Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
- Start date
- Fantasy Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
I will reiterate that I am not super mechanically familiar with Fantasy and I'm just doing this for fun. That being said I've already taken out the initial dispel reroll, so it's a moot concern anyway.
In theory, the same as a crown. In practice, very slightly less to most moneychangers. About 1280 crowns, or 1000 Dwarven gc.
Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
I dunno, borrowing some money to go off and do secret agent things and coming back with a substantial fraction of the cash on hand, but in a completely different currency, plus the stuff you went off to buy in the first place... Not quite peak Meowthilde, but it's up there.
Also, note that 1300 gold coins is probably like four times Mathilde's own weight. As far as the non-Borek expedition members are concerned, we're just going to disappear for a day and reappear waiting for them on the road with a literal wagon full of gold. Plus the magical artifacts, which I'm sure will get quite the raised eyebrows from our fellow wizards.
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- Location
- Earth
won't we have to assign ~2/3rd or so to a specific purpose?
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
I'm down for that - but it'll have to be carried by the expedition. The ideal scenario here is probably that we avoid telling anyone but him that it's his, so that if he goes Slayer at Dum there's no question as to whose gold it now is.
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Nah. If you use D&D, a gold coin is fifty to the pound; if you use history, a ducat coin is about 3.5 grams, which is about 150 to the pound. So we have an upper limit of 27 pounds and a lower limit of 9 pounds from those two means of estimating.
It's still a lot of money! But not a wagon-full by any means. "Big bag full," more like.
The Karag Dum Expedition, Part 11: Seventh-and-Final-Combe
In the end, you turn your gaze away from the Hall of Slaves. There will always be more evils in the world than you are capable of addressing, and a half-baked attempt to fix this one would just make it less likely that you're able to fix the one you've invested years of planning towards. That logic isn't very effective at quelling the part of you calling it cowardice as you literally walk away from the enslaved and the suffering, though.
---
The meat is an easy purchase. It looks horrific to you, but you're accustomed to being able to go for a leisurely ride to an inn, restaurant, or bakery when hunger makes itself known. Those at sea are not so fortunate, and it's largely upon barreled salt meat like this that they feed themselves for months or sometimes even years at a time. Between the Light and Amber magic at the Expedition's disposal there's little harm in testing it on the wolves and Demigryphs, and at worst it won't be any more inedible than the few precious stones you trade it for.
The books and papers are almost as easy, as between their uniqueness, rare subject matter, and their fate if they aren't purchased, it takes very little thought for you to decide to add it to your haul. The golden arm and the Ghyran seed are less convincing, but in the end you decide to purchase both, your curiousity outweighing your financial prudence and your dislike of the Druchii's smirk. Even if you're never able to puzzle out the arm you'll still be able to get a significant amount of the cost back by selling it for its gold content, and even if the seed is some sort of trick, figuring out how that much magic was crammed into so small a container would still have value.
Transporting your purchases is simple enough, as you simply claim a stall, write 'seeking caravan for one-day transportation contract' in the air with Aethyric Projection, give a price that's double the usual rate, and put your feet up for the few minutes it takes for someone to approach you. You wouldn't trust the Tilean in question as far as you could throw him since he's here in Uzkulak, but then he could say the same for you, so you ring the bell, hand over a portion of the fee to an Officiant, and see about getting the barrels and books loaded up into the caravan that you're sure he'll claim has been to Cathay and back when it returns to Kislev. With the golden arm in one of those barrels so none of them have to wrestle with temptation. You make sure to confirm with the watchdwarf that Gabriella von Ernachthafen has departed Uzkulak and travel in the wake of the caravan, keeping enough of an eye on them to keep them from getting any clever ideas.
Shortly after dawn, the Expedition trundling along the Skull Road comes across you sitting atop a stack of barrels in the middle of the empty wasteland as you skim through the books. You project an air of aloof smugness as you ignore the many bewildered questions directed your way, which redouble after someone finds the markings on one of the barrels confirming that they came from a Marienburg trade ship. The Dwarves are familiar enough with their vessels at this point that it only takes them a few moments to swing out the davits and start hoisting the barrels aboard and it doesn't take long before the Expedition is underway once more, and you find a moment away from prying eyes to return the remaining precious stones to Borek, and pass word to him that there's apparently a displaced and hungry Ogre tribe somewhere in the area.
---
Aboard the Urmskaladrak, Gotrek is supervising the efforts to mount a boiling contraption onto the engines so that most of the salt can be boiled out of the meat. "Won't ask how you did it, but I'm glad you did," he says to you.
"You were worried about the food situation?"
"Worried?" He harrumphs. "I've worked with Snorri before, I know Rangers can find food anywhere there's food to be found, and the manling Knights seem poured from the same crucible. But I'm more comfortable the less variables there are. It wouldn't have taken very many delays to start raising questions about whether we can even reach somewhere where food can be foraged."
"Three weeks from Dukhlys to the Steppes," you say with a nod.
"It should have been two at most," he grumbles. "The four-wheel design would have had us halfway back to Karak Kadrin by now, as long as every road on the way was solid and perfectly maintained stone at no more than a three degree incline. I should have pushed back more against the sort of Grandmasters that haven't seen the sun since they were Apprentices, but there was trouble enough with me being appointed Head Engineer and having to relocate the project would have ended it there and then. Even though the only reason it was me and not one of them was because none of them would do it."
"I've heard Karag Dum has a lot of detractors among traditionalists," you prompt.
"Folks are always ready to believe the worst of those they've failed," he says with a shrug. "If Karag Dum wasn't worth protecting, there's no shame in failing to have protected it. And it's not like they're able to level a Grudge in defence of their good name."
You nod silently. It's a reasonable conclusion and possibly even a correct one, and it doesn't require the degree of culpability that Thorek's theory requires. "So, this will get the salt out of the meat?"
"Most of it," he grumbles, but in a less morose tone; a Dwarf grumbling about how much better they could do something with more time or better resources is always a happier Dwarf than a Dwarf grumbling about the decline of the Karaz Ankor. "There are cauldrons and ovens that feed off the heat of the boiler already of course, but we're going to need to boil these a lot to get them edible. At sea they'd steep them first, but that means changing the water every few hours and we don't have an endless supply of water with lower salinity than the meat, so that's out. And we can't just toss it into the main boiler, that's designed to be damn near a closed system, and introducing salt and meat fragments would go wrong very quickly. So we build a secondary boiler and condenser and run them off the firebox, boiling off most of the water and draining off the brine and refilling it from the reclaimed fresh water. Before long we'll be left with boiled and only moderately salted meat and a tub of saturated brine that would be maybe eight times saltier than seawater. We can use that to preserve any new meat that comes in that's in excess of what can be eaten, or if nothing else, sell it to a saltern or a pickler on the way back home."
You nod, impressed at such an efficient solution at such short notice. "Very efficient. Nothing's wasted."
He snorts and folds his arms. "Of course. We aren't making it home if we get in the habit of wasting."
"What do you think we'll find at Karag Dum?"
"I don't. Never been, never met anyone who has apart from Borek, so not enough data. Though it does bother me that Borek is becoming more nervous, rather than less, as we get closer. I wonder if he would prefer them to have been destroyed than to have found an unconventional way of surviving."
"The counterfeit Slayers from Karak Vlag do highlight some ugly possibilities. Speaking of, any thoughts on the return of Karak Vlag?"
"Not really," he says with a shrug. "Don't get me wrong, it was the right thing to do and I'm glad we did it, but the Karaz Ankor and I have parted ways. My Ankor is my family now, and they're no better or worse off than before with a Dwarfhold on the other side of Kislev back in existence."
"Ah."
Gotrek apparently takes this as an unvoiced question. "My wife is Clanless. My Clan wouldn't allow her to join it in marriage, so I left it."
You consider the offer that Gotri said he's willing to extend. "Do you regret it?"
He shakes his head firmly. "I regret that they made it necessary. Never my response."
---
The Expedition has had less than a week away from copiously available snowmelt, so there's no need for water at this time. That doesn't stop Snorri from deciding to send a team to investigate the northernmost of the Zorn Uzkul lakes so you'll know for the return trip whether it can be relied upon as a source of water. It comes as a surprise to you that wholesome water supplies can exist in the middle of Chaos Dwarf territory, but you suppose that even Dwarves would think twice before taking on an aquifer. Either that, or Zharr-Naggrund is reliant on this water downstream.
You travel with them to the lake, more for the company than out of safety concerns, though it's likely that if you asked there'd be a significant disagreement over who's protecting who. Once you arrive, the eldest of the Rangers takes a very cautious sip, swishes it around in his mouth cautiously, then nods and swallows. The Rangers all fill up the waterskins they've brought with them for this purpose, apparently intending to create a type of ale that the Rangers of Karak Vlag would only make from the waters of these lakes. What you know of brewing says that if the Expedition suffers no further delays, it will be about ready to drink by the time you're almost back at High Pass, and you wonder if the plan is to drink it or to leave it for Karak Vlag in the hopes that they'd take it as further evidence they're back in reality. Perhaps both.
You part ways with them as they head back to the Expedition and follow the trickle of an outflow as it carves a deep furrow through the empty landscape, galloping along its winding length for a couple of hours until it and you reach the river flowing from the largest of the four, and then three more hours following that until it reaches the second largest of the lakes, which is large enough that you can't see the opposite shore and it takes you two hours to circle around it until you reach the outflow. From there it's another hour until you reach the unnamed falls that disappear into a ravine carved in the southern edge of the Zorn Uzkul plateau, plummeting downwards in a great waterfall taller than most mountains. Somewhere on the western side of that ravine is Clan Moulder's Sixth-Combe, and somewhere on the eastern is the Seventh-and-Final-Combe. This is Clan Moulder's front line against the Chaos Dwarves, from where they raid and are in turn raided by Zharr-Naggrund to the southeast, which is visible as a great column of smoke on the horizon.
Actually reaching Seventh-and-Final-Combe from up here would be much easier said than done for someone that isn't capable of short-range translocation. You shroud yourself in invisibility and hop from niche to recess to tunnel, searching for the one from which unfortunate Skaven do their best to extend a giant funnel into the enormous flow of water every other day to top up the water supplies of the Skaven base. It's not hard to confirm the correct one when you find it, as the Skaven seem to have an impulse to carve their Runes into the walls of every tunnel they occupy, and you follow the three-sided Rune of the Skaven and the overlapping triple diamond of Clan Moulder into the darkness deep underground. You've braced yourself for the smell of a place teeming with Skaven, but what you actually encounter is the overwhelming smell of blood and brimstone, causing you to redouble your guard.
When the passage finally opens up into a main chamber, you find yourself looking upon a fresh battlefield being picked over by Hobgoblins and watched over by what must be a Bull Centaur, the giant creatures 'blessed' by Hashut with the torso of a Dwarf and the body of a bull. Far from the drunken idiocy of the Centaurs of the Beastmen, this creature stares over the Hobgoblins with eyes alight with cruel intelligence, occasionally barking out an order that leaves them scurrying to obey. Looking over the field, you note that most of what you see are regular Skaven, and most scrawny enough to suggest a low position within the Clan's pecking order. Either the more exotic bodies have already been dragged away, or they were never a part of this conflict to begin with, which leads you to believe that you might have found a clue as to what happened with the Plotter-Daemons.
You can hear Qrech's voice in your memory: two is war, three is peace. The status quo here is war, and it's one that has long since solidified into a stalemate from which both sides can harvest exotic slaves and test subjects. The introduction of the Daemons would normally bring peace, but the Daemons did not arrive somewhere equidistant between Clan Moulder and Zharr-Naggrund, they would have arrived around Second- or Third-Combe, introducing a second set of two. Clan Moulder was beset on a new front and withdrew its strongest troops and most lethal beasts to respond, and though they undoubtedly would have tried to keep up the appearance of strength against the Chaos Dwarves, they managed to see through the deception and attacked while their old foe was weakened. Perhaps the bulk of their forces is further west, carving deeper into the chain of bases until they reach the Plotter-Daemons, or perhaps this is the extent of their ambition and they are already returning home to count the spoils. Considering the Hobgoblins are down to dragging away the bodies for what little meat there is on their bones, you doubt there's much left to find here - but there's no harm in trying. Piecing together a mental map from what Qrech's stories have revealed about his old home, you skirt your way around the gore and deeper into the base.
[Rolling]
[Rolling]
Your explorations quickly reveal that the base has already been quite thoroughly looted, including the vaults, cells, laboratories and armouries, but there's one place that you're hoping they wouldn't have been able to find yet: the hidden safe in the Warlord's personal quarters that featured prominently in his story of how he replaced the Warlord before him. The room has already been torn apart, with the wall hangings and carpets Qrech described already disappeared and probably destined for either a Chaos Dwarf's own quarters or Uzkulak for resale, and the vast aquarium that takes up one wall has been broken and the gilled rats that called it home are gone. You reach through the broken glass and pull up the tiny sword lodged in the ribcage of an upset-looking model skeleton, and with a few clicks that make their way through the walls, part of the wall swings noiselessly out, revealing a safe dial. 13-13-13 gets you in, because the way to change the code had been lost with Qrech's predecessor when he was entombed alive in this very safe.
Thankfully, Qrech was practical enough to have said predecessor removed after he had cemented his new position instead of leaving him in as a trophy, and there's only a faint whiff of decay as you reach in to pull out several heavy sacks. Inside you find golden Kislevite Ducats, most bearing the face of Tzar Vladimir Bokha on one side and all the Winter Palace on the reverse, likely either stolen in raids on Kislev or from Kislevite traders bound for Cathay. The quality of the minting is very good as Kislev has always sourced its dies from Dwarfholds rather than making their own, but their purity is very slightly less than Imperial coins. Your rough estimation from their weight says that they're not quite enough to make up for your recent purchases, but at least you won't have to tithe any of it. With your newfound wealth you make your way back out of the warren, and just in time too, because the Bull Centaur has apparently called a break and his Hobgoblins are busy building a cookfire that's soon to fill the tunnels with the smell of burning rat-flesh.
---
The few careful tests indicate that though the wolves and Demigryphs aren't exactly enthused by the salt meat, they'll eat it, and after they show no signs of side-effects worse than a certain amount of grouchiness it is distributed to the rest of the beasts and to anyone else willing to try it. You give it a shot yourself, and though it's still hellishly salty, you have to admit you've eaten worse, mostly from Altdorf street vendors. This leaves the Expedition with approximately four weeks of provisions remaining while two weeks away from Karag Dum. That gives a fair bit of wriggle-room should anything go wrong.
The Expedition has reached the eastern end of Zorn Uzkul, and faces what might be the most laborious part: the switchbacking ascent to the Great Steppes. This is the leg of the Expedition where the speed of the steam-wagons will reduce to a crawl and the convoy might be most vulnerable to attack, and the quality of the road is likely to be extremely variable. At the top of the ascent is the land of the Iron Wolves, the Kurgan tribe who are said to serve a Dragon Ogre and who spend much of their time watching and raiding the Skull Road. By the end of the week you should hopefully be at the edge of Dolgan territory, ready to begin your final sprint northwards to Karag Dum.
The four with the most votes will be chosen.
Spend time getting to know:
[ ] Thane Borek Forkbeard
[ ] Head Engineer Gotrek Gurnisson
[ ] Head Ranger Snorri Farstrider
[ ] Preceptor Joerg von Zavstra
[ ] Sir Ruprecht Wulfhart the Younger
[ ] Asarnil the Dragonlord
[ ] Deathfang
[ ] Ice Crone Ljiljana
[ ] Magister Egrimm van Horstmann
[ ] Citharus, Barbitus, and Timpania
[ ] Magister Michel Solmann
[ ] Journeyman Cyrston von Danling
[ ] Journeywoman Alexandra Kohler
Become involved with:
[ ] Ranging far ahead of the convoy
- With the Knights of Taal's Fury
[ ] Scouting near the convoy
- With the Winter Wolves
Other:
[ ] Use Rite of Way to ease the ascent
- Will only be necessary during the roughest patches
[ ] Scout the lands of the Iron Wolves
[ ] Attempt to make contact with the Iron Wolves
[ ] Investigate the 'Windfall' with the Light Wizards
- Where the Winds blowing from the north descend to ground level, which is only know to happen in mountainous terrain: here, the Mountains of Mourne, the Goromadny Mountains, and northern Norsca.
- There will be a two hour moratorium.
- If you have any other ideas for useful ways for Mathilde to spend her time, let me know.
- Mathilde's debt to Borek is to be settled with solid Dwarven coinage after she returns to K8P.
- There were 1,350 ducats in the bags. The Kislevite ducat is worth about 95% of an Imperial crown.
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- Location
- Earth
We did take lessons on waystones because of them, so in a sense the answer is yes.
Asheram
Not quite altogether
- Location
- Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground
The tithe? I think we can get around that due to paying off that debt since it's not an income.
- Location
- Spain
Not really, if we go by the weight of the Spanish doubloons (6.77g) Mathilde would have came with a bag of 9,14 kg...
- Location
- Russia
Either "less likely that you're able" or "more likely that you're unable".
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Phew. I was getting a little worried the Kurgan would all be one tribe.
- Location
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Well, no run-in with the Tzeentchian demons this week, but I can't say I'm sad about that. @BoneyM, the vote this week doesn't say how many will be picked; I assume top four as per normal?
[ ] Use Rite of Way to ease the ascent
It's what we built the spell for.
[ ] Journeyman Cyrston von Danling
Green is sus.
[ ] Preceptor Joerg von Zavstra
[ ] Sir Ruprecht Wulfhart the Younger
Would like to hang out with the Knight lords and complete our circuit of the council.
[ ] Use Rite of Way to ease the ascent
It's what we built the spell for.
[ ] Journeyman Cyrston von Danling
Green is sus.
[ ] Preceptor Joerg von Zavstra
[ ] Sir Ruprecht Wulfhart the Younger
Would like to hang out with the Knight lords and complete our circuit of the council.
Added a map at the end of the update that shows the territory of the relevant tribes.
I want to see this. With our windsight we could get some real insight into things.
Yes, fixed.
Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
Counterpoint:
That was about 750 gold. So somewhere north of "a crate and a wheelbarrow".
- Location
- Actually pretty lost
Lord/Lady Magisters don't have to tithe.
This looks like exactly the sort of thing we made Rite of Way for. I'm interested in the Windfall, but it seems much more like something we can look at on the way back except in the worst circumstances than the previous adventures were, so I'll not be upset if it gets deferred.
- Location
- Spain
I think we should keep the gold for now, if we have the chance of returning to Uzalak we could save quite a few people from slavery with that gold...
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I figure we aren't needed for any scouting. It's what the Knights are for after all.
But I didn't vote to make a whole new Battle Magic spell only to not use it when needed.
But I didn't vote to make a whole new Battle Magic spell only to not use it when needed.
- Location
- Earth
[ ] Preceptor Joerg von Zavstra
[ ] Sir Ruprecht Wulfhart the Younger
Let's check in with the two of the leadership we haven't yet.
[ ] Use Rite of Way to ease the ascent
It's what we invested overwork in for.
[ ] Investigate the 'Windfall' with the Light Wizards
That sounds interesting to see. Reason enough.
[ ] Sir Ruprecht Wulfhart the Younger
Let's check in with the two of the leadership we haven't yet.
[ ] Use Rite of Way to ease the ascent
It's what we invested overwork in for.
[ ] Investigate the 'Windfall' with the Light Wizards
That sounds interesting to see. Reason enough.