>>4104599
>I'll arrange for a meeting between your surviving leadership and that of the Scaithness town and fortress to discuss terms of your surrender.

>>4104599
>I'll arrange for a meeting between your surviving leadership and that of the Scaithness town and fortress to discuss terms of your surrender.

>>4104599
>I'll arrange for a meeting between your surviving leadership and that of the Scaithness town and fortress to discuss terms of your surrender.
>And you'll tell me all you know about the Inquisition. Its goals, plans, forces, methods of operation, funding sources, political support, recruitment, base locations, everything.

>>4104599
>>4104618
This

>>4104599
Thirding >>4104618

>>4104618
>>4104599
I'm good with this, I suppose.

>>4104599
>I'll arrange for a meeting between your surviving leadership and that of the Scaithness town and fortress to discuss terms of your surrender.

>>4104599
[So what next?]

“I’ll arrange your surrender with the military and civil leadership in Scaithness,” you continue, mostly to answer Serana’s silent question. “You’ll have to discuss the terms with them. I suggest you accept whatever terms they offer.”

“Now from you, I want information,” you insist sternly. “Its short and long-term plans, its modus operandi, its sources of funding and political support, its recruitment tactics, its logistical nodes and strongholds like where you got your cannon… everything you know.”

“You may as well ask me the keys to the Grand Inquisitor’s bedchambers,” the officer grumbles. “While the rest of it is on the table.”
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 8, 3, 9 = 20 (3d10)

>>4105956

Rolled 3, 4, 10 = 17 (3d10)

>>4105956

Rolled 6, 4, 3 = 13 (3d10)

>>4105956

>>4105956
“The Inquisition basically owns Noroit now,” the officer tells you. “Funds, I dunno, but we “liberated” those cannon from Noroit’s national armories. They were actually bought from Hazaran under King Tiberius with the intention that they be used against Bretonne.”

“Their shared neighbor,” you nod sagely.

“As for leadership, it’s almost entirely drawn from the clergy,” the officer continues with obvious disdain. “Those with the ideological purity required of the Inquisition will find themselves rising far beyond their own merit.”

[Like with the former commander of this detachment.]

“Like your former boss,” you translate swiftly. Serana doesn’t even necessarily make eye contact anymore, since she no longer has to get your attention before ‘speaking’.

“Exactly,” the officer nods. “As for logistics, like I said we own Noroit now. But we also have cells that operate in major cities and towns in Hazaran, Cuilan, Shukzan, Bretonne, and west Audiern.”

>You haven’t answered the main question: what are your goals?
>That’s good enough. I’ll be going now.
>Your former commander must have had records and letters. I want them.
>Other?

>>4106038
>You haven’t answered the main question: what are your goals?
>Your former commander must have had records and letters. I want them.

>>4106038
>>You haven’t answered the main question: what are your goals?

>>4106038
>You haven’t answered the main question: what are your goals?
>Your former commander must have had records and letters. I want them.

>>4106038
>You haven’t answered the main question: what are your goals?
>Your former commander must have had records and letters. I want them.

>>4106038
“You still haven’t answered the question,” you observe. “What is the Inquisition trying to do?”

“The Inquisition is the purifying fire of faith,” the officer tells you, almost as if reciting from a script. “Those of us under their influence have two choices: to serve, or to burn. And they’d be more than happy to burn the whole of Scaithness to the ground next time.”

[And how do you feel about that?]

“She wants to know how you feel about that.”

“I hate you Claymores,” the officer admits. “I think you and the organization that creates you are evil… however you Claymores yourselves are probably a necessary evil.”

“But I wouldn’t want to see the people living here die either.”

“And your thoughts about the Inquisition?” you press.

The officer shrugs. “Worse, because they have no hesitation to kill people.”

“Then would you be willing to give us the former commander’s letters?” you ask.

The man shakes his head. “I would consider it, but he burned his letters after the disaster at the gates to Scaithness.”

“He must have had some presence of mind, at least,” you shrug.

“Either that or he took the loss personally,” the officer offers his own explanation. “Such a defeat would probably have cost him his standing in the Inquisition, where results are everything next to piety.”

[Sounds like a real winner.]

“I love that you’ve learned how to be sarcastic with one hand,” you smile sweetly at your partner.

[It still takes cooperation.]

“Aw, that really warms the heart.”

…

After returning to Scaithness, and arranging for a group to go and accept the Inquisition’s formal surrender, you meet with several of your peers in the dining hall of Blackthorn Keep.

“This was a great victory,” you acknowledge the seriousness of what took place here over the last few days. “An Inquisitorial force a thousand strong broke on Scaithness like waves on its rocks. That’s no small feat for a fortress designed before the advent of cannon.”

>We need to focus on incorporating what we’ve learned into newer, more lasting defenses.
>Having just one fortress makes us a more obvious target. We should select a second site.
>The Inquisition is a thorny problem, one which a human assassin or two may be able to help us with.
>Other?

>>4107265
>>We need to focus on incorporating what we’ve learned into newer, more lasting defenses.
>>Having just one fortress makes us a more obvious target. We should select a second site.
spread out your bases, basic strategy game knowledge

>>4107265
>We need to focus on incorporating what we’ve learned into newer, more lasting defenses.

>>4107265
>“I love that you’ve learned how to be sarcastic with one hand,” you smile sweetly at your partner.
>[It still takes cooperation.]
>“Aw, that really warms the heart.”
Sha.

>We need to focus on incorporating what we’ve learned into newer, more lasting defenses.
>Having just one fortress makes us a more obvious target. We should select a second site.

>>4107265
We simply don't have enough forces to defend multiple bases.

>Ceding the initiative to the opponent leads to defeat. We need to determine the Inquisition's weak spot and hit it ASAP.

>>4107265
>>4107295
This

>>4107265
>Having just one fortress makes us a more obvious target. We should select a second site.

With the caveat that any second site be intended as a secret location, preferably one so out of the way and hard to reach that no human army could reasonably threaten it.

Some super high altitude fort or abbey or the like.

>>4107265
>We need to focus on incorporating what we’ve learned into newer, more lasting defenses.
and
>>4107295
"I may lose a battle, but I shall never lose a minute." -- Napoleon

>>4107265
“Cannon fire is going to be a problem if the Inquisition returns,” you declare, “and we can’t rely on tactics like what we pulled this time. So rammed-earth glacis embankments should go in front of the town battery wall as an outwork. Blackthorn Keep itself should have a lower roofline and lower towers, bringing it all down to a fifteen-foot curtain wall with barbettes at the corner, storage tower, and tower gate, with twelve guns total.”

“The main walls will be broadened to ten feet tapering to a five foot square course of rammed earth faced in reclaimed stones. The ground floor of the keep is already set into the rock by three feet, so the ceilings should be lowered to ten feet on the ground floor and eight on the upper. The lower faussibrae would be converted to storage vaults underneath a reinforced glacis.”

“That should shrug off the twelve-pound standard Hazari guns, and will probably defeat even the twenty-six pound guns used in heavier fortifications.”

“How long will that take to complete?” Helen asks warily.

“Several weeks for the walls and new glacis slopes,” you decide. “Internal changes to the keep will take longer, for example to reroute the internal plumbing, but shouldn’t interfere in daily business.”

“I assume that’s not your only suggestion?” Helen sighs, picking up on the subtle hints from your body language. “What else do you have in mind?”

“And how do we actually start fighting back?” Jenna demands. “I assume you’ve given that some thought?”

“We should begin looking at nearby settlements that can be defended,” you declare.

[How ambitious.]

“It’s more a matter of finding ways to help people help themselves,” you admit. “There are too few of us to turn the tide personally, but Scaithness showed that regular people can defy the Inquisition.”

“That’s our plan of attack?” Jenna presses.

“From what I’ve heard the Inquisition turns on success,” you explain. “When their leaders are unsuccessful, their subordinates begin to turn on them… and maintaining supply lines through territory littered with counter-forts will be difficult. The Inquisition will start to lose engagements, and its forwardmost units will be poorer-equipped.”

“When you can’t aim a blow at the body, aim instead for the heart.”

>I’d suggest focusing on larger settlements with pre-existing defenses.
>I’d suggest constructing standardized fortlets near the roads for forces loyal to Noventus.
>I’d suggest a hybrid approach utilizing slighted fortresses from the civil war era.
>Other?

>>4108583
To clarify: this implies that Noel has figured out from her conversations with the Inquisitorial officer that momentum is the Inquisition's greatest weak spot. As soon as they lose momentum people are less likely to go along with their bullshit.

>>4108583
>>I’d suggest a hybrid approach utilizing slighted fortresses from the civil war era.

>>4108583
>If the goal is to inflict more defeats on the Inquisition, instead of trying to protect multiple targets, it would be better to present a single very juicy target that they'd want to attack, where we can give battle on our conditions with concentrated forces.

>>4108600
sure, lets the inquisition take over all those other cities and villages including the fortresses, while we isolate us in a single place that they could just surround and ignore, making all our effort wasted energy

>>4108611
That's why we need to make them REALLY want to attack that specific place. Their result-orientedness should help in this.

>>4108625
their favorite result, is gonna be taking every single city and village, there is nothing beyond the king declaring them emperor they want more

>>4108629
>there is nothing beyond the king declaring them emperor they want more
We've been told about the Inquisition's goals just a few posts ago, and they were not this.

>>4108634
supremecy is easier as emperor, don't dare to think for a second that their leadership wouldn't take the title of king
every religious extrem claims to want to "purefy their faith, to serve the one true lord", in the end that means i want to be at the very top of the foodchain

>>4108643
Oh the Inquisition leadership certainly would like supreme power. But as long as their stated goal is to purify, they can't afford to ignore Claymores, or else their political opponents will use this to defame and depose them.

>>4108656
sure, but its not enough to just retreat to one place and hope they ignore everything else
they are big enough to put a large number of soldiers on claymore extermination duty and would have enough to take other towns and its exactly that we try to prevent
the idea that we could provide something they want enough to ignore those tonws is ludicrous

>>4108663
That's why we shouldn't retreat, but lay a trap with a suitable bait instead. Something their leadership would make a grab for to raise their prestige.

>>4108583
>I’d suggest a hybrid approach utilizing slighted fortresses from the civil war era.

>>4108583
>I’d suggest a hybrid approach utilizing slighted fortresses from the civil war era.

>>4108664
their goal is to conquer the world. Why bother with a group of claymores and one measly fort when the rest of the world is free real estate? They won't fall the same target not after their first failed attempt.

>>4108676
If their goal was just to conquer the world they wouldn't have bothered with Claymores at all. Yet they did.

>>4108583
>>I’d suggest a hybrid approach utilizing slighted fortresses from the civil war era.
SENGOKU JIDAI

File: Map-Hazaran-Jan-2020.png (391 KB, 584x546)

391 KB PNG

>>4108583
“I suggest a hybrid approach,” you decide aloud. “There are plenty of slighted castles and fortresses around Hazaran from the civil war era. Local communities could easily reactivate them by using rammed earth improvements.”

You spend the next hour or so with your cohort debating which castles are close enough to likely logistical routes. What you jointly settle on are just three settlements along the Hazari-Cuilan border which are situated at the major mountain passes in the region: Caan, Balloch, and Bladnock.

There are old fortresses near each of those settlements: the towerhouse of Caan was never deliberately slighted and provides a commanding view of the surrounding area, making it an ideal site for a raiding camp. The castle at Balloch was totally destroyed in battle, but there’s an old circular dun nearby that predates the castle. This dun is about sixty feet across and thirty high and is in shockingly good repair, making it a fantastic platform from which to shoot. Some smaller earthen ramparts and ditches would turn it into something more defensible. The castle at Bladnock was only slighted along one wall: new timber or earthen pallisades would reactivate Bladnock castle with little new investment of effort.

With fortresses at each of these locations and a major presence at Baiko, the entire eastern third of Hazaran would be effectively denied to the Inquisition.

“It’s a good plan if we can put it into effect,” Helen agrees.

>I’ll speak to Noventus about arranging troops and supply lines.
>We should start from the ground up and approach leaders in those three settlements.
>Expanding what looks like our “influence” makes dealing with Sigmunt a necessity.
>Other?

>>4109022
>>I’ll speak to Noventus about arranging troops and supply lines.
>>We should start from the ground up and approach leaders in those three settlements.
"Any volunteers?"

>>4109022
>>Expanding what looks like our “influence” makes dealing with Sigmunt a necessity.

>>4109022
>I’ll speak to Noventus about arranging troops and supply lines.
>We should start from the ground up and approach leaders in those three settlements.

>>4109022
>I’ll speak to Noventus about arranging troops and supply lines.
>We should start from the ground up and approach leaders in those three settlements.

>>4109022
>I’ll speak to Noventus about arranging troops and supply lines.
>We should start from the ground up and approach leaders in those three settlements.

Arrive at the head of a column of troops.

>>4109022
“I’ll speak to Noventus,” you decide. “He and I can arrange logistics… it’ll be easier to convince the locals of our plan if we have the obvious military support prepared.”

…

“Welcome back,” Noventus greets you several days later, with Justina at your side this time instead of Laura. “I see you brought a different one of your comrades this time.”

“Marshal,” Justina returns the greeting with a stiff bow.

“I trust you’ve heard of the battle at Scaithness?” you ask.

He nods curtly. “From what I hear the Inquisition’s losses were appalling, and that morale took a series of unexpected blows.”

“That’s accurate,” you admit, “and your assumption that we had something to do with those morale hits isn’t inaccurate.”

“So what have you come here to discuss?” Noventus asks you, clearing his desk of several papers he was reading and annotating when you arrived.

“Reactivating the Caan towerhouse, Dun Glenten outside Balloch, and Castle Bladnock,” you explain curtly, “as well as logistical arrangements for the same.”

Noventus considers it for several seconds. “You wish to place defended fortresses along the eastern border to patrol the passes into southeast Hazaran, as well as to launch raids into the south against Inquisition logistics?”

You nod in agreement. “I see you’ve given it some thought yourself.”

“It’s possible that could work,” he agrees. “But it would take some careful consideration of how to make it work best.”

“I was thinking a rammed-earth bulwark meeting the walls on either side of where it was slighted for Castle Bladnock,” you explain, “and either glacis slopes or earthen bulwarks around the towerhouse. Dun Glenten is a bit tougher, but a circular rampart with ditches could enclose a raiding camp.”

“Sounds like three hundred-man detachments,” Noventus reasons. “Probably one bronze gun for Dun Glenten, not clear how many for the other two sites. Supplies should only go in when the defenses are established.”

“You’re agreeing?” Justina asks curtly.

Noventus nods. “Absolutely. I’m tired of sitting on my hands hoping against all reason that Sigmunt decides to take action.”

>I’ll lead the formation into each location, then move on.
>I’ll speak with the local leadership for each settlement.
>I need to be elsewhere. My cohort will want to resume our usual duties as soon as possible.
>Other?

>>4110181
>>I’ll lead the formation into each location, then move on.
>>I’ll speak with the local leadership for each settlement.
we probably should combine these, also, its probably best if we appear as the face of the claymores, so that helen isn't in their line of sight

>>4110181
>I’ll lead the formation into each location, then move on.
>I’ll speak with the local leadership for each settlement.

>>4110181
>I’ll speak with the local leadership for each settlement.

>>4110181
>>I’ll speak with the local leadership for each settlement.

>>4110181
>>I’ll lead the formation into each location, then move on.
>>I’ll speak with the local leadership for each settlement.

>>4110181
>circular rampart with ditches could enclose a raiding camp.”
Why not a Vauban star? A full fortress is a bit much, but still. . .

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180 KB JPG

>>4110181
You decide that the best way of securing the local communities’ cooperation would be to speak with them each in turn before the troops move in.

…

The first settlement is Bladnock, to the southeast of Baiko where the forces loyal to Noventus are centered. It’s a decently-sized town with only one major road, which is the mountain pass from Cuilan which runs through the wide valley here. That road itself shadows the course of a shallow mountain river, with the buildings mainly terraced either on the side of the road or the opposite side of the river.

Bladnock castle overlooks the settlement atop a wooded ridge to the west, where the river forks. You and Justina both take an interest in the castle first and foremost, wanting to see what sort of state it is in.

“Not great,” Justina declares.

“They took out the curtain wall,” you observe, before heading over on foot to climb the crag that the castle was built onto. “The towers are also in rough shape, but they should be sound enough for cannon.”

“And the new wall?” Justina asks you.

You gesture down from the slighted segment of wall. “Right here, from tower to tower.

“I see,” she nods in understanding. “Not a big task.”

“Compared to the defenses at Scaithness at least,” you agree. “Let’s talk with the locals.”

…

The town of Bladnock itself is lively, a place where people live and go about their own business rather than simply a place for travelers to stop on the way across the border. Lots of second-floor entrances though, speaking to a keen awareness of the threats of raiders and yōma alike. The town hall is in a fortified tower house, which is entered across a drawbridge that meets the small road running next to the riverbank.

“Looks like the place,” you say, gesturing to Justina to head inside.

Immediately, there are guards ready and armed with eight-foot halberds who bar your way.

“State your business!” one barks.

Without bothering to explain, Justina takes her sword and tosses it aside where it embeds itself in the floor near what appears to be a coat rack.

“We need to speak to the mayor,” you insist. “It’s important business from Baiko.”

“Bullshit,” the guard counters. “Get out before we throw you out.”

“Try,” Justina replies curtly.
>1/2

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>>4112302
It goes about how you’d expect.

Justina effortlessly snaps the haft of the first man’s halberd, wrenching the broken end from his hand and using it to snap the other haft with a single, powerful blow. When the first man rallies and tries to hit you with the broad axe-head of his weapon, which you simply catch.

“Please stop,” you ask wearily, even as the man tries to pull his weapon out of your grasp. “We’re not here to cause a problem.”

Backup swiftly emerges from adjacent rooms, all armed the same.

“Come on now,” you grumble. “Let’s all just act reasonably here?”

“What the HELL is going on down here!?” a man bellows loudly from the stairs in front of you. He looks as though once upon a time he could snap your average man in half and eat him alive, maybe thirty years ago. Now he walks with a pronounced limp, and his muscles have atrophied somewhat, though the framework of a much more powerful and imposing man is still all there.

“Sir!” the nearest guard barks. “We’re dealing with these intruders...”

“Oh by the wee little man,” the governor sighs dramatically. “Those are silver-eyed witches you imbecile. What exactly were you hoping to accomplish here? Because whatever it was… that’s not going to happen.”

“… sir?”

“What do you two want?” the old man demands as he crosses the floor to approach you. “There’ve been no yōma active round here lately.”

“We have a message from Baiko,” you announce. “Lord Noventus wants to reactivate the old castle.”

“And use it to raid the Inquisition’s supplies if they bring them through here again,” the old governor nods along in understanding. “Sure. Nothing’d make me happier to see the Inquisition gone from this corner of Hazaran.”

“But I have to think of my own citizens first.”

>It would be a military operation led by the garrison at Baiko. Your people wouldn’t be involved.
>Have you heard what happened in Scaithness? Militarily speaking the Inquisition are amateurs.
>What if Balloch, Caan, and Scaithness were all in support of the same unified plan?
>Other?

>>4112333
>>Have you heard what happened in Scaithness? Militarily speaking the Inquisition are amateurs.
>>What if Balloch, Caan, and Scaithness were all in support of the same unified plan?

>>4112333
>>What if Balloch, Caan, and Scaithness were all in support of the same unified plan?

>>4112333
>Have you heard what happened in Scaithness? Militarily speaking the Inquisition are amateurs.
>What if Balloch, Caan, and Scaithness were all in support of the same unified plan?

>>4112333
>What if Balloch, Caan, and Scaithness were all in support of the same unified plan?

>>4112333
“If Balloch, Caan, and Scaithness were all to agree to coordinate efforts,” you ask, “would that change your thoughts on the matter?”

“Certainly,” the governor agrees.

“Then we’ll be back,” you insist.

“In the mean time?” Justina asks.

“In the mean time, would it be agreeable if the men began preparing the castle?” you ask.

“What will that involve?” the governor asks.

“Barracks, plumbing, supplies, and a rammed-earth rampart around the slighted wall,” you explain.

“No cannon?” the governor asks.

You shake your head. “Not until they can go in at all three locations at once.”

“Three locations?”

“Scaithness already has its guns,” you inform him. “Blackthorn Keep is undergoing a massive reconstruction to improve its performance against cannonfire.”

“Blackthorn Keep is still a Royal stronghold,” the governor muses. “How’d you get permission to reactivate it?”

>I don’t need anyone’s permission.
>The garrison and I came to an agreement.
>It’s my castle, so my rules.
>Other?

>>4112701
>The garrison and I came to an agreement.

>>4112701
The garrison and I came to an agreement

>>4112701
>>The garrison and I came to an agreement.

>>4112701
>The garrison and I came to an agreement.

>>4112701
>The garrison and I came to an agreement.

>>4112701
>It’s my castle, so my rules.

>>4112701
“The garrison came to an understanding with our cohort,” you reply vaguely. “And with some help from Noventus we reactivated the defenses around Scaithness.”

“So you want me to believe that you negotiated all of this?” the governor demands, narrowing his eyes at you in appraisal. “Who are you?”

“Warriors,” Justina replies flatly.

“We still have a lot of pull in some places,” you clarify. “Especially when several of us are Hazari.”

“I wasn’t aware that silver-eyed witches held such sentimentalities.”

“None of us were born to this,” you point out.

“Then I guess we’ll see what progress you make with the other settlements,” the governor replies.

You nod politely, before excusing yourselves.

…

“Jerk,” Justina grumbles once you’ve left the town hall.

You find yourself tacitly agreeing with the assessment. “We’ll just have to make sure that Balloch and Caan agree… Balloch is next. Dun Glenten is outside the town, a little like the Castle here.”

“How do we make the argument?” Justin asks you. “Same plan?”

>I guess we can do worse than painting Bladnock’s response as more favorable than it was.
>We could come up with a clearer plan, I suppose. Give more exact, practical details.
>We could do more to really milk the victory at Scaithness for all it’s worth.
>Other?

>>4114220
>We could come up with a clearer plan, I suppose. Give more exact, practical details.
>We could do more to really milk the victory at Scaithness for all it’s worth.

>>4114220
>>We could come up with a clearer plan, I suppose. Give more exact, practical details.
>>We could do more to really milk the victory at Scaithness for all it’s worth.

>>4114220
>I guess we can do worse than painting Bladnock’s response as more favorable than it was.
>We could do more to really milk the victory at Scaithness for all it’s worth.

>>4114220
>We could come up with a clearer plan, I suppose. Give more exact, practical details.
>We could do more to really milk the victory at Scaithness for all it’s worth.

>>4114220
“There are some things we could do differently this time,” you suggest.

“Like plans?” Justina asks with an arched brow.

“That’s one good plan,” you agree. “To the extent we can do that. But we should also do more to play up the victory in Scaithness.”

“Understood.”

…

When you arrive at Dun Glenten, you find that the old fortification is in rough shape. Though on closer inspection of the upper course of the dun it’s fairly clear that a floor can be put in place to turn the whole thing into a large barbette. You could easily fit four guns up here, though the new wooden floor could probably only support two at most.

“Atmospheric,” Justina muses.

“It’d be easy to cover over the dun’s outer wall with dirt,” you suggest. “Give it some extra timbering inside to reinforce the stone wall.”

“And the surroundings?”

You look over the site and determine a reasonable course of improvement: there’s plenty of topsoil here and around the base of the dun, so it should be fairly easy to build two concentric rings: one wooden palisade with a ditch then a low ridge.

“That should allow for a small defended encampment around the dun itself,” you suggest, “with the base of the dun serving as a storehouse.”

“Agreed,” Justina nods curtly after looking over your hand-drawn notes.

…

Balloch is remarkably colder than the last settlement, and smaller as well. The town is mostly low whitewashed buildings enclosed by rammed earth walls topped by wooden palisades. You gather that it’s the thickness of the walls and the small doors which mostly defend the settlement, as well as the fact that all of the windows are either in the ceilings or on the second floors.

>3d10, best of three

Rolled 4, 1, 9 = 14 (3d10)

>>4114463

Rolled 4, 1, 7 = 12 (3d10)

>>4114463

Rolled 9, 3, 7 = 19 (3d10)

>>4114463

Rolled 5, 3, 10 = 18 (3d10)

>>4114463

>>4114463
You quickly pick up on a key facet of life in this town: since it seems to have grown out of a much smaller settlement, there are no large buildings here that could be identified as administrative. So in all likelihood what you’re dealing with here is a commune.

So instead you approach a well-dressed man in the center of the community. “I’m Noel, this is Justina. We have important information for the community of Balloch.”

Justina simply bows curtly.

The man returns that bow politely. “I can call some of the other consuls. Please wait here.”

Then the man leaves.

Justina spares you a glance. “That went well?”

“So far,” you agree.

…

“So you say the Inquisition was repelled from Scaithness?”

You nod curtly. “Decisively, yes.”

“While that is good news, how confident are you that this plan of yours will be safe for our community?” comes the logical question from one of the six “consuls” who seem to make the decisions around here.

>Very, especially as part of a cohesive border defense against the Inquisition.
>It will make you safer overall, though the Inquisition will take offense at the military installation.
>Even if it pokes the Inquisition in their proverbial eye, you’re better off defended from them than surrendering to them.
>Other?

>>4114526
>>Even if it pokes the Inquisition in their proverbial eye, you’re better off defended from them than surrendering to them.
>They are zealots, they kill at will anyone who so much as disagrees with them, and Our new "ruler" is too scared of them to properly fight. The capital is already at war, and if you do not stand against them, they WILL come and take all your men of fighting age to fund their wars. They are the tyranny of religion writ large.

>>4114526
>Very, especially as part of a cohesive border defense against the Inquisition.

>>4114526
>>Very, especially as part of a cohesive border defense against the Inquisition.

>>4114526
>>Very, especially as part of a cohesive border defense against the Inquisition.

>>4114526
>Very, especially as part of a cohesive border defense against the Inquisition.
>If you're thinking that this might provoke the Inquisition, you should know they don't need a provocation.

>>4114526
“The streets of the Capital are already a war zone at night,” you observe calmly. “If you’re thinking this might provoke the Inquisition you’re working on a false assumption that they need provocation.”

“So would it make us safer or less safe?” one of the other consuls asks.

“Safer,” you reply definitively. “Especially if you factor in the full network of border fortifications. It will mean safety from the Inquisition, from bandits, and easier access to our services in case of yōma attack.”

The first man you met today seems somewhat confused. “How would it do that?”

“The Inquisition hates us,” Justina observes stoically.

You take a moment to clarify her point. “They’d let you all be eaten by yōma before they’d let you contact us. Their heartland in Noroit is basically off-limits to the Organization.”

…

After an hour or so of deliberation behind closed doors, the consuls of Balloch give you a positive reply. They’ll do what they can to welcome the soldiers who are coming to establish a base of operations at Dun Glenten.

"So a towerhouse is next?" Justina asks you.

You nod thoughtfully. "Yes, it's the only one of the three that was ever a private residence."

"Is it now?" she asks.

Honestly, you're not sure whether that's the case right now.

>Head to the Caan towerhouse and see who might be living there right now.
>Head to Caan and speak to the authorities first.
>Other?

>>4114917
>>Head to the Caan towerhouse and see who might be living there right now.

>>4114917
>>Head to the Caan towerhouse and see who might be living there right now.

>>4114917
>>Head to the Caan towerhouse and see who might be living there right now.

>>4114917
>>Head to the Caan towerhouse and see who might be living there right now.

>>4114917
>Head to the Caan towerhouse and see who might be living there right now.

>>4114917
>Head to the Caan towerhouse and see who might be living there right now.

File: barholm.jpg (25 KB, 432x325)

25 KB JPG

>>4114917
You decide that it would be prudent to figure out who is currently inhabiting the towerhouse outside of Caan, since it’s primarily a residential building, and Justina offers no counterargument.

…

The towerhouse sits near the top of a hill which overlooks the town of Caan, which itself occupies a high, almost shield-shaped hill immediately adjacent. Its walls are plastered white over thick courses of stone, with an L-shaped floorplan and at least three stories. This floorplan allows defensive fire from the long walls of the L to fire on the door located in the short crook of the L.

It’s in beautiful condition, practically what you would call “move-in ready”.

“Looks good,” Justina confirms.

“We could add a low rammed-earth or brick conservatory with a flat top for cannon,” you suggest, “diagonally opposite the entrance. Make it into a Z-plan tower. Demolishing some of the base of the L would allow cannon to be placed there as well.”

“Fewer soldiers?” she asks.

You nod curtly. “Probably, yes.”

“Let’s see who’s home,” Justina suggests.

…

You walk up to the towerhouse cautiously, watching for any sign that the building is defended by anyone who might want to take a shot or two at you. But nothing happens, right up until you knock at the heavy wooden doors.

After nearly a full minute, the door opens to reveal the shapely figure of a middle-aged woman with messy hair.

“Welcome,” she greets you from mostly behind the door. “Do you have an appointment?”

“An appointment?” you repeat.

The woman nods. “We run a respectable establishment here, but we’re not so choosy as to turn away a couple of witches so long as you make an appointment.”

“I’m lost,” Justina admits.

>So am I. Maybe we’ll have better luck in town?
>Wait, an appointment for what exactly?
>So, this has been turned into a brothel now or what?
>Other?

>>4116317
>>Wait, an appointment for what exactly?

>>4116317
>Wait, an appointment for what exactly?

>>4116317
>>Wait, an appointment for what exactly?

>>4116317
>>Wait, an appointment for what exactly?

>>4116317
>So, this has been turned into a brothel now or what?

>>4116317
>>Wait, an appointment for what exactly?
my bet is on this being a brothel

>>4116317
>>Wait, an appointment for what exactly?

>>4116317
>Wait, an appointment for what exactly?

>>4116317
“An appointment for what, exactly?”

The messy-haired woman stares at you like the answer should be obvious. “All of the things you can’t do in town, of course!”

“Which is?” you ask.

“Don’t you know?” she asks. “The new laws in town prohibit the three things you can do here that the Inquisition doesn’t like… drinking, gambling, and whoring.”

“We’ve gotta screen our patrons because of that.”

“Drinking, gambling, and whoring,” Justina repeats with a frown.

You tend to agree… it’s hard to tell whether it’s mostly a gambling den with benefits, a whorehouse with gambling, or a tavern with more sex. Whatever it is, having centralized the “vice” of this town and its surroundings means that there’s likely to be some resistance to the idea of moving its residents, especially if this was done out of fear of the Inquisition.

“We need to speak with whoever’s in charge here,” you tell the woman at the door. “Regional politics has come knocking.”

“What, so you’re not here to spend money?” the woman asks with a frown, before leaning back and shouting into the building. “Hey, we’ve got a couple of deadbeats out here! What should I do?”

You roll your eyes and push the door open, forcing the woman to stumble backwards.

“Hey, what’s the big idea!?”

“If you’re not going to convey the message properly then you’re just a nuisance,” you declare.

It seems that nobody’s happy to see you here… patrons and working girls alike protest loudly as you walk into the main part of the building. At least the walls are thick here, masonry over a stone-block core probably ten feet thick in total.

“What the hell’s all this then?” a plump woman behind a polished wooden bar demands.

“They just forced their way in!” the girl from the door complains. “Not a word of explanation!”

“It’s business,” Justina counters tersely.

“We already told you that,” you add, before turning to the woman who seems like the ‘Madame’ here in this establishment. “We’re here because this building’s going to be reactivated as a defensive position, along with Dun Glenten outside Balloch and Bladnock Castle.”

“This ain’t a castle anymore,” the madame observes pointedly. “It’s a whorehouse where you can gamble, a gambling den with whores… hell if I know what to call it, but it’s what we have to work with. And it certainly ain’t no castle.”
>1/2

>>4118236
“It’s a whorehouse with ten-foot-thick walls,” you counter. “It’s not that I’m not sympathetic because you’re whores… you could be farmers, you could be merchants, you could be gentry. If you were gentry I’d probably actually not care.”

“The fact of the matter is that we need this building… we need this building in particular. So we really can't just give up here.”

“And so where the hell’re we supposed to go?” the madame demands. “The cowards over there in Caan kicked us out so the Inquisition’d stop bugging them. Let that column of troops just roll right on through.”

“A column?” you ask. “How many troops?”

“I’d say a few hundred at least,” the madame answers. “Maybe a thousand. The hell does it matter?”

“That’s the force that attacked Scaithness,” you muse, sharing a glance with Justina. “About three out of every four of them that you saw come through here aren’t going to be leaving Scaithness.”

The madame narrows her eyes, leaning towards you across the bar. “They got beat?”

“Soundly,” you nod. “With only a few dozen wounded or killed on the other side.”

“Well shit,” the madame replies. “That’s some good news at least… but what’s it got to do with us here?”

“It shows you why we need this towerhouse,” you reply. “The Inquisition can be beaten, but we need the planning and the infrastructure to do it. That’s why we’re here.”

“That’s great and all,” the madame sighs loudly. “But I’m tellin’ you, we ain’t got anywhere else to go!”

>What if the military detachment here builds you a walled compound of your own?
>What if Caan decided to take you back if it meant driving off the Inquisition?
>… how many girls do you have here, and how wedded are they to whoring?
>Other?

>>4118253
>>What if Caan decided to take you back if it meant driving off the Inquisition?

>>4118253
>What if the military detachment here builds you a walled compound of your own?
>AND they will likely spend their salaries with you.

>>4118283
>>4118253
i support this

>>4118253
>… how many girls do you have here, and how wedded are they to whoring?

>>4118253
>>What if Caan decided to take you back if it meant driving off the Inquisition?

>>4118253
>… how many girls do you have here, and how wedded are they to whoring?
>Other?
Camp followers?
Mobile Military Brothel?
Baggage train?
How about they become a support troop?

>>4118406
how about a spy network of whores?

>>4118762
The perfect cover.

>>4118253
>>4118283
In with this.

Is there a reason why none of these people seem at all surprised by Claymores suddenly taking part in human affairs? This seems awfully unprecedented.

I thought people were pretty superstitious about them, not to mention suspicious, in the first place, but they aren't really even getting that response either.

>>4119601
Partly Hazaris don't give as much of a fuck as other people, and partly because Noel's cohort has been unusually active in the region for two years.

>>4118253
“How many girls do you have working here, and how attached are they to the idea of whoring?”

Your questions seem to catch the madame off her guard. “Twenty girls, and… they’re whores? I paid their contracts an all.”

“So some of them might not want to be whores?” you press.

“… what the hell are you gettin’ at, witch?”

“Alternative employment,” Justina smirks.

“The military governor pays off the contracts and puts your girls to work instead of kicking them out,” you clarify. “Cooking, cleaning, minor repairs, keeping the fires and candles going. Good honest work.”

“Any takers?”

Of the twelve working girls currently downstairs, all twelve slowly raise their hands.

“Now hang on there,” the madame interrupts. “Who says I’m in the sellin’ mood?”

>If it’s lost profits you’re worried about, the military governor can make this deal worth your while.
>You’re lucky you’re getting this much out of us as it is, you human piece of filth.
>If we don’t come to a deal, there are twenty girls here who know where you sleep.
>Other?

>>4119797
>>You’re lucky you’re getting this much out of us as it is, you human piece of filth.

>>4119797
>If we don’t come to a deal, there are twenty girls here who know where you sleep.

>>4119797
>If we don’t come to a deal, there are twenty girls here who know where you sleep.

>>4119797
>If it’s lost profits you’re worried about, the military governor can make this deal worth your while.

>>4119797
>>If it’s lost profits you’re worried about, the military governor can make this deal worth your while.

>>4119797
>If it’s lost profits you’re worried about, the military governor can make this deal worth your while.

>If it’s lost profits you’re worried about, the military governor can make this deal worth your while.

While the other two options are certainly more cathartic, I feel like Noel would be a bit more diplomatic.

>>4119797
>Other?
Would you prefer negotiating with us, or the Inquisition?

>>4119774
Ah. The fact that they have been around doing their splinter group thing for that long just hadn't sunk in for me. That makes sense.

>>4119797
She can find new whores to whore for her. Especially if she takes the lump sum from the sold contracts to turn the new free building she's going to get into a higher quality establishment that can afford to take better care of its workers. Once the steady business from the off duty soldiers kicks in, she'll be far better off for it.

Or she can take her chances on her own and enjoy explaining why she and her interests are much more important than the rest of the town's.

>>4119797
“If it’s lost profits you’re concerned about that won’t be a problem,” you explain. “With a new building purpose-built, and a large sum from paying off several contracts at once? Do you really think that’s going to be a problem?”

All eyes are suddenly on the madame behind her bar.

She stares awkwardly back for a moment, shocked at having been confronted by a perfectly logical alternative to trying to hardball two silver-eyed warriors backed by the military governor of Baiko.

>3d10, best of four

Rolled 7, 9, 2 = 18 (3d10)

>>4121985

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4121985

Rolled 4, 8, 7 = 19 (3d10)

>>4121985

Rolled 8, 8, 8 = 24 (3d10)

>>4121985

>>4121985
Technically we do need one more.

Rolled 4, 1, 8 = 13 (3d10)

>>4121985

>>4121985
She seems like she wants to argue, until she gets a better look at her “employees”… at least one of which has a clear look on her face that she intends to do exactly what you considered threatening the madame with. She must realize that if she doesn’t strike some sort of bargain here the likelihood of her waking up in the morning with a slit throat increases dramatically.

“I… think we can come to an agreement,” she eventually replies. “It’s just a matter of terms...”

“Give me their contracts,” you tell her sternly. “I’ll also be copying your own records on their progress towards debt payment. Where do you keep those?”

“I’m under no...”

“You are,” Justina interrupts.

You nod sagely. “We’re not just going to take your word for it. We’ll need to be able to tell the military governor exactly how much they owe.”

“So hand over the documents and we’ll get this done.”

There’s a long pause.

Justina’s eyes narrow. “You don’t have them.”

There’s another long pause.

“I don’t have them.”

“You don’t have them,” you repeat. “You don’t have which documents?”

“… the debt records.”

“So you didn’t keep track of how close these women are to paying off their debts,” you press.

“That’s right.”

“You weren’t keeping track!?” one of the women shouts angrily. “It’s been two years!”

>We’ll give you half the original contract values. I suggest you take it.
>You get the building, and I’ll keep these women from murdering you.
>I’ll offer you a head start. That’s all you get.
>Other?

>>4122298
>>You get the building, and I’ll keep these women from murdering you.

>>4122298
>you get a head start

>>4122298
>>I’ll offer you a head start. That’s all you get.

>>4122298
>>I’ll offer you a head start. That’s all you get.

>>4122298
>I’ll offer you a head start. That’s all you get.

>>4122298
Oi vey. We didn't sign up for this.

Kind of want to avoid mob justice though.

>You get the building, and I’ll keep these women from murdering you.

With the caveat that she WILL face justice for any malfeasance she's committed under Hazari law.

We just want to avoid a reputation for tossing land owners to the mob. That's a good way to get powerful people conspiring against you.

>>4122298
>>You get the building, and I’ll keep these women from murdering you.

>>4122298
>>You get the building, and I’ll keep these women from murdering you.

>>4122298
WE get the building right?
>You get the building, and I’ll keep these women from murdering you.
>Other?
Also let her take some posseions and some money.

Last thing we need is her helping the inquisition in revenge, or getting eaten by Yoma and making us look bad.

>>4122298
>You get the building, and I’ll keep these women from murdering you.

>>4122298
>I’ll offer you a head start. That’s all you get.

>>4122298
>You get the building, and I’ll keep these women from murdering you.

>>4122298
“So here’s the offer I’m going to make you,” you tell her with a withering glare. “I’ll give you until sundown to get as many of your belongings out of here as you can, and I’ll have the detachment garrisoned here build you a new building to work with. I’ll also try to convince the women here not to slit your throat.”

“In exchange, we get everything. You give us this building, you release the women from their contracts, you take the financial hit such as it amounts to.”

“That’s the best you’ll get,” Justina informs her.

After a moment, one of the male patrons offers his own opinion. “I think you should take the scary lady up on that.”

“You’ll get no help from me,” another patron shrugs. “Even we scum have our own rules, and you broke ‘em. You’re less than scum.”

“You’re not gettin’ any more of my money,” a third man declares.

“Get moving,” one of the working girls suggests. “The longer you stay the sorer the temptation.”

...

The sight of the former madame slinking out of the building with a trunk stuffed with silks and coin is a strangely unsatisfying one… she had almost certainly earned worse. Prostitution is a distasteful business model to begin with, but to do so in such an explicitly exploitative way makes it even worse. Under your father a legal framework started to emerge for “vice businesses” like this one, though under Sigmunt it seems that framework has fallen out of enforcement.

A ruler doesn’t have to actively remove the laws in order to undermine them. Sometimes just refusing to enforce them is sufficient.

Since the business is now closed, the various patrons make their way out of the towerhouse… though not before some of them finish up their games of cards and dice, and pay the women for their drinks instead of paying the madame.

“I never thought I’d say this to a silver-eyed slayer, but thanks for coming in today,” one of the women, who has been leading the reorganization, tells you with a polite nod. “Can I ask your names?”

“Justina,” your partner bows politely.

“Noel.”

“So you’re named after the Princess too?” the woman smiles. “I have a little sister named Noel. She’s still on the croft with my mother… and my no-good, deadbeat father I’d imagine.”

>Actually, I was named after my grandmother.
>Actually, your little sister was named after me.
>Yeah, something like that.
>Other?

>>4123732
>>Yeah, something like that.

>>4123732
>Actually, your little sister was named after me.

>>4123732
>>Yeah, something like that.

>>4123732
>Yeah, something like that.

>>4123732
>Yeah, something like that.

>>4123732
>Actually, I was named after my grandmother.

>>4123732
>Actually, I was named after my grandmother.

>>4123732
“Something like that,” you reply, refusing to give even a hint as to your true identity.

…

Work begins to come together on the fortifications with remarkable speed.

The towerhouse at Caan is quickly surrounded by ditches and walls, and work begins on converting it into a Z-plan tower with low gun platforms at the diagonal opposites. Similar ditches and walls are placed around Dun Glenten, and the old tower itself is quickly given a timber floor for its new compliment of bronze guns. Castle Bladnock’s replacement wall hardly has a chance to set, but rises in near-record time.

Work on Blackthorn Keep is more complicated and so of course takes more time, as it was always bound to. The rammed-earth embankments are framed and being filled by the time you return, and these are quickly left to set over a course of weeks. Meanwhile the gun towers are swiftly lowered with the help of your cohort, and material is moved to increase the height of the curtain walls.

Rammed earth is placed atop those walls after several weeks of nearly nonstop work, after which you’re obliged to move into tents in the courtyard while workers rearrange the floors inside the keep proper.

…

On the other hand, Scaithness has grown into a much more welcoming sort of place since the planned invasion was repelled. This can’t be seen more clearly than in the formation of a small ensemble of musicians, who actually invite you and your cohort into the city center for their first official performance not long after you’re effectively kicked out of your own keep.

There are a few missions to go after yōma, the notifications of which trickle in from the corners of Hazaran and even across the border in inner Tarsus. But even that eternal problem seems to subside slightly, almost worryingly. Perhaps it has something to do with the defeat of that organized group of yōma which interrupted the battle around Scaithness, perhaps not.

…

One afternoon, a letter finds you at the gatehouse, across the drawbridge at Blackthorn Keep, where you’ve been spending your time resting in the open air a bit further away from the noise of the construction work.

“A letter from the capital,” the man informs you before handing the envelope over.

Turning it over, you see it marked with a signet seal you’ve never seen before. Puzzled, you take it to old man Gaius to see if he recognizes it.

“That’s the seal as your father designed for you to use one day, when you was just a wee lass,” Gaius explains sadly. “Seems that bastard Sigmunt’s taken even that.”

“So it’s from him?” you ask. “You can confirm that?”

Gaius nods firmly. “Aye, that I can.”
>1/2

>>4124116
“He wants what?” Helen presses after you read your cohort the contents of the letter.

“He wants to meet me at Baiko,” you repeat.

“Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” Laura asks you.

You shrug. “I won’t know until I go. The whole thing’s written in diplomacy-speak, meaning it’s difficult to draw any conclusions.”

Helen seems almost at a loss for words. “I… guess it’s entirely your call? Human politics are your thing, not mine.”

>Toss the note in the campfire and go on with your life.
>Go alone. This needs to be sorted out and only you have to be involved.
>Take three other warriors. Impressing Sigmunt’s chosen soldiers will be crucial in doing this bloodlessly.
>Other?

>>4124118
>>Take three other warriors. Impressing Sigmunt’s chosen soldiers will be crucial in doing this bloodlessly.

>>4124118
>>Take three other warriors. Impressing Sigmunt’s chosen soldiers will be crucial in doing this bloodlessly.

>>4124118
>>Take three other warriors. Impressing Sigmunt’s chosen soldiers will be crucial in doing this bloodlessly.
i would suggest to not take helen, that way the inquisition and Sigmunt don't have her on the radar and killing/hostage taking of Noel wouldn't be as crippeling to the group

>>4124118
>Take three other warriors. Impressing Sigmunt’s chosen soldiers will be crucial in doing this bloodlessly.

>>4124118
>>Take three other warriors. Impressing Sigmunt’s chosen soldiers will be crucial in doing this bloodlessly.

Not gonna risk going into an ambush alone.

>>4124118
>>Take three other warriors. Impressing Sigmunt’s chosen soldiers will be crucial in doing this bloodlessly.

>>4124118
>Other?
Either let him come to us or send a letter back to him telling him such.

Nothing good can come from this meeting, its either a trap, or a Faustian bargain out of desperation and desire to keep power. Probably with the Organization involved somehow, and I am willing to bet Noel's favorite tea cup that it will involve us killing humans or running into something unpleasant from the organization.

>>4124118
>Take three other warriors. Impressing Sigmunt’s chosen soldiers will be crucial in doing this bloodlessly.

>>4124118
“Justina, Serana, Sabrina,” you rattle off the three names that come immediately to mind. “Two defenders and two half-awakened offense-types. I’m also thinking Serana will help with the visual aspect.”

[Explain.]

“Because you look the most “battle-hardened” out of our single-digit warriors,” you explain. “I suspect that impressing Sigmunt’s chosen few will be a key requirement in doing this bloodlessly.”

[You expect him to bring a contingent of his own?]

“To meet with me?” you chuckle. “Hand-selected. Helen? Are you okay with this arrangement?”

After considering who that leaves you at Scaithness and what’s likely to come up in the next week or so, Helen nods in agreement. “That should be fine. Just be sure to all come back in the same number of pieces as you left in.”

“Always,” you agree.

…


“This isn’t what I was hoping for,” Sabrina admits as you approach Baiko.

[What WERE you expecting?]

“Serana asked what you were expecting,” you relay to Sabrina, who’s at the front of the group at the moment.

“Something like this,” Sabrina insists. “But I was hoping for something not/i]-this.”

And honestly, you have to agree. For a man like Sigmunt, not even a proper king, the presence of his personal guard is astoundingly overwrought. Banners are hung in the streets, and at the corners you find men in formal uniforms… either coats with an excess of buttons or a pile of buttons that managed to steal a coat.

“Fashion,” Justina shakes her head dramatically.

“Is this even the fashion back east these days?” you wonder aloud.

“Sadly,” Justina replies bluntly.

The four of you hold in something approaching a closer formation once you actually enter the fortress of Baiko, where you find the entrance flanked by two rows of “royal guards” with halberds and plumed, feathery hats. It’s… enough to make your ancestors cry, you’d imagine. And the colors… there’s a point where too much gold becomes ostentatious, and clearly Sigmunt just didn’t care when they passed it in designing these uniforms. But for the sake of appearances you keep a straight face as you pass them.

... barely.
>1/2

>>4125581
“Thank you for responding to my invitation,” Sigmunt greets you as you enter Marshal Noventus’ personal offices. Noventus is sitting in a chair by the wall without a desk, while Sigmunt is seated comfortably behind the desk where Noventus would otherwise be sitting.

Sallow, greasy-haired, and sporting a villainous goatee that he may just not realize makes him look like a terrible person, Sigmunt is everything you remember him being and worse.

“You needn’t have brought a retinue.”

“We operate as a team,” you reply, moving yourself to the front of the group. Mindful of the armed guards, these carrying blunderbusses, positioned within the room with you, Sabrina stands back and right, Serana back and left, with Justina direct behind you a bit further back than the other two, in a roughly square formation.

“That being admitted,” Sigmunt continues, “please hand over your weapons.”

“No.”

There’s a pause. “I’m sorry, but I believe I misspoke. This is not a request.”

“No,” you repeat. “Our weapons remain with us so long as you have us surrounded by armed men.”

“I’m afraid I must insist.”

“I’m not afraid,” you counter. “And I must also insist.”

“Why must you be so intransigent?” Sigmunt asks, trying and failing to feign ignorance.

>The last time I dropped my guard around you I got stabbed in the gut.
>You know why. Drop the act and get on with whatever you want to say.
>Treasonous snakes don’t get to order me around, Sigmunt. Watch your step.
>Other?

>>4125622
>>You know why. Drop the act and get on with whatever you want to say.

>>4125622
>You know why. Drop the act and get on with whatever you want to say.

>>4125622
>>The last time I dropped my guard around you I got stabbed in the gut.

>>4125622
>You know why. Drop the act and get on with whatever you want to say.

>>4125622
>You know why. Drop the act and get on with whatever you want to say.

>>4125622
>You know why. Drop the act and get on with whatever you want to say.

>>4125622
>Sigmunt your act hasn't fooled the Inquisition, and it's most certainly not going to fool me. Besides we both know I don't need a sword to kill every man here if I wanted too. So drop the act, say what you going to say, and leaving the useless posturing at the door.

>>4125622
“You can stop posturing at any time now,” you reply. “You know exactly why I don’t like you, so say whatever you mean to say to me and I’ll be on my way.”

“Very well,” Sigmunt says, rising to his feet to address you. “I’m offering you your throne back.”

There’s an extended silence, which is only broken by Serana’s fingers.

[T – R – A – P]

“No kidding,” Justina grumbles.

“You expect me to fall for that?” you scoff. “Please. You’d have me surrounded by armed guards that my own rules prevent me from fighting back against, I’d be under house arrest, and anything I did wrong would be my fault while you’d find a way to claim credit for anything I did right.”

“I’d be a captive sacrifice to take some of the public blame off of you.”

“Simply not true!” Sigmunt insists. “The public would be delighted to have you back after all these years, Princess...”

“Queen,” you correct him.

“… not yet,” he tries to correct you.

“By Hazari customary law,” you insist. “Queen Noel Tiberius di Hazaran, if you’re going to go by my name and titles. Noel if you decide to speak to me as a warrior.”

“Your choice.”

“Queen… Noel,” Sigmunt replies in a strained tone. “You were raised as a princess, not as a warrior. Do you not believe it is time for you to step back into your rightful place.”

[I smell bullshit.]

“Language,” Sabrina replies.

“I’m… sorry, what is it she’s doing?” Sigmunt asks you.

“Saying what we’re all thinking,” you reply cryptically. “The answer is no. I’ve done more for my people in exile than you have on the throne… now, were you to do the decent thing and kill yourself in a public apology for everything you’ve done, the situation might be different.”

“Again… your choice.”

“Either take my suggestion,” Sigmunt replies, “or I will drag you from that provincial throne of yours in Scaithness and make you take the throne in the Capital. Over as many bodies as necessary.”

“… your choice.”
>1/2

>>4126052
“It’s been fifteen years, almost to the day,” you scowl, crossing the room to stand directly across the desk from Sigmunt’s greasy face. “I’m not the little girl you had skewered and thrown from a window, Sigmunt. And since coming back to Hazaran I’ve gone out of my way not just to avoid stepping on your toes, but to secure the borders of my nation that you failed to protect.”

>This is your final warning. Leave us alone, and we’ll leave you alone. That’s the deal.
>New deal: flee the country, let Noventus step in and rule. You live, Hazaran’s best interests are served.
>Threaten MY people again and, just once, I’ll be forced to break our most important rule to take your head.
>Other?

>>4126062
>>This is your final warning. Leave us alone, and we’ll leave you alone. That’s the deal.
I don't think he will honor that deal, but it would give us time

>>4126062
>>New deal: flee the country, let Noventus step in and rule. You live, Hazaran’s best interests are served.

>>4126062
>New deal: flee the country, let Noventus step in and rule. You live, Hazaran’s best interests are served.

>>4126062
>>New deal: flee the country, let Noventus step in and rule. You live, Hazaran’s best interests are served.

>>4126062
>>New deal: flee the country, let Noventus step in and rule. You live, Hazaran’s best interests are served.

>>4126062
“So here’s my counter-offer,” you offer calmly. “Flee the country, and let Noventus step in and rule. You get to live, in exile, and my people will be free of you.”

“Hazaran wins, and you don’t lose your head.”

“Are you threatening me?” Sigmunt asks, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed.

“I’m telling you what your future as ruler holds,” you reply. “As you said I was raised to be a queen. My instincts for this are better than yours.”

“If you remain on that stolen throne of yours, you’ll end up dragged off it dead.”

Noventus, who has remained silent until now, finally speaks. “I would be honored to stand as regent for the empty throne.”

“The people will not accept you,” Sigmunt spits. “At least I have the backings of the nobility.”

“Even the nobility have begun to lose their faith in your abilities to enrich them,” Noventus counters. “They’ll fall in line behind a better offer.”

“I’ve made my strongest backers fabulously wealthy,” Sigmunt maintains.

“And impoverished much of the nation,” you counter.

[A weakened economy means less wealth.]

Serana delivers her words with a frown, and you quickly translate them.

“She’s right,” you agree. “A stagnant economy puts a cap on growth, limiting wealth generation long-term. Economic participation, increases in the kingdom’s revenue generation, and incentive towards upward growth must be carefully balanced so that all three trend positively at the same time… your encouragement of easy short-term gains by the very few who are already wealthy has destabilized the entire system, meaning you won’t be able to continue making those few more wealthy indefinitely.”

“Your policies have run their logical course, Sigmunt.”

“That may be true,” he admits, returning to his seat. “But how do you know that Noventus won’t be seen as another usurper?”

>Because he’ll have our public backing as the “Blackthorn Knights”.
>Because he’ll have my public backing as the Queen-in-exile.
>Because you’ll explain the situation to them in a public speech.
>Other?

>>4127511
>>Because he’ll have our public backing as the “Blackthorn Knights”.
>>Because he’ll have my public backing as the Queen-in-exile.

>>4127511
>Because he’ll have my public backing as the Queen-in-exile.
>>4127511

>>4127511
>Because he will have tge backing of the military, which you’ve alienated with your mishandling of the Inquisition. He’ll also have the backing of other relevant parties.
Let’s nit tell this asshole the plan so he can gut punch it through being a shit.

>>4127511
>Because he’ll have my public backing as the Queen-in-exile.

>>4127511
>>Because he’ll have my public backing as the Queen-in-exile.

>>4127511
“Because he’ll have my public backing as the Queen-in-exile,” you declare confidently.

Even your own cohort are looking at you in surprise.

[Are you sure?]

You nod slowly. “I’m tired from running from my past, and the only reason I was doing it in the first place was for the stability of Hazaran. This is the perfect opportunity for me.”

Serana’s hand rests on your shoulder reassuringly.

“We’ll be here,” Justina agrees.

“I agree too,” Sabrina joins in. “I don’t like it, but it seems like you have no alternative.”

“I don’t think anyone is unreasonable enough to disagree with this,” you admit. “Hell, out of everyone I’d say you’re most likely to be that person, Sabrina.”

“Thanks,” Sabrina grumbles.

“So, will you leave peacefully?” you press.

After a few moments Sigmunt gets up and leaves the room, followed by his closest guards.

“I see that actually worked,” Noventus muses. “So I suppose this is now on us from here on?”

>We’ll escort you to the Capital. It would be pretty lousy if you got killed along the road.
>The Capital is a mess. Administrative function should be shifted to Baiko for now.
>You stay here. I’ll make the announcement in the Capital myself.
>Other?

>>4127713
>>We’ll escort you to the Capital. It would be pretty lousy if you got killed along the road.

>>4127713
>>We’ll escort you to the Capital. It would be pretty lousy if you got killed along the road.

>>4127713
>>We’ll escort you to the Capital. It would be pretty lousy if you got killed along the road.

>>4127713
>The Capital is a mess. Administrative function should be shifted to Baiko for now.

...Well that seemed far too easy. I'm expecting Sigmunt to at least set up a firing squad ambush outside in a fit of rage.

>>4127713
>We’ll escort you to the Capital. It would be pretty lousy if you got killed along the road.

>>4127713
>The Capital is a mess, move administration to Baiko

>>4127713
>>We’ll escort you to the Capital. It would be pretty lousy if you got killed along the road.

>>4127713
>>We’ll escort you to the Capital. It would be pretty lousy if you got killed along the road.

>>4127752
He knows that Noventus now has five fortresses either active or in the process of being reactivated, with one of them being the most modern, up-to-date defensive installation in Hazaran backed by an unknown number of Claymores.

>>4128000
Well I was hoping for a one shot scene showing just how dire the situation was for him, and showing him struggling to hold power and watching it slip more and more, until even he realizes he couldn't hold onto it much longer without doing something drastic, and watching that fail he sees the future with his head on a pike and sends a letter to noel in a final bid.

>>4127713
>We’ll escort you to Baiko. It would be pretty lousy if you got killed along the road.
>The Capital is a mess. Administrative function should be shifted to Baiko for now.

File: Gyantse-Dzong.jpg (96 KB, 940x475)

96 KB JPG

>>4127713
“It would be a shame if you were attacked on the road,” you observe calmly. “We’ll go with you to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“You suspect a yōma attack?” Noventus asks you cautiously.

“They attacked Scaithness during the battle there, in force,” you recount. “I see no reason why they wouldn’t attack in this case as well… it’s a concern for us to deal with. Right now I need you focused on making this work.”

“Yes,” Noventus mutters to himself. “I’ll have to appoint my successor here carefully, and assign a personal guard… please give me until tomorrow to make the necessary arrangements.”

“Prepare for it to be a mess,” you grumble.

“I’m aware.”

…

On the road, the formation of riders generates a lot of confusion and interest. Your column heads north, towards the Capital, on the main road until the city itself is in view.

“There it is,” Noventus declares from astride a horse, looking across a shallow valley to the crag atop which the palace is located. “The venerable palace of Sētōbādala-darabāra.”

“You can just call it the White Clouds Palace,” you clarify, raising your eyebrow. “Hardly anyone actually speaks old Hazari anymore… people will just think you’re being pretentious by trying.”

“It has a nice ring to it,” Noventus muses. “Though you’re right of course.”

“Also you pronounced it wrong,” you add.

“… I’m not surprised.”

“Which window was it?” Justina asks, seeing now why your survival could be deemed something of a miracle itself… the whitewashed stone walls of the palace are perched precariously above steep slopes, almost approaching sheer faces. It’s difficult to see how a child could survive falling from anywhere on the palace grounds.

You point to the spot. “There. I actually hit two roofs on the way down, so while it was probably about sixty feet in total I did it twenty feet at a time. Then I slid down that slope until I came to a stop.”

“Still...” Justina frowns, looking uneasy at the thought of a little girl with a spear through her gut having to endure that.

[Are you really comfortable returning there?]

>No. I’ll make alternate arrangements for my address.
>The people will expect it. I’ll speak from the lower gates.
>I need closure, and I'll find it in there.
>Other?

>>4128755
>>I need closure, and I'll find it in there.

>>4128755
>I need closure, and I'll find it in there.

>>4128755
>>I need closure, and I'll find it in there.

>>4128755
>>I need closure, and I'll find it in there.

>>4128755
Small people do much better with falling, and children are durable to trauma in ways that adults are not. Also more prone to dislocated joints and death from blood loss, but I digress.

Not too far fetched a fall to live through at all, depending on what she landed on.

Hell, I know a guy who fell more than
40 feet from his hang glider onto solid rock and lived to tell of it. He needed a new pelvis, but he lived.

>>4128755
>>I need closure, and I'll find it in there.

>>4128755
>>I need closure, and I'll find it in there.

>>4128755
>I need closure, and I'll find it in there.

>>4128755
“It’s fine,” you reassure yourself as much as you assure the others. “Actually… I kind of need this. If I’m ever going to find some closure, it’s going to be in there.”

[If you’re sure.]

Serana offers you a reassuring smile and a nod, before you take the lead approaching the palace gates.

You’re stopped at the lowermost gate in the walls built onto the talus cone around the base of the crag, where the first two guards demand an explanation for your being here with forty armed horsemen and a team of silver-eyed witches.

“I am Marshal Noventus from the fortress of Baiko,” Noventus declares loudly, “and your rightful queen has returned. Make way.”

You take a few steps forward. “I am Noel Tiberius di Hazaran, daughter of the ‘Mad King’ Tiberius who was murdered in this very palace by treasonous elements of our own guard.”

“I bear no grudges against you. Please stand aside.”

“A pink-haired witch...” one of the guards frowns. “That’s odd… and the Marshal of Baiko says it’s a queen?”

“As I said,” you frown. “I’m the same Princess Noel thought killed fifteen years ago. I can show you my signet from childhood if you wish, I’ve kept it all these years.”

“You could have gotten that anywhere,” another guard points out.

“I could go back to Scaithness and fetch old Gaius and Dominica to back up my claim,” you shrug. “If that’s what it will take. But anyone who remembers when I was a girl will recognize me now, and if you force me to go and get them you’ll just be frustrating me pointlessly.”

“Let’s say we believe you,” the first guard admits. “Why now?”

“Because you’ll also learn very soon that Sigmunt, the man responsible for my father’s murder, has fled into exile after trying and failing to coerce me back onto the throne as a figurehead.”

There’s a long pause, where the guards seem unsure what to do. Eventually however they allow you to pass, along with Noventus and his men who file into the lowest of the series of courtyards. Horses are all meant to be left here, along with soldiers and other “common folk”. Halls and offices are present here for such personnel. The next level is reachable by a series of covered switchback staircases, with broad treads and short risers, leading to the administrative offices for the small temple that was once maintained here on a higher courtyard.

Above this, by another set of switchbacks, are the offices and residences of visiting ministers and the royal household staff.

And at the top, built in the highest spot and nestled within a heavily defended series of walls, buildings, and courtyards, sits the palace itself.
>1/2

>>4129148
“… are you okay?”

Surprisingly it’s Sabrina who asks first.

You nod curtly, speaking in what for you is an unusually small voice. “This is where I grew up… it was once my home. Now it feels… empty.”

“No family?” Justina asks quietly.

You shake your head. “No family, none of the familiar staff or servants.”

>Let’s head for the main hall. Our main business is there.
>I’d like to visit my old room. I wonder how long it took them to empty it out?
>There are two spots of significance… where my father died, and where I “died”.
>Other?

>>4129154
>I’d like to visit my old room. I wonder how long it took them to empty it out?

>>4129154
>>There are two spots of significance… where my father died, and where I “died”.
Noel never had the chance to confront that part of her life

>>4129154
>>I’d like to visit my old room. I wonder how long it took them to empty it out?

>>4129154
>>There are two spots of significance… where my father died, and where I “died”.

>>4129154
>There are two spots of significance… where my father died, and where I “died”.

>>4129154
>There are two spots of significance… where my father died, and where I “died”.

>>4129154
>>I’d like to visit my old room. I wonder how long it took them to empty it out?
>>There are two spots of significance… where my father died, and where I “died”.

>>4129154
>>4129329
This

>>4129154
Your feet already know the way, though you get there faster than you anticipate: your legs have grown so much longer than they once were.

On one of the upper floors, where the windows are large and the views scenic, you stop.

[This is…]

“Yeah,” you mutter, running your fingertips across the sill. “This is where the “old me” died.”

The look Serana gives you demands an honest answer.

“I don’t really feel any sadness,” you admit. “Nor do I feel bitter about it. It simply feels like it was an eternity ago.”

“It may as well have been,” Justina observes.

“For a half-blooded warrior fifteen years is a lifetime,” Sabrina adds. “Five years or less is more the norm.”

“It’s been a full life for a dead woman,” you muse, almost playfully grim.

You pass silently by your old room, the door standing open… none of your belongings remain. It simply stands empty now, as though the young girl who once lived within has been totally forgotten by time. In reality, you understand that she was deliberately erased. This is no longer your room. It’s no longer anyone’s room.

“What are you looking at?” Sabrina asks quizzically.

“Nothing,” you reply calmly before walking on. “Nothing at all.”

…

Eventually you reach the hallway below your father’s former quarters, the one where he died.

“This is where my father was murdered,” you explain, leaning against the wall by a window. “Sigmunt revised the history around it to paint him as a coward, when in reality he fought fiercely.”

This, however… the memories of this spot do bother you as they come flooding back. You need to remind yourself that you were never that helpless girl that it once felt like you were… you never were, and you certainly aren’t now. But it’s still upsetting, and it clearly shows as Serana’s hand finds its way to your shoulder.

Your hand meets hers there, silently reconfirming your gratitude to her.

>I’m going to clear Sigmunt’s belongings from my father’s quarters.
>We should go downstairs. Meet Noventus in the main meeting hall.
>We should make arrangements to settle in. There’s a lot to be done here.
>Other?

>>4129447
>I’m going to clear Sigmunt’s belongings from my father’s quarters.
Time to take out the trash.

>>4129447
>>I’m going to clear Sigmunt’s belongings from my father’s quarters.

>>4129447
>>I’m going to clear Sigmunt’s belongings from my father’s quarters.

>>4129447
>I’m going to clear Sigmunt’s belongings from my father’s quarters.

>>4129447
>I’m going to clear Sigmunt’s belongings from my father’s quarters.

>>4129447
>>I’m going to clear Sigmunt’s belongings from my father’s quarters.
As if there were really any other choice.

>>4129447
>>I’m going to clear Sigmunt’s belongings from my father’s quarters.

>>4129447
>>We should go downstairs. Meet Noventus in the main meeting hall.

>>4129447
“There’s something else I want to do,” you declare. “Give me a hand?”

…

After smashing the lock that Sigmunt had installed onto the door to your father’s quarters, you step into something utterly foreign to you. The clothing, the furniture, the tawdry and tacky kitsch that signified the wealth and total lack of taste of this room’s most recent occupant, all repel you. You’re sorely tempted to just throw it all out the window, the same one that you were thrown from yourself, just for the pleasure of watching it all break on the rocks below.

But some of this may actually be valuable.

The portraits he had commissioned of himself go out the window though, those can fuck right off. Some of his finer tailored clothing and obvious personal effects also go out the window.

“That felt good,” you admit. “But that’s enough of that.”

It takes a few hours to even do a rough sort. Some of this furniture, on closer inspection, must have been looted from elsewhere in the palace. A few even bear familiar makers’ marks indicating that they were made in Scaithness for your father’s family. These you keep, and ask your companions’ help in maneuvering them downstairs to be re-stored.

A lot of the smaller items are of no particular use or value to you, such as gilded pen fountains or small bronzes, so these are placed into storage as well. You figure Noventus can give them away, take them as trophies, or do whatever else he wishes.

Many of the rugs are in the same category as the furniture, having been looted from within the palace. One you even recognize as having been in your own room for some time. This you reclaim, intending to restore it to its proper place.

The sheets and some other bits of upholstry simply go out the window. They can never be properly clean again, and replacements are easy enough to come by.

…

“This can be our quarters for the duration of our stay,” you declare after returning the rug to your room. “It’s well-connected to the rest of the complex, and the bathroom here will be particularly fine once it’s been properly cleaned.”

You set the window open to let the stale air out and the fresh in, and quickly select a few pieces of furniture to put back in here… mainly floor cushions, a low table, and a workdesk.

“You have a good eye for what fits this room,” Sabrina muses. “I guess you really DID live here once upon a time.”

“This was my room,” you finally explain before leaving a stunned Sabrina in your wake. “Come downstairs, we should meet with Noventus.”
>1/2

>>4130802
“You can stay in my father’s old quarters,” you tell Noventus upon rejoining him. “It’s two floors at the top of the building, quite a suite. Bedroom, office, your own private bath. The works.”

“That’s extremely generous of you, Lady Noel,” he admits, stunned at the gesture, “but those shouldn’t be my quarters. At least that’s what I believe.”

“They’ll never be mine,” you tell him flatly. “Too much has happened for that. So you’re welcome to use them if you wish, otherwise they’ll simply stand empty.”

Noventus nods in understanding. “You really don’t intend to return to the throne, do you?”

You shake your head. “Like I said, a lot has happened.”

“I understand,” he replies. “I’ll do my best to govern in your stead.”

“You have plenty of experience from Baiko,” you shrug, “and I’ll be in touch. I’ve set up my old room to serve as temporary quarters for any half-blooded warriors who want them, so I’d appreciate you keeping that available.”

[Are you sure about this?] Serana wonders, a slightly skeptical look on her face.

[Whether we want it or not the link between our cohort and the Hazari throne is about to be made public knowledge,] you reply in kind.

[Or do you disagree that this is the right decision to make?]

Serana frowns. [Of course not. But I think we need to remain very much aware of how things progress from here.]

[Which is why I think it’s important to maintain close contact,] you reply. [I also need a reliably secure place to spend the nights, since I’m likely to be back here with greater frequency.]

[By all means,] Serana replies, [do what you think is best. But please be careful about it. If not for your sake, than for your people and for us.]

You nod curtly. [I’m keenly aware of the two sets of responsibilities.]

“Have you come to a conclusion?” Noventus asks you.

>I intend to remain as low-key as possible after giving my speech.
>I think it is a good chance for our cohort to work in public.
>I think some engagement with government would help everyone concerned.
>Other?

>>4130838
>I think it is a good chance for our cohort to work in public.

>>4130838
>>I think it is a good chance for our cohort to work in public.

>>4130838
>I intend to remain as low-key as possible after giving my speech.
Working publically would likely make the Organization pull out of the region (because we'd underprice them), and make us into high visibility targets. And if out cohort has to cover the whole country, the warriors would be scattered and vulnerable.
>Other: we need to solidify the support for Noventus before Sigmunt's supporters ally with the Inquisition.

>>4130838

Noel since birth was raised as a ruler-in-training, but since she became a claymore, she's a warrior first, a Monarch second.

>>4130852
>>4130838
I think this is good

>>4130838
“I think this is a good opportunity to move our cohort’s work fully into the public eye,” you admit. “But I cannot state it often enough… I can’t take the throne. My responsibilities as a warrior who hunts yōma take priority, and while I can still offer my advice I cannot provide the constant leadership Hazaran deserves of its governor.”

“That’s why I want you to do it.”

After a moment, Noventus bows politely. “I will strive not to betray your faith in me.”

…

You head to the front gate, which is topped by a balcony. From this balcony you can survey the open square before the gate, framed as it is by shops and apartment buildings. It all looks so much smaller than when you were a child. A crowd has begun to gather, word having had time to spread of the strange column of horsemen who rode into the gates of the Palace and had not yet come out.

The tiara which was once commissioned for a younger you is long gone now, probably stripped for its jewels and melted down, so in its place you wear a hastily fashioned crown of laurel leaves.

After calling attention to your presence, Noventus begins.

“People of Hazaran!”

“Your former leader, Lord Sigmunt, has fled into exile as of three days ago. But he has not left the throne of Hazaran empty, and I am here now to explain to you why… for several years now, I have lived with a very dear secret, which I am about to make public.”

“Almost three years ago now I was approached by a silver-eyed witch… a Claymore, who despite her status as such still bore pink hair, and with it came a familiar face and name. The name of a young woman thought dead, who last walked the halls of this palace fifteen years ago.”

“I speak of course of Noel Tiberius di Hazaran.”

The crowd grows loud, their individual words and even their tone indistinguishable.

“I have verified her identity with the former royal household, including old Gaius in Scaithness and his wife. This is, without doubt, the princess we thought lost.”

“Lend her your ears!”

You step forward, calm and in control, as your father once taught you to be.

>Write-in: what are your priorities? Do you have any ideas for what else to say?
>I’ll be stepping in to smooth it all together into something coherent based on your responses.

>>4131306
Explain your history post-spear stabbing, your reasons for coming back now, what you’re doing with your cohort, and reasons for not taking the throne and why you’re supporting someone else.

>>4131306
I cannot do speeches, so short bullet points it is. Hopefully, the others will chime in or call me out on the shortcomings here.
Don't know about crowd composition, so it'll be up to queen's interpretation.

>Brief introduction, stern. Gauge the crowd's reception briefly while allowing some time to breach your main topics
>Tell them about the day of your father's death, as you remember it. Denounce the inaccuracy of the history put in place.
>Speak of your time as a witch and of the organization, specifically refer to their child soldiers crucible and shady practices.
>Explain what you have done since breaking free from the organization's grasp, and what you intend to do from now on.
>Push Noventus as the new head honcho, one cannot fully devote their time to ruling a country and expect to be able to do anything else but.

>Ask for forgiveness in regards to terseness, *if* the crowd seems to be left wanting in regards to big speeches. Claymores have never had much need for speeches.

>>4131306
>Explain to them the coup, how you came to become a warrior, and the the 13 year career you've accumulated as a warrior of the organization.
>Explain the recent events that brought yourself back into the public eye.
>Tell them that despite your return to the public eye, you cannot return to the throne to rule as the nation's rightful queen.
>Remove Laurel Crown, use enough Yoki to show the dragon horn crown from half awakening. give the populace a good long look at what happened to Noel.
>Explain to them that this is one of the big reasons why you can't return to the throne nor take a husband to produce an heir. The risks are too great at both a personal, political, and national level for Noel to go back to the life of royalty.
>Let Yoki recede, put back the laurel crown back on.
>"This is why I cannot return."
>"Despite these shortcomings, despite the fact that my childhood and path to becoming the next monarch was cut short by the coup, I vow to continue to serve Hazaran."
>"As a warrior, to slay yoma and save humans from said yoma. I vow to put my life on the line to protect you from the monsters you all know and fear."
>"General Marshal Noventus will be ruling in my stead as Regent Lord of Hazaran."
>Noel Tiberius Di Hazaran, The Lonely Queen in exile, Signing out.

>>4131306
>Booting out the radical inquisition that have been in a shadow war with the government for a while now. Regular religion is ok, religious extremism that causes mass murder of towns and villages through their ignorant doctrine on youma is not.
>reinforcing our father's policies on economics, things that allowed the whores to be swindled by the mistress? no longer allowed.
>no longer turning a blind eye to the nobles who fuck over everyone to get rich, they are fucking their future and everyone else's
>the re-garrisoning of the forts through out hazaran to contain any Inquisition attack and to keep the people safe.
>Explain that while you would love to return, you cannot because you are no longer strictly human, having to sacrifice it to survive when Sigmunt ran you through after having your father murdered in battle. Your kingdom does not need an immortal queen on the throne, much less one who could casually kill any man who tried to depose her. You love Hazaran, and will aid it as best you can, but the royal line is effectively dead, as the risks in child birth are very very very high.

>>4131306
Priorities:
>Prove our identity
>Explain how we survived
>Clear our father's name
>Explain that we're out of the Org now
>Explain why we won't rule ourselves
>Say something that will get us support of the people, like how Sigmunt was to blame for all their hardships and now life will become better.

>>4132697
New thread