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busb posted:And once per cycle with startling regularity actually! You've even lived through a bunch! I mean more on the level of existential threats to the city if not civilization itself. Sure, we're watched over for our toil and duty by the liberator but how often does Real Bad Stuff happen? It sounds like the shields are failing thanks to the feather disappearing and that this may not be a particularly isolated case.
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Jun 19, 2019 00:59
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30th FullToil, 260d It’s finally arrived, after a hard evening in the tavern, you’ve cleared up and wiped down the benches. You father has scrubbed all his pots and comes and sits next to you, exhausted. You watch the sun set to the west and sit in silence for a while before your father speaks.  “Well my boy, we made it. Your mother will be back soon, but no more time to delay, let’s talk. I’ve been informed that your Duty interview will be midnight tomorrow. One of the last ones i imagine.” He frowns. “Could be good, could be that they’ll have been unable to fill slots fer whatever you want to do and you’ll be a boot-in!” “So last we spoke you were thinkin’ of Vise. Yer a smart boy Jeffrey, iIm sure you’d make a mighty fine scholar...study...person. But if you’d rather, this poor gal will always be your home,” He thumps the tavern’s bench solidly. “So let me tell you how it’ll go. Once you go inside you’ll be seated in a small room fer what seems like forever. Then you’ll be ushered into a small audience chamber. There five o’ the city’s officials will examine you and be able to ask you a question. These will be on the five cornerstones of the land: Mining, Trade, Productivity, Protection and Administration. “Each question is fairly generic, and you’ll have to pick between two options, no more or less. They won’t fuss on it too long, and they’ll deliberate for a couple of minutes, then come back and give you a couple o’ options for yer Duty. Tradition is that you are always offered your family’s trade, as well as others depending on your responses. “As Imogen did, you may always request conscription into the military, although yer not drawn from the same well as her, even though yer hair’s comin’ back quite nicely, even if it’s a funny colour! “So. That’s it.” He pauses, and speaks again with a bit of a tremor in his voice, “If Myr’s not back by the time yer done then we’ll just have to celebrate here without her. But then we’ll celebrate again twice as hard when she walks on through those doors. I swear it!” He smiles at you, and ruffles your wispy hair. You smile back.   Midnight, 1st Duty 260d There are many benches in the world, but this one is yours. At least it has been for the last two hours or so, and you see no end to its companionship yet. It’s not quite as discomforting as your previous stone accommodation underground, but it’s not exactly your idea of luxury either. You’ve passed the nervousness stage, and well into boredom as the night drags on. When you were finally admitted to the waiting room you could only see a handful of youths your age still being ushered about. Finally a brusque young man walks in and says: “Jeffrey Tavernboy?” You reply in the affirmative. “Come.” He leads you back out into the halls, and through into a room, with raised benches in a semi-circle. The young man who ushered you in takes his place at the foot of the centre facing you and freshly inks his pen, before tapping it gently three times to dry the excess.  Seated above you are two faces you recognise, Carlisle and Lady Alectra, but the three others you have not met. In the centre of the five and slightly in front is a bulky but short man in what is probably middle age. He rubs his eyes roughly and yawns loudly, not embarrassed at all. “Roight then. So this ‘ere is the little fucker causing us so much poo poo is it? Let’s get this done then shall we,” he says. Carlisle looks pained “Foreman, please. Let us continue properly, we’ve already been censured we shouldn’t breach procedure.” The Foreman yawns again. “Fine… fine. Carry on.” Carlise nods and addresses you. “The Liberator in his strength, his wisdom and his compassion delivered us into our freedom. You, child no longer, owe him your Duty for this. Your mothers and fathers before you all swore their Duty to the Liberator, and now so shall you. We are the custodians of this fair city, Gratitude, and together we--” “Oh by His hairy and holy arsehole we get it.” The Foreman cuts in loudly. “Look kid, choose your answer carefully ‘cause there’s no hedgin’ or hawin’. You pick the answer that best fits you and, that’s it. Simple yeah?” He grins, “Pretend yer life depends on it. Martyn you’re up.” He takes a handful of small red fruit from a plate next to him and a fat wedge of cheese and nibbles on them slowly while Carlisle sputters ineffectually for a while before sitting down. The man farthest on the left looks nervously around at Carlisle and bows. Martyn’s voice is high and reedy: “Department of Trade.” he states before looking down and reading mechanically off a piece of parchment. Vote 1 - Trade  pre:You’re in your shop when one day a farmer walks in. He is loud and demands his sum of twelve lead knuckles back. When you ask why, he claims you sold him a donkey last cycle but it died during Storm in fright. He demands full recompense due to your negligence in selling him a donkey unfit for use in his fields. To your knowledge nothing was wrong with the Donkey before you sold it. What do you say: B. Apologise profusely to the farmer. Offer him a full refund or pick of replacement donkey immediately and promise him it will never happen again. The woman next to him stands after you respond. She’s a large lady in what looks to be a case of brawn turned to beef. “Department of Protection.” She booms. Vote 2 - Protection  pre:You’re on patrol with a half-fist of seven militiamen when you come across a battle between a half dozen brigand outlaws and four smooth-skinned, huge trolls. The fight seems fairly even, with the outlaws’ spears keeping the trolls at bay for now. Your men look to you for a plan of action. C. Tell your men to charge in and engage both enemies from their flank. Even if you have a few losses, the Liberator demands action and you must ensure none manage to escape his justice D. Tell your men to wait in ambush until one side has achieved victory over the others. Then when the victors are resting and celebrating their victory, swoop in and slaughter them all. Lady Alectra to the Foreman’s left stands after you’ve given your answer. She offers you a short bow. “Productivity,” she says sharply, before she begins reading. Vote 3 - Productivity  pre:You run a teahouse in Vise with a special Permit for inebriating tea. The Liberator has decreed that none except his own sworn Emberguard can partake of it. But you think you know better, and want to extend this bounty to others that you feel deserve it. F. You take it on yourself to start offering it to workers in secret, after swearing them to secrecy. Everyone will be happier and you’ll be richer, and what the Administration doesn’t know won’t hurt them! You sweat a bit at this one but give your answer. Carlisle on her left looks silently at Lady Alectra for some few moments, before standing and asking his own. “Administration” he states. Vote 4 - Administration  pre:You have been arrested for a crime you committed. You are gently interrogated by Liberty Administration officials for your part in it. They do not torture you nor do you any harm. H. You confess and tell the truth. You accept you have threatened the lives of everyone in the city and offer your life as recompense for your crimes, as well as the location of the treasures you stole. The Foreman waits until you have decided on your answer and grunts. “Minin’... bloody o’ course.” He looks briefly at his own sheaf of paper before discarding it and speaking while looking straight at you and says simply: Vote 5 - Mining  pre:Your entire family is in debt, and your city isn’t meeting its production quotas. J. You stay in the tavern doing what you know. Your family goes further into debt as time goes on until you are dragged into the Rockyards K. You leave and go to Vise, leaving your family even worse off in debt to pay for it. You take it on yourself to try and make yourself rich, and hope your family can survive without you. They probably won’t. Everyone starts shouting about protocol and there being no right for a third option. The Foreman stares them all down and slams his fists down loudly on his wooden podium to silence them, and awaiting your response. busb fucked around with this message at 00:37 on Oct 30, 2019 |
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Jun 19, 2019 04:56
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Right, sorry about this. Not sure how else to do it other that drawing out every question one at a time which seemed more annoying. Each vote must have 5 letters, one of each response to each of the questions asked. There is no opportunity to modify or couch your answers to this vote, it's multiple choice.
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Jun 19, 2019 05:06
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Volmarias posted:I mean more on the level of existential threats to the city if not civilization itself. Sure, we're watched over for our toil and duty by the liberator but how often does Real Bad Stuff happen? In your life you've learned perhaps a handful of things that are truly huge threats to all life: * Storm - an entire month of wild and unpredictable storms that are capable of destroying whole cities and populations * Magi - Magi are twisted humans that are as cruel as they are powerful. Folklore says they were either killed by the Liberators or fled far beneath the earth where they were eaten by monsters. As far as natural phenomenon go, everything that ever went wrong was caused by Magi's spells, and nothing else remains in your oral history.
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Jun 19, 2019 05:18
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A - Storms Kill Things. gently caress off. D - waste not E H. I - A man stands up. Blasphemaster fucked around with this message at 15:19 on Jun 19, 2019 |
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Jun 19, 2019 05:32
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A D E - grift is expected. H K K is the real question here that decides our fate. Do we become a miner, keep working the tavern, or go off to Vice to seek our fortune. The last option is a kindness by the miner; the other two are meant to see us descend into misery for loving with them. The rest of the questions are window dressing.
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Jun 19, 2019 05:54
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B D E H K
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Jun 19, 2019 05:57
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Blasphemaster posted:NEITHER OF E or F - Ask for a third, sensible option as per the precedent set by Mr. Miner. The instant you try and say anything off script you get silenced and told to answer the question. The Foreman hasn't even spoken at that stage so there is no precedent either.
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Jun 19, 2019 06:21
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ADEHK
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Jun 19, 2019 12:16
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BDFGK Basically whichever option gives the admin less work to do, because obviously everyone here is terrible and lazy and hates to do their jobs and so will gently caress over people that try and make them do their jobs Slaan fucked around with this message at 12:19 on Jun 19, 2019 |
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Jun 19, 2019 12:17
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Right but they may also be using this to decide if we need punishment after what happened before or to decide if we are clever enough for Vise.
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Jun 19, 2019 12:25
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busb posted:The instant you try and say anything off script you get silenced and told to answer the question. The Foreman hasn't even spoken at that stage so there is no precedent either. Durnit. Edited earlier vote.
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Jun 19, 2019 15:20
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ADEHK
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Jun 19, 2019 17:00
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I think I've got a clear enough consensus to begin working on this update. Next update/vote will be up for at least 2-3 days over the weekend so i stop dumping too many  all over you all.
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Jun 20, 2019 03:22
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Or, and hear me out here. You can keep doing that. I see no downside to this.
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Jun 20, 2019 05:03
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I am a glutton for word punishment. Step on me with your narrative heels, OP.
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Jun 20, 2019 07:24
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2 Duty, 260d You sweat a little. It’s very imposing with the power arrayed in front of you and you feel quite alone. busb posted:Vote 1 - Trade “Your strong commitment to safeguarding profit is to be commended, young Joffray. But you have completely disregarded any possibility of you being at fault. Earning is good, but you must learn to temper your arrogance or it will be your undoing.” He finishes and sits down in an awkward mess of spindly limbs. You are momentarily irritated that he forgot your name. quote:Vote 2 - Protection “So, you would risk outlaws or monsters escaping? Who knows what could happen in between setting up your ambush, reinforcements could arrive or the battle and death could attract even more monsters. “Ensuring the safety of your squad’s lives is good and all, but action and bravery is often needed instead of cold calculation.” She looks a bit disappointed, and sits down. Two down, you aren’t sure either of the choices you’ve made so far are correct, but it hasn’t been too bad at all! Lady Alectra then stands and poses her question and… well, drat it. Your forehead is suddenly extremely itchy and your entire head starts sweating as Lady Alectra sweetly smiles at you. This question is a bit too close to home, but you don’t want to let anyone catch on about how close it is to what actually happened. Lady Alectra smirks at you as you give your answer. quote:Vote 3 - Productivity “Ah, you think bribing the Administration is a viable plan? Not just that, but you believe the laws handed down by the Liberator himself should be changed?.” She shakes her head. “At least you didn’t think you could steal from the Administration. Your foolishness will result in trial and punishment little boy. But be truthful to your superiors, accept your punishments and you will eventually learn and be rewarded.” Carlisle then stands and takes his turn. You are silent for some time. The other officials murmur to themselves but the Foreman rolls his eyes and rests his head on his arm until you give your answer. quote:Vote 4 - Administration Carlisle speaks “So you admit your guilt? I’m very glad to hear that you would consider what is best for others, such as your tireless superiors, before you would spout off nonsense just to cover your own skin. If such a thing happened, I would look forward to receiving your confession and your surrender of all stolen goods. To the local Administration of course.” he concludes hurriedly. quote:Vote 5 - Mining “You’d choose the risky path ‘ey?” He is pale-skinned from years underground or sheltering from the storm, and his fluffy beard is mostly white with hints of black. He can’t have led much of an easy life, but he must command a lot of respect to be the de-facto ruler here. Carlisle bristles and in the gap yells “Preposterous! We should do no such thing..” “Oh give it a rest for the love of...,” the Foreman sighs. “Lad, go outside and wait until you’re called.” The clerk at the front stops his frantic scrawling and stands up and ushers you out quickly, and the ornate wooden door is barely shut before you start hearing voices raised. You wander around in the deserted dark halls until out of the corner of your eye you see her waiting for you Finally you are reunited! You get all emotional as you see her once again. You guess it’s well past midnight by now, and yawn blearily as the jittery anxiousness fueling you slowly seeps away. You lie down on Benchy for a bit, but it’s cold and not all that comfortable so you don’t quite nod off. After a while, you’re fetched again and find yourself standing in the middle of the audience room. The Foreman sits off to the side of his original dais, with Lady Alectra next to him. The others are conspicuously absent, and with a wave of his hand the clerk is also dismissed. Lady Alectra speaks: “Jeffrey Tavernboy of Gratitude, this Duty Interview has now been sufficiently deliberated.” The Foreman looks at her pointedly and she coughs lightly “So er… yes. Um. We have debated your qualities and weaknesses, and reviewed our quotas and suchforth. You have been found to be selfish, arrogant, sneaky, and too forthright for your own good. But you have also been found to value truth and to care for your fellows, should they deserve it. In short, you are a quiet troublemaker. You must look to the Liberator for your salvation, and to the Administration for your Duty. “As Director of the Department of Productivity, which your family falls under, you are hereby offered three Duty options.  “The first: you will be work in the mines here in Gratitude. You may not be the strongest or halest child, but the Foreman here thinks you would be useful for more than just hacking up rock. Your duty would be Mining and Exploration. You will owe no initial tithe for your position, and your annual Duty will begin at 1 lead knuckle equivalent.  “The second,” she hesitates, as if she doesn’t want to continue, “Is you would be sent to Liberty. There, your Duty will be Page to the Emberguard. We are obligated to make this offer, but given your recent...missteps… that are known of in the capital you will have no friends, no family to look out for you. The cost of outfitting you will be,” her face sours slightly, “subsidised by this Administration. You will earn no money, but pay no annual Duty while you remain in service. The Liberator’s will, will be your own.” The Foreman nods at her then says “This is offered to you as your sister Imogen declined it. If you reject it, such an offer will not be made to your family again.”  “The third, lad, is a formal requisition from Second-Rate Oreologist Bortwin from Vise. I know not what ye did to garner his favour but it is a rare offering indeed. Your Duty would be Prentice to the Academy. You would need to learn fast boy, because everyone else there will be smarter, more experienced and more knowledgeable than you. This position will require a tithe paid immediately to the tune of ten lead knuckles. In addition, your Duty will be split, 1 lead knuckle payable to the Gratitude Administration, 1 lead knuckle payable to the Vise Administration. “I’ll warn ye lad, this will continue to increase hand in hand to both cities over the years, and you will need to thrive at yer studying the Academy to afford yer place there. “Why? Well to put it bluntly, you’ve tweaked the noses of important people here over the years. Not me own though, which is good news fer you, ‘cause I’ve been able to veto some of the more interesting demands by... one of us.” He laughs loudly at this, a baritone guffaw. “Tweakin’ their ears is a big part of what gets me goin’ in the mornin’, so thanks fer that!” “Still, don’t get me wrong, you’ve made this hard on yourself and your family. You have been barred from a traditional place in your family tavern. My own offer in the mines is all that is available to you here. I offer it to you despite your answers, it will be the clearest path to helping your family, if that’s what you want. At the Academy you’ll likely not be able to earn much at all to send back to yer family for a good many years “Jeffrey the choice is yours. You may ask questions of us briefly, but you must make your choice before you leave this room. Then we can all go home and get some bloody sleep.” Vote 1 - Your Duty, your Choice A. You consider it and you choose Mining duty in Gratitude. The Foreman seems to see some promise in you, and given your options it’ll be the easiest to get coin to pay off your family’s levy. B. You choose Page duty in Liberty. You do not know much about this or why it was offered to you, but clearly it would have been vetoed if it were able to be. C. You choose Prentice duty in Vise. A chance encounter and conversation has netted you an opportunity, but 10 lead knuckles… you’ve never even seen that amount of money in one place and your family’s already in significant debt. If you accept this and your family isn’t able to afford it then you will have to take up Mining instead. busb fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Oct 30, 2019 |
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Jun 20, 2019 10:52
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B- we could still learn much and get our ^friend^ into a better position without absolutely killing our family. And the emberguard might still have a soft spot for Mom
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Jun 20, 2019 12:19
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C
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Jun 20, 2019 12:41
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C, and if we can't afford it then I guess falling back on mining isn't the worst, sounds like we'd be pushed towards a more intellectual than physical job. Vise is where we can really shine, though. Lol we're gonna get our mom killed when she has to keep going back to fiteperson duty to pay for our tuition aren't we. Maybe we can pick up work as a scribe or something. Crazycryodude fucked around with this message at 14:19 on Jun 20, 2019 |
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Jun 20, 2019 14:15
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A I realize I’m changing my vote here, but hear me out. It’s distinctly possible that if we go to Vise that we will learn well and succeed. It’s also possible that our family won’t collapse under the strain of sending us if Mom keeps kicking rear end. However, it seems clear the Foreman likes us and wouldn’t probably have us actually mine. Additionally, the person interested in us is Botwin, an oreologist. In other words, we will learn there what we will learn here. He also probably expects us to show him this new ore. He will seek us out, rest assured of that. When we have gained requisite experience here, you can bet we will get to go to Vise. Oh. One other minor aspect to this? We will be more easily able to work for Ruby since he will look for us at that statue one day and getting here from Vise when we are broke seems...unlikely. I’ll think some more on it but this seems the best course to me.
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Jun 20, 2019 14:34
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C, it's the best choice for our Faustian bargain
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Jun 20, 2019 16:05
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C. Doubt we'll screw over our family, but Jeffrey wouldn't pass up this opportunity.
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Jun 20, 2019 20:08
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Definitely not getting an update up today, just a reminder the Foreman and Alectra can answer questions you might have. Once this vote is decided i'll have quite a bit of back-end stuff to do also.
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Jun 21, 2019 02:57
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A page is like a servant right? I think we should avoid that one, just in case we get some horrible master. Either A or C seem like they could be good, so I'll only vote if it looks like B is winning.
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Jun 21, 2019 11:25
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Chatrapati posted:A page is like a servant right? Lady Alectra says: "A page is indeed a servant, you are taught the etiquette and temperament required to become of the Ember. The Emberguard are but one function of the Liberator's chosen, and the most martial. Oh but I would most strongly recommend against it, um... seeing your weak and puny stature." The Foreman brays a quick laugh, "She means her Department would have to foot the tithe."
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Jun 21, 2019 13:11
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How does someone end up as a Lord or Lady? Is that a Duty, or something someone earns?
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Jun 21, 2019 16:26
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Blasphemaster posted:How does someone end up as a Lord or Lady? Is that a Duty, or something someone earns? "The nobility are directly descended from the Liberation. Those that excelled and earned favour earned themselves nobility after the war. Their strength in arms and shrewdness in leadership are naturally passed down to us. My ancestors slew no less than two adult magi" Lady Alektra says proudly.
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Jun 22, 2019 01:36
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busb posted:"The nobility are directly descended from the Liberation. Those that excelled and earned favour earned themselves nobility after the war. Their strength in arms and shrewdness in leadership are naturally passed down to us. My ancestors slew no less than two adult magi" Lady Alektra says proudly.  "Adult? So there were Magi kids? Didn't know that. Wish I could have learned more, but there wasn't much coin for leanin'."
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Jun 22, 2019 05:00
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Blasphemaster posted:
Lady Alectra says: "No natural children could come from their fetid loins. Instead, they were but young children taken as thralls from the cowed villages and towns. Once taken, they were forced and controlled by evil compulsions to learn and use their sick arts for their masters. The Liberation could not remove their compulsion, but they were the first and easiest to slay. Some count these thralls in their annals, but my family do not. "If your parents didn't teach you why we owe our lives to the Liberator and his kin, perhaps they should be fined for their malpractice?" She raises her eyebrow and perks up a little. The Foreman snorts "Don't listen to 'er lad, your parent's debt is one we all share and she won't add to it further for such a trivial matter." Alectra just frowns slightly in response.
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Jun 22, 2019 05:38
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2 Duty, 260dbusb posted:Vote 1 - Your Duty, your Choice You tell them that you pick Prentice Duty in Vise. “Very well.” The Foreman looks at you impassively. “Your father will be expected to pay an additional 10 lead knuckles with his Duty this year. I'll grant yer until the very end of the month. If it turns out yer family’s carn’t afford it well then I’ll see yer in the mines after the Storm. Best get those arms ready for swingin’.” He chuckles and calls in the clerk. Lady Alectra says: “This concludes Jeffrey Tavernboy’s Duty selection. You will be Prenticed to Vise for a period of at least five years. You will pay a Duty sum of 1 lead knuckle per year to both Gratitude, for your owed labour, and to Vise for your teaching, bed and board. You will also pay a 10 lead knuckle entry tithe for permission to study in the Academy by 30th Duty. You may leave now.” The clerk scrawls this down on a piece of parchment and holds it up critically to the light with his tongue poking out the side of his mouth. He then blows on it lightly with stupidly puckered lips, before repeating the process with a fresh parchment. He leads you out and says: “I hope you manage to find some treasure or something kid, or I’ll be burnin’ this parchment up by the time the first Storm hits.” You consider some choice words but swallow your pride, and leave back home. You make it to the steps outside and you are grabbed up in a huge bear hug. “Boy you made it out! I’m so proud! Now come, tell yer Da all about it.” You tell him about the interview and the first couple of questions and Da nods along. When you get to Alectra’s question he tenses in anger. “They shouldn’t ‘ave done that. ‘Snot right at all the bi...” you giggle a bit and Da composes himself. “Right well yer old enough to know the truth o’ it, although i’m bettin’ you figured it out all by yer clever drat self. If we could convince the Administration to relax the restrictions on yer Ma’s special tea well, we’d be rolling in coin by now! That snooty Alectra took me the old long stroll down an abandoned tunnel she did. Wasted money on her convincing words.” He shakes his head sadly. “Go on son.” He has some even more choice words when you tell him Carlisle’s question. “No doubt about that boy, you’ll not be a friend ‘o his unless sommat changes in that stuffy little bald skull ‘o his. You’d best steer clear o’ trouble in front of that one.” You nod, then continue with the Foreman’s question and his third answer. “Never in me life ‘ave i heard ‘o that! A third? And a special requisition from Vise? Well now my boy, clever little you!” He beams proudly. “Well then, what’d you choose for yer Duty Jeffrey Tavernboy?” He says mock-formally. You tell him it was hard… and that you weren’t even offered a traditional position in the Tavern. Your father looks shocked, scared then angry in that order. Before he blows up in the middle of Gratitudes streets you tell him you were offered a Prenticeship at the Academy Vise, which is what you chose. Your Da stops, whoops and picks you up. “I knew you’d make sommat o’ yerself you daft boy. Give yer Da a hug!” You laugh as he lifts you up. You feel warm, comforted and loved.  But… you say. You need to pay a fee along with your Duty this month. Of 10 lead knuckles. Your father doesn’t set you down, but he stops, paralysed and tense. He pats your back and gently puts you down saying “Well, o...10 knucks? Of course I’ll just have a scrounge around and….” he trails off a bit, and starts walking home, holding your hand gently. He hasn’t done this since you were but about eight Storms old, but you welcome it, and you walk the rest of the way home in silence as your Da thinks. You get back to the tavern, but your mother isn’t there to greet you yet. You get yourself a drink, a bite of cheese and retire up to your bed. You get a couple of nibbles in before you start to fall asleep, exhausted. You feel your father come in, take the cheese from your hands and pat the crumbs off your bed, before tucking you in. He sighs sadly and leaves you to slumber. 3 Duty, 260d It’s mid-morning and you feel a bit sluggish. But you’ve got some thinking to do. You hear some shouting coming from downstairs and you’re worried there’s fight starting early in the day, and rush down. You are greeted by the weary, dirty face of your mother. Home at last. The world is a blur and the next thing you know a good 10 minutes have passed in the fiercest hug you’ve ever had.  The entire morning she regales you with how her travels went. She tells you that the first couple of contracts were simple runs down the main road with larger groups of farmers which went smoothly enough. She then travelled down to Vise (you get excited at this for a moment but don’t interrupt her) and she got hired as one of three guards to a caravan headed to Plenty laden with newly forged farm tools. They were attacked by a half-dozen starving wolves a couple of days out near a mountain pass, and your mother personally slew two of them by herself! She said that the other guards and the caravan owners killed another couple before the remainders ran off. She shows you a large incisor fang threaded on a rough cord, and says gave its twin away to your sister. Wait… your sister?? “Oh yes did I forget to mention, we dropped into Vigil to restock after the ambush on the way to Plenty” She grins. Your father demands immediately to know how she’s going and everything about her. Your mother says she has grown several inches taller in the seasons past, strong and is proving herself a very capable fighter for such a young age. She takes after her mother and is learning a lot. Your mother does say she is concerned that she isn’t taking to the discipline required of a soldier very well and has a bit of an independent streak, but your father laughs at that and says ‘Well I wonder where that came from?’. After staying in Vigil for a couple of days, your mother’s caravan continued on to Plenty. About three days out, a huge fiery mass passed overhead, which scared the pack mules into a panic, and they lost a good day tracking it down and its contents strewn about. You say that you saw that too! And that it was very scary! Your mother says that it passed by so close that the night was warmed by its passing, and it must have crashed to earth somewhere near them because they felt the very ground shiver violently enough to shatter a wagon’s axle! After they recovered they made it to Plenty and your mother spent two Toil months there providing bodyguard protection for some shifty looking fellows, before travelling back east to make her way home. She stops briefly and demands a drink before continuing. You leap to your feet and run off into the kitchen while Da quietly talks to her. In a couple of minutes return. Your mother looks quite a bit more somber now. “Thank you Jeffrey” and ruffles your hair annoyingly. “Where was I? Ah yes the trip back home.” She pauses for a long drink and smiles. Upon making it back to Vise it was already halfway through SeventhToil, and she hoped to find a caravan headed home to Gratitude. It took many weeks but finally she managed to find a caravan willing to take her on. They had several carts of mining tools as well as some candles, fine cloths and such. Your mother pauses here for another drink. They had just passed the eastern desert and were approaching the foothills of the hill range south-east of Gratitude when one of the four fellow caravan guards was felled by an arrow. Before she knew it, they were under attack by seven fierce men and women - brigands!  Your mother said that they seemed more desperate than skilled, and they were armed with crude spears and clubs. She easily bested her first opponent and fought to save everyone she could, but not quickly enough. She pauses for another drink and a longer moment of contemplation. “It’s been some time since I saw someone die. The archer and one of the brigands ran away, but not before killing two guards, and gravely wounding the third. The merchant was crouched in the dirt over his son, felled by another arrow, and he bled to death. I bandaged up the other guard. We were scared of more returning, the mules had run so we walked north until evening. I left the merchant and the wounded guard at a farm about three days out to return home to some people I care about very much.” Her tale finished, she asks what’s happened here. Your mother looks furious when she hears about your imprisonment and that you told them you were struck by a Stormstrike, “Why did you tell them that you…!” She raises her voice in frustration. “Hanah and I managed to keep it all quiet and then you…” She looks at you incredulously. “Do you know how close you came to being disappeared?… gently caress!” She throws up her hands. You’re not sure what to say to that, or even if you should! Vote 1 - Oops Ma? A. You say you’re sorry you really don’t know why you told officials the truth. B. You say you did it to see what happened, you were curious what they were up to and maybe they knew more C. Apologise but say you didn’t know it was that much of a secret, not really. D. Stubbornly look at your parents and say that if you were told what they were up to you wouldn’t have tried to find answers yourself E. Hang on, your mother spoke to Hanah before she disappeared? She stole the statue’s feather and blamed it on you and it’s her fault you’re in trouble. F. You don’t say anything, you’d probably just make her angrier! …. Regardless, yours and your mother’s tale both end on the fact that you’ve accepted Prentice Duty in Vise, and that you need 10 lead knuckles in a couple of weeks or so. Your mother sits back wearily and rubs her eyes. “Impossible… I’ve earned much more than we did here but still…”  You say you’re happy to help, and have 3 copper nails. Your father says: “Well then, 9 knucks and 17 nails to go !” Your mother and father then talk in earnest, discussing the debt and finances and earnings in front of you for the first time - you’re involved now after all! It turns out that your Tavern usually turns a profit of around 5 lead knuckles per season, but your family’s yearly Duty tax is most of that at 3 knuckles. With your mother gone it’s been harder work, and your profits slipped to not much more than 4 knuckles and a couple of nails. With the Bandit Levy of 5 knuckles you have to pay, and your additional Prentice fee, your family owes a considerable sum of 18 knuckles. Your family chest currently has 4 knuckles and 18 nails in it, from last year’s surplus and this year’s earnings along with your contribution. Additionally, your mother earned 6 knuckles and 10 nails herself for the year.  Your family’s current debt outstanding sits then at 6 knuckles, 12 nails, payable in 27 days at the very latest(30 Duty). Your mother and father talk quickly and largely ignore you as they figure out who they can call on for favours or how they can scrounge up some money. Do you want to suggest something or just go with whatever your parents decide? Vote 2 - Lead on, boy G. You don’t really know, and leave it up to your parents to figure it out. They know a lot more about earning coin than you, particularly with Hanah gone H. You sneak outside of town and try and hunt some small game and sell it illegally. This is fairly risky, particularly given your recent attention. I. You sneak into the mines, hoping to maybe find something in there you can sell. Again illegal, and you’re not very familiar with underground or mining J. You take up what you know is available - work in the Rockyard. It’s dangerous, but legal, and you could strike rich! K. Your mother says she never got her payment from the merchant headed to Gratitude from Vise. But with his son dead and his cart missing, he might not be in a mood to pay up, or be able to! L. You ask whether you could retrieve valuables left at the battle site your mother had to leave. Maybe there’s coin on the dead bandits or guards, or you could try and find the packmules? This could be legally dubious, but your mother would have claim to looting the bandits she slew at least, if nobody else has found them yet anyway... busb fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Oct 30, 2019 |
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Jun 24, 2019 05:18
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A K Ruining a different family by calling in their debt to cover ours sure is a thing but, well... Jeffrey really wants to go to Vise.
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Jun 24, 2019 05:27
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C L
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Jun 24, 2019 12:42
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C L
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Jun 24, 2019 13:39
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AK
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Jun 24, 2019 14:04
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C: Everything seems like a damned secret! Give me a break, here!  L: Well, if there's goods to be found on the ground, it's no worse than picking wildflowers. ...wait, that was illegal, too, wasn't it?
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Jun 24, 2019 14:12
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CJ Ask Ruby for help in the rockyard. Maybe it could point us at where the good stuff is? All this talk about metals and such, while Ruby put some metal in our chest and then shifted it somewhere, probably? Seems like this is in its wheelhouse. Blasphemaster fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Jun 24, 2019 |
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Jun 24, 2019 14:37
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Blasphemaster posted:CJ Oh my goodness, right! I change from L to J because of this.
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Jun 24, 2019 14:45
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Brawnfire posted:...wait, that was illegal, too, wasn't it? I don't want to live in a society that frowns on pulling boots off the corpses of soldiers to make a living.
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Jun 24, 2019 15:06
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If stealing from corpses us wrong I don't wanna be right If eating corpses is wrong, then gently caress you it gives me power, I'll eat you next
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Jun 24, 2019 15:09
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