Communication with Kislev through official channels goes remarkably smoother this time around, as apparently word has come to those official channels through unofficial but very unignorable channels that all communications regarding the matter of Waystones are to be redirected to the Tsarevich. With all the speed that conventional communications can manage, a reply invites you to travel to Erengrad at a specific date and time to discuss the matter with the very same individual. In theory, Erengrad is the domain - and, for that matter, the demesne - of Boyar Yevschenko, rather than being the direct property of the Tzar and thus subject to the wishes of the Tsarevich. That the Tsarevich wishes to meet with you there despite this might indicate that he's building alliances of his own, especially since this is the contact that he called upon for Baba Niedzwenka to become part of the project.
This impression compounds when you arrive at Erengrad at the appointed time and are waved through the gates as soon as you give your name, and when you follow the instructions you were given towards the only bare hill to be found within the city walls, one that stands out all the more for the vortex of soul-numbingly cold energy spinning below and the picket of soldiers currently standing guard around it. To your surprise, it isn't the Kreml Guard that are standing watch - it's the Streltsi of Erengrad, Kislev's only other standing military force. Their founding 150 years ago bankrupted Erengrad's previous Boyar dynasty, but they've earned renown for themselves since as a force highly adept with sword, bardiche, and handgun. At this point, this is unmistakably a deliberate show of influence.
"It is said that in the era of the Khan-Queens, and in other times that the Ice Witches were in favour, a tower the equal of the Ice Wing of the Bokha Palace grew from this hill," Tsarevich Boris says to you as you approach. "But this, as with so much else, has faded into legend."
"I can feel the Ice Witch magic in its roots," you reply. "Is there an entrance that leads into it?"
"There were once many. They were sealed during the time of the Tzarina, either at her command or to keep her out of it. Sometimes I think she left more scars on this land than the horde of Asavar Kul."
"Fresher ones, at least," you agree.
"You say you have a way to feed the energies of the Za into this, and the others?"
"The beginnings of one - more gutters than aqueducts. Enough to make improvements in the long term, and enough to tip the balance from waxing to waning in places."
He sighs. "Long term infrastructure project, yha? Small, bit by bit improvements over time. That does not work, not with how things are now. If this project was Kislev's project, I could have made it a matter of pride for Kislev, that could have gotten at least most of the resources it needs. But now it is Imperinyi project - I know this is not fully the case, but that is how it is seen in Kislev. If improvements are not obvious, then Kislev's resources for Empire's glory is how it will be seen, and that is an argument that cannot be won." He pauses, his eyes on your face. "Not with the Tzar."
"Is it a matter of resources?"
"Nie, not directly. Kislev is not a rich land, but it is a large land. What it lacks in treasure it has in muscle and will. But the Tzar goes unchallenged because he leaves the Boyars be, so those resources go towards their own comforts and projects and glory. Even if he wished to change things, he could not - the Boyars are so accustomed to his ways they will not accept his changing them. And I know for sure that he does not wish to change things."
You begin to suspect the trajectory of this conversation. "Do you have a solution to this problem in mind?"
"I have had the same solution in mind for many years - to wait until time and fate solves it. But there are movements to the north, movements we have seen before. Every year Za grows stronger while Kislev remains weak. Time can no longer save Kislev, it can only doom it. If waiting is not the solution, then acting must be." He pauses again, but this time, it is not for emphasis - it is genuine hesitation. "And your Order has a reputation for a certain kind of action."
The Tsarevich is normally a plain-speaking man. For him to not come right out and say what he has in mind, tells you exactly what he has in mind. And though his words and expression are stoic, you can see a bulwark of bleak determination holding back a sea of grief within him.
He speaks again, this time, it seems, more to himself than to you. "I cannot stand by as the extinction of Kislev becomes the legacy of the Bokhas." He refocuses on you. "If not you, then it must be another way. A worse way. A way that will hurt Kislev at a time when it cannot afford to be hurt. If you have a price, or your Order has a price, or your Emperor has a price, it will be paid."
Will you agree to assassinate Tzar Vladimir Bokha?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
- There will be a twelve hour moratorium for discussion.
- Whether Mathilde, or her Order, or her Emperor is going to exact a price, and what that price would be, is a matter that would be decided if and after Mathilde does it.
- If 'yes' is chosen, this AP will be spent in handling that. If 'no' is chosen, then Mathilde will try to achieve whatever limited rollout of tributaries might be possible through the Ice Witches and Baba Niedzwenka alone, with no support from Kislev's government.
- 'Go ask Luitpold/Algard/Dragomas/someone else whether you should' isn't an option. Mathilde is a Lord Magister of the Grey Order, her job is to make these decisions herself and then to take the secret to her grave. All asking other people does is ruin the opsec, and an opportunity with ruined opsec is one that they would have to say no to, even if they otherwise thought it would be a good idea.
