Perhaps a last minute talk with Janos on what he wants us to say in regards to why he joined us? Also on what we want him do to for us when we arrive perhaps. Otherwise I can't think of anything really.

>>13893779
I agree. We need to Janos will be good as our business manager, or if he will be good as our negotiator while on campaign.

rolled 84 = 84

Excellent! I had just finished catching up in the archives and now I can participate again!

Also, just timeskip back to Dragon Reach.

test roll

rolled 96 = 96

A test roll, excellant idea.

I still stand by the idea of sending some of our Elementalists back to the High Commander. who could train more in from there for the high commander to utilize, which in turn could turn the tide of battle as the lords will bring with them untold forces, some of which may include Mages and Elementalists of some great deal of skill.

"Not that I'm not enjoying this ladies, but I think that if I tarry much longer I would be neglecting my duties." you sigh, reaching an arm around both women and squeezing before sitting up in your cot.

"What about your duties to me?" Sansa asks playfully, catching your arm and tugging lightly.

"Later, love." you promise, kissing her cheek before breaking free. The camp is slowly dragging itself awake by the time you make your way out of your tent. Men and women alike strewn about the ground passed out or simply unwilling to rise yet. You pick your way through the celebrations aftermath to find Janos, which is easy enough, as he always manages to reach his tent when he drinks.

As you enter his tent he salutes from the stool he is resting in "Commander, how can I help you?"

>>13894012
The High Commander himself is an accomplished mage. If he hasn't already started creating an elementalist and mage cadre himself, then I have sorely overestimated his competence.

>>13894076
"Now that we're reaching DragonsReach, I thought it might be time to discuss what your duties will be when we arrive as well as decide on what exactly will be said. If there anything you rather I leave out in regards to why you've decided to join our empire?"

>>13894099
Ah yes. Our report. How shall we explain Janos, and what will be our story when we are pressed.
Keep in mind that our command staff, and likely members of our maniple, will be pressed for details.

>>13894099
sounds good, also see how he would feel if we were to tell our assassin about his real ID

You take the other free stool "As we are approaching DragonsReach I thought it would be prudent to discuss with you how you think your skills would best be used for the maniple, and what exactly we will tell my superiors about your turning"

"I beleive we had already discussed how I will work for you after this campaign, and I would be more than happy to see to your assets in Degnar while you are on campaign. As to my turning, I dont see any issues with the simple truth, do you?" the man responds amiably.

>>13894254
"That entirely depends on if your King might have spies within the Empire. If so, we might wish to leave your family name out of the explanation."

>>13894254
"Very good. I just wanted to make sure of the details while we have the time free to make any necessary alterations."

>>13894289
Crap! I just remembered! The Second Praetorian's office has bee infiltrated by the Cult, and there's no telling how deeply the empire has been penetrated. They specifically went after Lord Stant's House, and this could be a thorn in their side.

It may be better to omit Janos' last name, or invent a new one for him.

It's unfortunate, but I'm going to have to call it a night. Hopefully I'll be around for tuesday.

"Perhaps we should leave out your family name, in case the King has any spies in a position where they could learn that you are in fact, still alive?" you offer.

"That seems prudent." Janos nonchalantly replies, as the small mountain of blankets and cloths on his cot begins to stir.

You rise from the stool you claimed and salute the man "Very good, I have a maniple to get back on the march however, and it seems that your lovely mound of cloths is stirring, so I will leave you to that. The morning passes slowly as you and Vohzd Lennis set about waking your men and trying to get things moving again.

It is very late in the morning when you finally shake the mans hand, both his Ghorat and your Maniple ready to travel again "I look forward to fighting at your side again some day." he offers as he releases your hand.

"Likewise, friend." you reply mounting Spite as the Kharynchek mounts his steed. Your men continue to discuss that particular celebration for the next few days of travel, though the closer you move to Degnars borders the more small celebrations you see cropping up in your camp every night.

-----CQ-----

A week after departing from Lennis' company you make camp for the last time of this campaign, the great city of DragonsReach a mere days ride from where you are camped. You recline against a tree facing west, thinking of whether or not you should try to make some grand entrance, or simply roll into the city.

>>13894546
I think merely marching into the city all proper, with the standard the Emperor gave us leading the way should be sufficient. A crowd should build up once news of our return has arrived and we don't look as arrogant in some ways. Plus I can't think of any real way to make it a big deal without making it look like we're doing that on purpose.

>>13894546

Parade standard for the men. Lets go in with style. We're returning home victorious after all.

>>13894570
Hmm. Perhaps also display the banners of the lords we've defeated as well.

>>13894546
A regular, understated entrance of a maniple returning from its duty.
Of course, we have the banner that the Emperor himself (via his administrative staff) gave to us flying high.

I'm not sure if we should enter the capital riding the autowagons, or marching in.
Riding in exemplifies our adoption of new technology and tactics, but marching in is more traditional and heartening.

rolled 36 = 36

And of course, we're riding on, on a Bear, while flanked, by more bears while a very loud magical horseless group of wagons roll by stuffed with treasure.

>>13894624

Display our loot and prisoners openly on the wagons. Guarded well by our marching men.

>>13894624
I like the idea of marching myself. Marching ahead of our autowagons full of loot. Who needs chariots when you have autowagons?

>>13894594
>>13894592
This, Marching in with the men in their parade best and everything shined to almost the point of being blinding. To avoid appearing vain we(and by extension- the men) should look as if this is business as usual.

I'm trying to think from the perspective of the average Degnar citizen, which action would engender more patriotic pride:
A maniple marching back to the capital, Imperial Legionnaires all marching lockstep and in formation, ahead of obviously arcana-powered wagons full of loot from our hated enemies.

Or those same soldiers simply riding in.

I think the former is better. We'll need to get the populace used to the idea of auto-wagons before we can do a motorized military parade.

>>13894725
Indeed. The Empire is going to go through a lot of changes soon and we shouldn't force them just yet. Introduce them but don't smash people over the heads with the ideas yet. Plus, an army marching in is just awesome in my mind.

Alright, so marching in with everyone at their parade best?
I'm actually against publically humiliating our prisoners (well, maybe just Lady Blentus). I like cultivating our impression of "evil but not unreasonable" with our prisoners.

>>13894937
Agreed with the prisoners. No point in it. A lot of them were just doing what they had to do.

>>13894937

The common people will want to cheer us and will need something to jeer at and throw rotton fruit at since they started the war.

If it goes to stones though, then we should step in.

March to the City Center, with the bounty or our campaign displayed. Lead the column with the Standard in our hand, pour the chests of captured gold at the Emperors feet.

Pretium Victoriae!

>>13894987
I like your sense of theatrics anon

>>13894987
I highly doubt the Emperor will be at the center of the city unless he decides to hold a huge celebration for us in the future. So this isn't feasible sadly.

>>13895028
To the palace then! They will know we are coming when they hear the people cheering our most virtuous retribution!

The Empires coffers demand our spoils.

Sansa drops down next to you "It will be nice to be home, if only for a short spell, wont it be?"

"Indeed it will, though I fear there will be little rest for the two of us." you reply, pulling her closer to you.

"Work already?" she whines, leaning against your shoulder.

You plant a kiss on the womans forehead "Not this very second, though I would like for the men to be in their parade regalia when we march in tomorrow." she nods, not moving from your side for quite a while.

-----CQ-----

The last of the ride back to DragonsReach is quiet enough, though your men are quietly grumbling about having to clean their armor and dig out their ceremonial cloaks and dress accoutrements. At the head of the column you ride with your command staff surrounding you, followed by Jaynes cavalry wing. Sasna has your maniple banner in hand, riding off to your right, Jayne to your left. Behind you Jaynes most trusted men ride, holding the banners of the lords you defeated, all of them hung upside-down. The bulk of the maniple dismounts about an hours march from the city, and organizes into parade formation swiftly, and despite the months of hard fighting march with excellent precision. As you reach the city you can already hear the crowd gathering and conversing with itself.
>cont'd

>>13895118
Too non-traditional. We need to keep this more along the lines of what's normally done. Besides, we have plans for that loot and the more of it we keep, the better.

The gate opens to the great city a few minutes before your maniple is at the massive entryway, allowing your men to see the throng of cheering flesh before you will have to pass through it. What strikes you more than the civilians gathered to cheer your return is the sheer number of black banners hung from houses and huts, signifying some relative is currently fighting in the Legion, on top of that, how many of those banners have crimson teardrops sewn into them, a universal sign of mourning across the continent, some families have as many as three or four Crimson Tears on their banners. As the gravity of that sign sinks in you are amongst the crowd, screaming and cheering, some shouting out "Trentz!" or, and this one throws you off "Hail the Midnight Dragon!!".


"It would seem some of your exploits have found their way out of the military circles then." Jayne half-shouts into your ear, so that you can hear her above the crowd. Your maniple forges ahead, the crowd parting before the column of glinting steel and well polished leather, though the only ragtag group amongst the maniple, lead by Blackbird, gets an even larger berth than the rest of your force. By the time you reach the Nobles Causway the crowd has mostly thinned out, and quieted itself, though there are still eyes on you as you enter your barracks complex.

Once inside, you find a messenger awating you "Commander Trentz, the Second Praetorian would see you tomorrow at midday, he asks that you bring your Aid at the very most." he leaves before you can reply, after saluting.

>so, anything you want to do before your debriefing?

>>13895159
I guess timeskip until our debrief. We can't really begin any of our projects until our loot is sold and Janos has sorted out what he needs for investment purposes and we know what we can work with.

>Hail the Midnight Dragon!!

>>13895159
Have Sansa see to the billeting of our men.
Write Letters of Commendation and Campaign Commendations for all of our mercenary captains, especially the Marauders, RapidRiders, and the other cavalry unit that was severely depleted.

I don't know if we'll have enough time to begin searching out likely properties to build Degrian's workshop; if not, then we'll get to it after the debriefing.

Make a final check with our elementalist cadre, that they can expect very intensive debriefing, and the story that they're to stick to.

>>13895159

Send out feelers for a very experienced life elementalist in the city.

Time to make good our promise. Also, grant a pass to Cornelius to visit Jaynes sister.

Check with Degrain about his engineer corp. Time to have them start recruitment for a school and especially, look for a good draftsman so that the instructions will be IKEA-easy.

>>13895233
Ah, this was me.

In addition, make sure that there's a proper accounting of the loot, and prepare the tax forms that we will inevitably have to fill out.
Let's get all of the administrative stuff out of the way now, so we can concentrate on our personal projects after the debriefing.

>>13895159
I wonder, if instead of bringing Sansa, we bring Wulf.

Also maybe let some of the captains show Janos, Lena, and Bellatrix around the compound and find them some nice quarters, because god knows where that assassin is off to.

Have Sansa see to the men, go alone. It's obvious he doesn't want company.

I KNOW WHAT TO DO. Open that damn chest we got from the cult. That's priotiry.

>>13895361
OH SHIT, You're right! First thing first, and let's do this with our retinue present.

>>13895318
Well, Wulf is our protege, but Sansa really is more of our aide.
Sansa would have better idea of any logistical requirements, but Wulf would have better insight into any strategic concerns.

I'm voting bringin Sansa, and then going over the information again with Wulf in private later.

I think we should go alone as well. There are just some things that might be best said in private.

>>13895372
I would rather open it with Laelith and Kyria there, and nobody else. /Maybe/ Finian. Why assemble the entire retinue?

>>13895401
No point really. It's just a chest likely full of loot or tomes or something. Our entire retinue doesn't need to be there for opening a chest.

If we take anyone with us, bring Sansa, though going alone gets my vote. Open the chest first, though.

>>13895401
Definitely have Laelith there when we open the chest.
I don't think we need anyone else.

Also, I'm changing my vote to meeting the Second Praetorian alone.

So we have consensus?

All of the various administrative and preparatory things to do, the letters for the mercs, open the chest, and come alone to the debriefing with the Second Praetorian.

Anything else?

>>13895565
I think the rest can wait until after the debrief. Plus, I imagine a lot of what has been suggested can be done without any real input from us.

You gather up Laelith, Kyria and Finian after having Sansa see to getting the men settled back into their battalion barracks. You lead the trio into one of the smaller side rooms of the officers barracks, carrying the chest yourself. You put the breakerstone to the lock, and are satisfied to hear the soft crack-pop of the seal breaking. You push the lid back to see a grid of steel poles, all of them covered in runes, hinges at many locations on the grid they form. Beneath the second layer of protection are several books, scrolls and sheets of parchment, along with a sealing ring and a small stack of letters. "Its ciphered." Finian sighs, looking through the bars.

"And most of those hinges are traps, I dont know what exactly the runes will do, but I doubt a wrong guess would leave much inside the chest, or of the unlucky persons hand." Kyria adds, sounding more curious than anything else.

"Dont hurt yourself getting us past the second layer of protection, Kyria, and Finian my friend, I'm sorry but I suppose you will have another cipher to break." you sigh, walking from the room to see how your newest recruits are faring.

Bellatrix is pouting outside the officers barracks "Wulf took Lena to see the city, Aurelius is calming his men down. Where will our room be?"

>>13895318
Hell why don't we just bring both of them?

>>13895580

With the command staff I guess. She'll want to be as close as possible to Lena.

>>13895592
We were told to bring our aide at most. Let's just go alone.

>>13895580
Officers barracks I suppose. Also, ask why Aurelius needs to calm his men down for. Finally, should we speak to her now or save it for later? I suppose we might as well do it now since she's here but I kind of want to get the debrief done first.

>>13895580
Let's give them a pretty comfortable room equally spaced between Wulf's and Aurelius' rooms

>>13895580
>Bellatrix is pouting outside the officers barracks "Wulf took Lena to see the city, Aurelius is calming his men down. Where will our room be?"
"That would be a question best left to Sansa. Come, let us find her."
>>13895618
I think we should get it out of the way now.

>>13895647
>>13895618
Seconding, let's get her settled in fast, see if there is a problem with the men, then head to the debrief.

>>13895618
they probably need calming down from the excitement of returning home to the acclaim of the crowds

>>13895647
Then let's deal with it now. In regards to that topic, shall we start it off with a... "How has adjusting to life in the maniple been for you so far Bellatrix?"

>>13895691
"How are you and Lena adjusting to life within my maniple, and within the Legion as a whole?"

"I do beleive I know where we can put the two of you." you reply, motioning for her to follow you. After a few minutes of you showing the woman around the building before you finally ask "So, how are you adjusting to life in the Legion, Bellatrix?"

She sighs "I dont mind it, I, well, I apologize for my behavior earlier." she chuckles "Lena was rather irked with me after she started taking her lessons with Gaius. I suppose I'm simply not accustomed to being able to trust others so, freely, anymore."

>>13895691
sounds fine

>>13895787
"Now that you two are apart of my retinue, things will change for the both of you. You don't have to constantly protect Lena anymore and you can trust the rest of us like a family. With Wulf spending time with Lena now, you must have more spare time."

>>13895787
"that's completely understandable Bellatrix, you and your sister have had hard lives and been placed in situations that make trusting others hard. I hope you will come to understand that chapter of your life has closed and a new one has opened."

Gentlemen!
Many many roman numerals have passed, and many many plot and side plot things have popped up.
Can we try to get a list of the things that'll require doing?
/Become The 7th Praetorian
/Buy Church lands and renew them
/Build a school for war orphans
/Find and Kill/Prosecute the Loan Shark that took Kyria's Forge
/Find a Way to take Down Sansa's previous commander that tried to rape her (and many others), and killed her brother
/Tie up the last loose end of Khalless', The Third Wife, The Black Widow.
/Discover the identity of a LordFather (female Dwarf in Duchy lands, most info we have thus far)
/Potential Capture and Interrogation of a LordFather or Ranking Cult member
/A large Forge/Workshop for the grand science team

>>13895787
>I suppose I'm simply not accustomed to being able to trust others so, freely, anymore.
"Know this: you can trust me, and you can trust the members of my retinue.
"Now, the real lesson I wanted you to learn is that of discipline, and knowing how to show respect.
"That is because, Bellatrix, in the Legion, you must respect the chain of command. As my mentor once told me, 'Respect the rank, if not the man'."

Basically, I want to get across that she needs to show respect, even if she doesn't really feel it. I want her to know that scum like Commander McRape do exist, and appearances have to be maintained in order to avoid giving them something to hold over her. She should really speak with Sansa about it.
And I think I'm rambling now...

>>13895871
Laelith's face healing.
Try to re-establish relations between Laelith and her family.
Establish private school for elementalist and mage training, loyal to us.
Ensure the orc clan in the north grows and is friendly to us.
Marry Jayne.
Seduce and haremize Nyetini.

>>13895871
Should we combine the orphanage and the forge/workshop into an Academy?
Orphans taken into the orphanage portion of the Academy will go up through the school and workshops to be trained as engineers, blacksmiths, and technicians who will be required to work for the Academy for a number of years to work off their debt, before going into the world to find employment.
Regular people can pay a small tuition to be trained and taught, or be required to work off their tuition by working for us.

>>13895871
I suspect that we could get ourselves put in charge of arranging a new elementalist/mage/etc.-oriented training program in the Legion, perhaps even be on the ground floor of establishing the doctrine of their use. This may or not be desirable, but we should DEFINITELY make a policy of searching out more elementalists and getting them assigned to our unit whenever possible; I am willing to bet that we have, hands down, the best military elementalist program in the Legion.

We may also be able to try and locate elementalists and mages amongst the population, and try to get them to join the legion. Worth a shot at least.

While we're here we should also make efforts to snap up whatever knowledge of the arcane we can- acquire such old tomes and crap as can be found for sale. Their value will only spike.

Additionally, with our huge supply of weapons and armour, we should look into investing in our own private forces. Recruit men from the lower classes or whatever is feasible so we can create more disciplined and armed units than the mercs we've hired in the past. Furthermore, we can start to test new formations with them such as using a combined arms approach or whatever ideas we have at the time. Eventually, we'll have an army large enough that we won't need to hire mercs.

>>13895964
>>13895944
>>13895920
>>13895871
Good. We can establish an orphanage that takes in elementalist/mage/whatever kids.

Then we send them to the Magic Academy we establish. Lena and our first crop of elementalists can be the instructors eventually. Ideally we will wholly own this, much like noble houses own the units that get leased to the empire. We'll be the person who owns and leases out elementalists, mages, and other more exotic magic users.

"I realize that you and Lena had difficult lives up to this point, but here, in my Maniple, if not the Legion as a whole you can feel safe with your comrades." you assure the woman, rounding the corner to the occupied wing of the barracks. "Now, do you know what lesson I hoped to teach you with my punishment?" you ask.

"Respect, and humility." Bellatrix answers as you reach the rooms for her and her sister.

"Respect for the rank, if not the man. Not all commanders are like me, simply ask Sansa if you want to know more about that." you motion to one door "this will be your room, Lena will be two room s down on the opposite side of the hall." Bellatrix opens her mouth to protest but you cut her off "Speak with Lena about it, she is a woman grown, and more than capable of thinking for and defending herself. Every member of my retinue or command staff gets their own room unless they request otherwise." Belatrix deflates and, after saluting, walks into her room.

>anything else, or hit the debreifing?

>>13895964
sounds like a good investment we should definitely look into this after our meeting with the 2nd

>>13896032
Can't think of anything. Debrief it for the win.

>>13896032
Follow her in for now.
"Bellatrix, I had a question. Prior to now, I imagine you've kept the burden of everything you've gone through to yourself. Have you begun to open up to Lena about things now that you have a more stable home?"

>>13896049
>imply we know about her mystic powers
We should probably get confirmation on that; we'll need to search for ways to either develop or inhibit her powers then.

>>13896090
There's no implication about any mystic powers in it. It's just talking about what's happened to them in the past and if she's keeping it to herself still or not.

>>13896032
We're done here. let's hit the debriefing.

>>13896100
I still think we need to plant the seeds of getting Bellatrix and Lena to open up to each other but if everyone insists.

>>13896090
Damnit, why didn't I think of this sooner?

Mysticism eventually drives the user mad, because they can't stop hearing everyone, as well as their blemishes.

What if we create a piece of arcana that they can use to block out all thought, like the visor that Cyclops uses from the X-Men?

>>13896099
No, I meant that we should imply that we know about her powers, to see if she really has them or not.

>>13896131
We haven't translated the tomes on how to create arcana yet. Finian was translating Khalless' personal letters instead.

>>13896151
Might be worth pulling out that crystal but I honestly don't think she knows about them if she does have them. So I don't think we should hint anything.

>>13896152
I meant it as a long-term goal, like our Academy of Magic and Engineering/orphanage.

Two sisters, twins, who each have a different kind of magic power?

Obviously one can only reach their full potential when both are working together.

Bellatrix can keep Lena from overexerting herself, and Lena can help mitigate the damage from Bellatrix's dreams.

The rest of the night is uneventful, with your newest recruits settling in, Jayne going to her manor, and returning with enough riders to restore her compliment to 50. You set out the next morning early, having some of Jaynes riders push the wagons loaded with your loot to the Palace. When the clerks see your haul, their jaws nearly drop, and they simply tell you to return for your dragoons in a few days. You leave Spite at the stables near the palace entrance, before making your way to the Seconds offices. His current aid instructs you as to which room he is in at the moment, and you make your way to the aforementioned room.

The Second Praetorian is leaning over a large map of Catarasia, thin colored lines denoting the nations, carved wooden markers, either small bannerpoles in crimson and gold, or miniature noble house banners. the X, IV and VII legions markers off to the side of the table, an equal number of banners you know to belong to Major Lords joining them. "Commander Trentz, I am impressed by your accomplishments, as is High Commander Lucretius. Now, would you rather start with a breakdown of your efforts, more in depth than your status reports, or, the other matters that you have encountered?"

>>13896292
I say breakdown of efforts first before we move into other matters.

>>13896315
Seconded. Mention how great of force multipliers our employment of magic and our advanced repeater designs (both regular and heavy) were.

>>13896338
Don't forget our wagons.

>>13896315
Agreed. Efforts first.

>>13896350
"Thank you for the compliments sir."

And try not the embellish, and ensure we mention our master engineer by name rather then saying 'my manple'

"I suppose we can start with the campaign proper." you reply, looking more closely at the map. Three full legions deployed in the north along with a three fingered fist, opposite them, the Kings marshal and another major Lord, the battle almost directly on top of Degnars border. To the South a single Legion and complete fist are pushing towards Rivers End, the Kings banner not to far away from them.

"You utilized some highly unorthodox tactics to great effect, why dont we start with them." the Second prompts you, rolling a pair of Legion markers about in his hand.

"During my return trip from my first campaign, I encountered an extremely skilled Kaskyana Engineer, through his efforts at my instruction I obtained a group of wagons that can move almost entirely of their own volition. The increase in mobility was, perhaps the greatest boon to my tactics." you begin.

"How long do these wagons take to produce?" the praetorian asks you, dropping the markers and taking a seat, offering you one as he does so.

"It took a team of 30 skilled engineers trained by my Chief Engineer the better part of a month to complete them under his direction. He also developed, along with one of my captains automatic crossbows, and balistae, which allowed me to deal with the threat of flying cavalry much more easily than the existing methods." you reply, taking the seat.

"And your night attacks?"

You pull out a small jar, filled with moonseye paste "I also recruited an orc of the Old Clans, he knew of a paste which allows you to see in the night as if it were daylight."

the man opposite you accepts the jar "Now, is it arcana that you are making heavy use of, or have the arcane arts truly began their return?"

>>13896528
"The arcane arts have begun to return to the land. I can go through whatever test you need to show I have no arcana on me, but myself and others within my retinue have learnt elementalism. Furthermore, I managed to recruit a mage within my retinue and even more alarming, I've seen a mystic and mage amongst the Uurlanth."

>>13896594
mystic, mage, and elementalist.

I say we pull no punches, speak calmly and seriously thoughout this, and drop the Godbomb as part of our report.

"Khalless, the man leading the rebels, had some divine interention on his part in the way of my current chief elementalist, the former enemy Lealith. She was infact a worshipper of..."

Continue on with this, speaking of the signs seen at the destroyed city, commune with the gods, speaking with them, the interactions and visions you and some of your retinue have had, and ending with the intel recived by The Hag, which you consider very trustworthy intelligence, of the potencial even large army then we'd so imagined.

With which we can segay into the convertion of Janos Stant who has in turn given us much intel as well.

don't forget to tell him about the group of bandits we came across whom provided the detection crystal and leads to the lordfathers schemes.

>>13896680
>>13896696
I figured we'd save all that for the second part of the chat. This is just a report of our campaign.

Yeah, I'm not wanting to pop that part about the gods juuuust yet.

>>13896680
I like this

>>13896680
No gods. We are going to be the one to reveal it. Not him.

"Yes, the arcane arts have in fact begun their return. Myself and three members of my retinue proving to be skilled elementalists, a single mage that I recruited, and a small cadre of elementalists I located within my maniple and have begun training." you answer calmly "And yes, we will willingly submit to any tests required to prove the veracity of that claim."

"Tests, yes, we will require several of those. How is it you found these individuals, assuming you are able to prove the truth behind your claims, that is." the Second asks.

"I encountered a group of bandits while scouting for my maniple, after dealing with them, I found an arcana that detects those with arcane talent or potential. Using that item I singled out those members of my maniple and began training them." you reply

"Initiative, I like that. I want you to continue these developments in tactics, and refining the training and locating of elementalists, mages and the like. Too many members of the old guard are still in the Legion to enact any changes during this war without gutting the command structure for punishment over insubordination, as I'm sure you are aware of by now. But after this war has ended..." the praetorian trails off, and you nod in agreement "Now, before I move on to your next campaign, I would have the information you have gathered on this cult we are running afoul of."

>>13896918
Well, lay out what we know. If he's a cultists we're screwed anyway, and if he's not then we need people in high places with whatever information we can provide.

>>13896918
Tell him what we know of Khalless from what Laelith has said, his letters we've translated so far, as well as the shenanigans of what's going on in House Stant. I think we can trust the 2nd with the details about Janos. Also, say this at the end - "The High Commander said you though their plans might involved the deities. What do you think they're planning and do you think it's even possible?"

>>13896918
"With pleasure, sir" get really down into brass tax with him, include everything we've found about them: their training of necromancers, their total infiltration of house Stant and several other urlanthi noble houses, their presence in dutchy lands, the fact that Khaless had been marking Gaurush(?)'s symbol all over that one city in the first campaign to attract the admiration of his chosen deity, and lastly that very trapped chest our guys are attempting their best to not have explode which could contain even better information.

>>13896989
I think this is good but mention that we believe someone in his organization(for lack of a better term) may be involved with this cult in some way and that he should probably investigate whoever handles his mail

>>13897070
supposedly, he already took care of the suspect mail-handler.

"With pleasure, sir." you begin, informing the man of the clues you found from Khalless, the chest you recently recovered, and finally, what happened with house Stant, the Praetorian quietly listening the whole time.

"What I found after clearing out my staff mostly coincides with your findings. Necromancy, gods, this level of infiltration... I do not like it in the least. Now your man Janos, how trustworthy do you find him?"

>>13897113

'He has not withheld any vital information since he joined us. He has provided important tactical information regarding the status of and ability of our foes which greatly influenced how we conducted our war in their territory.

Furthermore, we found evidence that the cult slaughtered much of his immediately family and impersonated them. This hatred alone should bind him closely to us, even if his actions up till now, have just been an elaborate act."

>>13897162
Makes sense. There's nothing left for him to go back to now, after all. All he has in the world is here, in the Empire.

"He withheld no information from me, and his advice on my foes shaped my success in Uurlanth. In addition to that, after this cult ravaged his family, our stance against them would be enough to ensure his loyalty to us, all he has left in this world is in Degnar now." you reply.

The Praetorian rises "Consider his condition the same as the elven member of your retinue then. Now, I have seen you do nothing but succeed and innovate, and my second in command advised taht I seriously consider this." he lifts the remnants of a left fist from the table "One of my fists is broken rather badly, you see. At the moment it would be a lateral move, though more prestigious considering the... plans, Commander Lucretius' man found in your head, that is a good thing for you. Now, provided you do not fail in this next assignment I have for you, I would like to transfer you to my Left Fist, if you would accept the move, that is."

>>13897337
"Of course and I would assume that my maniple is to join me?"

>>13897337
>considering the... plans, Commander Lucretius' man found in your head
Did I miss having our brain ransacked at some point? Is this Legion policy?

>>13897337
I do think that we can be moderately pissed at having our mind invaded without warning. Rank or not, that's a slap in the face.

>>13897337
Okay, not heading to bed just yet.
"Of course. If Commander Lucretius' man was a mystic, might I ask what exactly he was able to pull from it? I imagine an explanation might be required depending on what was pulled."

>>13897337
Accept, provided we keep our current command staff and units.

>>13897337

Will we be getting a larger command or still with just our maniple?

When can we expect tasking orders and a date for leaving the capital?

Ask how much, exactly, he was informed of. Say it's because a few small pieces of information by themselves could be taken out of context, and hopefully that hasn't happened here.

You stare blankly at the Praetorian as he returns the wooden fist to the table, and picks up one of the fingers that he had removed from it "Yes, Lucretius has a mystic amongst his retinue, no I do not know what preciesly he took from your mind or which member of the retinue it is. All he told me was that you have very high aspirations, on par with my rank though not a direct threat to me. He has discretion, but I find it rather vexing myself, now, collect yourself and let me have my answer please."

You close your mouth "Will I be able to keep my current maniple?"

"What good is a blacksmith without his tools?" the Praetorian asks for his response.

"Then yes, I accept. What is my trial campaign?" you reply.

"A detachment from the Marshals forces has infiltrated our border, and continues to evade our forces and raid the countryside. For all intents and purposes, I want you to capture or kill yourself. He was last seen in the area around Northmont. What other questions do you have about this mission?"

>>13897495
Any information on what Lord we're dealing with, as well as what kind of troops he has as well as army size? And with that I really leave for the night. Might want to talk to him about the gods at some point, depending on his view of what the cult is up to. If you guys can manage to get to that topic again.

>>13897537

This and when do we leave.

>>13897495

"How big of a force do we estimate this detatchment to be?"

once he's done
"One more question, sir. The cityfolk were calling me the 'midnight dragon' as we were returning. I can only assume this refers to stories of my maniple's mooneye-assisted night raids?"

>>13897495
Assure him that we have no designs on his job. And just ask for a scribe to write up a complete report of everything the unit has done and where, along with any battle reports and debriefings we can gather.

>>13897590
Well, I certainly wouldn't say no to his job if the opportunity presented itself. As long as we're in the military busy becoming a war hero it IS rather one of the obvious end paths. We just have a slightly different job that we'd rather end up with.

"Any information on the force, its commanding lord. I will take whatever you can offer." you reply.

The praetorian begins circling his map "Roughly two thousand soldiers, mostly elven. No lord commands, but one of Lord Karrolls captains, a knight if I recall correctly, but, as we have been unable to come to blows with the force that is all the more I have. You will depart in two weeks, by then your forces will be replenished, and some of the smaller sized units I am restructuring across the Legions, so they will grow. Do you have any other questions at the moment?"

"One, when I arrived some of the crowd were refering to me as..." you clear your throat, "The Midnight Dragon, would you happen to know where that came from?"

The praetorian chuckles "Well, aside from the stories your first batch of prisoners spread about when you attack, how you rend the very earth with your footsteps, what you would expect from terrified captives, considering the manner you defeated them in. Add to that letters sent to families, rumor spread from soldier to soldier. It is not a bad moniker to have earned, and I'm sure you can appreciate that." you nod "Excellent, a messenger will arrive by the end of the week to summon you for the hearing on the arcane that will no doubt be called for. Some of the tests may very well prove to be rather degrading, prepare your men for that." at that, the Praetorian salutes and dismisses you.

>well, I dots stuff to do in the morning so I'm gonna call it for tonight.
>I'll be back tuesday at 9pm server time
>someone archive please
>if you have any setting//random CQ questions just email me at paxcomquest@yahoo.com

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