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File: AlteracOP.jpg (44 KB, 462x567)
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It has been eight years since the fall of Alterac, after the king Aiden Perenolde betrayed the Alliance and sided with the Horde of Orgrim Doomhammer. For this betrayal, king Aiden Perenolde was dethroned and Alterac City was sacked. The nobles and population fled the land and the Kingdom of Alterac was no more.

You are Alric Perenolde, the prince and second heir of Alterac. By the order of king Aiden, you were sent into temporary exile to be safe from the Second War. This exile turned permanent and Captain Normand Garside, your guardian for the past eight years, made sure that you were safe and learned the useful skills that would help you in the future.

Now eight years later in the year 14 after the opening of the Dark Portal, you are ready to take the responsibility and try to unite the scattered Alteraci people and reclaim the lands that were once the Kingdom of Alterac.

Having dealt with some minor problems at home, you had been invited back to Durnholde Keep to be a guest of Lord Blackmoore for he had a proposition for you. In Durnholde you gained an informant and trader in Kris Legace, beat Thrall the orc gladiator in a sparring fight before you agreed on the proposition. When spring arrives you are to deliver soldiers to guard the Internment Camps for a nice sum of wealth.

But by providing the troops, your inevitable push into Alterac will most likely have to be moved for later. You now just hope that the deal is worth it in the long run. The winter will continue and you are one step closer ro reclaiming the lands your people have lost.

Welcome to Alterac Resurgent Quest!



Twitter: https://twitter.com/MedivhQM
/qst/ Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Alterac%20Resurgent%20Quest
Prince Alric Stats: https://pastebin.com/rysxdRsv
Quest Mechanisms: https://pastebin.com/CyD88qqf
>>
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>>4915470

"Now if you could excuse me prince Alric, I have a feast to open." Lord Blackmoore said. "Langston here will handle the rest. Please join me soon as possible at the feast."

"I will come to the feast as soon as I can." You said back to Blackmoore as he walked away and left his study.

"Prince Alric, it was good that you agreed." Said Langston as he spread a few scrolls in front of you. "These are the guard deployments currently."

Langston showed a map and pointed out the camps and showed at which camp your men would be. The camp wouldn't be that far from Durnholde thankfully. Langston also said that the men would stay together and they would only be used as camp guards. That did ease some of the fears you had about all this.

Having explained and given you a few papers as instructions, Langston ordered a passing servant to carry the coin chest into your room. To keep it safe, you put it inside your own travel chest and locked it tight and secure.

Now you could go to the feast.



The main hall of the keep was full of people. A group of musicians were playing, there were noblemen talking with each other, servants carrying trays of food or serving drinks. It did really look and sound like a feast.

Lord Blackmoore was sitting in his chair on the far side of the room and was talking with people you didn't recognise. Next you noticed Garrick Blacksteel in one corner with few of his people, it did look like people were avoiding them. Not surprising as Dark Iron dwarven exactly didn't have the best reputation. There were also a group of knights and soldiers talking with each other and you saw captain Reginald of Regional Defenders talking with Sir Gravis.

You had few options to go talk with.


>You are Lord Blackmoore's guest, go talk with him and the people coming go see him.
>Go ask Garrick Blacksteel if he managed to get the deal and to know him and the Dark Irons better.
>Captain Reginald and Sir Gravis are seemingly having fun, go join them.
>Mingle around the people and see if you could find someone interesting.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4915471

oh dear what a dilemma. Socialing with the Dark Iron, or with the military men? Or perhaps the mystery box? It might be empty though.

>Go ask Garrick Blacksteel if he managed to get the deal and to know him and the Dark Irons better.
>>
>>4915471
>Captain Reginald and Sir Gravis are seemingly having fun, go join them.
>>
>>4915471
>>Captain Reginald and Sir Gravis are seemingly having fun, go join them.
>>
>>4915471
>Go ask Garrick Blacksteel if he managed to get the deal and to know him and the Dark Irons better.
>Captain Reginald and Sir Gravis are seemingly having fun, go join them.
>Mingle around the people and see if you could find someone interesting.
>>
>>4915471
>>Captain Reginald and Sir Gravis are seemingly having fun, go join them.
>Go ask Garrick Blacksteel if he managed to get the deal and to know him and the Dark Irons better.
>>
>>4915471
>Go ask Garrick Blacksteel if he managed to get the deal and to know him and the Dark Irons better.
Not sure if we have the option of talking with multiple groups guys.
>>
You decided first to go and ask if Garrick Blacksteel had succeeded in his dealings with Lord Blackmoore. As you headed towards them, the Dark Irons noticed you and straightened up.

"Young prince, you came to greet us." Said Blacksteel to you and gave a slight bow.

"Yes I did master Blacksteel. Partially because it did interest me if you succeeded in your dealings."

"Yes and no, while we succeeded, the number of plate mail sold was disappointing." Blacksteel said to you. "Lord Blackmoore was exactly like you described him, but he wasn’t interested in a personal suit of armour. His aide meanwhile ordered a number of them for the guards here."

"Partial success could lead into a full success later." You said and tried to find the silver lining.

"That might be true young prince, but I do not think that the lord of the keep is interested in our products." Blacksteel replied with his deep voice.

There was a small pause in your discussion as a large roasted hog was brought in and the chef started to cut it into pieces to be served.

"To be honest master Blacksteel, I am not that familiar with Dark Iron dwarven. I thought that your people were only around Blackrock Mountain?" You asked him.

"That is a common misconception young prince." Garrick Blacksteel said to you. "As I told you before, Blackrock Mountain provides us with everything we need. But we still do go out to project our power and defend our interests."

1/2
>>
>>4917359

You and Garrick continued to speak for some time, learning how ruthless the Dark Iron society could be and how they see the world outside the mountain. After a while you excused yourself and went to grab some food and drink. As you did that, sir Gravis caught your attention as he waved you to join them.

"Prince Alric, you didn’t tell us how you fought against the gnolls?" Gravis said to you. "Captain Reginald here told us how the fighting had gone and how you and lady Proudmoore defeated their shaman."

"It was a great battle." Captain Reginald said back.

"And we missed it!" Gravis raised his voice. "A bloody garrison duty for us while others got to fight."

Gravis emptied his cup of beer and got another one from a servant.

"Prince Alric, tell us how the fighting went."



You told them the whole story from saving the first peasants from the gnolls to the actual expedition and the fight against the shaman. The knights listened carefully how the night attack into the gnoll camp had gone or how your men repulsed the gnoll charge during the expedition. You had their attention.

When you finally ended your storytime, your small audience was really impressed.

"Fighting like that at such a young age. Very impressive." Said Reginald.

"Not surprising that prince Alric beat Thrall in a sparring fight." Gravis continued.

You felt flattered by all this.



The feast had continued and people had gotten more drunk. The Dark Iron dwarven had left back to their wagons and you saw Lord Blackmoore to be visibly drunk. You meanwhile had a growing buzz from the beer and earlier brandy. The floor had been cleared and the first few had started to dance.

You scanned the hall and saw a few interesting people you could talk with.


>Lord Blackmoore can be a drunkard, but he is a functioning drunkard. Go talk to him.
>You saw Kris Legace talking to a group of presumably traders, join her.
>Taretha Foxton had arrived, go tell her the news of the deal.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4917362
Socialing Taretha who is recognized as Blackmoore’s mistress is probably ill advised especially if he’s drunk. Maybe we could talk to Kris if we can find a suitably discreet corner where we could pretend to talk regular business? Still possibly risky. Of the options given I’m leaning towards Blackmoore though it gives me little pleasure.

Kinda tempted to ditch the party and go read the book [spoiker]as I’d probably do in real life[/spoiler]
in fac… maybe we could take this chance to do some observation of our own?
>watch the gathering, try to figure out if we can spot an interesting connection or interaction between other guests
>>
>>4917362
>>You saw Kris Legace talking to a group of presumably traders, join her.
>>
>>4917362
>You saw Kris Legace talking to a group of presumably traders, join her.
>>
>>4917362
Supporting >>4917376
>>
>>4917362
>>Lord Blackmoore can be a drunkard, but he is a functioning drunkard. Go talk to him.
>>
You watched the feast around you as you slowly drank your beer and ate the roasted hog. The noblemen talked with each other as did the traders and the knights. People mostly stayed within their own groups.

Langston did talk to nearly everyone, probably just asking how they were doing. You really saw nothing out of place or noticeable. So you decided to approach Kris Legace who had ended up alone after finishing her talks with the traders.

"Good evening miss Legace." You greeted her and continued. "I saw you talked with those traders, who were they?"

"Prince Alric Traders from Southshore, they are quite a tightly knit group so they always check whoever new arrives into their 'territory." She explained to you. "It is always like this, even back in Strahnbrad."

"Well, were your trades here successful? I mean all the alcohol you brought?" You asked her.

"I made some coin yes. The people from which I bought it knew to whom I was selling so they raised the prices, but such is the life of a trader."

"I presume you aren’t going to stay here for long?"

"I plan on leaving already tomorrow and going back to Southshore and then I don't know. Wherever the rumours of good trade opportunities appear." She answered.

"Now that you work for me." You said with a more quiet voice. "If you need assistance in Southshore, go find Beric of Strahnbrad and tell him that I vouch for you. He should be able to help."

"Thank you prince Alric, I will keep that in mind." She said back with her always so energetic voice.

1/2
>>
>>4918793

The feast continued and the night slowly turned late. Some had left, but most continued to drink, eat and dance. Few new musicians had joined to allow a few others to rest. You now knew what sir Gravis had talked about good feasts. You saw Lord Blackmoore being completely drunk, but still somehow functional as he talked with people around him.

You felt already somewhat drunk and the light energetic buzz you had before had faded away. You felt ready to go take a piss off the keep walls before going to sleep.

"Prince Alric, isn't this a pleasant feast?" Asked Taretha who was carrying a tray of drinks.

"Good evening Taretha." You said back to Taretha as you turned to face her. She was wearing the same blue skirt and white blouse as she always did. "It has been yes, sir Gravis did not lie when he said the feasts are really good."

"That is very good for us to hear. We work hard every time. I will have to tell other servants your words." She said with a chuckle. "Another drink my prince?

You noticed your beer cup being empty and decided to take one more cup, because why not.

"Lord Blackmoore sent me to be with you, in his words to make and keep you happy and pleased." She said to you. "He seemed quite happy earlier and through this evening so I presume you agreed on the deal."

"You are very observant." You said to her.

"In this job and with this master you will learn sooner or later." She sighed and then chuckled. "Now how can I please you today?"


>You had wanted to see the battlements. Ask Taretha to guide you.
>The feast will continue for some time, go snooping around in Lord Blackmoore’s study.
>Finish the beer and go to your room. If you have something to say, you can day it there.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4918799
>>Finish the beer and go to your room. If you have something to say, you can day it there.
>>
>>4918799
>>You had wanted to see the battlements. Ask Taretha to guide you.

Tempiting again with the snooping though I can’t imagine what we could want to find there that would justify such a risk.
>>
>>4918799
>>You had wanted to see the battlements. Ask Taretha to guide you.
>>
>>4918799
>The feast will continue for some time, go snooping around in Lord Blackmoore’s study.

Wildcard baby!
>>
>>4918799
>You had wanted to see the battlements. Ask Taretha to guide you.
I don't trust us to be a sneak when we're drunk
>>
What if we got Taretha onboard, and our cover story is we were doing it in his study, albeit we were drunk. I'm sure Blackmore can understand...
>>
>>4918799
>"Now how can I please you today?"
>Why don't you come to my chambers and we will find out together
>>
"Well I want to see the battlements." You said to her.

"Battlements? Well I can guide you there." She answered and gave you a puzzling look. "They aren't that far away."

You allowed Taretha to guide you through the twisting pathways and through several doors until you had reached a heavy wooden door. As it was too heavy, you had to open it for both of you.

Beyond it was the cannon casemate overlooking the gatehouse. A small number of small cannons were in a neat row with cannonballs and blackpowder waiting to be used. You walked past the cannons and up the stairs before opening one final door.

It was quite dark outside, the moon tried to shine some light through the slight cloud cover. It was slowly raining snow.

"Is this the first snow in Durnholde?" You asked Taretha as you caught a few snowflakes with your breath.

"Yes it is." She said back.

From the top of the gatehouse you saw the whole Durnholde Keep. There was the keep itself, barracks, stables, some sort of a warehouse and the large yard. All this was encircled with walls and towers. Outside the walls was the large gladiator arena. The place looked well built and defensible.

A very cold breeze suddenly hit you and reminded you that winter was arriving.

"This was stupid, it is cold out here." You said aloud. "Let's go inside, back to warm."



The next morning had come and you were in the mess hall eating breakfast. The leftovers from last night's feast were being served and you are a nice plate of mutton with some bread and hot wine. Today afternoon would be the gladiator tournament everyone had been waiting for.

"Good morning prince Alric." Came the groggy voice of Karramyn Langston who joined you to eat breakfast.

"Good morning Langston, how did the feast go?"

"A lot of talking with the guests. You have to keep them happy and thinking that they have our attention."

"Hard work?" You asked.

"Very." Came the short answer as he bit into a piece of bread before he continued. "Juggling different needs of different people isn't easy."

You had some experience on that, but not that much yet.

"Today is the tournament and most of our guests get into the arena a bit earlier than others if they want to." He said and continued. "If you want, you could come with us, that is if you don't have anything else to do?"


>Join other guests and go to the arena early. There could be a chance to socialise with them.
>Last evenings talks with Garrick Blacksteel made you interested in their wares, go see if they could show you exactly what they were selling.
>You felt a bit tired, go rest in your room and read the book. You have nearly finished it.
>Other, write in

QM: Busy last few days so shorter than normal updates.
>>
>>4920128

Hmm... we don't exactly have a lot of money on us that we could use right now to spent on dark iron tech without being suspicious and it's not like they would share mole machines anyway...

>finish the book
>>
>>4920128
>>Last evenings talks with Garrick Blacksteel made you interested in their wares, go see if they could show you exactly what they were selling.
>>
>>4920128
>>You felt a bit tired, go rest in your room and read the book. You have nearly finished it.
>>
>>4920128
>You felt a bit tired, go rest in your room and read the book. You have nearly finished it.
>>
>Last evenings talks with Garrick Blacksteel made you interested in their wares, go see if they could show you exactly what they were selling.
We don't have to buy anything, we could ask him to stop by our place later afterwards and make a purchase then.

>>4920142
No one knows how much money we have and the got a chest of 20 wealth....
>>
>>4920985
That chest looked like something that would've been noticed we brought with us. It will be suspicious if we start spending from it now without even waiting for the excuse of it being our tournament wager winnings or something.
>>
"I will have to decline. I am still feeling sluggish from yesterday so I will go to my room to rest." You said to him.

"Understandable. We will send someone to you before the games begin." Langston said back.

"That does sound fair, let us do that." You said.



You had finally finished reading the last book you had been reading and done the few notes. The book was already placed in your travel chest as you compiled your notes as suddenly someone knocked on your door. It was still way too early for the tournament to begin.

You went to open the door and found sir Gravis on the other side.

"Good morning prince Alric." He said to you and saluted. "There is an urgent matter that you need to know."

"Good morning sir Gravis, what would it be?" You asked and were somewhat puzzled.

"Mathias Nogelman has been found dead in his cell, apparent suicide." Gravis told you. "We haven't yet told Langston as we wanted to tell you first."

"Thank you for telling me this. Are we going to go see the body?"

"Prince Alric, that would have been my suggestion."



After quickly taking your sword belt and throwing your jacket on, two of you made your way into the jail cells deep beneath Durnholde Keep. The jailer was outside Nogelman's cell with one of the guards. He started to apologise on how this could happen, but Gravis silenced him and pushed him aside as he opened the door.

Inside the cell Nogelman was still hanging from one of the chains. He had ripped his shirt to tie the chain in a loop around his neck before dropping down. From the deep dragging and kicking marks on the ground it seems that he suffocated.

"The jailor found him like this after coming to retrieve the empty food bowl. They had removed him from the chains last evening to allow him to eat." Gravis told you. "And then he decided to kill himself."

"Any idea why?" You asked Gravis.

"No idea, a man like him had many reasons to kill himself."

That was true. He was a pitiful drunkard so he might have realised this and decided to end his life. It did seem like a suicide to you.

"So what next?" You asked Gravis.

"We will take him down and bury him in the nearby cemetery probably tomorrow."


>Investigate the body just in case.
>Nogelman was a nobleman of Alterac, he requires a proper burial.
>Just wash your hands out of this. You got what you wanted from him.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4921424
This stinks. Looks like syndies have longer fingers than we would like.

Did whoever brought him food see him alive? Anyone come or go to the cell block?
Investigate the body for signs of struggle. Does he still have a bandana on him?
We should warn Kris of this (I’m rather thinking she wasn’t involved in this, although…) so she is careful.

And at the end of all this he is still Alteraci noble, drunk or not, we have responsibility to see him buried. Presumably with his ring, seeing as he has no next of kin. Symbolism must be observed.
>>
>>4921424
>Investigate the body just in case.
If there is any hint of anything or anyone's traces then we need to know. Best to sniff this shit out asap if we can. cut the fingers off of the syndies.
>>
>>4921424
>>Nogelman was a nobleman of Alterac, he requires a proper burial.
>>
>>4921424
>Investigate the body just in case.
>Nogelman was a nobleman of Alterac, he requires a proper burial.
>>
>>4921424
>Investigate the body just in case.
>Nogelman was a nobleman of Alterac, he requires a proper burial.
>>
Investigation it is. Give me a roll.


>1d6
>Best three
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4922053
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4922053
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4922053
>>
>8

You asked sir Gravis to bring the jailor in as you took a closer look on Nogelman's dead body. It had become really stiff already as you carefully walked around it and tried to see anything out of place.

"Sire, you wanted to speak?" Asked the jailor.

"Yes, tell me when you saw him alive last time and how you found him." You asked him.

"Well sire, I brought him a bowl of bread and some mutton and a cup of water last night. He was definitely alive as I unlocked the shackles to allow him to eat." He told you. "This mornin' I came to take the bowl and cup away and found him like this."

"You are saying that you didn't hear or see anything?"

"No sire, nothing at all."

"And you were in your office the whole night?"

"Yes sire, of course I had to sleep, but I would have woken up if someone opened one of the doors."

You hadn’t spotted anything strange about Nogelman. By all accounts he had used his shirt to tie the chain into a loop which he then used to kill himself.

"Sir Gravis, I want him to be buried as soon as possible. And it has to be done properly."

"Properly?" Gravis asked.

"Yes, he was a nobleman of Alterac. He deserves a good grave and a headstone." You said to him. "Can you arrange that with a priest and all before I leave back home?"

"I will do my best prince Alric." He said back.

Such a shame man ends up doing something like this.



You had left sir Gravis to deal with Nogelman while you went to eat something before going back to your room to wait until someone comes to pick you up.

Thankfully you didn’t have to wait long as one of the servants came to guide you to the arena and to the stands where Lord Blackmoore was waiting. You pulled your winter jacket on and followed the servant.

The walk to the arena wasn't that long as you did most of the trip underground before taking multiple stairs up where Blackmoore was sitting. When you reached the stands, you saw the arena as a whole. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of peasants had flocked to see the last gladiator fights of this year. You could only imagine how much coin they and other more wealthy guests would bring to Durnholde.

"Ahh prince Alric, you have arrived." Said Karramyn Langston who stood up from his chair to guide you to your. You noticed that you would be sitting next to Blackmoore as his special guest.

"Lord Blackmoore arrives soon and then the tournament will begin."

You didn’t have to wait for him for that long as servants passed hot wine and blankets to the guests to stay warm. When Blackmoore arrived you could see that he still was noticeably drunk, but still could walk and talk relatively coherently. He walked next to a railing and shouted the games to begin, before taking his seat to continue drinking in silence.

1/2
>>
>>4922802

The first few bouts were standard preliminary fights. Small groups of gladiators fighting with blunted weapons or to first blood to warm up the crowd and to get more training under them. While you had never really cared about gladiators, next came several more exciting singles fights between more experienced gladiators. They did their jobs well and the crowd was already hot.

Few more bouts happened with thankfully no one getting badly injured or dying in progress. Several trumpets blasted through the arena to signal the main event to begin. A planned and advertised five match series between Thrall and a mystery opponents.

"Are you a betting man prince Alric?" Lord Blackmoore finally spoke to you as Thrall walked into the cold sand of the arena. "If I were you, I would put a bet behind Thrall. He is going to win this all. He has never lost!"

Blackmoore was quite triumphant with his statement as Thrall stood ready down in the arena. You weren’t a betting man either, but you could put some coin for Thrall, you knew he was a good fighter.


You have 21 Wealth saved
>5 Wealth, place a big bet on Thrall
>3 Wealth, place a moderate bet on Thrall
>1 Wealth, place a small bet on Thrall
>You do not bet on Thrall, you are not a betting man.
>>
>>4922807
shame we couldn't discover more. I was kinda hoping Nogelman would redeem himself yet. As it is, we don't even have reason to believe syndicate did this aside from a hunch. Though it would serve to delegitimize them.

>>1 Wealth, place a small bet on Thrall
let's not be bringing out the chest for this and go with what we brought with us.
>>
>>4922807
>3 Wealth, place a moderate bet on Thrall

>>4922850
I'd rather disappointed in the investigation.
We didn't look for signs of injuries or bruises on the dead guy or jailer. Or even checked Sir Gravis. Heck it could have even been Legace.
>>
>>4922807
>>You do not bet on Thrall, you are not a betting man.
>>
>>4922807
>3 Wealth, place a big bet on Thrall
Even with the remaining wealth if he loses, we could still build plenty of things like a noble manor and improved blacksmith. Not so sure I want to lose 1/4th of the deal though.

>>4922874
That's what happens when your roll is kinda meh I guess.
>>
>>4922807
>>You do not bet on Thrall, you are not a betting man.
>>
>>4922807
>3 Wealth, place a moderate bet on Thrall
>>
You weren’t a betting man, but with the 'encouragement' at hand, Lord Blackmoore insisting that Thrall wouldn't lose and you knowing that he was a really good fighter, you decided to make a moderate bet.

"A fine choice prince Alric. You are going to win today." Blackmoore continued to boast.

Down in the arena Thrall was given a sword and his first opponent stepped forth. A huge mountain of a man carrying a pair of maces from Stratholme. This fight would continue till one side is incapable of continuing.

A signal was given and the two fighters started approaching each other as the crowd made a deafening noise. Other guests who most likely had their fair share of coin in play leaned forward in anticipation, will Thrall lose?

To the disappointment of some Thrall easily disarmed his foe after a quick fight and slammed him on the ground before lowering his sword on his throat. The first fight was over and the crowd cheered in approval.

Second fight had a pair of Stromgarde gladiators carrying nets and tridents while Thrall used a quarterstaff. You saw more bets being made by the noblemen and traders. This fight was a lot harder and you could see Thrall struggling with the nets and the long reach of the tridents. The crowd gasped as one of the tridents managed to hit and cause a bleeding gash on Thrall’s thigh. Thankfully not long after that Thrall beat the duo soundly and finished the fight by breaking the quarterstaff by hitting one of the gladiators too hard. The crowd cheered again as Thrall raised his hands up in victory.

The third fight for you was a joke. Six men hilariously well padded in gambesons carried cudgels while Thrall had nothing, but his bare hands. Sure he took a beating first, but he then threw the men around like a sack of flour and easily dealt with them.

1/3
>>
>>4924176

You now saw and realised why that fight happened, Thrall was now slightly tired and his body must have been sore. It was to grow the drama around the fights. Thrall was given a large mace and the arena cage opened. A pair of mountain lions walked out and the crowd went silent.

"We keep the lions hungry for a few days before the fights." Blackmoore said. "They are more ferocious, but weaker due to hunger."

Thrall had raised his mace up and took a stance. The two mountain lions slowly approached Thrall until one jumped forward. With a mighty swing the mace connected mid-air and the head of the lion exploded in a shower of gore. The crowd cheered as the body tumbled down on the ground, but gasped as the second lion attacked.

Thrall didn't have time to swing again, but he managed to place his mace between himself and the lion. The mountain lion tried to sink its teeth into the neck of Thrall, but without success. It did manage to sink its claws into the thick arms of Thrall causing blood to flow from numerous claw marks. Thrall screamed a warcry and headbutted the lion, giving him just enough time to swing his mace to crush its ribcage before finishing the prone dying lion with another swing.

The crowd had jumped up and cheered Thrall and you could see the noblemen betting and cursing their bad luck.

"The last advertised match, watch this." Blackmoore said as he observed Thrall and how easily he had dispatched the previous opponents.

Thrall had been given a wooden shield and a sword this time and again he took a ready stance as he waited for the arena gate to open. When it opened everyone was surprised.

A forest troll walked forward with a small group of footmen prodding it forward with spears. The troll would move, but the fear of spikes in its back made the troll finally move. A pair of axes were thrown to its feet.

"A troll, you have a troll against Thrall." You said aloud in surprise.

"Oh yes, it was hard to catch one, but we succeeded gloriously!" Blackmoore said with a glee as he finished yet another cup of hot wine.

The troll picked up the pair of axes and approached Thrall. While Thrall was big, the troll was taller and had a longer reach. Thrall also was wounded from previous fights.

2/3
>>
>>4924179

Thrall roared a warcry and charged the troll. The fight began with both sides trying to find a good opening. The troll fought with ferocity and nimble precision you hadn’t seen before, while Thrall was more methodical in his movement.

The fight had continued without either side getting advantage. Thrall was clearly tired as he did a mistake and one of the axes scraped his chest, leaving a shallow wound there. You knew that Thrall knew that he had to finish the fight soon.

Thrall sounded a wild warcry and charged the troll attacking it with wild swings. The troll evaded them all with ease, but when it counterattacked, Thrall was ready. His sword slashed a swallow wound in the troll's arm before continuing down straight into the troll's thigh.

The troll shouted in pain, but was silenced with Thrall’s knee shattering it's jaw with a crunch. The troll fell on its back and crashed on the cold sand of the arena with Thrall on top of it. Before the troll had a chance to react, Thrall swung his sword and severed the troll's head right clean off its body.

Thrall had used nearly the same technique as you had used to to defeat him. He had raised his arms in a victorious shout, but you saw that he was tired and had lost a lot of blood from his wounds.

The crowd cheered Thrall, but you saw the noblemen looking at Blackmoore like waiting for him to make a decision.

"Prince Alric, there is a lot coin to be made. A sixth and final round." Lord Blackmoore said to you as he leaned towards you. "Those nobles are itching to have a chance to bet against Thrall so let us take their wealth. The choice is yours prince Alric."


>You know Thrall can win, sixth round is a go.
>Thrall is too tired and wounded, no sixth round.
>>
>>4924185
>Thrall is too tired and wounded, no sixth round.

The orc has shown remarkable versatility and tenacity so far but even a weak trickle can carve valley out of the rock over time.
>>
>>4924185
What if we gave him the vial to drink from?
>>
>>4924185
>>Thrall is too tired and wounded, no sixth round.

We shouldn't push our luck, it is wise to quit when we are ahead.
>>
>>4924212
Clever, but I doubt this would be allowed.
>>
>>4924212
Sadly the vial is safely tucked away in your travel chest. Going to retrieve it and then somehow giving it to Thrall is practically impossible and you wouldn't have the time.
>>
>>4924185
>Thrall is too tired and wounded, no sixth round.

I would say ´the show must go on´ but i want to keep our gains.
>>
>>4925064
next one in the playlist will be 'I want to break free' by guest star, Thrall
>>
>>4924185
>Thrall is too tired and wounded, no sixth round.
Unless he's given rest in between or we at least know what he's facing, I'd say it's better to call it quits while we're ahead.
>>
>>4924238
>>4924315
What if we offered to duel him?
>>
"Thrall is too tired and wounded." You said to Blackmoore and thought of something more to say. "And besides you have already gotten their coin, let them not burn their fingers to allow them to come again."

Blackmoore gave you a stern look back.

"I think prince Alric is right. This is wildly profitable already." Langston said as he sat next to you.

"Fine, your reasoning is good. Let the nobles have their coin for now." Blackmoore finally relented and signaled the announcer to announce the winner.

When Thrall's name was shouted and he was declared winner, the crowd erupted and the nobles looked very sour. You joined Langston in clapping and watched as Thrall raised his fist up in the air. As he looked up towards the stands where you were sitting and you saw him looking at three of you, you gave him a faint nod.

And he nodded back.



The evening had come. Blackmoore had retreated into his study after the tournament and Langston had been counting the revenue and working out the bets done.

You were packing your belongings and checking everything as your plan was to leave back home tomorrow. The notes you had done were carefully placed into the chest and you put a mental note to sort them out later.

There was knocking on the door. You yet again went to open it and found Taretha there.

"Good evening Taretha. Come in." You said to her and stepped aside to allow her in.

"Thank you prince Alric." She answered and stepped into your room and saw your travel chest open. "Are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes, I have been here a bit too long and I have many things to do." You said to her.

"Yeah, you have your people to serve." She said with a bit of sadness. "Well I came just to say thank you for these days. I have felt safe and happy, which I can't say I have felt that much in the past."

"No more getting ordered by Blackmoore to keep me happy?"

"No, he got what he wanted. Now I just want to say that you are a good man and I hope everything good for you and your people."

"Thank you Taretha. I too have enjoyed our conversations and the delicacies we have eaten."

"Is there anything else? I still have work to do for today." Taretha asked you.


>Ask Taretha what she will be doing in the future or how she will handle Blackmoore.
>Ask Taretha once again if she needs any help or to get away from Durnholde.
>Ask Taretha to act as your informant, she can use your men as couriers for the letters.
>Other, write in
>>
>>4925609
>>Ask Taretha what she will be doing in the future or how she will handle Blackmoore.
>>
>>4925609
>>Ask Taretha what she will be doing in the future or how she will handle Blackmoore.
>>
>>4925609
>>Ask Taretha what she will be doing in the future or how she will handle Blackmoore.
>>
>>4925609
>Ask Taretha what she will be doing in the future or how she will handle Blackmoore.
>Ask Taretha once again if she needs any help or to get away from Durnholde.
Or just let her kown that if she must depart, she can come to us. Well hide her away someplace safe.
>>
>>4926139
Yeah maybe we should instruct the men we’re going to be sending here to look out for her or honor her requests? It will make worse the rumors we have an affair but it should be worth it I think.
>>
And to solve how much we won by betting on Thrall, give me a roll.


>1d6
>Best three
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4926597
I thought we were just going to earn 3 wealth, which is how much we bet.
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4926597
come onnnnn
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4926597
>>
"What have you planned for the future?" You asked her.

"What do you mean?" She asked as your question was a bit vague.

"Well I meant what about Blackmoore, how are you going to deal with him?"

"Same as always, by being strong." She said and smiled. "And by doing it for people I care for."

"Well I can really only wish you strength and promise you that if you need any help, I can try to do something."

"Thank you for the offer Alric, I will keep that in mind." She said as she opened the door and turned to leave. "One more thing."

"Yes?"

"If you weren’t a prince and I wasn't chained to this place, I would marry you on the spot. Goodnight and goodbye Alric."

She left you speechless as she walked from the room and closed the door.

What a peculiar woman Taretha is.



You got up early and finished packing your belongings before going to eat breakfast. There you met sir Gravis and two of you exchanged a few words about the funeral of Nogelman. It would be at noon.

You send a message to your escorts to tell them to prepare everything to be ready for leaving back home. As you put on your armour and checked that everything looked good in front of a mirror, you realized that finally you were leaving back home. Frankly you were somewhat homesick.



>7

The Stromgarde Guards were packing their own belongings on the horse cart you had brought with you. Pair of servants carried your travel chest and placed it in the cart as Langston came carrying a pouch of coins.

"Prince Alric, good thing you didn't leave yet. Here are your winnings." He said to you and offered the pouch to you.

"I would have come to pick this up before leaving." You said back to him.

"You are going to the funeral of that drunkard."

"Mathias Nogelman, actually a nobleman of Alterac." You corrected him. "It is my duty to be present."

"I understand. It was good to have you here prince Alric. We will be in contact if we have anything for you." Langston said. "Save travels prince Alric and good luck with your endeavours."


Betting wins gained:
>7 Wealth

1/2
>>
>>4926960

The funeral was a small event. Along with you, your escorts and the village alderman, only sir Gravis and his knights were there. You watched as the priest went through the funeral ceremony as snow started to fall.

How slowly and calmly the priest was talking with the snow falling, it was in the end a quite sombre moment.

After Nogelman had been lowered into his grave, you and the priest talked for a moment and he promised to take care of the grave and get a proper headstone. The grave wouldn't be forgotten.



Sir Gravis and his knights escorted you a short distance away from Durnholde.

"Prince Alric, I do have a question for you." Sir Gravis asked you.

"What is it?"

"Well me and my boys have been talking and thinking. If you would accept it, we would like to join you and serve you instead of Lord Blackmoore." He said to you.

"Wouldn't Lord Blackmoore protest that and decline releasing you from his service?" You asked him and continued. "And why would you be leaving? Didn't you say that you sre paid well?"

"Our written contracts end during the winter, so when spring comes all five of us are free to leave." He explained. "And to be honest, it is the lack of honour and glory. We saw how you hunted and dealt with Nogelman, we saw that if we follow you we can be part of something bigger than just guarding a bunch of lethargic greenskins. There is no future for us in Durnholde."

"Well what would be your terms then?" You asked him.


Terms of Sir Gravis of Knott and his knights:
5 Regular Knights, 5 Wealth, 3 Supply per season, requires a Stable to be built before next winter.

>Accept his offer and allow them to join you when spring arrives.
>Decline his offer, you don't require their services.
>>
>>4926962
>Accept his offer and allow them to join you when spring arrives.

I'm still a bit suspicious of him after the death of Nogelman.
>>
>>4926962
Oh yes, cavalry used going to come in handy. Although we won’t be able to train more until we build up the city hall are we?

>accept

I really hope he wasn’t involved in Nogelman’s death although I doubt he would. I doubt the jail guards were paying too much attention to the drunk so someone likely snuck in.
>>
>>4926962
>>Accept his offer and allow them to join you when spring arrives.
>>
>>4926962
>Accept his offer and allow them to join you when spring arrives.
I see there's an immediate good place to spend some of our betting wins. Might want to consider though that we'll also need 1 more supply per season to break even when they come, but that improved blacksmith I keep shilling for happens to fullfil both that and improves our arms and armor. Also, reminder that this is what we had when we left our holdings

Total Resources
1 Wealth, +9 per Season
12 Supplies, +2 per Season
5 Peasants
>>
>>4926962
>Accept his offer and allow them to join you when spring arrives.

We definetly need some cav and under some men that we know is good too. I am not if we can give them some action for this year, maybe.
>>
>>4926962
>Accept his offer and allow them to join you when spring arrives.

they will come in handy for the push for Gallow's Corner before the Syndicate bandits fortify it even more.
>>
"Well you better arrive when spring comes, welcome aboard." You said to sir Gravis and extended your mailed hand.

"Thank you prince Alric, you won't be disappointed by our service." He answered and grasped your hand.

The deal was signed.



Sir Gravis and the knights continued to escort you for a bit longer before turning back to Durnholde.

Your travel back to The Headland took the whole afternoon and continued deep into the evening and the night. It continued to snow and you knew from the amount of snow on the ground that you were close to home.

Finally you saw the few lights of your home through the raining snow. You were tired, but you were home.

When you pushed the door of the homestead open after getting your horse Epona into the tiny stable next to the house, you found out that Garsides were already sleeping. Unsurprising as it was quite late in the night. Your escorts carried your chest in and placed it on the floor. You were making a mighty mess and a noise.

"What is going on?" Came the irrate voice of captain Normand Garside as he walked down the stairs with a lantern and a sword in hand.

"Good evening Normand, we just arrived." You greeted him and started to remove your armour piece by piece.

"Ahh Alric, it is quite late and I heard the ruckus."

"Sorry about that. We are all very tired." You said to him and turned to face your escorts. "Thank you for coming with me, you all can take few days off."

The four Stromgarde Guards saluted you and left for their houses.

"I bet you have a lot to tell us." Normand said to you and put the sword away.

"Oh I do, but that shall wait till tomorrow. I am dead tired so can you help me to strip off this armour."

1/2
>>
>>4928287

You slept like a log and woke up at around noon. You felt really groggy for having slept so long, your hair was a mess and your stubble had grown bit too long. While your stay in Durnholde was relatively pleasant, by the Light it felt good and refreshing to be back home.

As you walked out of your room and went to ask Maura for something to eat and drink, you saw Normand counting the betting wins and the 'encouragement'. The smaller coin chest was on the table.

"When you said that you had a lot to say, you really do have a lot to explain. Where did this all come from?" He said with a really baffled voice.

You really had a lot to say about the deal with Blackmoore, but how much?


>Tell everything from 'encouragement' to betting wins and Nogelman, don't leave details out.
>You can leave some things out, but tell about accepting the 'encouragement'.
>You don't know how Garside will react, so tell that all the coin is from betting wins.
>Tell him about the deal, but not a one bit more.
>Other, write in.

QM: Back home from Durnholde finally!
>>
>>4928289
>>Tell everything from 'encouragement' to betting wins and Nogelman, don't leave details out.
>>
>>4928289
Maybe I'm not being paranoid enough but I don't see harm in giving Normand full account of what went down.
>>
>>4928289
>Tell everything from 'encouragement' to betting wins and Nogelman, don't leave details out.


>>4928298
there shouldn't be anything to worry about, maybe he gets a bit angry but that would be normal considering we did not consult it with any of our officers.
>>
>>4928289
>Tell everything from 'encouragement' to betting wins and Nogelman, don't leave details out.
It's gonna come out one way or another, but make damn sure nobody is listening in. I trust *him* since he's basically Alric's father in all but name and blood, but I don't want us getting a reputation for under the table deals and other (arguably) dishonorable acts.
>>
>>4928289
>>Tell everything from 'encouragement' to betting wins and Nogelman, don't leave details out.
>>
Everything, you told Normand everything. From arriving there with Blackmoore's first time trying to get you to agree, sending Taretha to you, catching Kris Legace to be a Syndicate informant and recruiting her, Nogelman and his suicide, you told Normand everything. You even went to get your notes you had made about Syndicate and showed them to him.

"You weren’t lying when you said that you had a lot to say." Normand Gardside said to you. "Good that you told me everything, but I do not think that we should tell others about the real source of all this coin or the exact details of what you learned about Syndicate."

"Yeah, from this point going forward, less and less people should be privy to the information." You said back.

"While I do not like how you got the coin, it will come handy in the coming months." Normand continued. "Neither do I like the deal itself, but we have time, our homeland won't disappear overnight."

Normand stood up and went to get his winter clothing.

"I will go arrange the patrols and tell sergeant Cromwell about the deal." He said as he put his thick fur hat on. "Alric, you should rest this day. And shave that stubble off, you look rough."

1/2
>>
>>4929586

It had been three days since you had come back. More snow had rained, but not too much to really slow down Alteraci people.

During these days you had learned that the patrols in and around Sofera’s Naze hadn't found anything of really any significance. You also learned that Rover had been getting better winter clothing for everyone and generally preparing the scouting missions to Gallow’s Corner and South-Western Alterac Mountains.

You also finished putting all your notes away and the books about military and warfare back into the bookshelf. You did feel that you had learned something new and you felt more prepared to lead your men into a battle. Now would be a good time to choose a new thing to study and to spend time to self-improve.

But before you could really decide what you could do in your spare time, a not so good news came from Southshore. A messenger brought a letter from Magistrate Maleb which told you that colonel Kavdan had died of a heart attack in jail. With no testament found, Maleb had tried to offer his meagre funds and the armour to Beric as compensation for his wounds. Beric had refused to accept anything and told Maleb to ask you if you wanted Kavdan’s old armour.

"Kavdan was once a great soldier and commanded the meagre Alteraci Navy." Garside told you. "Shame that he had to become a bitter man."

"It really is a shame, we could have used his skills." You said back. "But didn't he have a son, even without a last will, shouldn't he inherit whatever Kavdan owned?"

"I do remember his son so we could try to find him and get Kavdan’s belongings to him. Alternatively you could take his armour and replace your old mismatched set."

Kavdan’s armour was a Knightly plate, expertly made by the armourers of Alterac and fitting for a knight on horseback. It would be heavier than your current old armour and the blacksmith here would have to do some fitting, but it would be a definite improvement over your old half-plate.


Vote on both.
Kavdan’s meagre belongings and armour:
>Find his son and give him everything
>Find his son and give him everything except the armour that you will take.
>Other, write in.

Self-improvement:
>Go running and riding regularly. Exercise and try to improve your endurance and strength that you are lacking. (Athletics)
>Read books from your bookshelf, study them and write summaries of the subjects. (Intelligence)
>Go sparring and train how to use weapons better. Especially train how to fight against multiple opponents. (Martial)
>Follow and help Garside on running everything here. Supervise the projects and try to learn how things work. (Governance)
>You have the Gnoll Grimoire and the Talisman, study them and try to make sense of what they are and what they do.

QM: Self-improvement will be something that Alric does when he doesn’t have anything else to do. Basically stuff for the small timeskips and between updates. This also means that the results don’t happen immediately.
>>
>>4929587
>Find his son and give him everything
I'm not sure if seizing the armour is a good image thing... although riding into battle in worse set than the knights we've just hired probably isn't either. Maybe we could spend the wager winnings on that masterwork set?

>>Read books from your bookshelf, study them and write summaries of the subjects. (Intelligence)
Hm, both our intelligence and governance could use some work. Although intelligence would be probably benefit us more as long as we can get sufficiently competent people to do the governing.
>>
>>4929587
>>Find his son and give him everything

It should go to him. Not sure what he will think about us. After all we did arrest his father.


>Go running and riding regularly. Exercise and try to improve your endurance and strength that you are lacking. (Athletics)
>>
>>4929587
>>Find his son and give him everything
>Follow and help Garside on running everything here. Supervise the projects and try to learn how things work. (Governance)

Now two people have mysteriously died in jail. This is very suspicious.
>>
>>4929587
>Find his son and give him everything
The armor would be nice, but I don't think we would win any favors withholding it from who should inherit it. Hopefully he won't hold too much recentment for his father's arrest.


>Follow and help Garside on running everything here. Supervise the projects and try to learn how things work. (Governance)
With our deal with Blackmore sealed, these next few seasons will likely see little expansion in terms of territory. Perhaps consolidating, or at least learning how to would be most befitting and would prepare us for the eventual task of breathing life into the ruins of our old home. Kinda tempted by Martial though. Getting close to some of the famous warriors like Trollbane would feel damn good.
>>
>>4929587
>Find his son and give him everything except the armour that you will take.
I guess the masterwork armor we can buy at southshore should be enough.

>Read books from your bookshelf, study them and write summaries of the subjects. (Intelligence)
We need to to train intelligence for when we need to do some smarts to investigate or deduce something
>>
>>4929587
>>4930041
Ah shit, i got the wrong choice.

i change this
>Find his son and give him everything except the armour that you will take.
for
>Find his son and give him everything
>>
"His son should get it all. I don't feel fine at taking Kavdan’s armour." You told Normand.

"Understandable, I will try to find his son." Normand said back. "Might take a while as I have no idea where he is living."

"No rush at all, as long as he gets the armour and other belongings."



As Rover gave the finishing touches to the winter clothing and prepared for the scouting missions, you decided how you would spend your free time. You would be splitting your time between studying and reading books with following Garside to learn how he keeps everything together and manages the small town that had grown into The Headland.

You didn’t have much time to get invested in your studies as it was time to decide the first location to scout. You had called your closest officers for a meeting about it and when everyone had arrived, the meeting could begin.

"We are here to decide the first location to scout." You said to the people gathered. "Rover has been preparing the clothing and supplies and he has the most knowledge about doing things during winter. Can you tell us what you think?"

"Aye, winter's tricky. Gotta dress in warm clothing and have good supplies." Rover mumbled underneath his beard.

"I have seen the work Rover has put in all this. It looks very good." Beckston said.

"Aye, bad weather will kill you." Rover continued.

"What do you think about the locations?"

"Gallow’s Corner is easier to scout. More open with a road and sparse woods. Less snow too." Rover told you. "Mountains are much harder."

"But we are early into the winter, probably less snow than later during winter." Cromwell commented across the table.

"Aye, this is true." Rover said.

So you could first scout the harder South-Western Alterac Mountains before the winter truly hits Alterac or go for the easier Gallow’s Corner first, leaving the mountains for later.


>Scout Gallow’s Corner first.
>Scout South-Western Alterac Mountains first.
>>
I forget, have we gotten enough intel from Kris that it could be useful in scouting Gallow's Corner? Otherwise, I'd argue we take the opportunity to scout the mountain region while the winter is still relatively mild
>>
>>4931073
>>Scout South-Western Alterac Mountains first.
>>
>>4931073

On one hand I'm rather interested in what intel scouting gallows' would yield, especially given what we know from Kris. But on the other hand it would probably be a waste to not take advantage of the window of opportunity to scout the mountains now, especially figuring out whether Ogres might conduct a counterattack through the region if they decide to launch one should we take the road to Strahnbrad.

>Scout South-Western Alterac Mountains first.
>>
>>4931088
Just the general layout and what kind of terrain to expect. Legace tried to avoid spending too much time around Gallow’s Corner after all.
>>
>>4931160
>>4931073
Gotcha, then I'll say
>Scout South-Western Alterac Mountains first.
Because we're probably going to scout both if we can instead of doing any invasion. Also because I get the feeling the Syndicate is likely based just east of there across the river and I don't think getting sandwitched between ogres and bandits is a good idea
>>
>>4931073
>>Scout South-Western Alterac Mountains first.
>>
"We will scout the mountains first before the winter makes it even more difficult." You said to your officers. "Rover, how fast could we leave?"

"Two days sire."

"Then it is settled, in two days we shall leave."



Two days had passed and your scouting force left The Headland. First you travelled to Gavin’s Naze where you camped for a night before heading towards the mountains.

The group you took with you consisted of two parts. First was the actual scouting group of ten men, five archers and five footmen led by sergeant Cromwell and Rover. Second was the support group of ten footmen and five archers led by lieutenant Beckston. The support group would follow you for some distance before setting up a camp where you could return, rest and get more supplies. This way you didn’t have to carry everything with you.

The first day of the scouting mission went relatively well. All of you made slowly way through the not so deep snow with skis and ended up camping near one of the known mountain passes. The day after you approached the mountain pass to find it blocked due to a huge landslide. If you couldn't get over it, then neither would the ogres.

With advice from Rover, lieutenant Beckston set up his camp and was ordered to stay put. As you were leading the scouts, he would shore up the camp by cutting down trees to build proper shelters, by collecting firewood and by organising small hunting parties.



The crips and sunny winter morning made the snowy environment look absolutely stunning. You had woken up in your tent and as you were heading deeper and higher up the mountains, you had switched to more heavier and warmer clothing. The normal winter clothing wouldn't be enough to survive in case of a snow storm.

After you and rest of the scouts had eaten a strong breakfast, you threw on your thick fur coat and finalised your look with the mountain lion pelt cloak and hood you had. There was some snickering that you looked like a bipedal mountain lion, but there was no denying that it wasn't warm.

Then you all left the camp and headed towards the relative unknown with Rover leading you.


>1d6
>Best three of four

QM: Snow makes it harder even for Rover.
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4932509
He's still a badass.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4932509
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4932509
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4932509
Plebs be jelly of our bitching pelt.
>>
And also give me a random event roll.


>1d10
>Best of three
>>
Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4933344
This can only turn out well, I'm sure of it. Haha...
>>
>>4933354
Very well.

Welp I'm off to bed then.
>>
Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4933344
>>
Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4933344
>>
>11
>10

During the first day away from Beckston’s camp you made great progress through the snowy mountains. As it wasn’t snowing, the weather was so beautiful as the winter sun glimmered on the snow and the large pines and spruces gently swayed with the wind.

Rover led your group and stayed relatively close to everyone else. Just a few times he would ski ahead to see if the route could be taken or was there a need to take another route.

As the sun started to set, you managed to find a nice campsite just next to a large boulder which should protect you from the winds. The first day was a success.



It had started to rain snow during the night and after eating a good breakfast, you packed your tents and sleeping rolls back into the few sledges you were pulling behind you. Even with the raining snow, you would push forward. According to the maps and common knowledge Rover himself had and what he had asked from the people who knew about this part of Alterac, the second mountain pass should be relatively close by.

The weather slowly would turn towards worse with more snow coming down, which in turn slowed down your progress and forced you to set up your camp early amongst a copse of small trees. Thankfully during the night the winds eased somewhat and the temperature didn’t fall dangerously low.



Next day after digging yourself out from the tents, the decision was made to continue forward. The scouting party was in high spirits and you still had enough food for several days to push forward and then for the return.

The weather stayed relatively good with just the dull overcast of greyness above you when you finally reached the second mountain pass. The mountain pass was barely a man wide footpath through and over the mountains and with a mission to check the mountain pass, you decided that it too must be scouted, but that could wait till the next day.

For the better part of the next day you made your way through the mountain pass. At a few points the footpath was dangerously narrow and at some points it was dangerously steep. But finally you reached the highest point of the mountain pass and could see deep into the Alterac Valley.

Ahead of you were a number of other valleys and smaller mountains, but it was definitely Alterac you were watching. In eight years you had never been this close to your home. Still content at knowing that this pass could be traversed by humans, but definitely not by ogres, you returned back to where you started.

1/2
>>
>>4933505

Next day your progress further into the mountains slowed down into a crawl as it first started snowing and then the wind picked up. A snowstorm hit you with full strength.

“Early snowstorm.” Rover shouted over the wind. “And a big one too.”

“Do we push forward or back?” You shouted back to him.

“Neither, we have to find shelter.” Rover shouted back to you.

It was easier said than done, but by following Rover very closely, he made his way next to a deep pile of snow. Under his orders, you dug pair of snow caves and dragged your sledges and yourself inside them. You would spend the rest of the day and next night inside these shelters.



Next day the snowstorm had passed and the weather again looked relatively good and after having a short meeting with Rover, you decided to push forward again.

You didn’t have much chance to ski forward as the snowstorm resumed and it felt that it was even heavier and stronger than before. You still felt warm inside your thick fur clothing and with your head wrapped and eyes protected with glasses, but it was exhausting to ski in this weather.

Again Rover told you that we would have to find a new shelter or build one. As you continued forward, instead of finding a good pile of snow to dig into, you found a cave. Reaching the entrance, you drew your swords and took out a lantern as you made your way inside this small cave.

Thankfully there was no one inside it and the cave ended soon. You ordered Rover and a few others to seal the mouth of the cave with snow. You would stay there in a relatively good cover from the weather.

“Sire, come look at this.” Said Cromwell as he stood at the other end of the cave. “We didn’t spot this when we first checked this place.”

Cromwell was pointing down and between two rocks was a skeleton huddled around a half rotten wooden chest.

“Take the chest and open it.” You ordered and Cromwell carefully lifted the chest out and opened it.

Inside the chest were coins, very old looking coins. It seems that whoever the skeleton was, had died with a chest full of coins a long time ago.


Gained:
>3 Wealth



Next morning you found out that the snowstorm hadn’t eased at all which made the prospect of moving forward and continuing to scout difficult. According to Rover you could either wait a day or two in the cave and hope for the snowstorm to slowly withdraw or you could try to return back towards where you came from. You had enough food to wait for a day or two and then enough to return back to Beckston, but after that you would be eating your return supplies.


>Head back towards Beckston, the snowstorm and temperature should ease when you get down from the mountains.
>Wait for a day or two to see if the weather eases up and then return to Beckston.
>Wait as long as the snowstorm continues and then return to Beckston. Ration your food supplies carefully.
>Other, write in.

QM: I should be having bit more time to write updates, so maybe more than one a day?
>>
>>4933515
>>Wait for a day or two to see if the weather eases up and then return to Beckston.
>>
>>4933515
>>Wait for a day or two to see if the weather eases up
I don’t much like how the option kinda asssumes the storm is not letting up but I don’t want to needlessly endanger our expedition even if it means incomplete information.

Also whatever pace you’re comfortable with is fine OP!
>>
>>4933515
>>Wait for a day or two to see if the weather eases up and then return to Beckston.
>>
>>4933515
>Wait for a day or two to see if the weather eases up and then return to Beckston.

Good idea to try to scout the mountains in the start of winter, we should have waited till summer.
>>
>>4933515
>Wait for a day or two to see if the weather eases up and then return to Beckston.
Nice to hear! And man we are starting to build up quite the treasury aren't we?
>>
>>4933762
Speaking of which, if we had the peasants at hand, I'd be pretty interested in building a proper mining complex in Southern Alterac. It's expensive as shit, yes, but my god we'll be rolling in wealth
>>
>>4933787
If we bit some small mining operations around here, it would also make some good resting stops and save places. Maybe a tavern cave carved into the mountains? Sounds fun....

>Wait for a day or two to see if the weather eases up and then return to Beckston.
>>
You waited a day for the snowstorm to ease up, but it only buried you deeper in the snow. At one point you had to order a group of men to dig your way out of the cave to keep the entrance at least somewhat clean of the snow. Outside of that, all of you just huddled next to each other under the light of a single lantern and waited for the time to pass. Truth to be told, this was quite miserable.

Second day was quite similar to the first day in the cave. Again the men were ordered to dig themselves out of the snow in hopes of the snowstorm having moved or eased at least a bit. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. During this time in the cave, Cromwell approached you.’

“Prince Alric, may I speak?”

“You may sergeant Cromwell.”

“We have been following you for nearly a year.” He said and continued. “And I know that it is in your plans to go into Alterac next year.”

“Yeah that is the plan.” You said to him.

“Well the men, old and young, are appreciating what you have accomplished in the last year. They do think that you have done a good job.”

“Are you just saying this because we are stuck in a cave during a snowstorm?”

“Well probably yeah, still that is what the men are thinking.”

Two of you shared a small laugh. It is true that what you had accomplished was quite a lot in one year, but truth to be told you had been quite active. With the limited resources you had accomplished a lot, friendship with Tarren Mill, cooperation with Durnholde and next year maybe an actual move into Alterac proper. Still there was a lot of work to be done.



On the third day the snowstorm had eased somewhat and under the guidance of Rover, you decided to head back towards Beckston and the rest of the men. With a winter this heavy and strong, pushing further into the mountain would be a mistake.

It took you several days of slow progress through the snow to reach Beckston. He was extremely happy to see you all still standing and healthy from the snowstorm. Even his camp had been half buried in snow and he was more than happy to go back to Gavin’s Naze and then back home.

When the ragged bunch that was your scouting group reached The Headland, you found half of the town buried in snow. Apparently the snowstorm had hit the Fingers quite hard too.

“It is good to see you all in one piece.” Said Garside. “I presume the snowstorm slowed you down too.”

“Yes, it stopped us completely. No way we are going to make a move towards the mountains during the winter.” You told him.

“Aye, unnaturally strong storm.” Said Rover who had appeared next to you.

“We have to plan the scouting of the Gallow’s Corner next, that is after our men get some rest.”

1/2
>>
>>4934215

It had been several days since your arrival back home. You and everyone else had been resting for the past few days and you had spent this time reading your books. While you enjoyed this downtime and reading a book while sitting close to a fireplace, you had to make the decision on how to handle the scouting of Gallow’s Corner.

You could bring your full force, but that would more or less amount to an invasion compared to a scouting mission. You could bring a smaller force, similar to the group you had with when you went for the mountains or you could enjoy the stealth and silence of the winter and just take a few men with you. Either way scouting of Gallow’s Corner was of utmost importance. Whatever info you could get would help tremendously in the future.


>Scout with full force. Less sneaky, but if having to fight the bandits, you would have the numbers with you.
>More balanced approach, a smaller group of men are less likely to be spotted and would allow you to get the information you needed.
>A small number of men allows a greater chance to not be seen or heard. Stealth is the way to go.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4934217
>A small number of men allows a greater chance to not be seen or heard. Stealth is the way to go.
>>
>>4934217
>A small number of men allows a greater chance to not be seen or heard. Stealth is the way to go.
We know this land is not only occupied, but contested. I'd rather not alert them that a third party is prepping to swoop in on them
>>
>>4934217
>>A small number of men allows a greater chance to not be seen or heard. Stealth is the way to go.
>>
>>4934217
>>A small number of men allows a greater chance to not be seen or heard. Stealth is the way to go.
>>
>>4934217
>A small number of men allows a greater chance to not be seen or heard. Stealth is the way to go.
Preferably volunteers. No use ordering men out during winter.
>>
Rover had prepared everything again as you told your soldiers that a few volunteers would be required for this scouting mission. You would be taking only a few men with you this time as the presence of bandits could mean that a larger force could be seen or spotted.

After several men had volunteered themselves and you had chosen exactly who to take with you, it was time to go. You would be joined by Cromwell, Rover and four men.



It had rained quite a lot of snow in the past few days, but thankfully it didn’t slow you down as you skied towards Gallow’s Corner. With a group this small the amount of supplies carried was also quite small and you made a really good progress in just a few days.

When you skied towards Gallow’s Corner, you noticed how the woods grew slightly more sparse. And when it started to rain more snow, the woods wouldn’t give you as much protection. You would have to cross some open terrain too, but thankfully not that much.



You had camped in a sparse copse of woods and planned your next move. It had started to rain more snow early in the morning which now actually would be a benefit. Gallow’s Corner wasn’t that far away and now you just would have to approach the place carefully.


>1d6
>Best three of four
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4935552
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4935552
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4935552
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4935552
I keep forgetting Rover is so good his rolls are best 3 of 4
>>
>12

You decided to ski as close as you can without being seen. The snow would help to muffle the noise and make seeing you much harder.

As you skied closer you finally saw the old watchtower that was the central point of Gallow’s Corner. You lay down in the snow and looked around to have a better picture of the place. From this spot you saw the watchtower and the palisade wall, but couldn’t get a good picture of it all.

You tried to approach the place from another direction, but that didn’t work that well either as there was another problem that you and Rover thankfully spotted before they could see you. The bandits had been posting small pickets that patrolled around the tower and the palisade wall. You nearly skied into one of them, but managed to hide by jumping into a pile of snow.

Still even without getting that close you managed to confirm the information Kris Legace gave you. The tower had a palisade wall and you could see a few roofs inside the wall. But at the same time you didn’t see much or confirm anything else, still you managed to stay unseen so there was at least that.

Few possibilities did come into your mind. You could wait till the night and try to sneak through the pickets to get closer to the tower, or you could try to secure a prisoner or two by attacking one picket. Alternatively you could just go back home as you have seen the place more or less.


>Wait till the night and try to sneak closer
>Wait till the night and try to secure prisoners
>Withdraw and go back home, you got what you wanted
>Other, write in

QM: Rover would normally roll Best three of five, but winter and snow makes things much harder.
>>
>>4936382
Hmm... what would ogres do if they caught one of those pickets? We could pin their disappearance on them. But if they have some means of exchange information we might be playing our hand ahead of time. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained...

I guess it comes down to whether we intend to take gallows' corner this year or not. We will be twenty men short but with help of the knights come spring...

>Withdraw and go back home, you got what you wanted

I think I'd like to try and take a prisoner or few but this creates hazards and may not be worth it if we don't follow through with the attack.
>>
>>4936382
>>Wait till the night and try to sneak closer
>>
>>4936382
>Hit and run, focus on getting some kills in
>>
Also OP do we have a political map?
>>
>>4936382
>Wait till the night and try to secure prisoners
>>
>>4936507
Yes, here you go. I haven't yet updated it to show that the bandits control Gallow's Corner.

Colour Codes:
Blue, Kingdom of Lordaeron
Purple, Dalaran
Orange, Prince Alric
White, Dwarves
Brown, Crushridge Ogres
Grey, Unknown or unclaimed
>>
>>4936382
>Withdraw and go back home, you got what you wanted
>>
>>4936382
>Wait till the night and try to sneak closer
I'm a bit weary of the recent snowstorms, but I feel we should take the opportunity to try to get as much info as we can without alerting the bandits. We really shouldn't try to take prisoners
>>
>>4936555
And do we have some economic numbers? What's bringing our income?
>>
Can I get a tiebreaker. Withdrawing back home and trying to sneak closer are both at two votes.

>>4937602
Current income is 9 Wealth per season. 5 from silver and lead mine, 2 from iron mine, 1 from lumbermill and 1 from providing guards to Tarren Mill. This income will be paid to you at start of next season.
>>
>>4936528
>>4937687
Then i change my vote for
>Wait till the night and try to sneak closer
>>
Alrighty sneaking wins. Give me a roll


>1d6
>Best three of four
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4937744
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4937744
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4937744
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4937744
>>
>11

You carefully moved back into the nearby copse of woods where you and the rest of the men lied low behind a bank of snow waiting for the night to come. You wouldn’t be leaving just yet, as you wanted a closer look on the tower and rest of their buildings there.

The days had started to be quite short already and thankfully you didn’t have to wait too long for the night to come. The slowly raining snow made seeing things that were far away a much harder task, but it would also work for you. The bandits wouldn’t see you either.

It was you and Rover who skied forward towards the tower. You had a good idea of the locations of the pickets and where they were either standing or patrolling and with them somewhat foolishly carrying lanterns or having lighted up braziers to keep warm, going past the pickets was frankly quite easy for you and Rover and you weren’t even a rogue.

Even if it was dark, you could see the palisade wall and the battlements built behind them as you slowly crept closer to the tower. From inside the palisade you could hear talking and you presumed most of the bandits were there and staying away from the cold of the winter. The palisades themselves looked quite sturdy and you wondered if they were actually built by ogres instead of the bandits themselves.

As you were slowly skiing around the palisade with Rover, you at one point had to jump down in the snow to hide from a small patrol that thankfully walked past you and didn’t see you. When they had passed you, you could continue your skiing trip around the palisade which thankfully went without any further problems. You saw how sturdy it was and by circling it around you had a good idea how many buildings and where they were located inside the palisade. Seeing the battlements and the actual size of the place, you realized how difficult attacking it could be. It wouldn't be an easy campaign whenever you would do it.

But you had gotten what you wanted, the information of the place. Now you just had to get away without being seen.


>1d6
>Best three of four
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4937961
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4937961
This isn't good...
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4937961
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4937961
>>
>9

You started to carefully ski away from the palisade towards back home and safety. You have been skiing around the place and most likely at some point someone will notice the ski marks on snow and then they know that someone is here. And due to this you decided to ski a bit faster which ended up being a mistake, you made too much noise.

“Oi, who goes there?” A shout came from one of the pickets.

“Ski fast!” You whispered loudly to Rover as both of you started to ski as fast as possible away from them.

Unlucky to you, you hadn’t yet passed the line of pickets and patrols and you were nearly basically surrounded a bit. But you were on skis and you still had a moment of surprise with you.

“Oi, stop!” Came another shout which was followed by more activity by the picket spotted you. You saw at least three men through the snow and darkness.

You continued to ski forward as you heard one of them blowing into a horn. Now everyone would know that you were there. And to make matters worse, they apparently would try to chase you which could really be a big problem. At least the three men from that picket that spotted you had put on their skis and they were slowly catching you. They after all had fresh legs and clean fresh skis.

You continued to ski away, but within minutes you knew that they would catch you and you hadn’t yet reached your men that were still hiding.

“We can fight.” Rover said to you as he passed you as he was a faster skier.

You hadn’t exactly counted on fighting when on skis. Wearing armour outside of a thick leather vest underneath your fur jacket would have made skiing way too hard, but you had a sword and trusted your skill as a fighter, after all you beat the ‘undefeated’ Thrall in a sparring fight.


>Ski as hard as you can and try to reach Cromwell and the rest of your scouts.
>Let the three pursuing bandits catch you and then fight them.
>Surprise them and charge your pursuers, bring fight to them.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4939083
>Ski as hard as you can and try to reach Cromwell and the rest of your scouts.
>>
>>4939083
>Ski as hard as you can and try to reach Cromwell and the rest of your scouts.
>>
>>4939083
>Ski as hard as you can and try to reach Cromwell and the rest of your scouts.
We probably could beat the picket, but with them having sounded the horn, I fear for our ability to get away if either of us get wounded.
>>
>>4939083
Well there goes the element of surprise. They raised the alarm so killing them to retain it is off the table, though with luck Cromwell heard it too and is moving to reunite…

>ski hard

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mF3tEKqSq3Q
>>
>>4939083
>Ski as hard as you can and try to reach Cromwell and the rest of your scouts.
>>
Quite unanimous decision alright. Give me the roll!


>1d6
>Best three of four
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4939136
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4939136
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4939136
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4939136
>>
>14, success

“Just ski, try to reach Cromwell.” You said to Rover who acknowledged what you said with a nod.

The bandits were just behind you and thankfully didn’t have bows or anything ranged to shoot at you as you tried to stay ahead of them. But you knew that they would catch you sooner or later as you watched Rover ski ahead of you as fast as he could. You could see Cromwell and others in the distance coming towards you and you could only hope that you were close enough of them.

Hearing the bandits just behind you you had to do something. Kicking off your skis and throwing the ski poles away you drew your sword and turned around to face the bandits.

The first bandit right behind you drew his sword, but couldn’t do more as your swing cut his sword arm off by the wrist and then you brought your sword back up and cut his right side open. The man fell on the snow with a scream as you practically took leaps in the snow to reach the bandit behind him. The second man had more time to draw his sword and he took a swing at you, but you blocked it.The second swing he did was too blocked and you directed his blade towards the ground and you in riposte brought your sword up and cut his chest open. The man did not immediately fall down so you decapitated him with a clean left to right swing.

The third bandit dropped his sword and turned around to ski away. He didn’t get that far as a single arrow found his back. You turned around and saw Rover with his bow unslung and having loosed the arrow that took the bandit down.

As you put on your skis and took the ski poles, suddenly the night turned into a day as a flare launched by the bandits illuminated the night. You saw that another patrol was coming towards you as you started skiing away. It would be some time before they would catch you if they could catch you.

You skied forward and reached Cromwell and the rest of your scouts.

“Good to see you in one piece sire. What are your orders?” Cromwell said to you. Everyone was ready behind him.


>Fighting is to be avoided, just ski away as fast as you can.
>You will ambush your pursuers after skiing awhile, this way they can’t follow you.
>Stand and fight, killing the pursuers should discourage them from following you.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4939453
>You will ambush your pursuers after skiing awhile, this way they can’t follow you.
>>
>>4939453
>>You will ambush your pursuers after skiing awhile, this way they can’t follow you.
>>
That was badass but we’re not out of woods yet, although a good ambush should discourage pursuit. They don’t have real way of knowing how large our forces are and if they mobilize they may attract attention of the ogres, that flare might have done that, too.
>>
>>4939453
>You will ambush your pursuers after skiing awhile, this way they can’t follow you.
>>
>>4939453
>Stand and fight, killing the pursuers should discourage them from following you.
Don't think they are gonna pursue far during night in winter. Ambush them right from here, even come towards them if their response is piecemeal. Keeping everyone alive is priority tho.
>>
>>4939453
>>You will ambush your pursuers after skiing awhile, this way they can’t follow you.
>>
Alrighty, give me a roll


>1d6
>Best three of four
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4940436
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4940436

>>4940440 uh-oh
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4940436
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4940436
By the fucking light, these rolls are awful
>>
File: footman.gif (7 KB, 462x318)
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>7, failure

“We will ski forward and when they can’t see us we will set up an ambush and kill the patrol.” You ordered Cromwell and others. If this plan works, you could then continue to ski away without worrying of being followed at least for some time.

Your group started to ski away as fast as possible while looking for a good spot to ambush the following patrol. It didn’t take long for you to reach a small forest where you hastily set your ambush. You, Cromwell, Rover and the four men you had with you hid in the snow and behind branches and you waited for the pursuing bandits to reach you.

There were nine bandits in the group that you could see. They were following your ski tracks and as they were maybe fifteen yards away, they spotted you.

“There they are, attack them! Take prisoners!” Was the command from the bandit leading the group as the bandits fanned out and threw their skis away.

You and your men all jumped up and did the same as you drew your swords. It was seven against nine and Rover wasn’t big of a melee fighter and he opted to stay back with his bow. In moments you clashed your sword with the first bandit as did the men around you.


>You have to kill the bandit quickly and move to the next one before they can kill your men.
>You wear a mountain lion cloak and hood, taunt them and try to get more of them to come fight you instead of fighting your men..
>Keep the bandits at bay to allow your men to escape.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4940766
>You have to kill the bandit quickly and move to the next one before they can kill your men.
>>
>>4940766

Hmm not convenient at all. On one hand we should be good enough fighters to be able to tank some opponents, on the other hand if we can keep it one on one we should be able to draw benefits from our recent practice with Thrall.

>You have to kill the bandit quickly and move to the next one before they can kill your men.
>>
>>4940766
>You have to kill the bandit quickly and move to the next one before they can kill your men.
>>
>>4940766
>>You have to kill the bandit quickly and move to the next one before they can kill your men.
>>
Unanimous again, so give me the roll!


>1d6
>Best three of four
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4940983
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4940983
secretly hoping for yet another fail
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4940983
Please dice gods...
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4940983
Let's hope it's good
>>
>11, success

You parried the downward strike by the bandit and pushed his blade back. The bandit managed to block your counter and then your second strike, but your third strike hit true. The blade cut through the clothing and leathers and bit into the chest of the bandit. With a cry the bandit started the fall down as you pulled your blade back and delivered a quick swing into his throat cutting it open.

Not giving your first victim any more thought you took leaps in the snow and went for the second one who was fighting against one of your men. The bandit attempted to strike the man, but you managed to bring your blade to stop him. Now the bandit was fighting against two of you and as you alternated between blocking and striking, after a few swings the bandit made a mistake and your man managed to deliver a quick slash into his torso. You followed the strike with your own that severed the bandits left arm before you stabbed him directly into his torso.

With the bandit having fallen down, you gave a quick look on the battlefield. The numbers were now even with your men and bandits all dueling each other. The fight wasn’t decided yet and you had to react quickly as one of the bandits came swinging at you with a two handed axe.

“I got you now lion man!” He shouted as he attempted to strike you with a wild swing.


>1d6
>Best three of four
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4941053
Their intel must be really shit if they still don't recognize us with that distinctive outfit.

Good.

Though maybe he just wants to taunt us I guess.
>>
File: 1499482758512.png (34 KB, 971x931)
34 KB
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>>4941064
maybeI should stop rolling...
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4941053
>>
>>4941066

Sometimes the dice gods aren't just with you.
>>
>>4941053
Don't worry, the dice gods favor *me*
...right?
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4941100
Maybe if I don't forget to put in the goddamn roll lmao
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4941053
The light will save us!
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4941053
>>
Busy day, next update tomorrow.
>>
>8, failure

You blocked the swing with your sword and pushed the two handed axe down towards ground before bringing your sword up along the long handle. The bandit realized this and pulled the axe back before attempting to jab at you with it forcing you to jump back and draw your sword into another ready stance. You noticed the axe had a small pike on top of it, allowing for quick stabs and jabs.

The bandit continued with more jabs that you blocked or took a backstep to stay out of the reach of these attacks before you blocked another jab and stepped inside the bandits guard. You took the risk of getting slashed by the axe as you deliver a quick slash at the bandits torso. Your sword cut into his clothing and chest, but you immediately realized that you wouldn’t be cutting the bandits torso open. He was wearing a breastplate underneath his clothing.

The bandit went and pulled his axe back, but you managed to put your own sword between it and your side, protecting it from getting cut. The bandit went again for another big swing which thankfully was telegraphed well which allowed you to stop it with a counter swing. What you didn’t expect was that it was exactly what the bandit wanted you to do. With a quick jab he stabbed you with the pike of his axe into your chest.

You immediately felt the stinging and burning sensation of pain as the pike managed to get through the hardened leathers you were wearing underneath the furs. You took a step back and pushed the pike away with your sword before you took a deep breath and flexed your chest a bit. The wound hurt a lot, but it seemed that it hadn’t gone that deep. Still this wasn’t good at all, you have to finish this man quickly.

The bandit went for another jab, but you responded with several quick blocks and slashes that made more distance between you and him.


>Go for half-swording, you need more leverage and tip control to defeat this bandit
>Heavy devastating strikes, all or nothing to quickly defeat the bandit
>You need to get rid off the axe, get inside his block and prevent its use and defeat the bandit
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4942935
>Shout either at Rover to shoot at this axeman or whoever is nearby to switch
No reason to duel this guy. Let's take on something else.
>>
>>4942935
>Heavy devastating strikes, all or nothing to quickly defeat the bandit
>>
>>4942935
I'm not sure about closing in with the armored bandit, he probably has a knife on him if we disable his axe... we should be quicker with our sword than his axe is, no? Though I'll leave this to someone better at martial.

>>4942978
Rover is probably locked in melee like the rest of us though, unless our men managed to gain upper hand.
>>
>>4942935
>>You need to get rid off the axe, get inside his block and prevent its use and defeat the bandit
>>
>>4942935
>Heavy devastating strikes, all or nothing to quickly defeat the bandit

The best way to get rid of this asshole and move on to the next one in line is to overwhelm him with pure power. All it truly takes to kill a man is one strong chop of a blade. After that not even this guys heavy armor will save him from our killing blows.
>>
>>4942935
>Go for half-swording, you need more leverage and tip control to defeat this bandit
>>
>>4942935
>>Go for half-swording, you need more leverage and tip control to defeat this bandit
>>
Heavy devastating strikes and Go for half-swording both have two votes. Could I have a tiebreaker as I will ask for the dice bit later.
>>
>>4942935
>Go for half-swording, you need more leverage and tip control to defeat this bandit
T-t-t-tiebreaker
>>
Alrighty! Give me those dice.

>1d6
>Best three of four
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4943974
Stab 'em with the pointy end!
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4943974
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4943993
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4943974
>>
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>13, success

You took a new stance and grasped the blade with your left hand, you hoped that with half-swording you could take control of this fight and gain more leverage.

The bandit again went for a wild left swing, that you easily now catched with your sword. The bandit tried again for a swing from right that was too blocked. A jab, a stab and another swing was stopped and when the bandit attempted a swing from right, you caught it with the tip of your blade and lifted the two-handed axe over your head. The bandit, being surprised with this development, couldn't react fast enough as you took a few quick steps and pushed your blade along the handle of the axe and thrusted your sword into the neck of the bandit.

The bandit fell down on the snow holding his ruined throat as you prepared to move towards other bandits, but when you looked around you found the battle having already ended.

Around Cromwell laid three dead bandits and the last of them was being finished by one of your men.

“Is everyone okay?” You asked aloud and was instantly reminded that you had been stabbed into your chest. The stinging pain wasn't bad, but you could feel warm blood slowly making its way down on your chest.

“No, we got two wounded.” Shouted back one of your men.

The two wounded men had several upper body wounds from swords and daggers and everyone rushed to help them by cleaning and attempting to bind the wounds.

“The wounds aren’t deadly, at least not yet. We need to get them to an actual healer before they succumb.” Cromwell said back as he knelt next to them and observed as they were being binded.

“Closest is back home with Raleigh.” You said back and cursed his lack of talent with skis.

“That’s true.” Cromwell said and saw that you were in a bit of pain. “Sire, are you wounded?”

“Got stabbed, but it doesn't feel that bad.”

“Sire, we have to check that out too before more bandits come here.”

“You are right, get our men quickly patched up. If they cannot ski, we will pull them behind us.” You commanded.

You wouldn’t leave your two wounded behind you in any case.



In just a few minutes the combination of field dressings made by the herbalists with the bitter cold helping in making the wounds stop bleeding and Rover had prepared the skis to work as improved sledges for the wounded to be pulled behind.

You had pulled your fur jacket off along with the hardened leather vest. The pike had gone into your chest, but apparently the combination of the fur jacket and the hardened leathers had slowed it enough for it to not go that deep. That wound too was quickly patched and you were ready to go.

You did check that the fur jacket had managed to keep the Blessed Vial of Water unfrozen. You could drink it yourself, or give it to the wounded. It should help to keep the drinker strong.

1/2
>>
>>4944198


Blessed Vial of Water:
>Use it yourself
>Give it to one of the wounded men
>Share it between both wounded men

>Ski as fast as possible and push hard forward. Faster you get back home, faster your men get into good care. It will be harder for the bandits to catch you too if they decide to follow
>Going too fast will just make all of you tired, go with a more sensible speed. You after all have a headstart over the bandits and they aren’t probably that eager to follow with twelve of them already dead.
>Go slow and with a speed that is most comfortable to your wounded men. Make sure that they aren’t in pain during the travel back home.
>Other, write in.

QM: Two votes, please vote for both.
>>
>>4944201
Share between twos d ride at moderate pace. Can’t afford to ride too hard but can’t afford to be caught up either.
>>
>>4944201
>Ski as fast as possible and push hard forward. Faster you get back home, faster your men get into good care. It will be harder for the bandits to catch you too if they decide to follow
Any notable loot from these corpses we just made?
>>
>>4944201
>>4944201
>Share it between both wounded men, unless one of them is clearly in more dire straights than the other, in which case prioritize that one.
>Going too fast will just make all of you tired, go with a more sensible speed. You after all have a headstart over the bandits and they aren’t probably that eager to follow with twelve of them already dead.
We're a price of the people, but let's not be silly in our retreat. I'm pretty sure we can't exactly double back before sunrise, and we should certainly not be casual about it.
>>
>>4944201
>Share it between both wounded men
>Going too fast will just make all of you tired, go with a more sensible speed. You after all have a headstart over the bandits and they aren’t probably that eager to follow with twelve of them already dead.
>>
>>4944201
>Share it between both wounded men
So they are stable enough that they do not die on the way home. And we are young and strong enough to tough out such a small stab wound for a bit.
>Ski as fast as possible and push hard forward. Faster you get back home, faster your men get into good care. It will be harder for the bandits to catch you too if they decide to follow
If we give the men the Blessed Vial of Water they should be fine if we push our selves to get home faster. But if the bandits catch us again we are all dead men with how wounded we all are now.
>>
>>4944201
>Share it between both wounded men
>Going too fast will just make all of you tired, go with a more sensible speed. You after all have a headstart over the bandits and they aren’t probably that eager to follow with twelve of them already dead.
>>
>>4944201
>>Share it between both wounded men
>Going too fast will just make all of you tired, go with a more sensible speed. You after all have a headstart over the bandits and they aren’t probably that eager to follow with twelve of them already dead.
>>
Roll please


>1d6
>Best three
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4945028
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4945028
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4945028
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4945028
big money no whammy's baby.
>>
>11

You carefully poured half the vial into the mouth of the first wounded man and then rest for the second. It probably wouldn’t help as much as the full vial, but every drop would help. Looking around at the dead bandits, it was really a shame that you didn’t have time to search them. They could be carrying something useful. But now the lives of your men and generally the survival itself was the most important thing.



You had skied for a while and it did seem that the bandits hadn’t sent new patrols. Regularly you could see the faint light from the flares they were firing in the sky.

It had continued to rain snow and you had to sometimes stop to sweep the snow off the wounded and make sure the makeshift sledges were still in one piece. This slowed you down considerably, but you had to do these stops and check on them. It also allowed you and others to rest for short periods. Some food or a quick nap gave you enough strength to continue skiing.



The night turned into a day as you pushed forward. You had been switching the people pulling the sledges during the breaks and all of you were extremely tired. Your hands and feet felt like pieces of hard timber that bent as much as a bar of iron, but as the day came so did the better weather.

The sun was shining and as you got down from the Alterac Valley, there was also less snow to ski through.

Finally one of the patrols sent to Sofera’s Naze spotted you and quickly made their way to meet you. They would take your backpacks and get the wounded on better sledges. It wouldn’t take long for them to escort you back home.

1/2
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>>4945231

When you woke up the next day, you still felt extremely tired and exhausted. When you had arrived back home, you had supervised that both wounded would go into care of Raleigh and that the rest of the men also got safely into their lodgings. Only after that you could go home and crash into your bed.

“Good afternoon Alric.” Said Normand Garside as you made your way to the large kitchen table that you used for the meetings. “Let us check your bandages.”

“Is it already afternoon? And I am still tired.” You said back and pulled your shirt off. “Has Raleigh said anything to you?”

“He told me that both men will make a full recovery, but it will take till the spring.” Garside said as he took the old bandage out. “So what did you learn from the scouting trip?”

You told him everything, the layout, the defences, what the terrain seemed to be. As Garside changed the bandages, you two discussed the potential of invading the place in the spring or summer. What could be required to successfully do it and if you had the tools and the men for it. All in all it wouldn’t be easy.



It was a few days since your return from the scouting trip and the wound on your chest had stopped aching near constantly. The heaviest of winter was on top of you with the continuous rain of snow.

For short periods you had gone outside to check the wounded men and talk with others, but it was very clear that doing anything outside in this weather would be either really hard or impossible. Outside of sending patrols around your holdings, not much could be done. At least you would have time to continue your studies and properly heal your small wound.


>Timeskip forward until something happens.
>Go visit Tarren Mill and Mayor Fowley and see how your men there are holding.
>Go visit Southshore and check out Beric, the Alteracis and find more about the death of Kavdan.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4945235
>Go visit Tarren Mill and Mayor Fowley and see how your men there are holding.
>>
>>4945235
hmm... really tempted to check on southshore too, but I think I'll go with

>Go visit Tarren Mill and Mayor Fowley and see how your men there are holding.
It's been a while since we've seen the badass priest as well
>>
>>4945235
>Go visit Tarren Mill and Mayor Fowley and see how your men there are holding.
>>
>>4945235
>>Go visit Southshore and check out Beric, the Alteracis and find more about the death of Kavdan.

We should bring gold to buy the masterwork plate as well. It's finally time for a better suit of armour.
>>
>>4945235
>Other, write in.
Make snowmen guards in the middle of the night and arm them with pointy sticks!

Have a snowball war with the prisoners.

Build snow forts and snow cities, snow tunnels for people to travel under.

Eat snow with honey added ontop!
>>
>>4945235
>Go visit Tarren Mill and Mayor Fowley and see how your men there are holding.
Might as well keep in touch with our friends as much as we can.
>>
>>4945235
>Go visit Southshore and check out Beric, the Alteracis and find more about the death of Kavdan.
Other anon is right, I'd like to get the order on the Masterwork Armor done so it can be ready for when it's conquest time. We'll be limited in terms of manpower so I say we invest into quality to make up for our low quantity. And who knows, maybe there'll be some more Alteracis that we could bring along home with us? Tarren Mill can wait just a *little* while, but yeah I'd like to check up on them too at some point.
>>
>>4945582
support
>>
After a bit over a week you felt refreshed and your wound had healed somewhat and didn’t ache anymore. The weather also had turned a bit better as it hadn’t been snowing constantly and when you went outside, the dry white snow made everything look so beautiful.

The few children that lived in the town had built a magnificent snow castle that you had inspected jokingly. The kids were ecstatic when you visited them.

Outside of this you had started to read whatever books you had and pester Garside more about all his paperwork. For this pestering he had dumbed a fair share of his work to you as homework as he noticed that you had taken studying seriously lately.

But with the weather having turned better, you decided to visit Tarren Mill. Mainly to see how the town and mayor Fowley were managing and secondly seeing how the men you had sent there were faring.



Knowing that the trip to Tarren Mill would take longer during winter, you left really early with the sun coming up when you had already travelled for a few hours. When you later that day reached Tarren Mill, you made your way first for the town hall and mayor Fowley. You would have several hours of daylight and you hoped to do as much as possible in this short period of time you had in town as you were planning on leaving the next day.

Mayor Fowley immediately called you in when he heard that you had arrived and after getting Epona into the warmth of the stables and having shaken off the snow on you, you went in and made your way into Fowleys office.

“Prince Alric, why do I have the pleasure of meeting you today?” Fowley asked and continued. “Do you want tea?”

“Yes please and actually not that much, the weather was much better and there isn’t much to do during winter.” You told him. “So I thought that I would visit you and see how my men are faring.”

“Well I can say that they are mostly bored, not much ever happens here, especially since you drove the bandits away.” Fowley responded after telling a clerk to bring tea for both of you.

“That is good to hear.” You said back.



You talked with Fowley for some time. Mostly the talks were about business and trade and how Tarren Mill survives through the winter. It was genuinely delightful to talk with him and you could see that he enjoyed it too. Before you left, Fowley asked for you to come for dinner if you wanted, but if you had something else to do, that would be fine too.

It hadn’t been that long of a talk and when you left the town hall and put on your fur hat, you would still have some time to spend before the sun sets and the early night arrives.


>Go visit the men and see how they are doing.
>You haven’t seen priest Hampton in a while, go see what he is doing.
>Go early to the tavern and see if there is anyone interesting there.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4946592
>>You haven’t seen priest Hampton in a while, go see what he is doing.
>>
>>4946592
>You haven’t seen priest Hampton in a while, go see what he is doing.
If we have time to see the men that would be nice too.

If we go to the inn the innkeeper us probably going to slap us if the rumors from Durnholde made way over. Though it would probably be better for everyone involved if we didn’t dispel them.
>>
>>4946592
>>You haven’t seen priest Hampton in a while, go see what he is doing.
>>
>>4946592
>Go visit the men and see how they are doing.
>>
>>4946592
>You haven’t seen priest Hampton in a while, go see what he is doing.
Let us see if the old man has grown stronger with his power in the light and his faith. It should be enlightening to see real holy power.
>>
The first thing people see when they are travelling to Tarren Mill is the tower of the church. You see it way before the walls and the roofs of the houses or the small tower of the town hall. Unsurprisingly the church is the unofficial centre of the town and when people have public meetings or something would happen, they would gather at the church.

You had time so you decided to go visit Hampton, the former paladin turned into a priest. The man was interesting and wise so it could be fruitful to talk with him.

Entering the church, you didn’t have to search for Hampton as he was replacing old candles.

“Good afternoon Father Hampton.” You called him as you shook the snow off your boots and took off your fur jacket.

“Prince Alric, it is nice to see you.” He said and lowered the basket of candles on the floor. “What brings you to Tarren Mill, surely not just to visit our church?”

“Mostly to see my men who I sent here.” You said back to him.

“Their presence has been felt and people are happy that they are protected.” He said to you and guided you to his office where he continued to speak. “I heard that you now have a priest with your people?”

“Yes, well not a priest, but a paladin.” You told him. “Raleigh of Silver Hand.”

“I know Raleigh, wasn’t he called the True?” Hampton said back to you. “How did you end up with him?”

“Lord Uther promised help after my participation in the expedition against the gnolls. And I chose Raleigh over material goods.”

“Raleigh is a good man, but is pious and loyal to the fault towards Silver Hand.” Hampton mused and continued. “Don’t take this as a warning, but more as a tip.”

“Thank you Father Hampton. I will take that in account with him.”

1/2
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>>4947631

Hampton is someone with whom it is really easy to talk with and after having talked about the more important things, you two continued to chit-chat about way more mundane things like the harvest and normal people living here or back home in The Headland. Before you left, Hampton would bless you and you yet again felt refreshed and any lingering exhaustion and strain from the scouting and skiing was gone.

While the talk was fun, it also continued way too long and it was dark outside when you left the church so you would have to visit your men tomorrow morning. It was also late enough for you to miss the dinner invite from Fowley. It was a bit annoying, but you knew that the inn would still be open so you went there.

Opening the inn door revealed that only few locals were there and no one suspicious or strange looking inhabited the corner tables. Monica the innkeeper stood behind the counter cleaning it.

“Prince Alric!” Monica said with a surprised voice before composing herself. “How may I serve you today?”

“Good evening Monica.” You said to her and walked to the counter. “Do you have anything to eat and drink?”

“We have onion broth available, is that acceptable?” Monica said to you.

“Warm broth is always good during winter.” You said back to her.

Monica gave you a curtsy and went to the back to get you a bowl of broth. You felt a bit tired and you had planned to leave tomorrow, but maybe you could spend another day in Tarren Mill? After all, you aren’t exactly in a hurry.


>You want to wake up early to visit your men before going back home. So eat your broth and go to sleep early.
>Stay talking with Monica after you have eaten, maybe she has heard something interesting.
>You could spend one more day in Tarren Mill, take no hurry in eating or talking with Monica.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4947633
>Stay talking with Monica after you have eaten, maybe she has heard something interesting.
Let’s see if she heard anything interesting.
>>
>>4947633
>Stay talking with Monica after you have eaten, maybe she has heard something interesting.
>>
>>4947633
>>You want to wake up early to visit your men before going back home. So eat your broth and go to sleep early.
>>
>>4947633
>Stay talking with Monica after you have eaten, maybe she has heard something interesting.
Slow down a bit and take in the view. Live is not a race you know. If you keep chasing after your next goal in life every time you reach your last one you are going to miss the things and people you could have met on the road to your goals. So slow down and make some friends as you live your life to the fullest and have no regrets.
>>
>>4947633
>You want to wake up early to visit your men before going back home. So eat your broth and go to sleep early.
>>
>>4947633
>Stay talking with Monica after you have eaten, maybe she has heard something interesting.
>>
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Monica brought you a large cup of beer and a bowl of onion broth. The broth smelled great and tasted great too, the beer wasn’t bad either.

“So prince Alric, what brings you here?” Monica asked you as you continued to eat.

You finished chewing and drank some beer before you answered.

“Mostly because I had time, I decided to visit to see how things are going and see my men.” You said with a bit of a chuckle, you had been asked this so many times today.

“Oh, that is thoughtful of you.” She said back. “As people say, you are the prince of the people.”

“Well there aren't that many people yet, but I appreciate that people are saying so.” You said back to her and continued to eat.

Some time did pass as you ate the broth and drank the beer. Some of the people in the inn left back to their own homes.

“Any more food or beer?”

“I could take a second cup.” You answered and waited for Monica to fill your cup. “Have you heard anything?”

“Like what? Of course I hear rumours, but I don’t think you are interested in gossip amongst the ladyfolk here.” She said a bit confused.

“Something that could be useful to me.” You continued as you sipped the beer.

“Well, there might be something.” She said and scratched the side of her nose thoughtfully. “People said that you had visited Durnholde for over a week recently for some talks with Lord Blackmoore.”

You were surprised that it had already reached here.

“And that there has been unrest amongst the Alteraci in Southshore after the death of their leader. Apparently you were involved in that too.” She finished.

“I was involved in both.” You said back to her and decided to press her somewhat. “Have you heard any more details about these two cases?”

The last customer came to pay for his beers and food before leaving as well. You two were all alone now, which to be honest was good. No one else would hear more details about the rumours.

“Well I think one of the traders did say that the Alteracis are disappointed with the amount of work and status they have in Southshore. They are not content at all. One of the lumbermill workers did think that if they came here, it would help tremendously with the lack of good worker.” She told you.

“So some of the Alteracis want to move from Southshore. That is really useful.” You said to her and smiled. It could mean more people who would join you and work for you. “Anything more?”

1/2
>>
>>4948598

“Well…” She said embarrassedly and looked down a bit. “ There is one thing, but I don’t know if I should say it.”

“You can say it, it seems like something interesting.” You said back to her and drank more beer.

Well if you say so.” She said and raised her head. “One other trader that was visiting Durnholde at the same time as you were there, said that rumour was the Alteraci prince was sleeping with one of the servants there.”

Yeah this rumour wasn’t that good at all. You had been told that it would be common to have rumours like this going around as a member of the royal family, but when it actually happened, it hit you differently.

“Prince Alric, please say it isn’t so.” Monica said to you and looked you into your eyes. “I heard it and told the trader that you aren’t like that and rumour is just a smear to damage your reputation.”


>Tell her the truth about Taretha Foxton and what happened in Durnholde.
>Deny the rumours and explain that you have a lot of people who would want to see you fail, that explains the rumours.
>Do not dispel the rumour, in the long run this could be a positive.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4948599

What are actual downsides of this rumour?
They can be referenced to paint us as man of loose morals, and they may deter daughters of noble houses from allowing us to court them. Although were we planning a political marriage anyway?

Benefits of the rumour are in affirming Blackmoore & Langston's consideration of Taretha as valuable tool which is good for her health, and in making our enemies think they can manipulate us by sending honeypots our way. Which arguably might be true if we don't recognize them for what they are, even if they'll appeal to our kindness rather than lust, so that one's a bit double edged...

I'd say something along these lines:
>"People like to exaggerate and leap to conclusions and seldom see the whole picture. I am grateful for your confidence in me but I'm not too concerned about the gossip."
(shrug the gossip off, suggest it's false but not worth denying.)

I'd rather not tell her the whole truth since she might let slip too much defending us and knowing we care about Taretha specifically as something else than loaned fucktoy might also expose her to more danger than she already deals with, like from syndicate.
>>
>>4948599
>>Tell her the truth about Taretha Foxton and what happened in Durnholde.

But tell her not to talk about it with other people.
>>
>>4948610
support
>>
>>4948599
>Tell her the truth about Taretha Foxton and what happened in Durnholde.
>>
>>4948610
Support, especially due to
>she might let slip too much defending us
>>
>>4948610
support
Keeping true to your morals and principals while at the same time protecting the innocent from your actions and mistakes is probably the hardest thing and good man can do in this life.
>>
"How would I put this?" You mused aloud and then continued. "People like to exaggerate and leap to conclusions and seldom see the whole picture."

You didn’t allow her to say anything as you continued.

"I am grateful for your confidence in me, but I'm not too concerned about the gossip. There are people who wish to see me fail and gossip like this is just one more tool in their pocket."

"I see." Monica said and sighed with relief. "That is good to hear."

"Being a prince is not easy, these things are going to happen." You said and drank the last of your beer before switching the topic. "Do you have a room for the night?"

"Yes I do, prince Alric. Let me prepare it for you." She said and sprung into action.

"Can you wake me up early, I need to see my men before I leave back home."

"Not a problem, the breakfast will be ready." Monica said with a smile.



You woke up as your door was knocked three times. When you peered out of the small window, you could only see darkness. Lighting up a candle gave you enough light to see something and to pull on your clothes.

Going downstairs you found Monica finishing making the breakfast for you and others who might come to eat it. A bowl of porridge with a bit of butter was served to you along with a hot cup of tea. While you weren’t the biggest friend of porridge, there is no denying that it was a really good breakfast food.

Having eaten it, you paid for everything, said goodbye to Monica and left to see your men.



You found your men in the small barracks next to the town hall. Local guards and your men were preparing for the coming day. Some of them would stand guard at the gate, some go outside the walls and patrol the road and the path to the lumbermill. Some drew the shortest stick and were to help in cleaning some snow.

You were told that few new guards had been hired, but not enough for Tarren Mill to feel secure. They were expecting to spend the spring here and maybe they would get home before the summer comes.

All in all the men were content and didn't find any of this too hard or difficult. Jokingly they even called this a vacation compared to the normal service.

Seeing that they were all ok, you left Tarren Mill and rode back home.

1/2
>>
>>4950150

It had been a few weeks and the Feast of Winter Veil came and went with a big snow storm. When the weather finally eased and allowed people to spend more time outside than just a bare minimum, the people continued whatever tasks they had to put aside. Some finishing touches were made into the buildings or farmers prepared new fence posts. The Headland was bustling with activity.

You meanwhile had continued your studies diligently and followed Garside as he went to supervise the work or to check papers. From all this it was clear, you had a lot to learn.

Still as winter went, the patrols came and went. They looked for tracks, signs of trespassers or just deer for the hunter's to hunt. You just had this hunch that one day they would find something.


>1d10
>Best of three

QM: Random event roll.
>>
Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>4950152
>>
Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4950152
Only good things can occur
>>
Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4950152
>>
>8

Every day the patrols were out there. One doing circles closer to The Headland, second still patrolling Sofera’s Naze and third making longer patrols through all your territory. If your men weren’t resting, they would be patrolling if the weather permitted it.

And the thing was that they found absolutely nothing worth of note. Just a few deer and other animal tracks. No one had tried to encroach your territory. This was a big relief, but at the same time the lack of anything worried you. For the past year you had been more or less always doing something with just short breaks here and there. And now you had been more or less idle, outside of the studies, for weeks.

Finally one day a footman knocked on the door of the farmstead in a hurry. Hearing the frantic knocking, you quickly went and opened the door to hear what the man had to say. The footman being in a hurry had a good reason for a patrol had spotted ogre tracks coming out of the mountain pass which the ogres had used before.

Thankfully the tracks had turned around and the ogres had left through the mountain pass. Thanking for the information, you sent the footman away and told him to call your officers here, there would be a meeting regarding this.



Not long after all your officers were in the farmstead listening to the footman explaining what they had seen. It was concerning that the ogres had decided to move during the winter when the snow made everything difficult for you. The belief amongst your officers was that the ogres are incapable of mounting a large-scale offensive during the winter and with Gallow’s Corner being under the bandit control, the ogres would focus on that first.

Some ideas were said and suggestions of what to do, but none of the choices were really optimal.


>Keep the patrols the same as before, trust that if the ogres come either the Scout Tower by the mine or the patrols spot them before they can strike.
>Form a patrol to patrol the mountain passes the ogres might use, by stripping men from other patrols and those who are resting.
>Concentrate your defences and patrols around the Silver and Lead Mine. This leaves the rest of your holdings less defended, but then there is no way the ogres can’t then slip past you through the mountains.
>Other, write in
>>
>>4950973
>Form a patrol to patrol the mountain passes the ogres might use, by stripping men from other patrols and those who are resting.
suppose it can't be helped, we can't really afford to take it easy if ogres are on the move

One alternative might be gathering a party, disguising them with bandanas as syndicate thugs and harrying the ogres in Gallows' in hopes they will abandon their western activity in lieu of a retributive strike against bandits but there's too much that could go wrong with that.
>>
>>4950973
>>Form a patrol to patrol the mountain passes the ogres might use, by stripping men from other patrols and those who are resting.
>>
>>4950973
>>Concentrate your defences and patrols around the Silver and Lead Mine. This leaves the rest of your holdings less defended, but then there is no way the ogres can’t then slip past you through the mountains.
>>
>>4950973
>Form a patrol to patrol the mountain passes the ogres might use, by stripping men from other patrols and those who are resting.

This is going to be ruff on the men but needs must and all of that.
>>
“We will take men from other patrols and from those who are resting and form a group to patrol the southern mountains.” You told your officers and continued speaking. “It will be rough for them, but if the ogres come, we have to be alerted.”

“Sire, I will handle it. We can get the patrol out tomorrow.” Cromwell said.

“Then it is settled, nothing else new for today.”



Next day you watched as the small patrol left to ski towards the mine where they would continue deeper to the mountains. This was really making your reserves thin with the men spread all around your holdings, but if the ogres get a drop on you, it would be an extremely bad thing to happen.

You were severely annoyed and decided on the spot that you would take this day off from studying and ride to the mine in the mountains. Quickly just grabbing some supplies, telling Garside that you would go and getting Epona ready. In just a few moments you were off and riding the path up to the mine.



The Silver and Lead Mine was bustling with activity. Few soldiers were milling around preparing for the coming patrols or just having arrived from one. Miners were carting the loose rock and stone from the mine, workers were building a new small hut near other structures. The cold winter wasn’t slowing the work down at all.

One of the miners approached you and he told you that he was the current chief here. You talked with him for some time as he told you about the daily operations here. You visited his office and the Scout Tower, which to your delight had been filled with supplies, weapons and tools in case of an attack. And when you climbed on top of it you could see quite far even with slightly hazy weather. If the weather was good, you could actually see your own home.

When you got down and back to the mine, you saw a group of miners coming out. Leading them was Sir Radan, the bandit you had imprisoned months ago and then later sent to work in the mines to keep him away from the people of Tarren Mill. He noticed you too and left to walk towards you.

“Prince Alric, may I speak?” Sir Radan asked.

“You may Sir Radan.”

“My prince, I would like to ask you to keep me and my men here in the mines at least for the winter.” Radan said to you.

“I would have thought that your men would want to get out of the mine as fast as possible.” You asked him as his request was somewhat puzzling.

“Yes, they don’t really like to be there. The work is hard and not easy, but it is warm in the mine. None of us want to be outside freezing our asses off.” Radan explained.

“Very practical reason then.” You said with a laugh. “As long as you haven’t caused any problems to the workers here, you may stay here and return to The Headland when the spring comes.”

“Thank you prince Alric.” Radan said to you. “Sire, if you don’t mind, but now I have to return back to work.”

Radan gave you a bow and excused himself as he turned around and went to push a wheelbarrow back into the mine.

1/2
>>
>>4951431

Sir Radan and his group of bandits had been working really hard since their capture. At some point they have paid for their crimes with the work as you can’t keep them in hard labour for forever. You had thought about sending them away and telling them never to return, alternatively you could invite them to be citizens of Alterac, because to be honest they are good workers.

Either way, your short stay at the mine was ending and you were ready to ride back home. This short trip allowed you to clear your head and just enjoy the riding without any real distractions. You have to take days like this off more in the future.


>1d10
>Best of three

QM: Another random event roll.
>>
Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>4951434
I'd vote for Radan and his men to stay, no use in sending able-bodied men away. Let them continue their work and in time start paying them accordingly.
>>
Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4951434
>>
Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4951434
>>
Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4951434
Suppose we could reward and pay them in extra rations and some beer among a few other things once in a while.
>>
>8

The days passed into weeks and the winter continued its ironclad grasp on the region. It hadn’t been snowing that much and the weather had been very good. But not all was well. The patrols went around the southern mountains and rest of your territory without seeing or noticing anything, but this had made the men tired. From Cromwell and Beckston you would hear the reports of their crumbling, but also that they knew that this had to be done.

You had spent your time studying and following Garside around as he did his studies. The pile of notes, homework and books continued to grow on your table. All this recent studying had grown on you, it had previously felt like just a thing to do, but now the reading and making notes didn’t feel like a chore.

But this time of winter was special to you in one other way, it was your birthday. Having been born late winter, this year you would have your 18th birthday. Like in the previous birthdays after fleeing Alterac, it wasn’t that big of a thing. Maura Garside baked you a small cake and you spent that day with your surrogate family without worrying about anything else.

And when you think about the last year, a lot of things have happened. You had fought kobolds and gnolls. Saved kidnapped farmers, unravelled plots done by your older brother. Met with Uther the Lightbringer and others including Jaina Proudmoore and prince Arthas. You have met incredible people and also villains that care only for themselves. For every Thrall, you had Blackmoore, for every Uther, there was your brother.

It was frankly incredible how much things you had done and seen. Way more than in any year before it. And if you were to guess it, the coming years would be way more busy than before.

Thinking about all this made you wonder, what if you had been born a farmer’s son? You probably would have been married already to some local girl, your full attention would have been keeping the farm up and running. It would have been way simpler life in a world that is much smaller. But then after all, you wouldn’t change any of this.

This was your life now and you wouldn’t change not a single second of this. For it is in your hands to bring your homeland to your people, to let Alterac once more stand.

1/2
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>>4952434

Your birthday passed and the winter started to loosen its ironclad grasp. The sun had started to melt the snow on the roofs and the weather wasn’t as terribly cold as before. The children had made numerous snowmen as the snow wasn’t as dry as before. The joke amongst the people was that the population of The Headland had increased threefold, if you were to count the snowmen. With the spring arriving, the people of The Headland felt all positive. The Headland was thriving, just maybe the place needed a better name.

This was brought up to you by a group of peasants. They wanted a name for this place. Before the place was just ‘town’ or ‘village’, or called by the name of where it is located. They wanted something simpler or fitting. You had asked them what they would think the name would be and they had one suggestion.

Alricstown.


>Accept the name, let the town in The Headlands be known as Alricstown.
>Deny the name, you can’t take the honour of naming the place after yourself, you are too humble to do so.
>Other, write in.

QM: I will attempt to update the pastebins and get the update of Spring of Year 15 After Dark Portal up tomorrow. This was mostly a filler update.
>>
>>4952438

that's really touching on their part but even if we wanted to have the town named after us we'd have to see it's pretentious as fuck and for all our successes in last few seasons it would be inviting trouble to issue this kind of signal. We don't even have to be particularly humble to not want that.

>Deny the name

We're going to have to come up with an alternative though.
New Alterac is not good because it would invite comparisons with the old thing we're trying to reclaim and might be taken as giving up on the ambition. It would be good if it somehow reflected the ambition we have at rekindling our nation though, returning it from obscurity, from death to life. Gonna throw some ideas to get ball rolling...

>Dawnholme
>Hopebloom
>Springfield

alternatively it could be based on its geographical location to south of Alterac, below the snow line, on the road to kingdom?
>Sheltervale
>Winter's End
>Hillsman's Rest

bonus points for linguistic spin to make it more Alteraci... though I can't see a pattern in those names even if the nation is supposed to be sort of Azerothian Switzerland.
>>
>>4952438
>>Deny the name, you can’t take the honour of naming the place after yourself, you are too humble to do so.
>>Other, write in

Thank them for their offer though. Something a bit religious, like Lighthome, so that we may gain their favour. Beside is a good auspicion
>>
>>4952438
>Accept the name, let the town in The Headlands be known as Alricstown.
If nothing else than for the fact that I can't think of another name that I think sounds better. Besides, I don't think this will really stir any shit. At most, some few people might expect him to be full of himself when they first meet.
>>
>>4952438
>>4952462
I support naming the town Dawnholme.
>>
>>4952438
>Deny the name
>Other, write in.

Let us name the town New Town. Because of how new it is and because we are bad at making new names. Or if you guy do not like that we can name it New Start what with it being Alteracs new start from the bottom up in this new age of the alliance.
>>
You had to deny the request by the peasants to name the town after yourself. It would have been too pretentious and could have damaged the efforts you had done in the past year. You told the peasants that if they wanted a name, they have to think of an alternative name and to come back some time later.

The peasants did come back several days later. They had been talking with all the people living in the town and they finally had decided what new name to offer. The people wanted to call the place Dawnholme.

That name wasn’t that bad and you decided to accept it. Henceforth the town in The Headlands was to be known as Dawnholme. The peasants were jubilant as they left the farmstead to tell everyone else this great news.

In a few days a big sign welcoming people to Dawnholme had already been erected on the outskirts of the town.



The snow had started to melt under the spring sun leaving the pathways and roads into a muddy mess. Carts got stuck, people started crumbling and generally the mud made everyone really annoyed.

But at the same time the spring was arriving which made everyone quite happy that they had gotten through the winter without big issues. Peasants made a few trips to Tarren Mill and Southshore to buy things they required and when they came back, they told you that Southshore was almost without snow.

This in mind you told your officers that the start of a season meeting would happen next week.

1/3
>>
>>4953825

It had been a few days and you were doing some light sparring with the footmen. The sun was shining and had mostly dried the training area to be free of wet mud. As you were going through a demonstration of how to use the shield properly, one of the patrolling guards came running towards you.
“Sire, there are five knights riding here.” The footman said.

“I have been expecting them to arrive. Escort them here.” You said back to the footman.

You didn’t have to wait that long for the knights to arrive with your men escorting them. All of them were in full armour and their horses were carrying many bags containing their belongings.

“Good afternoon prince Alric.” Sir Gravis of Knott saluted and said to you before dismounting his horse.

“It is good to see you Sir Gravis, I was waiting for you to arrive.” You said back to him.

“We said that we would come when spring arrives.” Gravis said back to you.

“What did Lord Blackmoore say when you told you were leaving?” You asked him.

“He didn’t like it, but he understood our reason to leave. But we didn’t tell him that you were our new employer.” Gravis told you. “But now me, Garth, Empleton, Thomas and Joe are here and serving you. Let the time in Durnholde be in the past.”

“Well said, I will be expecting good service from you and your knights.”

“Will do, you will not be disappointed.” Gravis said to you and nodded before continuing. “But do you know that there is a large group of people arriving here shortly?”

“No? What do you mean?”

“Prince Alric, we passed this large group of peasants with carts and such travelling to here. We asked them and they supposedly were from Southshore and they were leaving that place to come live here.” Gravis explained and continued. “They should be here in a few hours.”

2/3
>>
>>4953827

He wasn’t lying. Around two hundred people were slowly making their way towards Dawnholme. The people living here had gathered to watch it as Garside was organizing workers to check where tents would go up and generally to make their arrival here as easy as possible.

When the people arrived, they told you that with Kavdan dead and the future prospects in Southshore not looking that good, most of them decided to move elsewhere. Some of them went to Durnholde, some to Tarren Mill, but most of them arrived here. The amount of peasants arriving was astonishing and you wouldn’t have a lack of workers at least for a while. Now just you should get something for them to do and not keep them unemployed for too long.

As you watched them setting up their tents, a familiar looking man with a group of others behind him approached you. It was Benedict and his thugs that had acted as the hired muscle for Kavdan previously.

“Prince Alric, may I speak?” Asked Benedict as he bowed his head down.

“You may.” You said back to him and straightened your back.

“Prince Alric, may we serve you?” Benedict said to you and continued. “When others decided to come here, we thought of joining them. And if my prince allows it, we could serve you like we served Kavdan.”

“As thugs?” You said back to him bluntly.

“If my prince wants it, we can be your thugs. Or we could just work here or be trained as real soldiers. Either way, me and my Blood Alley Boys can work for you.”

Benedict and his thugs weren’t real soldiers and they had their not so good reputation. Having them around could cause problems and their value on the battlefield is questionable, but they still are able-bodied men be they thugs, soldiers or just workers. And if you just accept them, you could decide what to do with them later or just boot them away if they cause problems.


Gained:
>210 Peasants

Total Resources
35 Wealth, +9 per Season
14 Supplies, +2 per Season
215 Peasants

>Accept Benedict's request, gain 15 Green Militia.
>Accept Benedict’s request, retrain them as Regular Footmen for 1 Wealth.
>Accept Benedict’s request, make them workers and gain 15 Peasants.
>Deny Benedict’s request and send them away.
>Other, write in.

QM: Pastebins updated, let's get this decision out of the way with the next update being the first proper start of the season update.
>>
>>4953828
sweet, the Dawnholme grows.

I see no real reason to not take Benedict in, question is whether as military or as workers. Probably footman training to pad our ranks (though I expect we'll be recruiting more from remaning peasants) since leaving them as militia might tempt them to fall back to less than savoury habits.

>Accept Benedict’s request, retrain them as Regular Footmen for 1 Wealth.
>>
>>4953828
>Accept Benedict’s request, retrain them as Regular Footmen for 1 Wealth.
"If you wish to serve me, you shall not be thugs anymore, or know as such. You will have my colors and stand side by side with the rest of our countrymen in battle. Are you and your men ready for wield sword and shield, and fight for me and our people ?"


also nice more people
>>
>>4953828
>Accept Benedict’s request, retrain them as Regular Footmen for 1 Wealth.

If they want to be honest men with an honest profession. Than by the light we will make honest men of these bastards even if it kills them. Time to get out the training gear boys because we are going to beat some honest work ethic into you the good old fashioned way.
>>
>>4953828
The holy light, from 0 peasants to 200 in one season, groovy.

>Accept Benedict’s request, retrain them as Regular Footmen for 1 Wealth.
Could we use 2 wealth to make them veteran? i would like to have a small but veteran army.
>>
>>4953828
>>Accept Benedict’s request, retrain them as Regular Footmen for 1 Wealth.

We seriously need more soldiers.
>>
>>4953825
>>4954001
>>4954029
If we can train them into veterans then I will change my vote to that. We need good soldiers and we have no shortage of wealth.
>>
>>4954001
That is very good point, they can be trained as Veteran for 2 Wealth. With all votes being accepting them, lets ask you lot if you want them Veteran.


Train Benedict and his men as Veterans for 2 Wealth
>Yes
>No
>>
>>4954137
sure lets do it
>>
>>4954137
>>Yes
>>
>>4954137
>>Yes
>>
>>4954137
>Yes
May as well make them as useful as we can for now. Time to break out the serous training gear now boys.
>>
>>4954137
I'd like to put them through their paces and have the Labor with us for a year or in the mines before trusting them further, but I suppose necessity and all that.
>>
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“So be it, I will allow you to join me, but you will be trained to be footmen of Alterac, you won’t be thugs anymore. If this isn’t fine, you can return the same way you came here.” You said to Benedict.

“My prince, that is good. We will serve you with honour.” Benedict said back and bowed.

With the training going through the spring, you would have fifteen more footmen for the summer. You had some doubts about dealing with thugs, but you need the men for the future.



Your officers all sat around the kitchen table and waited for the meeting to start. Beric had arrived very early so you didn’t have to wait for him either. You finished putting your papers together and started the meeting.

“It has been one year since we started this venture to reclaim Alterac and we have done good work to advance our goals, but a lot still needs to be done.” You said to everyone. “We now have large influx of Alteraci people that we must put into work or train as soldiers, we also have quite sizeable treasury so we can start building projects that we couldn’t do before.”

“Prince Alric is correct. We now have resources to grow even more. Our both mines bring us a lot of wealth and our deal with Durnholde will just increase it.” Garside continued.

“Sire, what we lack are more soldiers.” Cromwell said and continued. “The constant patrols have made the men tired and we will have to send twenty men to Durnholde. The knights hired and those thugs from Southshore will help, but enough in my opinion.”

“Sergeant Cromwell is right. We need more men if we are supposed to attack Gallow’s Corner.” Beckston said to you.

“I agree, we need to reserve wealth and men for recruiting and not spend everything on buildings.” Garside said and nodded.

It was true, you now had resources to grow your holdings considerably, but resources must be saved for the soldiers and recruiting them.

The discussion continued for some time with Beric explaining that Magistrate Maleb back in Southshore was furious as a lot of cheap labour left the city. There was discussion on what to build and in the end you had numerous options in front of you. Sofera’s Naze should be developed, but at the same time you could massively increase the lumber production across all your holdings. Rover also pointed out that the furs and leathers the hunters have acquired could be turned into better leather products too. Then there was the requirement to build the Stables for the horses Gravis brought with him before the winter arrives.

1/2
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>>4955113

Total Resources
33 Wealth, +9 per Season
14 Supplies, +1 per Season
215 Peasants

What is suggested to be build, choose none or as many as you have resources for:

>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Herbalist’s Hut, +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Gavin’s Naze
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Darrow Hill
>Leatherworker’s Workshop, +1 Wealth +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants,The Headland
>Barracks, Costs 10 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Stables, Costs 5 Wealth, -5 Peasants, The Headland
>Guard Tower, Costs 10 Wealth and 10 Peasants
>Other, check the pastebin

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

QM: Economic portion first. Now that you have a lot of Wealth, you could choose a lot of options, but at the same time the balance between that and recruiting more troops needs to be found. As always, if you have questions please go ahead and ask.
>>
>>4955115

>Stables, Costs 5 Wealth, -5 Peasants, The Headland
not critical to get done right now, could wait until summer, but to be on the safe side and out of appreciation for the reinforcements I'd rather get started with this now.
>Leatherworker’s Workshop, +1 Wealth +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants,The Headland
to pad the income while generating supplies
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
for extra supplies
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Gavin’s Naze
to at least by a bit take advantage of the wood demand

this would come down to 21 wealth of cost and give us +3 wealth and +2 supply and 12 wealth for military and reserve
it would also take 40 peasants from the pool, leaving 175


It will be interesting to determine what we want from military since our supplies income will probably not permit to enlist a lot of the peasants into army.

I think the masterwork armour will have to wait in any case.
>>
>>4955115
Our advisers may not like it but here is my plan.

>Stables, Costs 5 Wealth, -5 Peasants, The Headland
>Noble Manor, 8 Wealth, -5 Peasants, The Headland
>Town Hall, 20 Wealth, -5 Peasants, Requires village or town, The Headland
And we should exchange 8 Supplies for 4 Wealth. So we can buy 1 -10 Pikemen and have 3 Wealth left over for emergency's.

If we go with this we will be running dangerously but the pay off if we make it work will be huge.
>>
>>4955115
>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Gavin’s Naze
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Darrow Hill
>Stables, Costs 5 Wealth, -5 Peasants, The Headland

Farms can potentially be a better payoff each year while increasing our supply, otherwise i agree with >>4955123
>>
>>4955115
>Stables, Costs 5 Wealth, -5 Peasants, The Headland
>Guard Tower, Costs 10 Wealth and 10 Peasants
>Leatherworker’s Workshop, +1 Wealth +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants,The Headland

This will leave us with 13 wealth, which will be enough to train a good army and buy the Masterwork plate for ourselves. I want to take Gallow's Corner before winter, ideally in the summer when it's the warmest.
>>
>>4955115
Plan Arms Race!
Improved Blacksmith, +2 Supply, Improved arms and armour, costs 10 Wealth and 5 Peasants, The Headland
An extra +1 supply and improved equipment for our men. I've been shilling for this for a long time now and can't wait for an opportunity to upgrade it further.
>Stables, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, The Headland
Best have this out of the way for our dear knights.
>Leatherworker’s Workshop, +1 Wealth +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants,The Headland
Cost effective increase of wealth and supply? Yes please
>Barracks, Costs 10 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
We have the threat of Ogres on the march, and I'd like to get some better troops to deal with them ready. I feel like crossbowmen should be a good answer to those lads.

30 Wealth and 30 Peasants spent. It saddly leaves us with little in terms of economic growth and little with which to train troops, but if need be we can sell some supplies for more soldiers and perhaps build some lumbermills during the next season. I just think these upgrades for our military are necessary at the moment.
>>
>>4955115
>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Herbalist’s Hut, +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Stables, Costs 5 Wealth, -5 Peasants, The Headland

cost 22 wealth, 35 peasants.
>>
File: 05_footman.jpg (186 KB, 710x727)
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>Stables, Costs 5 Wealth, -5 Peasants, The Headland
>Leatherworker’s Workshop, +1 Wealth +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants,The Headland
>Farms, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Gavin’s Naze

“As requested by Sir Gravis, we shall build stables for the horses they have. This will also allow us to increase our cavalry numbers in the future.” You said to the people around the kitchen table. “In addition we will be concentrating on developing Sofera’s Naze. By strengthening our presence there, we will control the area better.”

The heavy investments will bring fruit in the future, but now it will be a heavy decrease in your treasury. Thankfully with the ‘encouragement’ you had enough wealth to do this all while allowing expansion of the military.

“The stables are a good addition to our holdings, but we do need the Barracks to be built”. Cromwell said to all of you. “If we want the crossbowmen and the mounted sergeants, we need the Barracks.”

“We do have some wealth remaining for training the troops.” Lieutenant Beckston said as he looked at his papers. “We have the available men and the coin.”

“Very much true. We need more men for the push into Alterac.” Cromwell continued. “We just need to decide what troops to train.”

“Archers.” Said Rover unsurprisingly.

“Pikemen can deal with the ogres while keeping the distance.” Beckston said back.

“But pikemen are vulnerable to arrows and such.” Cromwell continued. “There has to be a balance between the troops we train.”

“This Benedict and his men that served Kavdan will be trained and equipped well. That is fifteen footmen already.” Garside told everyone.

“And Sir Gravis and his knights joined us.” You mentioned.

“Nevertheless the balance must be found.” Cromwell said.

1/2
>>
>>4955738

Total Resources
7 Wealth, +13 per Season
14 Supplies, +3 per Season
165 Peasants

Current Troops
-10 Regular Footmen
-20 Veteran Footmen
-15 Benedict’s Veteran Footmen, starting their training
-20 Regular Kul Tiran Swashbucklers
-10 Veteran Stromgarde Guards
-5 Knights of Gravis
-30 Regular Archers

Troops on deployment:
-10 Regular Footmen and 10 Regular Archers in Tarren Mill. No upkeep required, +1 Wealth per season

Available Troops for hire:
-10 Footmen, 1 Wealth, 10 Peasants, Upkeep 1 Supply per Season
-10 Pikemen, 1 Wealth, 10 Peasants, Upkeep 1 Supply per Season, Requires Lieutenant Beckston to train them
-10 Archers, 1 Wealth, 10 Peasants, Upkeep 1 Supply per Season

Available Mercenaries:
-Harry's Harriers, 10 Regular Mounted Sergeants, 10 Wealth, 2 Supply per season

Troop training and mercenaries, choose none or as many as you have resources for:
>10 Footmen
>10 Pikemen
>10 Archers
>Hire Mercenaries, mention which
>None, save wealth


QM: I combined the Lumbermill vote for Gavin’s Naze and Darrow Hill into one. I also tried to find the average support for what buildings to go for. Total Resources updated with the choices done now, including the Durnholde deal. Next update will have the decision on troops that will be sent to Durnholde and the other deployments. As always if you have questions or anything, go ahead and ask them.
>>
>>4955742
baka, anons don't understand the value of arming your troops with good gear. Oh well, more wealth with which to hire troops, and I say we might as well. But first, will the troops we train now be ready in time to send to Durnholde?
>>
>>4955783

They won't be ready. The deal was about sending twenty soldiers at start of spring to Durnholde. The troops take a full season to be trained to be ready. This was the deal.

Durnholde deal offer:
>Lord Blackmoore is ready to pay you 1 Wealth per 20 soldiers. Durnholde provides upkeep and you can recall the men at the start of each season.
>>
>>4955793
Double darn, there goes my hopes of just sending regulars to him. I guess we could, but then we'd either send 20 archers, or dig into the Swashbucklers and I'd like to keep those guys. I guess sending 20 archers wouldn't be a bad choice if we can refill this vote with some like say...

>>4955742
>20 Regular Pikemen
>10 Veteran Archers
Pikemen fight best in large formations, so I value numbers more than veterancy with them, provided we can actually train 2x10 pikemen. If not then I'd say just replace it with 10 Regular Pikemen and 10 Veteran Footmen. If we want to buy the masterwork armor later, we can simply sell some supplies.
>>
>>4955742
>30 pikemen
>20 footmen
>20 archers

I think this would be a perfect balance of all three unit types. We won't have any wealth left over but we can sell supplies if we need more.
>>
>>4955813
Support
>>
>>4955925
Remember that every 10 units consume 1 supply per season, so that's a -7, leaving us with -2 per season after we've sent men to Durnhold
>>
>>4955944
That's fine, we're building more supply buildings. We may also find some wealth or supplies when we take Gallow's Corner. Some of our men may die in the battle, and if we still can't sustain them I assume we can disband them afterwards.
>>
>>4955742

>20 regular pikemen
>20 veteran archers

I’d lean towards sending the veteran footmen to Durnholde for several reasons. For one, they are likely more suited for policing than archers. Then veterans might be better to have there if something goes down and we decide to intervene. Finally the swashbucklers only recently requested to join our settlement and we’d be sending them away now, besides we‘d hamper our formation by splitting them away from new guys — if we could even train more pikemen if we send these on deployment.
>>
>>4955742
>>4955813
Support.
>>
>20 Regular Pikemen
>10 Veteran Archers

“We will train pikemen and archers. As Lieutenant Beckston said, the pikemen will have an advantage over normal footmen against the ogres. They found this out during the Second War.” You said to your officers. You remember reading about this last year during your studies on warfare.

“This does leave some wealth remaining for the rainy days.” Garside noted.

“Yes, we cannot spend everything immediately.” You said back to him and changed the subject. “Next we have to decide who we will send to Durnholde.”

“Sire, we do not have that many options. Sending our Kul Tirans would be too obvious as would Maxwell and his Stromgarde Guards.” Cromwell said to you.

“Sergeant Cromwell is correct, us mercenaries would get noticed and recognized.” Sergeant Maxwell nodded and said.

“The deal did not say that the men must be footmen.” Beric said while leaning lazily on his hand. “Send Blackmoore some archers, they can watch over the orcs just as well as footmen can.”

Beric did have a point, the deal doesn’t say anything about footmen or archers, just about soldiers.

“Then we have to also decide what we will do next. With twenty men being sent to Durnholde and twenty in Tarren Mill, we are somewhat lacking troops for an offensive.” You continued and shuffled your papers. “We have now 45 men in training which will help with defending Dawnholme, but we cannot send them away.”

“In addition our men are quite tired from the patrolling. We should stay defensible for the duration of the spring and wait for our men to return from Tarren Mill.” Garside said.

“Or we could keep scouting the Gallow’s Corner.” Beckston mentioned.

“Find a way to Strahnbrad around Gallow’s Corner.” Rover grumbled from underneath his breath.

“Rover, what do you mean?”

“Strahnbrad Hills.” Rover grumbled again.

“The hills have always stayed a lawless place. General Hath under the order from your father attempted to bring the region under a proper Alteraci rule, but without much success. The hills stayed way too stubborn to be wrestled under our rule.” Garside explained to all of you. “The bandits living there were the least of our worries. All kinds of creatures, beasts and even trolls live there.”

“But could it be done?” You asked.

“Yes.” Rover said.

So there were really your choices. You lacked the men to attack Gallow’s Corner, but you still could do some scouting. There was also the threat from the ogres, you probably have to keep up the increased patrols.

1/2
>>
>>4956707

Send Durnholde 20 Soldiers:
>20 Veteran Footmen
>10 Veteran Footmen, 10 Regular Archers
>20 Regular Archers.

Military actions during the spring:
>Scout Gallow’s Corner again.
>Scout Strahnbrad Hills and try to find a way to Strahnbrad.
>None, let the men rest

Patrols:
>Keep the increased patrols to prevent the ogres from surprising you if they come.
>Ease up with the patrols to allow the men to rest. Trust that the Scout Tower gives enough warning if the ogres attack.
>Concentrate your defences and patrols around the Silver and Lead Mine. This leaves the rest of your holdings less defended, but then there is no way the ogres can’t then slip past you through the mountains.

QM: A lot of things to vote for, so please vote on all. After this update we have gotten through the start of season stuff. The map has been updated with Gallow's Corner being now Dark Red, signifying that Syndicate aligned bandits control it. Strahnbrad Hills are the territory with number 14.
>>
>>4956710
>>10 Veteran Footmen, 10 Regular Archers
>None, let the men rest
>Concentrate your defences and patrols around the Silver and Lead Mine. This leaves the rest of your holdings less defended, but then there is no way the ogres can’t then slip past you through the mountains.
Rest the lads up, we're going for a big push next season into a fortifies position, and hopefully keeping it due to its strategic position. I'm a little afraid of an ogre offensive though, so let's keep that side a bit more carefully watched.
>>
>>4956710
>10 Veteran Footmen, 10 Regular Archers
Sounds like an acceptable compromise if archers are as good at policing as footmen, and a well rounded group if they needed to act as one.

>None, let the men rest
>keep up the patrols
If we do this we should be able to rotate the patrols enough to have the men recuperate without much strain, no?
Scouting the hills is an intriguing option but I’d rather we not overextend ourselves.
>>
>>4956743
Support
>>
>>4956744

There would be strain as the men in patrols in the southern mountains are taken from other patrols and men resting. No extra patrols means that men can rest.
>>
>>4956710

>10 Veteran Footmen, 10 Regular Archers
>None, let the men rest
>Ease up with the patrols to allow the men to rest. Trust that the Scout Tower gives enough warning if the ogres attack.
>>
>>4956710
>20 Veteran Footmen
>Scout Strahnbrad Hills and try to find a way to Strahnbrad.
>Ease up with the patrols to allow the men to rest. Trust that the Scout Tower gives enough warning if the ogres attack.
>>
There are two votes for concentrating defences and two for easing up the patrols. Can I get a tiebreaker or I will throw a dice before I start writing.
>>
>>4958037
>>4957059
i change my vote then
>Concentrate your defences and patrols around the Silver and Lead Mine. This leaves the rest of your holdings less defended, but then there is no way the ogres can’t then slip past you through the mountains.
>>
"No, the men need to rest. We will concentrate our forces and patrols around the mine in the southern mountains. We are also to not do any scouting." You gave the orders and continued. "We also shall send a mix of footmen and archers to Durnholde."

"Understood sire, I will handle the men sent to Durnholde." Cromwell said.

"And I will take charge of shifting our defences around." Garside continued.

"Good, I don't think there are any other issues to be talked about so we shall end this meeting now."

You now have a clear plan for the spring. If nothing happens, you would be spending most of the time here at home.



It had been a week and both groups had left Dawnholme. Majority of your military was now in the mountains near the mine and the rest of them were away in Tarren Mill and now in Durnholde.

You had been somewhat annoyed that Kris Legace or any message from her hadn't arrived before the meeting. Now after a week since the meeting, a messenger delivered a big pile of letters to the town, including one from Legace.

The letter was detailed. She wrote about Southshore and their merchants, what was going on in Hillsbrad and about the Alliance Naval Base being built. The key points were that she hadn't seen members of Syndicate that she recognises or that were wearing the orange bandanas. She also wrote that Southshore had a serious problem with lack of workers now and that they were paying really good coin for all construction materials for the Alliance Naval Base.

This did give you an idea. The lumbermill in the forests of The Headland was turning a small profit outside of providing all the lumber for construction here. Maybe you could get a better trade deal going on for the lumber and sell it to the Naval Base?

There was just a small problem here. Magistrate Maleb probably wouldn't be happy to see you or Beric if you were to come negotiating, but what if you partnered up with Tarren Mill and Mayor Fowley? You do remember him talking about doing a deal for their lumber. This way Southshore and Maleb wouldn't have to deal with you at all.


>Go to Southshore and attempt to negotiate the deal with Beric.
>Ask Tarren Mill to negotiate the deal, you would have to split potential profits.
>Don’t attempt a deal, the current profits are enough and you don’t potentially want to disturb any construction efforts here.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4958250
>>Don’t attempt a deal, the current profits are enough and you don’t potentially want to disturb any construction efforts here.
>>
>>4958250
>Go to Southshore and attempt to negotiate the deal with Beric.
We won't be able to reclaim Alterac if we shy away from potential profit.
>>
>>4958250
Hmm… tempting, but with all the free peasants we’d probably be better off focusing on our own development at least for now. At least until they have suitable housing.
>>
>>4958250
>>Go to Southshore and attempt to negotiate the deal with Beric.
>>
>>4958250
>Ask Tarren Mill to negotiate the deal, you would have to split potential profits.
>>
>>4958250
>Ask Tarren Mill to negotiate the deal, you would have to split potential profits.

Everybody wins and nobody is left to angry.
>>
>>4958250
>>Ask Tarren Mill to negotiate the deal, you would have to split potential profits.
Advantage of this is it's further tying Tarren Mill to us economically. We're already doing more to defend them militarily than the Alliance, making it a profitable relationship will accelerate it.
>>
You penned a letter to Beric that described your intention. Beric would come first to Dawnholme and then both of you would leave to visit Tarren Mill. You would attempt to sell the lumber through them acting as middlemen.

It took Beric a few days to receive the letter and then travel to Dawnholme. Meanwhile as you waited for his arrival, you spoke extensively with Garside about this idea and visited the lumbermill to check on the trade product. By all accounts this could be viable to accomplish and could bring increase profits to you.

When Beric arrived the spring weather had surprised him and his cart with a sudden and intense rainstorm. Wet through and through he sat in front of the fireplace trying to get warm.

"Eager to do some trade prince Alric?" Beric said as he pulled off his wet clothing.

"Yes Beric, I think this has some merit."

"It does have, otherwise I wouldn't have come." Beric said back and wrapped himself into a blanket. "I talked with the traders about lumber. They are saying that there are some lumbermills as far as Dalaran trying to sell their lumber. We have a good chance to get a deal through."

"What do you think of Tarren Mill?" You asked.

"Smart move sire. The Magistrate is bloody pissed as he now has to shuffle workers around and invite new ones. Better to be hush-hush and use Tarren Mill here." Beric said while leaning towards the fire. "Now give me your papers, let me see how much we can sell."



Next day went as you prepared your offer to Tarren Mill and Mayor Fowley. You and Beric visited the lumbermill again and at the end of the day everything was ready.

Next day it was you and Beric with his cart, escorted by Sir Gravis and the knights, travelling to Tarren Mill. Now without footmen having to escort you, the trip there was so much faster and you arrived at around noon.

It didn’t take long for your horses being escorted to the stable and finding yourself and Beric sitting in the office of Mayor Fowley. You had explained the case and your offer to him.

"Now you are saying that you want to do this through Tarren Mill, because Magistrate Maleb doesn't like right now?" He asked you.

"You are correct Mayor Fowley." You said back to him.

"What an annoying situation you are in." He said and continued. "But I do think this plan of yours could work, I just need to cross-reference some of our contracts and see how to move forward."

"So Mayor Fowley, you are agreeing on this?"

"Not so fast prince Alric, a deal is agreed only after both sides have ink on a paper." Mayor Fowley said and continued speaking. "Now if you could excuse me, this will take us a few hours. I will find you then."

"Understandable, we will be waiting." You said and stood up as you and Beric left the office.

1/2
>>
>>4959139

Several minutes later outside the town hall you turned towards Beric.

"Beric, what do you think?"

"Well sire, Fowley is a good merchant. He knows how to make the most profit. This also means he is hard to negotiate with." Beric mused and scratched his chin. "Now we wait."

"Now we shall wait, but let's not just stand here like fools, let's check the marketplace." You said back.


>1d10
>Best of three

QM: Random event roll
>>
Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>4959140
>>
Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4959140
>>
Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>4959140
>>
File: 688570-kris-legace.jpg (57 KB, 285x692)
57 KB
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>8

The marketplace of Tarren Mill had few shops open. Fisherman was selling the fish he had gotten from the Darrowmere river, a small-time butcher selling pieces of meat and a few craftsmen selling their wicker baskets and other woodcrafts. None of that really interested you, neither it did interest Beric or your escorts that you allowed to leave. Only Joe, one of the knights insisted to follow you,

But you did see something that interested you, well not something, but someone. Kris Legace was sampling wares at one of the stalls.

Seeing her you decided to go talk to her and you approached her.

"Good afternoon miss Legace." You said to her which startled her.

"Oh prince Alric, I didn't expect to see you here in Tarren Mill." She said and gave you a curtsy.

"Just doing business." You said back and watched as she bought one wicker basket and walked to another stall. "That being said, how is your business?"

"My prince, it is quite good." She said and filled the basket with jars of apple jam. "Thank you for asking."

"Anything specific?" You asked her.

"Got a deal of a lifetime in Dalaran and bought many rolls of fine quality cloth. The ladies in Southshore paid top coin for them." She said with a grin. "But oh my, aren’t you interested in how my trading has gone."

"Just curious." You said to her and raised your hands a bit.

"No harm in that my prince, not everyone is interested." She said as you two walked to her cart where she placed the apple jam basket. "But you know what I am interested in, that would be food. I am starving."

"The inn is just there, we can eat there." You said to her and pointed at the inn.

"Sure, why not." Legace said and shrugged. "Never eaten there before."

1/2
>>
>>4959263

You had taken the corner table with your escorting knight Joe taking a table some distance away from you. Innkeeper Monica was somewhere in the back, but you knew she would come to serve you soon. It didn’t take long for you to see her and you waved your hand to her. She noticed you and walked to your table.

"Prince Alric, what brings you and miss…" She greeted you, saw Legace and waited for her to be introduced.

"Legace, this is miss Legace and she is a trader." You told Monica. "And this is Monica, she is the innkeeper."

"Nice to meet you." Legace said and extended her hand with a wide smile. Monica took a second or two before shaking it.

"Nice to meet you miss Legace." Monica said back to her with a clearly forced smile.

Uh oh, for some reason by the first impression neither of them liked each other.

"Ahh Monica, what do you have for lunch today?" You said quickly to defuse the situation.

"We have rabbit pie. The meat is really fresh." She said back to you while keeping her eyes at Legace.

"Then we take enough for two. And wine for the drink."

"Understood prince Alric. Just a moment." Monica said and gave you a small smile.



What a drag this is. Legace didn’t talk to you much until the rabbit pie and flagon of wine came. She watched Monica until she disappeared into the backroom.

"Prince Alric, you know her?" She asked as she leaned closer to you.

"I slept in this inn when I visited the town previously." You said and cut the pie open. "The food is good, you should eat it before it gets cold."

Legace nodded and two of you started to eat.


>Ask her when she is going to travel to Strahnbrad?
>She clearly has some problem with Monica, ask her about it.
>Just do some small talk.
>Other, write in.
>>
>>4959277
>>Ask her when she is going to travel to Strahnbrad?
>>
>>4959277
How adorable. Poor Monica, though.

>Ask if/when she's going to Strahnbrad, wish her luck.

It would be good if she told us where she plans to go there so we take it into account in planning our move.
>>
>>4959277
>Other, write in.
Ask her honestly if we give off a lady killer vibe. We may be dense sometimes when it comes to women. But even still This is going to far even for us to miss it anymore.

We should also ask miss Legace if there is any way we can fix this mess we have made with Monica as she is our friend and we do not want to lose that with her.
>>
>>4959277
>>Ask her when she is going to travel to Strahnbrad?
>>
>>4959277
>>She clearly has some problem with Monica, ask her about it.
>>
“When are you leaving for Strahnbrad?” You asked her after a moment of awkward silence.

“I planned on leaving today. I have my trade goods, I have food and I have the tribute.” She told you.

“Are you going by the tower?”

“Well yeah prince Alric. That is if the ogres haven’t driven the bandits away.” She answered and continued. “Why do you ask?”

“I am interested in the tower and of course how things go in Alterac. Outside of Strahnbrad and the tower, I don’t think there are that many men within the Alterac Valley.” You told her and continued eating the pie.

“Prince Alric, you want me to especially keep my eyes open near the tower?”

“Yes, that would be good.”

Two of you continued to eat and as the pies were close to being finished, it did come to your mind to ask her about what happened earlier.

“Miss Legace, I do have to ask you something.” You said to her with a bit of hesitation.

“What would it be prince Alric?” She asked back with a bit of confusion in her voice.

“Do you think I give out a...what would be a good word… a feeling of being a lady killer?” You asked her carefully.

Her response wasn’t what you expected as she nearly choked on her wine.

“Well prince Alric.” She said and gained her composure after brushing her amber hair away from her eyes. “You are a young man with nice black hair and a tidy moustache. You are fit and I would say that you are handsome. You behave well, have good manners and do the right things.”

You thanked the Light for no one to be close enough to listen. You felt embarrassed having someone to tell you all this.

“And you are a prince on top of all. No wonder you would have girls swooning over you.” She finished with a smile.

“Well thank you for telling that miss Legace.” You didn’t really know what else to say.

“Oh and I don’t know about your relationship with her, but I can see that the innkeeper girl is all head over heels for you. Now I know better and if you weren’t a prince, but a regular young man, I wouldn’t object to a bit of slap and tickle.”

This time it was your turn to nearly choke on your wine. Legace meanwhile laughed somewhat.

“Well thank you for telling me that too.” You said to her after gaining your composure back.

“My prince, you did ask me and I try to be honest.” She said with a smile and continued. “I can only give you the advice that if you want to be free, you could be free. That is why I am a trader and not a housewife.”

She had finished eating and stood up from the table.

“My prince, I will leave now to Strahnbrad. Thank you for the lunch and I will be in touch.” She said, did a curtsy and left the inn. Seeing that, your escorting knight walked to your table.

“Did you hear anything that we talked about?” You asked him.

“Nay sire, but I could see that the discussion was a difficult one.” Joe the knight said back.

It was good no one else heard that.

1/2
>>
>>4960224

You had paid for the food and left the inn. Some time had passed and you thankfully didn’t need to wait too long for Mayor Fowley to call you. Few moments later you and Beric were sitting in his office.

“Now prince Alric, I have checked my own papers, existing contracts and nothing can stop us from offering more lumber to be sold.” He explained to you. “Now we just have to agree on the terms of the deal.”

Mayor Fowley explained to you the requirements for the lumber, how the transportation would be done, how the people employed would be paid and so on. After explaining everything in quite detail, that you thankfully mostly understood, he offered you a contract to be signed.

“I can offer half of the profits. Anything less and the extra work wouldn’t be worth it.” Mayor Fowley said to you.


>Take the deal. Half of the profits sounds good with all the work Fowley and Tarren Mill has to do.
>Try to haggle for a better profit margin.
>Decline, you have second thoughts about the deal.
>Other, write in.

QM: I am fair, this deal is on top of your existing Wealth income of the lumber. You won’t lose Wealth in this.
>>
>>4960225
>>Try to haggle for a better profit margin.

It is OUR lumber.
>>
>>4960225
Half is quite a lot for an intermediary, I’m not sure how much labor is required for the handling on their end but maybe we could haggle the cut down…maybe one third, in the interest of keeping good relations, and our workers can help with handling? I don’t want to insult him by bargaining too hard, or by being a complete doormat…

Also, Kris a good girl, and poor Monica.
>prince Alric vows that he shan’t know woman‘s touch until Alterac banner flies from the keep in Alterac city once again
>women begin volunteering for military service
>>
>>4960275
This seems fair to both of us. Let us offer to help with the work as much as we fairly can considering the deal we are making.
>>
>>4960225
>>Try to haggle for a better profit margin.

Not too much, but more.
>>
>>4960225
>>4960375
>Try to haggle for a better profit margin.
6/10th
>>
Haggling it is. Give me a roll.


>1d6
>Best three
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4960565
>>4960533
shit, forgot the roll
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4960533
>>
Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4960533
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4960533
Big money big money no whammy's baby.
>>
>6

The equal split of profits wasn’t in your liking as the timber was yours and it felt like Tarren Mill was taking a bit too big share of profits.

You asked Mayor Fowley about a bigger profit share to you and offered your peasants to help with this, but Fowley wasn’t accepting your reasoning.

“Prince Alric, I appreciate your offer of help, but I cannot accept it.” Mayor Fowley said to you and continued. “The transportation of the timber requires specially built wagons and cars, the people operating them are trained professionals and we cannot take chances that something happens and a man gets crushed between a pair of logs.”

You deflated somewhat as your attempt at haggling had failed completely.

“I understand.” You answered him.

“So no, I cannot accept a different share of profits.” Fowley continued and then pushed the contract paper to you. “But I wish that we can make this deal today.”

You took the quill and wrote your name on the contract. The deal as it was will bring some extra wealth to you without directly dealing with Southshore. Even with equal split, this was a good deal in the end.

“Prince Alric, pleasure to be doing business with you.” Fowley said as he stood up and offered his arm. “For the long standing cooperation between Alterac and Tarren Mill.”

“For Alterac and Tarren Mill.” You said back as you shook his hand.



You had left Tarren Mill after signing the deal. Mayor Fowley said that he would be visiting Southshore in a few days to talk about the increased amount of lumber. He meanwhile gave you written orders on how the timber has to be prepared, what length it is cut and so on. You would have some things to do when you got back home.

Thankfully this was accomplished just by giving the orders to the supervisor of the lumbermill who knew what to do and soon the first timber cut into the right length started to pile up. Now you would just have to wait for Mayor Fowley sending you a letter informing you about how Southshore reacts.

1/2
>>
>>4961533

It had been a week since your trip to Tarren Mill to do the timber deal. A messenger had brought a pile of letters to Dawnholme including one from Mayor Fowley to you. When you opened it, it was what you expected. The officials of Alliance Naval Base accepted the increased amount of timber and Magistrate Maleb happily paid for them. Mayor Fowley speculated that this could last maybe till the next winter and after that the need for timber would diminish and more specialized products would be needed.

The letter was great news as any profits you could get would bring you one step closer to reclaiming your homeland. With gold and coin you can recruit troops, hire mercenaries, build structures and industries.

Still that day did not end with the letter from Fowley. One of the patrols spotted a messenger riding towards Dawnholme carrying the insignia and colours of Silver Hand. The patrol stopped this messenger and guided him to you.

You were inside the farmstead doing paperwork with Garside as there was knocking on the door. You went to open it and outside you saw the patrol with the Silver Hand messenger.

“Sire, this messenger is from Silver Hand. He has something for you.” Said the footman who knocked the door for you.

“Good afternoon prince Alric. I bring a letter from Lord Uther.” Said the messenger and extended his hand which held the letter.

“Does Lord Uther wait for a response?” You asked the messenger.

“He does not, so I will make my leave as you have received the letter.” The messenger said to you.

“Make sure he and his horse are fed.” You said to the footman and allowed everyone to leave before going back in.

You sat down and opened the letter with a knife and started reading it. It did not take long for you to bury your face in your hands.

“What is in the letter?” Garside asked and you just handed the letter to him.

It did not take long to hear him cursing as he read through it.

“He cannot do that!” Garside practically shouted as he threw the letter on the table. “That fucking king Terenas cannot do this!”

“Oh he can, he has the Alliance behind him.” You said back to him defeated and took the letter.

The letter from Lord Uther was simple. King Terenas under the pressure from the other kings and lords of Alliance has decreed that any further incursions to Alterac are forbidden without permission from the Alliance.

Lord Uther wrote that he regretted being the middleman in this, but what king Terenas says is something that should be listened to and followed. If he learns that you had invaded Alterac, he would have his casus belli to send in the Silver Hand to deal with you and Uther wouldn’t have any qualms to crush Alterac again.

You had planned that maybe during the summer you could go and take Gallow’s Corner, but now the prospect of doing it without angering Alliance felt impossible. Maybe you have to push invading Alterac further into the future.

2/2
>>
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>>4961535

And this is a good spot to end the thread. We are at page 9 and this is a good story point to stop. I will start the new thread probably tomorrow with the plan of updating the pastebins too.

This thread is archived and I will attempt to remember to use Twitter to inform when I post updates. As always if you have questions, please go ahead and ask them. I will attempt to answer them as well as I can.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MedivhQM
/qst/ Archive:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Alterac%20Resurgent%20Quest
Prince Alric Stats: https://pastebin.com/rysxdRsv
Quest Mechanisms: https://pastebin.com/CyD88qqf
>>
>>4961533
>>4961535
This proves beyond all doubt that Raleigh is a spy.
>>
>>4961535

So I take it Gallows' corner counts as incursion into Alterac, then? That is unfortunate.

However it's not all bad since we do have a lot of other leads to follow as well. One is Strahnbrad hills where we can expect more clues into syndicate activity and maybe some new plot hooks entirely. If Gallows' is closed off for us that will be a viable alternative route to Strahnbrad and maybe securing it and keeping it open will warm the lords up to us.

Anyway thanks for running OP! Was great fun as always.
>>
>>4961537
Thanks for the run, and goddamn the silver hand *really* aren't interested in warming relations are they, huh. Talk about throwing a wench into our plans. I guess what we have available to us now is
>Find and alternate path to Strahnbrad and establish trade connection that way And possibly find out why so many captives were being taken eastwards.
>Further build up our current holdings
>Try to find ways to warm relations with other settlements to the west, be it Hillsbrad Fields or maybe even Dalaran
>Convince the Alliance to let us take Gallow's corner... somehow. Might need underhanded tactics.
And considering our now further limited expansion route, maybe we should consider fortifying Southern Alterac Mountains some more since our territories will be rather... stretched at this point.
>>
>>4961796
>>4961544
We don't actually know what Silver Hand wants but it's irrelevant since they seem to mostly be a gauntlet in Terenas' hand.
Although Uther does say in game he would not obey an order to purge a town to kill the scourge, it's understood such defiance is not expected from him.
>>
>>4961834
>Uther would not obey an order to purge a town to kill the scourge
>Uther wouldn’t have any qualms to crush Alterac again
I'm going to be so fucking tempted to call him out on this when/if Alric ever gets the chance, holy shit.
>>
>>4961537
Fucking bastards. Lmao now we literally sit on our ass. Goodbye to those knights that wanted some action. The worst part is that syndicate and the ogre tribe can grow stronger and we can only defend against them.

And the Alliance will not move us from this chokehold for sure. Tney hate us and honestly they will just fire on Alric for shit and giggles if he starts doing a diplomatic visit to their realms.
Whatever, we will wait for the next apocalypse, while growing in our lands and fending off all attacks towards us.

I think we can build up our lands very well with the amount of money we make. Maybe we can even make a castle in the headland. Also a good time for buying a new armor and blade.

Eitherway full neutrality. I would like to answer in kind but it does nothing (like raising prices for the new naval alliance base. That is likely made even for quickly kill us by bringing a large army in southshore). At least we don t need to attempt to be friendly anymore, we will just be neutral with them. Shouldn t have walk on us.
>>
Anyway good run. I recon our prince must be furious. But good of him to keep a straight face with the messanger.
>>
At this point i wonder if the alliance doesn t want to find other ways for a casus bellis against us. Comes to mind the deal with Blackmoore.
Though honestly other casus bellis can be made by them, even outright conquest isn t out of the way.

I wonder what will be the reaction of our people. It could demoralize them, or maybe it could make them even more loyal to us.
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I was suspicious of him before. Then after our friend priest did give his opinion about him.
I suppose we should have imagine it. I mean he was at the military meetings after all, and he is a Silver Hand. So he would inform them of our plans for invade Alterac. Now we aren t going to move for war so a paladin isn t needed at all if we can t expand. What s the point anymore, Uther can graciously have him back we are just going to be killed if we move outside our borders with the army. Even a blind man can understand that.
We should see if we can invite a priest here somehow, maybe if we build a temple.

Though to be fair, Alric and us believed that the order would be more neutral. Glad to know they aren t at all.
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