We don't have an active Lahmian conspiracy that wants to see the Von Carsteins humbled if not purged. Hopefully this comes out as a wash when it comes to potential interference but-
We seem to not have an Asarnil. Which was the superbacker contribution that took our initial crowdfunding goal of a purge and elevated it into conquest aimed at the heart of Sylvania. My current mad plan is to write his memoirs and promise him all the profits if he comes and signs the authors copy, and try to bullshit our way into recruiting him from there.
No, just possibly her entirely expected sire. Our track record of not hitting bonus vamps when they're on the random encounter table is like 0 and 3 right now, a best 1 and 4 for not walking right into one at Gabriella's court.
Asarnil had been recruited at this point last time around, and him being recruited for the Yhetees was at least two years away. You're not entirely sure whether he has a different job on this time around or whether Anton just failed at chatting him up.
We seem to not have an Asarnil. Which was the superbacker contribution that took our initial crowdfunding goal of a purge and elevated it into conquest aimed at the heart of Sylvania.
This is very true Abelhelm is currently still uncertain about the total scope of the goal, he hasn't got that one big bang that says "We can do this!" just a lot of maybes - maybe Ostermark will join up with us, maybe Morr's knights will engage in a crusade, maybe Anton will grab some dwarven aid, maybe the colleges will authorise more battle-wizard deployment - but nothing that says "Victory is a foregone conclusion!" like having a dragon on side.
My current mad plan is to write his memoirs and promise him all the profits if he comes and signs the authors copy, and try to bullshit our way into recruiting him from there.
Recruiting Asarnil by first writing his memoirs and then approaching him with those pre-written memoirs and asking for his signature would certainly grab his interest!
Recruiting Asarnil by first writing his memoirs and then approaching him with those pre-written memoirs and asking for his signature would certainly grab his interest!
Now the flip side of our butterflies is that we can literally write the book on the threats that will be encountered. And while specifics of where and when may vary, a large number of those threats are likely to be pretty geographically limited, and it's a very rare game that is made more difficult by having the strategy guide to flip through, even if some encounters are procedurally generated.
On the personal level, don't be a dick. On the practical level, don't appear to be politically scheming and working to limit the controls that can be applied to us or thinking of pitting granddaddy emperor against daddy elector count.
[X] [Briefing] I Have No Idea What I'm Doing
-[X] Provide him with the revised Wisdom Asp cover story.
-[X] As a result of said revised cover story, I now directly report to Lord Magister Melkoth, as dealing with Battle Magic miscast related issues is the least unlike my current situation option available, and they want to keep an eye on me to ensure that I am and remain stable.
-[X] Because of the vast widely separated fields of knowledge available for my College to exploit as they distrust and verify they want me to do stuff. Some is of direct and practical benefit to you as Elector Count and your current plans and shouldn't take much more than a month, other possibilities would require a similar leave of absence as to the one I just took if not longer, and you should take them for absolutely everything you can get if you decide to go along with their plans or feel that my current state makes me more liability than asset.
-[X] Vlag happened. Results difficult to predict, but likely to be a net benefit. Am available as ambassador of goodwill if you want to try to shore up our flanks, but you should be careful not to over ask because the dawi will quite possibly destroy themselves trying to pay off what they may see as an incalculable debt of honor. Though being dawi it may take the better part of a decade for them to reach that conclusion. Among the many nonsensical fields of knowledge the Asp apparently stole was a comprehensive understanding of dealing with dawi along with fluency in Khazalid.
-[X] Provide him with our revised spell list, and a rough outline of healing artifact and its limitations in the event we are needed for VIP protection or ensuring that efforts to commit suicide to avoid interrogation via physical violence(but probably not poison, although we can certainly test it) do not succeed. Show off our very shiny staff, but unless he wants to totally nerd out about it leave it as 'cast better, miscast less'. Excuse our bling as repayment for having provided very useful information for at least one Magister Grey working on classified research, but right now we're tapped out unless more of our unverified insights pan out.
-[X] Because this situation isn't ridiculous enough, I also seem to have several years of experience wielding someone's best attempt at faking a Runefang in training and assorted battles in my head if you want to pick my brain on that subject.
-[X] My master has already rigorously interrogated me and my Patriarch daemonchecked me with a Hysh artifact before I even got through a tenth of my comprehensive debriefing, trust me I know how ridiculous all this sounds, and understand if you need to perform your own verification, or just get me as far away as possible.
[X] [Orders] Nope, still no Idea
-[X] Cassandra Pale is a relatively young vampire - a small group including you, Van Hal and Kasmir could likely surprise her and stand some chance of capturing her
-[X] Abelhelm and you could both use some practise fighting with a sword alongside the rank and file.
-[X] You have access to the knowledge to produce nitre, and to produce gunpowder - perhaps you should start the process of setting that up?
-[X] Your first action as a Magister was to rescue a dwarven Karak from the grips of the Ruinous Powers - perhaps you could take advantage of the immediate swell of goodwill by recruiting some dwarves to help tame Sylvania?
-[X] You could probably get more support from the Colleges of Magic if you offered your aid with a rodent problem.
...heck with it, posting what I've got before I have another scare where I think SV ate my post.
That made him acceptable on the noble blood aspect, but didn't do anything to overcome the stigma of ' descendant of the most infamous imperial aligned necromancer in the history of ever' that would otherwise be an instant disqualifier.
Consider how difficult becoming Lord Magister could have been for us if Regimand willingly joined and took over one of the conspiracies he infiltrates and then gleefully declared himself a Black Magister. Even with Boney's statement of 'did the sorts of things with a halberd that get you given a province', Abelhelm was still under suspicion at the highest levels after centuries of loyal service by his family to atone.
That and no one else would agree to elevate someone else's puppet, and no one not a puppet from the right circles wanted that particular shit sandwich liberally slathered in Nurgle's Rot.
[x] [Orders] More sweat in training, less blood in battle
-[x] If we've got vampire troubles, maybe you should spend some time investigating how to counter vampiric infiltration.
-[x] Abelhelm and you could both use some practise fighting with a sword alongside the rank and file.
-[x] You have access to the knowledge to produce nitre, and to produce gunpowder - perhaps you should start the process of setting that up?
-[x] The expansion of the Watch beyond Wurtbad has proven a difficult task, perhaps you should put more personal work into it.
-[x] You could probably get more support from the Colleges of Magic if you offered your aid with a rodent problem.
Basically, build knowledge, infrastructure, and relations so that once we leave for K8P, they can get further.
Also practice with rank and file to hopefully prevent the scenario that lead to Abelhelm's death.
[X] [Briefing] I Have No Idea What I'm Doing
-[X] Provide him with the revised Wisdom Asp cover story.
-[X] As a result of said revised cover story, I now directly report to Lord Magister Melkoth, as dealing with Battle Magic miscast related issues is the least unlike my current situation option available, and they want to keep an eye on me to ensure that I am and remain stable.
-[X] Because of the vast widely separated fields of knowledge available for my College to exploit as they distrust and verify they want me to do stuff. Some is of direct and practical benefit to you as Elector Count and your current plans and shouldn't take much more than a month, other possibilities would require a similar leave of absence as to the one I just took if not longer, and you should take them for absolutely everything you can get if you decide to go along with their plans or feel that my current state makes me more liability than asset.
-[X] Vlag happened. Results difficult to predict, but likely to be a net benefit. Am available as ambassador of goodwill if you want to try to shore up our flanks, but you should be careful not to over ask because the dawi will quite possibly destroy themselves trying to pay off what they may see as an incalculable debt of honor. Though being dawi it may take the better part of a decade for them to reach that conclusion. Among the many nonsensical fields of knowledge the Asp apparently stole was a comprehensive understanding of dealing with dawi along with fluency in Khazalid.
-[X] Provide him with our revised spell list, and a rough outline of healing artifact and its limitations in the event we are needed for VIP protection or ensuring that efforts to commit suicide to avoid interrogation via physical violence(but probably not poison, although we can certainly test it) do not succeed. Show off our very shiny staff, but unless he wants to totally nerd out about it leave it as 'cast better, miscast less'. Excuse our bling as repayment for having provided very useful information for at least one Magister Grey working on classified research, but right now we're tapped out unless more of our unverified insights pan out.
-[X] Because this situation isn't ridiculous enough, I also seem to have several years of experience wielding someone's best attempt at faking a Runefang in training and assorted battles in my head if you want to pick my brain on that subject.
-[X] My master has already rigorously interrogated me and my Patriarch daemonchecked me with a Hysh artifact before I even got through a tenth of my comprehensive debriefing, trust me I know how ridiculous all this sounds, and understand if you need to perform your own verification, or just get me as far away as possible.
[x] [Orders] More sweat in training, less blood in battle
-[x] If we've got vampire troubles, maybe you should spend some time investigating how to counter vampiric infiltration.
-[x] Abelhelm and you could both use some practise fighting with a sword alongside the rank and file.
-[x] You have access to the knowledge to produce nitre, and to produce gunpowder - perhaps you should start the process of setting that up?
-[x] The expansion of the Watch beyond Wurtbad has proven a difficult task, perhaps you should put more personal work into it.
-[x] You could probably get more support from the Colleges of Magic if you offered your aid with a rodent problem.
He's not particularly closely related to the Haupt-Anderssen's - they had to have an Elector's Meet to pick the new elector because there was no-one close enough left alive for standard succession to apply.
That the Van Hal family were once Sylvanian nobles is a bit of a salve on the wounded egos of nobility, but the Electors could technically have picked anyone they wanted.
[X] [Briefing] I Have No Idea What I'm Doing
-[X] Provide him with the revised Wisdom Asp cover story.
-[X] As a result of said revised cover story, I now directly report to Lord Magister Melkoth, as dealing with Battle Magic miscast related issues is the least unlike my current situation option available, and they want to keep an eye on me to ensure that I am and remain stable.
-[X] Because of the vast widely separated fields of knowledge available for my College to exploit as they distrust and verify they want me to do stuff. Some is of direct and practical benefit to you as Elector Count and your current plans and shouldn't take much more than a month, other possibilities would require a similar leave of absence as to the one I just took if not longer, and you should take them for absolutely everything you can get if you decide to go along with their plans or feel that my current state makes me more liability than asset.
-[X] Vlag happened. Results difficult to predict, but likely to be a net benefit. Am available as ambassador of goodwill if you want to try to shore up our flanks, but you should be careful not to over ask because the dawi will quite possibly destroy themselves trying to pay off what they may see as an incalculable debt of honor. Though being dawi it may take the better part of a decade for them to reach that conclusion. Among the many nonsensical fields of knowledge the Asp apparently stole was a comprehensive understanding of dealing with dawi along with fluency in Khazalid.
-[X] Provide him with our revised spell list, and a rough outline of healing artifact and its limitations in the event we are needed for VIP protection or ensuring that efforts to commit suicide to avoid interrogation via physical violence(but probably not poison, although we can certainly test it) do not succeed. Show off our very shiny staff, but unless he wants to totally nerd out about it leave it as 'cast better, miscast less'. Excuse our bling as repayment for having provided very useful information for at least one Magister Grey working on classified research, but right now we're tapped out unless more of our unverified insights pan out.
-[X] Because this situation isn't ridiculous enough, I also seem to have several years of experience wielding someone's best attempt at faking a Runefang in training and assorted battles in my head if you want to pick my brain on that subject.
-[X] My master has already rigorously interrogated me and my Patriarch daemonchecked me with a Hysh artifact before I even got through a tenth of my comprehensive debriefing, trust me I know how ridiculous all this sounds, and understand if you need to perform your own verification, or just get me as far away as possible.
[x] [Orders] More sweat in training, less blood in battle
-[x] If we've got vampire troubles, maybe you should spend some time investigating how to counter vampiric infiltration.
-[x] Abelhelm and you could both use some practise fighting with a sword alongside the rank and file.
-[x] You have access to the knowledge to produce nitre, and to produce gunpowder - perhaps you should start the process of setting that up?
-[x] The expansion of the Watch beyond Wurtbad has proven a difficult task, perhaps you should put more personal work into it.
-[x] You could probably get more support from the Colleges of Magic if you offered your aid with a rodent problem.
@Night_stalker@DragonParadox somehow both your briefing votes are missing the first bracket before the X]. I blame tablet/phone copy paste, Ranald knows it tries to ruin my attempts to do so often enough.
@Night_stalker@DragonParadox somehow both your briefing votes are missing the first bracket before the X]. I blame tablet/phone copy paste, Ranald knows it tries to ruin my attempts to do so often enough.
@Night_stalker@DragonParadox somehow both your briefing votes are missing the first bracket before the X]. I blame tablet/phone copy paste, Ranald knows it tries to ruin my attempts to do so often enough.
I'm not entirely happy with the high-level summary of the latest update, and am looking at expanding it quite significantly with conversations in the "checking up on your delegation tasks" section - but I'm unsure whether I should repost it (and dethreadmark the old one) or edit it and put an author's note at the start of the next chapter.
Nothing about the contents will become false, I'm just trying to expand a little on what's happened and making it more narrative.
Any comments? Either way the voting that's already been done will keep being counted.
"While normally an ardent follower of Ranald, Mathilde has on several occasions - and with considerable success - prayed prayed to the Pantheon of Boom for deliverance unto her foes; she finds the Canon of Cannon, the Gospel of Guns, and the Ministry of Mortars far more reliable than the hemming and hawing of hammers and their holders."
Edit: a bit of my native Queekish slipped-snuck into the post, but I shall generously give-leave it there for posterity!
"While normally an ardent follower of Ranald, Mathilde has on several occasions - and with considerable success - prayed prayed to the Pantheon of Boom for deliverance unto her foes; she finds the Canon of Cannon, the Gospel of Guns, and the Ministry of Mortars far more reliable than the hemming and hawing of hammers and their holders."
Edit: a bit of my native Queekish slipped-snuck into the post, but I shall generously give-leave it there for posterity!
The Pantheon of doom? Don't you mean Isolde, the Artificer Of Wonder, The Guardian Of Gunnery, THE Goddes of Guns and Industry? Who rose in the City of Nuln during the Great War against Chaos, and who's Cult in their founding days helped Magnus the Pious Himself relief Altdorf from the Beastmen warheard besieging it?
The Pantheon of doom? Don't you mean Isolde, the Artificer Of Wonder, The Guardian Of Gunnery, THE Goddes of Guns and Industry? Who rose in the City of Nuln during the Great War against Chaos, and who's Cult in their founding days helped Magnus the Pious Himself relief Altdorf from the Beastmen warheard besieging it?
I had to look this up to see whether it was an obscure bit of Warhammer lore that I hadn't seen before! (For reference it's from a quest I hadn't got around to reading yet.)
I had to look this up to see whether it was an obscure bit of Warhammer lore that I hadn't seen before! (For reference it's from a quest I hadn't got around to reading yet.)
Hey,
thanks, I did not want to put in the link / reference to that quest itself in the thread of your quest, as I did not know want to potentially upset you by linking to a different story within your space, but I did think that quest is well-writen enough that someone that had read it would appreciate the reference.
Either way, not sure if i have said this before, but i want you to know i've been enjoying this quest so far!
A/N I've added about 50% to the wordcount of this chapter, in the sections dealing with Julia and Emanuel. As such I've decided to post the new version of the chapter (rather than just edit the post) for visibility. The original is here.
The time has come for your return to Stirland. First stop is Wurtbad, where you check in with the many organisations and individuals to whom you delegate your tasks; to see how they're managing things during your nine-month absence.
A quick conversation with Thekla confirms your worst fears on the bureaucracy - you're paying them to sit around doing nothing, because she doesn't really understand what it is they're supposed to be doing. The cost stings, but what stings more is the complete lack of progress on establishing the Stirland Watch as an entity that can autonomously grow beyond Wurtbad.
The few attempts Thekla made to implement your instructions have been actively counter-productive; her witch-hunter training colliding with the needs of a top-down bureaucracy and producing a confused mess. Fortunately the staff Wilhelmina supplied are competent enough to keep things organised in spite of the conflicting priorities, but it's a close run thing. You can try and structure things yourself now you're more available, but it seems likely to run into problems unless you have an actual successful expansion to build the structure around.
[Your Stewardship: 01+19+1(mental library, logistics)-10(distant)=21, crit fail - only saved by already having staff in place]
Still, while she's not much of a bureaucrat, Thekla has been doing a good job running the Wurtbad Watch itself, keeping morale high and the staff focused. The gatehouse you visit has a small shrine to Morr in the barracks, along with another small shrine to Sigmar in the sergeant's office - and when you check in with your informant in that watch-house later, he mentions that the enshrinement of Morr seems to have been overall positive; those watchmen sleeping in the gatehouse have experienced more pleasant and useful dreams - those dreams credited with locating a cultist of Khaine who was preying on the city's poor.
You picked that gatehouse with a secondary purpose - it's also the gatehouse from which Sigtreu has been operating.
"So, how has life as a watchman treated you?"
"The watchmen are happy to have a youngster around to send on errands. But they also respect the effort I'm putting in to help out."
"And your effectiveness at catching the vampire's servants."
"And that, yes. We took the first five I spotted in for questioning, but... well, with the curse that's bound inside them we didn't have much time to get information from them, and ultimately they've all been executed." He frowns. "Since the fourth one I've spotted two more, and myself and a couple of the watchmen have been keeping track of their movements. We've been waiting on your return for a firmer take on what to do, the Sheriff Donatus questioned those we brought in, but she lacks quite the same aura of supernatural fear as you are able to conjure up."
"Have you caught any sight of the person weaving the curse? Or clues to where they're based?"
"No - and from our questioning I don't think the cursed spies know how to locate him either - they're given a number of locations to visit at specific times, and he'll come to them at one of those places to renew the enchantment."
"Much better secrecy than they practised before." You sigh. "It's a pity that our enemies are apparently capable of learning from their mistakes."
"Somewhat capable." Sigtreu replies. "This batch of infiltrators are new to Wurtbad, unlike the ones you caught previously - which shows they're still trying the same trick."
[Sigtreu: 80+???=great success]
"I suppose a vampire's pride must make giving up on a plan difficult, and if they were successful in replacing Abelhelm at some point then they'd likely want some agents in the area."
"We might be able to ambush him at one of those meetings, but I'm loathe to attempt it. We don't know what this puppetmaster is capable of in a fight, and... well, I've been training a little with the watchmen and if anything it's served to teach me how incapable I am."
"The physical training will certainly serve you well." You look to his belt. "But I take it you're still intending on wielding a hammer?"
"A war hammer is a potent weapon to use in a battle-line, and a maul can bring enough force to bear to kill many of the tougher beasts of the world." He smiles. "And besides, Ghal-Maraz will forever be Sigmar's weapon, and his power will better guide my arm if I'm wielding a similar armanent."
"Oh, I won't hear a word against them as weapons - I recently had cause to fight alongside some dwarven hammerers up North - but the watchmen are all ex-soldiers, trained in swords, spears and halberds. Hammers are a very different weapon." You think about how you ended up choosing a greatsword as your weapon. "You'll either need to consider training with more standard weaponry, or we'll need to find you a more appropriate tutor."
"Wait, you were fighting alongside dwarves when you went to Kislev?"
You give him a big grin, as you explain the story of the Battle of High Pass - carefully omitting your involvement in the recruitment, and downplaying your part in the return of Karak Vlag to that of a lucky opportunist.
-
When you show up at Julia's door you're ushered in to a room filled with a strange sort of organised chaos.
"Before I approached the EIC I had to do a lot of research. I've not taken the time to really dig into financials before, and its an interesting challenge to try and correlate it with the rumour-mill."
"I take it from your tone that the research went well?"
"Better than well. By the time I was proposing it to Wilhelmina I had a good understanding of what information I could usefully supply - and after a bit of negotiation we agreed on a bounty system; I trust her to pay what the information is worth, so I provide it first and then get paid."
"What sort of information have you been selling to her?"
"There's money to be had for reports of trouble - bandits, monsters or beastmen - there's something over by the Stirhugel at the moment, though I can't say what. And there was a case of embezzlement.
"But it's mostly weather reports." She smiles. "Weather predictions would be more valuable of course, if one of your friends could provide them, but even the reports of past weather are a huge boon to a trader."
"Predicting crop harvests?"
"Exactly. She's paying a bit over the odds for the information at the moment, working on contract to feed the armies means that she needs to know exactly where to buy food - but even in quieter times there's always money to be made shifting food around."
"How's this affected the budget?"
"I've added quite a few new people to the payroll, but the new income is way more than covering that. We're not in the black, but we've got a lot more room to grow with the budget we've got."
You look through some of her papers. "I notice a lot of luxury purchases here."
"Part of the partnership. It's sometimes easier to pay an informant in goods than cash if you want to keep the relationship quiet, so we've agreed a discount on the purchases in exchange for an exclusive provider contract for the time being."
"Limited to within Stirland?"
"Yes. Although I don't expect my network to extend much beyond. I know how to play the game here - but if you want me to expand my network to the nobles of the Ostermark or Talabecland I'll be starting from scratch on the network."
[Julia: 98+???= Critical success]
Unfortunately, as was clear from your letters, the connection between raw sewage and the eventual production of gunpowder has proven too far-fetched for the clerk assigned to interface with you while Wilhelmina is busy managing the provisioning for armies and mercenaries alike, and he's managed to load himself down with other duties in order to avoid having to hold his nose and deal with the gong farmers.
His replacement will hopefully be more amenable to dealing with the distasteful necessities.
You reach Fort Solace and find Abelhelm in the courtyard, undertaking greatsword drills alongside his soldiers.
Upon seeing you he takes his leave, and the two of you retire to his office.
As you take your seat, Abelhelm pours a glass of brandy for you each. "It's good to have you back."
"It's good to be back." You smile at him.
---
It's time to make your report to Abelhelm Van Hal.
Some relevant facts that should be woven into the conversation once I have a report to structure it:
---
The Amethyst Battle-Wizard that your agreement to go north "paid for" has already arrived. He's currently guarding the construction work, spending most of his time sitting still while reading from one book or another - it seems he has a sort of specialty in the art of warding against undead, and can easily provide a hard point for the workers to retreat to if anything goes wrong.
---
When you were knighted by the Emperor you became a Knight of the Empire, rather than one of Stirland - and a small fief in the middle of Stirland became technically not part of Stirland, for as long as there is a Knight of the House of Weber to hold it.
But the Emperor has offered to allow you to pledge your fealty to Abelhelm and that land to return to Stirland. This wouldn't normally be time-limited, but after your performance at High Pass there's every chance that a retraction of the offer is already on its way.
---
You know that the Grey College have given Abelhelm a new cover story for you that hews closer to the truth - your encounter with the Wisdom's Asp somehow resulted in you stealing knowledge from it, rather than visa versa, but that knowledge came with imprints of its past victims that left you confused. In a nigh-miraculous stroke of good fortune those imprints were able to be stabilised, and your mind hasn't cracked as would be expected.
This is kept a secret because any attempt made to replicate such an outcome would most likelyresult in the death of the individual attempting it, at best land them in an asylum, and at worst leave them possessed by the Ruinous Powers.
---
Anton has recruited a significant number of regular mercenaries, but has not recruited Asarnil and Deathfang.
---
Vote 1:
[ ] [Liege] You want to be sworn to [Stirland/The Empire]
Vote 2:
[ ] [Briefing] Free text, write whatever you feel like telling Abelhelm. Some prompts:
-[ ] How do you present the recovery of Vlag from the warp?
-[ ] Do you inform him that Melkoth is preparing to handle the College of Necromancy situation?
-[ ] Do you inform him that you now have Melkoth as your handler within the Grey College?
-[ ] Abelhelm is currently unaware of some of your capabilities, which do you want to inform him of (or explicitly avoid mentioning): Your newly expanded spell list, your Cythonic Staff and its abilities, your Crimson Book of Burning Vengeance your Surgeon's Stone and/or any others?
-[ ] Anything else you wish to tell him?
You don't have to cover all of these prompts, nor stick only to them, they're just potential points to address. If Abelhelm is particularly curious about something you haven't covered, Mathilde will answer that question with what she thinks to say on the spot.
--
You will have four delegation actions (The EIC, The Watch, Julia's Spy Network and Emanuel Sigtreu) and one personal action - unless you overwork. Current overwork status: [-] [ ] [ ]
Vote 3:
[ ][Orders] What tasks do you have in mind for Abelhelm to set you? Choose any number (more options gives less control and makes you seem uncertain, but leaving out an option that Abelhelm considers vital may decrease your perceived competence)
Investigative
-[ ] Investigating the Blasphemy of Blood could reveal useful secrets before it becomes a military obstacle to destroy.
-[ ] Two individuals seen bearing Dhar matrices are still active in Wurtbad; you could use them to track their master and strike with an overwhelming ambush
-[ ] There's definitely evil afoot in Drakenhof. Perhaps there's a way to survive investigating this
-[ ] You have reason to suspect the Singing King will interfere with your operations at some point - if you could find him now, tracing his movements would be easier
-[ ] Cassandra Pale is a relatively young vampire - a small group including you, Van Hal and Kasmir could likely surprise her and stand some chance of capturing her
Training
-[ ] If we've got vampire troubles, maybe you should spend some time investigating how to counter vampiric infiltration.
-[ ] Abelhelm and you could both use some practise fighting with a sword alongside the rank and file.
Infrastructural
-[ ] The Purge of Haunted HIlls will begin in six months. Perhaps there's a way you can contribute to the preparations.
-[ ] Your intelligence infrastructure is becoming worthy of the title; perhaps you could dedicate some time to expanding it. With the new funds from the EIC partnership, and the potential of selling information to others, you should be able to make it self-sustaining.
-[ ] The expansion of the Watch beyond Wurtbad has proven a difficult task, perhaps you should put more personal work into it.
-[ ] The Wurtbad Thieves Guild, despite barely being a loose gossip network, really came through during the take-down of the Stirlandian League. Maybe you should cultivate this useful tool.
-[ ] How about a military police? It would mesh well with your current organization, and could be useful in keeping tabs on the military.
-[ ] You have access to the knowledge to produce nitre, and to produce gunpowder - perhaps you should start the process of setting that up?
Diplomatic
-[ ] Your first action as a Magister was to rescue a dwarven Karak from the grips of the Ruinous Powers - perhaps you could take advantage of the immediate swell of goodwill by recruiting some dwarves to help tame Sylvania?
-[ ] You could probably get more support from the Colleges of Magic if you offered your aid with a rodent problem.
-[ ] Write in!
---
This vote has already started- but it seems to have been a bit of a hurdle for voters, so here are some example voting options for the most complicated of the voting aspects:
A briefing can be relatively short, and leave phrasing to me to decide, like the following:
[ ] [Briefing] TMI is for Wimps!
-[X] Tell him the truth about the Wisdom's Asp, your time jaunt, and the presence of both Ranald and Tzeentch at the time
-[X] Tell him about the Gork and Mork incident, and about the fact you read the Liber Mortis
-[X] Tell him about his own death
-[X] Tell him about Karak Vlag
-[X] If he hasn't declared us insane by that point, go on to a completely normal briefing, summarising all of our actions from turn 3
-[X] Demonstrate our healing item by chopping off and then reattaching a hand.
[ ] [Briefing] I know some dragons
-[X] Thanks to the Asp you remember meeting Deathfang and a dragon that lives in a lost dwarfhold.
-[X] Also Dragomas is clearly a dragon. Clearly.
-[X] Dragons are awesome, so this is important information.
-[X] Oh, and dragons are space-aliens.
[ ] [Briefing] Need to Know
-[X] Thanks to the Asp you remember meeting Deathfang and a dragon that lives in a lost dwarfhold.
-[x] Vlag— Present the Vlag rescue as a result of a mix of luck, effort, and insights from the new cover story. This took her away from her spymistress role for quite a while, so downplaying her own contribution isn't a great idea. At the same time, Mathilde shouldn't have had as much impact as she did, given what Abelhelm knows of her capabilities. Summarise her role, then distract with anecdotes about the others on the expedition. Present it as a resounding success for the dwarves, with the most immediate impact for Stirland being the possibility of calling in favours for the Sylvanian Campaign.
-[x] Necromancers— Inform him that the Grey College is preparing for an assault on a large coven of necromancers in Sylvania, but details are above her clearance.
-[x] Handler— Inform him that you now have Melkoth as your handler within the Grey College
-[x] Capabilities— Exclude the Crimson Book of Burning Vengeance from the report. Otherwise, summarise all new capabilities, expand on any he wants to know more details on.
or it can be very long and detailed, and provide example phrasing to ensure I get exactly what you mean.
[ ] [Briefing] I Have No Idea What I'm Doing
-[X] Provide him with the revised Wisdom Asp cover story.
-[X] As a result of said revised cover story, I now directly report to Lord Magister Melkoth, as dealing with Battle Magic miscast related issues is the least unlike my current situation option available, and they want to keep an eye on me to ensure that I am and remain stable.
-[X] Because of the vast widely separated fields of knowledge available for my College to exploit as they distrust and verify they want me to do stuff. Some is of direct and practical benefit to you as Elector Count and your current plans and shouldn't take much more than a month, other possibilities would require a similar leave of absence as to the one I just took if not longer, and you should take them for absolutely everything you can get if you decide to go along with their plans or feel that my current state makes me more liability than asset.
-[X] Vlag happened. Results difficult to predict, but likely to be a net benefit. Am available as ambassador of goodwill if you want to try to shore up our flanks, but you should be careful not to over ask because the dawi will quite possibly destroy themselves trying to pay off what they may see as an incalculable debt of honor. Though being dawi it may take the better part of a decade for them to reach that conclusion. Among the many nonsensical fields of knowledge the Asp apparently stole was a comprehensive understanding of dealing with dawi along with fluency in Khazalid.
-[X] Provide him with our revised spell list, and a rough outline of healing artifact and its limitations in the event we are needed for VIP protection or ensuring that efforts to commit suicide to avoid interrogation via physical violence(but probably not poison, although we can certainly test it) do not succeed. Show off our very shiny staff, but unless he wants to totally nerd out about it leave it as 'cast better, miscast less'. Excuse our bling as repayment for having provided very useful information for at least one Magister Grey working on classified research, but right now we're tapped out unless more of our unverified insights pan out.
-[X] Because this situation isn't ridiculous enough, I also seem to have several years of experience wielding someone's best attempt at faking a Runefang in training and assorted battles in my head if you want to pick my brain on that subject.
-[X] My master has already rigorously interrogated me and my Patriarch daemonchecked me with a Hysh artifact before I even got through a tenth of my comprehensive debriefing, trust me I know how ridiculous all this sounds, and understand if you need to perform your own verification, or just get me as far away as possible.
Please do vote guys, even if you only vote on some of the issues - I don't like to close the vote until I get a decent number of voters. Original Timeline Comparison: You are currently 3 months after this update from the original timeline
Going just by what's been done so far, I don't really see the quest sticking around in Stirland anywhere as much as DL did. Cleaning up immediate problems, yes. Long-term, less so. Being sworn directly to the emperor is a hook for Mathilde to be called to action when needed elsewhere (sure, every Wizard owes this, but requests for those pass through the College bureaucracy first. A feudal contract is a bit more direct).
[x] [Briefing] Need to Know
-[x] Vlag— Present the Vlag rescue as a result of a mix of luck, effort, and insights from the new cover story. This took her away from her spymistress role for quite a while, so downplaying her own contribution isn't a great idea. At the same time, Mathilde shouldn't have had as much impact as she did, given what Abelhelm knows of her capabilities. Summarise her role, then distract with anecdotes about the others on the expedition. Present it as a resounding success for the dwarves, with the most immediate impact for Stirland being the possibility of calling in favours for the Sylvanian Campaign.
-[x] Necromancers— Inform him that the Grey College is preparing for an assault on a large coven of necromancers in Sylvania, but details are above her clearance.
-[x] Handler— Inform him that you now have Melkoth as your handler within the Grey College
-[x] Capabilities— Exclude the Crimson Book of Burning Vengeance from the report. Otherwise, summarise all new capabilities, expand on any he wants to know more details on.
In terms of actions:
[X] [Orders] Investigate and Recruit
-[X] Investigating the Blasphemy of Blood could reveal useful secrets before it becomes a military obstacle to destroy.
-[X] Two individuals seen bearing Dhar matrices are still active in Wurtbad; you could use them to track their master and strike with an overwhelming ambush
-[X] Your first action as a Magister was to rescue a dwarven Karak from the grips of the Ruinous Powers - perhaps you could take advantage of the immediate swell of goodwill by recruiting some dwarves to help tame Sylvania?
