Yeah, thought I heard somewhere that they did actually fight before the stasis gambit....
Who Needs Harmony?: An MLP Empire Quest
- Thread starter Questor
- Start date
Yeah, thought I heard somewhere that they did actually fight before the stasis gambit....- Location
- Moncton New Brunswick
um the caribou arnt THOSE caribou from a certain fanfic that shall not be named I hope
- Location
- MN
no, been said a few times already but no they are not. These caribou are this world's vikings. So they'll probably try to raid you for your silver but that's about the worst of it. this quest takes most of it's inspirations for a mod from hearts of Iron IV so they're more likely to be pagans who have magic to possible glimpse into the future.
- Location
- Italy
you'd be surprised how many times that has been mentioned, but definitely not.
- Location
- Moncton New Brunswick
thank primus and the matrix for that.
- Location
- Germany
Tbf, RL!Vikings did rape/abduct at least some of the women they robbed...Nothing as institutionalizedly evil as a certain Verse, though.
- Location
- Italy
it's not like they were the only ones.
Rape and pillaging and war brides have been common things across history. We just like to ignore that when we're studying the history books
Wonder if we can invent guns that will be cool
- Location
- Moncton New Brunswick
would not mind if the op does a stellaris mlp quest. maybe make it a multicross like oh I dunno a pony science ship encounters a bird of prey or something lol
- Location
- Italy
wait, was stellaris ever even mentioned here? It seems to come mostly out of nowhere.
We talked a bit about how cool it would be if we develop our magitech up to space exploration, but that would either require a few DOZENS more turns at the very least, or more likely a timeskip.
By the way I'm actually following a stellaris quest... though it's on qq
Pretty good up until now, and the qm there is pretty experienced. He actually published a few books(though only on kindle), one of which is based on an original setting of his quest.
Turn 28 Results
- Location
- Maryland
Martial: Pegicles Storm has rattled Redbeak. The idea that a potential enemy has such destructive power at his command isn't something he's particularly comfortable with. But magic isn't his area of expertise, so for now, he focuses his efforts on expanding the military and writing up contingencies for any situation he can imagine.
-Specialized Anti-Magic Training: Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Army receives specialized training and experiencing facing magical foes. Bonus to certain future rolls.
Despite your agreement with the Maretonian Royal Guard not to directly intercede in the Maretonian Civil conflict, you cannot discount the possibility that circumstances may render that agreement untenable. And besides that, you consider it an inevitability that you and your armies will eventually be forced to fight magic users at some point in the future. With this, and the memory of Sombra, firmly in your mind, you task the many experts of the arcane that you'v welcomed into your court over the years with training your army and preparing your knights and soldiers to engage in combat with magic users and other unconventional foes.
In hindsight, the way they smiled when you gave them that task probably should have clued you in to what sort of training they had planned.
Asahi Kaji calls upon his own militant past and culture, taking to the role of a flame-spitting drill sergeant with gusto as he drags fresh-faced recruits and hardened veterans alike through a training regimen involving airborne dodges and evasive maneuvers as he sends jet after jet of (carefully controlled) flames into the sky. The Kitsune Yakō-Nogitsū puts his skills with illusion magic and Genjutsu to work, creating realistic combat simulations for the knights of the Empire, all while teaching them the tell-tale signs that they are in an illusion and giving tips and pointers on how to disrupt it...and occasionally making them see bizarre and improbable things to laugh at their reactions.
The soldiers assigned to train under the kindly Tanuki Danzaburō think they have it easy. Those thoughts are quickly dashed when the small furry monk shatters a tree trunk with a single blow of his paw and then kindly instructs the assembled soldiers to come at him with their training weapons. Despite the number of injuries among his trainees, you cannot argue that the method has proven effective in giving your soldiers experience fighting foes capable of augmenting their strength and speed through arcane means.
The Canterbury delegation proves equally unorthodox, only differing in their methods due to the fact that they all have some manner of teaching experience which they can draw upon to impart their knowledge onto your soldiers. The Pegasus Rafale puts her wings to use whipping up artificial storms to test your troops' ability to navigate turbulent weather as Puissant Arbre tests their endurance by summoning forth a veritable forest of greenery for them to weed, hack and slash through as part of their training to adapt to rapidly changing battlefield conditions.
Then there's Merlin, who somehow manages to combine the specialties and training styles of all the other experts put together, creating an ever shifting obstacle course of shifting earth, rapidly sprouting trees, and water-filled ditches that freeze and melt in a matter of seconds. Combined with nearly impenetrable magical barriers and his infuriating ability to levitate or teleport entire squadrons from one corner of the course to another, his makeshift labyrinth quickly becomes infamous amongst your soldiers as a nightmare to navigate and adapt to.
But adapt they do. Each week, hundreds of soldiers and knights undergo the unconventional training that your court wizards devise, and while many struggle to cope with the difficult and exhausting training regimens they are put though, they quickly learn to roll with the punches and change their tactics on the fly, all while gaining invaluable experience in dealing with magic users. By the end of the year, nearly every soldier and knight in the Empire has gone through training with one or more of the arcane experts, and have been hardened to the bizarre and sudden effects that magic can have upon the field of battle. You are sure it will serve them well, should any of them ever face an enemy that wields it as their instructors had. Army and Knights have Received Anti-Magic Training. Bonus to certain future combat rolls.
-Artillery Investment: Cost: 1000. Time: One Year. Reward: 10 Mobile Ballistae and 10 Cannons added to the Imperial Army.
Compared to the ordeal that their countrymen in the armed forces are going through, the engineers, carpenters and metal workers of the Imperial Foundries and Siege Workshops have an easy task this year, albeit an ambitious one. The crafting of a score of artillery pieces is an endeavor requiring countless man-hours of work and tons of raw materials, from wood to steel. Thankfully, recent innovations have made the crafting of such weapons of war easier and less time consuming than they were only a few short years previous, from the railroads easing the transport of materials to new boring techniques ensuring the quick forging of cannon barrels.
After many years of becoming accustomed to the once newfangled devices, the engineers and craftsgriffs regard the production of such weapons as almost routine, and though they labor intensively to meet their deadline, the outcome is never once in doubt. By the end of the year, twenty new field artillery pieces have been added to the Imperial Army's arsenal, and the dozens of crew members needed to operate the weapons are hastily trained and equipped to do so. You personally offer your thanks to the Griffons, Dogs and Ponies responsible for the creation of so many fine machines, and take comfort in the fact that, should the conflict to your South spiral even further out of control, your people shall not be in danger of being outgunned. 10 Mobile Ballistae and 10 Cannons added to the Imperial Army.
Diplomacy: Gisa, though as concerned with the events in Maretonia as everyone else, is more focused upon the international reaction to the magically created superstorm, as well as the potential reactions to any Imperial intervention in the conflict. Gawain continues to assist her, volunteering to act an emissary to your allies.
-Emerald Isles Emissary: Cost: 300. Time: One Year. Reward: Diplomatic Contact established with Emerald Isles, New Actions Unlocked.
While the existence of the Emerald Isles and its Diamond Dog inhabitants has been common knowledge amongst the inhabitants of Gryphus for years, it is only recently that events occurring on (and just off of) those far away shores has drawn the attention of you and your government. The growing tensions between the Neighponese and the Caribou with the Isles in the center of it all has led you and Gisa to the conclusion that formally establishing diplomatic contact with the Alphas of the Emerald Isles would be a wise decision. As such, a diplomatic mission is swiftly assembled and sent off towards the island nation.
The cliff-lined coastline of the Emerald Isles.
Your emissaries report an uneventful journey East, the presence of numerous Neighponese naval vessels ensuring a smooth crossing even as they reinforce the importance of your embassy's mission. The group soon arrives upon the shores of the Emerald Isles, where they are swiftly escorted to the Capital, an underground metropolis known as Doglin, home of the Court of Rex the 2nd, Alpha of Alphas. There your people are greeted with hospitality and curiosity by the canine populace, who are fascinated by the Griffins amongst the party, but are even more intrigued by the presence of the Imperial Dogs among them. The Emerald Dogs had apparently been under the impression that their kingdom contained the sum total of the world's population of Diamond Dogs. They had therefore been very surprised when the Neighponese expressed familiarity with their race, and told them of your Empire. Rex and his subjects are, naturally, insatiably curious regarding their foreign cousins.
It is frankly surprising how many similarities there are between the two groups. The architecture of Doglin would look scarcely out of place in the dogtowns beneath the cities of the Empire, and the dishes served to your diplomats in the subterranean feasting halls bear marked similarities to the dishes served in many canine-operated restaurants within Gryphus. You suppose it makes a certain amount of sense: though the two groups may be from different places and undergone different experiences, they are still members of the same race.
While the Diamond Dogs of the Emerald Isles express some befuddlement at the idea of Dogs pledging fealty to a member of another race, that is the extent of the culture clash, and it is a difference that is swiftly overwhelmed by the similarities the two groups share. Needless to say that the presence of Diamond Dogs, and their status as equal citizens within your Empire, has bought you a great deal of good will and credibility with the Emerald Dogs. After a few short weeks, lines of official diplomatic communication are established and tentative agreements are hammered out as a groundwork is laid for future relations between your two nations. Your emissaries part ways with the Alpha's court on good terms, and return home only a few months after their departure bearing gifts and messages of good will from the inhabitants of the Isles. All in all, a successful and worthwhile endeavor. Relations Established with Emerald Isles (7/10, Dog-Friend), New Actions Unlocked.
-Collegiate Coordination: Cost: 400. Time: One Year. Reward: Coordination between Maretonian Royal Guard and Maretonian Colleges of Magic. Chance of Success: 60%.
Required: 40. Rolled: 86+18+10(Tales of Goblet-Chan)=114. Art. Crit!
You'd expected it to be difficult to get the Maretonian Royal Guard and the Maretonian College of Magic to cooperate. You'd expected the two groups to despise each other and want nothing to with each other. It only made sense to suspect as much; they had technically been on opposite sides of the conflict for some time, prior to Pegicles' storm and your own attempts to change the status quo. Nevertheless, you had tasked Gisa and her subordinates with establishing lines of communication between the two groups and ensuring that they could coordinate their actions and share resources...even if they weren't likely to do so.
One could imagine your surprise then, when, shortly after being put into contact with the Captain-General, nearly every mage of the Colleges packs their possessions, seals up the towers and remote facilities that they had previously occupied, and journeys en-masse to Roam, where they take up residence in the Arcane district, a collection of dormitories, laboratories and lecture halls that had once been home to the largest concentration of magical talent in Maretonia, prior to the death of Queen Mareia. It surprises you even more when, after dispelling the sealing wards and magicking the dust out of their new accommodations, the Mages and Wizards of the Colleges begin to actively assist their new allies against House Storm, applying their considerable magical talent and power to fortify Roam, repair the city's infrastructure, and grow food for the local refugee population. Many young adepts even attach themselves to squadrons of Royal Guardsponies, training and drilling alongside their newfound comrades in preparation for the day when open hostilities finally break out.
Marecinas herself is reportedly as surprised as you are with how helpful the scholars are being, to the point where she straight up asked one of the most senior mages now present in Roam exactly why they were being so generous. His response was unusually to the point for an arcane academian: "We have no love for Pegicles or his cronies. And for all our knowledge and magical skill, we know that a dreadful fate awaits us if he prevails against you. Supporting you is our only chance to prevent House Storm's victory and ensure our very survival. It is, quite literally, do or die for us."
Regardless of their motivations, Marecinas and her subordinates are grateful for the assistance of their former enemies, and are now far more confident in their ability to effectively wage war against House Storm when the time finally comes. The Colleges of Magic have thrown their full support behind Marecinas and the Royal Guard in the struggle against Pegicles.
-Caribou Crop-Sharing: Cost: 400. Time: Two Years. Reward: Caribou breed Sugar Beets, Trade Relations with Olenian Kingdoms established. Chance of Success: 70%.
Required: 30. Rolled: 72+18=90
Puissant's idea is...a bit unorthodox, but that's never stopped you or your people from implementing such ideas before. You figure there's little to be lost if his idea fails and an awful lot to gain if it succeeds, so you give Gisa full authority to carry on with the Canterburian's suggestion. Volunteers are acquired from the Crystal University's freshly expanded agricultural department and given a crash course in Caribou language, culture and customs while Gisa's most seasoned diplomats broach the idea of an exchange of knowledge and culture with several Jarls and Dukes of Olenia. Despite your fears, they prove to be receptive to the idea of hosting foreign dignitaries, something that will no doubt lend them a great deal of prestige amongst their peers. Once everything is set, the new ambassadors of agriculture hop aboard a convoy of trade vessels and set off for the frozen shores of the Caribou lands, arriving to a great deal of pomp and circumstance from the locals.
Once appropriately settled in, the scholars begin the most difficult part of their task: convincing the local rulership and nobility of the value of their proposed crop. Once again, the local Caribou prove remarkably willing to listen to ideas brought to them by exotic foreign scholars, and begin to tentatively experiment with breeding the plants and seedlings that your agents brought with them to the frozen lands of the far north. The hard part is done. All that anyone on this side of the ocean can do now is wait and see how things progress. Will Finish Next Turn.
Stewardship: Although as pleased with the completion of the national rail network as everyone else, Frida is now struggling to come up with a program to follow it or rival its impact upon the Empire. This, combined with the renewed flow of refugees from Maretonia, has your steward a little stressed.
-Crystal Agriculture: Cost: 800. Time: Two Years. Reward: Crystal Protectorate gains a substantial agricultural base and is no longer dependent upon food imports from the Griffonlands. Increased Agricultural Income.
With much of the most important and labor-intensive work having been completed the year prior, the wrapping up of the largest public works project in the Crystal Protectorate's (admittedly short) history is completed with relative ease and swiftness this year. Hundreds of Crystal Ponies and their families depart the streets and sprawl of the Crystal City to try their hooves at an agriculturalist lifestyle, claiming one of the many plots of tillable land set aside for them by the government. Seeds are sown, homes and farmsteads are built, and the new farmers settle in to wait for the first crop to mature to a harvestable state.
It doesn't take long. Despite the fears of the more pessimistic analysts, the first harvest that is coaxed out of the previously barren and frozen earth is bountiful, and while not enough to completely replace the shipments of foodstuffs regularly received from the Empire, it is more than initially predicted, and Frida is confident that harvests in the future will be even larger as the new Crystal agricultural base finds its footing and is allowed to develop naturally over time. The Crystal Assembly in general and Ivory Rook in particular send you their collective, sincere thanks for your support and funding of the project. Honestly, you're fairly content with the increased tax income the venture has brought you. Crystal Protectorate now largely food Independent, +400 Agricultural Income.
-Gas Lighting: Cost: 1200. Time: Two Years. Reward: Gas Lamps installed in all major population centers in the Empire, Increased Tax Income due to Increased Productivity and Reduced Crime Rates.
It's no secret to you, or to anyone else in the halls of power, that Frida has been struggling to come up with another public works program that can rival the construction of the national rail network in terms of scale and the effects on people's lives. This year, the citizens of the Empire get to see her answer to that particular conundrum. Genevieve's gas lamps, already known to the public, become the talk of the Empire as ground is broken on a network of tunnels and underground passages that will one day transport the volatile gases that will be ignited to light up the night, hundreds of laborers tearing up the cobblestone streets in cities across the nation.
At the same time, the foundries of the Empire burn hotter than they have in years as ton after ton of steel is forged, the lampposts and pipes and valves that will make up the network of public light fixtures slowly taking shape as they are prepared for assembly in the coming months. It is a massive undertaking, but a worthy one. Pushing back the darkness and artificially extending the day...it's almost crazy when you put it that way, but that's what you're doing. You just need to give the work crews a few more months to finalize things. Will Finish Next Turn.
Learning: While Archimedes and Genevieve form the core of your scholastic efforts, the Neighponese Trio and the Canterbury Magic Experts, particularly the venerable Merlin, have become increasingly important to your Empire's research and development efforts, providing new insights and research opportunities to exploit.
-Miniature Ballistae: Cost: 400. Time: One Year. Reward: Crossbows.
The process of miniaturizing an already proven device, as Archimedes tells you, is not difficult. The process of simplifying the resulting product and devising an effective means of mass producing it so that it can be used by anyone and everyone who wants one...that is where the difficulty comes in. But, Archimedes being who he is, he predictably finds a way to do just that, drastically scaling down the size of his long-proven Ballistae while keeping their mechanical complexity and associated production costs to a minimum. Once he has a suitable design, all that remains to be done is the distribution of the schematics and the instruction of the army of engineers, mechanics, carpenters, and fletchers that will produce the new weapons for use by your armies.
And produce they do. The crafts-Griffons barely have enough time to familiarize themselves with the new design they've been given before Redbeak places an order for hundreds of the new devices to supplement your arsenal of ranged weaponry. The prospect of earning a lucrative contract with the Imperial Crown itself (and more than a little patriotic zeal) drives the operators of workshops and production centers across the Empire to churn out the new "Crossbows" by the cartload, before they swiftly find their way into the talons, paws and hooves of soldiers across the length and breadth of your territory. Redbeak reports that the new weapons are surprisingly easy to use, and by the end of the year virtually every soldier in the Empire with a knack for shooting has been equipped and trained with the new weapon. They will serve your people well in the years, and conflicts, to come. Bows Replaced with Crossbows.
-Steam Drills: Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Steam Drills Invented, Additional Mining Income.
When Archimedes' Steam Engine first came into use, it was heralded as the peak of Imperial ingenuity, a device that would reshape the way society operated and change the way people lived. The aging inventor's latest creation serves to reinforce that belief, while simultaneously reminding everyone that, no matter how advanced technology may become, there is always a greater innovation or refinement that can improve and change how people live and work.
The device that Archimedes finally produces is a curious thing. Less of a drill and appearing as more the bizarre lovechild of a hammer, chisel and steam engine, it is nonetheless extremely effective at its purpose of boring through solid rock at a rate even trained work crews simply can't hope to match. While it produces an awful racket whenever its used (with Archimedes' assistants having taken to carrying around a pair of earmuffs at all times no matter the weather) it is undeniably effective. The device, and several others exactly like it, are immediately purchased by numerous mining concerns, where they are put to work creating boreholes for the placement of blackpowder charges, allowing for faster and safer excavations through solid rock as the nation's miners dig ever deeper beneath the earth through later after layer of stone in their endless drive to feed the nation's forges and factories.
Once the new machines are proven to work, and work very well for those that know how to use them, Archimedes' staff can scarcely produce the things fast enough to keep up with demand, quickly farming out the rights to produce the new steam drills to several reputable firms in order to ensure that supply can be maintained. It's not long afterwards that Frida reports a not-so coincidental uptick in overall productivity within the Empire's mining sector...which of course results in an influx of new tax income. Another great innovation from the brilliant mind of your chief researcher. +200 Mining Income.
Intrigue: Ravenburg's attentions are torn between the ongoing civil war in Maretonia and the recent revelation of an apparent connection between Canterbury and the late King Brochard. He seems determined to make up for his perceived failure in allowing the mysterious Lady Nightingale to evade his agents in the wake of the Unification War, and seems intently focused on not allowing her to give him the slip again. Still, that is not to say that he has been neglecting his duties in other areas of the world, continuing to keep tabs on Maretonia, Minotauria, and the rest of the world besides.
-Canterbury Investigations: Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Intel on Canterbury-Aquileia Connection, Further Revelations. Chance of Success: 50%.
Required: 50. Rolled: 100!+13=113
To be Continued in "Truths and Revelations"
-Maretonian Intel Sharing: Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Intelligence Shared with Maretonian Royal Guard, Additional Raids on House Storm Holdings.
With you and the Maretonian Royal Guard now ostensibly on the same side in the coming conflict against House Storm, it only makes sense that you should share what information you have on your mutual foe with your newfound, tentative ally. Ravenburg establishes a system of couriers and dead drops to ferry regular intelligence briefings to Roam, where the Royal Guard get a reminder of just how far your spy network reaches (though, to be fair, the reports include a good deal of information acquired by the Abolitionists). While Marecinas isn't exactly happy to realize the full extent of your Empire's presence in Maretonia, she's not willing to urn her nose up at a source of valuable new Intel on her enemies.
Absolutely no one is surprised when, shortly after the intelligence pipeline is established, "abolitionists" launch a concerted campaign of logistical raids and guerrilla assaults against House Storm assets in the general vicinity of Roam, killing hundreds of their soldiers and severely disrupting operations throughout the region, even drawing some of Pegicles' best troops away from combat with the remnants of House Storm to stamp out the "insurgency". Let it never be said that the Royal Guard were only good for standing around and looking pretty in their armor. House Storm activities disrupted, Royal Guard strike another blow against Pegicles.
Piety: The newly established "Council of Faiths", a gathering of representatives from every major religion in the Empire, has wasted no time in clamoring for your attention and attempting to leverage their newfound place in the Imperial Court to expand the influence of their respective beliefs. Each of the six beings upon the Council (Including a Qilin, a Yak, and a Crystal Pony) have submitted a proposal for your consideration. Whether you intend to act on any of them is up to you.
-A Temple to the Old Gods: Cost: 400. Time: One Year. Reward: Temple to the Old Gods Constructed.
Many people complain about the increasing amount of bureaucracy that must be dealt with if one wishes to build anything in the Empire, especially on land already owned by the crown. You may be biased, but you think many of them exaggerate the issue. You only have to write a single letter to grant the Polytheists the land upon which they wish to build their temple, and it proves equally easy to earmark some funds to be dispensed as a subsidy towards the temple's construction. The worshippers of the old Pantheon don't waste time, quickly assembling construction materials and starting work on the house of the pre-Discord Deities. Donations of funds and labor pour in from across the Empire as followers of the old gods pitch in to see their vision brought to life.
The Temple is a thing to behold. Carved in the likeness of ancient ruins out of the stone of a towering mountain, the Temple is as much a museum as a place of worship, holding every relic and artifact of the faith that its worshipers could get their collective appendages on. Art great and humble, from statuary to Bas Relief murals, decorates both the interior and exterior of the construction. Thousands of people flock to see the completed building, from the most devout followers of the old ways to curious travelers merely wishing to see what all the fuss is about. More than a few of the latter become converts to the old faith, the Temple's congregation swelling as more and more make the pilgrimage to view the artifacts tended to by the resident priests, who express their most sincere thanks for your support of them and their faith. +.8 Imperial Pantheism Influence
Personal: You refuse to let your duties as Emperor take up every moment of your day.
-Meeting with the Dukes: Cost: 0. Time: One Year. Reward: ???
To Be Continued in "Hunting for/with Nobility".
-The Maretonian Question: Cost: 200. Time: One Year. Reward: Publicly Address the Refugee Integration Issue.
You knew things had been going too well.
Your people had surprised you when they had welcomed the Diamond Dogs into their communities with open wings, had made you proud when they had adopted Crystal Ponies as members of their own families...they hadn't even made a fuss about having a literal dragon in the Imperial line of succession! But you should have figured that eventually, their tolerance would reach a limit. And the protests outside of the Crystal City's "Little Maretonia" let everyone know that that limit had most definitely been reached.
To be fair, the protestors calling for the Maretonians to return to their homeland were a tiny minority, vastly outnumbered by the Griffons, Dogs and Crystal Ponies standing in defense of their new neighbors. And even you had to admit that this was different from the waves of immigration seen previously. These people weren't escaped slaves, nor had they already been living within Imperial territory before integrating, as had been the case with the Diamond Dogs. In fact, a few of the more recently arrived Maretonians had actually been small-time slaveowners themselves before the war had left them as destitute as every other refugee. But that didn't change the fact that these Maretonias were now Imperial Citizens. They had all the rights and privileges of any of your subjects, and you had a duty to them as much as you had a duty to any Griffon, Dog or Crystal Pony that lived within your borders.
So, you travel to the Crystal City to address the issue. For it needed to be addressed, that much was clear. But how to do so? A grand speech, calling for unity and extolling the virtues of acceptance? A show of force, to remind everyone of who called the shots and what the consequences of defying your will were? You ruminate on your options, discussing your ideas at length with your family before reaching a decision...and traveling to the Crystal City with your wife and children in tow.
You arrive in the city in the early morning, in an unmarked carriage without any fanfare. You shed your ornate garments, leave your sword and crown in the care of your bodyguards, and take your family on a walkabout of the Maretonian Quarter.
The looks on the faces of the immigrants you pass on the street are absolutely priceless. You see at least a dozen double-takes, and at least one pony walks into a wall after catching sight of The Emperor and his family walking down the road, taking in the sights of the city like tourists.
Not once do you ever give any indication as to who you are. You simply smile, politely greet everyone who stops to gawk at you, and generally act as if you weren't the monarch of a nation but just another Griffon. On more than one occasion, it's clear that the former Maretonians don't even realize who you and your family are until they see the young dragon walking alongside you...something that causes all of you no small amount of amusement. You pull the full tourist routine, from stopping for lunch at a small local tavern to asking for directions from a pair of Unicorns that look like they're on the verge of fainting as you thank them and carry on your way.
And then, at the end of the day, you hop back into your carriage and fly back to the Palace as quietly as you arrived, returning to your duties as Emperor the next morning as if nothing had happened.
Word of your family jaunt through Little Maretonia reaches across the Empire within the week. The fledgeling "newspaper" industry gets its first truly sensational story, struggling to print enough copies of their recounting of events for an astounded public. Amid all the hubbub and questions surrounding your seemingly bizarre and inexplicable stunt, the fact that the nativist protests seem to have abruptly ceased in the wake of your one-day family vacation goes almost unnoticed. Almost.
Sometimes actions speak louder than words. And hey, you even got a few laughs out of the whole thing. All in all, a pretty good day for you and your family. Refugee Integration Issue addressed.
-Getting to Know You More: Brochard's Legacy: Cost: 0. Time: One Year. Reward: Gawain and Friends Interlude, potential for Further Rewards.
To Be Continued in "The Belle of the Ball".
Carracks Constructed This Turn: 3
Random Event Rolls:
(30) (Bare Pass)
(64) (Pass)
You may notice that a couple of Omake bonuses were not applied. This was because they were completely unnecessary, as I'm sure you can see. They will remain in the Omake bonus depot for later use.
I apologize for how long it took to get this out. The effects of Isolation and Quarantine finally caught up with me, and I haven't been able to get the creative juices flowing very much over the course of the past week or so. Rest assured, I remain committed to continuing this and providing quality content for all of you guys. Thank you all for bearing with me.
I can't thank you all enough for your continued support of this Quest.
-Specialized Anti-Magic Training: Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Army receives specialized training and experiencing facing magical foes. Bonus to certain future rolls.
Despite your agreement with the Maretonian Royal Guard not to directly intercede in the Maretonian Civil conflict, you cannot discount the possibility that circumstances may render that agreement untenable. And besides that, you consider it an inevitability that you and your armies will eventually be forced to fight magic users at some point in the future. With this, and the memory of Sombra, firmly in your mind, you task the many experts of the arcane that you'v welcomed into your court over the years with training your army and preparing your knights and soldiers to engage in combat with magic users and other unconventional foes.
In hindsight, the way they smiled when you gave them that task probably should have clued you in to what sort of training they had planned.
Asahi Kaji calls upon his own militant past and culture, taking to the role of a flame-spitting drill sergeant with gusto as he drags fresh-faced recruits and hardened veterans alike through a training regimen involving airborne dodges and evasive maneuvers as he sends jet after jet of (carefully controlled) flames into the sky. The Kitsune Yakō-Nogitsū puts his skills with illusion magic and Genjutsu to work, creating realistic combat simulations for the knights of the Empire, all while teaching them the tell-tale signs that they are in an illusion and giving tips and pointers on how to disrupt it...and occasionally making them see bizarre and improbable things to laugh at their reactions.
The soldiers assigned to train under the kindly Tanuki Danzaburō think they have it easy. Those thoughts are quickly dashed when the small furry monk shatters a tree trunk with a single blow of his paw and then kindly instructs the assembled soldiers to come at him with their training weapons. Despite the number of injuries among his trainees, you cannot argue that the method has proven effective in giving your soldiers experience fighting foes capable of augmenting their strength and speed through arcane means.
The Canterbury delegation proves equally unorthodox, only differing in their methods due to the fact that they all have some manner of teaching experience which they can draw upon to impart their knowledge onto your soldiers. The Pegasus Rafale puts her wings to use whipping up artificial storms to test your troops' ability to navigate turbulent weather as Puissant Arbre tests their endurance by summoning forth a veritable forest of greenery for them to weed, hack and slash through as part of their training to adapt to rapidly changing battlefield conditions.
Then there's Merlin, who somehow manages to combine the specialties and training styles of all the other experts put together, creating an ever shifting obstacle course of shifting earth, rapidly sprouting trees, and water-filled ditches that freeze and melt in a matter of seconds. Combined with nearly impenetrable magical barriers and his infuriating ability to levitate or teleport entire squadrons from one corner of the course to another, his makeshift labyrinth quickly becomes infamous amongst your soldiers as a nightmare to navigate and adapt to.
But adapt they do. Each week, hundreds of soldiers and knights undergo the unconventional training that your court wizards devise, and while many struggle to cope with the difficult and exhausting training regimens they are put though, they quickly learn to roll with the punches and change their tactics on the fly, all while gaining invaluable experience in dealing with magic users. By the end of the year, nearly every soldier and knight in the Empire has gone through training with one or more of the arcane experts, and have been hardened to the bizarre and sudden effects that magic can have upon the field of battle. You are sure it will serve them well, should any of them ever face an enemy that wields it as their instructors had. Army and Knights have Received Anti-Magic Training. Bonus to certain future combat rolls.
-Artillery Investment: Cost: 1000. Time: One Year. Reward: 10 Mobile Ballistae and 10 Cannons added to the Imperial Army.
Compared to the ordeal that their countrymen in the armed forces are going through, the engineers, carpenters and metal workers of the Imperial Foundries and Siege Workshops have an easy task this year, albeit an ambitious one. The crafting of a score of artillery pieces is an endeavor requiring countless man-hours of work and tons of raw materials, from wood to steel. Thankfully, recent innovations have made the crafting of such weapons of war easier and less time consuming than they were only a few short years previous, from the railroads easing the transport of materials to new boring techniques ensuring the quick forging of cannon barrels.
After many years of becoming accustomed to the once newfangled devices, the engineers and craftsgriffs regard the production of such weapons as almost routine, and though they labor intensively to meet their deadline, the outcome is never once in doubt. By the end of the year, twenty new field artillery pieces have been added to the Imperial Army's arsenal, and the dozens of crew members needed to operate the weapons are hastily trained and equipped to do so. You personally offer your thanks to the Griffons, Dogs and Ponies responsible for the creation of so many fine machines, and take comfort in the fact that, should the conflict to your South spiral even further out of control, your people shall not be in danger of being outgunned. 10 Mobile Ballistae and 10 Cannons added to the Imperial Army.
Diplomacy: Gisa, though as concerned with the events in Maretonia as everyone else, is more focused upon the international reaction to the magically created superstorm, as well as the potential reactions to any Imperial intervention in the conflict. Gawain continues to assist her, volunteering to act an emissary to your allies.
-Emerald Isles Emissary: Cost: 300. Time: One Year. Reward: Diplomatic Contact established with Emerald Isles, New Actions Unlocked.
While the existence of the Emerald Isles and its Diamond Dog inhabitants has been common knowledge amongst the inhabitants of Gryphus for years, it is only recently that events occurring on (and just off of) those far away shores has drawn the attention of you and your government. The growing tensions between the Neighponese and the Caribou with the Isles in the center of it all has led you and Gisa to the conclusion that formally establishing diplomatic contact with the Alphas of the Emerald Isles would be a wise decision. As such, a diplomatic mission is swiftly assembled and sent off towards the island nation.
The cliff-lined coastline of the Emerald Isles.
Your emissaries report an uneventful journey East, the presence of numerous Neighponese naval vessels ensuring a smooth crossing even as they reinforce the importance of your embassy's mission. The group soon arrives upon the shores of the Emerald Isles, where they are swiftly escorted to the Capital, an underground metropolis known as Doglin, home of the Court of Rex the 2nd, Alpha of Alphas. There your people are greeted with hospitality and curiosity by the canine populace, who are fascinated by the Griffins amongst the party, but are even more intrigued by the presence of the Imperial Dogs among them. The Emerald Dogs had apparently been under the impression that their kingdom contained the sum total of the world's population of Diamond Dogs. They had therefore been very surprised when the Neighponese expressed familiarity with their race, and told them of your Empire. Rex and his subjects are, naturally, insatiably curious regarding their foreign cousins.
It is frankly surprising how many similarities there are between the two groups. The architecture of Doglin would look scarcely out of place in the dogtowns beneath the cities of the Empire, and the dishes served to your diplomats in the subterranean feasting halls bear marked similarities to the dishes served in many canine-operated restaurants within Gryphus. You suppose it makes a certain amount of sense: though the two groups may be from different places and undergone different experiences, they are still members of the same race.
While the Diamond Dogs of the Emerald Isles express some befuddlement at the idea of Dogs pledging fealty to a member of another race, that is the extent of the culture clash, and it is a difference that is swiftly overwhelmed by the similarities the two groups share. Needless to say that the presence of Diamond Dogs, and their status as equal citizens within your Empire, has bought you a great deal of good will and credibility with the Emerald Dogs. After a few short weeks, lines of official diplomatic communication are established and tentative agreements are hammered out as a groundwork is laid for future relations between your two nations. Your emissaries part ways with the Alpha's court on good terms, and return home only a few months after their departure bearing gifts and messages of good will from the inhabitants of the Isles. All in all, a successful and worthwhile endeavor. Relations Established with Emerald Isles (7/10, Dog-Friend), New Actions Unlocked.
-Collegiate Coordination: Cost: 400. Time: One Year. Reward: Coordination between Maretonian Royal Guard and Maretonian Colleges of Magic. Chance of Success: 60%.
Required: 40. Rolled: 86+18+10(Tales of Goblet-Chan)=114. Art. Crit!
You'd expected it to be difficult to get the Maretonian Royal Guard and the Maretonian College of Magic to cooperate. You'd expected the two groups to despise each other and want nothing to with each other. It only made sense to suspect as much; they had technically been on opposite sides of the conflict for some time, prior to Pegicles' storm and your own attempts to change the status quo. Nevertheless, you had tasked Gisa and her subordinates with establishing lines of communication between the two groups and ensuring that they could coordinate their actions and share resources...even if they weren't likely to do so.
One could imagine your surprise then, when, shortly after being put into contact with the Captain-General, nearly every mage of the Colleges packs their possessions, seals up the towers and remote facilities that they had previously occupied, and journeys en-masse to Roam, where they take up residence in the Arcane district, a collection of dormitories, laboratories and lecture halls that had once been home to the largest concentration of magical talent in Maretonia, prior to the death of Queen Mareia. It surprises you even more when, after dispelling the sealing wards and magicking the dust out of their new accommodations, the Mages and Wizards of the Colleges begin to actively assist their new allies against House Storm, applying their considerable magical talent and power to fortify Roam, repair the city's infrastructure, and grow food for the local refugee population. Many young adepts even attach themselves to squadrons of Royal Guardsponies, training and drilling alongside their newfound comrades in preparation for the day when open hostilities finally break out.
Marecinas herself is reportedly as surprised as you are with how helpful the scholars are being, to the point where she straight up asked one of the most senior mages now present in Roam exactly why they were being so generous. His response was unusually to the point for an arcane academian: "We have no love for Pegicles or his cronies. And for all our knowledge and magical skill, we know that a dreadful fate awaits us if he prevails against you. Supporting you is our only chance to prevent House Storm's victory and ensure our very survival. It is, quite literally, do or die for us."
Regardless of their motivations, Marecinas and her subordinates are grateful for the assistance of their former enemies, and are now far more confident in their ability to effectively wage war against House Storm when the time finally comes. The Colleges of Magic have thrown their full support behind Marecinas and the Royal Guard in the struggle against Pegicles.
-Caribou Crop-Sharing: Cost: 400. Time: Two Years. Reward: Caribou breed Sugar Beets, Trade Relations with Olenian Kingdoms established. Chance of Success: 70%.
Required: 30. Rolled: 72+18=90
Puissant's idea is...a bit unorthodox, but that's never stopped you or your people from implementing such ideas before. You figure there's little to be lost if his idea fails and an awful lot to gain if it succeeds, so you give Gisa full authority to carry on with the Canterburian's suggestion. Volunteers are acquired from the Crystal University's freshly expanded agricultural department and given a crash course in Caribou language, culture and customs while Gisa's most seasoned diplomats broach the idea of an exchange of knowledge and culture with several Jarls and Dukes of Olenia. Despite your fears, they prove to be receptive to the idea of hosting foreign dignitaries, something that will no doubt lend them a great deal of prestige amongst their peers. Once everything is set, the new ambassadors of agriculture hop aboard a convoy of trade vessels and set off for the frozen shores of the Caribou lands, arriving to a great deal of pomp and circumstance from the locals.
Once appropriately settled in, the scholars begin the most difficult part of their task: convincing the local rulership and nobility of the value of their proposed crop. Once again, the local Caribou prove remarkably willing to listen to ideas brought to them by exotic foreign scholars, and begin to tentatively experiment with breeding the plants and seedlings that your agents brought with them to the frozen lands of the far north. The hard part is done. All that anyone on this side of the ocean can do now is wait and see how things progress. Will Finish Next Turn.
Stewardship: Although as pleased with the completion of the national rail network as everyone else, Frida is now struggling to come up with a program to follow it or rival its impact upon the Empire. This, combined with the renewed flow of refugees from Maretonia, has your steward a little stressed.
-Crystal Agriculture: Cost: 800. Time: Two Years. Reward: Crystal Protectorate gains a substantial agricultural base and is no longer dependent upon food imports from the Griffonlands. Increased Agricultural Income.
With much of the most important and labor-intensive work having been completed the year prior, the wrapping up of the largest public works project in the Crystal Protectorate's (admittedly short) history is completed with relative ease and swiftness this year. Hundreds of Crystal Ponies and their families depart the streets and sprawl of the Crystal City to try their hooves at an agriculturalist lifestyle, claiming one of the many plots of tillable land set aside for them by the government. Seeds are sown, homes and farmsteads are built, and the new farmers settle in to wait for the first crop to mature to a harvestable state.
It doesn't take long. Despite the fears of the more pessimistic analysts, the first harvest that is coaxed out of the previously barren and frozen earth is bountiful, and while not enough to completely replace the shipments of foodstuffs regularly received from the Empire, it is more than initially predicted, and Frida is confident that harvests in the future will be even larger as the new Crystal agricultural base finds its footing and is allowed to develop naturally over time. The Crystal Assembly in general and Ivory Rook in particular send you their collective, sincere thanks for your support and funding of the project. Honestly, you're fairly content with the increased tax income the venture has brought you. Crystal Protectorate now largely food Independent, +400 Agricultural Income.
-Gas Lighting: Cost: 1200. Time: Two Years. Reward: Gas Lamps installed in all major population centers in the Empire, Increased Tax Income due to Increased Productivity and Reduced Crime Rates.
It's no secret to you, or to anyone else in the halls of power, that Frida has been struggling to come up with another public works program that can rival the construction of the national rail network in terms of scale and the effects on people's lives. This year, the citizens of the Empire get to see her answer to that particular conundrum. Genevieve's gas lamps, already known to the public, become the talk of the Empire as ground is broken on a network of tunnels and underground passages that will one day transport the volatile gases that will be ignited to light up the night, hundreds of laborers tearing up the cobblestone streets in cities across the nation.
At the same time, the foundries of the Empire burn hotter than they have in years as ton after ton of steel is forged, the lampposts and pipes and valves that will make up the network of public light fixtures slowly taking shape as they are prepared for assembly in the coming months. It is a massive undertaking, but a worthy one. Pushing back the darkness and artificially extending the day...it's almost crazy when you put it that way, but that's what you're doing. You just need to give the work crews a few more months to finalize things. Will Finish Next Turn.
Learning: While Archimedes and Genevieve form the core of your scholastic efforts, the Neighponese Trio and the Canterbury Magic Experts, particularly the venerable Merlin, have become increasingly important to your Empire's research and development efforts, providing new insights and research opportunities to exploit.
-Miniature Ballistae: Cost: 400. Time: One Year. Reward: Crossbows.
The process of miniaturizing an already proven device, as Archimedes tells you, is not difficult. The process of simplifying the resulting product and devising an effective means of mass producing it so that it can be used by anyone and everyone who wants one...that is where the difficulty comes in. But, Archimedes being who he is, he predictably finds a way to do just that, drastically scaling down the size of his long-proven Ballistae while keeping their mechanical complexity and associated production costs to a minimum. Once he has a suitable design, all that remains to be done is the distribution of the schematics and the instruction of the army of engineers, mechanics, carpenters, and fletchers that will produce the new weapons for use by your armies.
And produce they do. The crafts-Griffons barely have enough time to familiarize themselves with the new design they've been given before Redbeak places an order for hundreds of the new devices to supplement your arsenal of ranged weaponry. The prospect of earning a lucrative contract with the Imperial Crown itself (and more than a little patriotic zeal) drives the operators of workshops and production centers across the Empire to churn out the new "Crossbows" by the cartload, before they swiftly find their way into the talons, paws and hooves of soldiers across the length and breadth of your territory. Redbeak reports that the new weapons are surprisingly easy to use, and by the end of the year virtually every soldier in the Empire with a knack for shooting has been equipped and trained with the new weapon. They will serve your people well in the years, and conflicts, to come. Bows Replaced with Crossbows.
-Steam Drills: Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Steam Drills Invented, Additional Mining Income.
When Archimedes' Steam Engine first came into use, it was heralded as the peak of Imperial ingenuity, a device that would reshape the way society operated and change the way people lived. The aging inventor's latest creation serves to reinforce that belief, while simultaneously reminding everyone that, no matter how advanced technology may become, there is always a greater innovation or refinement that can improve and change how people live and work.
The device that Archimedes finally produces is a curious thing. Less of a drill and appearing as more the bizarre lovechild of a hammer, chisel and steam engine, it is nonetheless extremely effective at its purpose of boring through solid rock at a rate even trained work crews simply can't hope to match. While it produces an awful racket whenever its used (with Archimedes' assistants having taken to carrying around a pair of earmuffs at all times no matter the weather) it is undeniably effective. The device, and several others exactly like it, are immediately purchased by numerous mining concerns, where they are put to work creating boreholes for the placement of blackpowder charges, allowing for faster and safer excavations through solid rock as the nation's miners dig ever deeper beneath the earth through later after layer of stone in their endless drive to feed the nation's forges and factories.
Once the new machines are proven to work, and work very well for those that know how to use them, Archimedes' staff can scarcely produce the things fast enough to keep up with demand, quickly farming out the rights to produce the new steam drills to several reputable firms in order to ensure that supply can be maintained. It's not long afterwards that Frida reports a not-so coincidental uptick in overall productivity within the Empire's mining sector...which of course results in an influx of new tax income. Another great innovation from the brilliant mind of your chief researcher. +200 Mining Income.
Intrigue: Ravenburg's attentions are torn between the ongoing civil war in Maretonia and the recent revelation of an apparent connection between Canterbury and the late King Brochard. He seems determined to make up for his perceived failure in allowing the mysterious Lady Nightingale to evade his agents in the wake of the Unification War, and seems intently focused on not allowing her to give him the slip again. Still, that is not to say that he has been neglecting his duties in other areas of the world, continuing to keep tabs on Maretonia, Minotauria, and the rest of the world besides.
-Canterbury Investigations: Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Intel on Canterbury-Aquileia Connection, Further Revelations. Chance of Success: 50%.
Required: 50. Rolled: 100!+13=113
To be Continued in "Truths and Revelations"
-Maretonian Intel Sharing: Cost: 500. Time: One Year. Reward: Intelligence Shared with Maretonian Royal Guard, Additional Raids on House Storm Holdings.
With you and the Maretonian Royal Guard now ostensibly on the same side in the coming conflict against House Storm, it only makes sense that you should share what information you have on your mutual foe with your newfound, tentative ally. Ravenburg establishes a system of couriers and dead drops to ferry regular intelligence briefings to Roam, where the Royal Guard get a reminder of just how far your spy network reaches (though, to be fair, the reports include a good deal of information acquired by the Abolitionists). While Marecinas isn't exactly happy to realize the full extent of your Empire's presence in Maretonia, she's not willing to urn her nose up at a source of valuable new Intel on her enemies.
Absolutely no one is surprised when, shortly after the intelligence pipeline is established, "abolitionists" launch a concerted campaign of logistical raids and guerrilla assaults against House Storm assets in the general vicinity of Roam, killing hundreds of their soldiers and severely disrupting operations throughout the region, even drawing some of Pegicles' best troops away from combat with the remnants of House Storm to stamp out the "insurgency". Let it never be said that the Royal Guard were only good for standing around and looking pretty in their armor. House Storm activities disrupted, Royal Guard strike another blow against Pegicles.
Piety: The newly established "Council of Faiths", a gathering of representatives from every major religion in the Empire, has wasted no time in clamoring for your attention and attempting to leverage their newfound place in the Imperial Court to expand the influence of their respective beliefs. Each of the six beings upon the Council (Including a Qilin, a Yak, and a Crystal Pony) have submitted a proposal for your consideration. Whether you intend to act on any of them is up to you.
-A Temple to the Old Gods: Cost: 400. Time: One Year. Reward: Temple to the Old Gods Constructed.
Many people complain about the increasing amount of bureaucracy that must be dealt with if one wishes to build anything in the Empire, especially on land already owned by the crown. You may be biased, but you think many of them exaggerate the issue. You only have to write a single letter to grant the Polytheists the land upon which they wish to build their temple, and it proves equally easy to earmark some funds to be dispensed as a subsidy towards the temple's construction. The worshippers of the old Pantheon don't waste time, quickly assembling construction materials and starting work on the house of the pre-Discord Deities. Donations of funds and labor pour in from across the Empire as followers of the old gods pitch in to see their vision brought to life.
The Temple is a thing to behold. Carved in the likeness of ancient ruins out of the stone of a towering mountain, the Temple is as much a museum as a place of worship, holding every relic and artifact of the faith that its worshipers could get their collective appendages on. Art great and humble, from statuary to Bas Relief murals, decorates both the interior and exterior of the construction. Thousands of people flock to see the completed building, from the most devout followers of the old ways to curious travelers merely wishing to see what all the fuss is about. More than a few of the latter become converts to the old faith, the Temple's congregation swelling as more and more make the pilgrimage to view the artifacts tended to by the resident priests, who express their most sincere thanks for your support of them and their faith. +.8 Imperial Pantheism Influence
Personal: You refuse to let your duties as Emperor take up every moment of your day.
-Meeting with the Dukes: Cost: 0. Time: One Year. Reward: ???
To Be Continued in "Hunting for/with Nobility".
-The Maretonian Question: Cost: 200. Time: One Year. Reward: Publicly Address the Refugee Integration Issue.
You knew things had been going too well.
Your people had surprised you when they had welcomed the Diamond Dogs into their communities with open wings, had made you proud when they had adopted Crystal Ponies as members of their own families...they hadn't even made a fuss about having a literal dragon in the Imperial line of succession! But you should have figured that eventually, their tolerance would reach a limit. And the protests outside of the Crystal City's "Little Maretonia" let everyone know that that limit had most definitely been reached.
To be fair, the protestors calling for the Maretonians to return to their homeland were a tiny minority, vastly outnumbered by the Griffons, Dogs and Crystal Ponies standing in defense of their new neighbors. And even you had to admit that this was different from the waves of immigration seen previously. These people weren't escaped slaves, nor had they already been living within Imperial territory before integrating, as had been the case with the Diamond Dogs. In fact, a few of the more recently arrived Maretonians had actually been small-time slaveowners themselves before the war had left them as destitute as every other refugee. But that didn't change the fact that these Maretonias were now Imperial Citizens. They had all the rights and privileges of any of your subjects, and you had a duty to them as much as you had a duty to any Griffon, Dog or Crystal Pony that lived within your borders.
So, you travel to the Crystal City to address the issue. For it needed to be addressed, that much was clear. But how to do so? A grand speech, calling for unity and extolling the virtues of acceptance? A show of force, to remind everyone of who called the shots and what the consequences of defying your will were? You ruminate on your options, discussing your ideas at length with your family before reaching a decision...and traveling to the Crystal City with your wife and children in tow.
You arrive in the city in the early morning, in an unmarked carriage without any fanfare. You shed your ornate garments, leave your sword and crown in the care of your bodyguards, and take your family on a walkabout of the Maretonian Quarter.
The looks on the faces of the immigrants you pass on the street are absolutely priceless. You see at least a dozen double-takes, and at least one pony walks into a wall after catching sight of The Emperor and his family walking down the road, taking in the sights of the city like tourists.
Not once do you ever give any indication as to who you are. You simply smile, politely greet everyone who stops to gawk at you, and generally act as if you weren't the monarch of a nation but just another Griffon. On more than one occasion, it's clear that the former Maretonians don't even realize who you and your family are until they see the young dragon walking alongside you...something that causes all of you no small amount of amusement. You pull the full tourist routine, from stopping for lunch at a small local tavern to asking for directions from a pair of Unicorns that look like they're on the verge of fainting as you thank them and carry on your way.
And then, at the end of the day, you hop back into your carriage and fly back to the Palace as quietly as you arrived, returning to your duties as Emperor the next morning as if nothing had happened.
Word of your family jaunt through Little Maretonia reaches across the Empire within the week. The fledgeling "newspaper" industry gets its first truly sensational story, struggling to print enough copies of their recounting of events for an astounded public. Amid all the hubbub and questions surrounding your seemingly bizarre and inexplicable stunt, the fact that the nativist protests seem to have abruptly ceased in the wake of your one-day family vacation goes almost unnoticed. Almost.
Sometimes actions speak louder than words. And hey, you even got a few laughs out of the whole thing. All in all, a pretty good day for you and your family. Refugee Integration Issue addressed.
-Getting to Know You More: Brochard's Legacy: Cost: 0. Time: One Year. Reward: Gawain and Friends Interlude, potential for Further Rewards.
To Be Continued in "The Belle of the Ball".
Carracks Constructed This Turn: 3
Random Event Rolls:
(30) (Bare Pass)
(64) (Pass)
You may notice that a couple of Omake bonuses were not applied. This was because they were completely unnecessary, as I'm sure you can see. They will remain in the Omake bonus depot for later use.
I apologize for how long it took to get this out. The effects of Isolation and Quarantine finally caught up with me, and I haven't been able to get the creative juices flowing very much over the course of the past week or so. Rest assured, I remain committed to continuing this and providing quality content for all of you guys. Thank you all for bearing with me.
I can't thank you all enough for your continued support of this Quest.
WHAT THE FLYING FUCK-A-ROO?!
Crazy7s1
Excellent
Why hello there~
INTRIGUE MASTER RACE
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
We employee bird brain. And that isn't an insult, but a great complement.
- Location
- Florida
And the intrigue memes live on.
Our Empire is an insidious entity lol.
Always nice to pass these.
Frozen Flame
Fragment of the Devourer
- Location
- The Darkness Beyond Time
Ravenburg is to intrigue as Hardbeak is to killing things. Honestly, it isn't that surprising at this point.
ConfusedCanuck
Where did it all go wrong?
- Location
- Neverland
An excellent update as always Questor!
- Location
- Anchorage, Alaska
whelp...looks like we finally caught nightingale.
She aint giving us the slip this time around!!!
She aint giving us the slip this time around!!!
Once again, our spy network surpasses all expectations!
And all it took was a vacation, a SINGLE VACATION!
I'm sure this won't piss off a certain goddess, at all.
- Location
- Texas
Well... I think it's safe to say that if there are changelings in Canterbury, not only are we going to find them, but possibly recruit them.
Why would it, more people are gonna be awake for longer and nocturnally