[X] "Emelda was too wounded and the matter was too urgent to wait." You don't like leaving matters half-finished. An expedition without the report is only half the task. You like to complete the whole task. It's more elegant that way.
Red_Knight25
Unofficial Edgelord Advocate
[X] "Emelda was too wounded and the matter was too urgent to wait." You don't like leaving matters half-finished. An expedition without the report is only half the task. You like to complete the whole task. It's more elegant that way.
Vote closed
Chapter 1.6 In which royalty to be revealed to be just as prone to family quarrels as anyone else
"Emelda was too wounded, and the matter was too urgent to wait." It's a short answer, but you've decided it's best to stick to the point. You've rarely had to deal with nobility in this manner before and while you're hardly overawed, deference hardly comes naturally to you. Sticking purely to fact seems best to avoid any offense. Hopefully, kings like facts, though if it's not facts they want, probably not. The Archon Militant stares at you silently for a moment before responding. Obviously, he's struggling to read you. Ultimately he responds dryly, "Or at least you believe that the matter is urgent, having been told as such." He gestures into the air, "very well then speak, but my time is very valuable- do not squander it."
So, you begin your account of recent events. Considering the demeanor of your audience you try to speak with a brisk pace and keep details to only what is needed. Your combat with the "Giant Orc" prompts several probing questions about how large the "giant" actually was.
"The average orc is much shorter than the height of the average man. A bigger orc is bigger but even a head and a half taller than a normal orc is far from a giant." With this comment he motions for you to continue. Your account of the journey deeper in the swamp earns at first an amused smile- you do not get much sympathy for your deep swamp hatred- which then turns into a grimace as you describe what follows. The hand he has gripping his sword is white with tension. "So, upon discovering that the claims of my cousin were all but unfounded, you resolved to give chase across the entire morass, where you found the home settlement of the local tribe, assaulted, and provoked it, and then- realizing that there were only four of you and an entire settlement of orcs you ran. I commend you on your belated good sense, but now you come to warn me of a crisis? Do you have hornets in your country, mistress elf? Because here we know that if we do not wish to be stung, we do not go hitting them with stones. I do not blame you of course, how could you have known better, but I am hardly pleased to hear that having run out of subordinates to get killed with her selfish nonsense she has settled for almost killing some elves and who knows how many of my subjects may die if this provokes a retaliatory raid."
Cousin? Selfish? This is hardly the response that you expected given the information you had. Is your traveling companion nobility? This is briefly interesting before you realize that she has no money and the city of Banngard is poor. The dawning realization you have stumbled into some sort of family squabble is …unpleasant. You don't exactly know how to proceed in such a situation, it's not like you have ever had such a thing. Finding yourself unable to hide your confusion you decide that in this circumstance it is acceptable for you to admit that you do not know everything. "You have lost me, Archon Militant. I fear I am missing context, but my short association has hardly given me the impression that Emelda Broadaxe is a selfish person."
He laughs, but it has no mirth in it. "Oh, did she not tell you? Yes she is my cousin. I am Humar Broadaxe, the Archon Militant. But don't get caught up in some dream of a princess incognito. In this city the Archon Militant has risen through the ranks just like anyone else. I have served my time on patrol and on the wall and as a junior officer to come to command this entire city. The fact that she never led more than a patrol before being dismissed is because she was never able to get over this peculiar sort of selfish selflessness. One of the strange things about leadership is that you lose ownership of yourself. She is willing to spend her life, but her life doesn't belong to her, it belongs to the city. Her belief that if things that happened to her squad are not being responded to her satisfaction is if her squad is the only that exists- that is selfishness." As he speaks he grows increasingly animated and agitated.
"Look at this mosaic." He says, pointing at an artwork that you have been barely paying attention to until now. "This was installed by my predecessors in the days after the Grand Dukes vanished. The Archon Militant of the time saw the hole left and saw it his duty to save the duchy, to bind its cities together. That's his blood that stains the stones. His successors have never had it cleaned. It is a reminder. Our duty is to defend the pass, the city. Not the Dutchy, not the world and not the people. The people make up the city, just as do its buildings but they are not the city. Emelda thinks we should serve the people. I hope that her "service" has not killed more than were lost in skirmishes in ten years as commander." At this point Humar snaps his fingers and gestures at some of his guards.
One hands you a hefty bag of presumably gold while another brings Humar what seems to be a war helm. "Take the money and bring it back to my cousin or spend it on yourself- I don't really care. But take it and go. It seems I might have a siege I have to prepare for, because at least one person named Broadaxe has to think before they act." You are rapidly ushered out to the calm streets of the inner ring of the city, leaving the sound of furious activity behind you. The bag of gold is cold and heavy in your hand, just the way that you like it. The sun shines brightly in a sky that is blue, clear, and beautiful. You ponder your next steps.
[ ] You may as well return to the Fat Bear, related what happened and ……share the reward. The thought pains you but you are playing the part of a hero. You are starting to regret this decision.
[ ] You have a giant pile of gold and are in the nicest, most fancy part of the city. After that long horrible ordeal with the swamp you deserve a treat. No several treats. Really you always deserve such things but especially right now and fortunately you have the money to go get such things instead of taking them by force like you normally would.
[ ] You've grown increasingly bored with this whole thing, and a siege sounds awful. You were told you may as well leave so why not! There's got to be more interesting cities out there.
So, you begin your account of recent events. Considering the demeanor of your audience you try to speak with a brisk pace and keep details to only what is needed. Your combat with the "Giant Orc" prompts several probing questions about how large the "giant" actually was.
"The average orc is much shorter than the height of the average man. A bigger orc is bigger but even a head and a half taller than a normal orc is far from a giant." With this comment he motions for you to continue. Your account of the journey deeper in the swamp earns at first an amused smile- you do not get much sympathy for your deep swamp hatred- which then turns into a grimace as you describe what follows. The hand he has gripping his sword is white with tension. "So, upon discovering that the claims of my cousin were all but unfounded, you resolved to give chase across the entire morass, where you found the home settlement of the local tribe, assaulted, and provoked it, and then- realizing that there were only four of you and an entire settlement of orcs you ran. I commend you on your belated good sense, but now you come to warn me of a crisis? Do you have hornets in your country, mistress elf? Because here we know that if we do not wish to be stung, we do not go hitting them with stones. I do not blame you of course, how could you have known better, but I am hardly pleased to hear that having run out of subordinates to get killed with her selfish nonsense she has settled for almost killing some elves and who knows how many of my subjects may die if this provokes a retaliatory raid."
Cousin? Selfish? This is hardly the response that you expected given the information you had. Is your traveling companion nobility? This is briefly interesting before you realize that she has no money and the city of Banngard is poor. The dawning realization you have stumbled into some sort of family squabble is …unpleasant. You don't exactly know how to proceed in such a situation, it's not like you have ever had such a thing. Finding yourself unable to hide your confusion you decide that in this circumstance it is acceptable for you to admit that you do not know everything. "You have lost me, Archon Militant. I fear I am missing context, but my short association has hardly given me the impression that Emelda Broadaxe is a selfish person."
He laughs, but it has no mirth in it. "Oh, did she not tell you? Yes she is my cousin. I am Humar Broadaxe, the Archon Militant. But don't get caught up in some dream of a princess incognito. In this city the Archon Militant has risen through the ranks just like anyone else. I have served my time on patrol and on the wall and as a junior officer to come to command this entire city. The fact that she never led more than a patrol before being dismissed is because she was never able to get over this peculiar sort of selfish selflessness. One of the strange things about leadership is that you lose ownership of yourself. She is willing to spend her life, but her life doesn't belong to her, it belongs to the city. Her belief that if things that happened to her squad are not being responded to her satisfaction is if her squad is the only that exists- that is selfishness." As he speaks he grows increasingly animated and agitated.
"Look at this mosaic." He says, pointing at an artwork that you have been barely paying attention to until now. "This was installed by my predecessors in the days after the Grand Dukes vanished. The Archon Militant of the time saw the hole left and saw it his duty to save the duchy, to bind its cities together. That's his blood that stains the stones. His successors have never had it cleaned. It is a reminder. Our duty is to defend the pass, the city. Not the Dutchy, not the world and not the people. The people make up the city, just as do its buildings but they are not the city. Emelda thinks we should serve the people. I hope that her "service" has not killed more than were lost in skirmishes in ten years as commander." At this point Humar snaps his fingers and gestures at some of his guards.
One hands you a hefty bag of presumably gold while another brings Humar what seems to be a war helm. "Take the money and bring it back to my cousin or spend it on yourself- I don't really care. But take it and go. It seems I might have a siege I have to prepare for, because at least one person named Broadaxe has to think before they act." You are rapidly ushered out to the calm streets of the inner ring of the city, leaving the sound of furious activity behind you. The bag of gold is cold and heavy in your hand, just the way that you like it. The sun shines brightly in a sky that is blue, clear, and beautiful. You ponder your next steps.
[ ] You may as well return to the Fat Bear, related what happened and ……share the reward. The thought pains you but you are playing the part of a hero. You are starting to regret this decision.
[ ] You have a giant pile of gold and are in the nicest, most fancy part of the city. After that long horrible ordeal with the swamp you deserve a treat. No several treats. Really you always deserve such things but especially right now and fortunately you have the money to go get such things instead of taking them by force like you normally would.
[ ] You've grown increasingly bored with this whole thing, and a siege sounds awful. You were told you may as well leave so why not! There's got to be more interesting cities out there.
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[X] You may as well return to the Fat Bear, related what happened and ……share the reward. The thought pains you but you are playing the part of a hero. You are starting to regret this decision.
- Location
- Te Ika-a-Māui
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Think I fixed it!
[X] You have a giant pile of gold and are in the nicest, most fancy part of the city. After that long horrible ordeal with the swamp you deserve a treat. No several treats. Really you always deserve such things but especially right now and fortunately you have the money to go get such things instead of taking them by force like you normally would.
Sharing isn't dragon
Sharing isn't dragon
LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
[X] You may as well return to the Fat Bear, related what happened and ……share the reward. The thought pains you but you are playing the part of a hero. You are starting to regret this decision.
It seems we stumbled into some family politics. That's gonna be messy, but hey, gold's gold.
As an aside, the mosiac image is broken for me. When I try to open it, the tab says the site can't be reached for some reason!
It seems we stumbled into some family politics. That's gonna be messy, but hey, gold's gold.
As an aside, the mosiac image is broken for me. When I try to open it, the tab says the site can't be reached for some reason!
Honestly a siege sounds like fun. The more orcs there are the more potential damage we can do.
[X] You may as well return to the Fat Bear, related what happened and ……share the reward. The thought pains you but you are playing the part of a hero. You are starting to regret this decision.
[X] You may as well return to the Fat Bear, related what happened and ……share the reward. The thought pains you but you are playing the part of a hero. You are starting to regret this decision.
Nemesis_Scar
Y Herlidwyth.
- Location
- Alabama.
- Pronouns
- She/They
[X] You have a giant pile of gold and are in the nicest, most fancy part of the city. After that long horrible ordeal with the swamp you deserve a treat. No several treats. Really you always deserve such things but especially right now and fortunately you have the money to go get such things instead of taking them by force like you normally would.
Better to stock up beforehand.
Better to stock up beforehand.
- Location
- SF Bay Area
[X] You have a giant pile of gold and are in the nicest, most fancy part of the city. After that long horrible ordeal with the swamp you deserve a treat. No several treats. Really you always deserve such things but especially right now and fortunately you have the money to go get such things instead of taking them by force like you normally would.
I'm open to character development on the whole "sharing" issue but one adventure into the story seems a little early for that.
I'm open to character development on the whole "sharing" issue but one adventure into the story seems a little early for that.
- Location
- 'Straya mate.
Regardless of what we do with the gold, I'd like to stick around. I like the narrative that we've grown rather fond of old Emma Bigsword, and that we'd like to see this thing through to the end - or some approximation of it at least. With all that said...
[X] You have a giant pile of gold and are in the nicest, most fancy part of the city. After that long horrible ordeal with the swamp you deserve a treat. No several treats. Really you always deserve such things but especially right now and fortunately you have the money to go get such things instead of taking them by force like you normally would.
We're sticking around, so she can hardly get annoyed. And if she does, that sounds rather funny given how much trouble she's gotten us all into.
[X] You have a giant pile of gold and are in the nicest, most fancy part of the city. After that long horrible ordeal with the swamp you deserve a treat. No several treats. Really you always deserve such things but especially right now and fortunately you have the money to go get such things instead of taking them by force like you normally would.
We're sticking around, so she can hardly get annoyed. And if she does, that sounds rather funny given how much trouble she's gotten us all into.
Aquadragon10
The Lord of the First Flame
- Location
- Canada
[X] You may as well return to the Fat Bear, related what happened and ……share the reward. The thought pains you but you are playing the part of a hero. You are starting to regret this decision.
Does it work now?[X] You may as well return to the Fat Bear, related what happened and ……share the reward. The thought pains you but you are playing the part of a hero. You are starting to regret this decision.
It seems we stumbled into some family politics. That's gonna be messy, but hey, gold's gold.
As an aside, the mosiac image is broken for me. When I try to open it, the tab says the site can't be reached for some reason!
LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
Sadly, no. It still appears broken for me even when I open it on a fresh browser.
LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
I still get the same message when I try to open it. The site can't be reached. Might be a problem with my internet provider maybe? They might not like the website hosting the image for one reason or another.
That's very strange because it works perfectly well to me
Does this work?
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LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
It's working now! Thanks for being patient with me.
Okay I've tried a different site I really hope this works lmao
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] You have a giant pile of gold and are in the nicest, most fancy part of the city. After that long horrible ordeal with the swamp you deserve a treat. No several treats. Really you always deserve such things but especially right now and fortunately you have the money to go get such things instead of taking them by force like you normally would.
mynameisyouQQQ
Miss Brightside
- Location
- A Hell of my own making
- Pronouns
- Fae/Any
[X] You have a giant pile of gold and are in the nicest, most fancy part of the city. After that long horrible ordeal with the swamp you deserve a treat. No several treats. Really you always deserve such things but especially right now and fortunately you have the money to go get such things instead of taking them by force like you normally
- Location
- Somewhere else
[X] You may as well return to the Fat Bear, related what happened and ……share the reward. The thought pains you but you are playing the part of a hero. You are starting to regret this decision.