>>1451938
>[Dilettante/Autosuccess] Do all the work and give Olwen a reward.

>>1451938
>>[Dilettante/Autosuccess] Assert dominance! Same as usual.

>>1451958
1

>>1451976
2

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>1452019
It would help move things along if I actually rolled.

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>>1451938
Olwen climbs into the bath and grips the side, practically rubbing her ass in your face.

She looks back and grin. "Ready when you are, your highness."

"I do owe you a punishment."

The bath is made of marble, but even so, you're surprised it can hold together so well. Once you're done, Olwen sinks back into the water. Her eyes are out of focus, her face is wet with tears and she's gasping for breath. So, the usual, basically.

"I'm going to assume you enjoy that."

"I want to carry a dozen of your womanizing sons."

"You're an inspiration to mothers everywhere."

You help Olwen clean up and rub some ointment on her to help the bruises. She enjoys every minute of that to, and she can exit the bathroom under her own power. You make sure to change the water in case Reagan wants to give the children a bath.

Speaking of, Reagan and Eleri enter just as you leave and they are, in fact, bringing the kids with them.

"Just so you know, we took the children away so they wouldn't hear," Eleri says. "We'll need better soundproofing when we get home, I think. Just as a precaution."

You kiss Eleri and lightly spank her as you pass by. She stifles a giggle and gives you a mock glare.

"On second thought, maybe our children shouldn't turn out like you," Olwen says. "You're enough of a handful to deal with as it is."

"I do what's best for the kingdom," you say. "My own benefits are secondary, no matter how much I appreciate them."

"Still, we should be more responsible from now on. I can't help but feel bad about leaving Seren and Esyllt back in Degfford with Anwen and Rhian," Olwen says. "It's been a long time since we left."

>"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it now."
>"I trust they'll be fine."
>"Once we're done here, we won't need to leave them again."

>>1452085
>"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it now."
>"I trust they'll be fine."

>>1452085
>>"I trust they'll be fine."

File: 1367620942678.png (2.08 MB, 971x1400)

2.08 MB PNG

>>1452085
"I trust they'll be fine." You wrap your arms around Olwen's shoulder and kiss her. "Come on, let's go see Myrddin. He said he had some good news for me."

The two of you slowly walk to Myrddin's office as the sun sets. These kinds of jobs are better done at night, after all.

And Myrddin does have good news for you.

"Prince Aled and his son are meeting some of his associates," he says. "These are very rich, very influential and very corrupt men who rely on your uncle to keep some of their financial investments untraceable."

"In other words," Olwen says, "this is our chance to get rid of Prince Aled, shift the blame onto someone else, and give the Crown Prince a nice slice of glory."

"That is the plan so far," Myrddin says. "Your highness, how do you want to bring the Crown Prince in on this?"

Most of the operation will have to be carried out by you or your agents, but if you want the Crown Prince to get the credit and a boost to his reputation, you'll need to at least get him to the general area.

>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] "Directly. We'll invite him to join us for a night out on the town."
>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] "Indirectly. We'll drop some hints about illegal dealings and let him go for the bait on his own."

>>1452228
>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] "Indirectly. We'll drop some hints about illegal dealings and let him go for the bait on his own."

>>1452228
>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] "Indirectly. We'll drop some hints about illegal dealings and let him go for the bait on his own."

>>1452228
>>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] "Indirectly. We'll drop some hints about illegal dealings and let him go for the bait on his own."

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>>1452228
"Indirectly," you decide. " We'll drop some hints about illegal dealings and let him go for the bait on his own."

"I have just the thing in mind," Myrddin says. "A servant of one of the Crown Prince's more chivalric, but low-status, acquaintances is currently being extorted by one of the men currently meeting Prince Aled. If he goes to his master for help and his master then goes to the Crown Prince…"

"My brother will feel compelled to investigate the poor, down-trodden commoner's woes," you say. "You can make sure he learns about the meeting?" Myrddin nods. "Good enough. Let's get ourselves ready."

You swing by your room to bid Reagan and Eleri good night and change into less ostentatious clothes. The meeting is taking place in a somewhat exclusive restaurant, so you can't go there in rags, but royal clothes would be a bit too much. A little dye darkens your hair and some makeup alters your facial features. No one will know it's you at a casual glance. Olwen and Myrddin have both put on similar disguises.

You linger in the palace long enough to confirm something is going on around your brother's chambers. It seems your plan was a success.

You move quickly to ensure you get to the restaurant first.

"Where do you want to sit?" Myrddin asks. "We can get a table in the main dining room, but the meeting is on the second floor. If we want to listen in, I'll have to make a 'special request.'"

>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] Sit in the dining room.
>[Intrigue/1d12] Try to eavesdrop on the meeting.

>>1452228
>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] "Indirectly. We'll drop some hints about illegal dealings and let him go for the bait on his own."

Question: Given that Reagan is really going to be the one to wield power in Olstren, what reason did Meiron have to do all her work for her and conquer it? He'll be king, but not the King.

>>1452404
>[Intrigue/1d12] Try to eavesdrop on the meeting

>>1452404
>[Intrigue/1d12] Try to eavesdrop on the meeting.

>>1452404
>[Intrigue/1d12] Try to eavesdrop on the meeting.

>>1452411
Political stability in the region is politically and economically beneficial to Gwyrddarfordir and, by extension, Meirion and the rest of his family. Not having to worry about repelling petty raids every other year makes running things much easier. Besides, it's not like Reagan won't at least try to give him whatever he asks for once she's got the crown.

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>>1452411
"Get us a room on the second floor," you say. "I want to see if we can listen in."

"Yes, your highness."

Myrddin exchanges a few words with the host and dangles a pouch of coins in front of him.

>Roll 1d12, best of three.

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>1452487

Rolled 11 (1d12)

>>1452487

Rolled 8 (1d12)

>>1452487

>>1452442
Is there a reason he couldn't have just conquered part or all of Olstren and made it part of Gwyrddarfordir, though? It seems to me that if all he wanted was stability he could've achieved it with an equal amount of effort and came away with much more power, both personally and in terms of strengthening Gwyrddarfordir. And please don't give me a response that's based on events that transpired after Meiron decided to marry Reagan, things look like they'll turn out well now, but the reasoning for pursuing this seems so flimsy when I consider how little time Meiron and Reagan had spent building trust before the betrothal. He had no leverage over her and if the relationship had tanked the result would be Meiron walking away from this war with Olstren empty handed, despite having fought on Reagan's behalf and having done assloads of work, or an assassination war between him and Reagan.

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>>1452487
Ten minutes later, the three of you are sitting in a private room. The entire floor had been reserved to guarantee your uncle's privacy, but he obviously hadn't paid well enough.

You order a soft, juicy steak and eat quietly to you can listen into the next room. You can't quite tell who's talking, but you can hear most of what's being said.

"This won't interfere with any of your investments. Those are recorded separately and we have alternative revenue sources to secure further funding. I assure you, you won't be affected by this unfortunate incident. In fact, as a show of good faith, I'm willing to forget your debts."

That must be your uncle trying to placate his clients. He must be very desperate to make such an offer.

"Myrddin, how much debt are we talking about?"

"The low millions, at least. And that's just the people in the room. It isn't the kind of money even a prince can afford to lose."

Most certainly desperate. He's probably hoping to squeeze his other debtors to make up some of the difference, but he won't be able to recoup his losses that way.

"This isn't just about money. It's about trust. We trusted you to keep our business safe and secret. What do you think will happen if someone figures out your cipher?"

"That can't happen."

It happened.

"I am making this offer in good faith. I suggest you accept it before things become… difficult."

"Things are going well for us," Myrddin says. "We just need to push them over the edge."

"Poison?" Olwen asks.

"Poison," Myrddin confirms.

Taking your uncle out would be easy, but if you poison one of his clients, they'll probably blame him and turn the room into a bloodbath.

>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] Poison Prince Aled.
>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] Poison one of Prince Aled's clients.

>You have an active crit included in this roll.

>>1452567
Anon voted for a political marriage that came with Olstren as part of the package. All parties involved were fine with this arrangement for one reason or another. Reagan wants someone who can help her suppress her vassals and Meirion wants to solve one of his kingdom's potential problems.

>>1452601
>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] Poison one of Prince Aled's clients.

>>1452622
Meiron could've married that Svekkan chick and had a free hand to conquer part of Olstren's territory, maybe all of it. I asked for Meiron's in-character reasoning and all you did was tell me that people voted for it. Next time maybe just tell me that nobody thought of what I just pointed out?

>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] Poison Prince Aled.

>>1452601
>>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] Poison one of Prince Aled's clients.

>>1452665
gotta remember it has has been a good while since the thread where that votwe was

>>1452601
>>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] Poison Prince Aled.

>>1452665
>free hand to conquer part of Olstren's territory
at the cost of a shadow war that would be just as much legwork as the trouble Meirion went through here.

Perhaps less bloody, but we did a good job not killing farmers anyway.

>>1452665
Fuck it, changing my vote to poisoning a client.

>>1452692
Fair.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>1452664
>>1452685
1

>>1452665
>>1452693
2

>>1452715
Never mind, going with >>1452710

>>1452707
>at the cost of a shadow war that would be just as much legwork as the trouble Meirion went through here.

...that's what I said. War with Olstren would be war, no matter what. But by not marrying Reagan and just taking the territory for Gwyrddarfordir he would've gotten much more payoff.

>>1452725
From my understanding, the vote to just be a duke and own Degford kind of cemented the decision that Meirion isn't too hot about owning stuff already developed by other people.

Degford is the first place he can truly call his own, without having to deal with other nobles' bullshit, working around his family, or being coddled by his mother. "Prosperity" is a questionable payoff when he can already secure inter-nation trade routes with an amicable ally as opposed to a conquered territory.

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>>1452601
"Myrddin, go make things 'difficult.'"

"Just a moment, your highness."

"You two are terrible," Olwen chuckles. "I wonder if any of them thought to bring weapons?"

"We'll find out soon enough," you say.

Myrddin leaves and you return your attention to the conversation going on in the next room.

" - because I don't want any problems. However, you must also be willing to consider my position. I can't tolerate these kinds of threats."

"These threats are only necessary because of your son's incompetence!"

Myrddin returns looking as if nothing had happens and returns to his meal. The argument in the next room continues for several minutes until it suddenly stops; you can hear the waiter knocking on their door.

"There we go." Myrddin chuckles. "This ought to be interesting."

"We're all very reasonable people dealing with what most would consider unreasonable circumstances. I assure you this will be -"

"Wait, what's happening?"

"Are you feeling sick?"

"It's you! You poisoned him!"

"No, wait!"

There's a loud crash, probably from a shattered chair or some other piece of furniture, followed by other loud noises and some screams.

Then the screaming stops. It's a shame you weren't there to see it yourself, but so long as it gets done…

>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] Let things play out.
>[Intrigue/1d12] Call bloody murder. You need to get your brother up here after all.

>>1452793
>[Intrigue/Autosuccess] Let things play out.
we should keep things quiet to take care of any stray documents and such.

>>1452749
That does make sense. Still, Meiron is freakishly capable and has competent subordinates. Going Ceasar and carving out an empire would've been feasible. Actually, it still is. There's no reason he couldn't seek to expand Gwyrddarfordir after finishing up his business with Olstren.

>>1452804
This. We had ought to try skulking in to rifle through the effects of the departed

>>1452823
OK, lets list all the problems with that idea.

First, he would have to get permission from Haul, who leaks compassion out of his ass. If he managed that, he would also have to launch a major military campaign to take over territory, he would have to not only garrison the territory he took over but also station armies there to prevent whatever country he invaded from marching in and retaking it (which includes straining Gwyrddarfordir economy paying, feeding, and housing those armies), he would have to keep the residents of the territory he took from rebelling (just having soldiers there wouldn't be enough, the territory wouldn't be worth taking if all the farms and villages were burned down because the peasants wanted to spite Merion), he would have to deal with politicking and shadowgaming with all the new enemies he made, and he would have to worry about the other countries surrounding Gwyrddarfordir capitalizing on it being preoccupied and taking over its territory. It doesn't matter how good he is if there's an invasion on the other side of the nation he can't deal with.

There are probably some issues I missed as to why doing things in a way that gets you "less" isn't bad.

tl;dr Making an empire only works if you have the resources to and won't get stabbed in the ass because the people around you aren't going to wait to be attacked.

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>>1452793
"Should we go in there or something?" Olwen asks.

"Let them work it out of their system," you say. "Maybe we can look around the room once they're done. Also, this steak is very good and I don't want it to get cold."

The beating doesn't last much longer anyway; you only need to hit a man so many times before he simply can't take it anymore, even if the only weapons available are fists and cutlery. The noise soon dies down and you can practically feel the tension as the men inside try to figure out how the fuck they're going to deal with the fact that they killed a member of the royal family in a fit of range.

The calm lasts for a few seconds before there's a mad rush for the door. Unfortunately for them, Prince Haul and his entourage should be downstairs or at least roaming outside the building by now. A sudden flight is just going to arouse interest. They'd be better off finishing their meals or at least climbing down the window.

Their panic does give you a chance to search the room, if you'd like. There might be something on your uncle's corpse. Alternatively, you could just go downstairs and make sure your late uncle's associates are arrested. Prince Haul should be able to catch enough of them to sell your scheme, but with you there, you're certain he can get all of them, if you want to be extra spiteful.

>[Intrigue/1d12] Search the room.
>[Military/Autosuccess] Head downstairs and help with the arrests.

>>1452924
>>[Intrigue/1d12] Search the room.

>>1452881
1) Haul is easily manipulated. As long as Meiron succeeds in framing the invasion in terms of defending Gwyrddarfordir or unseating a tyrant from power, that's solved. And their mother has demonstrated a casual attitude towards violence, I'm rather inclined to think she'd help Meiron with it.
2) I've always been unclear as to how wealthy Gwyrddarfordir actually is, so you may have a valid point about the cost of the army. Or you may not. Rome was created from four shitty little Italian provinces that were originally taxed into poverty by the Etruscan kings. I'm rather inclined to believe that Meiron could finance it. Promising shares of loot works as a recruiting tool when you have a record of success like Meiron's.
3) Uh, how many people have burned down their homes and salted their farmland to spite invaders historically? That's some wonky shit. People don't want to starve after they've been conquered.
4) You're discussing unspecified potential enemies. You know as much about their impact as I do: Nothing.

>>1452622
>>1452665
What you're forgetting is that there have been plenty of times in history that the King hasn't been the strongest political power, whatever the law says. Such as for example, basically all of Japan's history. The whole reason why Reagan kept offing her would be suitors was because they were hoping to make her barefoot and pregnant, and were also incompetent.
The reason Reagan went to Meirion was that he is very competent and not particularly interested in reducing her to barefoot and pregnant status. This isn't to say that he would be a powerless consort, because he isn't and they both know it. Hell, before we chose her she outright said that she would be fine with the kids inheriting our family name. At the time seemed to me to strongly indicate who she thought would be in the better political position after the Victorious Prince beat the Dukes into submission. Also, there was plenty of talk about offing the more irritating of the nobles and replacing them with our kids from the other girls, which would give us even more power.
From my perspective, its not us securing her inheritance in order to become her consort. Its her agreeing to surrender power on exceedingly generous terms.

>>1452924
>[Military/Autosuccess] Head downstairs and help with the arrests.

I miss the old captcha.

>>1452924
>>[Intrigue/1d12] Search the room.

>>1452947
Seems like Meirion is well on his way to create a political dynasty that will overshadow his own house

>>1452947
I have no idea what bearing the first part of your post has on what I've been saying. Saying that the king isn't always the most powerful person in a country is like saying that water is wet. And passing power and titles down to her children isn't surrendering power to Meiron. Has Reagan actually stated that Olstren will become part of Gwyrddarfordir once their children succeed them?

>>1452924
>>[Intrigue/1d12] Search the room.

>>1452938
1)
>Hey Haul, I know you're the crown prince and, while kinda dumb, understand that peasants always suffer the most in war, and think one poor person having something bad happen to them is the end of the world, but how about we invade this other country and take their territory? No no, not depose their despotic ruler, take their territory.

2) It doesn't matter how wealthy it is, those armies HAVE to stay there until the enemy nation doesn't exist any more, because they could launch an invasion at any time. That's going to be a huge, constant drain. It would slow down any potential attack on the rest of the country, meaning the armies will have to be paid longer. Medieval armies were 90% levied peasants and rulers only had a very small number of guys that were soldiers 24/7.

3)
>Hey guys, these people came in and murdered our son/husband/father/whoever. Let's just not care about that at all.
It's the first thing any organized resistance would do. Or any agents sent from the country the land was taken from. Or any enemy soldiers that got away and became bandits. Or the retreating enemy would decided on a scorched earth policy.

4) Their impact doesn't matter. Merion has had 1 duke he's been plotting against in the quest. If he started a war of conquest he would potentially have an entire country's worth of them, and all their agents. They would be a problem if only because there are too many of them.

And the point about the other nations not just waiting to die still stands.

>>1452996
My point is that you are claiming that Reagan will have all the power because she's Queen, that's absolutely not true. Most of the Dukes that have agreed to the union have done so because otherwise the Victorious Prince will break their spines and they know it. Any attempt by her to sideline us would destroy her own powerbase.
My point, is that you are whining about not being in charge when we basically are and Reagan knows it. We just haven't been an ass about it.

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>>1452924
You quickly finish your steak and get up to check the carnage.

You briefly regret eating just before walking into the… mess, but you've seen worse massacres on the battlefield. None of them were quite this savage though.

Prince Aled has enough of a skull left to be recognizable, if you wipe the blood away. His legs are twisted at odd angles and there are some forks and knives stuck in his fat. His son Celdwyn didn't fare much better. He wasn't stabbed, but his face is just one giant bruise and his neck is broken. It probably wasn't easy on him either.

You can hear a commotion coming from down stairs.

"Be quick," you say. "I don't want to be caught here."

>Roll 1d12, best of three.

Rolled 3 (1d12)

>>1453045

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>1453045
blahblahblah, tempt fate

Rolled 9 (1d12)

>>1453045

Rolled 2 (1d12)

>>1453045

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>>1453045
Unfortunately, there's no incriminating evidence. Maybe Prince Aled's associates thought to take it before they left, or perhaps your uncle simply didn't carry it on his person. You find the latter to be more likely.

Your search isn't pointless, however. Prince Aled is wearing some signature jewels, including an official seal that marks him as a member of the royal family. The seal itself isn't valuable, but it is used to stamp documents, so your uncle would need to keep it with him. Theoretically, if it were stolen, it could be used to forge documents. You'll keep that in mind for later.

"Is there anything on Celdwyn?" You ask.

"Nothing," Myrddin says. "Not unless you want to loot the body."

"No, we don't want it to look like a robbery," you say. "Let's go. I want to see how things went."

It seems to have gone reasonably well. The floor is covered with broken furniture and a lot of food, and the guests are scandalized by the mess, but many of Prince Aled's conspirators are on the ground. You'll decide how to deal with the rest of them later.

As you and Myrddin have arranged, Prince Haul arrived in full pomp with his entourage. He stands triumphantly over one of the corrupt nobles and looks down grimly.

"I have become aware of your evil deeds, villain! By the name of Gwyrren and the Crown it bears, Gwyrddarfordir will forgive your crimes no longer!"

"He's going to be at this for a while," you say. "Let's go."

You sneak out through the back door and slip into the night.

>>1453025
1) Er, why wouldn't the end-game of the invasion be deposition of the ruler and total assimilation of the country? And it comes down to rhetorical persuasion.
2) Yes, armies cost money to maintain. Neither of us know what expenses Gwyrddarfordir can and can't support or for how long, and you haven't made a new point with your response here, so you shouldn't have bothered. I don't understand why you're stating the obvious.
3) No dude, just, nah. I reiterate: People don't want to starve to death or die of exposure after being conquered the same way they don't want those things at any other point in time. You're spewing nonsense. And the incumbent ruler's remaining supporters would be horrified if he/she sent people to salt the earth and burn down buildings to fuck over the invaders, because that would result in the death of the people who were his subjects.
4) You're ignoring the fact that nothing is known in this scenario, because literally everything about it is hypothetical. There's no reason Meiron couldn't turn his opponents against each other as he's done in the past. There's no reason he could. It's all unformed, wishy-washy conjecture. He could decimate the command structure of the enemy beforehand and seed it with traitors, spend years setting it up. Everything is unknown.

>>1453037
Ah. You see, this makes sense, and I do feel a little stupid for not intuiting it.

Rolled 5, 1, 6 = 12 (3d6)

>>1453144
And now, for the free XP!

Rolled 4, 6, 6 = 16 (3d8)

>>1453153
Next round.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>1453158
And finally, Alchemy.

That is all for today. Beleaguered Prince Quest will return on Friday May 19th at 7PM EDT, same as always. As usual, goodnight and thanks for playing!

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>>1453164
cheers, boss

>>1453164
Don't let my contentious bullshit arguments fool you, I like your quest. Thank you for running this thing.

>>1453145
1) You always calling it empire building and advocating taking territory would mean that the point was to take the territory. Deposing the ruler and taking his land are two different things.

2) You seem to think I'm saying Merion going around being a megalomaniac can't happen, but I'm not. I'm telling you all of the problems the plan has. Gwyrddarfordir would have to pay its soldiers, and that would be a problem.

3) They would if they were angry enough. Again, they might and they might not. But they would if they wanted to do it enough. And the ruler wouldn't tell his fellow politicians. Merion didn't go to Haul to say he's killing Aled, he didn't tell that one princess way back when that he was posing as a mercenary to kill his cousin.

4) And your idea is hypothetical. My points are also hypothetical, and they can go any number of ways. But very few people would like it if you invaded their country, so saying a good deal of people working against Merion, at least at first, is logical. He can't corrupt or kill everyone.