>>1430833
>>"Please warn me next time."

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>>1430833
"Please warm me next time."

"Really, dear." Your mother raises a quaint judgemental eyebrow. "It's your own fault for not noticing."

Of course it is.

…

Okay, it is technically your fault. Sort of. You could have had someone follow all of Prince Aled's major associates, but it would have been difficult and it could have left you short-staffed in a pinch if the slightest thing had gone wrong.

Really, the only mistake you made was not taking it for granted that your mother was going to have someone assassinated just because she could.

"You could have sent someone to spy on me instead. You would have only needed one person, so it would have been fine."

And she can read your mind.

"Thank you for the reminder, mother."

"You're welcome, dear," your mother says. "So, what are you up to now?"

"I think I'll speak with my brother to give him a little guidance."

"Oh, yes, those efforts have been going splendidly. He's almost starting to understand that he should act like responsible loyalty. It's made my life much easier. Unfortunately, I believe he's busy with his wife at the moment."

You look outside. The sun's up, and you doubt your brother is the adventurous type, so they're probably not busy that way. You still shouldn't interrupt them though.

>Go see your sister Nesta.
>Reagan and Eleri are with the kids.
>Olwen is training in the garden.

>>1430944
>>Olwen is training in the garden.


Odds are Nesta will smell martial action and visit us.

>>1430944

>Go see your sister Nesta
Time to dule

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>1430956
1

>>1431032
2

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>>1430944
You decide to see your sister. You'll need to give Olwen some alone time later to make up for it, but you're quite certain you'll enjoy it. Besides, you haven't been able to spend much time with Nesta either and you do need to catch up on a few things.

You're surprised that she's not in the training yard. You're far less surprise when you ask a servant and get directed to the war room. Sure, it's more like a game room these days, but the maps and miniature wooden carvings can model most strategies. It's nice to see that Nesta is being more intellectual about her battles.

"Hahaha! I will destroy all evils in the name of the justice! Charge, my indomitable legion!"

You consider the situation for a moment before deciding that this is, in fact, slightly more intellectual than you remember her.

"How is your game, dear sister?"

"Meirion!" If Nesta is at all embarrassed by her childishness, it doesn't show. "Come, join me for a game! You're not busy, right?"

>[Military/1d12] "Fine, one game."
>"I was rather hoping we could just talk…"

>>1431059
>>[Military/1d12] "Fine, one game."
>Get a servant who knows the chess squares and moves to tell us how Nesta moves while we are blindfolded. Give her a chance.

>>1431059
>>[Military/1d12] "Fine, one game."

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>>1431059
"Fine." You help Nesta reset the board. "One game."

At the very least, this will give you something to talk about.

>Roll 1d12, best of three.

Rolled 12 (1d12)

>>1431130

>>1431134
We are very good at this game it seems.

Rolled 3 (1d12)

>>1431130

Rolled 5 (1d12)

>>1431130

>>1431140
we are good at all things

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>>1431130
Three moves in and you can already tell how badly this is going to end for Nesta. She's far, far too aggressive with her troops and doesn't know how to manage her supply lines. Oh, they're protected, but each caravan has an equal number of guards, even the ones you can't possibly reach. Precautions are nice, but resources can't be wasted like this.

Combined with Nesta's aggressive style of warframe, her front line soon collapses against your defenses, and her reserves are too far away for her to rally them up.

To make matters worse, Nesta has no idea when to surrender. It's never easy to give up a game, but it's the polite thing to do when you're losing this badly. Nesta, however, is clinging to victory until her last piece is dead. It's both annoying and endearing, depending on how you look at it.

"It seems I've lost," Nesta says. "Again. I can't remember the last time I beat you at this game."

Neither can you. It might have happened back when you were still learning, but you wouldn't bet on it.

"Your performance was admirable, given the circumstances," you say. "You should have surrendered more than a dozen turns ago."

"That is unacceptable!" Nesta shouts. "I cannot surrender while the enemy still stands."

"It would have saved hundreds of your troops."

"That… I must admit that is a good point," Nesta says, "but soldiers are bound by their duty. For the kingdom's sake, we cannot falter!"

You sigh and help Nesta pick up the pieces. Despite her loss, she's quite pleased with herself.

>"You traveled to Rosea, yes?"
>"How do you feel about how the Crown Prince is handling his work?"
>"Have you been spending time with mother lately?"

>>1431191
>>"You traveled to Rosea, yes?"

>>1431191
>Sister, a kingdom exists for its people, and the soldiers' families would like their sons and husbands alive.

>>1431211
Dis.

>>1431191
>>1431211
this

>>1431211
works well

>>1431191
>>Sister, a kingdom exists for its people, and the soldiers' families would like their sons and husbands alive.

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>>1431191
"It isn't that simple, sister," you say. "Most soldiers are conscripted farmers. They have families waiting for them back home and we need them to work their fields between wars."

"Even so, we cannot allow the enemy to claim our lands!" Nesta says. "If we do, we'd end up losing our farmland anyway!"

So Nesta has thought about this enough to figure out some part of the reason why kingdoms fight each other in the first place. You can work with that!

>[Military/1d8] "If you're carelessly sacrificing your men, you're a failure as a general."
>[Sovereign/1d6] "Justice must be in the service of the people."

>You have an autosuccess on this roll.

>>1431265
>[Sovereign/1d6] "Justice must be in the service of the people."
autosuccess is great

>>1431265
>>[Military/1d8] "If you're carelessly sacrificing your men, you're a failure as a general."

>>1431265
>[Sovereign/1d6] "Justice must be in the service of the people."

>>1431265
>>[Sovereign/1d6] "Justice must be in the service of the people."
>[Military/1d8] "If you're carelessly sacrificing your men, you're a failure as a general."

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>>1431265
"Don't you and the Crown Prince always say that justice must be in the service of the people? The heat of battle shouldn't erase those ideals."

Nesta droops and nods solemnly. "You are right, Meirion," she says. "I had lost sight of things. Perhaps I should tour the kingdom again? It would help me remember why I fight."

"That would be a bit much." You place your hands on her shoulder and gently lead her out of the room. "It'll be fine so long as you don't get caught up in things."

Nesta chuckles and brushes away your hands. "You really have become quite responsible, Meirion. Maybe I should follow your example and have children as well."

"Yes!" You cough to buy yourself some time to regain your composure. "Yes, you should have children. Several, in fact. Is there a specific man you're interested in?"

"Not at the moment," Nesta says. "I'll make a list later."

"You can ask Reagan to help you," you say. "For now, why don't we pay the Crown Prince a visit?"

You drag Nesta over to your brother. Maybe her newfound wisdom will rub off on him.

Crown Prince Haul is back in his office, but he's not working on paperwork this time. No, this time, he's reading books. Government books dealing with crops, roads and general production.

Your previous efforts have already borne fruit! Truly, it's a miracle.

"What are you reading, older brother?" Nesta peers down at the book Haul's currently working on. "That sounds terribly boring."

And there's one step back.

"It is terribly boring." Haul sounds thoroughly bored, but that's fine so long as he's working. "However, I've come to believe that this sort of thing might be necessary."

>[Sovereign/1d12] "Maybe we can find something more interesting you can work on."
>"Necessary things are often boring.

>>1431372
>>[Sovereign/1d12] "Maybe we can find something more interesting you can work on."

>>1431372
>[Sovereign/1d12] "Maybe we can find something more interesting you can work on."

>>1431372
>[Sovereign/1d12] "Maybe we can find something more interesting you can work on."

>>1431372

>"Necessary things are often boring

>>1431372
>>[Sovereign/1d12] "Maybe we can find something more interesting you can work on."

>>1431372
>[Sovereign/1d12] "Maybe we can find something more interesting you can work on."

Glad I could make this thread in time for once.

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>>1431372
"Maybe we can find something more interesting you can work on." You rifle through your brother's reading list. "There must be something about military procurement in there…"

>Roll 1d12, best of three.

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>1431437

Rolled 6 (1d12)

>>1431437
Come on dice, daddy needs a book on postal code revisions...

Rolled 10 (1d12)

>>1431437

Rolled 9 (1d12)

>>1431437

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>>1431437
There it is! Buried in the pile, you find a record of weapon purchases for - or rather, by - conscripted farmers. After all, they still need to practice and drill, even during peace time, so they need weapons to work with.

"Military procurement for farmers." You place the book on top of the pile. "If we compare it with crop records, we can estimate the quality of weapons across regions based on how much money the conscripts have to spare."

"Wealthier crops make it easier for farmers to buy better weapons, which strengthens our armies." Prince Haul nods in understanding. "It's obvious now that I think about it."

"Afterwards, we can use trade reports to funnel more money towards the poorer regions, or find some other way for them to acquire weapon," you explain. "It'll cause problems for us if certain regions can't arm themselves properly."

The three of you get reading, although your job primarily involves looking for useful records.

Haul and Nesta get more enthusiastic about it over time. Haul even starts to take notes. Overall, you'd call this a great success in your plan to make Haul a respectable ruler.

>[Sovereign/1d12] Suggest that Haul request more responsibility from the King.
>[Dilettante/1d10] Suggest that Haul ask his wife to help him with his work.

>You have an active crit on Sovereign.

>>1431488
>>[Sovereign/1d12] Suggest that Haul request more responsibility from the King.

>>1431488
>>[Dilettante/1d10] Suggest that Haul ask his wife to help him with his work.

>>1431488
>[Dilettante/1d10] Suggest that Haul ask his wife to help him with his work.

>>1431488
>[Dilettante/1d10] Suggest that Haul ask his wife to help him with his work.

>>1431488
>[Dilettante/1d10] Suggest that Haul ask his wife to help him with his work.

Love the fact that the siblings are getting some screen time

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>>1431488
"You could ask Princess Mair to help you in the future," you tell your brother. "She can at least help you sift through this mess to help you find the books you need."

>Roll 1d10, best of three.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>1431552

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>1431552

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>1431552

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>>1431552
Prince Haul brings a pen to his lips for a moment. "I might do that," he says. "Mair has been asking me if she could help with my work. This is a good opportunity."

So Reagan's efforts to get Mair to become more aware of her status and responsibilities have been paying off. That's good to know.

"You can ask for my help as well, brother," Nesta says. "At least while I'm in Aurwain. Although I don't plan on staying away from the capital for extended periods of time, so I suppose you can ask for my help whenever you need it."

"The same goes for me," you say. "If you need any work done near Degfford, I'll be happy to help."

Prince Haul smiles slightly. "Thank you, both of you. Now, let's get this over with so we can have dinner with father and mother."

Rolled 5, 2, 1 = 8 (3d6)

>>1431574
And now, for the free XPs.

Rolled 1, 7, 7 = 15 (3d8)

>>1431577

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>1431581
And Enchantment just hit level 3!

Anyway, Beleaguered Prince Quest will return on Friday May 12th at 7PM EDT, same as always. Until then, goodnight and thanks for playing.

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>>1431587
cheers, boss

>>1431587
Thanks for running man.

Thanks for the thread! I always miss it, but I always catch up!