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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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T_of_A said:
It's really nice to see the Dwarves just casually trusting us with a weird magical megaproject. We're asking them to fund and garrison a bunch of fortresses for the express purpose of buying expensive elgi and umgi craftsmanship - and they trust us when we say that it'll work !

I remember when Kragg thought we were a suicidal idiot who was going to blow herself up without his help. And now we have all the trust we could want.
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They still expect us to blow ourselves up eventually, they just trust us to take proper precautions to limit the blast radius. :V
 
What a lovely update!

I wonder how aware Caledor is of the world outside. Does he think Ulthuan is randomly dropping a new Waystone up in Northern Kislev?

Boney said:
Cleansing of the Black Water, using Riverine Waystones, by Lothernian Wizards. Estimated completion date: 2496. Estimated completion of all currently planned fortifications of Waystone sites: mid-2500s.
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This made me chuckle. Of course the dwarves would immediately spend 60 years building fortifications to defend the miracle machines we've just dropped on them.
 
Boney said:
This is information you're not about to share with the crowd of onlookers that assembles as soon as the town criers spread word of what you're up to. Inconvenient, but quite necessary, as the population of Praag would likely react badly to unknown foreigners performing unknown magic in the heart of their city. As it is they're keeping a safe distance despite their curiosity, most likely because the town criers made it very clear that any attempt to interfere with what was announced as 'a bolstering of the City's defences against Chaos' would be considered treason of the vilest sort.
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Defenses against Chaos are vital things so messing with them being counted as the worst sort of treason makes sense.

Boney said:
Uncaring of both common sense and the less common sort that can quote the propagation speed of magic through various mediums, a wave of magic approaches that makes visible the thin layer of power that sheaths the magic flowing through the leyline. That invisibly thin layer of power suddenly swells and stretches and shoots out a new tendril, pushing through the resistant rock below without any care for inefficiency in the direction you have indicated. As the tendril reaches the river it almost seems to hesitate for a moment before it continues, acting with caution that was absent a moment ago, and with oozing slowness it engulfs the Waystone, energy moving to and fro as it explores this new addition to the network. Then it fades away again to almost nothing, and the scraps of ambient magical energy that the new Waystone had already absorbed from the Lynsk begin to flow underground towards you. For now the flow is aggravatingly molassic, but with time the stone below the city will adapt in nature.

And just like that, it's done. The first Waystone in countless generations planted with the only hint of a ceremony being a series of satisfied nods shared between you, Niedzwenka, and Zlata. That's because the next Waystone is going to be paid for in blood, as a foothold is carved out of the tainted ruins of Newtown. And not just blood, because the resources and expertise to build that Waystone are going to be assembled and paid for by Kislev, because part of being a sovereign state is that you become distinctly less sovereign if you just let foreign interests build infrastructure in your country. So you've laid out the requirements for the Tzar's people, including lists of where the required expertise might be found, and when the Tzar has chosen and negotiated with whoever will be assembling Kislev's new Waystones, they'll be given instruction in how to do so, and they will go about their work as you turn your attention to the next corner of the world in need of Waystones.
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Good to see it working out, it's also one hell of a statement. Boris and Kislev have gotten their due and have been made into an even better bulwark against chaos.

Boney said:
"The Waystone network in Sylvania is in better shape than you might think," Markgraf Nyklaus says, unrolling half a dozen maps showing different corners of Sylvania and weighing down the corners with an assortment of weaponry he had concealed on his person. "The Von Carsteins infamously saw humans as cattle, but morality aside, that meant they had a vested interest in keeping them alive. So they kept the network in working order near population centers, and used something called 'balefire' to create wellsprings of Dhar where and when required instead of just having a constant sky-high level of corruption. There seems to have been something of a self-balancing mechanism to it - the less forward-thinking Vampires would be less prone to caring about long-term wellbeing of the human population, but they'd also be the ones that would want all of the Necromancers under them focused on conquest and expansion, so they didn't want to dedicate Necromancers to having undead do the mining and smelting and treefelling and blacksmithing that would arm and armour their armies."

You suppose that makes sense. Despite Sylvania's reputation, the continued existence of a human population within it that is sane enough to function puts a limit on how bad the taint could be. "It seems to already be concentrated along the rivers," you observe.

He nods. "That's where the people are, because most of the rest of Sylvania is either hills or forest. But there's opportunities for your riverbound Waystones if you look for them - upriver of Drakenhof, the former site of Drakenhof Castle, is pretty severely tainted, as is the upper half of the Eisig, where Vanhaldenschlosse was. There's also economic opportunities in the east if the woods there can be tamed and some farmland carved out of them, which the Waystones would make easier. On top of the direct benefits of more acreage to tax, if a few baronies can be carved out, that's some blank slate territories that can be populated with people that don't have thousands of years of Vampires on their necks."

It seems the Markgraf has been keeping an eye on your exploits. You let a raised eyebrow be your only comment on the matter. "Very good. The model of Waystone we've developed requires contributions from a Runesmith and a High Wizard. For Stirland, the most viable source of High Magic would be the Eonir, either from their magically-inclined Major Houses, or from the Grey Lords."
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Say what you will about the Carstiens but they could actually rule competently. Also Nyklaus is keeping an eye of Mathilde which makes senes given she's a mover and shacker.

Boney said:
He gives you a long, evaluating look. "They're not going to be the wrong sort of curious about it, are they?"

"They already have a strong theoretical knowledge of pure Dhar use - the sort the Druchii use, if you're familiar with that - and they very rarely use it outside of academic study of it. And they already have the sort of Dendromancy the Asrai make very limited use of that as well. Besides, these are beings that already count their ages in the thousands, so the main draw of Necromancy just wouldn't be there for them." And if they were going to be tempted by it, there's very little you could do to get in the way.

"Academics, then? If they're cut from the same cloth as the Order of Lorekeepers, I can live with that."
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A little more dangerous then he'd likely like but he can work with it.

Boney said:
The rest of your service to Sylvania is fulfilled by coming back some months later when the Markgraf is able to free up the time to be ferried to Laurelorn. As it turns out, after House Tindomiel made their contractually-owed and very emphatic first refusal to delve into the land of necromancy and corruption, the Markgraf beelines straight towards an audience with the Grey Lords instead. You don't know what conversation went on in the Wishing Woods, but when he emerges it is with the promised aid of two Grey Lords, Seilph and Sarumar. From what you've managed to glean from their reputations, Lord Seilph is likely motivated by what some might consider an unseemly interest in questionable magics and Lord Sarumar is there to yank on his leash if he fails to obey the 'look but don't touch' rule. And with the Grey Lords actively involved in the project, it will become trivial to shake loose High Wizards willing to do scut work if it gives them the ability to work alongside their usually-reclusive neighbours.
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Seilph seems to be the one who wants to be there and Sarumar is being sent to babysit.

Boney said:
"Forty of these," you say, tapping on the schematics, "equidistant around the shore." You tap a map of the region around the Black Water. "According to the range of estimates of how much exposed warpstone there is underwater, the ambient level of magic in the water will reach an equilibrium at somewhere between a quarter to a twentieth of the current levels within a year of completion."

The King of Barak Varr and the King of Zhufbar look from the maps to Thorek, who nods once.

That is the end of the meeting.
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Boney said:
Okay, sure, a great deal of discussion about logistics and details and timelines with all sorts of people went on in the coming weeks, but there was no more that needed actual debating after that point. You had given the Dwarves a path to tame the land on their doorstep, and they began marching down it immediately. That moment is a memory you will treasure, even if the messy little details take away from some of its shine when candor forces you to mention them.
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It's something that they'll really really want to have and given that Thorek confirmed it them accepting was an inevitability. Mathilde knows Dawi well enough to get that they appreciated this a lot.

Boney said:
Praag-Lynsk Waystone Expansion, using Riverine Waystones, by Cothiquan Wizards. Began 2491, focused on cleansing of Chaos taint from Praag.
Templa Colonies, using Riverine Waystones, by Grey Lord Seilph and Grey Lord Sarumar. Began 2491, establishing farming and logging villages in the Misty Wood and Tangled Wood.
Cleansing of the Black Water, using Riverine Waystones, by Lothernian Wizards. Estimated completion date: 2496. Estimated completion of all currently planned fortifications of Waystone sites: mid-2500s.
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Man this is doing a lot of good for the world.

Heavygenium said:
"Who the frak keeps fucking with the Waystone Network?"

- Caledor "Daddy" Dragontamer
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Honestly Caledor is likely really happy that people are dealing with shit. Though I'm curious if the shifting thing was Caledor of something else.

Boney said:
Mathilde has grown familiar enough with this dynamic to know that if someone is 90% sure that you've delivered them a miracle, they'll give you headpats to butter you up before they start checking to make sure that it really is a miracle. If they're 100% sure you just delivered them a miracle, they're already too busy working to fortify the miracle to give you headpats. So she's feeling very headpatted right now.
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That's great to hear.

Profilozof said:
Alive and free to do his shit Caledor Dragontamer would be such a boon for the world in general and Teclis in particular, it would be like us meeting Teclis
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It would be like if the Ancestor Gods came back and started kicking ass and taking names or if Ranald incarnated as human for a bit.
 
Ohno said:
I'm not sure if that's been answered in thread before, but wouldn't it be possible for Mathilde to use Gabrielle's "butter up the Shallyan faith" method? Or, if so, is it more a matter of "would" rather than "could"?
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We are a Lord Magister, we do not need it as we dive further and further into Ulgu we will become less human, including less beholden to such things as a mortal lifespan, witness Melkoth.
 
Golden Eyed King said:
I sure hope Matty thinks about who is going to take over her position as the person directing this herd of cats to make sure the long term plan of waystones continues past her death because waystone fortification mid 2500's means she has to plan to Elf/Dwarf lifespans.
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Honestly I'm not sure they're needs to be one. We're handing contact lists and design specifications, giving some coaching and then letting them handle it. After these projects are done each group is entirely capable of starting another without Mathilde's input.

Sure we'll need to organise any other large waystone expansion projects we want started within the next decade, and the construction teams aren't really qualified to continue research into the Nexuses but they'll know what they're doing by the time they're done. We've successfully made waystone creation a matter of gold and political capital. Headpats for all!
 
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Deathbybunnies said:
What a lovely update!

I wonder how aware Caledor is of the world outside. Does he think Ulthuan is randomly dropping a new Waystone up in Northern Kislev?
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The impression I got was that he was confused by the fact this is a completely new Waystone design, and took his time making certain there weren't any hidden traps or potential compatibility issues before connection.
 
CeBrudras said:
I am surprised to see Laurelorn proper get none of these contracts. I would have imagined them as being excited about opportunities to forge some bonds.
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Grey Lords are Laurelorn proper, though I am also surprised House Tindomiel didn't jump on the opportunity. I suspect they might be playing the long game - they're banking on the Empire eventually placing down more Waystones, and are assuming they'll have the opportunity to make their mark someplace other than the most cursed corner of the Empire.
 
Boney said:
It doesn't, but the constant radiation of Dhar it usually produces does get immediately sucked up.
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Does the radiation being sucked away slowly diminish/expend the warpstone? Otherwise it sounds like it'd be generating Dhar endlessly.

CeBrudras said:
I am surprised to see Laurelorn proper get none of these contracts. I would have imagined them as being excited about opportunities to forge some bonds.
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House Tindomiel's obligatory contract for Waystones only applies within the Empire, not Kislev or the Karaz Ankor.

Boney said:
Cleansing of the Black Water, using Riverine Waystones, by Lothernian Wizards. Estimated completion date: 2496. Estimated completion of all currently planned fortifications of Waystone sites: mid-2500s.
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Also just to confirm, the Dwarves hired Asur High Mages from Lothern? Would this be a historic Dwarf-Elf collaboration since the end of the War of Vengeance?
 
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Resonant said:
Does the radiation being sucked away slowly diminish/expend the warpstone? Otherwise it sounds like it'd be generating Dhar endlessly.
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We do know that dwarfs store warpstone they find in leaden containers until it hopefully becomes inert.

However, we have no idea what the "half-life" of warpstone is. It could very well last for thousands of years. Or millions.
 
mathymancer said:
We haven't seen a ton of Markgraf Nyklaus, but somehow the fact that he carries a bunch of concealed knife, and that he uses them as paperweights, is completely unsurprising. I love this weirdo.
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He's basically if Buffy was trained up in advance, turned out to not actually be the Vampire Slayer, and then joined the marines.

(come to think of it I think I read that exact fanfiction twenty years ago)

Resonant said:
Hm, I'm sure the esteemed Saruman Sarumar will watch very closely for any hints of shenanigans. Does he have a penchant for Hysh spells by any chance? :V
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Sarumar is the tip of a very large iceberg of shamelessly looted Quenya. I promise there's no secret truths to be found.

CeBrudras said:
I am surprised to see Laurelorn proper get none of these contracts. I would have imagined them as being excited about opportunities to forge some bonds.
Though I guess we picked awkward options for them with Varr and Kislev both having decent preexisting ties to Ulthuan and Sylvania apparently being too unpleasant to work in.
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Yeah, the opportunities this turn were all a) on the other side of the continent, b) in some of the worst places on the continent, and c) with polities they've only vaguely heard of. They were thinking more along the lines of the Drakwald or the Forest of Shadows.

Blackout said:
The dwarfs are working with Asur Mages?
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Barak Varr is.

Ohno said:
I'm not sure if that's been answered in thread before, but wouldn't it be possible for Mathilde to use Gabrielle's "butter up the Shallyan faith" method? Or, if so, is it more a matter of "would" rather than "could"?
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High-level Wizards don't die of old age unless they really want to.

Andres said:
Is Seilph the Mathilde of the group?
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That's probably Turuquar, who will talk your ear off about how his plans to delve into the volcano make perfect sense if you look at all the protections he's woven. Seilph banished himself in a fit of outrage after he discovered that in the post-Sundering era, holding people accountable for the horrors they invent was something that only happened to the people on the losing side.

Resonant said:
Does the radiation being sucked away slowly diminish/expend the warpstone? Otherwise it sounds like it'd be generating Dhar endlessly.
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On a long enough timescale, yes.

Resonant said:
Also just to confirm, the Dwarves hired Asur High Mages from Lothern? Would this be a historic Dwarf-Elf collaboration since the end of the War of Vengeance?
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For anyone but Barak Varr, it would be eyebrow-raising.
 
Personally, when I look at Caledor's interaction with the waystone, I can't help but see it less as caution, and more as a researcher in a dangerous field turned power grid technician who's work keeps everyone alive, who has just encountered a new piece of equipment, and is figuring out the best way to work with it. It seems to fit but the close exanimation. A researcher's curiosity mixed with a hint of professional caution to make sure this new thing can be made compatible with required standards.
 
Boney said:
Praag-Lynsk Waystone Expansion, using Riverine Waystones, by Cothiquan Wizards. Began 2491, focused on cleansing of Chaos taint from Praag.
Cleansing of the Black Water, using Riverine Waystones, by Lothernian Wizards. Estimated completion date: 2496. Estimated completion of all currently planned fortifications of Waystone sites: mid-2500s.
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These two will definitely be getting back to Teclis. Should be an interesting reaction so soon after giving us the codes.
 
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DragonParadox said:
These too will definitely be getting back to Teclis. Should be an interesting reaction so soon after giving us the codes.
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Especially since it's given the Phoenix King a chance to send his own Archmages to win diplomatic capital with the dwarves as part of the Seafarer's personal pet project to bury that hatchet. Teclis isn't just going to be proud of us, we also just won him brownie points with his boss.
 
mathymancer said:
I'm actually kind of surprised that Eltharion - or some representative of his - didn't show up to watch the first Waystones going up. I would have thought he would've wanted to see The New Waystones in action.
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He was too busy kicking the doors in on every mage currently in Tor Yvresse and incoherently screeching while shoving the waystone blueprints in their face. Of course incoherent screeching by his standards is a stern look and a lot of vaguely guttural grumbling.
 
BurnNote said:
Dwarfs would of course be the ones with a completion date.
Also, "mid-2500s" probably means around 2505, but with dwarfs it could be 2550. They would spent half a century fortifying things.
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I didn't even consider that that 2505 would be a valid option as well, I just thought they were planning to fortify for the next half-century as is Dwarf custom.
 
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