PC is not that important for the big rewards. Sure, it will be hard to raise afterwards since we are at our prime but we should not be fighting at court and in the field we fight as Rassit and we have +4 PC when mounted.
[] Reroll the Academy Bureaucracy option (it was a failure, if you're wondering.)
Saves us choosing it again if succesful, which saves us one dice.
[x] One of the soldiers spreads the tale around, and his victory reaches many ears, adding to Kiralo's reputation.
It either will make martial options easier (which is valuable close to the war) or it will give us more influence (which would be invaluable)
[x] The rumors of a job have drawn more and more skilled Mages than expected. Coming out of their holes in something of a swarm.
Very tempting since it is what we wanted from this action but I am waitimg for Word om how good it is.
[x] Kiralo has made not merely a servant, but a friend through this battle. Or perhaps just someone who likes to tag along, because now Ji'lae's trying to talk to him.
Getting loyal people who is good at things we aren't would make things easier. I mean, usually I am the first to say we should focus on the war but we have to start getting our people in important positions and we need to have people for that. We are getting Kueli for intrigue and I think we are trying to get Yanmae for stewardship. Magic and learning are our worst stats and this guy might cover one of them.
[] Hi'sen: A northerner who is said to have a real talent for calling upon spirits to heal injuries. There were rumors, apparently, that he was going to be placed on the staff of, say, a Governor if he successfully completed his challenging duel-lessons as doctor and Mage, but shockingly he has declared that he would rather make his name by working with the army. In his early 20s.
A healer is vital to any party and he would be useful later if we keep him on staff but I am not sure how much of a difference he would make. Still, tempted if only to keep hero units alive.
[] Hano: A bastard from Hari-Bueli, he has risen this far on fire and spirit, yes, but also a real skill with, apparently, defensive magic and a dedication to Csirit equal to the person he was named after, Hanae. Despite suspicions of his Bueli blood, he's proven himself loyal.
Loyal protector. Both are rare but doesn't really catch my interest.
[x] Qinlun: A young prodigy, he is only fourteen and yet many apparently rave about his flawless brush-strokes and cunning understanding of spirits. He lacks experience, and is in fact the son of a noble and a respected concubine, raised on dreams and with long fingers, and yet he apparently looks up to Ji'lae and has managed to convince the Academy to give him a pass to stop his education for a time to serve as a junior magical aide to the army, if Kiralo will have him.
Talented, politically connected and looks up to our new friend. If he lives, he will be useful later on and having a good understanding of spirits might let him give us a bit more of an idea about things.
[] Deshi: Almost Kiralo's age, he is the son of a solider, and physically skilled, and startlingly tall, which has no doubt led to rumors about his blood. Either way, he is known for the speed of his bindings, and his skill at unleashing spirits in scrolls with a quick, supple will that means that in a direct fight using spirits, none can beat him, and if it gets close, he's apparently almost as good at Ji'lae in a fight.
Without knowing how one person's skill influence big battles this option loses a bit of luster.
[x] Gen'he: A strange one, he's in his early twenties and while he does know some combat abilities, his main skill is in long-term spirit-work, such as binding spirits to protect an army while it is sleeping, or using spirits to enhance the strength and fortitude of a castle.
I like the idea of not getting murdered while we sleep.
[x] Bao'ren: The son of a merchant, Bao'ren was in fact a 'Street Spirit-catcher' as they are called until he was thirteen, and he still specializes in finding spirits even in the wilderness. And along those same lines, he knows what sorts of spirits can be found where, leading to this city-boy having a skillset that might well be perfect for the army on the march.
Perfect for an army on the march? Say no more.
[x] Ji'lae has heard of a distant fugitive of sorts, who, despite their young age, has done much. He's said to be skilled in the Sage styles of the Southlands, and in fact he is said to perhaps be one of them. Ji'lae has been somewhat mum on this person. Except to endorse them as skilled.
Weird magic shit people can't expect.
[x] Jaw-lung: Named for the ancient invasion of Sea-Raiders that his distant ancestor was said to have seen off, he grew interested in the Sea-Raiders magical arts, as well as those of the Anlan, and he has a strange obsession with cannons. Guns. Things that make explosions. On a battlefield, he's the first to go for the big, flashy spirit. Off the battlefield, he's more likely to improve equipment and work on customized weaponry and armament combinations for soldiers.
Besides the fact that he makes equipment (which is what interests me since I am not particularly impressed about what it says of his combat skills) some of this sound familiar.
Juae shook his head and took a slow sip of his tea, peering at Kiralo over the rim of the cup. "He showed me what they call the Turtle. A new weapon of war. I believe the Anlan might have factions, or perhaps they squabble among each other as people are wont to do, because they spoke of their efficacy in at least being able to cause difficulty to the Hulks."
"The turtle?"
Juae pulled out a scroll and opened it. Drawn there in dark ink on the white space was a large, rounded shell of sorts. It was slightly block at places, and there were cannons ringing it, coming out from viewports that looked as if they could be closed at a moment's notice. The shell seemed as if it must be thick, and by a soldier standing next to it for comparison, it was almost as tall as two men standing on each other's shoulders, with large wheels, though it was low enough to the ground that there was likely no crawling under it easily.
Its front had what looked like a ramhead, and a large cannon of the type usually used only by ships.
"It's...a cannon platform?"
"A mobile one," Juae said, "And its armor is tough. There are notes in the spirits and how they are arrayed, though the method is one that they would not share, but that we could learn."
"What do these involve?" Kiralo asked, frowning as the man unrolled the scroll a little more for a few notes.
"A rather cunning technique, I believe, involving binding spirits to the metal in a way that seems as if it was…" Juae shrugged and said, "It unnerved me, it was as if I could hear their groans, and yet I couldn't see the spirits at all. However, superstition aside, they should be powerful enough to stand up to the blows of Tarnarin and Hanin quite well."
"Are you so sure of that?" Kiralo asked, "Their loosed arrows and bolts can pack quite a punch, and they'll be aiming for any weak spots."
"My guess is that enough Hanin, massed, could cause a problem, but the Turtle moves as fast as a man walking quite quickly, and if we found a way to increase their speed...the point would be to hit the enemy lines when they're weak and then power through them. At that point, from how it was described to me, the ram tears people down and the cannons shatter the formation," Juae said. "I saw it in action, if only against stationary targets, and it seems very impressive."
"Ah, and you're interested in...purchasing them?"
"It is not something that can be openly said, is it?" Juae shook his head, "But they would be a potent weapon, and one that could not easily be counted, especially by the Bueli themselves."
Kiralo considered the words, "The terrain hardly would bear wheeled vehicles. I know from accounts of old campaigns," that he had tirelessly been reading as part of his general education on Csiritan military affairs, "That there were often difficulty maintaining a baggage train, even without the constant raids. They'd slow down a campaign considerably to haul around."
Juae frowned and nodded, "Perhaps, but there are advantages, and more than that, there are many sorts of ground where they would be unstoppable. I am convinced that it might be the way forward, a weapon that enemies cannot easily match. The prices they have mentioned are expensive, yes. But that only makes it better: what other power in the region could afford it, and what they call expensive, and what might be for an ordinary noble outrageous...is quite within the grasp of the Imperial Seat. It means that we would have a weapon that could not easily be acquired and used against us by petty nobles. Only Governors or Emperors would be able to readily afford them."
Kiralo nodded. Control was always a point of difficulty with any form of power or force. A half-naked man in a tent might have a greater mastery of the lore of spirits than his armed opponent. Peasants were at a vast disadvantage in revolting because the spirits associated with war had names, and those names were known by some but not others. But petty nobles? Popular revolt leaders? Former soldiers? There were many ways to even the ground, and the more even the ground, the less power the Emperor could wield. Or those who might wield the Emperor could wield.
Sometimes for the better, one might say, since greater control could be balanced against far greater taxation. Either way, Kiralo understood that there was more at work here than one bit of new technology. It seemed promising on paper, but so did many ideas, and so Kiralo asked, "And you want my help?"
"Maybe. I want to at least see what they're willing to offer, but to do so, we need to be able to talk, officially. I was hoping perhaps to find a way to purchase some before war comes…"
