This is where the game will take place for you.  Please keep all things directly pertinent to story, actions, and other decisions here.

Begin [Week 1, Month 1, Year 1]

The last of the rubble is cleared out of the few rooms that seemed able to stand by their own power.
The throne-room was, surprisingly enough, one of the ones to survive - now it houses more than just the partially-repaired throne of course, as it's also the place for scouts to report, maps to be studied, and scribes to note down what's happened. But it is, in fact, still the throne room on top of all that.
Well, they call it a throne-room anyway - there's some disagreements on the matter, as it's unlikely a king ever lived here, but there's a bigger, fancier chair that was clearly meant for whatever Lord ruled the fort, and 'Lord's Room' sounds like a euphemism - so, Ronja used her 'I'm the boss' super-vote to settle the matter, declaring it close enough to be called a 'Throne Room'
Other than that, there's a few smaller rooms left barren after they broke apart the less important and/or redundant furniture for materials - they are now used for storage - and enough beds spread out between a few different rooms to house everyone who's there and the ten-man squad they intend to hire soon.
There used to be more beds, but they needed the materials more than the beds (and besides, the old sheets had long since either rotten away, or been taken by salvagers, and they only had enough spare sacks and such to make so many new ones)

In its better days, the fortress could likely have housed an army big enough to invade the town across the river, or hold off the forces off the closer town.
Now? Not only was much of the physical structure lost to the ravine, crumbling down into the abyss when the mountain and fort was split so long ago, but trying to move between the two halves of the fort is inconvenient - at least they've managed to get a make-shift bridge built out of somewhat-sturdy rope and wood, and a kind of horizontal cargo-lift (an 'aerial rope-way') for pulling material across, so passage is possible, if less than ideal.
It's not like the ravine's that big, mind: An exceptionally skilled jumper could get across, if they got a decent running start. But that also means the rope and/or bridge doesn't need to be as big, so it's still worth the work and materials, since they'd be unable to bring material (or anything heavier than some good shoes and, at a push, some light clothes for modesty) and a 'bad day' would mean death.

Nothing of the actual fortifications have survived, though, and even the 'natural' defenses have crumbled and/or been filled in with rubble - or at least, what remains of defenses helps any attackers as much as it helps the defenders.
Their only defense against raiders and/or being hunted down for 'stealing' land from the nobles, is that it's quite far out of the way.

With everything put away and looking like it'll last a week without repairs, with a bit of luck, the twelve current residents - spies and the like don't count, they don't really live there - set out on their tasks.

The 'armed workers', the Wild Minds, are off to look for a good site to get resources for fixing up some more of the keep/fort/castle.
While there's some closer forest to the north-west, they head to the north-east where the forest borders the river - it's less likely to be actively harvested, and it's an undesirable path by any wanders/merchants not going to or coming from the swamps (even those in Lothar across the water would be better off with the slight detour along the plains)

Ronja herself is off to get the extra ten people they prepared for in terms of food, beds, and pay.
While Moracku would be closer, the situation's not calm enough to do anything for a day or two - and with her mount, she could get to the capital, Havenin, by that time.
Between the two, Havenin's less likely to happen by her, or her 'hired help', when they're off doing more suspicious things (so it's less of a problem to have her face seen around town), and it's the more populated of the two (a bigger supply of 'people', in other words, which is her goal)
So, she's off to see if anyone's tired of living in the shadows of the ruling class.
Especially any elves - their speed and unparalleled skill with the bow would both come in handy.
Obviously, she can't just shout in the town square - she has no papers, not even fake ones (not enough time to draw any up yet), to support her 'ownership' of her lands.
Even if she found some peasants that wouldn't ask questions, they'd come expecting to work the fields or whatever, not serve as something between a sellsword and a poacher (so, a 'bandit', essentially)
What she needs are the ones who've started gathering in places the nobles don't see - run-down taverns selling rot-gut, under bridges made redundant when the town expanded and the marketplace moved, and so on - where they can complain and plan, but rarely do anything, since they are mice talking about putting a bell on a cat; Everyone agrees it's a great idea and will finally solve their problems, it's just such a shame that no one's got the guts for it.
But just like mice can be lured into certain death (a mouse-trap) with cheese, Ronja figures she can convince them to risk uncertain injury (so, a much lesser risk, really) in return for a promise of coin in their pocket, a roof over their head, and food on their plate - and, hopefully, a chance now and then to make the lives of the nobles more stressful.

Birk, son of Bork, heads to the 'Tower in the Sky'.
They don't know that much about it, but rumor says it holds the secrets to magic.
There's some less-popular rumors that it was built by goblin shamans, but the sources are less reliable there, and the basis seems largely to be 'well, obviously, it's usually goblin shamans who do the whole 'spirit' thing' which shows a farmer's lack of understanding of the matters of spirits and magic - elves in particular, Birk thinks on the way, have their own 'spin' on spiritual magic, it's just usually too quick and subtle for an inattentive (and often untrained) peasant to notice.

Name	Start	Action	Target	End	Notes
Ronja	H8	Conduct Diplomacy	D4	H8	With Donkey. Intent: Recruit Unit (Elves)
Dirk	H8	Diplomate Landmark	H7	H8	Intent: 'Perform a Ritual Cleansing and learn the power of Magic', a Diplomacy-focused Landmark choice, at the Temple in the Sky - mostly to see how it works with the 'can't fail 1st month' rule, but ideally learning Midas Touch or Cornucopia - to be clear, I'd rather waste the week than 'waste' my chance to learn magic by starting a quest I've no chance of beating before the deadline
Wild Minds	H8	Scout	I6	H8	Intent: Scouting in a very unfocused way, given the lack of Spymasters. Hoping for Lumber.

This message was last edited by the player at 19:35, Sat 22 Aug 2015.

Ronja Lovisdottir entered Havenin and was in for a heavy shock.  After the days of settling down in the small rooms that the Dirk and the Wild Minds had affectionately dubbed, 'the Lair', the massive space and population of Havenin was overwhelming.  Thankfully, the population played to Ronja's advantage; knowing full-well that with a new spring, many warriors and mercenaries would be available, seeking food and meade after the forced-hibernation that was winter.

Finding an adventurer's guild proved difficult only because of the winding streets and spiraling masses of peasants.  Entering, Ronja made her needs and intentions quite clear; as she tossed a bag of coins on the counter.  Eyeing the woman; the proprietor immediately stood-up and snapped his fingers.  Soon, plenty of mercenaries were standing tall in the foyer, looking as menacing as possible: afterall, menacing meant pay, and pay meant food.

---

Dirk's pleas and earnest efforts make him quite welcome at the Temple in the Sky.  The journey had been long - nearly two days of hiking up a series of winding paths that led to the crest of one of the mountain peaks in this area.  Although it was not literally perched in the sky; the view was tremendous and glorious.  Though the naked eye could scarcely make-out any of the terrain below, you felt as if you were in the clouds themselves.  Dirk's quiet and knowledgeable demeanor fills the temple officiates with a warm glow of respect, as they offer to instruct you how to conduct the ritual of cleansing...

---

The Wild Minds discover a series of treetop homes, all interlaced with hardened wood, almost as if the area had been grown into being.  Numerous leaf and wooden stair columns are arrayed in a playful fashion - their eyes settling on handfuls of Elves, in what you can only imagine to be a small hamlet, of maybe some 30 Elves.  After meeting a few of the inhabitants and learning the name - the Wild Minds depart.

[ Ronja achieves a Significant Success in Conducting Diplomacy with the Metropolis Havenin (D4). Assign 1 XP related to Diplomacy skill. ]
[ All standard items are available for sale. ]
[ You encounter a single Unit of Advanced Elves available to recruit: They are level 1 and are available for 10 Gold. ]
[ This Unit also comes with 1 skill XP.  Assign as you see fit. ]
[ Reply with your choice to recruit or not - and if so, what stat point and skill point to improve/gain. ]

[ Dirk achieves a Significant Success in (H7) at the Landmark: The Temple in the Sky. Assign 1 XP related to Diplomacy skill. ]
[ Dirk is given an offer to learn a Spell: You may learn a spell of your choice at the cost of 15 Gold, or learn True Cause OR Shroud at a cost of 10 Gold (may only choose one. ]
[ Reply with choice of purchase or to not. Either Leader may benefit from this, but, not both. ]

[ Wild Minds achieve a Significant Success in Scouting (I6)! Wild Minds gain 1 XP - which may be assigned to either Scout or Spy. ]
[ You discover a CP! (Detailed Below) ]
[ You discover a Normal Lumber Node.  It has an estimated 3 uses remaining. ]


The above CP will begin at HOSTILE Attitude unless you send an ELF Leader during the first Leader visit to conduct Diplomacy here.  For further information regarding the chart-above, see: http://wiki.rpol.net/?id=50711/Diplomacy and http://wiki.rpol.net/?id=50711/trading.
They are BUYING (from you): Ir(on) at Reviled (Rvd) status.
They are SELLING (to you): Lu(mber) at Reviled (Rvd) status.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:23, Wed 26 Aug 2015.

Ronja Negotiator 0->1
Yes, hire new unit: Gold 40->30
New unit Outmaneuver 0->1, Offense 1->2
Dirk Negotiator 0->1
'Purchase' players-choice spell (Midas Touch) for Dirk: Gold 30->15
Wild Minds Scout 0->1

This message was last edited by the player at 23:24, Sun 23 Aug 2015.

Now that you have consumed the Ritual of Cleansing - you may only return to conduct Diplomacy at the Temple of the Sky for the following:

1) To begin a Saga.
2) You may attempt another Ritual of Cleansing - but, will only be offered new magic opportunities if you roll a higher success (at least Significant.)  If you roll a significant success in the future - you will receive the result for a NORMAL success instead.

You may still send Unit(s) to Scout here as normal.

Begin [Week 2, Month 1, Year 1]

Ronja and Birk - the latter of whom was not overly amused at coming back to find that he had been written down as 'Dirk' for an entire week's worth of records, due to the scribes/record-keepers miss-reading Ronja's handwriting - head out the moment they're not needed for tossing orders around.
Birk doesn't even start explaining his newfound spiritual power until they're out on the road - in particular, he talks (or, rather, rambles) about how it could be a good way to get some 'leverage' with the nobles, especially if they can dig deeper into the tower's secrets.
But right now, mostly at Ronja's order, they are heading to the newly-found hamlet.
Mostly for 'diplomatic' reasons, which is to say they're planning to waste a bunch of time, gold, and effort, just to please some stuck-up shop-keepers and semi-racist leaders that might be calmed down if an elf comes by acting like he's wanting to do some trading.
They do need the lumber, mind, but not as much as they need the gold - so, again, the scale is 'tipped' because it should, ideally, make a good first impression.
This idea doesn't sit well with either of them, mind - it's the kind of wheels-within-wheels thing they ended up getting tired of before deciding 'screw it, we're making our own place' - but if they do a good job, it might be fun to beat people at their own game.

The newly-hired elves were declared the 'Fairhairs', explained as being a rough translation of a famous 'Suffix' from back when earning a title didn't require you to take over the world - but, of course, the name's first and foremost a joke at their expense and to Ronja's amusement (hey, Birk got the Wild Minds, in terms of joke names with some vague justification)
They grab the shovels and picks from the Wild Minds, who in turn go pick up the building-tools from the stockpile.
While, of course, the trees closest to the hamlet is bound to contain hidden elves that might get annoyed if their tree suddenly fell down, there are quite a lot of trees that most likely aren't actively used.
And being elves themselves, they might even be able to do it without leaving a lot of wasted and ugly wood in the ground (tree-stumps can sit around for ages, after all, and contain lumber the group needs) - for example, since they've got the right tools for the job, they might be able to find some trees where they can hack through the roots and, with some effort, pull down the tree without tearing off the bottom.

The Wild Minds are still out mapping the surrounding country-side.
Now they've been sent over to the only nearby mountains they don't know to contain anything, in the hopes the 'secrets' hidden in the apparent absence will be the trade-able kind.
It doesn't have to be an abandoned goldmine; Even just a forgotten warehouse of clay bowls might work, since a good bowl's practically a trade-good already - though in the mountains, they're more likely to find precious stones or non-tools-grade-metals.
The important part is that it needs to be valuable enough to be worth sending someone out to get - they can only haul so much weight in a week, simply by physical limitation of their body.
Particularly nice marble, as an example, would sell at a decent price, but it'd also be so heavy that they'd probably be better off using it in place of stone themselves, rather than sell it (which isn't what they're wanting here, but it might do as a consolation price)
On the other hand, actual gold, even when not in neat nugget forms, is valuable enough that you could buy a decent-sized village with the gold a single man could carry - and gems are generally even better.

Name	Start	Action	Target	End	Notes
Ronja	H8	Assist Birk	I6	H8
Birk	H8	Conduct Diplomacy	I6	H8	Donkey, bringing gold. Intent: Trade at Shamerius, buying 5gp's worth of Lumber. Remember he's an elf. Secondary intent: Hopefully get it up to Indifferent/Poor by trading 5gp for the trade-attitude, and getting at least a Significant Success for the general attitude
Wild Minds	H8	Scout	G8	H8	'Unofficial' Intent: Finding gold. Remember: They have Spyglasses. Given Construction Tools, Earthen Tools removed
Fairhairs	H8	Harvest (Lumber)	I6	H8	Given Earthen Tools. Intent: Harvest lumber - Pretty sure there's no real way to change the 'intent' on Harvesting

Entering the hamlet of Shamerius, Ronja and Birk climb their way up the long, winding, wooden stairways that lead to the tree-top homes of a rather wispy bunch of Elves.  Setting aside their woodcrafts and basket-weaving, the villagers eye you carefully as you approach what amounts to the town square.

Several moments pass as you approach some of the elder members.  Suddenly the swift jingle of coin as Birk draws a coin pouch from his belt; the newly minted coins offering a sweet clang opens the eyes and ears of the residents.  The town elder steps forward, his clothing and hair adorned in waves of alabaster and sparkling, but subdued jewels; greeting you he shows you to the central market area, both in the trees and on the ground where much of the harvested and blessed lumber is stored.  They explain their lack of access to Iron, and their need to acquire more.  As you take a look at the limited stalls, you feel the presence of minor magics, as bulbs of light glow wherever the sun cannot reach.

[ Ronja and Birk achieve a Significant Success in conducting Diplomacy at Shamerius (I6)! ]
[ Because you brougth an Elf Leader to Shamerius on your first visit; your starting attitude is Unfriendly! ]
[ You gain 1 XP in Negotiator!  Assign to either leader as you see fit (reply.) ]
[ Your success was enough to improve the Attitude Status to: Indifferent! ]

[ Reply with your choices of purchases. ]

[ Wild Minds successfully Scout (G8) ]
[ You discover a normal Gold Node [2d4]. It has an estimated 3 uses remaining. ]
[ You discover a poor Iron Node [2d4]. It has an estimated 2 uses remaining. ]

[ Fairhairs successfully Harvest Lumber from the Normal Lumber Node in (I6). ]
[ This node has an estimated 2 uses remaining. ]
[ You return with 5 Lumber. ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:03, Wed 02 Sept 2015.

Ronja Negotiator 1->2
Purchase 5 lumber at Reviled: Lumber 5->10, Gold 15->10 - Possibly upgrade trade-status from 5gp total trade.

Begin [Week 3, Month 1, Year 1]

At the current pace, each new expansion would take them a month, if not more.
There's no space for more workers - and, of course, making space would require the same resources they're trying to gather in the first place - and right now none in the 'band' has the arboreal knowledge it'd take to make hunting down a better logging-spot worth it.
So, not perhaps the most encouraging news when Ronja and Birk look over their progress so far.

Since nothing's changed - and, while neither's honest enough to say it, they need some fresh air and quiet walks to clear their heads of the small squabbles and arguments (especially between the two) that tends to come along when the initial rush of a new plan starts petering out - they go their own ways for a week's time.
Ronja takes along her donkey, but only to carry her supplies while she walks by her own power.
While being an elf does not directly mean you're better at 'nature things', Birk (and Ronja, and a large amount of lower-class people for that matter) has often had to help forage so his family would have food enough to keep everyone fed - and unlike his technically-higher-ranking female counterpart, he does not have a donkey to carry his stuff.
So, while it slows him down somewhat, he's taken just enough supplies to make sure he can make it back (in case he is cursed with poor luck and finds nothing), and is planning to 'live off the land' to save his back - actually, Ronja is too (it's not like she put a week's food-supply on the poor animal's back), but she can stick to fishing while she rests and that kind of thing.

Actually, as a side-note, goblins out-forage elves most time.
People just think elves are better at 'nature things' because they're neater; Goblins are far more efficient, turning one tree into planks for several houses (rather than adding even more wood to it to make a single tree-house), or living off of the inhospitable swamp as easily as elves live off a bountiful forest, but they leave such a mess people think they're poorly skilled (rather than, as is the actual truth, skilled but messy)
The true strength of the elves is their skill with the bow, which hints at their brains being better suited than most humanoids for great accuracy at hand-eye co-ordination and long-distance spatial awareness.
But, so far the 'band' knows of no goblins outside of the major towns, so it's not relevant beyond explaining why an elf can be the 'equal' of a human in foraging (it's because he's not a goblin) and what kind of arguments the two can have over which race's smartest.

The workers, in the meantime, are sent out to fetch more lumber and gold.
It's a rather repetitive task, hence why the leaders decided going off on their own would be more interesting, and unlikely to cause much surprise.
But there are a few ways to improve, still.
No one in the band actually mined before, so the gold-gathering elves are working somewhat blind - but then there is such a thing as 'beginners luck'; Among other things, while gold-mining's probably never going to be 'fun', it's at least a moderately new experience (so they might actually try to be clever about it)
The humans sent out to continue where the elves left off, meanwhile, do have the elves' attempts to learn from - they don't have to repeat the elves' attempts at finding the best knot to tie stuff together for travel, or waste time figuring out which chopping technique to use (though, of course, mastering it is another matter), for example.
Neither of them are 'supposed to' be there gathering things they didn't pay for from land that isn't theirs, mind, so they do have to be subtle about it - scouts on lookout for passers-by, everyone trying to keep the noise to a minimum, and so on.
Not that mining's a very quiet action, but at least mountains offer a better view for the lookouts than the thick forest does.

Name	Start	Action	Target	End	Notes
Ronja	H8	Explore	I10	H8	Taking the donkey. Intent: Unsure, but ideally something that does not take the entire 10 spare gold. 'Free' random events preferred
Birk	H8	Explore	F6	H8	Intent: Unsure, but ideally something that does not take the entire 10 spare gold. 'Free' random events preferred
Wild Minds	H8	Harvest (Gold)	G8	H8	Swap out Spyglass for Earth Tools. Has Earth and Construction tools. Intent: Get lots of stuff
Fairhairs	H8	Harvest (Lumber)	I6	H8	Swap out Earth Tools for Spyglass. Intent: Get lots of stuff

[ Ronja achieves a Significant Success in Exploring (I10)! ]
[ Ronja gains 1 XP in Bard. ]
[ A traveling artisan gives you an offer:
If you can donate 1 x Shields or 1 x Melee Weapons to him: you may gain choose a single Unit (Unit only, not Leaders) to gain 3 XP in the skill(s) of your choice.  Must be non-combat skills.
]

[ Birk achieves a Significant Success in Exploring (F6)! ]
[ Birk gains 1 XP in Bard. ]
[ You receive a Quest Offer:

• Name: Rebuild the Monastery
• Type: Challenging Charge
• Mission: An old and nearly destroyed monastery (G7) is in of aid to rebuild and once again catalog knowledge.  Recent wars have made acquisition of materials and resorting their information difficult at best.
  
  1. Acquire at least 20 Lumber and Donate it to the Monastery.
  2. Loan a Single Unit to for one week to help the monks rebuild the Monastery (must have construction tools.)
  3. Loan at least two Units for one week (must be together)
  4. In lieu of steps 2 and 3, you can loan a single Leader who has the 'Scholar' leader bonus for one week.
  5. Optional: Donate one piece of knowledge.  (You can either send a Leader to provide training for a skill you already possess, or 'donate' information about a spell you know (you will not lose the spell.)  If you choose the first option: you must send the leader there for a week.  If the second - no time is required.
• Reward: A random piece of information is given (can be a CP, enemy forces locations, Node, etc.  If the optional is completed: a random spell is learned.

]

[ Wild Minds achieve an Astounding Success in Harvesting Gold from the Normal Gold Node in (G8)! ]
[ Wild Minds gain 2 XP in Digger. ]
[ You recover 8 Gold. ]

[ Fairhairs achieves a partial success in Harvesting Lumber from the Normal Lumber Node in (I6). ]
[ You return with 5 Lumber. ]

Ronja: Bard 0->1, 1xp
Birk: Bard 0->1, 1xp
Wild Minds: Digger 0->2, 1+1=2xp
EDIT: Wild Minds: Shield removed (and given to the event), Scout 1->4, 1+1+1=3xp

This message was last edited by the player at 00:33, Mon 07 Sept 2015.

Begin [Week 4, Month 1, Year 1]

As Birk's discussing the 'quest' he got from the monastery, Ronja is staring in increasing disbelief - cocking her eyebrow and so on.
When he finishes, she puts on a clearly forced smile and asks, "So, Birk Borkason, you think we should be giving away all our wood - you know, instead of building with it?!"
Having expected more approval than that, given he was fairly sure he'd mentioned the part about being taught even more magic, the elf hesitates long enough for her to continue, "That amount of wood's, what, a good twenty gold? And nearly enough to finally get the scouts out of my bloody throne-room so I don't have to trip over a pile of maps every-time I want to go do leader-stuff!"
Birk lifts a hand to stop Ronja before she starts ranting and says, "Well, twenty at the prices they charged last time, yes. But I know you saw the merchants cheer up; You should be able to go get about half-again what they'd sell last time for the same pay. Probably'll sell it even cheaper next time, if we find we need more wood."
While she still didn't seem entirely convinced, Ronja makes a dismissive gesture, "Fine, fine. Whatever. I'll go get the wood, put my 'feminine wiles' to work and all that. Try not to promise away the rest of our goods in the meantime"
And that's all that's said on the subject - Ronja finishes giving orders to the men (some of which are women; It's the general term, not specifically male humanoids) and packs up some trade-goods for the hamlet, while Birk heads back out on his own.

He really is going to make an effort to look for easier targets, too - maybe choose to talk to wanderers and lone cabins, instead of ruined churches or people shouting about armies destroying their homelands.

Ronja doesn't have a specific plan, but they know her by now so she figures 'smile and wave' (and have the coin ready) is going to be enough - when she was younger, she certainly always liked the traders that came by her town.
Mind you, she mostly met the ones selling luxuries (candy, proper cloth, and so on) and food in the marketplace - buying lumber won't get you 'exposure' with more than a handful of folk, if that.
She does make a token effort at finding people (in a marketplace, or by just asking around) selling or buying 'trade-goods' at about 'market value' - there might be jewelers who'd prefer gold chunks dug up by the Wild Minds to their own copper and mixed-metal coins, or farmers going through a 'rough patch' who might sell some heirloom if she offers more than they could likely get themselves (but about equal to what she, with more time to and talent at finding a good deal, could get later)
Trading like that, by definition, isn't going to get her any richer of course; The point is to be seen, and possibly even known for trading 'fair' (it'd not be good to be known as a 'sucker', but hopefully tossing out the occasional comment implying it's a one-time thing (could use some elven coin, an elven cloak-pin might make a good gift for Birk, and so on) will prevent it)
But that's all assuming she has time after making sure she's got the wood-deals arranged.
This might seem to contradict the earlier comment about no specific plan, but that's merely a quirk of narration; She herself did not know the plan until she'd started it, which means it was not a plan but rather improvisation.

The elves are sent off to get even more wood, again.
Though they take the opportunity to sharpen their axes and saws since it's not like they want to carry the whetstone with them.
They should be able to get the last of the trees they'd marked - after this week, the ones left standing around there should be either too thick for their make-shift 'travois' or too thin to be worth chopping down.
And besides, any longer and they'd probably start drawing too much unwanted attention.

The 'Wild Minds', meanwhile, have been ordered to find some food for next month.
As long as it's unprotected, it's ok if it's still in the ground (if less than ideal)
But they'll be exploring specifically the most fertile parts of the 'path' between Havenin and Moracku - exactly the kinds of places people are likely to build and travel.
If they find wagons whose owners lost a fight, or cabins whose occupants have mysteriously disappeared, for example, they should bring back anything useful they can find - wolves would leave any non-edible valuables alone, but even bandits would probably leave the wagon itself (made of wood the gang seem to never have enough of) and possibly even the occasional metal part that could get a decent price from a wagon-maker.
With some luck, there might even be a bag or two of grain gone overlooked by bandits too greedy for anything that doesn't glitter.

Name	Start	Action	Target	End	Notes
Ronja	H8	Diplomacy(Trading)	Shamerius (I6)	H8	Taking the donkey Intent: Improve the Attitude - the actual intent is trading, specifically 6gp's worth of wood to improve Trade and meet the quest objective, but I shouldn't need the bonus there (can't fail to trade, and cheaper prices just means more leftover wood, which is good but not the reason I'm doing this)
Birk	H8	Explore	H8	H8	Intent: Finding something 'quicker' than the month's work the last 'quest' required (a Simplistic Errand with a resource-based reward would be the specific goal) Stuff just lying around would be especially good, and would be the intent if I thought it was a valid goal, though so far I see no evidence Explore can find that (in this context, I would count finding someone willing to give wood to the Monastery on our behalf (or donate gold to what they might see as a charitable cause) as 'resources lying around', in case you'll consider that 'solving a step in a quest' (which IS an option of Explore))
Wild Minds	H8	Scout	F6	H8	Intent: Caches would be preferred, but I don't mind nodes (hopefully food, even if I can't specify). Reminder: Has Spyglass.
Fairhairs	H8	Harvest (Lumber)	I6	H8	Intent: Get loads of wood. Reminder: Has Earth Tools

This message was last edited by the player at 03:07, Wed 09 Sept 2015.

Ronja's efforts prove difficult at first.  Entering Shamerius once more, she finds the mood of all of its citizens to be dour at best.  Although there is talk of hope as the dew thaws from last winter's chill; few are in the mood to celebrate.  The sight of the lone traveler with a solitary donkey in tow raises eyebrows and a few, bleak smiles once more.  Once they recognize Ronja from her previous visit, a few wary merchants eye you carefully; but, open their stalls and warehouses as they see the coin roll between your fingers.

Prices were at their worst because they had to be for the townships to survive.  With more trade, the merchants knew they could offer more competitive deals; but, they needed the funds first.

[ Ronja achieves a partial success in conducting Diplomacy with Shamerius (I6). ]
[ This result was insufficient to improve standings. ]
[ Reply with choice of how much to trade.  Lumber is currently Selling to you at: Poor (2 Gold for 3) ]

[ Birk successfully Explores (H8) ]
[ Thanks to Birk's Scholar Bonus, despite only achieving a success; Birk still gains 1 XP in Bard. ]
[ You meet a traveling merchant who offers his wares to you.  He's in need of a quick sale, and is selling as he moves-around the countryside in an effort to avoid the taxes of the big city.
 He will sell any basic resource at the "Preferred" Rate (Lumber, Stone and Iron.)  He will sell up to 40 of any one resource.
]

[ Wild Minds successfully Scout (F6) ]
[ Thanks to Wild Minds' Human Bonus, despite only achieving a success; Wild Minds still gain 1 XP!  You may assign it to either Scout or Spy. ]
[ Reply with choice of how you assign XP. ]
[ Something special happens! (There is a standard 5% chance when rolling for Nodes that you gain some additional piece of information

 If you Scout (F7) within the next 3 weeks, you will gain a +10% bonus to the Scout Check.
]
[ You discover a Normal Food Node. It has an estimated 2 uses remaining. ]
[ You discover a Tiny Cache, it contains: 6 x Stone. ]

[ Fairhairs successfully harvest Lumber from the Normal Lumber Node at (I6). ]
[ They return with 7 lumber. ]
[ This node is exhausted. ]

This message was last edited by the GM at 10:35, Thu 10 Sept 2015.

Ronja: Buys 9 wood for 6 gold, Lumber 15->24, Gold 18->12 - this should bump it up, but if it doesn't I've misunderstood something and need to add gold (and possibly remove it from Birk's trade) until it does qualify (without being more than I can afford)
Harvest+Cache: Stone 0->6, Lumber 24->31
Birk: Bard 1->2 for 1xp, buys 16 lumber for 4 gold, Lumber 31->47, Gold 12->8
Midas Touch (Birk): Gold 8->12
Wild Minds: Scout 4->5 for 1xp

Upkeep: 10 gold, 2 food
Gold 12->2
Food 2->0

Begin [Week 1, Month 2, Year 1]

Preparations are finally being made for moving out the scouts, scribes, and such from the throne room and into their own place.
Without Birk around, though, it's not a guarantee that there won't be some mistake made while clearing out the debris and installing supports - it's not that he knows the fort better, she corrects him at least as often as the other way around, but there's still the occasional flaw in her plans that he helps point out - so until they've got at least part of the room stable enough to stay in, they're focusing on packing them up and getting ready.
Mostly they just need floor enough for a few tables to write on, and enough still-standing wall to hang maps, so the construction shouldn't be too difficult - though if they find time and have enough wood left, there might be a use for a proper 'war' table (or whatever you call the tables with the tiny miniatures that kings push around while their nobles either cheer their intelligence openly or whisper about their incompetence in secret)

Birk, meanwhile, is dragging a fairly large load of lumber off to the religious people.
Not just to hand over the material, mind; The lumber's more 'since he's going there anyway', otherwise they'd have sent a few workers along instead.
Mainly, he's going there to do the scholarly equivalent of trade: Help them by adding his knowledge to theirs, including the magic he'd learned from his somewhat recent spiritual journey, in the hope that what they'll teach back is worth giving it up.
Some might claim that giving away information has no 'cost' as you still have it yourself, but those people do not quite understand the actual value of information (and specifically how said value sinks the more it is known) - though it can still be useful to smile and nod along with such people, as they are often fools, and so easily parted from their coin if they believe you a friend.

Name	Start	Action	Target	End	Notes
Ronja	H8	Assist Wild Minds	H8	H8
Birk	H8	Quest-Specific Action	G7	H8	With Donkey. "Loan Birk, Donate Knowledge [of Midas Touch], Donate 20 x Lumber."
Wild Minds	H8	Construct Spymaster's Suite	H8	H8	Has Construction Tools. Swapping their Spyglass for the Fairhair's Earth Tools, in case it matters
Fairhairs	H8	Assist Wild Minds	H8	H8	Swapping tools with the Wild Minds

Helping rebuild the monastery turned-out to be an overwhelming success.  Birk's arrival, as he leads a donkey laden with lashes dragging a cart of lumber was enough to send the otherwise scholarly and stoic group into a lather of excitement.  When, upon beginning discussions for how to implement the lumber, Birk expressed his desire to bestow his knowledge of the arcane upon them; several fainted and fell over each other with bliss.

Although the work was difficult, Birk's scholarly knowledge helped them through the complications of re-establishing the heavy support beams and embedding everything into the foundation to hoist the once massive library.  As the work came to completion, a warm breeze slipped through the halls.  The shelves were still less than half-filled, but now- with time, they would attract scholars and high-minded people from around the land.  As Birk prepared to depart, they provided you with some arcane knowledge of their own...

[ Ronja, Wild Minds, and Fairhairs achieve a Significant Success in constructing a Spymaster's Suite. ]
[ You gain 1 Skill XP.  It must be assigned as Mason. ]
[ You gain 1 Leveling XP.  It may be assigned to either Unit. ]
[ Reply with how you assign the XP. ]
[ You save 4 Lumber, consuming only 21 Lumber. ]

[ Birk manages to complete the Rebuild the Monastery Quest! ]
[ Birk learns: Telescoping ]
[ You learn about a Naga Hamlet in (J8) ]


This message was last edited by the GM at 18:53, Fri 18 Sept 2015.

Ronja: Mason 0->1
Humans: Level 0->1, Offense 1->2
Birk: Add Telescoping to Spells Known
Lumber: 47->27->6