As the planning for drilling into the secrets of the unfortunate local Boyar wraps up, you re-enter the conversation. "The Waystone Project has built up quite a roster of Magisters, Mages, and a Runelord," you say. "The magical traditions of Kislev would be more than welcome to join it."
Boris and Ljiljana exchange thoughtful looks. "Your Colleges are built on Elf secrets," Boris says. "Perhaps can squeeze some more out of them."
I think this line from Boris is a bit confusing? He's talking to Mathilde here I think? Is he going through a realisation and he's saying that out loud? I think that might be it, but I just want to make sure. The fact that Boris was looking at Ljiljana confused me a bit here because I thought he was addressing her for a second, but she doesn't have a College and her tradition is definitly not Elf aligned.
"Me and Nadezhda will be busy with Boyar," Ljiljana says. "Milita only speaks Gospodarinyi, Věnceslava would get herself into trouble... Zlata can go. Good with languages, good with new people, thirst to prove herself."
I find it neat that Boney found reasonable justifications for why the other choices weren't made. A D6 was rolled and Boney would have gone with it no matter the result, but the justification would have been different every time. It's a neat thing about quests, because if you read this part without knowing that a roll was behind it, you wouldn't realise that it was the result of a random background roll. It's a testament to Boney's skill I think.
Also, good insights on Venceslava and Zlata I think. Slava definitely strikes me as that kind of person, since she was annoyed she couldn't jumpscare Mathilde. Seems like the kind of person who likes to mess with others. Zlata on the other hand, is probably like that because she's pretty young. Mutable and less set on her ways as the older Witches and probably more eager to see and experience things, which makes her a good choice. Ljiljana is great, but let's not forget what she was like on the Dum expedition. We wouldn't have gotten any in roads with her if we didn't spend so many actions and risked our life to save her. Hopefully Zlata is more proactive.
"I think I will send word to Boyar Yevschenko. Baba Niedzwenka knows Elf and Imperinyi, and the he will be happy for break from her." Ljiljana frowns at that, but doesn't comment.
Another Boyar to add to the list. I assume Yevschenko is an Erengrad Boyar, and apparently he would be glad to have Niedzwenka off his back. Considering the Hag lives in Erengrad and knows Elven and Imperial, she seems to be one of the more involved Hag Witches out there. I assume she learnt Elven to interact with the Sea Elves of Erengrad. She seems to have valuable insights, but I have a feeling she might be a bit of a pain. Ljiljana doesn't like her, although we don't know her opinion of Hag Witches so maybe she just doesn't like them in general. Although, considering the way Liljiana was talking about Erengrad's Boyars, it's possible she's one of the factors Ljiljana disapproves of in the city.
"We will be happy to have them," you say. "I'll send word to our Embassy in Kislev City to do up papers for them. If they make their way to Aarnau or Middenheim, I can arrange an escort to Tor Lithanel."
To those who don't know, Aarnau is a town bordering Laurelorn on the Southwest inside the Wasteland. It's one of the most populous non-Marineburg settlements in the area. You can find it if you look north on this map:
I have a few fun facts about the town, but I'm not going to spend the time compiling them if this is the only mention we get of the place. We'll see if it makes a return.
"I didn't think I'd see you again after you decided to go chasing Elves," Boris says frankly. "But if you give us something we can use to push back the Za on top of all you have already done, you will have proven the value of the partnership between Kislev and the Empire."
"I'll do my best to live up to the examples of Magnus and Teclis," you say firmly.
I find this nice and heartwarming. Boris didn't expect Mathilde to come back, but she did and she proved herself, and hopefully she will continue to. Also, Mathilde can't help but mention her two idols. It's also a big statement for Boris to make to indicate that a single person would prove the value of the alliance between two entire nations, but that's what it's like when you're doing big deeds like this as a Lady Magister.
You return to the Empire in high spirits, passing through Bechafen on the way to send word to the Chancellor of what the problem was and that it has been taken care of. They won't immediately stand down the army on the word of a single person, but they'll be pointed in the right direction for confirming things for themselves and able to start quashing the wilder rumours. You also have reports of your investigations sent off to those that sent you on them. There are, you note, significant gaps regarding the matters you were supposed to look into, but you doubt anyone will mind since you made it so that they were no longer a problem that needs investigating.
Mathilde should be happy. She's done a great job and spent three months of her life solving problems nobody asked her to solve and succeeded in doing so. It's part and parcel of her identity at this point to go above and beyond and do even what isn't asked of her. Remember Und-Uzgar? When she was supposed to just open the door and ended up destroying everyone in there? Or the "scouting" mission she went into in Karak Lhune that resulted in the Warboss being taken down? Or her helping Gunnars out, speeding up the burial process by like a year, despite it not being her duty?
Having spread word everywhere you were required to, instead of heading west back to Tor Lithanel, you continue southwards towards a destination just beyond Stirland. There is, you're aware, a problem with your library. Karak Eight Peaks is quite some distance away from the Empire - though that distance will seem shorter once the Black Water canal is completed - and with its shelves bare of all but your personal collection, it would be difficult to convince most people why they should have any interest in it. This could trap you in a nasty little circle of being unable to expand your library without the prestige of already having a large library. But there's one group in the Empire that has already bought in to Karak Eight Peaks - the Halflings of the Moot. And though the Mootland Genealogical Library in Eicheschatten might not be the most famous of libraries in the Old World, the millennia of accumulated history and culture it contains would go a long way to giving your library a bit more substance.
Start slow, like an avalanche. Mathilde's motto. It's like the Waystone project and the K8P expedition. Nobody wants to be the first to join, but also, nobody wants to be the last or known as the one who didn't join. Start small, work your way up, and your successes can build themselves into more successes. I'm more satisfied with this option than I thought I would be.
The Genealogical Library is run by the Cult of Quinsberry, the Halfling God of knowledge, ancestry, and tradition. The position of Head Librarian is intertwined with that of High Priest, and the current incumbent is a man with substantial sideburns and an unlit pipe never far from his mouth, and nibbles on the stem thoughtfully as you explain your proposition.
"And in providing a space for our books, you thereby increase the size and prestige of this library o'yourn." You nod, unabashed. "If yer willing t'take what yer given, might be an arrangement t'be made. Could always use more space, but there's nothing here that's entirely a waste of it. If ye can guarantee that we'll still have access..."
I never understood why someone would be nibbling on an unlit pipe. Is it a habit? I understand the urge to chew something I suppose.
I also cannot for the life of me recognise this accent. I'm debating whether to add him to the character list. Unfortunately he doesn't have a name listed, so I guess I'd just call him "Quinsberry High Priest" or something.
"Elder Hluodwica has secured rights of free passage for all citizens of the Moot in Karak Eight Peaks," you confirm, "and Barak Varr has ships serving as ferries from the Skull River to Ulrikadrin."
"And soon that canal upriver. Well, as for the bloodline records, those've travelled to the Karak will've been wanting copies at some point. And those't go there or come here to marry will mean that sooner'r later, there'll be need for copies of every extant bloodline. Long's yer able to wait, ye'll accumulate the lot."
"I have no problem with that. It's intended to be a long-term project."
"And ye'll cover transport, I take it?"
"Just let the local EIC branch know and they'll take it from there."
"The one with the mark of three swords?" You nod. "Alright then. It seems we have an agreement."
I'm wondering. It seems like the Halflings in K8P have been requesting genealogies for a while. Is it standard practice to teach literacy to all Halflings so they can read the family trees? Or they just learn enough to understand and recognise them but not enough for more complex tasks?
You smile as you shake the Halfling's hand. That went surprisingly smoothly, but you suppose it's a natural enough partnership. The Cult of Quinsberry is religiously bound to preserve an enormous amount of information, even though the passage of centuries has rendered a great deal of it nearly useless. It may be stricturally required to preserve the complete family trees of the Halfling Clan that was wiped out by Waaagh Gorbad in the 1700s, and once in a very long while it might be necessary to consult a single one of those very many tomes over some manner of lineage or inheritance, but the space and effort and expense it takes to store and preserve entire roomfuls of books would weigh heavily on any library. You've come out of nowhere and offered to take on all of that burden at your own expense, and the only downside is it will now take someone a fairly long boat ride on the rare occasions one of those tomes is needed. And considering the amount of regular traffic back and forth between the Moot and the Karak once the canal is completed, it probably own't even be that big a bother for someone already heading to the Karak to bring a request for a specific tome or set of tomes, and for someone already heading to the Moot to take those books with them.
I appreciate the explanation over why the partnership went over so smoothly. I think we could have gotten it without the explanation, but it makes things clearer and less obtuse to have Mathilde's official speculation in text.
And while you're not very likely to ever need any of that information, this does get you a foot in the door to make copies of their other materials. Which... is easier said than done, admittedly. As you experienced for yourself in Stirland, there's only so many literate workers available at any given time. You'll need to think about some sort of method to secure a large number of reliable scribes. Perhaps an arrangement with the Cult of Scripsisti, or perhaps getting the EIC to begin recruiting from everywhere they have a presence, or perhaps a school in Karak Eight Peaks to teach and recruit citizens of Karag Nar who don't wish to become Undumgi... there's a number of possible approaches, and choosing between them all is a matter for another time. For now, you can consider this a good day's work - the first official partner library of the Kron-Azril-Ungol, and soon an influx of tomes that will go some way to filling those empty, echoing halls.
Scripsisti would be a bit difficult if we ever decide to start using printers in the future, especially if the movable types get invented. They would utterly despise the idea of losing their job to a machine and that would cause trouble, so we do have to keep that in mind. However, for the time being, printers are not a viable option unless we're mass producing specific books, so we have to hire scribes somehow. I think the Cult of Verena could help quite a bit in the area, but the idea of making a school in Karak Nar appeals to me. A school of literacy for those who want a job in the library, to be specific. It would be somewhat costly and I'm not sure if Belegar would cover it, but I think it'd be worth it to have a group of scribes that are aligned with us from the beginning, rather than getting another faction over here.
[ ] Max
The entire time you've known Maximilian, he has been pursuing his own goal of true transmutation via magically-enhanced blacksmithing. Check in to see how he's going with that.
I'm mildly interested. Been a while since Max got some attention, as opposed to Horstmann and Johann, who get quite a lot of focus in comparison.
[ ] Thorek
See what inroads Thorek has made with the Major Houses of Tor Lithanel.
I'm not very interested in this to be honest.
[ ] Cadaeth
You've had unanswered questions about Dryads for some time, and your encounter with them in the Shirokij gives you a good pretext to ask them.
I am interested in this, but I'm biased becasue sexy lady and the humorous idea of the Dryad butt somehow coming up, unlikely as it is.
[ ] Magister Tochter Grunfeld
Get to know Tochter Grunfeld, ritualist, traditionalist, and veteran of the Sylvanian Campaign.
Somewhat interested in this. We didn't get the chance to get to know her earlier.
[ ] Baba Niedzwenka
Get to know the Erengrad Hag Witch that Tsarevich Boris has sent to contribute to the Waystone Project.
[ ] Zlata
Get to know the young woman who is the Ice Witch contribution to the Waystone Project.
I'm more interested in Zlata I suppose. Hag Witches... They give me the heebie jeebies. Especially the parts about the Tainted. Not saying she's involved, but I have my preferences.
[ ] Panoramia - Tor Lithanel
Now that you're somewhat familiar with it, introduce Panoramia to the people and sights of the city.
[ ] Panoramia - Laurelorn
Now that you're somewhat familiar with it, introduce Panoramia to the beings and biomes of the forest.
You know how I feel about this. I'm going all in. It's been three RL months and I'm taking my chances. At least one of these I'm hoping would win.
[ ] Gretel
She's apparently getting involved in the Karaz Ankor's ambitions in the Border Princes.
[ ] The We
See how their self-guided societal evolution is going.
[ ] Okri
The new Loremaster of Karak Eight Peaks is Okri Drakkisson of Clan Bronzebeard, formerly of Karak Norn. Meet your replacement and gauge what kind of person he is.
Mild interest, mostly focused on Okri so we get to meet the Dwarf, the Myth, the Legend. I'm interested in Gretel but I somehow doubt she'll win.
[ ] Kazrik and Edda
They are to be wed. Attend their nuptials.
Non-negotiable. We don't hang out with them too much but I'd feel bad for missing their nuptials.
[ ] Stirland
See for yourself how the war against Sylvania is progressing.
[ ] Middenland
See how the Ulricans are going with their new Eonir coreligionists.
[ ] Karaz-a-Karak
To investigate their preparations for the Mount Silverspear campaign.
[ ] The Black Water Canal
Pay another visit to the canal project, and see if there's any further signs of sabotage.
Not interested in any of this.
[ ] Roswita
Get a sense for who will control Sylvania after you turned down the position.
[ ] Kasmir
See how his partnership with Sylvania's native faith has been going.
Mild interest in Roswita and greater interest in Kasmir. He's one of the options we haven't checked on in the Talabheim arc and I'd like to see how he's doing and how things are going at the ground level in Sylvania.
[ ] Mira
Give an in-person report on the events in Talabheim, and find out how Alric reacted to them.
[ ] Alric
Or you could cut out the middleman and ask Alric himself about current events.
[ ] Paranoth
Give an in-person report on the events in the Shirokij, and see if he knows anything about the being you defeated.
I'm not actually interested in these options. Alric just seems like a bad idea, and getting headpats from Paranoth doesn't interest me a ton. I don't mind Mira but I'm more interested in other stuff.
[ ] Amber College
Check in on the salamanders.
[ ] Gold College
See what's become of their research into Skaven technology.
[ ] Organ Vat
Follow up on your donation of the Skaven organ-vat, and see what has been made of it.
[ ] Skull River Ambush
Look into the investigation of the mining of the Skull River, and any consequences of it.
[ ] The Weber Estate
Pay a visit to your fief, to see if anything has changed. It probably hasn't.
Again, not my preference. I prefer characters over organisations.
