It is the spring of the year 1254. In Mithras, the archipelago has shattered in pieces as the ancient empire desperately calls for aid from the accident, with heathen fire-worshippers encroaching upon their heartland. In Castana, a man stands imprisoned as the princes, merchants, and bishops bicker and scheme, and the eagle from beyond the mountains casts its wings over the land. The crusade was already called in 1253, but the armies are just arriving now, eager for glory and absolution. But not all come to Mithras out of duty or zeal; some come for the gold, others for the land to be gained. But all know one thing: whether they are noble or commoner, chivalrous or knavish, heathen or faithful, steel shall clash and blood shall flow.When you left Rittersbach, you had expected there to be a lot more gallantry and battle. Those hopes were rather quickly dashed when you now still stand looking at a man behind bars; in a rag, not even the most humble of monks or destitute of beggars would be caught. Guy of Guisbes is different from the priests you usually deal with. A rebel against his own hierarchy, resentful of the bishops, deacons, and cardinals. Still, with him incarcerated, there is not much he can do; he is politically impotent, and his planned monastic state seems to have slipped from his fingers. Cardinal di Cremolora put him in the custody of the Gonfaloniere, the ruler of the city, and if you were to free him, you should first temper his radicalism; he is dangerous, after all. He speaks both Tauten and Aurilén, and could control his followers by virtue of being the only one able to speak to them. ''You claim that the church is full of corrupt and power-hungry men, but now you are attempting to create your own nation? Is that not dishonest of you?'' ''I do want to take over myself, at least not without heavy limits and check on my power. The episcopal model has failed in my eyes, monks and the laymen should both be able to elect their own leaders, these leaders would then cooperate with each other, one attending the secular needs and the other the spiritual.''Well that is one question answered at least, though there is a other one, members of the clergy are banned from bearing arms or actively fighting, how would he defend against those who don't care about Curian doctrine? "Wouldn't that just be a society that will be attacked and taken over by a more militant, centralised state?"
>>6042174 ''Near the Duchy of Verdecréneaux lie the lands of the Abbey of Saint-Baldéric, where the monks are known for their strict adherence to tradition and discipline. These monks are direct vassals of the King of Aurélie, though this is disputed by some of their neighbours. They have thrown back four attempts by the Counts of Cortenand. Sometimes with the help of neighbours, other times with the blood and sweat of a well-organised militia. Make no mistake, I do want to build my utopia, but I shall build it in the mountains, like that part of Tautenland, the Eidgenossenschaft. That confederation of monasteries, dwarven holds, mountain villages, and towns has been able to withstand any attempt at subjugation. If those men could live in freedom, why can't we? The other crusaders won't simply go over there to fight the good fight against the fire-worshippers; lots of them are in it for the land they think they wrestle from both the infidel and the Mithradians. Is it then so wrong that someone such as me, a pariah in most Curian social circles, would wish for a peaceful place to build a new society?'' >''You are violating the natural order of our societies; the old empire had an aristocracy, and so should we.'' After all, outside of the cities, there are few peasants who could stand up to bandits or raiders, and thus the noble and the commoner must coexist in synergy.>''The gods would not approve of this course of action; the old empire saw a clear difference between the patricians and the plebs, and we must follow their example.''>''Alright, fine, I will make an appeal to the Gonfaloniere and attempt to commute your sentence from whatever it is currently to banishment.''
>''You are violating the natural order of our societies; the old empire had an aristocracy, and so should we.'' After all, outside of the cities, there are few peasants who could stand up to bandits or raiders, and thus the noble and the commoner must coexist in synergy.
>>6042175>>''You are violating the natural order of our societies; the old empire had an aristocracy, and so should we.'' After all, outside of the cities, there are few peasants who could stand up to bandits or raiders, and thus the noble and the commoner must coexist in synergy.Welcome back!
''You are violating the natural order of our societies; the old empire had an aristocracy, and so should we.'' After all, outside the cities, there are few peasants who could stand up to bandits or raiders, and thus the noble and the commoner must coexist in synergy. You know your history, of course most of the Argalian nobility is descended from Tautenic chiefs, former Isidorian legates and various other warlords who offered protection against the leftover horrors and followers of the Witch-King as well as other threats and evils that emerged once the empire had collapsed. Even your line, though the lineage runs cold by the eleventh century.Guy, however, only scoffs at your argument: ''Natural order, pah, tell that to the Alatorans, or the elves or dwarves. And don't even think of bringing in the 'optimi senatores sanguinis'. Do you know why the church has had so many martyrs from the time of the potentate to the anarchy? The nobility of the empire was without an emperor, and they began to indulge their cupidity and whims. Thousands were tortured to death for the personal amusement of the imperial nobility, while it took the Curia six centuries to act by sinking the old capital and exterminating the old nobility. What came in its place? Tribal chieftains wanting the luxury of their 'civilised' neighbours, imperial legates and bureaucrats, eager to clear their way to the top, now the persons who could turn to goop were all dead. Nobility isn't the natural order. Before the corruption of the Isidorian Empire, there was a widespread idea not of owing allegiance to a lord, who in turn owed allegiance to a monarch, but to the idea of citizenship, with the emperorship serving as a guiding hand and helping it towards a common vision. And even then, we can find that our brothers-in-faith, like the halflings, do not understand nobility like we do; their model is more based upon who owns the largest acre and brews the most beer. Once thou hast opened thine eyes, thou art to never close them again. You must choose, young one: either you will help me or I shall await my salvation.'' >''Fine then, just rot in your cell.'' You are not going to spend any more time on this; you need to hire a ship for passage.>''Oh well, have a nice day; I have a boat to catch.'' Let's see if he's desparate enough to fall for some bait.>''You win; I will appeal for your commutation.'' This will be troublesome, but you let those followers of his run around the countryside.
>>6042431>''Oh well, have a nice day; I have a boat to catch.'' Let's see if he's desparate enough to fall for some bait.
''Oh well, have a nice day; I have a boat to catch.'' Let's see if he's desperate enough to fall for some bait. You won't bother this man any more, your time is beginning to run out, if anything you would like to depart today, but you know that it will maybe be tomorrow. First you have to visit the bank to redeem the letters of credit your father gave you and hire a ship to transport you to Mithras, and it seems that you get no response from the monk. On the one hand you could swallow your pride and go back to ask him anyway, or you could leave immediately, you could also simply walk around the corner and wait to see if he will bite.>Leave immetdatiy>Swallow your pride and turn back>Hide behind a corner, see if he budges [roll required]
>>6043130>Hide behind a corner, see if he budges [roll required]
A classic negotiating tactic, much like demanding more than you actually want, is to threaten to leave prematurely in an ideal situation, the opposing party would come back to the negotiating table after you threatened to blow the whole thing up in front of them, leaving them with nothing. And so you begin to walk around the corner.Roll a 1d100 if you would be so kind.40DC 0 Success: Radio silence: Guy does not respond. 1 Success: a renegotiation: guy still believes he can wring something out of you, but calls you back. 2 Successes: Altering the deal: Guy is willing to let some of his demands go, doesn't want to give up all of his ideas. 3 Successes: With pleading hands: Guy caves to your demands. /spoiler]
Rolled 79 (1d100)>>6043701
Rolled 75 (1d100)>>6043701
Rolled 57 (1d100)>>6043701
A minute passes, then another one, but you do not hear a ''Come back!'' or some other plea to get out of prison. No, you get silence and frustration as you stand there. Alfonso looks at you with a mildly annoyed expression, and you feel your contour warm out a bit, both from frustration and from embarrassment. Another minute passes before you decide to walk up. And away from Guy and away from the cells. He is a lost effort, and you tell yourself it is not worth thinking about. Part of you wants to go back and give him a kick in the groyne or something else, but your senses win out against your temper. Assaulting a prisoner would land you in trouble yourself, after all, and you still need to get this expedition on track. You wasted nearly two hours arguing with that troublemaker and got nothing in return. Going to Cremolora was at least going to let you meet a high-ranking member of the church, but Guy just made you want to shake some sense into him. His ideas are laughable after all and complete hokum; besides, you have other things to do. You need to find a ship to bring you to Mithras, and you need the money to pay for the ship. For that, you need to turn in the checks your father gave you to finance your part of the crusade.Therefore, as you stand on the streets of Pocantello, you have two main options before you: go to the bank or visit the harbour to scout out any potential captains with ships. Alfonso has said that you should be able to find a ship as long as you will pay half of the agreed fare on the day of departure. The other half upon arrival, of course.>Lets go to the bank first, time is money.>Getting proper transport is more important.
>>6044073>Lets go to the bank first, time is money.
Banking is a time-honoured tradition in Castana, meant as an institution that would safeguard capital and provide an exchange between various currencies. In time, this developed into full-on business banking. This includes extending loans to prospective artisans with new ideas, providing funds to kings for raising armies, and handling other financial matters. Your father had the concept imported to Greifswald to give the industries and other ventures a better chance at obtaining capital for themselves.Families in the merchant or crafts business who switched to banking have spread the institution across Argalis, reviving and expanding trade. The revived trading networks are displacing the old autarkic manorial systems. And Castana is at the centre of it all. Ships come and go to Mithras, the Orient, and back again.A low, businesslike profile and fortress-like characteristics, including bars on the window, define the bank. To keep the riff-raff out, two guards, a sweaty dwarf and a greasy orc, are present. Because your surcoat gives away your noble heritage, you and your entourage are let in without a problem.Upon entering the low vaulted room that makes up the public section of the bank, you see a long row of men sitting behind a set of benches with various weighing instruments. Some are measuring various coins, others are scrutinising documents, some with transparent crystals, and others with specially cut glass. A friendly-looking young gentleman with an enormous nose and a double chin approaches you. The greeter, most likely. ''Buona giornata, nobili signori. Posso aiutarti con qualcosa?'' Instead of waiting for Alfonso to translate or asking him to do it for you, you simply hand the man the bank check you have with you. You are not really in the mood for conversation at the moment. The greeter looks at the seals on the document before he speaks again. ''Ma certo, allora siete Grifonlegni? Per favore seguimi, ti porterò dal nostro specialista nella gestione degli affari con la tua nazione.'' Alfonso quickly whispers in your ear. ''He said that you should follow him, he will bring you to the specialist concerning Greifswald.'' And so you follow the fat porter, beyond the main hall into the office level, before the three of you stop before a door. The usher bade you to wait with a motion of his hand. He knocked on the door and went inside. A little later, he emerged again with an older man in tow.
>>6044572An older man with gentlemanly features and warm, grandfatherly eyes. ''Please come in. I am the principal contact for this bank with Tautenland and Greifswald. Lived there a few years, my son still does, my brother handles Aurélie and Venautra to the west.'' Entering his wood-panelled office, he offered you a drink, but you politely declined. He sat back behind his desk and folded his fingers. ''I take you are here to cash in some checks to finance the crusade? Smart, some nobles run out of coin before they even cross the sea. At any rate, could you please be so kind as to hand me the check? Nothing out of the ordinary, just a regular inspection.'' He politely requested of you.After half a minute of watching this man checking the document, he looks up with a smile. ''Well, everything seems to be in order. I recognise the signature and the seals, as well as the handwriting. So I can assure you, these are legitimate. Do you have another one? Yes, quite good. There's just one question I would like to ask you. In what currency would you like to exchange these? Normally, we would recommend paying out on both our local florins and whatever the local currency is to make certain you can trade in both places. However, thanks to poor monetary practices by Elisonikon*, I cannot, in both good faith and consciousness, recommend the usage of the Stautaron; inflation has effectively killed that currency. The silver in them is thoroughly debased, which has caused their value to depreciate, or, in layman's terms, the Stautaron is losing its value against other currencies because of its inflation. Therefore, we recommend using our local florins for a more stable currency, such as the Alotoran ducat, to ensure you receive the best value for your money. >The Alotorans? Didn't they destroy the Mithradian fleets a few years ago?>Very well, I would like half ducats and half florins.>I would like it to exchange the notes for one specivic currency [choose either ducats, florins or stautarons>Are the stautarons really that worthless?>Very well, I would like half stautarons and half florins.>Very well, I would like half ducats and half stautarons.*Elisonikon is the capital of Mithras.
>>6044576>>The Alotorans? Didn't they destroy the Mithradian fleets a few years ago?>>Very well, I would like half ducats and half florins.good
''The Alotorans? Didn't they destroy the Mithradian fleets a few years ago?'' You ask of the banker. ''Yes, yes, they did. They sunk a nice chunk of the Mithradian fleet. Some think that this led to the invasion of the infidels.'' The man pauses before he continues. ''The Alotorans are scum, a nation of pirates pretending to be merchants. It lies in a lagoon and has become the main naval power; much like how the Tautens, Aurélians, and the Ebronians fight for influence in Castana, the merchant republics fight over who gets to dominate the trade coming in and out of this land. The Alotorans buy concessions in one oriental port, and the Lugeans buy concessions in the other. The Lugeans take an island from the Mithradians, so the Alotorans must also have one. Of course, this does not mean that the republics refuse to work together. The main reason for the Alotoran-led naval campaign was that the emperor in Elisonikon attempted to clamp down on the practices of the merchants. Of course, if you let the brother of your favourite mistress lead your fleet, it does not guarantee success. And you can guess what happens next. At any rate, the Mithradians are a wounded beast in a death struggle with another beast, and the Alotorans are like vultures circling overhead, waiting to swoop in and take advantage.'' He rises from his chair. ''But we have spoken enough about this subject, if you would follow me please, I will arrange for the money to be placed in your hands and, oh yes, I would recommend you send a runner back to your camp to arrange for the transportation of the coins. They can be quite heavy, just like the chests we use for transportation. Now then, I would like for you to meet me in the yard, preferably with an escort. I will give you the money there. You returned to camp, deposited Alfonso there, and returned to the back with a cart and five horsemen, yourself not included. The banker was already standing in the courtyard with two chests filled with the coin and an escort of dwarves and orcs to guard and carry the chests. You received the two keys from the banker, and he had the chests placed upon the horse-cart. He shook your hand, bid you farewell, and you brought the money back to camp. Gained: 1500 Florins and 1150 Alotoran ducats.
>>6046044The next day it was time to search for a ship or, rather, ships. You would need multiple boats for yourself, the men, the horses and the supplies. Still, an inland sea like the Internarrean is calm for most of the year, so the horses will most likely end up rather sick and parched because of the lack of fresh water. Especially if it takes too long or if the winds stand unfavourable. Unfortunately for you, according to the harbour master. The fastest ships of the city, owned by a self-proclaimed ‘mage-merchant’, set sail the previous night. So you must find someone else to transport you to Mithras. With the money you have, you could easily hire the services of most of the docked captains in this city. You should not spend too much. After all, you might need something to buy supplies in Mithras. Narrowing the suitable numbers down. You need someone with enough ships who is going to Mithras. With these requirements in mind, you find three captains who suit the conditions. The first is a small, shaggy man by the name of Berto (No last name given.) who, according to himself, specialises in being the cheapest captain of the city, though his manners are lacking, and his ships look like they belong on the bottom of the sea. The second-cheapest option is a young and beginning merchant named Amadeo Trodi, whose ships are well-maintained and clean. The young man has taken over his business from his father, a former fisherman, and has been busy learning the ropes of being a proper merchant. Much like Berto, he takes any job he can get his hands on, though he is in a better financial state, though he won’t directly sail to Elisonikon as his trade contacts are more on the western coast of Mithras.The third man is an Alotoran. Casimiro di Foscari is a scion of the fabulously wealthy Foscari family. He will set sail directly to the capital of Mithras in a squadron of very impressive trade galleys. His services are expensive, obviously, but his ships are of the best quality, well, save for one.>Hire Berto (600 Florins, -20 to all rolls while on the sea.)>Hire Amadeo Trodi (900 Florins, no bonuses or taluses)>Hire Casimiro di Foscari (890 Ducats, +20 to all rolls while on the sea)
>>6046045>>Hire Casimiro di Foscari (890 Ducats, +20 to all rolls while on the sea)Might as well.
>>6046045>Hire Casimiro di Foscari (890 Ducats, +20 to all rolls while on the sea)
Casimiro di Foscari is a sly looking man in his early thirties with keen green eyes and the beginning of a beard. According to him, it is to have his seniors take him more seriously, as beards are fashionable in Alotoran high society, and the merchant princes take their fashion seriously. The man himself is pleasant enough; though he doesn't speak Tauten himself, he is more than willing to transport you to Elisonikon, as he has to make a stop there himself to buy silks and other perfumes. According to him, thanks to the special trading privileges the Serene Republic of Alotoro has with the Mithradians, it would be easier for you to get through customs.To assure you of the quality of the ships, all build in the arsenal of Alotoro, he took you for an inspection across the galleys. The sails are clean, the hulls are made from the finest hardwood and the winged silver bull on a green field with eight fringes fluttering in the wind. When the waves allowed it, you also caught a glimpse of the rams. You also got a look at some of the rowers, and although you had rumours that gallley are usually rowed by slaves, he told you that these days most rowers were either criminals or prisoner of war there to row until their sentace was paid, or their ransom was paid. Nevertheless, the rest of the day was spent loading in the goods, provisions, steeds, and passengers onto the various ships. Unfortunately you could not set sail right away because of the wind, thankfully the wind turned the next day and you were off. It felt good to feel the wind and the salt of the sea. Father had once taken you on a boat, it was pleasant enough, but he preferred to go hunting in the woods, it reminded him more of Fluddenmark. For a realm with a good amount of coastline, you did not often see much of it.It takes some getting used too, but in the end you find your legs to be adjusted enough to the moving of the deck. Poor Ehrenfried and some others aren't as lucky and spend a good amount of their time losing their meals over the railing. Indeed, you are so at home that you decide to start learning yourself the Mithradian alphabet. With the assistance of Ulrich Schreiber, whenever he isn't seasick.Three rolls of 1d100 if you would please, 40 DC, assistance of professional scribe -10 Crit-fail: A polyglot, thou art not. Language is not your forte it seems, a +15 malus on all future attempts to learn a new language 0 Succuss: You make no progress, 1 Success: You learn the simple characters, the ones easy to understand and are the closet to your own alphabet. 2 Successes: Your progress is good, and you learn some of the simpler word by memory. 3 Successes: You make great progress and can understand the Mithradian alphabet. Crit Success: An omniglot in the making? You have a talent for languages it seems, -15 bonus to all attempts to learn a new language
Rolled 54 (1d100)>>6047693rollll
