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Action by Monique for Skal'dajan Diplomacy

(Public Action, OOC Date: March 9, 2020, 12:36 a.m.)

It's no surprise to any that the Lady Monique Greenmarch, who has long taken an avid interest in all things Eurus, should find herself seeking out a way to meet with the Eurusi contingent headed for Arvum's shores. "Purely out of a deep desire to learn more and to extend the diplomatic relations of the Telmarch," is the official reason given. She even has new assistants, Quintus (Sebastian) and Sextus, Septimus and Octavus (Ansel's guards), and Nonus (Swift) for such an important journey.

The unofficial reason, though, is far more exciting.

The Minx of the Marches has enlisted the help of her trusted, talented allies and friends to get her to Sungreet at Farmorn Point, to finesse the way for her to meet with Prince Damik'uhl'daja privately. With the assistance of Delia, and possibly a stolen ship from a charming fellow named Argus the Cruel, they'll try to meet with the Eurusi contingent before they ever make land fall. Her goal? To beguile the Eurusi Royal and make of him an ally in that foreign land, with the ultimate goal being to seduce his support of Dawn Baseborn and Leo Fidante, whom she has reason to believe are in Eurus, acting against the Emperor. The Minx will employ all of her tricks, up to and including offering Prince Damik an unknown assassin to help him eliminate his siblings, who clamor for the crown. If they are successful in cutting a deal, she'll give him a letter from one Dante DiFidante, an introduction to his cousin Leo, speaking well of Monique and her helpfulness, among other things.

While Sebastian will be traveling with Monique to Sungreet, he by no means plans to travel as himself. Instead of being a representative of Pravus, he travels as one of Monique's assistants. His goal: to assist Monique with getting her private audience -- whether that means finding and bribing the right assistant to give her a small window of opportunity, distracting guards with a well-timed drinking contest, stealing a copy of Prince Damik'uhl'daja's itinerary to find the right moment to approach him, or all of the above.

Giving his blessing to this little attempt at 'diplomacy', Ansel isn't going to be attending in person. Instead, the Duke of Telmar is providing some resources that he sets at Monique's disposal. A sum of silver, a few guards masquarading as assistants and a few other things that he believes that she might find useful in her attempt to turn the Crown Prince.

Seems like Arianna and Sebastian have spent a lot of time together lately, he is her cousin after all and she does love him so. It makes sense she'd tag along to keep this delegation on track. Not really. She tends to be trouble when she's left to her own devices. Thankfully Monique is one of the very few people who can keep her on a tight leash, which is how she prefers it sometimes not gonna lie. In any case she's here to do what Arianna does best -- be a persuasive little thing and assist in the diplomacy. Or seductions. Most people would call it seduction but really it's her one tried and true method of getting everyone to get along.

If things go awry.

Well...the First Knight of Setarco is no meager combatant and as one of the foremost experts on making murder look like art she will utilize those skills if need be on just about any and every obstacle between the delegation and safety. Hopefully it doesn't come to that but if it does we all know she's going to do her very best to keep Monique and her second favorite cousin alive. (Don't ask who the first one is, the mystery is just so much better.)

Anisha Whisper is an excellent courtier, and her coming along with the expedition fulfills a two-fold purpose. First of all, she's very good at what she does - making people feel welcome, safe, and willing to speak on any number of subjects.

Secondly, she actually speaks Eurusi. Which she intends to keep from the delegation, and use to suss out hidden information for Monique. After all, there's something to be said for what can be spoken of in front of strangers, and Anisha has a gift for truth. So, she seeks to learn information useful to Monique's mission - particularly as regards to the Prince and his rivals for the throne, siblings or not.

Swift will be going along, ostensibly as a servant and assistant to the nobility, using her skill with medicine and alchemy to ensure if anyone becomes sick or wounded that they can be tended immediately. She will be on hand to concoct any necessary poultices or potions as required and in general to just keep her ears open and her mouth shut. A former Thrall, she knows exactly how to go about being part of the scenery, working quietly at the tasks set to her without disrupting others.

Ships. Dante won't be taking one of those anywhere, not anymore. Instead he does what he can from Arx. He's not the diplomatic type, and not being there negates his ability with a sword. So, in case things do go awry, he'll train the ship's crew in tactics that can be used on sea or land, should violence become necessary.

As a skulky investigator from the Lowers of Arx, Ras has recently upped his charges when it comes to dangerous cases, and Monique was willing to pay his fee. He's been hired to find out some extra information about Damik'ul'daja before the attempt to sway the prince is made by the Minx and the others.

Since Monique briefed him on the target, he knows that Damik has siblings who clamor for the emperor's throne, and that he is the son of the Vizier, not the emperor. So what he's looking for is whether the prince is Abyssally tainted, what more he might want, if he's controlled already by strings that need to be cut, and those types of things.

The first stage of his investigation begins immediately (before Monique goes to Sungreet) in the Lowers, where he knows black market traders who deal with Eurusi smugglers, and contacts them to learn what they know. Further, he uses his awkward knowledge of the language to converse with refugees from Eurus (from action 3843). He speaks more directly with the few refugee families that he's befriended lately, too - all with the hope of finding out more regarding the prince.

The second stage of his investigation is in Sungreet. There, he uses street contacts - some of them smugglers, many of them fluent speakers of Eurusi, who can blend in well with any groups of rabble among camp followers, the city's slums, seedy taverns, and anywhere rumors might be spread. The information is directed towards Monique.

With her decent acting chops, Alessia joins the endeavor, posing as one of Monique's assistants, Nonus. As violence isn't anticipated, she'll remain placid and charming for the most part, though will keep her eyes peeled for any threats to any member of her party, especially the Greenmarch herself. In true Lycene fashion, she's armed but not visibly so. With a hidden dagger and sharp hair ornaments on her person, she's well prepared to face any physical threat if things take a dark turn.

Delia heads off to Sungreet ahead of the others, renting a berth on a merchant ship going that way. She's going to appear as if she's there for regular courtier-type stuff, and she probably will actually do some of that for appearances' sake. However, her real purpose is to get chatting to nobles of House Helianthus, especially those who appear to be familiar with sea routes or the Eurusi. Once she finds someone suitable, she means to charm and persuade that person into telling her all about it. That creates options. Perhaps the others will want to get ahead and go try to meet the foreign fleet before it gets to Sungreet. Otherwise, it just provides some more information about which way they might come from and where they might go. Once she's all done with this, she'll wait for Monique's ship and go along for the ride, to be persuasive elsewhere if she can, or find a way to safety if danger looms.

Getting an audience isn't easy. They arrive at Farmorn Point well before the Eurusi, and find Sungreet bustling with activity. Many of the domains of the Compact have done similar to Monique's claim of being diplomatic envoys from the Telmarch, with voices of scores of domains present to speak to House Helianthus or in hopes of a conversation with the Eurusi and find out first if war is inevitable. With the bustling chaos, Sebastian is able to track down and talk to scores of different Helianthus officials and use Ras' contacts to finally track down exactly who to talk to, and from there Anisha and Delia as trained diplomats are able to find out exacting details on when and where the Eurusi are expected to arrive and just who is due to speak to them. A few bribes, cajoling and deft diplomatic maneuvers later, and Monique's Telmarch delegation is added as official envoys that have Helianthus permission to speak to the Eurusi.

Of course, House Helianthus almost certainly expected Monique's group to be one of dozens to eventually speak and would be far down the list, but the Minx of the Marches has recently acquired a very fine ship, and once there's even a threadbare official cover so the Eurusi are expecting her, there's really no need to wait. They sail ahead to jump the line and boldly see if the Crown Prince of Skal'daja will let them board and speak in person.

The Eurusi are more than a bit dubious at the entreaties to come aboard, but Monique, Alessia, Swift, Anisha, Sebastian and Delia are all extremely convincing. To be honest, most of them have been convincing people for a living for a very long time, and that's not about to stop now. So Monique, escorted by the disguised cohorts, comes aboard and has her private meeting with the Crown Prince of Skal'daja, Prince Damik'uhl'daja.

Monique and the prince meet in private for what seems like an awfully long time, and during the time of the meeting Anisha and Delia are able to find out that the crew is a mix of fanatically loyal slave soldiers, higher rank freemen from commoner families, and the officers are almost all Skal'dajan nobility. The fleet is huge and largely divided. A third is under Damik's personal command, while the other two thirds are split in command by two of his brothers, and Anisha is able to hear a fair bit of scuttlebutt about tensions between the three, as all vie for the approval of their father. The sailors gossip about the frictions and how Damik was given command because he's the least reckless and less violent compared to Ulrik'uhl'daja the Butcher of Skal'daja or Galik'uhl'daja the Whip of Skal'daja. THe sailors point that one tends to not get titles like that in Skal'daja by being pleasant. The gossip goes on, and many of the Eurusi are interested to meet the Arvani as curiosities, but at long last Lady Monique Greenmarch emerges and all of Arvum will get to find out just how convincing the Minx of the Marches could be.

The proposal of marriage from the Crown Prince of Skal'daja to Monique is still something of a surprise. Monique can be very, very, very convincing it seems.

To say it shocks the crew of Damik'uhl'daja's flagship is something of an understatement too, as this simply isn't done. Many are aghast when Damik goes on to explain that he intends to ally himself with the Arvani, and that a letter from Monique helped convince him that he's been fighting on the wrong side of the war in Eurus, and Skal'daja should turn against the Dune Emperor and break free from the fetters of the Emperor and Damik's father, the Grand Vizier. Damik, by his side, proceeds to give a stirring speech about how Skal'daja could rise to be a bright beacon in Eurus, and the continent could be liberated from the forces that have held it in sway for generations.

It really does not take long for assassins to attack after that.

Alessia notices them first. There's a hiss from a cat (wait, how is there a cat on board this ship?) and she sees Skal'dajan nobles associated with Damik's brother Ulrik edge closer in the crowd after he gives the speech. She sees the daggers surreptitiously being drawn, and she has time to draw her own weapon and shout a warning right as the assassins move to suddenly charge.

Fortunately for Damik'uhl'daja, Monique's guards Sextus, Septimus and Octavus were standing by the pair and react immediately to Alessia's shouted threat, getting swords out of their scabbards as they move forward to to place themselves in between the assassins and Lady Monique. Septimus manages to parry a dagger but a second assassin stabs him in the throat, who is then cut down in turn by Sextus. Octavus impales a third man before a crossbow bolt catches him in the chest. Sextus is stabbed from behind by a hulking Eurusi in plate mail, while Monique deftly sweeps the leg of one attacker to cut his throat as he falls then stabs the plate-clad Eurusi through the heart, her dagger punching through the metal like it was paper.

A cry goes up from the deck in Eurusi, "Damik has betrayed Skal'daja, death to him and his Arvani dogs! Rally to Ulrik!" An answering cry bellows up from most of the slaves and numerous soldiers, "Protect the Prince!" "For Damik!" "For a free Skal'daja!"

And then the battle is truly joined.

Prince Damik is shouting orders, as the ship begins to turn hard to port and a robed figure near the prow of the ship waves flagged signals. Catapults, archers and ballistae on the decks of hundreds of Eurusi ships begin to fire at one another, as the ships under Damik's command and the ships of his brothers start to clash.

On board his flagship, scores of Eurusi are trying to kill Damik, his supporters, and all of the Arvani guests. Alessia's glaive is out and the glaivedancer of House Mazetti demonstrates her unique style, dancing nimbly away from three attackers as she impales one and flings the body overboard. Sebastian has his Diamond Thorn free and is frantically trying to defend himself and Swift Grayhope. One attacker is attacking with far more strength than seems humanly possible for the thin Eurusi's frame, knocking Sebastian off his feet. Swift throws some powder into the Eurusi's face, making him scream in anguish, but the attacker grabs and brutally slams Swift to the deck of the ship with horrifying force, Swift's cry of shock cut terribly short as she impacts and lies broken and prone. Sebastian is able to recover and cut the man down, but at a glance it's unclear if Swift is still alive.

A bolt of fire lances through the air as Alessia manages to dance away at the last moment, some of her hair being singed by the blast. A robed mirrormask is chanting and pointing, as arcane symbols appear floating in the air then fly forward and burn three sailors fighting to Damik to ashes. More chanting is heard but it's suddenly cut short as the man is pulled backwards and his throat is cut by Monique, who is moving on to her next target before the body hits the floor.

Alessia and Sebastian find themselves fighting back to back, cutting down their own attackers and as their attackers fall they become aware of cheers from the deck. Scores of armed supporters are cheering around Damik, and the battle has died down as quickly as it started, as it seems the assassins could only inspire a thin minority to turn on the Crown Prince of Skal'daja. Able to catch their breath, they can look out from the ship and see what's become of the fleet.

There's smoke rising from Sungreet, and obvious battle in the distance on the ground. It's hard to make out, but throngs of thralls are fighting in what seems to be a revolt against House Helianthus, and ships from Galik'uhl'daja's fleet have made landfall with forces fighting against revolting slaves and supporting Helianthus... who seem to have other forces of Helianthus fighting them. On the sea, dozens of ships are sinking and fighting is happening across scores of decks, but it looks like roughly half of the Eurusi forces are withdrawing... though to the South and Southwest, not East towards Eurus.

Damik has his forces move to support the Arvani who are freeing the thralls, and Monique, Sebastian, and Alessia move to the ground with the forces landing, while Anisha and Delia look after the prone Swift. She's clearly in a coma and likely to perish, even with aid from Mercies on land.

As they land, it becomes obvious that House Helianthus is in a civil war, with forces of the Duke fighting alongside of Damik's brothers against a thrall slave revolt and the Faith of the Pantheon. Templars and Knights of Solace battle desperately against mages and adepts from Eurus who are wrecking horrifying damage, but Damik's forces joining on the side of the Faith decisively tips the balance and prevents a slaughter of thralls. As Monique, Sebastian, Alessia and hundreds of Damik's Eurusi take the loyalist forces of Skal'daja and Helianthus by the rear, it turns into a rout. Some of the forces loyal to the Duke escape by sea, but Sungreet falls to the free forces.

As night falls, the Compact finds itself at war. A war both with a foreign foe, as Damik's brothers lead a little under two thirds of the Eurusi fleet against the Compact, and also a civil war, as the Mourning Isles turns upon itself. But Monique's mission may have saved matters, and they have a new powerful ally.

Now she just has to decide what to do about a marriage proposal.

Action by Marian for The Great Road Crisis

(Public Action, OOC Date: April 8, 2019, 3:29 p.m.)

Count Gael Fournier has suggested quite loudly that it was a mistake for House Valardin to allow for houses such as Greenmarch to bend the knee, and they have no place at all in the Compact, and the Oathlands would be better without them. Princess Marian Redrain, born of House Greenmarch and formly of House Valardin, has taken deep offense to his words, since she was instrumental in brokering the return of House Greenmarch into the Compact. In addition, she has lost blood relatives towards the defense the Compact, at the Tragedy of Sanctum where she lost her father, Marquis Marcel Greenmarch and aunt, Lady Maeve Greenmarch, and the Battle of Stormwall, Lady Eirlys Greenmarch. Since House Greenmarch does not currently have a Sword, and she is first born of this generation, Princess Marian Redrain has with Marquessa Simone Greenmarch and Lady Monique Greenmarch support challenged the Count for his personal insults to a duel. She has named Radiant Bliss Whisper as her champion in the duel. It is her hope that the Count will answer the challenge with a champion of his own.

Well. This is a complicated situation, isn't it? Let's make it even moreso by having the Radiant dueling as a Champion - likely a historical first. Knowing that this is going to have ripple effects in many ways, Bliss has prepared a statement to be released alongside the public naming of her as the Champion for Princess Marian, explaining her reasons for doing so and just what it is she is defending - the origins of the Champions Guild lie in the individual Champions truly believing someone's honor has been slighted and stepping in to fight for it, after all. She has done silly duels in the past, but this one is something different.

We aren't quite at the point where a House Sword is dueling to try to prevent a war from happening - this is being framed as a personal insult to Princess Marian, rather than a challenge to House honor itself - but this is, fundamentally, about whether or not the Compact and Prodigals both should keep both sides of their promises to one another after the knee is bent.

If the terms of the duel allow for it, she will be wielding Vowkeeper.

Bliss's statement: https://pastebin.com/6T9ADkjD (I can make this into a proclamation after action resolution or I'm happy to let it be part of that process)

Simone cannot personally attend the duel because she is away aiding House Valardin in smoothing the situation, diplomatically. However, but she also knows the importance of duels in Compact culture and wishes to make sure that this one is given all due consideration. Lady Margret Greenmarch, also a voice of the House, will be attending to represent House Greenmarch as a member of the compact. Resources from the house have been made available to help as well, but Simone is personally sending Marian some of her own to aid with whatever may be needed in hiring and supporting their champion.

Margret comes as a representative from House Greenmarch to witness the duel. However, while that is her stated purpose she has other motives.

Her first purpose? To convince those present that House Greenmarch is not some wild group of heathens from the woods. They are an Oathlands house that belongs in the Compact. She goes to the duel looking every part an Oathlands noblewoman. She is courteous and polite without being over the top. She demonstrates that she, a Prodigal herself, has assimilated. She is not ostentatious or over the top about it. The men-at-arms and attendants who accompany her are the best Greenhaven has to offer, and they represent Greenmarch in a manner that would make the House proud.

Her second purpose is to humanize the prodigals to the other Oathlanders. Some of the men-at-arms and attendants brought with her are recently arrived Prodigal refugees. She has only brought the most courteous, charming, and polite with her. The hope is that the other Houses will see them, learn where they came from, and realize they are people instead of a scourge on the Oathlands.

Her third purpose is to feel out any dissent within the Orthodox Oathlands houses that are committing the purges against the Prodigal refugees as well as the houses speaking out against them. If there are family members within the Orthodox Oathlands houses that do not approve of the purges she will do what she can to encourage their dissent. If she can get those people to speak out it will weaken the position of the knights who are killing the Prodigals.

Her fourth purpose is to show that House Greenmarch is a strong house militarily, and attacking it would be a costly mistake. She does not intimidate people with her men-at-arms, but she does make sure they have top of the line equipment and that they like strong Oathlands Knights who will not fall easily in battle.

Monique will show up to this duel looking every inch the infamous Minx of the Marches, Greenmarch and Oathlands legend that she is. Instead of pretending an assimilation, Monique makes it look /fabulous/ to be Prodigal as she supports Marian.

Something seems a little off.

Count Gael Fournier, and the Fourniers in general, have been full of bluster and threats about prodigals, and have been openly contemptuous of House Greenmarch since it joined the Compact. They are hardly alone in being an Oathland house to doubt the wisdom of a Valardin prince marrying Marian so long ago and ennobling her family, but they were particularly loud in their objections, and one would expect that to still hold now, as House Fournier comes to defend its honor.

But Count Gael is oddly restrained. He seems visibly uncomfortable and uncharacteristically quiet, and he treats the challenge as a matter of personal honor, and hires William Brightsword from the Champions Guild of Arx as a champion. Bliss, as a champion, is of course familiar with him- and while Willy isn't an incompetent Champion, and is a capable entertainer, he's not a particularly difficult opponent, nor even an expensive one. More someone that would put on a good show than to have a realistic chance of defeating Bliss in a Champion's honor duel. So while no, this is not a match of House Swords on the field of battle, it isn't something fully for sport either, and the choice is a little odd- it's not the choice of someone that's extremely invested in winning. And there's no pre-match bluster, of someone answering the accusations with insults or the like, with the long conversations that Champions would use to build up the crowd.

Margret with Simone's support make certain that every diplomatic effort is made, and that the proper dignity is extended that is sure to win points with Oathlanders, and the atmosphere for the duel is just right... and then Bliss is on the field, ready to duel William.

It's far more serious than most honor duels done for sport, but that doesn't mean its not a show. Bliss outmatches her opponent easily, and is able to make it memorable, disarming him three times in a pointed gesture as the man is permitted by his opponent to retrieve his weapon in a show of good sport. But eventually, after the proper emphasis is well and truly made of the Radiant's skill, Bliss draws blood- and wins decisively.

It's surprisingly how conciliatory after the victory Gael is. He disavows his previous positions, he promises exceptionally generous trade pacts with House Greenmarch, and he gives Margret ample time to speak persuasively in the defense of prodigals to Fournier and diehard traditionalists in attendence. Truthfully, while his family isn't really allowed to show it without a tremendous loss of face (no one in the Oathlands likes a sore loser), it is painfully obvious that most of Gael's family is furious at him for how accommodating he is being, and he steadfastly pretends to ignore it. It's a little puzzling. But the count, awkwardly and a little forced, claims that he's seen the light about Greenmarch, and would never underestimate them again.

Action by Monique

(Public Action, OOC Date: Dec. 22, 2018, 11:26 a.m.)

It's no secret that Lady Monique Greenmarch has been at odds with the Faith lately. It's something the Minx of the Marches is trying to rectify. She has plans to search out an artifact or lost piece of lore for each of the gods she feels closest to: Gild, Petrichor, Skald, Vellichor. She will recruit her friends to help her, and with each success, will donate said artifact or information to the Pantheon.

The first attempt, and the Goddess the Greenmarch is closest to, Gild. Perhaps ambitious, but the Lady has heard stories about the dwarven kingdom to the north, Aviaron. She seeks some lost relic of Gild beneath the Peak of the Dwarves, or perhaps renewed contact and Faith with those who live under the mountain.

Etienne will, out of a great sense of at least curiosity, travel to find the Gild loving Dwarves beneath the mountain. Eager and developing a burgeoning sense of adventure goes forth with some protests of need for comfort and trappings of civilization in hopes to share stories, knowledge, and appreciation for the goddess with the sub-terranean dwellers and aid in the recovery of some relic. Etienne would bring textiles of all moderate sorts as gifts. (such as seasilk, umbra, and aeterna).

Sparte has long been on good terms with Lady Monique, and he knows what it is to be at odds with a group and have to make amends. That Lady Monique seeks amends is something he finds admirable. Her choice of method is a dangerous one, so he is seeing this expedition as a risky venture to be planned for accordingly. He will be collecting supplies and equipment through the Society of Explorers to help ensure the mission's success. He will of course also be going, and taking the same risks.

Marian will go on the trek, assisting with the security and protecting the group from harm. She's the warrior so she'll be first in line to attack anything that proves to be a threat to the group. She will also use her knowledge of the Northlands and survival to navigate any difficult areas. Keeping a sharp eye out of any ambushes or attacks.

Jhond will go on the trek as a member of the expedition. His specialty is as a guide and in reaching hard to reach places if its needed. Cliff to climb to drop a drop, river for swim to help the others ford, etc as well as facing whatever danger may prevent itself with steel if needed.

Initially brought in as a tent-buddy, Alrec, gains some weight and makes sure to bring a lot of games, alcohol, and furs. Still, wanting to be respectful to the cause, he amasses a few writs to trade along the route (and one can only hope, with the dwarves also).

Cadern is happy to join the search for the Dwarves to further his research in . Cadern in particular will go along to research the fascinating culture and take note of what they learn. His primary goal to smooth relations within the group and with others they encounter, dwarves or otherwise. He'll also bring along trinkets to trade particularly things he thinks they may not have such as glass and masks in particular, and no doubt extra booze.

Dwarves. It's... well. As she stated to Monique. Oh no dear Lady, not you too. But Monique is a good client, and for good clients Josephine will go out of the way and if a potential (likely false and laughable claim made by others) lineage makes things easier for one of her favourite clients? Well, Josephine will go. Armed in heavy furs, a sturdy cane, bearing gifts of brass namely in the shape of a series of tomes of brass sheets engraved with the history of the people since the reckoning as a communal gift, and a dragonweep stone in a lovely iridescite box made by Josephine, she's venturing forth. The worst? They find nothing and Josephine has at least experienced the far north and can quietly laugh to herself. The best? They find these dwarves and Monqiue's purpose is achieved. Either way, she's along for the journey and it's at least NOT via a boat.

Dwarves? Princess Helena's eyes lit up with wonder and awe when she heard of the quest to Aviaron, so much so that poor Monique probably felt she had to ask the Redrain to go along. Still, Helena's of the north and knows much of the journey well, and she's going along to add her own knowledge of the north and its lore to the wealth of knowledge of her party mates and to chronicle the event should they actually meet the storied dwarves of Aviaron, for that would be a story worth retelling.

Estelle is coming along to assist in any way that the Mercy is able! She is most likely to assist in the capacity of a healer however, keeping everyone healthy and in one piece for the trek as well as helping out with negotiations if need be.

The Knights of Solace are more then interested in making contact with these worshipers of Gild and Andry is one of the knights assigned as escort. He will also do what he can to bring along whatever supplies may be needed.

Lora, possessed of a keen interest in Brass and his associates, will first assist Josephine with the design and creation of brass objects, partially to show affinity to the Knight and partially to create some kind of pictorial communication device. She will join the expedition as a diplomatic asset, bringing coin to hopefully make the journey easier, and then her skills as a communicator in case they actually find who they're looking for.

It is, in a word, daunting.

Rumors of dwarves have swirled in whispers for a long, long time, but any more precise details that would take them from legend to an actual meeting are impossibly elusive. Ultimately, the most promising lead came from a seraph of a small village near Aviaron's Peak, who had some local Northlands legends about them. From there, it was a long trek of chasing the local legends that were disappointments, and then came a story of the Red Mine of Underhill Fortress, which was an abandoned set of mines from veins of gold and silver long since run dry, but legend had connected to a fortress miles deeper in the mountain that once had dwarves. Several days of searching there does find what once was obviously a massive fortress built deep in the earth, but almost completely shattered ages ago, possibly before the Reckoning, with some skeletons of what likely were dwarves there. With luck though, they find writing on stone tablets near the entrance with a single skeleton by itself next to the tablets. Etched in Arvani, speaking of 'the Last Stand of Clan Underhill against Ruin'. The etchings say, 'Ruin was understood too late. Cannot be stopped by swords or spells. Cannot be stopped by strength or will. Bound by words, but not by magic. Needed a treaty. A pact. Perhaps the copy of the treaty forming this new alliance in the South? Blessed by Gild. That might have saved us all."

Action by Cullen

(Public Action, OOC Date: July 14, 2018, 7:28 p.m.)

When the knights of the True Compact surrendered to Marquis Marius Greenmarch after a pitched battle and clever diplomacy won the day for House Greenmarch, it was understood that these outlaws would formally bend the knee in exchange for their continued existence, and that they'd be disarmed and forced to settle in the Greenwood to become more productive subjects - mainly producing timber and bows for export and increase Greenmarch's tax revenue. To see this chapter of bloody insurrection and conspiracy fully resolved, Lord Cullen Greenmarch, as the General of Greenmarch's army, will ride out at the head of that force to see the True Compact fulfill their promise with other members of the family ready to do their parts to make the process as smooth as possible.

A healer and a diplomat, Margret goes to assist Simone in working with the Knights and Villagers to see the Knights settled. She also teaches those villages how to live healthily by instructing them on basic hygiene (put the village latrine away from the drinking water) and basic first aid. This is done not only to keep them healthy, but to solidify their trust. If Greenmarch cares about their health then they care about them.

After convincing the leader of the knights to surrender, Marius will keep working with him. Not content to simply have the knights to be subjects, he wants them to be productive, loyal, members of the march that see a future within Greenwood. He'll talk to the leader about the proud history of Greenmarch, the way of cooperating and how to best settle in to make the best of things for both the march and themselves.

Having helped to resolve the conflict and to get the knights to lay down their weapons though diplomacy alongside Marius, Simone will now go with Cullen to see to the long-term stability of the knights. She will speak to nearby villages until a place can be found where the least likelihood of repraisal or hard feelings is to be an issue. She will work with both the knights and the villages to see them settled and productive and to help them deal with and lay aside previous prejudices that led to the conflict in the first place.

The charm that the Minx of the Marches is known for is on full display here. She is warm and welcoming and spends a good deal of time with the men and women formerly of the True Compact, helping them adjust to their new lives as bondsmen and women of Greenmarch.

Alessandro will be along to see to the accounts side of things. He will be helping secure apprenticeships for the former knights, liaising with Dame Ida to assist her by providing coin for materials for her toolmaking, keeping track of money needed for the venture, as well as how the incomes grow as people settle into their new lives. He will also be figuring out tax amounts and making sure everything is set up for payment to Greenmarch.

Through the last few years as a Ranger of the Silver Order serving his mission as guide and protector for deployed healers, Jamie Greenmarch has worked to protect these very men and in many cases, fought alongside them. After all, their battle prowess is not suddenly lost despite their shift to lumberjacks and fletchers. That comraderie is never forgotten and Jamie will use it to help facilitate the agenda of his family in this area, through building a more trusting and better relationship with the former Knights.

At the invitation of both Lords Alessandro and Cullen Greenmarch, Ida will accompany the party on their endeavor. As a knight herself and, maybe, still well-known pugilist, the smith will talk about her younger years of fixing as many plows as she did armor and how a good days work is still pretty damn rewarding. All that, though, because she's just chatty. The Ida's main focus will be bringing some journeymen from the shop and deliver a number of tools the former knights will need for their new trades. If any show interest in learning how to make such themselves, she will happily instruct them.

Norwood brings his own unique perspective to the soon to be farmer knights - being one himself from ages past. (Albeit with bees.) It's a solid practice run for Norwood's own future of trying to convince people who aren't particularly peaceful to settle down with the compact. He'll teach them what he knows about woodsman arts from his own childhood. It's okay to be a lumberjack!

Marian has gone through the transition from shav to prodigal. She does some volunteering with the Office of Prodigal and Refugee Affairs. She can offer valuable insight to Cullen in how to make the transition go smoother. As well as watch over the party visiting just in case any rogue factions try to derail the transition. While it's clear that Cullen is definitely in charge, Marian will take this opportunity to teach her protege what she knows.

In the Greenmarch, some shav upstarts have been claiming to be the One True Compact. But under the leadership of Lord Cullen Greenmarch they've been brought to heel. Princess Marian, Baron Norwood, Dame Ida, Lord Jamie, Lord Alessandro, Lady Monique, Marquessa Simone, Marquis Marius and Lady Margret all had their parts to play as well. Convincing the shav to bend the knee rather than be slaughtered was the first task, and helping them acclimate as part of the Compact was the second. They succeeded beyond what they could have hoped for, and as a result Greenhaven is more productive and stronger than ever before.

Action by Aethan for Kennex growth

(Public Action, OOC Date: June 4, 2018, 10:16 a.m.)

@action/newaction Aethan has taken command of the Kennex navy, and has taken stock of the number of ships there are and what condition they're in, as well as whether they're fully crewed. Once that is taken care of, he has several things on the list:

* Ships. Since there are, to say the least, not many at the moment, the first thing he is going to to is call in as many favors as he can -- and, let's be honest, start owing favors to some people -- to get the materials to make more, writs to buy more, or hopefully on the Stormward pirate clearing trip, take a few as prizes.
* Crew. He will be meeting with anyone who he thinks can help point eager young people who feel the call of the sea toward Kennex. And maybe some people who don't feel it but could be convinced to for the right incentives.
* Reputation. Capitalizing on the goodwill hopefully generated from the Stormward trip, he will be looking for people who are respected in their various spheres to start spreading the word that Kennex is on the rise again.

Part of this will also be enacted on the trip to Stormward already planned -- Aethan will be out meeting people, letting them get to know him, and laying out his vision for the Kennex navy. He is not the most charming of men, but he knows how to lead, and that is probably what one wants in an admiral, right?

Ian is going to turn his considerable knowledge and expertise in training new recruits towards the new hires, starting with the basics and maybe even pitting himself against Wash or Aethan in elaborate war games! One way or another, he'll make sure that nobody goes into battle unseasoned.

Wash will write letters, visit vendors, and generally share all of the tips and tricks he learned in his time as Admiral of Kennex on how to rebuild a fleet. He will paint a picture for vendors of how illustrious it is to craft Kennex vessels, to know that your lumber, ropes and brightwork went into making the finest ships in all of Thrax.

Porter is going to be Porter, that is, the dashing sea captain that is hard working, fair, and leads a life of adventure. If there recruitment posters, he'd be on the poster. It's important for everyone to see the hard work and know that Kennex doesn't shirk the work and that they party hardy. He also knows some sailors tired of the Gray River and can be lured out to sea.

Juliana is going to help two fold. First she is going to use her influence and resources in Isles Canines, to get shipwrights and craftsmen to help with the recreation of Kennex Fleet. She will not only talk to those she can but she invest in the fleet as well. Second, she is going to use her own reputaton and skills to talk to those others that can help. Nobles, sailors and the like. After all, Kennex lost a lot fighting to protect her home.

Monique has agreed to help Aethan reestablish the Kennex navy under his control, and to that end the Minx of the Marches is calling in markers from various contacts and providing the Admiral a significant amount of funds to start.

Iseulet is many things, but scared of hard work? Never. She accompanies Aethan and Juliana and others that are heading out there and learning as much as she can about the Brothers Kennex and their achievements on the sea.
Her approach to the rest of what she's seeing around here is /vastly/ different and it's readily apparent she marches to the beat of a different drummer, because, you see, she makes music for them! Singing (slightly embellished) songs featuring tales of the Brothers Kennex and how they will rebuild Kennex's navy (with your military writ donations)! Every night they are out there among the people of Stormward, she takes her trusty lute out there with her and performs the songs (in the form of humorous sea shanties) and even improvises so that each night, there is something a little different about the show to keep drawing larger and larger crowds.

While she's not doing this (boat rides are long and boring, alright?) she uses her economic expertise to lend advice where needed, keeping the expenses for the trip as low as possible (without making the Brothers Kennex and other 'staff' of the ship eat gruel - that'd just be cruel).

As Voice of Kennex, Lady Catalana has been busy and being the forefront for Kennex now that she's back on her feet. After discussions and appointing Lord Aethan Kennex as the new admiral of the Stormward fleet she is there to support him. It is with him she intends to help build up the fleet, along with her family, and be sure to make it known that she has full faith in their knew admiral. Visiting with other nobles and vassals, she reaches out to them in order to gain support of writs of otherwise to make the fleet even stronger.

Ember cannot spare her seasoned sailors, but there are young men in Redreef Shores who would suit as sailors for House Kennex. She attempts to recruit, through cajoling to threats and everything in-between, young untrained men for the Kennex Navy.

After discussing this particular effort with Lord Aethan, Gwenna will speak in her various social circles about the endeavors being put forth by he and the Kennex. How when knocked down, they pick themselves up and quickly get to work rebuilding. War and political turmoil may bring chaos, but it is in those moments that we learn and grow toward a better future. She'll mention the visits made to Stormward and dedication of so many toward re-manning a fleet - new ships, new duties, and the new faces feeling the call of the sea to man them. Kennex surely is on the rise, building it plank by plank, deed by deed.

Elara has been asked to work her charm and musical talent to continue to promote the navy. And hopefully to bring in more recruits as well. She will join Iseulet in singing and playing as much as she can. Going further, she writes up little skits with comedic moments and tale telling about actual Kennex sailors and victories that can be added to performances or done on their own.

Harper spends alot of time in the burroughs and meets alot of people on her patrols and through her volunteer work at the Tragedy. She also sees alot of people that need more productive pursuits to keep them from falling into trouble that she or her fellow guards might have to deal with later. So she spreads the word that there's a fancy admiral fellow looking for crews. It's good work and a chance to learn something useful. And she keeps planting the bug about it in their ears, over and over, hoping that maybe through persistence she can badger them into something productive if nothing else works.

Tesha is going to be helping Aethan and the Kennex fleet in the usual way Tesha can, that means she'll be using her delightful charm and wit to talk up the Kennex sailors and things of that nature. Hoping to steer some wide eyed youths looking to become sailors that way. She'll also be aiding with silver to cover some of the costs.

The Kennex Navy under Lord Aethan Kennex is slowly starting to rebuild. Now Aethan makes a tour of his facilities and shifts some priorities over to focus on shipbuilding to make up for the decimation of the fleet at Setarco. Lord Ian comes to help train new recruits. Lord Wash uses his experience as Admiral to encourage merchants to focus on their shipbuilding first.

Lady Juliana uses her own contacts with the Isles Canines and others to encourage support of - and slightly lower prices for - the new Kennex navy. Lady Monique chips in as well, calling in favors and contributing money to the cause. And Lady Catalana, Voice of Kennex? She's right there helping find money to spend on these new ships.

And to crew them? Lord Porter takes the lead here, serving as the face of the Kennex Navy. Lady Iseulet Blackshore, singing songs and telling tales of bravery and heroism! It doesn't hurt that this also bumps up visibility for her new venture, The Empyrean either, but surely that's tangential to the cause at hand! Lady Ember helps focus on recruitment too, and Princess Gwenna talks about the valiance of the Kennex Navy at Setarco.

With Lady Elara also singing songs of bravery and Harper Ashdown encouraging recruitment to a better life for orphans and other misfits and even Lady Tesha Telmar helping boost recruitment, the people of Kennex take a good long look and realize... the Kennex navy is -famous-. Like, famous-famous. There are people from all over the Compact who know them!

Pride swells, recruitment soars, and the Kennex Navy is well on its way to being rebuilt.

Action by Alessandro

(Public Action, OOC Date: June 3, 2018, 5:04 p.m.)

Alessandro has begun learning all he can about Greenmarch, and throwing himself into learning about the running of the house. Since Greenmarch is in need of building up their military again, he has decided to put his efforts into this task first.

His approach will be two-pronged. His own contribution will be the money side of things -- looking at house finances, seeing where there can be cuts made, drawing from any possible source to find the funds to hire new infantry, pikes, and archers. He will also be looking to make adjustments to house investments to possibly bring in new income.

He will also be speaking to all the members of the house about how they can contribute, whether it be encouraging people to join up in the army, showing a strong united front for Greenmarch through leadership skills, possibly taking on trainees for various military-related skills, or recruiting and training field medics.

Simone will assist by reaching out to their people to speak to them about the honor and the satisfaction of protecting their homelands. She will relate to them stories and tales of the heroes of the Greenmarch family and how they were supported by the troops that followed them into battle to raise their spirits and their sense of pride in their people.

Margret goes to the Greenwood to recruit healers to be trained as battle medics for the army. She organizes the volunteers she receives, and sets up programs in which to train them on healing in battles.

Cullen will use his extensive training in the tactics and strategies of warfare to help train new officers to lead in the field, utilizing such knowledge to recognize and exploit weaknesses of enemy forces.

Monique is Monique. She seduces new recruits. How many? Enough. She uses her Minxish wiles to charm and beguile conscripts, and if all of a sudden there are poets and bards singing flattering songs about the legendary Minx of the Marches in all the taverns this side of the Oathlands? Mere coincidence.

Marius rallies his people to rebuild the forces of the Greenmarch. He sends patrols around the various villages on Greenmarch land, encouraging them to join up, and he himself spends some time gathering people to speak to them. Reminding them of the proud traditions of the Greenwood, and that it has stood, untamed and unconquered, only through the sacrifice of it's people and soldiers.

Sir Corban might now just be a rank-and-file knight in the King's Own now, but he was a drill instructor once. Now armed with some of the latest teaching techniques, he will be join the Greenmarchers and see that the new recruits are shown the best technique and formation to join the ranks of the Greenwood army.

Prince Alessandro Velenosa has decided to start working on behalf of the Greenmarch family to build up their military. And apparently hiring in some advisory help works for Greenmarch and the family, as they all pitch in to help.

Marquessa Simone speaks about the importance of protecting their homeland. Lady Margret recruits and organizes battle medics. Marquis Marius sends patrols out to the various villages encouraging recruitment, and Lady Monique even helps encourage them to sign up by charming new recruits into believing this is the best job ever!

Once these new people have been recruited, Lord Cullen trains officers in war tactics, and Sir Corban helps with drills and some of the latest training techniques to get these green recruits up to speed as quickly as possible.

All in all a rousing success, though a Velenosan prince's heavy involvement raises some eyebrows and assumptions about future marriage matches among Compact gossips.

Action by Katarina for The Wolf Door

(Public Action, OOC Date: May 7, 2018, 1:17 p.m.)

With the Gyre defeated and no other threats currently in play, Katarina has decided to prepare a ship and a crew to send out to the Island of Storms to retrieve an artifact and explore the locale. With the complicated maps and journals that tell of treacherous waters and harrowing landscapes to triangulate the direct location of the island, she's well aware the journey itself will prove to be one of their most challenging voyages yet.

In order to maximize their chances of survival in the event that the absolute worst happens, duplicate maps have been made available for the more seasoned and trusted sailors to serve aboard a second ship tasked with rescue. That ship will anchor as close as they can where the seas are still calmest, just in case. It also helps to make sure the team she's bringing along covers fields of expertise they may need in the expedition.

Ian will be joining Katarina in this venture. As the Lantern of Lagoma is something that Galen expressed an interest in going after, Ian will bring the Thrax Special Forces as a little bit of backup and a little extra muscle.

Monique is here for linguistic support and general investigation and protection support. She can speaks Isles Shav, and will do so quite readily, charming the pants off of anyone who might have the information they need. Her blade, too, is placed in the service of Katarina and this noble endeavor.

While there is peril in navigating and sailing through treacherous waters, Terese will leave the navigation in the hands of Katarina and lend her personal support to act as a defense to anything that should encounter that might try to descend upon them. Should the Island prove too dangerous to stay upon she is hoping to assist with retrieving any item as quickly as possible.

Ansel will be departing the city to accompany Princess Katarina and the others, along with a small contingent of Telmarine armsmen. He's likely not going to be much help insofar as navigating the ship goes, but will be there to lend an extra sword arm if needed, having some experience with marine-type landings before with the Abandoned tribes loyal to the Gyre.

Lisebet has been invited to go along on this mission, so she will be going as well. She's not likely going to be able to help with navigation or sword arms, but can provide some resources to help trade with locals if needed, assisting with those who are negotiating while there. Although young in scholarly pursuits, she is coming along to assist as she may with the non-fighty things, adding her wit, charm and whatever mental acuity she might have to the endeavour.

With the lantern found, and disaster narrowly averted, they return to Arx. Thanks to Lisebet's sure-footedness, Ansel's cowardly courage, Terese's paper, Monique's scouting, Katarina's discernment and Ian's steadiness they are successful. The legend of the Unsullied grows - and so does the legend of The Scarf.

Action by Monique for Gyre Straits - Calling the Banners

(Public Action, OOC Date: Feb. 2, 2018, 7:23 p.m.)

As has been requested of her by the Voice of Telmar, Lord Corban Telmar, Lady Monique Greenmarch is calling the banners of Greenmarch. She may not be Voice anymore, but Monique is no less connected to her extended family and their vassals (some might say even more so now) and she can be very persuasive! She travels to Greenwood and throughout the area, rousing brave souls to fight under Greenmarch's banner, inspiring them to see Telmar as more than just some obscure liege in a distant city, but as someone who will actively fight for and protect them in turn! Duke Arn? No, he's fabulous. Really. Why? What've you heard ...

Though not related to Greenmarch in any way, Caspian will still be assisting by approaching some unwed ladies of Greenmarch's vassals and convincing after a bit of flattery and flirtation to ether send more troops to battle if they have such authority of to speak to their fathers, brothers, and other such family members about sending more troops.

Marius is lending Monique the requested aid of him being present or sending tokens out, by commanding his servants to help her along her journey rallying the banners.

Will help Monique by sending letters, writing out speaches for a clan representive that she will be sending with her

Zara is accompanying Monique as she travels throughout Greenwood, adding a Valadrin voice to stress the need behind the call and extra aid in the diplomatic efforts.

Duchess Cambria Mazetti calls the banners of Ostria to war. She reaches out to her vassals and her people, reminding them of unity and loyalty and fealty. She gives them gifts and encourages them to stand strong with Velenosa and Mazetti. Duke Hadrian stands with her, calling in favors and giving rousing speeches that remind everyone of the urgency of this call.

And they reach out to the abandoned in the area as well. Reminding them that if the Compact is trampled they are next in line. Offering sanctuary in turn for loyalty to the Compact and Mazetti. Sir Theron, Sword of Mazetti, offers this to those reluctant to join - an honorable challenge, a duel to first blood. If he wins, he offers, they join the Compact and fight for Mazetti. If he loses they are left alone - or they can join the Compact anyway if they prefer. Some take him up on the offer, and some lose - and some win and join anyway. Some few win and decline joining the Compact too, but House Mazetti keeps their word and moves on. Perhaps that will come back around and prove beneficial at some point in the future.

Lord Valerio works on integrating all forces together in a cohesive battle and deployment plan. Lord Giulio works on making sure these newly-joined prodigals are truly sincere. All in all, House Mazetti makes the call and their people respond, and their armies swell as they join the muster.

Action by Monique

(Public Action, OOC Date: Jan. 3, 2018, 1:48 a.m.)

Monique knows that a certain individual has been spreading rumors about the Minx. She also knows that Corban has been tarnished by this feather. And she knows that Corban has many, many friends who will help to cheer the Telmar Lord on publicly and not let someone else bring him down! So she's speaking to friends and kin of Corban Telmar, in an effort to have the man's honor be recognized above those who would inadvertently tarnish it, especially since it's his birthday coming up!

Agnarr, knowing Corban is a good paying client, occasionally takes a few moments to extoll his virtues and whatever it is that Telmar sells. (He isn't really sure.) Or else...

Bianca is happy to express Corban's virtues. From his gracious donations to the Scholars to his undying dedication to the Compact, she is happy to sing the praises of the man in any casual conversation that the topic may organically arise.

Every occasion in which Samael has been given the opportunity to meet Lord Corban has been a good one. That coupled with the fact he has the heart of his good friend, leaves Lord Corban in Samael's high esteem. He'll be telling anyone who will listen.

Dame Esoka Greenblood has always found Lord Corban Telmar to be an honorable, upstanding man and a fine warrior. She's happy to speak up on his behalf and tell all she knows that she's never found his conduct to be anything but chivalrous.

Thesarin Riven doesn't speak often, but he'll speak in support of Corban Telmar. A strong arm, some good company, and a man who helped keep his wife safe during a dangerous journey.

Reese would like to help by using her influence to speak positively of Lord Corban. She speaks of his help on the missions, his skill in battle, his level-headedness under pressure, his command abilities and his willing to step up when needed.

Marquis Rymarr's certainly willing to speak of Lord Corban's virtues. The Telmar did very probably save his life once. So speaking well of him? Not difficult to do.

Always a fan of talking up people, the King of the Compact makes a point of it to mention how pleasant he's found his interactions with Lord Corban Telmar in a few well-placed ears.

Clover will be doing what she can to start a propaganda campaign; going over Corban's many virtues to those Sworn of Valardin and Crownsworn. Telling about how how he worked with her as a vassal of Telmar in his duties as Voice. She will tell stories of how honorable and kind he is. And in general try to sway people to seeing hima s a respectable, and honorable, Oathlands lord. Who works hard for his duchy, fealty, and the compact.

There's a roving bard singing a song these days extolling the virtues of Lord Corban Telmar and it's incredibly catchy. To the point that random people are humming it in the streets now. And by the time they get to the clever ending, everyone's singing along. "Say it again! Who's that man among men? And we'll say it once more! Who's that hero next store? Who's that super success, don't you know can't you guess? Ask his fans and his five hangers on.... There's just one guy in town who's got all of it DOWWWWWWWWWN. And his name's C-O-R... C-O-R-B... C-O-R-B-A.....CORBANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

Action by Leola

(Public Action, OOC Date: Jan. 1, 2018, 10:55 p.m.)

Is the Lodge becoming a grove?

Leola, while many things, is not the sharpest arrow in the quiver. The healing plants growing in the soil, which suggests it is rich in Primum - the First Children's visits - and of course, the coming and going of intelligent, spirited animals - suggest it may be. As the Paladin of Groves, Leola attempts to divine and - potentially - secure this blessing.
Those noted as blessed by Creation, or walkers of the spirit paths, are invited to the Lodge, to best study it. Leola attempts to divine the Lodge's standing, comparing it to those other groves she knows (c.f. The Hesitant Hedgehog).
She also talks to the First, to the Knights of Petrichor. She seeks their approval and their aid in turning the Lodge into a place truly devoted to Creation.

Orazio dispatches priests and himself to say prayers and undertake a full rite of consecration, protection, and worship of Petrichor on the premises of the Grove. This is a full Church rite, which means it takes days, involves a lot of very seriously considered prayers including kneeling, standing, ritual purification, and all that fun stuff. It may be noticed that the praying and the cleansing goes up a notch whenever one of the shamans are around, and that the prayers themselves are dedicated very /pointedly/ to Petrichor, the Pantheon, and all who worship and honor the gods of the Faith. Orazio also will probably hang around at weird times hoping to catch a glimpse of a unicorn. Because. Unicorn.

Cybele wanders the lands of the lodge, trying to map out occult confluences and Primium rich areas by - well, mostly by feel, and also by the presence of any spirits, seeing as spirits seeem to also enjoy groves. And if not, the shaman is more than willing to seek the advice of spirits on how to make the Lodge a Grove!

Khanne holds the Stone Grove sacred and something very close to her heart... but also, to her soul. She has had visions of its first days, and believes she knows why and how it was raised... at least in part. it is storied Petrichor himself blessed the Stone grove, and she would work with Leola and Cybele to pray to Petrichor and make offerings in ritual for the Spirits to do the same to the location of the Lodge, if it is indeed determined to become a sacred Grove as well. Along with her skills in agriculture to aid in documenting all of the plants and comparing them to those found at the Stone Grove.

Anze isn't magical himself, and he knows very little about Petrichor other than what he's learned from leola herself, but that doesn't mean he doesn't see merit between the blening of shamanism and the southern church. The tying together of the two faiths to create a holy place untainted by the corruption of the dark reflections is an important piece of work and so Anze will do what he can, beseeching the spirits himself is the best Anze can do to try and help. He will pray that the spirits find the place as holy as Petrichor seems too and that they will take residence and try and make it holy thrmselves.

While quite new to all of this compared to most, having joined Petrichor's Discipleship within the last year and still very much learning such things, Olivia is nonetheless eager to help. What help means? Well, sanctifying groves is a bit beyond her normal religious pay grade, though she will offer prayers with everyone else. But most of all, she walks the grounds, wanders amidst the various flowers and trees, touches a few, and can be seen leaning close to some, perhaps merely to listen, or... possibly to whisper? It seems in this company she is not shy of making known her habit of talking to plants.

Sophie was present when the Lodge grounds were first secured. Leola revived it with Petrichor's favor, while Sophie successfully beseeched Lagoma to purify the grounds. (Critical roll of 140 resulted in Apostate saying anything wicked would be kept away for 169 days. Which, yanno, has long since passed but still.) As such, perhaps she has some sort of connection to the place. She'll certainly meditate and pray upon it to see what insights might come to her -- or what her Sight might show her should it kick in.

Aiden, surprised by the invitation, isn't confident what he can contribute, but being able to talk to the First in the past might help. He is trying to form some way to communicate with them on a regular basis and strike an accord to secure their help. So any opportunity to speak with them, is a good one. He'll come out to the Lodge to part take in the study, listen to the birds, speak with the First if they allow him to, mediate, to pray. He'll contribute as much as his knowledge will allow him to.

Monique has no divination skills, no magic abilities but what she does have is information and contacts, and a way of sussing out the heart of a matter with those skills. She'll investigate the history of the Lodge, the creatures and beings who have been known to visit there, and anything else that might give clues about its status.

Orazio comes with members of the Faith to sanctify the Lodge. It takes days, but it is a beautiful place and so there's little hardship to being there even in winter. The Lodge has always been a place of peace, but now it seems even more holy, even more peaceful. Olivia sees the plants there growing faster than they were before - even in the greenhouses of the Lodge that protect from winter's chill.

And now the spirits come in response to Khanne and Cybele's entreating. They come and they stay, for this is a welcoming place, this Lodge, this holy place. Some who come were simply spirits roaming. Others were spirits gravely wounded. One comes and greets Cybele with a nod of recognition, healing up from harm done months earlier.

And then as those assembled look on, little white bunnies hop out of the woods and perform a choreographed dance number, singing in harmony, audible and understood by everyone present.

"Do you wanna make a Grove now?
Come on, let's do this right.
You're not a pal-a-din, that was just to win,
in Brand's Silent War!
But Petrichor still loves you, and your friends,
who called all the spirits heeeeere...
Do you wanna get a Grove set?
(It won't quite be a /Grove/ yet.)
Hold back the night..."

Incredulously, Leola suddenly blurts out, "WELCOME TO MY LIFE!"

Action by Bianca for The Despite of Fable

(Public Action, OOC Date: Dec. 26, 2017, 8:45 a.m.)

The truth shall set us free.

The call has been made and a great archival is being set into motion by the Scholars of Vellichor, reaching out to the entirety of the discipleship far and wide in an effort to duplicate and spread information contained in each outpost of Vellichor’s faithful from the grandest library to the smallest monastery.

The plan itself is no small task and in reality Bianca is aware it will take years to come to fruition, but they had to start somewhere.

Phase 1: Organization - A rather large focus team is gathered utilizing local Scholars and overseen by three Senior Scholars (NPCs) to take point on the clerical end of the Archival process. The role of this team is ongoing, their job being to disseminate information to the known enclaves of the discipleship throughout the many territories of Arvum regarding the archival process and how it will function. Once the process begins, they will be the ones dealing with the incoming reports and developing an encoded master inventory list of all outlying literary collections within the jurisdiction of the Scholars. A secondary list will also be created in regards to the location of lost relics that may be hidden away though in the possession of the Scholars. This secondary list shall also be encoded, its construction remains solely in the hands of the three senior scholars on point for this team and is only to be viewed by them and Archscholar Bianca. Once both lists are completed a secondary action will be taken to protect the contents of the pages (either via in-game actions or a storyrequest). From there a procedure will be set in place for all future acquisitions to be reported to the Archives to be properly categorized and added to the proper encoded list.

Phase 2: Reproduction - The next step of this accounting is the duplication of documented works. Any pieces of literary record (fiction AND historical) not found in duplicate shall be reproduced by the Scholars located in the parish these works are found to be and aid from Arx will be sent to the smaller libraries in the form of manpower to help. The goal is that a copy of everything not deemed ‘imprimatur’ will be replicated and disseminated to the Archives as well as the discipleship’s library in each of the five regional capitals: Sanctum, Lenosia, Maelstrom, Farhaven, Bastion. Anything deemed ‘imprimatur’ will also be duplicated though these duplications will only be sent to the Great Archive. This process will also be applied to all new information coming into the Archives or discovered by the discipleship moving forward.

Phase 3: Dissemination to the Public - While the Archives have always been open to the public and all noble houses, an immediate public relations campaign is set in place to better inform those of Arx and Arvum on the whole that the pursuit of knowledge and information will not be turned away or looked upon with wary eyes. This campaign is to be fostered by /all/ of the discipleship setting the stage for an open door policy and as more information is collected in Phase 1 and Phase 2, the Archive will be able to ideally provide direction if not a copies of what is being sought. The title of the campaign is “Let no question go unanswered.” For those seeking knowledge that extends beyond the bounds of what is considered safe for public consumption, they will be directed to petition the Scholars for access. A small council of senior scholars headed by Archscholar Bianca will be set to task in reviewing such requests and disseminating information on a case by case basis (unless of course PCs come to her directly).

Now, with the discipleship’s funds recently diminished due to the recent expenditure in Stormward, Bianca is also reaching out to all those outside the Scholars willing to aid with this tremendous undertaking. Donations are to be accepted in specific to aid in the Archival as well as individual manpower for replication of books not marked ‘imprimatur,’ though the most poignant request in the forefront is martial cooperation and aid. There is a great danger present and those tasked with the duplication or simply traveling to disperse information and transport copies will undoubtedly need protection and assistance while traversing the many territories of Arvum. And sometimes boats. Boats are cool and there are a lot of islands to be reached.

Lady Monique Greenmarch has a wide net of contacts she employs, along with their silver and her own gratuitous charm, on behalf of the ArchScholar's endeavor. How does she find out the things she does? It's impossible to know, but she will attempt to secure safe roads to travel, and trusted safe houses for those scholars and their handlers to stay in, alongside vaults for the information to be saved.

Fortunato, although no official scholar, is happy to lend his hands and eyes to the work of replication (if with a tiny bit of illumination in the margins as strikes him, not enough to seriously detract from the speed of the task). He is able and willing to travel to the regional archives to aid copying work there as well, if, of course, with escort.

Sophie will be aiding in Phase 2, leading any and all Mercy volunteers to go through the extensive medical records and white journals of known Mercies, collating what is deemed important information. She will also write to the Mercy chapters throughout the Compact, seeking their cooperation, and offering organizational instruction to those wanting. Finally, she'll do what she can to procure what House Valardin has.

Phase I-III: Ailith will coordinate through her increasing network of Seraph contacts across the Compact, and reaching out also to the Seraphs that the Dominus and Legate of Creation informed Ailith about. She'll explain the first Phase of Archlector Bianca's process and encourage the Seraphs in how the parishes may assist such as the Seraphs providing copies of any texts to the Archlector or the three Senior Scholars. Ailith will assist in fielding any questions if the Seraphs respond directly to her. In additional letter will be included.

Calaudrin will be joining with other members of the Iron Guard in helping protect the Faith's documents as they move through the city. He'll be especially on the lookout for anything at all suspicious as they go.

Lord Commander Silas will be helping direct his men in protecting the precious cargo -- copies of invaluable lore from several great libraries and archives. He himself will likely lead the retinue guarding the largest cache. They will avoid all thoroughfares known to be havens for thieves and criminals, and all guardsmen on this mission will be thoroughly armed and alert. They will also not be guardsmen with past criminal history, themselves, no matter how small the theft or how long ago the incident occurred. No chances!

Ainsley will be helping with the Iron Guard portion of things. He'll be assigning more senior soldiers to help with the transportation and dissemination portion-- helping to protect the scholars. He, himself, will be with one squad of people helping to transport and protect. Carrying with him his Alaricite sword and his rubicund plate, as he leads the forces. He'll also supply some of his own military favors, writs, and currency to help with the project.

Harald has given leave for the the scholars of Vellichor to travel to Grihem's Point aboard his ships and under his protection, as well as granting them access to the Grimhall libraries. While the private Grimhall libraries are largely collections of literature (especially traditional poetic sagas which are widely believed simple verse fiction) any pieces desired for copying will be made available. After all, the Scholars certainly aren't likely to find any decent sagas on the mainland; it's a mission of mercy, really.

Phase 1: Knights of Solace agents, in the course of their usual duties, will help disseminate the new archival procedures across Arvum, and bring back reports if needed. They will also be instructed to share with Blessed Bianca or her chosen representatives any information they may have picked up in the course of their journeys regarding the possible locations of valuable documents that should be included in the archival effort. Phase 2: Knights of Solace will help protect sensitive archival works as they are transported to or from the various repositories in Arvum.

Mae has began to distribute the Commoners Bulletin, as well as a primer on a subject (Marin'alfar) that has otherwise been erased from history. She'll be writing more, including a book on reincarnation, and all will be spread far and wide. Take that, Fable!

Christine will help with phase 2, copying books that need to be reproduced, and translating those in Isles shav so they could be spread more easily.

Eirene, with the help of her own soldiers, goes through any of the Malvici libraries in Arx and sends word for the libraries of Southport to be duplicated and the copies added to the efforts, transported as quickly as the lot can be completed. As Malvici has a longstanding history of fighting demonic forces, she hopes to find useful information to be added to the master archives.

Lord Corban Telmar will invest both time, treasure, and resources into the Archscholar's appeal to duplicate and preserve knowledge. He will donate 200,000 in House Telmar silver to copying, transporting, and preserving Archives information in the Oathlands. He will also call in House Telmar's extensive network of military favors to ensure that the convoys transporting the materials are protected, and will personally lead some himself, lending his sword and considerable leadership abilities to the effort.

Armand, as a Templar disciple, will aid in the Scholar's efforts by ensuring their protection, notably during the more dangerous Phase 3 of the project, the dissemination and duplication. Able and willing to travel wherever the Scholars need to go, he will ensure that those he is tasked to protect are able to do their work unhindered. No criminal nor servant of the Abyss shall be allowed to stand in the way of Vellichor's holy work.

The main effort the Templars will offer, as well as general help should they be asked, is during phase 2. With the threat that bandits or indeed things more foul could try to stop the material reaching Arx, the Templars will make up to 1000 men at arms available to escort material from the various holds back to the capital. Alongside this, each Parish will be expected to have their templars provide additional support as material moves through their lands, more a procession of honour though that for military support. As the various archival holdings come together from the regions to head to Arx, the Templars will blob the escorting forces together and ensure that the material makes its way safely to Arx.

Cybele is good at organising and teaching and digging up info, so more than happy to dive into the deep stacks, and set to work looking at what comes in. Besides, the shaman has a knack for finding the right texts. Right? Right.

Delilah will be focusing her efforts on Phase 2, working closely with other scholars to replicate as many texts as she possibly can in her spare time. She will also be speaking with the Master of Questions in an attempt to more closely incorporate the Inquisition with the ongoings of this entire process.

Alaric will be having lots of nice things to say about the project, dropping little mentions to nobles and Crown functionaries and important merchants alike about how nice it would be to hear of people and groups lending some aid to the Vellichorian discipleship with their work, and generally generating some positive PR and motivation for people to get involved with helping.

Fatima will allow the Scholars access to the Thrax libraries available in Maelstrom to aid the Archscholar. More than that, though, she's using her social circle to help circulate the news of Phase 3: Dissemination to the Public. When Bianca signals it's time, Fatima will utilize her propaganda machine to get out the word the Archscholar desires.

Percephon will be participating heavily with the Phase 2 portion of this very important project. Working within his position as Senior Scholar, he will go to the library in Sanctum to assist in creating faithful duplicates of all materials that are that are uncovered and found. With a focus on organizing which overly important and sensitive materials will be sent to the Great Archives.

Estaban will be opening the Saik Library to the scholars of Vellichor, he will also be giving military esscort the schollars where they may need to go.

Victus will be allowing the Scholars of Vellichor within the libraries of the Maelstrom, as well as to comb the Isle the capital fortress is located on for nay other information they deem noteworthy. In addition, he'll be sending a detachment of some Thraxian scholars and stewards who are better versed in history than he is. Surely, the Isles will have LOADs of interesting stories to tell!

Aiden can help considerably in Phase 1 and Phase 2. Since he's had a lot of practice with the Court in reproducing works, that's where he will initially provide the most support, however, he's got a good eye for organization, so he'll certainly swap between the two roles, depending on what's more important at the time. Though since he's an excellent teacher, he puts a lot of his time into Phase 3 as well, answering as honestly as he can and has he has done to anyone in the past who has come to him for answers.

Not being much of a smarty himself, Edain will do his best to give the scholarly types the access and the trust they need to do something good, making sure they have access to the archives in Sanctum. He will also task 100 of his knights with the task of helping to escort the travelling scholars, with as much travel as this entails it is sure to tax even the Knights of Solace and so Edain will do his best to help them escort travelling scholars.

Alis has offered to help Bianca by assigning military escorts to and from Sanctum for the scholars that she sends, ensuring their safety and the safety of any materials they bring with.

Princess Isabeau Valardin will primarily be lending her assistance to this endeavor (in Phase 3) by using her considerable charm and skill in persuasion and propaganda to get the word out to the people that the great Archive's enriched texts are available and that the Scholars of Vellichor can guide everyone, high or low, rich or poor, to greater understanding of their world and the vast knowledge contained within.

Lark is opening the Grayson library to the Scholars, and spending her own time overseeing and directing efforts of scribes to copy their works.

While waiting to offer what aid he can for the protection of contents, Aleksei will also reach out to his the vague network he's beginning to form of those freed or aided in their freedom by the Liberators of Skald. Plenty of ex-thralls served in administrative capacities, and he'll kindly ask if they'd be willing to help the Scholars in their various local parishes. Hopefully it will provide some additional manpower for the copying of books and journals to be conducted under the local Godsworn at these various parishes.

Cicero is promising the scholars the use of the Silver Consortiums contacts and networking of infrastructure for moving about the Compact and keeping their scribes supplied as needed.

Deacon will focus his efforts on Phase 3. As a composer of some small renown, he will write a short series of ballads to promote the knowledge contained within the walls of the Archives. The goal will be to help popularize the pursuit of knowledge on the cultural level. Once he's written the music, he will make it available to every bard and performer whom he can convince to take it.

Samael will open up Pridehall libraries and provide military escorts for the Scholars coming to and leaving Pridehall. In addition to that in Phase 3 Samael will help to disseminate information using his oratory skills.

Sasha will in Phase 1 and Phase 2, she is able to reproduce and also translate many texts should the need be there. She is also a very good teacher as well so she will also assist with Phase 3 when the time comes.

Lucita, with her love of music, has been collecting old songs and legends through trading them with other musicians and travelers, bards and music lovers in the taverns, inns, bars and during social events in Arx. Many of these serve as oral history and some have not been documented. This she does and helps contribute to the overall effort toward Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Sebastian will be assisting in accompanying scholars to provide protection and whatever other assistance is needed as they travel throughout the Lyceum to various smaller locations. He will assist in acquiring passage through the lands and courts with which he is familiar, particularly around Setarco and the surrounding isles. He will also assist in locating the smaller repositories of knowledge, acquiring the information and documents required, and seeing their return to Arx during Phase 1. He will also work to help with transcription and the reproduction of drawings and other artistic work contained within the documents acquired during Phase 2. During Phase 3, he will help with the public relations campaign to help promote the use of the Archives and the future expansion of the knowledge contained therein through art and social engagements.

Juliana will be helping Sebastian and the accompanying scholars to provide protection and healing as well as any other assistance is needed as they travel throughout the Lyceum to various smaller locations. She will assisting him in acquiring passage through the lands and courts with which they are familiar, particularly around Setarco and the surrounding isles. She will also assist him in finding the smaller repositories of knowledge and in acquiring the information and documentation, to see that they are returned to Arx during Phase 1. She will also try to help with the work of transcription of the documents acquired during Phase 2. During Phase 3, She will help with the public relations campaign to help promote the use of the Archives and the future expansion of the knowledge contained therein through art and social engagements.

Orathy will be helping Sebastian and Juliana Pravus during the course of the events. He's particularly good at flanking the enemies if there are any, his fighting style coming from the shadows rather than direct assault, therefore, scouting might be his thing. He'll shield Sebastian and Juliana while on mission, body guarding for them.

Nierzen sets to work writing propaganda in support of Phase 3 to move the hearts of people to favour and support the work and effort. He aims propaganda at nobles, motivating them to generously give silver to the Scholarly work, and he aims propaganda at the residents of the Boroughs, moving them to cooperate and even go out of their way to help collect stories and information. In all things, his propaganda tugs at the ideals of duty, faith, and self interest.

The Great Archival Project of 1007 AR causes a complete uproar. In every corner of the Compact, people turn up to add books to the archives, to add knowledge to the archives. To make copies of precious books and send them on. To spread the word - if you need information, your best hope is to find it in the Archives. High Lords and Nobles have opened their libraries. The Templars and the Knights of Solace, as well as many guards hired by various families across Arvum are moving to preserve knowledge and see it safely from the far corners of the Compact into Arx itself. It's a huge project, and under Archscholar Bianca's watchful eye, an incredibly successful one.

Tomes once thought lost are found, copied, and brought to Arx under guard. People are encouraged to come to Arx to seek knowledge. Learn from the Archives of Vellichor, learn from our tutors, our Scholars. Knowledge is available, free for the asking.

Action by Valery

(Public Action, OOC Date: Dec. 19, 2017, 3:14 p.m.)

Valery has kinda-adopted a couple of children several months ago. They help her in the garden and, in exchange, they get a small pay, shelter and food. And she's teaching them some gardening and alchemy.
Not so long ago, Lady Sasha offered Valery to work in her garden too... but that may be too much! Instead, Valery had a big idea!
She's asking people with gardens to offer shelter as she did to some orphans. If they give then a house, food and a small payment, she offers to teach them what she knows of gardens. She wanted to teach some healing and alchemy too, and she may teach those related to the plants they are growing, but since there are already other organizations taking care of that, she will let it to just a basis, so she won't get in trouble with them.
That way, the garden-owners get more help and children get a place to stay and a future!
She also intends to ask other people like Maeve to help her teaching and, for that, she's building a small school of Gardening in her garden, in the small house she has there (that, some people already call the Mouse House.)

Princess Sasha is going to be assisting Valery in her teaching of the children and help supply food and shelter for them during their classes and once graduated supply them pay as well. She will also be making sure the children have durable clothing for all the seasons as well as shoes.

Estaban has agreed to take two children into house Saik, he will be taking it a step further. Not only will he be taking them in so that they can have a safe place to live and clean sleeping quarters so that Valery can teach them about herbs, guardning etc. He will also be making sure that the two children have a education and once they are old enough they can return to the community and be able to support themselves and those around them.

Monique takes in urchins! After all, there's the hedgemaze and the forest solar to care for! And Greenmarch is quiet these days. Plenty of space to house street children! And give them lessons. And con Corban into taking some for Telmar, too.

Conned by Lady Monique, Lord Corban has agreed to allow some of Valery's orphans to work in the Telmar gardens, around the hedge maze and the like. He will pass this off to his House gardeners to take care of with an admonition to make sure that do not take anything.

Larissa will agree to help Valery by apprenticing orphans to the Botanical Gardens of Arvum to give the children a home and an education in the field of agriculture.

Maeve has a perfect place to offer a home for any of the orphaned children. She owns a small yurt behind her shop which she would use to house orphans. She is willing to take on and provide orphans a forever home if they so desire. It is Maeve's intent to help them follow their dreams and help them find the training required to follow their dreams.

Action by Valery now has your assistance: After speaking with the Hart’s head gardener and members of her staff, Valencia has offered to assist Valery by providing paid apprenticeships at the Hart for her students. Safe and welcoming homes for four additional children will be found with some of the Hart’s staff who have families of their own. At least one of the four orphaned children rescued from the fire, and currently in the care of the princess, would like to participate in the program and so the princess will cover the cost of their fees. Funding will also be supplied to help fund any tools or sundries the children may require to start their training. Free breakfast at the Hart is offered to any student who has need. The children in her care will also be offered education in literacy, maths and other skills to help them support their learning.

An apothecary named Valery is starting to make a name for herself as a practical philanthropist. Along with Princess Sasha Valardin, orphaned children who are interested in learning more about herbology are being housed while taught to be gardeners, caretakers, and herbologists. Beyond simply teaching these children something useful she has also reached out to make contact with nobles who have room for more gardeners, and found placements for these children once they're skilled enough to continue on their own, supplying home, a job, and a good new life for those willing to learn. Lord Estaban Saik, Countess Monique Greenmarch, Lord Corban Telmar, Princess Valencia Velenosa at the Golden Hart, Maeve Aisling, and Whisper Larissa at Arvum's Botanical Gardens have all agreed to offer new jobs to these orphans. The people are impressed at Valery's thoughtfulness - she isn't just showing these children new skills, she's helping them find new homes and make new lives for themselves. And look who's supporting her and signing on! Everyone loves helping orphans in winter, and it's a good feeling for all to see them start their new lives.

Action by Corban for Thralldom in the Isles

(Public Action, OOC Date: Dec. 9, 2017, 5:03 p.m.)

Previously, on Thralldom in the Isles (@action 1398), Corban and Ryhalt went to Stormward and recruited freed thralls to settle in the Oathlands. Now it comes time to integrate those freed thralls into the Telmarch.

In this crisis action, Corban will return to the Telmarch with a retinue of both allied Telmar nobles, vassals and retainers and hired Whisper House assistants to ease the transition of the freed thralls into Telmar society. It isn't easy, after all, given that the Telmarch is built on being the Great Red Wall that keeps out the Abandoned that would attack the Oathlands. But Corban plans to attack the problem from two ends: Helping the thralls integrate into society with training and support AND engaging with the existing citizens of the Telmarch to begin nudging their attitudes towards more Abandoned-friendly positions. Corban would never expect the Telmarch to hold hands and sing songs with all Abandoned, but his overall message will be that the Telmarch needs to focus on those aggressive, enemy Abandoned that would invade us and move away from offensive campaigns against more-peaceful tribes. Our resources are better allocated against the Looming Threats. This won't happen overnight, but Corban hopes by having some resettled prodigals among them and focus on the issue, attitudes can evolve.

For his part, Corban will work with the thralls that have enlisted in the Telmarines, drilling them into proper Telmarch soldiers. He will also use his commanding presence and leadership abilities with the existing Telmarines, ensuring that the new enlistees are treated as comrades, not outcasts or canon fodder.

To assist, Percephon will compile lesson plans and organize classes in order to teach any newly freed Prodigal vital information that will benefit them in their new life among the Telmarch. He is hoping to integrate them with as much as possible, and easily, without there being too much of a culture-shock.

For the nobles and commoners of the Telmarch, he is offering the same - offering to teach any uncertain or suspicious citizens how to better understand the newly freed and sworn Prodigals so that a bridge toward understanding one another can be built.

Bliss has been hired by Corban to help integrate the freed thralls with Telmarines. She'll be doing this in a number of ways:

* Bliss will go to the freed thralls and tell them heroic stories, sing them epic songs, and act out other acts and legends of Telmar that she has found by working with Corban and his associates. She hopes to use these performances to inspire the former thralls so that they see glory and honor in their new service and come to understand the ways of their new liege.

* Bliss will take the stories of the freed thralls and tell them to the telmarines, singing songs around campfires and so on to hilight their similarities rather than their differences.

* Bliss will take a freed thrall to dinner each night among the Telmars, introducing said former thrall on a personal level, so they are people and not just 'thralls.'

Nisaa can relate to the freed thralls, in a way. She was once a slave in Petrioch, and now has freedom in Arx, living in the Compact. To assist the mingling of Thralls and Telmars, she will speak to them of what it means to have freedoms some of them might have never known. She will explain what it has been like for her adjusting to the ways of life as a free person in the Compact, and tell them what opportunities they might have for their own lives; professions they might enjoy and feel comfortable doing.

With her unique knowledge, Nisaa would also offer to speak to the Telmars that are bringing the former thralls into their places of businesses or even homes. For a smooth transition into this new way of life, a mutual understanding is required. Some thralls may have had an easier life than others, and she would help to explain what some might have endured, what they might be used to, so that if something happens (a flinch when a hand is raised, dropping to knees to beg forgiveness, or a wide variety of triggered responses), the Telmar can approach the situation with understanding instead of utter confusion.

In short, Nisaa will offer her understanding as a former slave to both the thralls and the people of the Telmarch.

Jhond will meet with Telmar nobility and common alike to tell them of the Thralls. Of how they are men and women like them, but newly freed. many do not really want to be there, in the compact at all, but are trying. Patience will be needed as they will run the gamut from being too compliment to being resentful of any order given to them. they should be given tasks to own and make their own, something to be proud of. coddled when needed, put in line when not but always with patience and a mind to their recent life.

Monique has been recruited by the fabulous Corban Telmar to be a translator and charming go-between for the newly freed thralls and the Telmar citizens. As she speaks all manner of shav dialect, included Isles, this positions her well for the role. The Minx of the Marches also spends long hours with the thralls, patiently answering questions, offering advice, and just generally talking about who knows what!

Korka will be joining the rest of the group in assisting in folks getting integrated, but she's focusing more on individual levels, seeking out the overly negative and the obviously uncomfortable, and both evaluating them and anyone else who seems interested in them for possible trouble-causing. On both sides. She'll also be more generally canvassing for troublemakers. Anyone that turns up either way will be looked at more closely, evaluated as to whether they're a credible threat or just uhappy (just unhappy is allowed, if they're not causing problems iwth it!) and reporting in on actual problems to Corban.

It's wildly successful. Korka, Monique, the Whispers, all of them are extremely good at this sort of thing, and the integration goes extremely smoothly under Corban's leadership aided with Percephon's teaching. The infantry numbers in the Telmarch grow a bit from new recruits, and the duchy sees a spike in growth, with the resultant rise in incomes.

Action by Monique

(Public Action, OOC Date: Dec. 2, 2017, 12:42 a.m.)

These days, it seems to be easy for noble houses to squeeze money out of one another, and out of the Faith. But this time, it's a noble House giving back to the Faith. Lady Monique Greenmarch has made a sizeable donation to the shrine of Gild and her Disciples on behalf of House Greenmarch, with very little reason or rhyme attached. Maybe the Goddess of Fellowship has found a new follower? Maybe the Lady has a heart of gold? Or simply wants one?

Monique's gift on behalf of the Greenmarch family is noted and appreciated, with a warm smile and a note of thanks, and rumors that speak of her generosity and nobility beginning to spread through the city.

Action by Aleksei for Thralldom in the Isles

(Public Action, OOC Date: Nov. 12, 2017, 12:03 a.m.)

The Liberators of Skald have promised aid to all freed thralls: relocation if they wish it to any demense of the Compact, room and board within the housing of the Faith, and assistance finding work or training for it until they have found their feet.

The Liberators of Skald were not expecting twenty thousand people to need this aid at once.

And so Aleksei has reached out to -- pretty much everyone. All the noble houses. Merchant fleets. Friends who have maybe one ship! Basically he's organizing a mass effort to make contact with the newly-freed thralls in Stormward and either get them resituated in Stormward or give them transport elsewhere in the Compact that they may want to go. All of this is stuff he's already set up, but he's having to haul in major support to try and do it on a much larger scale than he was anticipating.

Aleksei will endure the terrors of seasickness to travel to Stormward personally to oversee the efforts of the Liberators and do his best to keep matters calm where possible and work as efficiently as he can.

For those generous enough to offer ships for transport, Aleksei will make sure each ship will have some sort of representative of the Faith on board to help keep an eye on things and discourage any untoward actions in regards to the freed thralls.

Indeed, the Valorous Few are Being Helpful! Since Victus so kindly invited people, Audric (and Shard, and probably a handful of the friendlier types) are heading up with the Liberators. First and foremost will be offering the fabulous life of a sellsword, to any who wish to join up! Money, plunder, see the world, get to kill people fairly frequently, there's nothing but upside, really. Oh, and I guess if there's any room left over they'll help transport some people.

After speaking with Aleksei, the Few have agreed to find space on the ships they're using both for his Faith representatives and his freed Thralls. In fact, Shard's stated her intent to pack everyone in as tightly as possible for the journey, comfort be damned so long as the crew can still function, so between that and Audric's hope to annoy the ears off of the poor priest who gets stuck on his boat, it probably won't be a very pleasant series of trips at all, but at least there will be more people getting to where they need to go.

In addition to this, Shard will be putting in a few words--or many words--or some not so gentle nudges--and maybe some heavy coin--to some people she knows who know some people who know some other people about extra boats and ships for the sole use of Aleksei's cause for the duration. Just don't look too hard at these boats or ask where they came from. They don't take kindly to questions.

Killian is dispatching ships from the Ashford navy to assist with the evacuation of freed thralls, per Aleksei's request. The ships will be providing transport, and staying together with one another, their orders to guardian one another and transport their passengers safely to the appointed destination.

Nicia has agreed to aid Aleksei and the Liberators in their task of helping to resettle the freed thralls, as such she has decided that one galley, and three longships from the Laurent military should be sent to help resettle the freed thralls. Allowing them to choose where they wanted to go, the help is not dependent on them coming to Laurent lands, although she will also make a point of stating that Laurent is willing to accept the resettlement of thralls in their lands.

Belladonna is putting Pravus's fleet at the Liberators' disposal for this. They are fresh and probably antsy for something to do. A skeleton force will be held back to patrol Setarco's borders as they have been, and a scout vessel or two are kept standing by in case the fleet has to be recalled swiftly (plus the ship kept in Arx!), but otherwise they can have use of the fleet as per the terms laid out by Aleksei. They are placed under Alrec's command, and Alrec is directed to report to the Faith on this one (using his judgment). Members of the Faith are most certainly allowed to be on every ship.

As well, she has put forth to both Aleksei and Bianca that those particularly suited for the role of a courtesan and interested in doing so, she will pay for their tuition to and support during the attendance of one of the courtesan schools in Setarco. And! Pioneering spirits that she might be able to interest in Luciva, they are being accepted that way too.

Boots on ground in Stormward while ships are there and have access to people (likely very briefly, but still), they are directed to aid in calming the populace, and provided talking points to do so by Belladonna.

Ford will be kept in the loop by her men as a matter of course throughout the entire mission.

Thena has agreed to assist Aleksei by providing as many Solace agents as can be spared to represent the Faith on ships transporting and resettling freed thralls. Since these agents are already out in the field acting as protectors to travellers and pilgrims, and have a presence long established in the Mourning Isles, shuffling things around shouldn't be too difficult. In addition, Thena is slated to send aid to the Mourning Isles for the Darkwater exploration and should be able to combine these efforts.

Thena is also dispatching a newly commissioned galley to help with transport. The galley will be crewed by freed thralls.

The Knights of Solace will accept freed thralls who wish to work either as soldiers or support staff and pay them a living wage for their services. They need not take vows, though should any wish to follow that path, instruction will be arranged.

Aleksei has asked for support to guard the ships, and knowing that the Knights of Solace will be focusing on supporting the Thralls this means the Templars only need worry about protecting the ships and ensuring that the ships are not mobbed when they land. Accordingly, Preston is making available Templars from the Arx Templars to sail out with the ships and hold order while Solace and the others help the former Thralls. The priority for the Templars is preserving the majority - the boats, the Faith people helping the Thralls. But they are also not the local police force. So. If the boats are at risk of being swamped or a mob forms and attacks the rescue attempts, they will defend. If a mob forms and isn't threatening the boats? Thats for Kennex.

Although she cannot be there in person, Katarina will be sending part of her fleet in her stead; three longships and a galley. These assets are to be used to help ferry newly freed thralls to their intended destinations, with gentle emphasis on a wealth of opportunity that can await them in Valardin-owned lands.

Hana is not the world's best teacher, but she's often been lucky in instructing others. And she's nothing if not enthusiastically devoted to Jayus -- the god of both crafting /and/ of hope. So she travels to the Isles as well, trying to give hope to the former thralls who need to learn a new trade -- those who worked menial jobs and desperately want to do something new, something that provides a chance at a better life. She'll be organizing lessons, yes, but she'll also have worked to encourage other Disciples of Jayus to the same -- to travel with her, and to teach /their/ skills as well. Tailoring, baking, carpentry, and so on. Hopefully, it at least makes a small difference.

Without question, Saedrus has agreed to assist Aleksei. First and foremost he intends to accompany Aleksei, and other Liberators, to Stormward not only as a Disciple of Skald, but as a composed and diplomatic voice in what might be a chaotic situation. Though he cannot offer ships or safe escort, he can be present to try and mollify vassals (or persons of the general populace) crying out against the current crisis. A little charm can go a long way, and hopefully Saed can keep things calm.

In addition, though he cannot take many, he will let it be known that the Grotto can take on a small number of ex-thralls as attendants, board and basic needs seen to, and assistance in finding them trades and future work. Furthermore, pending approval of the Radiant, he can take a handful in under the Whisper House as house staff until either they settle to other livelihoods or to continue on for potential future training. The total is miniscule in comparison to the twenty-thousand, but every little bit helps.

As a Liberator Ferrando is coming along to Stormward to try and generally help un-clusterfuck the situation. He's not really a logistical type or a big public speaker. He's a bouncer! It's fair to say his #1 skill to lend to the effort is an ability to move around heavy stuff. He's probably just going to end up dealing with minor things Aleksei is too busy for.

As promised the Scholars of Vellichor are ready to assist at the word of the Archscholar. Messengers have been sent to the parishes of the discipleship present in Stormward to open the doors to their smaller libraries and utilize donations already in stock to help in upholding the offer of a living wage to freed Thralls seeking higher education or tradeskill apprenticeships. Bianca will also be accompanying Blessed Aleksei to Stormward directly to aid immediately with her own diplomatic abilities and personal resources.

Mydas will be making use of his substantial ability in logistics and economics to ensure the resources deployed to aid the newly freed Thralls are not ill spent or wasted. To summarize, Marquis Mydas Nightgold will play the role of the accountant.

Seraph Ailith will reach out to the local Seraphs in aiding the Faith's efforts of providing solace, community outreach, and humanitarian efforts for the many believers. Using her presence and prowess of propaganda, she'll help kindle hope, compassion, and support among the Faithful and within the Faith such as sermons with stories of the compassion, love, charity, and hope, the many gifts of the Gods, in hopes to soothe and provide a steady familiar place of solace (worship in the shrines) during this chaotic time. When not doing these things, she personally heal the injured and sick who come to the Faith and assist them on their way to the outbound ships, should they be departing.

As minister of warfare and with authorisation to release about half the Velenosa armada into a committed liberation fleet, Talen is overseeing the leading arrangements in that regard. Ensuring the that there are captains who know what they're doing to act as transportation for ex-thralls is key. Faith and Liberator representatives are permitted aboard and allowed to direct the efforts with all reasonable requests to make things easier. The Velenosa are focusing primarily on carrying people, so any security escorts to defend the ships from external attacks will come from the Thrax, and Velenosa vassals organised by the Lyceum aid council.

Lianne is lending ships from Nilanza's navy to aid with the safe transport of the recently freed to Arx. Modest financial assistance will be provided to individuals or families interested in resettling in Nilanza, particularly if they are skilled in a trade or capable sailors interested in enlisting in the navy. Representatives of the Faith will be welcomed on board each vessel.

Victus will be providing transport via the 1st Thrax Fleet, namely in his stated offer of paying work in the Maelstrom and safe haven until they can be transported elsewhere in the Compact. Aleksei's Liberators and other agents of the Faith will be allowed passage on these vessels making runs to and from Stormward to assist in the relocation efforts for Thralls lacking employment. With the exception of any ships provided by Grimhall, per Harald's request. It should be noted that freed Thralls who have gone on to commit crimes against Kennex will not be offered the same on Victus' own vessels, as they are Kennex's right to judge for their actions.

In an unofficial capacity, though with no less focus, Rook will be duplicating the efforts of Mydas Nightgold in an effort. It can't hurt to be certain, can it? Resources in, out and spent all about. In addition there's the counting of ex-Thralls shipped out, sprinkled across the Compact, giving as accurate a set of numbers as possible to all takers of the refugees. Did any go missing, how many died, do they have at least enough coin and resources to keep this mission up until all of Stormward's loose freemen are, well, free?

Lacking much in the way of funds or resources, Fortunato employs his skill and that of his apprentices to make flyers, encouraging people of great means and small means to donate to the resettlement effort and otherwise help smooth out the transition, perhaps by hiring the displaced. Need someone in the back room? Someone to knead dough? Someone, perhaps, to draw more flyers?

Monique will accompany the flotilla and use her charm and diplomacy to convince freed Prodigal thralls to resettle in the Compact, using her knowledge of their native tongue to win their trust. She will also use her significant silver to see they are set up with necessities when they arrive at their destinations.

They manage to avoid violence, which is no minor miracle as of the sheer amount of naval force in the region now. Setarco's massive navy is significantly larger than the pride and joy of many Isles houses, a fact most seem completely unaware of even as House Pravus' dromonds and dozens of longships arrive in Kennex waters under the command of Admiral Alrec to assist the liberators. This is not, in any way, to diminish the forces sent by the Knights of Solace, House Laurent, Lianne's fleet of Nilanza, or the detachments by House Velenosa, Katarina's Oathlands fleet, Ashford or Thrax, but all combined it roughly doubles the overall size of the force, which would likely make any lower rank peers of the Isles distinctly uneasy if they realized its scope.

Fortunately, that's unlikely to happen, as the fleet takes place in a great disapora. There is still a significant percentage that opts to stay in Kennex lands with the support to do so, and in this, the Faith is instrumental. The Faith is one of the great consistent institutions across the entire Compact, even in the shamanism heavy north, but the Isles have always been closer to the Faith than that. Orazio, Thena, Preston, Bianca, Ailith in particular are able to make a great deal of difference in many staying, particularly with the economic work by Rook and Mydas helping to make a chaotic situation be broken down into stabilizing a destroyed economy, and peacekeeping efforts from the forces sent. Killian's Ashford men, Nicia's Laurent forces, Lianne's Nilanzans, Audric and Shard's valorous few, Preston's templars, Thena's knights of solace, Setarco marines all do a part to keeping peace on the ground, with the aid of the Valorous Few being a little questionable and a few of them seem determined to put the 'liberation' in Liberators to mean goods that belonged to individuals. A few hangings by Audric fixes that (and these were the friendlier ones, a shame), as well as Ferrando helpfully letting others know where the problematic elements are.

While a small but significant percentage stays, what truly happens is a massive disapora led by the combined fleet. Some prodigals. Setarco, Nilanza, Maelstrom, Maelstrom, and Ashford lands all see a significant amount of ex-thralls wishing to settle, with Setarco as an example seeing a large bump in capable courtesans at Setarco's schools. The Lycene is a bit more popular as in terms of climate, Setarco or Nilanza is closest to the saffron chain, and what the vast majority of former thralls originally came from. Monique as a prodigal has a great deal in common with many of the newer, louder voices from factions of former thralls, and is able to help many peacefully find new homes throughout the Compact- a smaller percentage opt for different vocations in Arx, with Hana having new weaponsmiths, Saedrus having some new employees at the Grotto and potential Whispers, the Valorous Few see a bump in questionable fellows replacing the ones hanged with Shard sorting out the most promising. There's quite a few new templars, knights of Solace and Scholars, particularly from those wishing to see Arx as godsworn. All in all, a massive amount of refugees are resettled peacefully.

All that's the good, the bad is minor but still significant- the huge amount of ships flying Oathlands and Lycene flags are allowing some pirates to take advantage of the confusion and fly false flags to escape justice, with hundreds of ships in Kennex waters without an overall central command, no one really knows who is who which is allowing some smugglers and pirates to hope that Thrax doesn't have the balls to pick on Oathlands or Lycene ships and provoke an incident (unfortunately for all involved, this is probably untrue). Also, while the great disapora helps the refugees, it doesn't help Kenenx- the recovery they see is modest, as most of their workforce is, in effect, leaving with only a minority staying. They still need a massive amount of investment to survive.

Action by Reese

(Public Action, OOC Date: Aug. 22, 2017, 2:47 p.m.)



%It was brought to Reese's attention that any Shavs in the Gray forest who have not bent the knee are likely to be recruited to the Horned God's army and to serve as his slaves while fighting against the people of Compact. Reese would like help prevent the Shavs from becoming enslaved as she highly values freedom, but she would also like to help prevent increasing the size and power of the Horned God's army. She also wants to secure the Gray forest as much as she can to make the it more difficult for the Horned God to take action there.

With this in mind she went to her cousin Calarian for help. Calarian and Reese decided to embark upon a mission to help secure he forest and encourage the Shavs to bend the knee. Calarian would be focusing on the diplomatic side of this mission and Reese on the military side (providing the diplomats with protection from any possible threats). Reese fears that treats might come in the form of Shavs who don't like this missions, abyss tainted animals and etc. The goal of the mission is to use words and charm rather than violence as much as possible.

Reese and Calarian would like to bring others with them, especially of the Grayson faction, including vassals and commoners who are interested in such an effort. They would like to bring scouts (who know the forest), social characters (who can help charm the Shavs over) and warriors (who can help defend the party). While on this mission they will be trying to stay alert for anything amiss including, but not to limited to (signs of the Horned God, cultists, blight, abyss tainted animals, any unexpected animals and any signs of monsters).

Reese will not hesitate to kill in defense of their party or herself, however she will offer any mortal and non abyss tainted combatants a chance to surrender. She also has moral problems with killing when not in defense. Which means she probably not kill Shavs who will not bend the knee if they are not attacking the party, not behaving as a threat or not engaging in acts she would consider evil. Reese will most likely follow the commands of Calarian who is voice and above her in rank. She wishes to be inclusive as possible and to invite the Grayson faction to aid in this effort.

Thanks, Reese's player

Since this is getting a little long and unwieldy, I'm going to save this one for reference as we go over the PRPs and applicable crises. Since it's getting hard to track what's resolved in PRPs and what's not, let's break it up into separate ones to make sure things aren't missed and go ahead and throw up a prprequest to make sure staff responses to anything outstanding aren't missed.

Action by Reese for Fighting Legion

(Public Action)

Reese is commanding Grayson forces who are going into the Gray Forest. They are traveling to the border between the Grayson and Redrain part of the gray forest. The Redrains are aware of such and Princess Freja asked her do this. She intends to keep her people as much as possible on the Grayson side, but if there an urgent need to defend against the abyss she won't be too shy about crossing over (but won't linger and will let the Redrains know promptly that she went over the border and why). Her intention is to create a barrier, making it hard for the horned god or his minions to travel into the Grayson part of the forest. She believes (having heard a vision) that the horned god plans to march through the redrain forest to the grayson forest and to compact from there. There are few things that Reese is attempting with this. 1. The protective barrier explained above. 2. To try and recruit any Shavs she finds to compact's side and keep them away from the horned god's side. 3. To be a loud distraction, keeping the horned god and his minions (hopefully) focused on her instead of those looking for the weapons. 4. To take down anything abysmal in the area and thereby reduce the power of the abyss. 5. To take down any agents of the horned god in that area and to thereby reduce his power. 6. to Search for clues of where the weapons are, primarily by asking and investigating amount the Shavs in the area. If clues are found for the location on Redrain lands she will give these clues to them and let them decide how to act. If clues are found or weapons on Grayson lands, she will dispatch out a team to look for them.

Reese is taking 200 archers, 200 infantry men and 200 pikemen. The men are primarily under her command, but she is open to people such as Rymarr, Silas and Killian helping her command they are around. She plans to be loud over the top and recruit as much as she can. She hopes to bring diplomats, warriors, healers, scholars and so forth. Reese intends to protect those who come with her as much as possible, especially healers, scholars and diplomates She will not kills Shavs who are not hostile to them or working with the abyss, but will go out of her way to be human, protective and to follow the laws of Gloria and honorable combat.
A few more points. 1. If the Horned God himself shows, Reese will order a tactical retreat, saving as many as she can, rather than engagement.

2. Rymarr is her second in command, he is fully in command if something happens to render her unable to lead.

3. Command assignments go like this: Rymmarr: Second in Command of the mission, command of Deepwood Troops. Command of Any Kings Own Troops (that may or may not come). Killian: Command of any Ashwood troops that come. Second Command for the Grayson Army. Arianna: Stonedeep Troops Commander. Reese: Mission overall Command. Grayson Army Command. Co-command of the Knights of the Solace. Thena: Commander of the Knights of the Solace. Tobias: Commander of the Crimson Blades. Preston (if he comes and he might not): Command of the Templars. Corban: Back up commander if another commander falls or is not present.

3. Fergus asked if some wanted to do missions in the north. Reese will let her people do that or possibly send out on missions on the Grayson side if a need arrises. She will let pretty much any pc who wants go, but she is specially interested in sending some of the more champion like fighters without armies to command on these such as: Vesper, Dameon, Alexis, Kaldur, Graham, Faelan, Luca and Barric.

4. Noncombant attendees or possible attendees include Mia (diplomat), Margot (Diplomat), Rey (Healer) and Aurelian (Investigator). Reese will try to protect them. Esoka is also assigned to protecting the diplomats. Monique and Esoka, despite being fighters are assigned with the diplomats due to the backgrounds and langs.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UggXLCYVY99-ongS-yHsqxxBY20V3PyscroyyjqDMmw/edit

Above is the goggle doc. Thanks Staff!

Reese has a few secret actions to take here.

1. The first one is protecting Thena. Reese believes that Thena is important to the Horned God and that if she dies to his agents his power might be increased. She realizes that Thena is a great warrior, but she still feels it is her responsibility to make sure she is safe. Thena is partly coming as a lure to keep the Horned God's attention away from those seeking the weapons. Reese is concerned about such, but Thena really wanted to do this and she respects that. She just intends to bring her out of this alive, even if it means taking blows for her or doing down herself in battle.

2. If the Horned God makes a personal appearance, she plans to retreat. She is open about this plan. What she is less open about is that she will try to save as many lives as possible among those who attended this mission and will try to guard their retreat even if that means she doesn't make it out herself.

3. The third one is that Reese believes that Thena is a new commander without the leadership skills at this time to be sure the Knights of the Solace will be succesfully commanded. She believes she will develop such in time. She believes this because Thena asked her to command the Knights. Reese intends to help command the knights, to watch out for them and at the same time to try and not upstage Thena with them. She wants to step in as needed without taking the spotlight, if she can manage that.

Barric, armed with Elvesbane and a backup sword just in case honor demands he not use the heirloom in a given situation, will be primarily serving as bodyguard to Reese and any other Grayson of rank that shows up for this affair, up until the point where he sees anything abyssal, at which point he will endeavor to stab evil in the face. Repeatedly.
If Reese needs him to go on a mission (a la 3), he will gladly go.

Margot attends with Reese to work predominently on #2 to try ad recruit and shavs she finds on the compact side and keep them from joining the Horned god, which is something she's getting rather practiced at at this point. She ensures her own escorts (the peace keepers), come with food and supplies to give out to Shavs who have come through the winter but it hasn't warmed enough to replenish their stocks yet.

Lord Corban has pledged his sword and skills to Princess Reese's mission. He will guard what needs guarding, slash what needs slashing, and otherwise do his usual job of Guy with a Sword in these missions.

Tobias and the Crimson Blades have been hired via Reese Grayson to join up with the Princess' wall in the forest. Iron Company (100 heavy infantry) have been contracted, and Tobias himself will be commanding the mission on the Blades' behalf. If this becomes obvious that holding the line is suicide, Tobias will work with other military commanders for an orderly retreat. Otherwise, the elite of mercenaries will hold the line, just like the Night Grove, if need be.
Tobias will be primarily wielding Requiem for this... but if the army comes up against undead, he'll switch to his rubicund blade to see if that helps to cut them down quicker.

Killian will be joining the armies of Grayson as one of Reese's lieutenants, and taking command of whatever troops she designates him to command on the expedition. Of course, he'll also be personally entering whatever battles are joined. He'll bring along whatever troops Ashford sends (new Harlan, so not sure of what this will be) as well.

Kaldur will be going on the mission, as a mounted knight if needed, or on foot as the case may be.

Monique is fighting as needed, but mostly helping to recruit the Abandoned with her extensive Abandoned background and languages.

Thena will personally lead a contingent of Knights of Solace out with Reese's forces, to help the Princess accomplish her listed goals.
As Thena is not particularly experienced in leading troops, the Solace divison will be co-commanded by Thena and Reese, with the help of a trusted (NPC) Solace marshal.
Solace unit consists of 30 knights, 70 footsoldiers, 1 marshal.
As a Godsworn priest of the Pantheon, Thena will offer any religious support as needed such as prayers, blessings and holy water. A few, though not all, of the Solace Knights are Godsworn as well. She will also offer aid as a battlefield medic and herbalist.
Thena will be bringing with her Dame Vesper, newly Godsworn Knight of Solace.

Aurelian signs on to assist in investigating the weapons as best he can, and hesitantly to act as an additional diplomat if needed.

Daemon rides alongside Thena and Princess Reese as a brother in arms to the Knights of Solace bands. He will assist in combat and wherever he will be needed otherwise.

Silas will be lending his sword and the armies of Whitehawk to the cause, bringing with him his archers/rangers while leaving his infantry behind in Hawkhold to defend it in case of a surprise attack (unlikely but who knows). He will command his rangers to scout the area they decide to camp at, in hope of countering any surprise ambushes or enemy movements and to see if they come across anything... strange.

Mia will be assisting with this as well, once I can see the full action and know what to add!
Mia will be bringing 50 of her archers and 100 of her infantrymen on this mission, with them under command of the following PCs in this particular order: Thesarin -> Esoka -> Rymarr -> Silas. Additionally, she will be acting as one of the diplomats attempt to convert as many shav'arvani as possible, making use of both her familiarity with the language, their customs, and her own reputation as the head of a House composed of a significant number of prodigals. Being as Esoka may be called to another mission concurrent with this one, she will be in need of some type of bodyguard, as she's not particularly combat ready.
Added in 30 AP.

The Grayson Princess General has asked Lady Arianna, and by extension, House Stonewood for aid in fighting Legion. Never one to deny her duty to Grayson, Ari has graciously agreed to lend her blade, expertise and knowledge of the dark forces that Legion will no doubt be utilizing. While that might be enough, Arianna has gone above and beyond by bringing along a detachment of Wardens with her to help support any military action that may occur. The men and women under her leadership have excellent Commanders drawn from the recent population of Prodigals and other Abandoned tribes which have filtered into Stonehearth. Above all, Arianna makes sure that she stays close by Reese with ten of her best men willing to die for their charge. This Royal Guard falls under the direct command of Princess Ribbons and is sure to follow her word even when their Liege, Lady Stonewood, is dispatched on any secondary or tertiary assignments such as recon or elimination of enemy commanders.
Arianna is a talented Investigator and has the ability to find leads and hunt them down with a relentlessness that borders obsession. When she is not commanding the Wardens (of which she brings five hundred), she is at work speaking with the local Shav populace and gathering information that might lead to a breakthrough in the hunt for the weapons they seek.


Lady Lailah of House Bisland has sent along 750 infantry and 250 archers under the command of Lady Arianna to help supplement the Gray Wardens. The additional men will be organized into units along with the Wardens, creating a combined fighting force to operate under the direction of Princess Reese. Lady Arianna leads these men by example, and follows Princess Ribbons military directive as she is the more experienced General.

Saedrus will be assisting Reese through diplomatic measures in trying to secure Shav'arvani are loyal to the Compact rather than the Horned God. As a Whisper brings with him his effortless charm, his carefully honed diplomacy and, beyond all else, the kind of empathy that cannot be taught or learnt to get through to the Abandoned tribes. He'll also keep himself well out of the way of all the martial types and generally keep himself away from frays, or anything other than being charming.

Halsim will be providing scouting services for the army (wearing his black robe and mask to keep his identity hidden to the Abandoned), and when necessary, provide his expertise on occult and investigative matters for the weapons search. When not doing any of this, he will provide his alchemical expertise towards equipping the army with medicines, poisons, and useful alchemical cocktails.

Alexis will do what she can, which is primarily serve as a meatshield to stand between enemies and more important targets. She brings her weapon and her armour, and will escort and patrol, and fight, as needed.

100 Infantry, 50 Pike, 25 Cavalry, and 50 Deepwood Rangers. Marquis Rymarr Deepwood's contingent to travel northward into the Gray Forest in preparation to play distraction. Those remaining in Deepwood are given explicit orders from the commander of Old Oak's military leader to be vigilant. A heightened state of security ordered, increased patrol regularity, reserves called into service for the duration, etc. Before setting off, Rymarr will gather his troops; first to speak with them and explain to the whole their objective, their purpose, and hopefully inspire them to fight hard and return home safely. Watch over those in front of and beside themselves, and trust those behind them to watch over them. He will also join his men and women in prayer to the Pantheon's deities. In regard to more Shamanistic means of religious observation, Rymarr will make himself present in support of those under his command, though he will not take direct part in their activities.

The Deepwood forces, under Rymarr's command, will be working in conjunction with a number of military pieces into one overall unit. Acting as Princess Reese Grayson's second-in-command, he's prepared to follow orders or lead, as is necessary dependent on the situation. Additionally, Rymarr is an experienced (and learned) battlefield commander - the first order of business will be locating important terrain features and choosing a strategically strong defensive point to make their presence known and draw attention. Ideally this position will benefit Deepwood's forces, while still permitting them ease of withdrawal, resupply, and all the rest - while preferably robbing any potential aggressors of those same traits and altogether impeding their ability to fight effectively. The former Lord Commander of the King's Own is prepared to play advisor - admittedly quietly to the overall commander of the mission, Reese. He's not afraid to speak up and offer an alternative plan, if he deems it strategically wiser.

Resources which Rymarr will be making use of(13 Economic, 27 Social, and 27 Military) are used to represent the fact that Rymarr will be hiring mercenaries to assist in bolstering both numbers and presence. Their orders are to... follow orders, but when a retreat is called, to retreat.

Having suggested a strategic withdrawal to Princess Reese should the 'Metallic Traitor', 'Horned God', or whatever name will be used for the day, makes an appearance on the battlefield? Should that time come and the Horned God makes his presence known on the battlefield, then Rymarr will work with the other commanders to promote an expeditious but strategically sound withdrawal. A fighting retreat, if necessary.

An additional 100 Deepwood Infantry, 50 Pikes, and 50 Deepwood Rangers will be on hand in the event such a fighting retreat is necessary, in which they will cover those withdrawing and begin a systematic retreat using the two separate forces to withdraw under the cover of arrows and fresh troops to cover the retreating force.
Additionally the King's Own will be there in the form of Dame Felicia and Dame Paloma, each with four Silver Swords/King's Own under their command. So they'll be doing their thing under Rymarr's guidance and ever watchful eye. They're amongst the greatest knights in Arvum, so there's not much that he'll need to command them on. But, he'll keep an eye out to ensure that the don't get in too deep over their heads and to correct any strategic matters he may notice. Despite being their very own past Lord Commander, he'll lead those few knights as though they were any other troops under his command. Given the history, no doubt they could work together to great effect. Their overall command will fall to Dame Felicia and Dame Paloma, per Lord Commander Leona Thrax, but Rymarr will be present to offer any strategic and leadership course correction as necessary.

Felicia is going to gather up her squad and assign them to the direct protection of the various VIPs (Rymarr, Reese, etc.) within the main attackng force. This is ostensibly because the King's Own trains for the defenseo f the King and so is particularly suited for this role but also because the secondary role she intends to take on would be to accept 'special' missions. If specific targets need to be eliminated the King's Own can be tasked with these dangerous but vital missions, including eliminating enemy leadership, etc. She wants to make use of the King's Own high level of esprit de corps and training to make a single squad as valuable as possible without getting them killed unnecessarily.

Luca is doing as usual and joining the fight to add to his monster head collection and keep his beribboned badass of a wife safe. He's becoming a decent scout, but mostly he's just there for the stabbing of things.

Tikva will be posting herself amongst the archers and scouts serving beneath Reese's command. She is especially lending her services as wilderness survival expert and scout to the efforts to comb through the freezing north, hunting down the Abyssal and/or hunting down agents of the Enslaver /as one does/. She will also be along to provide plucky morale assist to those who care to listen to her, and in case Reese needs cousinly advice and/or a hug, because you never know.

High Inquisitor Alistair will be taking a cadre of Confessors and lower ranking Inquisitors into the Gray Forest alongside the Grayson expedition. The High Inquisitor has multiple reasons for joining the expedition and the war effort against the Horned God. 1. To capture living agents of the Horned God to obtain information on their master and other abyssal entities. 2. To better train the Inquisition to deal with abyssal forces, especially in martial conflicts. 3. Provide martial support to the Grayson effort.

With the support of the Faith, and the need to attract the attention of the enemy, Preston and the Templars are going to try and muster a sizable force of 400-600 Templars to march in support of Reese. If they can't manage that, they will at least try to send several lances of mounted knights. If they manage the full deployment, they will act as a second 'battle' of the column, alongside Grayson troops, allowing some mutual support and flexibility, including the ability to pin the enemy with one and smash. If they only manage the knights, they'll act as a mobile reserve and try to pin down any breaches of the shield line. But in all things they will act in support of Reese, a thanks for her and Grayson being a friend of the Faith.
There is a request associated laying out a bit more detail on our motivations - ticket 6028

Joslyn will be sticking close and directly taking and relaying orders given by Lady Arianna, all while armed with Alaricite hairpins and adorned in leather. While her skills are mostly in stabbing and making sure that things stay stabbed, she'll also ensure that all of Arianna's operation runs smoothly. She'll help Arianna with command if it ever comes down to it, but mostly she'll just be doing copious amounts of stabbing.

Paloma will be assisting Rymarr! And leading her four troops to glory and good tactical use.

Lethe is going along as a healer for the group.

Zenix, a native to the lands, will provide insider insights about the various Clans and Abandoned Tribes that occupy the area. Including their numbers, an estimate of how many warriors they have and what chances one might have at flagging them as friend or foe. Besides their guidance through the land, Zen will stay close to Lady Arianna's side protecting her with her entourage of Wardens and Mistress Joslyn.

Olivia is joining the group largely in a supportive role behind the lines, as a healer and apothecary. If it proves useful, she'll use her alchemical and herbal talents to help with treatments for anyone who needs it, and potentially, if any weird abyssal blight, corruption, sickness, or that kind of thing rears its head, to try and combat it via whatever potions or elixirs she might be able to come up with. Failing that, she's got decent medical training and can simply service as a medic, and will aid wounded soldiers.

A scouting force heads out from the Gray Forest base. There have been a lot of these of late - small groups, meant to find shav, to treat with them as possible, to stop any flocking to the Horned God's banner. Tonight, Arianna, Joslyn, Zenix, Olivia, Kaldur, Silas, and Faelan are headed into the Forest. When they return, it is with a single shav and tales of the hideous creatures that were going to eat the woman's dog (and possibly the scouting group too). They are bloody and battered but alive. And hopefully the very grateful woman who is now swearing dutifully to the Compact is willing to give them information on the movement of the Horned God's armies. And the dog? The dog lived.

Meanwhile in the Gray Forest, Marquis Rymarr Deepwood's army has been busy. Today as they returned to the base camp, they told a tale of cultists trying for a sacrifice to the Horned God, one of the First Children about to be sacrificed, and perhaps most importantly, a prisoner escorted back by Lord Killian Ashford and delivered into the hands of the Inquisition.

A party of diplomats and diplomat-likes, consisting of Margot, Alistair, Aurelian, Monique, Saedrus, and Tikva ride out into the deep woods, it'’s said, to speak with a nomadic group of shavs claiming to possess key strategic information. Whatever negotiations happen past the ragged flaps of ragged tents remain private, but the group emerges with a sheaf of parchment and none the worse for wear.

The stories coming out of the Gray Forest tell another tale as well, as a large group of refugees is escorted to Arx by contingents of the Grayson army. They spread word of the valiant heroes who lead their defense, protecting them against the horrors coming from the northlands. Princess Reese Grayson's army, along with the Iron Company lead by Lord Tobias Telmar, apparently encircled the refugees as they were soon to be overwhelmed by the enemies which had pursued them nearly to their destruction. They tell tale of Prince Luca Grayson's 'nearly insane bravery' in fighting three huge monsters at once, to draw their attention away from the injured Grayson troops. Of Prince Barric Grayson's prodigious strength and prowess, as he cut one of the monster's heads clean off. Of the efforts of Lady Lethe Tyde, who set up triage and sought to mend the injured in the thick of battle. They tell of the hundreds of enemy dead left upon the field, and of the heroic troops who fought such overwhelming odds, standing behind their leaders against the coming onslaught and turning it away with their might. Needless to say, the refugees are being redistributed to Grayson lands, having bent the knee to such heroic representatives of the house.