He cocks an eyebrow at the rare event of having found someone who seems not just to angrily tolerate the bureaucracy but seems to have an actual interest “No, just kept in the eventuality a royal official requires you to produce it”


He coughs awkwardly “I have been told that this ‘dwarf iron’ is a material of substantial scarcity and value” you notice he has written Mithril and Mithril ore on the list “and to charge it to the rate of platinum. This would bring your due at 8,500 gold pieces. There is also the question of its acquisition?”



“We make no effort to control or tax manufacturing or commerce within the city beyond questions of safety. We charge for what comes in and what goes out taking a percentage of any value added or transferred. Internal consumption is accepted for the benefit of the populace and mitigated by property taxes. Beyond any such accounting as you privately undertake you do not need to keep records, you seem like a sensible man I would not have to give advice to about prudent financial arrangements however.



“Your company logo will need to be placed on your goods and is justified by your warrant. Any goods we can’t account for in our records bearing your mark is cause for an audit and potential rebalancing. I have long asked for a tax stamp to be applied but so far nothing has been implemented as it brings up questions of supremacy and jurisdiction that are currently impolitic” he sounds exasperated and sighs “As for the history, I don’t know of any scholar having made a comprehensive study but our systems are different here than in the old capital, they prefer the traditional flat tax system as it benefits the me-“ he stops, catching himself in a digression and smiles “Any way, a lord sets the rates for his land. I can of course deliver you the latest taxation codes for the Ducal possessions which are reviewed at least once every three years. The laws on the legality of items for sale, contracts of employment and such like can also be provided for you but it will take time as such things are not held ready for distribution” which again seems to peeve him somewhat.

((Greybacked))

"I assume taxation is acceptable in kind? As to how the mithril was was acquired I'm afraid that question is best directed to my uncle, the Minister of the Interior. I can direct your questions to him in my next report home. Though as I informed your Queen very few even within the Empire know of its origins."




"I thank you for your time and care" Valerian bows. "When would be convenient for a tax assessor to visit? I am travelling with your army in three days time an I am uncertain as to how long we are to be in the field."

He shifts awkwardly in his chair "I am afraid I must press for a speedier answer as there may be a larger concern about the commissioning or re-licensing of a mine. Indeed we have some unfortunate questions to resolve about some historical ore movements that this interview hopes to shed some light on"



He smiles and rises to warmly shake your hand "No visit will be required the sum mentioned is to be paid with your first property due. It is delivered to the city sheriff in the town hall- and it is calculated at the lower coin rate rather than the goods rate though a percentage of items can be handed over instead. I should have your materials available upon your return."

"I may be able to provide you with a more celeritous answer as I have been given significant leeway in dealings with state officials."

Valerian shifts himself as if getting ready to negotiate at the forum ((I know mercatus would probably be a better word but I like forum's political connotations and well we're on a forum))

"Mithral is, as I am certain you are aware, an important strategic resource, not only because of its relative paucity but also because of its more intrinsic utility both for the production of strong but lightweight metal items but also for the relative ease with which it can be used for enchantment. It would be remiss of me to simply hand over the control of such a potent resource without first ensuring that the necessities of the Marian Empire are met."


Valerian smiles.

"The Empire requires unrestricted availability of the material and a preferential buyer status resulting in reduced purchasing costs in regards to mithral as compared to the charges accrued to other nations. The Empire, not wishing this deal to be totally in its favour is willing to provide knowledge of the methods of smelting and working mithral, and since I can't help but notice the rarity of wizards in your lands I'm sure access to Imperial Mages would be useful for your enchanting efforts.


Furthermore the Marian Empire is willing to help defray the costs of commissioning or re-licensing a mine in exchange for a proportional amount of the mine's produce. The Empire may also be interested in investment of other infrastructure but that is an issue for another time mayhap."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:39, Tue 24 Nov 2015.

The man again sighs with the world weariness of being yet once more being put in a difficult personal situation by politics and policy he probably has very little to do with deciding, but he is a faithful man and he did sign up to be a steward.

"From your manner of answer there can be little doubt that there is Mithril to be found inside what now must be considered the borders of the realm I by royal decree am responsible for the licensing of. It also makes it certain to my mind that the guild that previously owned your building and operated the northern mines was being less than upfront about its dealings. I may as well inform you that I have been instructed to forgo any claim on such material as you brought with you beyond appropriate taxation, a debt owed I am told. All further..." he struggles for a word "extraction from crown lands must cease until such time as you have gathered a proper warrant for it-" cutting off the obvious question "-that are acquired by petition to the crown. The rest of your stipulations are likewise best directed to the Queen though I will no doubt be asked to advise her on the matter and in the spirit of honesty I may as well tell you I would advise against any such treaty."

"Control of all resources in the realm, strategic, valuable, rare or otherwise I must point out is not yours to begin with unless you dispute the sovereignty of our realm" his tone is rhetorical, he doesn't think that is what you mean.

"I appreciate your candour, though I fear you misunderstand me. The Marian Empire does not demand the bounty of your lands without recompense, we would of course pay appropriate market value for any mithril mined from your lands. We merely wish to be ensured of commercial access to such an important resource, and offers in exchange the knowledge needed for Ecthesis to make use of its own stockpiles. I apologise most profusely if this was not clear."


Valerian shifts tack slightly and talks about the one of the other Marian strategic interests in the region.

"I'm sure you can see the benefits to your nation of Imperial investment in infrastructure however. Especially with our expertise in building roads, canals and other such public works. From what I understand of your system this level of investment is best done on with local lords? Though I'm sure refurbishment work will occur on the royal road to Tibbers Brook now that Numoria has a ruler again."


Valerian leans forward somewhat conspiratorially and adds jovially.

"Of course between you and I when your Queen succeeds in the unification of Aravigia the roads funded by the Crown would be an excellent starting point for an Aravigian tax stamp."

He chortles "I have always said a strong monarch is one and the same as a strong tax system"

"I would evaluate and advise on each deal as it arose. All coin has its uses and its costs"

The morning after the card game is the day you are due to set out with the forces mustered in the name of the queen. It turns out that the Sovereign herself is going to be leading the army which you wouldn’t necessarily expect. As part of the royal party you are to be provided with food, horses and travelling necessities such as tents, a handful of servants have been assigned to you for the duration of the journey to tend to mundane needs like cooking, cleaning, packing and so on.  You ride at first to the castle and waiting by the gateway is a host of thirty knights each wearing one of three different garish designs of tabard. In the fountain courtyard you are asked to wait for the Queen to be ready to travel. Sitting and chatting on horseback are five armoured men each with their own heraldry and the bearing of lord that you may or may not remember from the coronation feast. They acknowledge your party with a wave but continue to talk amongst themselves. After about ten minutes of waiting five more knights come out of the main door and fetch horses from the stables. The Queen strides out soon after in a dress that though perhaps a shade less ostentatious than normal looks warmer and more practical for riding, beside her is the Lady Deneith dressed in her usual black traveling clothes though this time that means trousers for sitting astride a horse. The chamberlain puts a thick fur lined coat about the Queen’s shoulders and hands her the crown with a bow, she then actually pulls herself up into the side saddle of a white horse and with a silent nod to the assembled worthies that include yourselves she prods her steed into a canter out of the gates and over the drawbridge with the assembled knights peeling in to accompany her.


An hour later you find yourselves surrounded by knights and lords with an army in toe on the march towards what they view as rebellious lands. The camp that had been building into a small city of tents outside the city walls for the past two weeks was already dismantled by the time you reached the gates as the royal party was the last to arrive on the main road. The city streets had been lined with the populace and they had thrown flowers onto the road which must be some sort of local custom as they called out sentiments of good luck, blessings from above and general support. The same opinions were expressed a little more firmly as the Queen rode down the line to reach the head of the column, almost every man in the army and on guard on the walls gave a resounding cheer as she rode out of the main gate and then in turn again as she rode past them, she held up her left hand in acknowledgement of their support. She had paused only a moment to tell the nobles to be about their duties that sent three of them off to the rear of the army and then raising herself up slightly had shouted “We march for Hatheril!” which again drew a cheer from the army and she had led the whole thing by spurring her horse into a trot on the main highway eastward. The drummer at the front started a beat that was picked up by another further down, another strange local custom then surfaced as all the knights then started to sing a solemn low song that was timed with the rhythm of feet and drums, with myriad verses it elaborated on traveling a long distance to do their duty, it lasted the first hour of the march. They sung the same song every time the army moved off for the first time in a day.


The first two days were uneventful and gave you time to do a bit of light study of this army. It could have been no more than six and a half thousand men strong but all of them are fairly well equipped compared to how you expected them to be. The knights all have a variety of weapons and armour underneath all the heraldry and plumes but it all seems to be of good quality. Even the lowliest man you would guess was no more than a levy has a sturdy barbute helm, a coat of chains under his padded shirt, segmented plates for spaulders, a new set of boots, thick gloves, a spear, a kite shield, a sword and a tabard all decorated in the same deep red with a white stag emblem, you also notice several of them also carry hand axes on their belts. At first this all seems oddly fast to have gathered together the number of men let alone the materials and craftsmen to give them all such armaments but you overhear various conversations between hasty knights and others between the older men making parallelises of things they had said nearly two years ago when the old king died. They remind you that the dispute for control of this land was over a year old when you came over the border and the then Duchess initially had a much more tenuous route to force her way to a throne. It could even be that she had the local villages conduct training on rest days. They obviously don’t have the crisp professionalism of the Marian legion but neither do they drag their feet or lean on their spears.

The order of march has the royal party at the front preceded only by scouts that range both far ahead and behind, immediately after comes the bulk of the knights that mingle in a riot of colour, they are followed by those on foot, the mounted commoners come next with the baggage train and finally the remainder of the knights and lords that make up the rear guard. Given you are not part of the army you may place yourself as you like so long as it doesn’t make a nuisance of you.

Something that is quiet noticeable is that a significant ratio of the army is mounted and not just the weighting added by the heavily armed knights but also a percentage of the rank and file has some form of horse to carry him though probably only half their number would be an animal to take onto a battlefield. The same yeomen that had horses also tended to have a breastplate or greaves or some other extra equipment above that of the normal man. The dynamic of the army changed slightly on the third night when a force of some two and a half thousand men arrived with the High Constable the Earl of Dulmorth of which the two thousand were armed with little but their own weaponry of knives and a motley arrangement of bows that tended to be on the longer side, they are wearing thick leathers if they are wearing any sort of protection beyond a thick shirt. Something else the constable brought with him was wagons of ale that is distributed openly to the men and lifts the moral of the army that was already buoyant.  When the army had camped before they had been near a town on both nights but this site was in the country side with only a farmstead away in the distance, the tent city was thus reconstructed in full and walking through it gave you a chance to hear some of the dirtier songs of the kingdom once the beer started to flow.

You are invited to dine with the queen in her tent that night along with the ten other lords that represent the feudal strength of the army. As they are still within the borders of Ecthesis few of the lords are bothering to still put on armour for the days ride and they all now sit around a table in thick fur lined clothes as proof against the night chill you get when walking away from the fires. The high constable who arrived late in the night thus stands out even more than a man his size normally would when he bustles into the tent and takes off only his gauntlets and a few of the easier to remove and more cumbersome bits of his plate armour. The actual eating part of the dinner had been held specifically for him to arrive so there is general good cheer as people get down to business of eating and the talk is all refreshingly informal as certain court decorum are apparently ignored when on the march.

While most of the others have finished eating and the servants are busy clearing away plates the armoured Earl looks up from his second chicken at the corner that houses you two and the Lady Deneith “So how find you the army we have so far?”
This message was last updated by the GM at 12:39, Thu 21 Apr 2016.

Valerian attends the meal his chain armour - being as it is less cumbersome than plate, and this is an army marching to war after all.



"My Lord, I must express a my admiration for what I have seen so far, your soldiers march well and their morale is good. I have yet to see your soldiers on the field and of course that is what matters when the spear hits the shield. We don't use heavy cavalry, or those longbows of yours so I can not comment on their effectiveness but if your infantry fight as well as they march I can see no issues should it come to battle.. Tell me what made you choose longbows over crossbows? I've heard it takes many years to learn the longbow rather than the month or so it takes for a crossbow."

The constable gets distracted by someone offering him some wine which he has to keep telling them "A little more" and "Keep poring" which means another of the lords answers you. A man you have come to know as Bromwood Braxton the Baron of Baesly during the march, he is one the five Barons of Ecthesis.

"We didn't choose them really, in darker times when the kingdom was first gathered it was the duty of every man to bear arms suitable for the defense of town walls. Bows were easier to produce and maintain so bows became a weapon of choice for the common man by default. The tradition staid alive in times of peace as a popular means of competition as well as the obvious uses for hunting. It is the same reason some of our men carry axes. Apparently it is to our good fortune these old skills have been kept alive as the same menace soon comes again. Tell us sirs what does and Orc look like?"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 12:39, Thu 21 Apr 2016.

"Well My Lord, the orc is bestial in visage, its face is long and it's brows are thickset, and though I admit that my interactions were not exactly positive, their faces are set in scowls that combined with their bead like eyes give them a look that belies their cunning. Its mouth is formed into an almost permanent snarl with two tusks jutting from its lower jaw. The orc is both wider and taller than a man, more thickset and strongly built. The grayskin variant wear leathers, akin to rags mostly. The greenskin variant seems more intelligent, they wear armour of metal, a metal that my dwarf tells me is akin to mithral, though different. I feel that the Lands of the Heliod has a difficult fight before us."

During the travelling, Drast attempts to exchange pleasantries with the Queen at some point, and to attempt to converse with the nearby knights and lords, talking lots about very little without the other person being any wiser to Drast's mind.
12:50, Today: Wizard Draft rolled 9 using 1d20+4.  charisma check1




At the table, after Valerian has spoken, Drast pipes in amiably, addressing the Baron of Baesley and anyone else listening in, with a polite coughing to get their attention *cough* *cough* "We have already conversed with these creatures and they seemed some what intelligent and cunning," Drast pauses, considering. "Eerily so. I would not be surprised if the orcs came marching down on us with as much uniformity as you'd expect to see in a well trained regiment of foot." Seemily easily distracted, Drast addresses the person sitting next to him "why, this food is positively delightful, I might just tuck into a little more."
12:50, Today: Wizard Draft rolled 16 using 1d20+4.  charisma 2.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:00, Sat 05 Dec 2015.

You fail to find a particular subject to draw anyone into more that just polite conversation, fortunately you avoid upsetting anyone too. So a partial success.



The room raises it's eyebrows all at once and goes thoughtful apart from the Earl who leans across the table and part hands and part throws a chicken leg at Drast saying "Fill ya boots lad"

Bromwood asks "You saw them in battle then, how do you think they would stand to cavalry in their armor and formations?"

"Unfortunately My Lord while we have challenged, and defeated, their Champion, their war-chief's son if I understand correctly we have not seen them in full scale battle. I cannot judge accurately their ability to withstand any organised charge. I do not believe that they had all that many polearms however so perhaps a cavalry charge could work, the orc however is a powerful brute so it may be that they do not require the same tools as man to withstand a horse charge.

I'm sure the scouts I've sent will be able to more accurately describe the composition of the orc force whence they return."

There is a general murmur of approval and the Earl sits back with a satisfied belch that gets a reproving look from the Queen that he has the decency to look a little embarrassed about it. He forces thing back to the subject at hand and asks "How do they do war in your lands?"
This message was last updated by the GM at 12:38, Thu 21 Apr 2016.

"In the Empire? Well sir we have a tradition of professional forces rather than levies. Our legionaries serve in three basic roles. Infantry, bowmen and cavalry with some companies devoted to more specialist functions such as siege weapons or engineering. Our armies are divided into legions, each with a thousand men, a legion is divided into two banners which is further divided into companies. Companies are either infantry, bowmen, cavalry or focused on some speciality or another.

Our cavalry is lighter than yours and our infantry heavier but I suspect our battles are fought much as yours when in the open field the infantry pins the enemy force while the bowmen and cavalry inflict damage. Banners have a some what standard order of battle, three infantry companies, two bow companies and a cavalry or specialist company, allowing our generals to have a set of standard formations that they can use signals to order.

This is rarely done by other nations I have found but the once aspect of the Art of War that I find the legions excel at which other nations do not is that of siegecraft and urban warfare. For instance this camp" Valerian gestures around him and says in a factual tone and trying not to be condescending "a Marian Legion would have built a castrum, that is a temporary fort before stopping for the evening, each company can construct a castra in about an hour. The legions can similarly create more permanent structures, for example in the recent conquest of Provinciae Quindecim, it hadn't yet earned a name when I left, my men and I would regularly be tasked with building speculae, that is watchtowers, that will continue to stand along military supply routes.

On the other side of the coin we routinely in that campaign would capture towns, both walled and un-walled. Fighting in urban areas is I find drastically different from fighting. It's fought more closely and assaults can occur from almost any direction. We practice urban formations and clearing buildings intensely and often, it truly is a brutal form of warfare, but it must be."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:02, Mon 07 Dec 2015.

"War in my lands... well now, that is a thing to see. Suffice it to say there is no reference in these lands to compare it to." Drast lowers his voice a little, encouraging people to listen closer if they want to hear what he has to say.

It would be nearly impossible to truly describe the essence of war in the Empire Arcanus to someone who hasn't seen, hasn't lived in the culture of the empire. Magic runs free, amok even. To capture it's essence in a single word, one could say simply; chaos."

Drast's eyes loose focus a little as he casts his memory years back, attempting to paint a picture "I have seen great beings made of stone, with wicked green intelligent eyes that speak of malice, charge a batallion of free-swords, slaughtering them to the man. I have seen said creature, crushed by a giant floating hand made of magic, cast by a score of mages. I have seen a city torn apart by meteors falling from the sky, summoned by a thousand mages working in unison. A horde of angry wasp like creatures, breaking against a magical shield. Our basic troops are untrained, poorly armored slaves, which attack like waves upon stone. Breaking apart but eroding the enemy army due to massess of numbers. Then there are the mages, who use their spells both in defense of the army and in offense. They group together and cast spells that can sow destruction that blackens and splits the earth, or shield men from the attempts of their opposites.  Then there are the imbued;- magically imbued soldiers - who move faster than an arrow, or can hurl a boulder larger than this tenet. Those soldiers tend to die each battle due to exhaustion, the mages too, but it is certainly effective.
Battles are generally won and lost on the strength of the armies antimages however - elite troops warded against magic, who flank around to assasinate the opposing armies mages."
Drast's eyes return to focus, breaking the reverie that had settled during the telling "so, as I said, no real comparison" and takes another bite of the chicken.

This message was last edited by the player at 19:28, Sun 06 Dec 2015.

The Earl is sufficiently interested in what you are saying he actually waves away a servant offering him a goblet of wine. You notice that the corner of the Queen's mouth twitches in a faint flicker of a smile when you say the name of the province out loud, she apparently found something about it amusing. [Perception checks]

The Earl sits forward "I don't suppose you could be persuaded to teach some of the men to make these caestrates could you? If it can be done without losing hours from a march it sounds a damnable useful thing to have a solid spot to bed down when you aren't in safe country, which it might all be soon enough if the Orcs are coming"

The Queen interrupts with a different point that seems important to her, she doesn’t move but carefully articulates each word clearly and firmly without raising the volume of her voice and the tent grows silent with the attention she is commanding with her regal vocal skills "The cities, towns and people of Aravigia are its jewels, precious and rare. When we pass into the lands held by those less hospitable lords we will pay fairly for every animal we eat and for every grain we disturb if we are resisted in our passing. Any man who would take up arms to bar us must be given a fair chance to lay them down before it comes to a trial of might. Our soldiers may take the fields of battle, the walls and castles but the towns and its unarmed people are the basis of this discord and are to be treated with care. I will not have my land burnt for the pride of greedy men.”

There is general nodding from the lords as they are in ready accord, her voice no longer has quite the same edge when she continues “For them to have any security they must best us to a man so in the end meet us in one fashion or another-” she gestures towards you two “-and already we have been shown that what favour there is to be had lies with us. I would have the circumstances of my coronation widely known thus once we have concluded matters at Hatheril a small party will head with me to Lokston and talk the high priest. I trust I can rely on the continued accommodation of our friends?” the question isn’t rhetorical as she looks at you two.

((For the sake of simplicity I am going to say you reply to this bit with a quote then after a pause Drast gets to paint his verbal picture to get conversation started again. So whatever you say back to the stuff above happens before the Drast’s last post, the stuff below and whatever you reply to it.  Think I just made it more complicated but you should be able to guess what I mean.))


Everyone settles back and listens to you as though you were telling them a story from days of yore and far off lands which technically you more or less are. Wine appears in hands and the Earl chuckles as you describe magical animals though the lords collectively sit up and there is a cough as you draw to a close and mention assassins going for the head of the snake.

For the first time all night the Lady Kryss stops leaning in her chair and snorts “A tad orotund but not far off the mark, across the sea and beyond the desert grand battles are rare enough these days but are a demonstration that lets the mages carve out their territory in deep scars, they are spectacular as much to impress and terrorise their way into people’s minds as for any other purpose. Still as the conjurer said even the most powerful arch-mage can be killed with a knife in the right place if the man guarding his back would rather see those pointy shoes vacant - so long as the blood will wash off their silly hats” she glares at the room in general which looks like it annoys and offends the loyalty the people in the room to her satisfaction and she turns her head to address the Queen “Your rights are justified by the code of chivalry without any… external favour but it will impress, as will your conduct in this war. You just have to win” she gives a smile that looks like she doesn’t smile very often.

((As well as anything you want to reply to this lot you might as well add in any subject you want to raise over the course of the night))
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:49, Mon 07 Dec 2015.

((15:37, Today: Valerian Hawke rolled 14 using 1d20+5.  Perception.))

"My Lord I would be honoured to help teach your men at least the basics of constructing castra" ((my appologies castrum is the singular I have corrected this in my previous post)) "though I must give warning that to set up camp with the speed of a Marian Legionnaire takes many months of training and practice."



"Your Majesty, I would be pleased to journey with you to Lokston, though I must send a missive back to the Marian Embassy, in case any messages from home arrive."

The army of the Ecthesian Queen treks on with their leader now attended in turn by every knight in the column and they seem to compete in preventing so much as a glimpse of her being given to the outside world. For the next few days the wizard in particular feels eyes of many on him at all times and there are no more royal dinners to attend, instead you either sup alone or join the lords though they take to dinning with their own cadre of knights more often than not and conversation seems to die at your arrival beyond civilities. Not that you would have looked for her as company but the Lady Kryss is noticeably absent, you overhear that she rode away to sail for her own lands and is not likely to be back for several months. It only takes a few days with no further troubled nights for the effect to begin to ebb away though it would seem prudent for their guard to remain up for on the twelfth day of marching the word spreads quickly that they will be camping beyond the well secured borders of Ecthesis proper. You quickly learn that this is not quite so momentous as might be expected given the lands they enter belong to Roger Meir, the Royal High Constable who left the army some days back to prepare everything at his castle on the far side of his holdings. That Castle will actually be the last safe refuge before the hike to Hatheril which is known to be hostile and the first place that is expected to offer resistance. At about midday you pass a town that has a smattering of residents out with a different banner to the one you have become familiar with but you recognise as the red lion and sun heraldry of the Earl of Dulmorth.

On the thirteenth night from the gates of Ecthesis the army camps outside the town of Melbury but only on the fields on the north side of the royal highway which at first seems to be a very inefficient way of doing it. You are told at some point during the night that the sprawling settlement you see before you is in fact two towns separated by the main road, Melbury and Mapleham, with the north side being part of Dulmorth and the South part of the Earldom of Erdnare, an Earl that has yet to declare himself one way or the other in the conflict. There is a significant effort to keep the mass of men that have been led here in good order and off any land that doesn’t belong to the High Constable. Patrols are organised to watch the roads for any soldiery flouting the rules, five of the common men and at least one knight so they might be able to reprimand any trouble maker regardless of his station. Thankfully the night passes without any major incidents though you suspect several soldiers will march away from this place regretting some of the purchases the wily merchants persuade them to take on. The Queen accepts the hospitality of the town’s mayor and spends the night in the manor.

((If you want to look for or buy and equipment or items here let me know))

It takes noticeably longer for the army to get moving again the next day which seems to annoy several of the lords, particularly as the last to come thundering up several hours late are knights that get promptly deployed to the rear guard to wrangle with the now sprawling baggage train. It takes another tedious three days to see the imposing Castle Dulmorth away on a hillside. Given that you aren’t part of the army you therefore having nothing to do with all the challenges of keeping it fed, watered and moving cohesively nor are you really part of all the minor politics going on between the nobles. The upshot is even Valerian as a seasoned Marian Captain well practiced at the business of mobile forces starts to feel the edges of boredom with traveling the main road. The Castle as such becomes a subject of rapt attention for you as a break from the endless succession of fields, small towns, meadows and small forests you have been passing through.

The castle is writ large which probably plays a part in why its lord is such an expansive character. The curtain wall contains a substantial village that is dense with well-established multilevel buildings, smoke rises from a collection of squat buildings clearly involved in some industry or other. The keep is made of a dark stone and is a single tall and wide rectangular structure, unlike in Ecthesis where clearly several efforts had been made over the years to embellish the fortifications, Dulmorth looks like it has been left all about the brutal business of military defence since it was built a very long time ago. Above the first three floors the walls rise sheer and uninterrupted by windows until reaching the floor just below the square parapets. As you crest the hill at the head of the army at about the same time as the Queen a horn is blown by a man on horseback waiting by the side of the road, in response a horn blows off in the distance and a several large banners are rolled off the ramparts to hang against the walls of the keep, they bear the royal white and red stag. There are a mess of earthworks that surround the fields in the immediate area and you can see groups of men littered about the hillside that are likely in some fashion connected to the garrison or labourers. The army spends the afternoon buildings its tent city inside the largest of the temporary bulwarks and the lords enter into the keep. The streets are full of people cheering the Queen’s passing that she acknowledges with a constant wave, passing inside an internal wall you enter the courtyard that the Keep looms directly over top of. Along with the usual side buildings of the stables and suchlike is a ornately decorated long hall built as though jutting out from the base of the dark stone work, beaming on the steps with open arms is the High Constable and Earl of Dulmorth; Roger Meir. Beside him is a tall thin woman who looks to be about his age, a rather large teenage girl, the merchant you heard talking outside the Ecthesis and a dour looking man that bears a family resemblance and is indeterminately middle-aged. The latter stands out somewhat not because of his scars but because he is noticeably tanned compared to everyone else.

---

The fire is roaring in the broad fireplace filling the colourful hall with a sweltering heat and the rich smell of yet more hogs on the spit roast. The long benches are heaving with the pleasantly drunk after hours of feasting, only a dedicated corner of diehards are huddled around egging on their respective champions to greater feats of over eating. The hosting Earl is one of the raucous crowd and only breaks away when one of the competitors falls off his stool backwards while swigging from a pint glass. Laughing heartily the grey haired giant shouts a wish of better luck next time to ‘Harry’ before he strides back up to the head table that is on a raised dais and seats you two, his daughter, the Queen and his wife. Placing his tankard down on the table in front of his empty seat he turns around to bellow at the room “Time to have a look at just how we are going to run off the fools that’d refuse our Queen” which only makes things louder as everyone starts shouting at each other and there is a chaos of movement. Partially drunk men stumble off the benches and shift the line of long tables closest to the throne aside. Some of the servants scrub the floor and bring in strange wooden boxes. Everyone crowds around a circle on the floor while the Earl takes things out of the boxes occasionally interrupted by arguments breaking out with exclamations like “No that doesn’t go there” and the like. They draw back a little and standing up on the platform and craning over the table you can see what they are all looking at. There is a colourful painting of the Aravigian Kingdom on the floor of the hall and the bit they are looking at is the Earl’s Divvy which they have put little figures on to presumably represent soldiers, castles and towns.

The Baron of Beasly calls for silence but it has to be bellowed by the scarred, tanned and grim man who is clearly some relation to the Earl given how loud he can shout. The Earl grabs hold of the horseman they are using to represent the Queen’s army and holds it aloft “On the ‘morrow we march on Hatheril and try and call to the field what forces the enemy has mustered to defend the Earl’s Divvy-” he plonks the wooden figure down hard inside of the areas   One of the Ecthesis Barons interrupts “And we will lead you there Dolman, we’ll beat that hill’s rhyme if we have to drag you up” which appears to have been a joke of some sort as it causes at least half the room to guffaw. Choosing to ignore the aside the Earl continues “If they fear to face us we will split the army with enough men under Beasly to siege their castle and others to hold the Hudswold crossing in case they come through Dalham or the Earl of Kaling can rouse himself from the dinner table” which again gets a laugh but shortly after arguments are breaking out about where forces should be deployed and who would be in charge.

“We should hold castle Pegir and guard the Ashebay in case they come through the Crawl from the Kingsfort, Lord Peter spoke favourably of us at the Lordsmeet”
“No we should assault the walls of Hateril and then march every man on Dalham”
“We need to be sure of our rear, Lord Marcus must be oath bound to us before we advance even if he signs at sword point. They must be with us or against us”
All of these and more besides is said as things get more heated, at one point the Earl is so animated he grabs the wooden knight out of another man’s hand and slams it down with such force its legs break into splinters and he has to call out to his chief servant Chiswick for a fresh one.
((Breaking here so there isn’t too much reading all at once and so you can add anything you want to about the tactics of the army and or stuff you want to do before while on the march))

Green areas are supporting lords, white are neutral and brown areas have declared against the Ecthesian Queen. Only major settlements are shown and settlement without its own explicit name holds the title of the entire Earldom (eg. Dulmorth Castle)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:26, Sat 09 Sept 2017.

There is a stern bellow for silence from the back of the room; the tanned, scarred man is standing on the table in front of the Queen and despite the drink and pride in those assembled they fall silent apart from the Earl who takes a few loud seconds before noticing the other man is no longer arguing back. Taking the hand proffered to help her up the Queen arises and climbs up onto the table “My lords while I respect the entire collected prowess in martial concerns we have in this hall, and indeed I will always rely upon it, I am saved the trouble of choosing between your council for I have a mind to array our forces to my own designs” and at her word the crowd turns away from the rather caustic debates they were conducting with their nearby colleagues, releasing lapels, handing back gloves, taking a boot off the back of a man’s head and in general settling down. It’s a slight thing but you catch a rise in the Earl’s brow height that is shortly followed by the return of his ubiquitous smile as she unfolds her plan.

“With all our might here collected on the morrow we shall lay about a siege on Hatheril Castle. Should we encounter numbers willing to sally out against us it would be well, for as we are not yet the full total that could be brought to our cause neither will they be all those that could be yoked to theirs. We represent simply those that dropped personal matters at the call and came with strong feeling to at need face down their full measure let alone what passes for their own best and first, and I would weight that match to our favour at any hour” this causes a cheering “Every man that fights us now is one that will be missing on a later field but should they do the expected and at the sight of us fear to come to blows then we will hold to our purpose, their forces divided, and step no further east till we have all passed a feast inside the walls of Hatheril!” again more cheering that takes longer to subside.

“We will not allow them to dictate the pace to us and sit idly for them to gather against us however. Though the greater part of our strength will remain here and be added to as more rouse themselves to fight in our cause, Sir Ecthur will take command in his father’s place. All that are eligible will ride north with me to a full Lord’s meet at Lokston. I will not have it said that I did not make every effort to avoid conflict and will once last time state my claims and rights” she takes a goblet being proffered to her by the scarred man and holds it aloft “So we must all to our rest for the morrow holds the promise of much work to be done, first though one last toast to the loyalty and courage of just and brave men” and she drains the beaker.

As one the crowd raises a cup if they have one or a fist if they don’t and gives the sure response of “To the Queen” that reverberates off the walls as they drain their own cups. With that the head table departs the room for the inner recesses of the castle and crowd breaks out in a din of conversation as they begin to disperse either to chambers or back out into the tent city. The last thing you hear as you leave is the Earl loudly joking that tomorrow would be a day of mud regardless and if they were lucky blood into the bargain as well.

---

It is the morning after and despite orders to be woken when the army moves (though the noise that generally generates would wake you in any case) you are quickly aware that it is almost midday already and you have been left to rise in your own time. Dressing and stepping out quickly you notice that the camp hasn’t been dismantled and the army is in fact still here despite everyone apparently planning for things to really get going in this civil war today. When you question one of the servants that attend you and you still haven’t learnt the name of they tell you there was much goings on in the dark hours of the morning and there is to be no battles today. Before you can go and find someone who might know more they inform the both of you in turn that there was been a royal request for your presence when you get up.

((For simplicity we shall say Drast wakes up about half an hour after Valerian and so he will be going to see the Queen roughly as Valerian leaves, assuming you both go of course))
This message was last updated by the GM at 12:52, Thu 21 Apr 2016.

Sorry for the delay in replying.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:55, Tue 16 Feb 2016.

((Hidden stuff for people that should be ashamed))

((Hidden stuff for shitlords))
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:08, Wed 24 Feb 2016.

((Ssssssssssssshhhhhh))
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:53, Mon 21 Mar 2016.