Warhammer Fantasy: The Hollow Crown- A Border Princes Quest

If you had known how the "simple" expedition to a lost tomb in the Border Princes was going to end up maybe you would have hopped aboard a ship sailing for Lustria or entered the cursed halls of Castle Drachenfells. You've felt more sympathy for the nobility in the last week than you have in the totality of your thirty years of life. It turns out that rulership is far from simple. Though perhaps that is only true in a land where a ruler hasn't a vast treasury, an ancient lineage, loyal retainers, fertile lands, and a standing army. You have no such luck, but you do have no shortage of urgent matters to take care of. You have absolutely no clue how many people live in Akendorf after Schulman's misrule-you certainly can't rely on what was officially reported to a man known for killing deliverers of bad news. You also control nothing outside of the fortress town itself, the varying villages that were once under Schulman's rule may not even be aware of his death yet. Paying for your meagre military is straining your finances and you're going to need to come up with a windfall or an improvement of revenues. Not to mention the fact you've been struggling with strangely forbidding dreams haunting your sleep as of late, and you have no idea what tomb Schulman was even looking for, something that bothers the part of your mind still fully engrossed in your former profession. Of course that's only speaking of the problems you yourself have noticed. It was time to meet with your advisors and see what problems and solutions they see. Then of course would come the time for decisions.

Before you left Sylvania you had never seen a halfling and even now not entirely used to how little they are. You're pretty sure that they don't really eat each other as a matter of habit, but you've felt it wasn't a good idea to ask. Regardless of your attitude towards halflings, the simple fact that Malzana is the best chef you've ever seen, and a very down to earth person. Picking a chef to help manage your subjects may be unorthodox but if you know one thing, nobody can be upset or starving for long with one of Malzana's pies in them. Partially because they pass out from overeating.
You find Malzana in the kitchens of the Green Parrot Inn, as usual working on some recipe or another. From a perch atop a stool she has taken ale, eggs, rum, sugar and nutmeg and is whisking them in a bowl. At your arrival she sets the bowl aside and produces two mugs filled with a cream liquid. Before you can start to drink she takes two irons from the cook fire and plunges them into the mugs, causing the drinks to froth up heartily. She quickly grabs one of the mugs and takes a hearty swig. "You've got to reheat it, otherwise it's too cool from all the pouring it needs to be ready". She offers by way of explanation before moving on seamlessly to a barrage of words. "Congratulations your princeliness on your..well princeliness! Did you know that nine of ten new princes have their realm collapse in the first 6 months? Don't answer that, of course you didn't I just made it up right now"
Malzana, as usual speaks, at twice the rate another would consider rapid. "Still it's probably somewhat true, you're weakest when no one knows if you're gonna last or not. The good news is that Schulman made such a mess of things that standards are low as they can be. The bad news is that it's gonna be hard to recover lost population, let alone belief that the prince can be a positive actor in people's lives. If you ask me, the first ought to be changing the way the law works around here. Schulman wanted everything to flow to him. I think we should empower community leaders in the neighborhoods and villages to adjudicate disputes and crimes. Neighbors and family can resolve problems between themselves without a big bad prince inserting his nose where it doesn't belong-no offense your princeliness"

Unsurprisingly you've known your brother Iancu far longer than anyone else in your principality. Ten years your junior you've looked after your brother from a very young age. While still lucky by Sylvanian standards his birth was not so lucky as yours and Iancu has struggled with a clubfoot his whole life. He's always done his best to support you in all your endeavors even if the results have at times left much to be desired. You find him atop the battlements gazing outwardly at the lands beyond.
Hearing you approach he turns and aggressively gushes at you. "Rad look! Can you believe how high we are? Over there is blackfire pass, you know as a kid I never realized I was in the Empire and now I can't believe we're outside it. In that direction is where the king of the dwarves lives- do you think they really drown cats? And all the rest-that's gonna be our land someday soon. You're gonna be the best prince Rad, and I'll be the best advisor. People will be telling stories for generations about how super the Iorga brothers were at ruling a princedom. Or Emperordom like it'll be soon. Oh! But I'm supposed to be giving you advice.
Well you know the first step for winning everyone's loyalty is for your subjects to know who you are. One day we should make coins with your face on them, but we don't have a ton of gold right now and besides the realm isn't big enough for that to be the only practical way. I think we should find the biggest, blackest, fanciest horse and have you ride through town on it looking very princely. Everyone's gonna know who their prince is then and they'll just love you! I also hear that some Tilean fellow- Imaschiavelli Venedetto wrote a whole book on being a border prince called, get this, "The Border Prince ''. Brilliant name right? We should totally find a copy, though it might be hard since they were banned after the first printing." Finally pausing for breath your brother stops talking for a moment, before gazing mournful at his leg and the stairs down from the battlements. "This is gonna take me forever to get down from"

You met Krorod for the first time during the ill-fated expedition and if you're being entirely honest with yourself you're still a little afraid of him. Not that such a reaction is entirely unwarranted- if you draw yourself up to your full height to talk with him you'll be face to face with your own reflection in his well polished gutplate. Krorod doesn't mind, he's lived long enough among humans to be used to their reactions to his mighty girth and acts accordingly. The maneater is a fantastic gambler-no matter how poor his luck may be early in the evening when his chips draw low and his temper frays it's amazing the sort of run of cards he gets that win him at least close to even.
You find Krorod outside the inner keep of Akendorf, bellowing orders at his fellow mercenaries that cause nearby glass windows to shudder. Spotting you his tips, his enormous feathered cap and flashs a toothy grin that sparkles from all the gold. He begins to speak in a uniquely accented reikspiel "Ah, e'yer comes de prince ter join in de fun! congratulations ed yer ascension ter tyrant, dough if yous wuz do'n it dead properly yous would 'uv eatun yer predecessors. Am juss kidd'n, 'e wuz juss skin and bones wuddun 'uv beun worth de effort fe yer tiny little mouf. seems like some people 'aven't gottun de message dat there's a new boss dough. they've locked themselves in de keep and worse- they've got de owd prince's treasy in thuz wi' dem.
Me and de lads 'uv beun lewk'n ter find a way ter deal wi' dem but doz gates ay owd dwarf weerk and we dun 'uv any munfangs er giants ter smash dem opun. but dun yous worry owd goldmight's gorra plan. see gold may be real nice and shiny but yous can't eat it. and ay kun, i've tried. Am think'n we sround de keep real good and tight and dun we 'uv a nice slowroast'n cewkfire o' delicious meat. it'll be good as terrter fe dem locked in thuz wi' gold and nah food. before long they'll be begg'n ter be let out, lay'n themselves at yer mercy if dee tinnie juss 'uv a morsel o' beef. trust an ogre boss, at de end o' de dee de gut always wins"

In truth you barely know Bratret at all. Though had been present for the early stages of the expedition he departed early with a string of Khazalid curses. In retrospect this should have perhaps been a warning sign, but you were not raised with the traditional reverence for dwarves that most folks of the Empire receive. When you returned to Akendorf he was quick to accept your leadership but not particularly fawning, you suspect he has been through this sort of thing many times before. You meet Bratret not at the small stone building he uses at a counting house but rather at the outskirts of Akendorf outside the mines.
When you arrive Bratret is staring angrily at a cave-in muttering angrily to himself in Khazalid. At your arrival he switches to Reikspiel as it is readily apparent that you don't understand a single word he is saying. "Do you see this manling? This is what happens when some damn fool prince takes most of the experienced miners around on a fool's errand of a tomb hunt and gets most of them killed. Mining isn't as easy as just hitting things with a pick you know, it's hard work. Don't think just because I'm a dwarf means I can just wave my hands and fix this, I'm no miner or engineer.
But while these tunnels are collapsed no one is going to be mining anything. Just digging the damn thing out could work but would take a lot of labor. Alternatively I've found some explosives that must have been cached by Dawi when they still held these lands. They might be able to blow it open. Of course you ask me what we should really do is try and get some proper dawi miners to move to this place and show the manlings how it's down. It wouldn't be easy, no one dreams of mining lead compared to gromril or gold but it'll be done right or my father wasn't named Gobrac."

You knew Fulberto even before you came to the Border Princes. For a long time the merchant and you have had a mutually profitable working relationship where you acquire and identify antiquities and he finds loving homes for them where the owners have fat purses. You're not entirely sure what made him decide to start an office of the Pignotti Trading Company in Akendorf, you think it might be guilt-it was his referral that got you into Schulman's expedition and everything that followed.
Whatever the reason he's shown no hurry to move on, and has proven more than happy to serve as a source of advice. You find him in his sumptuous appointed offices a great handkerchief protecting his silk clothing from the amount of food he consumes to sustain his bulk. At the moment he is feasting upon snails and veal and drinking some beverage you have never seen in your life. His silver and dinner rare are exotic and expensive to your eye. At your arrival he sucks down a final snail with a definitive slurp before wiping his mouth clean.
"Ah Radu my boy how good of you to join me", begins Fulberto in Tilean accented Reikspiel. "Observe my humble repast. These snails, so delicious, come from Lyonesse. The veal? Averland. The raw silver and craftsmanship of these implements of consumption both come from the Karaz Ankor and this fine porcelain plate has made a long journey from far off Cathay. As for the drink? Wine from Lustria across the sea, the drink of lizards as much as men. I show all this to you not because I wish to show off my standard dinner fare, even the wealthiest man would not be wealthy for long to dine so each day. Rather this is all in service of an important instructional lesson.
The fundamental purpose that binds realms, men, and all who deserve to be called civilized together is trade. It is a wise prince, I do you hope you will endeavor to be a wise prince, Radu, who looks outward from his realm to those abroad. Many princes look first to see the princedoms that border theirs. It is a natural and understandable impulse, who would not wish to see the names of their rivals and enemies? But it is a foolish decision all the same. Trade my boy, trade! The other princes will be there tomorrow, and if they are not another prince will be there instead. Opportunities for trade have no such guarantees. Right now the new High King of the Dwarves, Thagram or something like that is mustering a mighty host to march upon Blackfire Pass, clear it of Greenskins and allow trade to flow again. We must send a force of our own to this fight so that when the dwarves triumph and move on we control this end of the pass, and control the trade. Now go, this conversation leaves me most terribly weary.

Diomira is a matronly woman, a member of the order of the Daughters of Rhya. A lifetime of delivering and carrying for children and babies has led to most people looking like callow youths to her eyes. Her years hang on her lightly, her auburn hair showly only the faintest hint of grey and her wrinkles echoing her smile. If she was surprised when you plucked her from her work to serve as your chaplain she shows it not. Though it helps of course that you hardly interfere in her duties.
Barring an early incident where she made it quite clear that you were going to refer to her as "granny" and not "Diomira" you have gotten along with her quite well. You meet with Diomira outside of Akendorf, at the edge of the Forest of Gloom. "You know what I keep hearing from people dearie? Granny when are you rebuilding, or sometimes they say building, the temple? Now I've never really understood the insistence of building a great big building for a god to live in myself. Sigmar may like his grand temple fortresses with gates strong enough to hit an army of goblins with a hammer behind. Morr of course has his gardens. But what temple does Taal or Rhya need but the forest and threshing floor? But it's not really about the gods, people just like to have a place to go on Festag to feel square with the gods and meet with their friends. Now if I was to build a temple to Taal and Rhya, instead of just sprucing up the temple of Sigmar or Garden of Morr, I think I would cut a path through these woods to a beautiful spring fed waterfall not too far in and establish an open air structure for people to gather. Of course I'd have to make sure that no forest goblins got too close to the temple so people could worship in peace. Just a thought dearie."

Actions: (Pick Three)
[] A census of Akendorf
[] Survey the villages of Schulman's former realm
[] Raise taxes
[] The hunt for Schulman's tomb
[] A dream consultation with the priests of Morr
[] Storm the keep
[] Print coins with your face on them
[] Ride around on a very fancy horse
[] Acquire a copy of "The Border Prince"
[] Centralize the Law code under your purview
[] Localize the Law Code
[] Investigating the nearby Princes
[] Opening the mines with corvee labor
[] Opening the mines with explosives of unknown antiquity
[] Attempt to attract dwarven miners
[] Repairing Morr's garden
[] Repairing Sigmar's temple
[] Consecrating the Waterfall
(Mutually Exclusive)
[] Blackfire Pass expedition
[] Starving out the keep