Turn 3 - Autumn of 2164 Anno Imperialis
- Location
- Germany
Turn 3 - Autumn of 2164 Anno Imperialis
When your calendar told you that summer was over, it almost seemed like an error. The weather was still warm and pleasant, and from what the locals told you, it would stay that way for at least a month longer. After that though, things would rapidly become unpleasant. Winter comes fast on the Korprey islands. The southern winds would keep it away for the longest while, but once the northern gales took over, there would be nothing but sleet and snow until spring. So, the peasants got ready for the harvest season in the knowledge that work would have to be done as fast as possible and maser Becker was quite insistent that you did the same. Come winter, there would be no chance to do any more construction and without enough time to prepare for it, you would also have to spend the season either in the forest camp or the city.
A few days ago, those options did not sound so bad, but then of the Auxiliaries made your worst nightmares come true. You had turned a blind eye to their habit of buying alcohol from the farmers as long as they did not cause any problems under the influence and were sober during their duties. Now though, this had instead caused a murder. One of the soldiers had gotten into an altercation with the peasant he had been buying beer from about it allegedly being watered down. The man denied everything and when he refused to give the Auxiliary his silver back, they got into a fight, which ended with a short sword of Legion make in the farmer's heart.
There was not much doubt about the guilt of the soldier. He came back into camp still covered with blood and tried to tell some story about a goblin having ambushed him, but it was obvious from the start that he was lying. The farmer's son came shortly thereafter with the murder weapon and demanding justice, telling how he had seen his father getting killed, but being too far away to help him. Imperial law was pretty clear what to do with a murderer, especially in a case as clear cut as this one. Public hanging, though you that could be commuted to lifelong hard labour instead.
However, it was upon you to make that judgement and that made things complicated. With a proper Legion, you would have had no doubt that the men would welcome the punishment, no matter how harsh, since it would be the only way to restore the honour of the troop. With these Auxiliaries though? There might be unrest if you had one of their hanged and spread of the tale might have soured the still tender relations you had build with the locals.
Maybe you could have him tried for lesser charges, claiming the killing was an accident and have him whipped instead. A compromise that would have made no one happy, though it would have blunted the problems somewhat. And lastly, there was an option you would have not contemplated a year ago. Some other commanders simply paid a weregild when things like this happened to keep the peasants quiet. It would be rather dishonourable, but if the family could be convinced to weigh their fathers life up for silver, it would make this whole matter disappear quietly.
The only good news that had reached you in the last days came from the city, where the provost of the local Four Temples had returned from a longer journey to one of the other islands. The temples were not always fond of penal labour, especially when it was as dangerous and backbreaking as mining, so there was a risk that the man would have taken exception at your presence. Instead of calling your mission sinful though, he instead had written a short letter in which he commended your efforts, even going so far as offering the aid of his temple if you required it. There were certainly a few things that the faith could have helped you with, but there were already so many draws on your time.
What do you do with the Auxiliary that murdered one of the local famers?
[] Have him hanged for murder.
[] Sentence him to a life of hard labour in the colony.
[] Convict him on lesser charges and have him publicly whipped.
[] Let him off and bribe the family to stay silent.
What will you do in fall of your first year? (Turn 3)
[] Write-In Plan
First prisoners arrive after Turn 4.
First shipment of adamantine must be made after Turn 8.
Legion Auxiliaries (1 Action)
The Auxiliaries are trained somewhat better now, though neither their equipment, nor their laziness can be fixed quite as easily. But you would not let any of that deter you from getting the most out of their service.
-[] Scout the plateau. (Auxiliaries)
While you have a reasonable knowledge of the mountains between Vollug and the plateau, the plateau itself could not be scouted very much so far. While climbing up the small path will make it difficult, it might still be prudent to gather more information about the area and its dangers.
Benefit: Gain more knowledge about your surroundings.
-[] Hunt monsters.
While winning over the people of Vollug is no longer such an urgent concern, the roaming monsters are still a bane of the peasants and might interfere with your own efforts too. With the Auxiliaries having their training refreshed, you are also much more confident that they can actually make the region safer, as opposed to just showing some good will while achieving little.
Benefit: Improves relations to the locals. Surroundings of Vollug become safer.
-[] Prepare a camp on the old hillfort.
With your time limited and a lot of construction work yet to be done, master Becker suggested that the Auxilliaries could prepare the building site. While hauling materials up the small path is impossible, they could cut down trees for materials and erect a palisade around the hill, allowing much faster construction in the spring.
Benefit: Prepare construction site on the old hillfort.
Engineers (1 Action)
Master Becker certainly has proven his worth in your eyes, even though there are some problems with his behaviour, but others have taken notice too. The merchants of Vollug are clamouring to have him repair the cities streets and wall and a few even have more ambitious ideas and are talking about expanding the harbour. As if you had nothing else to do for him.
-[] Survey the plateau.
It is time to see how much of the old prospecting reports can be believed. Master Becker is certain that he found the two locations which the documents claim to have exposed deposits and he also identified another spot along the northern river that might be promising. Time to see if there is actually adamantine on this island.
Benefit: Might find adamantine.
-[] Improve the path to the mountain plateau.
Instead of scouting and hoping to find a better path, you could just let the engineers get to work on making the one you know about more useful. Widen it where possible, building scaffoldings and bridges where necessary, then it would be fine for your purposes.
Benefit: Improve path into the mountains.
-[] Build prisoner quarters in the forest camp.
With the first prisoners arriving in early spring, you need to consider where to house them. The probably best solution would be to keep them in the forest camp while construction of the actual colony is being done but having them sleep in tents would make them hard to control and the weather will make them miserable in short order. Have master Becker expand the camp so that you can safely house the prisoners.
Benefit: Gain prisoner quarters in the forest camp.
-[] Build prisoner quarters in the city.
With the first prisoners arriving in early spring, you need to consider where to house them. Keeping them in the city is rather unappealing, as it increases the risk of them escaping and the local people will hate it. On the other hand, it would only be for a short while and you could later reuse these quarters for other purposes. Have master Becker build a compound in the city so that you can safely house the prisoners.
Benefit: Gain prisoner quarters in Vollug.
-[] Make repairs in Vollug.
After the efforts of the last months, the merchants are not so subtly asking for the engineers to make some repairs to the walls and roads of the city. They would certainly be quite pleased if you allowed this to be done.
Benefit: Improves relations to the locals. Walls of Vollug repaired.
-[] Expand the harbour of Vollug. (2 Turns)
A proposal for extending the harbour of the city has been brought before you. It calls for building a new pier from stone next to the two current, wooden piers, with some sketches noting the option to later it expand it into deeper waters. However, it would take quite a while to get this project done.
Benefit: Improves relations to the merchants. Harbour of Vollug gains a stone pier.
-[] Survey farmlands of Vollug.
Master Becker has theorized that the much too high humidity of the cities farmlands comes from an old irrigation and drainage system that is lost somewhere under a few centuries of neglect and while he can't do any work in summer, he wants to survey the land to draw up plans for what to do to further improve things.
Benefit: ???
General Lothar Vanrich (1 Action)
Organizing this whole expedition takes already much of your time, but there are always a few hours left to put some personal attention to something instead of letting your people do all the work.
-[] Scout the plateau. (Lothar)
Instead of letting the Auxiliaries do the scouting, you could lead an expedition yourself. It has been a while since you have been in the field, but you should still be able to defend yourself against a few wolves and goblins.
Benefit: Gain more knowledge about your surroundings.
-[] Talk with burgomaster Gudmann.
While your efforts in the last months were less successful than hoped, you could always try again. Spend some more time with the burgomaster and see if you can turn him into an ally after all.
Benefit: Improves relations to burgomaster Gudmann.
-[] Talk with the merchants.
Instead of doing the merchants a favour now and trying to get it repaid later, you could always try to turn that plan around. Try to talk them into providing some aid to your expedition right now with the promise of letting the engineers do some work for them in the future.
Benefit: ???
-[] Talk with master Becker.
While his work is beyond reproach, his behaviour is not and that he is this easily plied by getting him alcohol is already causing issues for you. Try to straighten out master Becker or at least to get him to practice some moderation in his habits.
Benefit: ???
-[] Talk with the provost of the Four Temples.
Having the priesthood open to aid you might become a great boon in your efforts. You have not heard anything about the local congregation having magicians among their number, but they could at least help you to keep up morale among your people and especially the prisoners. Talk with the provost and see what the local congregation can offer you.
Benefit: ???
-[] Scour the archives.
While hardly looking the part these days, Vollug once was the centre of the imperial administration since the first colonists arrived on the Korprey islands and the archives are still maintained. With this whole expedition resting on some centuries old prospecting reports, there might be more valuable information about this island's past somewhere in all the dusty parchments.
Benefit: ???
AN: Dice rolls were all over the place this turn. I was already worried when everything came up more or less average.
