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>>5426197

The market fair had ended and it seemed to be a success, at least until the novelty of it wears off. The merchants from Tarren Mill had sold all their cider and most of their other apple products as the people of Dawnholme wanted to top off their foodstuff supplies for the winter. Along with the apples, other foodstuffs were quite popular as people wanted to eat something different that they wouldn’t normally get, but what didn’t find customers were the basic products of cottage industries and furs. The local craftsmen and craftswomen already made enough wicker baskets and winter clothes so the merchants of Tarren Mill had to return back home without much success on that front.

But when the merchants from Tarren Mill prepared to leave back home, you spoke with them and heard that they counted this trip as a success. They had made a nice profit selling the goods and would be telling the good news to Mayor Fowley. With Beric already planning what he and the traders from Dawnholme would be bringing with them, you thought about the potential profits and how this cooperation could help the both towns.

Though not all the news was good news. Stromgarde Guards led by Sergeant Maxwell had asked for their release from their contract and you had given it. They had taken heavy casualties in the battle against the Syndicate and the bandits and they were still shaken from that. Seeing a good officer leave you like this did hurt you, but it was better to let them return back home than to keep them in your employment, keeping them wouldn’t benefit you at all.

You were there to see them off next morning and as they had thrown their bags and belongings on their cart and were preparing to leave, it started to snow. Winter truly was here.

…

You had retreated back into your renovated and refurbished manor and waited for your officers to arrive. Captain Normand Garside was in his office preparing his papers and Beric of Strahnbrad, your trusted trader, was in the town. But everyone else that normally would have joined you were elsewhere. Lieutenant Cromwell and Lieutenant Beckston were in Strahnbrad Hills and Sergeant Maxwell had just left your service. You thought about inviting someone else to join the Council meeting to provide their opinions, but you had some doubts about inviting more people to the meeting. They would after all learn about things that weren’t necessarily relevant to them, or they couldn’t provide much input.

As you waited for your officers, you looked at a large map of the whole Alterac and Hillsbrad. Stones of different colours were used to depict who owned what and you picked up one of the orange ones and thought about putting it down in Strahnbrad Hills and replacing the grey one there, but decided against it. You didn’t control Strahnbrad Hills fully even with the village of Stonedon having become your vassal. There were still issues like the trolls to deal with that would have to wait till the spring.

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>>5426201

Looking at the map and your holdings, you thought about the current situation and the potential threats. In the west both Hillsbrad Fields and Dalaran provided a secure and stable flank, but Gavin’s Naze had suffered a raid by the orcs from Blackrock Clan and you couldn’t be sure if the orcs struck again. Darrow Hill meanwhile was very secure and the iron mine beneath the hill was an important source of wealth for you, while The Headland with the town of Dawnholme started to have security issues. The prisoner camp housed a plenty of bandits and members of the Syndicate and while the Alliance had a small garrison watching your hometown, you weren’t sure that it was enough to deter the Syndicate aligned bandits from attempting to free the prisoners. Especially with the bandits having probed the defences not that long ago. Same concerns applied to Sofera’s Naze that could be struck by the bandits coming from Alterac or by the orcs or even by the trolls from the mountains.

You sighed as you thought about all this. There were plenty of threats in Alterac be they the bandits, the Syndicate or the Crushridge ogres. And you weren’t sure if any one of them would try to attack you, but at the same time you weren’t sure if they were to stay away.

There were plenty of things in your mind and this Council meeting was a good time for you to deal with those things.

…

Captain Garside and Beric had joined you and it was time to start the meeting, but what would you be discussing first? Would it be the economy with the supply issues and the plans of what building projects to start during the winter. Or would you start with the military instead as there were some issues with the reinforcements, specifically with the amount of them, and you could always recruit and train more soldiers.

Also did you invite anyone else to join you, Garside and Beric in the meeting?

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>>5426203

Choose one:
>Economy
>Military

Choose none or as many you like:
>Sir Gravis, your knight and bodyguard. He could bring in some martial expertise into the meeting.
>Raleight the True, a paladin of Silver Hand. His background as a paladin would bring plenty of insight to things.
>Malevus, your squire and apparently an elven noblewoman. Her inexperience could actually be a boon, she could bring a quite different point of view into the mix.
>Sir Radan, your knight and a former bandit. With the threat from the bandits and having a lot of bandit prisoners, he could have some interesting points.
>Eligius, your scribe, spymaster in training and warlock. He knew a lot about all sorts of things, but you weren’t sure if he could actually contribute a lot in the meeting.
>Bill Rover, retired gamekeeper and ranger of Alterac. He was part of the meetings before, but had retired as his sons returned from Stormwind City.
>Erefor Pelija, Master Mason of Stonemason’s Guild. He had joined your service very recently and would bring plenty of knowledge about masonry, architecture and constructing different buildings.

QM: Choose the topic we cover first and if you were to invite more people into the Council meeting from your retinue who are present in Dawnholme. I will tally the votes and pick the ones with most votes to join you.

>>5426205
>>Military
We have 22 supplies and lose 4 per season, which means that we have 5 seasons to balance out our supplies. Our military situation is more urgent.

>Sir Gravis, your knight and bodyguard. He could bring in some martial expertise into the meeting.
>Raleight the True, a paladin of Silver Hand. His background as a paladin would bring plenty of insight to things.
>Malevus, your squire and apparently an elven noblewoman. Her inexperience could actually be a boon, she could bring a quite different point of view into the mix.
>Sir Radan, your knight and a former bandit. With the threat from the bandits and having a lot of bandit prisoners, he could have some interesting points.
>Rover's sons, if they're available.

Raleigh the True and Eligius should be treated as if they're mutually exclusive because the former might find out that the latter is a warlock. Bill Rover is retired so we shouldn't force him to work, but his sons may have useful knowledge. I don't think that Erefor Pelija is trustworthy because his guild just murdered the queen of Stormwind.

>>5426205
>Military

>Sir Gravis, your knight and bodyguard. He could bring in some martial expertise into the meeting.
>Raleight the True, a paladin of Silver Hand. His background as a paladin would bring plenty of insight to things.
>Malevus, your squire and apparently an elven noblewoman. Her inexperience could actually be a boon, she could bring a quite different point of view into the mix.
>Sir Radan, your knight and a former bandit. With the threat from the bandits and having a lot of bandit prisoners, he could have some interesting points.

>>5426205
Hmm... I'd like to have a paladin for input but his loyalty is still to Silver Hand first. I'm not sure if we can afford to have him in the council until something drastic happens that would make him invaluable there, or we formally join the Alliance and conflicting loyalties are not an issue anymore.

Eligius would be good to have both because he's smart enough that he might have useful insights and also to give him more context of the society he safeguards in his new role.

I'm a bit unsure about Malevus even though I'd trust her with my life, other officers might be more sceptical if not of her loyalties then of her inexperience. But that might also as said in prompt be a benefit...

>Sir Gravis
>Malevus
>Sir Radan
>Eligius

>>5426205
>Military

>Malevus, your squire and apparently an elven noblewoman. Her inexperience could actually be a boon, she could bring a quite different point of view into the mix.
>Sir Radan, your knight and a former bandit. With the threat from the bandits and having a lot of bandit prisoners, he could have some interesting points.
>Eligius, your scribe, spymaster in training and warlock. He knew a lot about all sorts of things, but you weren’t sure if he could actually contribute a lot in the meeting.
>The Rover brothers.

I can't remember why but I don't trust Sir Gravis.

>>5426220
+1 support from me.

sweet new thread
>>5426229
Gravis is the lead knight in charge of our other knights. We took him and his guys from Durnholde, they didn't want to be under Blackmoore anylonger. We have fight alongside them for quite a while, both him and his knights are relatively friendly and happy to fight with us. A few of them even died for us.
I can't remember anything bad from him honestly. He wants some fights and glory, which is more or less what you expect from knight.

>>5426205

>Military

>Sir Gravis, your knight and bodyguard. He could bring in some martial expertise into the meeting.
>Raleight the True, a paladin of Silver Hand. His background as a paladin would bring plenty of insight to things.
>Malevus, your squire and apparently an elven noblewoman. Her inexperience could actually be a boon, she could bring a quite different point of view into the mix.
>Sir Radan, your knight and a former bandit. With the threat from the bandits and having a lot of bandit prisoners, he could have some interesting points.
>Rover's sons, if they're available.

i imagine picking Eligius means talking about spies, and buildings for spies or about magic. We might want to talk about that when is training is done. Though he has also a keen mind, not something bad to have.

>>5426229
Actually having second thoughts about having Malevus participate, wouldn’t want her to look like our pet or otherwise upset more senior people. But we did kind of tell her we’re counting on her cheerful idealism as a backup conscience.

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With only two of your usual officers and advisors available, you reached out and invited more people to join you. So you were joined by four familiar faces that haven’t participated in a Council meeting before. Sadly Rover Brothers weren’t available, but everyone else were.

“Thank you for joining me.” You told the newcomers after they had sat down.

“Thank you for inviting us.” Raleigh said back to you. “But I am not that sure how much we can be of help?”

“Because you come from different backgrounds. You are a paladin of the Silver Hand, Sir Radan is a former bandit, Sir Gravis has plenty of experience in fighting and for Malevus this is an important chance to learn.” You told him and continued. “With the largest of our threats being the bandits and the Syndicate, I thought that your backgrounds could give me new insight to all of this.”

“Not a bad idea at all.” Garside said.

“There is some truth in what Prince Alric said, isn’t there Raleigh.” Sir Radan said to the paladin. The two men didn’t like each other, but begrudgingly Raleigh nodded to Radan.

“There is, then Prince Alric, shall we start?” Raleigh said back to the former bandit.

“We will, Sir Radan, what do you think about the bandits and the Syndicate in Gallows Corner? Do you think that they could attack us?” You asked him

“They must have heard about your victory in Strahnbrad Hills Prince Alric. If they have learned, then they must be emboldened by something to actually attack here.” Radan said to you. “Bandits are not stupid, they will avoid and cut their losses if they can.”

“But the Syndicate, we have seen how organised they could be.” Garside said back to him.

“If they act as enforcers, then maybe. We have the prisoners, if I were them I would try to free them. Especially as there are that many of them in one place.” Radan said and continued. “That is what I would do, but my former boss would have abandoned us all. You cut the losses.”

“Then what should we do to prevent the bandits and the Syndicate from coming and attacking us?” You asked them and waited for their input. “We already have men hidden and ready to ambush potential raiders and scouts, but what else could we do?”

Your officers and advisors stayed silent and carefully looked at each other. The newcomers especially didn't have the courage to say anything immediately until Malevus carefully raised her hand.

“Malevus, you don’t have to raise your hand.” You said to your squire.

“Oh sorry Prince Alric.” She apologised and continued. “My homeland has an extensive ring of runestones along its border and they protect it from outside threats. Of course we can’t get those runestones, but maybe towers could protect us?”

“At least to give us a warning if we were to be attacked.” Sir Gravis said and spoke for the first time. “You can see quite far from the towers in Durnholde, a couple well placed ones could allow us to watch the King’s Road relatively easily.”

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>>5427021

“Sir Gravis is right and we already have one Scout Tower built near the Silver Mine in the mountains. Should we cover our lands with more towers?” Garside said to your knight and asked you.

“The merchants enjoy seeing something permanent as a sign of security.” Beric said back and returned back to cleaning his fingernails. This military stuff wasn’t his cup of tea at all.

“We will consider that, do we have anything else?” You said to them.

“I heard we could get crossbows now?” Sir Gravis asked you. “Is that true Prince Alric?”

“Yes it is, we could train crossbowmen now.” You said back to him.

“Then that gets my vote. Our plate mail can protect us from arrows, but crossbow bolts? They can punch through our mail.” Sir Gravis continued.

“And I think me and Captain Garside would support training some Mounted Sergeants.” Raleigh said to you. “They might not be equivalent to Knights, but many times the Orcish Horde faced defeat when our lighter cavalry charged them.”

“Yes, having more cavalry would be a great help to us Prince Alric and actually I have something else to suggest.” Garside said to you and continued. “Some of our men have been with us for a quite long time and they have gained plenty of experience. And now after our battle with the bandits and the Syndicate, we could raise them to a higher status. A sign of honour.”

“What do you have in mind?” You asked back.

“Royal Foot Guards and Alteraci Rangers. Old Bill Rover could tell us more about the Rangers, but the Royal Foot Guards were the footmen guarding the palace back in Alterac City.” Garside said to you. “Being recruited into the Foot Guards was an immense honour.”

Not a bad idea and the men would love it. A sign of respect and honour like this would boost morale immensely and also show your people that yet another step has been taken to reclaim the lost glory of your Kingdom. Though there were issues in this. Soldiers of this level who you could raise to these positions are far and few between. And if you were to raise them to this new position, replacing any losses they take would be impossible without finding more men like them. Your own armour from Melondras in Dalaran should be finished shortly, but you could also order armor from the Dark Irons. Garrick Blacksteel had left you instructions on how to contact them in case you wanted to order arms and armour to yourself or to your men.

You had also read a report of the current status of your troops and you had learned that not all casualties your men had taken during the battle couldn’t be replaced and reinforced. Some of the wounded men had been wounded too badly to continue their careers as soldiers and some called it quits after a hard battle like this. By your counts you had a deficit of 30 soldiers that you would have to fill to have full squads. On top of this you could recruit and train Crossbowmen and Mounted Sergeants which gave you more options on how to build your army.

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>>5427022

Total Resources:
30 Wealth, +19 per season
22 Supplies, -4 per season
70 Peasants

Troops:
Total: 45 Footmen, 40 Pikemen, 50 Archers, 5 Knights, 35 Bandit Rogues, 40 City Guards (Dawnholme)
-10/10 Elite Footmen
-16/20 Veteran Footmen
-8/10 Elite Archers
-30/30 Regular Archers
-14/20 Kul Tiran Swashbucklers, Regular Pikemen
-4/5 Knights of Gravis, Regular Knights
-11/15 Benedict's Blood Alley Boys, Veteran Footmen
-16/20 Regular Pikemen
-6/10 Veteran Archers
-11/15 Sir Alan Radan's Men, Regular Bandit Rogues
-20/20 Lyion's Rogues, Regular Bandit Rogues
-40/40 City Guards

Troops on deployment:
-10 Veteran Footmen and 10 Regular Archers in Durnholde. 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 Bandit Rogues, 1 Wealth, 10 Peasants, Upkeep 1 Supply per Season, Requires Sir Radan to train them
-10 Archers, 1 Wealth, 10 Peasants, Upkeep 1 Supply per Season
-10 Crossbowmen, 2 Wealth, 10 Peasants, Upkeep 1 Supply per Season, Requires Barracks
-5 Mounted Sergeants 4 Wealth, 5 Peasants, Upkeep 2 Supply per Season, Requires Stables and Barracks

Available Mercenaries:
None

Troop training and mercenaries, choose none or as many as you have resources for:
>10 Footmen
>10 Pikemen
>10 Bandit Rogues
>10 Archers
>10 Crossbowmen
>5 Mounted Sergeants
>None, save Wealth

Upgrading troops:
>10 Elite Footmen to Royal Foot Guards, 3 Wealth
>10 Elite Archers to Alteraci Rangers, 3 Wealth
>None, save Wealth

Replace casualties:
>Partially, 10 Peasants
>Half, 15 Peasants
>Fully, 30 Peasants
>None, save Peasants

Dark Iron Arms and Armour:
>Masterwork Dark Iron Armour, 5 Wealth, masterwork armour which is heavier than equivalent human plate mail, but provides better protection. For a single user.
>Dark Iron Arms and Armour, 3 Wealth, well-crafted armour fit for human soldiers that is superior to other armours outside of masterworks. Built in sets of ten.
>None, save Wealth

QM: Please vote on all four. Decision to build towers or other buildings comes in the economic portion of the Council meeting. Here is the explanation of how the upgraded troops work.

Elite troops can be upgraded into Epic units. Epic troops are the best of the best, but after being upgraded, they cannot be reinforced if they take casualties. The cost to upgrade Elite troops into Epic troops is +200% Wealth of the base cost, rounding up.

Elite Footmen ---> Royal Foot Guards, these footmen hold both a ceremonial and protective role. Renowned footmen of Alterac who were handpicked from the most promising footmen available in Alterac.
Elite Archers ---> Alteraci Rangers, best archers and outdoorsmen in Alterac were recruited into this small organisation. Alteraci Rangers patrolled the mountains and hidden passes keeping the Kingdom safe.

>>5427023

I guess replacing the losses is a given...

Does this result in elite archer being at 10/10, making them viable for ranger promotion? I guess the replacement can work by taking the best 2 from the veteran archers while the veterans take from the regulars...

10 sets of dark iron armour cost 3 wealth or 30?
If we'd get the royal guardsmen it would make sense to outfit them, but then we should probably get better outfits for our officers as well.
What does Raleigh have? His own gear is better?

>>5427023
Spend 10 gold to train 20 veteran crossbowmen and 10 veteran pikemen. Well-trained crossbowmen will make a large difference against ogres and other large enemies and choosing quality over quantity will not increase our supply deficit as much. The pikemen are for protecting the crossbowmen.

>10 Elite Footmen to Royal Foot Guards, 3 Wealth
>Fully, 30 Peasants
>Dark Iron Arms and Armour, 3 Wealth, well-crafted armour fit for human soldiers that is superior to other armours outside of masterworks. Built in sets of ten.
This is for the Royal Foot Guards.

This leaves us with 14 gold which I suggest that we spend on upgrading our scout tower into a guard tower and building a new scout tower.

>>5427048
Let's say that the archers will become 10/10 if upgraded. Less messy and easier for my bookkeeping.

Dark Iron Arms and Armour is 10 armours and weapons for 3 Wealth. Built in sets of ten just means that you can purchase them in groups of ten arms and armours with each group costing 3 Wealth.

Raleigh wears a Full Plate. It is a decent normal armour.

Does anyone else have any questions? As always if you have something in your mind, go ahead and ask your question. I will try to answer it as well as I can.

>>5427023
>20 Veteran Crossbowmen
We need armor piercing capabilities.
>10 Elite Footmen to Royal Foot Guards, 3 Wealth
>Fully, 30 Peasants
>Dark Iron Arms and Armour, 3 Wealth
For the Royal Foot Guards

we are running low in manpower and upkeep will increase, i recommend we build a scout tower and some supply buildings in the economic update.

>>5427110
Would the dark iron armour count as upgrade for the knights?
Would the officers benefit from it? Clearly we can't afford to fit them with the individual suits, but maybe the regular dark iron suits would be a marked improvement for them?

I'm considering whether spending extra 6 wealth to outfit all our knights and officers with the black iron armour would be a good use of money.

>>5427135
For knights yes, but for named characters/your officers no. I intended the Dark Iron Arms and Armour to be a way to equip your soldiers with superior gear. Individual armours are meanwhile for named characters and the reason why a single suit of Knightly Plate which isn't as good as Dark Iron Arms and Armour costs the same 3 Wealth is purely game mechanism and balance reason. Named characters are already handled a bit more carefully and if you were to be able to equip them cheaply, making them these übermensch soldiers would be too easy.

Regarding Sir Gravis, unlike other named characters, I have counted him to be part of his unit. For example Lieutenant Beckston or Sir Radan haven't been counted as part of their Kul Tirans or the bandits either. That 4/5 strength the knights have is made from Sir Gravis, Empleton, Thomas and Joe. So if you were to acquire Dark Iron Arms and Armour for them too, I would allow Sir Gravis to be equipped as well as an exception.

>>5427023

20 veteran crossbowmen (8 wealth) -2 supply flow
10 royal guards (3 wealth)
10 rangers (3 wealth)
20 dark iron armours (for guards and knights with some spares - 6 wealth)

20 wealth. 10 left for economy and structures...
Too much? We still need to handle our food deficit that will now be at -6 per season, though it can be plugged by money it's not ideal.
And it's probably not a good idea to run entirely dry with no money on hand.

>>5427023
>Spend 10 gold to train 20 veteran crossbowmen and 10 veteran pikemen.
>10 Elite Footmen to Royal Foot Guards, 3 Wealth
>Fully, 30 Peasants
>Dark Iron Arms and Armour, 3 Wealth, well-crafted armour fit for human soldiers that is superior to other armours outside of masterworks. Built in sets of ten.
For the Royal Foot Guards.

>20 Veteran Crossbowmen, 8, Wealth
>10 Elite Footmen to Royal Foot Guards, 3 Wealth
>Fully, 30 Peasants
>Dark Iron Arms and Armour, 3 Wealth


"Many of the footmen and archers that were with us when I started this journey nearly two years ago are still with us and I agree with Captain Garside that some of them should be rewarded and that now would be a good time to raise the Royal Foot Guards back up as a regiment." You said to your Council. "It will be seen as a sign of legitimacy of my claim that even in name only one of the more well known regiments of Alterac is recreated. And it will be a great boost to the morale for our soldiers."

"I agree, legitimacy and being seen as the one with stronger claim is a thing we have to work towards." Captain Garside said to you.

"In addition we will contact Garrick Blacksteel and order ten suits of Dark Iron arms and armour for them." You said and presented your argument in support of it. "They will require equipment fit for their status and we haven't made any other connections that could provide us with what we require."

"Dark Irons? By the Light, you are going to order armour from them?" Raleigh said and was dismayed. He clearly didn't approve the move.

"I understand your concern Raleigh and I know their history. Their feud is between the different dwarf clans and not between them and the Alliance." You said back to him. "Latest we know about them is that the remnants of The Horde pushed them out of the Blackrock Spire deep underneath the mountain."

Raleigh didn't seem that convinced, but let the issue go.

"Dark Irons will provide what we require. Captain Garside, can you prepare everything else with the Royal Foot Guards?" You said.

"I can. Sadly the original documents from the founding of the regiment are now gone, but we can write new ones." Garside said back to you.

"Good, in addition we will recruit and train twenty crossbowmen and reinforce our losses fully. The crossbows could end up being the weapons that tips the balance into our favour." You said to your officers.

"If we only had firearms…" Sir Gravis mused aloud.

"And to that I agree, but not even the Dark Irons could provide them to us." You said and sighed. "With that we have spent a considerable amount of our coin and pushed ourselves even deeper into a supply deficit, but we need those men. And speaking of men, have you found a new replacement yet Sir Gravis?"

"I haven’t Prince Alric, and I must ask for forgiveness as it might take time. Whoever replaces Garth must fit our crew well, it can't be just anyone." Sir Gravis said back to you and you replied with a nod. You would allow him that time.

"Prince Alric, do you have any plans for the winter?" Sir Radan asked you.

"No, with our men in Shoredon, I don’t think we have the manpower for much more than keeping up the patrols." You said.

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>>5428255

"Aren't the men in Durnholde Keep available?" Sir Gravis asked you.

"Yes they are Sir Gravis, Lord Blackmoore handles their upkeep and recalling them would put an even higher strain on our dwindling supplies." Garside said, but continued. "Though recalling them would give us twenty more men, maybe then we could be more proactive."

It wasn’t a bad idea, being able to have the initiative and not just wait for things to happen would help you a lot, but recalling them would put an even higher strain on your supplies and it might cause problems with Lord Blackmoore himself.

"I will think about it. If we recall them, we might then decide if we were to do anything." You said and put away most of your papers regarding military matters. "Finally we have the topic of the prisoners and our City Guard. We have forty guards which is enough, but shouldn't they have someone leading them?"

"Prince Alric, we have recruited the most able leaders amongst the people already so we might not find a suitable candidate from them." Garside said to you. "We could promote one of the Sergeants, but we really need them as squad leaders."

"Recruit the man from elsewhere?" Sir Radan said to you. "I bet we could find someone, maybe a mercenary to be the leader of the City Guard?"

"Prince Alric, I believe Silver Hand could be of help. Having a strong pious character leading the City Guard could also help with the spiritual needs of the prisoners." Raleigh said to you.

It wasn’t that bad of an idea. Lord Uther would most likely send someone, if you and Raleigh both send him a letter describing your need for a leader for the City Guard, but it would be another member of Silver Hand in Dawnholme which as a thought gave you some discomfort.

"Maybe Voren'thal could help you?" Malevus mused aloud. "Maybe he could send someone if you were to ask."

Everyone turned their heads towards Malevus as the idea of someone arriving from Quel’Thalas seemed very much out of this world. Still she had suggested that and now it was an option.


Total Resources:
16 Wealth, +19 per season
22 Supplies, -6 per season
20 Peasants

Recall the twenty men from Durnholde Keep and end the deal:
>Yes
>No

Chief of the City Guard:
>Recruit from amongst your people
>Promote one of your Sergeants
>Hire a skilled outsider or a mercenary for the job
>Ask help from Silver Hand
>Voren'thal the Seer might be able to help you
>Ask help from someone else, write in

QM: Not enough votes for the Pikemen and Rangers, so they were left out this time.

>>5428259
just a quick question when we were promoting people into sergeants i think from our people did we recruit ALL of them?

>>5428259
>No
>Ask help from Silver Hand

>>5428276
That is a good question. Of the five candidates, you promoted two with Hahn and Eaton ended up being chosen. Remaining three are still in your service. Here are all five of them.

>Michaels, loud and abrasive soldier. Skilled with blades, but makes a poor leader.
>Hahn, not from Alterac. Calm and well liked amongst soldiers.
>Eaton, small and scrawny, but knows how to motivate others to do their best.
>Stein, gets lost easily and has no sense of direction, but is a good fighter.
>Olivier, not from Alterac. A former sailor who has seen the world and is probably the best fighter of these five.

>>5428259
>No

>Recruit from amongst your people
>>5428288
>Stein, gets lost easily and has no sense of direction, but is a good fighter.
This one specifically hes bad sense of direction doesnt matter considering position as city guard captain.

>>5428259
>No

how about the guardsmen themselves? Do we have any idea about them? Could we ask/observe if anyone among them is someone they naturally respect and is of sufficient integrity?
>From among our people
I'm not too thrilled about the known available candidates but I suppose our pool is limited.
A paladin would be good probably, but it's too sensitive position to be given to outsider even a paladin, or an elf. An elf (or whoever Voren'thal could send if he felt so inclined) might also not be trusted or respected enough by the men, although I'd love to see who would show up for the role.

I guess if at the end of the day these >>5428288
are only options I'd probably also go with Stein, though I'm not sure how his weakness will impact his ability to coordinate the guard in city.

>>5428259
>No
>Recruit from amongst your people
>Olivier, not from Alterac. A former sailor who has seen the world and is probably the best fighter of these five.

We need competent people, and now with the possible stonemason exodus, Dawnhome will become a melting pot of different backgrounds, and one way of integrating them is showing them that they can climb the ranks even if they are not alteraci.
Besides, making a non alteraci a city( or town) captain is not that big of a deal.

>>5428259
>No
>Ask help from Silver Hand

>>5428259
>No
>Voren'thal the Seer might be able to help you
I know that having another elf might make some people mad, but this is an opportunity to yoink some elvish training regiments or military tactics. This also includes a deeper relationship with Quel’Thalas.

Not recalling the troops from Durnholde Keep wins and promoting one of your own got more votes than asking help from Silver Hand.

Please give me a roll for the news Beric has for you.


>3d10
>Best of three, also taking the second roll

Rolled 7, 2, 4 = 13 (3d10)

>>5428994

>>5428994
And not 3d10, just a normal 1d10. Two more rolls please as I will take the first roll that ended up being 7.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>5428994
very confusing roll

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5428994
Where's the money, Beric?!

Tired QM is too tired to write the update today. It will come tomorrow then! At least the rolls were good, best of three and the second roll was 10. Beric will have some good news for you.

>>5429175
Don't worry fren, a rested QM is a good QM.

>>5429175
No problems, having more people on the council proved useful. Plenty of options for our chief of the city guards.

>10
>10

“As much as I would love to have our men back, Durnholde is paying for their upkeep and that is quite beneficial to us.” You said and sighed in disappointment. “Not forgetting political benefits and providing help to our neighbours.”

You moved the rest of your papers regarding the military and their numbers away and took out a few new ones with more details on your supplies and their production.

“We will decide who will be promoted into the position of the Chief of the City Guard and we will choose the right person from the men who barely missed the decision to be promoted into sergeants. Captain Garside can you handle that?” You said and asked him.

“I can, I will get the papers ready.” He said back to you.

“Good, because we do need that Chief. I have been told that the prisoners have already been put to work and they have freed about forty workers. Now with us replacing our losses and recruiting the crossbowmen, we are in a situation where we need those prisoners. If they were to stop working, we would have to find workers to replace them.” You explained to your advisors and officers. “That means demobilising our troops or attempting to lure more workers from elsewhere.”

“Not an ideal situation.” Sir Gravis said back to you.

“Not at all, but the more pressing concern is that we have less than a year's worth of supplies in our warehouse and granaries.” You said and continued. “But before that, Beric you had something to tell me?”

“Ahh yes Prince Alric.” Beric said and straightened his back. With all the boring military business done and pushed aside, it was now time to talk about trade which was Berics favourite subject. “I have talked with the new traders that replaced the Stonemason ones and they are planning an attempt to introduce themselves properly into the markets of Lordaeron. And it seems that they aren’t playing around.”

“And you are going to act as the intermediary?” You asked Beric.

“Precisely! The traders only know Southshore so if they want a foothold here, they need someone to act as their fixer. And that would be me.” Beric said to you. “In our preliminary talks they were planning on bringing here all sorts of naval supplies. The dockyard in Southshore could be one of their customers and when I told them about the Alliance Naval Base, they became really interested in it.”

“That sounds good, how is this relevant to me?” You asked Beric.

“Because the profits can be immense and I am your subject. I am trying to arrange a meeting between the traders, the dockyard and the naval base, and maybe if I had your support it could be more easily achieved.” Beric said to you. “And of course Alterac would get a share of the potential profits.”

Now that was the magic word and you now understood Beric’s idea. Sure your name doesn’t hold that much weight in Southshore or in the Alliance, but you still were a Prince of Alterac and that does mean something.

1/2

>>5429805

“I will write you a short letter describing that you have my support.” You said to Beric and thought that maybe you should also write a letter to Lady Katrana Prestor. The new traders after all are working for her as she took over the silver trade from the Stonemasons.

“Thank you Prince Alric.” Beric said and leaned back on his chair. His work had been done here clearly.

“Does anyone else have anything else to say?” You asked your advisors. “We have the coin to invest in buildings and some peasants without a proper job.”

With so many of your current Council members being soldiers by trade, you didn’t expect them to have an opinion on the economy. That is until Malevus raised her hand again.

“What did I tell you Malevus?” You said to her.

“No need to raise my hand Prince Alric.” She said and lowered it quickly. You waved your hand as a signal for her to speak. “I heard farmers talking about wanting a windmill.”

That wasn’t a bad idea. A windmill would avoid some of the wastage that might happen when you mill the grain into flour by hand.

“Thank you Malevus, it does seem that we do not have that many options outside of attempting to shore up our supply situation or building up our defences.” You said to your advisors.

“We could build walls?” Sir Radan said to you.

“I understand this is not the situation, but an abbey for us who are the servants of the Holy Light. It would serve us well. “Raleigh said and continued. “But Prince Alric, I know this isn’t the situation for that."

While the supply situation was concerning, you could always buy more supplies. You had the coin and the income for that. Maybe trying to solve the supply issues with what is available in Alterac is not the most optimal choice, but instead you should look at your neighbours and find a solution with their help. After all Tarren Mill and Hillsbrad Fields are breadbaskets of the region with the Barovs controlling a sizable portion of it.

2/2

>>5429807

Total Resources:
16 Wealth, +19 per season
22 Supplies, -6 per season
20 Peasants

>Improved Farms, +2 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Improved Farms, +2 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Improved Farms, +2 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Darrow Hill
>Improved Farms, +2 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Gavin’s Naze
>Windmill, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, The Headland
>Windmill, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Windmill, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Darrow Hill
>Windmill, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Gavin’s Naze
>Herbalist’s Hut, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, Sofera’s Naze
>Guard Tower, Costs 10 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Southern Alterac Mountains
>Scout Tower, Costs 4 Wealth, Sofera’s Naze
>Scout Tower, Costs 4 Wealth, The Headland
>Scout Tower, Costs 4 Wealth, Darrow Hill
>Scout Tower, Costs 4 Wealth, Gavin’s Naze
>Town Walls and Gate, Costs 12 Wealth, The Headland
>Abbey, Costs 15 Wealth, The Headland
>Other, check the pastebin

QM: The roll was to see how seriously the traders from Stormwind are attempting to get into the market and the second roll was to see what they were attempting to sell.

>>5429809
Does windmill have any additional benefit that's not immediately obvious? Cause in terms of pure numbers we'd be better served building two farms, unless we wanted to save the peasants for something else.

Abbey would be nice but we need to plug our bleeding granary first

>>5429833
Thank you for asking that as the forgetful QM should clarify things again. Improved Farms etc that are upgrades replace the original building. So a Farms that produces +1 Supply is upgraded into an Improved Farms that produces +2 Supply, will only produce +2 Supply. On top of this Improved Farms have the benefit to providing a bit of extra wealth during the harvest season. Windmills meanwhile don't have any other immediate additional benefit that warrants a game mechanism.

>>5429837
so if we upgrade two arms we'll have +2 to the supplies flow, same as we would get two windmills?
Except we'll have potentially better harvest.
And all this at cost of 5 peasants per upgrade.

question is if we want to blow all our wealth on improving supply situation or build a scout tower somewhere, or keep something aside in event something useful came up we'd like to buy or pay for.

I'd say
>improved farms (headland)
>windmill (headland)
leaving 5 peasants and 6 wealth available, unless someone presents compelling purchase to be made now.

>>5429809
>>Guard Tower, Costs 10 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Southern Alterac Mountains
>Scout Tower, Costs 4 Wealth, Darrow Hill

It is crucial that our mines are well-protected, we can resolve our supply deficit next season, it is of lower priority.

>>5429809
>Improved Farms, +2 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Windmill, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, The Headland
>Scout Tower, Costs 4 Wealth, Sofera’s Naze

>>5429848
>leaving 5 peasants and 6 wealth available
Why do you want to save that much wealth? Unspent wealth is wasted wealth, not spending all our wealth only slows our growth down. We're not saving up for anything at the moment.

>>5429872
you're not wrong that wealth is best invested in something with tangible benefits but we have in the past missed opportunity by not having money on hand when for instance Kris showed up with stock of utility items and in Stormwind were only saved by Jaina lending us.

>>5429898
>and in Stormwind were only saved by Jaina lending us.

If I remember correctly that was because we didn't bring enough money with us, not because we didn't have enough wealth.

>>5429906
Nope. We were dry.

>>5429906
Yep, Alric was without any coin back then. Now though with your personal budget being available, situations like having to ask Jaina to pay for clothing shouldn't happen anymore. I will presume that you have the coin for purchases like that.

But if I give you an option to buy items or other things with a Wealth cost, your personal budget won't help you there.

>>5429809
>Guard Tower, Costs 10 Wealth and 10 Peasants, Southern Alterac Mountains
>Windmill, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, The Headland
I want to put the plug on the supply situation, but I want to secure our border and the mine as it's a massive source of income and our economy relies on it a lot. We can for a bit buy supplies with our wealth for a bit if need be, but if we lose our wealth source we'll be in VERY dire straits

Alright so we have an interesting tie. Two votes for Improved Farms in The Headland, two votes for Guard Tower in Southern Alterac Mountains and three votes for the Windmill in The Headland. In addition the Scout Tower got two votes, but in different places.

So I need a tiebreaker to see what is the final decision as you don't have enough Wealth or Peasants for both the Guard Tower or the Improved Farms. Not forgetting the Scout Tower.

>>5430703
I'd be fine with building a scout tower with the reserve money for the security concerns if that makes it any easier for you

>>5430707
Yeah that settles it, the winning combination through the votes given to Scout Tower is:

>Improved Farms, +2 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Windmill, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, The Headland
>Scout Tower, Costs 4 Wealth, Sofera’s Naze

Maybe the next time for the Guard Tower. I will start writing the update.

>Improved Farms, +2 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Windmill, +1 Supply, Costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants, The Headland
>Scout Tower, Costs 4 Wealth, Sofera’s Naze


“We need to tackle our supply issues. The twenty new crossbowmen will have to be covered by building a windmill to Dawnholme and investing coin into our farms.” You said and continued. “With our remaining coin, we will build scout towers into Sofera’s Naze. Our soldiers could then keep a proper watch on the King’s Road, the mountains, Strahnbrad Hills and a bit on what is going on in Tarren Mill.”

“That is going to bleed our treasury nearly dry Prince Alric.” Garside said to you. “But it will be worth it, I will inform Master Pelija and we will get to work immediately.”

This should ease up your supply situation somewhat and while the scout towers cannot defend themselves, their mere presence and ability to see further away is going to deter potential attackers and aggressors. Not forgetting the fact that now your people would have a permanent reminder that they are protected and watched by your military.

“And I think with that note unless anyone has anything else to say, this meeting is over.” You said to your officers and advisors.

None of them had anything worthwhile to say or just shook their heads.

“Alright, then let's get back to work.

…

Life in Dawnholme found its rhythm in the week after the Council meeting. You would wake up early and spend the day either doing the necessary paperwork, continuing your studies that you have nearly finished or spending whatever little spare time you ended up having in sparring with Malevus.

As the weather turned to worse, you found yourself spending a lot more time inside the manor. Eligius had moved some of his papers and scrolls there as well as he was your scribe. Even if it annoyed Garside somewhat to have a warlock in his home, the help from Eligius with the paperwork was appreciated. And when Malevus, who normally doesn’t complain a lot, also joined the two of you because it was too cold outside, Eligius had someone with whom he could practise speaking and writing elvish or thalassian as the language is called by the elves themselves.

A highlight of one rather boring day was when you received letters from Calia. The one with the usual “how are you doing, I am doing fine” you put aside quickly as you dug into the more personal one sent by her handmaid and delivered to you by Malevus.

1/3

>>5430783

Getting to read what Calia had been doing in more detail made you feel happy and warm as you imagined her voice in your head. Calia had been worried about you and your health, especially as she knew the dangers being on a campaign would have. But at the same time she knew that you would be fine and you would get through it. For her the past several weeks and months hadn’t been that good. The official duties with Arthas having left for Dalaran to study, and as you understood it to court Jaina, started to pile up to Calia. She found them awfully dull, but as the only young Menethil in the city, they were something she had to do. But Calia soldiered through them as she always thought about you, if Alric could survive a military campaign, so would she survive a few dull meetings and ceremonies. You were sure of that too, but what worried you was that she described herself feeling a bit weak and tired sometimes. Calia wondered if it was just stress from all the work and that resting a bit should be enough for her to get better.

You read the letter time after time as you laid on your bed. You wished to be with her, but you knew that was impossible right now. You needed patience, both you and Calia.

…

During the evenings as the cold wind and snow blasted the manor and frost gathered on the windows, you spend your time writing letters. First the letters to Calia that you really took your time with as you wanted to describe everything that had happened in your life to her, then one to Jaina describing the news, one to Mayor Fowley thanking him for the success that the market fair in Dawnholme had been and finally the show of support to Beric and a letter to Lady Katrana telling her more details about the trade and how eager you were to see the results.

And speaking of Lady Katrana, it was that evening when Lady Nalice returned from whatever duties she had elsewhere. When she knocked on the door of your study and entered it, it didn’t look like the snowstorm outside had affected her a single bit. And when the door closed behind her, with a snap of her fingers her clothes that were disguised as scholars robes turned back into the exotic black armour she was wearing when you met her.

“Good evening Lady Nalice.” You said and stood up from your chair. Thankfully you had finished the letters so you stashed them away. “Please sit down, do you want anything to drink?”

Lady Nalice looked at you before she kneeled and performed a very deep curtsy.

“Prince Alric Perenolde, I have returned back to Dawnholme.” Nalice said with her aristocratic accent in her voice before standing up. “And yes, if my Prince has anything good to offer.”

You allowed her to sit down as you went and retrieved a bottle of Alteraci Brandy. You had been drinking this stuff more often lately and you were quite sure that Lady Nalice hadn’t drunk it before. How potent it was might surprise her.

2/3

File: Nalice.png (776 KB, 449x813)

776 KB PNG

>>5430788

“How did your trip to elsewhere go? Succeeded in your business?” You said and poured her a small cup.

“Thank you for asking Prince Alric.” Nalice said to you and took a careful sip of the brandy. A faint smile appeared on her face, she seemed to like it. “It went well.”

“That is good to hear.” You said to her and leaned back on your chair. “I presume you came to speak with me about Eligius and his training?”

“That would be correct.” Nalice said and took another careful sip of the brandy. “He is a dutiful student, works really hard and tries not to disappoint me.”

You had gotten the same idea from how Eligius had described the first few weeks of his training.

“It seems I made the right choice of who I would have as my spymaster then.” You said to her.

“Prince Alric, you certainly did choose the right person, he hasn’t let me down yet.” Nalice said and gave you a faint smile.

Now though she was here and enjoying your brandy. You knew about her what she had told you, but that wasn’t in the end that much. With Nalice sitting right there, maybe you could probe some answers from her?


>Eligius and his spymaster training. How is it going, what will happen next and what kind of activities they are going to be doing?
>Eligius and him being taught more in the warlock arts. What can you expect from that?
>Foreman Davis and him embezzling the building materials. What does Lady Nalice think about it and what would they be doing next?
>Ask about your Dragonclaw Ring that you got from Lady Katrana. What is the ring exactly, as it has a faint taint of shadow magic on it and it is potentially enchanted?
>Lady Nalice herself is still a bit of a mystery. How did she end up serving Lady Katrana, where did she learn all this magic if she isn't a student from Dalaran? And is she really ready to do anything you order her to do?
>Ask about Lady Katrana. What is the deal with her, what is she after? If she wants you so much, what makes you so special compared to everyone else in Stormwind?
>Other, write in

>>5430796
>>Foreman Davis and him embezzling the building materials. What does Lady Nalice think about it and what would they be doing next?

>>5430796
I'm thinking we can ask Eligius's training the man himself. I'd like to ask her about
>Her perspective on various schools of magic, as she appears to be familiar with wider range to what magic users tend to be

I suppose that could well segue (or be segued to from)
>about Lady Nalice herself

And then
>Ask her about her impression of these lands, if she sees any threats or opportunities we may have overlooked

I'm a bit unsure about gossiping about Katrana with her seeing as we are in touch with her via letters. The foreman business we should probably deal with directly with Eligius.

Asking about the dragonclaw ring if it comes up during conversation might be good too, like 'why this particular choice', or what other symbolism could it represent.

>>5430796
>>Foreman Davis and him embezzling the building materials. What does Lady Nalice think about it and what would they be doing next?
>>Ask about your Dragonclaw Ring that you got from Lady Katrana. What is the ring exactly, as it has a faint taint of shadow magic on it and it is potentially enchanted?
>>Lady Nalice herself is still a bit of a mystery. How did she end up serving Lady Katrana, where did she learn all this magic if she isn't a student from Dalaran? And is she really ready to do anything you order her to do?
Tempted about the gossip, maybe next

>>5430796
>Foreman Davis and him embezzling the building materials. What does Lady Nalice think about it and what would they be doing next?

>>5430788
>she described herself feeling a bit weak and tired sometimes
pregnancy foreshadowing? unless qm is a master baiter...

>>5430796
>Foreman Davis and him embezzling the building materials. What does Lady Nalice think about it and what would they be doing next?

"Eligius and I spoke about Davis and we decided to keep following him. Catching him and outing him now would be easy, but I want to know to whom he sells all those materials he has embezzled." You said to Nalice. You thought about gossip and talking about her or Lady Katrana, but chose to stay on topic. "Lady Nalice, what do you think of this? I want to hear it from you."

Nalice shifted his attention back to you from the brandy.

"Davis is a typical crook… someone who thinks that they are smart enough to get away with what they are doing, but don't realise the truth." Nalice said and continued. "Davis and people of his kind don't realise that they aren't the ones on top. It is us who know where to look and keep our eyes open."

"I didn't agree on sanctifying his actions, allowing him to keep stealing from me, even if the end result was in my benefit, was something I couldn't allow." You said to Nalice.

"There are two things about people like him. First is that they think that they can get away with whatever they are doing." She said to you and took another sip of the brandy. "Second is that when they realise that they are caught, they will do anything to preserve their position and status."

"So you are saying that he would have done it? Accepted our offer?" You said as you were sceptical about it.

"Yes, they all tend to act quite similarly." Nalice said back.

"I will keep that in mind." You mused aloud and continued. "Keep watching Davis, I want to know more about him."

"Prince Alric, you will get the results you want… Davis will be a very good lesson for Eligius, a good example of the people he will have to deal with after the training is done." Nalice said and smiled as she finished her drink. "Thank you for the brandy, it was very good."

"It was my pleasure to talk with you Lady Nalice." You said and stood up.

"Oh no, the pleasure was mine. Not often I get to speak with someone like you." Nalice said and again with a snap of her fingers, her exotic black armour took the disguise of a scholar's robes. "My Prince, we should do this more often."

"You know where to find me." You said back to her as she left your study.

Lady Nalice was still a mystery to you, but you had the feeling that she knows what she is doing. Having her around here could prove to be useful in more ways than in just training Eligius.

1/2

>>5432346

The snow continued to fall, but that didn't stop the Stonemason’s and the workers as they started to lay the foundations for the windmill and the towers that were to be built. Campfires were burned to melt the snow and prevent the ground from freezing as under the supervision of Master Pelija, large wooden piledrivers were set up to ram logs deep into the dirt.

Master Pelija had explained to you that by ramming the logs into the ground, the foundations were a lot less likely to sink. If he was going to build something, he would build it to last. Even if the towers were to fall, the foundations would hold and stay intact.

As you watched the work, you finally received a message you had been eagerly waiting for. A letter from Jaina telling you that the armour you had ordered from Melondras was finally finished. You could now travel to Dalaran to see what kind of a masterpiece it would be and you would have an excuse to potentially meet with important people while visiting the city.

Though before you left, you would have to think how would you carry yourself? How much attention would you want to have?


>You and Malevus. People don't even need to know that you are there.
>Just Malevus and your bodyguards. There is no need to hide, but no need to attract much attention either.
>Bodyguards and a squad of footmen, a small escort fit to a Prince. People should know that you are there.
>Proper escort, you are a Prince of Alterac visiting your neighbouring kingdom. Carry yourself like a royalty. Full attention.
>Other, write in

>>5432349
>Proper escort, you are a Prince of Alterac visiting your neighbouring kingdom. Carry yourself like a royalty. Full attention.

>>5432349
>>Proper escort, you are a Prince of Alterac visiting your neighbouring kingdom. Carry yourself like a royalty. Full attention.

>>5432349
>>Proper escort, you are a Prince of Alterac visiting your neighbouring kingdom. Carry yourself like a royalty. Full attention.

>>5432349
>>Proper escort, you are a Prince of Alterac visiting your neighbouring kingdom. Carry yourself like a royalty. Full attention.
Time to take our prince armor, now people will not mistake us for a sellsword. Unless we want to go undercover with our old platemail.
Which i want to keep with us.
Both for remember old times, in case our new armor needs repairs time to time and in case we want to go scouting undercover.

>>5432349
>Just Malevus and your bodyguards. There is no need to hide, but no need to attract much attention either.
I see no reason to show off, or to stretch our already thin forces further on a show we cannot back with muscle.

>>5432349
>Just Malevus and your bodyguards. There is no need to hide, but no need to attract much attention either.

>>5432349
>Just Malevus and your bodyguards. There is no need to hide, but no need to attract much attention either.

>>5432349
>Just Malevus and your bodyguards. There is no need to hide, but no need to attract much attention either. We know there's an assassin trying to kill us, thus some protection is needed.
Also, we're coming to get an armor, not do a political ploy - no parades for us.

I will be writing the update later, but before it I would like to have a tiebreaker please. I can’t really work with this tie.

>>5432909
>>5432362
>Just Malevus and your bodyguards. There is no need to hide, but no need to attract much attention either.
changing my vote then.

There was no need to take a heavy escort on foot or make your presence in the city a big thing. With you, Malevus, Sir Gravis and his knights all on horseback, it would be faster to travel as well.

Sure that would be a bit light in terms of the escort knowing that someone from the Syndicate was looking to assassinate you. But moving fast and hoping that the winter covered you, the chance that the assassin would strike was quite low. At least you hoped that it would be low.

While you were away Garside would be in charge. He knew the projects and what was going on in Alterac and in Dawnholme. You briefly spoke with Eligius and reminded him to be careful with Davis. Eligius had already planned how to follow and spy on him with Lady Nalice which was good to hear.

Though one thing you would be missing. The market fair in Tarren Mill was supposed to happen in a few days and while you had wanted to go see how it would go, you were sure that even in your absence Beric could organise it all.

…

You left early in the morning to not waste any daylight. The days had grown shorter as the winter arrived and in the past two weeks it had snowed a lot, maybe even two feet of fresh snow that the stiff winds had then blown all around the land.

Frankly it made the fingers of Hillsbrad beautiful. The snow and frost covered the trees and the Alterac Mountains loomed in the distance and looked majestic while being all white. And when you had a chance to look down towards Southshore, you saw how the snow had covered the land there as well.

For Malevus this was something very new. Apparently the winters didn't hit Quel’Thalas that hard and she had never seen so much snow before. You had to explain to her that even if the snow had decorated the land, a strong winter like this could be a very dangerous adversary. Avalanches could happen in the mountains, the snow might blind you, blizzards could even cover small houses and getting caught outside without proper clothes could be very dangerous.

That is why all six of you were wearing your winter clothes. Sheepskin coats kept you all warm and hid the partial armour you were wearing underneath it, while fur caps kept your heads warm. For you the silk scarf Calia had given to you proved to be extremely handy as it covered your throat.

Thankfully for the duration of the two day ride to Dalaran, the weather stayed mostly clear.

1/2

>>5433101

The winter had also arrived in Dalaran, just not as strongly as back home. It was early evening when you reached the city and you could see the walls and battlements being covered in snow and frost, with the soldiers in patrols having their heavy woollen cloaks wrapped around them.

The guards at the gate greeted you. They had been informed that you would be most likely arriving in a day or two. You were informed that the same house where you had stayed previously had been reserved for you, and you thought that Jaina had been very thoughtful having prepared all this ready.

Then one of the guards told you that they were acting under the orders from Prince Kael'thas. Apparently he had made sure that the house was free and the guards had been informed about your arrival.

"Prince Alric, are we going to go to the house or do you have anything else in your mind?" Malevus asked you after you had left your horses and knights behind.

That was a good question, it wasn’t that late yet so you had some time to spend. It wouldn’t be probably till tomorrow when you see Jaina and get to see your new armour. This meant that you had an evening to spend without any real responsibilities or a need to be anywhere.


>There must be a tavern or an inn in Dalaran. Surely the people of Dalaran go out to drink? Hearing the local rumours would be a plus too.
>Go see Jaina, you didn’t get a proper chance to talk in Capital City and seeing how your friend is doing would be nice to know.
>Prince Kael'thas must have a reason why he organised all this. Attempt to find him and see what you could learn.
>Withdraw to your residence and prepare for tomorrow. Two days of riding has left you somewhat tired.
>Other, write in

QM: Last option is basically a timeskip till tomorrow.

>>5433103
>>Prince Kael'thas must have a reason why he organised all this. Attempt to find him and see what you could learn.

>>5433103
>Prince Kael'thas must have a reason why he organised all this. Attempt to find him and see what you could learn.
Might as well show we’re appreciative of the hospitality.

>>5433103
>Prince Kael'thas must have a reason why he organised all this. Attempt to find him and see what you could learn.

>>5433103
>Prince Kael'thas must have a reason why he organised all this. Attempt to find him and see what you could learn.
More Kael action is great, plus we could use some male friends.

>>5433103
>Prince Kael'thas must have a reason why he organised all this. Attempt to find him and see what you could learn.

Don’t go somewhere arthas might be whatever we do

>>5433590
Man, Arthas is going to ascend into a salt elemental at this rate.
Imagine if Kael wants us to wingman for him in courting Jaina and we agree.

Maybe he won't even need frostmourne to turn.

>>5433103
>>5433103
>>Prince Kael'thas must have a reason why he organised all this. Attempt to find him and see what you could learn.
talking, trade ?
want to visit Alterac (unspecified day) ?

>>5433590
we don't have an Arthas radar for detect him, so we will likely see him. depends if we roll lol

Visiting Kael'thas is the easy winner. So give me a roll.


>1d10
>Taking the second roll

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>5433616
Time to see our best friend arthas!

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>5433616
yo arthas, and by yo i mean fuck you !

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5433616

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“Prince Kael’thas must have a reason why he had alerted the guards and reserved the house for me. I don’t think he would be a person who would do things like this without a reason.” You said to Malevus.

“We are going to go and meet with him?” Malevus said back to you.

“Yes, but first there is one thing we have to do.” You said.

“What is it Prince Alric?” Malevus asked.

“We are going to ask for directions, I have no idea where he is living.” You said and laughed.

…

>4


Thankfully the guards managed to help you. You had heard the stories how the people of Dalaran were quite reserved and liked to stay away from the rest of the Lordaeron and concentrate on their own business. You did respect that somewhat, they just wanted to be left alone and do magic, but the rest of the world forced them to be more active.

You were guided to the centre of the city towards the Violet Citadel and there towards one of the smaller spires. That spire supposedly was the home of Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider. Quite a home compared to your own, but it would lose to the old palace in Alterac City.

Or that was what you thought as the familiar feeling of entering a place that felt bigger from inside, the same feeling that you had felt when you visited the Barovs, happened again. The spire was bigger from inside. And it was way more opulent than the old palace.

Leaving the winter coats and hats in the care of the servants, two of you were guided up the stairs into a grand library.

“Prince Alric! You arrived here fast.” Kael’thas said to you as he saw the two of you enter his library and he put down a grimoire he had been reading. He was wearing a very opulent and complicatedly embroidered red robe and looked as regal as an elven Prince could ever look. And he wasn’t alone.

“Hello Alric!” Jaina said and raced to give you a light hug. “I didn’t know that you would come here this early.”

“I got your letter three days ago.” You said and returned the hug. “How have you been?”

“I have been well and thank you for the letters you have sent. I got worried when I read about the battles you have been in, but seeing you here has washed those worries away.” Jaina said as she let you go from her hug.

“Well you have to thank Malevus for that.” You said to her with a chuckle.

“What do you mean?” Jaina asked you as you hadn’t mentioned the fact that you nearly died in your letters to her.

1/3

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>>5433652

Jaina and you then heard someone clearing their throat rather loudly. Of course it was rude of you to completely forget that you were here to visit Kael’thas and not to exchange pleasantries with Jaina.

“Ahh yes, I will leave the two of you now. I presume Kael wants to talk with you Alric?” Jaina said to you.

“That would be correct Lady Jaina.” Kael’thas said to her.

“Then we will see tomorrow, I will have Melondras to set up everything in my apartment. Then someone will come to pick you up.” Jaina said with a smile.

“Thank you Jaina, see you tomorrow then.” You said to her and waved to her as she left.

“Jaina, remember your studies. Lord Antonidas won’t be happy if you haven’t done your homework.” Kael’thas said to her.

“I will remember. Don’t you worry about my studies Kael.” Jaina said with her smile still on her face as she left the library.

Kael’thas sighed deeply as it seemed that you had interrupted him and Jaina. Kael’thas seemed to have involved himself in teaching Jaina and helping Lord Antonidas through that, unless…

“She needs to remember to concentrate on her studies. The raw potential is there, one day she might even surpass Lord Antonidas.” Kael’thas mused aloud before turning his attention to you. He then gave you and Malevus a polite nod. “And greetings Lady Malevus…Prince Alric, do you know that your squire happens to be a noblewoman?”

“In fact I do. It doesn’t change anything.” You said back to him.

“Ahh, in that case you will find yourself lucky to have Lady Malevus Silverthread with you. Her family are renowned tailors and couturiers.” Kael’thas said to you and continued. “I am sorry, but I let my desire to know more overtake me.”

Malevus seemed a bit taken back due to Kael’thas having managed to find that all out.

“Lady Malevus, if you are wondering how I realised all this, it is because you look exactly like your mother did when she was younger.” Kael’thas said to her. “Would you like to enter into my service as I would love to have a Silverthread as one of my servants?”

“My place is with Prince Alric, so the answer will be no… I am sorry Prince Kael’thas.” Malevus said back to him and from the tone of her voice she seemed to be disrespected for him even having asked that.

“Please Prince Kael’thas, don’t go and try to poach my squire. Finding a replacement that could fill her boots would be too much of a hassle.” You said back to him. “She is too precious for me to lose her.

“As I said Prince Alric, you are a lucky man to have her.” Kael’thas said to you and smiled. “But enough of that, thank you for coming to see me.”

>>5433653

“I presume you had a reason for having organised all this, warned the guards and reserved the house?” You asked him.

“I did Prince Alric because I wanted to speak with you.” He said and walked across the library and signalled you to follow him in a room that seemed to be his office. “Any wine?”

“Yes please.” You said to him. “So what do you want to talk about?”

“The Syndicate. I need to thank you for telling me about them when we met a few months ago. Since then I have raised the subject amongst my peers and Dalaran has decided to be more proactive with dealing with them.” Kael’thas said to you and handed a goblet of wine to you.

“That is good to hear, how is Dalaran going to act against them?” You had to ask him.

“Oh you are mistaken, Dalaran is not going to be doing anything themselves as long as the Syndicate doesn’t cause a direct threat against us.” Kael’thas said back to you. “Now what Dalaran might do is to get someone else to dirty their hands instead of us having to do it.”

“And that person would be me.” You knew the answer immediately.

“That would be correct. The Council of Six might have work for you in the future, that is if you are willing to get your hands dirty.” Kael’thas said to you. “Of course Dalaran would reward you greatly.”

That was an offer which you hadn’t expected. Becoming a lackey of Dalaran, which this offer basically would turn you could bring you honour and wealth, not forgetting forging a better relationship between you and the Magocracy of Dalaran. But it would also mean that Dalaran could have unduly influence over you and the matters of Alterac, also how would other Kingdoms of the Alliance see this if and when they would learn about this.

“Do you know what you sometimes called Prince Alric? You are called a Warrior-Prince of Alterac, because nearly every time we hear about you, it is because you have fought in a battle or won a great fight.” Kael’thas said to you. “And I know that not always those battles are for the betterment of your people, but for profit. I also might have another request for you.”


>Accept the offer, the work the Council of Six might have for you is too good to be missed.
>Cooperation with the Council of Six is a good idea, directly working for them is not. You need to know what you would be doing.
>Decline, you won't work for the Council of Six and the matters of the Syndicate are for you to deal with. After all, their leader is your brother and you don’t want Dalaran to have too big of a say of what you are doing.

>>5433654
>Cooperation with the Council of Six is a good idea, directly working for them is not. You need to know what you would be doing.
We'd like to be a good neighbour and we'll be especially happy to cooperate with Dalaran on the topic of syndicate. It would look bad for us to work like a mercenary, but we will give every request, offer and suggestion from the council its due attention.

Honestly if they pointed out syndicate activity that bothers them from Alterac territory we'd be obligated to intervene as our capabilities permit if we're to be considered to be in control of our realm. If they are willing to participate albeit indirectly in supporting our efforts to establish security in the region, that's all good. But we'll read the fine print on any deal.

>>5433654
>Cooperation with the Council of Six is a good idea, directly working for them is not. You need to know what you would be doing.
Kael give the details now.
But sure, even if there is some stuff that is directly Alteraci affairs. Really personal stuff, i imagine the council and him can agree on that. A few questions for him : would be Dalaran willing to trade with us, and not bother with that edict and the growth of our army ? We really want to do our reconquest.
Ah so they know about our deal with Blackmoore. Someone has seen or talked of it. Or they just imagined it has plausible.

>>5433663
I consider it an unfortunate necessity, but receiving those coins has helped us a lot. The deal with Blackmoore was very useful for us, and his gifts were too.
If the council can offer more with certain conditions that we can agree on, i wouldn't mind. Is more money we can send toward our army and construction in our lands for grow stronger.
At a certain point we will not need it anymore, when we can flex our military muscles and remind everyone we aren't weak anymore. Or when we take back our homeland they will realize it on their own.
Also i like the name they have give Alric, should grow his prestige and renown.

>>5433654
>Cooperation with the Council of Six is a good idea, directly working for them is not. You need to know what you would be doing.

We may listen to them but they will not order us around.

>>5433654
>Cooperation with the Council of Six is a good idea, directly working for them is not. You need to know what you would be doing.
Alrics alterac is effectively an independent nation we may cooperate but not serve.

>>5433654
>>Cooperation with the Council of Six is a good idea, directly working for them is not. You need to know what you would be doing.

No update today. I will try to get it out tomorrow and maybe then Alric will be the new happy owner of a glorious masterwork armour.

“I can cooperate with you and the Council of Six, but I need to know what they want me to do. I cannot agree on doing something I don't know anything about." You said and shrugged. "I can’t buy a pig in a poke."

"I understand, but how are pigs related to this?" Kael'thas said back.

"Just an Alteraci saying. Prince Kael'thas, you can tell your peers that I am definitely interested in cooperation, the terms just need to be reasonable." You told him.

"I will tell them that, maybe we can work something together on a later date." He said. "But I plan on being present tomorrow, not often you get to witness a new masterpiece from Melondras."

"Then we will see tomorrow. Good night Prince Kael'thas."

"Good night Prince Alric."

…

The late evening had arrived and the clouds had covered the sky. But in Dalaran the streets were lit by light emitting crystals that hovered over their pedestals.

You hadn’t really thought about it when you visited the city last time how advanced the city seemed to be. Magic was everywhere, even more mundane things like the street lights were done with it. You couldn’t even imagine what kind of wards and enchantments the walls and towers might have. The city seemed impenetrable.

"So Lady Malevus Silverthread, If I were to ask you to sew something for me, would you do it?" You asked Malevus as two of you walked the empty streets.

"I guess." Malevus said and sighed loudly.

"Why didn't you tell me about your family before?" You asked her as you were a bit disappointed about her not telling you about this before.

"Because Prince Alric, I didn't want to make you think that I am some high noble that deserves special attention." Malevus said back to you.

"But a family of couturiers, you know how to sew and make clothes right?" You asked her.

"Everyone in our family knows, I just find it awfully dull and boring." Malevus said as the two of you entered the house you had stayed in before.

You saw that your saddlebags had been brought here and a short note was placed next to them. Everything in the house was ready for your use.

"Prince Alric, I need to ask you something, to promise me something." Malevus said and looked you in the eyes.

"What is it Malevus?" You asked and waited for her to continue.

"Please don't tell the others that I am a Lady or who my family is. I am Lady Malevus Silverthread in Quel’Thalas and I wanted to leave that life behind. Let me just be Malevus, squire for Prince Alric." Malevus said and you saw in her eyes that she meant every word of it.

"You do understand that your family name seems to carry a lot of weight and if you used your full name, it could open a lot of doors for you?" You said back to her. "Prince Kael'thas seems to think that is the case and I don't think he was lying to me."

"I do, so Prince Alric can you promise me that?" Malevus asked you again.

1/1

>>5435632

>Yes, you won't raise it up. Though Malevus must be ready for being just a commoner then if that is what she wants.
>No, but there is no need for anything to change. You are still going to beat her during sparring and her duties don't change.
>No, you cannot promise that. In fact you expect her to tell others what her background is, it is too big of a thing to keep as a secret.
>Other, write in.

QM: Bit shorter update due to lack of time. And a definitely very serious question for you my dear players.

Prince Kael'thas is made for...

>>5435634
>Other, write in.
Promise to not bring it up or treat her any diffrently. but say but we wont lie for her if anyone asks for her true heritage.

>>5435632
Promise her to not drop her disguise unless she chooses to or not doing so would put her in danger

>>5435634
>>No, you cannot promise that. In fact you expect her to tell others what her background is, it is too big of a thing to keep as a secret.

We're a prince, it makes sense for our squire to be a noble and not a commoner.

>>5435640
Support

>>5435634
Support >>5435640
Also Kael is for throwing fish at

>>5435634
>No, but there is no need for anything to change. You are still going to beat her during sparring and her duties don't change.

>>5435640
Support

>>5435634
.... playing 5d chess

"I promise not to bring it up or treat you any differently, but I won't lie for you if people ask about your family." You said to Malevus. "Is that fair?"

"It is Prince Alric." Malevus said back and seemed to be content about the solution. "Thank you Prince Alric."

"Now if you don’t have anything else, it's better if we went to sleep. Tomorrow most likely is a long day." You said back to her.

"Understood Prince Alric." Malevus said and nodded.

As you walked upstairs towards your room, you thought about her. It seemed that she really disliked her life in Quel’Thalas, and due to that didn't want to use her status at all. While her private life wasn't your concern, it still was. She was after all your squire.

…

Next morning went fast. You had the servants make you and Malevus a breakfast and you took a bath to be as clean as possible. Standing in front of a mirror after the bath, you examined the several scars on your body. The one on your chest was still quite fresh looking, but most of the small scars you had gotten through the years were either unnoticeable or had already faded away. You had been lucky in avoiding getting hit and cut by blades, but your left arm had gotten a proper beating carrying the shield. You need to be more careful in the future.

You thought about doing something to your hair. Your black hair had already passed your shoulders and as you tidied your moustache, you thought that maybe you should cut your hair shorter too? In the end you decided against it, you could do it later. And besides you liked your long hair.

…

Jaina had sent a man to inform you that everything was ready and after throwing on your winter jacket, you made your way to where Jaina lived. Entering her apartment, you immediately saw that you weren’t the first one to arrive, in fact you were the last.

"Prince Alric." Arthas greeted you.

"Prince Arthas." You said back.

You could travel to Northrend and find a place warmer than the greeting Arthas gave to you. Thankfully the awkward silence was interrupted by the third Prince in the room.

"Good morning Prince Alric, today is the big day." Kael'thas said to you.

"Yes, you did say that not always you get to see a new masterpiece from Melondras." You said back to him.

"Precisely." Kael'thas said back. "Many of his finest works are held by our best knights or Magisters. It was a huge shame and a loss to us when he moved here hundreds of years ago."

"Jaina has praised his work a lot so of course I had to come and see what is so special about it." Arthas replied.

"Soon you will understand Prince Arthas." Kael'thas said with a smile. From the tone of his voice it was clear to you that there was something between them.

A door leading further into Jaina's apartment opened and an old elf walked through it.

"Gentlemen, Princes. It seems our honoured guest has arrived." Melondras said to all of you. "Please follow me."

1/2

>>5436693

"Hi!" Jaina greeted you and was beaming with happiness. She was wearing her usual purple robe over her normal clothes. "I saw a glimpse of it when it was brought in and you three are going to be amazed when you see it."

There were a pair of armour racks in the corner of what seemed to be Jaina's study and they were covered by a white cloth. A pair of assistants stood there waiting for the orders from Melondras.

"Thank you for coming. Not always I get a chance to present an armour to a Prince while three other heirs of their Kingdoms are watching." Melondras said and you could see and hear how proud he was.

"Then let us see what you have made for me." You said because you couldn’t wait any longer, the armour you had been waiting for was just there.

"Then we shall." Melondras said and walked to the still covered racks.

"I like to describe my work as the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. And this is exactly that. Made from mithril and truesilver alloy, it is both lighter and stronger compared to ordinary steel or even normal mithril. Getting the alloy just right is the hardest part in the process of making the armour, but when it is finished, we have a perfect base to continue the work.

Stylised after the high elven armours of old, but with a blend of modern human techniques, the armour is one of my finest. And it's name is Aurvan'kal, The Morning Star."

As Melondras said its name, he pulled off the cloth covering the armour, revealing it in all of its glory.

"It is beautiful." You managed to be the first to say anything.

The helmet was tall and made in the high elven style, the breastplate and the pauldrons were trimmed with gold and stylised with golden dragons. There even were three orange gems socketed into the breastplate and your mountain lion pelt covered the shoulders with the head resting on top of the left pauldron.

But what made the armour peculiar was a long robe with short elbow length sleeves which was covered in small scales that hid the rest of the armour nearly completely beneath it.

Though this wasn't everything that was revealed. Next to it a mannequin was wearing a new black arming jacket and trousers, probably intended to be worn with the armour. And there was a tall kite shield next to it. It just like everything else was silver in colour and it was trimmed and decorated with a large golden motif of a dragon.


>Ask to try to wear it.
>The gems and truesilver, is the armour magical in nature?
>Just let Melondras explain everything, you are lost for words.
>Other, write in.

>>5436695
>Just let Melondras explain everything, you are lost for words.
Let the master enjoy his moment. Maybe ask if it seems he’s waiting for compliments or questions.

>>5436737
+1

>>5436695
>>5436737
Support.

It's funny how there's dragon motifs on it, considering our patron. Not that Alric knows this of course.

>>5436737
support

>>5436737
support let's see
funny that there is so many heirs and princes in one single room.

>>5436695
>Just let Melondras explain everything, you are lost for words.
Oh no, not the silly high helmets~ From the description it sounds a bit like the Spellbreaker armors but silver in color, is that about right? What about the robe?

"Master Melondras, what you have created is indescribable. I am lost for words." You said to the ancient elf.

"Oh thank you Prince Alric, I aim to create only perfection." Melondras said back to you.

"You know, there are going to be a lot of very jealous knights back home in Quel’Thalas when they hear about this." Kael'thas said and laughed.

"It does look quite good." Arthas said. Even he was impressed.

"It is even more than that, it is glorious." Jaina said.

"And Jaina, thanks to you this is possible." You said to her and you really couldn't hide your happiness. This caused Arthas to give you a funny look.

"Prince Alric, I can explain the design choices in more detail if you want." Melondras said to you.

"Yes please. I would love that."

Melondras didn't require to be encouraged to speak as the proud armourer went and started to explain all the details about the armour.

Sabatons, enclosed greaves, poleyns and cuisses protected the legs. You saw how well the lames articulated, they actually articulated more than your own feet and legs could probably bend. Same applied to the arms. Gauntlets with all fingers articulated, vambraces, couters, rerebraces were all made to protect your arms fully. The same golden trimming had been used here as well and you saw very detailed and intriguing engraving patterns on the silvery metal.

"We elven have preferred our magic, our bows and our swords to deal with our enemies." Melondras said to you and continued. "We have perfected those and we didn't really have a reason to be inventive. That is where you humans come in as you are in such a hurry through your lives that to survive you have to invent new things."

"Are you saying that fully articulated armour for limbs is a human invention?" You said back.

"Yes and I have the lifespan to perfect it. They are going to protect you from strikes from any direction." Melondras finished before continuing his explanation.

The gorget protected the upper shoulders, chest and back with the neck being made from articulated lames that would allow you to look around easily. After this came the most peculiar piece of armour in the suit. The long robe with the elbow length sleeves was supposed to be worn over the arm and leg armour and the arming jacket. The thousands of small scales glimmered in the light and you saw how flexible the robe was even with the scales on. Most surprisingly the scales were somehow attached in the cloth without a blade coming from below being able to get underneath the scales and through the cloth. Guess the scale mail wasn't obsolete yet.

1/3

>>5437371

The robe was white in colour and it too was embroidered with golden thread. The hem on both sides of the split that allowed you to mount a horse was again decorated by the golden dragon motifs. The robes collar was loose and high and you noticed that instead of the robe being made from a single layer of cloth, there were in fact multiple layers. Melondras explained to you that the robe could be worn alone without the rest of the armour and that maybe most importantly the robe was warm during the winter. He had even thought about that when he had the robe made.

The cuirass was made from a single piece with a noticeable tapul. It along with the backplate would protect the torso and the short cap between the cuisses and the cuirass was covered by the faulds. Amongst the engravings and a pair of golden dragons breathing fire was a small hardly noticeable dent. The cuirass had been tested to be bulletproof.

The pauldrons were noticeably pointy and aggressively shaped. They weren't as prominent as the pauldrons worn by paladins or by Arthas, but still they were quite eye-catching. The besagews protected your armpits and the mountain lion pelt rested on top of all this on the pauldrons with the head over the left shoulder. It had been cleaned and repaired, made to look like the lion was still alive. It looked that clean.

"The helmet is what you call a barbute, but with a taller pointier dome. The pair of decorative dragon wings would protect our long ears, but you don't have that problem." Melondras told you and handed you the helmet.

By the Light the helmet was light. Just like every other piece you had handled, it was unnaturally light. The golden dragon wings swept back and you could imagine how they would protect the long ears. You looked at the helmet and its Y-shaped vision slit and had to ask the question that came to your mind.

"Aren't the enclosed helmets like my old bascinet better in terms of protection?" You asked him.

"Yes, but the helmets of this kind have superior vision and ventilation." Melondras said back to you.

The helmet was again trimmed with gold and a long orange tassel had been attached on top of it. There was also another orange gem socketed on the forehead.

"You are looking at the gems. The three on the cuirass and the one on the helmet are citrines. Magically enchanted, they along with the detailed engravings on the mithril-truesilver alloy are what make the armour truly special." Melondras said to you. "You will know when you spar while wearing it for the first time."

Finally there was the tall kite shield. Apparently similar to the shields used by elven Spellbreakers. It wasn’t an ordinary shield, as it was fully made from metal, but yet it was so light. It disturbed you how light it was and you could see how proud Melondras looked when you lifted the shield up.

2/3

>>5437374

"The weight, it is so light." You said and held it with one arm. The round cut on its side matched with the position of your head. You could easily see forward, while hiding behind the shield.

Thinking about it, this armour would protect you greatly. Every piece of your body was either covered in plate or scale and in many cases both. Only weak spots you could thought about were the vision slit on the helmet and a strike coming from beneath you towards your buttocks and groin.

"The Morning Star, it is going to serve you well Prince Alric." Melondras said to you.

"Thank you, this is even more magnificent than I thought it could be." You said back to the elf.

"But I think it is now my time to leave, after all we have been talking for nearly two hours." Melondras said with a smile. "Your friends have already left."

"Wait really?" You said and looked around. It was true. Jaina, Arthas and Kael’thas had all left the room.

"I have left a book with the armour. It has all the instructions. And you know where to find me." Melondras said and bowed. "It was my pleasure and honour to make this armour for you."

"And it will be my honour to wear it." You said back and returned the bow.

…

You really had spent nearly two hours with Melondras going through the finer details of the armour and the process required in making it. And when you followed shortly behind Melondras and returned to the previous room, you saw all three lounging on chairs and sofas.

"You took your sweet time." Arthas said to you.

"Well the armour is quite incredible." You said back to him.

"That is the work of Melondras for you Prince Arthas." Kael'thas said to him.

"What have you been doing in the meanwhile? I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long." You said and sat down.

"Not at all, we were just talking." Kael'thas said.

"Well now that we are all here, could we do something together?" Jaina asked you.

"Jaina, didn't we have…" Arthas tried to say something.

"Arthas, not often there are three Princes in Dalaran." Jaina said to him. "We need to do something together."

"A dinner. That could be easily arranged." Kael'thas suggested. "We could invite some of the archmages to join us."

"That is a good idea, but I was thinking about just the four of us." Jaina said back. "Alric, Arthas what are you thinking?"


>A large dinner with guests from amongst the archmages sounds good.
>A more private one with just four of you sounds great.
>You actually planned on returning back to Dawnholme as soon as possible, skip the dinner invite.
>Other, write in.

QM: The Big Boy Armour has been acquired. Alric basically now has an armour of which equals aren't that many in the world.

>>5437375
Although larger party may be appealing, chance to hang out in less formal setting with Jaina and the lads sounds good.
>A more private one with just four of you sounds great.

Wonder if we should friendzone Jaina if we get the chance and she hasn’t yet caught on? We’re unlikely to get chance to talk about Calia with Arthas right there. And there’s question whether we want even to burden Jaina with that secret.

>>5437375
>A more private one with just four of you sounds great.

>>5437375
>>A large dinner with guests from amongst the archmages sounds good.

>>5437375
>A more private one with just four of you sounds great.

>>5437375
>A more private one with just four of you sounds great.
We should ask our elf to send a nitting gift to her friend servant..... or give us pointers on knitting.

>>5437375
arthas has no chill lmao
>A more private one with just four of you sounds great.
Wonderful armor, and we also got a new shield with it, basically like other princes now.
Beside Epona, but she has been a very good horse not sure i want to replace her now with a more fitting warhorse.

"I like the idea of a dinner for just four of us. Jaina is right, not often all of us are in the same place." You said to them.

"I guess dinner it is." Arthas said and sighed.

"Alright, I will have everything ready come the evening." Jaina said and pushed herself up.

"Good, I will be waiting for that." Kael'thas said. "Meanwhile I will return to my study, there are still things for me to do."

"And I will have my new armour moved to my apartment." You said. "I don’t think Jaina would like to have it laying around here.

"That is settled then, see you later." Jaina said and left to organise the dinner.

...

The assistants that had followed Melondras were nearby and with their help the armour was quickly moved to the house you were staying in.

When Malevus saw the armour, she too was astonished by the quality of the work and how magnificent it was. She was a lot less enthusiastic when you passed her the large book with the maintenance and cleaning instructions. It wouldn’t be an easy task to properly keep the armour clean and tidy.

Now though you had plenty of time to spend before the evening and the dinner. And frankly you didn't know what to do. You could go and see someone or you and Malevus could try to see how the armour is put on. That after all is something you have to do at some point.


>Examine the armour and try wearing it. Spend the afternoon with Malevus and your new armour.
>Go talk with Arthas, the relationship between you and him isn't good and it probably should be better.
>Kael'thas had his own things to do, but you still could discuss things other than the Syndicate.
>Go wander the streets of Dalaran and see if you could find something interesting.
>Other, write in.

>>5437980
>>Go wander the streets of Dalaran and see if you could find something interesting.
Random encounter time!
One that’s hopefully not an assassination attempt. We probably don’t have to worry about the armour being stolen here… or do we?

>>5437985
Oh no, no need to worry about that. Dalaran is a very secure city.

>>5437980
>Go wander the streets of Dalaran and see if you could find something interesting.
Im weak to mystery boxes.

>>5437988
At least until Arthas learns we knocked up his sister.

>>5437980
>Go wander the streets of Dalaran and see if you could find something interesting.
As much as I'd love to bromance and wingman for Kael, if he's got things to do then he'd probably appreciate we leave him to them

>>5437992
Arthas needs to get over himself, that's the future king of the Alteraci-Lordaeronian Commonwealth growing inside his sister.

>>5437980
>Go wander the streets of Dalaran and see if you could find something interesting.

>>5437980
>Go wander the streets of Dalaran and see if you could find something interesting.
should be fun. the armor will be protected by our knights.

>>5437980
>>Examine the armour and try wearing it. Spend the afternoon with Malevus and your new armour.

You didn’t feel like wanting to stay inside the house even with your new armour being just right there ready and waiting to be examined. The reason was simple, the weather was really good. The skies were clear and it wasn’t that windy either.

When you pulled on your sheepskin coat and ventured into the city with Malevus trailing right behind you, you saw that others had the same idea as you did. Today was a perfect day to go around and see what kind of a city Dalaran really is.

Mages, sorceresses, their servants and just normal humans and elfs walked the streets that had been cleared of excess snow. They didn't pay much if any attention to you, to them you were just another citizen on a walk looking for things.

Dalaran really was an exceptionally beautiful and clean city. The buildings were all in tip-top shape, there were no signs of damage from the Second War and generally compared to both Capital City and Stormwind City, Dalaran seemed so tranquil. Of course there were signs of Kirin Tor everywhere and soldiers were standing guard, but you somewhat expected to be under constant surveillance all the time. You had the feeling that Dalaran might want to avoid any threats or runaway magical experiments that they surely must have.

You and Malevus stopped at a tea shop for a moment to drink something warm and the tea shopkeeper thankfully gave you directions. There were plenty of stores in the marketplace that could interest you, but now most importantly you wanted something to eat. The tea shopkeeper suggested a nearby inn that was his favourite place.

The Legerdemain Lounge was just behind a corner and when you entered it, the place was mostly empty. A single elf stood behind the counter and was cleaning a glass when you and Malevus sat down by the counter.

"Greetings, welcome to Legerdemain Lounge. I am Arille, me and my wife run this place, what can I do for you?" The elf bartender asked you.

"Some food for two of us, nothing too heavy and some wine please." You said to him.

The bartender bowed to you and it didn't take long till a pair of bowls of vegetable soup were brought for the two of you. Apparently it was made from all sorts of scraps, odds and ends.

"This is really good!" You said as you were surprised how tasty it was. Maybe a bit too hot for your liking, but really tasty.

"Sir, may I ask, you two aren't from here?" Arille the bartender asked you.

"No we are not, we are just visiting." You said back to him. "How did you realise that?"

"Sir, you don't look like a mage, neither does your bodyguard." Arille said.

"Sharp eyes then. You are right, I am not a mage." You continued conversing with him while eating. Maybe you could learn something new.

"Have you liked our city then?" Arille asked you.

"This is a quite nice place, but I haven't stayed here for that long. I don’t know the places or the people yet." You said back to him.

1/2

>>5438358

"Then Sir, maybe I could help. I have lived here for a quite long time, I know the city and its people." Arille suggested to you.

Yes this was quite a good suggestion from the bartender, now though what does interest you? What people would you like to meet or stores or places would you want to visit?


>Information, rumours, talks of things of intrigue.
>Mercenaries, soldiers and military matters.
>Barter, trade, movement of goods and supplies.
>Magic, books, scrolls and trinkets.

>>5438360
>>Barter, trade, movement of goods and supplies.

>>5438360
> Barter, trade, movement of goods and supplies.
Although, attracting some magic using mercs might be nice too… well, business is good for that too.

>>5438360
>Mercenaries, soldiers and military matters.

>>5438360
>>Mercenaries, soldiers and military matters.
Though the first.....

>>5438360
>Mercenaries, soldiers and military matters.
A city like this should have some good mercs around right?
A sort of related question are we ever gonna have non-human mercenaries im not asking for trolls or ogres but elves and dwarves.

>>5438360
>>Barter, trade, movement of goods and supplies.

>>5438360
>Barter, trade, movement of goods and supplies.
money and supplies, what we are always in need.

>>5438360
>>Information, rumours, talks of things of intrigue.

>>5438496
Yes.


Also can I have a roll as the trade seems to be the one that wins. Just to see who you are going to meet, a bit of flavour. I will write the update later.


>1d10
>Best of three, taking the second roll

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5438818

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>5438818
I do feel like this being one of those things we could ask mutliple questions from and follow up on what we want to do from what we learn.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>5438818

>>5438836
That is actually a very good point. Both trade and mercenaries will be discussed. But that can wait till tomorrow, I am way too knackered to write the update today.

>>5439048 sleep well bro

>10

"Both mercenaries and trade, they are my business." You said to Arille.

"Trade is easier, but mercenaries? You saw the gatehouse and how thoroughly people who enter the city are searched." Arille said to you. "They wouldn’t let mercenaries in without a reason, so Sir the best chance to find mercenaries would be outside the city gates in the taverns and inns there."

"What about the military?" You asked.

"Well the Kirin Tor is in charge here, the Council of Six deciding over many of the military matters. The chance for you to meet them is frankly impossible. But maybe you could meet with representatives of Mages' Guild or Sorcerers' League, they are the two lesser organisations here in Dalaran." Arille told you before leaning forward to make sure that no one else could hear. "Or go beneath the streets, you might find what you need in there."

"Thank you Arille, but what of the trade?" You said and nodded. Did the bartender really tell you to go into the sewers? He probably wouldn't have said that without a reason.

"That's easy Sir, just a few streets away is the Dalaran's Merchant's Guild. They are a reliable group of people and can get you whatever you need." Arille said back.

"Thank you for the information." You said and having finished your bowl of soup, pushed the empty bowl away. "And thank you for the soup, it was delicious."

You left the bartender a few more coppers for the information and for the fact that the soup was really tremendously good.

…

>6

The decision of where to go next was easy. With the Dalaran's Merchants' Guild being just around the corner, visiting the place would be an easy task to achieve.

"Prince Alric, are you sure that 'going beneath the streets' would be smart?" Malevus said and aired her worries about it. "Sounds very fishy to me."

"He must have…" You started to say as in front of you from the door leading to the Merchant's Guild a goblin was thrown out.

"A penniless swindler like you can stay out!" A richly dressed man shouted at the goblin before slamming the door shut.

You watched the goblin stand up and dust the most of the snow and muck off them before putting on a monocle on his left eye. Having been thrown out of the house like that was somewhat comical, but in fact the goblin looked a bit familiar.

"Hey you haven't seen a goblin before?" The bald goblin said to you while irritated about the situation. As the goblin fixed his jacket collar, he seemed to recognise you. "Hey, have I seen you before?"

1/2

>>5439676

"I would ask the same from you." You said back to him.

"Now I know, you are that Alteraci Prince. I saw you in Capital City!" The goblin said to you and straightened his back. "Krix Wiklish, merchant, mechanic and formerly an ambassador of Steamwheedle Cartel at your service."

"Alright." You didn’t know what to say really. The goblin had been just thrown out of a house.

"If you need someone to handle your business, make a lot coin, have your fingers in the goblin trade or just have things built, I am your goblin!" Krix Wiklish said to you and presented himself as well as possible.


>Politely decline, the goblin was called a penniless swindler and probably for a reason. You can't take the goblin seriously.
>Give the goblin a chance to explain himself to you, humouring him wouldn’t probably hurt.
>Krix Wiklish probably wouldn't have attained the position of an ambassador without a reason. Take the goblin seriously.
>Other, write in.

QM: The roll was would you get all the info and who would you end up meeting.

>>5439679
>Give the goblin a chance to explain himself to you, humouring him wouldn’t probably hurt.
Million gold coin question is alric smart enough to not get scammed?

>>5439679
> >Give the goblin a chance to explain himself to you, humouring him wouldn’t probably hurt.
I’d honestly rather have gnomes in Alterac than goblins but maybe we’d be able to work with both. And hopefully there will be no atrocious eugenic experiments in either way.

>>5439679
>Give the goblin a chance to explain himself to you, humouring him wouldn’t probably hurt.

>>5439758
Goblins are a lot more neutral, trade happy, and merc friendly, unlike gnomes. We will probably get stuck with goblins instead of gnomes sadly. Same reason we are with the dark iron dwarves really and cannot expect any elf friends until the Blood Elves. Which is a shame gnomes are a lot saner and less prone to screw you over albeit on purpose or accidentally with their crazy experiments.

>>5439765
I’m somewhat concerned that stereotypical disregard for safety makes goblin engineering not a good base for our industrialization, be it for domestic use or for Alteraci brand as a symbol of reliability. But maybe I’m just being prejudiced. In either case let’s hear him out at least.

>>5439679
>>Politely decline, the goblin was called a penniless swindler and probably for a reason. You can't take the goblin seriously.

>>5439679
>Give the goblin a chance to explain himself to you, humouring him wouldn’t probably hurt.

>>5439807
Goblins are the only ones who can compare with gnomes. Gnomes are a lot more chill and reliable but goblins are the ones who come up with the crazy technological breakthroughs because those guys are nuts and have balls of steel. We are talking about the same group who teamed up with the Horde and consider having literal kamikaze troops/mercs with massive amounts of explosives a legitimate strategy. Goblins are odd in that they are both greedy, backstabby, ballsy, and more than willing to literally blow themselves up for shits and giggles.
Gnomes are safe but investing with Alterac is NOT safe. Goblins on the other hand will always take that bet. Those crazy mofos bet on Fel Orcs with their Fel Horde and got away with it scott free just do it all over again. I myself would prefer gnomes as we won't have to worry about it blowing up in our faces, unlike goblins. Seriously getting ripped off is actually not the greatest concern.

"Alright, present your case to me. What can you offer that no one else can." You said to the goblin. "Now remember, I just saw you getting thrown out and being called a penniless swindler."

"Great, wonderful!" Krix Wiklish said and turned his back to you. Seems like the small green creature needed a few moments to think what to say. Then he turned around and started to speak.

"I am Krix Wiklish, merchant, mechanic and purveyor of advanced technology. What I can offer to you is the tools and inventions of the goblinhood, not forgetting the industrial power that we can provide to you.

Shredders to fell the trees, steam drills to extract metals. Both are plentiful in Alterac and we can collect them for you. Or if you have enemies that you want to get rid of, we have ways for that too! Explosives! Land mines and rockets! Only scorched earth will remain after we are done!

Now if we can't agree on employment, we can still sell you our goods for the right price."

"That's it?" You asked him. You did humour the goblin and he did give you a short spiel.

"Yeah! We can offer many things from our factories to you Alteraci Prince." Krix Wiklish said back. "For the right price of course.

"You said that you are a former ambassador of the Steamwheedle Cartel and they said that you are a penniless swindler. How can I be sure that you could actually provide what I might want?" You said back to him and crossed your arms.

"Because I am trustworthy and my word is worth its weight in gold." The goblin said back.

"Looking at you I don't see any gold." You said and continued. "Malevus, do you see any gold?"

"No Prince Alric, I don't see any gold." She said back to you.

The goblin seemed defeated. He knew that his spiel hadn't worked.

"Look, I am trying to get a job here. Since I was removed from my job as the ambassador, I haven’t managed to find a proper hustle." Krix Wiklish said to you. "I can be your trader, or your mechanic. I can build things for you Alteraci Prince, I can make your problems disappear in big explosions. I just need a workshop and funding for the projects."

You looked at the goblin whose bravado had disappeared nearly completely.

"Just don't beat down someone who has been beaten down already. Others didn't even try to assassinate me when they stripped me off my position!"

You weren’t sure about the goblin. Sure having access to goblin technology would be good and that could help you a lot in many ways, but would it be smart? Would the negatives outweigh the benefits? Goblins, especially the Steamwheedle Cartel carried the stigma of having worked for the Orcish Horde and their technology had the reputation of being volatile and dangerous to their users.

1/1

>>5440277


>The goblin didn't impress you. You are going to pass this time. The negatives do outweigh the positives.
>Hire Krix Wiklish to work as a mechanic for you. He can build you things that you might require and you could use his technological expertise.
>Send Krix Wiklish to Southshore to find Beric. If Beric sees the goblin useful, he might hire him.
>Other, write in.

QM: Good discussion about the goblins.

>>5440278
>>Send Krix Wiklish to Southshore to find Beric. If Beric sees the goblin useful, he might hire him.

>>5440278
>other
Offer to hire him for a probationary period. We'll see his work and can then decide if we want to keep him around or we can part on amicable terms. We could benefit from doing business with steamwheedle further down the line. But whether to keep him on retainer as engineer, we need to assess how dangerous his work is to our own men. If he can contain his desire for volatility he could be a boon though. Boon, not boom.

>>5440278
>Hire Krix Wiklish to work as a mechanic for you. He can build you things that you might require and you could use his technological expertise.
I don't trust this guy near Beric, we could get some useful tech out of him but that's about it.
Maybe mine the entrances to Alterac or get ourselves a spyglass on one of our watchtowers.

>>5440278
>>5440287
Support.
Give him some resources and if he can produce something worthwhile keep him.
Basically a trial run.

>>5440287
This

>>5440278
>Hire Krix Wiklish to work as a mechanic for you. He can build you things that you might require and you could use his technological expertise.

"I will hire you to work as a mechanic to build and produce things that I require." You said and immediately continued. "But but, you are going to be on a probationary period. If I am not happy with what you produce for me or you cause problems to me, then this deal is off. Do you understand that?"

"Yes Alteraci Prince!" Krix Wiklish said back to you.

"Good. Do you have your equipment with you?" You asked.

"Yes, everything is in my cart." Krix Wiklish said.

"Great, then Mr. Wiklish you should travel to Dawnholme and wait for my arrival." You said to him.

"Will do, I won't let you down." Krix Wiklish said and offered his hand.

"Good, because that is a promise." You said back and shook his hand.

You weren’t sure if this all wouldn't just end up as a big mess. Hopefully Dawnholme doesn't burn down in the process.

…

The merchants of the Dalaran's Merchant's Guild were cold and indifferent to you. It could be just because they learned who you were or because they saw you talking with Krix Wiklish from the windows. Either way the men and women of the Guild weren't that receptive, but they were still professionals and you talked with them about trade and economy.

You found out that Dalaran imports the majority of their food and other supplies from elsewhere. That wasn’t good news for you as your own supply situation is not good, but you also learned that Dalaran produces a lot of finished goods and materials of high quality. And if they didn't have something, they could source it for you.

This was good news if you ended up needing something more exotic, but sadly wouldn't be the key in solving your problems.

While nothing specific was agreed between you and them, the Dalaran's Merchant's Guild agreed on sending someone to meet with Beric in Southshore. Having an open line of communication wouldn't hurt.

1/2

>>5440832

You had made sure that your hair was combed and your finer clothes were all nice and tidy as you prepared for the dinner. While this was just a dinner between four of you, you still wanted to be as presentable as possible.

Meanwhile you had called Sir Gravis and the knights to join you in your house. Firstly to let them flex their feet a bit and secondly to get them out of the barracks they had been staying in. While the barracks wasn't a bad place to be, spoiling your knights like this felt like a nice thing to do. Especially as you had gotten the servants to deliver them some food and drink.

Leaving them and Malevus in the house to watch over the armour, you walked through the now silent city to Jaina's place. Only the guards and a few other people, probably mages going to their homes, were out and they didn't pay you any attention.

When you arrived you found out that you were really early. Actually you were the first one there as Jaina had something urgent to do in Violet Citadel and she had left her personal servants to handle finishing the dinner and preparing everything else. The servants allowed you in and after shedding your winter clothes, you sat down on the most comfiest looking sofa. Now you would just wait for the rest of the guests to arrive.

But who was the first one to come, with whom would you talk with first?


>Kael’thas
>Arthas
>Jaina

>>5440834
I’m guessing Arthas would be disinclined to let us have any time alone with Jaina so he’d either come first or they’d come together.
Hopefully the latter would improve his mood.
Anyway I digress, let’s go with
>Arthas

>>5440834
>Kael’thas
Would arthas pop a blood vessel if we wingmanned kaelthas with jaina?

Honestly bros I can see the goblin being pretty useful for doing blasting in the mines, there's all sorts of economic benefits to explosives if we reach a solid agreement.

>>5440881
“Demolitions is just art of blowing up stuff, right?”
“Exactly, it’s the art of blowing stuff up *right*”

>>5440834
>Arthas
I love the drama, even If I don't like how anons handle it.

>>5440834
>Kael’thas
I've tried to get us to repair the relationship with Arthas. It hasn't worked, so I'm all for trying to build a different bridge.

>>5440834
>Kael’thas
We already had some plot development with Jaina and Arthas, so mystery box it is. Also, free elf rep.

>>5440834
>Kael’thas
Time for some talking. We did a lot of business with him, not really knowing eachother

>>5440834
>Kael’thas

>>5440881
Exactly it's gonna be a huge boon for our mining. Possibly our lumberyards too. I wonder if goblins ever figured out farm machinery or not...then again might be better to just ask the gnomes. Oh right gnomes aren't gonna like us so we are stuck with the goblins. At least we won't have to worry about running out of the explosive ordinance. Might even be able to train some gunners instead of just rangers. Hm maybe dark iron dwarf heavy armor and big guns or grenadiers? Plus goblins have a lot of contacts in terms of mercs and trade that reaches very unusual places.

>>5442819
>it's gonna be a huge boon for our mining.
Yeah, until first mining accident where we'll have to determine what the cause was and what our response will be.

You thankfully didn’t have to wait for that long before you were joined by a second guest. Prince Kael'thas entered the living room and you stood up momentarily to greet him.

"You are the second one here Prince Kael'thas." You said to him. "Jaina apparently had some urgent business in Violet Citadel."

"I see, she is a busy woman. Sometimes it feels like she is even more busy than I am." Kael'thas said to you and sat down. His robe of red and blue looked marvellous and it was clear that he had dressed to impress. "Though call me Kael, only my father calls me by my full name."

"Then you may call me Alric." You answered with a smile.

Kael took the wine glass one of the servants brought to him before turning his attention back to you.

"I heard that you had talks with a goblin?" Kael said to you and raised one of his eyebrows. "And yes, little birds do whisper."

"Then there is no point in denying it." You said back. He had learned about your talks with Krix Wiklish very quickly, just a few hours had passed since. "I need tools and weapons to defend my holdings."

"But why deal with a goblin then?" Kael asked you. "Why not to work with the dwarfs or gnomes?"

"Because who else could provide me with what I require? We Perenoldes aren’t exactly liked and the Edict restricts my hand too much. Still I need to plan for the future." You told him and continued. "Gallows Corner is fortified and I need weapons to crack the palisades open. Same time I can't be proactive due to the Edict and strike into Alterac to prevent them from first striking at me."

"So you turned to goblins and their volatile experiments?" Kael said and there was a sliver of disdain in his voice.

"Goblins are skilled with explosives. Volatile yes, but skilled. Land mines to secure the mountain passes or maybe rockets to blast apart the palisades." You said and sighed. "Because what is the alternative? Wait for Light knows how long till the Edict is lifted while ogres and the Syndicate launch raids against me?"

"You really don't have that many choices, do you?" Kael said.

"No I really don't have. I have to get by with whatever is available." You said and downed your drink. "With my options limited, I need to do whatever I can to protect my people."

Kael could see your frustration and you noticed it as well.

"I am sorry Kael, it just feels that nearly everyone is against me. We Alteracis don't exactly have that many friends in this world." You said to him.

"Then it is good that you have friends like Jaina." Kael said to you. "She has spoken a lot about you, a lot of good things."

"What are you talking about Jaina?" Arthas said as he stepped into the room. He was the third guest to arrive.

"Not much, just that she is late as usual." Kael said and smiled. "Greetings Arthas."

"Arthas." You said.

"Kael, Alric." Arthas said back. He too had put on his better clothes. A blue shirt and dark trousers. A more practical outfit, maybe that was the new fashion in Capital City?

1/3

>>5443220

It didn’t matter as the discussion more or less stopped for a moment until Kael decided to ask about the studies Arthas is taking. History and past rulers, the idea Arthas had was that maybe he could learn from the past Kings of Lordaeron and avoid their mistakes.

It was a valid line of thinking, but all three of you knew the real reason he was here and that was to court Jaina. This seemed to irritate Kael and you understood the reason why. He too was trying to court Jaina.

Oh dear what a mess this evening could turn into.

…

You were boring the two other Princes by talking about your studies, that being taxation and trade tariffs. You couldn’t have thought about a more of a drier subject, but Arthas had made the mistake of asking if you had studied anything recently.

"Guys I am so sorry. I had to deal with the things in Violet Citadel first." Jaina said as she rushed into the living room. "I am so sorry for being late to my own dinner! I will be ready shortly."

You all three watched as she walked past you and into the study and probably the bedroom beyond it.

"When I met her the first time, she was late back then too." You said with a laugh.

"You aren't the only one…" Kael said back.

…

You didn’t have to wait that long for Jaina to be ready and when she walked into the living room, you saw that she had changed into a more fitting outfit for the evening.

Jaina was wearing a long sea grey off shoulders dress and she had a necklace made from amber around her neck. She frankly looked quite beautiful.

"You look stunning." Arthas said.

"Oh thank you, I just saw all three of you wearing your bests and decided that my normal clothes just won't do." Jaina said and smiled. "Come follow me, the dinner is ready. We can talk more as we eat."

What she said was true. The servants had just finished preparing things as Jaina guided you into the dining room. They left and allowed four of you to sit down in peace.

"What a day it has been. I didn’t expect it to be this busy." Jaina said and took her plate. "Dig in, take whatever that looks tasty."

Roasted beef, steamed vegetables, topping to go with all of it amongst other things presented. The cooks had prepared a wide variety of dishes and you took a little bit of everything and started to eat in relative silence. Arthas had apparently finished an essay and then done some light sparring during the afternoon, while Kael just had reports to read. You opted to just mention that you had talked with the merchants and left the goblin out of the story completely.

2/3

>>5443222

Outside of that it was mostly awkwardly silent and everyone noticed it. It continued until Kael decided to speak.

"Alric, I do need to ask something after our talk earlier." Kael said to you and continued. "Have you ever thought what your life could have been if you had never revealed yourself or you had decided to act longer in the shadows? Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't you reveal yourself to Lord Uther when you met him for the first time?"


>You have thought about the alternative of just being a farmer and living peacefully. But you cannot run away from what you are, sooner or later you would have been found.
>You had thought about not revealing yourself immediately, but you had the fortune or misfortune of meeting Lord Uther. He would have learned the truth sooner or later.
>Your goal from the start was to build a new home for your people and reclaim your homeland. It is something you cannot do from the shadows or by staying hidden.
>Other, write in

QM: Terribly sorry for being late with the update. The work has been stupidly busy yet again and that has eaten away my time to concentrate and write the update.

>>5443224
hmm, that are multiple things I think Alric would mention here
>You had thought about the alternative of just being a farmer and living peacefully. But you have a duty to fulfill, you would never be able to live with yourself if you discarded it no matter how appealing such a peaceful life sounds. Anyway, you had thought about not revealing yourself immediately but you had the fortune or misfortune of meeting Lord Uther. He would have learned the truth sooner or later so you wanted to make a good first impression to him and, by extension, the Alliance. Though that damnable edict makes you question if it was worth it.

>>5443224
>You try to avoid dwelling too much of what might have been outside of trying to learn from own mistakes.
>When it comes specifically to issue of staying in shadows... no, our people deserve having their home restored on foundation that is not tainted by deception or duplicity. If only because such choices were what brought about its undoing first time around. Our people deserve better than to have old mistakes repeated.

>>5443238
I think we've whined enough about the edict for now, don't want to look like it's featured in our every other sentence.

>>5443224
>>You had thought about not revealing yourself immediately, but you had the fortune or misfortune of meeting Lord Uther. He would have learned the truth sooner or later.

>>5443245
I agree that whining about the edict would be bad but I don't think a brief mention on a topic that is related to it is too much, I also disagree that revealing ourselves was good because staying in the shadows means being deceitful or duplicitous. Such things are not necessary to be covert.

>>5443305
Fair enough, it's not unconditionally needed, though it can be sort of assumed that if you already hide, you take advantage of it.
I singled the edict out specifically because we mentioned it several times just now with Kael so bringing it up again would probably feel overbearing.

>>5443224
>>Your goal from the start was to build a new home for your people and reclaim your homeland. It is something you cannot do from the shadows or by staying hidden.

>>5443224
>Your goal from the start was to build a new home for your people and reclaim your homeland. It is something you cannot do from the shadows or by staying hidden.
>"No one else was going to do it, Alterac would either be restored or its people would be subject to ignominy, injustice and abandonment. The nobility that have sided with the orcish horde were guilty of treason, but the innocent people that had suffered as a result of actions that they could not control far outnumbered them. Now the same nobles are hidden away behind Syndicate while the farmers and peasants are preyed upon by bandits, gnolls and ogres."

>>5443224
>You had thought about not revealing yourself immediately, but you had the fortune or misfortune of meeting Lord Uther. He would have learned the truth sooner or later.
>Your goal from the start was to build a new home for your people and reclaim your homeland. It is something you cannot do from the shadows or by staying hidden.
While living has a farmer was a possibility, is not something Alric wanted really. Peaceful but then Alteracis would have been either under the Syndicate or left around without anyone coming to their defense. Beside it would have be a disrespect to Garside and all the ones that fought and worked for save him from the end of Alterac City. And the Garsides are the parents of Alric more than his natural parents.

np medivh

>>5443224
>Your goal from the start was to build a new home for your people and reclaim your homeland. It is something you cannot do from the shadows or by staying hidden.

"From the start my goal was to build a new home for my people and to reclaim my homeland. And that is something which cannot be done from the shadows." You said back to Kael. "It would have been a disservice to those who have placed their trust on me and who have helped me if I had decided to not reveal who I am."

"Even if that meant that people would know who you are and then start to hate you?" Kael continued.

"Yes, because sooner or later people would have found out and how would it have looked by then?" You said. "Acting from the shadows like my brother does maybe could have worked, but my people are above that. They would have been the ones suffering from it in the end."

"I must confess that I and nearly everyone else in Quel’Thalas were shocked to hear that Perenolde had survived." Kael said to you. "But since then everything I had heard about you seemed so consistent."

"I have to be, in both actions and what I say." You said.

"Even if it caused a considerable amount of talks and rumours? Like what you said about the orc that escaped?" Kael continued.

"Yes, I cannot start making exceptions or start lying just because Thrall happens to be an orc." You said back to him. Both Arthas and Jaina just listened as the two of you had this conversation. "A child shouldn't be responsible for the crimes done by their father."

"Even if the child is an orc?" Kael asked you with a curious look in his eyes.

"Even if the child is an orc." You said back to Kael.

"That is a dangerous thing to say, not everyone likes to hear talks like that." Kael said and then smiled. "But you are as consistent as you said you were."

Kael had been testing you. Now with the audience of Arthas, who actively disliked you, and Jaina who supported you, Kael probably wanted to see if you had changed your tone.

"As I said, I have to be. If I weren't, in the end who would trust me?" You said and shrugged.

"I guess you are right." Kael said.

You weren’t sure if you had managed to impress Kael, but getting him to understand you a bit more wouldn’t probably hurt. Especially as it seemed that he was relatively reasonable as a person.

It was mostly you, Kael and Jaina who did the talking as you ate the dinner. Arthas pitched in from time to time, but mostly just seemed annoyed about all this. The subjects were mostly mundane and less important, but it was fun to just have a chat.


>Tell them about the Invasion of Strahnbrad Hills and the battles you had fought against the Syndicate and the gnolls.
>Turn the discussion towards Jaina and her studies. You really have no proper idea what it is like to study magic. Let her be the one talking.
>Ask Kael what he thinks about you, Dalaran and Quel’Thalas. Could you one day have a good working relationship between the different parties?
>Ask Arthas how his studies are progressing? How different life is now that he is a full paladin and not just a trainee?

>>5444167

And of course I forgot to add other, write in. If you have anything else in your mind that you would like to talk about, that is plausible as well.

>>5444167
>>Turn the discussion towards Jaina and her studies. You really have no proper idea what it is like to study magic. Let her be the one talking.
It was kind of Jaina's idea so let her take the initiative for a bit.

>>5444167
>Turn the discussion towards Jaina and her studies. You really have no proper idea what it is like to study magic. Let her be the one talking.
This might chafe Arthas some, but it's best not to bother a magister such as Kael with ignorant layman's questions. Besides we've had enough serious talk for now.

>>5444167
>Turn the discussion towards Jaina and her studies. You really have no proper idea what it is like to study magic. Let her be the one talking.

>>5444167
>>Ask Kael what he thinks about you, Dalaran and Quel’Thalas. Could you one day have a good working relationship between the different parties?

As you finished your second plate of food and took a sip of the wine, you turned towards Jaina as she was the one whose idea was this dinner.

"Hey Jaina, what is it like to study magic?" You asked her.

"What can I say?" Jaina mused aloud and thought for a moment. "It is very difficult?"

"You are downplaying your own skills." Kael said to her and turned to speak to you.

"Jaina is a prodigy, her raw potential is immense and in my opinion she has worked really hard to realise that potential." Kael said to her.

"Oh thank you Kael." Jaina said and continued. "It is very true that the work we have to put in our studies, be they theoretical or practical, is immense. But that is why days like this are really fun, not everyday has to be full of studying."

"You are right, you need a day or two off from time to time." You said.

"Though we do not have that luxury that often." Kael said. "If I was in Quel’Thalas then maybe, but here? Not a chance. So much work and responsibilities."

"You are right…" Jaina said. "Dalaran is otherwise a wonderful place, but the people here take everything so seriously."

"I have noticed that too." Arthas finally spoke after being silent for a moment.

"And that is because magic is a very serious and dangerous thing, but a source of great power." Kael said to you and Arthas. "Remember that when dealing with magic, it can be a boon, but also a threat."

"Kael is right." Jaina said and nodded in agreement.

…

The dinner was slowly winding down and you had moved back to the living room, or Arthas and Kael had moved there. With a wine glass in one hand and a pointer on another hand, the now slightly tipsy elf Prince was going through some fencing styles and demonstrating them to Arthas.

You had made the observation that Kael was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, but he handled his buzz relatively well.

Jaina meanwhile had something to talk with you and she had opted to show you her indoor garden. In a room next to her study were her plants that she grew for herbs and for minor magical ingredients. It was a nice pastime for her and neatly intertwined with her studies.

"So this is my garden." Jaina said to you.

"I guess it is nice." You said somewhat awkwardly. "I'm sorry Jaina, I don't know much about gardening. But if you were to ask me about taxation in Stromgarde a century ago, then I could be of more help."

Jaina laughed and was forced to cover her mouth with her free hand. She too, just like you was a bit tipsy.

"Taxation. Really?" She said and smiled.

"Yes really, I have to understand from where the coin is coming from." You said and shrugged. "But I presume you didn't ask me to come here to just see your small garden?"

"No, with Kael distracting Arthas, we have a bit of time to talk." Jaina said to you.

"What is it?" You asked as you could only guess what she was going to say.

1/2

>>5445022

"Well umm, how could I say this…" Jaina mumbled to herself, before finding the courage by taking hold of your hands. "I like Arthas and he is here to court me, studying history is just an excuse to be here, and I guess Kael is fine too. But Alric, do you think that we could have been a thing before this? I think I liked you a lot."

Jaina held your hands and found the necessary courage to ask that from you. It wasn’t an easy question for her to ask and she probably didn't know about you and Calia.


>You liked Jaina a lot too and maybe the two of you could have been a thing, but that is in the past.
>Maybe, you aren’t sure. You didn’t spend enough time with her to be sure.
>Jaina should know about you and Calia. She must have some speculation about the two of you and she is a good friend to both of you.
>Tell her to concentrate in the present and not delve in the past. Don’t let the past muddle her feelings.
>Other, write in

>Hold her hands
>Don't hold her hands

QM: Please vote on both.

>>5445025
>You liked Jaina a lot too and maybe the two of you could have been a thing, but that is in the past.
>Don't hold her hands

>>5445025
>Maybe, you aren’t sure. You didn’t spend enough time with her to be sure.
>Jaina should know about you and Calia. She must have some speculation about the two of you and she is a good friend to both of you.
I find the other two prompts to be rather platitudinous.

>>5445025
Oh and
>Don't hold her hands
Duh.

>>5445025
Hmm... I'm more than a little bit leery of bringing up Calia specifically with Arthas right there. But we do owe it to Jaina to not lead her on.

>Tell Jaina you value her greatly as a friend and a person and but your heart already belongs to another

>don't hold her hands

inb4 they will all assume it's Malevus
best elf taking a tank role.

>>5445048
Although if we can be reasonably sure Arthas is occupied by the less best elf, telling her it's Calia may be good as long as we also can say we're keeping it secret.

It pains me to break Jaina's heart like so but it needs to be done.

>>5445048
>Hmm... I'm more than a little bit leery of bringing up Calia specifically with Arthas right there.
Mate, they're in the living room and we're in her indoor garden.

>It pains me to break Jaina's heart like so but it needs to be done
Eh, seems like her feelings for Alric didn't develop very much hence the use of the past tense. It was a passing crush, I doubt there will be such heartbreak like there was with Monica

>>5445057
>Mate, they're in the living room and we're in her indoor garden.
well excuse me for being a bit paranoid. This is the kind of situation where in stories you expect the other guy to walk in in the most inopportune time. For instance Kael could have keeled over just as we left.

>>5445061
That's not a bit paranoid, that's very paranoid. We've been doing this song and dance of not wanting to be eavesdropped, myself included, but after Jaina specifically took us to a discrete location for a discrete conversation Im willing to relax just this once.

>>5445025
>>You liked Jaina a lot too and maybe the two of you could have been a thing, but that is in the past.
>>Jaina should know about you and Calia. She must have some speculation about the two of you and she is a good friend to both of you.
Tell her to take good care of Arthas so that he'd be less of an ass. Let her know that the man is actually brittle and rather sensitive and doesn't take losses and blows to his ego lightly.
>Don't hold her hands

>>5445025
>>Maybe, you aren’t sure. You didn’t spend enough time with her to be sure.
>>Jaina should know about you and Calia. She must have some speculation about the two of you and she is a good friend to both of you.
>Don't hold her hands
Sy Jaina, Calia slammed in the Alric bowl has soon as she could see it was free for the taking. At least you participated unlike Malevus lol. But Calia could still slip on a banana peal, keep it together gal !

>>5445048
Malevus is planning something...............

Carefully slipping your hands away from her hold, you immediately saw her reaction, a bit of a disappointment.

"I… maybe, I do like you a lot, but I am not sure. We didn't spend enough time together." You said to Jaina.

"Yeah, you are right." Jaina said and seemed content with having received the answer. "I like you too, you are a good person Alric."

"Jaina, so are you." You said to her and continued after a pause. "There is a thing you should know."

"What is it?" She asked you.

"Me and Calia…" You started to say, but you couldn’t finish as Jaina immediately hugged you and wrapped her arms around you.

"I knew it! I so knew it! Oh Alric, the two of you are going to be a wonderful couple. I am so happy for you." Jaina said and couldn’t hide her happiness.

"T-thanks." You managed to say back as the hug from Jaina was surprisingly strong.

"I saw how you looked at Calia and how she looked at you." Jaina said and let go of you.

"Yeah things moved somewhat rapidly." You said and scratched the back of your head.

"Are you going to tell the others? Because Calia didn't say a word to me." Jaina asked.

"No, we have planned to keep this a secret. Less people know the better. You are my good friend, I think I can trust you to not talk about us to others." You said with a more serious tone.

"I promise! I won't tell anyone." Jaina said and was practically beaming with happiness.

"Thanks Jaina, you are a good friend." You said.

"You are my friend too Alric." Jaina said and continued. "But I think we should go back, showing you my small garden shouldn't take that long."

"Yeah let's do that." You said back.

…

You and Jaina found the two Princes still comparing swordsmanship and fencing styles.

"Jaina, where were you with Alric?" Arthas said and he put down an empty glass of wine.

"Jaina showed me her small garden." You said back to him and answered his question. "I know nothing of gardening and Jaina had mentioned that she had an indoor one."

Arthas seemed to accept that as an answer and you sighed in relief inside your head.

"And you two boys are still talking about fencing." Jaina said with a laugh.

Kael put away the pointer he was carrying and did a small curtsy towards Jaina.

"My apologies, that was beneath my stature." Kael said.

"Nonsense, at least the two of you had fun" Jaina said back.

"Well then I will be leaving. It is quite late and I have work to do tomorrow." Kael said and bowed. "Thank you for the evening, it was a really pleasant dinner."

"I too should leave. My teacher will murder me if tomorrow I am late to my studies." Arthas said and went to give a light hug to Jaina. "See you tomorrow then."

Arthas and Kael both left Jaina's apartment leaving the two of you alone.

1/2

>>5445691

"So when are you leaving?" Jaina asked you.

"I have plenty to do back home, but I still have some business here. So maybe the day after?" You said.

"Hmmm, always so busy. Then I won't keep you here. If we don't meet, just remember to send me those letters, I really enjoy reading them." Jaina said and smiled.

"Will do. Good night Jaina."

"Good night Alric."

…

The near empty wintery Dalaran was silent and when you reached your house, you found that most of your knights were already asleep. Only Joe was still awake and he told that they would keep watch just in case.

Heading upstairs, you just kicked off your boots and removed your finer clothes before jumping into the bed.

It had been a long day and the next day could be just as long. You still had the military and mercenary contacts to be check out. And speaking of that, where would you go next morning?


>Underneath the streets into the sewers. Arille the bartender probably wouldn't have mentioned it without a reason.
>Mages' Guild, apparently a powerful guild and a potential source of strong magic.
>Sorcerers' League, the second of the two strong guilds. Has a reputation for being more elusive in their use of magic.
>Outside the walls are taverns and inns for travellers and those not allowed inside the city. Go and see if you could find anything interesting.

>>5445692
hmm... maybe we could have asked Jaina about the underbelly, if she has idea whether it's good idea to look there. Could be worthwhile, could be dangerous.
Maybe we could visit the mages' guild and see how much they hold our fathers' crimes against us and maybe if there's an opportunity to win them over?

>>5445692
>>Mages' Guild, apparently a powerful guild and a potential source of strong magic.

>>5445692
>Underneath the streets into the sewers. Arille the bartender probably wouldn't have mentioned it without a reason.
The mages hate us. Hopefully we find something underneath.

>>5445692
>Underneath the streets into the sewers
It's pointless to visit the mages guild unless we have Kael hovering right behind us, they will stonewall us at every opportunity, besides what can we have to offer them that they don't already have in Dalaran?

>>5445692
>Underneath the streets into the sewers. Arille the bartender probably wouldn't have mentioned it without a reason.

>>5445692
>Underneath the streets into the sewers. Arille the bartender probably wouldn't have mentioned it without a reason.
Mystery box, maybe the Syndicate has a cell in there.

You were up very early and going downstairs you found your knights in progress of waking up as well. It was a good thing as you had a mission for them, find an entrance to the sewers.

Sir Gravis thought about it and replied that they should be able to find the entrance. They just need to ask in the right places and find the answers. You left them to prepare and headed back upstairs to get ready for the day yourself.

You were doing some stretching. You hadn’t done that much stretching before, but after your chest wound, you had found that stretching did help you to regain your nimbleness. Since then you have stretched daily. Sitting on the floor and trying to reach your toes, Malevus walked from her room and as you looked up, you saw that she was really groggy looking.

"Long evening?" You asked her, causing her to wince as she hadn't noticed you or didn't think about finding you on the floor stretching.

"Good morning Prince Alric. And yes a bit, I shouldn't have drunk the final beer." Malevus said and tried to fix her red hair that was all over the place and clear the wrinkles on her blue robe. She probably had just woken up and hadn't put on anything else than her robe. Her face started to turn red as she realised the state you saw her.

"What did I say about moderation?" You reminded her and gave her a smile.

"I know Prince Alric, but the knights wanted me to sing for them." Malevus said back to you and tried to explain the situation.

"Well does your singing require you to drink first?" You said as you pushed yourself up.

"No I guess…" Malevus said and rubbed her eyes.

"Either way, get yourself ready and then let's eat some breakfast. We have a long day ahead of us." You said to her.

"I will, just give me a few moments Prince Alric, I need to… get ready." Malevus said, stretched her back and yawned before wobbling into her room.

"Alright, just don't fall asleep." You said and she grumbled back.

…

A while later after having fully dressed herself and having prepared a light breakfast for the two of you, you and Malevus were outside. It had rained snow last night and small icicles decorated the buildings around you. Dalaran during the winter was a beautiful place.

You put your hands into the pockets of your jacket as it was much colder than the day before and you watched your breath as you exhaled. Even Malevus was wondering the beauty of Dalaran as you made your way to the place where Sir Gravis had told you an entrance to the sewers was to be. You had left the knights to keep watch on your new armour and to pack it up for transportation back to Dawnholme.

Behind a group of residential buildings and warehouses was a ramp and stairs that went underneath the streets above. Warm air erupted from an arched tunnel melted the fresh snow and water trickled on the floor into the tunnel.

Malevus gave you a curious look and you stepped in, instinctively placing your left hand on the hilt of the Cinder Sword.

1/2

>>5446140

You had followed the tunnel and were forced to open your winter jacket, revealing your old and battered cuirass and loosen up your silk scarf. It was quite hot in the tunnel as the hot air made its way out from underground. Along with the hot air came the smell that wasn't exactly pleasant.

Suddenly you were in a chamber and you saw that you weren’t alone in there. Several men that looked like thugs stood in one corner and then on the other side of the room a group of guards wearing Dalaran tabards were lazily milling around. There were a few other people there as well, but they were very unassuming looking.

When the guards noticed you, they alerted a person who seemed to be their chief. Elf with long hair and blond mutton chops and short beard stood up from a small chair and made his way towards you.

"Welcome to Underbelly, I am Raethan and I'm the Captain of the Guard down here." The elf said while eyeing both you and Malevus. "While you are here, I don’t want any funny business. My men and I run the show, and we prefer if things stay calm."

"Thank you for the warning Captain." You said and gave him a polite nod.

You were ready to head past him, but Raethan stopped you by putting his hand in front of you.

"I want to make it clear, there are plenty of thugs and other lowlifes down there." Raethan said to you and nudged his head towards the thugs keeping their eyes on you. He then continued with a whisper. "Now we could make sure that you aren’t disturbed, they know not to mess with us and lone travellers are easy targets for the lowlifes down there. Otherwise we might find ourselves on an extended break if you know what I mean."

He was asking for a bribe that was very clear. Pay him and he and his guards make sure that their eyes are open and that nobody approaches you. Don't pay him and whatever happens down there, they aren't going to intervene.

"So how is it?" Raethan whispered to you and crossed his arms.


>Bribe the guards, it seems to be the way of doing business down here.
>Don't bribe the guards, you can handle things by yourself.
>Offer the coin to the thugs leering at you instead. Let them escort you instead.
>Other, write in

QM: For things like this the personal budget exists.

>>5446141
>Bribe the guards, it seems to be the way of doing business down here.
Play it safe, there's no reason to ruffle local feathers just yet, we are here to scout things and not cause trouble, if we sniff something out, then we can think of whom to make enemies with and whom to make our allies.

>>5446141
Oh boy. Hm. I guess we’ll have to pay the “security fee” for now. Can’t really expect loyalty from the thugs.
It’s honestly quite appalling that the council tolerates the pvp zones. I wonder if the guards’ behaviour is tolerated in exchange for detailed reports of what the paying visitors were doing.

>>5446141
>>Bribe the guards, it seems to be the way of doing business down here.
So not a fan of criminals at all.

>>5446141
>>Bribe the guards, it seems to be the way of doing business down here.
Safe even if I like my gold

>>5446141
>>Bribe the guards, it seems to be the way of doing business down here.

You reached down to your purse that was safely tucked inside your trousers and took out a single silver coin. It was probably a bit too much, but the amount should ensure that Raethan and his guards would do their job.

"This should be enough." You said as you flicked the coin at the elf. You didn’t like it, but if this was the way business was done here, then so be it.

"It is. Please follow me Sir and watch your steps. The stairs can be slippery and we don't want you to fall into the gutter face first." Raethan said and waved a pair of his guards to follow him.

He led you through another tunnel that descended even further underground. The stench started to get even stronger and Raethan noticed it.

"Don’t worry Sir, you will get used to the smell. Getting the smell off the clothes is a more difficult task though." Raethan said as you entered into a large arched chamber. "Welcome to Underbelly. The place where things that are unwanted end up."

The chamber was huge. Small wooden huts lined the walls with dozens of men and women coming and going. There were different stalls that sold everything ranging from vegetables to daggers to what seemed like grilled rats.

"This is the Circle of Wills, the central chamber of the Underbelly and the place where the most people are living." Raethan explained to you. "The people that live here are commonly outcasts, dropouts or those who just can't live upstairs."

As he said that he pointed up, meaning the people living above the streets.

You continued the walk and passed a bunch of small children in their rags. The people here looked like they were all poor or disadvantaged in different ways.

You entered a sewer tunnel with a large canal next to it. The sickly looking water carried away the trash and manure from above.

"Everything from above is just dumped down here. Be it the trash, failed elixirs or the unwanted people." Raethan said and continued. "But through that it has created a small community."

"You speak like you are proud of it?" You asked the Captain.

"I am little, these people are doing the best they can in such a bad situation." Raethan told you.

There were people fishing in the sewer canal. You weren't sure if they were trying to catch a fish or trying to snatch whatever was flowing in the water. You also passed another patrol of the Dalaran guards. Raethan and the leader of that small group exchanged a few words before you continued walking for a moment.

"There are many side connections in the sewers with their own gangs and dwellings, not forgetting that many dungeons of Dalaran are just out there somewhere." Raethan said to you. "Also many entrances to the city above. When I warned you about the thugs, I wasn't lying."

He stopped talking as you had reached your destination.

1/2

>>5446502

"Cantrips & Crows, the best locale in the whole Underbelly." Raethan said and started walking over a wooden bridge.

Next to a sewer canal a large house had been built, the first storey didn’t have walls at all and to reach it you had to cross a bridge. The place seemed to be a tavern or an inn. There was a bartender and several women who served the drinks for the few people there.

Raethan asked you to follow as he sat down at a corner table where he could see everything and waved you and Malevus to sit down. As you sat down, one of the servers brought the three of you glasses full of beer. As you noticed how the server had primpt and dolled herself up, you heard the faint, but distinct cries of pleasure coming from the storey above you. The servers weren't probably just servers.

"As I said, the best locale. And there is no need to be wary of the beer, the bartender knows not to serve me the muck he serves the others." Raethan said while grinning and took a sip of his beer before leaning forward. "So what does Prince Perenolde want in the Underbelly?"

"When did you realise it?" You asked back and took a sip of your beer. He hadn't lied to you. It was a bit warm, but not shoddy beer at all.

"When we walked to the Circle of Wills. We had heard the rumours of another Prince arriving into the city and when you gave the silver coin to me, I started to make the connection." Raethan told you and continued with a grin. "Silver is a lot down here, it opens people and makes them more receptive to questions and makes them more talkative."

That was the invitation to talk and ask questions. Raethan seemed to be a talkative person either way, but maybe the silver opened him a bit more.


>Raethan seems to hold his superiors and those living upstairs in contempt. Why does Kirin Tor allow Underbelly to exist?
>What is the deal with the bribes and protection money? What is his status in Underbelly as he seemed to be respected.
>You are mostly looking for mercenaries or swords for hire. A place like Underbelly might attract people like that.
>Information and spy business. Raethan must know about things or if he doesn't, he probably knows someone who does.
>Other, write in.