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>>5223197

The next morning came and you made sure your men were all ready. Their equipment was checked and everything was ready. You had the Eston’s booklet with you and time was to deliver it to Chief Lodrig.

You walked through the forest back towards the village and when you saw the stone huts and the people milling around, you placed your left hand on the hilt of Cinder Sword just in case.

Few of the guards attempted to stop you as they drew their swords and took their axes, but they didn’t dare to act as your footmen pushed them aside. More people gathered around you as you pushed through them towards the hut until it was Ragis who stood alone in front of the door of the hut.

“Step aside Regis.” You said to him.

“I cannot do that Prince Alric.” He said back.

“Step aside.”

“Do I have to repeat myself?” He continued and drew his sword.

In response you drew the Cinder Sword with your right hand and pulled out the booklet with your left.

“This booklet explains the true motivation of Eston and the reason why he is here.” You said to him and raised your voice so that people around you could hear it.

Ragis seemed conflicted for a moment before he relented and lowered his sword. He had done his duty to attempt to stop you.

“You may go in, Chief and Eston are inside.” He said to you as you stepped forward and walked past him.

You opened the door and found Chief Lodrig and Eston looking over some maps and scrolls. A pair of guards stood near them. You entered the room startled Eston who quickly looked around before fixing his eyes on you.

“Why are you here? You should have been gone already!” Eston asked you and was clearly furious because of your presence. “Guards stop him now!”

The two guards drew their weapons, a sword and an axe, before glancing at Chief Lodrig to get the clarification on what to do. They were ready to attack you.

You now had a chance to act.


>Proclaim to Chief Lodrig that you have a booklet that tells the real reason why Eston and the Syndicate is here. Attempt to deal with this without using violence.
>You can easily deal with a pair of guards, beat them and disarm them without killing them. Then only Eston stands between you and Chief Lodrig.
>Go and kill Eston right there, the two guards can’t stop you if you want to do it.
>Call your men to deal with the guards as you step forward to deal with Eston and Chief Lodrig, they will learn the truth even if they don’t want to hear it.
>Other, write in.

QM: Thread 12, we have achieved a lot and there is plenty to come. Sorry for a bit lacklustre ending of the previous thread, work has been busy and I hadn’t done or prepared my notes for this part of the quest, but I think now I have things handled. If I have any mishaps or can't update due to busy life, I will keep you updated through the Twitter.

>>5223200
>>Proclaim to Chief Lodrig that you have a booklet that tells the real reason why Eston and the Syndicate is here. Attempt to deal with this without using violence.

>>5223200
>>Proclaim to Chief Lodrig that you have a booklet that tells the real reason why Eston and the Syndicate is here. Attempt to deal with this without using violence.

I think other options risk shedding blood and we should avoid that.

>>5223200
>Proclaim to Chief Lodrig that you have a booklet that tells the real reason why Eston and the Syndicate is here. Attempt to deal with this without using violence.

welcome back
np qm

>>5223200
>Proclaim to Chief Lodrig that you have a booklet that tells the real reason why Eston and the Syndicate is here. Attempt to deal with this without using violence.

>>5223200
>Proclaim to Chief Lodrig that you have a booklet that tells the real reason why Eston and the Syndicate is here. Attempt to deal with this without using violence.
My one fear about this option is the risk that the chief not caring to read it and just tossing it to the side or something. Compared to the other options it's the best one, and I can't think of anything else to do/say desu

>>5223200
>>Proclaim to Chief Lodrig that you have a booklet that tells the real reason why Eston and the Syndicate is here. Attempt to deal with this without using violence.

>>5223901
yeah, maybe question authority of Eston to order the guards around and present the booklet as a counterargument but the situation is tense so we may not have time to get too many words in.

“I have evidence of the real reason why Eston and the Syndicate are here.” You said to Chief Lodrig and raised the booklet up for everyone, especially Eston to see. “It is all right here.”

You saw how the colour disappeared from Eston’s face momentarily.

“What this booklet tells are his opinions and the plans from his boss. Chief Lodrig, do you want to hear what is written inside it?” You asked him.

“Eston, is that thing yours?” Chief Lodrig asked him as the two guards stayed away from you.

“That man has stolen something from me, he is a thief and a burglar.” Eston said quickly and realised his mistake.

“Then it wouldn’t harm you for me to read something from it, after all you have only spoken good things and praised Chief Lodrig, am I right?” You answered him.

Chief Lodrig looked at you and nodded.

“Eston has nothing to hide, or do you?” Chief Lodrig said.

Eston stayed silent and finally nodded. He knew what was to come.

So you read and watch the remaining colour disappear from Eston’s face. You read his comments about how poor the people of Stonedon are and how only a few of them would be worthy additions to the Syndicate as warriors and the rest of them could work until they drop or are sent east. You read how Eston thought the culture and manners of Chief Lodrigs tribe were crude and unsophisticated and how they were just a group of hill people and dirt farmers who wouldn’t have a major part in the plans of the Syndicate.

“Enough!” Chief Lodrig shouted after having listened to you reading for a long enough time. “Eston, you spoke honeyed words and got me to trust you. And this is how you broke that trust, by showing your true colours?”

Eston realised that he was properly fucked.

“It is not like that, the book was planted by the False Prince, it is not true.” He pleaded. “Please Chief Lodrig of Stonedon, I have only spoken in praise of you and what that man just spoke is not the way we

“I do not believe you Eston Stormcrow, I have heard enough. Take him away and get the block.” Chief Lodrig ordered.

Before the two guards could reach Eston, he attempted to leap on the table and draw his own sword, but without real success. Lodrig grabbed his ankle quickly and pulled it back causing Eston to fall flat on the large wooden table and before he could recover, Lodrig had grabbed his head and bashed it once on the wood.

Blood started to pour from his now broken nose as the two guards grabbed him and dragged the now dazed man out of the hut. You followed him with Chief Lodrig right behind you.

Your men allowed the guards to pass them as Chief Lodrig shouted orders. It didn’t take long for a large wooden block to be carried to the yard in front of the chief’s hut while a crowd gathered to see what was going on.

1/2

>>5224332

Seeing the block, Eston himself realised what was going on and attempted to struggle and plea his way out. He realised that he was a dead man.

“Prince Perenolde.” Chief Lodrig said to you and continued after a pause. “Thank you.”

One of the men from the village brought a large axe to him and Chief Lodrig examined how sharp it was and accidentally caused a minor cut to his thumb. It sure was sharp.

“Do you want the honour of beheading him? It is your call how he dies.” Chief Lodrig said to you and presented the axe.


>Allow Chief Lodrig to behead Eston himself, it is his village and his people Eston disrespected.
>Take the axe and behead Eston with it.
>Don’t use the axe, but behead Eston with the Cinder Sword.
>Let Eston go as a message to your brother that his plans won’t succeed and that you are going to make sure of that.
>Other, write in.

>>5224334

>Allow Chief Lodrig to behead Eston himself, it is his village and his people Eston disrespected.

>>5224334
>Don’t use the axe, but behead Eston with the Cinder Sword.

>>5224334
>>Allow Chief Lodrig to behead Eston himself, it is his village and his people Eston disrespected.

>>5224334
>>Allow Chief Lodrig to behead Eston himself, it is his village and his people Eston disrespected.
I would like to allow Eston to go, but we need to win this village to our side.

>>5224334
>Allow Chief Lodrig to behead Eston himself, it is his village and his people Eston disrespected.

>>5224334
Hmm… I wonder if we could convince chief to instead of beheading give the criminal to us for interrogation and possibly recruitment. But that’s probably too far fetched and with costs and risks outweighing any realistic benefit.

So let the local justice run its course, we’re still guests here after all.

Question is what to do afterwards. We can offer chief which deal he’d prefer between annexation, alliance, trade deal and simply leaving on good terms.

>>5225021
Postponing the execution to get all the info we can from him is a good idea, but in the end someone crooked like him should die.


And i don't think they will trust us enough even after this to move to our lands, they are isolationist for a reason, so an alliance or trade are the only options i see.

>>5224334
>>Allow Chief Lodrig to behead Eston himself, it is his village and his people Eston disrespected.
Give him the honour

>>5225021
>>5225123
Interrogation should be possible, recruitment not so much.
In regard to what happens afterwards we have intention to conquer the Strahnbrad Hills, after all we have arrived here to scout the land because we want the Syndicate gone from this place and this is one of the few regions we can expand in (a necessity for grow our power further). I think we can offer trade and unity with our kingdom, plus give them special rights and autonomy. We wouldn't treat them badly desu.
And of course offer to them a position in our council, which is a more a military council than the one of kingdom. But that's fine it works well right now.

>>5225153
Well on the topic of our expansion into the hills we should talk with them on what they consider their jurisdiction so we don’t create unnecessary conflict when taking over rest of the territory, and also if they know of any other settlements.

>>5225181
Good idea.
If other settlements exist that can help.
Since they know the hills, it would help us when we move in for conquest and for take the fort the Syndicate was creating.
We could ask their help for the fights ahead, with our growing forces, Tarren Mill sending some troops and the hills tribe we could have the advantage of numbers

“Stonedon is your village Chief Lodrig, it should be you who delivers the justice.” You said to him and continued. “But could I talk with him first?”

“You may.” Chief Lodrig said and waved the two guards to drag Eston to the block and push him down.

As you walked to him and circled around the guards and the block, you saw that Eston had pissed and soiled himself. And so that he could see you, you squatted down in front of him. When he saw you, he attempted to speak, but couldn’t get a word out of his mouth. You could see that he was panicking.

“Eston, are you an Alteraci?” You asked him.

“Y-yes.”

“From where?”

“N-near the K-King’s Road, a farm n-n-near the b-bridge.”

“You have come far then.” You said and pulled out the booklet so that he could see it.

“I have your booklet so I know what is written in it, but if you could tell me more, I will make sure that you are buried according to the Alteraci customs. Doesn’t that sound fine?” You asked him.

Eston nodded.

“Who is your boss, is it my brother?”

“N-no, not Aliden. L-Lord Creedy, t-that is what we call him. H-he is in charge around here.”

“Where is he?”

“B-beyond t-the river, changes p-places often. I don’t know more.” Eston said and started to cry. “I don’t know more. C-Creedy is paranoid and doesn't have many p-people close to him.”

You opted to believe him.

“What are the long term goals of Lord Creedy and the Syndicate?”

“I don’t know! I-I was sent here to get the v-village to j-join the Syndicate. If I succeed, t-then I was promised to get the ear of Lord C-Creedy directly.”

So this was the final test for him, or just empty words.

“You know more!” You said back and raised your voice a bit.

“No, I don’t know. They keep everything a secret!”

“But you knew about sending people to the east!”

“Y-yes, but I don’t know where and why. O-only that it is of utmost importance to s-succeed in this.” Eston struggled to speak to you. “I don’t know more, t-the book h-h-has the rest.”

Eston slumped on the block and you knew that you wouldn’t get more out of the man.

“I will make sure that you are buried well.” You said to him. “Alterac will take care of their own, whoever they are.”

You stood up and straightened your back before taking a few steps back to be with your own men. They watched as the guards positioned Eston’s head properly on the block and Chief Lodrig stepped forward. In the corner of your eye you noticed Malevus attempting to turn her head away.

“Malevus, you need to watch. Don’t turn your head away, the man has only the honour of people watching him die so don’t take it away.” You said to her.

And then Chief Lodrig raised his axe and with a one clean swing severed Eston’s head from his shoulders.

1/2

>>5225509

You had gotten the permission to bury him beyond the forest into the valley. Your men dug a grave deep enough for the body to stay untouched by wild animals and finally piled some stones and rocks on top of the grave. There would be no headstone or anyone taking care of the grave, but Eston had been buried by Alteracis and his body and soul could now rest without the fear of being just thrown away.

Outside of the booklet Eston didn’t have that much belongings. A small coin pouch worth not much, some clothes and his shortsword of which one of your men took with him. The booklet was an extremely important piece of evidence and you wrapped it carefully in cloth and put it in your backpack. You would have to read and study it better in the future.

…

You, Malevus and Rovers were in Chief Lodrig’s hut. Chief Lodrig and Ragis sat in their chairs and they looked at you.

“Welcome to Stonedon Prince Alric, I am Chief Lodrig and I am the protector of my people.” Chief Lodrig said to you. “Why have you come here, what do you want?”

Oh he was doing the introduction you already heard yesterday again. To start again without any issues.


>Introduce yourself properly and state your business here. You had heard about this village and wanted to see the place and meet its leader.
>Bandits from Strahnbrad Hills had already caused problems to Tarren Mill previously and rumours of more people moving in had raised concerns. You wanted to find out if those concerns are valid.
>The bandits that struck Tarren Mill, the orcs who have raided these lands and the trolls living up north are a threat to Alterac and Hillsbrad. And if required, Alterac will defend itself against them even outside the lands you control.
>Ask how Eston had arrived here and how he had managed to get Stonedon to be on his side, to join the Syndicate? Ask what Chief Lodrig and Ragis know about the Syndicate?

>>5225510
>>Introduce yourself properly and state your business here. You had heard about this village and wanted to see the place and meet its leader.

>>5225510
>Introduce yourself properly and state your business. You had heard about this village and wanted to see the place and meet its leader.
>Ask how Eston had arrived here and how he had managed to get Stonedon to be on his side, to join the Syndicate? Ask what Chief Lodrig and Ragis know about the Syndicate?

>>5225510
>>Introduce yourself properly and state your business here. You had heard about this village and wanted to see the place and meet its leader.
>>Bandits from Strahnbrad Hills had already caused problems to Tarren Mill previously and rumours of more people moving in had raised concerns. You wanted to find out if those concerns are valid.
Alright let's do this again. Start with this and then go for what anons talked earlier. We should be honest about wanting to control Strahnbrad Hills, but we shouldn't push our control over Chief Lodrig.

>>5225510
>Introduce yourself properly and state your business here. You had heard about this village and wanted to see the place and meet its leader.

>>5225510
>Introduce yourself properly and state your business here. You had heard about this village and wanted to see the place and meet its leader.
>Bandits from Strahnbrad Hills had already caused problems to Tarren Mill previously and rumours of more people moving in had raised concerns. You wanted to find out if those concerns are valid.

Finally caught up with the quest, I must say that the QM has done an excellent job humanizing Uther, almost making me like the man, but there is still the fact that the Order of the Silver Hand are essentially the enforcers of Lordaeron's political interests. They are paladins only in name and not in deed, if they were true paladins, they would have done the right thing regardless of whose nation the people belong to. The Silver Hand did nothing while the Alteraci people suffered for the mistakes of their king, left to starve, be kidnapped by bandits, pressed into servitude by gnolls, ogres or just straight up sacrificed to become fuel for the fel, indeed they were the hammer that crushed and scattered them that led them to such a fate in the first place. I can only hope that Malevus will become a proper paladin, the kind of Fordring would also be.

Alric should also mentally review his meeting with Katrana Prestor and remember that she had emerged from behind a large veil and remember how often that particular feature had been mentioned in the past by specific people he had talked to when it came to discussion of clandestine meetings.

>>5226163
Welcome to the quest, glad I'm not the only one who's not entirely sold on Uther despite his great characterization. If anything I'm surprised by the limited amount of resentment against him and the alliance, though perhaps that's one of the reasons some Alteraci drift towards Alric's brother instead. I can't wait for Stratholme and him claiming he'd never follow the order to burn it even from his king. Where was that defiance when Alterac was burned?
Kinda wish Arthas would receive similar depth, but I suppose that's on players not voting to interact with him.

>>5225510
>Bandits from Strahnbrad Hills had already caused problems to Tarren Mill previously and rumours of more people moving in had raised concerns. You wanted to find out if those concerns are valid.
I'm tempted to go for the third option, but I'm afraid it would come off too aggressive and sorta like we're just here to take them over (even if vassalage would be nice, a second Tarren Mill sorta deal wouldn't be too bad)

>>5226278
If we go by Warcraft 3 and the general Warcraft lore, Uther and the Silver Hand are a bunch of sanctimonious assholes, but since Alric exists in this quest, I choose to believe that by the way of sort of a butterfly effect, Uther is less of an asswipe and Arthas is more, but there is also that, people don't like to let him share the spotlight. I personally can't wait for when On-Katrana will call upon us to help kidnap Varian

>>5226294
>people don't like to let him share the spotlight
I know, but I think it would (without meta knowledge) be a good idea to have good relations with the (future) ruler of the largest neighboring realm.
>spoilee
I'd be flabbergasted if it was requested, rather than lured on.

>>5226278
I ll be honest i still don't fully trust him. Same for alliance from the first thread (i mean there is always the threath of doing one wrong thing in their eyes and they will arrive for us).
This said we did mostly good so far.
Alric has support and people that like him. Now we just have to take our homeland back, first we will conquer this hills.
Btw the church still need to send a priest to us. I wonder when it will arrive

“I am Prince Alric Perenolde, the second heir of Alterac. It is my pleasure Chief Lodrig to be in Stonedon.” You said to him and humoured him by repeating what you had already said to him. You saw Chief Lodrig having a small smile when you did that. “I am here in Stonedon due to having heard about this place. I have already visited all of my other neighbours, but not you or your village. I wish to learn about this place and see if I could be of any help in any way.”

“And I apologise for what I said to you before. I wouldn’t have called you stormcrow if I had known.” Chief Lodrig said and continued. “But you have seen my village and my people. They are sturdy and proud people who have survived before and will survive in the future.”

“Strahnbrad Hills is not the easiest place to live.” You said back.

“It is not, but it is our home.” Ragis spoke this time.

“The second reason why I am here is that there are rumours and sightings of more people moving around the hills than before. Some of them have approached Tarren Mill and this has raised concerns about the safety of the town. I wanted to find out if these concerns are valid.” You explained.

Ragis looked at Chief Lodrig who answered with a nod.

“Prince Perenolde, your concerns are valid. We have seen people that we aren’t familiar with. Some who have come from the east and some from north by following the river.” Ragis told you.

“Familiar with? How are they different from people you know about?” You asked him.

“These lands are inhabited by people like us, hill people to you, hunter-gatherers, farmers and such. But when people who are armed or clearly from elsewhere arrive, we do notice them.” Ragis said and continued. “Bandits, cutthroats and thugs.”

“We avoid them and they avoid us, it has been like that and it will be like that.” Chief Lodrig said.

“As long as we don’t raise our hand against them, they won't either. That has been made clear.” Ragis said.

“A careful balance and peace.” You mused aloud.

“Yes.” Chief Lodrig said.

“Then the new people, are they bandits? Belonging to a group you aren’t familiar with? Are they part of the Syndicate, orange bandanas?” You asked them.

“They are armed. And we have heard that they have been talking with others, but they have avoided us. None of the bandit groups that are here are that large.” Chief Lodrig said.

“How large? How many men?” You asked him.

“A few dozen maybe, scattered in smaller camps around the hills.” Ragis said.

This was quite worrisome, if there was a new group of bandits that have arrived here, then they could pose a threat to you and Tarren Mill.

“Some have attempted to conquer these lands before, but they have failed time after time. Some of them were your ancestors too.” Chief Lodrig said and continued. “You are the first Perenolde to ever step into Stonedon, so am I right you are planning on doing something about this? Very bold to walk into our lands and village without a plan.”

1/1

>>5226726


>Tell them your plan and be honest with them. You are going to conquer and unify the Kingdom of Alterac, it might take time, but that is your plan. Strahnbrad Hills have always belonged to Alterac, but as Chief Lodrig says your predecessors failed to control these lands. You plan to change that.
>The bandits and other ruffians are a security threat to Alterac and Tarren Mill. You are going to make sure that they aren’t going to be a threat to you anymore by bringing the fight to them.
>You are planning on finding a route through these lands and over the mountains to Strahnbrad. With Alterac controlled by bandits and ogres, you have to find an alternative route into the city.
>Other, write in.

>>5226163
Welcome to the quest and it is always great to hear that as a QM you have succeeded in something. It is not that easy to think reasons and events to happen between the few actual bits of lore that we know of. Like with Alterac, there is very little available lore about the place between WC2 and WC3, but that is why I chose the place for the quest. We can tell the story and I can attempt to put the few bits of lore together into a more complete world.

>>5226737
>>The bandits and other ruffians are a security threat to Alterac and Tarren Mill. You are going to make sure that they aren’t going to be a threat to you anymore by bringing the fight to them.

>>5226737
>>Tell them your plan and be honest with them. You are going to conquer and unify the Kingdom of Alterac, it might take time, but that is your plan. Strahnbrad Hills have always belonged to Alterac, but as Chief Lodrig says your predecessors failed to control these lands. You plan to change that.
>>The bandits and other ruffians are a security threat to Alterac and Tarren Mill. You are going to make sure that they aren’t going to be a threat to you anymore by bringing the fight to them.
I think we should be honest. Why hide things just after we spoiled the Syndicate attempt to get them join them. Be truthful and tell them what they expect to hear and be open for discussion how to achieve this with or without them.

It seems they are trusting their neutrality with the bandits, but now there is Syndicate in the mix. Better for them to choose us than defend themselves against them alone.

>>5226163
I don't think Katrana and the Syndicate lady are the same. I think Katranas veil was just decoration thing separating parts of the study.

>>5226763
Bit to continue I think Alric should give the people of Stonedon nearly full autonomy. Give them option to trade with us, but if they choose to not help us directly then so be it. Let them choose to join us after their see the benefits of doing that.

We have also seen just a few guards and soldiers, they might not be even able to provide us with more than a few men. And could they even give us that much food?

>>5226737
>>Tell them your plan and be honest with them. You are going to conquer and unify the Kingdom of Alterac, it might take time, but that is your plan. Strahnbrad Hills have always belonged to Alterac, but as Chief Lodrig says your predecessors failed to control these lands. You plan to change that.
>>The bandits and other ruffians are a security threat to Alterac and Tarren Mill. You are going to make sure that they aren’t going to be a threat to you anymore by bringing the fight to them.

We are here for that and kick the syndicate. This doesn't mean we need to be enemies, a treaty can be done between us, which we would put our seal on. We would also make the treaty official.
Trade and no bandits would make the villages here prosper, and if the hills are under attack we would send troops for help in the defense.

In regard to military support, we don't need them in battle if they don't have enough men. We could have an use for guides, a detailed map of the hills and creating supplies problems to the Syndicate.

>>5226737
>Tell them your plan and be honest with them. You are going to conquer and unify the Kingdom of Alterac, it might take time, but that is your plan. Strahnbrad Hills have always belonged to Alterac, but as Chief Lodrig says your predecessors failed to control these lands. You plan to change that.
>The bandits and other ruffians are a security threat to Alterac and Tarren Mill. You are going to make sure that they aren’t going to be a threat to you anymore by bringing the fight to them.

>>5226737
>Tell them your plan and be honest with them. You are going to conquer and unify the Kingdom of Alterac, it might take time, but that is your plan. Strahnbrad Hills have always belonged to Alterac, but as Chief Lodrig says your predecessors failed to control these lands. You plan to change that.
>The bandits and other ruffians are a security threat to Alterac and Tarren Mill. You are going to make sure that they aren’t going to be a threat to you anymore by bringing the fight to them.

>>5226773
I agree with this. They are wild people and you'll never be able to put them under your rule unless they decide to fall in line or you exterminate them almost entirely and this is obviously not something Alric would do. The best you can do is just leave them be and improve conditions around them so that they make the pragmatic decision of becoming a part of Alterac later.

>>5226737
Support this >>5226763 & >>5226773

No update today, but give me a roll for something to happen in the background. The voting and discussion can continue. The previous 1d10 I asked was how sure Eston was that you would leave, anything lower than 9 would have meant that he would have been alert or worse.


>1d10
>Best of three

>>5227607

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>5227607

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>5227607

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5227607
Light bless my roll

>>5227631
I have lost faith in the light and its servants

The Syndicate had attempted to gain their favour and make them join the forces of your brother with the help of lies and honeyed words. You knew that you and your brother had the same goal of reclaiming Alterac and you knew that Strahnbrad Hills was part of that. So there really was no other choice than to be truthful about it, for sooner or later the people of Stonedon would end up having to choose who to follow.

“I plan on reclaiming the Kingdom of Alterac.” You said to them and continued. “And it includes Strahnbrad Hills.”

Chief Lodrig and Ragis looked at you and waited for you to continue.

“As Chief Lodrig said, my predecessors have failed to control these lands and while not being able to do so, Strahnbrad Hills have been nominally part of Alterac. It might take time, but I will take control of these lands and succeed in what the previous Perenoldes failed to accomplish.”

“And how are you going to do that?” Chief Lodrig asked and you could hear the change in the tone of his voice.

“The bandits you have seen and we heard about need to be defeated. Alteraci men with sword and arrow will accomplish that and make sure that they cannot threaten or harm the people of Alterac or Tarren Mill.”

“Rumours tell us about your army. Many armies have arrived here through history, but the hills and swamps have eaten every single one of them.” Chief Lodrig continued. “Prince Perenolde, where does Stonedon lie in your plans?”

“It will be your decision Chief Lodrig. Unlike my brother, I won’t attempt to lie to you or attempt to gain your favour through other means. What I can offer is trade and a neighbour that you can trust.” You said to him. “Having seen your village and your people, I have no plans to attempt to force you to do anything, in the end it will be your decision.”

Chief Lodrig seemed to think about your words for a moment, but before he would answer it was Ragis who spoke.

“Prince Perenolde, I presume you would want our help against the bandits?”

“Yes, if that would be possible yes.”

“We will hold to our neutrality Prince Perenolde.” Chief Lodrig said. “We won’t raise our hand against those around us.”

You had expected that to be the answer.

“But you won’t raise your hand against me either?” You asked.

“No, as long as my people are safe, we won’t be acting.” Chief Lodrig answered your question.

The situation was quite clear. Chief Lodrig and Stonedon wouldn’t help either you or the bandits if you were to invade Strahnbrad Hills. You also made it clear for them what your goals were and where Stonedon would be as a part of your plans.

“Thank you Chief Lodrig.” You said to him and gave him a small nod.

“The people of Stonedon are proud and independent people, remember that Prince Perenolde.” Chief Lodrig finalised the discussion.

1/3

>>5228308

You stood outside the Chief’s hut with your men and watched as a group of children attempted to overcome their fear and approach Malevus who pretended to not have spotted them. As this was going Ragis exited the Chief’s hut and came to speak to you.

“Prince Perenolde, Chief Lodrig has made the decision to not provide a guide for you.” Ragis said and seemed a bit disappointed. “He also decided that you cannot stay here for any longer.”

“I understand, thank you for your help Ragis.” You said to him.

“It is we who should be thanking you. But now please follow me, I will escort you to the edge of the forest.” Ragis said.

With your men in tow, you followed Ragis to the outskirts of the village and when you reached the place, Ragis turned towards you and offered his hand.

“Good luck Prince Perenolde.” He said to you.

“May Stonedon prosper with Alterac.” You said back and shook his hand.

…

>5

Of course it started to rain.

The autumn rains had arrived and you knew that they wouldn’t stop that soon. This close to the mountains it would rain near constantly and turn the place into a mixture of peat and mud. This of course would make the scouting mission a way harder or at least a way more annoying.

“Alfred what do you think of this rain?” You asked one of the two Rover brothers.

“Well it sure is annoying.” He said back.

“You idiot, Prince Alric is clearly asking how it will make our mission harder.” Arthur said and smacked his brother in the shoulder.

“Hey, no need for the punch.” Alfred said before becoming more serious. “It makes hearing and seeing things much harder. It will help us and it will help everyone else too. And then there is the mud.”

Alfred pointed on his feet to show how his boots and your boots had started to sink a bit in the peat and turf.

“This is going to make our mission harder.” Arthur continued.

It was true, the rain continued to fall as all of you attempted to keep yourself dry underneath your cloaks and hoods, it was going to make things much harder or at least a way more annoying. But as Alfred said, it would help to disguise your movement.

On other hand you had gained enough information from Stonedon itself. You now know that there is a new group of bandits here and that they had come from north and east. You could leave finding the exact locations of their camps for later and allow that information to stay fresh that way. Leaving now you could cover some land and check a place or two, but on the other hand you could continue the scouting mission, finding more about the bandits could prove useful in the future.

2/2

>>5228309


>Head back to Alterac and attempt to find a better route between Stonedon and Dawnholme. You presume that in the future a proper road between the two settlements could prove really useful.
>Visit the burned down camp on your way to Tarren Mill. You should discuss your findings with Mayor Fowley and see if you could get him to participate in the invasion.
>Go north towards the mountains before circling back around Stonedon. Knowing what is around the biggest settlement in Strahnbrad Hills could be important.
>The bandits had crossed over Darrowmere River. Finding their crossing and potential location of the camp is important if you want to defeat them.
>Other, write in.

>>5226542
I had definitely not forgotten this from my notes. The priest issue will be solved when the time is right.

>>5228311
>The bandits had crossed over Darrowmere River. Finding their crossing and potential location of the camp is important if you want to defeat them.

>>5228311
>The bandits had crossed over Darrowmere River. Finding their crossing and potential location of the camp is important if you want to defeat them.
>Visit the burned down camp on your way to Tarren Mill. You should discuss your findings with Mayor Fowley and see if you could get him to participate in the invasion.

>>5228311
>>The bandits had crossed over Darrowmere River. Finding their crossing and potential location of the camp is important if you want to defeat them.
>>Visit the burned down camp on your way to Tarren Mill. You should discuss your findings with Mayor Fowley and see if you could get him to participate in the invasion.
Let's check the river first and then head towards Tarren Mill.

>>5228311
>The bandits had crossed over Darrowmere River. Finding their crossing and potential location of the camp is important if you want to defeat them.
>Visit the burned down camp on your way to Tarren Mill. You should discuss your findings with Mayor Fowley and see if you could get him to participate in the invasion.

No problem

I will attempt to throw another update later today so give me the rolls. I can see easily what choice would have won even if given more time.


>1d6
>Best three of four

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5228426
dice for the dice gods rolls for the roll throne

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5228426
In the name of the Light, we shall throw a shoe at the nearest Syndicate.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>5228426
ok

nice

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>5228426

The rain had thankfully eased a bit and it allowed you to move a bit more quickly through the swamps and hills. It was your plan to reach the Darrowmere River and then head south following the river until you have reached the woods that are counted to be part of Tarren Mill. And then after checking the bandit camp you burned down, you would visit the town itself.

You cursed the rain under your breath and the fact that you didn’t have the lion pelt with you. Previously it had kept you mostly dry and warm, but now the green and brown cloaks given by Rover just kept you warm. It hadn’t taken that long for you to be soaked through and through, but at least you were warm.

Malevus meanwhile looked miserable, but not tired at all. With her elven grace and quiet steps she easily walked on the turfs that didn’t sink which made her movement seem so easy compared to you and others.

Rovers meanwhile seemed to have gotten used to the rain and forests of Alterac quite quickly after having lived in Stormwind City for many years. They weren’t on the level of Bill Rover regarding archery or tracking, but they were quite close. And with them walking ahead of the group and Malevus right next to you, you were quite confident that you wouldn’t be surprised or or miss anything ahead of you.

1/2

>>5228829

>15, Success

And you weren’t surprised when after a night of poor sleep in the rain under a partial cover of a large rock, Rover’s guided you over a hill and then over another. There it was again, the Darrowmere River flowed from Lake Darrowmere through these lands and you knew that by heading south, you would most likely find the crossing used by the bandits.

It didn’t take long for the Rover’s to stop and drop low and after a moment of peaking over the hill and through some bushes, one of them waved to you to come to them.

You walked to the top and laid down on the wet grass before crawling the last few yards to them to see what they had seen.

There was a camp with a low palisade wall built around it next to the river. A pair of small boats had been pulled on the shore and you saw a trio of small huts and several tents having been constructed and pitched up inside the camp. A trail of smoke came out of one of the huts and you could see a pair of men walking around the camp.

They were armed and armoured just like you. Some armour, but they weren’t knights or footmen. Clearly they were the new bandits.

You attempted to see if you could spot anyone else in the camp, but there were probably more men inside the tents, huts or out there somewhere patrolling or maybe hunting.

There was the itch to sneak closer to attack the place and cause damage and disarray to the bandits already. What if they were part of The Syndicate or you found papers that could help you in the future?

But you were on a scouting mission and you didn’t have that many men. Sure you and the others were experienced fighters and you could handle the potentially few men the camp has, but you weren’t here to fight.

Your forces:
-Prince Alric on foot
-Malevus the Squire
-Alfred and Arthur Rover
-Six Veteran Footmen
-Six Veteran Archers


>Attack the camp under the cover of the rain. Reach and go over the palisade and defeat the bandits.
>Order your archers to take out the men outside and everyone who potentially leaves the tents or huts. Raid the place before running away.
>You are here to scout the places, not to fight the bandits. You will return here with an army behind your back.
>Other, write in.

>>5228830
>You are here to scout the places, not to fight the bandits. You will return here with an army behind your back.
Were here just to scout and if we fuck up they will be on high alert later. But we got a location and rough numbers and with the army at our back it will be easy stomp as long as they dont suspect any danger.

>>5228830
>>You are here to scout the places, not to fight the bandits. You will return here with an army behind your back.
Agreed, we aren’t here to fight. Just leave this camp and continue towards Tarren Mill.

>>5228830
>>Attack the camp under the cover of the rain. Reach and go over the palisade and defeat the bandits.

Time to give Malevus some real experience

>>5228830
>>You are here to scout the places, not to fight the bandits. You will return here with an army behind your back.
We know what we are dealing with now, but this is a lot of foes. Take note of what they have and if there is anything strange then leave

>>5228829
>You are here to scout the places, not to fight the bandits. You will return here with an army behind your back.

>>5228830
>You are here to scout the places, not to fight the bandits. You will return here with an army behind your back.

You had to remind yourself that you aren’t here to necessarily fight, but to scout these lands. Fighting now would just alert the bandits and you wouldn't want that to happen. Better if they didn't know that you were here.

"We are leaving, we have seen what we need to see." You said to the brothers.

The three of you carefully crawled back and went to your men. Quick orders were given and silently you started to trek back before taking a wide detour to avoid the camp and to return closer to the river.

Thankfully you didn’t see anyone or any signs of movement. Few old trails were spotted, but that's it.

…

The rain continued and kept you soaked as you made your way through Strahnbrad Hills. The hills and swamps had become quite familiar to you now and you made mental notes on how hard it would be to keep your men supplied here.

Carts outside the most southern parts were unusable so the options really were either to carry it all by yourself or have horses, mules or ox to do it for you. Hiring porters came to your mind too, but you were somewhat broke and had no wealth to throw around on things like that.

Due to that the idea of asking help from your neighbours came to your mind. If you could get Tarren Mill, which you saw as a plausible partner in this, maybe Southshore and Hillsbrad to help you in logistics or even sending troops, you could maybe have a greater advantage than before. Durnholde could respond too due to you having helped them before and maybe even Dalaran or Silver Hand could provide assistance?

Only real issue was the timetable. The autumn rains usually end in a week or two and after that you have time till the first snow starts to fall. Gathering all the potential allies would take time and push the invasion closer to winter than you would like it.

Still these were things to take in account and think about.

1/2

>>5229935

You had seen nothing. Absolutely nothing as you trekked south and kept Darrowmere River to your left. No camps, no farms or settlements, just a few trails and spots where someone had camped weeks or months ago.

The most exciting encounter was between you and a small herd of deer that you managed to avoid alerting.

A day passed and then passed second when you kept walking. It was a bit infuriating, but you were glad at the same time that you had avoided fighting or stumbling into someone.

When the trees started to appear in a larger number and they weren't just a copse or two in the valleys barely hanging to life, you knew that you had reached the border of Tarren Mill. Here you would first go to the burned down camp to see if there were any fresh tracks and then head to the town.

…

The trees gave you some protection from the rain and for the first time in a few days you weren’t completely soaked. You did think about setting up a fire to dry some of your clothes, but decided against it just in case of someone spotting the smoke. At least you had managed to keep your feet somewhat dry to avoid chafing or worse.

Your decision to not make a fire was the correct decision as you approached the general direction of the burned camp, one of your men smelled smoke in the air. Not long after smoke was seen rising in the distance.

Sneaking closer to the camp with your hand on the hilt of the Cinder Blade you peaked through a bush and saw the remains of the camp. The palisade wall had collapsed and the huts all had clearly burned down, but under the cover of the collapsed palisade wall were two tents and between them in the cover was a fire and a pair of men were enjoying the warmth of the fire.

They were wearing cloaks so you couldn't see who they were exactly, but clearly they hadn't noticed you. A single deer was hanging from a post next to them. Where they hunters or bandits who had caught something to eat?


>Approach the two men openly, but be prepared to fight if required.
>Charge the two men and surprise them before they can do anything. Take them down quickly preferably by not killing them.
>Order your archers to deal with them, you take no chances with them this close to Tarren Mill.
>Other, write in.

>>5229937
>>Approach the two men openly, but be prepared to fight if required.

There's only two of them.

>>5229937
>>Approach the two men openly, but be prepared to fight if required.
could it be the two syndicate aligned mercs we met earlier? nah, probably just a coincidence.

>>5229937
>Approach the two men openly, but be prepared to fight if required.
Lets just determine who they are.

>>5229937
>>Approach the two men openly, but be prepared to fight if required.

"There are just two of them so let's just go for a talk to see who they are." You said to no one particularly as you stood up and started walking towards the two men and their camp.

They quickly heard you approaching and stood up before taking up their weapons. A shortsword and an axe, but they didn’t act as they saw all fourteen of you coming at them.

The remains of the lower camp remained as a pile of ash and a few random bits on the ground where whatever that couldn’t be salvaged was thrown to be burned. You walked past them and thought how it had been over a year since you had saved the people taken from Tarren Mill.

"Stop, who are you!" Shouted one of the two men and raised his axe. He was an older man.

"I just want to talk with you." You shouted back and continued walking.

"I said stop!" The man shouted again.

"I would like to know who you are and why are you camping in this burned down bandit camp? Are you bandits yourself?" You asked them.

"Who we are doesn’t concern you!" The man continued shouting at you.

The man with the shortsword seemed to be younger and more hesitant as you continued walking towards them. You didn’t recognize either of the two men nor they weren’t wearing orange bandanas.

"It does concern me as the last time I was here, this camp was full of bandits." You said back to them. "I would prefer to know if people are moving back here."

The man with shortsword nudged at the man with the axe and whispered something to him and nodded towards Malevus who was standing behind you.

"You aren’t a bandit yourself?" He asked.

"Nope."

"A sellsword?"

"No."

The man with the axe hesitated a moment before he continued.

"We tell you what you want to know if you let us go after that. Unharmed and all." He said.


>Accept the request, ask your questions and let them go then.
>Draw your sword and catch them. A tied man speaks, while a man with a sword might seem more confident.
>Catch the two men and bring them to Tarren Mill. They are probably poachers, which is illegal in Lordaeron. They should talk after being thrown into jail.
>Other, write in

>>5230709
>Draw your sword and catch them. A tied man speaks, while a man with a sword might seem more confident.
they are way too paranoid and they saw malevus so they might know who we are.

>>5230709
>Draw your sword and catch them. A tied man speaks, while a man with a sword might seem more confident.
Their paranoia is suspicious. Why is them giving us information so risky that they need assurances? That can only mean that they're up to or have done something bad.

>>5230709
>>Accept the request, ask your questions and let them go then.

>Accept the request, ask your questions and let them go then.
this seems more prudent for now, they dont seem to be directly aligned with the bandits, and we can ask who they are and what they are doing in the camp

>>5230709
>>Accept the request, ask your questions and let them go then.
They're just some guys in the woods. We don't have good cause to just tie them up.

You waved your men to step back a bit while you in turn took a few steps towards the two men.

"Alright, sounds good." You said to them as you stepped forward and moved your hand away from the hilt of the Cinder Sword. "So who are you and why are you here?"

"We are hunters. Normally we hunt in the hills and trade what we can catch to the people there." The older man said and continued. "But recently we had to move here."

"These are the lands of Tarren Mill and through that…" You said, but were interrupted.

"Of Lordaeron. We know, but we still moved here." The older man continued. He knew they were poaching.

"Then what changed?" You asked.

"The new people who came from east and north. We attempted to trade with them once, but they declined." The man continued. "Then we heard that a group of other hunters had been killed."

"We left the hills fast even if it is our home." The younger man said.

"So the new people killed those hunters. Have they been causing other trouble? Dealing with other bandits?" You asked them.

"We heard rumours that one group up north had declined. They were killed then." Older man said and shook his head. "The people we trade with have been worried about these newcomers. Coming to their territory and being squished between them and Alterac."

"I see, is there anything else you could think about telling me?" You asked two of them.

The older man thought for a moment and didn’t say anything, but the younger who you thought to be maybe somewhat older than you decided to speak.

"Are you going to deal with those new people?" He asked you.

"Yes, they will cause trouble to us so it is better for us if they are dealt with fast." You said to him and continued. "And speaking of trouble, you don’t want to get caught here. Tarren Mill already knows that there has been more movement around here."

"Then where should we go then? We have always been hunters." The older man asked.

"Southshore needs workers, maybe Tarren Mill or Durnholde is hiring or maybe Alterac." You said back to them. "But I think I have heard what I wanted to hear from the two of you. Thank you, I appreciate it."

You nodded to them and started walking away from them.

"Who are you?" The older man asked you as you walked away.

"Prince Alric Perenolde." You said as you stopped for a second and then continued walking to your men.

"I told you pa, I was right." You heard the younger man saying.

1/2

>>5231697

It had been late afternoon when you met with the two hunters. The walk to Tarren Mill would take some time and you estimated that it would nearly be night when you reached the place.

"Prince Alric?" Malevus said your name and clearly wanted to talk.

"Yes Malevus, you have something to say?"

"Why would the new bandits want to drive away the old bandits?" She asked you.

Frankly that was a good question and you had to think a bit before answering.

"They had to send a message. Mess with us or be against us and you are dead." You said to her. "Join us and you live."

"Prince Alric, but wouldn’t the remaining bandits now either be against them or just like those hunters, leave the place?"

"Fear can be a powerful tool. They might now think that their chance for survival is better by joining these new bandits." You said and continued. "But if they leave, they might be coming to Alterac or Tarren Mill."

"And that would be a problem." Malevus mused aloud. "Thank you Prince Alric."

It was good that Malevus had asked that. Same thoughts and questions had been in your mind and it was good to form those thoughts into words.

Quite a problematic situation really.

…

It was late evening when you arrived in Tarren Mill. The gate had been closed already and there was no one outside of a few guards walking on the streets.

The rain had thankfully ceased and while you were quite wet and tired, you had energy to do things. And while late, you could maybe visit someone.


>Leave the important talks for tomorrow and go to sleep in Monica's inn. If she is there, you feel like the two of you should talk about what happened last time.
>Go speak with Mayor Fowley. Sure it is a bit late, but you can talk about Strahnbrad Hills today.
>The church has always welcomed you. Go see Father Hampton and ask his opinion about the Strahnbrad Hills.
>Other, write in

QM: Will attempt to write another update later today if there are enough votes.

>>5231701
>>Leave the important talks for tomorrow and go to sleep in Monica's inn. If she is there, you feel like the two of you should talk about what happened last time.
just because it would be rude to bother others this late.

>>5231701
>>Leave the important talks for tomorrow and go to sleep in Monica's inn. If she is there, you feel like the two of you should talk about what happened last time.

>>5231701
>>The church has always welcomed you. Go see Father Hampton and ask his opinion about the Strahnbrad Hills.

>>5231701
Check in the inn. Elf can visit the padre no?

I am awfully busy till Wednesday so next update then. But to give you a bit of something to do, may I ask what character or characters that I have already introduced would you like to see more?

Also general as always if you have questions please go ahead and ask them. I will attempt to answer them.

>>5233685
easter keeping you busy?

Also more interactions with other races.

>>5231701
>>Leave the important talks for tomorrow and go to sleep in Monica's inn. If she is there, you feel like the two of you should talk about what happened last time.

>>5233723
Easter and work. Sometimes you have to work through the holidays, but hey at least the extra pay is solid.

I did update the pastebins. Some minor things here and there, but they should be up to date now.

>>5231701
>Leave the important talks for tomorrow and go to sleep in Monica's inn. If she is there, you feel like the two of you should talk about what happened last time.

>>5233685
I would like to see more interactions with other races. I know this is a human focused obviously quest but Alterac is uniquely positioned in that it can easily interact with many other races(except for elves) due to its unique geographic location and neighbors to Dalaran which is also a nexus for multiple species visiting cause magic capital. I'm surprised they haven't shown up more to be honest in both a hostile and friendly manner.

>>5233685
Np, what will happen if we are able to take the hills ? Since we would have a clear road to Strahnbrad. I am going for conquest anyway, but i wonder what kind of reception the alliance or others will have, to this expansion of ours. Since it is out of Alteraci lands, after all the alliance edict was about Alterac. But we don't know what Ogres, Orcs, Gnolls or other neighbors might think or do. Beside our allies which would benefit from our growth.
I can imagine that this will be the last straw, before the conflict between us and Syndicate will begin to be a full on war. Right now it has been small, with some battles, skirmishes and assassinations. I doubt they will abandon easily, the fort they have been building here.
In regard to characters, i agree with others about new races. But beyond that, i don't mind either seeing the interactions we have with our military council and other human neighbors. The Alterac Principality (would it be the right name? or reborn kingdom ?), is kind in an odd spot has a state mainly : it's very new, it's lead by the military and Prince, the Prince is the only current member of the royalty and there is no landed nobility. There are a few nobles, with the knights we have.
It's also interesting there is a non-indifferent amount of not alteracis serving us or living in our lands.

>>5235466
>>5233685
You know you make a good point about the distinct lack of Alteraci nobility. It doesn't make sense that they ALL went criminal and sided with the syndicate. I was really hoping we could acquire some talents from them once we established ourselves and they began to reemerge but holy shit they are fucking worthless. Not even our Knights are Alteraci. No spies. No nobles. No statesmen. No nothing.

I honestly found that rather weird. I was expecting to encounter more Alteraci remnants but...nothing. Nada. Only the Syndicate. I mean really? Only them? I was expecting a serious objective of ours would be attempting to reunify the surviving remnants of Alterac who haven't fallen into evil unlike the Syndicate.

Another odd theme that I honestly don't mind is the penal recruiting, exiles, and troops. Considering how the Alliance is starting to take to dumping their undesirables on us. I mean clever D&C against the Syndicate in that regard but still strange. Especially with the orc prison camps in the region. It is definitely going to flavor our military traditions in very...peculiar ways. On the plus side though advanced Bandit troops are some really good shit even if the weaker ones are trash. Just might need to speed up the whole redeemer order ideas schtick at the current rate...

>>5235493
True i agree.
Personally I think there might be some reasons for this. I have a few.

1 The diaspora might have spread many Alteraci far away, if they didn't want to go with our brother or be treated as scum in the Alliance, they probably thought leaving and go away might have been for the best. This doesn't mean though they have 0 interest in returning or even just creating relations again. Some might have commercial activities and trade with us might benefit them. Some solid land claims to titles and lands in our kingdom.
2 Our father didn't have good internal relations in the court&kingdom, or perhaps he didn't trust people to go with Alric when Norman was sent away with him. So this nobles are still around and they might arrive soon, now that news of a reborn Alterac are spreading.
3 Some might be still undercover. They could be still afraid of the Alliance destroying Alterac again, so they neither go to join Alric or his brother. And so ... they wait. If they are waiting perhaps making an official edict to order a return of Alteracis could be the sign they want to see.
4 .... Norman didn't like them, or had bad relations with them prior. And decided to push them away, not wanting Alric to have their ideas. Same as 2, with the only difference this nobles will not like Norman, and Norman will not like them. They might also not like our military only council.
5 A few of them could have done a few crimes against someone else or have a bad rep in general (the war was no doubt brutal), or be of a different religion. This doesn't make them evil, but it does make them very unlikable by certain people for example the Alliance. It could be a reason why they decided to cut relations with our father or Norman, for avoid to gather attention on Alric when he was a kid.

Honestly whatever is the reason or reasons they have, I would like to encounter more of them and rally more of them to our cause.
Yeah we might want to consider that idea soon. For now though it was useful, and it will help us again no doubt in our future. In regard to military traditions is quite a change, how will it work out when Alterac is restored.

Beyond that, who knows really. The reasons why they have left, and why they want to join if they decided to join Alric could be different than the ones I made. They would be interesting regardless. I wouldn't be surprised if some alteraci lords and knights became mercenaries after the war for example, to ensure they and their families could live. Or if that there is an infamous alteraci knight that killed several alliance lordlings during the war, and became a "black knight" of sorts for the opinion of the alliance, even if he is not evil and just fought for his king and kingdom.
We still found some Alteraci around, so there could be more. Our reputation is growing strongly and unless someone decides to throw some mud, is pristine. That will no doubt attract our people.

The lack of Alteraci nobility being around is a very good point and unsurprisingly WoW or the RPG books don’t address it much at all outside of them joining The Syndicate. That is the only scenario I remember reading about when I researched the lore for the quest. I can say without spoiling anything that non-Syndicate Alteraci nobles do exist.

The lack of races other than humans is somewhat deliberate. I haven’t introduced that many non-humans as I either want to save them for later or inventing/finding a non-human character just to have a one while not changing things or representing something within the quest would feel too cheap. With this quest being quite human centric, when I introduce something different, I want it to have a bit more impact.

I hope this clarified things and helped to answer a few things. I would love to answer in more detail, but so many things are in motion that I would end up just spoiling them.

That being said, next update will come tomorrow and if you still have questions or comments please go ahead and ask them. I will try to answer them if I can.

>>5235957
Just how much freedom are you gonna give to the shaping of alterac its society and military to us or you got it all planned out?
Theres some of it already with the whole penal troops thing but one thing is that alterac being effetively rebuilt from the bottom up gives alot of freedom to us on how we shape it.

>>5235551
The only reason why our council IS a military council is that we literally cannot find any other talents to recruit and use. We couldn't even find enough actual Alteraci soldiers or spymasters which is why we had to make a deal with dragon lady and recruit penal troops, to begin with. We are little more than a glorified military camp and to add further insult to injury the Alliance has recently taken to dumping their criminals onto us. The only reason why that hasn't come to bite us yet is due to sheer military discipline to keep them in line and the whole fact that the Alliance would otherwise cut off their heads. Shit even many of our proper 'soldiers' are actually mercs.

Right now our military and development are actually in danger of evolving into a bandit kingdom simply because we haven't yet implemented the redeemer order plans and we haven't been able to otherwise recruit anyone besides PEASANTS AND CRIMINALS. It's hilarious to realize that we are completing the Syndicate goals better than the actual Syndicate themselves but veiled under actual legitimacy.

>>5235587
Alteraci spies and mages likely got involved with the cults and banditry as well. They unlike the rest of the Alliance are well acquainted with Warlock magics and even early necromancy. Which is something to keep in mind. they were the FIRST humans who actively worked with and became knowledgeable about Fel orcish methods. Not to mention their proximity to the mountains stuffed full of creeps that nobody ever managed to handle.

Alteraci military remnants either went bandit or merc assuming they didn't hide out in some backwater or deep in the mountains because they unlike the rest of the Alliance actually know how to deal with the Horde and other creeps. Of course, this is all just educated guessing. We do know that the Alteraci nobility who 'fell from grace' joined up with the Syndicate but that's it. It's not like the Alliance could afford to chase them into the mountain depths.

I honestly had a lot of hope for them at first considering how hardcore they must have been to survive all that shit and holdout for so long but alas. I mean come on we are talking a single Kingdom who took on the entire Alliance and had the balls to successfully parley with the Horde. Sure they lost in the end but it wasn't like they didn't go down without a fight. At one time they were on good terms with even trolls because of it.

>>5236157
I forgot the most important factor and I actually have evidence for this interestingly enough in the lore. WC 1 Frostwolves are betrayed and Abandoned the Horde. Somehow they end up in ALTERAC MOUNTAINS. WC 2 Alterac is the FIRST human faction that achieves the previously thought impossible in successfully opening diplomatic talks with the savage races. The Frostwolves just 'happen' to end up neighbors with the one and only human faction which isn't hostile to orcs and not only are they not hostile but they successfully open diplomatic talks. Geez what a coincidence...

Unfortunately what should have crowned Alterac the unmatched masters of diplomacy among humanity is misused and was even used against them(nevermind the fact that later Alliance leaders would actually attempt to adopt the very same stance the fucking hypocrites). Nevermind the fact that they are a mountain kingdom surrounded by mountains FULL of savage races that nobody has ever successfully dealt with. Alterac FINALLY achieves a critical breakthrough for peaceful means instead of the usual endless conflicts. Suddenly making it viable to cut back on massive costs they have to sustain every year because of it. Nevermind the fact that they were very likely the ones who rescued the beaten Frostwolves and granted them sanctuary or the fact that successfully negotiated with the most difficult to talk with unreasonable savage motherfuckers ever that is the Fel Horde.

Alterac's greatest advantage lies not with its military well versed in difficult terrain or interacting with monstrous races nor its early advantages with dark magics or easy to secure terrain. Its single greatest advantage is Alterac hands down produced the greatest diplomatic talents ever seen in Warcraft's humans. They are all goddamn monsters of diplomacy and there is a very good reason why the Alliance upper echelons were utterly scared shitless of them because of it.

If Alterac hadn't been destroyed they would have been able to become Warcraft Swiss and become filthy stinking rich.

>>5235957
hope you've had a pleasant Easter OP. Thanks for being with us.

>>5236210
The alliance is dead set on destroying us, if it weren't for Uther and us looking like we are under their thumb, so we can eventually be annexed and become one of their colonies, we all would have been dead already. The edict that the alliance had passed that all the nobility of Alterac are criminals and no one should ever assist them under the threat of death within the territories of the Alliance of Lordaeron also hasn't been revoked as far as I know. For all intents and purposes Alric is a wanted criminal that they are not apprehending because he is more useful free than imprisoned. We have no choice but to prepare for war against humanity because the fuckers won't leave us alone because no one wants another powerful political and economical player. Luckily we have the means and contacts to successfully undermine the Alliance, but it also depends on what QM is setting up. It's entirely possible we could go the peaceful route, it's just that I wouldn't in light of these events. In fact, not going to war with them as soon as we are able to get them to fuck off from us and winning several crucial military victories so that we could demand concessions from them, I would actually consider metagaming, since we know that we can't afford to do that in light of what is coming.

>>5236796
If alliance wanted us destroyed they would have done so ages ago.

>>5236848
We had some amazing luck, up until a few months ago the alliance didn't even know we existed.

>>5237004
It hasnt been about luck since stormwind at latest.
Personally the way QM treats it as far as i can see they dont treat alric as a criminal but rather son of a traitor with proper disdain.
Alliance isnt united too many conflicting interests to just move in and take us out either especeally since we've been so cooperative.

>>5237029
To be honest, the conflicting interests and us being cooperative enough for them to not see us as an active enough threat to set aside their differences for is probably our saving grace. I genuinely starting to think that we're never going to be accepted at this rate unless we somehow get one of the major players indebted to us.

>>5236796
The only reason we are still alive is that the Alliance is beginning to fall apart internally. Even Uther has begun to notice this as the Human Kings begin to squabble among themselves hence why we are still alive. This won't become obvious until Thrall's Horde emerges and it later leads to the destruction of Lordereon and High Elves directly during WC3. The Alliance got their fucking asses handed to them by Thrall and were completely unable to rally together to counterattack him for it. They just gave up after realizing that he fucked off after freeing all the orcs.
The best time to war against the Alliance IF we do it is during Thrall's campaign. That is when the Alliance cannot afford to focus on us and their infighting results in Thrall kicking their fucking asses. If we do that we can kick them out from Alterac entirely because Thrall will keep their forces divided against us both. Otherwise, we have to somehow survive until after WC3 and breakaway after that shit show. To be frank I REALLY do not wanna have to deal with Orcish Raids and tactical acumen courtesy of Thrall because we are fucking surrounded by orcs in the place that is his biggest fucking target and expected to help Blackmoore against him when we are trying to rebuild. Thrall will absolutely destroy us if we try to fight him and the Alliance will treat us as cannon fodder against an opponent we have no way of digging out thanks to the terrain that completely surrounds us and who can counterattack us as they please for shits and giggles. Especially with the incoming shit show that is WC3 where we get to look forward to getting raped by the Scourge and demons.

>>5237151
That is in all likelihood the only reason we are still alive.
The only way that can happen is if we somehow pull off a miracle during WC3 and we all know there isn't a chance in hell of that happening. Otherwise we could try to pick a fight with Thrall...when we are surrounded by orcs and Alterac becomes Thrall's main staging area...yeah that is a fucking terrible idea.
Even if we team up with Jaina and Thrall to Kalimdor the Alliance is still gonna pissed at us for failing to block the Scourge from Dalaran and dealing with Thrall. Man, no matter how I think of it the Alliance is going to hate our guts so much to such an extent that the Banshee Bitch Queen Sylvanas actually seems like a good alternative.

It was late and you wanted to get a good night's sleep first and hopefully get your clothes to be a bit more dry. It wouldn’t be that optimal to meet with Mayor Fowley or with Father Hampton while looking like a wet dog.

You told your men to find a place to sleep in the barracks and said to them that the locals will take care of them. The Rovers had probably heard the stories of what you had done for Tarren Mill before and it wouldn’t hurt for them to learn more about the events from the guards themselves. They would most likely be happy to tell them about it.

“So Malevus, I will go to the inn next and sleep there for the night.” You said to her.

“That sounds very good Prince Alric.” Malevus replied and brushed some of her damp hair away. She still was cheery somehow even though it was clear that she was tired and somewhat miserable with all the wet clothes and gear she was carrying.

“Maybe you should visit the Father?” You asked her.

“Prince Alric, wouldn’t that be a bit too late? It can wait till tomorrow and I have so much to tell him.” Malevus said and didn’t take the hint.

“Ahh well nevermind then. Let’s go to the inn.” You said in defeat. You had wanted to save Malevus from meeting Monica after how the last time you had seen her had gone.

The reconstruction work around the inn had continued and it had gotten a nice new coat of paint on the walls, but some of the scaffolding was still there when you reached for the door. It didn’t budge so the place was already locked for the evening so you opted to knock on the door. After banging the door a few times, you heard the familiar sound of a key turning in the lock and then the door was opened.

“Hello Monica.” You said to her.

“Hello Alric.” Monica said back to you.

“Do you have room for two? Can we come in?” You asked her.

“I do have several rooms available.” Monica said back.

It was a very awkward moment. So awkward that you could have taken a knife and cut it into pieces.

“Come in then.” Monica said and stepped back.

1/3

File: Innkeeper_Monica.jpg (53 KB, 269x784)

53 KB JPG

>>5237226

The inn was empty and there were no signs of her employees. They had probably left for their homes already. Stepping in the place did look the same as before with just a few more candle holders put on the walls. The place wasn’t as dark as before.

“This is Malevus and she is my squire.” You said to Monica in an attempt to cut the awkwardness apart. “I don’t know if you two have met before.”

“We haven’t, I am Monica, nice to meet you.” Monica said and did a small curtsy.

“Pleasure to meet you Monica.” Malevus said and returned the curtsy. “Can I get the key to my room, I would like to get into the bed soon?”

Malevus had clearly noticed the awkwardness and wanted to get away from it as soon as possible. Monica reached behind the counter and threw a key for Malevus.

“First door on the left.” Monica said and Malevus retreated upstairs as fast as she could without making it look like she was hurrying.

Two of you stood there and waited to hear the door open and close before speaking like you were two parents waiting for their kid not to hear the arguing.

“Alright we have to talk about what happened last time we saw each other.” You said to Monica. “As it pains me to see us like this, what happened?”

Monica didn’t answer your question and she just sat on a stool and lowered her gaze to somewhere around your feet.

“I am sorry Monica, but I don’t want this to continue. We were friends before and now we have difficulties even talking to each other.” You said to her and removed your helmet and gloves before placing them on a counter next to Monica. “And the longer this goes, the more difficult it is for us to clear whatever knot is between us.”

Monica sighed deeply before she raised her head.

“Oh I am so sorry Alric.” Monica said and lunged towards you. When previously someone had lunged at you, it had been training or a combat, but this time it was just for a hug. “I shouldn’t have said what I said last time to you.”

You carefully placed your arm around her as it felt the right thing to do.

“It is just that I...” Monica said and carefully removed herself from you. “It is that I think I loved you.”

You had expected that answer a bit, but now it was your turn to not know what to say.

2/3

>>5237228

“Since really the time you saved me from the bandits, I wanted to be with you and at some point I started to think that maybe it could be possible.” Monica explained to you. “But I knew at the same time that you are Prince and that the thoughts are just foolish dreams of a foolish girl.”

“Monica…” You attempted to speak, but were interrupted.

“And so I asked, I had to ask as I thought there was a chance. Me and you being a thing and our future together.” Monica continued.

“Monica…” Again you were interrupted.

“Or just a night together having sex, I had even denied some suitors to be ready for you…”

“Monica! Too many details.” This time you succeeded in interrupting her as there were a few too many details and her speech had turned somewhat into rambling.

“Oh by the Light did I say that!” Monica said and slumped forward and buried her on your chest. A light klank sound happened when her head hit your breastplate.

“Ouch ouch.” She said and held her head. It clearly hurt a bit when it hit the steel. “Oh Alric, I am so hopeless.”

“You are not hopeless.” You said back to her. “You are a normal human with feelings.”

You didn’t really know what to say. Neither Norman or Maura had taught you how to deal with women or girls like this.

“Yeah feelings… I let myself be controlled by them. To create the idea of me and you being possible…” Monica said to you and seemed to recover from hitting her head.

She looked at you in the eyes and seemed to gather her courage for a moment.

“I am sorry Alric, I shouldn’t have asked you last time or behave like I did. It was just stupid, childish and hopeless thing from me.” Monica said and continued. “Can you forgive me?”

“Yes, yes I do.” You said back immediately. “You are a friend of mine and I am sorry for not being able to return your feelings, but I want for us to continue to be friends and not let this break it apart.”

Monica seemed to be relieved when you said that and gave you a nod.

“Thank you Alric, you really are a sweet person.” Monica said and continued with a smile. “No wonder I fell for you and had those feelings, but I now know better.”

It did seem with that smile that whatever bad air was between you and Monica had been cleared away.

“Alric, do you have any feelings towards anyone?” Monica suddenly asked.


>Confess your feelings towards Calia Menethil to Monica
>Confess your feelings towards Jaina Proudmoore to Monica
>You have two that you like, but to say who is ahead of the other one is impossible
>Say that you don’t have anyone special at the moment, but there are others that are interested in you.
>Other, write in

QM: It took some time, but here we go! Update! And this is just something to tell Monica.

>>5237234
>Say that you don’t have anyone special at the moment, but there are others that are interested in you.

>>5235996
I like to think that we are still at the building the foundation for rebuilding the Alterac part of the quest, but I don't think we will be at that part for that long anymore. Alric has made connections abroad and met with the important leaders and potential allies while building up his strength and military numbers. When the foundation is ready and Alric gets to start nation building, then we start getting those decisions of to what direction will Alterac go.

>>5237029
>>5237151
You anons are correct. Alliance isn't united enough to solve the Alterac issue of who should rule the region or get parts of it so they have been slowly pushing the issue forward and leaving it for a later date. Many of the Alliance see you especially as a son of a traitor, but some do see the crimes of your father becoming inherited by you. But you have made waves and at some point the Alliance cannot keep pushing the issue away, maybe Alric is ready by that point or the situation is more favourable to you.

Also thank you for wishes for a pleasant Easter.

>>5237234
>Say that you don’t have anyone special at the moment, but there are others that are interested in you.
As a side note i do hope QM shakes things up a bit just so metagaming isnt so prevalent.

>>5236157
I know. But at least we can count on them being competent officers, discipline is strong at the moment and the leadership of Alric has been reinforced thanks to victories and his work. Also mercs seemed to like so far the idea of getting paid and the possibility to join our army, and even get a piece of land for their family. Criminals well they receive cash and don't get executed, plus a possibility to live here.
The offer we give is quite good. Maybe we could use more ideas for ensure they integrate more in our military ? Not sure what, a military tradition would be needed. In addition to try the Redemeers one.
Beside this.... well when we make the town hall, we will likely take the service of some scribes and bureaucrats for work inside it. That should help us in administration, since both Norman and Alric have their tables full of papers at the moment. We would likely need to choose a mayor, which would be our first civilian council man.
Honestly I was thinking to add Eligius as a council member for matter of magics, but with our resident paladin of the silver hand he wouldn't live a quiet life.
Beric our trader could join as an advisor for trade matters. Then again he is just a merchant, and we could just continue working with him like we have done so far.
Speaking of mercs, if those 2 companies are still around we should take them. Even if Harriers cost a bit. Or we could fix supplies first, and get an additional tower.

>>5236796
In regard to a possible conflict against the Alliance, it depends. We have a considerable amount of land south of us that is theirs. I would say we should see if we can first strengthen further our relation with the local settlements. Tarren Mill consider us their savior, which is not a small thing. If Hillsbrad, Southshore and Durnholde could like us more we might even be able to have them change side or support us like Tarren Mill.
There is also their garrison to consider in our lands. But thankfully we where able to have a commander we know, and a garrison that fought with our men.


>>5237234
>Say that you don’t have anyone special at the moment, but there are others that are interested in you.
Poor Monica, give her another hug. The competition for the Alric bowl is really unfair for her (then again Calia and Jaina would need to go against their families, and that would not work out well for us). How common are mistresses for lords/royals beyond Blackmoore ? And what the church thinks of that ?
Just curious, i remember she was open to multiple options, still seems honestly lol (hard to blame her for that).

>>5237234
>Confess your feelings towards Jaina Proudmoore to Monica

But she seems to be the crown princes Paramore

>>5237234
>Confess your feelings towards Calia Menethil to Monica
Although maybe a bit wistfully, as something we just feel but understand how unlikely it seems considering political situation. But she does make us feel funny inside.

Maybe don’t brag that we feel she and Jaina might be interested in us back, it’s not really what Monica asked and no need to rub salt into wounds.

>>5237234
>>Confess your feelings towards Calia Menethil to Monica
We have the in character crush on her.

>>5237234
Tell her in a polite way that who we have feelings for isn't her business. Only explain that we are a prince ergo we have to marry a princess or at least a noblewoman.

>>5237234
>write in
>"Do know that I also share your pain, the life of a prince is full of responsibilities and politics... In these dark times, I know not if I will have the time to fully express my feelings, let alone let the fruits of love grow. One thing is certain, I do love my people and these lands I have vowed to protect."

Calia may be our girl, but we are a busy prince and love is the least of our priorities. Also, vague answer because it's not her damn business.

Give me a roll


>1d10
>Best of three

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5237985

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>5237985

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>5237985

You thought about telling Monica about Calia and Jaina, but decided not to. It could feel like bragging and wasn’t really her business. You felt bad for not telling her much, but you also felt bad for her knowing her competition.

“Yeah there are others who have expressed their feelings.” You decided to say. “But you know I am a Prince, there will be politics involved in this.”

“Well whatever the politics are, whoever the girl is, she is going to be quite lucky.” Monica said back.

There was an awkward silence for a second or two.

“Either way, it is good that whatever bad air there was is now gone.” You said and continued. “Is it?”

“I think it is Alric.” Monica said.

“Friends?”

“Friends.” Monica said with a smile.

…

You spoke with her for a moment before heading up into the free room that she gave you. You stripped your wet and damp clothes off and put them in a basket for Monica to take and dry before the morning comes. It did feel quite nice to remove all the armour you had been carrying for days and drop the woollen cloak on the floor before changing into quite dry clothes you had in your bag.

With all your gear off it did feel nice to just jump into the bed and wrap yourself with the blanket. For a moment you thought about reading the booklet that you had taken from Eston, but as you couldn’t keep your eyes open, you just allowed yourself to fall asleep.

Tomorrow will be yet another long day full of work. You really need to start delegating things more, you cannot do everything by yourself.

1/2

>>5238353

>9

The next morning came faster than you had expected. After having woken up, you found your clothes having been dried and neatly folded in the same basket that you had put them into. It seems that Monica had put some work in and got everything ready for you.

You put on your gear and headed downstairs where you found Malevus eating a simple breakfast of bread and porridge. The waiter Monica had hired brought you some breakfast and two of you finished your breakfast relatively quickly, having just some small talk about what the day will have for you.

When you went to pay for the rooms and food, the waiter declined and said that you owed nothing. That was the order given to them by Monica. You didn’t like that they wouldn’t take your coins, but if that is what Monica wanted then so be it.

Heading out you saw that Tarren Mill had woken up. With the harvest done there were plenty of farmers and other workers with some extra coin available and of course the traders knew about it. There were plenty of stalls having been set up by the merchants and a number of them attempted to get your attention as you looked around.

You attempted to avoid maintaining eye contact with any of them, but you couldn’t avoid seeing someone familiar in the early morning crowd of merchants. A Dark Iron dwarf who you remembered seeing before in Durnholde. What would he be doing here?


>You are here to talk with Mayor Fowley about what you had seen and learned in Strahnbrad Hills. Tarren Mill joining to support you could be crucial for the success. Let it be the first thing you are going to do today.
>Father Hampton as a former paladin has connections to the church. If you could get the Church to support you in Strahnbrad Hills, that would be a great boon.
>Go see what the Dark Iron dwarf is doing in Tarren Mill. You don’t think that Tarren Mill has a need for well-crafted arms and armour.
>Other, write in.

>>5238358
>Go see what the Dark Iron dwarf is doing in Tarren Mill. You don’t think that Tarren Mill has a need for well-crafted arms and armour.
>Send Malevus to Father Hampton. She can speak to him while you do rest of the business in Tarren Mill.

>>5237350
Isn’t Beric responsible for majority of our trade? I think he handles nearly everything noteworthy regarding it. And he has been in the meetings when he has had time or something to say.

Those mounted sergeants are expensive, but the bandit rogues should fit our needs.

I think Medivh mentioned in the last thread that mistresses aren't that uncommon amongst nobility. Not unheard of.

>>5237151
I think we should use that to our advantage. They will learn and read how we have helped all of our neighbours and as long as we keep doing it, it will be harder for the Alliance to act against us if we are important part of Hillabrads security. I think they don't like our military, but Uther and Garithos has seen how we fight against gnolls and ogres. We are too useful to be removed and we don't cost their tax moneys.

>>5238384
+1

>>5238384
+1
this but go see mayor fowley afterwards

>>5238384
Backing.

>>5237350
Alric's forces are scraping by on sheer discipline alone due to the number of mercs and criminals we are stuck with. I honestly don't blame them for being bunch of hardasses putting up with the shit they have to deal with and more mercs will come because Alterac is in a perfect geographic location for mercs to base themselves. Partly why we have such a huge bandit problem is the terrain and location are a dream come true for banditry.
Right now military tradition is a mess due to not enough Alteraci troops, too many mercs from diverging origins, and lots of criminals. At least the criminals in the long run will give us access to bandit troops whose stronger troops have special abilities not otherwise available. Bandit Knights, Marauders, Assassins, and Rogues are no joke. It's only low level bandit troops that are garbage and technically even they still have stealth.
I think our biggest problem in terms of building a townhall isn't the expense but simply the fact we don't have enough scribes and bureaucrats to make use of it. We simply haven't encountered any other Alteraci remnants besides some peasants and Syndicate nobles.
Eligius has the important task of keeping an eye on magic in our area and training himself. Not to mention keeping a low profile since once discovered they will want his head cut off. We have no access to official mages because Dalaran blacklisted us so he and whoever else we can find is all we got.
I think we need to focus on building more towers and larger homesteads to dredge up more manpower rather than buy mercs. Either that or get some actual proper armor. So far we have gotten lucky with the lack of raiding from creeps and monsters but that is because the QM is being nice to us. We are surrounded by mountains full of hostiles and the bandits hate our guts. We need a lot more supplies and defenses. Hopefully that way we can attract more manpower.

>>5238358
>>Father Hampton as a former paladin has connections to the church. If you could get the Church to support you in Strahnbrad Hills, that would be a great boon.

>>5238384
support

>>5238384
Support

File: Garrick Blacksteel.jpg (160 KB, 862x1080)

160 KB JPG

“Malevus, I will go see what that Dark Iron dwarf is doing here and then probably go to see Mayor Fowley.” You said to her. “Go see Father Hampton, you probably have plenty to speak with him.”

And it would probably take the whole day for Malevus to bother Hampton and speak about the things she has learned.

Malevus nodded enthusiastically and left you alone. You somewhat preferred this as now you had no one following you. Not Malevus or the knights of Sir Gravis that have acted as your bodyguards lately. While having bodyguards to follow you is a good thing, it did feel nice to not have someone right behind you.

You walked through the crowd and avoided the merchants attempting to catch your notice or the locals attempting to greet you more closely. You had to use your elbows to push past a few more eager men to reach the Dark Iron dwarf who had his cart set up in a good spot, but there was no one attempting to even look at his good. There were also no other Dark Iron dwarves around which was a bit strange as before he had a few bodyguards and servants of his own with him.

“I did not expect to see you here Master Blacksteel. I don’t think Tarren Mill is the place to sell arms and armour.” You said to him as you approached the dwarf.

“Young Prince. I didn’t expect to see ya either.” Garrick Blacksteel said to you and gave you a respectful nod before continuing. “And yes, Tarren Mill is not ta best place to sell our wares.”

You had met Garrick Blacksteel when you visited Durnholde for the tournament and you had talked a bit with him. He was wearing his usual black clothing and he had skin of light grey like that of ash and two bright red eyes that looked like they were burning embers. He was a Dark Iron dwarf through and through.

“I don’t see the guards or the other servants either.” You said to him “Has something happened?”

"Yes and no young Prince. I was still sent to sell our wares and gather information as before, but I do not have my men with me.” Garrick Blacksteel said to you.

“Alone in Tarren Mill? You aren’t going to be able to sell your arms and armour here.” You said to him.

“Why is it that young Prince?” Garrick asked.

“For the soldiers here were recruited and trained by my men. They already have their equipment and the local Mayor probably wouldn’t spend more than required for his soldiers.” You said and told maybe a bit too much.

Garrick Blacksteel looked at you with his two bright red eyes and then gave a nod.

“Blasted luck, but I will have to try.” Garrick Blacksteel said back.

The locals had noticed you talking with the Dark Iron dwarf and gave two of you curious looks.

“Young Prince, do ye want to browse my wares?” Garrick Blacksteel asked.

“I would love to, but I don’t have the coin to buy anything.” You said back.

“Not even ta armour?”

“Sorry Master Blacksteel, I already have a suit of armour ordered.”

“Blasted, we'll just have to sell something else to ta people.” Garrick said and was a bit disappointed.

1/2

>>5239656

You noticed how the other merchants continued to look at you and the Dark Iron dwarf speaking. It didn’t take much to make the conclusion that the Dark Iron dwarfs weren’t exactly welcomed in Tarren Mill. They after all had a quite bad reputation outside of the Blackrock Mountain, having fought the dwarfs of Ironforge and not having supported the humans during the wars against the orcs and allowing the surviving orcs to flee to the Blackrock Mountain.

In short Master Blacksteel wasn’t wanted here even if he was talking with you. Though a few things did come to your mind, maybe you could benefit from this?


>Invite Garrick Blacksteel to Dawnholme and show him the mines under your control. He was a miner after all.
>If you could have the support of Garrick Blacksteel and the Dark Iron dwarfs for the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills, you could acquire some important support, but you are sure that they would like something
>Take him with you to meet with Mayor Fowley and to talk about trade. Mayor after all is a businessman and maybe he would be willing to trade with the Dark Irons.
>Ask what is his problem? Last time you saw him, he had servants and guards and now he had none of them.
>Other, write in.

>Warn him that the locals aren’t that friendly and suggest he should leave.
>Mention that the locals don’t like Dark Irons, but leave it at that.
>Don’t mention that the locals don’t like Dark Irons, leave him to realise that by himself.

>>5239657

QM: And yes, please vote on both.

>>5239657
>Invite Garrick Blacksteel to Dawnholme and show him the mines under your control. He was a miner after all.
We are militarized heavily enough that he actually could sell stuff.

>Mention that the locals don’t like Dark Irons, but leave it at that.

>>5239657
>Invite Garrick Blacksteel to Dawnholme and show him the mines under your control. He was a miner after all.
>Mention that the locals don’t like Dark Irons, but leave it at that.

>>5239657
>Invite Garrick Blacksteel to Dawnholme and show him the mines under your control. He was a miner after all.
>Take him with you to meet with Mayor Fowley and to talk about trade. Mayor after all is a businessman and maybe he would be willing to trade with the Dark Irons.

>Warn him that the locals aren’t that friendly and suggest he should leave.
I think inviting him to Dawnholme is a nobrainer, but introducing him to Mayor Fowley should also be done. Even if it doesn't lead to anything, it is still a polite thing to do.

We also should warn him properly that maybe the locals don't like him to be around and suggest him to be extra careful.

>>5239657
>>5239678
Supporting

>>5239657
Support >>5239678

Although whatever arrangements we come up with we should bear in mind our commitments as well as our freshly expanding industry

>>5239657
>If you could have the support of Garrick Blacksteel and the Dark Iron dwarfs for the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills, you could acquire some important support, but you are sure that they would like something
>Mention that the locals don’t like Dark Irons, but leave it at that.

>>5239672
+1

>>5239855
Also it's worth keeping in mind we have good relations with locals so it would be rude to call them unfriendly. Maybe cautious? Not too hasty in opening up?

“Master Blacksteel, I do need to warn you that the locals don’t seem to like your presence.” You said to him.

“Aye young Prince, I noticed that.” Blacksteel said and continued. “But I have my reasons to be here.”

“Trade is that important?”

“Aye.”

“Then how about you visit Dawnholme? Your mission is to evaluate potential places for trade and I think Alterac might have something to offer.” You said to him and continued. “Am I right?”

“Ye are right young Prince, thank you for the invitation.” Garrick Blacksteel said and gave you a respectful bow.

“And I do know Mayor Fowley relatively well. I am going to introduce you to him, he is after all a businessman. There is some potential in trade.” You continued.

“I would be honoured young Prince.” Blacksteel said.

“Good, I will be heading to the town hall next. So when you are ready, please follow me.” You said.

…

You waited as Garrick Blacksteel closed his shop and put his belongings inside his horse cart and locked it. As he did that you noticed the locals starting to not give you the curious looks or glaring at the Dark Iron dwarf, it seemed that they liked that he was going to leave, or at least it seemed so.

Same time they avoided you somewhat. People of Tarren Mill knew who you were and even if you weren’t wearing your full armour, your normal clothes or had your mountain lion pelt on your shoulders, they did recognize you and when it seemed that Garrick Blacksteel was leaving after talking with you, they seemed to be content.

With the Dark Iron dwarf having made sure that his things wouldn’t be touched, you made your way to the town hall. Stepping in with a Dark Iron dwarf right behind you, you had to explain to the clerks that he was with you and that you were here to meet with Mayor Fowley. It only took a moment for the clerks to inform you that Fowley was ready to receive you.

Walking upstairs and opening the door to his study, you allowed Garrick Blacksteel to enter the room first before you followed right behind him.

“Mayor Fowley, this is Master Blacksteel, a trader and a miner that I met some time ago in Durnholde.” You introduced him.

“Master Blacksteel, I am Mayor Fowley. I heard that there was a Dark Iron dwarf in my town, but I didn’t expect to meet you.” He said and looked at you questioning.

“Pleasure to meet ye Mayor Fowley, I wouldn’t be here without ta young Prince.” Garrick Blacksteel said and gave a bow.

“Mayor Fowley, I thought that with Master Blacksteel here, it could be beneficial to us to talk about trade. There are always benefits and potential in the more exotic trade.” You said to him.

“Aye, young Prince is right. We have plenty to offer to Tarren Mill, if you are willing to hear our offers.” Blacksteel said.

“Well it wouldn’t hurt, so Master Blacksteel what do you have to say?” Mayor Fowley said to him.

1/2

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>>5240731


You had sat down and allowed Fowley and Blacksteel to discuss the potential of the trade, at least to humour each other or maybe even to find something to trade with each other. Soon it was clear that arms and armour were outside the potential purchases of Tarren Mill, but the apple cider and other food products that lasted long could be exported.

This discussion did last for some time and you enjoyed some tea the clerks had brought to all of you as you listened and sometimes said something to either add to the discussion or when prompted.

In the end Garrick Blacksteel and Mayor Fowley didn’t manage to agree on anything specific, but it did seem that there was some common ground between these two businessmen. The problem just was the distance between Tarren Mill and Blackrock Mountain.

And when it was time for the Dark Iron dwarf to leave, he bowed to both you and Mayor Fowley gratefully. It did feel like you had helped him somewhat. And after Blacksteel had left the office, you changed your seat and sat opposite Mayor Fowley.

“I don’t know what you are after by introducing me to that dwarf Prince Alric, but it was good that you did so. We might have some trade and profit at our hand.” Mayor Fowley said and continued. “But why are you here?”

“I was in Strahnbrad Hills and I have plenty to talk about.” You said back.

You told him what you had learned while keeping some details untold like the participation of the Syndicate in Stonedon, but you did tell him about the village and the threat it faces in terms of the new bandits in the region. You made it clear that Strahnbrad Hills were facing a change and it would either be you or the bandits who stood victorious in the end.

“So you are saying that the new bandits are attempting to gain control of the hills?” Mayor Fowley said.

“Yes, as I said they have been strong arming other groups to join them.” You said back to him.

“Are you sure about this?” Mayor Fowley asked you.

“Have I lied to you before?” You answered and leaned forward.

Mayor Fowley nodded a few times as he realized the truth in your words before answered.

“Good point. Then what do you suggest? This is a grave concern to Tarren Mill, but we don’t exactly have the military or the troops to support you that much.” Mayor Fowley said back.


>Tarren Mill should provide you with all the help it has. From the military, to the logistics to the auxiliaries.
>Logistics is where Tarren Mill excels, ask for their help securing your supply lines and making sure that your baggage train is strong enough.
>Tarren Mill should be the staging point for the invasion of Tarren Mill. Ask them to be the base where the invasion will be launched from.
>This invasion is done by you and you alone. Alterac will deal with their own problems and doesn’t need to involve others.
>Other, write in.

QM: The options go from full involvement to the least.

>>5240735
>Tarren Mill should be the staging point for the invasion of Tarren Mill. Ask them to be the base where the invasion will be launched from.
damn QM atleast give us some idea how much this invasion would cost us from our own pocket. but i think we got enough supplies for now to do it ourselves no need to indebt ourselves to tarren mill too much.

>>5240758

The invasion itself doesn't cost us nothing in terms of Supply. I think that by asking for a fixed Supply cost, I would be restricting you too much. The soldiers under your control are going to be using as much Supply as before with or without the invasion, the potential participation of the Tarren Mill just is a flavour and a modifier how it will go in the end and how much Tarren Mill has to gain from this.

Basically asking more from Tarren Mill could mean that they want more later on as a reward, but if you do it all alone, then Tarren Mill wouldn't have anything to say or ask.

>>5240763
Fair enough.
still keeping the vote tho. Launching from tarren mill basically costs nothing for them and considering that we secure they're north which is a net benefit for them they wouldnt exactly have any ground to ask us for anything.

>>5240735
>>Logistics is where Tarren Mill excels, ask for their help securing your supply lines and making sure that your baggage train is strong enough.
Tarren Mill is our close ally and we should ask help from Durnholde and others too. More we get help, better our chances to win and keep our men alive.

>>5240735
>>Tarren Mill should be the staging point for the invasion of Tarren Mill. Ask them to be the base where the invasion will be launched from.

>>5240772
Thinking of allies I think Tarren Mill is with us. Other potential participants are Durnholde who could maybe send us men, Southshore is questionable as is Hillsbrad, but both are worth asking. Regional Defenders is another possibility with us having interacted with Garithos. Dalaran could maybe help us, we did after all save those peasants and Jaina is our good friend.

We could get something out of asking them. Maybe a few soldiers or some support. And if they decline then we know where they are standing.

Anons what do you think?

>>5240735
>>Tarren Mill should be the staging point for the invasion of Tarren Mill. Ask them to be the base where the invasion will be launched from.

>>5240815
Durnholde we could use that favour
Southshore/Hillsbrad might consider it, but they might want informations at least. Or they might not care at all.mn
Regional Defenders maybe, Garithos is half and half. Not for any sympathy mind you, he has none for us, just for kill a foe and see up close what we are doing.
Dalaran very unlikely, Jaina could get a small group maybe.

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>>5240815
Allies regarding this bandit problem? Unless the problem gets really bad, probably only Tarren Mill, Durnholde and maybe something Jaina can give us. All the others are both too far away to care about banditry in the hills and wary of us. I'd also put an asterisk on Durnholde given how Blackmoore is so we'd need to either use the favor or pay him. Also, who are the Regional Defenders again? I know Garithos is the man in charge of the alliance garrison.

On another note, Medivh, did we get an estimate of the strength of the bandit fort garrison and the patrol routes of the guards? If the conditions favor us, we could possibly take the fort with a surprise assault.

>>5240870

Regional Defenders is the organisation that is a step above city guards and militias, but below the actual Army of Lordaeron. They job is to react to whatever threats the local region is facing and to defend it until either the army or Silver Hand comes to the rescue. The Alliance Garrison in Dawnholme is made from Regional Defenders with Captain Reginald as their leader. Colonel Garithos is the current commander of the Regional Defenders and responsible for making sure that they are ready to defend Lordaeron.

The bandit fort itself could maybe hold 20-30 men in the huts and tents and the estimation you got from Ragis was a few dozen bandits in total. More of course could be coming from elsewhere or they have been too spread out to be accurately counted. Then there is of course the bandit groups that might join them.

>>5240735
>>Tarren Mill should be the staging point for the invasion of Tarren Mill. Ask them to be the base where the invasion will be launched from.

I suppose it makes some sense to advance from the south to keep the bandits from fleeing into Tarren Mill region, although we're going to have to maybe support our guards with some garrison to ensure the bandits don't spill into our holdings instead.

>>5240815
Calling upon any of those carries risks and difficulties.
Durnholde has enough troubles now so asking them for favour could lead to them demanding recompense when we least need to get involved.
Southshore and Dalaran are both likely to say this is not their circus or their monkeys, which to be fair is true.
We can ask Reginald for help but we need to be aware that they will be sending reports to Garithos and rest of Alliance. It's probably better to leave them where they are and only call upon them if we get attacked by inhumans or syndicate openly.

>>5240735
>>Tarren Mill should be the staging point for the invasion of Tarren Mill. Ask them to be the base where the invasion will be launched from.

I think we should refrain from involving anyone else in this.

>>5240735
>Tarren Mill should be the staging point for the invasion of Tarren Mill. Ask them to be the base where the invasion will be launched from.

“But you do have food and other goods that we could use.” You said to Fowley and continued. “Dawnholme is further away from the Strahnbrad Hills than Tarren Mill is and Sofera’s Naze lacks really the houses to store our supplies. What I am suggesting is that Tarren Mill could act as the staging point for the invasion, to store the supplies and give the troops cover from the weather. Tarren Mill has the blacksmiths, cobblers, the church and everything else required to act as the base from which the invasion is launched from.”

“What of Tarren Mills troops? We don’t have many to share with you Prince Alric.” Fowley asked and leaned forward a bit.

“They can stay here to guard our provisions and continue patrolling Tarren Mills territory as usual.” You said to him. “I am not asking much and I know that Tarren Mill can at least do this for the security of the region.”

Mayor Fowley thought about this and checked one of his notebooks briefly.

“Tarren Mill can do that, I will inform our people to start preparing and to be ready to receive your men. With whom am I working with, who do I contact in Dawnholme?” Mayor Fowley asked you.

“That would be Captain Garside, I will inform him so that we can get everything moving as fast as possible.” You said back.

“Very good Prince Alric. Tarren Mill will do its best.” Mayor Fowley said to you.

“Alterac Stands.” You said back and presented your hand.

“And Tarren Mill will prosper.” Fowley said back and shook your hand.


Strahnbrad Invasion Plans:
-Tarren Mill will act as the staging point for the invasion.

1/2

>>5241621

You talked with Mayor Fowley about other events and things that have happened in Tarren Mill and Dawnholme. Apparently the harvest here had been very good and the lumber deal to the Alliance Naval Base is going as expected.

Mayor Fowley didn’t like the news of the ogres attempting to raid your holdings and became quite concerned that they might attempt to charge down from the mountains and follow the King’s Road to Tarren Mill or Southshore. He wasn’t sure that his town could defend itself if that was to happen and could even Southshore survive such an onslaught.

“Prince Alric, what do you think about it? Is there a risk for the Crushridge ogres to come down from Alterac and attack us?” Mayor Fowley said as two of you sipped apple cider from the latest batch.

“Of course there is a risk, but after we bloodied their nose they might not be that eager to attack us again. And then there is the fact that Gallow’s Corner and Strahnbrad itself are under the control of us humans.” You said back to him.

“Ahh yes, I have heard about the Gallow’s Corner.” Mayor Fowley said. “Still this has made some of the merchants concerned. It is harder to make their business decisions if things aren’t stable here.”

“Makes sense, it is harder to invest in Tarren Mill if there is a risk of bandits or ogres.” You said.

“Prince Alric, what do you think Tarren Mill should do? I am not an expert on military business, but there has been talks of improving the defences of Tarren Mill. We have talked about hiring more guards and maybe even constructing Guard Tower or two to help us defend Tarren Mill.” Mayor Fowley said to you and continued after a brief pause. “Would either idea work or do you have something else in your mind?”

You had helped Tarren Mill to rebuild their militia and train their guards after the bandit attack decimated them and now they were asking for more of your help. Both suggestions were quite strong and useful ways to boost their defences, but an idea came to your mind. Alterac could help in defending Tarren Mill. Sure it would add yet another responsibility to you and thing to be taken care off, but tying Tarren Mill closer to Alterac could be a big boon.


>More guards and soldiers would allow Tarren Mill to send them where they are needed and not just stay behind the walls of the town.
>Guard Tower would allow Tarren Mill to spot attackers from a far and whittle them down with arrows and bolts. It would be a great addition to the defence of Tarren Mill.
>All enemies that want to reach Tarren Mill have to first come through you. Tarren Mill should trust that you can defend them if required like you have done before. Suggest more closer military and security cooperation between Alterac and Tarren Mill.
>Tarren Mill shouldn’t be concerned after Strahnbrad Hills is secured and they should invest the wealth in their economy instead.
>Other, write in.

>>5241623
>All enemies that want to reach Tarren Mill have to first come through you. Tarren Mill should trust that you can defend them if required like you have done before. Suggest more closer military and security cooperation between Alterac and Tarren Mill.
This is way too good to pass up.

>>5241623
>All enemies that want to reach Tarren Mill have to first come through you. Tarren Mill should trust that you can defend them if required like you have done before. Suggest more closer military and security cooperation between Alterac and Tarren Mill.
Honestly it'd be in both our interests to se the border secured, for us so we can focus on the east and for them as it'll be Alteraci lives defending against the ogres and not them. If we can get them to help us with investments into proper defenses like a guard tower or perhaps even a wall of some sort (not sure how wide the passage is, so don't know how realistic that is).
an argument could be made that in the future them having defences could provide us with a little bit of a buffer against the scourge in the future, but that's meta-gamey.

>>5241623
Bit of column A and bit of column C. Since we are open about wanting to clear the Strahnbrad route and keep it open for trade building fortifications would probably end up under delivering in terms if security. Better to work on our cooperation and maybe support them in raising a patrol force that could help respond to threats in region and prospectively help patrol the trade route once it’s opened.

>>5241623
>>All enemies that want to reach Tarren Mill have to first come through you. Tarren Mill should trust that you can defend them if required like you have done before. Suggest more closer military and security cooperation between Alterac and Tarren Mill.

>>5241623
>>All enemies that want to reach Tarren Mill have to first come through you. Tarren Mill should trust that you can defend them if required like you have done before. Suggest more closer military and security cooperation between Alterac and Tarren Mill.
Long term this is good, but how does your other neighbours look at this when they learn about this? Mercenary work that we did before was a solid cover, but this seems to be a proper agreement.

Will Alliance complain that Alterac is encroaching on their territory? I think this is going to cause problems, but it is too useful to pass now.

>>5241285
I don't think that asking help from Durnholde is a bad thing. They are still quite wealthy and having them helping us could be very important.

I think Dalaran could help us, if not by sending many soldiers or mages, then sending Jaina to watch us and then tell Antonidas what she saw.

>>5241623
>Guard Tower would allow Tarren Mill to spot attackers from a far and whittle them down with arrows and bolts. It would be a great addition to the defence of Tarren Mill.
Early warning and better defenses.

>>5240815
Durnholde is so severely undermanned that they hired our guys to fill in. Southshore has taken to dumping criminals on us as well as Hillsbrad. At this rate Dalaran might be more helpful if only because of Jaina....Damn our neighbors suck. We need to talk to that nearby dwarf hold. Hopefully they don't despise us.

Regional defenders would be our best bet but only if its either not nonhumans or we have hard proof their Syndicate. As Garithos is going to want glory and merits in order to help. The best way to do that is kick ass against threats to the Alliance without needing to call in the backup because that makes him look good.

>>5241643
What would be really metagamey is knowing that their target is Dalaran and their strategy is a blitz. This is why the Wizards created the forcefield to buy time for reinforcements to arrive. When Arthas is leading the Scourge they positively loved Blitzkrieg. It's how they took down both the High Elves and Dalaran. Other Scourge leaders adopted different strategies depending on the Commander.

>>5241623
>>All enemies that want to reach Tarren Mill have to first come through you. Tarren Mill should trust that you can defend them if required like you have done before. Suggest more closer military and security cooperation between Alterac and Tarren Mill.

Stronger bonds with our neighbour are important.

>>5241884
Maybe, but we can justify is for increased security. We aren't doing anything illegal thankfully or against the edict.

Security cooperation it is. And as only visiting Father Hampton remains, give me a roll to see what the scene will be.


>1d10
>Best of three

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>5242553

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>5242553

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5242553
best paladin elf

“If the ogres or bandits want to reach Tarren Mill, they will have to first come through Alterac and I don’t plan on allowing anyone to trample through my territory without being seen and stopped.” You said to Fowley. “And that is why I am suggesting closer cooperation in security for where the defence of Alterac starts, so does the defence of Tarren Mill.”

“That is quite a lot to ask Prince Alric.” Mayor Fowley said. “What would that entail?”

“Cooperation on patrols around Tarren Mill. If we were to cooperate on defence and security, then we should start with that. Better planning on making sure that our patrol routes are optimal and patrols that include both Alteracis and those from Tarren Mill.” You explained.

“Still, it is a lot to ask and I can’t make the decision right now.” Fowley said and hesitated somewhat. “I need to talk about this with my close advisors.”

You realised that you had to pressure Fowley now or he might not agree on a later date.

“Alterac is ready to defend Tarren Mill if required. We have done it once, we are going to do it again by going into Strahnbrad Hills and we will do it in the future if we must.” You said to him. “Together we could prevent our enemies from reaching Tarren Mill and your merchants can happily know that their investments are then safe.”

That’s the magic word. Mayor Fowley is a businessman first and that should make him realise the benefits of this.

“You are right Prince Alric. You have done a lot for us and Tarren Mill cannot be more grateful. I will bring this up later and I think we might agree on something.” Mayor Fowley said back to you.

You weren’t sure if you had managed to get him to agree, but at least the first step was taken. This was just a way too good thing to pass and even if this might cause some concerns amongst your other neighbours, this is worth it. Getting even some help from Tarren Mill to patrol the lands near you would be a great boon and the benefits of all this in the long run?

But first you two have to agree on something so do not get too excited about the prospects.

“I understand and I will wait for your decision.” You said to him. “This was a pleasant conversation Mayor Fowley, but I think I have to leave as I still have things to do.”

“It is Tarren Mills honour to have you here, next time we see you is when you have an army behind your back?” Fowley asked you.

“Most likely yes.”

“We shall see you then.”

1/2

>>5243157

>10

Having left the town hall you only really had one place to visit. The church of Tarren Mill had become a place that you visited every time you were in the town. You did it not by being a religious man, but because Father Hampton usually had something smart to say and he had given you advice that had proved to be useful and good.

And now with him having agreed to teach Malevus about paladins and how to become one, you most likely would end up seeing the one armed priest more often.

The church had a few visitors inside it this time. Peasants that had come to pray or just to enjoy the silence and embrace of the clean smooth stone walls around them. When one of the church assistants saw you, he quickly came to greet you and guide you around the church to the back where the small garden Hampton tended was.

But he didn’t stop there as he walked past the herbs and into the graveyard behind a hedgerow. Then you saw Father Hampton and Malevus. They were kneeled down in front of a memorial that you couldn’t recognise from a distance.

“Father Hampton and his student are praying.” The assistant said to you.

“How long are they going to pray?” You asked very carefully as you didn’t really know what to say.

“No idea. They might finish now or in a few hours.” The assistant said and continued. “They have been there since the student arrived. But now excuse me, I have my own duties.”

The assistant gave you a deep bow and left you standing next to the hedge.

For the first time in a long time you had no idea what to do. Should you interrupt them, are they expecting you to interrupt them or should you just wait. You had no idea what was the right thing to do or wasn’t tactless.


>You are a Prince and Malevus is your squire, go interrupt them as you don’t expect to wait for them to finish.
>Join them by the memorial and while you aren’t a religious man you can pay your respects to whoever is buried there.
>Let them finish, you had finished all of your business in Tarren Mill so you had the time to wait as long as it would take.
>Other, write in

>>5243159
>Join them by the memorial and while you aren’t a religious man you can pay your respects to whoever is buried there.

>>5243159
>>Let them finish, you had finished all of your business in Tarren Mill so you had the time to wait as long as it would take.
Might take time, but we have time. Will be hilarious if we end up standing there for hours, but why should we really interrupt them? We have no idea what the memorial even is and this could be part of the training Malevus gets.

>>5243159
>>Let them finish, you had finished all of your business in Tarren Mill so you had the time to wait as long as it would take.

>>5243159
>Join them by the memorial and while you aren’t a religious man you can pay your respects to whoever is buried there.

>>5243159
>Let them finish, you had finished all of your business in Tarren Mill so you had the time to wait as long as it would take.

>>5243159
If we don’t want to join them it would be probably best not to disturb them.
>let them finish

You weren’t exactly in a hurry after having met with Mayor Fowley and after several days of trekking around Strahnbrad Hills the idea of just sitting around sounded nice. So you sat down on a bench that wasn’t that far from you and waited. Surely they wouldn’t be praying for that long.

…

They were praying for that long. You had lost the idea how much time had passed after a certain point as the slight overcast made seeing where the sun was somewhat difficult. As they prayed you went on cleaning your armour piece by piece and even after doing that and it was time consuming, you still had to wait. At one point the church assistant even brought you a cup of warm tea.

Finally after several hours of waiting that felt like a small eternity, Father Hampton pushed himself up and stretched his legs before he walked to you as Malevus continued to pray at the memorial.

“Prince Alric, it is good to see you.” Father Hampton said with his deep, but gentle voice. “You waited all this time for me to finish praying?”

“Good to see you too Father Hampton. And yes I wasn’t exactly in a hurry.” You said and tried to seem somewhat modest about your wait.

“Patience is a good virtue to have.” Father Hampton said and nodded towards praying Malevus. “The elves have the virtue of patience as they live for a long time. A moment spent praying is just a grain of sand on a beach of life.”

“What is the memorial you were facing?” You had to ask as you were way too curious.

“It was erected by our people to remember the elven that had been killed in the ambush by the trolls.” Father Hampton explained.

“Yes, the same ambush organised by my father.” You mused aloud.

“Prince Alric, I did not show it to her with bad intentions in mind, but because connecting with your ancestors and with those who are dead is important for us. They must not be forgotten.” He said to you.

“Oh no I don’t blame you and Malevus already knew what my father did.” You said back and continued by changing the topic. “Has something new been going on in Tarren Mill, any news?”

“You tell me Prince Alric, after all you are the one coming to visit our town so often.” Father Hampton said and smiled. “There is one thing. I contacted my superiors about sending a priest to Alterac, to Dawnholme and they finally send a reply.”

1/2

>>5243823

“What was it?” You asked.

“The Church sees that they cannot spare a priest from elsewhere so they instructed me to act as a priest for both Tarren Mill and Dawnholme.” Father Hampton said.

That sounds surprisingly good. You had grown to like the former paladin and now you would have a proper priest in there and not just have to rely on Raleigh the True.

“Well welcome Dawnholme. Alterac will receive you with hospitality.” You said back and smiled.

“I won’t be in Dawnholme all the time, maybe a day or two every two weeks or so. I still have my responsibilities here in Tarren Mill.” Father Hampton said and continued. “That being said, I will eagerly wait to see your people and the town you have built. But now I will have to continue my duties, I cannot spend the whole day praying. Go see your squire Prince Alric.”

Father Hampton gave you a deep bow and headed back into the church. And after he left, you walked to see Malevus.

She was still on her knees with her eyes closed when you walked to her. Hearing your footsteps she spoke to you.

“Prince Alric, please join me.” Malevus said to you.

Not really seeing a reason to say no, you kneeled down next to her and looked at the memorial.

“A lot of people will die when you march into Strahnbrad Hills.” Malevus said to you. “I hadn't really thought about it before I kneeled down here. And while I have learned that a paladin must be ready to kill people if necessary, those deaths should be avoided if possible.”

You didn’t answer what she just said to you, before she turned her face towards you and spoke again.

“Prince Alric, can you try to save as many people as possible? To avoid unnecessary bloodshed?” Malevus asked you.


>The Syndicate forces, bandits and whoever else who opposes us with arms will be defeated and those who are caught will face justice for their actions.
>Those who oppose us will be defeated, but you cannot make any promises beyond that especially if you don’t know if you can keep them.
>You will attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and death. Justice has to be fair and second chances must be given to as many as possible.
>Other, write in

>>5243825
>You will attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and death. Justice has to be fair and second chances must be given to as many as possible.

This has been our modus operandi since the start and it served us well so far, winning us grateful citizens and as it turns out dependable fighters as well.
Additionally, many may be following Syndicate simply out of ignorance or misplaced loyalty.

After all we do not fight for the thrill of combat, we fight to win our people the safe haven.

>>5243825
>You will attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and death. Justice has to be fair and second chances must be given to as many as possible.
Even more reasons to make redemption official part of alrics realm.

>>5243825
>>You will attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and death. Justice has to be fair and second chances must be given to as many as possible.

>>5243825
>>You will attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and death. Justice has to be fair and second chances must be given to as many as possible.
We should be consistent in our politics, but how will others see us if they learn that we have plenty of former bandits amongst our men? It could be a small risk.

>>5243825
>>You will attempt to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and death. Justice has to be fair and second chances must be given to as many as possible.

“I will try. Bloodshed doesn’t gain us anything other than widows. Of course justice will be served when we catch the bandits and other criminals, but it has to be fair and if plausible I can give them a new chance, a second chance.”

“Thank you Prince Alric.” Malevus said to you.

“Have you talked with Sir Radan? If you have, then you know that I have to be consistent.” You continued explaining.

“I have talked with Sir Radan before and I know his story.” Malevus said.

“Good, for if I am not consistent, how can my people believe in me and what I do?” You said.

Malevus nodded to that and then carefully pushed herself up. It was already late afternoon and you didn’t really have much to do in Tarren Mill, but as you didn’t have your horses with you, reaching Dawnholme before it would be awfully late would be impossible. So you would stay in Tarren Mill for one more night before leaving.

…

You informed your men about your plan to leave tomorrow and told them to rest and basically take a day off. A small reward for the difficult few days in the rain.

After that you found Garrick Blacksteel and asked his plans. He would quickly visit Southshore and then in a day or two come to Dawnholme to see you and talk about trade and see the mines.

Then you didn’t really know what to do for the rest of the evening. The evening had slowly arrived and you had time to spend. Rovers had asked you to join them in the inn to drink beer and have merry time, but you also thought about just resting for the evening and taking a bath in the bathhouse of Tarren Mill. Or you could just retreat in your room and start reading Eston’s booklet to study it and start to plan the invasion into Strahnbrad Hills.


>Have a merry time with Rovers and your men in the inn. Have a fun evening.
>Go take a bath and just relax and rest for the evening. You deserve this rest as you have no idea when you can take a next day off.
>The duties of a Prince never ends. Start studying Eston’s booklet and plan the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills.
>Other, write in.

>>5244518
>>Have a merry time with Rovers and your men in the inn. Have a fun evening.
Time to drink way too much beer and embarrass yourself! Let's go!

>>5244518
>Have a merry time with Rovers and your men in the inn. Have a fun evening.

>>5243825
Good news that Hampton is our priest, it's honestly the best man we could ask for the role. Besides if Malevus isn't in Tarren Mill, she can continue learning in Dawnholme. Maybe the church is pleased with what we do ?

>>5244518
I feel like one day break is fine, as much as i want us to read that booklet it can wait. Now between bath and bros time, is a difficult choice.

>Have a merry time with Rovers and your men in the inn. Have a fun evening.
Time to see what Arthur and Alfred, have to say about the Prince or his tastes. If we are victorious in the hills, we should take a refreshing bath in Tarren Mill though. It sounds like something we deserve for a victory, alongside a feast.

And of course, have the booklet controlled and with guards on it. Taking 0 chances with those Syndicate goons lurking around the region.
If we see those two hunters again (father and son, the ones we found in the ex bandit camp), we could invite them at our table.

>>5244518
>>The duties of a Prince never ends. Start studying Eston’s booklet and plan the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills.

>>5244518
>have some fun with the men, but don’t cut entirely loose
It’ll be good to build also personal rapport with our men though we shouldn’t lose ourselves in fun entirely. Strike a balance.

It is time for beer!


>1d10
>Best of three

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>5245193
Praise the nectar of the light! Pray tell no dwarf takes offense at the pisswater

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>5245193
once more there is no point in even posting

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>5245193

>>5245197
>>5245218
Based

Next update probably tomorrow. Awfully busy yet again.

>10

Few beers with your men wouldn’t hurt and you would have a good excuse to learn more about the Rovers in the process so you headed to the inn and sat down with them. With the waitress bringing the drinks to the table, the merry time could start.

And frankly you had plenty of fun listening to the stories Rovers told you and few of the men that had joined the merry time. They told you about their time in the street gangs of Stormwind before they graduated into more professional work that they did between actually being hunters for hire. From their stories you learned how the life amongst the poor people in the Stormwind that was rebuilding itself was and how many really ended up joining gangs or attempting to find employment in whatever profession they could. Life wasn’t that easy, but when the Rovers learned their skills, they could make a comfortable living in the city.

Malevus joined you at some point after finding staying in her rented room too boring and knowing that you were downstairs. With Malevus there, you continued to drink beer and eat the food that was kept served to you.

Having a Prince in the inn enjoying a good evening was a quite rare occasion so the word spread and more people came there. Soon the bartender and waitress had their hands full with work and Monica had to step in to help them.

The beer flowed between you, those of your entourage and the people who were in the inn. It was frankly quite refreshing really, to just drink like this and not worry about tomorrow.

It was quite refreshing really.

…

The next morning you attempted to pay for the drinks, but Monica just mentioned that the people that had come to see you and join the merry time brought more than enough to pay for the beers you and your men had drunk. Apparently it had been a very profitable evening for her and after you said goodbye to her and collected your men, you left back to Dawnholme.

The walk back home was full of stops. One by one your men had to either stop to vomit or collect themselves as their throbbing headache and hangover made the march back home a quite awful experience for them.

Malevus especially looked like she had seen a revenant and had lost all of her colour from her face as she shuffled forward like a raised dead. It apparently was the first time in a really long time when she had been drinking this much and it did show. But she soldiered through this better than some of the men, you will have to give her that.

You meanwhile felt quite good, maybe even somewhat normal. Sure you were somewhat groggy, but you had learned from the past and ate quite a lot and drank plenty of water between the beers. So when the time was to march back home, you were the one pushing everyone forward and making sure that no one fell behind.

It was a bit of a slog, but when you reached Dawnholme before the evening a faint cheer amongst your men could be heard. Finally they could rest a bit.

1/2

>>5248207

In the coming days you prepared for the arrival of Garrick Blacksteel and started preparing the actual invasion of Strahnbrad Hills. You told your officers and Captain Garside what you had learned during the scouting and made sure that the few maps you had were as up to date as possible.

In addition to this you continued studying the booklet you had stolen from Eston and thought about how Syndicate had been acting before and now. You knew that they were hiring and recruiting informants and spies along with attempting to push bandits and thugs into Alterac and Hillsbrad. They really hadn’t used their own men yet outside of a few agents and assassins.

Either way you had plenty to think and prepare before the invasion could be launched. The patrols had to be rearranged, troops organised, supplies gathered and sent to Tarren Mill and so on. And before this could be done, you had few things to do first.


Choose two:
>Go see Eligius and hear his answer if he wants to be the spymaster. Tell him how the scouting mission and if he could provide magical aid to the invasion.
>Sir Radan and his men were bandits and probably have insight on Strahnbrad Hills. You have thought about him having a bigger role in the invasion than just being a soldier amongst others.
>Speak with Malevus and discuss what she saw in the Strahnbrad Hills. Her inexperience and being an elf could give a viewpoint you would have missed otherwise.
>Raleigh the True should learn the news of Father Hampton becoming the priest of both Tarren Mill and Dawnholme. You should also ask his opinion on the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills and where he would fit the best.

QM: Choose two, you don’t have more time before Garrick Blacksteel arrives. The 1d10 was just to see how well the night off would go and the result was quite good. I have also updated the Stats and Social Points pastebin. Nothing major, but it is now up to date.

>>5248209
> >Sir Radan and his men were bandits and probably have insight on Strahnbrad Hills. You have thought about him having a bigger role in the invasion than just being a soldier amongst others.
>Raleigh the True should learn the news of Father Hampton becoming the priest of both Tarren Mill and Dawnholme. You should also ask his opinion on the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills and where he would fit the best.

Enlisting Eligius for his wizardry would defeat purpose of having him lie low. Although it might be worth talking to him anyway.

>>5248209
>>Sir Radan and his men were bandits and probably have insight on Strahnbrad Hills. You have thought about him having a bigger role in the invasion than just being a soldier amongst others.
>Raleigh the True should learn the news of Father Hampton becoming the priest of both Tarren Mill and Dawnholme. You should also ask his opinion on the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills and where he would fit the best.

It would be best to keep Eligius save, still we will need to see if he wants to be our spymaster. Malevus might have seen something interesting too, we will have to ask.

nice update

funny as well. Same for the pastebin

>>5248209
>Sir Radan and his men were bandits and probably have insight on Strahnbrad Hills. You have thought about him having a bigger role in the invasion than just being a soldier amongst others.
>Raleigh the True should learn the news of Father Hampton becoming the priest of both Tarren Mill and Dawnholme. You should also ask his opinion on the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills and where he would fit the best.
Seems good enough just how old is malevus anyway.

>>5248209
>Sir Radan and his men were bandits and probably have insight on Strahnbrad Hills. You have thought about him having a bigger role in the invasion than just being a soldier amongst others.
>Raleigh the True should learn the news of Father Hampton becoming the priest of both Tarren Mill and Dawnholme. You should also ask his opinion on the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills and where he would fit the best.
I would like to get Eligius to join us during the invasion to act as our scribe and servant. If he was officially our personal scribe, that would allow a cover for us to speak and see each other regularly. But Raleigh and Radan are more important for the invasion than he is.

>>5248209
>Sir Radan and his men were bandits and probably have insight on Strahnbrad Hills. You have thought about him having a bigger role in the invasion than just being a soldier amongst others.
>Raleigh the True should learn the news of Father Hampton becoming the priest of both Tarren Mill and Dawnholme. You should also ask his opinion on the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills and where he would fit the best.

File: Sir Radan.jpg (25 KB, 727x727)

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Sir Radan was someone who probably had some insight on Strahnbrad Hills. His experiences on the bandits and how they think or act could be very useful for you to succeed in this endeavour.

You found Sir Radan near the construction site of the barrack watching as the workers carried lumber and bricks around. He and his men weren’t thankfully on a patrol so you managed to catch him.

“Prince Alric.” He greeted you and gave a deep bow that you returned with a nod.

“Sir Radan, may we speak?” You asked him.

“Of course of course. Sire, what is on your mind?”

“Can you give any insight on how bandits act?” You asked him quite bluntly.

“Sire, is this about those in the hills?”

“Yes.”

“Well Sire, I can’t really say much about them. We never went there as we came from Alterac to Tarren Mill and then took the shortest route to the river.” Radan explained and continued. “But if they are anything like we were, then I can probably be of help.”

“Please continue.”

“Of course Sire, if they are anything like Redhill and his men, then they respect force and power. They will fold if faced by someone capable of beating them. Bandits value their lives, that is why I am still here.” Sir Radan told you. “If they know that they can survive, they will take that option.”

“So I need to make sure that they aren’t cornered completely. To give them a way out?”

“Yes yes.” Radan said back. “And like Redhill, most likely their leaders rule by force and fear. There is loyalty amongst bandits, but if it seems that your chief is bad for your health, that chief won’t stay as the chief much longer.”

“And you speak from experience.” You said back to him. “Thank you Sir Radan, do you think about anything else?”

“Prince Alric, not everyone that becomes a bandit chose that profession willingly, but only just to survive.” Sir Radan said. He had said to you before that it was poverty that forced him to become a bandit.

“Thank you, I think what you told me could be useful.” You said and gave Radan a polite nod.

“It is my pleasure to serve you Prince Alric.” Sir Radan said and gave a deep bow back.

One way to defeat at least some of the bandits could be by removing their leadership and making it sure that they knew that they could live. Cut the head and the body then dies. You weren’t that sure how well it could work with the Syndicate aligned bandits, would running away or surrendering to you beat the risk and consequences of betraying The Syndicate?

You didn’t know the answer to that, but you were quite sure that you would learn the answer sooner or later.

1/2

File: Raleigh the True.jpg (70 KB, 491x957)

70 KB JPG

>>5249481

After meeting with Sir Radan you supervised the work for the rest of the day as Raleigh the True was away on a patrol. You thought about going to talk with Eligius, but in the end the paperwork that you hadn’t done during the scouting mission overwhelmed you and you spent the rest of the day dealing with it.

Raleigh had returned later in the evening and you made sure to go see him as the first thing you did the next day.

“Raleigh, do you have a minute?” You asked him after you had found him outside a house whose owner apparently had gotten a nasty cut during chopping firewood. Raleigh had been making daily visits there to heal the wound, change the bandages and to provide spiritual support. The patient would make a full recovery.

“Prince Alric, yes I have time.” Raleigh said and gave a respectful nod to you. “What can I do for you?”

“I suppose that you should know, but I learned from Father Hampton that the Church had made a decision regarding sending a proper priest to Dawnholme.” You said to him.

“A proper priest is something Dawnholme needs. What was the decision?” Raleigh said back and nodded in approval.

“Father Hampton will be that priest. He will travel here maybe once every two weeks to perform his duties.” You said to him.

“Great, Orion Hampton is a good priest.” Raleigh said back to you with a very monotone voice.

Oh great, could it be that Raleigh and Father Hampton don’t get along? And Orion? You hadn’t asked Hampton what his first name was as it hadn’t been that important really.

“Father Hampton didn’t say when he would be arriving the first time, but I think his presence here will be appreciated.” You said back and smiled.

“You are correct Prince Alric.” Raleigh said again with that monotone voice and leaned on his warhammer.

“But enough of that, what do you think about the invasion?” You changed the subject and asked him.

“Prince Alric, it is the right thing to do. Law and order must be brought into that wilderness even with fire and steel if they are required.” Raleigh said and his normal seriousness returned. “It is also a great chance to see for the spiritual needs of the locals and get rid of things unholy and against the Light.”

“Then where do you think you would be of best use?” You asked him.

“Prince Alric, the orders that were given to me by Lord Uther were to make sure that you would survive. With no one else being capable of healing, my place should be close to you.” Raleigh said.

That was a solid argument, but it did make you somewhat uncomfortable to know that someone who was feeding Lord Uther with information would be following right behind you.

2/2

>>5249483


>Raleigh the True should act as your bodyguard with Sir Gravis and his knights. You cannot really take any chances when it comes to your life.
>His place is with the men in the frontline because he is a great fighter and with quick healing he could save the lives of those who are wounded.
>He is too valuable to be sent to the front or to be with you. His main job should be to heal those who are wounded and guard the people at the rear.
>Other, write in.

>>5249485
>>His place is with the men in the frontline because he is a great fighter and with quick healing he could save the lives of those who are wounded.

>>5249485
>His place is with the men in the frontline because he is a great fighter and with quick healing he could save the lives of those who are wounded.
Alrics hardly defenseless.

>>5249485
>>He is too valuable to be sent to the front or to be with you. His main job should be to heal those who are wounded and guard the people at the rear.
Compromise, he is somewhat near us, but he gets to heal everyone who gets wounded and sent to him.

>>5249483
>His place is with the men in the frontline because he is a great fighter and with quick healing he could save the lives of those who are wounded.

>>5249485
>His place is with the men in the frontline because he is a great fighter and with quick healing he could save the lives of those who are wounded.

He is more needed there, our men wounds need to be healed and we want them to live.
Us ?
We have a new armor coming, Cinder Sword, our magical dagger, our blessed vial of holy water, Malevus, Gravis and his Knights. Epona is a good horse too.
Lastly that Dragonclaw ring which could do something in combat for what we know.

“Your place is with the men.” You said to Raleigh and continued. “While I appreciate the concern Lord Uther sees about my well-being, you should be with the men and helping them as much as you can. I cannot afford to lose them to wounds that could be healed.”

“As you order, but Sire, are you sure that you are protected enough?” Raleigh asked you.

“I will have Sir Gravis and the knights with me and I will be surrounded by the rest of my officers and men. Raleigh, I will be fine.”

“Sire, I trust your word then.” Raleigh said and relented, he knew you wouldn’t change your mind.

…

The work in Dawnholme on the projects that had been started continued. The blacksmith had a long list of tools and items that had to be imported from Southshore or even further away. The foundation for the barracks was still under construction with building materials being moved nearby for the inevitable construction.

The thing that hit you most when you returned was the state of your home. Scaffoldings covered the farmstead and workers milled around it preparing it for the construction effort. The plan was to build an additional wing to the house, lengthen it and strengthen the walls and foundation. One of the Stonemason’s had checked the building plans and given advice so you trusted that the workers could finish the work before the winter comes. You would be quite annoyed if the house is still unfinished when the first snow falls.

Dawnholme was really bustling with activity. It felt like the whole town was either behind the construction work or they were preparing food and other goods for the invasion. After talking with Captain Garside earlier, you knew that it would take maybe two or three weeks to have everything ready.

1/2

>>5250745

Later in the afternoon the cart of Garrick Blacksteel arrived to Dawnholme. A single ox pulled it and it really hit you how insignificant it looked compared to the multiple wagons and guards that you had seen in Durnholde. Has something happened? Had he fallen out of favour of his lords and superiors?

“Greetings Master Blacksteel.” You greeted him. “Welcome to Dawnholme and Alterac.”

“Young Prince, ye have built a fine town.” Garrick said after jumping off the cart.

“Thank you, but it hasn’t just been me. It is the people that I serve who built Dawnholme.” You said to him and smiled.

“Aye, true.” Garrick said. “Ta workers rarely get enough recognition.”

“You are correct Master Blacksteel.” You said.

“But enough of the workers, shall we talk about business?” Garrick continued.

Yes, the business and trade was the reason he was here. There was potential in acquiring goods from the Dark Irons, but also some risks. Already people had started to stare at Garrick, after all the Dark Irons don’t exactly have a good reputation in Lordaeron. To many they are just one step removed from being a member of the old Orcish Horde. Would associating with the Dark Irons be good for your reputation or would the benefits outweigh the negatives?


>Travel to the silver mine and show it to him. While the silver is being sold elsewhere, it is a sign of prestige and wealth that could be useful to get Garrick to see the potential in Alterac.
>The Iron Mine underneath Darrow Hill has been operational already for some time. Bring Garrick there and mention that the iron could be something that you could sell to him.
>Dawnholme itself is the most important part of Alterac. Show him the town and allow him to see your soldiers who are training. Dark Iron dwarves could provide you with things your town and your soldiers could need and use.
>Ask Garrick about the ox cart and where is everyone else from his previous entourage. Has something happened.
>Talk with him about the region, general politics, trade opportunities and the invasion. Attempt to be as open and answer his questions to build trust with him.
>Other, write in.

QM:
>>5248316
You haven't asked how old Malevus is, but she doesn't seem or look that old. Though with elves you can't be that sure about how old they are until they are really old.

>>5250402
Melondras’ Masterwork Armour won't be ready for the invasion, it will take approx till the end of the season for it to be finished.

>>5250750
>Talk with him about the region, general politics, trade opportunities and the invasion. Attempt to be as open and answer his questions to build trust with him.
>Ask Garrick about the ox cart and where is everyone else from his previous entourage. Has something happened.
>Travel to the silver mine and show it to him. While the silver is being sold elsewhere, it is a sign of prestige and wealth that could be useful to get Garrick to see the potential in Alterac.
In this order. I doubt hed be interested in our iron. silver atleast shows we got wealth to afford things. Dawnholme is a nice town now but its still just a town.

>>5250750
>The Iron Mine underneath Darrow Hill has been operational already for some time. Bring Garrick there and mention that the iron could be something that you could sell to him.
>Ask Garrick about the ox cart and where is everyone else from his previous entourage. Has something happened.

>>5250750
>Talk with him about the region, general politics, trade opportunities and the invasion. Attempt to be as open and answer his questions to build trust with him.
>Dawnholme itself is the most important part of Alterac. Show him the town and allow him to see your soldiers who are training. Dark Iron dwarves could provide you with things your town and your soldiers could need and use.
>Travel to the silver mine and show it to him. While the silver is being sold elsewhere, it is a sign of prestige and wealth that could be useful to get Garrick to see the potential in Alterac.
I don't think asking him about the cart is smart. He might not like you snooping in his business and if it is something Dark Iron related, how is it relevant to you?

>>5250750
>Talk with him about the region, general politics, trade opportunities and the invasion. Attempt to be as open and answer his questions to build trust with him.
>Ask Garrick about the ox cart and where is everyone else from his previous entourage. Has something happened.
>Travel to the silver mine and show it to him. While the silver is being sold elsewhere, it is a sign of prestige and wealth that could be useful to get Garrick to see the potential in Alterac

A shame for the armor, but we have still a lot of protection for the campaign. I guess we will wear our old armor one last time.

>>5250768
Dawnholme needs time, and money. But it will grow further the more we invest in it. Now if there is another event like a tournament, we could gain more money and prestige out of it .....
Btw any ideas for how to use the favour we have with Blackmoore and Taretha ? Is cool to save them for the future, but I dont think we should leave them there for too long.

>>5250750
>Talk with him about the region, general politics, trade opportunities and the invasion. Attempt to be as open and answer his questions to build trust with him.
>Ask Garrick about the ox cart and where is everyone else from his previous entourage. Has something happened.
>The Iron Mine underneath Darrow Hill has been operational already for some time. Bring Garrick there and mention that the iron could be something that you could sell to him.

In this order.

You had made some preparations before the arrival of Garrick Blacksteel and made sure that there was a horse cart waiting for you. With quick orders given to Sergeant Maxwell, he arranged several guards for Blacksteels' own cart so that no one would go to give it a closer look.

First you would make your way to the Silver and Lead Mine up in the mountains and as you and Garrick sat on the cart and allowed it to carry you up the path, you had plenty of time to talk and you made it clear to Garrick.

So you talked with Garrick a bit about everything in Alterac, Hillsbrad and what is going on around here. He took this opportunity to ask you plenty of questions that mostly were about the trade and how has the local economy grown and to where the goods are flowing to.

You also talked about the security threats and how you had been actively working to make Hillsbrad safer starting from the kobolds you took the Silver Mine from and fighting against both bandits and gnolls. Garrick seemed to approve how you had brought the battle to the enemies and grown your domain through the victories you had achieved. When you moved talking about the invasion of Strahnbrad Hills, Garrick seemed to be especially interested about it, it felt like you talking about it and generally mentioning the need to unify the people there and defeat the bandits and whatever else could be there, made Garrick seem like he was somewhat jealous. From how Garrick looked at you, it seemed that he would have loved to be in your spot and bring fire and ruination to the bandits in Strahnbrad Hills.

But when you mentioned the trolls deeper in the hills and mountains and then the Blackrock orcs, it got a reaction out of him.

“Blackrocks. It would be good if they were destroyed.” Garrick Blacksteel said and spat on the ground.

You had read that the orcs had taken Blackrock Spire, but they couldn’t push the Dark Irons deep inside the mountain away and some sort of a war is still fought between the two parties. With Garrick Blacksteel it was clear that there was no love lost if the remnants of Blackrock Clan were to be destroyed in Alterac.

“Master Blacksteel, may I ask you a question?” You said to him.

“Aye Young Prince, what is it?” He answered.

“Where is your entourage, the bodyguards and multiple wagons that I saw in Durnholde?” You asked him.

“That is a good question.” Garrick said and didn’t then say anything else.

It seemed smart to not delve into the issue any further and as you were closing to the Silver Mine, you opted to change the subject to it.

1/2

>>5251302

You hadn’t visited the Silver Mine in a moment and what you saw somewhat surprised you. There were new cranes and winches built to move large blocks of stone around, new washing tables had been constructed and canals to move fresh water from the nearby stream had been built. It was clear that the Stonemason’s while they weren’t miners, they could easily fill the needs and requirements the miners themselves wanted.

You introduced Garrick Blacksteel to Master Erefor Pelija and the chief of the miners with them agreeing to show the place for him. Master Pelija went through the decisions they had made and reasonings behind them to Master Blacksteel who nodded approvingly to what the human Stonemason had managed to put together. It did seem that Garrick Blacksteel was impressed by the quality of the work and the solutions the Stonemason’s had thought about.

The chief of the miners opted to show the mine to Garrick and while they were gone deep underground, you had some time to talk with Master Pelija. He explained that the work was on schedule and he could send a man or two to help with the construction efforts back in Dawnholme to see that everything is done well and most importantly safely.

You thanked him for the great work he and his men had already accomplished and when Garrick Blacksteel came out from the mine and more discussion regarding the mine was done and accomplished, it was your time to leave back to Dawnholme.

…

On your way back to Dawnholme, Garrick Blacksteel was the one talking. He spoke about what he had seen here and how impressive your progress was in such a short period of time and with so few resources. He spoke of the wealth that would flow from the Silver Mine and then told you what the Dark Irons could produce for you.

In the words of Garrick Blacksteel, the arms and armour Dark Irons produce protect their users better than equivalent plate mails made by human armoursmith’s. A soldier glad in the Dark Iron plate could fight with the knowledge that their armour wouldn’t fail them.

“Prince Alric, along with offering arms and armour, I have one question for you.” Garrick Blacksteel said to you and you noticed that this was the first time he called you Prince Alric. “What do ya want to achieve?”

2/2

>>5251304

Choose one:
>You want to reclaim Alterac and return your people to their homeland where they could live in peace.
>You want to destroy your enemies and make sure that Alteracis are never threatened again.
>You want to serve your people and be sure that they would be proud to have you as their King.
>You don’t know what you want exactly. There are too many things that you would love to achieve, but you cannot name a single one above others.

Garrick Blacksteel’s offering:
>Masterwork Dark Iron Armour, 5 Wealth, masterwork armour which is heavier than equivalent human plate mail, but provides better protection.
>Dark Iron Arms and Armour, 3 Wealth, well-crafted arms and armour fit for human soldiers that are superior to other armours outside of masterworks. Built in sets of ten.

QM: Choose one of the four. The potential arms and armour purchases from Dark Irons are here. Sadly you don’t have any Wealth to make a purchase now, but maybe in the future. Masterwork Dark Iron Armour is for an individual while Dark Iron Arms and Armour are an upgrade for a squad of troops.

>>5251307
>>You want to reclaim Alterac and return your people to their homeland where they could live in peace.

>>5251307
>>You want to destroy your enemies and make sure that Alteracis are never threatened again.
I think he appreciates power and using strength.

>>5250802
I would save them for politics or assistance. Taretha probably can't do much for us, but Blackmoore's assistance could prove to be really useful.

>>5251307
>You want to destroy your enemies and make sure that Alteracis are never threatened again.
Our enemies of course, will be crushed if they don't want to leave. Be ogres, gnolls, orcs, bandits, syndicate or anyone else. Though I don't think Alric would do something like Blackmoore, in terms of what to do against defeated enemies especially civilians.
Even so, we still want to get all of Alterac back and take back our homeland for us and our people. Preferably live in peace after.


What a shame for the armours. Those would be useful, if given to veterans for example. The masterwork we could use it or give it to one of our officers/companions, if we buy one or more than one.

>>5251358
Can be an idea.
Taretha there could be something, maybe for intrigue or maybe for ensure the people of Durnholde like us and Alterac more ? Being more liked by our neighbours would be useful, less problems with them and improves things like trade for example.

>>5251307
>You want to reclaim Alterac and return your people to their homeland where they could live in peace.
"enemies" is a broad term which can be used against us later.


Does the armors mean that we can buy them to also equip our officers? if so could be good so they don't die easily in battle

>>5251407
Actually i will change to the other answer. We are doing it for our people and us.

>>5251307
>>You want to reclaim Alterac and return your people to their homeland where they could live in peace.

>>5251307
> You want to reclaim Alterac and return your people to their homeland where they could live in peace.
That is the main goal we’ve set for ourselves. But past that, our objective is to ensure our people have the peace and prosperity they deserve. After all the nation is the people. The land is important but it’s the people who give it value.

>>5251304
You know, given it's a lead mine I wonder if the Dark Irons could have any input on us getting access to riflemen...
>>5251307
>>You want to reclaim Alterac from your enemies, and return your people to their homeland where they will live in peace

Somewhat of a combo of the top two choices. He'll appreciate the desire to clear out the invaders from the mountain home.

Give me a roll unrelated to Garrick Blacksteel


>1d10
>Best of three

>>5251426
Yes, you can buy them for your officers.

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5252138

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5252138