You're the Queen - Now What? [CK2ish Character-Focused Quest]
- Thread starter Kylia Quilor
- Start date
- Mature Fantasy
Tally
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
110 Dureks to Syrokis debts, will calculate accordingly before the end of the day. Next update will come sometime between Saturday and Monday. I am fairly certain at this point that the post where Vanessa greets Lothar and Essinya as suitors will be separate from the main council follow-up post. I have yet to decide if it will be two weeks after, or just a separate post to avoid unwieldiness. Depends on how the weekend goes for me IRL, most likely.
Rolls for Council Meeting Turn 4
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Plan: Public Suitors and Roads
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest 3% Wealth Tax
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Port Lest 4% Wealth Tax
-[X][CORRESPONDENCE] Continue the Ebon Dragon Investigation
--[X]Look into the Necrotic Artifact Market to see if you can trace their profits (Base Chance 44% + 1/2 Diplomacy + Intrigue)*
-[X][ROYAL VAULTS] Mint the <15 Dureks> Worth of Gold and Silver into new Coins and Put them Into Circulation (Base Chance 70% + Stewardship) (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda)
-[X][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Levies (Determine Levy Readiness for Action) (Base Chance 35% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[X][SECRETS] Rebuild Internal Spy Network (Phase 2 of ?) (No roll required. Each phase opens more [SECRETS] options down the line and improves chances of success of internal spy operations, as well as giving increased chance for intelligence to be 'passively' received)
-[X][SHERIFFS AND REEVES]Start Rebuilding the Roads in the Grand Duchy (Base Chance 56% + Stewardship)* (Costs 20 Dureks) [Process will take Multiple Turns]
-[X][JUSTICE] Investigate claims of ex-rebels taking revenge on pardoned former Syrokis loyalists and exact justice as required. (Base Chance 58% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
-[X][ENVOYS] Draw up detailed proposals for what Halrun can/should ask for from each possible marriage Candidate for the Queen's consideration (No Roll Required)
-[X][QUEEN] Meet and Greet with Arriving Suitors: Lothar Aldogun & Essinya Serriados (LOCKED, MUST TAKE)
--[X] Greet them as Suitors publicly
-[X][QUEEN] Begin looking for a suitable, secluded place inside the Palace to create a proper Sanctum (Sanctums are places of power for mages where their magics are most potent, they are hardest to kill, and where they can keep their greatest of secrets) (Base Chance: 50% + Stewardship OR Intrigue, whichever is Higher)
-[X][BANDITRY GENERAL] Send General Trins (Rolls will use his Martial and Trait)
-[X][BANDITRY PLAN] Disperse to Cover Major Trade Caravans (Get Merchants to travel in caravan convoys, and disperse to guard them directly) (Medium Casualties at Most) (Base Chance: 57% + Martial)*
-[X][BANDITRY TARGET] The Trade Towns
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Eaglecrest 3% Wealth Tax
-[X][TAX ASSESSMENTS] Port Lest 4% Wealth Tax
-[X][CORRESPONDENCE] Continue the Ebon Dragon Investigation
--[X]Look into the Necrotic Artifact Market to see if you can trace their profits (Base Chance 44% + 1/2 Diplomacy + Intrigue)*
-[X][ROYAL VAULTS] Mint the <15 Dureks> Worth of Gold and Silver into new Coins and Put them Into Circulation (Base Chance 70% + Stewardship) (Progress towards resolving Currency Contraction, Advances Royal Propaganda)
-[X][HIGH MARSHALL] Inspect the Levies (Determine Levy Readiness for Action) (Base Chance 35% + Martial + Diplomacy)*
-[X][SECRETS] Rebuild Internal Spy Network (Phase 2 of ?) (No roll required. Each phase opens more [SECRETS] options down the line and improves chances of success of internal spy operations, as well as giving increased chance for intelligence to be 'passively' received)
-[X][SHERIFFS AND REEVES]Start Rebuilding the Roads in the Grand Duchy (Base Chance 56% + Stewardship)* (Costs 20 Dureks) [Process will take Multiple Turns]
-[X][JUSTICE] Investigate claims of ex-rebels taking revenge on pardoned former Syrokis loyalists and exact justice as required. (Base Chance 58% + Intrigue + 1/2 Learning)*
-[X][ENVOYS] Draw up detailed proposals for what Halrun can/should ask for from each possible marriage Candidate for the Queen's consideration (No Roll Required)
-[X][QUEEN] Meet and Greet with Arriving Suitors: Lothar Aldogun & Essinya Serriados (LOCKED, MUST TAKE)
--[X] Greet them as Suitors publicly
-[X][QUEEN] Begin looking for a suitable, secluded place inside the Palace to create a proper Sanctum (Sanctums are places of power for mages where their magics are most potent, they are hardest to kill, and where they can keep their greatest of secrets) (Base Chance: 50% + Stewardship OR Intrigue, whichever is Higher)
-[X][BANDITRY GENERAL] Send General Trins (Rolls will use his Martial and Trait)
-[X][BANDITRY PLAN] Disperse to Cover Major Trade Caravans (Get Merchants to travel in caravan convoys, and disperse to guard them directly) (Medium Casualties at Most) (Base Chance: 57% + Martial)*
-[X][BANDITRY TARGET] The Trade Towns
[Correspondence] 44 (Base) + 2 (1/2 Dip) +5 (Int) + 4 (Trait) = 55% = STRONG SUCCESS
[Royal Vaults] 70 (Base) + 10 (Stew) = 80% = STRONG SUCCESS
[High Marshall] 35 (Base) + 10 (Mart) + 7 (Dip) +5 (Trait) = 57% = WEAK SUCCESS
[Secrets] No Roll Required
[Sheriffs and Reeves] 56 (Base) + 6 (Stew) +3 (Trait) = 65% = WEAK SUCCESS
[Justice - Trait Roll] 65 (Base) + 9 (Magic) = 74% = STRONG SUCCESS
[Justice] 58 (Base) + 6 (Int) +4 (1/2 Learn) = 68% +5 (Trait Strong Success) = 73% = STRONG SUCCESS
[Queen 1] No Roll Required
[Queen 2] 50 (Base) + 8 (Stew) = 58% = FAILURE
[Trins Bandit Plan] 57 (Base) +9 (Mart) +5 (Trait) = 71% = WEAK SUCCESS
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Disappointing on the Sanctum, but everything else seems to have reasonably worked out.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
At risk of being That Guy, it seems a roll was in fact required.
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Turn 4: Council Followup
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"Uh, yes, Mister - Keeper, sorry - Morn, we do indeed have an account on record for a Dorien Bael, and he is an adventurer, but I'm afraid that we have not heard from him in two months, and the gentleman in question hasn't personally come to our offices in the entire time we've been selling items he's procured."
Rykall looked across the table at the art broker and his barrister sitting next to him. Vorielon Tokkar was an old man, hair gray, but not thinning, wrinkled, but not wizened. Sturdy, but not fat. His business, connecting artistic objects of all sorts being sold with buyers who wanted it, was not the most successful such business in the Kingdom, but he was still a substantively wealthy man.
And he did do business with people who did business with people who did business with his family, which was how he'd made the connection, after reaching out to a cousin who worked in the field of selling objects people dug out of ruins - usually Deserethian stuff from the Goblin North, but did know the right people to talk to when it came to Necrotic artifacts as well.
"And you have no idea how to reach him?"
"I'm afraid not. Adventurers do not often have homes, and while he did say that letters left for him at the Bloody Stag - an inn of some ill repute in the dockside quarters of the city - would eventually find his way to him, his representative made it very clear that such letters would take time, and it would be better to simply wait for him to contact us, directly or through a representative." Vorielon explained, speaking quickly, but no looking worried, not seeming nervous or excitable.
Enchanted items of one sort or another were of course the greatest item in demand from old ruins, but those were less common than the fantastical stories printed on cheap paper and sold for coppers liked to claim. More commonly, people would find sculptures, tools, unenchanted but supremely well made weaponry or armor, jewelry, dishes and cups - the Necrotic Empire was very fond of silver and onyx in their cutlery and decor, making such things valuable for simply that alone, and though High Necrotic art was not really in style these days, there were still many people who liked it.
And so Rykall had had to learn during his dive into the market to address the matter of the Ebon Dragons - or rather, Dorien and Vrel, those two men masquerading behind that name.
"And what sort of things did they sell through you? All Necrotic artifacts, I assume? You are aware of the fees imposed on the sale of Necrotic artifacts recovered from Crown Lands-"
"All the artifacts were recovered from a site covered under a license that granted an exemption." Vorielon's barrister cut in. "And that license, on those terms, was recently renewed." He was an officious, stiff bastard, intent on covering the ass of his client, who had a reputation for not caring where the things he sold came from.
He didn't outright sell stolen goods - there had to be at least one fence or two between him and the thief, and no one had ever proven anything. At least not enough to get past the support he had from the rich patrons - noble and common alike - that he sold to.
Or so were the rumors, anyway.
"They were," Rykall granted, "though that renewal was granted under false pretenses, and for all intents and purposes, the original license expired years ago due to failure to pay follow-up fees." Rykall pushed several pieces of paper over to the barrister, letting him read over them. The barrister showed no reaction on his face, but that alone seemed to be a hint to Vorielon that this was not good news for him.
"Mister Tokkar, what sort of items did you sell?"
"An assortment of sculptures and jewelry, mostly." The broker explained, now showing a few nerves "A set of manacles made from silver and laced with Onyx. It was enchanted once, but the magics wore off centuries ago. A few goblets. A bottle of wine, still sealed, more a collector's item than something to drink at this point, one assumes."
Rykall winced, biting his tongue. He was not a wine connoisseur, but the idea of drinking something that old did not sound appealing and he doubted even a true gourmet would want it.
"And you sold them all?"
"I did. Sometimes to other brokers who had their own contacts, of course - a few were sold to people here in the capital, others elsewhere in the Kingdom, some ended up back in Darkmoon Forest. I took my commission and held the funds. Every now and then, the funds were retrieved by one of Dorien Bael's representatives." Vorielon swallowed. "I - I did everything by the law. If his license was expired or the renewal not valid - I never knew!" He insisted, raising his voice. The barrister put his hand on the art broker's shoulder, whispering something in his ear.
"What exactly do you want from my client, Keeper Morn?"
"Are you currently holding any money for Dorien Bael?"
The lawyer nodded to Vorielon, who then answered. "I am."
"How much?" Vorielon named a sum that amounted to 5.5 Dureks. Quite a substantial amount, by most standards. Though one that had built up from many individual sales. By all accounts, Vorielon was selling a lot of Necrotic artifacts on Dorien's behalf.
"That's a lot of money to hold. And he hasn't collected it? You said you heard from him a few months ago."
"Yes, but it was a letter, sent to inform me that his representative would be bringing more artifacts on a specific date." Vorielon named a date about a month from the current one, "and that I should start lining up buyers. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I was reaching out to potential brokers and buyers."
"And this representative brings the items directly to your offices?" Vorielon nodded. "Well, first and foremost, all of the money you're holding on Dorien Bael's behalf is legally forfeit to the crown. The man is in arrears for 10 Dureks, not to mention the various fines he'd be charged on those arrears, and the... other legal consequences of his actions."
Vorielon opened his mouth to protest, but his barrister interrupted again.
"Understood. What else do you want my client to do?"
Rykall made it very clear what Vorielon was to do.
[ ][VORIELON] Allow royal officials and enforcers to be present at his offices so the delivery can be seized (and resold to cover remaining arrears and fines) and the representative can be taken into custody and questioned
[ ][VORIELON] Accept the delivery, but let the representative leave, so someone working for the Crown can follow them.
[ ][VORIELON] Send a letter to Dorien via the Bloody Stag saying that he needs to send someone to get his money ASAP. Crown officials Arrest and question whoever is sent and/or trace the letter from the Bloody Stag to Dorien
[ ][VORIELON] Write In (Subject to QM Veto)
+5.5 Dureks to Treasury
Freshly minted silver coins: Was there anything better?
Rucdorn smiled to himself as he inspected a random sampling of the new coins going out, bearing Vanessa's face in profile, her name, the Royal Seal on the back. He took one, dropping it against a table to check the sound, then doing a few more. There was no way he could personally check every single coin, nor would he. He had people he could trust in the process - not just relatives and clanmates of his, though they did make up a good portion thereof - and overseeing the process, and he had to trust they did their part.
But inspecting some coins at random would be a good way to make sure.
He inspected the coins for signs of clipping or other modifications, checked their weights, and then moved on to the gold coins.
He tested those by weight and with touchstone, the alloys testing as they were supposed to - some of the coins were alloyed with copper or lead, others with silver, a few with cheap iron. The purity percentages depended on what the coins were to be used for.
Officially, every coin minted and issued by the crown had to had a listed percentage of a given precious metal in it. The Crown would issue edicts if things changed. At least officially.
Unofficially, many human kingdoms debased the currency a little in secret. No dwarven King would stoop to such levels, and so far, Vanessa hadn't dreamed of ordering him to debase the coins either, which was very good.
All the coins were within acceptable margins of what they were supposed to be, by all testing. So they would be sent out into circulation. Give it a few months, and they should keep moving around, which would do wonders for trade.
Which really answers my question: Functioning trade is better than freshly minted coins.
After all, if you simply held money in a vault, you were a Dragon, not a wealthy man.
Rienne got off her horse as she reached the main estate of Lord Trobec. She'd spent most of the last month riding from estate to estate, town to town, inspecting the levies and the systems in place to call them. She could hardly visit every estate, every town herself, and so had had to send officers out to
It was, unlike some of her previous tasks as High Marshall, something wholly alien to her.
A mercenary always had to be ready for battle at a moment's notice. Maintaining your equipment and your training was vital.
Lazy, idiot mercenaries existed, but they didn't last long, especially not in her company. Inspection like this wasn't really necessary.
In the royal army, inspection had to happen, but, that was different. They had regular drills, patrols, active operations...
Rienne, even in her vaunted position as High Marshall, spent an hour a day nearly every day in the training yards. She didn't often fob off maintenance of her own personal armor and weapons either.
She didn't expect that much from the levies, but what she was finding...
Every local lord and township did their levies differently, but the most common form was to arm the called up commoners with weapons and armor from central armories. Or stuff that could be made quickly and cheaply or bought quickly and cheaply - spears, hide coats, padded armor little better than just wearing a blanket. Something. Wealthier lords could afford to raise better troops, if they cared to.
Virtually none were stupid enough to send their levies in with nothing but farm implements, at least.
Levies could bring their own equipment, and the more well off ones might, but even then, it wasn't always swords and good armor.
Training was... predictably lax. One was lucky if the lord called people up to drill once a month. But Rienne wasn't surprised by that. It was the personal armsmen of local lords, or the standing militias of the towns, that would serve as the core of these sorts of things.
"Wait here," she gestured to the dozen soldiers who had come with her, ordering them to remain on their mounts for now, then approached the gates of Lord Trobec's estate, the low wall more a conceptual barrier than a protective one, surrounding the man's extensive gardens.
"You," she gestured to one of the armsmen at the gate, guarding. "I am Lady Rienne Novash, High Marshall to Her Majesty Queen Vanessa. I am here to speak with your Lord, and with your Master of Arms."
The two armsmen looked at each other a moment, as if not entirely sure she was serious or genuine. But Rienne did look the part, the red and black sash of her office over her armor, as well as a tabard with the Royal Crest, and the twelve well armed and armored horsemen with her also had Royal tabards.
She didn't know if these men would know it was her for sure, but she did look the part.
"Lord Trobec is not at the estate at the moment, and will not be here until this evening," the armsman on the left said after a moment. "I'll take you to the Master of Arms, High Marshall," he said after another pause, as if debating what to do before deciding. With a key from his belt, he unlocked the gate. Rienne went in with two soldiers and let the armsman lead her to Lord Trobec's Master of Arms.
...who proved to be a man she recognized.
"Taraon!" Rienne grinned, pulling the large, hairy man into a hug, Taraon chortling. She'd served with him in Zarsim. She pulled back. "I haven't seen you in years. Since when are you a Master of Arms to anyone?"
"Just in the last two months," Taraon said, his thick Eltaric accent easy for Rienne to understand, but she wondered how Lord Torbec processed it. It had taken her a while to really understand him, and she'd had the ear of a mercenary, who faced accents from all over the world all the time. "His last master of arms died in the war, and I was looking for a permanent job."
"Since when?" Rienne laughed. "What could make you ever settle down in one place?"
"What else? A good man. Vorec refused to actually marry me until I settled down in one place, and I was tired of trying to cajole him." He adopted a different tone, imitating Vorec, the camp follower who had become his partner in Zarsim, though it was a poor one, " 'It's one thing to be a whore and a camp follower, Taraon, but I'm not going to dignify it by pretending it's anything else!'"
Taraon shook his head, "I was actually on my way to you when I heard about Lord Trobec needing a Master of Arms, through the grapevine." Professional mercenaries, current and former did often keep their eyes out for permanent postings like this, the sort of thing one looking to settle down would be into. "When I heard you were High Marshall, seemed a perfect fit. But Lord Trobec's a fair boss, and I'm less likely to be called up to fight this way, which Vorec likes."
Rienne chuckled, "Fair enough."
"So what brings you here, oh vaunted Lady Rienne?" Taraon chuckled, giving her a light shove against her shoulder. "Slumming it with us common folk now? I hear you're hobnobbing with the nobles every day, eating at their tables-"
"Gods, don't remind me." Rienne dropped her head into a hand. "I'm still not used to eating the sort of rich meals they serve at all their feasts and dinners." A heavy, fancy meal once in a while was fine, and thankfully she didn't have to attend that many, all said and done, but still, more than she'd like. There were obligations, after all.
At her own dinners she'd hosted with her officers, she could at least ensure she what was served to her was lighter - still better than what she could have afforded before, Rienne was no ascetic, but not the dense custards and overly rich sauces and excessive amounts of meat and wine that too many nobles and elites went in for.
She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm here in my capacity as High Marshall. Looking into the status of the levies so far. I wasn't hopeful after the others I've seen, but now that I know you're in charge of the levies here..." The problems she'd run into were myriad: not enough are properly maintaining their equipment, some sold it off, or didn't bother to recover it, and aren't replacing their stores... training and drill was lax - the levies aren't shit, and they'd fought in the war, and so had that experience, but still.
It was the lack of proper logistical preparation that was the worst. Not enough lords were storing supplies for campaigns, getting together a reserve of arrows or boots or anything else.
Trins had warned her about that, that almost no one maintained proper logistical stores for their levies - he did, on his estates, but he was atypical.
(Rienne had been doing the same on her own estates)
"...you may want to let go of that hope," Taraon said with a long sigh. "Lord Trobec's armsmen are solid, he pays well and equips them well, and he wants them trained and drilled regularly, formations and everything. But he's too cheap about gear for the levies. I've checked the armories. There's basically nothing for them." Taraon shook his head. "I've asked him to at least get some spears made, or buy some, get some buff coats if nothing else, but..." he trailed off.
"Shit. More of the same then."
"Running into that a lot?"
"Aye. There's some that are good about it," all the Counts were, from what her people were reporting. Vallefor, in his ever annoying way, was especially on top of things. "But most - it's as if they've forgotten that there was just a civil war. I appreciate I'm new to this whole levies thing, but - I am not happy with the state of things."
"Unless you can convince Lord Trobec to part with money he could spend on importing exotic flowers..." Taraon trailed off. He shrugged helplessly, "There's only so much I can do."
"It's hardly your fault," Rienne shook her head. "I suppose we'll just have to see what Lord Trobec has to say for himself..."
"The short version is that I'm reasonably certain that there's no one actively conspiring to overthrow you, at this point," Vallefor summarized, leaning back in his chair, interlacing his fingers.
"Comforting to hear, though I imagine that word 'actively' is doing a great deal of heavy lifting."
Vallefor moved his head from side to side a moment, "It won't surprise you to hear not everyone loves you. You've done well these last four months, you haven't alienated any major factions - Port Lest isn't thrilled you didn't hand that estate to them, but equally they didn't really expect you to. No one's happy the tax assessments are increasing what they owe, but it's still fairer than what Syrokis was getting up to."
"And every ruling I make upsets someone, but no one's so upset as to seriously ponder treason?" Vanessa finished, raising an eyebrow. That was about what she'd have expected, but it was good to know for sure.
"More or less. I'm still working on placing agents and gathering informants in all the right places, but the general picture is that among people who don't like you or your reign, the prevailing attitude remains wait and see, maybe stockpile some money or the like for the future, make friends..."
"Nothing I could act on without looking like I was as bad as Syrokis, in other words." Vanessa pursed her hips. On a basic level, she had to admit she wasn't thrilled to know people were even considering treason in the future, but, on the other hand, considering wasn't a crime. She considered murdering people on a regular basis.
More since becoming Queen.
"I somehow doubt the lack of pissing anyone off is stopping everyone. I'm a foreign bastard."
"You had the approval of the Estates."
"As a compromise." Vanessa scoffed. "I'm not delusional enough to think I have the deep-seated loyalty of that many people yet." Rienne, maybe. A few of the nobles she'd elevated. Based on their limited interactions that Lady Yarelle Varto was fairly firm in her support.
Vallefor, on the other hand, considered her useful, and that was likely it. He had no chance of becoming King, but he was now in the halls of power. Any shakeup could risk losing him his position.
Ambition wouldn't likely be a cause for problems from him, she'd come to decide with understanding born of interacting with him over the last few months, (and just a touch of scrying). At least for the foreseeable future.
Vanessa didn't distrust Vallefor, per se, or think he was likely to betray her. But she knew that at the end of the day, Vallefor cared about himself and his own family's position and legacy first and foremost.
It's good to be realistic.
"The fact that you were the compromise is a factor in your favor. Put bluntly your majesty, no one has a better alternative. Syrokis's son and Gramaire are in hiding, and few people will launch a doomed rebellion in the name of an infant. And there's no one else a potential rebellion against you could name. And the list of people the nobility might elect... at this point? I can't think of anyone." Vallefor admitted.
"So as long as no one poses as a viable alternative to me, I'm safe."
"It's rare that someone launches a coup without a replacement in mind, historically." Vallefor confirmed.
"Not a very comforting thing to hear, but heavy is the crown," Vanessa sighed. "Anything else."
"We've identified a few foreign spies. There's a clerk passing information to Veldros in the diplomatic staff working under Arandel," he passed her a piece of parchment, "and a man in the quartermaster corps has been making friends with someone I know is working for Morvak." Another pair of parchments. "A few others my people are checking up on,"
Vanessa looked over the parchments. Neither leak was all that highly placed, and a certain amount of espionage was to be expected. Vanessa doubted the Morvakian spy was sourced to Regara, given her apparent goals, but Morvak did have spies on behalf of the Kingdom, and they reported to Bsail, one assumed.
"As well as other agents operating more... in the open. Doing the ground-level observation that makes a spy. Most we can't confirm, but a number of likely possibilities." Vallefor passed her another parchment. "They're not really breaking laws, in most cases, but it's generally considered acceptable to pick them up and kick them out, when they're caught. Part of the game. Which raises an important question: How do you want to handle spies?"
"Get rid of them, obviously." Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "What else would we do?"
"Well, spies are a fact of life. Our neighbors, even friendly ones, will spy on us a little. But known spies are much easier to watch, much easier to control, and much easier to feed false information to, if need be. If we get rid of them, they'll just try to send or suborn someone else. But if we know spies, we can trace them to handlers, contacts, informants."
"What's the catch?"
"Well, they have to be generally reliable for passing false information to be effective. We risk them finding out something we'd rather not, sooner or later. We'd have to monitor them. It's risky, and if they or their handlers realize we know, it can risk them pulling or eliminating the spy anyway, and of course, makes them recheck any false information we have fed them."
Vanessa frowned. It sounded a little too convoluted for her tastes. On the other hand, espionage was not her area of expertise, and Vallefor was here to provide his.
"Are you proposing we always let spies roam freely, under watch?"
"I think that should be our general policy. Obviously if they get too bold, or too close to things we need to keep secret, or the like, we deal with them, but catching the first spy is usually a matter of luck. Catching all that spies associates is a matter of watching." Vallefor explained.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] Generally speaking, allow foreign spies to remain in operation, under careful, managed watch, and used to feed false or partially so intel back to their boses. Potentially risky, potentially quite rewarding.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] Allow identified spies to remain active long enough to observe and identify their compatriots and informants, and then act accordingly, expelling, imprisoning or executing as necessary.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] If a spy or foreign informant is verified, just get rid of them. Expel, imprison or execute, as needed.
"Begging your pardon, my Lady, but it's not a matter of how much you pay us, you're paying us fair wages, or how much you force the issue. Half the laborers are out with some kind of sickness." The foreman of one of the road construction teams said. Balmain was not in her office, hadn't been since they started the road construction, checking in to see progress and do what she could to smooth the process out.
She'd hit a myriad of small hurdles that were delaying the process. Not by much, but enough to tack on a month or two to the final project. Shipment delays of getting supplies and tools from the central warehouses. One foreman got too drunk to work and she'd had to have him kicked off the project entirely. A half-dozen other minor issues up and down the process. The sorts of things she'd planned for, largely, but not enough, it would seem. And now here.
"How bad?" Balmain frowned. Illness breaking out among the laborers was not a good thing. "What kind? Did your people not dig proper latrine trenches?" It was rare that happened, but it did. She'd made very sure her own forces in the civil war avoided that as much as possible.
"My people are pretty hardy, and your representative contacted some priests and priestess for the worst cases. It's not the flux or anything like that. Got them coughing and sneezing, chills and such, but they're burning up if you touch."
Balmain nodded, pursing her lips. She was familiar with several categories of dieseases. "Make sure the sick have plenty of broth. Nothing too heavy or dense beyond that. Fruit. And though the noses of everyone in the group may not like it, cabbage. I'll make sure to have cabbages sent up for inclusion your diets in larger amounts."
"Thank you, milday," the foreman bowed. "There's not much I can do about the delays with so many out. I'm trying to keep the sick away from the healthy, but-"
"It's not going to be perfect, no. This delay of yours isn't that severe, as long as everyone recovers in fair time." Not this alone. "I'll see if I can move some laborers over to you to help you, but you crew isn't the only one facing delays. I won't hold it against you if you have some delays."
"Thank you milday."
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Accept the Delays. Road completion around the capital will take 6 turns.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers. Road completion around the capital will take 5 turns (-5 Dureks)
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers and more foremen and other additional resources. Road completion around the capital will take 4 turns (-10 Dureks)
"These men and women you were plotting to kill, the man you did kill, were all pardoned," Itrick said to the dozen men and women in front of him. All former soldiers who fought in the rebellion, all lost friends and family fighting against Syrokis. It had been a combination of luck and the skill of his investigators that two of the people in this little conspiracy had been caught, and his magic made it possible to force answers out of them, enough to round up the other ten.
And what was worse, he'd originally assumed Lord Moregol's widow was just grieving, unwilling to accept her husband's suicide. But further investigation...
"Pardoned to keep the peace! Not pardoned because it was just! Or Fair! Or Right!" One of them snarled. "Lord Moregol handed my sister over to Syrokis's butchers! To Bloody Ventil! You know what that man did! You presided over his trial and execution!"
"I was one of several assembled for it yes," Itrick told the man. "Bloody Ventil was a murder, rapist and monster, and his execution was just. Your execution of Lord Moregol was not. Plotting to kill Colonel Kharst - a key figure in the Thornferd Garrison, no less - for the simple crime of killing rebels who themselves had killed surrendered prisoners-"
"My father was not a killer of prisoners!" Another of the captured conspirators shouted.
"Yes, he was. General Kharst was a loyalist of Syrokis in the war, but he committed nothing that merited his execution." Itrick hadn't been personally involved in investigating that, but all the evidence accumulated in the aftermath of the war verified that Kharst had only executed prisoners who were themselves murderers.
It would have been better to have had trials to verify guilt, a proper process. Some likely merited death, others... probably would have been better with imprisonment, or even maiming, for all that that Itrick opposed such punishments, they were still better than execution in some cases, and others believed that more so than him.
But in war, it had been acceptable enough for the man to be pardoned.
"Each and every one of you feels you have grievances against the men and women you plotted to kill. But it is not in your hands to determine guilt. It's in the hands of the law. Else your bloody-minded pursuit of eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth would leave everyone blind and on a diet of soup." It was a stupid line that Itrick had heard from a play in his youth, and yet, it did encompass the problem with this private pursuit of revenge-based justice.
Some third party - the crown, local government, the Church of Askiran itself (ideally, as far as Itrick was concerned) had to stand in to arbitrate, and allow people to return to their lives.
"You have all been tried and found guilty. Only four of you directly participated in the actual murder of Lord Moregol, and for only one of you is the penalty of death. The rest of you will be imprisoned in various cells as appropriate for various lengths of time."
Several protested, two tried to lunge at him, but the manacles holding them and the guards around them stopped any such attempt.
Itrick sighed and gestured to the guards, who carted the dozen away.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Vanessa dropped her head onto her folded arms. "You'd think there'd be one place in this palace that was secluded and aetherically suited to being my Sanctum, but noooooooooooooooooooo,"
It was pathetic, but after two days of complete failure along with all the usual stresses of rule, and no one she could really vent to about her problems...
She was going to indulge in a little whining to the one person she could trust to keep it under wraps.
"I have to admit, I'm surprised. Are you sure?"
Vanessa lifted her head up and looked at Cyril, glaring at the old man as he stood sipping from a crudely made pottery cup filled with a disgusting herbal tea only Cyril could stand, as far as Vanessa had ever been able to tell.
"Yes, I'm sure." She would never have dreamed of giving him backtalk in such a sarcastic tone (and getting away with it, at least) as his apprentice, but -
Well, she was a Queen now. Surely that entitled her to some sass, even to an Archmage of Cyril's caliber.
"Every room that is remotely secure and secluded enough is the exact opposite of suitably resonant, and every room that could even be made resonant is far too public to be repurposed as a Sanctum. If I want a sanctum in the palace, we'll practically have to dig out an extension to one of the dungeons, or something that sort!"
Not a terrible idea for the future, maybe, but not something she thought the realm could afford. Sanctums could be expensive on their own, if you really wanted to get it right, she'd hoped finding the right room would have allowed her to save money on the process, and time, and magic.
As it was, she'd need to start from ground zero. Perhaps in of itself not expensive, but then there were the costs to keep the labor secret, the location of the room quiet, the purpose...
And it would take longer, regardless.
Perhaps she could build a sanctum elsewhere - it would be less easily accessible, but more secure, and possibly cheaper. She did have all those Crown Reserves she was doing nothing with.
Or maybe just put the question of a Sanctum on the backburner.
"It is strange, as I said, but sometimes the currents magic do not behave in a way we might want them to." Cyril advised. Then, more helpfully, he went on: "I can't say I don't see the utility of a Sanctum for you, but you do have a great deal of security here, so a sanctum for defense is less needed. And while it may make your magic more powerful in other ways-"
"I do have a lot of other priorities, yes." Vanessa sighed. But the thought of all that money she would have to spend. She grimaced. Sooner or later, she wanted to get this done, but it might just have to be later. "Suitors and holding court and reports and feasts, oh my!" She sighed. Then she smirked, waiting for Cyril to take a sip of his drink. Again, why not have a bit of fun with being Queen?
"You've been out of the capital the last few weeks, so I never got the chance to mention it to you - one of my suitors? Essinya Serriados."
Vanessa made sure to step to the side as she spoke, avoiding Cyril spitting out his tea.
"Excuse me?!" He said, voice suddenly high-pitched for a moment.
I've don't think I've ever seen that particular expression on his face. Unflappable was usually Cyril's middle name.
Not always, apparently.
Rykall looked across the table at the art broker and his barrister sitting next to him. Vorielon Tokkar was an old man, hair gray, but not thinning, wrinkled, but not wizened. Sturdy, but not fat. His business, connecting artistic objects of all sorts being sold with buyers who wanted it, was not the most successful such business in the Kingdom, but he was still a substantively wealthy man.
And he did do business with people who did business with people who did business with his family, which was how he'd made the connection, after reaching out to a cousin who worked in the field of selling objects people dug out of ruins - usually Deserethian stuff from the Goblin North, but did know the right people to talk to when it came to Necrotic artifacts as well.
"And you have no idea how to reach him?"
"I'm afraid not. Adventurers do not often have homes, and while he did say that letters left for him at the Bloody Stag - an inn of some ill repute in the dockside quarters of the city - would eventually find his way to him, his representative made it very clear that such letters would take time, and it would be better to simply wait for him to contact us, directly or through a representative." Vorielon explained, speaking quickly, but no looking worried, not seeming nervous or excitable.
Enchanted items of one sort or another were of course the greatest item in demand from old ruins, but those were less common than the fantastical stories printed on cheap paper and sold for coppers liked to claim. More commonly, people would find sculptures, tools, unenchanted but supremely well made weaponry or armor, jewelry, dishes and cups - the Necrotic Empire was very fond of silver and onyx in their cutlery and decor, making such things valuable for simply that alone, and though High Necrotic art was not really in style these days, there were still many people who liked it.
And so Rykall had had to learn during his dive into the market to address the matter of the Ebon Dragons - or rather, Dorien and Vrel, those two men masquerading behind that name.
"And what sort of things did they sell through you? All Necrotic artifacts, I assume? You are aware of the fees imposed on the sale of Necrotic artifacts recovered from Crown Lands-"
"All the artifacts were recovered from a site covered under a license that granted an exemption." Vorielon's barrister cut in. "And that license, on those terms, was recently renewed." He was an officious, stiff bastard, intent on covering the ass of his client, who had a reputation for not caring where the things he sold came from.
He didn't outright sell stolen goods - there had to be at least one fence or two between him and the thief, and no one had ever proven anything. At least not enough to get past the support he had from the rich patrons - noble and common alike - that he sold to.
Or so were the rumors, anyway.
"They were," Rykall granted, "though that renewal was granted under false pretenses, and for all intents and purposes, the original license expired years ago due to failure to pay follow-up fees." Rykall pushed several pieces of paper over to the barrister, letting him read over them. The barrister showed no reaction on his face, but that alone seemed to be a hint to Vorielon that this was not good news for him.
"Mister Tokkar, what sort of items did you sell?"
"An assortment of sculptures and jewelry, mostly." The broker explained, now showing a few nerves "A set of manacles made from silver and laced with Onyx. It was enchanted once, but the magics wore off centuries ago. A few goblets. A bottle of wine, still sealed, more a collector's item than something to drink at this point, one assumes."
Rykall winced, biting his tongue. He was not a wine connoisseur, but the idea of drinking something that old did not sound appealing and he doubted even a true gourmet would want it.
"And you sold them all?"
"I did. Sometimes to other brokers who had their own contacts, of course - a few were sold to people here in the capital, others elsewhere in the Kingdom, some ended up back in Darkmoon Forest. I took my commission and held the funds. Every now and then, the funds were retrieved by one of Dorien Bael's representatives." Vorielon swallowed. "I - I did everything by the law. If his license was expired or the renewal not valid - I never knew!" He insisted, raising his voice. The barrister put his hand on the art broker's shoulder, whispering something in his ear.
"What exactly do you want from my client, Keeper Morn?"
"Are you currently holding any money for Dorien Bael?"
The lawyer nodded to Vorielon, who then answered. "I am."
"How much?" Vorielon named a sum that amounted to 5.5 Dureks. Quite a substantial amount, by most standards. Though one that had built up from many individual sales. By all accounts, Vorielon was selling a lot of Necrotic artifacts on Dorien's behalf.
"That's a lot of money to hold. And he hasn't collected it? You said you heard from him a few months ago."
"Yes, but it was a letter, sent to inform me that his representative would be bringing more artifacts on a specific date." Vorielon named a date about a month from the current one, "and that I should start lining up buyers. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I was reaching out to potential brokers and buyers."
"And this representative brings the items directly to your offices?" Vorielon nodded. "Well, first and foremost, all of the money you're holding on Dorien Bael's behalf is legally forfeit to the crown. The man is in arrears for 10 Dureks, not to mention the various fines he'd be charged on those arrears, and the... other legal consequences of his actions."
Vorielon opened his mouth to protest, but his barrister interrupted again.
"Understood. What else do you want my client to do?"
Rykall made it very clear what Vorielon was to do.
[ ][VORIELON] Allow royal officials and enforcers to be present at his offices so the delivery can be seized (and resold to cover remaining arrears and fines) and the representative can be taken into custody and questioned
[ ][VORIELON] Accept the delivery, but let the representative leave, so someone working for the Crown can follow them.
[ ][VORIELON] Send a letter to Dorien via the Bloody Stag saying that he needs to send someone to get his money ASAP. Crown officials Arrest and question whoever is sent and/or trace the letter from the Bloody Stag to Dorien
[ ][VORIELON] Write In (Subject to QM Veto)
+5.5 Dureks to Treasury
Freshly minted silver coins: Was there anything better?
Rucdorn smiled to himself as he inspected a random sampling of the new coins going out, bearing Vanessa's face in profile, her name, the Royal Seal on the back. He took one, dropping it against a table to check the sound, then doing a few more. There was no way he could personally check every single coin, nor would he. He had people he could trust in the process - not just relatives and clanmates of his, though they did make up a good portion thereof - and overseeing the process, and he had to trust they did their part.
But inspecting some coins at random would be a good way to make sure.
He inspected the coins for signs of clipping or other modifications, checked their weights, and then moved on to the gold coins.
He tested those by weight and with touchstone, the alloys testing as they were supposed to - some of the coins were alloyed with copper or lead, others with silver, a few with cheap iron. The purity percentages depended on what the coins were to be used for.
Officially, every coin minted and issued by the crown had to had a listed percentage of a given precious metal in it. The Crown would issue edicts if things changed. At least officially.
Unofficially, many human kingdoms debased the currency a little in secret. No dwarven King would stoop to such levels, and so far, Vanessa hadn't dreamed of ordering him to debase the coins either, which was very good.
All the coins were within acceptable margins of what they were supposed to be, by all testing. So they would be sent out into circulation. Give it a few months, and they should keep moving around, which would do wonders for trade.
Which really answers my question: Functioning trade is better than freshly minted coins.
After all, if you simply held money in a vault, you were a Dragon, not a wealthy man.
Rienne got off her horse as she reached the main estate of Lord Trobec. She'd spent most of the last month riding from estate to estate, town to town, inspecting the levies and the systems in place to call them. She could hardly visit every estate, every town herself, and so had had to send officers out to
It was, unlike some of her previous tasks as High Marshall, something wholly alien to her.
A mercenary always had to be ready for battle at a moment's notice. Maintaining your equipment and your training was vital.
Lazy, idiot mercenaries existed, but they didn't last long, especially not in her company. Inspection like this wasn't really necessary.
In the royal army, inspection had to happen, but, that was different. They had regular drills, patrols, active operations...
Rienne, even in her vaunted position as High Marshall, spent an hour a day nearly every day in the training yards. She didn't often fob off maintenance of her own personal armor and weapons either.
She didn't expect that much from the levies, but what she was finding...
Every local lord and township did their levies differently, but the most common form was to arm the called up commoners with weapons and armor from central armories. Or stuff that could be made quickly and cheaply or bought quickly and cheaply - spears, hide coats, padded armor little better than just wearing a blanket. Something. Wealthier lords could afford to raise better troops, if they cared to.
Virtually none were stupid enough to send their levies in with nothing but farm implements, at least.
Levies could bring their own equipment, and the more well off ones might, but even then, it wasn't always swords and good armor.
Training was... predictably lax. One was lucky if the lord called people up to drill once a month. But Rienne wasn't surprised by that. It was the personal armsmen of local lords, or the standing militias of the towns, that would serve as the core of these sorts of things.
"Wait here," she gestured to the dozen soldiers who had come with her, ordering them to remain on their mounts for now, then approached the gates of Lord Trobec's estate, the low wall more a conceptual barrier than a protective one, surrounding the man's extensive gardens.
"You," she gestured to one of the armsmen at the gate, guarding. "I am Lady Rienne Novash, High Marshall to Her Majesty Queen Vanessa. I am here to speak with your Lord, and with your Master of Arms."
The two armsmen looked at each other a moment, as if not entirely sure she was serious or genuine. But Rienne did look the part, the red and black sash of her office over her armor, as well as a tabard with the Royal Crest, and the twelve well armed and armored horsemen with her also had Royal tabards.
She didn't know if these men would know it was her for sure, but she did look the part.
"Lord Trobec is not at the estate at the moment, and will not be here until this evening," the armsman on the left said after a moment. "I'll take you to the Master of Arms, High Marshall," he said after another pause, as if debating what to do before deciding. With a key from his belt, he unlocked the gate. Rienne went in with two soldiers and let the armsman lead her to Lord Trobec's Master of Arms.
...who proved to be a man she recognized.
"Taraon!" Rienne grinned, pulling the large, hairy man into a hug, Taraon chortling. She'd served with him in Zarsim. She pulled back. "I haven't seen you in years. Since when are you a Master of Arms to anyone?"
"Just in the last two months," Taraon said, his thick Eltaric accent easy for Rienne to understand, but she wondered how Lord Torbec processed it. It had taken her a while to really understand him, and she'd had the ear of a mercenary, who faced accents from all over the world all the time. "His last master of arms died in the war, and I was looking for a permanent job."
"Since when?" Rienne laughed. "What could make you ever settle down in one place?"
"What else? A good man. Vorec refused to actually marry me until I settled down in one place, and I was tired of trying to cajole him." He adopted a different tone, imitating Vorec, the camp follower who had become his partner in Zarsim, though it was a poor one, " 'It's one thing to be a whore and a camp follower, Taraon, but I'm not going to dignify it by pretending it's anything else!'"
Taraon shook his head, "I was actually on my way to you when I heard about Lord Trobec needing a Master of Arms, through the grapevine." Professional mercenaries, current and former did often keep their eyes out for permanent postings like this, the sort of thing one looking to settle down would be into. "When I heard you were High Marshall, seemed a perfect fit. But Lord Trobec's a fair boss, and I'm less likely to be called up to fight this way, which Vorec likes."
Rienne chuckled, "Fair enough."
"So what brings you here, oh vaunted Lady Rienne?" Taraon chuckled, giving her a light shove against her shoulder. "Slumming it with us common folk now? I hear you're hobnobbing with the nobles every day, eating at their tables-"
"Gods, don't remind me." Rienne dropped her head into a hand. "I'm still not used to eating the sort of rich meals they serve at all their feasts and dinners." A heavy, fancy meal once in a while was fine, and thankfully she didn't have to attend that many, all said and done, but still, more than she'd like. There were obligations, after all.
At her own dinners she'd hosted with her officers, she could at least ensure she what was served to her was lighter - still better than what she could have afforded before, Rienne was no ascetic, but not the dense custards and overly rich sauces and excessive amounts of meat and wine that too many nobles and elites went in for.
She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm here in my capacity as High Marshall. Looking into the status of the levies so far. I wasn't hopeful after the others I've seen, but now that I know you're in charge of the levies here..." The problems she'd run into were myriad: not enough are properly maintaining their equipment, some sold it off, or didn't bother to recover it, and aren't replacing their stores... training and drill was lax - the levies aren't shit, and they'd fought in the war, and so had that experience, but still.
It was the lack of proper logistical preparation that was the worst. Not enough lords were storing supplies for campaigns, getting together a reserve of arrows or boots or anything else.
Trins had warned her about that, that almost no one maintained proper logistical stores for their levies - he did, on his estates, but he was atypical.
(Rienne had been doing the same on her own estates)
"...you may want to let go of that hope," Taraon said with a long sigh. "Lord Trobec's armsmen are solid, he pays well and equips them well, and he wants them trained and drilled regularly, formations and everything. But he's too cheap about gear for the levies. I've checked the armories. There's basically nothing for them." Taraon shook his head. "I've asked him to at least get some spears made, or buy some, get some buff coats if nothing else, but..." he trailed off.
"Shit. More of the same then."
"Running into that a lot?"
"Aye. There's some that are good about it," all the Counts were, from what her people were reporting. Vallefor, in his ever annoying way, was especially on top of things. "But most - it's as if they've forgotten that there was just a civil war. I appreciate I'm new to this whole levies thing, but - I am not happy with the state of things."
"Unless you can convince Lord Trobec to part with money he could spend on importing exotic flowers..." Taraon trailed off. He shrugged helplessly, "There's only so much I can do."
"It's hardly your fault," Rienne shook her head. "I suppose we'll just have to see what Lord Trobec has to say for himself..."
"The short version is that I'm reasonably certain that there's no one actively conspiring to overthrow you, at this point," Vallefor summarized, leaning back in his chair, interlacing his fingers.
"Comforting to hear, though I imagine that word 'actively' is doing a great deal of heavy lifting."
Vallefor moved his head from side to side a moment, "It won't surprise you to hear not everyone loves you. You've done well these last four months, you haven't alienated any major factions - Port Lest isn't thrilled you didn't hand that estate to them, but equally they didn't really expect you to. No one's happy the tax assessments are increasing what they owe, but it's still fairer than what Syrokis was getting up to."
"And every ruling I make upsets someone, but no one's so upset as to seriously ponder treason?" Vanessa finished, raising an eyebrow. That was about what she'd have expected, but it was good to know for sure.
"More or less. I'm still working on placing agents and gathering informants in all the right places, but the general picture is that among people who don't like you or your reign, the prevailing attitude remains wait and see, maybe stockpile some money or the like for the future, make friends..."
"Nothing I could act on without looking like I was as bad as Syrokis, in other words." Vanessa pursed her hips. On a basic level, she had to admit she wasn't thrilled to know people were even considering treason in the future, but, on the other hand, considering wasn't a crime. She considered murdering people on a regular basis.
More since becoming Queen.
"I somehow doubt the lack of pissing anyone off is stopping everyone. I'm a foreign bastard."
"You had the approval of the Estates."
"As a compromise." Vanessa scoffed. "I'm not delusional enough to think I have the deep-seated loyalty of that many people yet." Rienne, maybe. A few of the nobles she'd elevated. Based on their limited interactions that Lady Yarelle Varto was fairly firm in her support.
Vallefor, on the other hand, considered her useful, and that was likely it. He had no chance of becoming King, but he was now in the halls of power. Any shakeup could risk losing him his position.
Ambition wouldn't likely be a cause for problems from him, she'd come to decide with understanding born of interacting with him over the last few months, (and just a touch of scrying). At least for the foreseeable future.
Vanessa didn't distrust Vallefor, per se, or think he was likely to betray her. But she knew that at the end of the day, Vallefor cared about himself and his own family's position and legacy first and foremost.
It's good to be realistic.
"The fact that you were the compromise is a factor in your favor. Put bluntly your majesty, no one has a better alternative. Syrokis's son and Gramaire are in hiding, and few people will launch a doomed rebellion in the name of an infant. And there's no one else a potential rebellion against you could name. And the list of people the nobility might elect... at this point? I can't think of anyone." Vallefor admitted.
"So as long as no one poses as a viable alternative to me, I'm safe."
"It's rare that someone launches a coup without a replacement in mind, historically." Vallefor confirmed.
"Not a very comforting thing to hear, but heavy is the crown," Vanessa sighed. "Anything else."
"We've identified a few foreign spies. There's a clerk passing information to Veldros in the diplomatic staff working under Arandel," he passed her a piece of parchment, "and a man in the quartermaster corps has been making friends with someone I know is working for Morvak." Another pair of parchments. "A few others my people are checking up on,"
Vanessa looked over the parchments. Neither leak was all that highly placed, and a certain amount of espionage was to be expected. Vanessa doubted the Morvakian spy was sourced to Regara, given her apparent goals, but Morvak did have spies on behalf of the Kingdom, and they reported to Bsail, one assumed.
"As well as other agents operating more... in the open. Doing the ground-level observation that makes a spy. Most we can't confirm, but a number of likely possibilities." Vallefor passed her another parchment. "They're not really breaking laws, in most cases, but it's generally considered acceptable to pick them up and kick them out, when they're caught. Part of the game. Which raises an important question: How do you want to handle spies?"
"Get rid of them, obviously." Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "What else would we do?"
"Well, spies are a fact of life. Our neighbors, even friendly ones, will spy on us a little. But known spies are much easier to watch, much easier to control, and much easier to feed false information to, if need be. If we get rid of them, they'll just try to send or suborn someone else. But if we know spies, we can trace them to handlers, contacts, informants."
"What's the catch?"
"Well, they have to be generally reliable for passing false information to be effective. We risk them finding out something we'd rather not, sooner or later. We'd have to monitor them. It's risky, and if they or their handlers realize we know, it can risk them pulling or eliminating the spy anyway, and of course, makes them recheck any false information we have fed them."
Vanessa frowned. It sounded a little too convoluted for her tastes. On the other hand, espionage was not her area of expertise, and Vallefor was here to provide his.
"Are you proposing we always let spies roam freely, under watch?"
"I think that should be our general policy. Obviously if they get too bold, or too close to things we need to keep secret, or the like, we deal with them, but catching the first spy is usually a matter of luck. Catching all that spies associates is a matter of watching." Vallefor explained.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] Generally speaking, allow foreign spies to remain in operation, under careful, managed watch, and used to feed false or partially so intel back to their boses. Potentially risky, potentially quite rewarding.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] Allow identified spies to remain active long enough to observe and identify their compatriots and informants, and then act accordingly, expelling, imprisoning or executing as necessary.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] If a spy or foreign informant is verified, just get rid of them. Expel, imprison or execute, as needed.
Just to be clear, as Vallefor says, this is about setting the GENERAL policy on the subject. If specific spies become relevant enough to get screentime in the quest, or things of that nature, you can of course order case by case changes, etc.
"Begging your pardon, my Lady, but it's not a matter of how much you pay us, you're paying us fair wages, or how much you force the issue. Half the laborers are out with some kind of sickness." The foreman of one of the road construction teams said. Balmain was not in her office, hadn't been since they started the road construction, checking in to see progress and do what she could to smooth the process out.
She'd hit a myriad of small hurdles that were delaying the process. Not by much, but enough to tack on a month or two to the final project. Shipment delays of getting supplies and tools from the central warehouses. One foreman got too drunk to work and she'd had to have him kicked off the project entirely. A half-dozen other minor issues up and down the process. The sorts of things she'd planned for, largely, but not enough, it would seem. And now here.
"How bad?" Balmain frowned. Illness breaking out among the laborers was not a good thing. "What kind? Did your people not dig proper latrine trenches?" It was rare that happened, but it did. She'd made very sure her own forces in the civil war avoided that as much as possible.
"My people are pretty hardy, and your representative contacted some priests and priestess for the worst cases. It's not the flux or anything like that. Got them coughing and sneezing, chills and such, but they're burning up if you touch."
Balmain nodded, pursing her lips. She was familiar with several categories of dieseases. "Make sure the sick have plenty of broth. Nothing too heavy or dense beyond that. Fruit. And though the noses of everyone in the group may not like it, cabbage. I'll make sure to have cabbages sent up for inclusion your diets in larger amounts."
"Thank you, milday," the foreman bowed. "There's not much I can do about the delays with so many out. I'm trying to keep the sick away from the healthy, but-"
"It's not going to be perfect, no. This delay of yours isn't that severe, as long as everyone recovers in fair time." Not this alone. "I'll see if I can move some laborers over to you to help you, but you crew isn't the only one facing delays. I won't hold it against you if you have some delays."
"Thank you milday."
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Accept the Delays. Road completion around the capital will take 6 turns.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers. Road completion around the capital will take 5 turns (-5 Dureks)
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers and more foremen and other additional resources. Road completion around the capital will take 4 turns (-10 Dureks)
"These men and women you were plotting to kill, the man you did kill, were all pardoned," Itrick said to the dozen men and women in front of him. All former soldiers who fought in the rebellion, all lost friends and family fighting against Syrokis. It had been a combination of luck and the skill of his investigators that two of the people in this little conspiracy had been caught, and his magic made it possible to force answers out of them, enough to round up the other ten.
And what was worse, he'd originally assumed Lord Moregol's widow was just grieving, unwilling to accept her husband's suicide. But further investigation...
"Pardoned to keep the peace! Not pardoned because it was just! Or Fair! Or Right!" One of them snarled. "Lord Moregol handed my sister over to Syrokis's butchers! To Bloody Ventil! You know what that man did! You presided over his trial and execution!"
"I was one of several assembled for it yes," Itrick told the man. "Bloody Ventil was a murder, rapist and monster, and his execution was just. Your execution of Lord Moregol was not. Plotting to kill Colonel Kharst - a key figure in the Thornferd Garrison, no less - for the simple crime of killing rebels who themselves had killed surrendered prisoners-"
"My father was not a killer of prisoners!" Another of the captured conspirators shouted.
"Yes, he was. General Kharst was a loyalist of Syrokis in the war, but he committed nothing that merited his execution." Itrick hadn't been personally involved in investigating that, but all the evidence accumulated in the aftermath of the war verified that Kharst had only executed prisoners who were themselves murderers.
It would have been better to have had trials to verify guilt, a proper process. Some likely merited death, others... probably would have been better with imprisonment, or even maiming, for all that that Itrick opposed such punishments, they were still better than execution in some cases, and others believed that more so than him.
But in war, it had been acceptable enough for the man to be pardoned.
"Each and every one of you feels you have grievances against the men and women you plotted to kill. But it is not in your hands to determine guilt. It's in the hands of the law. Else your bloody-minded pursuit of eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth would leave everyone blind and on a diet of soup." It was a stupid line that Itrick had heard from a play in his youth, and yet, it did encompass the problem with this private pursuit of revenge-based justice.
Some third party - the crown, local government, the Church of Askiran itself (ideally, as far as Itrick was concerned) had to stand in to arbitrate, and allow people to return to their lives.
"You have all been tried and found guilty. Only four of you directly participated in the actual murder of Lord Moregol, and for only one of you is the penalty of death. The rest of you will be imprisoned in various cells as appropriate for various lengths of time."
Several protested, two tried to lunge at him, but the manacles holding them and the guards around them stopped any such attempt.
Itrick sighed and gestured to the guards, who carted the dozen away.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Vanessa dropped her head onto her folded arms. "You'd think there'd be one place in this palace that was secluded and aetherically suited to being my Sanctum, but noooooooooooooooooooo,"
It was pathetic, but after two days of complete failure along with all the usual stresses of rule, and no one she could really vent to about her problems...
She was going to indulge in a little whining to the one person she could trust to keep it under wraps.
"I have to admit, I'm surprised. Are you sure?"
Vanessa lifted her head up and looked at Cyril, glaring at the old man as he stood sipping from a crudely made pottery cup filled with a disgusting herbal tea only Cyril could stand, as far as Vanessa had ever been able to tell.
"Yes, I'm sure." She would never have dreamed of giving him backtalk in such a sarcastic tone (and getting away with it, at least) as his apprentice, but -
Well, she was a Queen now. Surely that entitled her to some sass, even to an Archmage of Cyril's caliber.
"Every room that is remotely secure and secluded enough is the exact opposite of suitably resonant, and every room that could even be made resonant is far too public to be repurposed as a Sanctum. If I want a sanctum in the palace, we'll practically have to dig out an extension to one of the dungeons, or something that sort!"
Not a terrible idea for the future, maybe, but not something she thought the realm could afford. Sanctums could be expensive on their own, if you really wanted to get it right, she'd hoped finding the right room would have allowed her to save money on the process, and time, and magic.
As it was, she'd need to start from ground zero. Perhaps in of itself not expensive, but then there were the costs to keep the labor secret, the location of the room quiet, the purpose...
And it would take longer, regardless.
Perhaps she could build a sanctum elsewhere - it would be less easily accessible, but more secure, and possibly cheaper. She did have all those Crown Reserves she was doing nothing with.
Or maybe just put the question of a Sanctum on the backburner.
"It is strange, as I said, but sometimes the currents magic do not behave in a way we might want them to." Cyril advised. Then, more helpfully, he went on: "I can't say I don't see the utility of a Sanctum for you, but you do have a great deal of security here, so a sanctum for defense is less needed. And while it may make your magic more powerful in other ways-"
"I do have a lot of other priorities, yes." Vanessa sighed. But the thought of all that money she would have to spend. She grimaced. Sooner or later, she wanted to get this done, but it might just have to be later. "Suitors and holding court and reports and feasts, oh my!" She sighed. Then she smirked, waiting for Cyril to take a sip of his drink. Again, why not have a bit of fun with being Queen?
"You've been out of the capital the last few weeks, so I never got the chance to mention it to you - one of my suitors? Essinya Serriados."
Vanessa made sure to step to the side as she spoke, avoiding Cyril spitting out his tea.
"Excuse me?!" He said, voice suddenly high-pitched for a moment.
I've don't think I've ever seen that particular expression on his face. Unflappable was usually Cyril's middle name.
Not always, apparently.
Why I can't seem to manage to be short-winded I don't know. I just can't help myself. Anyway, in the interest of saving time in this post (which is overlong already) I decided to section the bit where Arandel and his staff work out an 'ideal wish list' from each suitor, or at least something along those lines out of the post. I'll thread the lists Arandel et al drew up into the bits where the relevant suitors arrive. And the arrival of Essinya and Lothar (not at the same time) will be put off into the next post, which will probably be two weeks from now. I know we're stretching the process out, but, unavoidable.[/QM Note]
Voting Moratorium for 48 hours. No plans required.
Voting Moratorium for 48 hours. No plans required.
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'll say it's more the apprentice thing. For Cyril, his apprentices are the closest thing he's ever had to children. The idea of a 'daughter' of his marrying the daughter of the Archnecromancer is... weird, given his history with Lyrus Serriados.
- Location
- Who knows?
Well. Vanessa deserves a slight teenage rebellion arc as a treat
Always be yourself. Unless you can be a dragon, in which case be a dragon.
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
A dwarf (in this verse, anyway) would not agree, generally speaking.
- Location
- Who knows?
I thought the bigger concern was the hints of a larger conspiracy that brainwashed our clerks and/or managed to perfectly forge their seals of authority. Like maybe they did that just for relic smuggling, but the implications are worrisome. We use that bureaucracy for things!
Omake: Bone Chess (Quasi-Canon)
- Location
- PA
Cyric harrumphed, clearly attempting to regain his composure and dignity.
"Just don't be surprised at the Necrochess, and when you inevitably get a skull laughing at you."
That made Vanessa stop short.
"A…Laughing skull?"
"Yes." Said Cyric, adopting a familiar teaching tone. "It's a part of Necrochess culture. One is graded more on the magics used to manipulate the pieces. Crudely shoving them about with bursts of kinetic energy is frowned upon, not least of which due to the chance of breaking them on impact."
"…And I assume proper Necromancy gives the highest marks. Shows 'proper enlightenment' or something like that?"
"True, but it gets more complicated. Do you mean to dominate their will? Or understand how to ask, and embolden those who would be doomed to march to their own deaths? Or the end of their undeaths, as the case may be. Though some, might say that a lack of domination speaks to a weakness of rulers to impose their will…"
At that Cyric trailed off, his mind momentarily elsewhere.
Vanessa just groaned, and began messaging her temple with her spare hand.
"That's just what I need to hear, that even the bloody Necromancers will have foolish squabbles over the slightest of details…And the Laughing skill is laughing at the cowardice to shy away from Necromancy?"
"Indeed, that is a popular view of its appearance." Said Cyric, unable to keep the hint of sourness from his voice. "Though I hear rumors of a 'fool's mate' that will summon him irregardless of magical skill. I've not had the displeasure to be on the receiving end of that, nor have I ever accomplished such…"
…
OOC: if Vanessa were to start doing Necrochess and doing it 'properly' as I just described above, would it leave some sort of discernible 'taint' on her magic? Or is it more of a 'yeah most mages know a bit for learning how to beat it' kind of thing?
"Just don't be surprised at the Necrochess, and when you inevitably get a skull laughing at you."
That made Vanessa stop short.
"A…Laughing skull?"
"Yes." Said Cyric, adopting a familiar teaching tone. "It's a part of Necrochess culture. One is graded more on the magics used to manipulate the pieces. Crudely shoving them about with bursts of kinetic energy is frowned upon, not least of which due to the chance of breaking them on impact."
"…And I assume proper Necromancy gives the highest marks. Shows 'proper enlightenment' or something like that?"
"True, but it gets more complicated. Do you mean to dominate their will? Or understand how to ask, and embolden those who would be doomed to march to their own deaths? Or the end of their undeaths, as the case may be. Though some, might say that a lack of domination speaks to a weakness of rulers to impose their will…"
At that Cyric trailed off, his mind momentarily elsewhere.
Vanessa just groaned, and began messaging her temple with her spare hand.
"That's just what I need to hear, that even the bloody Necromancers will have foolish squabbles over the slightest of details…And the Laughing skill is laughing at the cowardice to shy away from Necromancy?"
"Indeed, that is a popular view of its appearance." Said Cyric, unable to keep the hint of sourness from his voice. "Though I hear rumors of a 'fool's mate' that will summon him irregardless of magical skill. I've not had the displeasure to be on the receiving end of that, nor have I ever accomplished such…"
…
OOC: if Vanessa were to start doing Necrochess and doing it 'properly' as I just described above, would it leave some sort of discernible 'taint' on her magic? Or is it more of a 'yeah most mages know a bit for learning how to beat it' kind of thing?
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The Laughing skull isn't something I thought of, but this really does capture a lot about the nature of Bone Chess and the 'proper necromancy = proper enlightenment' thing is very accurate.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] Allow identified spies to remain active long enough to observe and identify their compatriots and informants, and then act accordingly, expelling, imprisoning or executing as necessary.
The important thing being able to target their networks. Without those, well, enemy espionage is neutered.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Accept the Delays. Road completion around the capital will take 6 turns.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers. Road completion around the capital will take 5 turns (-5 Dureks)
As it stands, I think we're handling the debt fine enough to not need to really kick the timing forward much.
The important thing being able to target their networks. Without those, well, enemy espionage is neutered.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Accept the Delays. Road completion around the capital will take 6 turns.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers. Road completion around the capital will take 5 turns (-5 Dureks)
As it stands, I think we're handling the debt fine enough to not need to really kick the timing forward much.
Do we think our spies are good enough to run a XX system with foreign agents? If so, we should definitely think about using them for disinformation, letting others only know what we want them to. It would definitely be immensely rewarding if pulled off.
I'm inclined to try the Bloody Stag letter, I think, since I doubt whoever would be sent with the delivery knows anything and following them probably wouldn't reveal much.
As for the roads, I'm inclined to spend 5 Dureks but could probably be convinced to spend more.
I'm inclined to try the Bloody Stag letter, I think, since I doubt whoever would be sent with the delivery knows anything and following them probably wouldn't reveal much.
As for the roads, I'm inclined to spend 5 Dureks but could probably be convinced to spend more.
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
I'm with @MrRageQuit on those votes.
As for the conspiracy...
Yeah the Bloody Stagg letter. If it does not work, I do not imagine the other potential intermediaries will know anything either.
As for the conspiracy...
Yeah the Bloody Stagg letter. If it does not work, I do not imagine the other potential intermediaries will know anything either.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We're just rebuilding our networks from the ground up, so no. I don't think so.
Kylia Quilor
I Have Two Moods, and Bitter is One of Them.
- Location
- Hiding in the corner of your vision.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
VOTING. IS. OPEN.
As a reminder, the choices are listed below. Plans are not required. Voting will be open for at least 72 hours, may just run until closer to next weekend.
[ ][VORIELON] Allow royal officials and enforcers to be present at his offices so the delivery can be seized (and resold to cover remaining arrears and fines) and the representative can be taken into custody and questioned
[ ][VORIELON] Accept the delivery, but let the representative leave, so someone working for the Crown can follow them.
[ ][VORIELON] Send a letter to Dorien via the Bloody Stag saying that he needs to send someone to get his money ASAP. Crown officials Arrest and question whoever is sent and/or trace the letter from the Bloody Stag to Dorien
[ ][VORIELON] Write In (Subject to QM Veto)
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] Generally speaking, allow foreign spies to remain in operation, under careful, managed watch, and used to feed false or partially so intel back to their boses. Potentially risky, potentially quite rewarding.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] Allow identified spies to remain active long enough to observe and identify their compatriots and informants, and then act accordingly, expelling, imprisoning or executing as necessary.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] If a spy or foreign informant is verified, just get rid of them. Expel, imprison or execute, as needed.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Accept the Delays. Road completion around the capital will take 6 turns.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers. Road completion around the capital will take 5 turns (-5 Dureks)
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers and more foremen and other additional resources. Road completion around the capital will take 4 turns (-10 Dureks)
As a reminder, the choices are listed below. Plans are not required. Voting will be open for at least 72 hours, may just run until closer to next weekend.
[ ][VORIELON] Allow royal officials and enforcers to be present at his offices so the delivery can be seized (and resold to cover remaining arrears and fines) and the representative can be taken into custody and questioned
[ ][VORIELON] Accept the delivery, but let the representative leave, so someone working for the Crown can follow them.
[ ][VORIELON] Send a letter to Dorien via the Bloody Stag saying that he needs to send someone to get his money ASAP. Crown officials Arrest and question whoever is sent and/or trace the letter from the Bloody Stag to Dorien
[ ][VORIELON] Write In (Subject to QM Veto)
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] Generally speaking, allow foreign spies to remain in operation, under careful, managed watch, and used to feed false or partially so intel back to their boses. Potentially risky, potentially quite rewarding.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] Allow identified spies to remain active long enough to observe and identify their compatriots and informants, and then act accordingly, expelling, imprisoning or executing as necessary.
[ ][COUNTERSPY POLICY] If a spy or foreign informant is verified, just get rid of them. Expel, imprison or execute, as needed.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Accept the Delays. Road completion around the capital will take 6 turns.
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers. Road completion around the capital will take 5 turns (-5 Dureks)
[ ][ROAD DELAYS] Hire more laborers and more foremen and other additional resources. Road completion around the capital will take 4 turns (-10 Dureks)
If were not building one now, were likely never going to. Id judge it more on the what we are trying to achieve. All of the proposals have pros and cons, we just have to decide which pros we like and which cons we can tolerate.
We have the high risk, high reward approach of the spies we know. Pros are obviously the false information and the fact that we know whos there and what theyre up to. Cons are the fact that they are there and get infos out. We might even seem weak on the counterintel front. And that, being there, they can entrench themselves and cultivate sources. Were counting on that to feed them the false info, but it takes just one mistake.
The low(er) risk approach is to just kick them out. No Infos for you, sir. Pros are were getting rid of them and seem active on the counterintel front. Cons are were not getting the more successful and quiet ones. And those now know to keep even more quiet. A lot less info gets out, but we have no idea what gets out and from where. Just that theres likely to be some.
The wait and catch them all is a compromise in that it compromizes and lands somewhere in between. Pros are getting them out, preferably all of them. Less likely to miss some like the quick and dirty approach. Less risk of someone getting somewhere we dont want them without us catching them. Cons are that at the same time were spying on them they spy on us and get the infos out. So overall more info gets out then in the less meticulous approach, but still less then with the spy you know approach. Problem is its probably all good info.
TLDR:
Approach The Spy you know: False info+, We know what they know+, No deep penetration+, Takes just one mistake-, Lots of Intel going out-, We might look weak to spies-(+)
Approach Quick and dirty: Easy+, Not much Intel going out+, We look active on the Intel front+(-), No idea what gets out-, Will miss the better, more stealthy ones, associates etc-
Approach Get them all: Medium amount of Intel going out+-, Some idea what gets out+-, We look active on the Intel front+(-), Gets the whole network+, Hard(er)-
We have the high risk, high reward approach of the spies we know. Pros are obviously the false information and the fact that we know whos there and what theyre up to. Cons are the fact that they are there and get infos out. We might even seem weak on the counterintel front. And that, being there, they can entrench themselves and cultivate sources. Were counting on that to feed them the false info, but it takes just one mistake.
The low(er) risk approach is to just kick them out. No Infos for you, sir. Pros are were getting rid of them and seem active on the counterintel front. Cons are were not getting the more successful and quiet ones. And those now know to keep even more quiet. A lot less info gets out, but we have no idea what gets out and from where. Just that theres likely to be some.
The wait and catch them all is a compromise in that it compromizes and lands somewhere in between. Pros are getting them out, preferably all of them. Less likely to miss some like the quick and dirty approach. Less risk of someone getting somewhere we dont want them without us catching them. Cons are that at the same time were spying on them they spy on us and get the infos out. So overall more info gets out then in the less meticulous approach, but still less then with the spy you know approach. Problem is its probably all good info.
TLDR:
Approach The Spy you know: False info+, We know what they know+, No deep penetration+, Takes just one mistake-, Lots of Intel going out-, We might look weak to spies-(+)
Approach Quick and dirty: Easy+, Not much Intel going out+, We look active on the Intel front+(-), No idea what gets out-, Will miss the better, more stealthy ones, associates etc-
Approach Get them all: Medium amount of Intel going out+-, Some idea what gets out+-, We look active on the Intel front+(-), Gets the whole network+, Hard(er)-