2DThe Feast. Ask Reinhard to arrange a feast in honor of Mazzarin's great victory. This will surely let us have a couple of days free to screen all the officers and as much of the rest of the army as we can manage. Throw in the raising of a memorial for the Sea of Glass and Mazzarin's ego will do the rest.
Added
Nevill said:
Fangshi, please add 3C - ask Lyssa about it when we are alone.
Added
I guess that would be Biv?
Added
On an unrelated note... that was an interesting non-sequitur. Is getting drunk all we can think about?
It is not like a single drink will get them drunk at this point (even though Tyrvard's brew is some pretty good stuff).
Cropper is a bro, he does not let us turn into complete alcoholics.
He is just trying to get half the dwarven army craving the stuff so that he can sell it to them at an incredible profit.
So, about breakng them out. Do we know where he is kept, who is guarding him, etc?
Seinsheim's part of camp, you do not know exactly where but it will probably be where the most guards are. Treva and Galena will probably be there too since it took them to incapacitate the prisoners to begin with.
Fangshi, how 'safe' is our Poisonous Oath? You have mentioned it is not lethal. Can we use the poisoned needles from the last choice to silently get rid of the guards without doing them lasting harm?
As long as you don't hit anyone with too big of a dose, the effects should largely be temporary (though extremely painful).
Also, "Vermilion also had a vermilion sphere that is embossed with images of what you think are myrkridia". Why is it not on our list?
Because I forget things sometimes. It should be there, will add.
4. You currently have a number of unidentified items on you. You could potentially try and get the Seekers to identify them, provided they don't know those belong to you. Do you go through with it?
A. Yes, you ask Reinhard to help you with that. If he just says those items were recovered from the Watcher's mages and he wants to know what they do, it would not technically be a lie, and the Seekers did offer their services to the army.
B. No, you want nothing to do with the Seekers, and it would be a bad idea to let them know what kind of items you might have.
Added.
What has he heard of us and what sources is he talking about?
He won't tell you his sources.
Not too exciting, he has heard that you can be quite direct, very destructive, clever at times, but most importantly that you do not truly serve any dwarf in the Kingdom. He realizes now that you are not his father's pet mercenaries. How could you be? When it is clear that you are the heralds of Mazzarin.
What were the principles he was reading about, and who wrote them? What does he think of them? What would Timo think of them if he was to ask him?
He sidesteps the your questioning with the skill expected of one that was born and raised at the second largest court in the known world.
Seems he definitely does not want to answer your question, at least not yet. You wonder just how important that book must be to him to keep it sealed away like he does.
You press him... [rolling]
And he snatches up a single scrap of paper and scribbles something on it. He hands it to you, it reads:
Take the course opposite to custom and you will almost always do well.
By the time you look back up at him he is calibrating a tiny mortar on the edge of his desk.
Why would Timo lie to him if it was 'for the good of the Kingdom'? Does it mean that, if told the truth, he would choose the course that - according to Timo - might cause it harm? Does it mean that he disagrees with the current policies? Which ones would those be, exactly? What would he change in the Kingdom, given the power?
It means, at the very least, that Reinhard believes, that Timo believes, that Reinhard would not agree to Timo's plans...
What is the current state and composition of the Royal Army? How does the command chain work? Is each House in command of their portion of the army, or is it more complicated?
The army currently numbers:
Approximately 570 Royal army soldiers (about three hundred grenadiers, two hundred footmen, thirty chariots, and forty enchanters of first or second class attached to the infantry units).
- The infantry are organized into units of 10, each led by a captain. The units have some variation but they are all based off a standard pattern. Seven regular dwarves, either grenadiers of basic infantry, led by an officer (with a veteran infantryman/grenadier to provide assistance) and supported by a single enchanter to give them a bit more punch. Every ten units is under the authority of a single commander, though a few of them have died so in some cases one commander has to lead a few extra (the demons went after the officers when they attached so the army is suffering from a lack of mid level leadership at the moment).
The infantry as a whole is under the leadership of General Kjell, a traditional sort, he has always been loyal to the royal family.
- The chariots are organized seperately in squads of five (usually). They are under the command of Friedelinde, Reinhard's half-sister.
- The Enchanters technically answer to a pair of forth class enchanters but they both died in the fighting so Reinhard has been trying his best to use them directly. For the most part the young enchanters follow his orders slavishly. For many this is their first campaign and serving under the Prince is seen as a great honour.
- Finally, Reinhard has a group of about ten (remaining) soldiers that serve as his honour guard. They are clad in black from head to toe and are probably the finest fighters in the entire army next to the Prince himself.
- Lords Seinsheim and Berg command their own forces and work to help the Prince (at least in theory).
- Berg has 100 guards with him, dwarves clad in goldenrod over plate and armed with crossbows, spears and heavy shields.
- Seinsheim has 320 guards, armed and attired much the same as the army (which is to say in the traditional way), so mostly grenadiers and footsoldiers with hand weapons. The only real differences are the uniform colours (his men wear aquamarine instead of the red of the Army) and their ability (like Berg's guards these dwarves are not fit for regular army service for one reason or another).
The Camp looks a bit like this:
Chain of command goes as follows:
Reinhard is in overall command of the army and gives orders to his different commanders. General Kjell for the infantry, Princess Friedeline for the chariots, the Old Man for the Seekers, and so on.
Seinsheim and Berg technically sit outside this command structure but they are to give the Prince any support they can.
You also sit outside this command structure but again you are expected to help as much as you are able.
Big M does whatever the hell he wants...
What is the current plan? What will he propose at the strategy meeting? Are there any reports from Stoneheim?
The current plan was to advance on Stoneheim. Try to make contact with the defending force and relieve the city.
The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the best way to do that and to make any adjustments that the presence of Mazzarin would allow.
No one is getting in or out of Stoneheim at the moment. The Prince only knows that the city has not fallen yet.
What does he know of the corruption of House Berg? What of Berg himself, his heir, and his champion?
He writes that he does not know. He only knows that someone in House Berg (or maybe multiple people) are working with the rebels. He does not know who.
What about the Three Charioteers? Hesse's and Reginar's heirs, how well does he know them?
He writes that he is not sure if they are cultists or not.
He knows Kustaa and Ralf fairly well, they are good soldiers, living without the resources and wealth of their parents. They are determined to earn their own place in the Kigndom, to deserve the positions they will one day inherit.
He is glad to have them with the army for this.
What forces is he sure about? What forces are better to watch out for?
He is sure about his Blackguard, he has know each of them for decades.
The rest he is not 100% confident about. He trusts his soldiers more than the House guards but beyond that he is uncertain.
Any news of the Eberhardt resurrected or any of his rebels?
No, Eberhardt (whatever it is) has not appeared since the attack on the prison. His rebels have staged raids on Royal forces in the south but they have not directly attacked Reinhard's army.
Fangshi, I motion that for any option where we try to persuade Emrys to volunteer the letter, we also remind him that Lyssa entered our service by way of a favor Mazzarin owed and honored. Therefore it stands to reason that Mazzarin would be honor-bound to trust us with her letter.
Sure, if there are no objections.
Fangshi, how fast are the fairies? Finn boasted that he could cover a day's worth of travel in no more than an hour. That must be the speed of the slowest part of his host. What about the fastest one?
Fast, they could probably cover the distance between Stoneheim and Myrgard in half a day but it would exhaust them to do so. They would be in no condition for a fight or to cast if they did.
Can we send a runner/messenger to Muirthemne? There are some ciphered letters that Nephila should have translated and left at Madb's place by now. I wonder if those don't contain some information we should know about and that could be relevant to our campaign. If there weren't some sensitive information then the letters would not be ciphered, right?
It would require a vote but you can certainly try.
His people could get it done in a day, yes?
A day, maybe two.
Provided they did not get distracted on the way.
Is it too much to ask what those assumptions were?
Yes, considering it would impact your decision making process. Ask me at the end of the chapter when it is all wrapped up and I will try to answer during the usual Q&A sessions.
