events would feel as shameful to them as the reign of Dieter IV was to the Empire. "So you were reinherited?"

"No such thing exists, except through forgetfulness and destroyed records. But I'm now my father's only child, and if you trace back the lineage to find the next in line - and my father did - the result is a Salkalten shipwright who has never seen the mountains. Apparently I'm preferable to that. So records were destroyed and forgetfulness was induced, and everyone who knows better stays silent, and in the privacy of their own minds their respect for my father diminishes with every day he does not travel to Karak Kadrin and take the Oath." Ulthar's face is stony, disgust thick in his tone.

There's not much that can be said to that, so you place a hand on Ulthar's shoulder in comradely commiseration. "Could be worse," you eventually say.

"How so?"

"Let me tell you about my parents..."

---

On a gyrocopter is possibly the worst place to nurse a hangover, but you do your best to recover as you make your way to Altdorf several days later, while also trying to remember how old this heir presumptive is. You were there for his first birthday, which was almost a couple of years ago, which makes him almost three, which means he's... still fairly helpless, you're pretty sure. Ridiculous. Wolf was fully grown and capable of killing a man by the age of two.

You've mostly recovered by the time you touch down in Altdorf, and you pass through the security of the Imperial Palace without trouble after handing over your pistols - they don't know about Branulhune, but they do know you're a Wizard and thus capable of summoning a variety of forms of magical death if so inclined, so it's entirely a matter of being polite instead of a security measure. You make your way through the massive building until you enter the part of the palace that is the domain of the Empress, and from there you are pointed towards her current location within the gardens, a surprisingly small patch of green sandwiched between the bulk of the palace and the sprawl of the Imperial Zoo, and pause to consider your formidable coreligionist as she holds court amongst her coterie of retainers and ladies-in-waiting.

The Empress looks not a year older than when you first met her as Gabriella, and is half-dressed in furs that she's partially removed as the early winter sun provides some heat, giving her a chance to also show off the silks beneath. Some of the crowd around her hold drinks and light snacks for their mistress, but others hold paper and slates, and every now and then one is dispatched to send or retrieve a document for some obscure purpose. Heidi is not resting on her laurels, and though her official station begins and ends with the creation of the heir that is currently charging around the grass waving a wooden sword at imaginary foes, the position can allow immense amounts of unofficial influence, and Heidi appears to be taking full advantage.

As you approach, a wave of nudges spreads through the small crowd and you find yourself facing an array of speculative looks. They part at your approach, and Heidi makes a delighted noise and unceremoniously unseats the previous favoured who had been sitting beside her on the bench. A rapid-fire series of orders scatters the coterie with a series of tasks, including fetching drinks and snacks for you, and the two of you are very quickly left alone. "So," she says with a smile, "I hear you're making a wave or two amongst the Colleges."

"There's been a bit of interest in my research," you say, matching her airy understatement. "How goes the business of Empressing?"

She smiles with what seems like genuine fondness at the boy currently menacing at swordpoint the statue of Emperor Jürgen the Opulent. "It gives new meaning to 'long con', but it's not without its charms. Especially now that the northern troubles have faded to a dull roar. There's always something somewhere, but that just means there's something to keep the mind occupied." She scratches her chin thoughtfully, looking sideways at you. "Do you think you could take on Dragomas?"

"What?" You consider that for all of two seconds. "No. Absolutely not. He went off the edge of the map to the 'here be dragons' and came back with the ability to turn into one. And it's even stronger than the ones the other Ambers can turn into."

"That's a shame. He's a surprisingly difficult nut to crack."

You shake your head in exasperation. "Be that as it may, he's very good at his job and the Battle Wizards adore him. I don't envy anyone that succeeds him."

"Any idea who that might be?"

You consider it. "Elspeth von Draken probably could if she wanted to, but she only took up leadership of the Amethyst after whatever happened to Hexensohn and there were no better candidates. Paranoth might be able to, he was Supreme Patriarch for a few years, but that was years before I was even an Apprentice. Algard likes him too much, No-Relation Reicthard doesn't seem the type... I think the most likely candidate to try is Feldmann of the Golds, he's said to be ambitious and he's very good at getting along with non-Wizards... but to me, that suggests that he's not dipped enough into his Wind to stand a chance." You shake your head. "I think Dragomas is going to be a fact of life for the foreseeable future. And though that might not be ideal for your ambitions, I think he's good for the Empire."

"Oh, fine. It was just a passing thought, anyway."

"If your palms are getting itchy, watch the rivers."

"Is this about the peat thing? The Grand Theogonist will not shut up about it."

"No, no. The channels."

"Ostermark's project?"

"And between the Aver and the Black Water."

"Oh, that." She frowns. "Isn't it a series of locks?"

You sigh. "It will have both. My point is, it's going to stir things up for trade throughout the southern Empire. There's going to be plenty of opportunities for you to get up to mischief without causing another Night of a Thousand Arcane Duels."

"Trade is just fencing for the boring," she says loftily, but you can see her considering it. "Mandred darling," she calls out, and the lad turns from tormenting the former Emperors. "Come and say hello to your Godmother."

"Speaking of," you say as the boy approaches, "what's the cover story for how we know each other?"

"The truth told sideways is the best lie. We met in Stirland and hit it off, and I've decided you'd make a suitable protector for the lad if anything were to happen."

"Hit it off? I seem to recall giving serious consideration to hauling off and whacking you with my sword," you grumble, and turn to the child. With a look of great concentration on his face, he gives you a solid attempt at a courtly bow.

"Pleasedtomeetyoufairlady," he recites in a practiced burst, then smiles, pleased with himself.

"Quite charming, isn't he?" Heidi says, ruffling his hair. Mandred lifts his arms up at her, and she obliging picks him up and perches him on her lap, and he snuggles against her happily.

"Fairly," you concede, watching the future Emperor pluck at loose hairs on Heidi's stole. You refrain from mentioning that Wolf is capable of talking in complete sentences. You suppose teaching someone to talk is harder when they're not directly linked to your mind.

---

As you make your way out of the Palace some time later, you find yourself tailed by someone that's so overflowing with nervousness that you can feel them coming. You seriously consider summoning Branulhune as they finally summon their courage enough to approach, but instead of coming at you with a knife, they bow nervously and stutter, "Dame Weber! I am Baronet Holzkrug, in the service of the Chamberlain of the Seal. He would like to meet with you, and talk of matters of state."

Though you keep from showing it, you're quite surprised. The Chamberlain of the Seal answers directly to the Emperor and is responsible for foreign relations, and the current holder of the role is Graf Otto von Bitternach, who despite his youth has been able to cultivate a reputation for fair and straightforward dealing with the allies of the Empire. "What matters, specifically?"

"He would like your insight into the inner workings of our steadfast allies of the Karaz Ankor." Though the young man is clearly a bundle of nerves, you can't see any misdirection in him, so you give the only answer one can give when called upon by the Imperial Council - you accede. And as you follow the man into the part of the palace dedicated to the bureaucratic warrens that do their best to run the Empire, you consider what you will say. You owe loyalty to the Empire, but also to King Belegar, and there's likely to be questions put to you in the following meeting where your answer cannot fully serve both.

[ ] Speak honestly of everything you're asked about, even outright secrets of the Karaz Ankor
[ ] Speak honestly of everything not explicitly secret, including rifts within the Karaz Ankor
[ ] Conceal matters you know the Dwarves would prefer you conceal

---

You have also resolved to embark on the first tentative steps of romance, starting with getting to know Johann and Panoramia better. How exactly will you go about this?

Johann:
[ ] You've got a puppy, he's got several. Easy. Spend time with him as your pup plays with his.
[ ] Though you both use your magic to cheat, you both have an interest in personal fitness. Work out with him.
[ ] There's a festival to Grungni coming up, and Johann has taken to observing the Holy Days of the Ancestor-God. Join him in this.
[ ] Other (write in)

Panoramia:
[ ] Though you rarely think of those days, you did grow up on a farm and know something of the soil. Spend time with her as she goes about her work.
[ ] The Halflings are renowned chefs, and several restaurants have opened clustered around the base of Karag Nar. Share a meal with her.
[ ] Panoramia currently calls a small cottage somewhere in the Eastern Valley home, help her expand it into a proper tower.
[ ] Other (write in)


- There will be a two hour moratorium.
- If you have a different set of criteria in mind with the meeting with the Chamberlain, please suggest them.
- The suggestions given for romance are off the top of my head. Write-ins are absolutely valid here.