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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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SaltyWaffles said:
Frankly, I'm rather surprised Thorgrim is lending an army of craftsmen/smiths/experts/builders for only three and a half years. K8P is, as he now knows, literally essential to the survive of the dwarf race. K8P is huge, and it doesn't have a very large population (yet); many of its fortifications are broken or nonexistent. If I were him, I'd make sure to fortify the shit out of K8P. Considering that it's practically next door to a major greenskin stronghold, and just how much the rest of the karak is in disrepair (and needs cleanup, too), three and a half years is pretty short.
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Honestly, I think he does not know what to do yet. His mindset that has been carved into him over the centuries. Now the main reason for it has been shattered in a single day, I think it would take most people some time to come to terms with that let alone a dwarf. Give him a few years to process exactly what happened and reevaluate his situation. Who knows, maybe he will even open up after giving it some though. Not likely but miracles can happen.

(They are called Ranald)
 
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[X] Battle: General of Fog
Perhaps you should embrace the role of General that fate seems to insist on thrusting upon you, and deepen your understanding of deriving and concealing information on the battlefield.
[X] Battle: Surreptitious Intervention
Or perhaps you should focus not on when you lead the battles, but when you turned them more personally. Eyes and blades in the right places can make all the difference.

[X] Karak: Polyglot
Between Khazalid and Queekish, you've found there's a great deal of benefits to expanding your linguistic lexicon.
[X] Karak: Understanding of Skaven
The ratmen have a mind very few are able to get into, and between Frederick's memoirs and Qrech's insights it might be no human could eventually achieve the understanding that you could.
[X] Karak: Windherder
It's said the High Elves can achieve miracles by using the Winds in parallel. You'll have to make do with using them in series, having other people handle the other Winds, and making sure they keep a safe distance from each other. But cultivating this ability expands the possibilities exactly eightfold.

[X] Personal: Mountain Mystic
Your unconventional relationship with an unconventional God has so far gone mostly unnoticed. Perhaps word might begin to spread amongst the faithful that far from the sects, orders and brotherhoods of the Empire, one walks with only Ranald for company.
[X] Personal: Xeno-Affinity
Your circle of friends and acquaintances includes Dwarves, Halflings, seven flavours of Wizard, spiders, a wolf, a litter of Wolf-Rats, and to your surprise, one Skaven. Who can predict the benefits to cultivating an ability to find friendship amongst those most different from you?
[X] Personal: The Mom Friend
As a friend, you have something of an interventionist streak. Perhaps you should embrace this, and make it your mission to ensure that those closest to you live their best lives.
 
Guancyto said:
Please excuse me while I flash back to scrolling through, like, an actual year of Roswita-hate, which immediately and completely flipped around to MUST PROTECC the second Mathilde actually got to talk to her.
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…not really. Must Protecc was the default position for the child of Van Hal. And even immediately after she kicked us out there were those that wanted to stick around and help out surreptitiously. Conversely the hate for her didn't really stop until we dumped an army of Wizards on her then went to gloat over commiserate with her about it.

Mopman43 said:
It's a common trend. People were rather disparaging of Johann until they found out he was a Golden Punch Wizard.
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No, not at all. We hated and distrusted Johann until we forced him to stop being a lying, reckless git.

It wasn't just spending time around them. It was circumstances changing such that they were no longer people deserving of hate.
 
Angelform said:
…not really. Must Protecc was the default position for the child of Van Hal. And even immediately after she kicked us out there were those that wanted to stick around and help out surreptitiously. Conversely the hate for her didn't really stop until we dumped an army of Wizards on her then went to gloat over commiserate with her about it.
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In the defense of the faction of the haters, we had never actually seen her as a person before this as up until then she had stoically projected her "Elector Count" persona.
 
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Father and Son
  • Apocrypha
    • Crystal clear blue skies stretched out beyond the mountain peaks and the sun shone upon freshly hewed stone. The mountains air held a frosty bite but Ulgin appreciated the cool air that filled his lungs as he kept marking the fresh stone with a charcoal stencil. This stone was destined to be fitted together for a watchpost and a small swarm of dwarfs crawled over the future watchpost. Below, a far greater swarm of dwarfs were working on Morzund's wall. This watchpost would have a commanding view and help secure the wall below from surprises. It didn't have the highest priority like the Western Gate or the Karak Drazh underway did. It was, though, high enough on the list that a couple of Clan Irkokri stonemasons had been shaken loose for the task. They guided the less confident workers in striking away what he marked.

    Ulgin paused in marking stone and stretched before dusting off charcoal dust that had stuck to his hands instead of the rock. He leaned back against some of the unmarked stone and nursed his canteen. The warmth of the rock was a welcome reprieve from the chill of the mountain air. As he gazed up he noticed that the blue sky had taken a slightly deeper tone of blue. It was almost Angrund blue. The sky stretched on and on, past mountains, valleys, and the edge of the horizon. Ulgin felt his heart stir at the sight.

    Open air always vexed him. As a youth it had even frightened him. He could still feel a part of his mind he often ignored gibbering away that he was too exposed. Yet this sight, this Angrund blue sky stretching off forever, made the work up in the open air almost worth it. Living without stone over your head like a ranger was madness of course, but the view was pleasant. He shook his head clear and took one last gulp of water from his canteen. He needed to focus. These stones wouldn't mark themselves.

    Work continued at a breakneck pace. Ever since the 'Battle for the Caldera' the ringing of pickaxes and the steady song of moving stone could be heard at all hours from everywhere in the karak. When Ulgin finally left the new watchpost stone had been fitted together, sealed, and marked for windows and crenellations that masons could come by and follow later. Reds and violets were spreading through the sky when Ulgin finally stepped back into Karag Lhune. He gave a gruff greeting to a Chisleward guard before he continued his walk home. All around he could see flaws. Places that could be shaped subtly different to give defenders better odds. A pillar there would offer excellent cover to pressured quarrellers. These stairs were too straight and having it spiral would give an excellent hard point to defend. Ulgin rubbed the back of his neck and with force of habit let those thoughts drift away as he entered his sweet little abode. It wasn't useful to think about how to better defend the Chisleward. There were so many other places to focus on now. Ulgin smiled at the thought. Everyone had to work far faster than they wanted to, but at least it was for a good reason.

    He gave a quick greeting to Zefre as she puttered about in the kitchen before closing the door to his study. A quick glance to his desk brought a smile as a small plate of his favorite mushrooms sat on top of a pile of papers. He sat down in the sturdy wooden chair, pulled himself closer to the stone desk, and ate one of the mushrooms before looking over the fortification proposals. That needed a change. This should be smoothed out. That wall needed to be redone. New designs and changes to old ones spun in his head as the lamp on his desk merrily burned away.

    Hours passed before a soft knock drew Ulgin from his ruminations. The door opened as Alom, his son with only a wisp of a beard, carried in a plate of sliced meats and a bowl of steaming soup.

    "Sorry papa." Alom said as he tried to avoid spilling anything. "I know you don't like interruptions while you work but mama finished dinner and I thought you might want some before it all went cold."

    "Thank you." Ulgin said while clearing a spot on the paper strewn desk. "Could you put it here?"

    "Yes."

    Stone and pottery clattered as the plate and bowl settled on the desk.

    "Papa?"

    "Hmm…? Yes Alom?"

    "I know you are busy but would it be alright if I watched you work?"

    "It would be a bit boring just to watch me work, but what about this?" Ulgin stood up and stretched before motioning Alom to take the seat. "You can help me."

    Like a lightning bolt Alom sat in the chair, which was just a bit too big for him. "How can I help papa!?"

    The sound of grinding rock filled the room as Ulgin laughed. He sorted through papers before spreading several before Alom. "Alright. So Zilfin Dum is concerning us. We don't know what the skaven did to it and we don't have the dwarfs to plumb it yet, so we will fortify this chokepoint for now. Of course that means we need to decide how to fortify. Here are some ideas of how to do that. What do you think?"

    Alom mulled over the drawings and notations set before him. Several drafts had been proposed and marked and remarked. The ones sitting on the table were fairly close to a final draft, but some more work was going to be put into them. He took a look at the papers before pointing one out.

    "This one is the best."

    "Why is that?"

    "It has the biggest walls and the most space for cannons."

    Ulgin barked out a short laugh. "Good eye son. Good eye! But!" Ulgin put a heavy hand on Alom's shoulder. "Time is of the essence. We don't know when an attack will come. This wall is indeed a strong wall and is likely what the finished fort will look like. However, we don't have the time to build it." Ulgin turned that draft over. "Of these other designs which one is the best given time is a priority?"

    Alom stared at the papers in front of him with renewed vigor. Minutes dragged on and Alom tapped different parts of the designs trying to figure out which one to pick. Finally he gave a defeated sigh and said, "I don't know father. I am sorry."

    Ulgin mussed up Alom's hair. "Nothing to be sorry about. If you like we can talk through the designs together and figure out which one is best."

    Alom's face, which had taken a somber tone over the minutes, lit up and he quickly agreed. Over the next hour Ulgin guided Alom through the designs. Where they were strong. Where they were weak. How fast they could be built. He was just wrapping up his points on why the pillars were to be rounded instead of square when Alom's snore interrupted him. With a half hearted grumble he lifted the lad up and carried him out of his study.

    After tucking Alom into bed he walked into the kitchen and sat down next to his wife who had set aside a mug of ale for him while she nursed her own.

    "Thank you for humoring him." Zefre said. "I know how busy everything has become, but I am sure he enjoyed helping you."

    Ulgin grumbled into his mug. "Alom is learning quickly. He will be a fine dwarf one day." He paused and fiddled with his mug. "Do you have anything that needs done tomorrow morning dear?"

    Zefre glanced up. "No. You know I like to keep mornings free. Why?"

    "I requested a half day off and it was approved. Is there anything you would like to do?"

    She gave a bright smile before tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… Alom and I haven't gotten a chance to visit The Arch of Kings. It might be tricky to get enough people to go though."

    Ulgin smiled. "I thought you might want to get out. I talked with some friends. They also got half days off and would be willing to escort us."

    Zefre rested her head on Ulgin's shoulder. "That's very thoughtful of you. But what if I was busy?"

    Ulgin very carefully did not shrug. "You like to keep mornings free."

    "Yes. But I could have been busy. What then?"

    "Well, then I would have broken out some of the fine ale and had a good grumbling with everyone."

    Zefre smiled up from her resting spot. "It might be hard to find things to grumble about now."

    Ulgin could only grumble into his ale at that.

    That was how Alom found them the next morning. Zefre resting her head on Ulgin's shoulder, smiles on both their faces and both still holding onto half finished mugs.

    A.N
    Omake for the omake throne. For this one I decided to try a slice of life from a dwarf view after the Battle for the Caldera. I am not very lore wise so I am sure I messed up a dwarf home life but I still enjoyed writing it. Feel free to critique as those help me become a better writer!
     
  • Apocrypha
    • Neshuakadal said:
    Crystal clear blue skies stretched out beyond the mountain peaks and the sun shone upon freshly hewed stone. The mountains air held a frosty bite but Ulgin appreciated the cool air that filled his lungs as he kept marking the fresh stone with a charcoal stencil. This stone was destined to be fitted together for a watchpost and a small swarm of dwarfs crawled over the future watchpost. Below, a far greater swarm of dwarfs were working on Morzund's wall. This watchpost would have a commanding view and help secure the wall below from surprises. It didn't have the highest priority like the Western Gate or the Karak Drazh underway did. It was, though, high enough on the list that a couple of Clan Irkokri stonemasons had been shaken loose for the task. They guided the less confident workers in striking away what he marked.

    Ulgin paused in marking stone and stretched before dusting off charcoal dust that had stuck to his hands instead of the rock. He leaned back against some of the unmarked stone and nursed his canteen. The warmth of the rock was a welcome reprieve from the chill of the mountain air. As he gazed up he noticed that the blue sky had taken a slightly deeper tone of blue. It was almost Angrund blue. The sky stretched on and on, past mountains, valleys, and the edge of the horizon. Ulgin felt his heart stir at the sight.

    Open air always vexed him. As a youth it had even frightened him. He could still feel a part of his mind he often ignored gibbering away that he was too exposed. Yet this sight, this Angrund blue sky stretching off forever, made the work up in the open air almost worth it. Living without stone over your head like a ranger was madness of course, but the view was pleasant. He shook his head clear and took one last gulp of water from his canteen. He needed to focus. These stones wouldn't mark themselves.

    Work continued at a breakneck pace. Ever since the 'Battle for the Caldera' the ringing of pickaxes and the steady song of moving stone could be heard at all hours from everywhere in the karak. When Ulgin finally left the new watchpost stone had been fitted together, sealed, and marked for windows and crenellations that masons could come by and follow later. Reds and violets were spreading through the sky when Ulgin finally stepped back into Karag Lhune. He gave a gruff greeting to a Chisleward guard before he continued his walk home. All around he could see flaws. Places that could be shaped subtly different to give defenders better odds. A pillar there would offer excellent cover to pressured quarrellers. These stairs were too straight and having it spiral would give an excellent hard point to defend. Ulgin rubbed the back of his neck and with force of habit let those thoughts drift away as he entered his sweet little abode. It wasn't useful to think about how to better defend the Chisleward. There were so many other places to focus on now. Ulgin smiled at the thought. Everyone had to work far faster than they wanted to, but at least it was for a good reason.

    He gave a quick greeting to Zefre as she puttered about in the kitchen before closing the door to his study. A quick glance to his desk brought a smile as a small plate of his favorite mushrooms sat on top of a pile of papers. He sat down in the sturdy wooden chair, pulled himself closer to the stone desk, and ate one of the mushrooms before looking over the fortification proposals. That needed a change. This should be smoothed out. That wall needed to be redone. New designs and changes to old ones spun in his head as the lamp on his desk merrily burned away.

    Hours passed before a soft knock drew Ulgin from his ruminations. The door opened as Alom, his son with only a wisp of a beard, carried in a plate of sliced meats and a bowl of steaming soup.

    "Sorry papa." Alom said as he tried to avoid spilling anything. "I know you don't like interruptions while you work but mama finished dinner and I thought you might want some before it all went cold."

    "Thank you." Ulgin said while clearing a spot on the paper strewn desk. "Could you put it here?"

    "Yes."

    Stone and pottery clattered as the plate and bowl settled on the desk.

    "Papa?"

    "Hmm…? Yes Alom?"

    "I know you are busy but would it be alright if I watched you work?"

    "It would be a bit boring just to watch me work, but what about this?" Ulgin stood up and stretched before motioning Alom to take the seat. "You can help me."

    Like a lightning bolt Alom sat in the chair, which was just a bit too big for him. "How can I help papa!?"

    The sound of grinding rock filled the room as Ulgin laughed. He sorted through papers before spreading several before Alom. "Alright. So Zilfin Dum is concerning us. We don't know what the skaven did to it and we don't have the dwarfs to plumb it yet, so we will fortify this chokepoint for now. Of course that means we need to decide how to fortify. Here are some ideas of how to do that. What do you think?"

    Alom mulled over the drawings and notations set before him. Several drafts had been proposed and marked and remarked. The ones sitting on the table were fairly close to a final draft, but some more work was going to be put into them. He took a look at the papers before pointing one out.

    "This one is the best."

    "Why is that?"

    "It has the biggest walls and the most space for cannons."

    Ulgin barked out a short laugh. "Good eye son. Good eye! But!" Ulgin put a heavy hand on Alom's shoulder. "Time is of the essence. We don't know when an attack will come. This wall is indeed a strong wall and is likely what the finished fort will look like. However, we don't have the time to build it." Ulgin turned that draft over. "Of these other designs which one is the best given time is a priority?"

    Alom stared at the papers in front of him with renewed vigor. Minutes dragged on and Alom tapped different parts of the designs trying to figure out which one to pick. Finally he gave a defeated sigh and said, "I don't know father. I am sorry."

    Ulgin mussed up Alom's hair. "Nothing to be sorry about. If you like we can talk through the designs together and figure out which one is best."

    Alom's face, which had taken a somber tone over the minutes, lit up and he quickly agreed. Over the next hour Ulgin guided Alom through the designs. Where they were strong. Where they were weak. How fast they could be built. He was just wrapping up his points on why the pillars were to be rounded instead of square when Alom's snore interrupted him. With a half hearted grumble he lifted the lad up and carried him out of his study.

    After tucking Alom into bed he walked into the kitchen and sat down next to his wife who had set aside a mug of ale for him while she nursed her own.

    "Thank you for humoring him." Zefre said. "I know how busy everything has become, but I am sure he enjoyed helping you."

    Ulgin grumbled into his mug. "Alom is learning quickly. He will be a fine dwarf one day." He paused and fiddled with his mug. "Do you have anything that needs done tomorrow morning dear?"

    Zefre glanced up. "No. You know I like to keep mornings free. Why?"

    "I requested a half day off and it was approved. Is there anything you would like to do?"

    She gave a bright smile before tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… Alom and I haven't gotten a chance to visit The Arch of Kings. It might be tricky to get enough people to go though."

    Ulgin smiled. "I thought you might want to get out. I talked with some friends. They also got half days off and would be willing to escort us."

    Zefre rested her head on Ulgin's shoulder. "That's very thoughtful of you. But what if I was busy?"

    Ulgin very carefully did not shrug. "You like to keep mornings free."

    "Yes. But I could have been busy. What then?"

    "Well, then I would have broken out some of the fine ale and had a good grumbling with everyone."

    Zefre smiled up from her resting spot. "It might be hard to find things to grumble about now."

    Ulgin could only grumble into his ale at that.

    That was how Alom found them the next morning. Zefre resting her head on Ulgin's shoulder, smiles on both their faces and both still holding onto half finished mugs.

    A.N
    Omake for the omake throne. For this one I decided to try a slice of life from a dwarf view after the Battle for the Caldera. I am not very lore wise so I am sure I messed up a dwarf home life but I still enjoyed writing it. Feel free to critique as those help me become a better writer!
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    I'm drawing a blank on a name for this, any preferences or ideas?
     
    ChronOblivion said:
    This whole thing has made me regret that we got that look into Thorgrim's head.

    Like, imagine if we didn't get that one mini-chapter. Where Cadeath's bombshell shocked us as deeply as it did Mathilde, and launched the thread into a dizzying frenzy of speculation until Belegar's partial truth solidified us into the worst interpretation. Just imagine the discourse around Thorgrim then, because we do not and have never truly known what goes on in that head, and it sure looks like he has never stopped acting only out of the interests of his own Hold.

    And then picture a future scene down the road, where Belegar and Mathilde have escalated far enough that Thorgrim is forced to break his secrecy and read us into the full truth, that the continued existence of the Dwarven race depends on our Waystone's continued function. WHAM.

    As it is, this OOC knowledge will change the course of our actions and the feeling behind them. We would have to deliberately choose to pick suboptimal choices that depend on Belegar's inaccurate guess. The consequence of metagaming would be a success that we didn't figure out on our own, and the consequences of failure would be spoiled by the fact that we didn't earnestly make that mistake.

    What a touchy subject this subplot is going to be. I really do not know how it is going to unfold.
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    See, in addition to what Boney said about OOC Thorgrim I think there's also the fact that the truth might seem to come a bit out of left field you know? And knowing certainly gives us a lot of juicy intrigue.

    Although another good way it could have been done (because by god has Boney done this well), is if the Thorgrim chapter wasn't there as you said, we get to this point with all the emotions and rage as expected, then next chapter is the Thorgrim interlude explaining everything. Then we get the passion, emotion, then followed by all the juicy intrigue without the Thorgrim reveal being all down the road maybe seeming left field, and neatly dodging accusations of OOC Thorgrim excepting a very small window (with any accusations in said window quickly falling flat).
     
    I would point out that Thorgrim has already broken an age-old tradition: opening the gates of Karaz-a-Karak for reasons other than war.

    He's not completely inflexible.
     
    [X] Battle: Surreptitious Intervention
    [X] Karak: Understanding of Skaven
    [X] Karak: Polyglot
    [X] Personal: Unphased
    [X] Personal: Mountain Mystic
     
    [X] Battle: General of Fog
    [X] Battle: Surreptitious Intervention

    [X] Karak: Windherder
    [X] Karak: Light Fingers

    [X] Personal: Xeno-Affinity
    [X] Personal: Poker Face

    Question though, just how many choices do we get in this voting? Is it two per category or only one?
     
    LightLan said:
    I love the implication here that historically some emperors did not get read into things :D
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    The senior members still remember the times of Dieter IV.

    They don't talk about that, but they remember.


    Oh, and

    [X] Battle: General of Fog
    [X] Karak: Windherder
    [X] Personal: Mountain Mystic
     
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