Instead of charting a course around Sylvania like you normally would to reach Karak Kadrin from Altdorf, you instead detour near it. Your destination is Leicheberg, the unofficial headquarters of the Battle Wizards contributing to the fight against the remaining Vampire-ruled towns. With the armies of Stirland elsewhere, there's plenty of tents and barracks to give each Battle Wizard plenty of space and peace to keep themselves centered without unduly bothering the locals.
There is a known trend for Wizards to become less and less able to connect with 'normal' people as they venture further and further into the embrace of their Wind, though the specifics vary from Wind to Wind and Wizard to Wizard. The Gold Order in particular is known for becoming more rigid and uncompromising as they advance, and less able to connect emotionally to others. This makes Magister Patriarch Feldmann an oddity, and an extremely dangerous one, as either through chance or through carefully cultivated ability he has retained the ability to interact usefully with Burghers and Nobles alike. He can claim a great deal of credit for the ever-growing wealth of the Gold Order, built atop the contracts he has bargained and the contacts he has maintained. If there is a downside to this rare power, it's that he tends to be the one sent along with the Battle Wizards to soothe ruffled feathers and calm panicked citizenry, and ever since Emperor Luitpold unleashed the Battle Wizards upon Sylvania, Feldmann has been there alongside them to coordinate, communicate, and keep everything under control.
He also, it seems, has made himself quite at home in Leicheberg, having acquired a large and rather opulent manor located between the town proper and the camp occupied by the Battle Wizards. Something akin to a landing pad has been set up in lines of shimmering metal sketched into the hardpacked earth, and the pilot needs some coaxing to be convinced to land on such obvious Zhufaz. When you do finally touch down, a well-dressed majordomo has positioned himself nearby to greet you, welcome you, and show you in, ignoring with solemn dignity the dust kicked up by the gyrocopter that has turned his doublet a light brown.
"Magister Weber," Feldmann says as you enter his office, and you take a moment to take the room in. The books lining the walls are clearly his own rather than having come with the manor, as Reikspiel is often crowded out by Lingua Praestantia or alchemical symbols in the titles. Being in control of the corporation that would likely have been responsible for shifting all of this, you're sure the cost of transplanting this library would have been considerable - but compared to the wealth and power of the Gold Order, it probably didn't even register. As for Feldmann himself, he is a tall man with a build that tells of a war fought between muscle and an encroaching waistline, and his eyes are as gold as his robes - truly gold, instead of the light brown sometimes described as such. He also has a neatly-trimmed beard and moustache framing his mouth, mostly black hair with flecks of grey. If he was not wearing the robes of his order, he'd not be out of place in any of the upscale portions of the Empire's cities.
"Magister Patriarch Feldmann," you reply, giving a short bow which he returns with a nod of his head. He indicates the seat in front of him with an airy wave of his hand, and you sink into the overstuffed softness of it.
"I've been following with interest your work in Karak Eight Peaks," he says, sliding open a drawer and rummaging through it. "It's become something of a matter of pride to my Order that we tied with the Ambers for having the right amount of foresight and ambition to get in on a good thing early. You are to be commended for your diligence, and for your ability to forge ties with the Dwarves - which I can attest is no small feat."
"Thank you, Magister Patriarch," you say cautiously.
With a tut, he slides the drawer closed and opens another. "You are a woman of many hats," he begins, then eyes your more literal hat and seems to lose his train of thought for a moment. "Magister, of course," he says after rallying. "Knight. Thane. Businesswoman. Loremaster. Archmage, one could argue. None could argue against the results, but if I may be frank with you, and I mean no aspersion in saying so, I have my disagreements with the timetable. Split so many ways, the results of any one facet of your efforts are delayed more than I'd like. Any year could bring war to our beloved Empire once more, and so each year is crucial."
"We're talking, I take it, of our subterranean foes?"
He smiles. "Your cautiousness does you credit. I do speak of them, and more specifically I speak of the many artefacts and writings you've accumulated. These were, of course, honourably acquired through conquest and I would not dream of simply asking you to hand them over. But you cannot deny that in your hands, the undoubtedly brilliant insights you would achieve would be spread out over years or decades. I would quite like to accelerate that schedule, and I've spoken on the matter to Dragomas and to Algard, who have pointed out both precedent and law give you the power to share or not as you see fit. So as per Articles 4, 11, and 12, I ask you simply to name your price."
You control your reaction, and consider his words. "For everything, I take it."
"Everything. We'll take responsibility for transport, and our scribes will produce copies of every book and scroll and scrap of paper for you to retain for your own library. The Gold Order can bend considerable amounts of talent and resources to the task, and, one hopes, have usable insights ready and weaponized before the next existential threat we all face. Let us not forget that our Orders were founded in the face of the Everchosen, Asavar Kul, and each year might bring his successor, or a new Waaagh, or a fourth Vampire War, or some other threat to life as we know it. And the calendar will not do us the courtesy of waiting for us to be ready." He places his hands on the desk and leans forward slightly - not enough to be an attempt at intimidation, instead apparently being an expression of sincere intensity. "I am asking you to give up a lot of opportunities, and I do not do so lightly. So in exchange for giving up so many papers and books and all the reputation and goodwill that would come with those, I say to you: name your price. The Gold Order has wealth and influence and secrets beyond measure. Tell me what we must surrender to you, so that you will release your grasp on the secrets of the Skaven."
[ ] Name your price: write in.
[ ] Decline
Example prices:
GIANT ROBOT
Gold Magisters or Battle Wizards or Wizard Lord assistance for a specific project or expedition
Outfitting of an entire College-scale library
Complete Gold Order cooperation for the Waystone investigations
Gold Order creates and supplies a 'seviroscope' - a way to provide Windsight without interacting with the brain
Gold Order outfits a branch college (created through separate Great Deed expenditure)
Insights on creating independent, temporary, and combat-capable constructs in the vein of Gehenna's Golden Hounds
Gold Order influence, politicking, and bribery to assist with a vote to legitimize the worship of Ranald
Outfit the K8P gunnery school with the best equipment, texts and tools available
Buy me some spy networks
A flying warship, suited for exploration, warfare, and research
- There will be a three hour moratorium. Please suggest prices in that time to populate the list with some examples.
- The Gold Order is, indeed, very wealthy and very powerful. There's little they couldn't make happen if they put their mind to it.
- Magister Patriarch Feldmann is a Magister Patriarch. If he says he spoke to Dragomas and Algard, he's telling the truth. Lying about that sort of thing is a career-ender.
- If you accept, this will clear out your remaining Skaven artefacts but will not affect your library.
- If you accept, you would receive copies of any papers produced, but will not have future access to the artefacts.
- The Gold Order would be extremely able to make it up to Johann and Maximilian if you agree to sell.
- Approval voting is permitted. If you want to split the vote between multiple items, do so under a plan name. In the examples below, replace the * with X.
- Splitting the vote will get you lesser results than focusing on one item when it comes to the big-ticket items. If you ask for a robot and a flying boat, you'll get less robot than if you'd just asked for robot, and less flying boat than if you'd just asked for flying boat.
[*] Example Approval Vote 1
[*] Example Approval Vote 2
[*] Plan Split Vote
-[*] Example Split Vote 1
-[*] Example Split Vote 2
