[X][Feeling] Pragmatic. He represents someone clearly loyal to your family if not you, and probably a lot better than you could otherwise expect to get for your money.
[x][Contact] Nicolas
-[x] About a possible partnership, if he can help you with initial funding and perhaps staffing you could construct a drydocks and port facility in the middle of nowhere, which should help his logistical problems.
Nicholas replies that he'd be quite willing to provide funding for you to build a drydock and port facility, but that if he did so he'd have rather stringent requirements on its security. After all if you maintained a normal port facility stopping there would be no different than stopping anywhere else where Mina could easily sneak aboard his ship and assassinate him.
The security requirements he lays out are rather prosaic and would raise costs rather significantly. The funding he'd provide would help somewhat though.
[][Nicholas] Take deal, drydocks and port facilities cost and upkeep reduced 50%. Cost multiplier from port increased from 90% to 95%.
[][Nicholas] Reject deal.
[X] Plan Fire Places without going broke
-[X][Construction] Repair damage from the weather to various facilities (1 action) 4+5-5-20 = -16
-[X][Construction] You don't need a steady supply of bricks for your current operation. But you do have a number of things you could use them for. Making bricks is simple enough that you can probably have one of your construction teams make a big batch with some hired advisors. (50 Denier) 86+5-5-20 = 66
The damage to your structures turns out to be significantly worse than you'd originally assessed. As the snow begins to melt the water runs through the damaged ceilings like sieves.
Worse still as the melt intensifies water damage occurs to the understructure keeping your buildings out of the mud. While your moat and exterior wall work well to deflect much of the flood water pouring from the snowmelt within the forest, the amount of water within the camp is still substantial. In short the floors are rotting out from underneath your buildings and you're not sure how much you can do to stop it.
The bit of repair work you got done this season has only managed to patch over the worst of the problems. You've still got a lot more problems to go. Not to mention the palisade is rotting rather heavily as well. Packed earth reinforcement is a double edged sword in this case, ensuring that a barrier still exists as the wood rots, but further intensifying the rotting.
The rush to get things built as quickly as possible has led to a lot of poorly preserved wood being used. It might be worthwhile at this point to spend on producing tar and coating the wood to help preserve it, or possibly collecting beeswax for the same purpose. You're given to understand that tar and charcoal can be produced at the same time, but it takes a substantially more sophisticated setup than your current charcoal production system. The beeswax you know a decent source, though admittedly there's some danger in that.
Brick production at least goes well enough. There's certainly more than enough mud available, and you have a large supply of plant fiber and sawdust you can mix in to reduce cracking. Your workers spend a lot of time building up a huge pile of bricks, despite struggling to keep them above the water. They're built into a big temporary kiln towards the end of the season and then a large fire is built inside them. The resulting bricks are nicely fire hardened and weather resistant, though you're a bit worried about how they'll stand up against the sort of flooding you've been experiencing this season.
-[X][Personal] Find a way to make it so you can recruit without taking so much of your time. You'll either find an assistant that can do recruiting for you or just build a network of contacts willing to do it for a fee. (Cost variable dependent on roll, will have option to refuse and retry or recruit normally) 96-20 = 76
You kind of regret that you sent Leo off to recruit this season. One of you certainly needs to stay to run the outpost, so with him gone you can't just head off into the city to find an assistant. That would have been quite easy by comparison. Instead you're forced to send out huge numbers of letters and ask around that way, conducting what feel like the slowest interviews in history.
Somehow despite yourself you manage to settle on a few qualified candidates.
[][Assistant] Basic Assistant, 25 upkeep per turn, can recruit any basic unit without an action
[][Assistant] Quality Assistant, 50 upkeep per turn, can recruit any basic unit without an action, can attempt advance recruitment with a malus, shifts personals to 2 d100s or 1d100+25
[][Assistant] Network, no upkeep per turn, 10% additional cost to recruit basic units without an action
[][Assistant] These are all too expensive, stick with current recruitment system.
-[X][Hunters] Guard the Merchants 44 +11 -20 -12 -5 = 18
Sending your hunters to guard the merchants that deliver your supplies after this winter may not have been the best idea in retrospect. Finding themselves far from your highly lethal and rather miserable little outpost, in towns with far better amenities, many of them chose to simply stay in those towns rather than make the trek through the snow and mud back to your base.
You suppose you were somewhat lucky they didn't decide to rob the merchants for severance pay really.
(20% hunters 1 desert. Merchant penalty was removed for this turn though.)
-[X][Levy] Guard 23 +15 -20 -5 +20 = 33
--[X] The base and sawmill
Your base guards suffered a few casualties this spring. While there wasn't much in the way of wildlife or orcs trying to attack, the environment was still quite hazardous. Freezing conditions persisted for some time, and the floodwaters that followed dragged along some of the more incautious guards. Drowning, bludgeoning by debris, and being washed off the cliff all happened.
(-5% levy)
-[X][Skirmishers] Scout to reduce chance of enemies slipping by. 67 +25 -20 -7 = 65
-[X][Footmen] Patrol, reduce chance of enemies slipping by. 100 +10 +10 +10 -20 -7 = 103
Your more professional forces moved through the forest with a lot more care, and the trees helped slow and channel the floodwaters pouring down the mountainside. Conditions were harsh, but at least they were well fed.
They encountered a few orcs, but they were mostly uneager to fight. Even the orc cavalry was heavily handicapped by the snow, mud, and water this season as the forest was more like a delta. Your men even managed to inflict some damage on the orc cavalry when they got stuck in the mud.
The highpoint of the season though was rather unusual. One of your footmen patrols reported back to you of an encounter in the forest.
The dozen footmen of the patrol were scattered about crouched in the brush covering the ground and behind trees. They sank into the mud as they waited, but none were quite willing to move. They hadn't seen this thing before, and that made them very cautious. Most things in this forest were dangerous.
They silently and frantically gestured to each other, a dozen competing arguments. They couldn't stay here too long though, already the bushes were trying to grow over them. Finally one of them stood up and strode forward, his heart steeled.
The rest were torn for a moment with a few frantic whispers to him to come back. They were soldiers not peasants though, and foolish though it might be they chose to back his play, standing and following.
The man at the front slowly approached the beast, which had stopped what it was doing to stare at him. He slowly drew a pouch of trail rations from his belt and opened it up to hold out to it, still a bit too cautious to pour them into his hand.
The white furred creature stood taller than he, and sniffed curiously as he approached within mauling distance.
The rest of the patrol was a few feet further back. Their hands rested on their sword hilts uneasily, but they didn't want to escalate the situation by drawing them.
The beast sniffed again, then cautiously lowered its wet maw to the opened pouch. It swiftly devoured the contents in a flurry of crunching. Then it drew its snout from the pouch and snorted at the brave soldier. He reached out cautiously towards it, drawing a sharp inhale from the audience, and ran his hand along the smooth fur of its head.
It seemed his day to die was not today though, for the creature allowed it.
"See I knew it would be fine," he said quietly for fear of spooking it.
That was about when they expected it to try to bite his arm off. Unfortunately they were mistaken, and the white winged horse instead continued to enjoy his petting.
When the patrol reported back about the incident they reported that the winged horse, what you'd more properly call a pegasus, had followed them back from their patrol at a cautious distance, though it had halted in Nerissa's grove. Nerissa had awoken as the snow began to melt, none the worse for wear, much to your relief.
Hearing a pegasus was apparently lounging there now you'd headed out with all possible haste. Olivia hovering about, as usual when she didn't have other things to do, was just as interested and came along with.
The pegasus was as impressive as you'd expected. As large as a full grown horse, but with wings each as long as its body extending out to its sides. Though not quite as shiny perhaps as a noble's horse. Nerissa was astride its back and laughing in a musical rustling, her eyes glittering. "Can I keep it Tristan? I already asked and Rhodia said I could."
Olivia rushed over to pet it. "Who's Rhodia?" you couldn't help but ask. The pegasus seemed to take to the petting well, nuzzling into it.
"Well obviously it's someone's pet so I asked and Rhodia's the dryad that keeps a pegasus herd. She said I could keep this one though," she rattled off so quick it took a moment for your brain to separate out the individual words.
"I don't know, a pet's a big responsibility…," you hedged. Unbidden your brain conjured up images of just how much you could make auctioning off a pegasus. The alchemical components alone would be worth a bundle even if it couldn't live outside the forest.
"Rhodia said if I could take care of a human a pegasus would be no problem, and you're really easy to take care of." Nerissa laughed, and you couldn't help a little smile at that.
"Please Tristan, I'll help!" Olivia volunteered, contributing her own pleading eyes.
What do you do with the pegasus? This selection will open actions in turn planning.
[][Pegasus] You'll auction it off, Nerissa and Olivia will get over it, you could make a huge amount.
[][Pegasus] A properly trained pegasus would give you quite the scouting capability. You're not sure how it would handle leaving the Overgrowth, but even just being able to fly around the Overgrowth would be very useful.
-[x][Captain] Recruit new units. Specify what kind.
--[x] Replace losses
---[x] Civilian: 85 Denier to replace all losses
---[x] Skirmishers: 20 (up to 90%)
---[x] Footmen: 30 (up to 90%)
---[x] Hunters: 30 (up to 90%)
Leo manages to recruit all the units you wanted him to. He brings back news that the harsh weather you experienced was quite widespread. The capital was incredibly cold this past winter and everyone was shut in doors, recruitment and training of the necessary levies for the impending war was heavily hampered.
Tedora was less affected due to being further south of you and this has positioned them better for the impending war. They opened with some light raiding already this spring, but the state of the roads being mere muck has prevented any major military engagements. While it's possible light skirmishing will diffuse the tensions, it doesn't seem likely.
Your father added another group of levies and hunters to your replacement cadre, but is unlikely to be able to spare any real military forces for the foreseeable future.
(+5% skirmishers, +5% footmen, 15% hunters recruited, +10% levies +40% hunters automatic replacements for 2 seasons)
Kaleb's company arrives near the end of the season. Despite the still muddy roads they march in perfect formation. Somewhat to your surprise their armor doesn't gleam at all, but rather is painted in a mottled nature pattern.
Kaleb himself rides at the head of the column, his best arrayed around him. He eyes your base with a mixed expression as you approach him, and he drops from his horse.
"It's good to see you've survived the winter brother! I'd had some concerns for one so frail as you!" he practically booms boisterously.
"I'm not that weak, your standards are too high," you reply automatically. You'd had plenty of conversations like that.
"Perhaps, you've surprised me doing so well here, I expected to have to bail you out immediately," he jokes, slapping you on the back so hard you fall forward, and he has to catch you before you fall into the mud.
Fortunately you had your gambeson on so you won't be too bruised. This too is a familiar pattern.
"Come brother, show me your strength before I deal with those that have harried you," he says somehow producing two wooden practice swords and dragging you into your base.
He wants to duel you, like he always does. This usually results in you being a bruised moaning wreck in minutes.
[][Kaleb] Take your lumps like a man. It's not going to kill you. (Though it will cause you a malus to personal actions next season)
[][Kaleb] Plead for mercy like a girl. You have things to do. (Lose his respect, future deals harder)
[][Kaleb] Insist on terms to first blood or disarmament. The drop your sword immediately. (This will irritate him, future deals harder)
[][Kaleb] Declare he must defeat your maid before he has the right to challenge you. (He may be a bit insulted by this, and possibly other effects)
AN: There will be a second part to this update with the turn vote. For the Nicholas deal remember that he's the sibling you get along with the best. You can renegotiate later. Also remember you can do write-ins.
