Double post, but since the tally looks at the time of the original post, and not the most recent edit...
[X] Plan: Active Investigation and Meetings
-[X] 2x Assist a Case
--[X] Mysterious Dead Noble
--[X] Relic Fraud
-[X] Meet your Captain
-[X] Meet with the Quartermaster
-[X] Squad Assignment
--[X] Squad 1 - Case: Mysterious Dead Noble
--[X] Squad 2 - Location: Main Bridge
--[X] Squad 3 - Location: Secondary Bridge
-[X] Serve meals in the Mess Hall
-[X] Keep the gold for the Watch
Alright, some excellent discussion, and I think some pretty good insight into the type of person your character is and the inherent tension of their position. I'm going to open up voting now for ~24 hours and results should follow shortly after.
The only thing I see missing in the proposed plans is remember you have the dead noble's coin purse with a significant amount of gold to decide what to do with.
Most of these could be built, but you have limited space and significantly limited funds for rn. Will probably need to prioritize which is the most important
[X] Plan: Time Sensitive Matters and Inspections
Personal Actions
Time Sensitive
-[x] Assist a Case (x1 AP)
--[x] Mysterious Dead Noble
--[x] Relic Fraud
Administrative
-[x] Inspect a Squad (x1 AP)
--[x] Inspect Squad One
--[x] Inspect Squad Two
You know, I'm pretty sure it's possible to schedule a vote to automatically open, too. Make a turn post, then "start" a tally that's scheduled to open in 12 hours and last for another 24 after opening, instead of having to come back 12 hours later to start it manually. Sadly it's been quite some time since I've made a quest of my own, and I don't remember what the interface looks like to tell you exactly where to do that.
You know, I'm pretty sure it's possible to schedule a vote to automatically open, too. Make a turn post, then "start" a tally that's scheduled to open in 12 hours and last for another 24 after opening, instead of having to come back 12 hours later to start it manually. Sadly it's been quite some time since I've made a quest of my own, and I don't remember what the interface looks like to tell you exactly where to do that.
Also, I have a good idea about unlocking what we want to learn: it's called reading and writing, since we will never advance without acquiring such an important skillset. Hell, one of the reasons this was a prerequisite to becoming an officer was the ability to write down, as well as receive reports and written orders.
Agreed. First time running a quest, but man are these votes close every time!I genuinely have no idea which way the votes will go, which makes my job fun.
Reponse post sometime in the next day or so
[X] Plan: Active Investigation and Meetings
-[X] 2x Assist a Case
--[X] Mysterious Dead Noble
--[X] Relic Fraud
-[X] Meet your Captain
-[X] Meet with the Quartermaster
-[X] Squad Assignment
--[X] Squad 1 - Case: Mysterious Dead Noble
--[X] Squad 2 - Location: Main Bridge
--[X] Squad 3 - Location: Secondary Bridge
-[X] Serve meals in the Mess Hall
-[X] Keep the gold for the Watch
Introduction:
I had to make one minor change to the voted-on plan because I did not catch it in the original post. If you will be assisting a case, you need backup and extra hands. As a result, I switched one of the squads from guarding the secondary bridge to the relic-fraud case. I will be more careful about proofreading plans in the future to avoid this kind of situation.
In the end, it takes most of the rest of Wellentag to get a semblance of organization into the guards. There's a persistent edge of distrust that makes even simple instructions difficult. It's very clear that your soldiers don't trust you, and they are not shy to make that clear. Instructions are "forgotten" and justification has to be given for any command. In one memorable case, it felt like playing tag to get a squad together to give them orders. Every time you would get four in the room, one would be missing, and by the time you found them another would have "gone to take a leak", "went to sharpen my blade or the transparently obvious excuse of "thought I heard someone knocking on the cellar door"
It's not your first time commanding a new group and you expected some resistance. It's in human nature to resist changes, and you have no real idea of what sort of relationship the men had with the old commander. You had thought that perhaps you'd have to square up with some troublemakers or shout others down. Straightforward conflict honors Ulric, and you are nothing if not a dutiful son. This is different.
This is not conflict. This is defiance and contempt. Your men treat you like a rabid dog: dangerous but also pathetic. You wrack your mind to figure out what you could have done. This is a level of hatred totally inappropriate for a new commander, and you're a savvy enough leader of men to recognize that being direct about it will only lead to disaster. This is personal. When you're the monster, direct confrontation doesn't make you respected, it makes you a danger to be put down.
In the end, it's Thumping who manages to clue you into what's going on. People tend to let halflings blend into the background. Despite the guards being perfectly aware of his association with you, they happily gossiped within earshot while he was cleaning up after lunch. Somehow a rumor has taken firm hold of the watchhouse that you abandoned your men to make a last stand against a Bretonnian horde, while you schmoozed up with your commanding officers.
You feel your vision tunneling in even as a growl slowly rises from your throat. The idea that you abandon your soldiers, your soldiers who were as close as brothers to you, just to suck up to some noble officer enrages you. Before you lose your cool, and go RIP OFFF the head of those wretches who DARE to insult their memory, you see Thumping taking a step back at your sudden burst of rage. Slowly you calm yourself down and force yourself to think through the situation and find it makes no sense.
You know the noble, the heir of Count Schwarzenbach, would not be spreading this information around freely. His irresponsible actions nearly got him disowned, and he wants the matter dropped in its entirety. You can't believe that he would bring this up, even to discredit you when just letting it die off would be so much better for his chances of going unpunished and unremarked upon. It was Count Schwarzenbach who managed to get the records completely sealed and bribed you with a Watch Commission to ensure your silence.
Who then would be interested in seeing you discredited and why? Maybe a relative of one of your slain soldiers who misunderstood the situation? You aren't aware of any in Altdorf, and you were close enough to your men to be pretty confident you aren't missing anyone. One of your rivals within the army? You suppose it's possible, but why spend their time and effort further discrediting you when you're already removed from competition by being forced out of the army?
You don't have enough information right now to make a determination, but the fact that this rumor has trailed you from your life in the army makes you distinctly uncomfortable. You'd thought you'd left that part of your life behind you and being forced to confront it brings back all of the bitter emotions and grief you still feel about the loss of your command. Turning to Thumping you ask him in a rough voice, "You okay? I'm sorry to frighten you"
Thumping replies back, "It's alright sir, I knew you'd be furious when you heard. It's a right bad business, and no amount of time will ever change that. Do you want me to see if I can track down who's been spreading it?"
You slowly nod an affirmation, your mind whirling and trying to figure out the situation, and just what it means. You hope that Thumping comes up with a lead because it's clear to you now that until you can break this rumor, and prove it wrong, you will never really be trusted by your new men. Assist Case: Relic fraud with Squad Three
The next morning the rest of the squad shows up in drips and drabs, far later than the 2nd bell you called for. Sitting there — your frustration slowly mounting — you try to make the best of the wasted time by asking about how common scams are in the district. The response is bleak. Some form of scam is occurring nearly constantly in Altdorf, and is especially common on Totinsel. The grieving and nearly dead make easy marks.
Or, you suppose, so do enormously foolish merchants. Unfortunately, he hardly gave you any information, remaining cagey in what you suspect is an attempt to reduce his embarrassment. There were three men. They dressed as Sigmirate Priests. This occurred three weeks ago. No, I will not be taking any more questions, do your goddamn job. That sort of tone..
Imitating a Sigmirite Priest is a significant escalation on the normal scamming, and carries a great deal of inherent danger. Whoever did this is almost certainly an established player, and worked their way up to this big score. Turning to the squad you spot your favorite target and ask him,
"Say Oswald, who's been brought in for scamming? Is there anyone who you've had trouble with before?" You ask.
He thinks for a minute, looking towards his companions for permission to speak, and at their hesitant nod replies, "Aye, there are a few that we've hauled it before and had flogged."
"Any that have ever done really big scores before, pushed the envelope more than the others?" You follow up with.
He pauses to think for a minute, and then responds, "I reckon not. The Fish and Hooks don't come by here much. They'd never admit it, but they're mighty scared of being denied service by the Morrites when they meet their just demise to poke around in the Temple's backyard. Most of our criminals are locals who know that the Temple cares little for such mortal concerns"
Stumped for a minute you pause to think a little before responding. If it's not a slow rise in intensity then what could it be? After a few minutes chewing it over, you think you've got the kernel of an idea. When a warrior presses the attack and explodes in a frenzy of violence, it's normally either because they are confident they can beat their opponent and sense weakness, or because they are suddenly desperate and trying to disrupt the fight.
Just then, the last member of the squad enters the watchhouse. Turning towards them you flatly say, "You're late, but we'll discuss that later. Who's the best barber-surg-, wait no physician, you have here on the island?"
Bemused the watchman replies, "I suppose Freer?"
"Right, time to visit the physician"
______________________________________________________________________
On your way to the physician, you briefly explain your theory to the rest of the squad. If you don't have any accomplished scammers in the district, then you have to believe this massive escalation was due to desperation. There is a dawning recognition on the faces of the men around you, and some begrudging "could be"s muttered so quietly you can barely hear them.
The physician's residence is a short walk away from the watchhouse, but along the way you observe how the guards interact with the locals. It seems like there is an uneasy understanding between the two sides. Few friendly greetings, but most don't go out of their way to avoid the patrol.
Still, you notice plenty small signs of corruption. A man coming halfway into the road to greet a guard before snapping his mouth shut when he sees you. A small package being slipped to one of the men. One of the guards, Sigmudson, loudly proclaiming he, "doesn't know anything about that" to something a poor woman says just out of your earshot. You stop what you can but you're all too aware that they will return to their regular habits the minute your back is turned. You'll need people you can trust in positions of power to crack down on this, and even then it will likely remain a challenge.
.
As you approach the small storefront, you direct two of the men to find the back entrance and be prepared to catch any runners. Meanwhile, you check over your sword and make sure the rest of the men are ready to apprehend some desperate men. Finally, you hear a loud whistle from the back of the store, and you know it's time to enter.
Slowly you walk up to the door, keeping an eye out for any sudden movement. You knock, and wait briefly before calling out, "Hello, is anyone there?"
Several tense seconds later, you hear the unlatching of a door, before a small, wiry man with pronounced bushy eyebrows opens the door, "Yes. Yes. I heard you. What's your Ailment? Pox? A wound? You better have coin, my services are not free you know."
Frowning, you reply, "No, we are on the official business of the Altdorf City Watch. I need to know if you have any patients with serious ailments recently, especially ones from a poorer background."
he man, Physician Freer you suppose, turns serious and says, "I have had one case that matches your description. A young girl that came down with a particularly nasty set of skin lesions. I've been treating her with the finest Cathaian Herbs after her brothers came into some money from a distant relative"
"Is the girl and her brothers here now? " you ask.
The physician replies, "They are, but I won't be having any violence in my office! It would reflect terribly on my reputation if you were to haul a bleeding patient out of my store."
Smirking, you reply, "Well how would it reflect your precious reputation if we told the Witch Hunters there were frauds pretending to be Sigmirate Priests here? Suspect it might affect it a little bit, even if they don't take you for a little light 'questioning'".
Crumbling, the physician opens the door, "Do what you must then", and lets you walk past him into the building.
The physician's office is one of the nicest buildings you've ever been in, with dark wood paneling and small oil lamps providing a flickering illumination. As you rush past, you see an embossed sign with the sigil of the Altdorf Physicians Guild; what you idly presume to be some sort of certificate of his membership.
Bursting into the backroom you are met by three pimple-faced young men gathered around the bed of a sick child, no more than ten years old. They jump to their feet in surprise, and you see one reaching for a knife.
[Basic Melee with Surprise 36 (you) vs 70 + 20 them => Major success]
Before you punch him in the face and he crumples to the ground moaning. The other two warily raise their hands as the other members follow you in, weapons drawn. For a moment, the room is silent beside the moans of the injured young man
Everyone is tense, waiting on your command, while you wrack your mind to think of how you want to handle the situation. If you follow the merchant's instructions you should take the young men in to be burned at the stake by the Witch Hunters, and seize the gold from the Doctor, almost certainly leaving the orphaned young girl being kicked out onto the street. Alternatively, the letter of the law would have the men's tongues cut out. Lastly, a devout Veronan might make the decision that the truly just option would be to put the fear of retribution into the youths and sweep the matter under the rug, but your men might not keep their mouths shut about the issue.
Making a decision you declare:
"Men"
[ ] Take them to the Witchhunters: They will almost certainly be burned at the stake, but such a quick and public response will endear you to the local burghers, and demonstrate to your men your swift and harsh sense of justice.
[ ] Take them to The Palace of Retribution: The punishment for large-scale frauds such as this is the removal of the tongue, and sticking to the letter of the law is sure to endear you to your superiors.
[ ] Tell them the brothers to skip town: The most merciful option would allow the brothers to escape without retribution. But if someone talks, and you have little loyalty from your men and none from the physician, you may find your career impacted.
[ ] Write-in: (any actions will have consequences, but with your natural plotter ability, I'll provide some guidance about what the possible fallout could be)
You then go up to the physician and say, "So about those coins":
[ ] Keep them for the Girl's Treatment: You are loathe to kick a sick young girl out into the streets, especially when she may be losing her brothers. But just because you wish to shelter the young as Ulric commands, doing so here may invite consequences
[ ] Hand them Over: The physician will be annoyed, and almost certainly kick the girl out, but Ulric condemns any sort of trickery and you are loathe to give even tacit approval to such a scam.
Meet your Captain:
The next morning you split from Thumping at the door of the inn, and make the turn towards Grandmarkt to meet with your new commander. The weather is pleasant, and the walk offers you an opportunity to observe the district for the first time. You and Thumping came into the city on a river barge that disembarked directly onto the island, so this area is new to you.
You are amazed, and slightly off-put by the scale and busyness of the City. Growing up in the small hamlet of Bad Driburg, the local village had seemed huge and crowded to you. This is on a completely different scale, and you marvel at all of the different styles, presentations, and even species you see. Here is a noblewoman being taken by carriage to a dressmaker. Here is a peasant coming to sell their winter pelts. Here is even a dwarf lumbering by with the finest mail you've ever seen worn as a casual outfit.
Your wonder at your surroundings eats up far more time than you expected, and you are running late by the time you make it to the office of your new commander. The first thing that strikes you is how much nicer the Grandmarkt Watchhouse is than yours. This is a fortress of solid worked stone, with prowling guards, cannons on the walls, and a constant stream of petitioners and servants going in and out. The soldiers look sharp and trained; they are well-equipped as well.
Making your way over to the entrance, you hail down one of the guards and introduce yourself, showing your letter of commission to prove your identity. You are quickly taken to a well-furnished parlor and told the captain will be here shortly. A servant even comes by to see if you would like some wine after a few minutes have passed.
You are left waiting for a while, to the point you are startled by the door suddenly banging open and the largest woman you've ever seen striding in. She's over six feet tall and built like a wrestler with huge arms, thick legs, and a generous stomach all covered in a practical set of leather clothing bristling with knife hilts.
"Lieutenant Hartman I presume?" She barks out.
You nod in the affirmative, and before you get out a word she's bluntly explaining the situation that you find yourself in.
"You've been fucked, and you're too fresh to even realize it yet" she says.
"Toteninsel is the dumping ground of the whole City Watch. Anyone too corrupt, violent, or radical is put there in the hopes that a necromancer attack will pick them off. I can't even help you much. Sending in money or arms would be seen as folly, and I'd be kicked out of my job by the sharks that make up the City's councils. The only way out is through. If you manage to turn things around and make the watch there stable, I can then happily reinforce you, and tell the councils to fuck right back off to their gilded halls." she explains.
"Now you've heard about the deaths of your predecessors right?" She follows up with.
Hesitantly you nod. It's the first real input you've had into the conversations so far, and you're still slightly stunned about the strength of her personality.
"Right then, I think they got got by those louts you've got out there on the island. I sent some of my investigators to take a look, but they weren't able to find anything. Hell, every single member of the command was supposedly out on patrol when the last commander was knifed in the back. I can't pin it on them, otherwise I'd have them clapped in irons and off to the Palace of Retribution, but I know they've got a hand in this all. Be careful out there, I'd hate to see such a frail and delicate man as yourself meet an unfortunate end."
With that she stands to get up, and moves quickly to the door, turning once back towards you and saying, "There's going to be a mass execution Festtag of some cult up on Crackle Hill. Expect a big shipment of bodies." With that, the door closes leaving you in sudden silence.
You sit there in silence for a minute, bemused by the extremely one-sided conversation you just had. A servant comes in, and asks, "First time eh?". At your fervent agreement he responds, "She's always like that. Think I've gotten about 5 words in over the ten years I've been working for her. You'll get used to it if you last long enough." Meet Quartermaster
The next few days are spent trying to get a handle on the responsibilities that you have as a Watch Officer. To your surprise, you find it a much more involved role than being an officer in the Army. For one, you have very little direction. Your commanding officer is wholly uninterested in what happens on your dreary little island, and it's up to you to set priorities. For another, there is far less of a support organization. In the army, everything was provided by the army's quartermaster and his staff. As an officer simply received your rations and pay, and didn't worry about where you could get a tent replaced or your blade sharpened.
One of your first priorities is to understand the layout and contents of the watch building, and so you set to exploring your newfound home. From the large front door, there is an easily defensible waiting area, with a dusty reception desk kept safe by thick cast iron grating. The hallway then continues into a large open mess hall that is the heart of the watchhouse, and capable of seating up to sixty people.
The rest of the building branches out from there. In the back, there are dusty dorms for soldiers who don't have lodging in the district. You see only a few of the beds are currently in use, but there is easily space for fifty soldiers to sleep here at once. Also in the back is a dusty armory, completely stripped of goods, with only a few warped batons left. Currently, it seems to have been turned into a makeshift root cellar, and you see signs of Thumping having organized it recently.
To the right of the mess haul is a small hallway, which leads into three empty rooms, one of which seems to have been used as a training rink at some point in the past. For now, these rooms are empty and ready for use as you choose.
Finally, you cross back across the mess hall and towards the small area set aside for the officers of the watch. You have a generous office here, with an impressive desk and a mountain of parchments. Unfortunately, they are currently useless to you. You really do need to find a tutor to teach you to read. There are also a number of other offices for other possible officers: a Barber-Surgeon, Priest, Scribe, and as well as a small room for 2-3 servants. All are nailed shut, abandoned for as long as any guardsmen can recall.
Finally, you turn your attention to the reason your'e here: the quartermaster's office. Knocking on the door, you are quickly greeted by the plump face of the quartermaster Wilbert. He exclaims, "Come in, come in. I was wondering when you'd get around to me." And then wanders back over to his desk.
As he sits back down heavily he begins, "Look, I know things don't appear to be in my favor, but I can explain. We receive pitifully little from the city for the maintenance of the watch: five silver shillings per watchman, per month. Well, a watchman gets paid one silver shilling a week, which means that training, equipment, food, and medical care have to come out of that singular last silver shilling. Are you with me so far?"
"Yes, I understand so far" you reply.
"Well, in a normal watch command, this overhead is tight, but at least theoretically manageable. Still, most watch offices supplement this income with personal sources. Our captain uses her allowance from her father, while other less savory charters might use bribes or mild racketeering" he explains.
He continues, "Now here's where we get to the issue. We've not had a consistent commander for quite a while. The old commander, he's been here for years and had significant investments in some local businesses. Unfortunately, he got his throat torn out by an undead dog during a necromancer attack. The second was a drunkard, and used what little funds we had available to buy himself booze before eventually getting his neck snapped in a bar fight gone wrong. The last one only lasted a month, but hardly helped the situation with his instance we investigate any reports of rats of all things."
"But we are not a standard Watch Command, we take far more casualties than standard watch commands. I've been here nearly a decade, and in that time over twenty guards have been killed, and they've been replaced by some of the laziest, sticky-fingered yokels I've ever encountered. I've been trying to help the families of the dead with coins here and there, but combined with the general looting that goes on around here, I've been barely able to keep us fed and paid, let alone make any positive changes. I could walk you through the books?" he asks.
After far far more discussion you leave frustrated. You were hoping for a quick fix for your financial woes. Kick out the corrupt quartermaster and you would be fine right? Instead, it seems yours is annoyingly clean, and instead making every copper count when trying to deal with a bad situation. You are going to have to get more creative with the coin. Assist Squad One Dead Noble
Finally near the end of the week, you find time to check back in on the case of the dead noble. You're pleasantly surprised that the squad you've assigned to this has actually done a little bit of investigation on their own. As the sergeant ramblingly tells you the first thing they did was reach out to the local noble houses to see if anyone has gone missing.
While Toteninsel is primarily the domain of the dead, it is the permanent home to a respectable number of residents, including three noble houses. The Hozehellers are a prominent house from Stirland that maintains a small manse on the island to coordinate with the Black Guard about Sylvania. The Von Totens are the original owners of the island and one of the founding noble houses of Altdorf. Much reduced from their origins as river pirates, and forced to sell most of their land to the temple of Morr, they still have an impressive compound on the southern tip of the island. Finally, the Ettingers are a relatively recent noble house, having been raised to nobility for their founder's action as a Black Guard during the third Vampire War.
The fact that all of these young houses have been seen in public since the incident confirms the word of the noble families. Unfortunately, this makes the case significantly more difficult, because just who was this dead noble? And why were they visiting the island in the first place?
A lucky break occurs when you take the squad out searching and show a sketch of the dead man to the cemetery attendants. One recognizes the man as a regular visitor to the graveyard, and that he was always visiting the grave of his wife who had died around a year ago in childbirth. The gravedigger last saw him around two weeks ago.
At this news the squad you are with makes eye contact with each other, clearly aware of the importance of this date.
As much as you wrack your brain, however, you can't understand the significance yourself and the soldiers have gone completely mum about the case.
The gravedigger knew his first name was Johann, and the name of his dead wife was Gertrude, but unfortunately, he has no recollection of the surname, and the simple gravestone offers no more clues. In desperation, you instruct them to post sketches on the local bridges, but no one comes forward with an identity for the young man.
When you head back to the watchhouse, you also receive a quick verbal report from the sergeant you sent to patrol the main bridge, "nothing happened". You prod and pry about what they were doing, but he refuses to answer. It's been a tough week, but at least you think you know better where you stand, and what your biggest issues moving forward will be.
Conclusion
Renaissance-era justice was harsh and permanent and accordingly offers few neat solutions to any situation with a modicum of nuance. Still, it is your job as a Watch Officer to decide the punishment for commoners in your district, and each of the options you have available has positives and negatives. Choose wisely.
Votes will be opened immediately and then closed in ~24 hours. I think in this case free voting is appropriate.
Rough start, but we knew this was a harsh posting.
I'm thinking the following:
[ ] Take them to The Palace of Retribution: The punishment for large-scale frauds such as this is the removal of the tongue, and sticking to the letter of the law is sure to endear you to your superiors.
[ ] Keep them for the Girl's Treatment: You are loathe to kick a sick young girl out into the streets, especially when she may be losing her brothers. But just because you wish to shelter the young as Ulric commands, doing so here may invite consequences
Follow the law, but don't make their desperate act one made in vain.
[X] Take them to The Palace of Retribution: The punishment for large-scale frauds such as this is the removal of the tongue, and sticking to the letter of the law is sure to endear you to your superiors.
[X] Keep them for the Girl's Treatment: You are loathe to kick a sick young girl out into the streets, especially when she may be losing her brothers. But just because you wish to shelter the young as Ulric commands, doing so here may invite consequences
Ditto the above. Hard to say where this rumor started but I suppose it's impossible to trace back now. Just prove valor and care for our men time and time again in the future.
And while learning to read would be a good idea, in the short term, just hiring a clerk would be a good stop-gap. Once we have the money to do so, at least.
[X] Take them to The Palace of Retribution: The punishment for large-scale frauds such as this is the removal of the tongue, and sticking to the letter of the law is sure to endear you to your superiors.
[X] Keep them for the Girl's Treatment: You are loathe to kick a sick young girl out into the streets, especially when she may be losing her brothers. But just because you wish to shelter the young as Ulric commands, doing so here may invite consequences
[X] Take them to The Palace of Retribution: The punishment for large-scale frauds such as this is the removal of the tongue, and sticking to the letter of the law is sure to endear you to your superiors.
[X] Keep them for the Girl's Treatment: You are loathe to kick a sick young girl out into the streets, especially when she may be losing her brothers. But just because you wish to shelter the young as Ulric commands, doing so here may invite consequences
[X] Take them to The Palace of Retribution: The punishment for large-scale frauds such as this is the removal of the tongue, and sticking to the letter of the law is sure to endear you to your superiors.
[X] Keep them for the Girl's Treatment: You are loathe to kick a sick young girl out into the streets, especially when she may be losing her brothers. But just because you wish to shelter the young as Ulric commands, doing so here may invite consequences
