This Thread will record all submitted Progressions as they are processed. Deadline for Period 2 is 3rd of January 2022, Midnight London Time. Submissions will be posted as replies until the Deadline is reached.
@Hemingway7 Noble finances: Funding Viridian Order Heinrich approaches the Viridian Order to incentivize the order to expand. Heinrich gets much the same response as the Alms Ministry, due to the inhibitive cost, each aspirant will have to have (1 wealth token) worth of Regals paid out for their entire education, so 1 new recruit = 1 wealth token. For the time being, the Elders decline to really go into the conversation of expanding the order as they are still very slowly expanding and don't have the members to really expand.
Investigate Irvainvik Magic Presence and Pay for Valandian Bill @AlphaInsomnia House Sorenvik pays 1 Wealth token for the Valadian trip bill. House Sorenvik investigates the high levels of Occult in Irvainvik, and all things concerning them. The local magistrate of the Bureaucracy remarks that the Occult status of the region is perhaps understood by the rulers, and that the lands are not Occult by choice but by circumstance of Velheim culture. Notably, that Irvainvik has a massive number of Helbolwen built over the centuries, on top of each other, or just abandoned, and that the land is infested with Undead, particularly in the mountains and deep forests. Over centuries, capstones of these places wore down and broke down, or the Undead simply escaped, or the Staargir failed in their tasks and the Helbolwen were abandoned. It is said that particularly the large collection of them near the coastline are very badly maintained, and that the Sorenviks were lucky that they weren't beset upon by Draugr during their last visit, but that they were most definitely being stalked last time they were there. @Hemingway7 Noble finances: Charity Heinrich approaches the Crown to offer funding for the rebuilding of Ness's Temple. The courtier reminds Heinrich that the Emperor issued a command for the state to pay, and that he should approach the Finance Minister for any contributions, not the Emperor. Heinrich approaches the Civics Ministry with a 2 Wealth Token donation specifically to aid the poor with food, shelter and clothing, but spending is obviously up to Sivrid Sorenvik at this point.
@Birdsfoot_Violet City Construction Cost Check Cost for both Dragon Temple and Temple of Ness: 5 Tokens for restoration to old quality (what it used to look like in case of Temple of Ness) 10 Tokens for a complete modern rebuild with added boundaries (walls in the case of Temple of Ness) @festiveCorvid Search for leads on Theomar's Gauntlet in Pharah Abelhard Petrou leads Humaira, Leopold, Galinthios and Valorie to Pharah in an attempt to discover the where-abouts of Emperor Theomar's lost gauntlet. Asking around among the Unionist locals uncovers nothing, apparently none here have heard of such an artifact coming through and would most likely catch it if it did, and return it to Regalia. One of the Unionist remarks that the Asha States would not be a suitable location to flee for such a thief, and that the thief likely went further north to either Daen, or Ithania. The man reasons that if they went to Ithania, that the gauntlet probably fell in the hands of a private collector with loose morals, and that if it entered in the Daen region, that it landed into one of the local Pandilla groups hands, or has become an altar piece for one of the micro-cults of the region and their underground houses of worship. Either way, the expedition is too far south, the Asha have a strict control on what imports reach their ports and no such item ever passed through. If reaching out for those places, Abelhard is recommended to bring along a noble of either part or whole Daen or Ithanian descent to grease some gears.
@Lutowski Contacting the Elladorian Warfront Medea, Vulrynn, Cyran and Eletha travel to Ellador once more, with Anathema hiding in Medea's body through their Magic. The four (plus passenger) travel by Wyvern high up north to brute force their way into Dorkarthi territory. The deeper they go, the stranger the land appears, far below them, the clouds part as Isldar Magic is no longer able to keep the valleys shrouded. They see the landscape marred with shards of what looks like red glass sticking out of the ground, giving off a glow. Long streams like snakes coiling across the landscape with jagged edges, the size is hard to make out, but they estimate that each idividual shard is about the size of a person, with bigger clusters larger than a house. The further they go, the thicker the spread of the shards is, and the darker the skies become. At a certain point, Medea's Wyvern goes ballistic and starts thrashing in the air, causing the others to turn around in surprise. Medea meanwhile has gone catatonic, entirely unnoticed by Anathema who attempts to take control but is somehow prevented from doing so, with only Anathema perceiving a woman's voice cackling at them in Medea's head. The Wyvern eventually throws Medea off itself, clearly wanting to get away from whatever just happened to Medea, and she plummets to the ground. Cyran and Eletha are quick to react and intercept Medea on their Wyverns, catching her before she hits the ground and depositing her there safely. Surrounded by the crystal shards sticking out of the ground, Medea's body in still catatonic state, suddenly starts fighting the others who try to overpower her, while Anathema is powerless inside her, all of their Magic being blocked by something, even preventing them from leaving and forcing them as an unwilling passenger. Medea is eventually overpowered and knocked out without causing any overt harm to anyone, and the group return to Regalia while Medea remains unconscious (Medea will wake up Regalia at a time of your choosing). Hidden component to the Progression delivered on the Order Thread.
@NebulaePrimo City Construction Donation House Guentyr donates 2 Wealth Tokens to the Finance Ministry for the Temple of Ness. @Hemingway7 Temple of God-Empress Ness House von Schwarzkrau donates 10 Wealth Tokens to the Finance Ministry for the Temple of Ness. (you can deficit spend without too much issues if you only do it short-term, so I pushed the order straight away). @AtticCat Repairs on the All-Beacon Temple Hera van Hal inquires to the cost of the All-Beacon repairs. The bureaucracy informs Hera van Hal that the All-Beacon Temple sustained no damage during the Vampire crisis, and that its repairs from the damage since the Clicker Crisis are still ongoing and paid for in advance by the Crown. @Arhbi Hunt for Theomar's Gauntlet House Delmotte initiates a ratrace in the absense of House Petrou to chase after Theomar's Gauntlet, by arriving in La Portée du Paradis, Ithania. From there, Markus, Aldair, Azrael, Arntyr and Rhea. The group ask around and ask around, attend a few parties, and are invited over to some personal soirees in the homes of the local aristocracy. Most of these meetings are pointless pleasantries, though Rhea notices a group of skittish Asha slaves in one of the aristocrat homes. While Markus distracts the lady of the manor with pleasantries, Rhea enters into the slave quarters to inquire with the Asha about any potential leads. Here, she discovers that a commonly traveled path of free Asha in Ithania is from the coastal cities to a place called "Amankh" in the desert, but none of them are willing to talk about where it is, giving some sort of implication that it's a place escaped slaves run off to. Rhea decides to take a leap, drag the most talkative slave with her, and demand to purchase the slave from the Lady of the manor. The Lady is surprised but not displeased, and offers the slave to Rhea for 10,000 Regals (1 wealth Token), which Rhea immediately accepts before Markus can even say a word. Having purchased the slave, the slave is now willing to assist, pointing to a rough location on the map, an area which is known to contain Asha ruins, partly submerged in an oasis where the city sank into the ground. Still, he also remarks that Ithanian authorities have been very strict that Regalians are not to excavate Asha ruins without Ithanian permission, and that they should also expect a fight from the local Asha who will mistake them for slave runners (people who re-capture slaves). House Delmotte is now presented with the (unpaid) bill of 1 Wealth Token, and has a acquired 1 Asha house slave that is positively predisposed to them. Information from this progression is public knowledge due to the nosiness of Delmotte servants and gossip, though House Delmotte does have an edge on entering Amankh because of their slave.
@Birdsfoot_Violet Sallatar Shield Investigation Valarosta, aided by Harlow, Cyran, Silver and Ashvarya travel to Sallatar, the Suvial capital, to investigate the source of the magical shield protecting the city. The group is permitted into the city, but there is immediately something "off" about how the locals act. From the moment they pass by the Moon-Fire Door, guards are alerted of their entry, and individuals with maroon capes start following them through the streets. The locals seem aware that they are being followed, and each time the group enters a relatively busy street, the locals see the people who are following them, and go silent, parting the way to the center. Upon arriving at the center, the group can see the Dragon Temple high up the stairs and protected by several lower rings of walls and buildings arranged in such a way it seems to build a fortress of sandstone around a temple made of obsidian black stone and red glowing lines. Before the group can ascend the stairs, the individuals that followed them stop them, and confront them. In the short conversation they have with Ashvarya, the following individuals identify as the Dwiyal-Ässaar, which is essentially the Suvial variant of the State Police. The Dwival-Ässaar claim they have been foretold by spies in Regalia of their coming, and their distaste seems particularly aimed at Valarosta, to whom they spit on the ground in front of her. The Dwival-Ässaar say something to the effect of "You may have fooled the naive regalians with your disguise, but your crimes and allegiance do not date here, you are not slain where you stand only for the sake of diplomatic courtesy to your Emperor". When prompting to ascend without Valarosta, they make it clear that the others also aren't welcome by association, even if they would have a permit to enter which is required by the Avela Palace as the Dragon Temple itself is a place of military property. The group departs, though not before Ashvarya quickly picks up a few knick-knacks and souvenirs from the local market as well as rare substance supplies not easily acquired in Regalia.
