>>15804405
>Steward who.. hasn't been doing a perfect job.

D:

eh, the kid's 17 we can't expect perfection just yet

The current season is Fall

The Current state of the realm:
Safety: Worrisome (With the army on the move there are always deserters.)
Morale: Doubtful (Alvin is only a young man and many do not view him in the same light as yourself.)
Farming: Mediocre, (A bit of bad luck with a few brigands breaking into the storehouse and stealing quite a bit of food before being chased off)
Housing: Good (The State of the village is alright.)
Gold: Low (The payment to widows as well as the general payment for upkeep of the army have left you with few gold coins.)
Wood-cutters: Good (While some of the better craftsmen have gone with the army some have stayed and are creating quite a bit of wood)
Marble: Excellent, (Your main source of income)
Iron Vein(s): Mining has begun, nothing yet.

Important People:
Magda & her Maids (The caretakers of the castle, only five remain)
Karl (Spokesman of the villagers)
Jehenna (Karl's wife and Priestess of Gaia (earth mother))
Kalistra (Smart woman from Village, daughter to Karl and Jehenna)
Ulri (Priest of Gaia) (And beekeeper!)
Alvin (New Steward, young) (Us)

Layout of the Land:
The castle is situated atop a hill, to the east of your lands forests ride up to the mountains in the east, the forests are filled with game. A road has been logged to reach the valuable stone known as Marble.

There is a road leading through your territory, it crosses two rivers, both of them are bridged and guarded by towers and are tolled, (low toll), trade is going strong, a small temple to the earth goddess Gaia is the main sight in the village. Along with the newly made Inn Gaius' Rest, a palisade wall is being put up around the village as well, linking up the hill and with the Castle.

Known religions:
Gaia (Earth-Mother) Goddess of Farmers
Coin Father, Patron god of Traders
Iron Prince, War God.

Known civilizations:
The Kingdom of Pendra (us)
The Empire City-States (Loose federation all owning allegiance to the Empire, War)
The Inner Empire (Shrouded in secrecy, but known to have an army like none have seen. Tech-wise more advanced then us. War)
The Norselands (Vicious Raiders that often come for the other people of the world, pillaging is their game)

People we know:
Duke Hamish, Our uncle once removed, he loves us.
Count Jenniker, noble to our north, has a reputation for being cruel to his peasants, likes our father was before he passed.

Family:
Lady Isandra (Wife to us and mother to our Son)
Angelo Urs Tarkin (Nearing his first birthday)

Quests:

Battle Quests:
Blades in the Dark. (Mandatory)
Traitors? (Mandatory)

Realm Quests:
Problems with Brigands (Mandatory)
Problems with Food (Mandatory)
- Secret Quest -

Decide which side of the coin you wanna do first, Realm-stuff or Battle-stuff?

>>15804461
Alvin needs to rally the militia and hunt down those bandits, if he pulls it off that should help the security and morale of the peasants.

bumping for being noticed.

>>15804497

Lets do the realm quests first.

>>15804556
mapmakinganon here, will be joining you shortly, but got the langets for a 15th C pollaxe to finish cutting out first.

>>15804586

Real Life comes first. Thanks again for the maps. Big help.

>>15804583

Alright, which one?

Problems with Brigands or Problems with Food?

Food problems first since they will hopefully be the easiest and safest to solve.

>>15804593
Bandits, rally the militia.

>>15804593
Do the Food Quest first.

>>15804593
Brigands problem, so they don't steal more food or distrube trade anymore.

Alright.

Alvin sighs as he sees Karl coming into the audience chamber, the young steward of house Tarkin is wearing a simple over-robe proclaiming the Heraldry of your house.

As Karl approaches him he nods towards the younger man, "We have to do something about these Brigands, last night they crossed the bridge again. Thankfully they didn't kill any of the guards this time", he sighs, Alvin shakes his head, "What did they take this time?", "They broke into the Inn drinking our mead and smashing the other barrels before I could rally the Militia. Something must be done about these Brigands".

Where do you start your search for them?

Possible Leads:
Guards at the Bridge.

>>15804688

Might as well start by questining guards. Also remember to inquire more information from any traveling merchants.

>>15804688
Time to put gates on the bridge, to restrict flow of traffic at night.

which conveniently makes the inn more popular a staging post for the night, if there's bandits "out there". that'll let us make a little more coin.

>>15804688
Maybe those guards got bribbed, talk to them.

.>>15804738
>>15804730
>>15804708

What do you want to build the gate with, give me a solid explanation using the things we have at our disposal.

---

Alvin decides to go with Karl and a handful of the militia to the house where the two guards are sleeping, as they open the door the two men stare at them for a moment then smile. "Ah Sir Alvin", the boy seems troubled for a moment at their 'nickname', these are both men in their thirties, muscularly build and members of the Militia.

When they spot Karl their smile dies partly though, sitting them both down Alvin calmly asks them about their involvement, both say the same story, they were knocked on their head with something heavy (they both show bruises on their head) and passed out soon after. They seem to be telling the truth.. however one of them has very sweet breath...

A. Order them to stand aside as you search their house.
B. 'Believe them' and try to follow them later?

>>15804777
Wooden gate that moves using ropes and pulleys. Also, Alvin goes with B.

>>15804830

Okay, now who can make something like that in our little village. We don't have enough $ to hire laborers.

---

Leaving the two men alone Alvin and Karl set a watch nearby, the militia men they pick are among some of the most trusted and they have family ties to the village. It takes to near midnight before but finally Alvin is awoken from his slumber.

Taking clothes that fade into the background you slip out, following the two men they enter the forest, staying near the river before you spot them near a small rope bridge hanging across the river. A large man is waiting there for them.

A rough scar cuts through his beard and he's resting on a truly massive sword, a zwei-hander. "Did they buy it?", he asks, his burly voice loud, the left one nods and you hear a soft chuckle from the right one. "Good.. so they won't be expecting us tonight.. I was thinking we might pay a visit to the castle.. you can get us in right?"
The right one grins and grabs a pair of keys from his belt. "Oh you bet".

What do you do?

Gather our best men and some of the wardens and set a trap for them

>>15804903
Withdraw and rally the militia.

rolled 37 = 37

>>15804903
i assume that we dont have a bow or something that we can snipe that guy so i guess make a trap

>>15804777
Sawmill. Timbers. start off with a nice wooden shed type cover over the bridge and a short-ish pallisade fence 12 foot high going out from the bridge along the water's edge.

then take iron hinges, and build a pair of nice, large wooden doors that can close over the bridge.

a pair of pivoting wooden beams on the inside of the gate/doors can slide down and lock the gate into place.

it'll not stop a seige engine, but it'll bar access overnight for common bandits.


quick drawing in 5 mins to show what I meant. if we have access to the stonemasons who were working the marble, they could make the structure in stone, instead.

>>15804944
get out of there, get to the castle, raise the guards who are active.

give them a surprise when they arrive.

>>15804967

See that's a good laid out plan and one that's doable.

Built in Stone, will be completed end season.
Built in Wood, will be completed partly through this season. Whatcha want?

>>15804958
>>15804944
>>15804930

Where, how, etc.

Put some effort into your plans, it'll be a +(something) to my roll to make to see if it works!

>>15804944
Agreed.
We get them all, have them lead us to their hideout, and take back everything they stole.
I want to bury them alive or drown them, as methods of execution, but that might be a bit too bloodthirsty for our county-folk.

>>15805014
Build it out of wood, we can replace it later. So, Alvin heads back to the castle and gets the militia together then lay in wait near the rope bridge, so that when the first one steps on our side, we charge in and cut the bridge.

>>15805015
There is always rehabilitation.

>>15805014
Get the militia together and bring them back to this rope bridge. Once the last of the brigands is halfway across the rope bridge, attack. Shoot the ones on the rope bridge while attack those that made it across.
I want to get all of them tonight.

>>15805014
plant to make it from stone, and make it in wood first.

the wooden frame will then serve to be built around in stone later on once its assembled, the pallisade wall replaced witha stone wall section with the palisade serving as the pilings for the foundation on the soft riverbank. the simple roof can be replaced with a 1-story tower on the walls, and that can then have a winch and pulley installed for a portcullis later on.

(medieval actchitechture was'nt exactly short of "let's add a bit on top of here" thinking, after all. and it solves the short-term problem with a week's work, and will solve the defence problem fully in time.

another drawing coming up...

>>15805014
we've got a castle built for defence, that these people want to walk into.

a castle filled with spiral staircases that a zweihander-carrying swordsman cant swing his weapon in, while you can swing a weapon easily down towards him...
a castle that has murder-holes, doorways where a man must bend down to get through doorways and present his head-first to get into chambers...
chambers with a cubbyhole next to the doorway so you can club his brains out as he goes through, completely protected.

Why are you trying to ambush them out here where they're able to fight back???????

Alright, stealing away from the bridge you leave two men in place and rally the rest of the militia naturally not everyone is in fighting shape and of the 100 men you manage to rally only 40, armed with bows and arrows and some axes they come back to the bridge. (The other 60 were either guarding the castle, guarding the bridges or just drunk)

What you find isn't comforting, you see the two men you left being tossed around by a group of well over 60 men, it's hard to tell in the forest at night. They aren't armored, but the skill of your bowmen isn't too great either, mixed in with poor visibility they could very well strike one of their fellows.

>>15805140
acceptable losses, prepare to fire a volley and charge.
Maybe yell out something like "check your laces!" first, so our two boys hopefully figure out to duck. If not, oh well.

>>15805140
They will be remembered, open fire.

>>15805136
Because it's not a fully garrisoned castle.
Because we don't know which side entrance they're going to use.
Because it only takes one to get through and start killing the maids, or if bad rolls come our way, the heir.

>>15805140

are they on the other side of that rope bridge?

if so, we have one hell of a choke point...

>>15805166
This keep a few alive so we may find our shit.

We need more people for our fief maybe get some people from thr cities?

>>15805188
>>15805166

As you yell out some of the brigands release your men to grab weapons, as one the men lie down and they hear the twinging of arrows. The low visibility has many of them missing their mark along with your shout, however at least 30 of the enemy are down, some more permanently then others.

"Bastards, CHARGE!", the large menacing man with the zwei-hander starts to close in, Alvin gulps as the man spots him, and closes in, his grin widening as he takes a few practice swings with the nasty blade.

"Gonna end you boy", so what do.

>>15805226

No they all crossed over, luckily the two men you left bought you some time, they were obviously gonna kill them eventually but they were just toying now.

Fire again. We should be able to take care of most of them.

And 60 men?

>>15805275

Uhm Yes, 60 Brigands.

Clearly the leader organized them.

You can't really fire again, seeing as they are already closing in and these aren't professional soldiers, just militia.

>>15805109
for later, the stages of bridge defence -
1, wooden walls,
2, replace with stone and a barrel-vault roof over the bridge.
3. peirce through that vault when needed, and put a guard's tower above the gate. till then they'll have to make do with standing on guard in the sheltered bit of the bridge, which should be comfy at least.

>>15805296
helps to attach the pic, does'nt it?

>>15805296

There are already two towers built at each bridge.

Just no gates.

>>15805240
Alvin rapidly climbs a tree while Karl leads the militia into the melee.

>>15805317
in which case, even easier to do, just built the wooden bits, and look at making them stone later on.

Does Alvin have any kind of combat training? And for that matter, what kind of weapon is he using?

>>15805353
I think of him as a scrawny nerdish guy, who didn't bring a weapon, hence my idea that he hides in a tree while Karl deals with the bandits.

>>15805310

That looks amazing. If ambitious, though building it in marble will show we got $$

>>15805353

He's currently holding an axe. And no he doesn't have any weapons training, but as Steward to not be there would be seen as cowardice.

Still.

---

Frightened by the large intimidating figure of the man Alvin's body goes into flight mode, using his youth he climbs a nearby tree. The large man's booming laughter earns him a note of interest from Karl who lets an arrow fly, striking the large man in his thigh.

He isn't dead yet and growls deeply as he lumbers forward, Karl has other problems as a pair of thugs assault him, hacking away with cleavers. Meanwhile most of the militia is tied in melee. The big man however isn't looking.

Do something risky?

>>15805389
Hop into another tree and jump down bringing Alvin's axe to bear on the leader's skull.

>>15805389
How's Alvin's throwing arm?
Can we throw his axe at the leader while he's distracted?

>>15805419
I don't thing that his axe is designed for throwing, but then again if he's close enough we just have to hope the handle doesn't smack into the guy's thigh.

>>15805389
lucha libre style sky axe? Alvin must have an invincibility complex SOMEWHERE in his mind...

and hey, jumping from a tree to split a man's skull with an axe is street cred!

>>15805419

You could, but the axe isn't made for throwing at people and you might up just hitting him on the head with it.

Also hopping from tree to tree might be doable.

Rollan! Rolled 4.

---

Jumping from a nearby tree Alvin brings his axe down towards the enemy commander, only to see his strike go just past his skull. Instead Alvin has to jerk his arm back to avoid hitting himself, as he steadies he sees the growling bear of a man. A full two heads higher then him, he's raising the sword to slice Alvin in half.

>>15805389
Marble would be daft and a waste of good material. perhaps one marble stone for the keystone of the barrel-vault. .

on the other hand, I dont doubt there's plenty of granite or similar general boulders up at the quarry in the areas which arent marble strata, which can be used for this without any extra effort. infact, there's a very good chance that the bits of rock that have been quarried to get to the marble vein will do. does'nt need to be perfect blocks, we can use rough-hewn rubble with mortar.

>>15805441
I'm glad you agree with my idea. I like the idea of Alvin being an immense coward who just takes cheap shots, spectacular though they may be.

>>15805451
Thrust the axe into the guys gut as hard as possible in an attempt to knock the wind out of him.

>>15805454

There are plenty of normal boulders laying around the quarry that are being used for simple stuff, you could definitely use those.

>>15805451
dropped to the ground by leaping out the tree?

axe up into his testicles then.

>>15805451
is he "raising" it over his head?

if so... jump at his gut, get under the swing and shift our grip on the axe so we hold it under the head? Might be able to get a slice in before he kicks us away or tries to bear hug us...

if he's "raising" it for a slash from left/right... jump back?

>>15805478
Shouldn't Alvin go after the arrow wound in the guy's thigh?

>>15805491
That might work too.

Shouldn't Alvin just kick in the balls? Hitting with axe is fine too..

Better idea, the inside of his thigh, sever the femoral artery and he'll bleed out in under a minute.

If he's still rearing back, hit him with the axe.

If he's swinging, HIT THE DECK!

So, ball-kick, slice the femoral artery, and punch the open arrow hole as hard and as much as he can?
Or at least, continue stomping on the man's balls as he bleeds out?

Cheap shots and no mercy; that's how Alvin should roll.

>>15805508

There's cruel and there's unnecessarily cruel.

This falls into second category.

>>15805501
>>15805491

As the huge man raises the zwei-hander above his head, aiming to swing it down and sever the poor boy Alvin spots the arrow sticking from his thigh and reverses the axe's grip. As the sword comes down he side-steps it (18), and ends up slamming his axe into the bear-skin wearing thug's thigh.

He howls in agony and backhands Alvin, smacking the sense out of him as he drops his sword, clutching his ruined leg. Alvin's eyes roll in his skull as Karl helps him up, sitting amongst the large man, the axe has been removed and the wound 'dressed' (stopped bleeding, no arteries cut obviously), are three more brigands. They look beat up but otherwise relatively fine.

"What do you wanna do with 'em Steward?", asks one of the militia members, the man has a swollen left eyes and his arm is wrapped tight to his body, it's clearly broken.

>>15805536
Get the location of their hideout, reclaim what they took plus what ever else they have there, kill the leader, let the other two go.

>>15805536
String'em up right outside the bridge.
Or maybe cover them in tar and burn'em alive.

Nah, we should torture the location of their hideout out of them first. Let every militia man surviving take a turn at using each of the prisoners as a pinata until they either talk or die.
Lord Tarkin can be the merciful lord; Alvin should be the unflinching hardass who will burn a brigand at the stake for daring to go against the law.

>>15805536
>>15805556
No. Kill or capture, then hang them for all to see, as a warning against would-be lawbreakers.

>>15805536
Hang them as criminals.

find whichever ones had the castle keys. Chain them up and they go to the castle dungeon to be judged by the lord when he returns for treason.

>>15805536
Also Alvin needs to remember to complain about how killing bandits is our job when we get back from campaign.

>>15805556

why would we let them go? at the very LEAST throw them all in a dungeon to rot.

>>15805575
>>15805574
Provided we learn where their hideout is first. It better not be that homestead again.

>>15805579
Not to rot, just until Lord Tarkin returns... when ever that will be.

Torture time!

Take one of the bandits, disembowl him in front of the others and give him to Lobo. That should get them to talk!

>>15805591

if it is the homestead... how many times have they caused trouble?

>>15805604
2 times, I think.
1. the kidnapping of Count Jenniker's daughter, I think. Or it might have been the Duke's daughter, I don't remember.
2. The Northmen bandits.

>>15805604
If it is the homestead, we burn it down and sow the area in salt.

>>15805575
>>15805574
>>15805569
>>15805556

A few of the more well-looking militia men take their turns hitting the captives, one of the brigands, a young boy the age of fifteen has his fingers chopped, by the third, he tells you all you wanna hear.

Unfortunately the traitors died during the fight, at least some dignity in death. The rest are dragged away into the dungeons to be hung before the entire village. Meanwhile the food and drink, what little was left, was recovered for the village along with a few captive girls. They seem unwilling to talk.. but it's clear from their bruises what became of them.

Alvin himself strides out, a bruise burning under his eye, and reads the verdict, the large bear of a man growls and shouts, but the verdict is carried none the less. Stools are kicked as the village watches these men dangle and choke to death, "And good riddance", says Karl spitting on one of their corpses.

Now.

A quest for Food.

Days later with the new gates coming well underway. Naturally the rope bridge in the forest was burned, carefully as not to burn the forest as well, Alvin is once again greeted by Karl.

This time Jehenna has accompanied him, the woman looks troubled, "My lord, I am afraid the food has become.. tainted, much of it has turned to rot. Perhaps rats or something else, but we do not have enough food for the Winter not at all".

A. Seek out Traders in the city?
B. Seek out Homesteads that might sell you food.
C. Call on Count Jenniker's steward for aide.

>>15805627
>>15805626
>>15805604

It wasn't the homestead, they built their camp in the woods.

And it was the Duke's Daughter, now happily married to Sir Jahin, Count Jenniker's son.

>>15805645
B and C.

>>15805645
A and B. C should be our last resort.

>>15805660
Jahin might have gotten the Duke's daughter, but we got girl abs, another county, and an AWESOME KID, you know he's going to be AWESOME!

>>15805645
Send alvin to convene with Urs's steward, since his daughter's people are going to starve.
Throw in a free shipment of marble or something, hell half a ton of marble ought to feed the village for a year.

we might want to start selling the marble in Highhall and getting food from there. So A preferably.

>>15805701
They barely have any food to begin with, I don't think they'll have much to spare. That reminds me, just hat makes the farmland in Urs bad? Acidity? Clay? Gravel? Swamp? Pests?

>>15805723
Not a bad idea.

>>15805694

Yes. Yes we did get an awesome kid.

Because checking to see what he'd be able to be best when he grew up I took a d10 roll.

1-3: Warrior
4-6: Diplomat
7-9: Trader
10: Prodigy

Guess what I rolled

>>15805728

Clay ground and no, we don't have taters yet. For those not familiar with taters = potatoes.

----

Alvin convenes with the steward of 'Urs' only to find that like them, their stores were also raided, they look to Alvin to feed them as well. Coming together both Counties decide to organize a trade caravan, taking Militia from both counties they head towards the city to sell both Marble and Iron there for food.

Unfortunately as you arrive, you see that the trading season is winding down. You might have to sell your goods for less then they are worth to get the amount of food you need.

Ps. The Militia you took are like "OMFG a CITY!?!?!?!"

>>15805782
"One day we too shall erect something as grand"

I'm assuming you rolled a ten.

>>15805782
>You might have to sell your goods for less then they are worth to get the amount of food you need.
So be it. Beats dead people.

>>15805782
Keeping people is more important right now with Lord Tarkin waging war, than making profit...So yes buy the food

>>15805863
Oh fuck. I mean keeping people happy.

>>15805813

Yes.

----

As you search for a merchant with the stuff you need you find only one, the man is short and stocky and wears silk. He grins as he twirls a coin around on the large oak desk he's behind. "You come for food.. I have much.. but you only have Marble and Iron for sale. Iron I can move.. but Marble.. there is not much call for Marble in Pendra now"

You know he's lying your trade contracts do insure you a fair bit of gold each month, though not enough to buy the food you need and pay for the army. "But.. I'm willing to make you a deal. Give me all your Marble and part of your Iron and I'll give you the food..", he grins and twirls the coin again as he watches you.

After we get back we should investigate why the food we had went bad.

>>15805782
I'm guessing Prodigy as well.

So what became of those two boys we'd trained in swordsmenship? Brought with the army, or currently militia? Because we could use them to supplement alvin's crap skill.

>>15805782
Food is more important. Also, tell the Urs to till in manure in the fall after the harvest, advise growing more cabbage, broccoli, peas, and beans, pear trees are a possibility. Still not a geologist, but I do know a bit about farming in acidic clay soil.

>>15805876
Since we know he's downplaying demand, we pretend to walk out. Find another merchant if we really have to. Also try to carrot him with the prospect of repeat business.

>>15805876

will the food we get from this trade be enough to hold our people over for the winter? (along with Urs?)

>>15805876
Refuse.

Call him out on his lie.

>>15805876
Oh please. Even if there's no immediate demand for marble, which we know there actually is, the price on it will rise again and it could be sold for a much higher price.
I think we should hold out, maybe try to find another trader. Maybe even try another city.

>>15805876
So he's planning holing onto the marble until the price is higher, fine.

>>15805898

This. We might be desparate for the food and the merchant might have some incline just how desperate we are, but he is a merchant. His vice is greed and marble can be very luxurious.

Can we rough him up a little? He pissed me off

>>15805900

Yes

>>15805896

You a farmer's son?

>>15805912
>>15805906
>>15805898

As you stand up the merchant's eyes rise as you pretend to walk out, he grins as he has his guard hold the door. "Perhaps.. my offer wasn't good enough", he has the guard turn you back to the table. "You must be selling the marble yourself. I will do this, I will take your contracts that you have, buy them for myself, with an added contract. Give me this.. and the Iron and you can have the Food".

It's a fair deal, for him, but a raw deal for the smaller traders you signed contracts with, it's your noble right however (your a steward to a noble so it's noble) some of them might harbor nasty feelings towards you.

no beating the merchant up.

"shame we cannot come to an agreement. the marble will be safe in the quarry for another year when there is demand, I expect...

>>15805963
Sadly yes, I've been trying hard to avoid the last hundred years of my family.

So he wants the iron and the marble contract? How much is he willing to pay in those contracts?

>>15805963
"you may do this, if you pay out the traders whose contracts would otherwise be broken.
If you do so, you will hold the opportunity for a monopoly on the supply; a lucrative opportunity indeed.

If you cannot honour the contracts of those who would otherwise be inconvenienced, then what proof do we have that you would honour contract with us?

A lucrative monopoly. perfect for a man of your standing, I expect, no?"

>>15806004

He will take the Iron off your hands, just what you have right now.

Furthermore he will take the Marble & contracts with other traders you have right now.

Those two combined will net you the food.

His Marble contract is either a steady supply of A. Food, B. Gold or C. Wine. in exchange for a the rest of the marble from the quarry, so you won't be able to use the quarry to buy anything else. Ps. The Gold he's offering will pay upkeep for the army with ease.

>>15805963
Agree to the contract.

Feeding our people is more important than having good face with small traders.

rolled 16 = 16

Didn't realise it was on today.

Trade for the food, can't hurt.

>>15806004

I know how hard the life can be, I sold my cattle farm to a larger farmer.

Consequences however have led me to work in a company that has me seeing my old 'colleagues"

>>15806027

That goes without saying, a bit of gold will be paid for the contracts to be turned over. And indeed he'll have a monopoly on our quarry

>>15806036
So long as the contract is of a fixed length, then sure go for the regular gold.

But seeing as everyone agrees to the trade.

You extend your hand and shake that of the merchant, his lips curl back into a smile as he takes the contracts off your hands. You have some time before you return home if you wish to look for tradesmen.

Also what did you take for his contract:
A. Food
B. Gold
C. Wine

>>15806036
whoa whoa whoa
>so you won't be able to use the quarry to buy anything else.

No way man, that's a terribly one-sided contract. Offer him a standard trading contract for marble but agree to a low fixed rate, something like 10% below market value, so he can make good profit off it when he turns it over.
But we absolutely cannot just give over ALL of our marble to one merchant, that's madness (I say!)

I know there's an old expression for situations like this, but I can't remember it.
Something like selling the coop to feed the chickens or something

well, fuck.
Nevermind.

>>15806100
Gold buys food, and wine.

>>15806100
Can it be all three?

Say 50% gold, 40% food, 10% wine?

>>15806098
contract for one year, with the option of extension.

claim the lord will have to sign anythng longer, and he is at war.

they cant argue with that one...

and yes, tying up the marble for a year is a bad plan. but having no-one alive in spring is worse.

>>15806112

*Points at Mountain with 3 Iron Veins innit*

Okay.

So Marble out, Gold In.

What next, back to the County for Secret Quest or stay in the city to look for.. well whatever it is you need.

>>15806100
Gold of course. Aside from looking from some new types of seeds I can't think of anything pressing.

>>15806151

All Contracts are 1 year deals. Though of course some have indefinite contracts, but this one is just a 1 year deal.

>>15806156

Yes but seeds for us, or seeds for County of Urs (also us but different us)

>>15806152
Go to an inn, Alvin should awkarwdly hit on a wench.

>>15806187
Agreed

Also, we should try to pick up an alchemist. Might come in handy later.

>>15806176
Yes, meaning both. I see no reason why we can't try to make Urs a better place, it is ours after all. Need to make sure our prodigy progeny has the best base to build off from.

>>15806232
dont count on the progeny being a prodigy. the dice probably managed to land on its point, not a face, and the child will be an idiot savant.

Meanwhile, lets see what else we can deal with while the lord's out riding to war...

>>15806176
Seeds for both us and Urs.
Urs is going to be us anyway, we should look to making it prosper as well.

>>15806232
>>15806196
>>15806187

Taking a walk through the city you find several merchants, the seeds they sell are just what you need. Luckily with the gold you have with you you manage to buy it.

Taking most of the caravan to a safe area of the city the group checks into an Inn, Alvin however sees little interest in the group´s ale drinking and heads to the trade quarter. Finding the place where he was contracted by Lord Tarkin he finds it fairly empty, when he asks about an alchemist the woman shakes her head claiming that none have showed.

Returning back to the Inn Alvin tries to talk up one of the maids, instead.. he gets a flagon of ale thrown in his face (rolled a 1)

Returning home the two counties are very happy for the food, the rot was found to be a family of rats that had nested there and subsequently died because of a barrel falling on them. Their stench had been masked by the sweet honey mead, this had drawn throughout the crops. But they should be fine now..

There is one other pressing point, Alvin groans as he takes off his cloak, another day as steward comes to a rest and he stares out of the window. The sun starts to set and he shakes his head, he isn't ready. As the door starts to open he turns to see Kalistra.

"Alvin..", she says softly, her eyes seem warm, "have you written him yet?", she asks softly, he shakes his head, "Not yet Kalistra.. I am only a young man.. he might have other plans for me..", the woman's arms close around him, "But I don't..", she whispers softly.

- Secret Quest -

A Secret Love.

How does Alvin break their romance to Karl and to Lord Tarkin?

>>15806196
3 veins of iron ore... right on our doorstep?

a river right beside the town?

Alchemist and Blademaker, right now.

that is the combination PERFECT for the production of good steel.

Take the iron ore, it gets hauled the short distance to the town, where we refine it in blast-furnaces pumped by bellows driven by the river.
with large volumes of iron ore coming in, we dont have to spend huge amounts of money to haul the ore to where it can be refined.

the iron ore we have, we now "purify" further to ingots, those of pig iron are forged to weigh perhaps 200lbs/100kg each, and are shipped on upriver to Highhall by barge. those which are purified become steel, which is of course far more valuable, and we again have the water-power of the large river, to drive the wheels for trip hammers to work the steel either to make blades, armour, or at worst-case, to sell as a high-quality product of steel ingot blanks.

the infrastructure for medieval industrial working is right there in front of the village.

DO IT!

>>15806312
by getting her knocked up, and marrying her at the chapel of Gaia, of course...

>>15806312
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA
HHA, good for Alvin. I'm sure Lord Tarkin wont care, and Kalistra should be able to placate her father, so... send a letter to us asking if we have any plans regarding his personal life. We'll say no and ask what it's about. Then his next letter will say it's Kalistra, we'll say if Karl's fine with it then we are. The Alvin gets to be a man and ask Karl for permission.

>Returning back to the Inn Alvin tries to talk up one of the maids, instead.. he gets a flagon of ale thrown in his face (rolled a 1)

wha ha ha

>>15806312
For Lord Tarkin, just write the letter. Straight and to the point.
As for Karl...tell him you wish to speak in private with him, and when alone, ask him permission to court Kalistra.
Hopefully, Alvin's decisiveness during the brigand situation will have made a favorable impression on Karl.

>>15806333
I'm sure we could make the steel here, as the mountain is mostly flux stone, and we can make the coke so why would we ship out iron, unless we're just keeping the steel for ourselves.

>>15806409
Apart from hiding in a tree.
>>15806385
You forgot your picture.

>>15806312
Why do I sense genius babies in the making?

>>15806333
We couldn't find an alchemist. Also, in order to make steel, we need different metals, preferably nickel and chromium.

Since this is low fantasy, are there fictional elements like Mithril and Adamantite?

>>15806409
>>15806333

Agreed to both of these


Also did our bridge gate ever get started?

>>15806312
I sort of want him to keep it secret so Us as Lord Tarkin can find out later, hilarity ensures.

>>15806414
we can take timber from the forests upriver of Jalek, and fload it downriver to Urs, where it can be converted to charcoal, to fuel the forges.

which means that there's now an integrated economy between the two towns, with an income for lumberjacks upriver.

>>15806453
Not really. All you need for basic steel is iron and carbon. The other elements are only really needed in trace amounts.

>>15806485
True but we don't have coal or peat or any other form of carbon. (Besides Charcoal) Our trade contracts are being used to get food right now.

Also, don't we need plans for a blast furnace before building one? And Zarkin is away on campaign.

To be fair, I know little to nothing about the creation of Iron to Steel. So I'm taking ya'll's word for it, however we do not have A. An Alchemist, B. A Blademaster. Nor any of the other things I think we require to make high-grade steel.

>>15806409
>>15806380

As Karl is having a conversation Alvin approaches, he stumbles a few times but finally comes out with what he has to say. There's a moment of guessing his motive, but Karl finally agrees to it. The two are to be wed when Lord Tarkin returns, but are wed in everything but name.

Time to knock boots!

Alright. Leading us over to the Battle Thread.

The Summer has come and gone and battles have been won, loot has been collected and a suitable 'base' has been made in the forest, a small trail leading down to a large lake has become the place for much activity now that Count Jenniker's sons and their army as well as Duke Hamish' force have arrived.

As you take a walk around camp a Yeomen finds you to give you a note, you smile and give the go-ahead for Alvin. Crazy boy. Up ahead though Farran approaches together with Harold and Leoric, the three have become fast friends and are turning out to be excellent commanders.

"Lord", all three bow but you quickly wave your hand, "speak", you say softly, "My Lord, the recent successes have sparked a fear in the caravans it seems, they have retreated behind closed off villages or inside cities", Leoric states, Harold hitches on, "Furthermore, we have reports that two full Legions have arrived", Farran stares at you, "Duke Hamish wishes to meet them in battle. But we have seen their power firsthand.. even a small patrol was dangerous enough". Agreeing to see him tomorrow you retire.

>>15806453
>Also, in order to make steel, we need different metals, preferably nickel and chromium.

no, you dont. that's stainless steel, which is an entirely different material which was'nt invented till the very late 19th Century.


to make medieval steel, you take iron and carburise it at high temperature, so that carbon leeches into the iron structure forming a carbon steel.
no other additives are needed beyond the tiniest of trace elements which are present in the iron anyway.
course, too much carbon and you get wrought iron, which is still a valuable asset.

the medieval mindset is that steel is the "purer" form of iron (rather than what it really is, a form of iron with impurities), and that the process of carburisation in furnaces extracted the pure metal.

>>15806456

Gates are built.

----
As you get ready for bed you feel a slight tingle at the back of your spine and take your sword to bed, it proves to be a good idea as you awake to the sound of gurgling. As you wake you see a man step into your tent, he is tall and gaunt looking, his left hand holds a serrated teeth blade, his right a longsword. "Lord Tarkin?", he says wickedly as he steps forward.

How do you defend, you are currently on your knees, your sword still sheathed, you could call guards, but they'd take a few minutes to awaken.

>>15806522
>True but we don't have coal or peat or any other form of carbon. (Besides Charcoal)

charcoal is actually preferable for production of steel, as coal commonly contains traces of sulphur which can contaminate the alloy. (Not that the medieval metalsmiths knew that....)

If we had peat, we'd be able to have a nice supply of bog iron, and fuel for houses, but that's all...

>>15806528
True, but we have no forms of carbon right now.

>>15806522
Actually, carbon is fucking everywhere, not to mention it's also only needed in small amounts (Around 2% at most IIRC).

>>15806522

Yes and seeing as one isn't invented yet.. hmmm patents anyone..

/ Steel Talk

Alright so what we need is A. Iron (which we have) B. Charcoal (Which we can create easily enough) C. A Blast Furnace (Which we'll need to engineer ourselves)

Am I missing anything, aside from getting a Blademaster/Armor-Maker and such to create good quality stuff.

>>15806524
Furnaces are fairly simple, just need a kiln and force air into the fire, some African tribes could make steel using what ere basically drums to get in more air.

We should pack up the camp and move.

>>15806547
Let's be an ass.
"No, he's the next tent over, i'm his damn cook."
Jump to your feet, drawing your blade as you do so.

>>15806547
parry while sword in the sheath then pull out our blade while he is reeling.

Call for the guards to surround your tent

>>15806562
Just because our sword is sheathed doesn't mean we can't still attack with it, unless it's hooked to a belt. I say we back up as we draw our sword, slash a hole in our tent, and get out of the tent.

>>15806587
Then we might as well get started making cleavers and such for the militia.

Also, if we sent a gladius back to Jalek do you think the smith could build more?

>>15806627
>>15806620

Alright.

Rollan. 17

You block the first strike with your still sheathed sword, pushing the attacker back a moment and giving you precious time to unsheathe the blade, as you cut the tent cloth you shout for guards while stepping out. The attacker grins at you before turning tail and running away.

Do you chase after him, or just let him escape?

>>15806632

Potentially yes, it might take him a few tries, but he might be able to make something similar. A 1/3 of a season for reverse-engineering, another 1/3 for making practice models and 1/3 of a season for creating the finished product.

>>15806577

we have carbon. thousands of tonnes of it growing upriver, in the form of trees.

a blast furnace is'nt hard. any medieval blacksmith can make a simple one.
the trick is to make a good, efficient design of one, which is where the engineers would come in.

>>15806583
1.25% tops. anything over that, we've got cast iron.

>>15806586
the main thing that's missing is, is the ore good or not. English iron ore was, for the medieval processes, bad, it contained phosphorus, which makes it brittle. Swedish and german ore was good, no phosphorus contamination meant good steel.
so you probably need to do a roll/make a call to see if the iron ore is good, average, or great for steel. if it only makes good iron-work, there's no use investing huge amounts of equipment and infrastructure in foundries. if it makes good steel... then its worth it.
the local village blacksmiths will know if the iron ore is "ok" or poor. it'll take an expert bladesmith or armourer to know if the steel produced from the ore is just "ok", or perfect....

>>15806656
Might as well, we're not likely to lose anything.

>>15806648
rally the men and pursue.

Have another group follow us 5 minutes later.

and everyone else should stay in their tents and prepare for an attack.

It is a trap, but if we let him run we will never find out who he is.

>>15806648
grab a torch, yell for guards to follow.

try to follow carefully.

>>15806648
I'm not in the mood to chase him alone.

>>15806656
if we can use/produce the 16th C style plate the legion has, we would be insane to use gladii. they're short, stabbing weapons for use with a shield and simple armour.

we can rely on the far more modern advanced armour to protect us, and use the steel to produce one of two weapons: either the longsword/hand and a half sword which has far more range advantage, or if we're sensible, we produce hammer or bec de corbin heads, and arm our footsoldiers with polearms which have both the range, and massive leverage force capable of punching through armour, unlike the stabby gladius.

oh, and a lucerne hammer uses less steel, and is faster to make.

pic very related, and very, very deadly. this, on a 6-foot haft of good Pendran Oak.

>>15806717
>>15806706
>>15806693

Rallying the guards you take some torches and hunt after the man, one of the Wardens you managed to wake up tracks him, until the tracks stop being human and start being those of a horse. He seemed to have been alone. But it's a clear cut thing, someone hired an assassin to kill you.

The following morning you present yourself before Duke Hamish, after sending a crate of Gladius' back to Jalek, he seems troubled by the encounter you had with your mysterious assassin. He continues on to say that it's the third assassination in two weeks.

And the first that failed, clearly someone is feeding the Empire information about the war effort. But who... - Traitors? -

You have two real ways:
A. Turn the camp upside down
B. Use the disguises you got from the caravan and 'sneak' into one of the enemy cities and try and learn who might be behind this.

>>15806749
Then why is the legion using Gladii? Although you make a good point we don't have a blademaster and our smith is only skilled with rudimentary cleaving weapons.

I think it might be a good idea to make basic warhammers first. I.E. Large stone tied to a strong haft of wood.

>>15806773
It will alert the traitor if we search the camp so we do B.

>>15806773
B!

>>15806773
A then B.
>>15806749
I remember that I said we should have gone with halberds instead of spears, but for dealing with the Empire's plate a longsword seems foolish. A war hammer seems like the smarter tool against armour.

>>15806804
And the fact that we're alive and have history of paranoia didn't?

>>15806784
I think he can make this, it's just an oversized claw hammer.

>>15806784
Because WIZARD, as usual.

>>15806784

I know what a Warhammer looks like.

>>15806749

Once again, none of this has been created yet.

As for everyone bitching about the Legions.

They used them to conquer the world about 400 years ago all they've been doing is armoring them better after that, they assume old tactics will still work.

----

You take yourself, obviously, and a handful of loyal men that can all speak the latin tongue, well somewhat.

You decide to go to one of the larger cities, armored in the plate of the Empire you pass some enemy patrols, the plate as well as the cloth covering it marks you as high officials and they allow you entry.

Riding into the city on horses you are greeted by a steward, he has you dismount before urging you with him. It seems he has good news for you, deciding to play along you enter a large temple to one of their gods.

As you see the priest rise he blesses you and your troops, "Blessed Knights I thought you dead and buried.. but here you are", he kisses your cloth, "..come to deliver us from these heathens of Pendra", he leads you into an inner sanctum.

As you enter you are spotted by an Imperial commander, his cloth has the double headed eagle, but it's claws are clutching ribbons, he's nobility. "Knights!", he says joyfully and claps your shoulders, "So glad to see you, we were afraid you had been lost in the early days. But it appears not, you must have stories to tell. Please sit", he offers you chairs and stares into your eyes.

As you scan the room you see that there aren't many guards and you are all armed. You could do it..

>>15806874
You are mistaken, the reason is TRADITION!

>>15806784
>Then why is the legion using Gladii?

I'm guessing because its traditional for the legion, and the Empire never had its equivalent of the Marian reform...

(and because the OP has'nt spent as many years of anally retentive study as I have into how to make and fight with sword types from the last 2000 years, and does'nt know how poorly the gladius is as a weapon against plate, or how un-nessecary a scutum is when you have 16th C plate. Ingame, it could be argued the Empire Legions are regimented and bound by tradition. We cant match them for training and discipline, but we can possibly beat them by using more advanced technology and clever tactics)

>>15806872

Yes that's in our blacksmith's craft.

>>15806903
>>15806897

lo and behold, people actually figure my convoluted backstory out.

I'm impressed.

And to be very truthful, I have only ever learned how to swing one type of sword and that was a cavalry saber, which I still have.

>>15806888
Play along, for now.

>>15806888
Before we attack first lets give him some fake story about our escape and then ask him about any traitors within Pendras ranks (claim we captured a man in Pendra armor who says he is on our side)

>>15806926
Well you can't have Romans with out gladii, scutums, and skirts.

Btw. Trips OMFG.

back to normal scheduled programming.

As you speak to the man you see his eyes narrow, "I do not.. know your accent", he says softly, he's unarmed and the twenty-nine men with you are all armed. "..it almost sounds..", when he notices what it sounds like Farran already has his hand clamped over his mouth, "Speak and die.. dog", he growls.

The man screams muffled against Farran's hand, the scuffle did make some noise and the priest coming to investigate is already grabbed and held, the doors are still closed and you must have been lucky.

Approaching the nobleman you smile, "Who gave you the information for those knifemen of yours", the man simply glares back at you from beneath Farran's grip. Are you willing to resort to torture in order to get some sort of information.

>>15806888
"So many stories, and reports as well.
We were captured in an ambush, and have been held in <put the name of a region a little further to the north of Jenniker's town>. We've spent the last season with Pendans who cannot even speak our language. We had to learn their tongue just to survive.

(this should give us an excuse for any slipped accents.)

But they were careless. we had made a few contacts among those who would betray that little kingdom for good empire coin, and were taken there still armoured, in chains, and stripped only once we reached their dungeons. Took us three months to prepare, but we were finally able to get the key delivered to us, and broke the dungeon door, were armoured, and cut down the guards to a man, and burnt the castle.

but without supplies, our only option was to make for the empire as swiftly as we could...
and so we arrived.

Have you received the reports the traitors promised they would despatch to you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IqLzi7avVM

>>15806990
goddamnit, I had a reason for that, and was too slow typing.
fucking RSI in hands. :/

>>15807016

Sshhhit

That was actually a good backstory. Damn me and my impatience..

rolled 17 = 17

>>15806990

This happened on a quest before.

Never attempt torture in a CITY. People will hear, shit will go down.

We can't take them out as hostages, too much risk they'll call out, we can't leave with them alive.

Murder, burn down whatever building we're in, put dusty servants robes over what we're wearing and run and hope they're too busy stopping the town burning down to notice.

>>15806990
Time for some good old fashioned torture.

Punch him a couple times, pull finger nails off, cut off toes etc. Y'know.

No torture, just tell him if he tells us everything he knows about traitors/spies in our ranks we will let them go ( a lie )

after that kill everyone and start a fire. If there is any important stuff lieing around like troop movements, letters, maps, etc take them with us.

damnit, well, the accent rumbled us.

no torture. gives away that somethings going wrong.

slit the priest's throat.
gag the captive, disrobe him, bind his hands, cloth over his head so no-one recognises him and we burn the place down, and escape while the fire's a distraction. we bring him back to safety and interrogate him in our own castle for info, and people think he died in the fire, hopefully.

>>15807028

Did it now?

-------

Anyway to wrap this up, because I have an early workday tomorrow.

You watch as the nobleman's eyes go dark, his body slowly sinking to the ground. The same with the priest, taking the bodies together you spot an entrance, one of the men scouts it and it leads down behind the chapel. It's an easy walk back to where the horses are kept.

Throwing what flammable things you can find on the two corpses you toss a candle into their midsts, within seconds the rich tapestries are burning and you escape the city. You might not have gained the information you needed, but at least you escaped the burning building. Dodging the cloth you are allowed through once again and return to camp unharmed but none the wiser.

If there was a traitor in the camp, chances are, he would have left by now.

That concludes another rendition of Knight's Quest. I'll be here tomorrow night. So Thursday. Same time same place.

However Friday, I won't be here, I've got the graveyard shift at work with no access to computers.

And during the weekends there will be no Knight Quest.

Till next time!

smash and grab.(abduct the official so we can torture him later) see if we can find some more loot or intell(papers?) then set fire to the building as a distraction and get the fuck out of there


if possible, free any prisioners. they should help cover our trail.

>>15807109
>>15807080
>>15807061

For F's Sake..

You manage to grab some papers that show the various troop compositions as well as where the main bulk of the Legions are.

Word about the traitor however isn't there, furthermore, the captive struggled badly and tried to call out for help so you had to kill him. Not ret-conning that.

facepalm

we're seriously going to try to run an interrogation in the middle of a temple, in an enemy city?

wtf are we even doing here? This is some 80's action movie level stuff.

Might as well bind and gag the noble, kill the priest, set fire to the temple, and then fight our way to our horses and ride out. Throw the noble over our shoulder, then tie him to a horse.

If we come running out of a burning temple screaming in latin that it's a raid or a secret strike and that the enemy is marching on the city, it (combined with the fire) ought to create enough of a distraction to panic/confuse most people and allow us to escape.
It will also comply with our newly established pattern of pulling off ridiculously bad ideas by sheer force of manliness.

>>15807133
>>15807141
you're definately running with the story before players have had time to really give any input on the action there.... reactions are still coming in from what, 3-5 players, while only one had given a course of actions