Lord of the Gallows - A Prison Colony Builder

At first, the winter seemed to come slowly, with showers of sleet mixing in with the autumn rain, but even the mountains stubbornly refusing to stay white for more than a few hours. Then it came like a hammer, the temperature dropping and snow piling up so fast that you could watch the world getting buried beneath it. The last group of Auxiliaries that had waited on the highest point of the small pass to keep an eye on the weather barely made it back down safely. It was good that you had the others come down from the plateau a week earlier, or they might have gotten snowed in until spring.

It was however the only thing that seemed to well these days. The mood among the Auxiliaries was terrible and you could not tell if it was the constantly bad weather finally wearing them down, the lingering effects of the execution of one of their own, or the prospect of spending the winter in the forest camp. Probably a bit of everything, though at least the last one could be addressed. There was some risk to letting a good portion of them stay in Vollug at any one time, but after the hanging you were reasonably certain that any trouble they made would be manageable in size. It also meant a good chance to see how the captains would deal with having to run the camp without your input for a while.

Meanwhile, the engineers had made other arrangements and would be spending the entire winter being hosted in the guest quarters of a small hand full of merchants, undoubtedly with quite a bit more comfort than the Auxiliaries would enjoy. Beside the potential friction it would cause, you were also rather suspicious of the whole matter. Master Becker had already proven to all and sundry how he could be made more agreeable and the rich men and women of Vollug had made no attempts to hide their interest in securing his services. However, there was nothing you could do. With snow and frost upon you, there was no work that the engineers could be ordered to do and while they were yours to command, they were not soldiers of the Legions, and so you could not forbid this.

The news from the mainland sounded not much better. The southern provinces had been hid hard by orcish raids this year and you were not sure if you should feel saddened or vindicated by the news that the eastern garrisons had taken heavy losses when repelling a large incursion from the steppes. Your replacement certainly had not made a good showing for himself there. About the only good thing was that you received these news not from word of mouth, but from burgomaster Gudmann, who invited you for a meal and had already inquired about your schedule for the coming months to make that a regular thing. Whatever animosity he had held seemed to have been lessened by time.

Maybe it was just the reassurance that the prisoners would only be passing through his city that had him in a good mood. It was not that much time left until they would arrive and your penal colony would become one in truth. There was still so much to do, but for now it would be about three months of sitting by the fire and waiting for the snow to melt. Well. You would make sure to make the most of it.

What will you do in winter of your first year? (Turn 4)
[] Write-In Plan

First prisoners arrive next Turn.
First shipment of adamantine must be made after Turn 8.


Legion Auxiliaries (1 Action)
The Auxiliaries are trained somewhat better now, though neither their equipment, nor their laziness can be fixed quite as easily. But you would not let any of that deter you from getting the most out of their service.

-[] Hunt monsters.
In winter, food is scarce and every single thing in the woods feels that. It is the season when wolves come to villages to look for unlocked barns and lone people out and about. And far more dangerous things than mere wolves in these woods. Send out the Auxiliaries to aid the people in thinning out these creatures.
Benefit: Improves relations to the locals. Surroundings of Vollug become safer.

-[] Reorganize as wardens.
A lot of how your colony will be run is still up in the air, but what is certain is that the days of your Auxiliaries will soon be over. They will soon need to take care of prisoners and for that you will have reorganize their ranks and duties, with a good helping of drills and exercises to make their new roles become more natural.
Benefit: Improves handling of prisoners.

-[] Rest.
Winter is usually the season in which soldiers and peasants can rest after a year of hard work and campaigning. Let your men have their time off.
Benefit: Improved Auxiliary mood.


Engineers (No Actions)
There are no projects that could be undertaken by the engineers right now and so they will do with their time whatever they please.


General Lothar Vanrich (2 Actions)
Without having to oversee construction projects and having the Auxillary captains taking over much of the command tasks, you find yourself with much more free time than in the last months.

-[] Talk with burgomaster Gudmann.
The burgomaster seems to no longer threat your presence as an imposition on his city and more as a guest. No time like now to forge stronger ties with the ruler of Vollug.
Benefit: Improves relations to burgomaster Gudmann.

-[] Talk with the merchants.
The merchants are eager to secure the services of your engineers and events show that even ignoring their offers did little to dissuade them. Maybe it is time to give more attention to the matter and speak with them yourself. If nothing else, you might at least find out what their plan is behind inviting the engineers.
Benefit: ???

-[] Talk with master Becker.
While his work is beyond reproach, his behaviour is not and that he is this easily plied by getting him alcohol is already causing issues for you. Try to straighten out master Becker or at least to get him to practice some moderation in his habits.
Benefit: ???

-[] Talk with the provost of the Four Temples.
The aid of the Four Temples will definitely come in handy in the future and while talking to him made your rather uncomfortable for unrelated reasons, the provost is both pleasant company and eager to help. A rare thing indeed. Keep up the contact with him and see if you might be able to secure further favours.
Benefit: ???

-[] Scour the archives.
While hardly looking the part these days, Vollug once was the centre of the imperial administration since the first colonists arrived on the Korprey islands and the archives are still maintained. With this whole expedition resting on some centuries old prospecting reports, there might be more valuable information about this island's past somewhere in all the dusty parchments.
Benefit: ???

-[] Write letters.
With your tasks occupying most of your attention all year, you did not really consider the wider empire for a good long while. However, you have travelled much of it in your years in the military and made the acquaintance of quite a few people in that time, though none of them close in any sense of the word. Write some letters to a few of these people and see if you can reconnect with old acquaintances.
Benefit: ???

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AN: Bit of a filler update, since winter is not the most existing time of the year and the background rolls all came up on the boring side.