I think it's very premature to be making plans for what happens after the expedition. GIven that we're rushing it we could well have a lot of recovery to do.
That sounds like a great Adela Duckling action. Once the Orkral leaves, anyway.
Though I'm not sure how easy it really is. Making a steam engine work with that is straightforward enough. But the gyrocopter probably flies with an ethanol based combustion engine, and a permanent flame isn't useful for that. You'd need some sort of conditional trigger, which might be possible, but frankly that sounds more in line with runesmithing than enchanting.
I was assuming steam :/. Bother. Tiny enchanted things that activate when the piston get's too close to cause super small fireballs? Or flash-boil water in a tiny enclosed space to cause the pressure to force the pistons to move?
That is a lot of separate castings from the enchanted items though.
For me this is fun blue-sky theory crafting of how to use magic to power the engine of a gyro-choper/carrige/bomber. I am 100% in favour of spending at least one Tongs viability action before even considering trying something like this "enchanted engineering". It's just fun to talk about
With a boiler that requires no fuel, forget gyrocopters, we could create so much more than that.
Endlesly running steam tanks, steam ships, steam trains, mills, wells, lathes...
We just started industrial revolution, or would if Mathilde though about stuff like that.
Maybe build some and get them to Nuln to see what the engineers can make of them?
For stuff like this, one should ask "why has this obvious trick not been implemented before" Maybe the game designers did not think of the rmaifcations of having a fire that burns without fuel for a full year, maybe there is a reason beyond "magic scary" (but that reason has to be good enough to overcome people's desire to make money/cut costs for transportation)
You've gone back and forth on the issue a number of times, balancing the maximum amount of preparation against a desire to have all this done before something else in the world requires your attention, how a shorter or longer delay might please or aggravate Borek, and whether the delay would substantially change the situation at Karag Dum when the Expedition arrives. In the end, the middle-of-the-road date of 2486 won out by a hair over a longer delay to 2487. "Between Miskaden of 961 and Shoika Day of 962," you say, having read up on the Kislevite calendar in advance.
"The full time?" Ljiljana says thoughtfully.
"Best case scenario, we could be back within a month. We shouldn't need more than three unless things have gone terribly wrong."
"Things do that in the Dewastacja," Věnceslava says, while the other three exchange looks.
[Rolling...]
"We have considered this since we first heard from you," Ljiljana says. "There are a number of prices that are between we and the Karzełki, but there is one we will have from you. We have old business in the east, with our fallen cousins of the Kurgan. An item we want from one of their tribes that lives near this Karzełki tirsa of Karag Dum. We shall send someone with this Expedition who can find the tribe and the item, and you are to aid them, and you are to bring the item to us. Agree to this, and the Widow will shield the Karzełki from dying cold and hungry in the Raspotitsa."
You have a number of questions, but from how the old woman emphasized item you doubt you'd get any answers. A theft from a Marauder tribe sounds straightforward enough, though you doubt it would prove that simple in the Chaos Wastes. A single odd job and clear weather for 2486, versus a high likelihood of the Expedition becoming snowbound in 2487.
[ ] Agree
[ ] Refuse
---
Last you heard, Asarnil and Deathfang were helping Kislev see off an invasion of Ogrish invaders called 'Yhetees', but that was a number of years ago. Normally that would make it difficult to track a mercenary down, but this is one mercenary that does not travel unnoticed. You don't have to poke your nose into too many Kislev taverns to find a group of drinking Kossars, who are only too happy to tell stories of their draconic ally, including when they parted ways. That takes you to Ostland, where Asarnil picked up even more pay from the Grand Prince in exchange for stamping out the scattered Yhetee stragglers, and also a worrying Beastherd that was in the area. From there they travelled further west to Nordland, where thankfully he was not hired to get involved in the whole Laurelorn business, but instead kept travelling west... which gives you a sinking feeling in your gut.
From reputation you expected Marienburg to be bustling, but it seems even more so than its reputation would suggest, as the streets have filled with mercenaries and merchants alike looking to profit from the uncertainty. Every tavern is fully occupied and entire shanty towns of tents have been erected wherever they'd fit, which in Marienburg requires a fair bit of creativity and a tolerance for dampness. It is said that the only thing you can't buy in Marienburg is open land, which makes finding somewhere comfortable to lay your head hard even for the average citizen. For an Elf who demands the finest things, and a dragon who is the size of, well, a dragon, it's a problem that you're sure would have proven difficult if they didn't have immense amounts of wealth to spend. Your questions direct you to a pair of barges tied up to Riddra Isle, one sporting a snoozing Deathfang, the other covered in silk tents, with the Elf himself reclining upon pillows and glaring moodily across the river at Elftown.
"You better not be bringing another insultingly low offer from the Directorate," he says without looking up as you approach the gangplank.
"Harathoi lalinoi horinar-enthlai, caladai-indrion," is your reply, and it's one you've been working on since Nordland. A simple translation would be 'I bring a better offer,' but it also has connotations of enjoyability, splendor, the inducement of jealousy, a hint at what that offer might be, and a double meaning of 'herald' that you're quite proud of. Eltharin is that kind of language.
He looks up in surprise, and a smile spreads across his face as he leaps effortlessly to his feet. "The silver savage from Sylvania!" You almost take offence to that, before realizing that it's what Ma-thil would translate closest to in Eltharin. "What offer brings you to this swamp village? One from your Emperor?"
"I am acting in the service of the Dwarves; they are planning an Expedition to Karag Dum, and would pay handsomely for your services."
"The one way up north? Never been. Terrible place, I've heard. Full of themselves, and miserly as well. Awful combination." He frowns, and thinks for a moment. "Wait, they would have been lost in that business Teclis was here for. I suppose that explains the Expedition." He turns from you to direct a stream of half-hissed, half-gargled syllables at the other barge, and Deathfang lifts his head to look at him, and then turns to regard you, a sight that would send most people running. To many citizens of the Empire a dragon is no more than the greatest of beasts, but to those that know their history, dragons are the most ancient race of this world, dating back to before the oldest records of the Elves or the Dwarves. There's a fierce intelligence in those eyes, and to those with the Magesight to see it, raw determination fills every facet of the dragon. Deathfang was born to a world that no longer belongs to his kind, and every passing year increases the weight of that fact atop his enormous shoulders. But Deathfang remains unbent.
Deathfang snorts, and yawns out a response to Asarnil.
"Sounds good to me," Asarnil says. "I like Marienburg's money, but this whole thing smells far too much like one of Finubar's schemes for my liking, and it's been too long since we've been able to test ourselves against the forces of Chaos. Which Dwarfhold?"
"Karak Kadrin."
"Oh, them. Every time I go there, Deathfang gets weird looks from a bunch of half-naked Dwarves, like they're starving dogs looking at a banquet. We'll make ourselves comfortable in Bechafen until we're needed."
---
Recruiting a specific Wizard can be an extended battle of wills, but extending an open welcome to Wizards in general is a much more prosaic process. Distributing the call to arms to the Secretariat of all eight of the Colleges takes only an afternoon; what eats up weeks is setting up a means for the Expedition's payroll to pay for any interested Wizards to travel to Praag from wherever they happen to be, while also making it as impostor-proof as possible to prevent everyone with a coloured robe from being able to cadge a free trip to Kislev. It's a lot of tedious paperwork, and you won't know what the results will be until the Expedition arrives in Praag and there either is or isn't a collection of adventurous Wizards ready to join the Expedition.
Bringing your Gold Wizards in on it is a lot more direct, and once you make it clear you're going, they're immediately on board. You release them from any official duties for the remainder of the year for them to see to their own training and preparations, and leave the two of them animatedly discussing which spells and skillsets might be most useful in the Chaos Wastes.
[Anatomy of the We: Learning, 80+28+7(Library: Arthropods)=115.]
[Society of the We: Learning, 65+28=93.]
In the odd moments you're not unravelling magical secrets or gallivanting across the continent, you're putting the finishing touches to the complete book of the We. You've got your own notes, those from the various specialists you recruited to try to educate the We, and those from Johann, Maximillian, Esbern and Seija, which is a huge amount of information to boil down into a single tome. Describing their anatomy is relatively simple, as entomologists have already blazed the trail with similar specimens, giving you a model to follow and a range of comparisons to draw. Describing their society is much trickier as there's nothing else you know of that's anything like how they think, but you think you've managed to communicate the salient details. When you send off the manuscript and get a properly bound hardcover copy back a few weeks later, you don't hesitate for a moment before sliding it into the Civilized Realms section of your library.
Thus concludes the work Mathilde performed these past months, but not every waking moment was filled with work. With whom did she spend her free time, this past year? The four with the most votes will be chosen, not counting those locked in.
[+] The Wizards of Karak Eight Peaks (locked in)
[+] Social interaction initiated by someone else (locked in)
[+] EIC Reports (does not cost a choice)
Romance Any victors from the below will trigger a subvote for how you'll spend time with them. For everyone but Panoramia and Johann, this is getting to know them better to see how compatible you might be. For Panoramia and Johann, it will be a first tentative expression of interest. While this would not be a soft-lock, it could be awkward to walk that back if Mathilde decides her heart lies elsewhere.
[ ] [ROMANCE] Journeywoman Panoramia
[ ] [ROMANCE] Magister Johann
[ ] [ROMANCE] Elector Countess Roswita van Hal
[ ] [ROMANCE] Baron Anton Kiesinger II
[ ] [ROMANCE] The Ice Dragon of Karag Zilfin
[ ] [ROMANCE] Chief Bombardier Oswald Oswaldson
Fellow Wizards
[ ] Gretel, who's apparently spending her newly-earned wealth to make herself at home.
[ ] Hubert, as he settles in to his niche with Ulrikadrin.
Karak Eight Peaks Notables
[ ] Elder Hluodwica, High Priestess of Esmerelda and civilian leader of the Eight Peaks Halflings.
[ ] Francesco Caravello, proud Viceroy of the Undumgi.
[ ] Sir Ruprecht Wulfhart, leader of the frontier town of Ulrikadrin.
Foreign Relations
[ ] Barak Varr, to watch the progress of the canal.
[ ] Stirland, to see for yourself how the war against Sylvania is progressing.
Friends Abroad
[ ] Kasmir, to see how he's keeping himself busy in Sylvania.
[ ] Julia, to see what she has gotten up to as Stirland's most experienced spy master.
[ ] Eike Hochschild, to get to know your future business partner.
Following Up
[ ] The Amber College, to check in on the salamanders.
[ ] Follow up on your donation of the Skaven organ-vat, and see what has been made of it.
[ ] Pay a visit to your fief, to see if anything has changed. It probably hasn't.
[ ] Other (write in)
- There will be a two hour moratorium.
- There'll be a run-down of the results of training and preparations for your recruits just before the Expedition sets off.
I was assuming steam :/. Bother. Tiny enchanted things that activate when the piston get's too close to cause super small fireballs? Or flash-boil water in a tiny area to cause the pressure to force the pistons to move?
Enchanted everturning cogwheel.
There has to be a way to make something more constantly through magic.
Don't need to even turn that fast as long as it has enough force behind it.
Aranaea Sapiens, By M. Mathilde Weber (Grey), We (Karak Eight Peaks), M. Esber (Amber) & M. Seija (Amber), M. Johann (Gold), M. Maximilian de Gaynesford (Gold), Priestess Fidelia (Esmerelda), Loremaster ɧæð (Karak Hirn), 2484.
From there they travelled further west to Nordland, where thankfully he was not hired to get involved in the whole Laurelorn business, but instead kept travelling west... which gives you a sinking feeling in your gut.
"Sounds good to me," Asarnil says. "I like Marienburg's money, but this whole thing smells far too much like one of Finubar's schemes for my liking, and it's been too long since we've been able to test ourselves against the forces of Chaos. Which Dwarfhold?"
Woo, hat trick: we both secured Asarnil for the expedition, AND pulled him away from Marienburg hiring him to support them fucking over the canal.
In fact the second part might be the more important part and maybe should be passed on to certain ears regarding when Marienburg will no longer be supported by a dragon
I hope that taking him out of the picture will make it more likely that Marienburg backs down from attacking the canal. Especially if they hear that the dwarves are the ones who bought him.
For stuff like this, one should ask "why has this obvious trick not been implemented before" Maybe the game designers did not think of the rmaifcations of having a fire that burns without fuel for a full year, maybe there is a reason beyond "magic scary" (but that reason has to be good enough to overcome people's desire to make money/cut costs for transportation)
Games Workshop wants to have a specific feel for the setting, so lot of obvious things just don't happen.
In setting, maybe the enchantment just can't be done reliably, maybe the constant heat destroys the boiler, maybe people are suspicious of magic...
Maybe it's just not economically feasible in short enough term to get a magic boiler when there is plenty of money to be made by using ox (or peasants) to provide power.
Maybe the metallurgy for reliable machines is not there yet, or was not there yet few decades ago.
The We being co-authors is a very nice touch, makes sense, and will go a good way to helping academics reading the book conceptualise them as a person.
Woo, hat trick: we both secured Asarnil for the expedition, AND pulled him away from Marienburg hiring him to support them fucking over the canal.
In fact the second part might be the more important part and maybe should be passed on to certain ears regarding when Marienburg will no longer be supported by a dragon
You don't credit people for helping your research unless they're people. They have the second-place authorship spot. That's a very significant message we're sending.
With a boiler that requires no fuel, forget gyrocopters, we could create so much more than that.
Endlesly running steam tanks, steam ships, steam trains, mills, wells, lathes...
We just started industrial revolution, or would if Mathilde though about stuff like that.
Maybe build some and get them to Nuln to see what the engineers can make of them?
I want trains more than as much as the next person, but Boney has pointed out that proper rail requires mass production in a manner dwarfs will never, ever accept. So, first you'd have to find some way to get men to learn mass production of steel and the secrets of steam, which are pretty high hurdles that i don't think can be cleared - especially given Boney's entirely reasonable stance on bringing in OOC tech knowledge (i.e., don't.)
As I've said in the past, it's really a shame, because you know dwarfs would be just the worst best railfans. And can you imagine a model railroad built by a dwarf? It would take decades, but it would be perfect.
...I changed my mind, let's find a way to invent trains after all, then get Belegar interested.
I think the price Asarnil would have asked to support Marienburgs monopoly-scheme would have been ruinous even for them, if only to spite their Ulthuani allies.
But still better if they don't get the chance to make more offers than those he rejected, or to wait for him grow bored.