>>4868199

The autumn rains had hit the Hillsbrad Foothills badly. There had been only a few days since your return in which it hadn’t rained or just had a slight drizzle. The farmers were really content that they had managed to get their crops harvested before this, but everyone else were somewhat miserable. The guards posted outside or those assigned for patrols grumbled for getting wet again and again, as did the other workers.
As you stepped outside the farmstead and greeted the guard posted outside it, you could see the small town that was in progress of being built. Even in this rain the peasants and workers were lifting logs or hurrying to make roofs on newly built houses. The work on the blacksmith was progressing as planned with a former Alteraci blacksmith arriving to supervise the project.

Captain Garside meanwhile had taken up the task of checking out how the hunter’s and herbalist’s cabins were progressing in Darrow Hill and Gavin’s Naze. According to him, the workers should be ready before the first snow hits. Still it would be a race against time as the Alteraci winters can arrive suddenly and be quite chilling.

There was the issue of not enough houses built for the peasants that had arrived. If the winter hits and people have to stay in tents, it could become a huge problem for you. Foreman Davis had told you that the houses would be ready before the first snow comes if the weather cooperates even a bit. Now though it seemed that the weather wasn’t cooperating and you weren’t sure if the houses would be completed in time.

Back at Durnholde at what felt like ages, but actually was just three weeks ago, you thought about wanting a few weeks of peace which you had now gotten. The peace could be a bit more dry, but it will have to do. It was another autumn day in The Headland full of work.


>Captain Garside probably has something to talk about the construction and current situation
>Foreman Davis has been working hard to have everything on schedule, go see if he has succeeded in doing that
>Sergeant Cromwell had been drilling the troops without a pause since you had arrived from Durnholde, go see how that progresses
>You have been working quite hard lately, take the day off and go riding with your horse Epona


QM: Terribly sorry for disappearing last October, but I think now my real life hurdles are over and I can concentrate on being a QM. So let’s get to it. The Stats pastebin is up to date, but Mechanisms one will wait till the season changes.

>Two Alterac quests in the catalog
What is this

>>4868205
Minor factions are popular and allow you to usually do bit more within well fleshed out settings. Now that you mentioned it, I need to read that quest too.

>>4868203
>Foreman Davis has been working hard to have everything on schedule, go see if he has succeeded in doing that

>>4868203
Holy shit you’re back
Welcome back OP!

Let’s Go with Davis.

>>4868203
>>Foreman Davis has been working hard to have everything on schedule, go see if he has succeeded in doing that

I'm pleasantly surprised to see this quest back!

>>4868199
>it s back

It s a pleasure to see you again

>>4868203
>Foreman Davis has been working hard to have everything on schedule, go see if he has succeeded in doing that

File: 04_peasant.jpg (66 KB, 544x624)

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You didn’t have to search for foreman Matthew Davis for long as he was found going through a large stack of papers near one house that was being constructed. He noticed you early and tidied up the papers.

“My prince, good morning!” He greeted you.

“Good morning Mr. Davis, how is the work going?” You asked and stepped under the cover of the canopy tent he was in.

“Sire, it is progressing, but as I have said before the rain is causing problems and there are few other things too. We can’t really finish all the work without the weather being dry.”

“But you can still build the houses?”

“Yes sire.” Davis said and searched for a piece of paper from his pile. Finding it he started to explain. “The roofers are complaining about the lack of proper nails, the new blacksmith gave me a list of things and tools to buy, the workers at the lumber mill are complaining that they can’t fell trees fast enough, goods need to be moved…”

“Alright Mr. Davis, I understand. A lot of small problems that in the end cause one big problem.”

“Yes sire.” Davis answered a bit deflated. “We are behind schedule and I am not sure if we can finish everything before the first snow comes if these rains continue like this.”

“How can we then get back on schedule?” You asked him.

“Well sire, we can always buy the nails and tools required, but to get back on schedule we need more workers. That way we can get all the heavy labour done and allow more experienced workers to concentrate on things they know.”

Two of you continued to talk a bit about possible solutions

>Davis suggested that the soldiers in training could be conscripted to help in construction, but that would mean that they wouldn’t be ready when winter season comes
>Davis suggested that Sir Radan and his bandits could be forced to work longer days well beyond what the workers are doing now. That should be enough to allow getting back on schedule
>Go to Tarren Mill and ask for help, you after all get rid of the bandits terrorizing them and mayor Fowley said that Tarren Mill would owe you one
>You suggested that we could hire extra workers for the season. It would cost 3 Wealth, you only have 1 Wealth saved so 4 Supplies would have to be exchanged to 2 extra Wealth
>Other, write in


Total Resources
1 Wealth, +6 per Season
15 Supplies, -1 per Season
55 Peasants

QM: Seasonal changes have been updated to reflect the start of the winter season.

>>4868413
>>Go to Tarren Mill and ask for help, you after all get rid of the bandits terrorizing them and mayor Fowley said that Tarren Mill would owe you one

>>4868413
did supplies income drop during winter or am I confusing something

I'm inclined to go with
You suggested that we could hire extra workers for the season. It would cost 3 Wealth, you only have 1 Wealth saved so 4 Supplies would have to be exchanged to 2 extra Wealth
but I don't want us to fall short on supplies during winter

>>4868413
>>Go to Tarren Mill and ask for help, you after all get rid of the bandits terrorizing them and mayor Fowley said that Tarren Mill would owe you one

>>4868465
The Supply number is up to date and accurate, I always update my spreadsheet immediately to avoid having to comb through the updates and see if numbers don't match. The previous total resources update from thread three had Supplies gained at +2, but that was before 30 more troops were added into training.

File: Tarren Mill, it is actual(...).jpg (163 KB, 1280x1024)

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“I will go visit Tarren Mill, they should be able to help us.” You said to Davis.

“Sire, I hope you are right.”

“They owe us one.” You said back to Davis as you stepped outside the tent into the drizzle. “Meanwhile, get the other small things sorted out.”

…

Next day it was still raining, the slight drizzle tried to find a way inside your large grey cloak as you rode towards Tarren Mill. Garside had argued that few footmen should escort you, but riding alone was faster and the large cloak makes you harder to be recognized.

You had been riding for several hours and already saw the spire of the Tarren Mills church. Your horse Epona was really enjoying this and you had to keep her in check. In excitement she tried to move into the trot, but you calmed her down. You weren’t exactly in a hurry.

The spire of the church grew larger and larger before the closed gate of Tarren Mill was in sight. The lone footman on top of the walls hailed you and quickly let you in after recognizing your face after you lifted your hood. The gate was opened and you were in Tarren Mill.

>>4869545

Servant of mayor Fowley had arranged a hot cup of herbal tea for you to drink while you waited a moment for Fowley himself to arrive. Thankfully you didn’t have to wait for long for the small bookish man to arrive.

“Prince Alric, terribly sorry for not being here.” Mayor Fowley said as he handed his cloak to his servant. “I was discussing the lumber trade with the traders. I came here as soon as I heard you had arrived.”

“Not a problem mayor Fowley.” You said back to him and straightened your chaperon. “How is the lumber trade going? You got the mill back up and running?”

“That we managed to do. The bandits did kill or drive away the workers, but at least some of them have arrived back. Thankfully the business is booming, everyone needs good strong lumber.” Fowley said and took a long sip from his cup. “Sire, have you heard the latest development?”

“I would be lying if I had.”

“The Alliance are investing a quite sizable amount of coin into a naval base not that far from Southshore. They are buying all the lumber they can get and they are paying a good coin for the Tarren Mills lumber.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose and deflated a bit. If you didn’t require all the lumber by yourself, this could be a huge opportunity.

“No, I hadn’t heard about that. Lord Uther didn’t mention it either when we met several weeks ago.” You said to Fowley. “Nevertheless this is good to know.”

“It is a big development, but I don’t think that gossip about the lumber trade is the reason why you are here?” Fowley asked.

“You are correct. I am here because I need your help.”

“Prince Alric, how can we help you?” Fowley asked a bit confused.

“The rains are causing delays on construction of the houses for my people. We are fearing that they wouldn’t be ready before the winter and the snow arrives from the mountains. We need more helping hands to get everything back on schedule. Workers are what I am asking from Tarren Mill.”

“We are lacking workers ourselves too, but I will arrange something to be done in the coming week.” Fowley said after thinking for a moment. “We do after all owe you for saving our town.”

“Thank you mayor Fowley, I cannot ask for more.” You said back to him and finished your cup of tea.

…

It was midday and by your calculations you had some time to spend in Tarren Mill if you still wanted to get back to The Headlands before it was completely dark. Alternatively you could spend the whole day in Tarren Mill and go home tomorrow. Mayor Fowley had invited you for dinner, but at the same time you had thought about visiting the church or going through what the small marketplace and traders had for sale.


>Accept the dinner offer and spend the whole day with mayor Fowley
>Go visit the church and priest Hampton
>Go check out what the marketplace and traders have for sale
>Other, write in

>>4869547
>>Accept the dinner offer and spend the whole day with mayor Fowley

We're asking him for help so we have to be polite.

>>4869547
>all of the above

I mean, they're not really mutually exclusive, right? We can accept the dinner offer, go check out the marketplace, stop by the church and close the day with dinner and subsequently retiring, either at inn or if mayor offers us a guest quarters, then return tomorrow?

>>4869552
They are not mutually exclusive

>>4869547
>>Accept the dinner offer and spend the whole day with mayor Fowley

You decided to accept the dinner offer from Fowley and asked him if it was ok to follow him through the day before the dinner happens. Fowley agreed and so you tailed him and saw what a normal active day for the mayor of Tarren Mill was.

You met with the traders with whom Fowley had discussions earlier about the lumber. Impressed that mayor Fowley had a friend that was the rumoured and often spoken about Alteraci prince, they too spoke about their business, how the new naval base is going to impact the value of lumber in the long run and how the future and economic prospects of Hillsbrad are looking like. Meanwhile you talked to them about the silver mine that was under your control and how in the future Alteraci lumber could flow down to Southshore bringing wealth and profit to all parties. You thought that the discussion with the traders was fruitful with mayor Fowley acquiring a bunch of contract papers to read through and potentially sign.

Next Fowley showed you the orchards near Tarren Mill. The farmers there had already picked the apples from the trees and in their farms and breweries apple cider and other apple products were being prepared for the winter for local use and for trade elsewhere. To Fowley the products of the breweries were his pride and joy, the noblemen in Capital City, Stormwind and even in Ironforge would be drinking cider from Tarren Mill. And to be honest you had to agree, the cider was really good.

Fowley explained how Tarren Mill had grown since the Second War thanks to the lumber being used in reconstruction and with the orchards providing both food and drink to the people. To you mayor Fowley seemed more like a businessman instead of being a politician or a true leader. To him Tarren Mill was a business and when it prospered, it really did bring a lot of wealth to the town.

>>4869935

It was a long few hours of following mayor Fowley, but finally it was time for dinner. You had grown somewhat hungry and so when the venison stew with carrots, onions, celery, garlic and other fine ingredients was served to you, it felt really good to dig into it and just enjoy the good food.

“Mayor Fowley, if you can could you, please pass my praises for the food for it is really good.” You said.

“I will prince Alric, our cook is a tremendous talent at making foods like this.” He said and drank some mulled wine. “If I can be honest, I was a bit sceptical that you would be interested in following me around today, but it did seem that you were actually interested.”

You used a cloth to wipe some of the stew from around your mouth and spoke.

“When I was young, Captain Garside told me that if there was a chance to learn, you should take it. And what I saw today was educational, I am not an expert on trade so seeing all this made me understand things somewhat better.”

“That is good to hear prince Alric.” Fowley said and continued. “But I do have some business to talk about. You have seen our lack of soldiers for security.”

“Yes I have, the bandits decimated your force.”

“Correct and we haven’t yet managed to recruit more soldiers. The Regional Defenders have provided some help lately, but not enough.”

“So what are you suggesting?” You asked him.

“I want to hire some of your men to act as security until we have managed to recruit more soldiers ourselves.” Fowley said. “I did think about contracting other local mercenaries, but the people here trust you.”

Fowley explained his offer. Tarren Mill would require ten footmen and ten archers to provide local security. Tarren Mill would provide their upkeep and pay you a small sum for their services starting the winter comes. If they would be needed, you could recall them back to The Headlands at any time.


Troops at start of winter season:
-10 Regular Footmen
-20 Veteran Footmen
-20 Regular Kul Tiran Swashbucklers
-10 Veteran Stromgarde Guards
-30 Archers

>Accept the request. Provide 10 footmen and 10 archers to Tarren Mill at the start of winter season. Tarren Mill pays the Supply upkeep and pays you 1 Wealth per season for their services for several seasons.
>You decline now as you have to think about the offer with your officers. You will decide on a later date
>You have to decline as you need those troops as much as Tarren Mill or even more.
>Other, write in

>>4869945
I'm inclined to agree, but I think we should get most up to date intel from the huntmaster and the officers before we commit. And we are likely going to need to withdraw them when we make our move against the ogres if the deal is still going by then. Though I'd hate if we dragged our feet too long, I'd like the old hunter to be able to see at least part of the city reclaimed.

>>4869945
forgot to add the vote
>>You decline now as you have to think about the offer with your officers. You will decide on a later date
with impressing that "later date" would mean "as soon as our next staff meeting"

>>4869945
>>Accept the request. Provide 10 footmen and 10 archers to Tarren Mill at the start of winter season. Tarren Mill pays the Supply upkeep and pays you 1 Wealth per season for their services for several seasons.

The 10 footmen should be our regular footmen, not the veterans.

>>You decline now as you have to think about the offer with your officers. You will decide on a later date

“I would like to consult my officers first.” You said and continued. “As you know we just a few weeks ago returned from Durnholde and now our men are wounded and tired.”

“That is understandable prince Alric. Maybe when our help arrives, maybe then we could know.”

“Reasonable. I will let you know by then.” You said back to Fowley.

Rest of the dinner went quickly as the two of you spoke about more mundane things. The quality of the harvest, what life once was in Tarren Mill before the war and what you remembered from Alterac. When you finished eating, you thanked Fowley for his hospitality and for the promise of getting aid.

File: Innkeeper_Monica.jpg (53 KB, 269x784)

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>>4871608

The rain had ceased, but it was already quite dark when you walked across the town to the inn you had previously slept in. No one else was outside anymore just only one guard was seen minding his own business.

Entering the inn you saw that it wasn’t empty. On one table there was a group of peasants, there were a few who looked like lumberjacks around another table and then in one corner a pair of very mercenary looking men with their hoods and caps on sat.

“Good evening prince Alric.” Greeted Monica the innkeeper. “What brings you here to Tarren Mill?”

“Good evening miss Monica.” You greeted back with a smile. “Just business with mayor Fowley.”

“Milord, do you need food, drink or a room? We still have apple pie and we got a few barrels of wine from Stormwind.”

“I could take some wine please and a room later.” You said after giving it a thought, you weren’t hungry after the dinner, but some wine would be nice.

As Monica went to get the wine, you gave the people in the inn a passing glance. The farmers and the lumberjacks both had quieted down a bit after realising who had just arrived into the inn. You gave them a nod and they turned back to their drinks. Meanwhile the two mercenaries were acting like they didn’t even recognize you and just continued talking and eating like no one had arrived into the inn.

“Here is the wine prince Alric. I opened a new barrel just for you.” Monica said and delivered a goblet of wine to you before leaning a bit closer over the counter . “Prince Alric, may I be nosy and ask are the rumours true?”

“What rumours?” You asked as you were somewhat confused.

“That you fought with Lord Uther against the gnolls, defeated them and saved a foreign maiden from the south?”

You nearly choked into the wine when she mentioned the foreign maiden.

“There were no such things as foreign maidens in Durnholde.” You said back to Monica with a chuckle and then thought that technically Jaina was from the south and from foreign kingdom, but she didn’t need no saving. “But it is true, I did fight with Lord Uther and with the rest of the expedition against the gnolls and we did save farmers and peasants who were made prisoners.”

“Prince Alric, that is so brave.” Monica said and was practically gleaming with fascination towards you. “Everyone here is talking about how you helped to save our town and our lives and then twice you have saved poor farmers from the gnolls and death.”

“Well thank you.” You said and bit awkwardly straightened your chaperon and finished the wine you had. “I try to do my best.”

“Prince Alric, more wine?” Monica asked.


>Yes please, continue talking with Monica
>Yes please, go check out the two mercenaries
>No thanks, you need to catch some sleep so ask for a room
>Other, write in

>>4871612
>>Yes please, go check out the two mercenaries
interesting...

>>4871612
>>Yes please, go check out the two mercenaries

>>4871612
>>No thanks, you need to catch some sleep so ask for a room

File: Ieastyn Reeves.jpg (58 KB, 720x720)

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“Yes I could have some more.” You said to Monica as she poured you a second goblet. “If you excuse me, I will go see what these two men over there are doing here.”

Goblet in your right hand you walked towards the two mercenaries. You saw that one of them tensed up a bit when you approached them.

“May I sit here?” You asked.

“Hmmph you may princeling.” The older of the two said with his deeper voice and showed that one chair was free. He continued after you had sat down. “What does the prince of Alterac want from the two of us?”

Both men had dropped their hoods and now from the close you saw them better. The older of the two was a broad shouldered man with not that gentle face. Numerous small and big scars criss crossed across his face. You could see that under his leather jerkin he was wearing a mail shirt with the rest of his clothing hidden under a brown cloak. The younger of the two had similar clothing as the older man, but instead covered his head with a leather cap and you didn’t see a mail shirt. He did have an orange bandana tucked behind the collar of his jerkin which did catch your eye. Both men were clearly armed with swords and daggers.

“This is the first time I have noticed someone else in here.” You said to the men. “I thought I had a good idea of mercenaries working in Hillsbrad Foothills.”

“Hmmph well that is because we haven’t been here for that long. Arrived here yesterday from Hillsbrad and before that from the west.” The older of the two said. “What about you? Why did you come down from the mountains?”

“Just business with the mayor.” You said avoiding giving a proper answer and continued. “But pardon for not introducing myself first, I am prince Alric Perenolde, how about you two?”

“I am Ieastyn and this is Marcus. And you did guess correctly, we are mercenaries. Are you interested in hiring us?” The older of the two men called Ieastyn asked. You noticed in the corner of your eye that Marcus was somewhat nervous.

“Maybe if I knew your skills, how many of you there are and who your previous employers have been.” You answered back and took a sip of the wine.

“Hmmph there are only two of us, but we are skilled with blades long and short.” Ieastyn said and placed his hands on the table and smiled. “And what we have done previously has been something we can’t really talk about, if you understand.”

You understood what Ieastyn meant, these two were killers and rogues. You again noticed Marcus fidgeting slightly and giving nervous looks at Ieastyn.

>>4871833

>These men are suspicious, are they bandits trying to scout their next target? Press them with more questions.
>A potential rogue in your service could be a great tool to use, try to see what their prices are
>Leave these two alone with their drinks, you have gotten enough information out of these two
>Other, write in

QM: I will try to push out multiple updates per day this week to get things moving again. Probably on Thursday I might not be able to do any updates and the weekend is a bit of a question too.

>>4871833
on one hand it could be useful to have someone like them on the retainer but they also don't make impression of someone we could trust at all.

Try asking them if they heard any news on their travels, maybe pay them if they ask for a reasonable price (i.e. not of the level that would warrant deduction from realm's stockpile), maybe we can judge from their body language if they're bullshitting or omitting something. Perhaps even discern their motive.

>I consider it my business to know if there's anything of interest that my affect my domain going on in neighboring lands and you may have overheard something during your travels. Would you be willing to share with such that don't touch upon your privacy?

>>4871835
>>A potential rogue in your service could be a great tool to use, try to see what their prices are

>>4871835
>>4871847
Support.

You gave the men a faint nod of understanding and thought your words carefully.

“I consider it my business to know if there's anything of interest that may affect my domain going on in the neighbouring lands and because you are traveling mercenaries you may have overheard something during your travels. Would you be willing to share if you have heard or seen something that might interest me in a way that doesn't touch upon your privacy?”

Ieastyn at first didn’t say anything and his partner's eyes jumped between you and him.

“Hmmph Gallow’s Corner has changed hands. It is not the Crushridge ogres that control it anymore, but instead bandits and brigands.” Ieastyn said, but continued. “At least that is what the rumours are saying.”

Gallow’s Corner was a ruined scout tower on a crossroad to Alterac City. Whoever controls it controls the movement from Tarren Mill to Strahnbrad too. You knew that much.

“Anything more?” You asked and tried to fish for more information.

“Nothing else comes to my mind that would be of value to you.” Ieastyn said back.

“Should we?” Asked Marcus as he continued to fidget in his chair.

“Yes we should go.” Ieastyn quickly said and stood up. “It was a pleasant talk dear princeling, may we meet again in better circumstances.”

As both men stood up, you saw how the hands of Marcus were hovering above the hilts of his daggers. By instinct you stood up too and moved your own hand near the hilt of your sword which Marcus did notice. Two of you watched each other as Ieastyn paid Monica for the drinks and food. With a wave of hand Ieastyn and his partner left the inn.

You felt your heartbeat slow down back to normal, but this certain unease and tension was in your body. As you were speaking with Ieastyn the farmers and lumberjacks had left too.

“What was that about?” Monica asked you when you walked back to the counter. “Earlier they were going to take a room here.”

“Probably for the best.” You answered her.

“What do you mean?” Monica asked with a questioning look on her face.

“Call it a hunch, mercenaries can cause problems.” You said to her avoiding telling her that you were suspicious of those two men.

“Well everyone else left too, not exactly the best drinking or traveling season.” She said and pointed at the window. It was raining yet again. “I am going to close the inn for today and there is no one else to be served here, so more wine my prince?”


>Ehh why not, it isn’t that late yet and talking to Monica would break the tension you were feeling.
>Sorry, you have drunk enough wine for today. Retire to your room to sleep.
>Other, write in

QM: Busy day today, will try to write another update today if there is enough votes

>>4873303
>>Sorry, you have drunk enough wine for today. Retire to your room to sleep.

Did the ogres leave on their own volition, or did the brigands chase them out I wonder? Might be worth looking into.

>>4873303
>Ehh why not, it isn’t that late yet and talking to Monica would break the tension you were feeling.

>>4873303
>Sorry, you have drunk enough wine for today. Retire to your room to sleep.

actually change my previous vote to this one ^
>>4873374

>>4873303
>>Sorry, you have drunk enough wine for today. Retire to your room to sleep.

>>4873303
>Ehh why not, it isn’t that late yet and talking to Monica would break the tension you were feeling.

“Sorry, it is somewhat late and I have drunk enough wine today. It is better for me to go to sleep.” You said to Monica. “Tomorrow is most likely a long day.”

“A fine choice prince Alric.” Monica said with a slight tone of defeat in her voice. “I will get your room ready, it will take a moment.”

She didn’t lie, in a few minutes she had carried a fresh set of bed linens and pillows into your room.

“My prince, your room is ready.” Monica said after having guided you up the stairs and having shown the room. “Do you need your clothes washed?”

“No need for that Monica, just have my cloak dry for tomorrow.”

“Leave that to me. Have a pleasant night prince Alric.” She said after doing a small curtsy. You watched as she disappeared back downstairs before going into your room. You were a somewhat tired and slightly tipsy so you fell asleep quite fast.

…

The next morning was pleasant. Having woken up you went downstairs where a few others were already eating breakfast. Monica served you a bowl of hot porridge with a bit of butter, some bread to go with it and a cup of hot herbal tea. She also had your cloak dry and ready and when you finished eating your breakfast and having paid for the food and the room, you left the inn and rode towards home.

>>4873742

It had been two days since your trip to Tarren Mill and you had called your officers for a meeting. Captain Garside was already inside the farmstead waiting with you as your officers arrived one by one. First was the former royal gamekeeper Bill Rover. The older man was wearing his usual woodman’s clothing and he greeted you with a nod before taking his seat. Both sergeants Cromwell and Maxwell arrived at the same time. The old Alteraci style armour of Cromwell did strike some contrast with the more recent red Stromgarde armour Maxwell was wearing. Both of the men greeted you before sitting down. Finally it was the lieutenant Beckston of the Kul Tiran Swashbucklers who arrived. Compared to others he wasn’t in armour this time.

“Ahh drat am I late?” He asked as he barged in.

“You are not late lieutenant Beckston, we were just starting.” Captain Garside said. “Prince Alric had something to say to all of us.”

“Yes, thank you captain Garside.” You gave a nod to him and continued speaking. “As you know, a few days ago I visited Tarren Mill to ask for some assistance in the construction. After we had discussed it and they had offered their help, mayor Fowley had a proposition.”

“Sire, what did he propose to you?” Cromwell asked.

“He wants to hire ten footmen and ten archers for multiple seasons from us. As we know the bandits decimated their guards and they feel that they need more protection until they have managed to hire new guards for themselves.” You explained.

“Doesn’t sound that complicated. Sire, how much did they offer?” This time it was Maxwell who asked and leaned forward. “I hope it was a good offer.”

You explained the offer to your officers with Garside reminding them how many men would be available to us at the start of the contract. You also told the men the information Ieastyn had told you about Gallow’s Corner, how you had heard this rumour while in Tarren Mill without going into detail from whom you had heard it.

“Alteraci winter is not the greatest season to fight wars in.” Said Cromwell. “But the spring that comes next and the summer? Hard to say if the troops are needed then.”

“As prince Alric told us, mayor Fowley did say that we can recall the troops at any time, but what if we are attacked. The men in Tarren Mill can’t help us then.” Garside said and scratched his short beard.

“Aye.” Came the gruff answer from Rover.

“But at the same time it would bring us wealth and we wouldn’t have to get them food or replacement equipment.” Maxwell argued.

“That is true and even with these men away, we would have fifty footmen and twenty archers available. It is not like we would be defenceless.” Beckston continued.

“All in all if the troops are away, we must be more careful during the winter and the coming spring and potentially summer.” You mused aloud. “Whatever we choose should affect what we will do in the future. But we will decide that later when the winter and the spring actually arrive.”

>>4873745

Troops at start of winter season:
-10 Regular Footmen
-20 Veteran Footmen
-20 Regular Kul Tiran Swashbucklers
-10 Veteran Stromgarde Guards
-30 Regular Archers

>Accept the request. Provide 10 footmen and 10 archers to Tarren Mill at the start of winter season. Tarren Mill pays the Supply upkeep and pays you 1 Wealth per season for their services for several seasons.
>Decline the request. Explain to mayor Fowley how it would restrict your own hand too much and that you need those troops for the safety of your people.
>Other, write in

QM: Next update tomorrow about same time as this one

>>4873742
Poor Monica. I feel almost bad for her.

>>4873748
>Accept the request. Provide 10 footmen and 10 archers to Tarren Mill at the start of winter season. Tarren Mill pays the Supply upkeep and pays you 1 Wealth per season for their services for several seasons.

Hopefully whatever trouble that comes our way will be manageable enough that these twenty won't turn out to be life or death difference, and Tarren Mill is kind of valuable to be safe to us as well.

>>4873748
>Accept the request. Provide 10 footmen and 10 archers to Tarren Mill at the start of winter season. Tarren Mill pays the Supply upkeep and pays you 1 Wealth per season for their services for several seasons.e

>>4873748
>Decline the request. Explain to mayor Fowley how it would restrict your own hand too much and that you need those troops for the safety of your people.

>>4873748
>Accept the request. Provide 10 footmen and 10 archers to Tarren Mill at the start of winter season. Tarren Mill pays the Supply upkeep and pays you 1 Wealth per season for their services for several seasons.

Buckle down and send out scouts and spotters for early warning incase anything comes near us.

>>4873748
>>Accept the request. Provide 10 footmen and 10 archers to Tarren Mill at the start of winter season. Tarren Mill pays the Supply upkeep and pays you 1 Wealth per season for their services for several seasons.

The 10 footmen should be our regular footmen, not the veterans. Hopefully they'll gain some experience from this.

“It is decided. We will accept the request. Safety of Tarren Mill is important and with this we can also gain some wealth for us.” You said to the men across the table. “Cromwell arrange it so that when the winter arrives, the men who were with us from the beginning would be the ones sent there.”

“Can do sire. While garrison duty is not rest, the men will see it as it.” Cromwell said and gave an approving nod.

“And regarding the rumours of Gallow’s Corner, when winter arrives we should see our options again, but keep it in your mind.” You continued. “I don’t have anything else for now, do you have something to say?”

Your officers shook their heads one by one and you ended the meeting and started to wait for the help from Tarren Mill to arrive.

…

Two more days had passed with thankfully no rain having happened. You had passed the days playing chess and reading your books about warfare and history. Finally on the late afternoon of the third day one of your footmen comes delivering a simple message. The help from Tarren Mill is here.

You and half of the population in The Headland came to see who was arriving and to your and their surprise it did look like half of the whole population of Tarren Mill was here. Dozen ox carts and wagons carried tools, food and shelters for the workers arriving. You saw mayor Fowley on one of the carts and walked to meet him.

“Mayor Fowley, it looks like you brought half of the town with you.” You said to him.

“Good afternoon prince Alric, and you are correct. Half of the town is here.” He said and stopped the cart to climb off. “When I told the people that you need help, nearly everyone volunteered. We had to say no to quite many of them.”

You were taken by this and didn’t know what to say for a moment.

“Fowley I don’t know what to say other than thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, you can thank the people later.” Mayor Fowley said. “Now let's get the camp up and running so that the workers can start the work tomorrow.”

>>4875418

Evening had arrived as you sat in the large tent of mayor Fowley. A meeting with foreman Davis and captain Garside had concluded. The plan for how the work would start tomorrow had been made and more or less everything was ready. You took a bite out of an apple as Fowley finished writing notes of his.

“We have decided to agree, at the start of the winter ten footmen and ten archers will arrive at Tarren Mill.” You told him.

“That is good to hear. I will arrange everything to be ready for their arrival.” Fowley said with a smile.

“Safety of Tarren Mill is important to us. If something happens to you, it will affect us too sooner or later.”

Fowley nodded and brought you a pre-written contract to be signed. The man had prepared everything. You signed the contract and both of you shook hands.

“Prince Alric, for a Perenolde you aren’t that bad.”

…

Early next morning the work began. Lumberjacks of Tarren Mill joined yours in felling and cutting the timber, workers swarmed over the half built log houses and started lifting logs and finishing windows, doors and roofs. The atmosphere within the town now that there was no rain and the help having arrived seemed festival-like. And the work, it really did seem to progress with a breakneck speed.


>1d10
>Best of three

QM: Potential random event roll.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4875554

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>4875554
How nice. Maybe we can burn some of our stockpile for a suitably decent, comfy festivity once the job’s done,

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4875554

For the next few days the work continued with the same vigour as it had started. The increased number of workers really made a difference as log houses kept getting their walls and roofs up one after another. Davis, Garside and Fowley had their hands full at organizing all this and there was constantly something they had to deal with. Maura Garside, the wife of captain Garside and practically your surrogate mother, with the help of other ladies including Monica, meanwhile organized the food lines and made sure that everyone was fed properly.

Of course some problems and accidents did happen, with most being solved by you delegating the problem towards someone who knew what to do or by Raleigh the True healing the small cuts and bruises. There was one problem that you noticed on the first day, but had hoped wouldn’t cause any issues as days went by. The people of Tarren Mill didn’t really like that Sir Radan and his group of bandits were there working under constant guard. To them Sir Radan should have been hanging from a tree for the actions Redhill and his bandits did to Tarren Mill.

Finally on the fourth day the tensions flared up and there was a scuffle between a member of Sir Radan’s group and one of the Tarren Mill workers. Thankfully no real injuries had happened, but it did sour the mood between the Alteraci and those of Tarren Mill badly. When you arrived at the scene the two parties were separated, but the work had stopped. So you were forced to question the people involved.

“Sire, I didn’t see who started it.” Said the footman guarding Sir Radan and the bandits. “The men were carrying boxes and planks, I heard the crash when they were dropped and the two men started to shove and then punch each other. Few others from both sides joined in the shoving and we had our hands full trying to separate them.”

“The bloody bandit crashed into me and then accused me of doing it. I shoved him and he punched me. “Said the man from Tarren Mill while holding his nose. “So we had a small fight, but that is not the point. The point is why these men are walking free and not hanging or rotting in jail!”

“So what, the bloke made me drop the planks and then he showed me. So I punched back. He started it.” The bandit meanwhile said.

“I am sorry. My man was foolish, he shouldn’t have punched and what he did was wrong.” Said Sir Radan about his man. He seemed remorseful as he had managed to keep his men working and behaving well without incidents for the past few months.

“The problem is that the people of Tarren Mill don't like seeing these men working for you. Be it forced labour, but to them it is practically letting them walk free.” Said mayor Fowley and gave his opinion after arriving at the scene. “You need to solve this somehow or the sour mood continues.”

1/2

>>4875756

You did think about several solutions of which some of them were better and some weren’t. Then there was also the fact that Sir Radan and his men were performing forced labour to pay for their crimes and to pay amends to the people, they were criminals so they had to be handled like criminals. And for an assault by a criminal to a citizen the sentence was flogging and jail if the assault was severe. You had to find a balance that fits the justice required and makes the people of Tarren Mill happy.


>Sir Radan and his thirteen men can do a lot of heavy lifting. They are needed here to help in construction to have it finished faster. Tarren Mill negative opinion.
>Send Sir Radan and his men to work in the silver and lead mine to free a few workers from there. They would be out of sight, but not out of mind. Tarren Mill neutral opinion.
>Lock Sir Radan and his men into a cellar until the people of Tarren Mill leave. They wouldn’t be working, but everyone would know that they are stuck there. Tarren Mill positive opinion.
>Other, write in

Flogging of the bandit will happen, but how?
>Public flogging to remind Alteraci and Tarren Mill alike of the old Alteraci justice. Back in the day public humiliation like this was given to some criminals. Tarren Mill positive opinion.
>Private flogging as you don’t need to make this a public event, scuffle was only between few men. Tarren Mill neutral opinion.

Was the assault severe and/or does the criminal deserve jail time?
>Yes, the bandit after the flogging will spend the portion or a full winter in one of the cellars where it can be somewhat cold chained to a pillar. Tarren Mill positive opinion.
>No, the flogging is enough for a punch. Tarren Mill neutral opinion.

QM: Multiple votes so vote in all of them

>>4875762
>Sir Radan and his thirteen men can do a lot of heavy lifting. They are needed here to help in construction to have it finished faster. Tarren Mill negative opinion.
More importantly they are already serving their time and punishing the ones that behave alongside the one that let himself go would not be right.
Although we understand the villagers have suffered because of the bandits, they are already atoning.

>Public flogging to remind Alteraci and Tarren Mill alike of the old Alteraci justice. Back in the day public humiliation like this was given to some criminals. Tarren Mill positive opinion.
A measure of demonstrative justice is in order to show the atonement needs to be taken seriously.

>No, the flogging is enough for a punch. Tarren Mill neutral opinion.
no need to get disproportionate about the punishment though I think.

>>4875762
>Sir Radan and his thirteen men can do a lot of heavy lifting. They are needed here to help in construction to have it finished faster. Tarren Mill negative opinion.
>Public flogging to remind Alteraci and Tarren Mill alike of the old Alteraci justice. Back in the day public humiliation like this was given to some criminals. Tarren Mill positive opinion.
>No, the flogging is enough for a punch. Tarren Mill neutral opinion.

We will do the flogging personally and observe the workers up close for avoid that an incident happens again later.

>>4875762
>Send Sir Radan and his men to work in the silver and lead mine to free a few workers from there. They would be out of sight, but not out of mind. Tarren Mill neutral opinion.
>Public flogging to remind Alteraci and Tarren Mill alike of the old Alteraci justice. Back in the day public humiliation like this was given to some criminals. Tarren Mill positive opinion.
>No, the flogging is enough for a punch. Tarren Mill neutral opinion.

This should be enough to keep Tarren Mill content while still allowing the criminals to be productive. The workers freed from the mine should work on construction, this way our productivity doesn't change except a brief pause while the criminals and miners swap places.

>>4875762
>Send Sir Radan and his men to work in the silver and lead mine to free a few workers from there. They would be out of sight, but not out of mind. Tarren Mill neutral opinion.
>Public flogging to remind Alteraci and Tarren Mill alike of the old Alteraci justice. Back in the day public humiliation like this was given to some criminals. Tarren Mill positive opinion.
>No, the flogging is enough for a punch. Tarren Mill neutral opinion.

>>4875832
It would be unbecoming and below us for a prince to do corporeal punishment like that.

Two votes for heavy lifting and two votes for silver and lead mine. I need a tiebreaker on that or when I start writing I will roll a dice.

I just hope carting them off to the mines won't be grounds for them to relapse to banditry at some point. Not just because temptation of silver but also because of showing that even if they behave they will not be getting second chances. But that's probably an excessive worry. They know they could've hung and that good name is not an easy thing to recover.

>>4876706
We can talk to Sir Radan and explain the reasoning. Just keep giving they a clear sight to redemption and they will follow it.

More of your footmen had arrived at the scene and thankfully you didn’t have to go searching for one of your officers as you saw sergeant Maxwell walking towards you.

“Sergeant Maxwell, detain this man.” You said while pointing towards the bandit who threw the first punch. “And prepare him for a public flogging.”

Maxwell saluted and gave orders to a pair of footmen who picked up the bandit who was quite surprised that something would happen to him. As he was escorted away, you approached Sir Radan.

“The people of Tarren Mill would love to have your heads, but I won’t give it to them. After the flogging you will be sent to the mine where you can continue your labour.” You said to him.

“Understood my prince.” Radan said with his head down. “We will work there as hard as we did here.”

1/3

>>4876783

A large crowd had appeared to watch the flogging. A rope had been thrown over a house frame as a proper whipping post didn’t exist. Footmen kept the crowd away from the bandit as his hands were tied and lifted above his head. His bare back was seen by all. Seeing that everything was ready, you stood up on a barrel to allow everyone to see you.

“This man is serving a sentence of forced labour until he and the others have worked enough to pay for their crimes and given enough back to the people.” You started speaking to the crowd. “And for all the good work the men have been doing, we must remember that they are criminals and behavior and actions done by this man are unacceptable.”

You let the last word sink into the crowd before you continued speaking.

“The old Alteraci laws written by our ancestors and upheld by our kingdom, say that if a criminal was to assault a citizen, the sentence would be flogging. And here we have a man who did just that. A criminal who assaulted a citizen.”

You noticed that the people gathered were listening to your speech carefully.

“And with my right as prince of Alterac, I sentence this man to be flogged until his back be bloody. Sergeant Cromwell administer the justice.”

You stepped down and watched as Cromwell approached the tied man. He had managed to find an old whip and after taking his position he swung it with all of his strength.

The crowd gasped as the whip impacted on the man's back, drawing blood immediately and causing him to scream in sudden pain. You and everyone who had arrived watched as Cromwell did his bloody work and as the bandits screams of pain turned into a sad whimper. It did not take that long for his whole back to be red from wounds and dripping blood. A last swing from Cromwell made the bandit collapse and left hanging from his tied hands. The sentence was administered.

As the crowd realized that it was over, they left and continued the work. You hoped this was enough to keep people of Tarren Mill happy.

“Sergeant Cromwell, clean his back and then escort him and the others to the mine.” You said to him as he was standing and watching his handiwork. “I must ask, had you done this before?”

“No sire, but the more strength you use and faster you do it, you don’t have to suffer as long.”

There was logic behind it.

2/3

>>4876785

With the flogged bandit, Sir Radan and others were escorted to the mine, the work in the town continued as usual with maybe a bit less enthusiasm. Each day since more houses were completed and the town seemed to approach being completed. A week from the flogging foreman Davis came to tell you the good news. We were back on schedule and now even with a terrible downpour happening everything would be finished on time.

The news of this spread around the town like a wildfire after a meeting between you, Garside, Davis and Fowley it was decided that next day would be the last day of Tarren Mills help. With that the workers started to finish whatever they were doing and cleaning the places.

…

You spent the next morning going over a bunch of papers and numbers with mayor Fowley in his tent when one of the workers came asking for help. He was something about the tables and the pyre. After the worker had left, you had to ask Fowley what was going on.

“What tables is he talking about?”

“The workers want to have a small festival to celebrate the results of the work and having managed to help your people. Prince Alric, I couldn’t really say no to them.”

“Not a bad idea, I will let you organize it all.” You said and gave an approving nod. This would be a nice way to celebrate the end of autumn and the coming of winter that was just a few weeks away.

…

The evening had arrived and people had gathered in the center of the town. A small pyre had been built in the middle of it with numerous torches giving light elsewhere. Rows of tables were laid up with different simple foods and drinks being available. Those who could play instruments were already playing their music. As you approached the festival site at first the guards greeted you and then your people and those Tarren Mill gave approving nods and greetings. It really was a festival mood.


>Mingle with the peasants, enjoy the festival and spend the evening with them
>Use this chance to be with your officers and men, let the peasants enjoy this all as this after all their own doing and success
>Go find mayor Fowley and others who made this all possible, thank them and spend the evening with them
>Other, write in

>>4876790
>Make a brief speech commending the hard work put into make this possible, thanking our friends from Tarren Mill for assisting with it and raise a toast to the hope that the construction of new dwellings tends to represent.
>Then mingle with the feasting people, ours and the Tarren Mill ones alike, before returning to the officers
we should make sure to meet with the mayor before he leaves, but we can't neglect our own people entirely.

>>4876796
support this idea, is a good one

>>4876790
>Go find mayor Fowley and others who made this all possible, thank them and spend the evening with them

>>4876790
>>Mingle with the peasants, enjoy the festival and spend the evening with them

The people had already started to eat and drink, and so before they would be fully into the festival mood, you decided to talk. Having looked around, you found a suitable table and climbed on top of it. The people around you quickly noticed it and you had their attention.

“Last spring when I made my first moves, there were only fifty people who decided to follow me. Now there are nearly two hundred. I did not think that Perenolde, the son of a traitor, would be accepted by our neighbours, but I am glad that I was wrong.” You said to the crowd watching and continued. “The help we have received from you makes me glad and it makes my people happy. Without your help, some of us would have been forced to either sleep outside in tents or crammed together in the few houses that were finished for the winter. And for that I am eternally grateful and I wish to be able to help you in future, if you require anything.”

“So raise a toast for the new dwellings we put up together, for the friendship between ourselves and Tarren Mill” You shouted and the people raised whatever they were drinking. “For Tarren Mill, Alterac Stands!”

And the crowd responded with cheers and shouts.

…

The festival continued without problems. The musicians played their instruments, the peasants ate the foods that were prepared and drank the wines and beers. You went from the table to another, exchanging a few words with everyone and accepting whatever was offered to your platter. You stuffed yourself full with all kinds of foods ranging from apple pie to pieces of boiled venison. Having eaten and drank so much, you had to take a short break and you made your way to the table where mayor Fowley and captain Garside were sitting.

“I didn’t know a festival could be so tiring.” You said to them as you sat down.

Both men chuckled a bit, before Garside spoke.

“The people have really accepted you Alric, they really do like you.” He said.

“It is true.” Fowley continued. “People of Tarren Mill really do appreciate what you have done to them.”

1/2

>>4877656

You sat with Garside and Fowley for a moment and watched as the peasants started to dance. When the ladies dancing started to invite people, you couldn’t really say no to their invites. You just hoped to remember what Maura Garside had taught you about dancing when you were younger.

And you danced, you danced with so many people that after seventh one you lost your count. Between short breaks to eat and drink some more, the people around you danced and you felt the tension and all the stress in your body disappearing. This was the most fun you have had in a long time.

Time flew and slowly people started to leave to go to sleep. You saw that Garside and others had already left. Some of the musicians had already packed their instruments, but the last one still played his flute. You didn’t recognize the song, but it was a slow and soothing one.

“Prince Alric, do you give me the pleasure of the last dance?” Asked Monica who approached you. She was wearing her green top and skirt and the light from the slowly dying pyre coloured her burgundy hair darker.


>Yeah, why not. Monica has always been friendly to you so why not dance with her for a moment.
>Yeah, why not. But it is quite late so don’t dance too long.
>Decline politely, but spend a moment talking with her.
>Decline as it is quite late already and as a prince you have duties for the next day.
>Other, write in

QM: Weekend will be a busy one to me so maybe no large updates. Sunday evening latest comes the next proper update.

>>4877661
>>Yeah, why not. Monica has always been friendly to you so why not dance with her for a moment.

So, wholesome innkeeper waifu? Or Falconcrest honeypot?
I'm a bit leery to have us commit into romance in case people are holding out for Jaina or someone else but I suppose she is pretty sweet.

>>4877674
Maybe good to make it clear now, but none of the potential romances are immediate locks to that route exactly.

>>4877806
yeah it's just I'd rather not break her heart if we come across someone "better" later.

>>4877661
>>Yeah, why not. Monica has always been friendly to you so why not dance with her for a moment.

>>4877661
>Decline as it is quite late already and as a prince you have duties for the next day.

>>4877661
>>Decline as it is quite late already and as a prince you have duties for the next day.

I will try to update this evening so I will need a tiebreaker. If it is still a draw when I start writing, I will roll a dice to break the tie.

>>4878984
Cockblock, or the final dance?
Coin toss set to break balance.
Poor Monica, to be set
Against women not yet met.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4878984
Alrighty, 1 is Yes and 2 is No. Will start writing.

>>4879191
Haha

"It would be my pleasure." You answered and took hold of Monica's hands. She guided herself to be close to you and as the flautist played two of you slowly danced around the dying pyre. Neither of you said nothing, just enjoyed the warmth that kept the autumn night away.

One by one the remaining peasants left and when the song ended and the flautist stopped playing, both of you still held each other. It was Monica who slowly pulled herself away from you. You could see that she was smiling.

"May I escort you to your tent?" You asked her. She didn't say anything, but just nodded to you. Holding her hand, you escorted her towards where the tents of Tarren Mill were.

The walk there wasn't long and when you were near the tents, Monica turned to face you.

"Thank you prince Alric for this evening, for the dance and for everything you have done for us." Monica said. It was dark, but you saw her smile and happiness in her eyes.

"I try to do what is the best." You answered somewhat awkwardly. "Being a prince forces me to act in a goodway hopefully.

"Oh I know that as a prince you have reasons and motivations to do what you do, but that doesn't change a thing." She said back.

This time you didn’t say anything, just gave a faint nod.

"I think it's the time for me to leave, the duties of a prince don't wait and I will have to catch some sleep." You said to her and let her hands go. "Good night Monica."

As you took a step away from Monica, she suddenly took hold of your hands, pulled you closer and then she kissed you.

"Good night prince Alric." Monica said after she pulled away from her embrace. "Sleep well."

You watched as Monica left towards the tent and finally when the darkness of the night made it impossible to see her, you turned away and made way towards your farmstead and bed. Still moments later you could feel her touch.

1/2

>>4879340

The next day wasn't as festival-like as the day before, but instead resembled more of two friends saying goodbyes. The people of Tarren Mill had packed their carts and wagons and the whole town had come to see them off.

You said goodbye to mayor Fowley and promised to come to visit him at some point. You also reassured him that the hired men would arrive as winter arrives. Finally you send sergeant Cromwell with a group of soldiers to escort them back to Tarren Mill.

With that the people of Tarren Mill left and the final weeks of autumn started before the snow and coldness of winter arrived.

…

For the past three weeks you had watched as the workers were finishing the log houses and other buildings. You had watched how the footmen continued their drills and how the archers kept practicing near constantly. Your officers had talked how the current group of recruits were extremely promising and due to that a great amount of coin had been used to procure them modern arms and armour.

Meanwhile between your duties you had continued playing chess and reading your history books about warfare. You now won more matches against Garside than before and felt that maybe you had learned something, but you weren’t exactly there yet.

Finally on a particularly cold afternoon when you were doing a short riding trip with your horse Epona, the first snow came. You caught one snowflake with your hand and let it melt beneath your breath. Winter was here.


>1d10
>Best of three

QM: Start of a new season random event roll. Congratulations, autumn is over and in the next update we start the winter season. Tomorrow the goal is to update the pastebins and post the first start of a season post.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4879342

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4879342
Let's see what the fate and chance have in store for us...

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>4879342

Nice development

With the first snowfall, it was clear that winter was upon you and it was time for another meeting at the start of a new season. Again you called your officers and close confidants to join you in the farmstead. You really only had to wait for trader Beric to arrive from Southshore, everyone else was already in The Headland.

…

It took Beric a few days to get the message, but he did arrive as soon as possible. His cart was yet again full of goods to sell to the local peasants and when he arrived inside the farmstead he came carrying a small chest.

“Good day everyone, do you want the fuckin’ good news or the really bad news first.” He said and slammed the chest on the desk. It did look like Beric hadn’t slept in days and he did seem a bit leaner.

“Good day Beric.” You answered and let the usual lack of respect from Beric go. “The good news first.”

“Well the good news is this chest.” He said and opened it, it was full of gold coins.”This is for the silver you have dug up and extra. I met a trader whose customer in Stormwind required silver post-haste and he was willing to pay some more if I could acquire the required amount. Thankfully he didn’t know that I had a mine in my pocket.”

>Gained 6 extra Wealth from a desperate trader from Stormwind

“That is really good news, what is then the bad news?” Normand Garside asked as he picked one of the coins.

“Well it is bloody Kavdan. His thugs have been harassing me and everyone else that is even slightly on your side. Threatening to beat them or worse. Haven't really slept that well after they threatened to burn my warehouse down. Kavdan acts like he hasn’t done anything when the guards come asking, but everyone knows that he is behind it all.” Beric said and scratched his bald head. “That is why Maleb wants to see you as soon as possible, to quote him ‘solve this Alteraci problem’.”

So it was Kavdan, the former colonel of Alterac, who had been causing trouble. It will be something you might have to tackle in the future.

“Thank you Beric.” Garside said and spread his own papers on the table as Beric found a chair to sit in. Everyone else was already waiting in the room.

1/2

File: Map of Alterac and Hillsb(...).png (1.21 MB, 1002x668)

1.21 MB PNG

>>4880842

“No one arrived here ahead of winter, so no need to worry about housing them. We have finished the Herbalist’s Huts and Hunting Lodges in Darrow Hill and Gavin’s Daze and the Blacksmith is also finished here. He has already started to make tools and equipment for us.” Garside spoke and continued. “The options we have based on our current wealth are somewhat limited. Due to that I am suggesting that we should invest in farms. We need more supplies and food and when our soldiers come back from Tarren Mill we are yet again going to spend more supplies than making them.”

“Sire, we do need to think about the protection of the mine and southern mountains.” Cromwell said. “If the ogres retaliate, we only have the Scout Tower to give us a warning. We have enough men right now to respond and defend our holdings, but having permanent defences could help immensely.”

“What sergeant Cromwell says is correct, we must invest in the defence at some point. But if we build the farms now, the peasants will have enough time to have a full harvest next autumn.” Garside argued back.

Both of them were correct and you had discussed this last time you had this meeting. Now would be the perfect time to build the farms, but at the same time building the barracks and potentially more towers and upgrading them will have to happen sooner or later.

“What about our military numbers, are the new men ready.” You asked.

“Yes sire, we currently have 60 Footmen of which 20 are Kul Tirans and 10 are from Stromgarde. In addition we have 30 Archers. The contract with Tarren Mill will force us to send 10 Footmen and 10 Archers away.” Cromwell explained. “Our numbers are better than in the previous season, but we should always train more.”

More things were suggested to be built than you have Wealth available and after this you had to think about new soldiers to be recruited. You could always sell some of your Supplies for extra Wealth

Total Resources
14 Wealth, +7 per Season
16 Supplies, +1 per Season
55 Peasants

>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Darrow Hill
>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Gavin’s Naze
>Barracks, Costs 10 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Guard Tower, Costs 10 Wealth and 10 Peasants, upgrading the Scout Tower in Southern Alterac Mountains
>Iron Mine +2 wealth, Costs 5 Wealth and 30 Peasants, Darrow Hill
>Other, check the pastebin

You may exchange Wealth to Supplies with 1:1 rate and Supplies to Wealth with 2:1 rate.

Prince Alric Stats: https://pastebin.com/rysxdRsv
Quest Mechanisms: https://pastebin.com/CyD88qqf

QM: Economics portion first and then tomorrow the military options including potentially recruiting more soldiers and mercenaries. Both pastebins have been updated and I will give everyone enough time to vote. And as always, if you have questions feel free to ask them.

>>4880849
Can we get Rover to train some people as scouts/rangers?

>>4880925

I have notes regarding that ready for the future, but let me just say that Rangers aren't available not yet.

>>4880849

>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Darrow Hill
>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Gavin’s Naze
>Iron Mine +2 wealth, Costs 5 Wealth and 30 Peasants, Darrow Hill

Sell some supplies to get +1 wealth so we can afford all 3 projects before things heat up and we won't have time to build non military or defensive structures.

>>4880975
guess we'll have to recruit a farstrider for that

>>4880982
I will support this plan

>>4881032
Only downside is we only have 5 people free after this and no wealth unless we sell some supplies.

In fact, maybe we sell 4 supplies instead of 2 so we have a little big of emergency funds. What do you guys think?

>>4880982
I’m guessing I’ll back this as well. We need the economy to get up the tech tree.

And we need intel. Much is going on we don’t know, like syndicate operations. Who could those two mercs have worked for? But I guess Kavdan is the nearest point on agenda,

Are southwest alterac mountains accessible for us to scouting and maybe as avenue to infiltrate Alterac keep?
Are south alterac mountains traversible to Alterac beyond them?

>>4881067
I suppose it might be prudent yeah.

>>4881086
Yes, you can scout and move into South-Western Alterac Mountains. Also all of the Alterac Mountains can be used to move into Alterac proper, there are numerous valleys and mountain passes everywhere that allow movement through the mountains.

Also yes, you can move into Southern Alterac Valley, but those lands are known to be territory of Crushridge ogres. So be careful of what you are planning.

Does everyone support selling 4 Supplies instead of only 2 Supplies?

>>4880982
>>4881067
I support this. We will spend this season booming our economy as much as possible.

>>4881067
yeah sounds fine, it should be okay

>>4881289
by the way medivh, the map with numbers will be in the next post ? (so we can look which is which from the pastebin)

File: Map of Alterac and Hillsb(...).png (1.21 MB, 1002x668)

1.21 MB PNG

>>4881361

You can have it here

>>4880849
I know the WoW map is only there to give vague impression of the terrain and distances are much greater than in game, but I'd like to know if, supposing we took the southwest alterac mountains, could conceivably arrange for artillery support that would have sufficient range to provide support if we moved for the Alterac proper.

Not like I expect we'd be in position to take on the ogres anytime soon.

>>4881086
we could get a rogue or a spy (for gain intel) of our own later on, right now we will need to wait. It could be ideal to go for one of the bandits territories.

Still we need more soldiers before expanding again. It s not a question of taking territory more holding them. Though going against the ogre will inevitably attract all of them from the north. They will not just wait, after we deal a blow. But come in force from the north and attempt to crush us.

It could be wise for us even to just learn and train, and wait some seasons. We have still a long life in front of us.

Still killing is also good and we gain exp, loot, money, info, some fame and maybe to free some people.


>>4881367
Nice thanks


I think attacking Sofera’s Naze, Forest, Farmlands (13)

and taking could be ideal for us
or
the South-Western Alterac Mountains (24)

>>4881371
Sadly not possible. The real distances are way too long for cross territory artillery support. The Cannon Towers after all are defensive structures.

How to get mortars and other siege weapons are in my notes, will happen later in the game.

>>4881378
>We have still a long life in front of us.
It's Rover I'm concerned about. I'd like him to be able to at least set foot in the keep. Much better if we could manage to retake it. But I agree, we can't risk losing all in a hasty offensive.

Not to say that the ogre coming right at us after we attack them is a bad thing, because it can become easily a military oppurtunity for utterly crash them even if they have a large army. Of course we would need it to handle it well, so it goes how we want it. For example an ambush that blocks them in a place with very bad terrain.

>>4881390
Yeah, mortars were what I was thinking.

Same with flying machines.

And making friends, having some magical support from Dalaran would be awesome, but not easy to secure I bet.

>>4881391
fair enough, he is kind of old too. If we could kill a good amount of our foes up north he would have an easier time travelling north for see the situation.

Rover is not that old, he is somewhat older than Captain Garside so it means that he is in his fifties. His scruffy and old outlook just comes from being a woodsman for his whole life and living relatively simple life.

>>4881441
That so? He seemed to be raising death flags at times. Well, I'd still rather let him get his wish as soon as we can do so with appropriate preparation and chance of success.

>>4881441
that s good then

We should also check out Gallow's Corner. If what the merc said was true it might be opportunity to take it without provoking the Ogres, even though the ogres probably haven't forgotten we took the silver mine they were dealing with.

And to find out who the "bandits" are affiliated with. Regardless, clearing route to Strahnbrad would likely be helpful.

>>4881491
Having Gallow's Corner would be nice as well.
Yeah the ogres might do something if we move for it. But still, it could be worthed. And we need info on those bandits, can t leave them around.

>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Darrow Hill
>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Gavin’s Naze
>Iron Mine +2 wealth, Costs 5 Wealth and 30 Peasants, Darrow Hill
>Exchange 4 Supplies into 2 Wealth

“We will have to sell some of our supplies to finance all this, but we will get the farms up in Darrow Hill and Gavin’s Naze.” You said. “In addition we will build the Iron Mine underneath Darrow Hill, we cannot let that resource be let waste.”

There was a round of agreeing nods around the table, but you saw Cromwell counting something in his mind.

“Sire, that means we are not going to have enough people to recruit from.” Cromwell argued.

“It is true, but without a better economy we cannot support a larger army.” You said back to Cromwell.

“Prince Alric is correct, a strong economy will support a strong army.” Garside said. “Let us have a small recess to allow Beric to leave to peddle his goods.”

…

After Beric had left and some small chit-chat had happened, the meeting continued with the military business next.

“With the gnolls gone the overall security of Hillsbrad Foothills has increased.” Garside said and continued. “The Regional Defenders are somewhat spread too thin with Tarren Mill lacking enough of their own guards. Still this is a definite improvement.”

You looked at the map that was spread across the table with all the coloured stones around it to indicate who controls what.

“The farmers are now safe which thankfully makes our options easier.” You said and continued. “North of us in the Alterac Valley there are the ogres. West of us is the South-Western Alterac Mountains, which is a big question mark, Rover do you know anything about that place?”

“Explored, but poorly.” Came the scruff answer from him. “Too many caves and too irregular mountain passes. Dangerous place even when the kingdom stood, but can be moved through.”

“And that just leaves Sofera’s Naze to the east of us and then the Gallows' Corner.” You said back to Rover and continued speaking. “Whatever we do, I think it will give us more attention from our enemies, especially if we go to Gallows’ Corner with a full force. If we capture it from the rumoured bandits, how will the ogres or rest of the bandits react? Then there is the Syndicate to be taken into account.”

1/2

>>4882422

“Is the Alteraci winter as bad as stories often tell?” Asked Beckston. “I have never been to this north or cold place before.”

“Mountains during winter are treacherous. Valleys themselves are much better, but it isn’t uncommon to be forced to dig yourself out of your house after a snow storm.” Garside said. “We have to take the winter seriously, or it will bite into our asses.”

You saw Beckston muttering something about Light protecting him after having heard that.

“Winter will limit us if we do anything in the mountains or in Alterac proper, be it just scouting or a full blown invasion, it will make it much harder.” Garside continued.

“What about mercenaries?” You directed the question towards Cromwell.

“Only one group in the region. Cavalry by the name of Harry’s Harriers, but they are too expensive for us now.” Cromwell said.

There was a pause in the discussion, but then the silence was broken by Beckston.

“Prince Alric, me and my men have been thinking about this, but could it be possible for you to retain us on a permanent basis?” Lieutenant Beckston asked. “This place is not Kul Tiras, but it isn’t that bad a place to be and you ain’t the worst employer we have had.”

You had some options with most of them limited by the terrain or the coming winter itself. Sofera’s Naze would be a simple pick and allows you to control all four fingers, but then the mountains, Alterac and Gallows’ Corner are the problematic ones. Looking at the map, you could go around Gallow’s Corner by going through the Strahnbrad Hills east of Sofera’s Naze, but you had heard that the hills have fallen under control of beasts, bandits and if rumours are correct trolls.


Total Resources
1 Wealth, +9 per Season
12 Supplies, +2 per Season
5 Peasants

>Take Sofera’s Naze
>Take Gallows’ Corner
>Scout Gallows’ Corner
>Scout Southern Alterac Valley
>Scout South-Western Alterac Mountains
>Other, write in

>Allow lieutenant Beckstons request, retain them on permanent basis, allows you to train Pikemen, -2 Supplies

QM: Total Resources have been updated to reflect the economic decisions. I will give this vote more time to allow questions and discussion.

>>4882424
So what I'm taking from this looking around the mountains or Alterac proper during winter would probably more trouble than it's worth, especially since we are not currently in position to move against Ogres anyway and expanding too far in the mountains would leave us stretched too thin.

How feasible is it for us to both
>Take Sofera's Naze
to further secure road to Tarren Mill and help with eventual move towards the Gallows' Corner and
>Scout Gallows' Corner to find out what shifts are going on there.
?


>Allow lieutenant Beckstons request, retain them on permanent basis, allows you to train Pikemen, -2 Supplies
I'd say yes. Our troops have familiarised themselves with them and it spares us expense of training replacement, as well as securing way of training more pikemen.

>>4882424
We should scout the mountains to know if there are any hidden forces there that could be a problem along with the possible mineral exploitations.

>>4882432
I think we should lay low and not make any bold moves at least till our men from Tarren mills return. I'd rather spend this time doing 3 scouting options.

>>4882432
That is plausible. You can do both.

>>4882434
Scouting both mountains and southern Alterac despite winter conditions? Hmm...

I'd rather not have our scouts get stranded if something goes wrong. There's probably yetis in the mountains.

>>4882446
Not at the same time, we have like 3 months of winter. 1 month in each region.

>>4882424
>>Take Sofera’s Naze

Having all the four finger would be ideal, and it s good land near us and Tarren Mill, should be easy to take. We should be able to defend it if we need to as well.

>Scout Gallows' Corner to find out what shifts are going on there.
>Scout South-Western Alterac Mountains for see what we have there, since there is no ogres.

We need informations. This regions need to be scouted. If scouting becomes too difficult for enemy presence or very bad weather fall back, no reason to risk it.

>Allow lieutenant Beckstons request, retain them on permanent basis, allows you to train Pikemen, -2 Supplies

Yes, welcome aboard Beckstone. Officially make him one of our "principality" officers. If him and his men, have families is fine if they come here too.

>>4882424
>Scout Gallows’ Corner
>Scout Southern Alterac Valley
>Scout South-Western Alterac Mountains

>Allow lieutenant Beckstons request,

I wonder if expanding further eastwards would put us into contact with Wildhammers and, eventually, allow us to put a force of gryphon riders together.

But obviously we're going to have to prioritize what to go for first and what to do later. It's not like there were interesting times ahead, haha...

File: Kul Tiras Swashbuckler.jpg (47 KB, 413x755)

47 KB JPG

“Before the snowfall increases we will take Sofera’s Naze and then during the winter we will scout both Gallows’ Corner and South-Western Alterac Mountains.” You said and continued. “We need the information on Alterac and our immediate surroundings.”

“Mountains will be hard during winter.” Garside said back.

“They will, but they will be bad for our enemies too. I think if we send just a small scouting party, we can move without being seen or having much trouble.”

“Could be done.” Rover said underneath his beard.

“That is settled then. In three days we will march to Sofera’s Naze and then look for a good gap in the weather for our scoutings.” You said and turned towards Beckston. “And I will accept your request lieutenant Beckston, welcome to be part of Alterac.”

You all congratulated Beckston, this would be worth celebrating if only you had time for that.

…

Next day a ceremony was held for the new footmen, archers and Kul Tiran Swashbucklers. Fifty men in total marched through the town and in the end you and captain Garside presented them all with the metallic eagle pins Beric had acquired for you last spring. This small thing symbolized that they were now part of Alterac and served you directly.

At the end of the ceremony the twenty men contracted to guard Tarren Mill left too. As you watched them leave, it really did hit you how far you already reached just within a year. Sending troops away to be deployed elsewhere and accepting thirty new soldiers into service was a big thing.

Still there would be a lot of work to do. The men you had now were a relatively sizable force compared to what Southshore or Regional Defenders could muster, but Durnholde had way more men as did Silver Hand if they were to act. Not forgetting whatever troops could king Terenas send from Capital City.

With this in mind, you set to work.

…

It had been slowly raining snow and The Headland had turned white. The few children that came with their parents were making snowmen. They waved to you when your men marched right past them towards Sofera’s Naze. Rover and his archers had already left ahead of you and were scouting the way and seeing if anything was amiss. If someone would notice something, it would be Rover.


>1d6
>Best three of five

QM: Plan is to update once more today after all five rolls are in.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4882686

>>4882692
oof
off to a great start

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4882686
come on

i hope the third is ok at least

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4882686
Why are we invading during winter?

>>4882706
do you think pseudorandom number generator is punishing us?

Anyway, two more rolls. Doesn't look too good though.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4882708
I think its obvious not to invade during winter.

>>4882706
Well this territory was described as being fairly peaceful, making it a very easy conquest. Beside is also good land. And it s very near us, as well easy to travel to.

whatever we need to face, we will plan something and defeat it.

>>4882727
Shit didn't link properly. Maybe QM will take it.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4882686

>>4882727
Nah. Besides it's not supposed to be invasion as much as annexation of an unclaimed piece of land. Best 3 of 5 is not good odds, we just had poor luck on the first three rolls.

>>4882737
not BAD odds I meant to say.

>>4882738
matter of fact it's actually Rover's scouting roll. The man's a legend.

>>4882737
>>4882728
I think this proves my point.
There is no enemy threat or forces in the area so the only thing that could mess up the invasion is the weather. Just ask the French and Germans.

>>4882742
We'll see soon enough. For now we haven't seen anything except some RNG.

>>4882742
we need to see, the rolls are fairly low could be that something just arrived. At least we are Alteraci, so bad weather or cold isn't that bad for us.

>>4882751
If it’s Rovers roll then low numbers just mean he missed something. But 12 is alright if OP takes it I think.

>12

You had crossed the Southshore to Stranbrad road some time ago and entered the Sofera’s Naze. Rover had been scouting ahead as usual and you for some reason had caught him. You found him investigating faint tracks on the snow.

“Have you found something Rover?” You asked him on your horse Epona.

“Tracks, but faint can’t follow them” He said underneath his beard.

“If you can’t follow them, then scout ahead.” You gave him the order.

Rover nodded and it didn’t take long for him to disappear into the sparse woods again.

…

You had marched for several hours until an archer came running from the direction Rover had gone into. The archer told you that Rover had found an old campsite, but nothing else. The snow had ruined any good tracks he could have followed.

It took you some time to reach Rover and when you arrived, he spoke to you.

“Campsite, definitely by humans, maybe a few weeks old.”

“Is snow making tracking harder?” You asked

“Aye, but definitely someone has stayed here.” Rover answered and continued. “But no one has been here for a while.”

That was good news. While someone had definitely been here, there were no signs from them recently. You would have to send multiple regular patrols into Sofera’s Naze to keep it, but that was part of securing your lands.

1/2

>>4882966

It had been several days since the occupation of Sofera’s Naze. You and captain Garside had been busy making the schedules for the patrols across the territory you controlled. Rover meanwhile had been preparing gear and supplies for the scouting missions in the meanwhile.

As you were reading The Annals of the Great Alliance by an author called Milan, one of your footmen came to your farmstead bearing a message.

“My prince, a messenger arrived and he gave us this scroll. He said it was from Durnholde and after giving it to us, he left immediately.” The footman spoke and gave the scroll to you.

You opened the scroll carefully and started to read it. Karramyn Langston had invited you to Durnholde, there was going to be a last grand gladiator tournament before winter shuts everything down and you were to be the honoured guest of Lord Blackmoore.

You sighed heavily as you read the invite before reaching the last part of it. Langston apologized if your previous trip to Durnholde wasn’t in your liking and wanted that this trip would make amends and more. You wouldn’t have to come, but Lord Blackmoore and Langston himself wanted you to come. Lord Blackmoore would have some important proposition in mind.

You thought about this. You didn’t like Lord Blackmoore at all, but Langston did seem somewhat level headed. And while you didn’t like them, having an ally or at least a neutral party in Durnholde could prove useful in the future.

The tournament would happen in eleven days so not enough time to participate in a scouting mission before it, but enough to travel there without a hurry. You could when going to Durnholde take a diversion in Southshore and see what Magistrate Maleb had to say about Kavdan and Alteraci problem.


>Accept the invite and visit Southshore on your way to Durnholde
>Accept the invite
>Don't accept the invite, but go visit Southshore to deal with Kavdan
>Don’t accept the invite, the scouting missions are more important
>Other, write in

QM: And please try to link your votes or rolls into my updates, makes my life bit easier.

>>4882971
>>Accept the invite and visit Southshore on your way to Durnholde

>>4882971
Oh boy. Interesting times coming sooner than anticipated. Although tbf I’m not familiar with timeline enough to tell, and meta gaming is wrong anyway.

Well, we definitely can’t afford to ignore Kavdan so south shore is a given. And we’ve been building decent relations with neighbors so, come what may...

>Accept the invite and visit Southshore on your way to Durnholde

I guess that means postponing scouting of gallows but what will it mean for securing the Sofera’s Naze?

>>4883000
We can skip scouting the Mountains instead.

>>4882971
>Accept the invite and visit Southshore on your way to Durnholde

>>4883000
>what will it mean for securing the Sofera’s Naze?
That is what the patrols are for. They keep your territory secure, look for tracks and make sure that your territory is under control.

>>4882971
>>Don’t accept the invite, the scouting missions are more important

If he gave us earlier notice we might have been able to make it, but we already have important plans that we shouldn't abandon.

“Will you go?” Asked Normand Garside who had been reading the scroll behind your back.

“I will, this is too big of a chance to not miss.” You said and sighed deeply. “We need allies or at least people who are neutral to us and the leader of the Internment Camps is one of them.”

“You are right.” Garside said. “I hope your trip to Durnholde will be fruitful.”

“Normand, prepare a small entourage for me, a few footmen should be enough.”

“Will do, I presume you are going to visit Southshore on the way?”

“That is the plan.” You said and left to pack your belongings for the trip.

…

You had packed things you might need and placed them in a chest. Wearing your armour you rode ahead the ox cart the few footmen were using to ride. Garside had sent four Stromgarde Guards to be with you and protect you in time of need. You had calculated that without delays you would be reaching Southshore before the nightfall.

And thankfully you were correct. The road to Southshore had some snow, but it did not slow you down at all. And further south you got, less snow you saw. Seems like the winter hasn’t yet hit Southshore at all.

You saw the walls and the gate of Southshore. You were stopped when the guards outside crossed their arms and prepared to search you. The scare against the bandits was still true, but when they realized who you were, they let you through.

It was evening so the goal was either directly go for Magistrate Maleb and deal with the Alteraci problem or find a place to sleep. As you watched the people of Southshore walking back home after a long day of work, it was clear that you wouldn’t be visiting any markets today.


>Go to Beric and sleep in his warehouse home, Maleb can wait till tomorrow
>Go and find a proper room for you and your men. A prince should sometimes sleep like a prince after all
>Go to the town hall and see if Magistrate Maleb is there, be active in solving the Alteraci problem
>Other, write in

>>4883284
>Go to the town hall and see if Magistrate Maleb is there, be active in solving the Alteraci problem
Let's try to not waste time I guess. Maybe we could have some of the men secure rooms in the inn for our party?

>>4883284
>Go to the town hall and see if Magistrate Maleb is there, be active in solving the Alteraci problem

>>4883284
Aha, I have finally caught up! Glad I checked the catalog when this revived.
>Go to the town hall and see if Magistrate Maleb is there, be active in solving the Alteraci problem
The less time we waste the lesser the risk of us being late to the party at the camps, and of course being proactive helps the prince of the people image we've got going so far.

>>4883284
>>Go to the town hall and see if Magistrate Maleb is there, be active in solving the Alteraci problem

>>4883284
>>Go to the town hall and see if Magistrate Maleb is there, be active in solving the Alteraci problem
Probably worth sending one of our guys to Beric as well, let him know we're here so we don't just show up unexpectedly.

File: Henry Maleb.jpg (118 KB, 458x906)

118 KB JPG

You send one of your footmen to inform Beric that you were here so that he wouldn’t be surprised. It would be smart to visit Magistrate Maleb now that you are here and not leave him waiting, as he must after all learn that you are in town soon.

The town hall of Southshore wasn’t that far away from the gate and soon you were already knocking on its door. A bewildered clerk opened the door complaining about who was coming before realizing who you were. The clerk quickly let you in and apologized many times as he went to inform Maleb. It did not take long for you to be guided into Maleb’s office.

“Good evening prince Alric.” Maleb said to you. He was wearing a simple tunic and not the one you saw him wearing last time you met. Clearly you managed to surprise him by arriving late.

“Good evening magistrate Maleb. I heard from Beric of Strahnbrad that you wanted to talk with me about the ‘Alteraci problem’.”

“Ah yes straight to the point.” He said bit annoyed. “The problem originally was that with your people leaving Southshore, we have lost a considerable amount of labourers, shoresmen and others like them. We have a shortage of workers now.”

“I cannot really do much to help with that.” You said back to Maleb.

“Yes and that is why we wouldn’t bother you with that. The new problem is that the former colonel Kavdan has been threatening traders, his thugs have attacked innocent people. We let this slide for a moment, but now we have reached the tipping point. We want Kavdan and his people gone.”

“Then why don’t you deal with Kavdan?” You asked him.

“For he is of your people. We see it as your job to keep the Alteracis in line.” Maleb answered.

He clearly just wants you to do his dirty work. You could just let Kavdan be alone, but that would make the life of Beric much harder so something must be done.

“So what do you want for Kavdan to happen?”

“We want him and his thugs to stop, preferably we want them gone. Diplomatically or through violence it doesn’t matter.” Maleb said to you. “Southshore can lend you some guards if you need them and there will be a reward if you do the job.”

So there was an incentive to do what Maleb wants to happen. Them lending you some extra muscle could make you seem like you are their lapdog, just doing their dirty business. But if things get dirty and violent, those extra guards could make your life a lot easier.


>Agree to deal with Kavdan
>Don’t agree to deal with Kavdan
>Other, write in

>Accept the guards
>Don’t accept the guards
>Other, write in

>>4884332
>Agree to deal with Kavdan
>Don’t accept the guards

>>4884332
This Kavdan is leader of the Alteraci community in southshore, yes? Magistrate has a point that if the colonel declares his nationhood while acting like a criminal he is undermining our cause and our authority.

>Agree to deal with Kavdan

Taking the guards could probably give us valuable muscle but I'd rather not have this end with violence. Last time we met he seemed content to stay in Southshore, but then why is he making the community's life difficult with his antics?

I think it would be ideal if we got him to drop the local mob act and join our cause but we can't let him dragging Alterac's reputation through the mob like this.

>Don't request guards, we'll try talking to him.
Presence of southshore's guards would probably make it difficult for him to alter his course without losing too much of a face and would make us look like we can't deal with our own people without foreign muscle.

>>4884332
>Agree to deal with Kavdan
And
>Dont accept guards

“I will deal with Kavdan, letting him do what he wants is something neither of us wants to happen.” You said to Maleb. “I do not need your guards, I prefer to not shed blood if I can.”

“That is good to hear.” Maleb said and smiled. “But if you need our guards, just come to me and I will send a detachment of guards to you.”

“Anything else magistrate Maleb?” You asked him.

“No, I think we have talked enough.” He said back to you.

You agreed and after saying goodbye to him, you left the town hall and went to Beric’s warehouse.

1/2

>>4884921

As you walked to Beric’s warehouse you saw people milling in front of it. Closer you got it, you saw that group of men were sitting on the ground with the footman you had sent to Beric standing in front of them with his sword drawn. Something had happened.

You pushed yourself through the crowd and saw Beric sitting outside his warehouse. He looked beaten with bruises and tattered clothing. One of the dockworkers was keeping a thick lump of cloth on his side. You saw that the cloth had turned red, Beric had been stabbed.

“What happened?” You half shouted to Beric as you kneeled next to him. You saw that he was pale and in pain.

“The fucking thugs happened. They barged in and if your man wasn’t here, I would be dead.” He said and grimaced from pain.

“Don’t speak Beric, it will just hurt.” The dockworker said and then recognized you. “Don’t worry prince Alric, we have already called a priest to heal him.”

At first you were confused and now you were somewhat angry. You stood up and walked to the footman guarding the thugs. The footman saluted you.

“Prince Alric, these are the men who attacked Beric and me.” He said.

“Tell me what happened.” You asked him.

“I had arrived and told Beric that you were in town and were coming later to visit you. Some time later there was knocking on the door and Beric went to open it. He probably thought it was you as when he opened it, the men barged in and started beating him with cudgels. I saw it, drew my sword and went to clear the men. Beric was stabbed and I cut the man open.”

“His name is Thomas.” One of the thugs shouted.

“And what do you know? What happened, tell me?” You directed the question to the four thugs sitting on the ground.

“And who the fuck do you think you are?” Asked one gutsy thug.

You were infuriated.

“I am prince Alric Perenolde, the second heir of the kingdom of Alterac and Beric is one of my subjects, so you will tell me everything.”

The gutsy thug was silenced and didn’t say anything, but another man immediately started to speak.

“I am s-sorry p-prince Alric, we had orders to just rough him up. B-but then the footman appeared and Thomas s-stabbed Beric.”

“Whose orders it was!” You raised your voice with anger and you knew what the answer would be.

“K-Kavdan. He told us that if we beat Beric, he would stop s-supporting you. T-to send a message. W-we didn’t know you were here in town. I-I swear!”

Kavdan had ordered Beric to be beaten and gotten him stabbed in progress. If not for the footman, he could have been killed. You had to take a few deep breaths to clear your mind without avail. Kavdan must either stop what he is doing or you have to get rid of him.


>Go meet Kavdan immediately, he must be stopped
>Wait till morning and clearer head, he must now know that you are here and that you will be coming for him
>Other, write in

>>4884926
Well I'm beginning to wonder if maybe we should request the guards' assistance after all. What the fuck is that guy's problem? Does he think he can carve his own little empire in Southshore without getting stomped down? Or is he aware of something else sinister going on that would let him get away with it?

>Go meet Kavdan immediately, he must be stopped.
Probably better not give him time to dig in, escape or dispose of whatever clues and evidence he might be holding on.

>>4884926
Wow Kavdan is a fucking jerk. I second a quick take-down, but I wonder if we can get some of Malebs guards with us before we confront him?

>>4884955
Let's not forget that his gang and the community they operate in are still Alteraci. We still don't want this to become a bloodbath if we can help it. Malebs guards might improve our odds in a fight but likely reduce amount of the diaspora we can win over from Kavdan's leadership.

>>4884967
You’re probably right (seeing as I havent read previous threads in this quest), maybe we should just go with our own people

>>4884926
>>Go meet Kavdan immediately, he must be stopped.

Time to see what can be done with words

>>4884926
>>Go meet Kavdan immediately, he must be stopped

Number of local guards had come to the scene and you left the thugs and Beric to be under their care. You called your escorting footmen to you and told them what is going to happen next. You were going to march to where Kavdan is and stop him from continuing doing this.

The Stromgarde Guards checked their shields and swords and with pure professionalism they followed you and looked more menacing than they really were.

…

There were fewer lamps in the Alteraci part of Southshore. Only a few houses had light coming out of their windows. You heard some noise and thought that it was either a cat or a lookout going to warn others. With most houses being built on both sides of a single road and Kavdan’s house on the other end, it felt like you would have to walk a gauntlet.

As you continued walking, a few more lights came out of the buildings and you saw that maybe a dozen men appeared with their cudgels and clubs. Few more appeared in the distance or stayed watching from their doors or windows. As you and them walked towards each other you noticed who the man leading them was. He was the thug that had stopped you last time you visited Kavdan.

“Benedict, I want to talk to Kavdan.” You shouted to him.

“Can’t do that prince Alric.” He shouted back. Benedict was a large man with grey short hair and burly moustache. He was wearing cheap looking leather armour and a simple cap. Suitable uniform for a street thug that might face cudgels and maybe daggers, but not one to face footmen.

“You will let me pass, or I will force my way through.” You said back to Benedict.

“Is that a threat princeling?” He asked jokingly and his men laughed with him. “There are only five of you and we outnumber you four to one.”

“And we have armour and live steel, step aside.” You shouted back.

He did not step away as more people appeared to watch what was going on.

1/2

>>4884967
Is the diaspora worth reclaiming? Where was their support all this time? They have been with an supporting Kavdan.

>>4885148
Some of them left and joined our settlement.

And in any event if we leave them as they are they are a liability. At best they will soil Alterac's name, at worst(?) they may be working with Syndicate

>>4885147

Suddenly a familiar voice came from behind Benedict.

“Benedict, please move.” Kavdan said and walked past them. “Good evening prince Alric, now please go and never return.”

“I cannot do that Kavdan and you know that.”

“That might be true, what do you want?” He sighed and said.

“I want you to stop threatening people who are supportive of me. Do you know how far you have gone?”

“Yes I know, I did it all to keep Alteracis here safe from your foolish endeavor doomed to fail and due to that I ordered Beric to be beaten as a message.” He just confessed to you.

“Beric was stabbed and now one of your men is dead.” You immediately responded. “This cannot stand.

You noticed Kavdan flinching a bit when he heard one of the men was dead. He wasn’t that big of a man and in the light of a lantern he now felt even smaller. Benedict was now looking at you and then Kavdan and back.

“Who died?”

“Man called Thomas.”

“Shame, terrible shame. Another one died because of a Perenolde.” He said back to you.

It was clear, this man had lost his mind. It isn’t just that he doesn’t want to see you potentially fail and cause turmoil and damage to the Alteraci people again, but now he is blaming you for something he has done. In his words you were rocking the boat in a small pond, but now it was him doing it.


>Colonel Kavdan was a soldier for a long time, remind him what happens to a soldier who attacks their own people
>Kavdan is respected by the Alteracis here, tell him that what he is doing now will be only doing harm to them
>Tell Kavdan how you have fought against gnolls, saved Tarren Mill and how you have cooperated with everyone. You have friends and you aren’t alone in your mission to reclaim Alterac
>Talking to him is pointless, arrest him and use force if it is required and deliver him to Southshore jail for ordering the assault of Beric
>Other, write in

QM: Will update later tomorrow, going to be a full day of real life stuff. So this vote has plenty of time for discussion and questions.

>>4885168
I don't think there's any talking sense into Kavdan but hopefully we'll be able to get to those who follow him.

I was thinking something along these lines:

>Why was Beric meant to be harmed, Kavdan? Because he chose to believe that Alterac could stand again? Because he can see that our settlement grows, on good terms with its neighbours? That our people can live honest lives without resorting to extortion, without having to wallow in squalor? How can you continue to justify this to yourself, and to those loyal to you? You were an officer, once. How can you justify dragging children of Alterac down to level of thugs that will sooner or later be driven low by the town guard? Alteraci deserve better than this. Deep down you know this. I offer everyone here a choice. Stand down, stop harrying merchants for sustenance and return to Alterac where you can claim future for your children... or stay on your self-destructive path of disgrace, with all the consequences it brings.


However, if he really does hate Perenoldes, does he truly work only for himself, or is that a charade?

>>4885168
>>4885226
Support.

>>4885226
>>4885168
I'm down for offing him, but I'll support this for now.

>>4885226
Support good write in

>>4885168
>>4885226
Support.

Glad to see this quest again.

>>4885168
>>4885226

Support - nice speech!

You took a step forward towards Kavdan. Benedict and the thugs around him flinched a bit before you started to speak.

“Why was Beric meant to be threatened and then harmed, Kavdan? Because he chose to believe that Alterac could stand again and for our people to call it their home again? Because he can see that our settlement grows and is on good terms with its neighbours? That our people can live honest lives without resorting to extortion, without having to wallow in squalor or being forced to live in their own quarters in the corners of towns and cities? How can you continue to justify this to yourself, and to those loyal to you?” You spoke to him and everyone around you. You saw that Kavdan was listening and so were others. “You were an officer once with over twenty years of serving the people. How can you justify dragging the people of Alterac down to the level of thugs that will sooner or later be driven low by the town guard? Because one too many threats or assaults and Maleb is going to send marshall Redpath to march in to kick some doors down. And at that moment, I cannot do anything for you.”

Kavdan did not move, but the people around him became uneasy. You weren’t lying that if it wasn’t you, it would be Maleb who will make the choice to deal with Kavdan.

“Alteraci deserve better than this and deep down you know this. I offer everyone here a choice. Stand down, stop harrying and threatening merchants and those who support me and return to Alterac where you can claim a future for your family and your children.” You said to the people around Kavdan before facing him again. “Or stay on your self-destructive path of disgrace, with all the consequences it brings.”

For a moment there was silence, before Benedict threw his cudgel to ground.

“You know Kavdan, it is not worth it.” Benedict said to him and just walked off. One by one the thugs threw away their weapons and went back to their homes.

Kavdan looked around and saw people going back to their houses and shutting their windows and extinguishing their lanterns.

“You are doomed to fail, you Perenolde brat.” He turned to face you and said with a voice of pure vitriol.

It seemed that the people had left him and that they wouldn’t support him anymore. He was by all accounts alone. Now you just had to decide what to do with him.


>Arrest him as a former soldier, who as the ringleader has attempted to harm the people of Alterac which is a treason. The sentence is death by hanging.
>Arrest him and deliver him to Southshore jail, Beric might be your subject, but he is living in Southshore. So let them handle the justice.
>He has lost his support, sentence him to immediate and indefinite house arrest. He is not to leave his house without a guard.
>Do nothing, he is just a man who is now worth nothing.
>Other, write in

QM: Good write in

glad you guys liked it!

>>4886311

Hmm... letting him go will probably bite us in the ass down the line even if he doesn't succeed in rebuilding his gang here, and he might take vengeance on those who turned away from him before leaving.
And we already recognized him as our problem so hanging is probably most straightforward thing to do here, but something bothers me about this...
he certainly has quite a good bit less integrity than Radan does though so giving him the same deal would be unfair to the bandits.

>"Seize him."
>"Kavdan, you've made it clear how you feel about me, but you are still Alteraci and as such my responsibility. At the same time you committed your crimes under Southshore's jurisdiction. So you will be turned over to the guard. You will have until I've discussed extradition with the magistrate to come up with your defense."
>Have him turned over to southshore's guard, with intention to discuss his fate with Maleb at nearest opportunity
>Search his dwelling for clues and records in case he was working with something and to collect evidence of his criminal activities
>If there are stolen goods in his place, have Benedict or someone else from the community see to it that they are returned.

I mean, it's not as if we were going to drag him over to Durnholde and I'd rather not split our entourage to have him escorted separately. Maybe dispatch a runner to the Headlands to have him collected unless Maleb insists he wants to keep him around for some reason.

>>4886366
>>4886311

I support your cause and goals, noble Perenolde prince.

Long Live Alric Perenolde!

Long Live Alterac!

>>4886311
Arrest him and give him to Southshore
>>4886366
And I support looking through his stuff, to see if he has connections of any kind

>>4886366
Pretty good again
Support
It s a good idea and it should satisy the magistrate. It s kind of bad that Kavdan despise us so much, because of the infamous deeds of our family. But we can make it an oppurtunity for show our dedication, to repay and aid our people for all that happen. Perhaps if he could see that, even him could be convinced.
A mighty deed would be needed, but in the reconquest there will be plenty of them on our prince road.

>>4886311
>>4886366
Support.

You singled out a pair of your footmen and waved them to you.

“Kavdan, you've made it clear how you feel about me, but you are still an Alteraci and as such my responsibility. At the same time you have committed your crimes under Southshore's jurisdiction. So you will be turned over to the guards and what will happen to you will be decided by them.” You said to him and stepped back. “Arrest colonel Kavdan for ordering the assault and stabbing of Beric of Strahnbrad.”

The two footmen approached Kavdan with one of them having drawn his sword. The second one carefully searched him and managed to find a dagger hidden inside his jacket. When it was clear that he didn’t have anything hiding on his body, the two footmen started to half escort and half drag him towards the town hall.

It was evening and pretty dark, but you still had time to search his house. You and the two remaining footmen entered his small house and you were frankly disappointed. The main room was also a kitchen, there was his small bedroom and then a storage room.

You went through his bedroom. Checking the bed, testing if there were any loose planks on the floor or the roof and then checking a small drawer. You didn’t like searching someone's clothing, but you found something. A pile of letters. You quickly went through them as they were just letters to his son asking how he has been and what is the weather. Nothing useful at all.

The storage room meanwhile had something a bit more interesting. A set of well made armour that Kavdan wore during the Second War made by the smiths of Alterac. It was clear that the armour hadn’t been maintained for awhile, but you could easily see the brass trimming and the faded orange paint over the steel. This was once a fine set of armour and would be again after it is cleaned. A small box was also found that had the medals Kavdan once had earned. It was clear that he hadn’t opened the box or worn the medals in a long time.

You didn't find anything else worth of note. No connections to bandits or to Syndicate or to other veterans of Alterac. Kavdan had lived a simple life in a simple house and now he has thrown it away.

1/2

>>4886802

You slept in an inn as sleeping in Beric’s warehouse wouldn’t be fitting with a large puddle of blood in the middle of it. Frankly you hadn’t slept that well as you had been thinking things. Why would Kavdan do all this? In the end your conclusion was that to him the memories of old Alterac were most precious and he wouldn’t want to witness its destruction again. So to him the fact that you were even trying was worth stopping.

You went to the town hall and asked for a meeting with magistrate Maleb. Thankfully you didn’t have to wait as he was in his office. A clerk guided you in and delivered a fresh cup of tea.

“Good morning prince Alric. I heard that you arrested Kavdan and gave him to our custody.” Maleb said to you. “Good work prince Alric, I think we can put this ‘Alteraci problem’ past us.”

“I will have to agree.” You said and sipped the tea. “Kavdan is a troubled man who couldn’t face the fact that I try to reclaim Alterac and provide a home for my people.”

“I see, well he has threatened people from my city and assaulted Beric. He will face judgement after being in jail for a week or two. We will send you a messenger when the trial is held.” Maleb said. “And here is the reward promised, it is on par with other similar bounties.”

Maleb passed you a small bag of coins. It wasn’t much, but still something to make this worth it.

“What are you planning to do next?” Asked Maleb.

Gained
1 Wealth from dealing with Kavdan


>You will go to Durnholde to visit Lord Blackmoore and then later you will try to scout Alterac proper. Full truth.
>You will visit Durnholde next, some business to do there. Winter makes doing things hard Partial truth.
>Go back home and rest through the winter, it will be hard to do much with all the snow. Lie.
>Other, write in

>>4886804
We had plans to scout the mountains and the Gallow's Corner before venturing to Alterac proper, no?

Although I suppose we do want to scout out Alterac sooner rather than later. And I'm also reminded we were advised to give our men some time off so maybe we could take it easy for the darkest of winter... maybe have a winter veil festival if circumstances allow?

>>4886804
anyway for now I suppose there's no harm in telling him where we're headed, but there's no need to be concrete on where exactly we'll be poking either. I don't think the magistrate would work against us on purpose at t

>You will visit Durnholde next, on invitation of Lord Blackmore
>Afterwards, we will see. We are scouring our neighbourhood for miscreants that might threaten our people.

>>4886804
>>You will go to Durnholde to visit Lord Blackmoore and then later you will try to scout Alterac proper. Full truth.

I don't see any good reason to lie to him.

>>4886804
>You will go to Durnholde to visit Lord Blackmoore and then later you will try to scout Alterac proper. Full truth.

Better be honest now than this bitting us later,

We should have some of our footmen arrenged to guard beric, just in case.


Also, new armor baby!, finally we can have something to show off with our lion cloak.

>>4886804
>You will visit Durnholde next, some business to do there. Winter makes doing things hard Partial truth.

What benefit would telling him we intend to do scouting do for us? He could be sending information to others monitoring our actions....

“I will go visit Durnholde on invitation from Lord Blackmoore.” You told him and continued. “And if the winter allows it, we plan to send scouts and patrols into Alterac to gather information.”

“To Durnholde?” Maleb asked, but immediately continued. “I guess it is one of Lord Blackmoores tournaments. There will be plenty of nobles and other folk there watching the games unfold.”

“I plan on leaving today.” You said to him and used it as an excuse to stand up. “It will be a long ride and I intend to visit Beric before leaving.”

“Thank you for coming prince Alric.” Maleb said and gave a small bow. “I wish you a good trip.”

“Ahh one more thing, I nearly forgot. Magistrate Maleb, what will happen to Kavdan’s belongings now as he is in jail awaiting trial?”

“They will be protected by the law and after the trial depending on the results they might be confiscated and given as compensation to the parties who have been hurt.”

“Thank you magistrate.” You said to him and bowed as you left his office.

…

You visited Beric in the small hospital built next to the church. He was still tired from yesterday, but was in much better spirits after you told what had happened. He still would have to rest in bed for some time to allow the wound to heal properly before he can get back home.

Meanwhile your escorting footmen had prepared your horse and the cart for the trip. This way you could be off immediately.

1/2

>>4887795

The ride towards Durnholde happened without an incident. Few travellers were on the road and after taking a lunch break at the Darrowmere river bridge, you had to fend off a few persistent traders trying to sell you all kinds of useless things. That really was the most notable thing during the travel.

The weather had turned to somewhat damp the closer you got to Durnholde. A slight drizzle had turned into sleet and finally into snow which made you and your escorts quite uncomfortable. You had your mountain lion pelt keeping you somewhat dry, but the footmen had to huddle in the cart or jump off to warm up and jog beside you for a moment. Soon thankfully you saw the Durnholde Keep and knew that there would be warmth there.

The guards quickly opened the gate when you shouted who you were and several of them came guiding you towards the stables. Having dismounted it did not take a long time for you to hear your name called by a familiar voice.

“Prince Alric, it is my pleasure to see you here.” Karramyn Langston said and bowed to you. “Immediately as I was told that you had arrived, I made my way here.”

“Thank you Langston. I thought hard about coming here as the gladiators aren’t really my thing.” You told him the truth, you didn’t care that much about gladiators. “But the last part of the invite piqued my interest.”

Langston had a wide smile when you mentioned that.

“Lord Blackmoore won’t accept visitors this evening, but it is very plausible that tomorrow evening you could meet him as after that more visitors will come and having a private conversation will become more difficult.”

By your count from tomorrow it will be six days till the tournament starts. Perhaps you had arrived a bit too soon.

…

It was morning. The room you had been given was bigger and more lavish than the one you slept in last time you were here. Before going into bed you had wondered that maybe Arthas had used this room.

The guards, clerks and assistants were clearly given orders to handle you like a real prince. They were way more courteous than before and kept their distance. Nevertheless after you had eaten breakfast, you would have time to kill before the evening and meeting Lord Blackmoore.


>You have your armour and equipment so go sparring with the footmen and the knights of Durnholde
>Go exploring the keep, last time you got lost so maybe this time you could see the battlements from inside
>Spend this time reading the history book you took with you
>Other, write in

>>4887800
Hmm... decisions... checking on Taretha, though that would likely be suspicious... and she might be busy servicing Blackmore anyway. I wonder who else is already in.

For now I'd say
>You have your armour and equipment so go sparring with the footmen and the knights of Durnholde

>>4887800
>You have your armour and equipment so go sparring with the footmen and the knights of Durnholde

So far we haven't lost in any spar yet, so we need to keep the streak!

>>4887800
>>You have your armour and equipment so go sparring with the footmen and the knights of Durnholde


we can read the book at night

>>4887800
>You have your armour and equipment so go sparring with the footmen and the knights of Durnholde
Book later.

Since the expedition against the gnolls you have been quite light on sparring as you have been concentrating on being a prince and studying the books and playing chess. Now with time to kill, it would be perfect to do some sparring. The soldiers of Durnholde are well trained so you might learn something from them.

It did not take long for you to put on your armour and make your way to the yard. The recruits and soldiers there paused for a moment, before you waved your hand to signal them to carry on. After a warmup you picked up a training sword and a small wooden shield and joined the footmen in training.

…

It had been light sparring and not that physical mostly, different ways to disarm, go around the shield of your opponent or trying to cause them to fall on the ground. All very useful skills to train the finesse of a footman. You mostly knew all the lessons, but you found enjoyment in first disarming a footman easily, then showing how it was done and finally seeing them succeed.

You had taken a short break to drink cold water and stretch a bit when Langston had appeared on the yard. He waved at you and walked to you.

“So you are here sparring with our men.” He said and took a cup of water too. “Prince Alric, what do you think of them?”

“They are learning, these are good lessons.” You said to him and tried to be diplomatic. This group to you were still fresh recruits.

“Well prince Alric, they are going to bring Thrall out soon. Lord Blackmoore wants it ready for the tournament so they are going to throw it different opponents.” Langston said with a smile. “Do you want to fight it again? Of course with training weapons only.”


>Fight against Thrall, you aren’t really tired from the sparring and your body feels fresh
>Decline as you wouldn’t want to be tired when meeting with Lord Blackmoore
>Other, write in

>>4888170
Hmm... we did tell him we'd like to spar again sometime. But it would probably be better not to turn up at the meeting straight out of a difficult fight.
>Decline as you wouldn’t want to be tired when meeting with Lord Blackmoore

>>4888170
>Fight against Thrall, you aren’t really tired from the sparring and your body feels fresh
I doubt we'll get another chance.

>>4888170
>>Decline as you wouldn’t want to be tired when meeting with Lord Blackmoore

>>4888170
>Fight against Thrall, you aren’t really tired from the sparring and your body feels fresh
It's a rare opportunity, and one that is suggested to us rather than us looking like we're going out of our way to interact with the orc. Also a chance to spar while we're both fresh, rather than Thrall being tired by the footmen.

>>4888170
I’ll switch to dueling to break the tie.

Because we after all did say we look forward to the chance.

Although I don’t think we’ll have shortage of interactions with him in the future one way or another.

The question caught you off guard, but you didn’t have to think about the answer much. You were eager for this fight for some reason.

“A second fight against Thrall? I will accept this offer gladly.” You said and finished your cup of water and took a second one that you finished just as fast.

“Excellent. Standby prince Alric, I will instruct the guards and they will bring Thrall out in a moment."

You gave a nod to Langston who left to arrange this. Meanwhile you continued to stretch and mentally prepare for the fight.

…

You had moved into the training area where the sparring would happen and gathered a large group of curious watchers ranging from the recruits and soldiers to the clerks, stablehands and now your escorts too. One of them had asked you if this was smart and you did answer that probably not. Thrall would be a fresh opponent, but now it would be a fair fight.

You didn’t have to wait for long for the guards to escort Thrall to the yard. He blocked the sun from blinding him for a moment before turning his eyes upon you and for a moment you saw that he was surprised. He did realize what would happen when a guard gave him a training sword and a shield similar to yours. You thought that Thrall had grown a tiny bit since you had seen him last time.

Langston had started to talk about something, but you had tuned it out from your mind. You gave a small nod to Thrall and noticed him give one back to you. You lowered your visor and locked your eyes on Thrall. Taking two steps forward you raised your sword and shield to a high stance. At that moment Thrall let out a loud cry and charged you.


>Alteraci Footman Drill, take the charge head on and trust in your parries and ripostes
>Thrall is fresh now and most likely has better stamina, you need to finish this quickly so go for high risk high reward attacks
>The lessons from the sparring, disarming, going around the shield and getting your opponent off balance are the keys to victory
>Other, write in

>1d6
>Best three of four

QM: Please roll and choose the tactic. Weekend will be busy so I somewhat want to have handled this fight before it.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4888727
We’re gonna get rekt this time for sure desu

Lets give the men demonstration how well our lessons (don’t) stand up against an orc.
>The lessons from the sparring, disarming, going around the shield and getting your opponent off balance are the keys to victory

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4888727
>>The lessons from the sparring, disarming, going around the shield and getting your opponent off balance are the keys to victory

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4888727
>The lessons from the sparring, disarming, going around the shield and getting your opponent off balance are the keys to victory

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4888727
>The lessons from the sparring, disarming, going around the shield and getting your opponent off balance are the keys to victory

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4888727
>The lessons from the sparring, disarming, going around the shield and getting your opponent off balance are the keys to victory
His center of mass is (likely) higher than ours, let's trip him up! Useless roll, go!

>16, success

You blocked the attack that came from the charge with your shield and redirected Thrall's sword with your own. He tried different slashes and jabs that you easily blocked or parried. Next you went into offense and tried to find a way to get in, three successive strikes were all blocked and both of you made some distance from each other. It was clear to both that normal sword fighting wouldn’t win this fight.

Thrall started again and tried to hit you with a wild wide swing from the left. You blocked the strike with your shield and felt the impact on your arm. Thrall had a severe advantage in strength.

Thinking quickly what to do, you saw your opening. Thrall tried a quick stab that you barely deflected with your shield, before trying to push the sword away and mid movement yanked it to your right. Your shield skimmed off from his blade and smacked hard on his shield as the same time your sword slapped hard on his left thigh. The first hit of the fight came from using your shield as a diversion to get around his shield.

Thrall again went for an attack, this time going for a strong downward strike. You blocked the strike and tried to catch his sword with the guard of yours, but Thrall had learned from your last fight and pulled his sword away. Both of you made some space between each other.

To Thrall's surprise and to your own, this time you went for the attack. You made deliberate attacks and blocks as you tried to reach around Thrall's sword and shield, but without much success. Thrall is too strong for you to wrestle his weapon or shield away. Finally you managed to slip past his shield and got a hit on his right arm before you quickly dropped to a knee and allowed the momentum of your sword smack right into his left thigh again. Thrall's counter swing struck into your shield hard and you really felt it in your arm. His training sword splintered into pieces from the power of the strike.

Thrall took a few steps away and threw the remnants of the sword away. Two red marks were on his left thigh and you knew that those would hurt. Stretching your shield arm and taking some deep breaths in you prepared for another go.


>This was working, you were getting some light hits in. Continue fighting smart and attempting to disarm him.
>Target his left thigh. After a moment his mobility starts to suffer. Play the long fight.
>You have to hit harder if you want to get Thrall down, go for high risk high reward.
>Alteraci Footman Drill. Parries and ripostes.

>1d6
>Best three of four

QM: Roll and choice

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4888948
>Target his left thigh. After a moment his mobility starts to suffer. Play the long fight.
He's weary of being disarmed thanks to our last fight. Let's switch things up! Also just remembered he's supposed to be 13 at this point, hence his growth. Let's hope we're a good influence on the kid.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4888948
>Target his left thigh. After a moment his mobility starts to suffer. Play the long fight.

I don't think trying to parry an orc is a good idea so let's try to impair his combat capabilities

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4888948
>Alteraci Footman Drill. Parries and ripostes.
Hey we don't want to mess up his leg before the tournament right?

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4888948
>>Target his left thigh. After a moment his mobility starts to suffer. Play the long fight.

>>4888948
>>This was working, you were getting some light hits in. Continue fighting smart and attempting to disarm him.
Going for the weak point might give him a valuable lesson or two but I kinda don’t want to cripple him for the tourney...

And Blackmore will probably not be happy if his champion gets impaired by injury...

>>4889413
one way or another Blackmore will find a way to make thrall lose ang get angry at him and us but ok

>>4889011
>>4888974
i change my choice to this.
>This was working, you were getting some light hits in. Continue fighting smart and attempting to disarm him.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4888948
>>This was working, you were getting some light hits in. Continue fighting smart and attempting to disarm him.

>10, failure

Thrall was stronger and faster, but his leg will start bothering him sooner or later. Thrall received a new training sword and you let him pick it up. Thrall gave you a nod and started walking towards you.

You exchanged a few strikes that were easily blocked when Thrall came with a really strong wipe. You immediately knew that you couldn't parry the strike of that strength so you braced yourself and let the strike hit your shield. The new sword broke apart from the strike and you had to take several steps to gain your balance. It was actually a bit scary how strong Thrall was.

Thrall threw the broken sword on the ground and again got himself a new sword. You stretched your left arm that now was somewhat hurting from the heavy strikes and noticed how your shield felt somewhat flimsy.

You gave a nod to Thrall and opened with a good slash that was blocked, this gave Thrall the opening to deliver a great downward strike which was what you wanted. You caught the sword with your guard and as you expected Thrall avoided getting his sword leveraged from his hand by pulling it quickly back. This gave you opening as you wanted this to happen. A left to right slash impacted Thrall's left thigh and returning swing from right left another red mark on his green skin.

Both Thrall’s sword and shield were free and he delivered yet another strong strike on your shield before bashing it with his own shield. The force of the bash made you lose your balance, but you thankfully quickly recovered. Thrall pressed on with a flurry of attacks that you barely had time to block these attacks. He pressed on with his advantage and for the first time in this fight you felt like you were really losing.

Thrall’s sword arm was still fresh or it felt fresh as all the strikes felt just as powerful as the first one. Another strong overhead downward strike came that you blocked with your shield and as Thrall was preparing to go for another you saw his left leg lagging a bit behind. You overextended yourself and delivered a thrust at his left thigh. The hits from wooden training swords hurt like hell so you can just imagine how badly a thrust hurts.

1/2

>>4889739

This thought was a mistake on your part and you received the receipt immediately after you had regained your stance. Thrall’s training sword splintered on your shield with such a big impact that the flimsy shield finally broke apart.

Now your left arm hurt really bad as you shook the remnants of your shield off. Your arm wasn't broken, but the consecutive strikes had taken a great toll on it. Same time you saw a small trickle of blood on Thrall’s thigh from where the thrust had hit. Then you saw the results of his work, Thrall couldn’t put that much weight on his left leg and was slightly dragging it behind. Thrall was breathing more heavily, but he wasn’t exhausted yet. Meanwhile your breathing had turned into quite heavy, you just lack the stamina to go really long in fights.

You gave a look around and tried to see if anyone would give you a new shield, but that didn’t happen. Realizing that you had only your sword, you moved your left hand on its hilt and prepared for another round of attacks.


>You need to finish this quickly, high risk high reward.
>Half-swording gives you more leverage and Thrall has a weak leg. You can make him fall.
>Longswording with a training sword is not optimal, it gives you a lot more control on your blade, accurate strikes are needed here.
>Other, write in

>1d6
>Best three of four

QM: Oh damn, the thread didn't update for some reason as I was writing the update. I could have easily went for the fighting smart and disarming style that actually won the vote and not the targeting leg one. Sorry about that.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4889743
>>Half-swording gives you more leverage and Thrall has a weak leg. You can make him fall.
well I guess there's no way to go but forward. Let's press what little advantage we have... conservatively.

(if I'm understanding the fight right)

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4889743
>Half-swording gives you more leverage and Thrall has a weak leg. You can make him fall.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4889743
We gain some, we lose some, no problem with the vote, happens to everybody.

>You need to finish this quickly, high risk high reward.
No risk no gain and one way or another this fight needs to end.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4889743
So we potentially inflict two light injuries or a single medium one? Given that he has already a bruised leg.

>You need to finish this quickly, high risk high reward.

>>4889743
>>You need to finish this quickly, high risk high reward.
Half swording is a cool flex but it's for facing armoured opponents, not guys who can just body you.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4889743
>You need to finish this quickly, high risk high reward.
Useless roll, go!

>15, success

Thrall nodded and let out a cry as he jumped into action. Forcing himself to take several quick steps to close the distance, Thrall prepared to cut you down with yet another strong strike from above. It must have been frustrating for him to keep breaking the training swords and failing to deal that final blow.

You raised your sword above your head into a high stance and in the final possible moment sidestepped Thrall and slammed your sword into his ribs. You quickly pivoted around to face his swing that you blocked. Your return swing was blocked by Thrall’s shield and you redirected his next strike with your sword. Another dangerous opening was there and you delivered a second overhead strike into his ribs.

Thrall responded immediately with a cry and bashed you straight into your chest with his shield the same way as you had finished your last fight with him. Even being tired his strength was enough to send you flying back and you crashed on the dirt. The fight would have been there, but Thrall’s left leg made him just slow enough for you to roll back on your feet and avoid his next attack.

Not letting either him or you to catch breath, you went back into attack. Your next three attacks were aimed at his torso and they all were either parried or blocked. You panted heavily as all strikes took toll on you. You needed that big opening, you had to make one.

1/2

>>4890069

You raised your sword again on the high stance telegraphing an overhead strike. Thrall saw it and reacted by telegraphing his parry. You dashed a few steps and for your luck Thrall moved his right leg back to better absorb your strike. At the final moment before delivering your overhead downward strike you moved your sword from right side of your head to left side and hit a hell of a left to right swing directly into Thrall’s left thigh.

Thrall let out a cry as your sword snapped in two from the force of the strike and he fell on his right knee as his left leg couldn’t carry his weight any more. With a ruined training sword in hand you bashed your plated right knee right into Thrall’s chest with a great momentum. The orc way bigger than you started to fall on his back with you on top of him.

With a crash Thrall was down with your right knee on his chest. Thrall tried to get his training sword and shield between you and him, but you were faster. The remnants of your sword found Thrall’s throat and stopped there. He immediately realized that you had won.

“I think... I won.” You said between deep breaths with a hoarse voice and just rolled to your left and crashed on the sand on your back. You had never felt this tired. Your left arm felt like it was on fire from the pain and exhaustion and rest of your body didn’t fare any better.

Since when captain Garside had started training you how to fight, it had always been with him. For years you had fought only him and it really was just starting from this year you had started to fight with others. First it was the kobolds and their large chief. Then the gnolls with Steelhead. Both of these opponents were brutish and relied on their strength and unsophisticated attacks. But Thrall was different, he fought like a mix of these two. He knew the tactics and fighting of men, but he was an orc and had the brutish quality in everything he did.

As one of the Stromgarde Guards carefully pulled your bascinet off your head and guided a waterskin on your lips, you felt even in this extreme exhaustion happy. You had enjoyed your fight with Thrall.

Gained
>Dueling Proficiency, when fighting against single opponents, Alric is in his element. Fights that are pure duels are easier for him.


>Drink the water and pass the waterskin to Thrall before helping him up. Show him your respect
>Drink the water and slowly rise up. Give Thrall a nod of respect
>Drink the water and rise up on your own time. Don’t show Thrall respect
>Other, write in

QM: The DCs were 14,14,14 with the choices taken in the fight. Will try to update later this evening, but after that the updates can be sporadic till Monday evening.

>>4890074
Tough fight, and we got lucky.
Also, sweet perk.

>Drink the water and slowly rise up. Give Thrall a nod of respect

I'm of half mind going for the offering him waterskin option, but we still need to be wary of showing much of respect for an orc.

>>4890074
>Drink the water and pass the waterskin to Thrall before helping him up. Show him your respect

An honest duel deserves true respect and dignity given to all involved. Win or lose one should always strive to be a honorable man. A disrespectful winner is worse than a sore loser.

>>4890074
>>Drink the water and pass the waterskin to Thrall before helping him up. Show him your respect

Although I agree with the sentiment, keep in mind the reason why Alterac was destroyed, and that we are surely under constant scrutiny especially when Orcs are involved.

I hope that by the time we are forced into contact with frost wolves we will have good enough name among our neighbours that we can get away by having peaceful relations with them without having Terenas send Alliance expedition to wipe us out.

>>4890127
First impressions are everything in both life and politics. If we disrespect Thrall now when he is beaten and helpless it will not matter how much we kiss his ass when he is free and in control of the new horde. He will only ever see us as a wretched worm sucking up to the new power in the world so that he does not stomp us in to paste.

The same thing goes with king Terenas and the rest of the Alliance. If we show anything but pure honer and integrity to any of our fellow kingdoms we will be seen as nothing more than a bandit prince just like our older brother is now. We need to walk a raiser thin line of being both the honorable prince and the perfect knight of the realm. If we show dishonor at any time we will be stomped on like a bug by anyone or even everyone all at the same time.

It sucks being the son of a traitor.

>>4890156
This is not our first impression with him though. We’ve made an alright one with both him and Taretha.

>>4890074
>>Drink the water and pass the waterskin to Thrall before helping him up. Show him your respect
I don't really care that much about what Blackmoore & the Durnholders will think of us, desu.

>>4890074
>Drink the water and pass the waterskin to Thrall before helping him up. Show him your respect

Wharever happens, happens, we are just showing our respect from one warrior to another.

>>4890166
You got to keep up appearances with everyone you meet at all times. If you do not then people start thinking you are untrustworthy at best and at worst they think you are a traitorous scumbag like dear old dad was and start unsheathing swords.

>>4890204
Well, the middle option was consistent with our previous interaction. Giving a measure of respect to the warrior while not going out of our way to treat him as friend or equal. Although in fairness we didn’t beat him up as much last time.

Well we’ll see how the gesture will come across.