Dullem's throat convulsed jerkily as he swallowed a mouthful of water before continuing. "Well, I'd like to thank you for finally granting us an audience, Ser Valen." His thanks were tactless and rough, a facet of being unused to the rigours of higher society, but you accept the clumsy efforts for what they were. "Though to be honest... I'm not sure where to start now that we're finally here." He smiles, its a small and sad affair as if he were looking out over a road of tacks he had just been told to walk.

You take his upturned hands and half-pleading look as your cue, glancing briefly to the other inhabitant of this meeting room Caylen had provided. He had shown you the way in, grudgingly shutting the door without entering himself. The position he found himself in was such that, even if it burned to do so, he couldn't be present for the proceedings. Even the audience's very presence on his estate was only possible due to you overruling his authority as blood heir. This wasn't to say that you didn't have support; Rinnier sat to your right, having been the one to meet and greet Dullem at the gate. She had gone a long way towards helping to take the edge off of the man, pleasantly coaxing out as much of his story in as soothing a manner as possible before you had arrived.

The three of you together made up the sole occupants of this meeting room. The expansive table and elongated hall that made up this room seemed to deliberately dwarf over its scarce few inhabitants, as if to loom over them in implication of how inconsequential the ongoings were.

>From the beginning, why are you brigands?
>What inspired you to try and lay siege to his estate?
>Do you understand the position you're in?
>To the point, what do you expect out of this?

>>42407262
>>What inspired you to try and lay siege to his estate?
and
>Do you understand the position you're in?

>>42407255
>From the beginning, why are you brigands?
>What inspired you to try and lay siege to his estate?
might as well ask the man himself, although I suspect he already knows what shit he's gotten himself into.

Previous Threads:
https://archive.moe/tg/search/tripcode/!y56qKWqxyc/results/thread/
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=valen+quest

Where things are said:
https://twitter.com/Riz_QM

Pastebin Stuff:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu

Misc notes:There is no "best" option. Each of them have their own consequences, positive and negative. Choose carefully.

>>42407262
>From the beginning, why are you brigands?
>What inspired you to try and lay siege to his estate?

>>42407262
>What inspired you to try and lay siege to his estate?
>Do you understand the position you're in?
We need his perspective first. Understanding the other party before jumping straight in is important.

Alright! First live thread and it's an important one to boot.
>>42407255
>From the beginning, why are you brigands?

>>42407289
>>42407335
>>42407349
>>42407383
Why siege Caylen?

>>42407335
>>42407349
>>42407437
Why are you brigands?

>>42407289
>>42407383
Do you understand your position?

Writing.
___

>>42407437
Welcome to Valen Quest! Nice to have you.

"To begin with, what inspired you to lay siege to this estate?" This had been bothering you for over a month now. If you could have granted them an audience the whole time, why were they camped out by your cousin's house? This place was, for lack of a better word, the closest thing to a fortress that could still be arguably classified as a home. Sturdily constructed walls stretching nearly as high as the trees of the surrounding forest, backed up against a sheer mountain to reduce the radius of assault, with a fully staffed guard force trained and led by Alouette herself...

Comparatively, you had a house, a maid, and a secretary. Both of those jobs were filled by one person, even! You're not saying you feel neglected, given that it's impossible you would be jealous that someone had chosen to lay siege to your cousin and not you, but...

"We didn't have many other options." Dullem answered with a sigh, "We had tried to request audiences, but were turned away each time. As time went on, we got desperate. Without land of our own, our supplies were dwindling; No way to make ends meet, too many mouths to feed, we were lucky that the hunters could do what they could for our meals." Calloused fingers rubbed at his temple, tracing well worn lines as he recanted what had led them to the end result. "We thought that... If this was all we had left, we could make ourselves impossible to ignore. Someone had to listen."

Your lips thinned. "Why this estate?" You repeated, causing the man to blink in confusion. "Of all the options, you must have seen that this estate is particularly... Well suited for resisting plans like yours."

"Did we have a choice?" He asked incredulously, "The current heads of House Valen would have had us put down in an instant. Our only hope was to hold up somewhere less fortified. We managed to learn the location of their child, and...."

He trails off, closing his eyes tightly for a moment, "Please, forgive us, but yes we meant to use your brother as leverage to help us meet with the heads. As you said Ser Valen, we learned quickly how difficult this place was to attack... But we had no other option."

You stare. You begin to realize he didn't actually understand the point of your question, but there was another gross misunderstanding going on here.

"If I may ask... How did you know to come?" He broke off, "We were certain no messengers had been left, yet you arrived all the same with... That thing."

You continue to stare for several minutes, trying to decide where to start with this response...

"First of all, there is no head of House Valen currently." You decide to start shattering this peasant's world view from the top down. "You had been requesting a meeting with, and being denied by, my aunt and uncle; The stewards of House Valen. Which, in turn, makes this estate belong to my cousin Caylen. I am the heir to House Valen, they are merely holding the affairs in order until I can assume the full breadth of that mantle."

"Pardon?" Dullem's eyes widened as he took your words for face value, "Then all of this up until now... Was for nothing?"

"Technically no, any one of them could have granted you an audience." You admit blithely, "However if you were seeking an audience with the head of House Valen, then that role falls to me as the Heir."

"Then... You came because you heard of our siege on your.. cousin, correct?" He sighed.

"Actually, I live next door." You mention casually, "I was just coming to visit and happened to find you in the midst of your siege. Had I not felt like paying my cousin a visit, I doubt I would have even known you existed." This was perhaps a cruel way of explaining the circumstances, though not exactly an inaccurate way.

The sheer level of misconception that Dullem and his band had been acting under was nearly enough to baffle you, but it didn't answer your initial question.

"Given that, I'd like to reiterate: Why did you choose to lay siege to THIS estate?"

"We... We didn't know." The farmer-turned-reluctant leader stammered, "It was only a stroke of luck that we learned your br- Forgive me, your cousin was in this area. We had no idea anyone else lived in these nightmarish forest."

>How did you learn that?
>Had you even heard my name before today?
>You didn't see the split in the road?
>Nightmarish? You mean the Nightgaunts?
>Other?(write-in)

>>42408273
>How did you learn that?
>Had you even heard my name before today?

>>42408273
>How did you learn that?
>Nightmarish? You mean the Nightgaunts?
The brigands are so far the only ones to acknowledge those as existing at all. It's slightly off topic, but when else are we going to hear about them?

>>42408273
>Had you even heard my name before today?
>Nightmarish? You mean the Nightgaunts?
How dare they not know who the Heir of House Valen is...despite the fact that basically nobody knows who we are.

>>42408333
>>42408292
How did you learn that?

>>42408333
>>42408393
Nightmarish?

>>42408393
>>42408292
Have you even heard my name before today?

Writing!
How did you manage to 3-way tie.

"You mean the Nightgaunts?" You supply, "The ones that wiped out your camp." No one in Caylen's estate had even heard of them, which meant that these brigands were probably the only other people besides Jenseits who had even seen the things. You feel a small victory when Dullem nods in agreement, his body shifting uncomfortably at the topic. It wasn't long ago that they had come back from mourning that very thing.

"I'd never even dreamed of those beasts before we came here." He murmured, "It was only by luck we figured out that the fire could drive them off, and we scrambled to do what we could from there to try and keep them out of the camp..." He inhaled steadily, steeling himself before he continued. "I guess in the end, even that wasn't enough."

You resist the urge to press for more information in that direction. You had been there when the Nightgaunts had frenzied, hell you had been why they could even get in. Your trip out of that camp left you with the exact understanding of what kind of carnage the brigands had discovered upon their return, and it wasn't something you had shared with anyone. Or, rather, the fact that there would be no carnage to speak of was what had bothered you so deeply. The place was a ghost town, left in tatters from an invisible assault with only the cooling signs that people had once been there.

The brigands, at the very least, wouldn't have experienced hearing the phantom cries of their friends and family without anyway to see or help.

"There were many other things in this place that many of us barely survived thanks to the hunters warning us away, to the point that some of us began to sincerely doubt anyone could actually live in these woods." You nod in understanding, remembering the way Garet had reacted to the mention of an oakenbear. You hadn't found the forest nearly so bad, but you weren't responsible for an entire camp of people surviving either.

"How did you learn that my cousin lived here, exactly?" You settle forward, gently pushing the conversation away from the painful direction had taken.

"Ah, that." Dullem groused, rubbing at his nose as he took your topic-swap gratefully. "Not long after we had been evicted, we heard about it from a passing noble in town. They said that if we wanted an audience that badly, that the child of the.. er, stewards lived in this forest. To be honest, we were beginning to think it had been a lie until we found the ruins they had mentioned."

You blink, glancing surreptitiously towards Rinnier in confusion. "They said it'd be safe from most of the things in the forest, and a good place to hide... It was certainly a blessing to us, and sure enough, we managed to find this place not long after."

"A noble?" You start, "You don't remember their name? What they looked like?"

He shook his head apologetically, "I wasn't the one who talked to them. The lad seemed to believe in 'em though, but he'd always been a little naive... I suppose if it had been a noblewoman, he'd have taken her word at face value and never thought twice." You kind of want to ask them why they trusted the hear-say of some random noble, but the answer seems self-evident. If these people were desperate enough to try and lay siege to a place like Caylen's, even that kind of unlikely hope had probably been enough to get them moving. "Of course, I mean we tried to make sure that noble hadn't been leadin' us on. We spent a week or two talking to people in Carona, and they did agree that there was someone living out here... So we took a chance." He sighed, shoulders sagging. "It was the only thing we knew to do."

"...So you said it was a woman who sent you?" You try to clarify briefly, only for the man to shrug. "I'd introduce you to the lad who met her, but..." The way he trailed off, you get the sinking feeling that would be impossible now.

"And... Before today, had you even heard my name?"

"Well, you introduced yourself from the top of that giant... thing." He cracked a weak joke, chuckling softly to himself until even those finally dried up in the face of your blank look. "No, my apologies again Ser Valen, but I'd never even heard of you. Noble life isn't really something people like us keep up with."

>You said you found ruins?
>What do you expect to get out of this audience?
>What crimes have you committed so far?
>What other dangers did you find in the forest?
>Other? (write-in)

>>42409379
>What crimes have you committed so far?
Ad yes I am well aware of the fact the crown more or less forced your hand, but I need to know everything. If I don't my help ability to make informed help will be limited, or worse unhelpful.
>>What do you expect to get out of this audience?

>>42409379
>What other dangers did you find in the forest?
>What do you expect to get out of this audience?
Forewarned is forearmed, and we should hear what their specific goals are.

>>42409379
>What crimes have you committed so far?
>What do you expect to get out of this audience?
Need to be clear that it's not to accuse, but for a frame of reference for what we'd need to cover.

>>42409457
>>42409497
Crimes?

>>42409457
>>42409458
>>42409497
What did you expect?

>>42409458
Dangers?

Writing.

You continue speaking for a few minutes, mostly of inconsequential things. While you would have liked to cut directly to the point, keeping Dullem as relaxed as he could be in the situation was something that would be to your advantage in the end. This wasn't a meeting where you were trying to forcibly impress the notion that you held all the cards, the fact Dullem was here in the first place means he knew and accepted that the only person capable of helping was you. Impressing your authority any further would be in terrible taste given the atmosphere, and so you spent time to distract him.

"And so, what did you expect from this audience exactly?" You finally veer back onto course, raising a brow at the man as he fell silent to try and collect his thoughts on the matter. The answer was important, possibly the most important, because up until now, all you knew was that he wanted an audience; Not what the audience would be for. Of course, given their circumstances, you can safely measure a guess as to the general content they would be looking for... But the devil was proverbially in the details, and if they had come for help getting their home back, or worse, revolting...

"Help." Dullem delivered his single word answer with as much sincerity in his voice as you'd heard anyone have before. Somewhere between a statement and desperate plea, he looked you in the eye with hands clasped towards you upon the table. "We're at the end of our rope, Ser Valen. We've been without proper homes for almost a year, little food, and now there are barely a handful of us left." You watched on, keeping an impassive expression even as the larger man's eyes watered. "Please, Ser Valen. There are barely a handful of us left. We've nowhere to return to, and nothing left to fight for now. There has to be something you can do." He swallowed, "This can't have been for nothing. We can't... We can't have come all this way for nothing."

Help. Help was a general request, but from his tone you gathered he didn't want help with an actual rebellion of any sort... But at the same time, you're vaguely uncomfortable that the kind of help he so desperately wanted was beyond your capacity to provide. What do you give a man who had been driven this far? What kind of help would make that kind of sacrifice 'worth it'? For a moment, you consider whether simply killing them all would have been the most considerate thing for you to do. You had spent so long trying to figure out how to handle things from your end to avoid politics that you hadn't stopped to realize that the brigands themselves had more problems from life than royals.

"What... Kind of crimes have you committed?" You start, "If I'm to help you, I need to know everything."

"Aye..." Dullem breathes, "I honestly can't tell you how much we've stolen. Things here and there; Money, food, cloth, tools... At this point its far too numerous for me to even begin listing." You nod in understanding, already putting together the logistics nightmare that would be trying to keep count of something like that. "We've never killed anyone though." A small spark emerges, "Never. We're not murderers."

Other than countless thefts, it seemed the majority of their crimes consisted of trespassing, hunting on lands they didn't own, and of course, unpaid taxes. There were probably a few counts of offending crown and nobility, resisting arrest, and unruly conduct squirreled away somewhere as well. While you had been calling them brigands, they were honestly not terribly bandit-like.

Besides the kidnapping, which you're decently certain is also illegal... But Ari wasn't pressing charges, and you had already received your penance for that particular offense by way of accidentally culling the majority of their loved ones via Nightgaunt frenzy. You were tentatively even.

Kidnapping Jenseits didn't matter.

>Do you understand the position you're in?
>Where were you evicted from?
>Please be more specific as to what type of help you want.
>Do you understand the position I'M in?
>Other? (write-in)

>>42410371
>Do you understand the position you're in?
>Do you understand the position I'M in?

>>42410371
>Do you understand the position I'M in?
>Where were you evicted from?
Pretty sure we've already told them that were not really in the best position to help, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're useless here.

>>42410371
>Do you understand the position I'M in?
>Please be more specific as to what type of help you want.
>Other? (write-in)
We can try to help them as best we can, but they must know we aren't all-powerful/with unlimited resources. If he understands it won't come without drawbacks, even aside from what has already happened to them, we have somewhere to start discussing options.

>>42410371

>Where were you evicted from?

>>42410548
>>42410615
>>42410625
Do you understand my position here?

>>42410615
>>42410626
Where were you evicted from?

>>42410548
You're in a dangerous place.

>>42410625
And be more specific.

Writing.

You listen to the litany of potential crimes, at first trying to estimate monetary damages, and later just writing it off as 'a lot', but probably not to the point it could have been had they engaged in full fledged banditry. By the end of it, the room once more lapses into silence as Dullem waits expectantly for your response. You can see an apology already forming on his lips, but you handwave it away before it has chance to gain a voice.

"I understand. You acted where needs necessitated you must." The words were spoken absently, as your mind was still preoccupied clicking everything together. You flashed a reassuring grin at Dullem briefly in concert with your assurance that he had little reason to apologize. The man wasn't a leader in the first place, he was doing what he could with the lot he had been given. That it had led down this road was merely fortune at work. That said, his ignorance of the finer details brought up once rather crucial detail.

"Do you know why you were turned away so often, Dullem?" You cross your hands on the table in front of you, palms overlapping flatly as you throw a confusing question onto the board. "I.. can't say that I do, exactly." Dullem admits, "Many of us came to believe we had been abandoned altogether, to be honest. That the damn nobles had no intention of humouring people below their station." That was a fair guess, you suppose. Given what they had to work with, that kind of answer and bitterness wasn't unexpected.

You wave Dullem off again as he starts to clarify that he didn't mean to speak ill of you. The look of shock on his face when he realized he had inadvertently insulted the very people this audience hinged on. "While I'm sure there is nobility that description can accurately be applied to, House Valen does not number among them." You interrupt him calmly, raising crimson eyes to stare down the reluctant brigand leader.

"I'm afraid the truth is more complicated."

So you tell him. The current situation with the crown, your suspicions of WHY they had been doing it, and the extent to which it had gone. The implications of what humouring an audience with people who had fallen into circumstances such as theirs, and what that would mean to the nobility who went through with it; Good intentions or not.

As your explanation begins to wind to an end, Dullem's expression had drawn gaunt as he realized the problems inherent in simply listening to their requests, much less actually helping. "Then... We had nowhere to go from the start." He swallows dryly, eyes sinking back to the table. "Civil war... Of course, what kind of..." His mumblings continue in that manner, and you let them run their course before clearing your throat and continuing.

"It isn't that we have had no interest in helping you, but that our hands are tied. One misstep, and something far worse comes crashing down on us all."

"Then it really was for nothing." He replied dully, "Everyone died for nothing. Some royal game."

"...Potentially." You allow, "But as this audience is happening, there are some other circumstances at work. I have... some unique leeway in my actions, as heir to House Valen." You allow the little white lie that your leeway is due to being the heir, and not due to being ignorant from isolation. "There are some possibilities that we've come up with which could feasably help you... Though I warn you that none of them may sound particularly pleasant."

He sighs, waving his hand with a half-hearted aggrivation. "Of course, more damn strings. Just.." He closes his eyes, rubbing at the shut eyelids as if to ward away a headache, or tears. "..Just tell me what bullshit you've come up with. Anything is better than what we have now."

>Call for a break before you continue.
>Explain the possibilities to him

>>42411288
Call for a break.

>>42411288
>>Explain the possibilities to him

>>42411288
>>Explain the possibilities to him

>>42411288
>>Call for a break
It might do to seek counsel from our various advisors now that both sides have been briefed on their respective situations.

>>42411288
>Call for a break before you continue.
I understand why he's got the attitude he does and can't really blame him for it, but it helps no one for him to go into this with that sort of outlook.

We didn't bring him here as an offering of scraps for him to pick the bone from which he thinks they can scrape the most meat, nor is it a sentencing. This is a meeting. We know he has been fighting for his people for a long time, but as uncomfortable as it is and as much as we are the one in the superior position, we need him to be willing to continue fighting for them for the duration of this negotiation.

We are not here to throw our weight around to force them back in line, as much as he may feel as though that is the reality of things. We are here to facilitate a solution.

>>42411333
>>42411374
>>42411440
Break time. Get water, use the bathroom, cry about the unfairness of life, plot dark revenge, establish your super villain origin story, etc.

>>42411337
>>42411370
Trucking along.

Writing.

>>42411465
Dammit anons you've fucked us AGAIN

>>42411517
We haven't even made any huge decisions yet.

The fucking has only just begun.

>>42411536
Stopping now is basically giving him free ride to go do something spiteful and stupid.

>>42411610
What can he honestly do? Send his handful of men to attack us, knowing he'll gain nothing, or even lose what little they could gain?

We shouldn't take too long, but we also shouldn't rush the decision now that it's crunch time.

>>42411711
It gives him time to build resentment and maybe turn his people around and make them actual bandits.

>>42411735
And would that be solved by going headlong into a decision they might regret? Time will give him a chance reconcile all of this too - he's clearly in over his head if we just keep going at this rate. I'm more afraid he'll react badly if we throw some of our possibilities at him now.

"...Perhaps we should take a break." You suggest after a moment, shaking your head as you move to stand. "I understand you're frustrated Dullem-"

"you understand?!" He lashed out suddenly, surging to his feet and slamming the table. "We've suffered for a year, and you 'understand'? You don't know what we've been through, and its come down to this? Some 'unpleasant' options?! You don't even know what unpleasant means!"

Your mouth closes softly as he rages, his voice echoing angrily up and down the meeting hall as his emotions rise. You honestly can't say you understand what they've been through, so you're not in any place to try and say otherwise. You allow the man his time to vent, though you remain unflinched in the face of the near aimless wrath. He wasn't mad at you, not you specifically, but the stress was anything but bareable to him - He needed an outlet. If you couldn't do that much for him, then what hope did you have of actually helping them afterwards? These people had lost everything to, as you were being abundantly informed, a pointless political game, while they struggled just to survive.

It's several long minutes later when Dullem's voice finally cracks, his throat having long since gone dry in his tirade, and you see the fruits of his tantrum finally begin to catch up to him as his body sags in heaving exhaustion.

"A poor choice of words, forgive me." You speak up softly, bowing your head to the haggard and rage-exhausted man. "None the less, we do want to help you. The royals are problem, but we have thought of several possibilities that can circumvent them... However, I would prefer we take a break before discussing them." You motion subtly for Rinnier to follow you, "You've come a long way, through more than I can imagine, and I don't want you to make a hasty decision while incensed."

In reality, you were going to take a break whether he liked it or not. This way simply made it seem like you were doing him a favour.

You walked out of the room with Rinnier behind you, leaving Dullem to his own devices in the conference room to calm himself in the meantime. Once the door clicks shut, you let out a sigh of relief you hadn't realized you'd been holding. "Well, there's no going back now." You mutter to Rinnier, glancing back at the door before motioning further down the hall. You'd rather not take the chance he overhear something from beyond the door, even if you had nothing in particular to hide. If he took something out of context now, it could be the last dregs of fuel needed to reignite that outrage.

The last thing you needed now was for him to be spiteful or feel pressured.

"What do you think?" You finally turn to Rinnier, directly addressing the spitfire Testament for the first time this morning. She had seemed relatively content to play background support once you had entered the scene, and hadn't bothered to speak up whatsoever once the audience had started. While the token vote of confidence was marginally appreciated, the well hidden look of consternation marring her face from time to time was a definitive cause for worry.

"..." She frowns, but doesn't reply immediately. "I don't believe he will be receptive to anything." She finally admitted quietly, glancing back down the hall. "Telling him the situation with the crown may have been a mistake, Irue."

"...?" You tilt your head in askance as Rinnier grimaces lightly, "It's..." She started haltingly, "Being unable to pay taxes and becoming evicted was impersonal, as far as I could gather. They felt it unfair, but were aware of the consequences of being unable to pay. The trials they underwent to get here were grueling, but understandable. They were effectively homeless, it was to be expected." Rinnier struggled to find the words to explain her unease, "What you told him, the politics between royals and nobles... That changed things."

"How?" You ask, crossing your arms in frustratedly, "What was I supposed to tell him? He deserved to know why no one had been willing to help."

"No, he did, but... This is also the result." Rinnier explained, "Very little of what they had gone through until now seemed as if it could have been helped, but from his perspective, you've revealed that nearly everything - From the beginning, even - Has all been deliberate on someone's case, be they the crown for raising taxes and evicting, or nobles for willingly being unable to see them."

"...You're saying it became personal?" You hazard a guess, but Rinnier shakes her head. "Not quite, rather... I believe it became too impersonal. He saw a glimpse of a world he didn't know existed, and was told that all of his problems can be traced back to the people living in it."

>Update Caylen
>Continue talking to Rinnier
>Take some time to yourself
>Other? (write-in)

>>42411913
>>Continue talking to Rinnier
While we go to
>Update Caylen

>>42411913
>Update Caylen
>Other? (write-in)
Check on Ari, we haven't seen her all day since we locked her in her room

>>42411913
>>Continue talking to Rinnier

>>42411916
>>42411971
Talk to Rinnier

>>42411916
>>42411961
Update Caylen

>>42411961
Check on Ari.

Writing.

A groan issues forth, never quite escaping your throat as you grumble at nothing in particular and everything in general. You began to make your way towards where Caylen had mentioned he'd be as you continued talking with Rinnier. With Dullem the way he was, she wasn't certain he'd be receptive to any of the plans. You had similar thoughts given the way he had reacted, which was exactly why you had called the break to give him time to cool down, but...

"It's possible he'll use the time to convince himself we don't actually want to help." Rinnier disagreed, frustration creeping into her own voice, "If this isn't handled more firmly, this may have very well convinced him to turn his people into actual bandits." She shook her head, "It may not be wise to allow him to leave the grounds."

"Are you telling me we keep him prisoner here?" You snap incredulously, "The rest of his people aren't just going to accept that, you know."

"To be blunt, they don't have a choice." Rinnier acknowledged unconcerned, "They've neither the training nor arms to pose any real threat, especially now that the Guard Captain has had time to move her people into position." You blink at that, elicitng a small smile from Rinnier, "She asked if I would be averse to distracting him this morning, and I agreed. Proper security is a must, especially for things like this."

You... You're not sure how to react to that. "If we see he's staying here, then he's staying. If they try to cause a commotion, then the Guard Captain and her men will neutralize them. They lost the right to choose once they stepped into the estate, they just don't realize it yet."

"This isn't going to endear them to us, Rinnier. Isn't this exactly what we're trying to avoid? We're here to try and help them, not walk them into a trap and strong arm them into going along with things."

"Their fate is in your hands, Irue." Rinnier stopped outside of Caylen's door, turning to face you completely, "When things go to pieces, I make plans for collateral. It's up to you to make those plans unnecessary."

She meets your stare, crimson for crimson, and you can't find a crack of doubt in her composure. Whether she believed in you, or she was certain of her plans being necessary, either was possible - Perhaps even both. "We're not going to come to that." You tell her in no uncertain terms, frowning as the words wash past her casually. She nodded once to acknowledge your sentiment, glancing past your shoulder briefly. You catch the path of her eyes, looking over your shoulder as Alouette approached from down the hall.

When had the two of them even become this close, anyway? You don't remember them talking to each other, much less being partners.

"Caylen's waiting." Rinnier reminds you, and you can't help but get the feeling that she's dismissing you in favor of speaking with Alouette.... But she's right. You don't have forever on this break, and Caylen needed to be told what was going on. You'd leave a parting memo of 'this isn't over', or 'we'll talk about this later', but the feeling for cliche in you is lacking. You're not even sure if you should be upset with her about what she's done, or is doing...

All the same, you walk into Caylen's current 'office', for lack of a better word, with an uneasy feeling settling in somewhere between your gut and your heart. "Caylen." You greet tiredly, immediately grasping his attention; He had been paying attention from the moment you opened the door really.

"Irue! How's it going?" He leaned forward anxiously, for a moment you entertain the thought of him crawling over the table just to get closer and hear what you had to say. It's amusing enough to improve your mood a little, but only until you remember why you're here in the first place.

The next few minutes has you explaining to him the situation so far. His face fell the more you spoke, but unlike Rinnier made no move to admonish you for revealing the politics. "They deserved to know." He agreed, "It's understandable he become mad after learning that, but we're still making an effort to help... If he can't see that and work with us, this is going to become much more difficult."

You sigh in agreement. "I gave him time to calm down before we resume. I'll be telling him some of the options then." You explain your plans, drawing an immediate "No." from Caylen.

You pause, unsure of exactly what he was rejecting. "If you give him options now, I don't think he'd even know what to do with them. They're not even aware of the details behind the choices we came up with, so they'd be choosing blind... I strongly advise you to make the choice yourself, and tell them it will happen."

That... That was stupid. You tell him as much. If he's angry about being manipulated and used as part of a political game now, then what would forcing him to do something do to help that? Shouldn't he have a choice in his fate? At least know his options?

"Normally yes," Caylen agreed slowly, "But you need to understand Irue, they didn't come here looking for options, they came here looking for help. You need to take control and be the leader they need, not their friend. It's House Valen's job to guide and nurture the people. You were never on an equal footing with them - They came to you for you to help them, not tell them how to help themselves."

...Isn't it better that someone know how to help themselves, than just be helped?

"Do you honestly believe any of them are in any state of mind to be acting on their own? If what you're saying is true, they're all at wit's end. Give them something to hold on to, before they break. Give them a goal, something to complete. If you just let them wander, they'll become indecisive and might splinter later when they wonder what could have been."

>Return to meeting
>Ask if he's aware of the security measures
>Would turning them loose to be revolutionaries really be so bad?
>Other? (write-in)

>>42412388
>>Other? (write-in)
Alouette said something very similar - action over words. We should consider a word with her as well before heading back.

>>42412388
>>Return to meeting

>>42412475
Meet with Alouette

>>42412487
Return to meeting.

Writing.

You click the door to Caylen's room shut behind you, catching Alouette and Rinnier's conversation wrapping up as you do so. The strawberry blonde turns towards you in greeting as you exit, hand in rising across her chest in a soft salute. "Irue."

"Alouette." You nod back, glancing between her and Rinnier, "I suppose Rinnier has brought you up to date on the audience?"

"Yes. It seems there may be trouble soon." Alouette confirmed lightly, "Preparations are already made in the event of unruly behaviour. Please feel free to direct your full attention to resolving this favorably." The same soft, warm voice that you were accustomed to delivered that deceptively steeled assurance, leaving you briefly at a loss for how to continue. You suppose it was meant to be comforting that things would be handled if negotiations broke down, but given what that entailed and the responsibility for the people falling solely on you, you're not sure if that was really for the best or not.

"Caylen suggested I take action." you mention offhandedly to Alouette, "That if given a choice, they would become indecisive. He said it would be better for me to make the choice and just tell them my answer."

"..."

You take the silence stoically, peering over Alouette for some reaction, "Before I go back, do you have any words of advice?" The white-clad swordswoman closed her eyes - Unwilling to look away, but uninterested in competing for eye contact dominance, nor admitting defeat. Her straight posture stood unshaken in the ensuing silence, and finally she finished gathering her thoughts. "Rarely do those who have not given over their allegiance take well to being ordered." She answered evenly, "However, in times of crisis... It is as easy to break as it is to find something to grasp on to."

You frowned, meeting Alouette's placid stare once she finished. "I will pray for your success, Irue."

With a nod to Rinnier, Alouette bowed her head slightly towards you. "If you have no further need of me?"

You sigh, dismissing her tiredly as you part ways. Even with the situation as it was, Alouette's measured gait seemed unconcerned and unhurried. You tried not to think about where she was going as you and Rinnier made your way back to the meeting room. You pause outside, briefly, taking a breath to steady yourself.

"Ready?" You glance aside to Rinnier, receiving a quick and concise confirmation, and step back into the meeting room to come face to face with Dullem. The man looked yet more exhausted than he had this morning, setting across the table with his head in his hands. He should have heard the door opening, but he barely twitched as the two of you once more walked in to take your seats.

"Shall we continue?" You ask neutrally, trying to test the proverbial waters before you. It takes a few moments before he replies, one which halts in the middle in order to clear his scratchy throat, and then resumes with a resolve of uncertain quality in it.

"I'm ready, let's get this over with." His calloused fingers curl into fists as he crosses his arms - Hostile, you realize. He was still in a combative state of mind, unknowingly taking up a stance that rejected outside input. He was either wary of what would come next, or already had an idea firmly in mind...

>Make a decision yourself.
>Tell him the options and let him choose.
>Offer to let him walk out of here with some provisions.
>Other? (write-in)

>>42412763
>>Make a decision yourself.

>>42412763
>Make a decision yourself.

>>42412763
>>Make a decision yourself.

>>42412785
>>42412825
>>42412857
Make a decision yourself.
___

>1. Enslavement
>2. Conscription
>3. Pilgrimage
>4. Refugees
>5. Other? (write-in)

There is no going back.

>>42412900
>>1. Enslavement

>>42412900
>2. Conscription

>>42412900
>2. Conscription
Almost the most direct way to provide aid for them, as well as giving them a sense of purpose again. We have room in our mansion for shelter, and the problem of supplies can eventually be overcome. We would have use of a small force to work with as well, especially since we're going to work with Rinnier after this.

>>42412900
>1. Enslavement
What could possibly go wrong?

>>42412983
you motherfucker.

Will dice gods decide?

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>42412938
>>42412983
Enslavement.

>>42412947
>>42412964
Conscription.

>>42412917
Pilgrimage.

And voting closed.

Dice gods preserve us all...

1. Enslavement
2. Conscription

Writing.

>>42412900
>2. Conscription

Counting >>42413021 , the vote would have been shifted towards Conscription.

As I'm not a fan of dice rolls making major decisions when possible, this once I'll put it to the players: Keep the result, or hold a revote?

>>42413049
As in, go with conscription or the dice result?

Voting for former.

>>42413049
I voted enslavement but I'm fine with conscription.

To reiterate: There isn't a strictly better or worse option on the list. I'd just like to avoid letting dice make a major decision that should by all rights be in the player's hands.

Guess I'll get back to writing.

>>42413110
if it makes any difference i vote for conscription too

You breathe out, accepting the understandable reticence on Dullem's part. As Caylen had suggested, you had kept the options in mind on your way back... Not that they hadn't been firmly weighing on you since you started this whole mess, but given that between Alouette's advice to take action, and Caylen telling you to make a decision, you realized that perhaps your initial goal of laying out the options to them and letting them choose their own future wasn't going to be the best idea. Perhaps it would have worked, but as you open your mouth to relay the decision you came to, you realize it's too late to take anything back.

"As brigands, any help offered by House Valen would immediately put us in a dangerous position with the crown." You began, "Especially considering the origin of why and how you became such, it would be much like declaring support against their reign, which could potentially lead to division between the crown and nobility; In short, a civil war."

"Get to the point." Dullem groused, "If you're putting us back out, just tell me now so I can stop wasting my time."

You shake your head, "However, as brigands, I think it's fair to say that I've defeated you and your men. As little more than petty criminals, caught and subjugated during your act of committing an offense on these properties, your future and punishment are mine to decide." Dullem's eyes widened, pressing him back away from the table in incredulity. "Punishment... We came all this way for a punishment?!"

"As is my responsibility to decide, yes." Irue confirmed, not bothering to stand as Dullem surged to his feet in response, "This is bullshit! You think I'm just going to go along wi-"

"Conscription."

You silence him with a word, one that even causes Rinnier to jerk in your direction out of shock.

"Wha... What?" Dullem repeated, visibly struck dumb by the implications of what you had suggested. "What did you just say?"

"As subjugated brigands, your punishment and fate are mine to decide." You reiterate calmly, looking up at the rugged man as you lean back into the backrest of the chair and cross one knee over the other, "My judgement is conscription. Effective immediately, your past is discarded. You will work for me, and train to become my own knights."

"Can...Nobles can have knights?"

"Not as such, no." You answer blandly, "It is a fitting description of what your occupation shall be however. Colloquially, you would simply be a guard under my disposal."

Dullem wavered, dropping back into his chair with a heavy thud as his shock-wide eyes tried to find focus again. "Ser Valen... We're not knights." He protested weakly, "I'm a farmer... Or I was. The others, weavers, blacksmiths... some hunters..." He shook his head slowly, "We don't know the first thing about what you're asking us."

"I'm not asking." You correct him, crossing your arms idly, "This is an order. Effective immediately, you are under my employ as reformation for your previous crimes. These includes theft, offenses, kidnapping, and should my cousin agree, the siege on his estate." You incline your head slightly, glancing down your nose towards the baffled farmer. "It also assumes you will work until I deem your debt to the crown to be cleared. You will answer to me, and others I have approved of, until such time as that comes."

"Ser Valen, we are not knights!" Dullem tried again, hands out in entreaty, "Even if this would clear those crimes, we don't know anything about arm and armor. We'd be the most embarrassing knights in La'Fiel, if that."

"For now." You agree genially, "I expect that none of you are apt, nor loyal enough, to truly be called anything but bandits. Perhaps mercenaries, if I am being gracious."

"Even knowing that, you'd do this?" Dullem muttered in bafflement.

You don't respond. Not because you don't have the answer, but because you are aware of the atmosphere, of the effect you want to create. You hold his gaze, unblinking even as the dry air begins to sting, drawing out the silence as he waits for your answer. Only when that tension has reached a level you feel sufficient do you stand; It's a slow affair, measured and steady with a deliberate smoothness. You stand with your back curled, slowly allowing yourself to unfurl to your full height.

"Today, you are a broken man." You incline your head, allowing your hair to slip free behind you, "You've been through so much that it's left you desperate. You came here in search of help, and this is what I can offer you; Discard your past, become mine." You don't smile. There's nothing cheerful about your proclamation, the grim stoicism of your thinned lips impress the weight of the declaration onto the man. "I'll put my faith in a handful of broken men. Perhaps tomorrow, you will be worth calling knights."

He was not a leader. This man had leadership thrust upon him, forced to hold it lest the people around him buckled. For one moment, one searingly painful moment, you could see the exact instant that Dullem finally broke.

"I..." His voice choked as he tried to respond, "I understand, Ser Valen." You're not sure if he agreed or not as the man numbly stood. The weight of what just happened hadn't fully sunk in to him yet, you could see that much. He was still moving in shock. "I'll... Tell the others."

>Allow him to leave.
>He isn't allowed to leave until he gives you his answer.

>>42413442
>>He isn't allowed to leave until he gives you his answer.

>>42413442
>>He isn't allowed to leave until he gives you his answer.
Be firm - forcing an answer out of him will steel him as well before letting him confront the others.

>>42413461
>>42413470
I want an answer.

Writing.

"Not yet." You hold your arm out, blocking the door in a more symbolic than literal manner. It works all the same however, as Dullem comes to a halt near immediately at your movement. "I want your answer now, before you leave this room."

"I'm... Sorry?" Dullem blinked, "Answer to what?"

"Conscription." You reply, "What do you say?"

"...Thank you?" He tried after a moment, clearly uncertain as to what you were expecting. "You told me it wasn't a request, I didn't know we had the option to refuse."

"You were preparing to refuse a punishment not moments ago." You retorted, "Before you walk out of here, I want to know whether you accept this."

Dullem glanced aside, then to the other, one hand opening and closing as he was put on the spot. You're content to wait, watching the myriad of nervous twitches run across his body as the man attempts to dreg up some response to give you. Several times his mouth opens, only to shut again, turning his eyes imploringly to Rinnier, and occasionally at you, before averting them again.

"I... I don't know if they'll agree." He reluctantly answered after a while, "Like me, none of them... This isn't the life any of them expected to be leading. I don't know if they'll go along with it or not."

"This isn't an optional outcome." You remind him casually, "I don't mean to threaten you with this, but they don't agree then there's nothing I can do to guarantee their safety." Dullem winced, scratching furiously at his neck. "I know... I know, I'll.. I'll try and get them to agree." He finally sighed, "I don't like speaking for all of them, so I can't give you their answer, but... If you think there's a future for us, then I'll give it a shot."

"Dullem." Rinnier finally spoke up, breaking her silence in the meeting for the first time since it had begun that morning as she stepped past you and looked up at the much larger man. "Though I understand that it is not a role you chose or enjoy..." She started, locking eyes with him encouragingly.. Or perhaps imploringly. It begged him to heed her, and take heart. "They nominated you as their voice. They have followed you this far. There must be some measure of trust between them, that you will choose a path they can believe in."

"I-"

"Speak to them as their leader." Rinnier interrupted his half-stuttered response, "Tell them the future you've found for them."

"...I'll try." He answered weakly, averting his eyes as he shuffled past her and out the door, leaving only Rinnier and you in the suddenly much emptier audience chamber.

It was over. You had spent so long planning this, and just like that, it was over. Rinnier and you turned to each other, exchanging inscrutable expressions as the two of you tried to settle on some kind of emotion to feel, or words to say, leaving you in a mutually awkward silence.

"Conscription?" She finally managed quietly.
"Planning to kill them if they resisted?" You deliver your own question in turn.

"I discussed the possibility with the Guard Captain while you busy the past few days, and she suggested I become part of the plans." Rinnier sniffed, "It gave me something more concrete to do while I waited, and the trouble needed to be handled one way or another." Naturally, there was no sign of remiss from her. The backup plan was justified to her, and evidently, to Alouette. If things had gone badly, she had been prepared from the start to see each of them killed in cold blood.

"What's this about conscripting them?" She asked again, "You rarely ever came to the library for any period of time, where did you get that from?"

"I..." You stop, realizing what you were about to say, "...Discussed the possibility with Alouette." Rinnier's bemused expression did little to soothe the small scowl you wore. "She told me that people who had nothing today, could be anything in the future."

"...I suppose it all goes back to her, then." Rinnier commented uneasily, glancing towards the door. "What a terrifying woman."

You hum non-committally, "Either way, it's over." You announce, "We'll have to move forward from here. Knights aren't cheap; We'll need food, clothes, arms, armor, training, established grounds for training, someone to actually train them..." You started to list off item after item of necessities, already beginning to feel overwhelmed at the responsibility you had just accepted. "Shelter should be fine, the mansion is mostly empty after all..."

"How do you plan to come up with the resources for that?" Rinnier posed a question curiously.

"I'll send for-" You stop.

Your resources were cut off due to the Rite. You knew this. In fact, you had been trying to fix this when you went to Carona, but ended up getting into a fight with that attendant instead, then you ended up coming here and got wrapped up in... This.

You were completely broke.

"Irue?"

"I'll think about it after we deal with Roderick." You reply tiredly, "Until then, I'll see if I can ask Caylen to house them." Maybe you could convince Alouette to help give them some basics while you were at it... God, your headache was just getting bigger. "Just... Just keep this in mind, I guess." You sigh, "I'll ask Alouette about the usual expenses and try to get an estimate of how much we need."

"Ah..." Rinnier's unenthusiastic sigh was her only acknowledgement. "Never a dull day, I suppose..."

God you hope Asche and Kara are having a better time than you are.

File: ValEnd.gif (1023 KB, 500x281)

1023 KB GIF

"Eeeeh? Why can't I eat the 'Hemoth? I killed it!"

"You can't eat him!"

"S'already cooked, though! S'was a fire an' everythin'!"

"We're burying it!"

"Worms'll eat it anyway... I had'ta stay up all night smellin' it cook, too."

"No!"

"M'savin someone who'll feed me next time..."
______________________

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

And we are archived.

I'll lurk the thread for a bit to try and answer some questions if I can.

Apologies to all anons who participated in Valen Quest but died at their keyboards wondering when QM would finally stop.

To those who did not make it to the end, we will never forget your sacrifice.

>>42413811
Did Kara kill a Behemoth? What would one even look like? Also did she break Asche's calm?

How badly did we muck up?

>>42413866
The answer to two of your questions are in http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu . As it's not completely story related, I felt a reference to it would be a fun perk to anyone who had read it.

For your third question: No.

As for mucking up... Well, you made some interesting choices. You'll need to define what you consider a "muck up" though. There are rarely right or wrong answers, they mostly depend on what your end goals were as to whether or not they will help or hinder you.