Previous thread: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/8651370/

Presently Bob and an escort of two footmen are on a diplomatic mission to Ravenholme.
You have at your disposal eight royal footmen, armed with spears, good mail, swords, and bucklers.
You have eight labourers, one of whom was a blacksmith's apprentice, one a tanner, and one knows some field medicine.
Supporting you is the cold and professional Humphrey, a Royal Huntsman, and Friedrich, another Royal Huntsman with a wealth of knowledge on the monsters of the Frontier.

AH GOD DAMN OP! I WAS JUST ABOUT TO GO TO BED!

RAVENHOLME:
A small, recent outpost under the control of House Delat, from back home. The Delats are your rivals for the throne - fine orators, charismatic leaders, but not known for their martial skill. Delat has, however, massive support from the Church of Degra Veen and His Most Holy Inquisition.

could someone archive this thread please?

STRASSENBOURG:
A large, old settlement and most successful on the Frontier. Ruled by a representative from the Barony of Czerabog in Hrothgard.

LAST CHANCE:
Marked on no maps, owing fealty to none. Your men tell you the village seems haunted, as though everyone there has something to hide.

The third day dawns.
Your men say the hall will be complete by evening, as will the palisade.

What will you do, lord?

>>8882904
I'll archive it myself if it picks up tonight.

Other points of note:
THE FAIRY RING:
Your men fear it, and you've been convinced to leave offerings each night.
ALTAR TO LITRYS
A shrine open to elements, covered in flowers and carvings. Litrys is the goddess of luck, the wild, and weather. Open worship of her is borderline heresy, these days, as the Church squashes all but Degra Veen from the pantheon
THE MINESHAFT:
An old adit. It is still stable and braced, it seems, and mysterious, supposedly spiderlike creature dwells within. It is surrounded by protective wards made of piled bones.

i'm to tired to do this now i'll see you in... maybe 4-6 hours from now

but i will give you a "bump" to the front page and wish you luck in you're quest OP

g'night

>>8882980
Made it just in time. So, what was up with that Last Chance place? Did dem faries get em?

>>8883093
>>8884347
Dammit, I was an hour late. Maybe OP will show up later.

>>8884347
>>8884558
Well OP, if you do show up anytime soon: Do any of our men know how to make a ballista/could we just jerry rig one up? Because I want HEAVY FUCKING PROJECTILES pointed at the spidercave and that Last Chance place.

>>8884668
Whoops, sorry for the delay, I'd given up this one for dead.

There has been no further word on Last Chance, the fairies do not appear to have caused any trouble over night. The Ballista, regrettably, has not been invented here yet (bygone ages had magical cannons).

What will you do with the day?

>>8884907
In addition to our fortifications, we should make warehouses and such to store our food and supplies. We should also get into the habit of hunting for local game alot. And as much as I hate to say it, we should offer that Last Chance place our help, or at least tell them "Hey, if you leave some milk on this fairy circle, bad shit WON'T happen to you."

>>8884995
Friedrich and Humphrey set about hunting with some more competent bowmen from the soldiery. The head labourer, Thelonius, puts forward the idea that proper housing may also be a good idea for when the migrants arrive. Will you be going to Last Chance personally?

>>8884995
Sure, might as well see first hand if we can't help fortify their town. I don't have much faith in our diplomacy going too well in ravenholme, might as well make friends with the neighbor that is least likely to pull a coup on our asses.

>>8885138
It's a short trip, with a pair of footmen accompanying you. The wilderness does not appear to want to kill you this morning, and the weather is comparatively warm for February.

The scent of salt reaches you quickly, and as you crest a low hill Last Chance becomes visible.
It's a nice little place, as far as you can see - fishing boats bob gently on the waves some way offshore, there's a stone jetty, and oddly enough a lot of stone buildings. Including a two-storey building that could pass for lordly accommodation.

>>8885199
Head for the two story building, politely ask if we could speak to the person in charge. Tell them about Fort Royal and such, offer them some help. Also, tell them that such help would come WITHOUT a bond to our service, we won't get them tangled up in all this political mumbo jumbo. We're just doing a good deed.

>>8885312
Doors close and people duck out of sight as you walk through the streets.

The house is... well, a work of art, really. There's a fountain outside, in the square, made of glass or crystal. Ye gods...
The house itself is equally impressive - but not ostentatious. The craftsmanship is amazing, you can't even seen the joins or cracks. It's like it was carved from a single block of stone.

Your knock on the oak door is answered by a pretty young woman in what may once have been a maid's outfit. She smiles shyly - or nervously.
"Y-yes? Can I help you?"

>>8885362
"Greetings, is this the mayor's house?(Or whatever name they use to determine rank or position of office.)"

>>8885381
"Mayor? Oh, no. Last Chance is too small for such a thing. My husband and I live here - he's the village smith."
She finally seems to notice your heraldry, and curtseys.
"I am Vanessa Lor, your lordship."

>>8885462
"Would it be safe to say that you two are the ones that conduct most of the business in Last Chance then?"

>>8885501
Addendum: "Kasimir Faraldan, a pleasure to meet you as well."

She seems a little flustered.
"A pleasure to meet you, your highness. I-I wouldn't say we conduct business. Vulcan just does the smithing and building. Would you like to come in?"

>>8885587
"Certainly, as long as I'm not interrupting anything."

I hope that Last Chance doesn't turn out to be Innsmouth.

That said, expanding our population should be a long term goal. I foresee that we'll get into a rivalry with Ravenholme, and we'll need a lot of loyal troops to contend with the church.

In fact, I suggest that we begin a secret cult dedicated to the Litrys. Since she's been banished, she'll probably appreciate any dedicated worship. That is assuming that gods in this setting are real. Could you clarify that OP?

>>8885647
She leads you inside - the house is decorated with carvings right into the walls. Intricate murals of symbols you don't recognise, titanic battles, monsters and heroes.
"Vulcan is an artist." Vanessa sighs, pausing to trace one of the designs with her fingertip.

The house is quite spacious, and the corridor to the kitchen/dining room to which Vanessa leads you is lined with magnificent suits of armour - some of them far larger than an ordinary human.
She invites you sit at the marble table, and offers tea to you and your men before going to get Vulcan. There is a small boy - maybe three years old - playing with wooden toys near a large glass window. Glass!

>>8885743
Goddammit, it is Innsmouth.

Inquire as to why the suits of armor are so big.

Take the opportunity to case the place, so that if we need to come back, we know where everything is.

>>8885798
"Oh, you'd have to ask Vulcan" Vanessa says.

Difficult to get a good look, but this room with its large window abuts onto the shore, and it looks like most of the ground floor is taken up with display rooms and the forge - which you can only assume is the forge by the heavy metal door, and because you can see Vanessa knocking on it when she goes to fetch Vulcan.

The man of the house arrives moments later - tall, broad, goatee'd with long flowing hair. His mucular body is naked to the waist, curiously sweat-free for a man who just left the forge.
"Your highness," he says, bowing. " I am Vulcan Lor. To what do I owe the honour of your visit?"

He seems a little on edge. A visiting prince might have that effect.

>>8886040
"My father, King Svarton sent me to make an outpost in these parts. We've had a reasonable amount of success thus far. I've also heard some unsettling rumors about Last Chance. I don't mean any disrespect by that, but if something's got your town spooked, I feel obligated to at least offer a helping hand. I offer my hand not as the prince, but as any other decent man would. Truth be told, I'm not one in favor of all these political wars being fought over our land and it's throne. Each great house has it's own agenda and they'll stick to it until things go their way. And prince or not, the thought of innocent people dying doesn't sit right with me. I can't stop House Delat from pointing it's high and mighty finger at me for helping an unaligned village, and I cant help all the things the other houses will say to keep their best intrests protected. But I can say that if there are things going bump in the night here, I'd be a fool to sit back and let it happen."

Too bad I'm off to bed. Ah well. Good luck OP, I hope to read it in the morning.

>>8886306
Vulcan looks hard at you for a moment, and then visibly relaxes.
"By Herephaeson, that's a relief your highness. Your aid welcome, but we're actually alright here. Last Chance is where people come to get away from things, start a new life like Vanessa and I did. The kindest thing you can do is keep Last Chance a secret for a little longer - and in return, I'll do some smithing for you."

>>8886347
"Well I'm glad to hear that your town is safe, because I've seen and heard of enough supernatural stuff going on in this area to give paranoia and caution free reign over my affairs. As for smithing, I do have a worker back at our outpost that was a former Blacksmith's Apprentice. Would you be privy to training him? I can understand if you decline, such works as these would lose sentimental value if any man with the proper tools could recreate them."

>>8886478
Vulcan smiles.
"The Frontier is a scary place, true enough. I cannot take an apprentice at the moment, I'm afraid, but I can send tools your way. My forge is very... personalised."

>>8886789
"Fair enough, I understand your desire for secrecy. If the idea would be heard, would you consider having a trade route set up between our two villages once ours has progressed past being a fledgling community?"

>>8886876
"Sounds fair enough - Last Chance can't hide forever, I suppose. Is there anything else I can do for you, while you're here?"

Commission a set of bitchin' armor.

We need to look our part when we go into battle.

>>8886913
"What do you know of runes? There is a mountain near our camp, it has a cave at it's base covered with bones, runes, and GIANT SPIDERWEBS. Obviously I knew enough to not mess with it, but going from the state of the entrance, there is something in there that is NOT supposed to come out. I'd just like to know how long those runes are gonna make whatever is inside STAY inside. If the runes are in any danger of failing, at the very least, we will have the entrance surrounded with FIRE, lots of it."

>>8886931
We should get armor for all of our current forces that reflects their duties.

"I... may know a thing or two about runes. Runes to keep something in? Hm. What are they made of? Can you describe them or sketch them?"

>>8887559
"From memory, I can't tell you much. But the next time we venture towards the cave, I'll take note of the runes."

"Very well. For what it's worth, there are three kinds of runes - witching runes, Old Imerian - which I expect you know, being an educated man - and magical runes. And... well, Infernal Runes. But I understand people would know them if they see them."

"I need to get back to work, anyway. Thank you for kindness, your highness. I wish you well."

>>8887726
"Thank you for having me, I'll be off now."

When we get back, we should invest in windmills and watchtowers for Fort Royal. We've an ample supply of wood and we should make generous usage of it.

>>8887831
You return to Fort Royal around midday, and unless you have any other plans for the day, I'm going to end the thread there for now.

Frontier Quest will resume on Friday.

>>8888182
Awesome.
Also, I'm damn glad I caught this today. I'm on Pacific time, and I was at the store round the time you started. Hopefully some of the people from the first thread will migrate back by the next thread. Even though progress is a bit slow now, I've a good feeling about this quest if it manages to garner some popularity about the board.