Thoughts on the social options. I'll actually vote later.
Laurelorn
[ ] Eike
Have a discussion about faith, the Gods, and the role they play in one's life.
Neat, but doesn't feel all that pressing, and I'm not hyped for it, except Eike being cute.
[ ] Swordplay
Test your newly-completed swordfighting style against the swordsmen of Tor Lithanel.
Also neat, and I do want to see this, but the social vote is hard fought enough that I don't think it'll the list.
Karak Eight Peaks
[ ] Okri
You've met Loremaster Okri of Karak Eight Peaks once before. Pay him a visit and see how his great ambitions for heavily-armed Ironbreakers delivered by Gyrocarriage are going.
I really would like to get to know him. It's been on the To-Do List for a while, and it'd be nice to hang around Eight-Peaks for a bit.
Foreign Relations
[ ] Middenland
See how the Ulricans are going with their new Eonir coreligionists.
Interesting, and potentially useful. Something to consider.
[ ] Nordland
See what's going on with the Ulrican schismatics that Nordland is backing.
As above. Get a feel for Nordlands perspective, which we're missing, so I give this a slightly higher priority.
[ ] Wissenland
Though the Elector Count is his usual self, some of their actions recently have hinted at the hand of someone a great deal defter. Investigate who took the job of his Spymaster after you turned it down.
Could be neat, and maybe an old friend (Watch guy!), but it doesn't feel too important.
[X] The Black Water Canal
Attend the grand opening of the Black Water Canal as it finally bridges the waterways of the northern and southern halves of the continent.
Definitely yes. We've been waiting for this so long, I will not miss it. Also a chance to meet Whilhelmina again, and maybe see how she and Eike are getting on. I will vote for this.
[ ] Druchii Diplomats
Check in on these unexpected visitors to Tor Lithanel.
Could certainly be interesting, but I also just don't want to deal with Druchii. On that basis, I'd vote for just about anything else.
[ ] Eonir Tourism
Despite language and cultural barriers, some of the Eonir have begun venturing out into the wider Empire. Check how this is going, and get a glimpse of the Empire you were born in from the point of view of those to whom it is alien.
I actually really like this. It sounds super interesting, and I love Boney worldbuilding. A useful note is that everyone heading out will be forestborn. Probably will vote for this.
Friends Abroad
[X] Tzar Boris Bokha
Attend the coronation of the new Tzar of Kislev.
Hell yes. You don't just help put someone in power by assassinating his father and then not turn up at the coronation. Also, I wanna see how he's doing. And, I do love other people suffering from Mathilde's success.
Following Up
[ ] Amber College
Check in on the salamanders.
Eh, don't really care. Done it. Maybe there's something new now, but whatever.
[ ] Skull River Ambush
Look into the investigation of the mining of the Skull River, and any consequences of it.
I'm nosy, so this appeals. Though we did hear about the Marienberg purges, so it's not so critical.
[ ] Kalishiniviks
Observe the fate of the Kalishiniviks, who have been made a scapegoat for the death of the Tzar.
Also very interesting. I do want to see this. Probably works well with the coronation, more time seeing Boris suffer from success is nice. And I do want to see how well our first political assassination worked out.
So, Coronation and Canal are locked in for me. For the remaining three, I think these are my top contenders (in no particular order):
[ ] Skull River Ambush
[ ] Eonir Tourism
[ ] Okri
[ ] Kalishiniviks
With the second cateogry of "also interesting, but not so much"
[ ] Middenland
[ ] Nordland
[ ] Wissenland
[ ] Swordplay
I'm noticing a pattern with Egrimm ever since he got promoted—he gets interested in a project, but tapers off about half way through and stops contributing.
He didn't trek through the wilderness to find a nexus, he obtained the materials for the servioscope but Mathilde and Eike were the ones who assembled it, and he didn't actually write his own paper, but instead left it to Mathilde to do.
I don't begrudge him this—he's a lord magister afterall, and doesn't actually have to listen to our orders. But it is a thing I'm noticing, and it might be worth keeping in mind for the future.
I wonder if such a tendency was a reason he didn't get promoted (as much as I don't want to admit it, there is the possibility of Alric having good reasons for things), or it's a result of subconsciously ingrained habit/rebellion (he always got pushed to things by Alric, and being able not to finish stuff is freeing, even if he doesn't realise it).
But hey, if he really is unable to ever bring a project to conclusion, we'll be forever safe from his shocking yet inevitable betrayal.
