Noble: Rascall Von Pokan
Land: Since you have taken over the small castle Gralinburg, the King has deemed that you are not in need of a town, so it can go to another less blessed noble. Besides your castle you have been given four small isolated villages which are dedicated to mostly farming.
Economic: The war is over but it has left devastation and many people have to rebuild. Many farms were destroyed and ravaged in the chaos of the revolution. Most of the smaller isolated villages were left alone, but your small castle Gralinburg has been plundered and is in need of dire repairs. At the moment your economic strength is at its most basic level, but you are not in debt which is a start.
Military: Besides what troops you have with you at the start of your reign from your warrior days you have no military whatsoever, unless you call angry peasants with pitchforks an army.
Political Standing: You are nothing special in the new court, just one of the many young nobles hoping to increase his fortunes.
Public Opinion: The people of the Pokan plains are a hardy people, and are in rather high spirits at having finally cast off the oppression of the Empire, but this happiness has nothing to do with you, as honestly few people in your lands even know they have a new noble!
Special events: None.


Noble: Tika Ravia
Land: You have been given one of the many forts on the western border of Lustria, but lucky enough for you it is in an ideal location on top of a hill with a river flowing near it. Unfortunately for you however your lands on are the most western part and thus were the most devastated during the war. Many buildings lay smoldering and in ruin, but the fort was almost untouched as it once belonged to the Empire, and they left it for the most part alone. The farmlands have been burnt by the fleeing Empire soldiers, and it will take some work to heal this devastation. Besides your fort, you have been given 3 villages.
Economics: You are at a rather basic level, since your only real source of income at the moment is the large amount of money given to you by the King, at least he cant tax it away from you.
Military: Besides the troops you brought with you from the war you have little to none, although many of your people would fight for you if asked.
Political standing: You are an enigma. Your people have long been servants or worse and now one of your kind has rose to the rank of a Noble. You are a source of continuous gossip and scandal, it could be worse but at least you are getting attention.
Public Opinion: Your people are in an emotional rollercoaster. The Saborion people love you for being well one of them and they have hope for a new future… but the humans of your land are upset at the thought of being ruled by a mere servant and lesser being. Take care or this small spark can erupt in a great engulfing inferno.
Special events: None


Noble: Conall Kearney
Land: The king has graciously given you land on the edge of the Icecap Mountains. Under your domain is a small town, and three small villages. Luckily for you the war never went too far north so for the most part what little farms you have are completely untouched. There is a small mine on your land that once belonged to the Empire, but has long since been abandoned. I wonder what wondrous metal could be inside its dark depths.
Economics: Your economical standing is basic. The king has given you a decent amount of gold to start your reign, but many of your people are not working at the moment because no one wishes to be a miner without good cause… no one.
Military: Besides the soldiers who came with you… you have no military might whatsoever, although the mountains act as walls all on their own.
Political standing: You are an unknown much like many of the new nobles, because honestly who cares about some unimportant northman?
Public Opinion: Your people are happy to be free of the Empire, even if they themselves never truly suffered, but they are afraid. They know that you may try to push them into those death pits known as the mines.
Special Events: None


Noble: Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi
Land: The king has been kind to you since not many wish to travel to the south believing it to not be worth their time. He has given you a large town called Bechafen along with three small villages along the edge of the forest. The town of Bechafen is in disrepair, and its wooden palisade walls have numerous gaps in them from imperial siege weapons. The fields like so many others have been burnt and destroyed, but at least the main stock of your economy, the Loren Forest, has been left untouched.
Economics: You are at a base point in your economic life. You are surviving off the money donated to you by the King to help you get started. The fields have been destroyed, so like many places food is tight, and most of the lumber your people harvest will be going to repairs, but look on the bright side with all the others needing repairs the sales of wood will be going higher… much higher.
Military: Besides the troops you came to your lands with, you have no military, although you do have peasants with large axes which beats peasants with pitchforks.
Political standing: Your strange outlandish name has caught minor attention, but for the most part you are unknown. Don’t fret I am sure your will be in the midst of a scandal sooner or latter.
Public Opinion: The people of the south have always been superstitious say such things like there are monsters in the forest… horrors beyond imagining, but that is peasant talk. Unfortunately for you, however, your name as outlandish as it Is has set many of these superstitious people on the edge.
Special Events: The price of wood has gone up due to the demand for it to repair the damages to the kingdom. Expect to start earning a nice tidy profit.


Noble: Namira Rosewood
Land: You, like many other nobles, have been blessed with coastal holdings! You have been gifted with a medium sized port town. The lands of the east were spared much of the war, so for the most part you have avoided damages that need repairs. You have a couple of villages, two, to be exact, but with the sea in front of you, a good ship, and a heart crew, do you truly need more?
Economics: Basic for the moment, but your fortunes will be soon to change. Due to the war many people fled to the east creating a nice population bubble for you to tax, and with your darling ship “The Katerina” In working condition, all you have to do is set sail and begin your life as a trader… or perhaps a pirate, but pray the other nobles don’t find out. They will look down on piracy and may seek revenge.
Military: Besides your boat crew, and what soldiers you brought with you, you have no military might.
Political standing: You are just one of the many Nobles given a coastal holding, nobody cares too much about you, and your influence is non-existent.
Public Opinion: The people of the east have grown restless, all the refugees have started to bring down the towns and villages both economical and socially. With the war over people expected these refugees to go home, but many have stayed. The situations in the towns are tense, a noble will have to be careful or a riot will be on their hands.
Special Events: None.


Noble: Zeverael
Land: you own a small fort on the western lands. It is not near as well defended as other forts (lacking even a wooden wall), but to make up for this you have been granted five villages. Sadly your land is devastated, and looks as if great wolf tore into it and than spat it back out so farming is going to be difficult. Many of the villages and even the fort has fallen to ill repair.
Economics: Basic. You are surviving off the Kings generosity, and it won’t last forever. Farms are destroyed; buildings in shambles, but at least you are not being taxed.
Military: Besides the troops you brought with you, you have no real military might.
Political standing: You are mysterious, and nobles (especially gossiping nobles) love mysterious. You are hard to miss in a crowd due to your armor and height, so many nobles know your name, and want to know more than just that.
Public Opinion: To be frank, people don’t trust you or even like you. You scare your people. You are a very large armored man who says he is now their noble, and quite frankly why should they trust someone who looks like he just came from a battle after years of imperial oppression?
Special Events: None


Noble: Lady Limara
Land: Strangely enough you turned down the king’s offer for a town, and instead choose a forest, one of the only ones in the Central land. Inside the forest is a small village, and you own four more small villages that are around the forest. This land has been left mostly alone by the Empire, as it served no real purpose. No one used it as lumber, and no one truly farmed around it until now. With most of the other central lands ravaged, many people began to realize that this little piece of land Is heaven, untouched and unspoiled by the war.
Economics: You have a very basic economy, which is only as it is due to the kings’ generosity. Your outlaying villages have begun to farm the virgin land that is full of rich soil, so expect a nice return next season.
Military: Besides the forces you brought, you have little to no military forces.
Political standing: You are a small elf that has chosen land no other noble would ever wish to be punished with. You spark curiosity in many of your fellow nobles, and one who many will be watching.
Public Opinion: Your people like you. You are a small unthreatening elf girl, but the question now is can you earn peoples respect and obedience when all they see is a small elf child?
Special Events: None


Noble: Faile Abara
Land: You are one of the Heros of Lustria, so it is fitting that you are charged with a important defensible location on the western border. You own a modest castle (stone walls and all) on one of the few hills of the Menetherin plains. The castle is in ill repair though, as there are large gaps in the wall and saying the insides of the castle have been gutted is an understatement. Within the outer walls is a nice small village which is also sadly in ill repair. You own two villages outside the walls, but they are not of much use since they and their lands have been destroyed, and pillaged.
Economics: Your economy is basic, as although King Alric wished to bestow upon you even more money, you refused as stubborn as always. You must be carful since with the good amount of soldiers you have under your employee, the reminders of Falcon Claw, your economy is shaky at best. If you are not careful you could plummet into poverty and than you would have to swallow your pride and ask King Alric for more money.
Military: Your military might is… decent compared to the rest of the nobles in the land. You do not have a large army, but your men’s skill and experience make up for what they lack in numbers. You have more than enough to patrol your lands, and fight off any bandits.
Political standing: You are a Hero of Lustria. People love you and nobles want to be seen around you. Be careful just as soon as nobles will flock to you is as soon as they will turn on you to tear you down to their level.
Public Opinion: The people of your land love you. They have been oppressed by the Empire and now to know they are protected by one who killed the famous Imperial General what better fate could they have bestowed upon them? If you were to fail however it would be hard to regain their confidence.
Special Events: None.

Faile Aybara - Turn 1

A column of armored soldiers on horseback weaved through the hills of the Western Plains. Though war hardened, their armor seemed to shine in the sunlight. The armor was all the same and on the right breast of each breastplate the Screaming Falcon was desplayed prudly. Two figures rode at the front of the column, one a mountain of the man and wearing a heavy armor set. In his hands he proudly carried the pole of a banner and at it's tip flew the Screaming Falcon. The personal symbol of the Falcon's Claw Regiment and it's commanding officers new family crest. The second figure was dwarfed by the mountain of the man, to the distant eye she would appear to be nothing more then a child, even with her armor and sword. These two figures were Tallanver Hallowin, the son of a minor noble and the second of the Falcon's Claw Regiment. The smaller figure was the newly risen Faile Abara, though she still despised the name Lady.

"Menetherin Castle will be coming into view once we top the next rise my lady"

A slight grimace passed vissably across Faile's face. She was not used to being called lady. "Tallanver, we have faught together for seven years. Call me Faile as you always have."

"Of course Mm... Faile." the mountain of a man said, his voice seeing to rumble accross the landscape. Behind her the voices of the men and and women of the Falcon's Claw and even the occasional laughter could be heard carrying up to her. The war was over, and they were certainly a lot more lax then they once had been. But the war's end had been call for laxness and laughter so for once Faile did not mind so much. Many of these soldiers still had families that would be traveling to the castle in a few months after them. Faile glanced over at Tallanver, he had been her right hand man for seven long years of brutal fighting and truth be told sometime during that fight she had...developed feeling for him... But she had been caught up in leading a war and so nothing ever came about it. Though she felt that the feeling was mutual, back on that battlefiel after the Charge of the Falcon, she still hated that name, he had said as much as he thought he was dying. Even if the man was almost twce her age. Still she was glad Tallanver had decided to come, she would need him in the days to come.

As the regiment topped the crest of the hill, a village spread out beneith them and in the distance Faile was just begining to make out the top of Menetherin Keep, even from here she could see that it looked like hell. Most of her attention was on the small village arrayed in front of her, a village she knew to be called Bearlon. At first it appeared almost abandoned, it had once been a faily succesful village, but now it seemed that the village was all but abandoned. Many of the buildings were decrepid and falling apart, the fields looked chared and had been that way for awhile and where once bustling houses had been, not there was only charred rubble.

Faile never stopped moving forward, she had been a part of such devestation for years, but still it caught in her chest. Not only the memories of her own family being destroyed but the bodies of now countless citizens murdered by the Empire. As Faile entered the town though. Bearlon's remaining villagers flooded into the streets. There were not many left and she could see fresh graves on a plot of land to the west. However the villigers were smiling, many of them were openly crying and shouting her name. A group of children even rushed out and touched her and her horse, as if to make sure they were real. Faile knew she had a reputation among the people but every time it was overwhelming. And now these were her people......

A man stepped from the crowd. "My lady, Welcome to the village of Bearlon, I fear we do not have much to give, but we have is yours." And then the man bowed to her, and with him bowed the heads of every other citizen of Bearlon. Faile was all but overcome with emotion but she knew better then to show it. "Please rise, All of you rise. It is not you who should be giving. You have already paid the greatest price of all, a price in human life. You have weathered a storm these past years and it shows. Keep your belongings, you have earned them and many times over." The villagers rose, almost stunned. They had heard of Faile and her exploits in the war, she was a hero, but they had expected her to be like any normal lord. But she treated them with respect, told them to rise and talked them as equals. "Thank you my Lady."

Faile turned her horse around "Tomas, Halwhin." Two soldiers trotted their horses up to her from down the line, "Yes Commander?"

"Take your squad and offer your hand to help these people reconstruct. They have earned our help."
"Yes My lady."

The men broke off from the main column and dismounted, already being swarmed with villagers, smiles on all the faces. Faile continued moving through the time, the Falcons Claw now temporarily down by 10 men towards what would become her new home. Menetherin Keep.

Lustria
- A letter will be sent to the current camps of the Plains Tribesmen. Their ancestral home has been retaken and all are welcome to come back home.
- A letter will be sent to the southern nobles in the hopes of creating trade with one of them. We wish to purchase lumber and would like to enter discussions about prices. This is to be sent to all nobles that can produce wood easily, Multiple bids if you will.
- A letter is to be sent to the Northern Nobles in the hopes of creating trade with one of them. We wish to purchase stone from their mines. This is to be sent to all nobles that can produce stone easily. Multiple bids if you will.

Menetherin Plains
- Riders are to be sent out to scout the lands in my Domain. These will be from The Falcon's Claw Regiment. They are to scout and report any possible resources that can be of use, woods, rivers, etc etc etc. If any abandoned villages or buildings are seen they are to be reported so that they may be torn down for resources. If we are lucky an abandoned quarry can be found and we may start producing some stone.

Menetherin Keep
- Conduct a search of the Keep. I want it searched board for board in the hopes that anything salvageable can be found. Perhaps there is a storehouse left unpillaged or documents we may find. Inventory shall be taken of items and anything useful is to be collected.
- A better estimate of the damage to the keep and walls is to be taken and the estimated amount of stone necessary to repair them is to be found out.

Menetherin Village
- A population count is to be taken and inventory made on buildings remaining, number of usable fields, and any other potential asset.
- I would like to establish a form of local government, Through democratic process a Mayor is to be elected as well as a village council. It is the job of the village council and Mayor to help oversee the day to day operations of the village.
- I would like a count of unused buildings that can be torn down and the wood reused to rebuild Menetherin Village. Once this has been done, pull them down and begin reconstruction with wood.
- Hold a public meeting and listen to the will of the people.
- find out what the past tax rate for this province was, do not re-establish it just yet
- Begin Reconstruction Efforts with gathered resources, I will personally lend my own hand with the work and 15 Falcon Claw soldiers will also help.
- Planting season should be starting, Farmers of the plains have always been hardy folk. Though Menetherin Village has lost a vast amount of it's farmland, I did see some usable fields on the way in. These fields must be worked if we are to make a new beginning here. Any missing or damaged equiptment is to be replaced and these fields are to be seeded and worked if they are not already.

Aemons Field
- A population count is to be taken and inventory made on buildings remaining, number of usable fields, and any other potential asset.
- I would like to establish a form of local government, Through democratic process a Mayor is to be elected as well as a village council. It is the job of the village council and Mayor to help oversee the day to day operations of the village.
- I would like a count of unused buildings that can be torn down and the wood reused to rebuild Aemons Field. Once this has been done, pull them down and begin reconstruction with wood.
- Hold a public meeting and listen to the will of the people.
- Begin Reconstruction Efforts with gathered resources, I will personally lend my own hand with the work and 15 Falcon Claw soldiers will also help.

Bearlon
- A population count is to be taken and inventory made on buildings remaining, number of usable fields, and any other potential asset.
- I would like to establish a form of local government, Through democratic process a Mayor is to be elected as well as a village council. It is the job of the village council and Mayor to help oversee the day to day operations of the village.
- I would like a count of unused buildings that can be torn down and the wood reused to rebuild Bearlon. Once this has been done, pull them down and begin reconstruction with wood.
- Hold a public meeting and listen to the will of the people.
- Begin Reconstruction Efforts with gathered resources, I will personally lend my own hand with the work and 15 Falcon Claw soldiers will also help.

Letter's between the Lady Faile Abara and the Lord Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi

To the High Lord of Bechafen, Mukmar Ahemd Gadzi,

It is good to here from you my friend. It has been awhile since we last met and I am glad to hear of King Alric's decision to gift you the lands of Bechafen and the Loren Forest. You have deserved it for the your work throughout the war. If anyone deserves the credit for our success it is those who waged the war of nutrition and supplies.

Your offer is well recieved. My lands have been ravaged during the war and my heart goes out for the people. We are in much need of the wood you can supply. Your discount is well recieved and watchtowers and armories shall be needed. However, it is homes, stables, mills, and warehouses that I need now, not towers and armories.

I am currently unable to enter into trade for your lumber but I am more then willing to pay the necessary gold. I am unable to supply you with an actual order of wood at this time but a rider will be sent with it upon a later date.

I am pleased to once again be doing buisness with you. It was your armor and food that kept the Falcon's Claw alive to strike at the empire. You are a good man, and an honorable trader.

- Faile Abara

Letter to the Nomadic Plains Tribes

My brothers and sisters,

We have lived through greatest tragety ever to befall our people. Still do I mourn the loss of our brothers taken by the war. May the great enemy never find water and shade as long as he lives. The war is over, and the ancestiral Almoth Plains are once again safe for our return. The great flight is over, our return is at hand and the Plains are free for our herds.

As the last of the Abara Tribe I offer you my water and shade.
- Faile Abara

Letter to the Northern Lords

To the Lord (Insert Lords name here) of (Insert name province and land here)

I wish to open a trade dialouge with you. Like many of us, The Menetherin Plains have been brutalated during the war. A large reconstruction is needed to return these holdings to their former prestiege. I am in need of a large quantity of stone to rebuild what the Empire has taken from us. I have no material to trade but gold, but that is needed more now then ever before.

I also wish to be able to open further trade routes and on a later date, trade may more easily flow between out lands.

- Faile Abara

(STILL IN EDIT, WILL FINISH TOMORROW)

Lord Rascall of the Pokan Plains. - 1st turn.


Lord Rascall was addresing the Peasents Counsil.
A thing he himself had made. Peasents of each village would elect a representative to come to GrallinBurg, to talk with the lord, and discuss matters of importance.
This was the first actual meeting of the counsil, and the lord. It would surely be glorious.

As Rascall entered the room, he was a little underwhelmed by what he saw.
Old and rugged men, no new and energetic men was there. Surely because they couldn't be spared from their work.

"Greetings Rascall Von Pokan." they said in near unison.
"We have come to this meeting of yours. Tell us, what is your idea with this?" one of them said, indicating that he was the speaker of the counsil.
Rascall smiled. It was a long time since someone actually used his real name, instead of all the 'lordship-me-here-and-lordship-me-there'.
"Greetings my countrymen. I have called for such an assembly as this, because I know that the Pokan peasents wouldn't want to stay without influence on the decisions of these lands. You live here too as I recall." Rascall said, joking on the last part.

"Surely my liege." the speaker said, smiling at the comment.
"What is it that you propose?" They all looked as if they were wolves, waiting for him to make a fatal mistake.
Rascall now understood why these men had been elected for this. They were a lot smarter than they seemed.

"As I also recall, the Pokan peasents like to lend eachother a helping hand. And for free."
Rascall said, zeroing in on his idea.
"I think that we should reduce taxes, to a minimum, and then pool the resources of all villages. So that we can help eachother as a great community.
The baker will bake bread, with the flour he get from the farmers. But it will be free. All will be able to get a share of the community's gains.
As long as they contribute to the community. Of course, this will be hard at the start, but by pooling what we have, we'll be able to get bigger gains.
And surely, all can be used for their work. Those who cannot help in the fields, will be working in government owned operations.
A free worker force will surely make us prosper.
Think of how the drunk northerners or the finicky easterners would look upon us in envy, when they see how great we do, by helping eachother.
And those too old to work, or those crippled somehow, will be brought to an installation, where they can be taken care of and provided for, by the community as a whole.
They cannot, but of course would, help. And we ought to show the generosity that we are renowned for throughout the entire country, by helping those too weak to help themselves, by helping them to help themselves, and in turn, they will help us."
As Rascall finnished his speech, he looked at the counsilmen.
They didn't seem all that inspired, nor enthustiastic. But Rascall knew, that under the surface these old wise men, would make their decisions.
One of them, a thin but heavily tanned man rose, gesturing, that he wanted to speak.

"My lord. It is fine words you tell, but how can we be assured that those who will distribute the outcome, will not redirect it for themselves, and their family?"
The question, was of course anticipated. Rascall had been floundering about it for quite some time, untill he found a solution.

"The position of distributor will be elective, so that the people can choose whom they think of as fair and suited.
I will not impose my own men upon you, as I know that only those who live in the communities can make such decisions.
But not all the goods you produce will be pooled.
A toll of every 6th will be put in store, as to make sure that there is enough, should we at some point be in dire need of food, to fend off starvation.
This granary of goods, that I will create, will be the spine of our glorious plains.
But you don't have to fully submit to my plans. We can try it out gradually. To make sure that it is as flawless as possible."

Silence. The cousilmen was thinking.
"Great lord, we will come back with a decision at a later time.
We have to make sure that our folks want to try this, as we neither want to impose anything upon them."
They said, sounding neutral. It was up to the people then...

As the counsilmen left, Rascall slumped down in a stool.
He hoped that his people could see the logic of pooling resources.




General

-A population count is to be on all people in my lands.
-Scouts are to investigate the region, and provide the heathen peasents with the information about their new lord.
-A network of roads is to be initiated, but only earthen roads, nothing paved yet.
-fertilizing products from the cattle, is to be spread on the fields. This is an order from the lord.

GralinsBurg

-A population count of the citizens who live at the castle is to be done.
-The castle is to be stabilized, and repairs started.
-Roads are to be started, using the small force of soldiers, as they are relieved from duty, but instead made a worker force.
Their payment consist of a big tax lift, meaning they won't have to pay more than a symbolic tax.

Pokan Plains

-A population count of the peasents who live outside the villages, on the plains.
-Rebuilding of lost farms are initiated, with the majority of the resources.

Barkan River

-The excavation of small streams are to be begun. They will run into ponds at villages, providing fresh water to the people.

Villages

-A population count of the peasents are to be initiated.
-Reparations are to be begun.
-Tools for reparations, as well as farming are to be distributed for free to the people. As a present from their new noble.
-The streams from the river are to be met by a similiar stream, building out, to meet the other.

Small Forests / Trees

-Forest Knights are to be installed, having the job of upholding the forest, and planting the seeds of the trees, to expand the small forestal area.
-Small streams from the rivers, are to be laid out to the parts of the land, providing the trees and wildlife with small ponds.

Karboff Swamp

-The construction of an outpost is to be made here. Future investment in this area will be spread as rumors.

Diplomacy

The King

-A letter is to be sent, requesting to be the royal provider of meat and hide.

Other Nobles

-A diplomat is to be sent to the other Central noblemen, and woman.
-A diplomat is to be sent to the leader of the central forest. We wish to enter a trading relationship, as we would love to have lumber. We can provide you with Hides, meat, and peat as soon as the pits are established.

Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi – Turn 1

General
-Riders are sent with the known villages informing them of their new Lord and tell them of his goals for the future:
1) Rebuild the homes that were lost and repair the property that was damaged
..i) This does NOT include houses/property that will not be in use.

2) Rebuild the trade between the South and the other regions of the Kingdom
..i) Also increasing the average coins that the farmers will earn.
..ii) The Lord would like to point out that this goal will not happen overnight and thus asks the people to work with him to achieve this.

3) Increase security
..i) This will be done through both voluntary and mandatory shifts of patrols along vital trade roads.
..ii) In the short term, every patrol will be at least 9 men strong and accompanied by two of the Royal Guard of the Lord. If the patrol encounters any bandits, the number of bandits that is encountered will vary the actions to be taken.
If there are less bandits than patrol soldiers, the bandits are to be attacked. If it is the other way around, the patrol is to retreat and report the where about of these bandits are to be reported.
If ‘monsters’ are spotted, there will be a reward for those who can kill it and bring it before the Lord’s feat (hole fifty coins will be given to EACH person that kills and brings back the head/body of the monster be examined by the Lord himself).
..iii) This law will take effect once economic necessity has been achieved (i.e., houses has been established and each village given their task).

4) Each tow will be given a specific task to complete within a time period and thus the people is, politely asked by the Lord, to comply in order to achieve economical growth.

-Letters are send to Lord of the Eastern Ports, Central Trading Companies, Western Lord and the Lord of the North suggesting that they enter trade with a possible ‘locked’ prices, before the price of wood rises too high.
…i) It is also reminded that Lord Mukmar has a much larger quantity of wood within his borders compared to others, thus, other lords would most likely point out that they need the wood more for their own reparations and that their prices might be higher. It is also noted that Lord Mukmar already had hundreds of acres with trees.

-Another letter is send to the capital of the Kingdom (Altdorf) where Mukmar asks the king for a possible ‘set back of taxes emergency plan’. In the letter Mukmar explains that he fears that the real reason for why few people ever traveled to the south was due to the unproductivity that existed there and in the letter he agues that if his original plans doesn’t work he would like to be able to have a small period of time without being taxed so he can use the coins on improving the trade and economy.
…i) He continuously emphasized the fact that this idea is meant to be an emergency plan only and only to be enforced if the Southern Economy collapses.

Bechafen
-Announcement to the people:

Men of Bechafen, I, Lord Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi, ask you to stand up for the safety of your city, your lands and your families. I wish to see a militia formed, brave patriotic soldiers who will see as I, that we need to be able to protect our homes and families. The work will include securing the roads, helping roads being built, and house repaired and escorting merchants through the lands. Every volunteer who serves a full quota of eighteen months will benefit from a reduced tax burden on their land, or the overall tax that is to be paid.

-New Law Imposed:
In order to save the amount of metals used within the society all weapons are to be mainly made of wood. Axes, bows, crossbows, spears, halberds, and the likes are now the only acceptable to be owned. Anyone who owns swords or other full-made metal weapons are to either hand over the weapons to the government OR explain why such a weapon must not be detained.

-Orders that the people who are skilled with wood and repairing are to contribute to the rebuilding of Bechafen, thereby cutting down wood for the reparations, and participating in rebuilding the capital city of the region.

Village 1

- Is ordered to focus its manpower on the cutting of trees, and be prepared to sell it to the other lords.

- Reparations of damaged farms are to be done and lost farming tools replaced (free of charge).

- Is also order to give up (at the most) three men for participating in holding whatever bandits and monsters that lurks within the forest at bay.

-The Village is now named ‘Hefter Town’

Village 2

- The village is ordered to focus on agricultural production in order to provide the food needed. Until basic food needs are met and the village produces a stable agricultural output, it will be a Royal Exception to the law of having to contribute men to the safety of the region.

- Reparations of damaged farms are to be done and lost farming tools replaced (free of charge).

-It is renamed ‘Hamburg’

Village 3

-Ordered to split it’s production to 55% wood production and 45% agriculture.

- Reparations of damaged farms are to be done and lost farming tools replaced (free of charge).

-The name of the village is to be ‘Struer’

Neighboring Lords

West: a letter is written in response to the letter received.

Honorable Master of the West, Lady Faile Abara,

I, Lord Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi, am most interested in entering trade with you and your nation. I am aware that you have much to overlook, concerning the rebuilding of your nation, thus I would strongly recommend that you send me a list of the buildings which you wish to have built, then I can recommend the amount of wood that would be needed to built these. Similarly, we can have certain agreement for certain building types.

I acknowledge the fact that you, and your brave warriors, stand face to face with the…Imperialistic Empire, and thus I will like to give you discount for certain buildings. Watch towers and armories are my first two buildings that I offer a discount on, while any other building will be have to be paid in full price.

I am more than happy to accept animals and coins in exchange for wood, and if you are in absolutely dire need then weapons and armor will be accepted as well.

Hope to do further business with you.
Signed by,
~Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi

East: A letter is send to the lords of the East, asking for possible trade. Lumber and minor agricultural goods in exchange for coins.

North: A letter is send the lords of the north, asking for the possible exchange of lumber and agricultural goods for stones and iron.

Central: A letter is send to the Lords of the central regions, proposing wood and agricultural production in exchange for possibly cattle and hide/animal skin.

Conall Kearney - Turn 1

The Broken Forest

Settling on the stump of a shattered tree, Conall beckoned to the still-loyal remnants of the Northern Freemen that had accompanied him back to his home. Many others had left, returned to their families, but some had chosen to follow their soft-spoken rebel leader for reasons of their own. He was lucky, he reflected, to have men and women loyal enough to follow him anywhere. His second in command, Tiber, stood next to him and surveyed the raggedy bunch of men adorned in no one uniform, but in a motley collection of hunting leathers and salvaged Imperial armour. By and large, most were archers, probably sixty at least. The remainder carried an assorted mix of small weapons, most of metal. They were proud Northerners, not content to wield staves and sticks.

And they were Conall's only hope of turning this hellish frozen place into a land worth consideration.

As they milled about, unsure what to do in this new state of relative peace, Conall got to his feet with a nearly silent squeak of leather rubbing on leather, and spoke, just as silently. It was a measure of how much they trusted and respected him that every single man and woman in the clearing immediately grew silent enough to hear him.

"Home, eh lads and lasses? This is where they send us. Not to our ancestral homes, pillaged as they already have been by other Northerners who claim the title of nobility. Most of those nobles," spitting after he said the last, "didn't even draw blood for their homeland. They didn't send men, they didn't fight. They hung on to their lands like dogs begging for scraps, providing nothing but reassurance that they would help if the time came. Well I tell you all... THE TIME HAS COME AND PASSED. You ALL bled for your lands!"

There was an angry muttering from amongst the soldiers, as they nodded slowly at first then more firmly.

"You sacrificed in brothers and sisters!" A low growl started now, but not directed at Conall. No, it was directed to the pissant nobles who thought they could stand idly by while true Northerners like themselves fought and died.

"You sacrificed in lands, and property!"

The growl grew louder, and the tension in the clearing was as thick as the clouds around the peaks of the Icecaps.

"And you ALL, to a man and woman, DID NOT COMPLAIN! You fought like beings possessed, and you won your freedom! Did THEY win theirs? I SAY NO!"

A roar of outrage burst forth from the hundred folk assembled in the clearing, and was then silenced as Conall held up a hand. His voice, which had grown louder as he spoke, dropped to a near-whisper.
"I say to you all, they will get their due. But not now. There are too few of us, and too many of them, and they are fattened from sucking the teats of their mothers while we true Northerners bled for them. We will show your families, and other families, what it means to be a Northerner... and you will see. They will join us, and we will grow strong. The King has gifted us with some land; a few frozen trees, a few tiny lakes barely worth of the name, and some homesteads to call our own. It is expected that we settle down, like the other Northerners, and begin to work and grumble."

Discontent and shaken heads were the obvious answer to Conall's statement now, as the fired up men and women clearly disagreed.

"What?" Their infamous leader threw up his hands and grinned, and then laughed, a true Northman's laugh, big and booming that echoed through the forest around them. "You disagree? You don't want to sit on your arses and grow fat in old age? GOOD FOLK, NEITHER DO I! The King gave us a mine, and none of your fellows want to work it, claiming it to be too dangerous." He let that sink in for a moment, and then spoke again.

"Well then, I say we work it for them. We have paid our due on the battlefield, and we will show the rest of the North that we are not afraid to pay our due at home as well. You are not warriors, first. You are Northerners. And I will not have a single man or woman under my command shirk from any duty. I will be right there beside you in those mines until duty calls me away to take care of the folk in the towns, and then, I will shame them. I will tell them what my men, who have fought for years and years, do for them now. How they risked their lives in battle and how they now risk their lives in the mines. All for them, the ungrateful sods. And they will come, mark my words. They will come in droves, desperate to prove that they too are Northerners. And you will leave the Mines, and take on your true duty. You are no rebels, nor are you brigands... you all, each one of you, is a SOLDIER! You are the First Northern Legion, and you will continue to earn the respect that name deserves!"
The mumbling and complaints had ceased the moment Conall had begun to spoke again. And now his First Northerners gave a mighty scream of approval, stamping their feet and shouting like madmen, eyes on fire with the possibility of what awaited. He let them have their fun, now. He dismissed them with a few further words, and they took to drink and meal, while he called Tiber aside, the ghost of a smile on his face for a few moments. And they planned for the future. A future where the North would not be ignored.
 
Land
(I am assuming that food collection goes hand in hand with the collection of pelts and leathers since most food-gathering in the North involves hunting. As mentioned, the land is not very well suited for farming so I have assumed that only one village has suitable lands for crops. If I can have more, please let me know.)

The Town
- As the only sizeable homestead in the area, the town is to begin lumber collection. The wood is mostly useless, as cold and wet as the majority of it is. (60% lumber.)
- With the useful wood, the Town will begin construction of a palisade where the rest of the land's people can hide in times of danger. (20% construction.)
- An inventory of goods and a census of people are both to be conducted as fast as possible to determine exactly what the Town needs and what it has a surplus of in order to conduct trade efficiently. (5% inventory, 5% census.)
- Anyone not engaged by the previous tasks is to make food collection for the whole, not themselves, their primary duty. (10% hunting.)
- The Town is to be renamed Kearnden.

Village I
- With the harsh northern winter due only too soon, the first village is to dedicate all free men and women to the collection of food, leather, and pelts. (100% hunting.)
- Village I is to be renamed Tivale.

Village II
- The second village is the only village to hold decent enough lands for farming, and so will dedicate all free men and women to the fields. (100% farming.)
- Village II is to be renamed Whiteburn.

Village III
- The third village, closer as it is to the forest, is to assist the people of Kearnden in lumber collection. Only a small portion is to be set to food-gathering. (80% lumber, 20% hunting.)
- Village III is to be renamed Cilmord.
The Mine
- The First Northern Legion will work the mine for this first (season? year?) but will be paid as soldiers. Conall will also spend a brief bit of time (depending on whether this is a season or a year) working in the mine with his men.
- The mine will thus be fully utilized.


Economics

General Economics
- Conall will keep his First Northerners paid.
- The remainder of the money will be stockpiled for future trade deals and possible problems.


Diplomacy and Trade

Letters

Lord Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi,
Your messenger arrived today with an offer of trade. We at this time have little use for such an activity, as we are capable of providing for ourselves. I am not such a fool as to think that this will always be the case however, as the Gods work in mysterious and sometimes violent ways. I offer you a gift of some of the stone and iron remaining in our stockpile, with the knowledge that in the future, you are sure as a goodly man to be just as generous.

To you I wish nothing but the best of luck in your reconstruction efforts. All honest Lustrians must band together in this time, and remain as friends, not foes.

Regards,
Lord Conall Kearney

Lady Namira Rosewood,
First, I bid you greetings from the North. The ships of the East have not been seen along our coasts in some time, though that is doubtless due to the fact that we are perceived as frozen barbarians. I offer you, as a fellow warrior in the rebellion and a lady of honour, something that you may find beneficial. As you know, the North will be the major provider of stone and iron for Lustria once our mines are again working at full capacity.

I propose that once this is the case, and we have goods stockpiled, your ship (and future ships, doubtless,) be the means by whence we convey our goods to the rest of Lustria and to nations across the sea. You seem of good and strong character, and I trust that you would protect the stone and iron to your fullest ability.

I invite you to sail to the North to discuss this deal; we may not have the beautiful forests and lands of the South, but we are a welcoming people, and you will find our hospitality just as generous, if not moreso, than that of any other land.

Warm regards,
Lord Conall Kearney

- Conall does not wish to engage in a great deal of trade at this point, as he would rather stockpile and inventory what he has first in order to determine what he truly needs and what he can afford to safely trade away.
- Only 10% of the iron and 10% of the stone in the stores will be sent to Lord Gadzi in the South as a token gift to show the North's regard.


Law

- No new law is to be enacted yet, as Conall wishes for everyone to settle in under his rule first before he begins to change anything.

Namira Rosewood -1

Port Langston-"Katerina Docking"

The waves of the Ineas sea lapped against the "Katerina's" wooden boards that made up the mass amount of the ship. Thankfully the ship had just come back from a successful "trade" of sorts from one of the lone islands across the sea. Namira refereed to the island as "Barillo" because that was what it's natives called it but then again she was never really sure what the hell the natives from the island were talking about. All she worried about was the exchange of fruits from the natives trees and the delicious liquor that the Barillo people made. The trading between the island she had discovered a few years back began when she had taken the title of "Noble".

Several men began to unload box from the anchored ship, some of them containing fruits and others containing liquor. A heavily built and rather dirty looking man let out a bark at several sailors."Does it take you all bloody day to unpack some boxes ? Hurry up before the Lady gets here or-"His sentence was immediately cut off from the sound of a annoyed female voice chirping in and saying"Or what First Mate Groban? What exactly will the lady do when she finds out your a day behind schedule and you failed to tell her the natives were behind in their brewing?" There standing directly below First Mate Groban, (as he was on the ship) was a petite and tanned female wearing men pants and boots along with a feathery white female blouse. Namira Rosewood, Noble of the Eastern Lands and owner of the ship Groban was leading. "Do you not think I have enough to deal with Groban? Refugees practically piled in from the war, and as far as!-" She too was cut off just as a boy came running up to her holding two letters in his hands."Two letters Mistress, one from the Northern Lord Conall and I believe the other from the Southern Noble." The boy handed her the letters and patiently waited for some sort of tip.

"Groban crack open the container and give the boy a....a....whats that weird yellow fruit? Anyway give him that while I read this. " She gave a quick nod towards the First Mate and immediately opened the first letter from the Norther Lord. She scanned over it rather quickly and then let out a sigh."Hmm....they don't seem like barbarians to me....I suppose trading with them might accomplish something..hm. I do need more Timber though...." She raised an eyebrow when reading the North Lord invitation to come and meet him to further discuss trade and the use of her ship. "I hate the cold...."

Land-

Port Town~
Port is to be named Langston
A relatively nice sized town and is to begin harvesting fish . Most of the time spent will be going back and forth from Trading either with Islands or other lands. Most of the towns citizens are fishermen,sailors,refugees,and pirates (this is a secret obviously).
*Note* Namira has smuggled a few islanders in along with animals (monkeys and birds to be exact) and their passes have been paid with the exchange of spices and fruits.

~Village 1~
To be Named "Travensburg"
Due to the mass amount of refugees that had piled into this particuliar town many are gathers but 50% are farmers and have begun farming the fertile soil for the seasons crops.

~Village 2~
Many of Namiras "not so legal" sailors take residence in this town and this is where they drop off stolen goods. Most of the villagers are the same as above .
To be named "Dregensburg"

Namira will trade with Lord of the South, Mukmar Ahmed for the "locked" trade of Lumber for coin.
Otherwise she will keep most of her pay.

Letters~

Lord Ahmed of the Souther Lands of Lustria.
I wish to humbly accept your proposal as I know that your land has the most abundant supply of timber.I will of course also like to question perhaps being in charge of traveling with your timber to other places among this great country of ours. My ship "the Katerina" and my crew and I are sturdy folk and you can be assured your shipment(s) would be quite safe with us if you so chose to allow us to handle any cargo of your lands. I bid you good day and ask you think over my proposition.

Capt. Namira Rosewood

Lord Conall Kearney

First I must say that I am quite surprised to have received a letter from the North. I have always been intrigued by the Northern area, having never visited there myself and was of course quite delighted to hear of your proposition and invitation. While I must remark that I much more suited to the sea, I fear I have never really been much for the cold. However that is what jackets are for so you can rest assured I shall take up your invitation and meet you as soon as possible so we may further discuss a few matters.

Yours Truly,
Capt.Namira Rosewood, Eastern Trading Company

Tika - 1

"I don't know if I can do this.' a single tearful whisper cried out, echoing like a gentle bell with its uncertainty, "Devastated, not only in the tortured land but clutching heart of its children

'If anyone can save her, it is you my love." a feminine voice rang out, high pitched, warm, as if it were the very essence of hope. "You-"

'I know naught of rebuilding shattered lives!" the whisper had now grown into a passionate roar, mispitched as glistening tears fell to the ground, as if attempting to comfort the very earth with its life-giving water. "My life has been naught but destruction! I spilt the life of hundreds, I have soaked this very land I wish to defend in blood and-"

"And you have freed her, given her a chance to grow. You have had two beautiful children. You have united a people! And you...' a long moment of silence passed, 'won me

The burning golden sun had nearly set, casting a fearsome shadow upon the land that was the night, Its beautiful orange glow vanishing amongst the ruined villages. Amongst it all, in the fading light, the two lovers held each other in their own, private embrace. For perhaps only one singular moment, the troubles of this war torn land, filled with mindless political intrigue, with its starving homeless people and lost heroes, seemed to disappear into the dark that was devouring them.

That night, the lovers would talk, but not of romance, but of their future as they bade their little ones good night, hoping that they will find some peace in the realm of dreams...

Thus in this manner, lodging in a empty fortress abandoned by war and time, did the new Lady Tika Ravia and her lover Cassidy Savi plan the future of a nation, as they watched the gentle breathing of their exhausted children.. for their futures were intwined, and as one family, together underneath the endless heavens, they would rebuild.

Domestic:

As the lovers talked, they realized that they were unlike many that lived there. Humans and their kind have had rifts. However, Tika found that her children became the inspiration of how she would solve this. She would work the land personally, showing humans that inferior or not, she wished to rebuild this tattered world. Cassidy would assist by fishing, and they would have their meals together with humans. By sharing the same meals and by performing the same tasks, she hopes to befriend humans. (Tika smiles at Cassidy's enthusiasm to make friends. Naive yes, but likable.)

They would salvage all resources they can from the villages, and pool them together to fix up the nearest village towards the fortress, in which both races would intermingle during the reconstruction process.(If kept busy, fights are less likely to happen) All remaining soldiers will be stationed here to uphold the peace, and will be required to act non-violently. Soldiers with particularly violent tendencies will be stationed to work. At nights, the population will lodge inside the fortress, and a small detachment will guard the village. Outside of the village, those with the necessary talents will be helping the land recover. Hopefully when the empire left they did not salt the earth. (Tika says that it does nothing to help the land taste better. Cassidy loves her, but this joke wasn't that good... yet she can't help but to smile) hopefully this will allow a quick recovery. Tika hopes for a future irrigation system using the river, which would greatly aid us.

Military;

Mostly, Tika will be looking for former soldiers and willing recruits. She does not wish to rob the reconstruction efforts, however, and thus is looking for those who have little experience in rebuilding. Mostly she is looking for youths (15-20) to become recruits. They still have to assist in the rebuilding, but will now be training with experienced soldiers within her own group. Wooden poles, from the useless pieces of wood should be used for quarterstaves, which is great for a base to train pikemen later.
Tika's small force of roughly 20 heavy infantry Saborin and a few loose mercenary soldiers will lend their weapons towards training efforts to help the new recruits get a idea of weaponry.

Commerce:

Cassidy will talk with our mutal "Contacts" about future trade, and purchase training weaponry from them. Simple Crossbows,longbows, greataxes, shields, should be bought up for a minor store of weapons. Armors made of leathers should also be considered. Attempt to get a deal by buying this as a package, and encourage our contact that favors now will ensure prolonged business, as well as a hand in dealing with rivals.

Also purchase a small amount of supplies, hopefully lumber, from them as well. Anything that allows us to avoid the expense of traveling long distances as well as competing with other markets.

Try to recruit a skilled master of arms to help drill recruits. Should be very experienced with simple, methodical, and effective techniques.

Political

For now, greet the other nobles of the West.

The winds gusted through the Hallion Lands, drifting across the boarder into the menacing presence of the Kadrin Empire. On its journey it swirled over the war strewn lands that had served as the final confrontation between the Empire and the uprising. Standing weakly on one of the large hills of the north western lands, a tired watchdog between the hounds of the Empire and the sheep of Lustria, stood a lone fort. The men of Fort Acruz supported the rebellion and suffered for it. Its wooden wall torn down and the main structure battered and damaged. The land around it still bare the marks of combat, none more telling then the freshly dug graves at the eastern base of the hill where the men of the fort now lay in peace. Zeverael looked down at the mounds of dirt and makeshift planks of wood in pity. The men there were lost, never honouring Necravanis in life and so sleeping forever in death. Another gust whipped up the hill and beat against the giant suit of armor, catching on the lord's cloak and sending it flapping. The iron figure's helm raised and looked further to the south, picking out the shapes of a few villages.

He had traveled to each of these villages and seen the dark looks from the inhabitants. Their homes and livelihoods decimated by the warmachine of the Empire they had reason to mistrust their new ruler. He pitied them as well, lost souls not seeking the glory of life to find continuation on death. Turning his back he strode back to the Fort alive with shuffling bodies, considering the best course of action as his long strides crossed the distance quickly. He had instated most of his aramac followers withing the fort, although makeshift camps sheltered the overspill. Others were dispatched across the distant boarder as an ever ready guard should the Empire turn its intent to retaking the which it lost. The avatar's path lead him through the center of the camps. As he passed the aramac turned to bow, murmuring prayers to Necravanis as their god's representative strode through their midsts. Their lord passed their prayers on to Necravanis silently within his mobile fortress. The salutations continued until Zeverael entered into the halls of the fort. He quickly found his way to the Temple of Necravanis, already transformed into the image of the god's true temple. The alter stood central, merely a convenient large slab of stone found nearby. Char pits were simple braziers scattered to the sides of the room. Pelts were strewn on the floor and walls. Stepping inside Zeverael was hastily greeted by the small number of humans and aramacs within. He greeted them back "May the Lord of the Dead glorify your passing" He boomed, his deep resonant voice echoing from his helmet. He stepped towards the alter and the various representatives awaited his command. No one of them showed fear of the huge being in his bladed armor. every one of them being a loyal follower of Necravanis, they are the ones most trusted by the aramac leader to carry the commands of god forth.

Assets already in place:

• Full evaluation of all woods, metals, money and other resources initially provided by the king
• Aramac civilian population hosted around and within Fort Acruz
• Small numbers of aramac militia dispatched to camps along the boarder and constant patrols across owned land
• Most non-aramac cultists integrated into village populations - Acceptance to be confirmed
• Remaining militia stationed within the fort
• Census of cultist population

Resources:

• Full evaluation of food, tool, livestock and wood supplies of the individual villages
• Full evaluation of wood and tool supplies required for complete reconstruction of villages and Fort Acruz
• Census of village populations including notable professionals
• Rationing of food supplies to cultists if required
• Distribution of wood to villages and Fort Acruz evenly (10% stockpiled) - Villages take priority
• Distribution of farming tools and implements to villages (5% stockpiled)
• Evaluation of current and potential farmland

Infrastructure:

• Villages will be allowed to run themselves
• Reconstruction of villages and Fort Acruz to begin place - Villagers will interface with human cultists - Cultist militia will assist in reconstruction (45%)
• Militia to assist in current farms (10%) - Farmers will interface with human cultists
• Militia to prepare damaged lands for later farming (15%) - Farmers will interface with human cultists for knowledge
• Militia to improve roads between villages (5%)

Public:

• No interaction between aramac and village populations to prevent dissatisfaction and fear
• Human cultists integrating into population to refrain from attempting conversions
• Cultist Devons to present eulogies for fallen soldiers and present Necravanis to the population gently
• Rumors to be spread of protective boarder postings and introduction of official governing system connecting to Zeverael which members of the villages will be elected to give population a sense of security
• Requests for unpaid volunteer militia to protect the lands and assist in reconstruction

Diplomacy:

• Ambassadorial parties, human and aramac to be sent to all other lands to gauge resources and populace
• Ambassadorial parties to meet with rulers to discuss potential relations with the Hallion Lands, no decisions are to be made
• Ambassadorial parties may spread the truth of Necravanis if they so wish

Lady Limara Of The Central Forest

General
The land has been bordered, no intruders will enter through on their pleasing
Lady Limara has moved into Government over the land
The citizens have accepted the new Government and are working together to get the work done
No tax rise has been placed


Assets already in place:
Citizens working in the villages outside the forest
Full resources of woods, metals, money, etc. provided by the king
Small numbers of mounted militia dispatched to the villages along the boarders of the land, constant patrols around the border


Land

The Town (Inside the forest)
- Women and men are charting to maps of the land and of primary resources
- The wood is being tested to see how strong the trees are and how well they can be made
- Any remaining man have been sent to see what food resources are within the forest
- The Town is renamed Avalon.

Village I (North of the forest)
- The third village, the closest to the forest, is currently finishing their farming season; last of the villages to finish.
- Village I is to be renamed Losean.

Village II (West of the forest)
- The second village, second furthest from the forest, is currently testing out the land seeing what can be used and what cannot.
- Village II is to be renamed Scoorton.

Village III (East of the forest)
- The third village, furthest from the forest, is currently working on searching for a water resource.
- Village III is to be renamed Riverndale.


Economics

General Economics
- Lady Limara is making sure that everyone currently living in the forest area and just outside of it remains being paid.

Diplomacy and Trade
Letters

Lord Rascall of the Pokan Lands,
I was pleased to say your messenger arrived safe and sound to our Central forest today, with an offer of trade. Currently our wood is not being used for lumber, but if you wish to make use of it we will in fact be willing to give you some of our trees. If the wood turns out to be good, or if it turns out to be bad, please tell us and we will make sure no one else has to go through our lumber. And if you no longer wish to trade for wood, we currently are having a wonderful year for farming, do with this information as you will.

I send hope over to you and your people in having a good year, Blessed be.

Regards,
Lady Limara

~ Lady Limara is still testing the land to see what it can bring
~ Trade will not be open until the land has finished being tested

Law

- No new law has been made yet, Lady Limara Is letting everyone settle into their new forest home.

Two weeks later: Planting season has begun.

Noble: Faile Aybara
Land: Her letter to her people was both passionate and showed her strength, and some of the plains tribesman did indeed return around 50 if you had to take a guess at their number but many more remained where they were. They had from 5 to 20 years time spent living in another land and had come to call that new land home, so many were not willing to leave.

Scouting mission: The scouts returned with stories of a strange cave, but none truly had the courage to enter. The reported that your lands come up to the bank of a very small river. The larger body of water it connects to sadly is on another nobles land, but the small river leads to a medium sized lake in the middle of your lands and what’s even better is it has a very small tree grove that could be used for wood or allowed to spread into a larger forest… but that would take years. There may or may not be ore veins in the cave, but none entered to find out. The only small quarry they could find belonged to another noble barely a hundred feet out of your lands.

Keep search: After your soldiers tore the keep to shreds looking for this invisible armory… they found nothing and only served to add further property damage in the form of broken floor boards. The only solace you can take from this is they found a small number of discarded Imperial weaponry. Although small in number the weapons are of better quality than almost anything you could find in Lustria… now if good Lustrian troops would use Imperial steel is of another matter…

Keep damage and estimated cost: The courtyard is in decent condition, but the walls are shattered and of little use. An enemy army could walk right in if they wished. The amount of gold it will take cannot be estimated until you have contracts in both wood and stone for us to use. The amount of stone needed is around four tons of good stone, any stone would do but if you wanted an invincible wall we would need good solid Granite… but that would be asking too much for now. The gate has been shattered and will need some wood to fix up; perhaps if the lady manages to get her hands on some iron we could reinforce it even further?

Menetherin Village: The town center is still standing, but is in need of repair. A few houses still stand, 6, to be exact and many people are trying to squash into them making living conditions rather poor. There are 4 fields that arnt great… but could be serviceable. They are all small fields as they had to be crammed within the walls.
Population: 429 (not including sheep)

Aemons Field: There are eight small houses standing, which is better than nothing. Many of the other buildings such as an old inn, and what looks to be a smithy of some type have both been crushed. On a much happier note 5 fields have been found. 2 small farms that could support maybe 50 people if rationed out and 3 very large farms that each could support 150 people if properly farmed and rationed out. Many live in isolated farm huts, and not in the village.
Population: 323 (not including sheep)

Bearlon: There are only 5 small houses left standing, but one of them is a smithy in working condition! It could be used to break down iron and other metals so that they could be reused later. There are only 2 farms that are serviceable one large and one small. Many of the population live on isolated farms and not in the village.
Population: 212

Economics: Your economy has sunk slightly due to paying for their tools and payment to your soldiers but nothing to be concerned over. Your policy of using old buildings to be torn down to repair the slightly better condition buildings has went over surprisingly well for the people and your coffers. Much of the construction is underway, save for the castle, but many of the villages are now looking slightly better. Farming has been started in what fields they can use, and due to all the fires and ash the land is surprisingly fertile. You find that the last lord did not charge tax in the form of coinage, instead the last lord took 15% of their harvest that he could resale at his Leisure.

Military: Your military strength is at the same level as was before… but after finding that small stash of weapons things could change.

Political Standing: You are still one of the Heros of Lustria, so as long as you don’t mess up you will be seen in high standards, but mess up once and they will take pleasure in tearing you down.

Public opinion: Your people love you… if possible they may love you even more. Not only are you a hero, but you are willing to labor with them, and they know unlike some nobles you mean it when you say you are one of them.

Special Event: I wonder what is in the cave… and what will you do with that Imperial weaponry?

Inbox: You have two offers from small time nobles in the northern lands offering stone. One offers you a lot of stone for a small price, consider it bundle packaging. The stone they offer is of lower quality. Another offered you small amounts of stone for small amounts of money, but the stone they offer is of higher quality.
There is no reply from the southern nobles.


Noble: Rascall

Land:
Overall Population (estimated): 1400
Scouts: Your scouts managed to inform your people of their new lord, although few truly took notice too busy trying to save their livelihoods…
Road construction: The process is gong extraordinarily slow as road construction even dirt roads requires a lot of labor, and a lot of time. Your people are trying to do too much at one time and are so divided half the time the people don’t know what in the blazin hells they are doing.
Fertilization: The farmers were unsure of what exactly you meant; they are a simple folk with 99% not even able to read, so they simply threw the cow… excrement onto the fields for better or ill.

GalinsBurg
Population: 342

Repairs: They tried to start repairing the castle, but didn’t have anything to rebuild it with… what small repairs they did make using what supplies they could scavenge, but for the most part your castle remains the same.

Roads: Again roads are time consuming projects, and there is simply are not enough workers to go around to all the projects you are trying to start at once. Little progress is made. Your ex-soldiers are angry to say the least. They fought for you and now they get nothing? What do they care about little tax? They want coinage! Some of your ex-soldiers have abandoned you for either a job as mercenaries or to becoming roving bandits.

Pokan Plains: Your people are trying to work again… but they don’t really have any resources to speak of let alone majority of nothing, so as inventive as they are, they started tearing down what buildings weren’t in use to repair your farms. The work is underway but is far from finished.
Population: 431

Barkan River: This work is extraordinarily time consuming and would require a large work force. The people assigned to this task, simply stared at it shook their heads and went home. They weren’t going to do all that work just to get a tax lift.

Villages: They did what the people in the Pokan Plains did… try to tear down all buildings to repair ones needed. The tools offered for free did boost what tiny moral they did have, but it wasn’t much. It only served to remind them of how much they lost since the farm tools held little use. Again they looked at the stream, shook their heads and went home.
Population: In the four villages there is a total of 627 people

Small forest:
These forest knights as you call them, planted seeds and than went back to the village to help rebuild the village. They weren’t going to dig up a giant stream just to get a tax lift, they out right refused.

Karboff Swamp: The people don’t having anything to construct an outpost with, and they arnt going to use what precious little wood they have to build some outpost when they could repair their homes. Construction is not started.

Economics: Your economy has turned stale to say the least. You tried to spread your people out and too many different jobs which only served to frustrate them and little work got done. You offered them no payment, so you did not lose money, but at the cost of nothing getting done.

Military: your military power has shrunk to minor, as you have disbanded what soldiers you had an now rely on this angry militamen

Public opinion: They.. Dislike you intensely. One day they didn’t know you existed, and know here you are ordering them around like dogs. To work on their homes and farms for nothing is alright, they can live with that as it is their homes, but to order them to build an outpost? Roads? And cannels with no pay, not enough men, or the right tools have angered them greatly. Your people are greatly frustrated.
Political Standing: You are still unknown.
Events: Nothing

Inbox:
His royal majesty King Alric, regrets to inform you that he will not accept one single noble as anything because that would be unfair to the others. He will buy your items if it is cheaper than the other nobles. His lord wishes you the best of luck in your endeavors.


Noble: Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi

Land:

Scouts: The scouts managed to get to most population centers and even isolated farms and spread the word, it increased their moral to know that at least this strange man will be giving them back their homes… if he doesn’t fast enough to their liking though, it could get ugly.
The thought of having more money makes them happy, and agree to give him time, but the people are fickle and time to them is different.

Security: The people are… angry at the prospect of being forced into some militia where they wont be getting paid for their hard work even if they won’t have to until their homes have been rebuilt. Be careful Lord, nobody wants to risk their lives for nothing, volunteer work is one thing, but mandatory is an entire different matter. If you want to get more soldiers from this lot you have to offer more than just tax exemption, they are peasants who can barely read, they don’t much care about tax. They prefer tangible coinage.

New law: This law was largely uncared about as few people of the south had swords and such, wood was plentiful so most weapons were indeed wooden such as bows used for hunting, and axes for work. The lords men manage to gather a meager 20 swords in all of his lands. Blades aren’t popular in these lands.
Most people know how to work wood in the southlands, and many are more than happy to help rebuild their homes. Work begins in good order as the supplies to do so are plentiful.

Hefter Town: The workers split in half. One half concentrated on cutting trees (although the best wood went to rebuilding their homes) and they sent the other half to the capital. The lord can do with that what he wishes. The used their share to start rebuilding their homes, happy at the prospect of the lord paying for the tools necessary. Some of the younger lads are happy at the prospect of fighting for their homes, but many of the older men are… unhappy at being ordered to fight for nothing.

Hamburg: The people were already working on their farms when the lords orders came in, but who were they to say no to new tools? They graciously accepted the tools and returned to their work with renewed vigor. Some of the younger lads feel ignored that they couldn’t fight.

Struer: The people don’t really know how to work mathematics, let alone percentages, so they just split into two halves. One half went to work in the forest, and the others went to work on their farms. The farms repairs were going rather well as the people had the tools and the resources necessary. They arnt happy at being forced to fight however.

Economy: Your economy is flourishing due to the demand for wood. Your people are in decent spirits, and your lands are under good start with the repairs. Things are looking up.

Public opinion: The joy of seeing of their homes being rebuilt, and the free tools slightly outdo the anger at having to serve in some militia with no pay, and having a lord with a weird name and strange skin color, so for the moment the moral is stable.

Political standing: You are still somewhat unknown.
Events: Wood is still in high demand.

Inbox:

His majesty has agreed that if he deems that your lands have fallen into debt that you will be exempt for taxes until you can recover, but only if he deems it. When you are out of debt, your taxes will be increased to make up for lost money. His majesty wishes you the best of luck in your endeavor.

Nobles: Numerous nobles from north, central, and east have all accepted your terms as they desperately need wood, although fewer from the east than the rest need it.

Two weeks later: Planting Season

Noble: Conall Kearney

Land:
Kearnden (Egotistical much? XD)
Population: 583
Inventory: Food enough to last a couple of months if rations correctly.
Wood collection is going… well its going. The trees of the norse are decent for building, but make horrible bows due to their rigidness. Construction on the palisade is going slow, as many people don’t see the need for it, and are not motivated by anything. You arnt giving them anything so they arnt going to work hard for nothing. Many of the hunters still give the majority of the good to their families, anything extra they drop off (the small scraps) because as far as they are concerned their familes come first.

Tival:
Collection is going well although its more because of the people understanding they need such things than for you. What they are gathering they are putting into their own town, and if they are forced to share with other towns… there will be friction and trying to force them to give all of it could turn nasty fast.

Whiteburn:
The norse here have long since been masters at farming as much as possible with as little as possible, and this is no different. The planting season is already underway and they are making good headway, although again if someone tried to force them to share there could be blood… This is their livelihood, and the only way they make money.

Climord:
The norse peasants have no trouble cutting wood and hunting but if the lord wishes to take this from them he better be willing to trade or pay, as they aren’t just going to donate their hard work for the betterment of mankind. The Norse have long learned that in the harsh winter lands you must look after your family first.
The mine is underway, and although your men love you, working a mine can try anyone’s loyalty. There are a few complaints of course, but they are at least happy their lord comes down… once in a long while.

Economic: your economy is around the same. The mine has reopened and ore is starting to flow out, which in itself is like gold, but instead of trading it you are keeping it, so you are not earning any money. Your people are doing well with the gathering, although many are expecting some kind of reimbursement if you wish to distribute their goods as the norse have always been a fiercely independent people.

Military: You power has shrank due to the soldiers serving in the mines. It’s hard to keep your skill up when you’re working in a mine, although they are getting their exercise…

Public opinion: The people are happy they don’t have to work in the mines, and they are happy to be working and back into their usual habits. This contentment can turn into a bloody affair if you try to take their hard-earned items away from them without… compensating them. The Norse are not known for their sharing abilities.

Political Standing: Still you are unknown.
Events: None


Noble: Namira Rosewood

Land:

Port Langston: The town of Port Langston hasn’t truly changed over the course of the war, except of course for the massive amounts of Refugees. Money is still being made in the East and that is all the matters. Money from fishermen to small time sailors. To which Namira being the noble gets a small percentage from in taxes.

Travensburg: The people have grown restless due to the large amount of Refugees and numerous fights have begun from the citizens of Travensburg, and the freeloading damn Refugees, but these fights are usually short lived as the local militia breaks them up. Farming has begun on the outside, but farmers have to be watchful for the refugees who may try to steal their crops to feed their own freeloading families.

Dregensburg: A village of violence, where a man has to be careful or a less reputable sailor will skewer him, but life could be worse. At least the refugees here are abused enough to leave their betters alone so they can get to the business of making money and farming!

Economics: You are getting money! You have spent nothing, but are reaping rewards because unlike the other lands yours have not been pillaged! Watch out for rivals, and be careful of those refugees.. they are a sneaky bunch.

Military: You still don’t have much of a military, but you don’t truly need one at the moment… or do you?
Public opinion: People don’t really have an opinion on you. You are very well known by everyone, and those who do know you know you more as Captain, than lady.
Political standing: Unknown still…
Events: Watch those Refugees…

Two Weeks Later: Planting Season

Noble: Tika

Land: Many village buildings are being torn down, for the betterment of the whole no doubt but many people do not see it as that. Eventhough their old homes were burnt and destroyed it was still their home and now these damn pets and ex-slaves are tearing down their homes to rebuild homes for their own kind! When reconstruction starts both races tend to keep to their own kind, never truly speaking to eachother as honestly, they arnt big fans of eachother. The human man sometimes can be caught leering at the Saborian women, but they darnt make a move for the Saborian men are watchful… and so are the human men’s wives.

Military: The training has started and young boys of both races get together to train… although they still keep to their own kind and a few innocent spares have turned into… more serious matters. T

Other: The contacts are always happy to receive new customers, but they wont give both weapons and armor for free, so instead they make a counter offer. They will offer a small shipment of either basic weapons or some basic leather armor, she can choose which ever. A gesture of good faith on their part.
They have no problem supplying lower quality wood for a cheaper price, but take care that the other nobles down find out!

Public opinion: Opinion on you is spilt still. The humans hate you, and the Saborians love you.
Political standing: Many of the other nobles are curious about you, but you aren’t anything influential just a target for slander, curiosity, and the subject of many a young noble boys wandering fantasies.

Events: Choose a gift from the contacts: Small shipment of Basic armor, or small shipment of Basic weapons.


Noble: Zeverael

Land:
Assets: The king gave you nothing but gold. All the other recourses such as woods, stone, and food he kept in order to rebuild his own assets.
Population around and in Fort Acruz: 241
Cultist Population: 50
Resources:
Estimates of what you have: You have little tools as they have been taken by the Empire in its plunder. You have 60 heads of cattle, little to no wood supply, and enough food to last a couple months if rationed.
Rebuilding: It is impossible to put exactly a number of recourse it will take to reconstruct everything, as the damage is too great. It is best to work one step at a time.
Village populations: 638.
Notable Professionals: A blacksmith without a smithy, a tanner, a mill man, and that is it. Most people are farmers.
Distributed what little recourses you have to the villages and fort, and what repairs can be made are being made, but there are very little tools available as they have been taken. If you wish to hand them out, you must purchase some.
You have 8 fields in total that can be used, with a potential for over a 20, assuming you can get them all in working order.

Land overview: Repairs that can be made are underway, the road work is very slow and has gotten almost no where as working on roads is hard, time consuming work, and you don’t have the sufficient amount of workers on the task to make any difference. What farms that can be farmed are being farmed with what little tools they have left. The people feel no security as your cultist militias scare them almost as much as the Empire soldiers did, because at least with the Empire soldiers you know what they wanted.

Economy: Very stale. You have not really spent any more, nor have you given any away.

Military: weak military based solely upon cultist militia and the very, very few peasants who signed up to be volunteer militia.

Public opinion: You and your cultist creep the peasants out honestly. They don’t speak to the peasants much, and when they do it’s about some strange god. Their new lord and these cultists keep to themselves in a equally creepy looking fort and only come out to work and then they return… it’s rather scary. They are happy about having their homes, very slowly rebuilt but they are creeped out nonetheless.

Political stand: you still arose curiosity, but its slowly fading as you are on the western border which is… pretty much out of sight and out of mind.
Events: Be careful, scared peasants if felt like they are backed into a corner may bite.


Noble: Lady Limara

Assets: The king has only given you gold. If you wish for wood, metal, stone, etc you will have to trade or buy it.

Land:

Avalon: The people managed to find a few streams that trickle through the forest, along with two ominous caves. Nothing else is inside the forest, besides the occasional animals and well trees. The people of Avalon manage to map the location of the streams and caves, but little else is done.

Lorsean: The last to finish their planting season, so for now they simply watch over their farms, nothing else is done.

Scoorton: The people of Scooton don’t find much in their land as the most predominate feature is the forest. They manage to find small streams, but for the most part all the see is plains… and more plains.

Riverndale: Ironically enough the people of Riverndale manage to find a small river! It gently curves around their land acting as a border to her land as well as the neighboring Nobles.

Economics: Your economics have not increased or decreased as nothing much was done this turn, but its better they don’t change than go south right?

Military: An average military consisting of mostly militias, but it could always be worse.
Public opinion: The people are in decent spirits, as their land is an oasis compared to other lands. Planting season has started and the people have high hopes for the days to come.

Political standing: People are still curious, but they are slowly losing interesting in the elf girl who took a forest.
Events: Two strange caves… I wonder what could be in them.

Conall's Home
Slumped over on the table, Conall Kearney did not look like much a noble. He didn't feel particularly like one either. He was working himself like a dog for a people that would rather not have a leader, and even his loyal men were beginning to grumble a little from their work in the mines. He had to come up with something. Something new, something that would inspire the people to work together. This was not the North he remembered leaving.

"Are you going to lie down Conall, or are you going to come help me?" A feminine and sharp but caring voice cut into his thoughts from the doorway, and Conall raised his head, confused for a moment. He blinked, looked at the doorway, and saw someone he'd never expected to see again.

Standing at the entrance to his house was Elesia Kearney. His mother. Bolting up from the table and running up to her, he embraced her and squeezed tight. She held him back, the affection clear on her face, and reached up to pat his head. A solitary tear ran down her wizened old cheek, and she smiled tenderly up at him.

"Oh, Conall... I always hoped you'd return safe. I never dreamed you'd return like this... my boy, recognized by King Alric himself. My boy, a noble." She sniffled, and gently stroked his cheek, still amazed he was here in front of her in the flesh. "I'm so proud of you."

Slowly, Conall released his mother from the crushing embrace, and smiled sheepishly at her. He was taller, and stronger, but he still felt like a child around her. Mothers had a way of doing that, he figured. Some sort of strange but wonderful magic.

"I've missed you so much, mother."

That single statement, as inadequate as he thought it was, described exactly the relationship between Conall and Elesia Kearney. They were mother and son, and no matter how many years or decades had passed since they last spoke, they would always be mother and son. And they would always be there for one another, and love one another.
Conall helped bring his mother's things in, hiding from her the bright smile that had completely taken over his face.

Hibernation
Things were settling in. And Conall had it mostly figured out. He had called together the closest things each town had to a mayor to meet with him in Kearnden, and now paced about in his home, awaiting their arrival impatiently. He was wearing his finest leathers, and a bear pelt around his neck. It was planting season, but that didn't mean much for warmth this far North. As he paced, his thoughts raced.
No village wanted to give up their goods, and to be frank, even Kearnden was being stingier than he'd have liked. So he'd had to find a way to convince them. It boiled down to a simple argument, really. He looked at the three wooden mugs he had upside down on his table, and a mischievous smirk crossed his face. He was only able to consider them for a moment before a loud knocking shook his door, and he went to answer it.

Before he could open it, the door was thrown open and a blast of frigid air blew into the room, along with the first of the representatives.

Thane Cormic, out of Tival, strode in as if he owned the place, and shrugged his massive shoulders. "KEARNEY, LAD!" Stepping over, though it really only took him two considering his massive height, the Thane slapped a warm hand on Conall's shoulder in greeting. The Thane had been a friend of his mother's, and the Kearneys had been frequent visitors to his household. "Ah me, boy. You've grown! Barely even a lad anymore," he said with a loud chuckle. "Got anything to eat and drink? 'was a bloody long walk, though I'm sure you know that." He nodded a little, and without really waiting for Conall to answer, strode in and began to rummage through the pantry, hunting for meat and ale.

Conall was stunned, to say the least. The man acted as if no time at all had passed. Hell, Cormic didn't even look altogether that different. But he didn't have time to be stunned, because the two other representatives entered in Cormic's wake. Thanes Eamon and Bruce of Whiteburn and Climord respectively, neither quite as massive as Cormic, entered the Kearney abode one after the other. Where Cormic was a giant straight out of legend, broad-shouldered, bearlike, with long golden hair, Eamon was the complete opposite. The man didn't look entirely as if he belonged in the North, as he was smaller and more boyish even than Conall, and his black hair and brown eyes betrayed the fact that his blood wasn't entirely Northerner. But the steely glint in his eyes and the way he had fought to defend his lands in the past said that his blood didn't matter. Bruce was shorter than both other Thanes, and stocky. Covered in scars and possessing of a voice that sounded like steel clearing a sheath, he was also the oldest and most respected of the Thanes. His hair had long since faded to gray, but his spirit was as tough and gritty as any Northman's.

Eamon stopped, and offered his hand to Conall. Taking it, Conall offered him a small smile, which the black-haired Thane returned gratefully. "Good to finally meet our new Noble."

Conall shook his hand firmly, and eyed Bruce for a second as the older man shouldered past with a grunt.

"Don't mind him Kearney. Bruce doesn't place much stock in talking. I'm amazed, frankly, that he even came out here. Something about you must've impressed him."

Letting go of Conall's hand, Eamon stepped past and made for the table, where by now Cormic had found some meat and ale and was sharing it with Bruce in silence but for the sounds of the meal. Eamon seated himself and joined in, and Conall eyed the three Thanes for a moment, then nodded firmly and joined them, seating himself at the head of his smallish table.

As they ate, he cleared his throat, and then in true North fashion, slammed his leather-covered fist into the table.

"Boys, I expect to keep eating when their leaders are at the table. I expect them not to know the rules. I wasn't aware I was sharing the table with boys," he said with a wry smile on his face. "Now pass me one of those damn legs and some ale and let me join the lot of you."

Thunderous laughter echoed throughout the room, mostly from Cormic, who didn't seem to care that he had food in his mouth when he laughed. He slid him over a mug of ale and a leg of meat, and then, as quickly as his laughter had begun, it ended. "Now, Kearney... I love your hospitality as much as any, lad. But you didn't call us here to eat. Let's not waste anyone's time."

Eamon echoed this sentiment with a nod while Bruce just kept on eating, either ignorant or simply uncaring. So Conall began.

"You see those mugs there on the table? The upside down ones in the center? I want you to take one each. And take what's under it, too."

Cormic grabbed the middle mug, and slid out a piece of leather from under it. He looked at it strangely as Bruce paused his eating for a moment to take the right mug, closest to him, and eye the wheat husk underneath. Eamon took the remaining mug, and looked at the small stick under it. Cormic started to speak, but before he could utter a word, Conall went on.

"Cormic, Bruce, Eamon... Thanes, you doubtless wonder what the hell I'm playing at. Consider this. Cormic, you hold the leather. Think about it as more than just a piece of leather. You and yours can be clothed, and protected. And warm, to some extent. But that's all you have. Eamon, you have the wood. You can build yourself a fine home, and burn the wood to keep yourself warm. But you'll be hungry, I guarantee you. Bruce... you know where I'm going with this. You have the food. But you're cold, and naked. What good do any of those things do any of you, by themselves? I'm right to say none, unless Cormic's learned to eat leather." Eamon snorted in amusement at that, and Cormic gave him a light slap on the back of his head. "Now, what do I have? I have stone. I have iron. And I have soldiers. None of you need," and Conall stressed that word as much as he could, "what I have. But can you honestly say you don't want it? Who wouldn't rather have a home of stone than a home of wood? Who wouldn't rather spend their time hunting, drinking, and eating than waiting about for bandits? Who among you really wants to talk to all of the other Nobles and Thanes?"
He paused for a moment to look each of the three Thanes square in the eyes.

"We need one another. Sure, ourselves we can survive. But do you want your little lads and lasses to survive, or do you want them to live well? I don't have any wee boys or girls running about, but when I do, I wouldn't want them growing up in a hovel. I'd rather them live in a house of stone, with good food nearby and a hot fire to keep them warm. What I tell you all, Thanes, is that in order to do better, and be better than those silly bastards down South, we need to work together. Cormic, you may have plenty of food and pelts come winter, but will you have wood to burn? Not enough, I should think. And Bruce. You're a smart man, you know that with what you have you can do well, but would you feel safer with more food? And walls of stone? Eamon, you may have farms, but with the amount of effort you and your kin have to put into the farming, I don't doubt you barely have any wood at all. Sure, you'll be well fed, but a full stomach doesn't keep you safe from a winter chill. If we barter with one another, we'll be much better off. And surely you all see the logic in having a good strong militia to keep us safe, and in strong walls to turn away the cold and bandits. If you give some of what you have to me - not all of it, but some - I can feed my men, and ensure they have a place to go at night. But if I keep my men in the mines, they won't be able to protect anything. Trade with each other, give a little to me, and send some men to work in the mines. I do not ask these men to work there constantly, but you have seen that my men and I worked for your benefit. Are you not men enough to be generous in return? Will you take our gifts and run? What say you?"



(( Disciple, if I've convinced them, what I'm trying to establish is an equal barter system wherein they tribute a little of what they make to me so I can solidify my position in Kearnden. In addition, I want them to send men to work in the mines, with the understanding that the work they do there will directly benefit each of their villages. I will also tribute each of them a third of the stone and iron we've stockpiled since we started mining, retaining only the original stores that Kearnden was responsible for gathering before I arrived. ))



Land

Kearnden
- Conall doesn't need the palisade done immediately, though he promises a bonus to the workers if it is completed before three weeks have passed. This may even serve to attract extra workers, who knows?
- Not highly concerned about having wood for hunting bows at the moment, so construction wood is fine. Conall promises that anyone participating in the palisade construction (not as a bonus, so no matter when it's finished) will receive enough wood to keep themselves warm throughout the winter.
- So long as there isn't a food crisis, Conall is fine with hunters gathering for their families and taking extras to the storehouses. He does remind them that everyone must do their part however, and that they can't expect the woodcutters to bring them wood to stay warm and mend damages if they aren't brought some food.

Tival, Whiteburn, and Climord are all dependent on how my Thanes react to the deal Conall offered them. If the Thanes accept the deal, then trade routes will be opened between each village, and Kearnden as well. These trade routes will be protected by the soldiers, liberated from their work in the mines. If the Thanes do not accept the deal, Conall will give them a week to change their minds, and then will come up with an alternate solution.

The Mine
Will continue to be worked by Conall's soldiers, who will be offered warm houses to sleep in and good food to eat for their continued extra work above and beyond the call of duty. In addition to the pay they're already given.
As such, workers from Kearnden will be requested to build a few lodging halls outside of the mine, and can expect to be paid well for the work. If they complete the lodging halls and the palisade inside of a month, Conall promises everyone a festival.

Economy

Trade will not commence until Conall knows whether or not Lady Rosewood will be supplying her ship for trade. Expect this portion to change after Rosewood's visit to Kearnden.

Military
Conall takes 20 of the soldiers out of the mines to have at least a small amount of men patrolling his lands. While the 20 patrol, the remaining 80 continue work in the mines.

Law

Again, no new laws. This portion may change if the Thanes accept Conall's request.

Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi – Turn 2

Military:

Concerned with the moral of the militia, Mukmar calls for a meeting of the soldiers. The men stand face to face with their Lord, probably for the first time. He wears rather expensive clothes though there is no jewelry, only expensive looking clothes and knee high booths to keep his pants from being dirtied by the mud on the ground. Between Mukmar and the militia there is a table with a dozen small bags, all filled with coins.
Around Mukmar there stands ten well-dressed and armed soldiers. They all wear the dark yellow tabard of Mukmar’s banner with a twin eagle at the chest. They all wear chainmail armor and have breastplates; they have shields, sword or axes as well as spears to protect their lord with. They all wear a chainmail hood to protect their head. It is a mixture of age, some are older soldiers while others seemed to be newly recruited. All of them are from Lustria.

The militia is another rag-tag army, without tabards, mainly armed with spears and axes and appears to be more of a desperate recruitment, or soldiers to be sent to the slaughter. They barely have any armor, save their clothes.

“Gentlemen. I understand that you are not happy with the payment that I have offered you, and I think it is necessary that I share an evil secret with you.
You have all seen the destruction of your lands. You have all felt the hunger that is ravaging the lands and your families. So, before you, you can see a dozen bags, each one has a certain amount of money. These bags will represent the money that I have been given from the king.

Now, I gave free tools for the farmers and those who will cut down the woods, so that is a few bags of coins,” Mukmar then moved two coins over to the left side of the table.
“Then there is the reparation of Bechafen and all your homes. That isn’t cheap, that’s a few more bags,” four bags are moved to the left.

“I hope you can all see that already now, half of the coins are gone.” Mukmar looked at the militia before he continued his demonstration.
“Now, I want to build roads between your villages and Bechafen, that costs roughly three bags,” he moves these bags to the middle, “These are things that I want to do, but I haven’t done them yet, okay?”

“Also, we need to improve the water for the farmers, so we can have more food, for that we need an irrigation system,” another three bags were moved to the middle, leaving no bags at the right side of the table.
“Now, I care what you think, and I want to make sure that everything that happens is for the best for you AND your families. So, tell me, should I give up roads, should I continue to make it hard to transport your food and wood to my capital and therefore slow down the amount of money that we, as a region, can make through quick trading with the other nobles. Or do you want me to take away the water for the farms and therefore slow down the amount of food that can be made by the farmers?”

Mukmar allowed a moment for his message to sink in before he made his conclusion, “You tell me. Money or food. One thing has to be given up so you can be paid, but as a militia, not soldiers. I need a militia to keep these…Monsters away. I thought that a reduction in taxes would be enough, obviously I was wrong.”
“Wasn’t the only thing, milord,” James, Mukmar’s captain and commander of his bodyguards commented and Mukmar nodded.
“Yes, I would have expected a bit more patriotism from you, but you cannot judge a book on its cover. So…Here is my absolutely final offer.
You tell me what I should do. The older militia wants money instead of being loyal, fair enough, while I hear the younger is more eager to show their loyalty, which pleases me, but from now on it will a job that will pay.
Back to my question, do we give up the roads or the irrigation. Money or food. Your decision.” Mukmar stated.
“Fear not in five weeks’ time, you will be given a choice to leave the militia and return to your daily life. Those who stays will be promoted to true soldiers, and given proper uniforms, weapons and everything that follows,” James explained.

Mukmar then stood and awaited the decision of the militia.

Diplomacy

North:
Mukmar nods to the letter that he receives from Lord Conall. “Well, not everyone sees this situation as I do,” he said and then moves the letter aside. While he reads the other letters that he ahs received from the various nobles.

East:
Letter to Capt. Namira Rosewood

Dearest Captain Namira Rosewood,
I am most grateful that you have seen this opportunity. I am aware that you may not be as in much of a dire need of the wood for reparations, but I am most certain that you know buyers across the sea.

I’d be more than glad to see the personal charge given to you. I trust that your ship, crew and yourself know of distant lands where this timber can be sold for satisfactory prices.

The first cargo will arrive along with this letter. I look forward for future businesses with you.

Sincerest regards from the South,
~Lord Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi.

Along with the letter, 35% of the first load of timber (from Hefter Town) is to be send along with this letter to Namira.

West:

Dearest Lady Faile Abara,

Please accept my sincerest apology for the delay of this letter. Much has changed since we have last met and the economy and trade in the South is good...However good trade means that I am going to be a very busy man. It also worries me to that once all the reparations throughout the land has been done, then the price for wood will fall...Much to my instinct as a merchant.

Now, I should have guessed that more basic infrastructure would have been needed by the West. I am, however, "Secretly" glad that this rider of your haven't arrived yet as I have already been stripped for the majority of my timber. These lords are much like rats. The first sight, or opportunity, for a cheap deal, they will jump on it and run off with everything they can carry.
Though, I ought not to complain at this, but it does hurt my heart to read that I can give much needed aid for a close friend and one of the most promising commanders that the Kingdom has.

All formality aside, I am grateful that the King has placed you on the Western Borders. I feel very assured that no Imperial Army will try to break through any of our borders again.
I will, for old times sake, give you a special price, seeing that it will benefit not just you and I, but the Kingdom as a hole. I'll give you a nice scratch on your back.

With the best wishes from the South,
~Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi.

Altdorf:
A letter of gratitude is sent to the capital, thanking the king and agreeing to the conditions set by the king.

Other Nobles:
Letters are send to reply to the lords that has accepted the trade, thanking them. Also, the remaining timber from Hefter Town is distributed out, sold for coin.

Other Southern Nobles:
Sends a letter offering them to form a coalition for the prices of timber so it is profitable for everyone and there won’t be need to compete against eachother and each lord can focus more on the development of their lands than competing with ‘the lord next door’.

Domestic

The wood that is produced by the Bechafen people is to be solely used for the reparation of the capital city and the other towns.

Mukmar then declares that a total of 42% of the income made from these first trade deals are to divided amongst the three villages (effectively 12% to each town), so the peasants can receive their share of the trade while 10% will go to the people of Bechafen, leaving the last 48% of the income to Mukmar.
Mukmar also sends the message to each village that the more they can produce, the more money they will receive, and for those who produces exceptionally more will be given more than the normal.

Mukmar holds back the money that is earned before he orders anything new built, ordering a counting of the profit earned.

Lord Rascall I

Lord Rascall was infuriated at the insolence of his men.
They were not ordered to build deep and paved roads, but only earthern ways, using the shovels that were given to them.
Imediate action was taken, as to get the idiocy stopped.
To think, that a bunch of farmers and peasents couldn't even dig out a small trickle of water, or clear a small road, was outright embarrasing.
Not only for Rascall, but for the entire region.

As the people does not seem to be on their feet yet, the counsil of elected townsmen is disbanded.
The lord does not have any use for them at this moment.

Rascall want to inspect his lands, so he, with a pack of his remaining ... 'soldiers' will travel the land thin, to make sure that people see and hear him.
He will speak at the villages in the countryside to gain their hearts and support:

Greetings my fellow Heathlanders!
I come here. To apology for my brutal start. I understand that I asked too much, and I will make up for it.
Please help me, for one man cannot raise an entire country!
We will do this together! The heathland peasents have allways been known for surviving!
Even when these lands where only. Yes. Heathland. We lived here, and for generations it has been so!
As we have lived here together, we shall rise together! That I will make sure of!

Brothers and countrymen! As soon as our lands are no longer in distress. Then I will come, and share the bonfires and good company of yours.
I may seem like a noble now. But you all know that I am not. I am here, as the lord, because of your bravery.
Because you paid your blood, sweat and tears for these lands. AND YOU SHALL NOT BE IN VAIN!
We all believe in Aloyase, the god of prosperity!
And he will surely bless us for holding his belief high in these troubled times!

Brothers! I promise that I will hear the voice of everyone and all of you!
You are the only family I have left! I will not loose you in a strife, that can be evaded!
My folk! I will not let you down again! But please help me, for without you, I am nothing!

Rascall looked up at the crowd most of them stood there looking at him.
Some of them was touched, others looked at him, as if they were thinking something over.
"Thank you." Rascall muttered, nodding a farewell to the crowd.
He then turned, to look at the men who'd accompanied him around the land so far.

Someone in the crowd applauded... slowly the whole crowd began to applaud.
It felt so unreal, that a single applaud could start as a trickle, and become a thundering ocean.
Rascall was happy that at least these folk had heard him.
He saddled up on his horse, and motioned for himself and his men to begin moving out.

As the small group of armed men, and Rascall came to the villages border, Rascall looked back a single time, seeing that the entire village had in fact followed him to the border of town.
He turned in his saddle, and threw his hand up in farewell.
The villagers in return waved farewell, some of them was in fact yelling their farewells at him.
Maybe they'd forgive his aggresive start out.

As the group of armed men rode out of town, the militimen began chatting.
It'd been a long time since they'd had peace, and they were still trying to get used to it.
Rascall looked at them. Many had served well in the battles for GrallinsBurg.
"Fellas! Let's go back to the vilage and hold a rest! We can march tommorow!
I think that today we should show that we're still a part of the big family!"

The men imediatly greeted the idea with hooting and yelling.
They liked the idea of some rest, after marching to reach the village.
The whole group turned around, and started back towards the village.
The mood was high, the men was looking forward to the bonfires, as custom was in these lands.
The bonfires showed Aloyase, the god of prosperity, that they were still believing, and it was their way of worshipping.

As they came closer to the village, they could see the smoke from the bonfire.
And as they entered the village, shouts of alarm came from them, until they realised that it was the lord who came back.
Rascall rode a little in advance of his men, to greet the townsfolk.
"I feel like being with my family!" he yelled in greeting to them.
"Let's feast and be merry, Aloyase will make sure that we'll be provided for in the long run!"
He smiled at the villagers, who also seemed to look forward to see what kind of man this lord of theirs really was.
So far they'd only heard of the way he'd gathered up the heathlanders for battle against the empire.
The villagers lead the way to the bonfire, which was fueled by the unusable debris from the houses they tore down for resources to rebuild their houses.
Rascall looked at them, and he was in fact admirring them.
Having such high spirits, even though the times were dark, and catastrophies might lie behind every corner.
As custom was, when villages was visited by large groups of guests, they took out a cow from their stock, and slaughtered it, so that all could have some food.
The men was allready blending in with the populace.
But Rascall felt a little lonely. It seemed that people were quite shy or maybe afraid of talking to him.

He seated himself at the bonfire, and looked at the people, some were whispering, maybe gossiping about him, others just sat staring into the fire.
It was actually quite lovely. Rascall had never really tried it, he'd been born and raised under the war, and he'd been there as the tides turned, and the battles turned from losses to victories. But never before had he felt this kind of peace, the peace of a small village.
Rascall sighed, if he could just turn down the seat as lord, and sit there every evening in the warmth of a bonfire.
Of course it couldn't be so, allways there'd be work to do, allways something more to work with.
But dreams could surely be his.

"Thirsty my liege?" came a soft voice from behind him.
He turned, to see a beautiful girl standing there. She had long blonde hair, it curled slightly, but only just. She was indeed a treasure for the eye to behold.
Rascall was about to reply, but his throat had turned all dry. What a shame, for the girl seemed like she was the only one who was interested in talking to him.
She smiled wryly at him. " I think that you'll need to drink more, if you're to be less of a mute." she joked, letting out a pearling laughter.
Rascall accepted the cup she was holding out for him, and he drank its content.
It was Seeka. A mixture of herbs were boiled, and the water then poured into cups, when the liquid was of the right temperature, it was served, a good drink if you were thirsty. Or if your throat was as dry as the sand of a streambed.
"Thanks." Rascall muttered, smiling at her. She seemed to be about the same age as him.

"How is it to be the lord of the Pokan Plains?" shea asked, sounding as if it was a casual question to be asked.
"I don't really know..." Rascall answered lamely. "I don't seem to be all that good at what I do." he said, summing up for the general feeling towards him.
"Don't sound like that. If you began to talk like that, it'd sound as if it didn't matter to you." she said, sitting down besides him.
"I guess that you're right... And it really does matter to me. I love this land." he said, looking at her eyes.
They shone a weak blue in the light of the bonfire.
"Good to know that, then it wasn't just a big royal lie you was speaking out to us." she said, looking at him, as if she was expecting some kind of minor extravagant and outrageous noble. She only saw a kindfaced young man. She smiled at him, showing her white pearly teeth.
"I'd never lie to my people. I'd rather live in the northern wastelands amongst the orcs, before I'd begin lying to you." he said, imediatly trying to correct it.
"Uhmm... I mean to all of you." he looked down in the ground, feeling embarrased. He'd never really been all that social.
Most of his life had been spent on surviving, not so much talking.

She took his hand in hers. His hands were warm, and gentle.
She squeezed it, and smiled at him.
"What's wrong your majesty? Lost the words?" she joked him, looking him into the eyes.
"W-what is your name? Fair maiden." he asked, joking her a little himself.
"I'm Ann of War." she said, blushing at her name. Surely it must've sounded quite weird to the nobleman.
"Why do you have such a name? Surely you are not a warrioress." he said, smiling, trying to reassure her, that she'd made no fool of herself.
"I don't have a family name, I was found and raised by a man known as Bork Braaman. But he died in the war, and I was left alone.
The name was give to me, because I have felt much hardship because of the war." She tried to smile, but she only managed to look sad.

"Do not worry Ann, you will not be left alone to your sorrow. Aloyase looks over us all, and surely your trouble are not in vain." he said, putting his arm around her, to comfort her. She looked at him, creeping in to embrase him.
Curious eyes from the villagers,told Rascall, that this might be the next big gossip in the region, but he actually didn't care.
They embraced eachother for a while, looking into the flares of the bonfire, as night drew close.
The townsfolk began to go to bed, and the soldiers had set up tents for the night.
Although the tents were of old canvas, they were well patched up, after then many nights used in them under the war.

Rascall and Ann sat there looking at the fire, for some time.
Then Ann gave Rascall a light kiss on the cheek. They both blushed, but still held tight their embrace, but eventually they let go.
"Come back, when you're done in the land." she whispered, as she disappeared into town. Leaving Rascall sitting at the bonfire.
The skin on his cheek where she'd kissed him were hot, and tingled slightly.
He sat there for a little while longer, touching where she'd kissed him.
Never had he felt this way before. He was in love for the first time.


As Rascall passes on on his journey around the countryside, he promises Ann, that he'd return, and take her back to GrallinsBurg.
And indeed he did so, as he was done travelling the land thin, he returned to Bork's Rest, and took her with him to GrallinsBurg.
They are now engaged, and will marry at the Summer Solstice.

General

The priesthood of Aloyase is ordered to keep count on birthrate and deathrate.
The churches are to be gathered under a high priest, with seat in GralinsBurg.
The church does in turn of providing birth registry, recieve a donation of materials or gold from the state.

The wood recieved from Lady Limara is imediatly distributed to Kolter Stadt.
It may not be much but it must suffice for now.

A count of livestock is to be initiated. We need to know what and how much we can sell.

All working progress is to be stopped on all ordered buildery.

The treasury is stale, but now there'll be another policy.
There is to be given state loans to those who want, at a profitable interest, for both the villagers and the government. About 2 percent interest ever second week.
The loans will be of a minimum of 1 silver, and a maximum of 10 silver. Just to make sure that it's manageable quantities for the peasentry, and to make sure that there even is a coinage so small that you can pay interests. 1 silver = 1 Copper in interest.
Also, there will be bought large amounts of tools, which will be distributed for free to the villages.
They are informed that the lord has noted their frustration, and will be helping as much as he can, although controlling a population of 1400 is a hard job.

Military

The soldiers who were taken into work, is to be reinstated as soldiers and others recruited, and have a salary of 8 silver. They are to train, to become a solid fighting force. But their orders are that they have to show results for their salary to be heightened.
They are to train, and make sure they stay in fighting condition. They are also ordered to go out in the land on patrol, once in a while at least.

They are to reside in the castle for now, as there is only few, so there's space enough at the moment. If the fighting force is to be bigger, there must be built installations for them.

Villages

The citizens of the villages are ordered to split over so that the half of them, work on rebuilding, and tearing down unused buildings. And the other half start tending the fields, which with the extra nutrition from the cows, may give a slightly increased gain. They are all peasents and farmers for the sake of god! Use what you've learned in your lives!!! Sheriffs are to be installed, look in the Law section.

Vilage Nr. 1 is to be put on the map, its name is chosen by the populace. Name: Kolter Stadt.

Vilage Nr. 2 is to be put on the map, its name is chosen by the populace. Name: Bork's Rest (After a local hero, who died in the war.)

Vilage Nr. 3 is to be put on the map, its name is chosen by the populace. Name: Kamten Stadt.


The Castle

All exceeding material, which is taken from the unusable buildings, is to be distributed to the main keep, although that won't be much.
At the castle, the workers trying to stabilize the situation, is ordered to go tear down some of the unusable and unused buildings in the town around the keep, and help rebuilding the town.


Law

A sheriff is to be elected in all villages, he will be paid as a soldier, and can choose 4 men to become watchmen with him. They will all be paid as soldiers, and should train, as inspections might be coming as soon as the government is up to date. The sheriff should also confiscate every eighth weapon in town, and get them transported to the keep in GrallinsBurg those who are not satisfied with the lowering of arms, can send a representative to GrallinsBurg to state the complaint for the lord.
Results in fighting crime, will be rewarded with a heightening in salary.

The sentence for banditry, murder or inappropriate use of weapons will be imediate execution.

Upon bringing any beast that is danger to the livestock, or a bandit, there will be paid a prize according to the fiercity...

Tenth Tax is instated. Meaning that for every ten coin they have, they have to give one for the noble. 10% taxing if you want to call it that.
The tax also counts for all import and export, though it'll be lowered to 5% to make sure it is still profitable to travel inside the Pokan borders.

Military service for four years on contract will be rewarded with a portion of land. This is to lure recruits into the army. Though it's not the best paid army in Lustria.


Diplomacy!

Letters:

Dear Lady Limara.

I am very glad, that you agree to sell your lumber to me, as my people does not have patience to wait long, for a shipment from the south.
The sample you've sent us is fine oak, and we would love to be able to import more of it!
As we are not very capable of paying in coin, we'd like to barter with hide and salted meat.
We would like to buy an estimated amount of 12 wagons of lumber (About 10 tonnes.), we are willing to pay 5 silver extra per tonne, if you deliver within one and a half week.
Surely we would be happy to see a flourishing diplomatic and trade relationships between our lands.

May Aloyase bless you.
Lord Rascall Von Pokan.

Reaction to cultist diplomats:

The peasents of the Pokan plains greets the travelling diplomats, but as soon as Aloyase is questioned, and a new diety displayed, they turn somewhat hostile and ask for them to leave. News spread quickly to the other villages, and conversion is so far impossible.
The lord is rather busy, but he surely got time for a representative of another noble.
A trading relationship is in the interest of the Pokan Plains.
But the new diety is to be held outside of the matters, or else the situation may become grim.

Capt. Namira Rosewood-Turn 2

Kearnden- Arrival

The first thing Namira felt when entering the Lands of Lord Kearny was the damn cold. She didn't even think it was possible for anyplace to be this damn cold and yet here she was practically a human icicle shivering as she walked along the streets of Kearnden. "Balls it's FREEZING!" Namira shouted, causing several villagers to give her strange looks and whisper amongst themselves."Ne...next ti..time remind me...to ask HIM to...to come visit US!" Namira said towards her first mate Groban, all the while her teeth were chattering away.

It had taken three days to get to Kearnden from Port Langston and Namira wasn't too happy about it. She had hoped that the Norther Lord would make her a deal as good as the one the Southern Lord had proposed. For the plans Namira had she could use all the money she could get her hands on, though she knew never to get too greedy." Groban...did you know we already found quite a good buyer for that Southern Lords..oh whats his name.... AHMED! Yes found a buyer for his Timber. Of course it take a blood long time to -" She paused as she noticed they had already arrived at the Lords Manor. His home wasn't as grand as she had expected but it was certainly nicer then hers at the moment. She had been saving up any particuliar amount of money by denying her family a large house and insisting they save it for another ship.

She waited at the gate until a large sturdy looking guard gave her a nod after verifying who she was.

"I hope he has whiskey....."

General:
The Farmers have began attempts at growing the odd fruits from the islands.
The letter from lord Ahmed has been received and Lady Namira has found a buyer in Country of Argoth. Letter will be sent to the Southern Lord in order to express gratitude at the opportunity .

At Namira's return she will be taking a population count .

Also at Namira's return to port Langston will initiate the start of a new ship being created.

Namira will make a "speech" to try and create better morale for her people. She will aslo bring around the topic of a "better" land for the refugees to go to. (When I say this I mean she will attempt to see if refugees would be persaused (or swindled >: D muahaha) into moving on to the Barillo's peoples island seeing as they are a friendly sort and have much more room than the Eastern Lands.

Military:
Slim military as the Sailors will continue to do their regular jobs. Pirates *cough* I mean Sailors in Dravensburg tend to keep the refugees in line under Namiras wishes.

Law: No new laws as of yet.

Trade:
Profits from the now trading agreement between Namira has her earning a fair amount of money for her selling his lumber and agricultural goods.
Other trading agreements will be discussed with Lord Connal as soon as possible

Zeverael stood and cast a fistful of dried blades of grass into a brazier, intoning a prayer the Necravanis as he did so. The dried plant caught on the embers and fire began to lick up the blades. Zeverael's rule was taking a difficult turn. His ambiguous actions received little acceptance from villagers and most of his ambassadorial parties returned without having gained an audience with the nobles of the lands or a aggressive response from the people. A populace of few of the poor kingdoms liked the idea but spreading of Necravanis's truth will be hard indeed. Moving from the brazier Zeverael knelt before the alter, placing his armored gauntlets upon it and offering his troubles to Necravanis. The god of the dead did not answer prayers and praise in life, yet asks that he be glorified in life's hard times to increase riches beyond the grave. His prayers complete the bulking brute clad in his armor stood again and turned from the temple. His heavy footsteps thudded through the corridors of the wooden keep. He stepped onto the poorly repair roof and walked to the edge. A cold wet wind flowed through the land, catching his robe at such a height and sending it writhing majestically behind him. Below his elevated position over two hundred aramac followers looked up, awaiting their lord's announcement.

Rescources:

• Minimum amount of wood to be purchased for village reconstruction at normal prices.
• Excess tools to be purchased.
• Much of the aramac population to be moved down to camp closer to Karadhal in order to have increased access to farmland
• Unowned or unused farmland seized by the Lord for distribution
• Already utilised farmland to be evaluated in terms of crops, yields and potential for expansion
• Farms which can be expanded will be distributed additional fields and aramac workers - small coinage incentives will be provided in response to increased yield and of farming implements to be provided
• Two fields to be distributed near Karadhal to aramac population
• All purchased tools and woods to be distributed to villages for reconstruction
• Gathering of all weapons stored within Fort Acruz
• Literate adults to be recorded

Diplomacy:

• Offer to be carried to Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi along with fifty aramac:
  

  My fellow lord Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi, may Necravanis bless you and your people with a fulfilled death.
  I am in need of plentiful supplies of quality lumber in order to appease my people. I believe it will be in both our interests to initiate a mutual agreement for the prosperity of both our lands. I can provide both coinage and laborers for your goods. Accompanying this message I have sent fifty of my aramac followers. Though they may appear foreign and bestial to your eyes I assure you that they will be a boon to your lumber production. They can work to twice the abilities of a human man in the the same time frame. They are loyal workers and I only ask that you allow them land to shelter on as they work for you and provision of food that will the sent once their own supplies deplete.
  Necravanis guard you in death
  Avatar Zeverael.

• Offer to be carried to Conall Kearney along with fifty aramac:
  

  My fellow lord Conall Kearney, may Necravanis bless you and your people with a fulfilled death.
  My stores of tools were ravaged when the Empire left this land and without a supply of iron my lands will fall and expose the center of Lustria to the wolf that is the Empire. I propose a deal that will benefit both our lands, accompanying this message I have sent fifty stout workers as an offer of my good will. In return I ask for a constant supply of iron and tools at reduced prices. My aramac are hard workers, more resilient and stronger then humans. They can fend for themselves, I merely ask for land for them to camp and to not repeat the oppressive reign that the Empire once pressure upon their kind.
  Necravanis guard you in death
  Avatar Zeverael

Infrastructure

• All militia currently assigned to constructions to be moved to road development
• Aramac population will assist in reconstruction of Karadhal homes - Zeverael will assist in the work effort
• Offer monetary payment for any villages willing to assist in reconstruction
• Offer monetary incentive for notable professionals taking on up to three apprentices
• Villages to vote for a single representative/leader from their community

Militia

• Cultist Militia are equipped with the remains of their battle gear, suits of chain mail, wooden shields and standard long swords or battle axes. All armor is designed for aramac proportions
• Two Reavers - Cultist sergeants - equipped with chain mail, metal shields and morningstars
• Volunteer militia are armed with whatever weapons and armor can be obtained from the fort's armory

Faile Abara - Turn 2 - Start of Planing Season

Narrative Post (For now this is all I am putting up. I will be adding to this throughout the day as I am introducing a new character. The character is finished but I forgot to hit submit on my edited CS, so you can't see her yet. Sorry about that, she will be up later)

Faile carefully picked herself out of the bathtub and stood dripping in front of a mirror as she brushed out her hair. A small sigh escaped her lips, honestly she was troubled. The people of her lands were recovering. Many of the remaining buildings in the villages were being repaired and even another two houses were currently under construction with the recycled wood in Menetherin Village. The past two weeks were going surprisingly well, though learning that her men had found a quarry, literally a few steps off her land was an irksome fact. No her troubles came from another Western Province run by the Lady Tika. She had heard stories of Tika but most she didn't believe. Tika Ravia was a Sabarion and an officer of the war whom she had personally never met. From what she knew, Tika had a temper but she was a decent noble, even if the other nobles gossiped like mad about her. The problem was that the Human population under her and the Sabarion population were almost at each other throats due to resentment on the human side. And Faile had promised to step carefully into this fray.

A loud voice cleared his throat from behind her and Faile turned around to see Tallanver. A faint blush went to her face about Tallanver seeing her naked body but after sharing a cramped camp for 8 years with the man...Honestly in those cramped quarters it was impossible to escape such things from happening and the first time it had happened Faile had been visibly shocked. But that quickly passed with time.

"My lady Faile" Faile shot him a slight glare and he dropped back "Faile, Please heed my council. This is madness, you are risking everything, your entire political standing by entering this fray. This is not a battlefield any more Faile, this"

"This is very much a battle field Tallanver, and you of all people should know this. It is a battle of wit and word instead of sword and spear." she retorted sharply. Her voice dropped down to more bearable tones, Tallanver was a person she could never be angry with for long, even if the larger man did argue every point with her. "I will not sit idly by and watch this country be torn into a race war. You have never been discriminated against, you have never been targeted for murder because of who you are. My people are a remnant of a remnant because of over 250 years of discrimination and attacks, and 9 years of open genocide. My people were all but destroyed, I don't even know if we will survive another two generations Tallanver. I will not have that happen to another group of beings. I will not have anyone go through that hell. The Saborian have been discriminated against, I will not have Genocide in this country. I fought for freedom, not so that we may become another Kadrin Empire Tallanver."

The words hit home with Tallanver, he knew as mush as she did that this was necessary for her to do. He knew it better then anyone else in the world, after all he was Faile's closest companion. Tallanver knew he had lost and he approached Faile. "I know, I am worried for you is all. I do not want to see harm of any kind come to you, and I know first hand at what nobles do."

Tallanver approached and before Faile knew what was happening she was wrapped up in his strong arms. The man could have picked up with one hand but he was careful and didn't press. "Be safe, I have fought beside you for to long to see you fall now." Tallanver bent down and kissed her forehead lightly. There was a very warm blush bunt across Faile's darkened skin. Her head moved upwards to stare him in the eyes, "Don't treat me as a child you great lummox" Standing on her toes, Faile leaned upwards and kissed his lips. The pair shared a few seconds of passionate embrace before Faile's lips disconnected with his. "Take the twenty soldiers Faile."

Her eyes turned to almost slits, the man knew how to ruin a moment they had both been waiting years to happen. "I said 5, I will take no more." Tallanver looked down, he was softer then Faile but he was stubborn when he wanted to be, all men were. "10 men. Take 10 of the Claw. I will not have anything happen to you." For a few seconds Faile looked like she was about to hit the man, the two both staring at each other, one pair of eyes pleading and the other darted like a viper. Finaly though, Faile's face relaxed. "Fine, I'll take 10" she said as she turned around to begin putting her clothes and armour on. "This means when I get back I want to learn you had worked twice as hard, to make up for the loss of the five men." She said with a slight mischievous grin.

A loud bellowing laugh escaped from Tallanver's lungs. "Of course Faile, I would not sleep if you ordered me not too."
Faile walked back into the room, now clothed in a simple shift and light leathers. "Good, now you can help me with my armour and then go rouse another five men.



A day and a half of riding later:

Faile and her column of 10 riders, all armoured and a smaller copy of the Falcon Banner rode in the front. The original was now flying over the Menetherin Keep, but her men had insisted on bringing along this spare. They said it was not right for the Falcon to travel without her banner. She thought about telling them no but it was a small detail and truth be had, in could only help her.

Along the way to the lands of Lady Tika, Faile had passed through a few villages and in everyone she had been swarmed by the people. In the last village she had been through, Faile even saw her first Saborion and she had been surprised. Though the same could be said about her, apparently the stories like always had made her to be larger then life. And so every time she came through a village people were stunned that she appeared to be but a child wrapped in armour. If not for the banner it was entirely possible that they may have not even recognized her. Now though, the Saborian were almost as populace as humans but that made sense, this was their ancestral home and Lady Tika's domain.

The column approached a large village and in the distance a fort could be seen rising from the land. The home of Tika Ravia and the village in it's midst. Though many people stared at the flag as she rode into the village, no one rushed out and there was a tensity in the air that Faile had only felt before a large battle was about to take place. It made Faile worry that violence was this close, she only hoped she had not arrived too late.

As The column continued into the Village canter, the sounds of a fight could be heard coming from a side alley. Faile ordered the column to halt and peered down the street to see a group of men and boys, even one Saborian girl, half human and the other half Saborian, in the midst of an all out brawl. Several people were looking as spectators but these silenced as Faile approached. Faile dismounted from her horse and strode over to the side of the conflict. Blood was on the ground and there were bruises and bloodied faces on both sides. "Stop this, Stop fighting at once." Her words went unheard, the group was too wrapped up in their fight. Faile sighed "OI, BREAK IT UP."

The fighting stopped slowly as one by one the combatants broke apart to stare at the little figure in armour before them. Very few noticed the banner on the pole behind her, but those her saw it paled visibly. A few more seconds passed and the last blow to be thrown was a shatter punch from an older man at the Saborian female, knocking her to the ground. The punch almost reignited the fight but the icy glare from Faile stopped it before it began.

"What is the meaning of this!"A few of the spectators started slinking away but Faile rounded on them "Do not move." The crowd stopped and no one talked. Finally the silence was broken by the Saborian girl who had stood up and wiping blood from a split lip. "That man" she said pointing to the man who had punched her last "Said I was eyeing him, plotting to steal from him. I said I was doing no such thing, merely purchasing cloth for my family. He didn't believe me, said I wasn't good enough for good cloth. Said Me and my family should be owned." She spat the last out and almost seemed to want to go at the man again.

Faile turned to the man, "And is this true? Did you tell this woman that she wasn't good enough to buy cloth for her family. That she should be a slave?" There was a chill to Faile's words and the man almost cringed, almost. "I did, no Saborian is worth anything. They are only good for work as a slave or not worth anything at all. Dirty Saborians Thei..." Faile's gauntleted hand flew out and slapped the man across the face, the hard leather causing blood to wise from the impact. The man was stunned before his face clouded. "Why You.." The man's fist darted out and Faile slipped under, giving the man a hard punch to the gut before grabbing his arm and flipping him onto the ground behind her. The man rolled gripping his probably dislocated shoulder in pain.

"LISTEN UP, ALL OF YOU." Faile bellowed out, if this had been her troops she would have thrown the man in the stockade. These weren’t soldiers but sometimes you needed to grab a person by the collar and shake some sense into them.

"You should be ASHAMED of yourselves. Look at you, scrabbling amongst yourselves. I would have expected this type of behaviour out of the KADRIN EMPIRE, NOT LUSTRIAN CITIZENS. Listen up and listen well. I am Faile Abarra. High general to King Alric and commander of the Falcon's Claw. Look at me! I am first and foremost the last surviving member of the Abya Clan of the Selica Nomads. These lands were ours long before your ancestors ever set foot on these plains, And for the past 250 years under the Kadrin Empire, we have been mistreated, killed, made into slaves, thought of as Less then human. In the past 12 years we were hunted down and slaughtered for supplying horses to the very country you now name yourselves. We are a remnant of a remnant, in two generations there may not be any Selica Nomads left in the world. We were slaves or worse to the Kadrin Empire because we did not look like them, we did not act like them, we were murdered because we were not the Kadrin Empire. Do you think I should be enslaved or killed?"

Another man in the brawl began to speak "Well no but.."

"NO BUTS, HOW IS THIS DIFFERNT! And this goes for all of you, be you Human or Saborian. You are all Lustrians, you both want what is best for your families. You both want a good home and good clothing, food on the table. The only difference is how you look. You all remember the horrors of the last war, it only just ended after all. Well I say if you attack someone, you beat a person down, you believe they are worse then you or they should be enslaved, and you base this on how the look or what race their from....Then you are no better then the Kadrin Empire. I fought for something better then what I have seen here today. I hope to whatever gods you believe in you take what I said here to heart. If you do not then may that god have pity on your soul, for you will get none from me."

Faile turned and the small crowd that had gathered around her parted to let her through. Many of them looked stunned, shocked. Throughout the entire village you could have heard a pin drop, and not even dog barked as Faile climbed into her saddle and the column made its way to the fort outside of the village. The whole crowd staring silently as she left.


Meanwhile in one of the Kadrin Emporer's Slave Holdings:

Eyaso gritted her teeth as the elderly Teresa pulled out her stitching. The Helvast Complex held many of the Emperor’s personal slaves and Teresa had been a Selica healer, a very well respected one before being enslaved 15 years ago. Now she was a very old women charged with making sure they fellow slaves in Helvast did not die. Fresh blood ran from the deep gash on Eyaso's arm as the last stitch came out and the wound reopened. The long gash was a clear clean cut done by the Emperors youngest son, thought it was two weeks old now, the stitching the slaves were given was not the best material and needed to be replaced once a week or risk it breaking. It was also at this time that Eyaso would get the wound cleaned.

Teresa plastered a thick green mush made from a collection of crushed plants and slowly rubbed it into the wound. The mixture was cool but if anything stung worse than that plant mixture, Eyaso had yet to meet it. She stifled a yelp with a sharp look from Teresa, now was not the time. As the mixture slowly disappeared, being rubbed into her skin and wound, Teresa took a hot needle and began to put a fresh set of stitches through the wound, sealing it back up. "You stupid girl." Teresa said rather angrily "You do what the Kadrin say you do, if you don't they harm you and do it anyways." Eyaso almost growled back. "I will not bow to them. They can take me and hurt me all they want but I will not bow” The words came from her heart, but her eyes did not say that. Her face looked lost, empty almost. They had almost broken her; they had shattered her will and her body and cracked her soul. But everything changed two weeks ago. The Empire had given up in Lustria, after 20 years of war the Empire gave up.

Sure the Empire can say that it was the growing cost of the war, but to the slaves, it was all the same. The Empire had lost the Lustiran Rebellion. The empire could be defeated. Two weeks ago the slaves perked up, something that had always existed in Eyaso's heart had been ignited in everyone's. Still, she had been given a beating by the Emperor's young prince. He had beaten her bloody, raped her, and then just for fun slit her arm open. It was not the first time such things had happened. One time she even bit the Emperor himself... though that had been something she regretted. It had cost her right eye and daily beating's for a year. No...No more, tonight a third of the guards were going into town, there would only be 35 guards at Helvast, and with that spirit ignited in the slave's hearts. Tonight would be their last.

Teresa stood to leave, exiting the cell that held Eyaso and about 10 other slave children. They had planned this, these children, Eyaso was the youngest at 8 but the oldest was a Saborian girl and she was only 16. They were grown close through their shared tragedy and tonight they would escape. A guard came around the corner, patrolling the cells. As he neared theirs Yatal, the saborian girl, and Xiela a black skinned girl who said she was from a far away county called Shara began to fight loudly. The guard banged on the bars but the girls kept up "SHUT UP OR I WILL MAKE YOU SHUT UP" the girls kept fighting and the guard cursed loudly before fumbling for the key to the cell. The metallic cling of a key being inserted into the lock could be heard, and Eyaso struck. With a flick of her wrist a small dagger was in her hand and as the door swung open the knife swung out and took the man in the throat.

Blood sprouted from the wound and a deep gurgling could be heard as the guard dropped, trying to scream but being unable to, he was dead by the time he hit the floor. The girls stopped fighting and for awhile everyone stared at the dead guardsmen. Eyaso and never killed anyone before, nobody had, but strangely Eyaso did not regret it. In fact she felt a swell of anger and hatred for Kadrin Imperials. She knew she would kill again if need be.

The saborian girl was the strongest out of all of them and so it was Yatal who grabbed the man's short sword and carried him into the back of the cell, out of sight. The group of children quietly snuck out into the compound and down the length of cells. With each cage they came to they slipped a key into the lock and their numbers swelled, 10, 30, 50. The slaves were surprised to see them but as each was released a burning interred the eyes of each one. A hatred and a time of reckoning was at hand. Finally an alarm was sounded and the group charged out to engage the awakening guards. Blood would be spilled tonight but Elaso and her friends would not be part of it. Some of them felt bad about breaking apart from the fray as the sounds of a battle broke out from the courtyard below. Each wanted a chance to strike back for the pain they have been given, but now was the not the time or the place. The small group made their way to a small storehouse and grabbed two coils of rope and a dagger or short sword for every child. Quietly they approached the back wall of the compound and Yatal and Xiela threw the ropes over the wall and one by one the group of children climbed up and down the back side of the wall. All were silent but they knew that there freedom was at hand.

Upon the reaching the bottom the girls took off from Helvast Complex and made a beeline for the forest's edge before disappearing into the darkness of the trees. Leaves crackled and some twigs snapped under their feet and once or twice a child would stumble, but no one spoke out or said a word. For hours the only sound was the rustling of leaves as the miles swept by and even a village or two. Finally the small group stopped to catch their breath and take a rest from running. Their breathing was heavy and one girl asked where they would go now. Yatal stood next to Eyaso but it was Eyaso who answered. "We head west, towards Lustria."

"Thats over 200 miles Eyaso, we'll never make it." the girl said again.

Eyaso eyes narrowed, it was clear that it was her and Yatal and the led this group. "We must" she said "It is the only place I know for sure we can be safe. 5 minutes, then we must be moving. We can't stop for at least another day."

“How do you know it’s safe Eyaso”

“Because they just won a 20 year war.” Xiela put in “You forget that Yatal, Eyaso, and I served as the royals personal toys. Royals have a way of talking too much while they are in bed. Especially if one of the name’s in question is the same as Eyaso’s”

T small gasp escaped from the collective mouths of 7 children. Eyaso had only told Yatal and Xiela because they were the only people in the world she could completely trust. “It’s true…. The Falcon is my sister…” The gasp was even louder but that little bit of proof seemed to be what was needed to convince the others. Sadly while that fact would help them now, it had not helped her at the hands of the Kadrin royals. When they found out that her name was the same as Faile, a sister she had never met…well it was not a pretty sight. The thought still brought shivers to her. “We need to keep moving, we need to be far away before the guards relize were missing. And wasn’t that the truth. While even if they were caught, it was unlikely that Eyaso, Yatal, or Xiela would be killed, they were worth way to much gold, but the other children? They were just common slave children, toys, and easily replaced.

A small groan escaped several mouths but none said a word, many of them knew the horrors they were leaving. The four boy's had been servants and mistreated, and so were the girls. But Eyaso, Yatal, and Xiela knew it more than the rest of them. They had been considered 'rarities' and 'exquisite flesh'. They had been used and brutalized more than any of the others and all of them knew it. They had shared a small cell for years; there were no secrets among them.

The group took off into the night, breaking out of the forest in the early morning and continuing west. Just as the sun was breaking the horizon they came to a river. The water was not swift and all the children could swim. As they approached the side Yatal halted the party. She had been the most recent addition to the slave holdings, only being taken at the age of 10. Her voice carried a thick accent of her native language. "When we get to the other side, Strip and wash your clothes. We rest until there dry and move on." The children obeyed and swam across before stripping and washing their scent away. Each one took long laborious gulps of the water and a few stomachs growled but none complained. It took 45 minutes for the clothes to dry and the group washed away where they had sat and continued ever westward. Always towards Lustria.


Province Actions:

Lustria:
- The offer by Lord Mukmar Ahemd Gadzi is to be accepted and lumber is to begin being exported into Menetherin. 10 tons will be orders for now and the extra will be stockpiled for later use. (I looked it up, this seems like alot of wood in writing, but if you google image it, it's a lot less then you would think)
- Faile has left Menetherin Plains for the land of the lady Tika Ravia to conduct talks of peace and trade. While she is gone the Tallanver Bryce of the minor house Bryce will serve as the regent of Menetherin Plains.
- To the noble who offered the large amount of good stone for high price. A counter argument will be sent to see if the price can't be lowered.
- Noble Gossip is to be listened to and information gathered on the neighboring lord who owns the quarry.

Menetherin Plains:
- The forest is to be left alone for now to grow. It can be made into a good asset at a later date
- The Selica Nomads are to be left alone as they always have. They will have the same tax rate as everyone else as citizens of Menetherin
- Lt. Colonel Teris Dalav is to take a command of 10 soldiers and explore the cave.

Menetherin Keep:
- The new equipment in the keep is to be held for winnings for a competition among the Claw. Several pieces of armor a few swords and a few good lances were found. The entrance fee for the competition is that the 20 winners must give up the piece of armor that he is replacing.
- The wooden gate is to be rebuilt with some of the extra wood from the ordered lumber. The old equipment that the found any equipment replaced is to be rounded up along with the metallic ruins of the smithy in Aemons Field and sent to the smithy in Baerlon. The smith there will melt it down and use it to produce the iron necessary to reinforce the door. The smith will be payed with a lump-sum. This price will be negotiated of course.

Menetherin Village:
- Two houses are already under construction using the recycled wood and these are to be finished and more built to supply more housing for the towns cramped populace. A wage of 5 silvers a day is to be paid to those constructing buildings.
- The 4 fields are to be fertilized and planted. A small wage of 4 silvers is to be paid to the people farming and these wages will continue for a few weeks. After 4 or 5 weeks these wages will stop. In return though we will take only the tax rate of the crops come harvest and the rest belongs to the farmers. These are their farms after all. In this manner the towns farmers can be helped back on their feet.

Aemons Field:
- Using the lumber ordered, houses are to be built to support the population of the town. No where near as many as Menetherin Village as most of the population lives outside the village, but enough that the people who live in the village may once again be comfortable with their families in homes of their own. As with Menetherin Village, those who construct will be paid 5 silvers a day for their work.
- The farms are to be fertilized and planted. We will be in much need of them in the future. Farmers are to be paid a wage of 4 silvers for a few weeks. As with Menetherin village these farmers wages will be cut after the weeks are up but only the tax rate will be taken come harvest. In this manner the towns farmers can get back on their feet.

Bearlon:
- Using the lumber ordered, houses are to be built to support the population of the town. No where near as many as Menetherin Village as most of the population lives outside the village, but enough that the people who live in the village may once again be comfortable with their families in homes of their own. As with Menetherin Village, those who construct will be paid 5 silvers a day for their work.
- The farms are to be fertilized and planted. We will be in much need of them in the future. Farmers are to be paid a wage of 4 silvers for a few weeks. As with Menetherin village these farmers wages will be cut after the weeks are up but only the tax rate will be taken come harvest. In this manner the towns farmers can get back on their feet.

Taxes: We all know taxes are a touchy subject and the last lord was not in troubling times. As a result the new tax rate will be lowered to 7% of income or if money is not available, 7% of harvest.

Exportation:
The cost of the lumber and wages will lower the province coffers. It is quickly becoming imperative that a source of income be found. Faile has high hopes for the cave but the coffers can not wait. I would like to send out offers to sell horses, both for work and war. The Selica Nomads have brought with them several fine herds of animals and once orders are being brought in, the horses will be purchased from the Selica nomads and re-sold to those interested in purchasing them. At a higher price of course, income must be made and by doing this the Selica Nomads are able to bring in a good bit of coin.

(Wage amounts note: I am not sure what a good wage for construction workers were and I don't have much to go off. I am winging it a bit here with the 4 and 5 silvers. Please tell me if that sounds right BEFORE it is up, I don't want to sadden my people)

Tika Ravia - Planting Season - Turn 2

Tika Ravia's feminine, exotic face was drawn in a expression of pure, maddening hate. Every long, tattooed tribal stripe, mementos of the warriors she had slain during the endless war seemed to shift slightly as several veins seemed to push forward from her skull, as if attempting to escape her wrath through several wicked scars over her features.

Her fierce amber eyes narrowed as if spears towards Cassidy, who cowered before her, as if she was some kind of vengeful god condemning her, and her long ears twitched at every whimper that came from her lover.

Her long fingered hand squeezed tightly upon a tempered glass mug, till it cracked, breaking apart in her hands and sinking its sharp shards into the warlord’s hands, which remained still as a stature, lifeblood drizzling onto the floor and filling the room with its coppery scent.

A vicious roar sounded suddenly as the warlord dashed forward, her bloodied hand grabbing the throat of her lover, forcing her against the stone walls of the fortress, the slender muscles tensed from her squeezing, choking the woman. "YOU FOOL!" she screamed, her teeth bared as if she was a hungry predator, preparing to bite open her squirming, fearful prey. "You made me look pathetic... worthless! I can fix this I and you... you...." her amber eyes softened suddenly, before horror overtook them.

Cassidy could see her own frightened reflection in the eyes of her Lady, could see blood smeared over her neck, dripping down like small droplets of rainwater on a frightened window.

The hand released its prey, as Cassidy gulped down life-saving hair as she slumped to the stone floor. She could not muster even words, but in one small gesture of a apology she reached forward, hugging her lovers legs...

Moments passed, for minutes or for hours is impossible to tell, for they seemed frozen by time...
Sometime Later, the arrival of "The Hero of Lustria"

Cassidy's gentle hands wrapped new bandages upon Tika's self-inflicted wound, ever so careful not to harm her lover, out of respect and now slight fear. Her yellow, feline eyes looked towards her loved one's face for approval, hopes of simply making things better, but the truth was this station in life was killing her loved one already. This power... this responsibility was bringing out the worst in beloved Tika... who had never rose a hand to her. It was not the woman's fault, but rather the pressures of this new life.

The warlords face remained passive, seemingly frozen. She had not spoken to Cassidy since the incident, no matter how hard the younger woman tried to win back her affection. Something grew cold after that night, and it would take time for her to warm again...

"I have heard of her..." Cassidy spoke softly, "This "Hero of Lustria" is much like us, coming from a tattered people.. you have much in common.' her words were quiet,
Sometime after the Preparations for Meeting Falle

With every step towards the gate of the fort, the Warlord clanked gently, a sound all to familar to any person familiar with war, and Cassidy's eyes were alit with awe, running up and down her lovers form.

A fierce tribal robe of red lacquered leather covered her Lady's form, hugging it somewhat while hiding the armor underneath, the bits of steel half plate shimmering and reflecting this colour, as if they were glistening blood stains. Powerful looking flails at either side, known famously as "Storms", were alight with the glow of this robe, causing them to become red....

It was the Warlords face... that fascinated and excited Cassidy... Long wicked scars seemed to show themselves now, playing amongst the tiger-striped tattoos... Her red hair bundled tightly, and both her own comb, the symbol of her womanhood, and her lovers, held it together...

She saw naught a noble... but a Goddess of War....

Domestic:

-Continue all previous (including farming and fishing) rebuilding efforts, hopefully rebuilding large tavern which will be supplied with cheap imported spirits via Contact , as well as a small smithy also supplied by our contacts. A general purpose store will also be built, and employment of citizens and some "Contacts" will begin. All will be government owned buildings, and thus income will go to treasury.
-A book keeper will be installed and all expenses will be accounted for in all areas. Reports are a weekly necessity and will be cross checked for corruption.
-A census will be taken with separate races, and also by gender. Also the general age of EVERY citizen, (citizens years 0-10, 10-15(military training age) 18-30 (active service age) will be recorded, These will continue monthly.
- Begin to create a surplus of food for military expeditions.
-Military members will now receive low pay AND free meals when tavern is complete however they will have to meet physical requirements and must show progress in their training. Interfighting without permission (see duelling laws) causes these privileges to be revoked.
-A tax will be put into motion, but it is merely 1 in 17 coin spent! This should ensure a huge population surge, especially of merchants looking for a cheap way to sell their merchandise, and we will go huge lengths to inviting them to jump start our economy.
-Scouts will look for resources and establish stronger borders.

Laws
All crimes can be punished by forced military service! However, for minor crimes you will still receive pay. For heavier crimes, you will be pressed into battle without pay! It is fitting that if you harm your neighbor, that you will fight for him. (For those too old to fight, you will perform community service in the reconstruction efforts to wherever I deem)
-Do not kill your neighbours outside of duels! Doing so will be considered a heavy crime, and you will be pressed into service to defend the lives of those you have wronged!
-Do not steal from your neighbour! Doing so will be considered upon the value of the crime. If light, you have the choice to either join the military as a conscript with pay, work to pay off the damage, or pay the damage yourself + a fine!.
-Do not force your attentions on others without their approval! Doing so is considered a heavy crime, and as such you will fight to protect the one you harmed!
-You have the right to bear arms! However using those in a unsafe manner will result is them being taken away and you restricted from having them without military service!
-Duelling is legal, so long that both parties agree and a judge of one of the gaurd is present! The rules of the engagement must be agreed upon! If these rules are broken, it is considered a heavy crime!
-pay taxes, and failure results in light crime, but repeated.. Heavy
Several town criers will be employed and guarded in case the new policies are unpopular... They will be checked for corruption ect.

Attacking one is considered a heavy crime, and will be considered as treasonous, resulting in either execution or pressed military service.

Begin to search for gifted individuals within my contacts to act as information gatherers.

Turn 2 Results– One week later

Noble: Conall

Land: The Thanes had no trouble trading with each other and had done so on numerous occasions already. They saw some wisdom in their new lord’s proposal such as sending men to work in the mines for a piece of the metal cake so to speak, and agreed to do as much. They all agreed that since there are 4 lands each would contribute 25% of their people, this includes Conalls people. As for… donating? As Conall had implied this… was slightly trickier. The thanes agreed to donate only 10% at most to their Noble. Now if he agrees to this or not is up to him.

Most Norse men were already used to gathering enough wood for their families as having grown up in the cold north has made them self-sufficient, but all Norse men love a good competition and that is what they began to see in the Palisade construction. They would not be outdone by their neighboring village brethren who were mere women compared to them! And so competition fervor took hold between the villages to see who could build the fastest. In such a short time the palisade managed to encase half of Kearnden so far, with the people of Whiteburn slightly in the lead. Some of the norse got it into their heads that the ones who built the most than the festival would be hosted in their village as a reward and fitting it would be since many people would father there and with the trade brought in from that night would boost the economy, but rather that is true or not is up to one man.

Economy: For the moment things are remaining the same. No new policys have been enacted, yet and the only thing the Economy has done is gone slightly south due to payment to his soldiers. He is close to being dubbed poor by his fellow nobles. This may turn around if his trade deal with Lady Namira comes through.
Public Standing: They still view you in that neutral way. They do not love you nor hate you, more of a mild apathy.

Political standing: Still an unknown lord of the north.

Events: The new patrols that Lord Conall has stumbled upon two men taking a Norse women from her house. They tried to stop the men, but the men said they were taking this woman and selling her to slavery. The Lords men said this was not allowed, but the men pointed out that the Lord had made no laws about purchasing or enslaving others.

The men were forced to let the slavers leave, and returned to their families with stories of the slaveries which brought great anger amongst the Norse people.



Noble: Mukmar Ahmed Gadzi

Land: The talk with the militia almost turned into a full-blown riot, but thanks to a very old elder that situation was controlled. They agreed that their lord would wait until their homes were fully repaired before making them work on the roads and irrigation cannels, but only on the condition that the people receive some form of reimbursement for their efforts.

The repairs on the houses went much faster with villagers not having to work on other projects. Resources are plentiful so most of the village buildings including Bechafen are mostly complete. There are still a few destroyed buildings, but they will be seen to later. Work on the Roads and Irrigation cannels are on a halt, until the elder hears from the Lord of which he wants him to personally oversee.

Military: The new offer of full pay for those who wish to become full-time soldiers In 5 weeks went over very well with the younger men. Now it is up to their lord to be able to back up his claim with having the buildings necessary to have a true standing force such as a Barracks, a working smithy, and perhaps if they are lucky enough a Inn!

Economy: Lord Mukmar’s monetary gain has increased greatly over the past weeks due to trade and demand for wood. He is now considered moderately wealthy and far above many of his peers! If he wishes he could begin construction on larger scale buildings such as inns, or that roads he wanted… hell he has enough money to have cobbled roads built.

Public Opinion: Thanks to a few words from the village elder, the new repairs on their houses, and the new domestic policies, public opinion of their Lord has risen. They no longer dislike you! They even respect you now, like perhaps not, but respect can be just if not more valuable.

Political Opinion: You are slightly known by your other southern peers due to the fact that you have more money, which has earned a little bit of jealousy.
Event: One construction jobs you pick either roads or irrigation cannels will build twice as fast thanks to the watchful eye of the elder.



Noble: Lord Rascall

Land: The combining of church and state has pleased many of the god-fearing folk of the Pokan Plains. Many people are now no longer sure who has the real power the high priest who is chosen by god after all! Or their lord. Many simply shrug and listen to both, as it’s not their business.
No new births or deaths have transpired in the past week.

Kolter Stadt: The village has done well with its repairs thanks to the wood given to them by Lord Rascall and believe it or not opinion of him has risen due to their village being rebuilt! It is close to halfway finished, with enough wood to see it completely back in shape.

Livestock: In your lands there is an estimated 300 cattle separated into many herds of around 50-60 heads. These belong to many peasant herders with only 64 belonging to you.

Loans: A few villagers have taken small loans to help pay for repairing their houses, but a few less than reputable people have taken out a max loan of 10 silver and skipped over into another village as to them it was time to move on, and you offered them a perfect means to afford it.

Tools: The purchase of enough tools has hurt your economy, but it is a sound investment as with them farmers can get back to their farms in time to hopefully get down some crops before planting season is over.

Military: You have a small number of ill-paid troops so morale is lacking of course, but they understand that their pay can improve if they train harder, and getting paid 8 silver isn’t too bad for having to walk around with cheap weapons and look scary, at least men are happy about the new land clause which is better than nothing as many look forward to having their own strip of land in the future.

Borks rest and Kamten Stadt: Both have begun reconstruction efforts buts without the resources there is only so much they can do. With the new tools they have begun to farm and herd their cattle hoping to finish by the end of the planting season.

Law: The new sheriffs were met with a mixture of joy… and mildly apathy. They were happy to know they were somewhat protected, but having to give up what little weapons they had was not as well met. There are even rumors of a sheriff taking advantage of his village and arresting people for small or no crime in order to raise his salary. Proof of this has not been found.

Economy: Your economy is falling due to having paid for the wood to rebuild your towns, loans given out, and the cost of the tools. You are not in fear of going bankrupt but a few nobles mock you for your low economic strength.

Public opinion: The people don’t dislike you anymore! Congratulations! They don’t love you, but they are content with the way things are which are the best people of the plains usually are.
Political opinion: You are still rather unknown, but the nobles around you feel better having you close… they have someone poorer than them to make them feel better!
Events: Despite throwing out the representative of Zeverael a few people in the town of Borks Rest did indeed take to his new religion, although they practice it in secrecy in the privacy of their own homes, so to not be shunned by their friends.

Turn 2 Results - One Week Later

Noble: Namira Rosewood

Land: The farmers have tried and failed to grow most of the exotic fruits.. all but one. Even the farmer who planted them is shocked, but soon enough a tiny sprout came out of the ground. The people called the fruit by what color it was an Orange, and it seems that Eastern Lustria has the climate to grow these delicious orange fruits, but they are a tree fruit so it takes awhile to get an orchard started, but expect a profit once they orchards are in full go.

Port Langston population: 1204 people
Travensburg: 232
Dregensburg: 353

Economic: The construction on the new boat has commenced, but building a boat takes time and money both of which you have so no worries. Expect construction to be competed in one and a half months give or take a few weeks. Thanks to trade you have been earning a fair bit of coin, and are almost to the point of being considered moderately wealthy! Just a wee bit more capt’n.

Military: Still don’t have much of a military at least official but the boy’s have been keeping the peace when they are falling over drunk of course.
Public opinion: Your sailors love you of course, hell all the sailors love you. You are the only woman they see for months out on the open sea. The refugees feel more and more abused and despise you and your sailor buddies.

Political opinion: Still unknown, but some of the closer nobles at least know your name, which is a start
Events:… the Refugees cant be pushed much further… Something has got to give.



Noble: Zeverael

Land: The villages’ reconstruction is well… its going at least. Many of the people are wary of these Aramac folks, and don’t wish to work with them, but having shelter beats personal preference so they stomach it. People of Karadhal don’t like those Aramacs moving closer, but there is little they can do about it without starting a full-scale riot.

They are farms… all farms can be expanded just need to tear any trees, rocks, etc out of the way in order to expand them. The yield will depend on how the season goes, and the main crop is Wheat with a little bit of hop farming. Many of the farmers refuse to let the Aramac people onto their ancestral farms, but a few do pleased with their hard working slow thinking nature. Many of the farmers are pleased with the thought of being able to earn extra coin for their work, and so that raised morale slightly. The Aramacs slowly have taken most fields not in use instead of just two outside Karadhal as no use letting good fields go by.

The villages on another note are all around 50% repaired which is nice considering it has been dragged through hell and back.
There are no weapons stored in Fort Acruz… all weapons that were in there were taken by the empire in their retreat across the border.
Out of the entire population only 24 are literate.

The work on the roads is going slow but it is going. It will take weeks to carve out a dirt road in the land, but benefits of such roads are obvious.

Kardahal: Reconstruction here is going much better than those of other villages thanks to the help of the Aramacs and their leader Zeverael. The people are still afraid of their lord, but it relieves them slightly to know he works… even if he still wears that blasted armor.
Many villages did indeed send small bands of works to aid, but only for the money.
A few masters of their professions have agreed to take apprentices if they are reimbursed these masters include: A smith, a few leather tanners, a cobbler, and a seamstress.

Military: There is not enough suits of chainmail to go around to all of the militia. If you wish to give them those suits especially for the larger Aramacs you will have to properly build a smithy and have them built or perhaps purchase them.
Again, give me a number of the amount of militia you have.

Economy: You have taken a hit in the purse. You have offered much of your money to pay for the villagers efforts, and it has no doubt paid off as they work with more vigor, but it has also cost you. Many of your neighbors now consider you poor.
Public opinion: The humans of the land are still afraid of you, but at least they don’t think you will remove their heads for no reason anymore.
Political Opinion: You have successfully faded into an afterthought!
Events: Nothing of note.

Turn 2 Results - One Week Later

Noble: Faile Abara

Land:
The nobles love a good gossip and this is no exception. It seems the quarry belongs to a man named Kurtz von Kessel. He is a relatively boorish man, but some say he has had dealings with the Empire… even some bolder nobles have ventured that he may have sold some of his own people to the foul Kadrin Empire for profit! If this is true or not is unknown as no proof has been found.
Menetherin Plains:

Lt. Colonel Tenris Dalavs Report:
“Well Ma’am, we went into that dark cave like you wanted us to do and it was pretty cramped at first, but it opens up into a big oh cavern with lots of small tunnels leading off into different directions. We barely had time to look around when the tunnels began flooding up with small little goblins. Now mind you the ten of us were outnumbered maybe 10 to 1, but we fought back to back fighting for our lives. Karl went down because of a lucky blow from one of those gobo spears caught him right in the neck it did. I struck back I did and killed the ugly goblin that killed old Karl, chopped his head right off I did. There was no end to those goblins, but we fought like demons striking down 5 more, and than we heard a great big roar and the goblins started running into their caves. We did a nice fair share of celebrating we did, but than to our horror out came this giant stone troll, and on my grandmothers grave I swear I never seen anything so big before. It must have been 13 feet tall and its head was scrapping the roof! We charged it giving our battle cry. Me and Vlad managed to score two great cuts in the beast with our blades, but it struck back swinging its great arms at us, but we ducked and he missed. We looked up in time to see in horror that its wounds we gave it had healed! I never seen nothing like it ma’am. It picked up old Vlad and closed its hands around him, poor vlad was screaming as his breastplate was crushed around him… to my shame ma’am we ran from that tunnel, never looking back… but old Boris swears he saw silver in the wall, but I think he was has been drinking too much.”

Menetherin Keep: The gate looks as good as new even reinforced! If you could patch up the walls now than you would be in good order.
Menetherin Village: Instead of merely building two, the villagers worked harder than their lady expected getting 4 houses up in only 2 weeks, a worthy feat. The farms are underway with the planting season going and people have high hopes.
Aemons Field and Bearlon: Thanks to the precious wood shipments construction on the houses has been great with over 75% of the village repaired enough to be considered livable. Like most other villages the farms have been cleared and planting has begun.

Taxes: The people never like being taxed, but they see your tax as low so they find it very generous more than happy to pay it… well not happy but content.

Military: You lost two men in the exploration of the cave, but your military is still good.
Economy: Your economy is dropping do to all the work you are doing, but with trade of the horses this could turn around or at least equal out the cost of the Stone.
Public Opinion: Your people love you hands down.
Political Opinion: .. still the hero, so still above reach for them.

Inbox:
The stone noble has agreed to lower his price proportionally to the amount of stone you purchase.
You have 4 offers for horses.
A noble of the north has offered metal for horses, as he needs horses to work the wagons to even get his metal out.
A noble of the south has offered wood for horses.
Two nobles of the Central have offered gold for horses, especially for the Selica Nomad horses in order to breed them into their own horse stock. They are willing to pay a handsome amount.
A letter bearing the royal seal of King Alric has come in.

Events:
1.The cave is infested with monsters both small and large, but if the silver story is true…
2.Many nobles have showed interest in wished to participate either personally or sending representatives into the tournament. They are willing to help pay for it if allowed to enter.
3.The king has sent you a letter explaining that the Empire has sent some delegates that are going to be opening up a trade deal with Lustria and the hope to use your province to stop and rest… there are rumors that Crom the Conqueror himself is coming as the delegate, but commoners do love their gossip. You will be granted monetary rewards by the king if you can accommodate them.



Noble: Tika Ravial

Land:
Many of the houses are still not in repair, but construction of the Tavern and general goods store is underway by the Slabs, as many of the humans want to repair their houses first. The book keeper has been taken in from one of the very few literate people among the populace, a Slab girl.

Population:
Humans: 734 Slabs: 533
Women : 383 Women: 276
Men: 351 Men: 257
0-10: 103 0-10: 153
10-15: 165 10-15: 121
18-30: 248 18-30: 238

What food is in the lands has begun being stockpiled as ordered by their lady… the human population was ready to get violent but this is also when Faile Abara arrived. It helped considerably to know that their lady, slab or not, had the support of the Hero of Lustria. They at least are content with obeying to a point, although there are still some hard extremist on both sides who will always bicker and despise each other.

Scouts: Found a large cave opening, but didn’t go and check. They found a few small spots of trees that can be harvested for wood or allowed to grow but that would take awhile. They found a few small streams branching off the big river that goes around your keep, but nothing else of note.

They also ventured onto nearby lands, 3 to be precise. The Tybolts lands are fertile and rich, but their noble Tybolt is loved by the King as one of his favoured nobles. Anothers land is Lord Teclis, a renowned noble of high intelligence. The king is not too fond of Teclis as he is known to flaunt his intelligence at the king, he owns a few farms but also owns one of the only small mines in the entire western border.
The last is Lord Walter, a man who is reported to have already made dealings with the Empire and the King has been meaning to come down on him as soon as possible. His land are nothing special, but he doesn’t have decent money in his main town of Grunburg.

Laws: The laws were strange to the people, but they accepted them easily enough, and the most exercised law was that of the Duelling law. It the first week of it being passed over 24 people died from the results of a deal between Slabs and Human extremist, surprisingly both sides are pretty even in the win/loss ratio. A duel is now a public spectral drawing many people to come and watch for amusement.

Your contacts have discussed amongst themselves, and will consider sending one of their own for you to use as a spy.

Economics: Your economics have fallen to the point where many of the local nobles mock you for being poorer than them...

Military: Many have joined the military, most voluntarily, but a few also for law breaking. A recorded 124 men and women have joined your forces entering basic training.

Events:
1. The king has sent you a letter explaining that the Empire has sent some delegates that are going to be opening up a trade deal with Lustria and the hope to use your province to stop and rest… there are rumors that Crom the Conqueror himself is coming as the delegate, but commoners do love their gossip. Your loan will be granted if you can accommodate them.

2. I wonder whats in the cave...

Lord Rascall I - 3rd Turn

Rascall stared at lieutenant Inkerwell.
"What is it my lord?" Inkerwell asked, beginning to sweat slightly.
The lord had ordered him in, and he didn't really know what to expect.
"Inkerwell, the two of us have fought many battles together. And never have I seen you turn and run from my side.
I think that your loaylty should be rewarded." Rascall said, smilling to his old friend.

"R-really my lord?" Inkerwell asked, he was getting rewarded?
"Yes. You are no longer lieutenant. You are now the Sheriff Chief." Stated Rascall.

"Uhmmm... My lord?" Inkerwell said, feeling slightly confused.
"Call me Rascall friend." Rascall said, patting him lightly on the shoulder.
"Ok... Rascall. What am I supposed to do as Sheriff Chief?" Inkerwell asked, looking quizically at Rascall.
"You're going to be travelling the land at least once a month, and make sure that all the Sheriff's stay in line." Rascall said.

"But why should they listen to me? I am only one man..." Inkerwell said, not liking the fact that he had to stand up against the Sheriffs all alone.
"Because you'll have about 10 men with you. I wouldn't send you in alone would I?" Rascall said jokingly.
"Just make sure that the soldiers are ones of your own choice. Also, I want you to inform that the sheriffs are to be elected by the village.
Many of my officials thought it was up to them. Make sure that the villagers know that it's their choice, not the officials."

Inkerwell looked a little at Rascall.
"What am I going to get paid?" he asked, seeing as it was in fact an important matter.
"Let's say 14 silver. Of course, this may rise with your succes." Rascall said, putting his arm around the new Sheriff Chief, leading him out.
"You just get out there on patrol 'aight!" Rascall said, as Inkerwell left.

Rascall sighed, and went back in.
His castle was in disrepair, but he was getting used to it. Of course he'd have to get it repaired soon...
"Are things still troubling you?" Anns voice came from behind him.
"I hope that things are beginning to turn for me." he said, turning about, to look at her.
She was as the day they'd met, if not even more beautiful. Rascall couldn't help but smile at his luck, surely he'd had the fairest maiden in the land.
She took the three steps over to him, and embrassed him, he huged her back tightly.
He buried his face in her golden hair, and inhaled the fragrance of flowers, that allways seemed to be about her.
God, he couldn't wait till they would marry.

General

A Sheriff Chief is installed, to prevent or capture any corruption in the Sheriffs. The chief is paid 14 silver. 6 more than normal sheriffs.
The employment of sheriffs fall to the entire village, as they are to vote for the one they think would be the most just. It is NOT the lord's officials who appoint them. Th Sheriff Chief got to power to fire any sheriff, that does not stand in line, and do what is best to the people.
The Sheriff Chief is also ordered to gather the townsfolk, without the presence of the sheriff, and ask them if they have any complaints about the Sheriff.
Also, he is to check up with the criminals arrested by the sheriff, and cross-check if they are put in on a fair basis.

A count of scholars or wisemen in the Pokan Plains is to be initiated.
Those there is, is to be offered a place in the lord's administration, and they will recieve a fair pay, for their service. The payment is based of what they are schooled in.
They also recieve a bonus, if they have apprentices. Apprentices are to be chosen by them, so they can judge who they think will be best suited.

(I suppose that my offer to lady Limara was accepted?)
The lumber is to be distributed to GrallinsBurg, Kamter Stadt and Bork's Rest, as head priorities. Second priority is Kolter Stadt, whom allready have had some lumber.
And as third priority there is to be given some of the lumber to the church, whom surely will be using it to repair shrines and such.
The lumber will be used to repair farms and the villages, overall. Any exceeding material is to be sent to GrallinsBurg.

The lesser stack will be given to the high priest, so he can administer it as he wants to. Repairing shrines or building churches is up to him.

The cattle herders are asked to contribute to the farming, by letting the cattle graze on the meadowes around the farms, as to ready the land there for expansion of the fields. The fertilizing ... products? are to be used on the fields, if the peasents deem it necesary, else it is to fertilize the meadow around the farmland.

GrallinsBurg

Reparations are to be begun at the village, along with the tearing down of unusable of unused houses, for extra material.
any exceeding material is to be used on the castle and city.
Cattle herders in the surrounding countryside is to contribute with... fertilizing products...
The fields outside the city, is being planted with Barley.

Bork's Rest

Reperations are to start imediatly, along with tending of the fields. 50/50 on each, to make sure the fields are tended well.
The fields are to be planted with Rye, the cereal that is used for the bread of commonmen.
Cattle herders in the surrounding countryside is to contribute with... fertilizing products...

Kamter Stadt

Reperations are to start imediatly, along with tending of the fields. 50/50 on each, to make sure the fields are tended well.
The fields are to be planted with Rye, the cereal that is used for the bread of commonmen.
Cattle herders in the surrounding countryside is to contribute with... fertilizing products...

Kolter Stadt

Reperations are to be continued.
The tending of the fields are important too, so a 50/50 split is in order to get the fields tended.
These fields are to be planted with 75% Rye and 25% Barley.
Cattle herders in the surrounding countryside is to contribute with... fertilizing products...

Barkan River

Any eventual fishing properties whatsoever is to be checked.
A force of five man, is to investigate the part of the river that lay in our lands.

Military

There is now 45 'soldiers' under Rascalls command.
Their salary is still 8 silver, and they are to train, patrol the countryside and help rebuild GrallinsBurg.
Some of them are used for work, which is described above.

Economy

The economy is weakened, but the taxes are to be collected now, by the soldiers on patrol.
The tax enforcement is not heavy, but they are not allowed to go under 7% in tax.

The cattle herders are to give a tenth of their cattle, but their livestock are then outside of taxes for a year.
Also they are to be given a compensation, in coin, though not too much, as the economy isn't too strong at the moment.

The loans, have been lowered. still a 2% interest rate, but you can maximum loan 5 silver.
Swindling with the loans of these money are to be seen as treason, and the swindler is to be arrested, and brought to GrallinsBurg for execution.

Law

-Swindling with the loans will be seen as treason, and those swindling is to be arrested and brought to justice in GrallinsBurg, where the priests will listen to a final confession.

-Cattleherders are by law required to, in the start of every planting season, to come and contribute with... [Sigh] fertilizing products.

Diplomatics

Letters:

Letters for central noblemen.

Dear [Insert nobleman's name] of [Insert land's name]
It has come to pass, that criminal minds have been leeching on our treasury, and have now taken to fleeing from my lands.
We request, if possible, that you order any militia or law enforcers under your jurisdiction, to capture these convicts.
We would be most gracious if you accepted this call for help. Surely you do not want such people in your lands.
If you catch any of these leeches, then we would gladly accept them in the Pokan Plains, where they are to be prosecuted.

We thank you for your time.

Lord Rascall Von Pokan.

Letter for Northern Noblemen.

Dear [Insert nobleman's name] of [Insert land's name]

We in the south seem to be in for a fine season, and would like you to know that we are open for trade, should you ever be needing in the cold north.
We can offer many things, from cattle to grain. Surely we do not hope you should ever be in dire need of food, but you never know.

Ma Eloyase bless you.

Lord Rascall Von Pokan.

(( Narrative still to come! ))


Land
(( As an FYI: Kearnden and Tivale are relatively close together. Tivale is slightly more North on a map, and is closer to the mines. Whiteburn is set in one of the only arable areas in Kearney's domain, more South and East towards the water and rivers. Climord is Southwest of Kearnden and Tivale, practically on the edge of the great Northern forests. Only stating this to give you a geographic guideline. If you already have a map with areas labelled, feel free to just plug those villages/towns in where appropriate.))


General

- Conall accepts the Thanes' suggested 10% donation, stating that this is quite reasonable. He warns them that in times of war or regional hardship, they might be required to tribute more, but that he will always endeavour to reward additional donations after such a time has passed.
- Conall sends out a message to all the villages and homesteads, requesting that anyone skilled in the creation and planning of roads join him in Kearnden as soon as they are able.

Kearnden

- 25% of Kearnden's population will be sent to work the mines. Conall will call for volunteers, and reward the first to volunteer with a bonus week of pay each, though he does not tell everyone that he will do this before hand, making it a pleasant surprise for volunteers.
- Conall sets the womenfolk of Kearnden to work preparing the festival, (decorations, food - things that can be moved to other villages,) appointing his own mother as festival organizer to give her something to do. He tells her that she is welcome to requisition whatever she needs to plan a successful festival, but to check with him first to ensure she doesn't take too much.
- Conall requests the building of a jail, stating that the first to accept the contract will be paid fairly for it, 25% on acceptance and 75% on completion.
- Realizing that the task of governance is a massive one indeed, Conall sends a call out for the eldest and wisest of Kearnden to meet him in Council one week hence to discuss future leadership.

Tivale

- Conall attempts to impress on Thane Cormic how much profit there would be in setting up a tannery and armourer's workshop to outfit the First Northern Legion, especially considering Tivale's sizable surplus of pelts and furs. Conall promises Cormic that if he can have these buildings up within half a month, and the products he turns out are of high quality, he will consider the possibility of making Tivale the exclusive producers of armour for his soldiers.
- Conall also suggests that if Tivale was willing to send more than 25% of its population to the mines, he would heavily consider cheapening trade prices of iron and other metals, and hints that a deal similar to the exclusive armour contract might be made around weapons as well.

Whiteburn

- Conall visits Whiteburn personally to congratulate them on their efforts on the Palisade, and mischievously agrees with the rumour that the village which contributes the most will hold the festival.
- While visiting, Conall orders Thane Eamon to begin construction of a more efficient dock for any sea-based trade, and a small military outpost to oversee it as well. He also states that Whiteburn will be paid fairly for this upon completion, and that it is important, but it should not be more important to him than the farm-work he is doing.

Cilmord

- Conall leaves Thane Bruce, as an older and wiser Thane, to administer Cilmord as he sees fit for the time. He has no particular requests of Cilmord other than that it continue to trade lumber with the other villages, in particular Kearnden, and that Thane Bruce speak with him before bringing about any new laws or orders.

The Mine

- Conall details one of his older and more experienced soldiers to stay on as a Mine Director, allowing the man to keep his position in the First Northern if he desires but ensuring him that there would be no dishonour in retiring and working exclusively as the director. His first order to the man is to draft up a list of responsibilities for mine foremen and then send it to him for review, and to keep on the lookout for men that would be well-suited to such a task.
- With new men pouring in from all the villages and towns, Conall stresses the importance of those lodgings near the mine, stating that he does not want the hardy miners to be sleeping in tents, though he does not doubt that they could handle it.
- Conall releases all his soldiers from their obligations as miners, and pays them a small bonus in gratitude for the additional labour they put forth.


Economy

- Conall sends out messages to his neighbouring Northern lords, suggesting a trade of their iron and stone for his surplus lumber and food.
- With the 10% donation of raw goods by his Thanes already a fairly moderate tax, Conall places only a minor tax of 3% on the rest of his people, excluding the Thanes. This tax can be paid in coin, (preferably,) or in raw goods such as lumber, pelts, or grain.
- Conall places a 4% tax on trades between Thanes, but only a 2% tax on trades between a Thane and Kearnden, which is in effect the Capital of his lands, though has not yet officially been dubbed as such.
- Conall will begin shipping his metal and stone with the assistance of Lady Namira Rosewood, who has guaranteed him that she will ship no other Northern noble's metal and stone. He will not saturate the market with it and cheapen it, but rather send smallish shipments at first, assuring that they will be bought at a good price. Being as a sea route is usually quicker and more cost-efficient than a land route, he figures to make a tidy profit from it. He has allowed her to trade for coin as well as for lumber and grain, as he needs the latter two to survive and thrive in the winter.
- Any Nobles who request a trade for metal and stone will be directed to Lady Rosewood, as she is handling his trading in all areas South of his own lands.



Military

- With his men now free to actually serve, Conall begins a minor re-organization of his military:
- Tiber, his second in command, is to be appointed official commander of the First Northern, though Conall still holds control over Tiber and therefore the Legion if he chooses to take it.
- Tiber is to appoint a realistic number of men and women as officers in order to properly lead and administrate First Northern.
- Leave is to be requested in advance and cleared with the soldier's superior.
- 40 soldiers are placed on roaming patrol which will encompass all borders and lands outside of the villages. However many are necessary to do so properly will erect temporary outposts to watch for foreign invaders.
- 10 soldiers are to be garrisoned in each village as peacekeepers and protectors.
- 20 soldiers are to be garrisoned at the Mine to protect it.
- Soldiers cannot dispense law, and must bring lawbreakers to either the local Thane or Conall himself so that they can take care of the issue.
- 15 of the patrolling men are to be sent out to hunt for slavers and to bring them to justice according to the law of the land.


Law

- Slavery is banned. Anyone caught practicing slavery will be exiled, with all their property confiscated by the ruling Noble.
- Theft will result in the loss of the thief's index finger the first time, and then the whole hand the second time. A third offense will face execution. No Northerner should need to steal to survive.
- Murder is punished with execution.
- Rape is punished with execution.
- Destruction of another's property is to be dealt with case-by-case for now.
- Abuse of a spouse, child, parent, or person unable to defend him/herself will be punished with some form of community labour and imprisonment in prison until the abuser is deemed fit to return to society.
- Abuse of an equal in strength will simply result in an appropriate length of stay in prison. Time is to be determined by the ruling Noble or Thane. This law takes priority over the above law, so if one's children are one's equal in strength they fall under this law and not the previous law.
- Any offense to be punished with an execution must first be submitted to the ruling Noble for verification of its legitimacy.


Diplomacy

- The fifty Aramac are to be turned away, and sent back to their own land with a reply letter.

Lord Zeverael,

While I appreciate your offer of good workers, I must decline at least in part for now. These lands are newly under my rule, and I fear that my men and women would not take kindly to new immigrants of any race at this time. They are a proud people, and if they were pushed out of the mines that they now feel are theirs, problems might result. I have no issue trading with you for tools and resource however. Lady Rosewood in Port Langston is handling trade arrangements for me at this time, and if you direct a message to her, she or one of her folk will take care of your request.

I may be willing to reconsider your request in the future.

Regards,
Lord Conall Kearney

Faile Abara - Turn 3 - One week into Planting Season

Narrative Post: - To be finished.
A lone figure dressed in simple woolens could be seen riding a smaller horse bareback in the hills around Menetherin Keep. Faile had been participating in a visit with the town mayors and overseeing the process of reconstruction from the back of the young mare Ishandara. The horse was young but it would on day become a fierce charger, and she was one of the extra filly's that Faile had purchased. Faile truthfully needed every copper she could get from reselling them, but a few promising young-lings had called to her and Faile in the spur of the moment purchased them to raise her own herd. She had personally broken Ishandara not but a day ago. When she tried to saddle her, the horse bucked enough that she almost through Faile off her twice.

Reconstruction of all villages was very much ahead of schedule and Faile could not help but feel a swell of pride at the actions of her citizens. They were so strong, so determined, and proud. Proud to be who they are and to have Faile as their lady. Yes, Faile was beginning to get used to being called lady, she still didn't like it but it was no longer a problem. This of course does not mean she is used to her job, not at all, but it gave her a swell of pride to know that she was not letting her people down.

Ishandara was angled through the newly created gate in the outer wall. The inner wall was still lacking a gate but at least the people did not have to stride through the shattered remnant of the gate, it perhaps dulled the look of the gaping holes in the wall. Still, the people were first, the people must always come first. The sun was setting and the small village of Menetherin was growing. Already four houses had been constructed while she was gone and several more were under construction. She could not help but have another swell of pride go through her at that. Construction was of course ending for the day and the smells of cooking wafted from the packed houses. Several of the children came running when they say her from their games and surrounded her petting the horse and looking at Faile admiringly. Faile made a soft clicking noise with her tongue and the horse stopped, even taking a liking to one boy at the front. Faile talked with the kids, answering their questions and asking about their well being.

One motherly voice called from one of the houses telling the children to stop pestering the lady and come eat their meal. The children soon ran off back to their current home leaving the one boy who Ishandara had taken a liking too. "What's your name child?" Faile asked the small boy, he must only be around the age of 10 or 11. "Rand, my lady."

"Well Rand, if your mother lets you, meet me outside the village tomorrow. I'll teach you how to ride her."

The boys face lit up in wonder. "Do you mean it?" he asked in almost disbelief. "Do you really mean I can ride her?"

"Of course, now hurry along, your dinner is waiting."

The boy made a gleeful thank you and she could still hear him as he ran into the house screaming about what had just happened. A very large smile came across Faile as she kneed Ishandara lightly in the flank and the horse continued her slow walk to the keep. Yes, it could be said Faile was happy here. Faile approached the keep and in one smooth motion was off Ishandara and she gave the horse a pat on the butt for the horse to trot off towards the small herd of horses now residing in the inner walls. She was paying a few men from their original tribe to watch over them until they could be sold or proper fields could be established.

The sun was just a faint simmer in the horizon now and night was settling in deeply as Faile strode into the keep and down it's lighted hallways. Much of the keep was not in use and the candles and lanterns were used sparingly at night. Faile took a turn down one hallway and opened a large door and strode into a somewhat solemn dinning hall. The hall was filled with her soldiers and a few cooks she had hired from among the women in town, and the room had some amount of conversation but it was all to quiet.

The news of the Karl's and Vlad's deaths in the cave had been taken hard. Both had been good soldiers and Faile could not help but feel a tinge of guilt as it had been her that ordered them into the cave. The men were solemn but that did not mean they were not angry. When the news had come in almost 40 men had immediately volunteered to head into the cave and slay the damned beast that had killed them. Faile agreed but personally she had never fought a stone troll and she wished to do some research on the beasts. They were formidable opponents and could regenerate wounds taken in battle. However they seemed to have a terrible weakness to fire and as a result Faile had been planning a way to kill the beast.

About halfway through the meal Faile stood up from where she was sitting and the room quieted down to hear their proud Falcon speak. "The death's of Vlad and Karl have been tough. Many of you have expressed interest to kill the beast who was responsible for this and as you know I denied it until some information could be gathered." she paused for a moment. "We kill the troll in two days and clear the goblins from the cave. This is how were going to do it."

Faile went on to explain her plan. How they were going to take 35 men in full armor and horse bows into the cave, Tenris had assured her that 35 men could fit easily in the large cavern. They were going to stick the torches into the ground and fight off the goblins. The goblins retreat when the stone troll comes, during this time we well grab our bows, light the arrows from the torches, and turn this troll into a burning pincushion. Our five best marksmen will aim for the beasts eyes and mouth. If the beast is still not dead the men will approach with spears and gut it's throat. It can heal wounds but not if we cut's windpipe.

After finishing her meal, Faile retired to her simple room and lit a small candle on the simple camp desk she had brought up. A collection of letters were on the desk and Faile read through these, most were trade and a few offers of horses had come in but at the very bottom of the stack rested a letter from Alric. Faile broke the seal and read through the letter. Her face frowned and when she finished reading the letter it was crushed in her hand. She almost burnt it in the candle but gratefully did not and placed the crumpled paper in her hand. "THAT SON OF A BITCH" she screamed out. Quickly she stormed out of her room and rounded on Tallanver once she found him retiring to his own room. "Do you know what that bastard king is doing to us? He's having a diplomat from the Kadrin Empire and High General Crom visit my lands on their way to the capital. We are to 'entertain' the guests on their way to the capital." She threw the letter in his face and he quickly glanced through it. Finally he sighed, "Then entertain them Faile, do it simply if you must but give them room and a meal and see them on their way." Faile almost hit the man she saw no way out of this. We'll ready two simple rooms tomorrow. But if this man makes one wrong step, I am throwing him out."

Faile stormed back to her room angry enough to actually burn the letter again but instead she changed into her shift and blew the candle out. She just sat in her bed fuming and trying to think of a way out of her situation. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at her door and Tallanver's voice "Faile can I come in."
"Might as well Tallanver."

The door creaked open and closed as the large man strode into the room and took a seat next to Faile. Silence fell over the room for several long minutes until Tallanver spoke up. "Remember when you first came to our unit. You were but a small child and I kept calling you puppy." Faile was non committal, she was still fuming. "I was 27 Faile, the son of a small noble who had spent a spoiled and privileged childhood. I was escaping a marriage when I joined the rebellion that year. My father wanted me to marry some high class Kadrin Noble so he could raise his power. I joined the rebellion as a young fool knowing only that if I was a rebel I would not be married." Faile had stopped digging into her thoughts and was not listening to Tallanver, she had not known this, she had only known that he was a rich noble who had joined the rebellion. At the time he was the only man with much armor.

"Our regiment had not really been in a battle when you joined and when that regiment charged us we scattered. I had always been a little protective of you. Thought you were nothing but the biggest fool child in the world. But when I looked around, I couldn't see you. I panicked and looked back to see you standing on that hill knocking another arrow to your bow, the soldiers but a few spans from you. The world seemed frozen to me as your arrow left the bow and you pulled your sword. You were the smallest of us all, the joke runt, but you were the only one who would not run. I never felt such shame in my life, a 27 year old man being shamed by a child, we all were and so we turned because of your bravery and ran back up that hill to defend you." The room was silent for a bit more. "Faile, that moment changed my life. I fell in in love with you that day, strange that love can blossom in the midst of death, but mine did. I made a blood oath that night Faile, I swore to protect you from every danger, to always be by your side for better or worse. I swore that should I ever fail in that duty, should I ever fail to protect you, that the minute you died, I would take my own life. You are my little flower, the only person in the world who I will ever love. The war may be over but I will never break my oath. You are still my little flower, and I will see you through this. I will protect you from even yourself, I know what you are thinking but you can not throw them out, you can not kill them. You are strong Faile, but I will not give you up for something stupid. I know the Kadrin Empire has hurt you, I know for you the war will never be over, they took everything from you but... To me Faile, you'll never change. Your still that little girl knocking her last arrow on top of that hill, the child braver then a thousand men."

Tears were in Faile's eyes but she hid them well. "Tallanver.... Stay with me tonight... stay with me always. As long as your beside me then I know I will not break your oath." Faile reached up and kissed Tallanver deeply. She was still that little girl on the hill, but now she was not alone, a second figure now stood beside her, a younger Tallanver with his sword drawn, standing protectively over his Falcon.
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The band of six sat on top of their mounts. The horses were larger than most, almost twice the size as the Kadrin Empire used them as warhorses and workhorses. They were slower than other horses but their pure power made their charges deadly. Four of these riders worse platemail with the mark of the Kadrin Empire on the helms, and in their clenched hands were lances that had the Kadrin Flag waving proudly from the weapons, as it was gently caressed by the gentle breeze. They were Kadrin Knights, some of the best warriors the Kadrin Empire had to offer, but they were of no importance compared to the other two.

A small weasel faced man rode at the head of this entourage at the head of the four knights. Unlike his peers he wore no armor, but was dressed in the finery of the Empire. His weasels like features predominate for all to see. He had small beady eyes that continual darted to the sides as if expecting an ambush and the best escape route. The rider next to him though was far larger. His red platemail was bulkier than the men around him, but what was most eye-attracting was his great horned helm. The helm showed only the eyes of the man wearing them. They were hard, green eyes that stared straight ahead as if his concentration was meant only for the road.

The riders continued on the trek coming into sight of the once great stone fort that had once served the empire as an outpost. It was sad to see its current state, and the weasel faced man leaned over in his saddle whispering to the horned man “See that my Lord Crom? These Rebels cannot even take care of their own land!” his tone had of mockery, but it was understandable. It had not gone over well with the imperial citizens that they had finally lost a war and some of the slaves thought they could revolt, but after a few crucifixions the thought was beaten out of them. The helmed man now revealed to be Crom merely grunted in response.

They neared the outer wall and rode through one of the many gaps in the walls not bothering with the gate as they wanted to avoid the villagers for as long as possible. They gentle rode into the midst of a small village in the throes of being rebuilt, and Crom pulled on his reins stopping his horse at the sight. The villagers had gathered in the center with baskets of rotten food no doubt intending to throw it at him and his entourage… but it seems at the sight of him their courage failed.

He mused that the thought of the Hero of Lustria as their lord they had no need to fear the empire, but he saw it on their faces. His presence was like an oppressing weight on their bodies. He urged his horse on, and he saw a boy from the corner of his eyes grab a apple from the basket and reared his arm up, but Crom turned his helmed head to the boy, and he froze. Crom leaned down on his saddle reaching for the boy, and his mother instinctively put her arm around the boy, but Crom instead took the apple from the boy’s trembling hand. He gently held the apple in front of his helm turning the fruit around and inspecting it. He nodded finally and handed the fruit to the weasel faced man and accepted the fruit with a look of barely contained disgust. Crom was about to move his horse on when he stopped, and leaned back down dropping three gold coins into the boys basket.

The entourage did not look back once as they left the village and stopped only at the keeps iron rebuilt gates. The diplomat tried to go forward, but Crom reached out and grabbed his horses’ reins, the intent clear. They would wait until they opened the gates for them; it was only good manners to allow them the option to reject them.
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The grounds of Menetherin Keep were in a bustle, A good amount of the Claw, 20 persons, were in a scramble to get into positions with Faile Abara and Tallanver at their head. None were mounted but they did not need to be. At the merest hint of trouble, they were ready to pincushion this Crom and his guard if need be. Word had come up from a runner in the village that the Kadrin entourage had arrived with General Crom in the lead.

The men hurried to their positions and Faile raised her hand to signal the gate is to be opened to allow the Kadrin men in. "Now remember," Tallanver said "You are to give them rest and a meal, you are not start a fight with them."

The wooden gate opened almost soundlessly, the heavy wood and metal making only the barest of noise and allowed for the mounted group to ride in. The group was small but Faile kept her face schooled and relatively empty as the figures came into her sight. A murmur broke through the men but was quickly hushed by the officers in the soldiers. Faile spoke loudly without anger, though a chill was in her voice. "General Crom, I welcome you and your men to Menetherin Keep. I am Faile Abara, Lord of Menetherin Plains. You may partake in our water and shade."

Faile let a silent amusement inter her mind. There were different types of invitations among her people, and she had just invited him as you would an oath breaker or an enemy. Though only a Selica Nomad would have known that, their ways were confusing to outsiders.

"If you leave your horses here, I will see that they are taken care of." Once the group had dismounted Faile would show them to their rooms where they may be washed up. Despite what she had told Tallanver, he had convinced her to ready the best rooms, even if they were not much as is. Still, she was a Selica Nomad, the lady of the house must show guests to their rooms. "I will show you to your rooms where you may wash up after your travels and rest. Someone will come and inform you when supper is served."

If they were expecting a feast then they would be mistaken. Faile would dine separately with them and a few men and women whom she trusted, but they would eat what the soldiers did, just like Faile.
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Crom was about to speak to the women who must be the Hero of Lustria but she wasn’t what he expected… he thought one it would be a man and two that the hero would be taller, but he was beaten out by the weasel faced diplomat “I am sure my lady that it will be a feast fit for… your people” Crom dismounted from his horse, not going to respond to the obvious insult that the diplomat had laid on; He wasn’t not one for insults unless it was in the heat of battle to raise morale.

He landed on the stone courtyard with a clash as his metal boots crunched into the stone underneath. He offered the reins of his horse with only slight hesitation. He wasn’t used to people touching Shadowfax, that was his horse and had been with him through many campaigns. The large gray warhorse snorted at the claw that tried to grab its reins, almost biting the man’s hand. Crom held his great armored hand up and let it rest on the horses’ nose, and leaned forward whispering into the great horses ears, and as if it understood it gave a nod and a very lord snort.

Crom stepped back and motioned for the claw that it was safe now. If anything happened to shadowfax he would personally lead the siege of this place and strangle the perpetrator with his own entrails. The diplomat also dismounted, although it wasn’t near as smooth a movement as it was for Crom armor or not. Crom turned to face the small hero and gave a slight nod to her “Thank you for your hospitality.” It was a simple statement, but his voice was.. Interesting. His voice was deep and gravely, and it held little tone besides that of an authoritarian who was used to giving out orders and not thanks.
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Faile watched the movements of Crom very closely. She had already all but dismissed the diplomat and his snide remark furthered to dismiss him from Faile's mind. Still, she had to take a deep breath from socking the man in the face for that remark. If not for her promise to Tallanver, she might have done it anyways.

Crom on the other hand, now Crom was an interesting figure, she could not see him beneath his red plate armor, but his green eyes, his eyes were the eyes of a wizened wolf. The eyes of a careful and deadly hunter of men. He had sense and brains, and his simple sentence... A very dangerous man, a shrewd calculator that man was. Perhaps a bit like her, She would have loved for a chance to have watched this man in action, a dangerous opponent. He even managed to win some respect from her, though she would have gutted the Diplomat quickly enough.

Faile showed them to their rooms, they were the best in the keep but not even that was much, the keep had truly been gutted, but they had beds, clean rooms, clean washrooms, and she had even managed to scrounge out a writing desk for both the Diplomat and Crom. "I must apologize for the ramshackle appearance. This land has been scarred by the war." Her voice was again flat but she was no longer trying to find a way to insult Crom, he was not like General Rosslin at all. Rosslin had been a haughty, prideful fool. Faile could already tell that Crom was no such man.

(An hour and a half later, Late evening)

Faile stood by the burning fireplace in the old private dinning room of the keep. The room has been cleaned just this morning as it had not been in use for a very long time and dust covered everything. A few men had been dispatched to fetch her 'guests' and invite them to dinner. She had been forced to stress politely and kindly and the men had assured that they would. Faile stared at the cracking flames at the fire. Talanver was the first to enter and he stood next to Faile. "Ready? Now's the hardest part."

"Crom.... He's a very dangerous man. He's said less then 10 words to me, but I already know that Rosslin would be a boy next to him on the battlefield."

Tallanver stared into the flames, reflecting as well. Faile continued to talk, "He is like me an many ways I fear." Faile turned to look up at Tallanver, "I would love to face the man one day, to lead an army against him and fight him on the fields." Tallanver smiled down. "Yes my Falcon, I fear the day that comes, and I fear for Crom if that is to ever happen. But that day is not tonight. Tonight he is your guest."

A smile rose to Faile's face. Her hand reached up to stroke the side of his face, their new found love still burning strong. "Oh but we are in a battle already. I am always in a battle. I am Aan'allein, a man who is an entire nation."

A sad smile came to Tallanver's face. "Faile, the war is over. We must build a new future."

Faile's eyes went to her own distant sadness. "I know Tallanver, I know." Here eyes lingered for a moment before she broke contact from him, carefuly schooling her face again as she returned to standing by her seat. It was impolite to sit until the guest has made himself comfortable among her people. As much as Faile wished to slight these men, she must refrain and keep the ways of the Selican.

The door quickly opened to allow Crom and the weasel faced diplomat into the room. Crom was still unreadable for the most part but complete disgust and superiority screamed from the diplomat.
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Crom felt strange in his… clothing. He was finally without his armor. His long flowing brown hair, which had small streaks of gray in them showing his slow advance towards middle age. He has a very thin 6 o’clock shave that spread across his strong jaw, but the most striking thing of all was the fact that he looked rather plain. He was not handsome, nor was he unattractive, he merely was. His hard green eyes continued to search the room and people in it as if trying to find those little secrets they hide. He had a few smaller scars on his face, but nothing to extreme. Most of his scars were on his body, not his face, but that was not for them to know.

The small weasel like diplomat followed him in wearing a different but equally fashionable piece of clothing. It seemed the Hero did not wish to seat before them, so Crom moved to the head of the table and sat on the side right next to it. He assumed she being the lady of the keep would take the head. The diplomat sat next to him, no doubt intended to place himself between him and the hero.

The diplomat smiled that same weasel grin “So Lady… I am afraid you are not what we expected.” The insult was once again clear at least to Crom, but he was used to catching those things. Many in the Empire preferred to insult each other without having to fully insult them. He gently set his hands on the table, and on the back of his right hand the crest of the Emperor was branded on his right hand displayed to the world.
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It was the tall very well muscled man who walked in that took Faile's eyes and it was clear who was trully in charge of the entourage. Crom was not a very distinguished man through his appearance. In fact the only piece of him that set him apart from any other man was how he carried himself. To the untrained eye he would seem normal. He continued to stare with his observant and calculating gaze, a gaze which Faile met in a similar manner. Staring, calculating, quietly observing. Faile's eyes lingered on the crest emblazoned on the back of each of his hands. A very loyal man, a sworn man.

Once the diplomat and Crom had taken their seats, Faile allowed herself to sit down, though not at the head of the table. Instead she took the seat directly across from Crom and Tallanver took the seat next to her, across from the diplomat. Tallanver gave a silent thought, Crom and Faile, two birds of prey and both trying to understand the other.

The diplomat broke the silence not but a few seconds after Faile had taken her seat. “So Lady… I am afraid you are not what we expected.” The man's voice was more trained then earlier, but the air of superiority still lingered as a silent blade in the air. Faile was not blind to the hidden insult but she let it past without much thought, let the man think what he wants. She will not be coaxed by him, she had promised Tallanver to put a stay on her hatred.

"Yes, I am not what anyone expects. I fear the stories have a way of exaggerating themselves. But I can say the same about you General." She kept her gaze on him for a few seconds. "I believe I did not catch your name earlier Mr...?"

As Faile finished her words the first course was brought in, a fresh vegetable soup which Faile immediately knew that Tallanver had pulled something. She said to share the meal of the men, not prepare a separate meal. Faile let it go, she would talk with Tallanver about it later. The soup was a very rich soup and full of vegetable from the plains. She recognized it without having to taste it, a traditional Selican soup. If the main course was a Selican meal as well then perhaps she would not be as angry with Tallanver. The meal was to her liking anyways. She gave the serving girl, a small Selican girl who Faile recognized had come with the horses. She gave the girl a small smile and thank you before letting her scurry off.
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Crom was taking in everything including the closeness to which this woman sat with this man. That familiarity was far more than mere comrades in arms… He did not believe in getting so close to your troops as that would only put more stress and cause mistakes to be made. He tilted his head; instead of insulting his diplomat she instead aimed it at him… perhaps to catch him on an uneven footing?

Before he had a chance to respond the weasel man leaned forward “My dear lady, I am Karl Franz, and this man next to me is no General. To call him as such is a grevious insult. He is the Champion of the Emperor. Crom the Conqueror. The fist of the Glorious Kadrin Empire, the despoiler of countless civilizations. The last time he was here a local tribe had their back broken and are last time I heard on the brink of extermination.” He finished his tone smug.

Crom instead gently took a small bite from the soup. He chewed quietly, and slowly not looking up but after a few bites, he stopped and raised his head speaking softly, his voice still easily carrying over the table “I do not live up to the stories? How is that so?” He said evenly. He was curious as to what stories they heard, and even more importantly how she believed he did not live up to it. It was an interesting question to test her ability to think, and more importantly to see how she would answer the question.

The weasel man glanced down at the soup with obvious disdain. “I believe I have seen this… substance before.” So low was it he wouldn’t even insult soup by calling it as such. “Do you remember my Lord?” Crom glanced down at the soup “Yes.” He did not go further on the subject, because at the moment he was more interested in her answer.
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Faile's eyes narrowed at the diplomat's words and her narrowed eyes took in Crom even more. If he, no she had promised Tallanver... But if it was him? She would not jump to conclusions yet and Tallanver eyed her slightly, perhaps a little worried for his Falcon now. He had not expected this either and it was imperative that Faile not snap. If it turned out that Crom had led the attack that killed her family...He was not sure what she would do and it was very possible she would try to kill Crom.

Faile took the first taste of the soup, it was proper for the host to taste the food, to make sure it was edible to the guests. An old custom but one she followed none the less. Crom spoke up after a bite, his voice was low and once again simple, but a voice of power none the less.

"During the war, most stories were about Rosslin and then later his replacement Darl. After all, it was these men who led the armies of the empire into combat. But, a rare story drifted in about you Crom, the Emperor's Champion, his fist. You were described as a wild wolf or a bloody beast. Those are not fitting for you. You are an eagle."

Faile took another taste of her soup and continued to meet Crom's calculating green eyes. She would not be caught so easily by him. Tallanver watching the diplomat though, something was disturbing that man's eyes, he already had a loose tongue. Already he had jeopardized the whole meeting, if he did not watch his mouth, he was unsure if his presence could keep Faile under control. Silently he was thankful for Crom, such an adversary could be of help here.
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“An eagle? How interesting.” He would not ask her to go further in, she had managed to avoid the carefully laid noose he had set, so for now he would not press her for answers. His eyes strayed to the man next to her who had never introduced himself, but he would not ask. This man continued to shoot nervous glances at Faile… was she not as calm and collected as originally shown? Most likely, as this lover would know more about her than he would, but… from the stories it made her look like a burning fire, but strangely she tried to control that. He gave the briefest of glances to his diplomat.

The diplomat turned his attention to the girls lover and gave a weasel smile “So, you are? And if you don’t mind me asking what is your… relation to the hero. You seem to be rather… close” Crom quietly watched everything, always enjoying these quiet movements, so like war yet less honest. He had returned from a campaign against the ogre tribes of the north to the news that this small colony had managed to revolt. At first he assumed he was to be sent to crush them, but he was surprised to find that the emperor wanted them to be left alone for now.

He had come to see these people, and to see how the slabs managed to do rule their own lands. He made eye contact with Faile as usual ignoring his diplomat “So you are a member of the..” he paused as if trying to remember the name “Selican tribe?”
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Talanver gazed over the parties present. Faile had been right, a battle was being fought in this room right now as surly as if they were all dressed in armor and trading blows with sword and axe. He prayed that Faile continued to think that way. She was a shrewd general but the problem was she led from the front lines. Tallanver had not said a word yet, he was there for a silent support of Faile, but he knew that eventually he would be forced into this political Fray. Almost as soon as the thought drifted into his head the Diplomat took interest in him, So, you are? And if you don’t mind me asking what is your… relation to the hero. You seem to be rather… close”

The man was smart it seemed, even if he could not hold his tongue, though it should have been safe to assume that from the start. "I am Tallanver," he purposefully no longer included his family name. He had been disowned by his father and his father was a loyal Imperial Noble, he did not want to bring suspicion to his father's name. "I am Faile's second and captain of the Falcon's Claw. I have fought with Faile for many years. I suppose I am her adviser." He truthfully did not want to reveal that they were lovers, even hint at it. That had only become official as of last night and that was the kind of information that could be used against someone.

Faile continued to watch Crom, he appeared satisfied with her answer and seemed to mull it over in his head. “So you are a member of the..... Selican Tribe?" Crom stated, taking some time to remember the name. During this time the first course had been taken away and the main course presented. A lamb must have been slaughtered and once again Faile recognized the dish from her childhood. Another Selican dish, Lamb prepared with a herb flavoring and a blue cheese souce, once again potatoes were present as a side dish, well seasoned and prepared. As before Faile tasted it first. "I am a Selican Nomad, the last member of the Abara clan. As Mr. Franze stated, your empire did a very good job 'exterminating' us. Even I am doubtful our way of life will last much more then a generation or two longer."

Her voice emphasized exterminated, but she schooled herself to act like she was saying a simple fact, even if the flame of hatred inside of her flared but she controlled it. She had promised Tallanver to stay civil.
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The diplomat smiled at Talanver “Of course you are. I wish we had your kind of… advisory in the Empire.” He mused his weasel eyes scanning the man up and down. This man was ill prepared to face one such as him. Crom met her gaze “You have my condolences.” His voice held no sympathy in it of course, as only the weak needed pity, and he did not consider her weak. He leaned forward and took a small bite from the meat.

The diplomat looked at Crom, and smiled. It was time, “My Lord Crom! I just remembered one of your many victories. Didn’t you fight theses people these… nomads? If I remember correctly, they lasted, what was it two months?” His voice was excited and animated. His eyes however continued to watch the hero for signs.

Crom gently laid down his food and glanced briefly at the diplomat “Yes.” Again he did not elaborate on what happened, why it happened… he merely confirmed.
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Faile's knuckles whitened as her grip on the small meat knife tightened. She took a bite of meat, chewing carefully and mulling over her thoughts. She must not lose her schooled face, must not lose her control. She had managed that so far but she was not sure how much longer she could do it. More, every time that diplomat opened his mouth all that came out were insults to her, her people, Tallanver, and worse he was spurning her hatred. If not for that rotten promise she would have thrown them out by now or worse.

Didn’t you fight theses people these… nomads? If I remember correctly, they lasted, what was it two months?”

Tallanver was very worried now, this was becoming dangerous for all parties and he could no longer trust Faile to keep that promise. It was his worst nightmare's coming true, and probably Faile's as well. He knew that the greatest thing she wanted in this world was the death of the man who had murdered her people. Control yourself Faile, Light please control yourself, he thought to himself.

Faile almost broke, almost. She didn't want to say anything, she cut another piece of meat and chewed, using the meat to keep her from breaking. Two months, that had been the length of time that the western tribes had fled to the east. In two months over three fourths of her peoples had been brutally murdered and enslaved. A genocide of unparalleled levels, and Crom had led it. He was very much an Eagle, his talons stained with blood. Her outward battle with Crom had become an Inward battle to stop herself from breaking. Another piece of meat went into her mouth before she calmed the hatred in her soul enough to know she would not jump up and try to stab the man. Faile found it necessary to change the conversation, she had to find something to talk about that would not break her.

"You have a very beautiful horse Crom. A very powerful warhorse, Selican bred if my eye does not escape me. What is his name, if I may ask?"
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Croms eyes continued to bore into the Faile, she was doing well. He gently cut a small section of the lamb, and gently bit into it. H was content to watch the scene seeing what she would do, but instead she asked him a question on his horse. He momentarily though to his steed. It was one of the few things in this world he valued.

“His name is Shadowfax. He is indeed Selican you have a good eye, he was offered to me by a member of the Selican Nomads. He was the leader some of the forces that had fought mine. He challenged me to single combat and lost… In his dying breaths he made me an offer. I could have his horse, and in return I would let his eldest child escape.” He said it all quietly, and even. Always watching her with that same stare, always searching with his dark eagle eyes for the slightest hint of emotion.

“I kept my end of the bargain, and his eldest girl I did allow escape, but he said nothing about his other daughter.” He continued his stare still even. For once even the diplomat was quietly, merely watching. Crom was a very honorable man, if he made a deal he kept it no matter the cost.

"Your people fought well Hero of Lustria. You have a right to be angry at me, if you so feel that, but know I respect your people. They were not a warrior people, but they fought with honor and died with dignity, it is all any of us can hope to achieve.” His voice was still that low and slow speech.
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Faile never took her eyes from Crom, both stared straight at the other. This was the longest he had yet talked and Faile listened intently. Her ears listened but her mind was divided. 8 years, 5 months, 23 days. That was the day that the Imperial forces fell upon her tribe. Her father had been chief and she remembered very clearly his strong arms wrapping her tenderly up in one last embrace. A black young horse staring impatiently behind him. "I will protect you Faile, whatever happens today know I will make sure you survive."

Faile remembered nodding and watching as he mounted the young horse and rode off to the thin line of mounted Selican's forming in front of the camp. She never saw them again, and an hour later the imperials swept through the camp. A sword took her in the back but she remembered someone shouting "No" and the blow never came. She had awoken to find herself alone among the bodies of those who had fought and many bodies missing, taken into slavery. Only she had survived.

Another bit of knowledge was funneled funneled into the back of her mind about Crom. Honorable, yes he was more and more an eagle with every word. Honorable, that was all that kept her from killing the man, honor between two bird's of prey. "This other daughter of this man.." Faile started, "She wouldn't happen to still be in your...possession... would she?"

Faile's mind was on one thing, so much so that the compliment almost went over her head. Eyaso, Light if she was still alive, Faile would tear the world apart to retrieve her, she long dreamed about her little sister, she would be 8 now. Tallanver was silent, he kept his fear schooled as best he could. He could not believe that Faile had not broken yet, her anger had not lashed out in some way. This is the man she had hunted all her life and now she was not trying to kill him. He was afraid for her the most, but also strangely proud of her for keeping her promise. Once again she proved why he loved his little Falcon. He would not have been able to keep what he had made her promise.
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He tilted his head, it was interesting. Perhaps he should not have spared her all those years ago, but at least her father’s trust was not misplaced. He quietly listened to her, but also tried to remember what he did do with the child. “I do not own her. I do not own humans; they do not intrigue me enough. Your sister… had perked the interest of the Emperor, so I gave her to him as a gift.” Again his tone was even. He had learned enough about this Hero of Lustria, and so he needed not needle more information.

The diplomat was about to speak, but Crom raised his hand. “Enough Karl” The diplomats weasel smile disappeared and his entire body language changed. It changed from an aura of superiority to a merely respectful silence. The diplomat bowed his head “Forgive my rudeness” All trace of the former smugness gone.

“I told him to act that way” Crom said quietly “It was a tool to see how you would react. I have forced you to endure my company for too long. If you would excuse us, I would like to retire for the night”
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The diplomat made a move but a sudden word from Crom silenced him. His whole body language changed, even his voice changed to a much more respectful tone. He even apologized for his words. A move that surprised both Tallanver and Faile. Faile nodded at his apology and again at Crom's words. "Very well. I will see you off in the morning." she said to them. Normaly it was customary for the host to make a small bow to his or her guests, but Faile would break that custom here. A very dangerous man, she had underestimated him. One day she will kill him, she had made a blood oath on that, but not now.

Silence fell throughout the room and the dishes were cleared and even a few candles blown out. Tallanver did not disturb Faile and Faile lost herself in her thoughts. Finally Faile stood and wordlessly left the room, retreating to her own room where she simply stripped and fell into her bed. Unable to sleep she merely thought

Tallanver sat watching Faile in her thoughts, and long afterward she had left he sat there, reflecting on what had just happened. Faile had not killed the man, had not even tried. The man she had sworn to kill was but two steps from her, she knew it, and she stayed her hand.

The door creaked open and Tallanver once again stole to the room of his Falcon. For once Faile seemed not to notice his entrance, even after he took a seat next to her. She just stared, into what seemed to be nothing. "Faile....." he reached over and wrapped his strong arms around her body. She was shivering. He felt small drops fall onto his skin and knew that Faile was crying, She was quaking in anger and loss. "Faile, I am so proud of you, I could not have done what you just did. You were stunning." Faile did not seem to move, her eyes still dripping tears and staring at nothing in particular. "Faile, I...." All of a sudden the wall broke and Faile quickly warped her arms around her, sharp tears falling down her face.

Tallanver was not sure how to react, so he clutched tighter, more possessively on his little falcon as she cried. He held her tightly, his hand brushing comfortingly through her hair. Tallanver wiped the tears from her eyes carefully. as Faile clutched onto him. "Eyaso.... that man has Eyaso." Tallanver was stunned. He had not quite understood the conversation that Crom and Faile had been having, but now it all made sense. They had been taking about Faile, and that meant that the other daughter had been. "Oh light, Faile I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Faile seemed to stare somewhat lost, but Tallanver stared his small lover in the eyes, he could see a hatred in her eyes still. "I don't want your sympathy Tallanver.... I want Eyaso."

Tallanver made rise to go when he felt a soft pull on her shirt. Faile was staring down, away from him glumly. "Stay... I don't trust myself... I do not trust myself to keep my promise.... Stay with me" Tallanver obliged and after stripping down to his small clothes he climbed into the bed beside Faile. He wrapped his arms protectively around her and his head rested below his, her body tucked into the crook of his. "Faile" he whispered, "I swear I will help recover your sister." Faile nodded in response "Thank you...for now just hold me Tallanver, hold me close.

The Next Morning
"Right, Y'all know the plan." Lt, Colonel Tenris Dalavs told the collected 35 men of the claw standing behind them, and before them was the cave that killed Karl and Vlad. "When The troll comes, pincushion it. You know where to Aim."

A volley of grim "yes sir's" followed and Tenris climbed into the maw of the cave. "Right, lets go kill this bloody bugger." The men slowly disappeared into the cave, the light from their torches casting a fiery glow on the rocky walls. It was very cramped, but soon enough the entrance did open up into a large cavern. All the men climbed out and began setting up ranks, driving torches into the hard ground and readying their weapons. A scuffle could be heard from down the cavern and each man raised their weapons. A mass of little goblins came rushing into the light, teeth bared and the men and women of the Claw began fighting and slaying the little devils. There were a lot of them but there was no lucky blow like what happened to Karl. Several minutes dragged by and a curse could be heard from one of the men as a blade got by but was knocked away by the man's armor.

Finally what they all were waiting for, a loud roar filled the cavern and the goblins froze before scurrying away to whatever whole they had come from. Leaving the piles of bodies of their fallen where they dropped. "Alright, LIGHT YOUR ARROWS." The men quickly brandished their bows and dipped the first of the tar and thatch covered arrows into the fire, each one springing to gluttonous life. From one of the side tunnels the beast appeared, illuminated by the fiery glow of man made torches. The stone troll roared it's defiance as the sound of 35 bows snapping in unison filled the cavern. The men did not pause though to watch the arcs sail towards their target. They were good soldiers and already they were reaching for the second volley and lightening it.

Somewhere Within the Kadrin Empire

Yatal lead the only remaining two children outside of a village heading into the woods. Two days ago they had run into a Kadrin patrol on accident and 6 of them had been captured. Poor Fran didn't survive the conflict. Only Eyaso, herself, and Xiela had managed to escape and continue heading west. Almost as bad though was Eyaso's stitches had burst apart and flesh blood had been trickling down her arm ever since. The wound was covered by a few ribbons of cloth but slowly the ribbons were being soaked through. The villagers had directed her to some sort of hermit who lived outside of home. This hermit was supposedly a black witch, but she was the villages only healer and so they protected their 'witch' and now she was possibly the best help for Eyaso who had been weakening from blood loss.

Eyaso continued to walk through the heavy brush towards the hermit, but it was clear that she was weakening. The brush and woods began to open up to a clearing and a simple house stood in the middle of the clearing. A women was chopping firewood with a large axe which she put down upon the children wandering into her land. She seemed surprised to see them, after all it was difficult to miss a Saborian, a Selican, and a dark skinned out-lander. She noticed the blood stained bandage on Eyaso and quickly ushered the three girls into her house. The house was simple and homely but covered in old tomes, herbs, vials of liquid, and other things associated with 'black magic'. A small conversation was traded back and forth between Yatal and the women before the women began unwrapping the bandages. The wound was not infected but it was not pretty either. The woman tched and grabbed a small jar and covered the wound in a poultice. The wound stung but Eyaso was noncommittal, throughout all of it. Even the hot needle and thread got but the barest whimper from her.

The witch tied the thread off and pulled Eyaso's sleeve back down, staring hard at the girl's heavy scars and her clouded white pupil. She took in the looks of all the girls, their scars, their dirt and wounds. "You girl's look like hell." she knew they were runaway slaves but she reached into a cabinet and pulled out a small purse of coins. "I don't want to know who you are running away from, but take this and I will pray you make it safe place."

Eyaso nodded and took the coins. "Thank you for your help." Quick;y enough the girls were gone, back into the woods, continuing their long journey west.

Province Actions:

Lustria:
- Another order of lumber (20 tons this time) is to be purchased from lord Mukmar Ahemd Gadzi. We thank him for the gifted wood.
- An order of 20 tons of stone is to be ordered from the noble offering the stone. We thank him for the good business.
- All orders for horses are to be accepted. We thank them for good business and look forward to future trade.
- Continue horse trading offers. Trade is to be established.
- Offers of an engineer to hire will be spread for an engineer to help design buildings, walls etc etc etc. Salaried of 16 silver.

Menetherin Plains:
- Disguise a loyal man as a migrating peasant who is to go to the villages of the Noble Kurtz von Kessel. He is to take a simple job but be on the watch for an slaving activity. He is to ask around carefully about disappearances and in the taverns and common rooms begin planting such rumors among the populace.
- Continue background on Kurtz von Kessel. Find out history, personal life, wars, etc etc etc
- The cave is to be exterminated of Troll and Goblin with plan stated in narration
- A tax cut of 3% is to be given to any skilled craftsmen (Ex. Carpenter, clockmaker, specilized smiths, etc etc etc) is to be offered for the next 3 years in an effort to attract craftsmen to come to Menetherin Plains and set up shop. This will help help boost our economy with exports.
- The tournament was supposed to a simple thing for the men with a small reward and practice in the end... but if the nobles are willing to help pay for it and keep to the rules, then Faile does not see why it couldn't be made into a bigger event. Perhaps the winner could be given a Selican Charger???

Menetherin Keep:
- Begin reconstruction of the walls, this is to take second to the reconstruction of Menetherin Village though. Wages will continue
- A storehouse is to be constructed to more safely stockpile resources. Wages will continue

Menetherin Village:
- Construction of housing is to continue. Wages will continue
- Hold a meeting of village council to see what the Village wants done.

Aemons Field:
- Construction of housing is to continue. If the people wish, the Inn is to be rebuilt. Wages will continue
- Hold a meeting of village council to see what the Village wants done.

Baerlon:
- Construction of housing is to continue. Wages will continue.
- Hold a meeting of village council to see what the Village wants done.

Laws:
- Slavery is now banned, if any owned slaves they are to be released immediately, if these ex-slaves wish they may be kept on as paid servants.
- Any person found to continue holding slaves or a person found dealing in slaves is to be taken, his slaves released to their homes, and the perpetrator fined for 50% of what he owns. This is the first offense
- On the second offense the man or women slaving is to be executed and his wealth taken.