Lithium Flower
Arcane
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2016
- Messages
- 1,832
[Sorry, fell off the whole "carousel of life" thingy for a few days.
Rolled to resolve tie between options 1 and 3.
And the winner is:]
I shall invite a few tenants, but only the most suitable.
It isn't too difficult to assemble a dozen or so names of those of your tenants most worthy of being added to your list of invitees. They are all of them what might be considered pillars of the community: local leaders, particularly respected shopkeepers, young men of unusually polished manner, and young women of particular attractiveness.
Of course, "worthy" is a relative term. Out of the whole lot, you can only imagine Saundersley—with his classical university education and attitudes more fit for a member of the minor gentry than the commons—dealing with the truly genteel inhabitants of the Baneblooded aristocracy with anything resembling the appropriate decorum. You have little doubt that your invited tenants, for all of the respectability they may command in the village, will make complete oafs of themselves in the manor, and do much to mar any attempt to uphold an air of refinement.
You know it, they know it. Yet when you send the invitations out, those lucky few thus selected are, by all accounts, overjoyed. More than one sends a handwritten letter of thanks. Almost all come to pay their respects in person, never mind the cold autumn rains.
In many ways, Baneblood and commoner live in altogether different worlds, and it is a rare occasion indeed when the latter might be allowed entry into the realm of the former in any capacity save that of a servant. To offer such folk a chance to do so is to give them a reason to think very highly of you, indeed.
And that gratitude is more than worth the trouble of earning it.
---
Fall yields to winter, but the cold season proves a mild one, certainly far less terrible than the one which came before. The rain still turns to snow, of course, but the drifts of white which cover your lands this year prove a far more threadbare blanket than the thick coat of the year past. On most days, it's even possible to go out of doors with little inconvenience, the weather being cold enough to freeze the ground solid, but not so cold as to make the outside entirely inhospitable.
Through it all, your preparations continue. Though the ball is still weeks away, there is still much to do, especially if you intend for your guests to leave at the end of the evening with the desired impression. If you mean to ensure the success of your enterprise, you'll have to take every measure possible to delight, excite, and otherwise overawe those on your invitation list.
There are some things your guests are almost certain to expect as a given. They'll want a good dinner, to be sure, the more fashionable and expensive the fare, the better. Good music too, they will expect. You're likely to be unable to get away with anything less than a professional ensemble of musicians.
You're also likely to need to have new clothes made for the evening. While you're too far from Aetoria to be expected to appear in the very latest fashion, you will still be expected to make some sort of an effort—and the tall river-and-mountain boots of your dress uniform may look quite handsome when you're standing up straight, but you very much doubt they'll be anything but great encumbrances on the dance floor.
Then, perhaps, there is the most frivolous and extraordinary measure of all.
You've been informed that it has recently once again become the fashion to accompany the staging of a ball or other great entertainment by the illumination of the outside of one's house with a profusion of lanterns, outlining the site of such a revel with what appears from a distance like a great, ghostly halo of bright light. It is an undertaking which is likely to be of great expense and trouble, as you must have the lanterns made and positioned on site, but it may perhaps be just what's needed to distinguish your ball as truly memorable.
If you can justify the cost.
1) I will budget 75 Crown for the hiring of musicians.
2) It's time I made arrangements for food and drink.
3) I must see to new outfits.
4) I shall spend an extra 50 Crown for preparations to illuminate the house.
Rolled to resolve tie between options 1 and 3.
And the winner is:]
I shall invite a few tenants, but only the most suitable.
It isn't too difficult to assemble a dozen or so names of those of your tenants most worthy of being added to your list of invitees. They are all of them what might be considered pillars of the community: local leaders, particularly respected shopkeepers, young men of unusually polished manner, and young women of particular attractiveness.
Of course, "worthy" is a relative term. Out of the whole lot, you can only imagine Saundersley—with his classical university education and attitudes more fit for a member of the minor gentry than the commons—dealing with the truly genteel inhabitants of the Baneblooded aristocracy with anything resembling the appropriate decorum. You have little doubt that your invited tenants, for all of the respectability they may command in the village, will make complete oafs of themselves in the manor, and do much to mar any attempt to uphold an air of refinement.
You know it, they know it. Yet when you send the invitations out, those lucky few thus selected are, by all accounts, overjoyed. More than one sends a handwritten letter of thanks. Almost all come to pay their respects in person, never mind the cold autumn rains.
In many ways, Baneblood and commoner live in altogether different worlds, and it is a rare occasion indeed when the latter might be allowed entry into the realm of the former in any capacity save that of a servant. To offer such folk a chance to do so is to give them a reason to think very highly of you, indeed.
And that gratitude is more than worth the trouble of earning it.
---
Fall yields to winter, but the cold season proves a mild one, certainly far less terrible than the one which came before. The rain still turns to snow, of course, but the drifts of white which cover your lands this year prove a far more threadbare blanket than the thick coat of the year past. On most days, it's even possible to go out of doors with little inconvenience, the weather being cold enough to freeze the ground solid, but not so cold as to make the outside entirely inhospitable.
Through it all, your preparations continue. Though the ball is still weeks away, there is still much to do, especially if you intend for your guests to leave at the end of the evening with the desired impression. If you mean to ensure the success of your enterprise, you'll have to take every measure possible to delight, excite, and otherwise overawe those on your invitation list.
There are some things your guests are almost certain to expect as a given. They'll want a good dinner, to be sure, the more fashionable and expensive the fare, the better. Good music too, they will expect. You're likely to be unable to get away with anything less than a professional ensemble of musicians.
You're also likely to need to have new clothes made for the evening. While you're too far from Aetoria to be expected to appear in the very latest fashion, you will still be expected to make some sort of an effort—and the tall river-and-mountain boots of your dress uniform may look quite handsome when you're standing up straight, but you very much doubt they'll be anything but great encumbrances on the dance floor.
Then, perhaps, there is the most frivolous and extraordinary measure of all.
You've been informed that it has recently once again become the fashion to accompany the staging of a ball or other great entertainment by the illumination of the outside of one's house with a profusion of lanterns, outlining the site of such a revel with what appears from a distance like a great, ghostly halo of bright light. It is an undertaking which is likely to be of great expense and trouble, as you must have the lanterns made and positioned on site, but it may perhaps be just what's needed to distinguish your ball as truly memorable.
If you can justify the cost.
1) I will budget 75 Crown for the hiring of musicians.
2) It's time I made arrangements for food and drink.
3) I must see to new outfits.
4) I shall spend an extra 50 Crown for preparations to illuminate the house.
As of the Winter of the 615 of the Old Imperial Era:
Sir Alaric d'al Ortiga, Baron Ezinbrooke
Captain, Royal Dragoons (half-pay)
Age: 27
Current Funds: 1743 Crown
Debts: 10660 Crown
Bi-Annual Income (Personal): 135 Crown
Bi-Annual Estate Revenues: 264 Crown
Bi-Annual Estate Expenses: 350 Crown
Bi-Annual Interest Payments: 107 Crown
Total Net Income (Next Six Months): -58 Crown
Soldiering: 70%
Charisma: 41%
Intellect: 9%
Reputation: 46%
Health: 62%
Idealism: 54% ; Cynicism: 46%
Ruthlessness: 38% ; Mercy: 62%
You are a Knight of the Red, having the right to wear Bane-hardened armour and wield a Bane-runed sword.
Sir Alaric d'al Ortiga, Baron Ezinbrooke
Captain, Royal Dragoons (half-pay)
Age: 27
Current Funds: 1743 Crown
Debts: 10660 Crown
Bi-Annual Income (Personal): 135 Crown
Bi-Annual Estate Revenues: 264 Crown
Bi-Annual Estate Expenses: 350 Crown
Bi-Annual Interest Payments: 107 Crown
Total Net Income (Next Six Months): -58 Crown
Soldiering: 70%
Charisma: 41%
Intellect: 9%
Reputation: 46%
Health: 62%
Idealism: 54% ; Cynicism: 46%
Ruthlessness: 38% ; Mercy: 62%
You are a Knight of the Red, having the right to wear Bane-hardened armour and wield a Bane-runed sword.
Friends and Associates
Javier Campos: Colour Sergeant, the Royal Dragoons.
(Born 583 OIE)
Victor d'al Reyes: Eldest son of Baron Reyes. Major, the 8th Regiment of Foot. Formerly Commander, the Experimental Corps of Riflemen. ~Lost arm at Blogia~
(Born: 583 OIE)
James d'al Sandoral: Captain (half-pay), the Royal Dragoons.
(Born 592 OIE)
Efraim Saundersley: Solicitor-on-Retainer to the House of Ortiga.
(Born 570 OIE)
Octave d'al Touravon: Baron Touravon, Father of Alisanne d'al Touravon.
(Born 556 OIE)
Enemies
Hiir Cassius vam Holt: Takaran Ambassador to Tierra. Eldest son to Richsgraav vam Holt.
(Born 527 OIE)
Eleanora d'al Welles: Countess Welles. Proponent of Military Reform. Friend to Isobel, the Princess-Royal. ~Died at Blogia~
(Born 587 OIE)
Javier Campos: Colour Sergeant, the Royal Dragoons.
(Born 583 OIE)
Victor d'al Reyes: Eldest son of Baron Reyes. Major, the 8th Regiment of Foot. Formerly Commander, the Experimental Corps of Riflemen. ~Lost arm at Blogia~
(Born: 583 OIE)
James d'al Sandoral: Captain (half-pay), the Royal Dragoons.
(Born 592 OIE)
Efraim Saundersley: Solicitor-on-Retainer to the House of Ortiga.
(Born 570 OIE)
Octave d'al Touravon: Baron Touravon, Father of Alisanne d'al Touravon.
(Born 556 OIE)
Enemies
Hiir Cassius vam Holt: Takaran Ambassador to Tierra. Eldest son to Richsgraav vam Holt.
(Born 527 OIE)
Eleanora d'al Welles: Countess Welles. Proponent of Military Reform. Friend to Isobel, the Princess-Royal. ~Died at Blogia~
(Born 587 OIE)
Ezinbrooke, a barony within the Duchy of Cunaris, possessed of 132 rent-paying households.
Respectability: 48%
Prosperity: 49%
Contentment: 38%
Manor...
…Being a country house of middling size in good condition, but of very rustic appearance. encompassed by a low stone fence in a state of much disrepair. Outbuildings include stables, coach house, and guard house, all in exceptionally poor condition.
Interior consists of eighteen rooms, including six bedrooms, a kitchen, a library, a small ballroom, a dovecote and a gun room.
Estate and Grounds...
…Being a barony of middling size, composed of a manor house, market village, and surrounding fields and hinterlands. It is located a week's ride west from the city of Fernandescourt, a journey rendered easier by the fine state of local roads.
The village of Ezinbrooke is a small hamlet, possessed of a traveller's inn, a publick house, a somewhat worn shrine to the major Saints, and an open market square. The surrounding cottages are few in number but of excellent condition, having recently been repaired and refurbished. Fields bound the village on all sides, and all available land is under cultivation.
Bi-Annual Estate Revenues
Rents: 264 Crown
Bi-Annual Expenditures
Estate Wages: 150 Crown
Food and Necessities: 75 Crown
Luxuries and Allowances: 75 Crown
Groundskeeping and Maintenance: 50 Crown
Other Expenses: 0 Crown
Total Balance: -86 Crown
Respectability: 48%
Prosperity: 49%
Contentment: 38%
Manor...
…Being a country house of middling size in good condition, but of very rustic appearance. encompassed by a low stone fence in a state of much disrepair. Outbuildings include stables, coach house, and guard house, all in exceptionally poor condition.
Interior consists of eighteen rooms, including six bedrooms, a kitchen, a library, a small ballroom, a dovecote and a gun room.
Estate and Grounds...
…Being a barony of middling size, composed of a manor house, market village, and surrounding fields and hinterlands. It is located a week's ride west from the city of Fernandescourt, a journey rendered easier by the fine state of local roads.
The village of Ezinbrooke is a small hamlet, possessed of a traveller's inn, a publick house, a somewhat worn shrine to the major Saints, and an open market square. The surrounding cottages are few in number but of excellent condition, having recently been repaired and refurbished. Fields bound the village on all sides, and all available land is under cultivation.
Bi-Annual Estate Revenues
Rents: 264 Crown
Bi-Annual Expenditures
Estate Wages: 150 Crown
Food and Necessities: 75 Crown
Luxuries and Allowances: 75 Crown
Groundskeeping and Maintenance: 50 Crown
Other Expenses: 0 Crown
Total Balance: -86 Crown
