Well, the Scenic Route yielded nothing but an overview of the political landscape, which is about what I expected. But at least it didn't land us in hot water and we can attempt a negotiated solution to the Affliction.
[X] Work From Within
[X] The Martial Way
When Rihaku mentioned that the Tower was much riskier than the Rotbeast, though not as risky as the Temple "unless you take certain decisions," I would be willing to bet that this is what he was talking about. If one looks beyond the trappings of tropes, this is an awfully large fight to pick merely on the suspicion that the arc Nilfel's history is narratively driven. Hunger of all people should know better than to put excessive faith in the inevitable triumph of good over evil. Nor is it necessarily clear which is which, when we haven't even begun to peer underneath the underneath. Because it's not just the Princess and the Protector, is it, there are the Patron Spirits stirring the pot as well; this place has Hidden Masters of its own. Claumgnor isn't going to sit idly by while we dispose of its pawn.
This is a complicated, messy situation that we have no obligation to resolve. The straightforward route remains open to us, so why don't we avail ourselves of it? Conspicuously signal our strength and willingness to play ball with a couple mercenary engagements that aren't morally objectionable, then when we gain an audience with the Lord Protector, offer diplomatic relations with the newly-minted Kingdom. Hunger is a single-issue kind of guy and the Protector is purportedly reasonable. We aren't leaving until the Tower has fallen, we have the power to be at a bare minimum inconvenient, and no sane ruler would want active Decimation of their territories. It's in his interests to resolve the situation quickly; we can trust him to know which way the incentives are blowing, if nothing else. There are two realistic options when dealing with Hunger: assassination or appeasement. Given the high downside risks of the former, unless the Opalescent Tower is somehow critical to their way of life, he'll want to go with the latter. If he can get some use out of Hunger for the low price of tearing down a symbol of House Mirel's authority, isn't that a bargain?
Finally, this route keeps our options open in the medium term. The Royalists are desperate, grasping at straws with their cause on the cusp of extinction. If the Protector is truly abhorrent on a level that Hunger and the voters are unable to tolerate, he can always follow his wife's example and betray evil for the cause of righteousness. The Royalists may suspect a trap, all the more so because of Hunger's brief association, but realistically they have no alternatives. The opposite, however, is hardly true. If we discover some damning truth halfway through this mess that upends our perspective, we may have already burned our bridges with the Protectorate. I hope I'm not the only one who recalls that foreshadowing with the Princess Regent talking about crushing rivals beneath her heel...
