Remove ads

Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Voting is open
Reader mode
CornyBones said:
Watch as Kragg pivots into Santa Klaus on a dime, flabbergasting Mathy, before turning and scowling at her "None will believe you.'
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
While I'd like to imagine that he's actually Kragg the Jolly* around children, it seems unlikely.

*Possibly Kragg the Bolg, given that Bolg means "Large, fat belly. Also a state of extreme wealth, age and contentment", which tracks somewhat with jolly
 
Voting closed, writing has begun.

Adhoc vote count started by BoneyM on Jun 4, 2021 at 10:25 PM, finished with 834 posts and 157 votes.
Click to expand...
 
Remove ads
Turn 34 Results - 2486.5 - Part 2 - Eike's Visit
  • Threadmarks
    • Tally

    [*] Belegar Ironhammer
    [*] Kazrik and the Dwarves of Karak Azul
    [*] Panoramia, Hluodwica, and the Halflings

    Well, if your intention is to introduce Eike to some important people, why go to half measures? King Belegar won't have nearly as much time to spare as just about anyone else, but he's an incredibly important figure, an embodiment of Dwarven greatness, and someone you've personally grown quite fond of over the years. This does mean travelling all the way down Karag Nar and then halfway up Karag Lhune, so you introduce Eike to one of your little shortcuts: Shadowsteed. She's at first enthused and then disquieted by the horse-shaped mystical construct, and you learn from her that the rigid bearing of a Shadowsteed awaiting a rider would be indicative in a flesh and blood horse that they're tense or nervous and should be approached cautiously. You talk her through her nervousness and after she mounts the horse - side-saddle rather than properly astride since she's wearing a dress, but that won't matter on a Shadowsteed - you take her back down Karag Nar. She quickly recovers her enthusiasm as she accelerates to a canter down the stairs, and as Karag Nar is well accustomed to your own mounted comings and goings up and down the central staircase you simply smile and allow her to enjoy the trip. Once out into the Eastern Valley she accelerates even further, the Shadowsteed taking her at a speed beyond the capabilities of any mundane horse. You could still run rings around her if you were of a mind, but you lag behind and let her enjoy it, though you take care to remain within shouting distance.

    A canter up the much shorter external stairs of Karag Lhune later, you allow Eike to dismount before dismissing the horses with a gesture - the gesture is superfluous, but it puts people slightly more at ease around magic if they think they can see some sort of cause and effect. You take a moment in a Dwarven bar adjoining the entrance hall for Eike to regain her breath and composure over a mug of small beer, and after conjuring a reflective surface for Eike to make sure her hair was still in place, you bring her into the Hall of the Moon to wait your turn amongst the petitioners, mostly Elders from the local Clans or representatives of foreign powers, and you exchange nods with some of the faces you recognize. While you wait you draw Eike's attention to the ceiling, where the escutcheon of every contributor to the original Expedition have been carved. She quickly spots the crest of Stirland, which was credited for the contributions of many of the former Crossbowmen who left the Army of Stirland during Roswita's modernization efforts, and then spots Anton's, in gratitude for his contribution of materiel. You point out Sylvania's crest for her, as few people in modern times would recognize the dragon crest of the long-extinct Von Draks, and the cluster of crests belonging to the Winter Wolves, the Knights of Taal's Fury, and the Knights of the Vengeful Sun.

    "You've been taught that Dwarves never forget a Grudge?" you ask, and she nods. "Nor do they forget a service done for them." She seems to be thinking on that as the two of you wait, only fidgeting slightly and staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling.

    "Loremaster Weber," Belegar says in Reikspiel as you finally approach the throne and bow. "What brings you before me this day?"

    "I have the honour of introducing Eike Hochschild, heiress to Wilhelmina Hochschild, the Governor and Founder of the EIC."

    Eike freezes for a moment, her eyes wide, but regains her composure after a nudge from you. "An honour to meet you, your Majesty," she says formally, bobbing a curtsy.

    Belegar nods. "Much of what arrives at our gates passed through EIC hands, and King Byrrnoth has spoken well of Mistress Hochschild. How old are you, Miss Hochschild?"

    "Eleven, your Majesty."

    "And you're Journeying already?" he asks.

    She hesitates. "Yes, your Majesty," she repeats, confused but trying not to show it.

    "Strollenokren?" you ask Belegar, and he nods. "He means in the sense of being a Journeywoman, Eike. She's still a Gnutrommikit, but travelling is part of that for traders."

    "Ah, of course." He glances from you to the line. "I'll be happy to speak some more to the plaitling after lunch."

    "Thank you," you say with a bow, which he returns with a nod, and after she curtsies a farewell you guide Eike out of the Hall.

    ---

    After a lunch spent explaining Dwarven life stages to Eike, you take Eike into Belegar's meeting room, where he's busily covering the table with maps of tunnel systems. "How goes the Elf business?" he asks in Khazalid without looking up.

    "I've brought in Johann and Maximilian, and have set wheels in motion to recruit Egrimm van Horstmann, the Light Wizard on the Expedition who despatched the Higher Daemon in the Battle of High Pass."

    "The one that had that Elf's Dragon in its claws?" You nod. "Do you think that will win points from these Elves?"

    "It couldn't hurt, but I'm more focused on bringing in as many perspectives as possible. The Light Wizards have access to a lot of old secrets."

    He nods. "Makes sense. Have you decided on a location for the Archive?"

    "Kvinn-Wyr, with an entrance from the Eastern Valley."

    "Good, apart from the reservoir there would have been nothing calling it home for years to come. I don't like leaving corners of the Karak empty, because they never stay empty." He turns his gaze to Eike. "So. Your business partner's daughter?"

    "Granddaughter. Her sons were unsuitable, but Eike seems a good seed."

    "Gold and muck come from the same shaft." He stands and walks over to Eike, who is just about the same height as him. "So," he says in Reikspiel, "you'll be the one keeping the goods flowing from here to the Empire in the future?"

    "Yes, your Majesty," she says, nodding rapidly for emphasis.

    "Good. Good. Many human traders don't understand how things are done, though the EIC seems better than most. You make an agreement with Dwarves, you do your honest best to stick to every letter of it, and you won't have any trouble that can't be sorted out. Have you heard the legend of the Tuppence Grudge?"

    Eike's eyes dart to you, and you nod. "Yes, your Majesty," she admits. It's an old and often retold legend about a fort commissioned from the Dwarves, and after they were shorted in payment by two pennies they went to war to tear it down.

    "The part the legend leaves out is how many Elders and Loremasters did their best to explain to the manlings what would happen, and how many times they were ignored. Humans may bluff and bluster, but Longbeards don't. Listen when they speak and you won't go far wrong." He looks over to you. "When will she be taking over?" he asks in Khazalid.

    "Wilhelmina's sixty next year, so probably within the decade."

    He shakes his head. "A Dwarf of sixty wouldn't yet be ready to be called a Master. Never could figure out if you go about things too quick, or if we go about things too slow."

    "Looking at my sword, I'd say you do things just right. But looking at the empty Karags..." you shrug. "Still, the Karak has some of both. Best of both worlds, right?"

    He considers that, and turns back to Eike. "The Karaz Ankor and the Empire have been allies for nearly two and a half thousand years. It's my belief that if they weren't, both would have fallen long ago. Remember that."

    "Yes, your Majesty," she says again.

    He pats her on the shoulder. "Ancestors guide you."

    ---

    Eike seems somewhat overwhelmed, so you leave her with Wolf to recover as you see to some other business. The next day she's back in form and ready to be introduced to even more royalty, and you put her back on ethereal horseback to lead her across the Caldera. "Do you know why your grandmother and I think it's important to get along with the Dwarves?"

    "Oma says the best stuff is Dwarf-made," she says.

    "A lot of the time, yes. They made the Runefangs, they made Ghal Maraz. But that's not the only reason. What do you know of Karak Azul?"

    "They're south from here. They buy a lot, but all the shipping from here goes through them."

    "Why is that?"

    She frowns. "Protectionism?"

    "No. Well, not in the way you mean. It's literal, not economic. Do you know their history?"

    She frowns, concentrating. "They were founded by expatriate Clans after the Time of Woes."

    "That's Izor."

    "Oh. Um. I, um, can't remember?"

    "That's okay. Most people don't know much about them. They were cut off from the world after Karak Eight Peaks fell."

    She considers that. "But that was forever ago," she objects.

    "About three thousand years, yes. They held out alone all that time, surrounded by greenskins and Beastmen. That's why they guard their tunnels so closely." You give her a moment to digest that. "Look, dealing with Dwarves can be a pain a lot of the time. They can be proud and stubborn and condescending. But it's worth it. When times are tough, there's no better ally to have on your side."

    Karag Rhyn is less accustomed to humans on magical horses riding through their corridors than Karag Nar, so the two of you dismount at the entrance and make your way inside on foot. It is the home to most of the Karak's Dwarven Clans, and amongst the Clan Halls is one set aside for visitors from Karak Azul. You've introduced Eike to about as intimidating a personage as she's likely to meet unless she stumbles across Kragg, so now you want to balance that out with one of the most personable Dwarves you know.

    "Got time to meet someone new, Kazrik?" you ask loudly, knocking on the door to his office.

    "Always," he says as he emerges, wiping ink-covered hands on his chainmail. "For you, doubly so. Who's this Garazit?"

    "This is Eike Hochschild, heir to my good friend and partner in the EIC, Wilhelmina. Eike, this is Kazrik, Crown Prince of Karak Azul and Diplomat of Karak Eight Peaks."

    "An honour to meet you, Your Highness," she says.

    "Highness is for the Crown Prince of the Empire," you correct. "For a Dwarven one..." You frown and look to Kazrik. "What would the proper honorific for a Prince be?" Khazalid doesn't have them, so you've never really used them.

    "Utkalanit always worked for me," Kazrik says with a smile.

    "An honour to meet you, Utkalanit", Eike says, and then frowns as the two of you laugh.

    "And mine to meet a wayward sibling," Kazrik jokes to the deeply confused Eike. "I don't think anyone would mind one more sister in the family, even if your plaits are a little short."

    "Since she'll be running the EIC one day, we decided it was important for her to get to know Dwarves," you say.

    "As someone who's only recently gotten to know humans, I can attest how difficult that can be." He scratches at his beard thoughtfully. "Leave her with me and I'll take her around, I've got some family business to deal with with the local Clans, and there's enough Azul Dwarves here at the moment that we've got the Hall's kitchens operational, so there's going to be dinner here later. Some of them haven't been up north yet, so Eike should be popular."

    "Thanks, Kazrik, I appreciate it," you say.

    "Not at all, I'd have to get to know her after she takes over anyway. You've saved me a trip north."

    ---

    After a few days in the company of the Karak Azul Dwarves, Eike comes back with her hair properly plaited, an elegant axe on her hip, and the aura of soft jingling that you guess to be a chainmail slip. She also has a long list of questions about Dwarves that she was too polite to ask of Kazrik, many of which boil down to 'why are they always so ready for a fight?' The answer you have to give her is that it's because they've been fighting for almost their entire history. The Empire can push back the forest with saw and fire and carve out pockets of peace for towns and cities to be built and children to grow up in peace, but the Karaz Ankor can't push back the mountains.

    By the time you take her across the Caldera, up through the Citadel, and into the Eastern Valley, her questions have died down. "While you're here, I want you to meet the Halflings," you say. She is growing up a Stirlander after all, and you want to make sure she doesn't internalize the prejudices against the Mootlanders many Stirlanders hold. "As well as a Wizard who works with them who's very special to me."

    "The tall golden one?" she guesses.

    "No, she's a Jade Wizard."

    She thinks about that. "She's a friend of Rhya?"

    You spend a moment thinking she's commenting on the internal religious conflict of the Jade Order before you remember the euphemism for someone who prefers the company of the same gender. "Yes, I suppose we both are," you say.

    "What's she doing?"

    You look ahead, to where a flare of Ghyran makes you as able to find Panoramia as a compass is to find north. "She's working with the fields. Different Wizards can do different things, and Jade Wizards are good at helping living things grow."

    "Can she still fight with magic?"

    You smile. "When she has to. She's busy right now, so when we get there, wait until I tell you so you don't interrupt her."

    Panoramia's business in the fields are always a lot more lengthy and involved than your own interactions with Ulgu, but you suppose if you wanted to permanently make a place amenable to mists or confusion it would take you... well, you actually wouldn't even know where to start, but if you did you'd guess it would take you at least as long. She's currently standing upright with her staff held in front of her and her eyes closed, and you know from previous observations that the staff would have sprouted roots that would be digging deep into the soil. You'd once assumed that dirt was dirt, and if there was something wrong it was simply a matter of correcting ratios of whatever ingredients go into making dirt, but from what Panoramia has told you you're now aware that proper soil is home to a literal microcosm of insects and fungi that need to be cultivated before a single seed is planted.

    Time passes in silence as you watch the dancing of energies, and with the part of your mind that's not entranced you note that Eike is showing admirable patience while watching what must to her be just a woman standing immobile in an empty field.

    "Is she finished?" Eike asks as the magic begins to die down.

    "Nearly," you say, then frown. "What made you ask just now?"

    "I don't know. She just seems finished."

    You turn your full attention to Eike, and consider a number of questions before rejecting all of them. Without doing anything to draw her attention, you summon what Ulgu you can while standing in the middle of a sunlit field, focusing to prevent the usual visible signs of extended channelling, and you hold back a sigh as Eike begins to give you sidelong looks and fidgeting nervously.

    "Is something wrong?" you ask her in as normal a voice as you can.

    "No, Dame Weber," she replies quickly. You let the Ulgu leak out of you, sinking into the soil and darting towards nearby shadows, and she relaxes once more.

    "You're sure?"

    "Yes, it's just for a moment- it's nothing, Dame Weber."

    "You felt something?" She nods. "It's okay. Describe it."

    "I don't know." You open your mouth to ask again, but she continues. "I mean, I felt like what it feels like when you're supposed to know something but you don't."

    Magesight. It's more common than most people think, but for most people who have it it's just hunches and instinct. Someone with just a touch of it might be able to recognize that Panoramia was doing something, but not the moment she began to wind down. They might be able to recognize a Wizard next to them performing magic, but not just them holding onto their Wind. For her to react so strongly and so quickly...

    This is probably going to do a lot of damage to Wilhelmina's well-laid plans.

    13. All Magisters are required to seek out magic users as may exist within the bounds of Sigmar's Holy Empire to ascertain their suitability to join one of the Orders of Magic, or else report them to the Holy Orders of the Templars of Sigmar, or else destroy them if they prove to be of immediate and grave menace to Sigmar's People.

    But by the letter of the law, you're not forced into action while you're this far south of the Empire's borders.

    "Panoramia," you call out as you lead Eike across the field.

    "Hey, you," she says with a smile as she turns. "Who's this?"

    "This is Eike, I think I've told you about her."

    "The EIC girl?" You nod.

    "An honour to meet you, My Lady," Eike says. Not technically correct, but no Journeywoman is going to be offended at being addressed as a Magister, so you suppose it was the right form of address to choose.

    "Just Panoramia will be fine," she says, giving Eike a friendly smile.

    "I was hoping you could introduce her to the Halflings. You know, while she's down from Stirland," you say with slight emphasis.

    "Ah. Yes, I can do that," she says, nodding. "Will you be coming?"

    "I was going to, but..." you take a moment to consider your response. Lingua Praestantia can be used as a language, but it wasn't made for it and it's always a bit clunky. "I just discovered she has strong Magesight. I have to think about how I'm going to handle that."

    Panoramia nods. "Magic stuff," she explains to Eike, who nods. "Lunch would be a good start. Halflings consider a proper lunch to be a form of worship."

    Eike brightens a little. "So does Shallya," she says.

    "Well, there's a few differences between a Shallyan meal and an Esmereldan one, but there's enough agreement there to work with," Panoramia says, leading Eike in the direction of a nearby cluster of buildings.

    You exhale, and start mentally rearranging your calendar. You need to have a difficult conversation with Wilhelmina, and sooner rather than later. But the problem will ask a question of Wilhelmina, and many questions have their answer decided by how they are presented. Eike won't be the first heir to come down with an inconvenient case of magic, and more nobles than many would guess once paid a discreet visit to Altdorf to be fitted with magic-dampening jewellery and trinkets so they could continue on the path their parents had decided for them. But the problem is that many of those nobles are unable to resist the allure of magic, and enough of them end up self-teaching from black market grimoires that there's a term for them - Magicker. A deliberate crime against proper grammar to highlight how incorrectly they're going about things. It usually ends badly, whether that be on a pyre or in a nasty miscast or in the clutches of the myriad forbidden Cults that Magickers are easy prey for.

    Or you could try to guide Eike down a specific path. A lot of emphasis is placed on how it's up to a prospective Wizard to choose what Order they join, but most young people are malleable enough that they can fit into just about any Order, and many Wizards that retrieve a prospective Wizard will take the opportunity to tip the scales for their own. You yourself didn't so much choose the Grey Order as you chose not to be separated from the Magister that had retrieved you from Kelham. Nudging Eike down the path of the Grey Order might, from a certain point of view, be best for the Order and the EIC. The Vow of Poverty would not necessarily prevent Eike from inheriting, but it will mean that she will be required to make the EIC 'of direct and practical use to her cause'. You take a moment to smile at the thought - perhaps instead of becoming Wilhelmina's heir, she would be Wilhelmine's.

    Or... perhaps your own. You'd given thought in the past to taking on an Apprentice, even though you never went through with it. But if a Grey Wizard is going to be trained to be the future handler of the EIC, you would be the natural fit to do the training. An interesting thought, but not one you have to wrestle with just now - she'd need to have the basics taught to her before she took on a Master, and that's a process of several years.

    Or perhaps she'd fit better into one of the other Orders. Only entering into the Amethyst Order would prevent her from inheriting, as their initiates are required to part ways with all worldly possessions upon joining, explicitly including future inheritances. Admittedly she might make a poor administrator after being taught the ways of Aqshy or Ghur, but Eike as a Gold Wizard could make for a potent Governor, or the Jade Order might inculcate a proper desire for long-term growth.

    Or you suppose she could join the Clergy. Teclis was recorded as stating that Divine Magic and Arcane Magic is one and the same, so perhaps she can turn that gift towards more socially acceptable ends. But on the other hand, not everyone agrees with Teclis on that matter, and the Cults have very firmly resisted all attempts by the Colleges at getting at any solid answers.

    Or, finally, you could do nothing. Maybe Eike just has unusually strong Magesight without the rest of the abilities that make one a Wizard, it's rare but not impossible. Or maybe she could just never develop the ability to channel the Winds through her soul. Maybe she never has to know that she may have been blessed, or cursed, with the gift of magic. Maybe this will allow her a 'normal' life. Or maybe it will end in disaster, as it so often will if someone begins dabbling in magic without instruction.


    When Mathilde meets with Wilhemina to tell her that Eike is very likely to have the gift and curse of magic, she can present the facts in a neutral way, or she can do so in a way that suggests a particular course of action. This is likely, but not guaranteed to shape the course of action Wilhelmina decides upon.

    What fate, if any, will Mathilde suggest for Eike?

    [ ] Neutral
    [ ] Take no action
    [ ] Magic-Dampening
    [ ] Wizard
    - [ ] No specific Order
    - [ ] Let Eike decide
    - [ ] The Order of Light
    - [ ] The Celestial College
    - [ ] The Golden Order
    - [ ] The Order of Life
    - [ ] The Amber Brotherhood
    - [ ] The Bright Order
    - [ ] The Grey Order
    - [ ] The Amethyst Order
    [ ] Clergy


    - There will be a twelve hour moratorium.
    - I'll decide whether Mathilde suggests just one thing, or multiple things, or one thing primarily and other things as less preferable alternatives, based on how the voting turns out. So simply vote for whichever option or options you think are best.
    - You can vote for sub-options of Wizard without voting for Wizard itself, if you would like to do so. This will make Wizard no less likely to win, but will mean your vote for the Order will count if Wizard does win.
    - So. Eike's a Wizard. Sounds contrived, right? What are the odds? In this case, they're exactly one in a hundred, as one eagle-eyed reader spotted a fortnight ago. Maybe Ranald     is real.
    - This was going to be a much shorter part of the turn before *waves hands in general direction of dice*. The rest of the turn will continue after this is resolved.
    - Relevant information from the WoQM threadmark:

    Apprenticeship
    Most would-be Wizards have their magical awakening at 15-20, and it's rare for it to happen outside 10-25. Junior Apprenticeship is developing control over the ability to touch the Winds. For some people this means learning how to reach out and touch it, for others it's learning how to stop. They cannot leave the mono-Wind environment of the Colleges without risking Dhar poisoning. They usually get a Master when they reach regular Apprentice, which is when they start learning how to actually do things with magic instead of learning how not to be killed by magic. Most spend this inside the College, though it can be spent at any College-controlled location, and they still rely on mono-Wind environments for practice and learning. Senior Apprentices have enough control and ability that they can be allowed to leave College property of their own accord. Practically every Senior Apprentice will have a Master, as it's the level when they can pull their weight and properly assist their Master. Some of them join their Master on their missions or get sent on simple assignments, some of them go adventuring on their own, most just use it to explore Altdorf.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • looking at it she strong in the gray wind so we could train her in it and make her a knight if we voted wizard
     
    Ah and theres the devided loyalties.
    One of her friend desire a heir, while this one can be our heir. or the spirit of the law would require us to bring her to the fold.
     
    I think we should let the kid decide. I would like to have her as an apprentice, mostly because she fits my criteria of being someone we care about but the practicalities of the matter get in the way. That said if I were to pick the college that would be most useful to her and her family it would be the Celestials hads down. Prognostication cannot be overstated in its use when it comes to trade.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Voting is open
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top