>>4356289
Hello and welcome to Alterac Resurgent Quest. In this quest you take control of Prince Alric Perenolde, the second heir of the Kingdom of Alterac, with the goal of trying to reclaim Alterac. The quest is based in the Warcraft universe with somewhat more emphasis on the old Warcraft 2 and Warcraft 3 era lore as I am more familiar with it. I will most likely forget some pieces of newer lore or completely disregard parts of it. This quest isn’t as heroic or pauldron heavy, but draws a more realistic and medieval look on the Warcraft universe.

The style of the quest is influenced by the different ASoIaF and dynasty quests, but I won’t be using any existing rulesets. I will try to avoid this turning into a big spreadsheet simulator, but for sake of bookkeeping I do have a spreadsheet to keep track of things. In this first thread we hopefully go through a large portion of the quest mechanisms.

So without further instructions, let’s get to it!

What exactly did you study and practice during the eight years of exile, there was time to learn some about everything, but not enough to learn all. These first few choices will give you some head start on a few skills and stats.

Captain Normand Garside saw it important for you to learn:
Choose one
>Leadership and tactics to command troops. You have spent months reading about great battles and have played countless wargames against Captain Garside.
>Martial skills. Captain Garside drilled you to learn how to handle different weapons and fighting stances through Alteraci Footman drill.
>Organization and logistics. Captain Garside was the quartermaster of the Royal Guard and he taught you how to control and handle movement of supplies and organizations.

Maura Garside, the wife of Normand Garside and former servant of the the late Isolde Perenolde, saw it important for you to learn:
Choose one
>Etiquette. Maura taught you how to act like a nobleman and a prince. To know the correct ways to greet people and how to work with them.
>Small talk and trade. Maura was responsible for the servants quarters and getting whatever was needed at the court, so she taught you how to handle the small talk and how to deal with traders.
>Cooking and home chores. Maura, along with being a servant, worked often in the kitchens. Knowing how to make food good enough for the nobles, she taught you the skill along with few other useful skills she had learned.

>>4356291
>Organization and logistics. Captain Garside was the quartermaster of the Royal Guard and he taught you how to control and handle movement of supplies and organizations.
>Small talk and trade. Maura was responsible for the servants quarters and getting whatever was needed at the court, so she taught you how to handle the small talk and how to deal with traders.

We are the god of SUPPLY

>>4356291
>Martial skills. Captain Garside drilled you to learn how to handle different weapons and fighting stances through Alteraci Footman drill.
>Small talk and trade. Maura was responsible for the servants quarters and getting whatever was needed at the court, so she taught you how to handle the small talk and how to deal with traders.
Relax, everybody. Jesus is here.

>>4356311
Replace Small Talk with Etiquette.

If someone could give a tiebreaker it would be nice. All choices are different at the moment. After tiebreaker I will start writing.

>>4356313
>>4356311
+1.

You had spent most of the time training how to fight. Weapons ranging from polearms to swords to bows and maces became familiar to you. Everything a footman or a knight would use became familiar to you. Two years ago you finally started to trade wins with Captain Garside during sparring and last year you managed to win more than you lost.

Maura Garside meanwhile taught you how to act like a noble, how to talk like them and behave. Her lessons ranged from giving speeches to how to greet different people. Sometimes you missed the hard sparring outside as there was so much little details you had to learn, but in the end Maura was content with how you presented yourself.

Captain Garside had decided last summer that next year you would be ready, that the training he can provide is enough. With that in mind he had sent letters and messages to the many old friends of his and to those who are still loyal to Alterac. Come and join the second heir in a project to reclaim and rebuild Alterac at the start of the fourth month of next year.

Through the autumn and winter you had done some finishing touches on your training, but you knew that you wouldn’t learn that much more. So for quite many days you just spend doing things you liked to do. You hunted in the nearby forests, went to swim in a nearby pond during winter and of course took care of your horse Epona. Yesterday Captain Garside had noticed how nervous you were and you had spent most of the day just sparring till exhaustion. And thankfully to that you had slept really well on the last day of your childhood for today was the day mentioned in Garsides letters. Today would be the day when the loyal supporters of Perenoldes and Alterac would join you.

1/x

>>4356418
Well shit i feel like Leadership and tactics would have been a better choice since i doubt we are really going to fight that much but rather command troops. Now we can either join our forces in the frontline or duel the enemy generals to spare our forces. Well at least if that's a thing given the lore.

>>4356418
Few men had already arrived early in the morning with groups of peasants following them. Garside had gone outside to talk with them a few times as more of them arrived, but it was clear that he was disappointed.

“Not that many have arrived Normand, less than you had hoped.” You asked as Captain Garside walked inside and closed the door behind him.

“Aye, a lot less than I had hoped my prince.” He said as he removed his helmet for a moment.

Captain Garside was now over fifty years old and it did show on his face. His hair had already turned gray as had his short beard. The age did show on his face, but beneath it and the gray hair, he had a warm and trustworthy face.

“But it was expected, we Alteraci people have always been careful and waited to see what would happen. Not always it has been the best choice, so I understand why people wouldn’t immediately jump behind a second heir that has been missing for years.”

He took a mug of water and continued.

“I do think that those who have joined us today will follow you. Let us wait for a few hours, the day is still young.”

2/x

>>4356426
Day had turned into afternoon and more peasants had arrived. Captain Garside had started to organize where they could set up their tents and camps near your farmstead. When he came inside it was clear that not that many more would be arriving. It was time for you to make your presence known and show up.

You had prepared for this. Your armour was clean and you had practiced a few different speeches, but that didn’t help at all, neither did yesterday's sparring. You were extremely nervous.

“It is time.” Garside said as he placed his helmet on and reached for the door.

You nodded and took a deep breath before walking to the door Garside opened for you.

“Attention!” Came a shout from one of the footmen outside and the soldiers straightened their ranks. The peasants who were milling around stopped and tried to look for who had arrived.

As you stepped on the farmsteads porch you saw that in front of you were two small groups of soldiers, footmen and archers. Behind them the peasants stood around silent.

“At ease.” You said and the soldiers relaxed themselves.

“I am prince Alric Perenolde, the second heir of Kingdom of Alterac. For the past eight years I have been in exile and under the protection of Captain Garside of the former Royal Life Guards. In the past years I have trained, I practiced and I have prepared for this day. This day that will change the future of our lives and shape our fates.”

“For the past eight years the Alteraci people have been driven from their homes, nobility stripped from their lands and now ogres, orcs and bandits are living in our homes and mountains. This all for the crimes and mistakes my father had done. Today starts the project for us to reclaim what is rightfully ours. It will not be easy, it will not happen without sacrifices. The Alliance doesn't want us to succeed. The ogres, bandits and other scum don’t want us to succeed. But we will show them that the Alteraci people are sturdy and hardy, that we do not bend easily. We will reclaim Alterac, we will reclaim our ancestral home. And no one can stop us.”

“Alterac Stands!” You raise your voice. “And tomorrow is the first day of the new Alterac.”

The peasants took this as a sign and started to clap. You didn’t expect this, but it was a reaction that you welcomed.

“I would like to ask the leaders to come inside, rest of you please continue setting up the camp.” Captain Garside ordered.

Gained
+10 Regular Footmen
+10 Regular Archers
+30 Peasants

3/x

>>4356421
At this moment going for martial was a good choice. Alric doesn't have that many men under his command so he will act as force multiplier along with other named characters.

File: Map of Alterac and Hillsb(...).png (1.21 MB, 1002x668)

1.21 MB PNG

>>4356428
In a few minutes two new people had come inside the farmstead. The main room of the house was big enough for a large table that had a big map spread on it.

“Please introduce yourself and then sit around the table.” Garside advised.

First one to speak was a man in a footman's plate. His armour was of older design, made when the footman corps of Lordaeron were professional through and through. The man was tall with broad shoulders. His face was hard and his bald head and sharp eyes made him even more threatening looking. If someone were to describe a soldier, it would be this man.

“My prince, I am sergeant Austyn Cromwell. Former soldier of Alterac and after it’s fall I have worked as a mercenary. Now I am here with my small group of men.” The footman said before sitting down.

The second man was more scruffy looking. The man's worn leathers marked him as a woodsman, someone who has spent years in the forest hunting and tracking prey and enemies. The man was clearly as old as Garside was or even older. His scruffy hair and beard concealed most of his face and his tiny eyes scanned the room actively.

“My prince, Bill Rover. Former Royal Gamekeeper, now leader of archers.” The man mumbled clearly.

“Thank you both of you for coming here. We have a lot of work to do and the expertise you bring will be important to us.” You said as you took your seat by the table. “Captain Garside, could you explain our situation.”

Garside nodded and pointed towards the map on the table.

“We are here in The Headland in Hillsbrad Foothills, the third finger. To the west and south of us are the lands controlled by either Dalaran or Lordaeron. To the north are the Alterac Mountains and former kingdom which is now under the control of the ogres. To the east we have Tarren Mill, more hills and mountains.”

“I have placed coloured stones on the map, blue for Lordaeron, purple for Dalaran, brown is the ogres, orange is us and grey is unclaimed. In short we are mostly boxed in. But we do have some space to expand.” He continued.

“I have ten footmen under my command and Mr. Rover has ten archers. It isn’t much, but enough to beat an equal number of bandits or few ogres.” Sergeant Cromwell said with Rover nodding to what was said.

4/5

QM: Take note. The map is from World of Warcraft Classic which is 11 years in future. The scale is also bad. For sake of this quest, it will take about three days to travel from Dalaran to Southshore or a day from Southshore to The Headland

>>4356461
“True, we can’t go marching directly to Alterac City. What about our resources?” You asked.
“We have received some resources from supporters that couldn’t be here today. Some people are more willing to send wealth than participate by themselves. We don’t have much, but enough to expand.” Garside explained.

“Here at The Headland we have my homestead and a few years ago some farmers joined us here and built their farms here. Looking at what we have now, we can support our soldiers, but we need more farms and other sources of income if we want to have more troops without running out of supplies. This means we have to capture more land and invest wealth and peasants into them.”

Gained
+13 Wealth
+5 Supplies


You nod and few different choices come to your mind.

Military options choose one:
>The fingers of Hillsbrad are outside the supervision of the Alliance. Claiming them and governing them would provide us more land to farm and forests to cut down. Bandits and other scum might have presence there.
>The Southern Alterac Mountains north of us are known to have rich veins of metals, but beasts, ogres and other creatures are known to live there. Taking it might be bit risky, but it would protect us and give us proper foothold on Alterac
>South of us are the central Hillsbrad Foothills. This calm region is under de jure control of Alliance, but de facto no one patrols it. The farmlands would be an acceptable addition to us.

5/5

QM: I will provide the military options first. With the next update I will give the economic options and recruitment possibilities. I will give the two pastebins now with the first one having all the economic stuff and mechanism etc. This will be the limit of rules in this quest. There might be few mistakes there. Bit heavy introduction into the quest with all the lore, but I will try to provide as much info and help as possible. If questions go ahead and ask.

https://pastebin.com/CyD88qqf
https://pastebin.com/rysxdRsv

>>4356470
>The Southern Alterac Mountains north of us are known to have rich veins of metals, but beasts, ogres and other creatures are known to live there. Taking it might be bit risky, but it would protect us and give us proper foothold on Alterac

A little risky, but hey we choose to be a fighter for a reason. Choosing a very defensible place sounds nice, and the metals sound even nicer.

>>4356470
>>The Southern Alterac Mountains north of us are known to have rich veins of metals, but beasts, ogres and other creatures are known to live there. Taking it might be bit risky, but it would protect us and give us proper foothold on Alterac

It is pretty late here so next update will come tomorrow. I will check the votes next morning and write the update probably during the afternoon.

>>4356470
>The fingers of Hillsbrad are outside the supervision of the Alliance. Claiming them and governing them would provide us more land to farm and forests to cut down. Bandits and other scum might have presence there.

We need a steady income of supply's to expand our troops. Best option is to go Vs bandits securing the forest and farmlands so we can build farms and later expand to the hills.

From easy to hard guys.

>>4356470
>South of us are the central Hillsbrad Foothills. This calm region is under de jure control of Alliance, but de facto no one patrols it. The farmlands would be an acceptable addition to us.

File: 04_peasant.jpg (66 KB, 544x624)

66 KB JPG

“We are going to go for the mountains. Search them, patrol them and make sure that the mountain passes are under our watch.” You said. “Sergeant Cromwell, you will prepare our troops, we will leave in two days.”

“Yes, sire.”

“Bold choice sire, but doable. We just have to be smart on how we act if something unwanted is found.” Garside says. “Next we should consider our position here at The Headland. We have access to both farmlands and forests, so we should take advantage of the resources we have access to.”

The discussion between you and Garside continued. From Garsides experience as quartermaster, he presented few choices. By building a lumbermill, our peasants could harvest trees for lumber which then could be sold for profit. This would provide a steady source of income, but doesn’t help with the supplies. Garside suggested that some of the resources should be saved for later too. Rover mentioned that the forest will provide work for hunters and herbalists. Cromwell reminded us that we have some supplies stored, getting more would help, but there isn’t an acute lack of supplies. He also reminded that without the Mustering Field we cannot train more troops and would have to rely on mercenaries. Building a scout tower to The Headland would make defence of it easier as threats could be spotted from a far.


You have:
13 Wealth
5 Supplies
30 Peasants

You gain at the start of every season +2 Supplies from having Farms and Homestead in The Headland. But your 20 troops consume 2 Supplies every season, which means that at the moment you are not gaining Supplies. You have no source of Wealth outside of the harvest Farms provide at the end of autumn season.

There are four seasons in a year. Winter, spring, summer and autumn. At the start of a new season you will gain new resources and I will provide you with what to do as we are doing now.

You may exchange Wealth to Supplies with 1:1 rate and Supplies to Wealth with 2:1 rate.

You may also gain Wealth, Supplies and Peasants through events and other reasons.

Currently you lack ability to train troops and no mercenaries are available.

What is suggested to be build in The Headland, choose none or as many as you have resources for:
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants
>Herbalist’s Hut, +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants
>Mustering Field, -1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth
>Scout Tower, costs 4 Wealth


QM: I will have to find a some sort of a template for these start of season updates. This one most likely evolves to have less handholding in the future as the quest mechanisms become known. If questions, go ahead and ask.

>>4357603
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants


Let's just try getting a steady income of supplies and wealth before anything else. Tempted to get the Herbalist's hut to but it's probably best to save some wealth for later.

>>4357603
>Herbalist’s Hut, +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants
> Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants
> Mustering Field, -1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth

That leaves us with 2 Wealth which is not much but we have an easy access to supplys and basic medicine to treat the wounded soldiers in the upcoming battle against the beasts. And we have our foundation to train new troops.

Question for QM: Can the Hunting Cabin generate some wealth? We should be able to sell the fur / coats of the animals. At least in the summer season when its hunting prime time.

>>4357613
Good question, that is something I forgot to add when I prepared this quest. Probably an upgrade to Hunting Cabin to handle the tanning and leatherworking. It will be an option at the start of next season.

>>4357603

>Herbalist’s Hut, +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants
>Mustering Field, -1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth

>>4357603
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants
> Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants
> Mustering Field, -1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth

>>4357622
Fair enough. I'm interested in the combat system so let's fucking go QM. Give us all the loot from those beasts.

>>4357603
i change my vote here

>>4357642

to this options

>Herbalist’s Hut, +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants
>Mustering Field, -1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth

>Herbalist’s Hut, +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 5 Peasants
>Hunting Cabin, +1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth and 5 Peasants
>Mustering Field, -1 Supply, costs 3 Wealth
Current resources:
2 Wealth
5 Supplies
20 Peasants


It was decided that by getting the peasants to work as hunters and herbalists. Reasoning being rather simple, hunters will bring food and furs while herbalists provide mushrooms, herbs and produce simple medicines for people who get sick or wounded. With that decided, the work would start tomorrow. Both Cromwell and Rover excuse themselves, leaving you and Garside alone by the table.

“You did well lad, really well.” Garside said as he went to get a bowl of soup to you and himself.

“Thank you, I didn’t really know how well it would have gone, but it seems that those who came are willing to help me.”

“Very true, trust is hard to earn without doing anything. And what you did today was good, but the work has really just started.” He continued. “Now eat the soup, tomorrow is a long day to organize things forward. Get the troops ready and peasants working.”

…

The next day went fast with Captain Garside starting to organize the peasants to work. Some peasants were sent to Tarren Mill and Southshore to buy necessary tools and equipment, while others started to clear the foundations for the huts and cabins of hunters and herbalists. Same time few started working on the Mustering Field.

Same time sergeant Cromwell prepared his footmen and Rovers archers for the patrol into the mountains. Each man would carry several days worth of food with them as it was expected that the first patrol would meet obstacles, be it just difficult terrain or ogres and beasts.

1/2

>>4357787
It was early morning, the sun hadn’t risen up yet and the air was still damp from the chilly night. There was little crumbling from the men as all of them were bit nervous, but eager for their first mission under your command.

“Everything ready sergeant?” You asked.

“My prince, everything is ready. Backpack’s are full of food and other useful things.” Sergeant Cromwell saluted and gave his answer.

“Good, we shall leave immediately then. No need for us to tarry here. Get the men up and moving, Rover and his archers can lead the way.”

“Yes sire. Alterac Stands.” Cromwell nodded and donned his great helm and lifted his great two-handed battle-axe on his shoulder.

“Alterac Stands sergeant.”

…

You had been marching for a few hours already. The woods of The Headland had started to grow more and more sparse as you made your way towards the mountains. The great pines and spruces were gone as they were replaced with their stunted cousins higher you went. Patches of snow started to appear that the spring sun hasn’t yet melted down. You were now in unknown territory, you had never gone this north before. The rocky ground with loose boulders was new to you. And it surprised you how big the mountains looked this close.

Still caution had to be used. One bad step and you could twist your ankle, or walk into an ambush. The speed of your group turned into a crawl.

>1d10
>Best of three

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4357789

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>4357789

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4357789
Do you mind a reroll if noone else is going to roll?

If not feel free to use this one.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>4357789

The slow trekking across the mountains suddenly stopped as Rover who was ahead of you raised his hand and knelt down. You stopped as well and waited. It only took few minutes, which did feel much longer, for an archer who was scouting ahead to come next to Rover. The two men spoke quickly and Rover nodded to the archer before carefully jogging to you.

“Sire.” He greeted.

“What did the man see?”

“Kobolds sire. Five of them around a campfire, there is a cave with light coming out.” Rover said quietly.

“Sire, kobolds can be beaten. But it does sound like a nest. More of them are inside.” Cromwell said quickly.

Kobolds, the rat-like humanoids that were known to live in the caves and deep tunnels within Alterac mountains. You had read about them and Captain Garside had told you a story of how he had fought them in his youth. Individually they are weak, but if they can swarm their opponent with numbers they will kill the poor man with their daggers and pickaxes. They are not brave creatures.

>You can lead few footmen and kill the guards, before trying to attract rest of the kobolds outside into an ambush by Rover and Cromwells remaining footmen.
>Rover and his archers can probably kill the kobolds guarding the cave entrance. You, Cromwell and his footmen can then move in.
>Attack with footmen and archers same time. Use the surprise for strong and quick attack before the kobolds can prepare themselves.
>Turn back and avoid the kobold cave
>Other

>>4357862
>You can lead few footmen and kill the guards, before trying to attract rest of the kobolds outside into an ambush by Rover and Cromwells remaining footmen.

We took combat skills for a reason. ATTACK!

>>4357864
+1. Kill them and take their candles, we DO take candle.

>>4357864
Support this action

>>4357862
>You can lead few footmen and kill the guards, before trying to attract rest of the kobolds outside into an ambush by Rover and Cromwells remaining footmen.
inb4 we get caught in a counter-ambush

Pretty clear which choice won. One more roll.

>1d6
>Best three

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4357913

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4357913

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4357913

File: Kobold.jpg (80 KB, 506x558)

80 KB JPG

>7, failure

The plan is simple, you and three other footmen attack the kobolds outside and kill them. This should draw the rest of the kobolds outside where you can ambush them with archers and rest of the footmen.

Both Cromwell and Rover maneuver their troops into position as you and three footmen start to sneak closer. Thankfully there are several large rocks to hide behind and soon you are within hearing distance of the kobolds. You give a quick peek and finally see your target.

The kobolds were all sitting around a campfire. They had their pickaxes and short blades next to them as they tried to rub some warmth into their hands. Quiet muttering could be heard as the kobolds spoke something to each other.

“On my mark.” You whisper and lower your helmets visor down. “Mark!”

You dash out of the cover towards the kobolds, the footmen right behind you. The kobolds in front of you were clearly shocked, but quickly recovered and took their weapons.

“Humans, me kill!”

The first kobold took your shield right into its face as you bashed the ratman with all your strength sending it crashing down onto the ground. Another kobold came wildly swinging its pickaxe around. First swing you dodged, second parried and third you directed straight down onto ground where it got stuck. Before the kobold had time to react, you had lunged forward and stabbed your sword straight into the neck of the kobold, nearly decapitating the creature.

You didn’t have time to think about your first real kill in your first real combat as the kobold you had struck down with your shield jumped at you with a dagger in each hand.

Clearly the kobold tried to knock you down, but your shield was sturdy enough and the kobolds jump was stopped. It tried to swing, stab and lunge, but none of its attacks had enough reach or strength behind them. Your quick parries and side steps allowed you to avoid its attack before slashing at its left arm.

The kobold cried in pain as it dropped its second dagger and lunged again towards you, this time it was a bit more lucky. You weren’t fast enough to bring up your shield and the kobolds dagger reached your plate. But here came the difference between you and them, you have armour and they do not. The dagger scraped across your breastplate before slipping aside.

The kobold was too close to stab, but close enough for your swords hilt to smack right into its face creating some distance. Before the kobold could bring up his dagger, your swing dug into its shoulder, cutting across its chest and splitting it open.

“You no take candle!” Came shout from the cave entrance.

As your footmen were continuing to fight, you looked where the shout came.

A kobold larger than the kobolds that were swarming around it was brandishing a huge pickaxe. The kobold raised the pickaxe high and shouted.

“Kill humans, snuff their lives!”

>1d6
>Best three

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4357992

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4357992

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4357992

File: kobold2.png (1.86 MB, 1078x1293)

1.86 MB PNG

>6, failure what is wrong with these rolls!

“Cromwell!” You shouted as the kobolds started to run towards you.

Few arrows flew past you into the kobolds felling pair of them, but before more arrows could find their marks the kobolds were on top of you.

This time it was you who swung his weapon wildly. Wide sweeps left and right kept the kobolds away with few unlucky ones getting slight cuts as the kobolds behind them kept pushing them forward.

“Prince, hold on! For Alterac!” Came shout behind you as Cromwell and the remaining footmen crashed into the mass of kobolds.

The sparring and duels you have had were always against Captain Garside. While you had some lessons on how to fight against multiple combatants, you never had anything like this. You know that you could maybe beat two or three footmen at same time, but this many kobolds? Still you had no time to panic as a sea of pickaxes and daggers was in front of you.

One of your wide swings cut into a kobolds side, slowing the blade enough for allowing another kobold to rush forward. You took a few quick steps back and made a stab at the overextending kobold striking straight into its chest. Your sword cut a shallow wound, but before you could strike again you had to parry a pickaxe with your sword and bash another kobold away with the shield.

There was room in front of you as you parried a kobold sword and with riposte struck another kobold a wound. Your return swing to right caught yet another kobold who got its belly cut open.

“Raagh! Stop killing me kobolds!”

The large kobold charged right through its clanmates, pushing several of them aside into the ground and opened with a strong downward swing. With side step to left you avoided the attack, but you didn’t have time to go for the counter as the kobold raised the pickaxe again and swung again.

The realization was easy, if you get hit by the pickaxe it would hurt a lot, probably break bones or penetrate the armour. Careful parry, yet another side step, riposte that ended up too short. The kobold had the reach advantage.

You could hear the battle around you between the kobolds and the footmen, but for you it was just this duel. Only sounds you heard and concentrated where your heavy breathing and the growling of the large kobold. The other kobolds avoided both of you as the wild swings could have hit them too. Now it was just Alric against a single target, you knew that you could win.

The large kobold screamed as it charged again.

>Go for decisive strike, get close and finish the kobold as quickly as possible
>Alteraci Footman Drill puts large emphasis on parries and counters, use it to defeat to kobold
>The kobold puts all of its strength behind its strikes, if you keep dodging and parrying the kobold will tire down.

>>4358083

>Alteraci Footman Drill puts large emphasis on parries and counters, use it to defeat to kobold

>>4358083
>>The kobold puts all of its strength behind its strikes, if you keep dodging and parrying the kobold will tire down.

>>4358083
>Alteraci Footman Drill puts large emphasis on parries and counters, use it to defeat to kobold

Too tired to write the last update, so next update will come tomorrow. You can still continue to vote what tactic to use, but I will ask for the rolls in advance for the next update.

>1d6
>Best three of four

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4358196

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4358196

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4358196

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4358083
>>4358196
>Go for decisive strike, get close and finish the kobold as quickly as possible

Best to kill him as quickly as possible so we can help our men.

1d6 kind of doesn't give much room for chance.

>12, success

You deflected the kobolds first swing, parried the second with your sword and shield and third you dodged. The kobold tried to crush you with a big downward strike, but you bashed the pickaxe away opening the kobolds guard. Your upswing caught the left hand of the kobold cutting it open before you slashed at its side.

The kobold's left hand lost its grip and it had to swing the pickaxe with only one hand. The swings slowed down which you carefully deflected aside. The kobold tried to charge you, but you pushed its pickaxe away and gave a quick slash at its right leg.

The kobold hobbled a few steps before it raised its pickaxe.

“Aargh! You no kill me!

It took a few quick steps and swung its pickaxe, but it was far too slow and telegraphed. It wasn’t hard for you to deflect it aside. As the kobolds momentum kept it moving, you pushed your sword right into its chest.

The kobold fell on its knees as you pulled your sword out. With a clean swing, your sword decapitated it and the body fell down.

The duel was over and you started to pay attention to what is going around you. As you had fought with the large kobold, who most likely was the chief of these kobolds, Cromwell and the footmen had taken rest of the kobolds head on. Even the archers had joined the melee as they feared that their arrows could hit the footmen. You quickly counted the men who were still standing and quickly realising that not everyone was standing.

“Sire, are you alright?” Asked Cromwell who approached towards you.

You sat down on the ground and removed your helmet and gauntlets. The exhaustion started to kick in.

“I am just tired.” You managed to answer as you brushed your brown hair away from your face and took a long drink from your waterskin. “How are the men, I didn’t see everyone standing?”

“I will sort the men. Sire you should just rest now.” Cromwell answered before nodding.

1/3

>>4359077

For a few minutes you just stayed where you were thinking about the fight. This was your first battle and to not lie to yourself, you were really scared. The first kobolds felt just easy, but when the rest of them came from the cave you had a brief thought that this is it, that the horde of kobolds are going to rush and swarm you. And then the large kobold came and you dueled it, taking the win and its head.

You pushed yourself up as Cromwell approached you again.

“Sire.” He greeted.

“Two my men are dead and two are badly wounded, but they should survive as long as we get them back to your homestead into better care. Rest of use have cuts and bruises, but nothing that few days of rest and bandages would heal.”

“Can the two wounded footmen be moved, can they walk?” You asked.

“Sire we need to make stretchers for them. It will take a few hours before they are ready to be moved.”

“It will be night already, too difficult to carry them through the night.”

Cromwell nodded to that.

“So we will camp here and tomorrow morning carry them back. Sire, if it is fine, I will ask Rover to set up the camp and make the stretchers. There is still the cave to be searched and secured.”

This time it was your time to nod.

2/3

File: Rondel dagger with ornate(...).jpg (79 KB, 768x960)

79 KB JPG

>>4359079

The cave wasn’t that large as you thought it would be as you entered inside. Dozens of candles were burning and creating enough light that it was unnecessary for you to take torches out. Piles of mined stone littered the ground with other tools and equipment. Half rotten furs and wooden benches were spread around the few fireplaces.

You didn’t find much. There were tools which could be reused, few minecarts and wooden objects. When you approached the largest pile of furs, you noticed a chest. It did have a lock, but the pommel of your sword knocked it open after a few bashes. Inside the chest were a bunch of shiny looking rocks, a pouch that was half full of assorted coins and a rondel dagger with an ornate silvery handle.

It did seem that the kobolds had been mining the shiny ore that you thought to be silver and the now dead chief had stashed the shiniest rocks into its chest. You put a few shiny rocks inside the coin pouch, took it and the dagger with you.

Gained:
+1 Wealth
Shiny rocks
Rondel dagger with ornate silvery handle

…

The camp had been set up and some of the corpses had already been searched and hauled aside. The men continued their work for a few hours, taking care of those who were wounded and starting to make food for themselves.

Before you went to sleep, Cromwell approached again.

“Sire, what I saw is that you fought well. Not everyone can take a kobold chief head on and win.”

“Thank you Cromwell, how are the men?” You asked as you chewed a piece of dried meat.

“They will handle this. Death in battle against kobolds is not the greatest way to go, but the men knew the risks when they signed up. Dangers of this profession.” He said that and chuckled. “Sire, don’t worry about them, that is my job. You command and we follow.”

…

The next morning came and so did the time to choose what to do. This patrol had been rather short and only a small portion of the mountains was searched.

>Half of the group carries the dead and the wounded back to the homestead, while the second half stays here securing the camp and patrolling nearby. The first group will return with peasants to carry the loot back and inspect the cave.
>Everyone leaves back to The Headland to rest for a few days before taking a group of peasants to carry the loot and inspect the cave.
>Everyone leaves back to the Headland and a new patrol is launched a few days later to continue searching the mountains.

3/3


QM: Yeah 1d6 doesn't give that much room. We shall go with it for now and if it doesn't work, I can chance it to something else. In this battle Alrics lack of experience at warfare and leading the men showed, but the duel was easier thanks to it being clean one vs one combat he was familiar with.

>>4359087
>>Everyone leaves back to the Headland and a new patrol is launched a few days later to continue searching the mountains.

I rather have us not split up the group. Dont want either of seperated groups get in an ambush. Lets get back regroup and go for it later.

>>4359087
>Everyone leaves back to The Headland to rest for a few days before taking a group of peasants to carry the loot and inspect the cave.
we yes take candle, minecart and bench

>>4359087
>Everyone leaves back to The Headland to rest for a few days before taking a group of peasants to carry the loot and inspect the cave.

You decided that it was for the better if everyone left for The Headland and rested for a few days. It didn’t take long for the men to break the camp and you were on your way back home.

The trek back was much easier as it was mostly downhill and you didn’t need to search for the best way forward as you could just backtrack your previous steps. Slightly before midday you saw first peasants who were continuing their work on the foundations. They gave you few curious looks before continuing to work.

As you reached the homestead, Garside burst out of the door. With quick steps he walked towards you before stopping as it took him a moment to realize that he should regain his composure.

“My prince, are you alright? Why are you back already, you had food for few days?” He asked quickly.

“Captain Garside, we found a cave that had kobolds inside of it. We had a battle and I decided that it was better for us to come back and rest for a few days before going back.” You answered. “We lost two footmen and two other were wounded. Sergeant Cromwell can fill the details.”

Garside rubbed his bearded chin and nodded.

“Good thing that you came then. Better to have the men rest here than in the wilds. I will arrange food and medicines for the men, we can talk more later.”

....

What you had brought with you was spread on the table. Captain Garside and even his wife Maura were looking at the coins.

“The coins are a mix of old Alteraci coins and everything else. Few from Stormwind, few from Lordaeron and so on. Can’t really say where exactly they are from. Probably the kobolds had just killed some poor traveller.” Normand Garside mused aloud.

“The rondel dagger meanwhile is really good work. I am not an appraiser, but this thing when it was made wasn’t cheap. It is not elven made that I can say. Maybe appraise it at some point, but I would keep it for now, it is not dull.”

“What about the rocks?”

“Frankly no idea. I am not an expert on rocks, maybe one of the peasants we have here know about them more.”

Garside puts the coins back into their pouch and asks you about the battle. You recall him everything as well as you could as he just silently listened. After everything was said, he rose up, went to get a bottle of something and poured some of it into two glasses, before pushing one to you.

“Alteraci brandy, good stuff.”

“You did well Alric. The first battle is always the hardest. And it is always good to talk about the battles, to not bottle them inside yourself.”

He raised his glass.

“To your first battle.” He said.

“To Alterac.” You answered.

1/2

>>4359350

It was decided that in three days you would leave for the cave. And before leaving you went to see the wounded men, participated in the funeral of the two footmen and supervised the work of the peasants.

The day when you left, Captain Garside decided to join your expedition with a dozen peasants. The travel back to the cave was uneventful and it didn’t take long for the peasants to start working on clearing the rest of the corpses away and collecting all the tools and equipment.

As the peasants worked, one of them investigated the shiny rocks and the cave better. It took him maybe a half an hour, before he was finished.

“Milord the rocks are galena.” The stout peasant said to you.

“I am sorry, but that doesn’t say much. My studies were more martial than about geology.”

The peasant apologized and looked down.”Milord, galena is an ore of lead and silver.”

“Silver? Are you completely sure?”

“Yes milord, I have worked in few mines before.”

This was really good news. Having a source of silver that could be mined would be a great source of wealth and having a lead source wouldn’t hurt either.

…

The peasants had set up a camp after they had collected all the loot. Few piles of pickaxes, shovels and daggers were outside, the minecarts were in shoddy condition and only the metal parts could be taken and only few benches were good enough to be carried back to homestead.

Gained:
1 Wealth
1 Supplies
Silver and lead source in Southern Alterac Mountains

To Captain Garsides knowledge, there were three minor passes here that can be used to cross the mountains. Searching them should be done before we could call this part of the mountains secured.

Captain Garside left with the peasants and the loot, leaving you to continue the patrols. With you are the sergeant Cromwell with six footmen and Royal Gamekeeper Rover with ten archers. After extinguishing the campfire the second patrol started.

>1d10
>Best of three


QM: With galena being ore for both lead and silver, only one mine is needed.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4359356

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4359356
Can't believe I almost missed a Warcraft quest.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4359356
That's a good find.

>>4359361
>>4359364
Well shit.

>>4359356
Yet another question for QM: If we open a mine in the hills do we have to station troops there to protect it or are all our forces available to defend any region we have under control should it come to an attack?

>>4359378
I thought about talking about that when we go into summer season, but I can do it now. Yes and no, it depends completely about the location and who the neighbors are. The Headland is pretty damn safe place to be unless you manage to anger someone. Meanwhile the Alterac Mountains most likely do need a garrison the moment your presence is known or someone angry and mean decides to go there.

But I will say that you don't have to worry about this at the moment, your presence in Alterac, Hillsbrad Foothills and nearby lands is at the moment minimal.

Also I have started to write the update.

It took you the better part of the day to reach the first and closest mountain pass. It did surprise you how much easier it was to climb the steep rocky hills as the big loose rocks and boulders made way for small copses of trees that grew on the sunny mountain sides. Suddenly there was a small path through the mountain tops. It was wide enough for two men to go through at the same time. You decided to be the first one to go.

On the other side opened a land in which you haven’t been in eight years. From the pass the mountains started to slowly go down and you saw lush green forests, before a second chain of mountains blocked your view further into Alterac. What was in front of you was one of the many valleys of Alterac.

There was no need or reason to go there now. Securing these passes is enough now and you would need more men if you wanted to push further into Alterac.

…

After camping near the pass for the night, you made your way towards the second pass. Only tracks Rover managed to find were animal tracks until he called you to see something.

“My prince, mountain lion tracks.” He pointed out as he was squatting next to big pawn print.

“So we should be careful?” You asked.

“Aye sire, mountain lions tend to avoid groups, but will defend themselves if needed.”

“That is good to know. Please lead the way.”

…

The second pass was even smaller, just wide enough for one man. Just a small stream that made its way through the mountains. You had to get your boots wet if you wanted to go to the other side which you did. Another valley greeted you with its tall pines and spruces.

Another night was spent camping. The men were content as the weather has been really good, no rain or fog. And most importantly you didn’t bump into anything.

That did change the next day. As you were closing on the third and final pass Rover stopped and raised his hand. Everyone tensed up as when he did that before, it was the kobolds behind the hill. This time it wasn’t that.

Rover after talking with one of his archers jogged to you. You didn’t think about it that much when he did that first time, but he could move quickly in the rocky ground nearly silently.

“My prince, you better see this.” He said and scratched his beard.

You followed him and behind a copse of trees was a clearing with a rock fire pit.

“Sire, haven’t heard or seen anything. Seems abandoned” He whispered.

“Then we shall search the area and secure the pass.” You ordered.

>1d6
>Best three out of five, yes Rover is that good

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4359525

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4359525

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4359525

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4359525

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4359525

You were ready to draw your sword, but Rover stopped your hand.

“No need for that sire.” He grumbled. “No one is here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Sire, I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t.”

As you walked towards the fire pit Rover pointed down. There was two prints equal distance from each other. They looked like something heavy was dragged on the ground.

“Cart tracks. Look at the footprints in the middle.” Rover said and pointed at the large prints. “Ogre feet.”

“Ogres had a camp here and they had something heavy on the cart, but what.” You wondered aloud as Rover had already wandered elsewhere.

You waved your hand and called the rest of your men to join you. You explained what Rover had managed to find as he came back with something in his hand. You immediately realized what he was holding when he opened his hand.

“Piece of silver ore, where did you find it?” You asked with bewilderment in your voice.

“Near the cart tracks sire.” Rover said.

“Rover, search the area again and then prepare to scout the pass.” You gave the order.

He didn’t find anything new, just a few pieces of the ore here and there near the tracks. And as you followed the tracks into the last mountain pass, more ore pebbles were found. It looked like the carts ogres used weren’t the sturdiest or they didn’t slow down when the wheels hit rocks and stone.

The third pass was the widest. Easily allowing four men to walk side by side. It was also the shortest mountain pass, it only took you a few minutes to go through and you were on the other side. What you saw was yet another mountain valley which had steep wooded hills behind it.

“Sire, behind those hills and towards the right is Gallow’s Corner.” Said Cromwell. “Last time I heard, it is like a rolling a dice on who controls the old scout tower there. Be it bandits or ogres.”

You nodded as an answer. Garside had told you about Gallow’s Corner. It is an old scout tower located at a crossroad. The road that comes from Southshore turns to four directions there. West towards Alterac City, north towards northern Alterac and east towards Strahnbrad. Whoever controls the tower can watch over the trade and travellers.

As you looked into the Alterac, only the ogres were on your mind. It seemed that they were transporting the silver ore into Alterac. Why would they do that? What would they gain? Where the kobolds you killed the only source of it, or are there more mines in the southern mountains? You didn’t know, but you knew that the rest of the mountains have to be searched carefully. What you knew was that there was a lot of work to do.


QM: This is last update for today. Tomorrow we should be able to finish the spring season and get into summer of year 14. Thanks for playing and as always, if you have questions please go ahead and ask.

>>4359681
How much longer is it until the Third War? A year?

>>4359932
I hope not. Otherwise, we are gonna get fucked hard by the Cult of the Damned.

>>4359932
In Warcraft lore Third War happened in year 20 and we are currently in the spring of 14. So six years. I have a prepared timeline of stuff and events that is going to happen in the background. The world will move forward and events will happen, but I will give you chances to participate in them with a power to change things. But I will warn that you shouldn't try to meta game that hard, as if I notice it I can just change things completely into other direction.


And to get the thread rolling forward.

>1d10
>Best of three

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4360588

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>4360588

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4360588

Yesterday's findings were still in your mind as you continued the patrol. Was the kobold mine the only mine that provided ore to the ogres, or did they have more mines under their control. To your annoyance neither Rover or you managed to find anything as your patrol searched the land near the third mountain pass. With reluctance you had to return back to the homestead in The Headland to rest and restock in food.

Captain Garside was really surprised when he heard about your findings. Ogres dealing with silver ore was unheard of, but it was something to be taken in account when planning the next moves.

…

Rest of the month was spent with few new patrols into the mountains. For the most part the patrols happened without any problems. Few times some of the soldiers nearly twisted their ankles in the rocks or managed to fall down thanks to the mail and plate hindering movement. You were rather content on anything not happening, but the fourth patrol broke this peace.

You had been on a patrol for the past few days and you had made camp near the third mountain pass. It had rained somewhat yesterday and now it was a bit chilly as you were making breakfast and preparing for a day when one of the lookouts suddenly came jogging back to the camp. The footman stopped by Cromwell who handled last night's lookouts and said something to him. You knew something was clearly wrong and decided to come and see what was wrong.

“Sergeant, is there a problem?” You asked

“Can you tell the prince what you told me.” He ordered the footman who was drinking from a waterskin.

“Yes my prince.” The footman said after finishing drinking. “I was ordered to watch the mountain pass with my partner and we saw two ogres come to this side. Both had big wooden clubs and the second one was dragging a cart behind it. I came here to warn you as quickly as possible.”

“Sire, what do you think?” Cromwell asked.

“It is the silver ore.” You said after thinking a bit. “The ogres are here for the silver, which they now aren’t going to get as the kobolds are dead.”

You swept your hair back with both of your hands and turned to Cromwell who was already standing in his full armour.

“Sergeant, get everyone ready. We are moving.”

1/2

>>4360758

It didn’t take long for everyone to be prepared. Backpacks and other equipment that could be on the way of fighting was left behind as you made your way towards the mountain pass as quietly as possible. Soon you had reached the archer who had accompanied the footman on his watch. He had chosen a good hiding spot behind a small bush that provided enough cover to him as he laid down on the gravel.

“My prince, there they are.” The archer said and pointed towards the two ogres who were standing around the rock fire pit.


>Just watch the ogres and don’t do anything. Avoid combat and let the ogres leave alive without being seen.
>Order Rover and his archers to take down the ogres and finish them with the footmen.
>Attack the ogres with archers and footmen on same time.
>Parlay with the ogres.
>Other

>>4360762
>Just watch the ogres and don’t do anything. Avoid combat and let the ogres leave alive without being seen.

They aren't going to be able to get the silver without the kobolds. We can just fortify the mines later and have guards

>>4360762
>>Order Rover and his archers to take down the ogres and finish them with the footmen.

a good ogre is a dead ogre. fuck m right in the pussy

>>4360762
>Order Rover and his archers to take down the ogres and finish them with the footmen.

I guess they will send more if their patrol doesnt come back but whatever.

>>4360762
>>Order Rover and his archers to take down the ogres and finish them with the footmen.

>1d6
>Best of four

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>4360881

>>4360881
Whoops, I meant best three of four, not just best of four.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4360881

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4360881

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4360881

>11, success

You wave your hand and call Rover to you, quickly giving him the order to take advantageous position and prepare to hit the ogres. The plan was simple. The archers would loose arrows as long as possible before you, Cromwell and the footmen attack and finish the ogres.

It didn’t take long for Rover to be ready and he waved his hand as a signal. He was ready.

“Alright right men, be ready to finish the ogres.” You said, lowered your helmets visor and gave the signal to Rover by drawing your sword.

Rover and his archers crested the small hill they were behind and just a few seconds later the first volley of arrows was in the air. You watched their flight from the cover of the bushes and saw most of them hitting the two large ogres.

One of them shouted in rage and pain as its back was turned into pincushion. They didn’t have time to react as the second volley hit their targets. The ogres tried to cover their heads with their hands as they started to charge towards the vague direction where the arrows were coming from.

You were pretty certain that Rover and his archers could finish the two ogres before they reached him, but you didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.

“Take the ogres down! Alterac Stands!” You shouted as you started to run towards the ogres.

It wasn’t even a fair fight. The first ogre that fell to your blades hardly managed to lift its club to defend itself before it was stabbed and hacked to death. The second proved a bigger threat as it punched one of the footmen straight into the chest, caving the breastplate and sending the man flying a short distance. The ogre finally died after Cromwell decapitated it with a great swing of his battle-axe.

As the head rolled onto the ground, you were already giving orders. Search the ogres, tend to the wounded man, send Rover with few men to check if the pass is clear.

…

It didn’t take long for the men to give their reports. The wounded footman will survive with few bruises and hurt ego. The breastplate had worked as intended and protected the mans life. Rover also reported that the pass was clear and no further ogres were found. He did leave few arches to watch it while you started to search the ogres better.

As the archers pulled out arrows from the thick skin of ogres to see if they could be reused, one of the footmen came to you with a small pouch.

“My prince, look what we found.” He said and gave the pouch to you which you opened.

“It is a coin pouch.” You mused aloud. “So the ogres were ready to pay for the silver ore.”

“Sire, you mean the kobolds we fought and these ogres are connected?” Asked the footman. “Scary thought that they are cooperating.”

“I wouldn’t say scary, concerning is closer.” You continued to muse. “Keep searching, if you don’t find anything, call Rover here and we can leave this place.”

The footman saluted and went back to work.

Gained
+1 Wealth

1/2

>>4361052

“So the ogres were actually paying for the silver.” Normand Garside said to you as he continued cleaning his plate mail. “I didn’t want to believe it, but it does seem that whoever is the leader of those ogres is not stupid. This is something we have to take in account in future choices of ours.”

“It will make reclaiming Alterac much harder.” You said. “We managed to beat two ogres rather easily, but a full clan will be much harder.”

Garside nodded and rose from his seat and went to look at the coins closer.

“Yeah, these coins are a mix. Just like the previous pouch found with the kobolds.” He said.

“Old coin or new coin, the merchants still take both.”

“Very true. These coins will serve us well. And it was a smart way to fight them. Ogres are dangerous if allowed into melee with their clubs.”

…

Rest of the spring went peacefully. You went for a few patrols into the southern mountains visiting the cave and the mountain passes regularly. As the summer weather approached, you started to see the beauty in the ruggedness of mountains. These mountains are hardy, just like the people from there. It will take work, but the potential wealth and profits in the silver will make this all worth it.

With that the summer arrived. The peasants that were ordered to build the Hunter’s Cabins, Herbalist’s Hut and Mustering Field all reported that their work was finished. The new hunters and herbalists were already at the work, prowling the forest for both quarry and herbs. You had gained some useful wealth from both the kobolds and ogres which left you slightly richer than before, but not rich enough to spend ludicrous sums. Still progress was made. While Alterac Stands is just a saying, it did feel to you that it did stand slightly more than before.


QM: This is good spot to stop. We have reached the end of the spring season and the start of the summer season. Due to me being busy during the weekend and in the first half of the week, don't expect any updates. I will try to check my notes and pastebins and update them for the next time. Even if I don't have time to write the updates, I will be monitoring the thread for questions and such. I hope you all enjoyed my writing and as always if you have questions, go ahead and ask.

>>4361067
Thanks anyway, hope the game lasts

>>4361067
Very good quest, it makes me feel like it is a warcraft 3 mission.

After the long journey of recovering Alterac will we choose to stay Independent or rejoin the Alliance?

>>4361133
Independence just means we join up with the Horde later on. Considering our family's history we can pull off some very interesting diplomatic shenanigans thanks to our past with the Horde. Not to mention the Alliance is going to hate our guts and if we join them we can expect the Blood Elf treatment but worse because we are going to border the plaguelands, therefore, get turned into a bulwark against the endless Scourge forces to protect the rest of the Alliance as a living meatshield.

At least if we team up with the Horde we won't get the bulwark treatment but instead the beachhead. Which while not great is still a hell of a lot better than the alternative. In fact dealing with the Cult of the Damned may be of use as we can align ourselves with the future Forsaken and gain more magic. Forsaken as allies are going to be vital if we don't wanna get raped by the Scourge. We can even improve our relations with the blood elves because of how badly the alliance screwed them over in ww3.

>>4361247
We will see, as in the position we are we can change a lot of thing, maybe stopping the summoning of the archimonde?

and the blood elves treatment was because Garithos was a xenophobic fuck that was the highest ranked officer in remnants of Lordaeron's military, making him the Leader of the Alliance.

>>4361410
QM said he'll fuck us right back if we try to screw with canon too hard. So I highly doubt we can stop Archimonde from being summoned. I was personally thinking about sending the elves some actual reinforcements so they won't get genocided so hard by the Scourge and get friendly with Sylvanis for when she establishes the Forsaken.

Technically the Blood Elves also got screwed even before Garithos because the Alliance hardly sent any reinforcements to fight off the Scourge Invasion of their lands that corrupted the sunwell. It wasn't just Garithos.

>>4361466
>the Alliance hardly sent any reinforcements to fight off the Scourge Invasion of their lands that corrupted the sunwell.

They didn't have any reinforcements to send, the Kingdom of Lordaeron was gone at that point, Arthas went on a rampage and killed Terenas and Uther.

>>4361543
They still had Stormwind, the naval forces, and dwarfs. The alliance was actually quite huge but fucked up big time during ww3. The southern Alliance was almost entirely untouched and could have helped but didn't. Admittedly the northern alliance got fucked hard by the Scourge.

>>4361819
I think the biggest reason why we didn't see Alliance of Lordaeron regrouping before Terenas was killed is purely because how character driven WC3 is as a game. So we have situation where the games storytelling triumphs over what the story could have been.

And as you said, Alliance of Lordaeron got decimated badly. This also happened really quickly as the WC3 human and undead campaigns happen during the spring and summer of year 20. When Arthas returned from Northrend shit went down fast.

>>4361956
Which when you think about it was the fast pace that fucked over the Northern Alliance so badly. The Scourge basically Blitz Krieged the Alliance because they been planning and mobilizing for years ahead of time. Less then how character driven it was the Alliance getting fucked so hard largely came down to how fast it all went down unlike the previous games.

What the Southern Alliance fucked up so hard was assuming it was 'just a plague' and by the time they realized it wasn't the Lordaeron had already fallen and the Elves got blitzed. It didn't help that the Dreadlords were mind controlling the remaining Northern Alliance leaders and thereby delaying the Southern Alliance support with false intel.

The dwarfs notably actually did their best to help while the rest of the Southern Alliance lagged behind very badly in terms of support. Considering how quickly both dwarfs and elves showed up to support the Northern Alliance when it was a mere 'plague' its doom mostly came down to politics among the humans.

By the time the Southern Alliance reorganized it was time for WoW and the blood elves were understandably pissed at the Alliance for throwing them under the bus against the Scourge. They only really joined the Horde thanks to the Forsaken particularly its leader and how pissed they were with the Alliance.

Alterac is not a nation anyone would tolerate in the Alliance, especially since the quest goes with the Destruction of Alterac premise (rather than the neutered approach from Rosenberg's novels)

>>4362806
True at least we only have to deal with Thrall though who is by far the most reasonable and diplomatic Horde leader. That guy is very reasonable and a good fellow until they neutered him in the later WoW expansions. To be honest though even if we rejoined the Alliance we would still get fucked due to us bordering the future plaguelands our best fate is being turned into a living meatshield by them. The only nearby allies we can possibly hope for is the future Forsaken. Which would mean helping out the elves when they get Blitzed by Arthas leading the Scourge and helping the Forsaken when Arthas heads back to Northrend.

>>4362806
Yes I did that, because I just didn't see it plausible for Alterac to have a huge downfall if it was just anarchy and people revolting. They wouldn't have burned down their own homes and means of living as that would have been just so stupid.

And imo it fits the general story better that Aiden Perenolde played with fire not once, but twice and due to the second time it wasn't only him who got their fingers burned. This is something I should write an official quest update of how the things went in the quest. Another thing I did change are the ogres. Crushridge Ogres split from Stonemauls probably at around Exodus of the Horde. Mug'thol the leader was possessed by Sylvanas during her rise after Arthas had went to Northrend. He regained his own will somewhere between that and year 25 which is start of WoW. In this quest Crushridge ogres have been in Alterac for few years already.

I might be able to run on Wednesday if my general busyness allows it. Also this >>4361956 was me, I dropped my trip when posting and didn't realise it.

>>4365729
Welp looks like we are stuck teaming up with the Forsaken and Blood Elves after all.

>>4366416
Teaming up with the enemies of the Alliance for the third time? Brilliant plan.

>>4366863
They hate our guts already and if we join them we get to look forward to being the meatshield against the Scourge and Forsaken. Honestly, we are pretty screwed when it comes to finding allies.

>>4366416
Can start with Alterac Frostwolf orcs

>>4367882
Aren't those guys the most reasonable and shamanistic Orc Clan that left their homeland? If so they would make an excellent start...wait when does Thrall join up with them anyway for shaman training?

I was hoping that I would have time to sit down and spend 4+ hours to write the quest, but at the moment it isn't possible for foreseeable future. This doesn't mean that the quest is dead, but that I will have to switch to the slower "update when I have time" pace. Thankfully /qst/ is slow so the thread doesn't fall of the board fast.

To make sure that people won't miss updates, I made a Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/MedivhQ?s=09

Thankfully I had some time, so I did update the two pastebins.

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

If plausible, I will try to update tomorrow. Sorry for all this.

The gentle summer rains had brought more life to the Hillsbrad Foothills. From the sea clouds and moisture travel inland until they hit the Alterac Mountains condensing and raining down. The farmers were really happy as their crops and plants got more than enough water, but the peasants in their tents had started to grumble a bit.

You thought about this and stared at the ceiling for a moment as you were still in your bed. Summer had come and so did new responsibilities.

Finally after a few minutes you decided to get up. Your trousers and shirt were neatly on the chair and your boots next to the door. Quickly putting them on, you grabbed a bunch of papers from the table that you had finished. Plans for taxation, numbers regarding footmen and their food. Garside had tried to make sure that you would understand all this, important things for a ruler. Truth to be told you really didn't, but thankfully your small bookshelf had few useful books. Papers in hand you made your way downstairs.

…

The Garside Homestead was a relatively simple building. It had a small cellar for food and storage. On the first floor was the big central dining and meeting room, kitchen with sizeable oven, storage room and one guest bedroom. Second floor meanwhile had your room, Garside's bedroom and Normand's small office. All this was built in a rather rustic style with log, plank and stone.

"Good morning Alric, the porridge is still hot." Normand Garside said as he continued to eat his breakfast.

You did as commanded and took some porridge with some bread and two boiled eggs.

"Wasn't the plan that one of your old friends will come here today?" You asked. "Someone who can help us?"

"Yes, trader Beric. He has both the wealth and connections. He probably knows best where the old comrades of mine are."

"You have talked a bit about him. Crooked man, but has a mind for numbers and profits."

Normand thought a bit before continuing.

"I wouldn't exactly call him crooked, misguided and improper, but not crooked." He mused. "He did sell faulty or soddy stuff a few times to other merchants, but when the Alterac military needed something, he would get it fast and reliably. In the end he is a trustworthy man."

You shrugged your shoulders, accepted the answer and continued to eat your porridge.

…

It was still morning and the meeting to make the decisions was planned for afternoon. This meant that you had a rest of the morning free to do something. The meeting was going to last for a few hours so catching some fresh air before it would be nice. Few ideas came to your mind.

Choose one:
>Go see the peasants and to hear what they have on their mind.
>Go see Bill Rover. He has been with the herbalists and hunters and training with the archers a lot.
>Go see sergeant Cromwell. He has been actively sparring with the footmen and keeping track of any military related news of the land.

>>4371810
>Go see sergeant Cromwell. He has been actively sparring with the footmen and keeping track of any military related news of the land.

>>4371810
>>Go see sergeant Cromwell. He has been actively sparring with the footmen and keeping track of any military related news of the land.

>>4371810
>>Go see the peasants and to hear what they have on their mind.

>>4371810
>Go see the peasants and to hear what they have on their mind.

I figure we're going to have to go switzerland mode behind the mountains, turtle up like Gilneas.

>>4371810
>Go see the peasants and to hear what they have on their mind.
In ny opinion, we should go into that meeting with a complete picture of the situation. We can hear out everyone else there, but now's the best time to speak with the peasants.

The grass was still damp from last nights rain as you made your way to the tent camp the peasants had built. Several new tents had spring up like mushrooms after rain as more peasants had arrived in the past two weeks. The rumour had spread within the Alteraci people that there would be work available, that someone was trying to claim land to farm and forest to harvest.

The peasants greeted you as you passed them. Garside had told you that during your patrols, the peasants had gotten a foreman. One of the peasants had taken a lead and started to organize their efforts. Garside didn’t think this was a bad thing, the peasants required some closer guidance, but the dangers of middle management gone wrong did exist.The foreman of course had the biggest tent in the middle of the tent camp so finding him was easy. There was a group of peasants milling around the tents entrance, but they allowed you to pass when they recognized you.

“So you are the self-proclaimed foreman.” You said as you pushed into the tent.

“Y-yes I am, my prince.” The man stuttered a bit before standing up and bowing deeply.

“Captain Garside told me that when I was gone in the mountains, you organized the peasants and got the work done on time.” You said maybe bit too strictly.

“Yes my prince, I did that. I am sorry if I have done anything wrong.” He continued to stutter.

“No you haven’t done anything wrong, it is good that you took the responsibility of guiding the rest of the peasants. Also there is no need to bow so deeply, I am not that small that you have to look down to see me.” You said with a small chuckle. “So could you please introduce yourself and then we can get into the business.”

The man was slightly bewildered, but he straightened his back quickly. He looked a few years younger than Garside was, but you could see the marks of manual labour on his body.

“I am Matthew Davis, former miller from Alterac. I left the kingdom after the Second War after my mill was burned down and after that I have been doing odd jobs. And when I got here, I didn’t see anyone else guiding the rest of the people to work. So I started giving them orders and soon I was the foreman.” He said.

“Thank you for the explanation of the situation.” You said as you took a chair and sat next to a table with some graphs and notes. “I see you have been keeping track of food and other needs.”

“Yes my prince. Learned it when I was miller, farmers always accused me of stealing portion of their flour.” He said and sat down.

“Did you steal it?” You asked.

“N-no my prince, I was a honourable miller, not like some others of my trade.” He stuttered.

“Good, with your word about that you can continue being the foreman. If problems arise, I will quickly find a replacement.” You said and continued. “Let's get to the business. Can you tell me about the peasants, their griefs and needs.”

1/2

File: WC2_Manual_Peasant.png (14 KB, 265x454)

14 KB PNG

>>4373362
It took foreman Davis a bit to get talking, but when he started to talk, he really talked a lot. He told you that in the past few weeks a large group of peasants had arrived to look for jobs. He told you that while the peasants have been content at helping the local farmers at repairing their houses and tending their fields, there isn’t enough things for everyone. People have been idle. The peasants have also been crumbling about the lack of proper housing. The tents have been fine for the spring and the summer, but there are some worries for the winter. Davis suggested that before winter is here, a lumbermill should be built to provide lumber for houses and for trade. He also suggested that building the mine into the mountains would help. Getting people to work makes them forget their worries.

Not all the news was bad. The peasants had taken to liking the meat brought by the hunters and the herbs had already healed few cuts and bruises. Meanwhile the farmers liked that extra hands were available.

Gained
+30 Peasants

…

You talked with foreman Davis for some time. Going through his graphs had taught you how much food a peasant eats, how much different things had to be produced or purchased. One glaring thing was that while you were self-reliant on food and herbs, you weren’t on tools or building materials. It wasn’t a bad thing, but something that should be corrected in the future.

After your business with Davis was finished, it was time for the meeting.

>Dice 1d10
>Best of three

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4373372
Lets go and see if we can build a lumbermill next

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4373372

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4373372

Beric made you wait. Both Cromwell and Rover had arrived on time, but Beric was late. It took maybe an hour before the door was opened and the trader walked in.

"Terribly not sorry for being late, the situation was completely out of my hands." He said with a gravelly voice as he put his hat and coat aside, before turning and greeting everyone in the room.

"Greetings everyone, I am Beric of Strahnbrad. Trader and procurer of goods."

Beric was a tall and bald, but rather lanky man. His face had old pockmarks and the left side of his face was slightly droopy. His nose was also slightly crooked.

"What do you mean out of your hands?" Normand asked.

"You haven’t heard? Southshore has a major gnoll problem." He answered. "Southshore and Tarren Mill have send patrols to keep the roads clear. Bumped into one of them and they were adamant to escort me here."

"Beric is correct." Cromwell said and pushed a bounty poster to you. "I heard a few days ago and got this yesterday. Southshore is offering a bounty for killed gnolls and their leader."

"See, I wasn't lying. Not my fault that I was late." Beric quipped.

"We can talk about the gnolls and bounties later. Did you bring what I have asked?" Normand asked.

"Yes I did, exactly as you wanted them."

Beric had a small bag with him which he opened and poured its contents on the table. Dozen or so metal eagles clattered down. Modelled after the eagle in the flag of Alterac, these small metal eagles were actually pins after you gave them a closer look. Big enough to be recognisable, but still small enough.

"Really good craftmanship, why did you order these?" You asked towards the direction of Normand.

"Sire, we know that we Alteraci people aren't exactly the most well liked among other people of Lordaeron. So I thought that wearing heraldic tabards would be a mistake, but these eagles are small enough for us to recognize each other. Forgive me if I have done anything wrong."

It was a good idea. Now you had something to use to identify your soldiers. You waved the issue away and finally started the meeting.

1/3

>>4374934
Beric had brought a small coin chest with him. Through his contacts among the Alteraci diaspora, he had gathered a tidy sum of wealth. You happily accepted the wealth he had brought.

Bill Rover meanwhile didn't have much to contribute this time. The herbalists and hunters had started to work and they were already bringing food and herbs to the table. Mostly he wanted to remind that the mountains would require patrolling to keep them safe.

Cromwell meanwhile had a lot to say. With the silver found and the ogres killed, in his opinion it was probable that the ogres might retaliate. If any work was to be done at the cave, the mountains should be defended. He also made a point that with peasants and wealth available, training new footmen and archers was possible, but they would be ready only after the summer. He had also collected basic information of mercenaries available in nearby regions, if hired they would be available in a few days. There was also the gnoll bounty situation he quickly explained to you.

Garside meanwhile put emphasis on acquiring more wealth and supply sources. The wealth brought by Beric helps a lot, but we can't rely on it. Beric agreed heavily on this. If you could produce goods, he could sell them for profit.

With what you had learned from foreman Davis, getting peasants to work was important. As was that they should get some lumber for their houses. Same time building the silver mine and defending would bring a hefty sum of wealth into your coffers. And with whatever you do, there was the military to think about and expand. There were decisions to make.


Gained
5+6=11 Wealth
1 Supply

Total resources
16 Wealth
7 Supplies
50 Peasants

Gained per season
0 Wealth
1 Supply

2/3

>>4374941
Southshore Gnoll Bounty
Southshore is willing to pay 1 Wealth per ten pairs of gnoll ears delivered to them in addition they are willing to pay 10 Wealth for the head of the gnoll warlord called Steelhead. The gnolls have been sighted between Tarren Mill and Southshore and as far as Hillsbrad and Azureload Mine.


What is suggested to be build in The Headland and in the Southern Alterac Mountains, choose none or as many as you have resources for:

>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Leatherworker’s Workshop, +1 Wealth and +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Silver and Lead Mine, +5 Wealth, costs 5 Wealth and 30 Peasants, Southern Alterac Mountains
>Scout Tower, costs 4 Wealth, Southern Alterac Mountains
>Other, see pastebin


QM: Alright long update. Not that many choices to choose from, but now you have the possibility to train troops or recruit mercenaries. Information about them and what other military choices can be made will come in the next update, but you can already check the pastebins how it works. Do you go and expand your economy, what about the ogres and the potential wealth from the gnoll bounty, what about expanding the military?

If you need extra clarification, questions about how things work or questions to any of the characters in the meeting, just go ahead and ask me. Some mistakes might have gotten through my proofreading.

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

>>4374956
>>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>>Leatherworker’s Workshop, +1 Wealth and +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>>Silver and Lead Mine, +5 Wealth, costs 5 Wealth and 30 Peasants, Southern Alterac Mountains

>>4374956
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Leatherworker’s Workshop, +1 Wealth and +1 Supply, costs 5 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Silver and Lead Mine, +5 Wealth, costs 5 Wealth and 30 Peasants, Southern Alterac Mountains

>>4374956
>>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Silver and Lead Mine, +5 Wealth, costs 5 Wealth and 30 Peasants, Southern Alterac Mountains
>Scout Tower, costs 4 Wealth, Southern Alterac Mountains

The leatherworker can wait, I'd rather ensure the mine is secure from the ogres with a scout tower in the pass. We'll be getting a large wealth boost from the mine so the extra +1 from the leatherworker is a bit superfluous right now, and we've got spare supply income and stocks.

>>4374956
>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Silver and Lead Mine, +5 Wealth, costs 5 Wealth and 30 Peasants, Southern Alterac Mountains
>Scout Tower, costs 4 Wealth, Southern Alterac Mountains

>>4375226
>>4375368
Exactly my thoughts. We cant establish the mine without any protection. I rather have the scout tower up there giving us a bonus to our defense.

tl;dr: +1

>>4375742
Add +10 Archers to my vote.

>>4375226
Backing

I agree on waiting for the leatherworker yet keep in mind we do need leather for crafting equipment eventually.

>>4375226 here, agree on adding +10 archers too.

>>4375226
Support, Adding the +10 archers too.

With a lead mine nearby, we should see about getting some cannon and rifles to add some striking power to our military, we might be able to sell some of the mined materials to the dwarves over in the hinterlands, the wildhammer dwarves are not as firmly intrenched in alliance politics as the other dwarf holds and could prove to be good trading partners and allies.

>Lumbermill, +1 Wealth, costs 4 Wealth and 10 Peasants, The Headland
>Silver and Lead Mine, +5 Wealth, costs 5 Wealth and 30 Peasants, Southern Alterac Mountains
>Scout Tower, costs 4 Wealth, Southern Alterac Mountains

You decided on building the lumbermill to provide crucial construction materials and trade goods. In addition it would be foolish to not take advantage of the silver and lead found in the mountains and to protect the peasants and the mine, a scout tower was to be build nearby to provide some protection.

"I am sorry, but I will have to excuse myself." Said Beric as he left the table. "The peasants most likely want to buy something from me and I am not a man of military matters."

"Thank you for your help, we appreciate your efforts to help our cause." You said to him with a bit of regality in your voice.

"Thank you, my prince will find my services useful." He said as he bowed, took his coat and hat and left.

Total resources
3 Wealth
7 Supplies
10 Peasants

"To my knowledge there are three different mercenary groups available for hiring." Cromwell explained. "If hired they would arrive here in a few days and be ready for orders."

"Do you think the mercenaries are to be trusted?" You asked as you didn't have experience with them.

"Sire the mercenaries are loyal as long as they get paid on time and not take bad beating in fights. They like their coin and especially staying alive to spend it."

"So who are the mercenaries available?"

"The first is a group of peasant militia led by a man called Stephen. This so-called Iron Militia is to my knowledge done mainly garrison duties and fought against bandits in Arathi Highlands. The second group is some Kul Tiras soldiers at the moment in Southshore. Don't know who their leader is, but apparently they are a bit rowdy after no proper contracts. Finally there is Maxwell and his veteran footmen from Stromgarde."

This mention of Stromgarde piqued the interest of Garside who lifted his head from the papers in front of him.

"Sir, you did hear correctly. There are Stromgarde veterans from the Second War available for hire." Cromwell told Garside.

1/2

>>4376606

"What about training our own troops?" You asked. "Now we have a place to train them, that should be possible."

"Sire you are correct. What limits us is the lack of peasants available. We should only have ten of them idle at the moment after getting the mine and lumbermill started, so we can only get one squad trained this summer." Cromwell explained.

"We need to balance our available peasants between our economy and military. It won't be easy, but it can be done." Garside said to which you agreed.

"I have been taught how to fight in melee and the basics of warfare, but I want to hear from you what you do suggest?" You asked the three men at the table. "You are my advisors."

"Archers, ranged troops." Grumbled Rover from beneath his beard after few seconds of silence.

"Balanced approach. Footmen and archers that support them. We should also invest our resources for a proper barracks." Cromwell said.

"I agree with Cromwell, but we shouldn't forget cavalry. Barracks is something we must get, but so are stables for horses and not to forget the blacksmith. Without it any difficult repairs have to be done elsewhere." Garside said his opinion. "Also to construct scout towers to important places, but not necessarily everywhere and of course upgrade them.

With this guidance in mind you had the decision to make.

Available Mercenaries:
-Stephen's Iron Militia, 30 Regular Militia, 3 Wealth, Upkeep 1 Supply per season.
-Kul Tiras Swashbucklers, 20 Regular Footmen, 2 Wealth, Upkeep 2 Supply per season.
-Maxwell's Stromgarde Guards, 10 Veteran Footmen, 3 Wealth, Upkeep 1 Supply per season.

Available Troops for hire:
-10 Footmen, 1 Wealth, 10 Peasants, Upkeep 1 Supply per Season
-10 Archers, 1 Wealth, 10 Peasants, Upkeep 1 Supply per Season


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


QM: I split the military matters in two updates as we have now went over most mechanisms of the quest and the update would have been far too long. Nicer to split it in two. I also noted how eager you were for archers, but I put that on vote if someone didn't check the pastebin for mercenary option yet. Better to have everyone informed clearly. Also I would like to ask everyone to link your votes to my update to make it bit easier for me to see what is being voted and supported.

More military and troop options will open in future depending on your choices. As always if you have questions, please go ahead and ask.

>>4376620
>>Hire Mercenaries, mention which
Kul Tiras Swashbucklers

>>4376620
>10 Archers
>Hire Mercenaries, mention which (Kul Tiras Swashbucklers)
That should be enough.

>>4376620
>10 Archers
>Hire Mercenaries, mention which (Kul Tiras Swashbucklers)
Pretty tight in money matter for the season but alright.

>>4376620
>10 Archers

I'm not bothered either way on mercenaries, doesn't really feel like we need them yet but the upkeep won't be breaking the bank. Might set up interesting plothooks.

>>4376620
>>4377452
Lets go with 10 archers. Once we have a better income of supplys we should focus on building our military infrastructure. Mercenaries are a bit overkill right now.

>10 Archers
>Hire Mercenaries, mention which (Kul Tiras Swashbucklers)

“We are going to start training more archers. They were rather effective at dealing with ogres and if we can kill the enemy or just cause damage, we could minimize casualties among the footmen. We are also going to hire the Kul Tiras Swashbucklers.” You said.

“Sire, then we have no wealth remaining.” Garside said. “If we need to purchase something or we get unexpected expenses, we have no breathing room.”

“You are correct, but I see the Swashbucklers to be worth their hiring cost.” You said. “Sergeant Cromwell, please contact them and get them here.”

“Yes sire.”

“Next point we need to decide is what to do with our current troops and mercenaries.” You continued.

“Sire, we will have quite strong force, but not strong enough to venture into Alterac proper.” Cromwell said.

“I agree with the sergeant. The mountains were not under anyone's control, but if we go into Alterac we are going to be an invading party and face stiff resistance.” Garside said. “In my opinion we should take control of the rest of Hillsbrads fingers. Darrow Hill and Gavin’s Naze are west of us and Sofia’s Naze is east of us. We probably can’t take all fingers immediately, but have to go first either west or east.”

“Darrow Hill is inhabited, in the past few years when we have been here, I haven’t seen anyone living there.” You said. “What about Gavin’s or Sofia’s Naze, does anyone know?”

“Sire, the rumours are that there is a big bandit group north of Tarren Mill in the hills and forests so they might have presence in Sofia’s Naze. They could easily watch over the road to Gallow’s Corner and Strahnbrad easily from there.” Cromwell said while checking the map of Alterac and Hillsbrad with all the colourful stones.

“Haven’t heard or seen anything. Gavin’s Naze probably empty.” Rover said.

“We also have the possibility of going into South-Western Alterac Mountains, but that could be dangerous. We have no idea what is in there.” You said.

“Sire, I will have to agree. Rumours range from orc holdouts from Second War, gigantic kobold warrens and bands of rogue wizards. Even during your father's reign, those mountains outside of few safe mountain passes to Dalaran were basically wilderness under no proper Alterac control.” Garside said and Rover nodded approvingly.

“The final thing is the gnolls and the bounty. We could head south and hunt for the gnolls and take nominal control over the Central Hillsbrad Foothills. Hasn’t it been abandoned since the war?” You asked from Garside.

“There are few scattered and struggling farms there, but outside of that not much else. And now most likely the gnolls.”

1/2

File: Map of Alterac and Hillsb(...).png (1.21 MB, 1002x668)

1.21 MB PNG

>>4379030
You rubbed your chin and thought for a moment. There were multiple possible ways of expanding your reach and claiming more land, all with their positives and negatives.

“Alright, what does everyone think, what should our action be?” You asked the people around the table.

“Take the fingers, claim the land that once was Alterac.” Garside said.

“Sire we should take out advantage of the bounty. With our forces thanks to the Kul Tiras mercenaries we can beat the gnolls.” Cromwell suggested. “I worked for Southshore a few years ago, they will pay on time if the work is done.”

“Years ago there were gnolls in Alterac, we hunted them down. We should do it again.” Rover said.


Choose one
>Go west and venture into Darrow Hill and Gavin’s Naze. Claim them under your control.
>Go east and venture into Sofia’s Naze. Secure the road and lands north of Tarren Mill.
>Go south into Hillsbrad and hunt the gnolls for the bounty. The farms there need help.
>Go north-west into the Alterac Mountains. Riches and wealth could be found there.


QM: I didn't have time to finish this last night, but I might have time later today to push out another update.

>>4379032
>>Go west and venture into Darrow Hill and Gavin’s Naze. Claim them under your control.

>>4379032
>Go north-west into the Alterac Mountains. Riches and wealth could be found there.

>>4379032
>Go west and venture into Darrow Hill and Gavin’s Naze. Claim them under your control.

>>4379032
>>Go south into Hillsbrad and hunt the gnolls for the bounty. The farms there need help.

We've got the mercs, might as well use them. Our most pressing issue now is supply (and getting more peasants) so securing the farmland seems like a solid option, and the bounty will pay for the mercs.

What's the point of getting the mercanaires if we aren't going to do anything with them? I thought we got them so we could expand into an area that's dangerous.

>>4379112
yeah, so I figured gnoll clearing in the south would work. We can do the northwest mountains next season once the next batch of archers are ready, and we'll have a solid supply base.

>>4379032
>Go south into Hillsbrad and hunt the gnolls for the bounty. The farms there need help.

Changed vote

>>4379032
>Go south into Hillsbrad and hunt the gnolls for the bounty. The farms there need help.

changing vote, more peasants are good.

>>4379032
>Go south into Hillsbrad and hunt the gnolls for the bounty. The farms there need help.
More peasants and some liquid cash will be good. Next turn, we can do the Northwest.

>Go south into Hillsbrad and hunt the gnolls for the bounty. The farms there need help.

“We need to deal with the gnoll threat before it can become any worse and we need to help the few farmers who are living there. We can’t sit idly and just watch as fellow humans are threatened by these creatures. Sergeant Cromwell what is the status of your footmen?”

“Sire, the two that were wounded are both back in service, in addition among the peasants that arrived were a pair of former soldiers. I got them to replenish our ranks. I can’t speak for Rover, but I think his archers are ready too.”

“Aye sergeant, we are ready.” Rover said and nodded.

“Good, we shall wait for the Kul Tiras Swashbucklers to arrive and then we head south.” You said. “If anyone doesn’t have anything to say, I say this meeting will end now. We have a few days to prepare so let's use them well.”

…

Next day you led a large group of peasants to the kobold cave where they immediately started preparing a camp and cutting down trees for the mine. Foreman Davis personally promised that the mine was ready and producing silver and lead before autumn came. In addition the work on the scout tower started. It was going to watch as big an area as possible, while being close enough of the mine.

With the work at the mine getting started and Garside had supervised the start of lumbermills construction, it was time to prepare for the coming fights. This meant checking your arms and armour and now most importantly checking that your horse Epona was ready for battle. The fighting and patrolling in the mountains during the spring made using her nearly impossible, but now you were going to open ground. While you weren’t as good with lance than with a sword or other weapons of a footman, you felt confident when you did few training passes at the mustering field. When it was time to fight, you knew that you were ready as were the rest of your men.

1/2

>>4379266
It was the morning of the day when the Kul Tiras Swashbucklers should arrive. Some of the men were a bit nervous as they knew that battle would soon follow, but at the same time there was excitement and eagerness for they wouldn’t be fighting an unknown foe. And that the foe was threatening others humans, made the choice of going into battle easy for them.

Normand Garside approached you in his full-plate. His old armour was made several years before the Second War and it was as good as the smiths of Alterac could make an armour.

“Are you ready Alric for this day.” He asked. “The mercenaries will be here soon and according to what Cromwell said, they would be ready for battle immediately.”

“Normand, no need to worry that much. We will deal with the gnolls just like we dealt with the kobolds and the ogres.”

“I am not worrying about the fighting, I know we are ready for that, but the Kul Tiras men aren’t Alteraci, they don’t know that you are a prince and a second heir. I don’t think that they will recognize us outright, but there is still bad blood between our people and theirs. So I am asking how you want to deal with them, will you be open about it or take an alias.”

This was actually something you haven’t thought about at all. How will you deal with people who aren’t Alteraci. Nevertheless this was something that you would have to deal with sooner or later, so why not now.

Choose one
>Be Prince Alric Perenolde openly and continue as before. You didn’t worry what their or others reaction would be when the word spreads.
>Be a son of a former Alteraci noble, it is the partial truth.
>Take Nom De Guerre, you might be Alteraci, but you definitely aren’t part of nobility.

>1d10
>Best of three

QM: Choose and also give me the roll. I might actually manage to do third update later today so I am asking this roll already now.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4379267
>Be Prince Alric Perenolde openly and continue as before. You didn’t worry what their or others

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4379267
>Be Prince Alric Perenolde openly and continue as before. You didn’t worry what their or others reaction would be when the word spreads.

Sounds like a way to get more subjects

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>4379267
>>Be Prince Alric Perenolde openly and continue as before. You didn’t worry what their or others reaction would be when the word spreads.

File: Kul Tiras Swashbuckler.jpg (47 KB, 413x755)

47 KB JPG

“I shall be who I am. If I hide who I am, sooner or later the truth will get out. And when the masquerade drops there will be problems.”

Normand sighed deeply.

“I hope you are right. It will not be easy, but we will manage.” He said.

…

At around midday the Kul Tiras Swashbucklers arrived. Twenty footmen glad in traditional Kul Tiran armour made their way towards you. What made them different compared to sergeant Cromwell and his footmen were the weapons they were carrying. Each man carried a short pike and had swords and small axes on their belts. Behind the men came an ox cart that clearly carried rest of their equipment.

Both you and Captain Garside were on your horses and Cromwells footmen and Rovers archers were on your left and right flank. The Kul Tirans slowed their march and stopped in front of you. One of the Kul Tirans left the ranks and approached you. The man was stocky just like rest of the Kul Tirans, but what made him stand apart from the others was a huge scar on his left cheek.

“I am Lieutenant Beckston, the leader of The Swashbucklers. Which one of you two is the one who hired us. Our contact was rather tight-lipped.”

“It would be me.” You said.

“I would have expected it to be the older gentleman, not some young boy. So who are you, who are we working with.”

“I am prince Alric Perenolde, the second heir of the Kingdom of Alterac.”

Beckston looked at you for a few seconds before laughing.

“You are shitting me, Perenoldes to our knowledge are either dead or missing.”

“I am not shitting you lieutenant Beckston. I am who I say I am.”

He looked at you bewildered.

“Alright, your grace. Is that how you want to be called?”

“My prince at first and sire later will work lieutenant. Now as we have introduced ourselves, shall we get to work?” You said mildly annoyed.

“Understood my prince. Can your men show where we can park our cart and after that we are ready.”

1/2

>>4379502
It didn’t take long for the Kul Tirans to stash their extra gear and equipment into their cart and soon they joined your men. After a brief briefing and introducing Garside, Cromwell and Rover to Beckston, you started to make your way towards the area where gnolls had been seen.

Making your way down from The Headland into the foothills, you quickly noticed how little trees there were. Compared to The Headland, the hills were rather bare from trees, but meadows and different grasses grew everywhere. With Rovers archers taking the vanguard, you followed them on horseback with the footmen behind you.

After several hours of steady marching, one of the Rovers archers ran to him and just like before he dropped to his knee and signaled you to stop too. Just like in the mountains the archers told something to Rover who quickly jogged to you and after a greeting he spoke.

“Otherside of this hill is another hill. And behind it is a burned farm, still smouldering lightly, but no signs of life.”

“Thank you Rover, we need to investigate the farm.” You ordered.

If the farm was already smouldering, the gnolls could already be far away.

…

You approached the farm and it was clear that no one was there. The roof and most walls had already collapsed with faint smoke rising from the ruins. The lack of bodies was a good sign, maybe the farmers were still alive. You kept the footmen away from the farm ruins as you called Rover to you.

“Search the ruins and try to find any tracks. Be it human or gnoll, no bodies is suspicious.”

Rover nodded and went to work.


>1d6
>Best three out of five

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4379505

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4379505

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4379505

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4379505

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4379505

>15, success

Finding tracks was easy. Rover didn’t have to spend much time around the farm, before he waved his hand and called you to him.

“Sire, gnoll tracks lead to the east. At least ten tracks, but three of them are definitely human feet.” Rover said.

“Can you follow the tracks?”

“Aye sire, can do.”

…

The news of survivors pushed you and the men to march as fast as possible. Rover didn’t need to stop that often to check the tracks either. You saw the roof of the old ruined scout tower at the crossroad to your right and crossed the road. As the night started to arrive, you had reached the lake south of Tarren Mill and the forests near it. Even with the potential survivors in mind, the men were tired and because of that you decided to have a short pause.

Day of riding had left your legs sore and while you were stretching them, Garside came to you.

“We pushed the men pretty hard today.”

“Aye that we did for there are survivors.”

“Alric you do not know if they are alive anymore.”

“That is true.” You sighed. “But we do not know if they are dead, as long as the men think that they are alive, they are going to push forward. Rover is still following the tracks ahead of us.”

“One lesson of warfare is to not push the men too hard. Tired men make mistakes.”

“Normand I can’t sit idly either.”

Now it was Garsides turn to sigh.

“All I am saying is that you should tread carefully. I want to help the potential survivors too, but I will put us and our men ahead of them.”

Garside was correct. Push too hard and mistakes might happen, but if you didn’t push forward the humans that were captured might be gone.

…

As you were ready to continue your pursuit, Rover silently came jogging out of the brush clearly in a hurry.

“Sire, we found ‘em.” He said while trying to catch breath. “Maybe an hour march away, a gnoll camp. Too dark to say how many of them, but more than just the gnolls we followed.”

"Did you see the humans?"

"No sire, the camp had few tents, maybe inside them."

There it was, the gnolls and the humans you had followed. It was quite dark already, the half moon was shrouded in clouds. The darkness could help you, but at the same time it could hinder you. You had read that fighting in dark requires strict control of troops and you knew that gnolls didn't have that. It was a gamble and the question was, is it worth it?


>March through the night and attack the gnolls in the dark.
>Camp here and rest for awhile and prepare to attack at dawn.
>Camp till the morning and attack in clear daylight.

>>4380211
>Camp here and rest for awhile and prepare to attack at dawn.

>>4380211
>>4380214
+1
Do not attack in the night. They got night vision and we don't. That would be fucking stupid. The dawn shall give us the best chances.

"Attacking in the darkness would be too dangerous and our men are tired. We shall stay and rest here and prepare to move so that we can attack at dawn." You said to Garside who had arrived to see what Rover had to say. "Captain Garside, inform the men and get them to rest. Tell sergeant Cromwell to set up the watches."

"Yes sire."

"Really good work Mr. Rover. Now go get some rest."

"Aye sire, it's been a long day." He said before leaving.

Truth to be told you were tired too. Eating some food in the dark and catching a few hours of sleep wouldn't hurt at all.

…

One of the Kul Tirans carefully woke you up. It was still really dark, but by Rovers estimate it was still about two hours till sunrise. Carefully approaching the gnoll camp, he estimated that you would be ready to attack at dawn. It didn’t take long for everyone to be ready and soon you were off.

Rovers estimate was correct, it took you till the dawn to get near the camp. Following him carefully on foot, he guided you into a brush where you could see the camp. The camp itself was relatively simple, few tents in a small clearing with a big smouldering campfire in the middle. You saw some gnolls sleeping on the ground, but only a handful were already awake. They were probably the guards of the camp. You had seen enough and it was time to make a plan how to deal with the gnolls.

…

"Alright the gnoll camp is a few hundred meters that way in a forest clearing. They have no terrain or anything that could stop us moving in. Just this forest. Any comments before we go into battle." You whispered to your officers.

"Sire, we fight well in formation. This forest might hinder us a bit, but not too much." Lieutenant Beckston said with a low voice as he adjusted his war hat.

"Noted, anything else?" You asked and received no answers.


Your forces:
Prince Alric Perenolde on horseback
Captain Garside on horseback
10 Footmen with sergeant Cromwell
20 Kul Tiran Swashbucklers with lieutenant Beckston
10 Archers with Rover

>Lead the footmen into battle in a formation with archers providing support.
>Have archers take out as many gnolls as possible before footmen and you attack.
>Take advantage of the surprise you have and order a quick and brutal attack to destroy the enemy before they can react.
>Other, write in


QM: A battle! Choose the option that works the best in your opinion or write in your own suggestion. Also my lack of time came back so expect only one longer update per day. I need to also update the pastebins, but thankfully Alrics stats are unchanged so there are no surprises.

>>4380647
>Take advantage of the surprise you have and order a quick and brutal attack to destroy the enemy before they can react.

>>4380647
>>Take advantage of the surprise you have and order a quick and brutal attack to destroy the enemy before they can react.

Don't give them time to get up.

>>4380647
>>Take advantage of the surprise you have and order a quick and brutal attack to destroy the enemy before they can react.

>>4380647
>Take advantage of the surprise you have and order a quick and brutal attack to destroy the enemy before they can react.

Pretty clear what plan won. So roll some dice.

>1d6
>Best three out of four

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4381465
Let's go.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4381465

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4381465

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4381465

>12, success

"We are going to attack directly straight through into their camp. We advance on them and charge them. March silently and no shouting. Understood." You ordered with a whisper. Everyone around you nodded. "When I lower my lance, we charge."

You got on your horse, checked your gear quickly and strapped the shield on your left hand. Lowering your helmets visor, one of the footmen gave you the lance. Raising it up you started to approach the gnoll camp with the footmen and archers following you.

Few lanterns the gnolls had gave some light in the camp. You could see a few gnolls lazily milling around, but they didn't notice you yet. Few more seconds of careful and quiet approach until you thought that you were close enough. One last glance to your left where Captain Garside was with his horse and lance.

"Follow me." You said as you leaned forward, causing your horse Epona to first go to trot and soon to canter. Lowering your lance, Epona went into full gallop.

Several seconds later you were already in the camp with a target at your sight. The steel reinforced tip of the lance struck straight into the back of one of the gnolls, penetrating the hides it was wearing and then the creature's own hide. As the gnoll fell to the ground you managed to keep your grip and pull out the lance before lifting it back up for a second go.

The gnolls started to realise now that something was going on, that they were being attacked. They scrambled out of their tents or got up from the ground, but your footmen were already at them.

You rode a small circle and now came into the camp from another direction. You saw Garside splinter his lance into a gnolls shoulder which exploded in gore. Taking another as a target you rode between the tents and with a trust planted your lance into the gnolls abdomen. This time your grip didn't hold and the lance flew from your hand. Slight stinging pain jolted up in your hand, but you didn't allow it to slow you down as you quickly unsheathed your sword and decapitated a gnoll who was attacking one of the Kul Tirans.

Riding around you went for another pass and struck at gnolls trying to attack the footmen. One gnoll got your sword into its shoulder, before being stabbed by a pair of pikes. Second you slashed at its chest before attacking third that was bashing at footman’s shield. The battle around you turned into a general melee, but you knew that you had already won. The question was how long would it take to finish them off.

1/2

>>4382548

The answer was that not that long. The initial charge had killed or wounded several gnolls and the rest of them didn't have time to put on their armour. Fighting was quick, brutal and very one-sided.

Gnoll corpses littered around the camp, some still switching as you led Epony by its reins.

"Prince Alric!" Came a shout that you recognized as the voice of Cromwell. As he noticed you he waved his mailed hand for you to come to the tent he was standing in front of.

"Sire, you want to see this." He said as you arrived at the tent.

The tent was dark inside, but when Cromwell entered behind you with a lantern, you saw what Cromwell wanted you to see. Dozen or so humans, both women and men were tied around the pole at the center of the tent. They were all dirty with cuts and bruises all over them. They looked really miserable.

"Sergeant, can you please cut the ropes."

The captives quivered as he approached them, but after a few words of trying to calm them down, he started to cut them free. You had seen enough of this and left the tent.

You had never felt this angry and so disgusted. Why would the gnolls take captives, you never had heard about anything like this.

"The captives are inside the tent. Have you seen anything like this before?" You asked Garside who had arrived to see what was going on.

"No, never like this. I know that gnolls might take one or two, but a whole bunch." He said. "This isn't normal, at least in my opinion."

"Thank you Captain. We need to search and check this camp. Order Rover and his archers to search the camp for anything valuable or useful. Cromwell can treat the captives and get lieutenant Beckston to check the corpses, cut their ears and carry their bodies at the corner of the camp. We should probably burn the bodies to not attract carrion birds or other creatures."

"Wise move sire, I can handle this."

The morning sun brought light into the camp as the men started to work. By your estimate it might take a hour or two before they are finished, so you will have time to think about all this.


>1d10
>Best of three

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4382549
Looks like that one played out just perfectly fine.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4382549

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4382548
rolled wrong dice

As you brushed the muck and dirt off Epona with a small brush the reports started to arrive. Most importantly no one was injured badly, but there were few who had small cuts and bruises that required some care. Thankfully Garside had made sure that the men had packed some of the herbal medicines with them and now those who required care got to enjoy the benefits.

Lieutenant Beckstons men dragged the gnoll bodies and searched them. Most of them only had stone and bone weapons with only few carrying weapons or armour of any worth. This was somewhat disappointing due to lack of proper loot, but at least the Kul Tirans collected 27 pairs of gnoll ears.

Rover and the archers meanwhile had searched the camp, but not even his sharp eyes could find much. The tents were half rotten as where the furs and whatever wooden objects were found. The most interesting thing Rover managed to find was a bunch of coins. He wouldn't dare to say, but the coins were a mix of old and new, local and foreign. This wasn't uncommon, but something to notice.


Gained
27 pairs of gnoll ears, 3 wealth when delivered to Southshore.

1/3

>>4382894
The captives, all fourteen of them, were outside the tent. One of the footmen was tending them, patching their cuts and felts one by one. Someone had also given them some water to drink and bread to eat.

"Fourteen captives, we have questioned them a bit, but not enough to get the full picture yet. They have been asking who is the one who saved them." Garside told you. "They at first thought it was me, but I had to tell them that it wasn't the case."

"You do have rather good looking armour and the few grays in your beard and hair make you look old and wise." You chuckled and even Garside laughed a bit. "I will go talk to them."

Walking towards them their gazes all turned to you and the footman started to excuse himself, but you waved your hand and he continued applying a bandage.

"Are you the one who leads these soldiers? Are you the one who saved us?" Asked young lady in the group.

"Yes I am."

"May holy Light bless you then." The lady continued. "What is your name?"

You thought for a moment before answering.

"I am prince Alric Perenolde."

The answer made them to pause for a moment. Perenolde wasn't a name that was said often and if it was, it didn't have positive ring to it. One of the men sitting on the ground down bowed slightly.

"Thank you for saving us prince Alric. We thought that we would die in their captivity." The man said.

"How long have you been in here?" You asked.

"Some of us have been here for two weeks. Three arrived last night." Another man said nudging towards a man, woman and a boy who was maybe two years younger than you were.

"Yes, I think it was your farm we found burned down." You said.

"I-it was burned down? Oh dear oh dear." The man worried.

"We followed the tracks the gnolls and you left behind and found their camp and you."

"Prince Alric, good thing that you were there and found the house. We heard talks of them moving us soon, maybe even today." One of the men said. "They didn't say where."

This got you thinking. The gnolls clearly were taking captives and this group was to deliver them forward. So these gnolls you killed were just part of a bigger group. Their leader Steelhead is still out there and is probably quite smart if it was organizing all this. But what would gnolls do with captives, you had no idea.

You continued talking to the captives. Most of them were farmers from around Hillsbrad, few from near Southshore, few from Tarren Mill and the family whose farm was burned down. Two were just unlucky passing travellers. They described how they were treated and what the gnolls had been doing around the camp. Apparently this group had sent these small parties to scout the land before sending a bigger group. Rest of the information wasn't that important and you excused yourself and left them under care of the footmen.

2/3

>>4382900
It was midday, the gnoll camp was practically demolished and thrown into the fire that was their corpses and everything else flammable. The smell of burnt flesh and fur was in the air. The former-captives were adamant that they could walk, but it was clear that they couldn't go that fast. You needed to make your decision where to move them for better care until they could go back to their homes.


>Tarren Mill is closest. You could probably reach it in a few hours.
>The Headland isn't as close as Tarren Mill. You think you could get home just before the sun starts to set.
>Southshore would have the best doctors available, but it would be nearly night when you reach the city.
>Escort them to the nearest road and let them go.
>Other, write in.


QM: With the roll of 10 I just decided to write. I will be busy tomorrow so I don't known yet if I have time to update, but on Monday I might have more time meaning more than one update. I will keep you updated if that happens. As always, if you have questions please go ahead and ask.

>>4382913
>The Headland isn't as close as Tarren Mill. You think you could get home just before the sun starts to set.

Compromise

>>4382913
>>The Headland isn't as close as Tarren Mill. You think you could get home just before the sun starts to set.

Tarren Mill is tempting just because it'd be good to start building good rep there, but don't know what doctors etc would be available, at least we've got the herbalist back home.

>>4382913
>>Tarren Mill is closest. You could probably reach it in a few hours.

>>4382913
>Tarren Mill is closest. You could probably reach it in a few hours.

changing my vote from >>4383166. Let's drop off the prisoners from there, get a better picture of who's running the town, then swing down to Southshore the following day, collect bounty, then head back home.

>>4382913
>Tarren Mill is closest. You could probably reach it in a few hours.

Maybe they are joining us later anyway but that way they can spread some good words about us increasing our reputation which could lead to even more peasants joining us

>>4382913
>Tarren Mill is closest. You could probably reach it in a few hours.

>>4383310
Why not search for the other group of gnolls?
for what we know they should have more prisoners with them, and even more ears to collect.

>>4384972
First we got to drop off the current prisoners. After that we might search further.

You decided to head to Tarren Mill as it was the closest and getting the former-captives into safety and care quickly was important. While they were adamant that they could walk, your speed slowed down to crawl as they required near constant help. After a quick pause and few stretchers made, the slowest and most weakened ones were carried to Tarren Mill by the footmen.

It was late afternoon and the sun slowly started to set when you finally arrived at Tarren Mill. First thing that greeted you was the church that you saw first and soon you saw the tower of the town hall and finally the low walls and gate that surrounded the town. To your dismay the gate was shut, normally towns keep their gates open till the night, but not Tarren Mill apparently.

Approaching the gate, you saw a lone footman on top of it in the gatehouse. The footman was looking at you and it looked like he was counting how many of you had arrived. You decided to approach the gate with Captain Garside right behind you.

“Alright, stop right there and state your business!” The footman guarding the gatehouse shouted.

“We are bringing people who were captured by the gnolls that have raided the land here for safety and to be under care.” You shouted back. “So open the gate and let the poor people in.”

Hearing this you could see, but not hear, that the footman talked to someone behind him. It took a few minutes before the gate started to open and several footmen ushered you in. After everyone was inside, it was closed again behind you.

“The guards are jumpy and nervous.” Garside said to you in a low voice so that they couldn’t hear him.

“You don’t have to tell me that, something is clearly not right.” You said back to him.

You could see some citizens looking at you warily and going back to inside their homes and shops.

1/2

>>4385308

It didn’t take long for a small bookish man to approach you. Behind him followed a burly footman with a moustache you could only describe as mighty. You decided to dismount and remove your helmet as a courtesy with Garside following your example right behind you.

“Terribly sorry for all this. I am mayor Fowley. I see you brought some people with you, the guards were saying that gnolls had taken them. Can you tell us about it?” Said the small man and continued with a voice just above a whisper. “We have had some problems, but that is something we could talk about later in private.”

“Yes, we had heard about the bounty offer set by Southshore on gnolls raiding the Hillsbrad region. I have enough soldiers under my command so we decided to hunt down the gnolls. Long story short, we managed to find their camp, we killed them and freed the prisoners. I decided that we should bring them here as this place was closest.” You told him.

“I see, well good thing that you brought them here. The priest in the church can help them, he is rather good at his job. And I think Ganrad can organize all this.” Mayor Fowley said and the man with the mighty moustache nodded.

“Yes sir. If you could escort the people to the church, the priest will take care of everyone who is hurt or weak. Meanwhile I will send someone to find you and your men a place to sleep.

“Good everything is sorted then.” Mayor said and clapped his hands. “Shall we speak in my office?”

The mayor and his companion were clearly hiding something, the whole atmosphere in Tarren Mill seemed awry.


>Yes we can, please lead the way.
>If you have something to say, we could probably do it in the church.
>I beg your pardon, but me and my men are tired. We will retire for today after we have escorted the people to the church.
>Other, write in.

QM: If enough votes come, I will update second time today or if not the next morning. Sadly Monday seems quite busy so maybe only one proper update during the evening. Sorry for this slow pace.

>>4385347
>>Yes we can, please lead the way.

>>4385347
>Yes we can, please lead the way.

>>4385347
>>Yes we can, please lead the way.

>>4385347
>Yes we can, please lead the way.

It didn’t take long for Cromwell to arrive and you followed mayor Fowler into his office inside the town hall. The office wasn’t that big, it had few bookshelves and few chairs and his table. A very tidy room, built and kept simple. The mayor was last in the room and closed the door behind him. He walked behind his table and sat down, but his companion decided to keep standing next to him.

“So why all the secrecy, you clearly don’t want to talk about something in the open.” You started the discussion. To be honest, you were somewhat annoyed about the situation.

“Well yes, Tarren Mill has been struggling recently. Lumber and other timber products are our main source of income and we haven’t been able to harvest enough.” He sighed and continued. “By the way what is your name, you haven’t introduced yourself?”

“Prince Alric Perenolde.” You said.

“Perenolde!” Ganrad the footman nearly shouted and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. Same time Cromwell raised his battle-axe and prepared to strike.

“Hold your hand Ganrad. They aren’t here to fight you.” Mayor Fowley said and stood up as Ganrad removed his hand from the hilt. “Terribly sorry for this, we are a bit nervous.”

Fowley went to his bookshelf and searched for a book that he found and placed it on the table. ‘History of Rulers of Lordaeron’ was a thick book and he started to go through the pages until he found the page about Alterac and there he found what he wanted, a picture of Aiden Perenolde. He looked at the picture and then you a few times before closing the book and pushing it aside. The biggest differences between you and the picture of your father was that you were a lot younger and you had longer hair.

“Yes, you are the son of your father. Sorry for doubting you prince Alric.” Fowley said with a voice of a defeated man. “First everything else and now a Perenolde has appeared. You do understand that your family name isn’t exactly liked here.”

“I know what my father did and I won’t be making the same mistakes.”

“I’m sorry prince Alric, but you know how people are, they will hold grudges.”

“Are we here to discuss my father or your problems.” You weren’t just annoyed slightly as you were approaching being irritated.

1/2

>>4385691

“Sorry sorry, yes our problems. As I said Tarren Mills fortunes are tied to the forests and harvesting them. The problem is that one of our logging crews ended up missing, so we sent some of our footmen to find them. When they didn’t come back, Ganrad personally took the majority of our guards and went searching. Only thing he managed to find was a fresh place of battle, but no sign of bodies. Only blood and a few broken arrows.”

Ganrad nodded his head in agreement.

“And now the workers are too scared to go out and if we send enough footmen to guard them, who will defend Tarren Mill?” Mayor Fowley continued.

“Have you sent word to Southshore, the Regional Defenders should act and if not them then the Silver Hand?” Asked Cromwell.

“Well yes we did, but the magistrate wrote back that it was most likely the gnolls and after they have been dealt with things should go back to normal. And that was over a month ago.”

“So what about us, why this secrecy?” You asked.

“Because we know that there are bandits in the hills, forests and mountains. And we know that some people here support them, are informants and suppliers of them. And we do not know if it is the gnolls or the bandits who had attacked our workers. And if it is the bandits, I will need to be careful, I have family. And longer this all continues, less income Tarren Mill will have. This whole town will go into ruin.” Fowley said, it was clear that he was desperate. “So when you appeared with your men in tow having saved the people, I got the idea. Perenolde or not, I have to ask your help.”

“To deal with whoever killed your workers and the footmen.” You said.

“Yes. The coffers of Tarren Mill aren’t rich, but I can scrounge together a reward. That is if you accept this job and succeed in it.”


>Yes, we can do it.
>I need to consult my advisors. You will get the answer tomorrow.
>I am sorry, but we are at the moment busy dealing with the gnoll threat elsewhere in Hillsbrad to help you.
>Other, write in.

>>4385699
>>Yes, we can do it.

I say we continue our patrol back through the farms looking for the rest of the gnolls, and hit up Southshore to turn in what we get from the bounty (as well as any prisoners from there we've picked up). Next season we then push into that bandit headland to the East with the extra archers we'll have trained. That way we're covering both bases.

>>4385699
>>Yes, we can do it.

>>4385699
>Yes, we can do it.

>>4385719
Seems like a solid plan

>>4385699
Dubs

>>Yes, we can do it.

“We are currently prioritizing the gnolls attacking Hillsbrad.”

“You don’t accept our offer?” Mayor asked.

“It is within my interest to deal with the bandits or gnolls or whatever else there is, but at the moment gnoll threat takes priority. Things can change and we might come to your aid sooner.

“I guess that is better than nothing, thank you prince Alric. For sooner we get this all sorted out, sooner Tarren Mill will be producing trade goods again.”

…

Maybe an hour later you were in the large barn in which your men were settled in. It was roomy enough for everyone and the hays were dry and soft. There were few tables and chairs for the farmhands that worked there. You sat at one of the tables with Garside and Cromwell.

“So bandits and gnolls are the problems Tarren Mill is facing.” Garside said as he continued to eat some dried meat.

“Yes and apparently the bandits have some supporters here too. The mayor promised a reward if we were to clear whatever killed the workers and stopped the work.”

“Sire, that means more work to us. We don’t have the men or time to be in two places at the same time. We have to prioritize one over the other.” Garside said and continued. “Us beating one group of gnolls probably caused a setback, but the threat isn’t gone.”

“What do you think about this, which we should do first.”

“Well we have the ears, that is a short term income when we deliver them to Southshore. And there will be more gnolls and their chief to hunt down. Meanwhile we do not know exactly what we are facing here, be it just gnolls or bandits, but the mayor promised a reward. Tarren Mill has been struggling, but they are the number one supplier of timber for Southshore and their shipyard. The well-being of peasants and farmers of Hillsbrad or the income and stability of Tarren Mill.”

“Sire, Tarren Mill is the closest town to us.” Cromwell said.

This was something that you had to decide later, probably tomorrow morning after resting through the night. There was still a few hours before it was night and time to sleep, so you have some time to do things.


>Just stay here, maintain your gear and try to catch sleep early. Past few days were rather tiring.
>Go to the church to see how the former captives are doing and thank the priest for the good work.
>There is a tavern here, go there and see if you could learn more about the situation in Tarren Mill.
>Other, write in.

>>4386258
>>Go to the church to see how the former captives are doing and thank the priest for the good work.

It does seem like my chances to properly sit down and update are rare due to work schedule. I did update the pastebins and next update should come tomorrow so go and vote. Sorry again for the slow pace of updates. And as always, if you have questions or comments, go ahead and ask or say.

To make sure that people won't miss updates, I will shill sometimes on /qtg/ and try to remember to use the twitter.
https://twitter.com/MedivhQM?s=09

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

>>4386258
>Go to the church to see how the former captives are doing and thank the priest for the good work.

>>4386258
>Go to the church to see how the former captives are doing and thank the priest for the good work.

>>4386258
>>Just stay here, maintain your gear and try to catch sleep early. Past few days were rather tiring.

You decided to visit the church in Tarren Mill. Taking Cromwell with you as a bodyguard, you went out and started walking towards it. The church in Tarren Mill was big. Not quite the size of the old cathedral in Alterac City, but big enough to easily have all citizens of the town inside it.

Entering the church, it felt even bigger. The captives you had freed were out of your sight, but there were few people who noticed you. One of them walked over you to greet you. He was one of the assistants of the priest running the church and he guided you towards where he could be found.

In one of the rooms was the priest. The bald man had a face full of small scars and he was missing his right arm. As he stood up, you saw that he wasn't a small man either.

"Ah you must be the saviour the people that were brought here talked about." The priest said in a deep and a very gentle voice. "I must thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am Father Hampton, the priest here in Tarren Mill."

"I am Alric Perenolde, pleasure to meet you Father."

"They spoke to me who you were, but it is not a concern of mine for I have put politics behind in my life. Now only the holy Light guides me."

"How are the people?" You asked.

"Doing better, I can heal them with the Light, but I am not a miracle maker. They will need rest."

"That is good to hear. When I leave, could I see them?"

"Of course, no one is stopping you. But may I ask why did you come here, just to see the people?"

"That and to thank you. It has been years since I saw a proper priest."

The Father thought for a moment before speaking.

"Simple reasons, but good reasons. But I presume a prince doesn't do things just for simple reasons." He smiled.

"You did say no politics just a minute ago."

"So I was right. I will say this, Tarren Mill is a troubled town and no amount of prayer will fix it. I find you a just man, that you will do the right things. But enough talk, I will guide you to the people."

1/2

>>4388360

The former captives you had saved and escorted here were found in a nearby room full of beds. Father Hampton explained that this room was part of the small medical quarter of the church. Alongside fulfilling the spiritual needs, it was the job of the priests to do any healing that was needed. Father Hampton was a modest man and said that he didn't do much, but it was clear how much better looking the people saved were. Sure they were still dirty as baths weren't ready, but most wounds had already closed and they didn't look tired. You exchanged a few words with them and wished quick recovery for them.

Before you left, Father Hampton wanted to speak to you.

"Prince Alric, where could we find you, if we needed to contact you?"

"The Headland is where I could be found."

"Thank you prince Alric and may the holy Light bless you both." Father Hampton said and raised his remaining arm.

To your surprise, the tiredness left your body immediately and you felt lighter. All the wear of the past few days was gone. Memories of being blessed when you were just a child came to your mind. The holy Light is real.
…

You slept the night really well and after asking Cromwell, he did so too. Compared to the rest of the men who were still somewhat groggy, you felt really fresh. Eating a quick breakfast, it was time for you to leave Tarren Mill. After Garside had gathered everyone and made all things ready, it was time to tell everyone your plan of what we will do.


>Hunting the gnolls threatening Hillsbrad is of utmost importance. The gnolls have to be removed.
>Travel to Southshore to deliver the ears you have collected.
>Tarren Mill needs help as fast as possible. Whatever killed the workers and put the stop on the work needs to be stopped.
>Other, write in.

>>4388361
>Hunting the gnolls threatening Hillsbrad is of utmost importance. The gnolls have to be removed.

Helping Tarren Mill is important, but stopping the gnolls from kidnapping villagers again takes priority.

>>4388361
>>Tarren Mill needs help as fast as possible. Whatever killed the workers and put the stop on the work needs to be stopped.

>>4388361
>>Hunting the gnolls threatening Hillsbrad is of utmost importance. The gnolls have to be removed

>>4388361
>>Hunting the gnolls threatening Hillsbrad is of utmost importance. The gnolls have to be removed.

Pretty tempting to jump straight to doing the bandit quest but we can hold off I think, getting the farms clear will help.

Alright, lets have some rolls.

>1d10
>Best of three

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4389118

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4389118

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4389118

The first patrol after leaving Tarren Mill was fruitless. Three days of going around Hillsbrad resulted just in men having blisters on their feet and the amount of grumbling increasing. You had to return to The Headland and rest for a day. During the rest, you had some time to check the progress on the mine. Foreman Davis assured that the work was on schedule with the cave having been cleaned and several support beams having been installed. Soon the actual mining should start.

In addition you watched how the archer training was going. With Rover being around, he drilled them hard, but soon it was time to head out and go for another patrol.

…

For two days you had pushed more south and west than ever before. If you continued forward, soon you would be at Azureload Mine. Just like a few days ago, not much had happened. You had stopped at a few farms to question the people, if they had seen or heard anything. While they knew about the gnoll threat, they haven't seen or heard anything. Though they were happy to see someone looking out for them, few even gave something to eat for the men.

Frankly it was frustrating. The gnolls managed to evade you completely, but you didn't even know if there were gnolls this side of Darrowmere River. Captain Garside had told you years ago that being bored was good if you were a soldier, it just told you that nothing dangerous was happening. There was truth in those words and so you pushed on.

…

Nearly a week had passed since the start of the patrol and soon you would run out of supplies. You had decided to try to move towards Southshore, following the road east. You had passed a few travellers and traders, but not much else. As your men marched forward on the road, you started to hear something, like sounds of a battle on the other side of the hill.

"Captain, prepare the men." You said swiftly and pushed your horse Epona forward.

Quickly you were on top of the hill and saw what was going on. Maybe 200 meters in front of you on the roads were a small group of knights and footmen that were fighting a far larger group of gnolls. There were maybe thirty gnolls in the melee with another thirty standing back either waiting to go into the fight or they seemed to be carrying crossbows of some sort. It was clear that they needed help and fast if they wanted to survive. Looking behind you, the men were jogging forward to catch you.


Your forces:
Prince Alric Perenolde on horseback
Captain Garside on horseback
10 Footmen with sergeant Cromwell
20 Kul Tiran Swashbucklers with lieutenant Beckston
10 Archers with Rover

>Charge in and let Captain Garside and the men to follow as quickly as possible behind you.
>Get the men together quickly and charge the gnolls fighting the knights.
>Form up and advance. Try to get the knights to withdraw to you.
>Other, write in.

>>4389748
>>Get the men together quickly and charge the gnolls fighting the knights.

>>4389748
>Get the men together quickly and charge the gnolls fighting the knights.

>>4389748
>>Get the men together quickly and charge the gnolls fighting the knights.

>>4389748
>Get the men together quickly and charge the gnolls fighting the knights.

>>4389748
That will leave us completely open to the crossfire of the Gnolls carrying Crossbows.

>Order 10 Footmen with sergeant Cromwell to flank the gnolls which are fighting the Knights
>Rally the remaining troops to charge the gnolls who are just standing there. Press the attack as hard as you can so they can only fire one volley at us.
>At the same time let the archers fire volley after volley at the group of gnolls which we are going to charge.
>As soon as we are in melee with that group let the archers move in to the flank of the Gnolls so they can fire single well aimed shots at the gnolls
>Once we cleared the crossbowmen charge the remaining gnolls with your troops. Slaughter them.

Summary: Divide and Conquer. Have both groups of gnolls in a fight to disturb their morale and bring chaos to their battle line. Then use hammer / anvil tactic to demolish them.

>>4390578

Changing to this.

>>4390578
This.

Let's see how well we will do. Give me some rolls. The voting and discussion will still continue.


>1d6
>best of three

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4390715

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4390715