You're the Queen - Now What? [CK2ish Character-Focused Quest]

[CORRESPONDENCE] 67 (Base) + 8 (Clerks) + 8 (Learn) + 4 (Diplomacy) = 79 = WEAK SUCCESS
[ROYAL VAULTS] 54 (Base) + 10 (Stewardship) = 64 = WEAK SUCCESS
[HIGH MARSHALL] 64 (Base) + 5 (1/2 Martial) + 3 (1/2 Diplomacy) +2 (1/2 Intrigue) = 74= WEAK SUCCESS
[SECRETS] 52 (Base) + 7 (Intrigue) +5 (Trait) = 64 = WEAK SUCCESS
[SHERIFFS AND REEVES] 62 (Base) + 6 (Stew) + 3 (Trait) = 71 = STRONG SUCCESS
[JUSTICE] 50 (Base) + 2 (1/2 Diplomacy) +2 (1/2 Stewardship) = 54 = MISS
[ENVOYS TRAIT] 55 (Base) + 10 (Magic) = 65 = STRONG SUCCESS
[ENVOYS] 68 (Base) + 7 (Dip) = 75 + 6 (Trait Success) = 81 = STRONG SUCCESS
[QUEEN 1] No Roll Required
[QUEEN 2] No Roll Required

There are a couple Major Tokens in play, in the hands of @LancyIain and @BoSPaladin and there appear to several cases where they could turn a Weak Success into a Strong Success or the one miss into a Weak Success. Their use is of course up to the owners.

"...and under the leadership of Queen Vanessa and her wise choice for High Marshall, banditry in the Kingdom has almost entirely been eliminated. The roads that are being rebuilt even as I speak will be safe for trade and travel. All shall have the protection of the Queen's Peace, for as long as Her Majesty Vanessa Kolmain reigns!" the Herald shouted from the middle of the town square.

He paused, giving everyone a minute to let that sink in.

"I dunno, figure anyone who got the Crown would be doing that," one of the men in the tavern on the town square said. He was dressed a little nicer than a day laborer, maybe a journeyman craftsman or merchant's employee on a break. Nothing fancy. He sipped at his drink. "Maybe if her Majesty did something about them watering the beer down so fucking much," He rolled his eyes. "Fucking swill."

"Well, roads get better, it'll be cheaper to get the good beer here again. Been ages since I had one of the good brews," another patron commented. "Ol' Fellados," the owner of the tavern in question "used to celebrate the end of the month by breaking out a barrel or two of the good stuff from Couron." He raised his voice, shouting at Fellados who was handing mugs to his niece, who would be bringing more around. "Oi, Fellados! If those roads get better, you gonna start bringing back the good stuff, 'stead of this swill?!"

"Maybe, if you lazy bastards behave!" Fellados shouted back, to a round of laughter from many of those present. "And I heard you," he gestured at the first one, "You go telling people I'm watering the beer down again and I'll get my son to take his warhammer to your kneecaps, mind! He fought in the war, he knows what he's doing"

"Ah, go fuck yourself Fellados," the first patron grumbled. "Fine!" He sipped at the beer, made another face at the taste.

"Ah, anyone can send soldiers to kill bandits, but the Queen's been putting a lot of money into those roads." Another patron commented, "I have a cousin - you know, Trepora, that smart one?"

"The one your Uncle sent to get a fancy big city education?"

"Aye. She's working in the palace now, handles... some kind of paperwork to do with buying and selling shit. The Queen put a lot of work into getting all the stuff for the roads ready, and she's been hiring plenty of people to build 'em, fast-like too." He shrugged, "Someone else might not be focusing so much." He sipped at his own beer, apparently not bothered by the taste, "and her silver's good too." he proved his point by biting into a silver coin lightly, before tossing it to Fellados's niece and she handed him another mug of beer.

Outside, the Herald was going on some more.

"...the smoothing of the laws and the courts, so the people of those Kingdom shall not be unduly burdened by months of paperwork even for minor boundary disputes!"

---

"As we were afraid of, you're majesty," one of the stewards of her estates in the Grand Duchy explained, "a lot of the laborers on your farms were hesitant and resistant to accept methods different than what they were used to. Some of them go back to before there was a Halrun. Telling someone that the way their father, grandfather and great-grandfather and so forth did it wasn't the best is..."

"Difficult, at the best of times." Vanessa nodded. "But they are being implemented?

"They are. But between the resistance, a few people quitting rather than change and the occasional increased wage to induce cooperation, we're looking at the lower end of estimates for how much this will boost revenues." The steward explained. "All told, it's just about one more Durek per month."

"So it'll take us a few months to recoup the expenses. Nothing too bad. And the resistance - are we talking grumbling and nothing more?"

"Largely. Peasants - and farmers especially - are never fond of change, but you're not threatening their livelihood, they get paid the same either way, being laborers. A lot of grumbling about how this or that change will ruin the crop, but..." he shrugged, "superstition and ignorance, mostly.

"Keep an eye on it, no need to piss people off more than we have to, but we can't be held hostage to doing something the way it was done just because someone's great grandfather did it that way. Continue on."

---

"Joining the Royal Guard is an honor only afforded to the best and most trustworthy soldiers in the Kingdom." Rienne said to the assembled thirty-one men and women that had been found worthy of being added to the expanded guard. At Vallefor's suggestion after his agent's 'successful infiltration' of the palace, the goal had been to get closer to sixty more guardsmen for the palace. Most wouldn't be around the Royal Wing of course - security there had been mostly successful - but keeping people from even getting that far would be ideal.

Unfortunately, the numbers once again hadn't been what she'd hoped for. With peace seeming to settle into the Kingdom, and with all the people being hired for new ventures, road construction, nobles rebuilding their own personal forces of armsmen, towns looking for veterans to train their militias up for the future (or at least to look like they were doing that) and so forth, there were more jobs that needed to be filled than people that were available to fill them.

When civil war sparks up in Morvak, we might very well be able to make use of the refugees it's likely to generate. Rienne wouldn't really be involved in that - her only real interfacing with refugees fleeing wars had been, at most, providing them with some food and other essential supplies and ushering them off into rear areas for others - usually whoever was paying her wages at the time - dealt with what to do with them then.

Still, she could mention the idea to others who might be able to prepare for it, if they hadn't already.

Still, the real problem here hadn't been so much lack of people interested, as lack of people who could meet the high standard the Royal Guard set for itself, and of course, could be trusted. The Commandant of the Royal Guard, a half-elf named Percy Vandalain (a former rebel), had decided upon being named to the post in the aftermath of Syrokis's overthrow - even before his successor had been picked - had been working hard to ensure only the best of the best could be entrusted with membership.

Trustworthiness was a little harder to establish, but with the help of mages in royal employ, and some of Vallefor's own agents, they'd weeded the process out. Actual enemies of the crown who had tried to get in amounted to one person. In the rest of the cases it was more lack of certainty, or people who might be inclined to take a bribe or the like, or people who Rienne and Percy couldn't be sure would be willing to lay down their lives for the Queen.

Which was of course the most important qualification. You could never tell until it came to the moment, granted, but you had to try to ensure every Royal Guardsman would be willing to stand in the way of an arrow, an assassin's blade, a mage's spell - not eager, the Guard didn't need the suicidal, but willing - if it meant saving the life of the Queen or, in times to come, her children or of course, her wife.

(A few people who probably would have been trustworthy but had had ties to the Knights of the Golden Throne that were a little too close were also carefully weeded out. Many of the applicants who hadn't quite made the cut were directed to other guard positions or to the Army - there was always a steady drip of people leaving service, so maintaining current numbers was always a task).

"Those of you before myself and Commandant Vandalain have proven that your skill is great enough, and your dedication to the Crown strong enough to be worthy of that honor. You can stand tall knowing you are among the best of the best." She stepped aside and let Vandalain speak.

"Stand tall indeed. That said, there is one final formality to attend to before you become Royal Guards. Kneel," Vandalain said, and began to take their oaths as Royal Guards.

---

"Before being sent here, your Majesty," the general in charge of the Halrunian forces sent to South Zarsim said to King Gaius Rodela, "I was entrusted with specific phrases and words that Count Vallefor's agents might use to pass information to me, or that could be used to know the person speaking to me spoke for those agents."

"And those agents have approached you, directly or indirectly?"

"They have." He passed a note to the King. Rodelia and his officers - as well as this Halrunian - were assembled in his current War Room. The Halrunians had just arrived, and the money was only just starting to come in, but it had been a boost to morale, and made North Zarsim worry that more troops might be coming, more support might be coming. Which had led to them evacuating a few exposed positions.

Rodela looked at the note, "Troop movements... nothing earth-shattering, but if we can trust this information, useful."

"Trusting spies during wartime is a fraught business. Battlefield conditions can change quickly. But it does sound like the northerners are preparing for us to assault the left."

"Which we were," One of Rodela's men pointed out.

"And we can't just abandon the preparations without them knowing. Still, they've had to weaken a few formations and fortifications on the right. It's not enough to take too bold a gamble, but if this information is right, a probing attack here," Rodela tapped a spot on the map, near one of the weakened northern positions, "could push through and separate the far right of their flank from the center-right. They'd either have to risk envelopment on the far end or withdraw."

"And the risk to our forces is minimal if the information is incomplete or bad. But if they are prepared for us on the left -"

"Then the attack they're expecting would get too many of our men killed if we pressed too hard." The Halrunian noted. "But what if you positioned my men here," he pointed to a spot on the left flank. "If we advance up to here, as they're likely expecting, and then dig in, my Pikemen and Crossbowmen can form the anchor of a solid defense. They'll have to counter attack, but it will make the whole attack on the left seem more convincing if we stake out something so bold."

"That's risky. Are your sure Queen Vanessa would thank you for taking such risks with her soldiers?" Rodela asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Her Majesty trusts the judgement of her officer corps. As long as you don't leave us out to dry here on the left, I think the risk is worth it, Your Majesty."

---

"Milady, I have excellent news," Balmain looked at her subordinate handling the latest round of roadwork, down to Westcrown, and gestured for him to continue.

"When we set the initial estaimates for costs and materials, we did so under the assumption there'd be some flooding along the banks of the river for the sections that travel along it, which would make the road building more of a slog - we are of course making sure the rebuilt roads will handle flooding in the future."

"But there hasn't been any flooding or overflow in the last year," Balmain considered. "Which means..."

"The process will be easier. As it stands, we can either continue with the current projections for how many teams of workers to hire, which will mean we'll likely be done a month earlier than expected, or we can hire a few less teams and save about four Dureks, all told, but get finished when we expected to originally." He handed Balmain some papers outlining the information in greater detail. "Personally, I think we should go for getting it done faster, but I don't have the same look at the larger picture you do."

"I think it would best if we..."

[ ][ROAD WINDFALL] Take the savings. Get back 4 Dureks, and Roads between the Grand Duchy and Westcrown will be complete at the end of turn 16.
[ ][ROAD WINDFALL] Take the speed. Roads Between the Grand Duchy and Westcrown will be complete at the end of turn 15.

---

"I'm afraid that our efforts have only annoyed a lot of local villages," one of Itrick's justices explained to him. "The law was the law, and we followed your guidelines on application, but, unfortunately... in many of the cases we heard, we ended up tripping over arcane local customs at odds with the law that no one told us about. Syrokis's judges may have known, but understandably-"

"They didn't exactly leave us with extensive information on that sort of thing." Itrick finished. "What exactly happened?"
The judges offered examples - a boundary dispute between two farmers that was settled in accordance with the law and what they'd understood the best long-term stability - the lines were remeasured, the violator was made to pay a small recompense to the other in the form of two chickens and a bushel of grain.

Unfortunately, the remeasured boundaries, while legally impeccable, had pissed off both parties by determining that a part of the village both had shared (and wasn't part of the dispute) actually belonged to a third farmer who hadn't had any part of maintaining it in a very long time, if ever.

That was one of the more basic instances. Ruling in favor of who got to keep children in the case of divorce or who had responsibility in the case of parental death had stumbled into local customs about inheritance, property, division of property, dowries, repayment of dowries after dissolution of a marriage -

And of course, each little village had their own history and custom built up. Had any of just judges known about these customs, Itrick would have directed them to largely stick to them, in the interests of maintaining order.

"As it stands, if there were local shrines to Adun, either in the village or in other villages, we'd find the disputants going to them for resolution after we were done, and listening to their mediation over ours."

"Under other circumstances, not the worst outcome, but not ideal now, I suppose." Itrick sighed.

"We've completely lost the confidence in the rural villages. It will be the work of some time to rebuild it." Itrick saw one of the other judges scowl - that one was probably thinking that caring about local custom of 'ignorant villagers' was pointless. Or worse. He'd assigned that man mostly to larger villages near towns - they tended to be less prickly - so he'd had few issues to report, but Itrick would have to keep him to the towns in the future, all things being equal.

---

"...I think you'll find your concerns about some union between Halrunian unclaimed land and Necrotic labor forces are wholly unfounded," Arandel finished his explanation to the Zedarshian Ambassador. "While we will be putting undead labor to work on various projects around the kingdom, it's for things like road reconstruction and potentially expanding or improving border fortifications. I can assure you it would be hideously impractical from a purely magical level to put undead to work on mining or say, blacksmithing on any large scale."

Arandel had wondered why Zedarsh had been hesitant about renewing the old pre-Syrokis trade ties they'd had with Halrun - the Kingdom had had a profitable relationship with Halrun, once Archnecromancer Lyrus made travel through Darkmoon Forest possible. Even before, a cut through the northlands had been doable.

His scrying had revealed the truth:

Zedarsh's ruling guilds were very jealous of their markets - though both Zedarsh and Selissa were dominated by wealth as much as nobility, in Zedarsh, it was the craftsmen and professionals that held more political influence than merchants and bankers due to the way the parliamentary elections were organized. And those guilds were - without much sound reason - apparently terrified of the impending marriage between Essinya and Vanessa.

Not because they feared some undead invasion, but out of a fear of cheap foreign products flooding into Zedarsh. Darkmoon Forest used undead labor for many things, but they were limited by the fact that for one, the forest lacked a great deal in the way of raw materials save for the trees and for another, cutting down any of those trees in any large numbers would be anathema to Darkmoon culture.

They did cut down a few, very carefully chosen ones, for various purposes, but large-scale clear cutting beyond existing urban areas and the like would have started riots against the Archnecromancer. Something unheard of in the entire history of the forest in the aftermath of the fall of the Necrotic Empire.

But if anything could cause it, that was it.

So people who thought about these things weren't really worried about a flood of undead-made cheap products. At least, not until word came that the Kingdom of the Necromancers and Halrun were aligning. That had set a few very paranoid guild masters in Zedarsh running off to the races, imagination-wise.

The great problem with their fear was that the sorts of vast numbers of undead required to 'flood the markets' would be impractical to control outside of Darkmoon Forest. In the days of the Necrotic Empire, magical constructs had existed to cloak the Empire's territory in dark magics to make controlling vast numbers of undead for long periods cheap, magically speaking. Outside of Darkmoon Forest and the Deathwood itself, anyway, which were so much more suffused with such power and likely always would be.

The Undead Laborer being supplied as part of the marriage pact wouldn't be as expensive as hiring actual laborers, and at least for the first chunk of time the Archnecromancer would be bearing the cost of paying the necromancers and the cost of the reagents, but it would still be no simple prospect, in the absence of those old constructs.

"My staff say you are well-regarded as an expert on magic, but you do also have an incentive to try to convince us our fears are unfounded... even if they are true." The ambassador countered.

"By all means, consult any well-studied mage in the city, or send word back home to have any of your mages in Zedarsh run the numbers." Arandel passed a paper with a number of mathemagical calculations on it. "Your average undead does simple, repetitive tasks easily. Anything more than that..." he shrugged.

"Trade between our kingdoms has always been profitable," the Ambassador considered. "And as long as we don't have to worry about cheap goods being flooded into our markets... I can't see Parliament opposing any sort of expansion. We don't especially need bulk foodstuffs," Zedarsh fed themselves well enough, "But it's not as if that's the the only thing you have to offer."

"Hardly. I know that the Thane of South Tarkos has been looking for a market for certain ores he doesn't have much use for." Arandel pointed out. "And I know that Master Rogerbon of the Masons has a fondness for the mead that comes out of some Eaglecrest and Aloce."

"It's good stuff," The Ambassador chuckled, "Best part of this job." he sipped at his bottle of mead, as if to punctuate the point. He sighed. "I'll have to send this back to Parliament, and they may have a few changes they want to make, but in principle, I think we can agree to this expanded trade and change to our import and export duties, of Halrun holds up their end."

"Please, send it back. Keep me posted as to any concerns Parliament has."

Trade Agreement With Zedarsh: +3 Dureks/Turn Until turn 30

---

"I want these instructions followed to the letter," Vanessa told the foreman. She'd her Seneschal to secure a small, trustworthy and professional team of masons and related skilled professionals to help her turn an old, unused section of the basement of the palace - dungeons that hadn't seen use since before there was a Kingdom of Halrun, back when the palace had been much smaller - into her demesne. With the crystals, and certain changes to the geometries of the basement space, it would be possible to attune the space to her magics. While there, she'd be significantly more secure and powerful. Any scrying she needed to do from there would be much more potent, for instance.

"These are... strange instructions, your Majesty," the foreman said, looking up from the parchment in his hand. "And very strange dimensions for some of the rooms. Won't be easy."

"And you're being paid well for it. And I'm giving you additional time to make up for the fact I'm only hiring a small number of people do the work. I think it goes without saying I'm also paying for your discretion." Vanessa pointed out.

"Of course." The foreman nodded. "I can't say it will be simple to get some of these angles, but... it will be doable."

"Good. It is essential you get them exactly as I say. If something does come up, consult me as soon as practicable. No shortcuts, and no alterations. And though it isn't a matter of distrust, when it comes time to mount the contents of this chest at the proper points in the walls," she gestured at a chest holding three of the crystals from the Necrotic ruin, "I will be having several of my Guardsmen in the room. They are quite valuable and I cannot afford to take chances."

"Of course your Majesty. I've done work on vaults or around valuables."

"Good. Then I will leave you to your work." Vanessa nodded. Two of her guardsmen closed up the chest and locked it, handing her the key - only herself and Commandant Vandalain possessed a key to the particular lock, though she imagined when it came time to take the chest down and the crystals to be mounted, she or the Commandant would hand a key off to a suitably trustworthy subordinate member of the guard.

---

"Lady Castea," Essinya addressed the elderly noblewoman in a cool, calm, detached tone, "I appreciate these are all decisions that need to be made for a wedding of this magnitude, and my father and myself have provided you with people who can help you with the Darkmoon side of things," she gestured to a trio of pale, tall, black-clad and white-haired (but not particularly old) siblings - two male, one female. Triplets, apparently, from one of the elite non-noble families of the Kingdom of the Necromancers. Not necromancers themselves, given that, but experts on various cultural and ceremonial matters.

"But given that, I fail to see why you need myself and Queen Vanessa for all of the decisions you've had us make today."

"Princess Essinya, Your Majesty," Castea said to Essinya and then Vanessa in turn, "I assure you I have been keeping as much of the minutia away from the both of you as I can, but there are things that do require your direct input. That said, there is one concern left to address today that is of special concern. If you will allow us a moment to prepare," Castea and her aids, and the pale triplets stepped aside into the other room.

Vanessa resisted the urge to let out a sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose, but she did reach for her wine and take a sip. Essinya was drinking one of the bitter, black wines of Darkmoon Forest, while Vanessa had taken a much sweeter golden wine.

"The first moment I've had a moment to speak with you outside of feasts and other public events, and it's been occupied with banal minutia." Essinya observed, sipping at her own wine. "One would almost get the impression you don't like me, Your Majesty."

"Please, our married life will get quite insufferable if you keep calling me your Majesty, Essinya." Vanessa said. "I think at least in private, until the wedding, you can call me Vanessa." She offered Essinya a small smirk.

"Very well... Vanessa." Essinya agreed.

"Now, as to your comment, I agree I'm rather frustrated with the minutia occupying the day so far, but I have been at least kept abreast of the many things Lady Castea and the other wedding planners have been deciding on their own. This is at least more than that, I assure you. And as for not having the chance to spend time with you..." she chuckled, "I have been hoping for more time, but a Queen's work never ends."

"Striving and working to achieve is always admirable, Vanessa, but I suppose I'll have to work hard to give you a reason to take a few more breaks, after our marriage," Essinya teased in a low tone.

"Or perhaps you'll be eager for the distance from me, Essinya." Vanessa teased back, "I don't think you'll have anywhere near as much energy to distract me with as you think." She sipped at her wine, letting her tongue dark out from her lips and lick a stray drop of golden liquid from her upper lip - slowly.

Essinya raised an eyebrow, "Challenge accepted, Vanessa."

"Does it need to be a challenge?"

"Where's the fun if it isn't?" Essinya countered. "There are many fields of contest where losing truly is the inferior outcome. But I will say, I suspect our marriage will be one where the occasional defeat will be just as enjoyable as my victories."

"Just the 'occasional' defeat?" Vanessa chuckled darkly, "I suppose the challenge is indeed accepted, Essinya."

Before they could continue further, Castea and the others returned.

"Now, as this is a marriage, the clergy of Tyria will be at the foremost of the ceremony, as is true even in Darkmoon Forest," Castea began, "but I have been assured that it will be essential for Selras's clergy to also be involved in the ceremony?"

"Normal weddings in Darkmoon Forest do not require her, but she is the patron Goddess of my father's reign, and well, every Archnecromancer and Necrotic Emperor before him. It would be rude to the Knight of Shadows to disregard that in this marital bond between our realms. And impolitic, in regards to more earthly concerns."

"The Church of Selras does not have an extensive presence here in Halrun, as you might expect." Halrun, like any sane realm, didn't shun one of the twenty-two gods of the Pantheon, but like Serissa was almost everywhere, in most realms Selras was prayed to ward off her attentions and powers, though her patronage of darkness more generally saw her also something of a patron to those experiencing or dealing with grief and loss.

"I would not want to shut the local clergy of Selras out entirely," Essinya said, "but my father is quite insistent that Vasodia Treain - the next in line to become High Priest of Selras in Darkmoon Forest - take point on the Selras side of this wedding. And of course, the local clergy don't necessarily honor Selras in the same way we do back home."

"Of course. And Queen Vanessa has taken Alior as the patron for her rule, so if we are going to honor your father's patron-"

"Then we should honor mine as well," Vanessa nodded.

"Precisely. But it is somewhat atypical to have three gods represented at a wedding, especially when one of them is Selras. So there will be some things we'll have to invent out of whole cloth, and that, Princess Essinya, Queen Vanessa, is the largest concern for the day."

Essinya set her wine down, then nodded. "I suppose that wouldn't be a simple process to sort out. Shall we get to it then?"