Hmmm. So Babettes fucking around again. Killing servants for asking questions and trying to trade for information... Think we'll need to kill some of the Brotherhood soon, can't let things like this go. Especially not on top of her earlier actions which I doubt Flan is very happy about. And even if not for that letting the Brotherhood stay as strong as it is and do what they want while we're trying to consolidate power seems like it would come back to bite us in the ass. We either need to beat them into submission as violence and death is a language they are well aquatinted with or wipe them out to stop them from going after us again later. I highly sought many people would be unhappy with us killing a group of assassins who are know for killing emperors and taking contracts from all comers...
Flandre's Quest (Touhou) World - (Madness Quest)
- Thread starter Entropy Judge
- Start date
Slith10
Back from the dead and ready to party!
- Location
- New Zealand
Does Flandre know enough about Babette/etc to think of such a thing?
Having them all in the same building sounds like a bad idea, either:
[] Track down Babette and bring her here.
- [] Leave her companions alone.
Or
[ ] Bring Babette's companions here:
- [ ] Whichever you find first.
- [ ] The werewolf.
- [ ] The Argonian.
Babette's dumb as rocks it seems, so maybe we should talk to one of her companions first?
Just track them down, go in stealthy, knock them out and withdraw without them noticing.
She seems to think she can mess around with us.
That's not entirely her fault, she still thinks she is one of the most powerful vampires when we have knocked it out of the park.
...
We also can't afford to waste time, so we may need to:
[] Ignore them for now; concentrate on the Dawnguard.
and deal with them later.
They will likely be more alert and possibly planning a trap at this point in time, so doing Dawnguard stuff(waiting for them to let their guard down) might be a good idea.
... For the moment let's focus on us, if we go after the Brotherhood they will retaliate and likely destroy our (badly protected at the moment) stuff, making us angry enough to to kill the all and then we might have nothing.
[X] Ignore them for now; concentrate on the Dawnguard.
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Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Flan does not currently have any sort of relation with the Army, formal or informal.
Does this mean that if that vote had won, we'd have spent the day admiring the architecture before being shooed out by a maid?
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Nope.
Votes are not locked.
[X] Ignore them for now; concentrate on the Dawnguard.
2
[X] Bring Babette's companions here:
- [X] Whichever you find first.
2
2
[X] Bring Babette's companions here:
- [X] Whichever you find first.
2
Slith10
Back from the dead and ready to party!
- Location
- New Zealand
This has the potential to go badly either way, but actively engaging with the Brotherhood would mean they will immediately do the same to us and I'm not sure if our vampires/castle would be able to handle that at this point.
Pursuing them later means they might have time to plan something but also means we would have built up our power base and the Brotherhood won't be as wary as they are right now after this incident.
They are almost certainly currently highly strung out on high alert for possible retaliation so we should give them (and us) some time to cool off.
Pursuing them later means they might have time to plan something but also means we would have built up our power base and the Brotherhood won't be as wary as they are right now after this incident.
They are almost certainly currently highly strung out on high alert for possible retaliation so we should give them (and us) some time to cool off.
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The Brotherhood are at their best when they're on the offensive. Give them time to plan around something and that's exactly what they'll do, defenses and preparations be damned. If we want to take them out then we'll need to find them and their base as quickly as possible.
Slith10
Back from the dead and ready to party!
- Location
- New Zealand
Isn't going to them when they expect and likely have planned for it jumping headfirst into 'their offensive'?
If they are actively prepared towards counterattacking us if we attack soon, then maybe we shouldn't attack rather than attack anyway?
As I said, they might be prepared for us they might not, same as they may or may not be planning to attack us.
Let's focus on ourselves first.
If they actively surprise us rather than simply rebuffing our 'attack' as they did this time then we can flip out.
I feel we have the initiative so if they are currently waiting for us to attack we can advance some of our other goals before 'talking' to the Brotherhood.
(vs doing something they likely are (currently) prepared for and will make them assume we are indeed a threat.)
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Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Ignore them for now; concentrate on the Dawnguard.
2
[X] Bring Babette's companions here:
- [X] Whichever you find first.
2
2
[X] Bring Babette's companions here:
- [X] Whichever you find first.
2
EDIT: Votes are locked, Ignoring the Brotherhood.
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Staying the Course
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Ignore them for now; concentrate on the Dawnguard.
You stare out across the water, watching for … something, then shake your head and close the door before turning to the assembled vampires. While it's heartening to see them waiting for your command, you know they're not going to like what they hear. "Vingalmo, have you checked for any scrying?" He narrows his eyes at you, head tilted. "Could they have slipped something on Fura - or Feran, more likely - that would make it easier for them to spy on us magically?" His eyes narrow just a fraction more, and you know that it wasn't done, but now that you've made it public, he'll work on it, and you nod before looking at Fura. "Then, Serana, you'll need to make sure a watch is set, especially during the daylight hours. Especially with a werewolf, it's possible they were able to track Fura here." Orthjolf clears his throat and steps forward, confronting you.
"Lady Scarlet, it sounds as though you don't plan on doing anything about this … affront." You bow your head in assent.
"That's quite correct; unless and until they make it known that they're hostile instead of insular, I won't treat them as enemies. The Dawnguard take precedence." Several of the listeners stiffen, but Orthjolf nearly snarls and stamps his foot.
"They have assaulted us! A houseless bitch, a lizard, and a mutt have killed our kin and you propose to do nothing??" You raise an eyebrow and float gently upward until you're at eye level with him.
"Yes. In case you missed it, the werewolf outfought Fura; can you do the same? And the Argonian killed four others of lesser skill by itself - either it too is supremely skilled, or it had some advantage. And you propose to assault this group? Did you keep your brain in your hand?" He hunches, truly snarling at you, shaking with rage, and the others back away from him, although Vingalmo keeps his eyes on you, not his rival. "Or did you think that I would take it upon myself to eliminate them? It is true that I have no cares for the brat, but I am also capable of thinking of the future. You consider vampires to be predators, don't you, Orthjolf? Do you know what else vampires may be?" Puzzled looks examine you, and Orthjolf forcibly calms himself, but he doesn't answer, choosing instead to continue glaring. "Vampires may be three things. They may be predators - hunters, powerful and dangerous. This is what Harkon envisaged, believing that a predator will never lose to prey. A foolish notion. Vampires may be parasites," you grin at the dark looks and unconscious growls, "hiding and taking prey unawares. Fearful. Weak, in the greater scheme of things. Those two, I think, are poor choices. Predation is worthwhile, but the stronger the predator, the more likely he is to find himself hunted and brought down. This leads naturally to the third option - symbiosis. An option in which vampires live with humans, ruling and cooperating not because the vampire has slaughtered those who could oppose him, but because both sides recognize the value of working together. It is the only sustainable choice; parasitism leads to death or evolution to another choice, and predation likewise leads to death. Successful symbiosis, however, means an eternal, willing food supply that looks up to you as ruler, protector, and more. That is the goal, Orthjolf, but as long as groups like the Dawnguard exist, proposing to wipe out vampires for all time, they must be crushed, force met with force, and unless Babette and her pets cause deliberate trouble for us, they are a secondary concern." You hope he understands. Truthfully, it's not even your philosophy, but your sister's … not that you think there's anything wrong with it, it's just not something you've really tried to follow personally. It's boring. Correct, but boring.
"Marvelously put, my Lady." Vingalmo bows elaborately, and you fight to keep your face expressionless. "A ruling caste of vampires over the mortal races, that utilizes their fear and respect - not to mention their honor - to keep them willingly subservient without expending resources. An exceptional plan." He bows once more before tactfully withdrawing - and after he leaves, Orthjolf turns and stomps out, his sword leaping from its sheathe. Instead of attacking someone important or a servant, however, you hear the striking sounds of metal on stone as he slashes at the walls and floor. As the rest of the assembled vampires carefully withdraw, you sigh unhappily. Orthjolf might have agreed with you, might have kept his temper, but then Vingalmo had to open his mouth. Now you're going to have to keep watch for a tiny civil war of your own.
"My Lady?" You blink and look at the servant standing at your door. "Lady Serana sent me. She -" You wave your hand, cutting her off, and think for a moment. You don't hear or smell anything odd, and Serana sent a servant to get you. That could be good or bad. Orthjolf didn't do anything yesterday, but he wasn't any happier, either. You lean yourself upright and hop to the floor.
"Is she in the main hall?" You walk past the servant and she obediently follows you.
"No, my Lady, the laboratory." You frown - that's where Feran is being kept, since it's mostly empty and he was the primary user. Fortunately, the castle is much smaller than the mansion, and you get there just after a very unhappy Garan. Serana looks at both of you, then shrugs.
"Well, the good news is that Orthjolf didn't kill anyone. The bad news is that he and five other vampires up and left … Valdr, Ullr, Kjeld, Else, and Majni. His personal supporters. Just … walked out the gate and said they were done here." She slumps in her seat as you digest the news. It's not as bad as you'd feared … but still extremely dangerous, since you've now lost a third of your forces and still don't have a major presence. Garan shakes his head.
"They also took most of the better-bred death hounds." You sigh.
"I see. Was Orthjolf doing anything relevant, or assigned to something?" Garan nods dejectedly. "Then make sure Vingalmo knows that until we're built up again, he's handling everything that Orthjolf was responsible for." Garan stares at you.
"You're … not going to do anything about Orthjolf, are you?" You shrug at Serana.
"Not immediately. Oh, if he or any of his band survive and come back here, I'll think up some suitable punishment before letting them back in - assuming they succeed in whatever their plan is, of course. If they fail miserably, I'll just hand them over to whoever they angered. And if they cause any severe trouble in my territory, I'll certainly wipe them out. But for now, they aren't part of us, and we aren't responsible for or connected with any of their actions." You're saved further explanation by a restless shivering and moaning from Feran, and you raise your eyebrows at Serana.
"He's been like this for a few hours. Ronthil got Vingalmo as well, but we aren't sure what's wrong with him. It's … hard to tell, with a vampire." You walk over and listen to him as he moans and bubbles - incoherent ravings, for the most part, all muttered near-silently.
"He's sick, then, or poisoned." Garan slams the heel of his hand against his forehead.
"You can't poison a vampire!" You shrug and his head droops.
"Mind-sickness, then. Hm, if he's insane we might have to kill him. Regardless, he's certainly not well, and that's a problem."
"Among others, to put it lightly." You nod at Serana and Garan sighs.
"Well, I might as well add my bad news. Kjeld was my messenger, and according to the Khajiit, there was a small Dawnguard force moving toward Dragon Bridge. And Orthjolf knows about that, since Kjeld was his, and he may attack them … or try to, at any rate. But where the Dawnguard were going, or what their plans are? I don't know."
You sigh and find a comfortable spot on one of the bookshelves. Numbers, you don't have numbers. And time is running out, too. Most of your vampires are capable of enthralling mortals, but they need to be close to maintain control and can't dominate many at a time. Garan and Vingalmo are also capable enough sorcerers that they can control a fair number of animated corpses or skeletons, although you'll want to keep yourself near Vingalmo if he's in the field. But for getting more vampires, more loyal vampires … you'd need to have someone turn a mortal that's already loyal, or see if Serana can instill loyalty in her successors. You don't have any of the former, and Serana is your castellan ….
What do you do?
[ ] Ambush the Dawnguard.
- [ ] With some lesser vampires and Vingalmo.
- [ ] With some lesser vampires and Garan.
[ ] Send Garan to coordinate with Sybille.
- [ ] Regarding Feran.
- [ ] Regarding the Dawnguard.
- [ ] Other?
[ ] Send Serana to recruit some vampires.
- [ ] Solitude.
- [ ] Dragon Bridge.
- [ ] Other?
[ ] Other?
You stare out across the water, watching for … something, then shake your head and close the door before turning to the assembled vampires. While it's heartening to see them waiting for your command, you know they're not going to like what they hear. "Vingalmo, have you checked for any scrying?" He narrows his eyes at you, head tilted. "Could they have slipped something on Fura - or Feran, more likely - that would make it easier for them to spy on us magically?" His eyes narrow just a fraction more, and you know that it wasn't done, but now that you've made it public, he'll work on it, and you nod before looking at Fura. "Then, Serana, you'll need to make sure a watch is set, especially during the daylight hours. Especially with a werewolf, it's possible they were able to track Fura here." Orthjolf clears his throat and steps forward, confronting you.
"Lady Scarlet, it sounds as though you don't plan on doing anything about this … affront." You bow your head in assent.
"That's quite correct; unless and until they make it known that they're hostile instead of insular, I won't treat them as enemies. The Dawnguard take precedence." Several of the listeners stiffen, but Orthjolf nearly snarls and stamps his foot.
"They have assaulted us! A houseless bitch, a lizard, and a mutt have killed our kin and you propose to do nothing??" You raise an eyebrow and float gently upward until you're at eye level with him.
"Yes. In case you missed it, the werewolf outfought Fura; can you do the same? And the Argonian killed four others of lesser skill by itself - either it too is supremely skilled, or it had some advantage. And you propose to assault this group? Did you keep your brain in your hand?" He hunches, truly snarling at you, shaking with rage, and the others back away from him, although Vingalmo keeps his eyes on you, not his rival. "Or did you think that I would take it upon myself to eliminate them? It is true that I have no cares for the brat, but I am also capable of thinking of the future. You consider vampires to be predators, don't you, Orthjolf? Do you know what else vampires may be?" Puzzled looks examine you, and Orthjolf forcibly calms himself, but he doesn't answer, choosing instead to continue glaring. "Vampires may be three things. They may be predators - hunters, powerful and dangerous. This is what Harkon envisaged, believing that a predator will never lose to prey. A foolish notion. Vampires may be parasites," you grin at the dark looks and unconscious growls, "hiding and taking prey unawares. Fearful. Weak, in the greater scheme of things. Those two, I think, are poor choices. Predation is worthwhile, but the stronger the predator, the more likely he is to find himself hunted and brought down. This leads naturally to the third option - symbiosis. An option in which vampires live with humans, ruling and cooperating not because the vampire has slaughtered those who could oppose him, but because both sides recognize the value of working together. It is the only sustainable choice; parasitism leads to death or evolution to another choice, and predation likewise leads to death. Successful symbiosis, however, means an eternal, willing food supply that looks up to you as ruler, protector, and more. That is the goal, Orthjolf, but as long as groups like the Dawnguard exist, proposing to wipe out vampires for all time, they must be crushed, force met with force, and unless Babette and her pets cause deliberate trouble for us, they are a secondary concern." You hope he understands. Truthfully, it's not even your philosophy, but your sister's … not that you think there's anything wrong with it, it's just not something you've really tried to follow personally. It's boring. Correct, but boring.
"Marvelously put, my Lady." Vingalmo bows elaborately, and you fight to keep your face expressionless. "A ruling caste of vampires over the mortal races, that utilizes their fear and respect - not to mention their honor - to keep them willingly subservient without expending resources. An exceptional plan." He bows once more before tactfully withdrawing - and after he leaves, Orthjolf turns and stomps out, his sword leaping from its sheathe. Instead of attacking someone important or a servant, however, you hear the striking sounds of metal on stone as he slashes at the walls and floor. As the rest of the assembled vampires carefully withdraw, you sigh unhappily. Orthjolf might have agreed with you, might have kept his temper, but then Vingalmo had to open his mouth. Now you're going to have to keep watch for a tiny civil war of your own.
"My Lady?" You blink and look at the servant standing at your door. "Lady Serana sent me. She -" You wave your hand, cutting her off, and think for a moment. You don't hear or smell anything odd, and Serana sent a servant to get you. That could be good or bad. Orthjolf didn't do anything yesterday, but he wasn't any happier, either. You lean yourself upright and hop to the floor.
"Is she in the main hall?" You walk past the servant and she obediently follows you.
"No, my Lady, the laboratory." You frown - that's where Feran is being kept, since it's mostly empty and he was the primary user. Fortunately, the castle is much smaller than the mansion, and you get there just after a very unhappy Garan. Serana looks at both of you, then shrugs.
"Well, the good news is that Orthjolf didn't kill anyone. The bad news is that he and five other vampires up and left … Valdr, Ullr, Kjeld, Else, and Majni. His personal supporters. Just … walked out the gate and said they were done here." She slumps in her seat as you digest the news. It's not as bad as you'd feared … but still extremely dangerous, since you've now lost a third of your forces and still don't have a major presence. Garan shakes his head.
"They also took most of the better-bred death hounds." You sigh.
"I see. Was Orthjolf doing anything relevant, or assigned to something?" Garan nods dejectedly. "Then make sure Vingalmo knows that until we're built up again, he's handling everything that Orthjolf was responsible for." Garan stares at you.
"You're … not going to do anything about Orthjolf, are you?" You shrug at Serana.
"Not immediately. Oh, if he or any of his band survive and come back here, I'll think up some suitable punishment before letting them back in - assuming they succeed in whatever their plan is, of course. If they fail miserably, I'll just hand them over to whoever they angered. And if they cause any severe trouble in my territory, I'll certainly wipe them out. But for now, they aren't part of us, and we aren't responsible for or connected with any of their actions." You're saved further explanation by a restless shivering and moaning from Feran, and you raise your eyebrows at Serana.
"He's been like this for a few hours. Ronthil got Vingalmo as well, but we aren't sure what's wrong with him. It's … hard to tell, with a vampire." You walk over and listen to him as he moans and bubbles - incoherent ravings, for the most part, all muttered near-silently.
"He's sick, then, or poisoned." Garan slams the heel of his hand against his forehead.
"You can't poison a vampire!" You shrug and his head droops.
"Mind-sickness, then. Hm, if he's insane we might have to kill him. Regardless, he's certainly not well, and that's a problem."
"Among others, to put it lightly." You nod at Serana and Garan sighs.
"Well, I might as well add my bad news. Kjeld was my messenger, and according to the Khajiit, there was a small Dawnguard force moving toward Dragon Bridge. And Orthjolf knows about that, since Kjeld was his, and he may attack them … or try to, at any rate. But where the Dawnguard were going, or what their plans are? I don't know."
You sigh and find a comfortable spot on one of the bookshelves. Numbers, you don't have numbers. And time is running out, too. Most of your vampires are capable of enthralling mortals, but they need to be close to maintain control and can't dominate many at a time. Garan and Vingalmo are also capable enough sorcerers that they can control a fair number of animated corpses or skeletons, although you'll want to keep yourself near Vingalmo if he's in the field. But for getting more vampires, more loyal vampires … you'd need to have someone turn a mortal that's already loyal, or see if Serana can instill loyalty in her successors. You don't have any of the former, and Serana is your castellan ….
What do you do?
[ ] Ambush the Dawnguard.
- [ ] With some lesser vampires and Vingalmo.
- [ ] With some lesser vampires and Garan.
[ ] Send Garan to coordinate with Sybille.
- [ ] Regarding Feran.
- [ ] Regarding the Dawnguard.
- [ ] Other?
[ ] Send Serana to recruit some vampires.
- [ ] Solitude.
- [ ] Dragon Bridge.
- [ ] Other?
[ ] Other?
Vampire's empire, huh. The only fictional example, that I know of, that actually managed to embody the whole 'not dystopian vampire empire with the ruling class feeding of its subject, which give their blood happily for protection and stability in return' is the New Humanism Empire from Trinity Blood. They even have their own eternal loli empress
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Fun Fact: Trinity Blood is one of the places on the list of potential universes. The problem is that I've only seen the anime, and I'd like more fleshing out of the world, so it's on the burner in the way back while I get things sorted out.
Informative Fact: Quest-canon, Remilia 'ran' Hesse that way, as did a few other generally small supernatural groups. Depending on the size of the area, they could last for a while, although the changing nature of the world by 1900 led to most of them willingly removing themselves and letting humans go their own way.
Honestly, I'm surprised no one voted for the Companions - it would still be doing something, and Flan's decision to concentrate her forces on the Dawnguard instead of the uppity brat with the frighteningly effective pets would have been sensible. Especially since Flan knows that at least some of the Companions are werewolves themselves. And money's less of an object than lives are.
...
To clarify, Flan would have (after exploring the rest of the Blue Palace) broken into the Pelagius Wing by dint of ripping the lock off, and after exploring it would have tossed Elisif's housecarl right as he was giving a rousing speech to the rest of the guards about how there's nothing that can stop them. She would then have left, still invisible.
Thinking more about Vita, I wonder what she'll do after recovery. Not just Flandre now, but she saw that as good as she is? There are many things out there that she's powerless against. She said she could defend herself against a Daedric Prince. She freaked out a bit when she actually saw one.
I doubt she'll just accept it.
I doubt she'll just accept it.
[x] Ambush the Dawnguard.
- [x] With some lesser vampires and Vingalmo.
[x] Send Garan to coordinate with Sybille.
- [x] Regarding Feran.
- [x] Regarding the Dawnguard.
- [x] Other : Inquire about aggressive group with a child vampire, a dog, and a lizard.
Seems most logical. We might be able to leave the castle unattended if we take away all the variables and just leave scrubs, but I'm not super confident. So as much as I'd like to optimize our time and also send Serena, we have to have someone at home to watch the roost. Besides, it gives her a bit of independence while we're gone.
- [x] With some lesser vampires and Vingalmo.
[x] Send Garan to coordinate with Sybille.
- [x] Regarding Feran.
- [x] Regarding the Dawnguard.
- [x] Other : Inquire about aggressive group with a child vampire, a dog, and a lizard.
Seems most logical. We might be able to leave the castle unattended if we take away all the variables and just leave scrubs, but I'm not super confident. So as much as I'd like to optimize our time and also send Serena, we have to have someone at home to watch the roost. Besides, it gives her a bit of independence while we're gone.
We have a history of avoiding annoying the Brotherhood for basically no reason anyway.
But by doing so we proved ourselves weak to our followers who were looking for our response to the deaths of their fellows/ friends. We also proved to them that we don't care about their lives, as out servants or otherwise. And that if someone attacks and kills our new people as long as it's not an attack in the whole we would do nothing about it. It's a massive drop in the way our new castle/group sees is. And likely to bite us in the ass now if we can't win their loyalty back and make them think we care in some way...
Unless we want to go evil overlord on them and rule through fear that is. As that's the only other option.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are not locked.
[x] Ambush the Dawnguard.
- [x] With some lesser vampires and Vingalmo.
[x] Send Garan to coordinate with Sybille.
- [x] Regarding Feran.
- [x] Regarding the Dawnguard.
- [x] Other : Inquire about aggressive group with a child vampire, a dog, and a lizard.
1
[x] Ambush the Dawnguard.
- [x] With some lesser vampires and Vingalmo.
[x] Send Garan to coordinate with Sybille.
- [x] Regarding Feran.
- [x] Regarding the Dawnguard.
- [x] Other : Inquire about aggressive group with a child vampire, a dog, and a lizard.
1