This Thread will record all submitted Progressions as they are processed. Deadline for Period 4 is 30th of January, Midnight London Time. Submissions will be posted as replies until the Deadline is reached.
House Morathes yields their claim to the Gauntlet, and escorts the Asha to safety before the Ithanian Army can arrive. House Morathes exits from the stage, though is billed 10 Wealth Tokens worth of finances, which are due to be paid, providing in advance for provisions, housing, and equipment for the escaped slaves. In return, the escaped slaves join Morathes military service, which now has a (small) private military force with roguery/naval/guerilla skills.
The Ithanian King accepts the removal of the Slaves a fait-accompli, as there was nothing he could have done about it. Either way, the Slaves are off Ithanian soil, and so the matter is resolved, however the King alerts the Regalian government now that Asha will hear of a successful escape into safety, that the King will double down on customs coming from and to Regalia, to ensure no stowaways will appear on shipping, and is intending to triple harbor mooring costs for merchants to buy expensive goods, to "cover the costs of extra personnel".
House Delmotte and Petrou are informed where the gauntlet lies, hidden under a segement of stones in the center of the ruins, and they retrieve it, taking it back to Regalia. The Ithanian King tries to claim imminent domain on the gauntlet, but is persuaded by the fact that he already gave away permission to Petrou to deal with the matter, and as such, his hands are bound by honor.
Delmotte and Petrou return the Gauntlet to the Emperor in Regalia, and both receive a minor Prestige boost, plitting the bigger prestige boost if they had been the sole victor in half.
Fabien tours the Ithanian court in an attempt to socialize and discover more about the anonymous writers of Lord Penbroke's chronicle. Unfortunately, Fabien comes to realize that the vast court has no idea about any potential identities, and given the presumptions provided by Fabien, that he is likely on a folly goose chase to assume that such high names would be engaged in such low-brow activities. The courtiers presume that the chronicle was indeed very literal, and that Lord Langfalt is just a Drixagh lord who has fallen on hard times, which at this point could be hundreds. They remark that the phrasing on the Ithanian lady refers more to language commonly used in prostitute brochures, and that Lady Ngix is probably indeed a Songaskian, but unlikely a member of court to have such crude opinions and such singular focus on jewelry. Finally, the idea that Parcival Ravenstad is involved at all causes quite a bit of chuckling, as this man utterly detested court, courtiers, and anything to do with court protocol, and much preferred to isolate himself into his own court. Indeed, the four chosen candidates are not likely, as Bellatronix is back in Ithania, and the others are all removed from court. In order for a gossip master to be capable, they would need to be present at the epicenter of ongoings, and all these individuals are far removed from it. The courtiers wave off the thought of discovering their identities as this would "undoubtedly ruin the mystery and magic of the chronicle, and drive our dear writers into ruin and secrecy akin to nothingness".
Fabien's further inquiry to the Ambassador's thoughts of Gosselin only rely on second hand rumor, since she has long departed for Ithania (she was not actually the Ambassador per-se, but rather the Ithanian liaison to the Regalian Court, it was easier to define her as an Ambassador, but Ithania does not have an Ambassador in Regalia, that right is only for foreign states). At any rate, the courtiers remark she sounded remarkably Ithanian-Nationalist, thus probably leaning strongly in favor of de Gosselin, the Ithanian Army, and Ithanian Sovereign hegemony over their sphere.
@festiveCorvid Wage war on Ruttgher Theocracy in defense of Soren
House Petrou mobilizes its troops and sends them to the Soren Kingdom to assist in the defense against the Rutger Theocracy. House Petrou demands the end to a conversion by the sword campaign, using the Emperor's words against forceful conversion as justification. Progress of this warfront will roll out in the coming weeks as automatic updates without your input. If you want to do additional things, send them in as orders, but assume the armies will operate on their own.
Sakara snoops out potential mercenary contracts against the Soren Kingdom in the Rutgher Theocracy. Obviously since House Petrou just jumped in to defend the Soren Kingdom, the Rutgher Theocracy has issued mercenary contracts to kill Petrou soldiers.
Ardige, Yngvarr, Ivar, Signe and Lily travel to Tryllejag ostensibly to meet with the King in the Capital. The King however is not present in the capital, and working with the army to still fight the ongoing Ogre conflict. One of the Princesses however speaks to the group, and informs them that the conflict is essentially a stalemate, but that in the long run, she believes their Kingdom will lose to the Ogres, as the Ogres inflict proportionally far more casualties than the Ailor can replenish. The King is able to answer all battles adequately, but this can only be upheld so long until the Ogres outnumber them, or Gods forbid, the King falls in battle and the Kingdom surrenders.
The group's attempts to reach proves difficult due to the sheer amount of refugees who have clung to the sides of the gate as if it would bring them any protection from the Ogres, while the Old Gods remain silent. They pay their honor to the Gods, though have to push their way through hordes of refugees clamoring to the Gods on the hills, and rows upon rows of tents and makeshift homes with people fighting over the dwindling food supply. They eventually return home.
@slurmancer Investigating Digmaan Sang Hyang Kersa & Batara Guru
Szaralaszotl, Haszlal, Igramnovire, and Barbossa travel to Hadar to act on behalf of the Foreign Ministry. Their first travel brings them to Digmaan Sang Hyang Kersa.
This Digmaan states he has no real vision to be Digmaan himself, and is mostly just making the best out of a shitty situation that Hadar finds itself in. When prompted, he himself says that he does not have much confidence that he will win the conflict.
This Digmaan has no chief allies or enemies, though does seem to sometimes work with Bathanga due to the nature of the conflict (FFA).
He has no information on the Qar-Digmaan.
He has nothing else to share, besides that he feels the Qar-Digmaan was downplaying how much chaos there was in Hadar following the Sendrassian Conflict, and that the Qar-Digmaan's strenuous rule was likely to collapse at some point anyway, as he had acquired control over much of Hadar through the departure of the Ailor military command, not by actually conquering any of it. The Digmaan mused that the title of Qar-Digmaan is to be a conquerer, not a silent deal maker.
Public support for Sang Hyang Kersa seems high on the ground as he is seen as compassionate, but some whisper there is some darker intention behind this facade.
Batara Guru is visited next
This Digmaan states he declines the vision of being Qar-Digmaan, and that he would rather have a Hadar without Qar-Digmaan, as he believes the position to be redundant, self aggrandizing, and incapable of being upheld, because no conqueror has ever had a child that could uphold their legacy and would inevitably be overthrown.
This Digmaan is enemies with practically everyone because his court is very open about welcoming lots of Slizzar, who also make it very difficult to scrape reliable information from them.
He has no information on the Qar-Digmaan, but there is some implication that his Champion, Cro-Droq knows more, but he also makes it obvious that the group isn't allowed anywhere near him.
He has nothing else to share, and the Slizzar in the court also make sure everything is tight-lipped.
Public support for Batara Guru seems low on the ground, on accout of him using a whole host of Slizzar, and the others still haven't gotten over the Slizzar controlling them during the Chrysant War.
Additional attempts at information
The Mai-Allar are currently split between the Digmaan in much the same way as the general Allar population.
There is very little information about Cro-Droq, but there are rumors among some of the smaller Digmaan who were already conquered, that Batara Guru is an Arken worshiper, and that Cro-Droq is not "natural".
The military strength of the situation has not changed, and all Digmaan are unwilling to actually throw any armies into an open conflict. The locals speculate however that a single rogue army (from for example a noble house) could lit a fuse and cause a domino effect that collapses the whole of Hadar into civil war.
The Soor-Rassa has as of yet declared neutrality in the conflict and is staying far away from it, still doing their own research into the Blight and other medical business following the Sendrassian War.
@slurmancer Investigating Digmaan Kabau and Fulmeripit.
Zzen, Vyldello, TRuzzasil, and Matzki travel to the Digmaan courts of Kabau and Fulmeripit. They visit Kabau first, acting on behalf of the Foreign Ministry:
Sendrassian Magic remains as of yet fairly absent in Fulmeripit's lands. It turns out the Sendrassian conflict has drawn most of the Sendrassians away from Hadar to deal with the Altalar, but there are some Sendrassians who open up cult shrines in back alleys, and there certainly is a level of desperation in the locals to embrace some sort of comfort, as the rationality and facts of the Soor-Rassa seem far away in this conflict ridden region of Hadar.
Fulmeripit believes his rule as Qar-Digmaan will see a properly strong Hadar ruled by a single ruler who deserves the title of conqueror, and also aims to have a more meaningful dialogue with some of the northern Sendrassians to "mend the gap", as it were. The Digmaan implies he has intentions to use the conflict in Sendras to draw in the northern tribes and convert them back to sanity, not by removing their cult worship, but by making them function as proper citizens and as part of a society not built on sacrifice.
Fulmeripit, due to his work with Sendrassians, is practically disliked by everyone.
This Digmaan has no information about the Qar-Digmaan's disappearance, but assures that he knows for a fact that the Sendrassians had nothing to do with it.
He has nothing else to share, but that he remains loyal to the Regalian State, and does not intend to break away from it like the Qar-Digmaan threatened numerous times, but insist some things "need to change".
Kabau is visited next
Kabau refuses to speak on his intentions as Qar-Digmaan.
Kabau is being very shifty about who his allies and enemies are, refusing to speak outwardly.
Kabau has no information about the Qar-Digmaan.
Kabau also refuses to say anything else.
Other information
Information on the wants and needs from either Digmaan are somewhat inconclusive. The locals aren't particularly up to date on what their ruling castes want, besides the obvious desire of non-intervention from the Regalian State.
House Gwyntyr pays 1 Finance Token to the Finance Ministry for the crime of Aldane.
Viviwynne, Vlaudane, Aldair, and Azrael travel to Coltyr to find the destroyed Sepulchre once found by Ariramorel.
Examinations as to what this place held fall short of any information. The Sepulchers in general do not store any written information, and all books that might have existed in the ruins have long since faded due to the wet climate of Kintyr. The assumption is that either the entire stock was raided empty, or that only select things were taken and then the rest left for the Knights to take to other places on salvaging.
Attempts to find any artifacts hidden within result in nothing, for all the receptacles are empty and even locals have long since rifled through the contents. Even part of the stonework has been cannibalized to build houses nearby.
Upon closer inspection of the holes in the ceiling, Viviwynne is able to distinguish what looks like colored shards of glass or crystals sticking out of the ceiling. An errant theory arises that given the angle of approach and attack, this Sepulchre may have fallen victim to the Maraya Home Swarm, as the Crystals are reminiscent of Crystal-Tech, though largely inert and destroyed by the looks of it, though it is also distinctly possible they came after the destruction of the roof.
Sivrid travels to Nordskag to meet with the King, who does receive her. She ovffers 10 wealth from the Civics and another 5 from House Sorenvik on the condition that the King also modernizes the bureaucracy and taxation standard. The King, himself having recently affirmed his Imperial identity from his previous bastardized mixture of Calemberg and Velheim, states this was his intentions all along, and that this very point is what is causing him issues with Hvitskag. He is fighting a soft-civil war with severe disobedience from the civil population and active resistance from the religious factions who are against the removal of the Jovrlov which is a pre-requisite for Regalian Law to fully apply to Nordskag.
The King says he wouldn't object to the money anyway, but must confess in his honorable conscience that the money would do him no good, for he does not have the soldiers to spend it on. All Soldiers had to be pulled away from Hvitskag because there was too much unrest in the mainland, and unless Sivrid can fashion an army of mercenaries out of nowhere, that money would simply sit and remain unspent until the King can find the necessary infrastructure to build new bureaucratic court houses and the like.
The King remarks that armies would be more effective and then leaves it at that.
The Civics Ministry spends 3 Wealth Tokens on attempting to build Opiate rehabilitation clinics in Daen. The money however is sent back by the Daen governor remarking that "The Civics Ministry, or Regalian self-righteous good-beanery is not acknowledged or a legitimate ministry in the eyes of the Daen people, and the Viscount was not consulted on the necessary property permits for the Barbarian beer-vending Minister to play godmother in the west". Needless to say, the Civics Ministry has no footing in Daen and the local government is obstructionist in every single way.
Lynmard, Cyran, Elisen, Caliburn and Elena search for Dragon Sites shown at the Nexus, but not already visitable. They cannot find a single one, as the others are most likely all underground and the group has not a single clue on how to even begin looking for one, or the necessary equipment (and permits) to just start archeological digs.
House Howlester pays 1 Wealth token to House Mac Conall
House Howlester pays 2 Wealth tokens to House Bancroft
House Howlester pays 1 Wealth Token to Sakara Mansurah Ramoran.
House Howlester sends 3 Wealth Tokens to the state for "Shrine construction on Imperial Isle". As of yet however, no such draft was approved, nor is it specified which shrines the money was for, so the government drafts it into a savings account, but the Finance Minister or Chancellor can disregard this at any time and spend it on whatever else.
Seishan, Novellia, Lyonel, Cyran and Vivienne travel to the unexplored continent of Justinia (named such by the explorers) on a long boat voyage. The group had the intentions of studying the statues as well as exploring the land that the previous explorers chose in better judgement not to land on. Their attempts to beach are successful, taking place in a cove which to their perception appears safe to land in, but the moment they reach the top of the cliffs past the narrow paths, things immediately start going to shit.
The group is met by a number of what appears to be people made out of jelly, see through forms of humanoids with vague facial features and purple eyes, speaking a foreign language, and immediately attacking the group. Any attempts at communicating are not responded to, and all signs of attempted surrender or negotiation ignored. The group takes multiple hits and decides to immediately retreat to the ship, harassed by archery from behind all the while.
Before they can reach the ship however, they notice from a distance that the ship has multiple massive metallic devices and tentacles ripping through it, cutting it in half with the distant cries of the sailors. The jelly-people seem to respond with anguish at this, and more and more of them seem to appear on the location, seeming less interested now in the exploration group and more in what just happened to their ship. The group is still being chased, but more and more of the jelly people form up, just as mechanical beings step out of the water, re-modulating their bodies to become more humanoid with weapons for arms, and the same purple-colored eyes. Before long, the mechanical people attack the jelly people and a fierce melee ensues, with jelly people cut in half and mechanical humanoids exploding.
All the while, the group continues to find any safe space to hide in, though are constantly beset by attackers from both sides, who then lose interest and start attacking one another.
All seems lost, with the ship their only way out sunk, and a battle raging all around them. Then, when nearly surrounded, Gwenyth Zylmoira suddenly pops out of nowhere with a Leyline Transport, seeming just as confused and surprised as the others seeing her. In quick utterance she relays that "Rhaakhr told her these coordinates to blind-jump to without telling her why, just saying it was 'too soon', and to 'bring them back'". Without hesitance, Gwyneth re-activates the leyline transport, bringing the group back to Regalia, and leaving the mechanical and jelly people to fight their own battle on that beach, overlooked by statues of rose-quartz Dragons on the cliffsides.
((group is free to decide if they took any wounds from this or not, and what wounds))
With permission from the Duke du Poncaire, Amelina, Rodrigo, Henric, Émilienne, and Wa-Xia travel to Tirgunn to attempt to find more of the Sarlann.
Initially their search yields little results, until they happen upon an old library of the Darkwalds, long since abandoned by the locals or the Darkwald Order on the edge of a small forest town. Cast in the eternal dusk of the deep Tirgunn forests, the group enter the library which has unfortunately taken some damage after being abandoned for centuries. Some parts of the archives however remain well preserved, after Rodrigo busts some of the heavier doors open. Amelina makes use of some quick thinking alchemy to dry out the wet papers and books without damaging the fragile paper and bindings, allowing them to try and read.
The books however, bring a sad and premature end to their search. The logs record a history of the Darkwald order far before its supposed historic creation, built upon a group called the Pangheist. Pangheist being a portmanteau of Pan and Gheist, two words which in the Sarlann language meant something like "ghost destroyer", a group of Sarlann holy warriors that would fight against "The Murder" and its minions. It is also here they find some early Sarlann translation notes, discovering that the Leutz folktale of the Sarlann and their enemy god being the Murder was incorrectly translated. The Murder was always assumed to have been a reference to "Murder of Crows", but it actually meant "Lord of Crows", and that the Murder was just his name. The Sarlann referred to him as a lord of ghosts, and the group surmises that ghosts to the Sarlann, meant Demons in a modern understanding.
The books record how the order slowly whittled down, attacked both by Regalian religious militias and the forces of the Murder. Eventually there were only four families left, all the other clans had died out with only scant members marrying into Regalian families (or in some darker interpretations, being forced to marry into Regalian families). These last four families were led by the largest of them, Family Prendegeist which had somehow taken hold of a small impoverished Regalian lordship, while pretending to be native Regalians.
House Prendegeist would eventually fall when Coraveau made its way into the hands of their patriarch, who was driven mad and slew his own family. The three remaining families fought to the death with the Murder's minions but lost, though leaving behind their legends and tomes for the Regalians to find. It is claimed in these books that the Darkwald order was built on their principle fight against the Murder, and by extension Demons, but that the Darkwald order eventually shifted to targeting Vampires and Cahal even if it was technically outside of the scope of their original intent.
There are some maps leading to locations of old Sarlann towns and estates, though with Henric present, he is quickly able to inform them that these places have all been built over and probably disassembled as a result.
The group eventually come to the conclusion that the tale of Sarlann may have reached a dead end, as their people did truly die out. Few Sarlann made it into Regalian households, and were forced to adopt Regalian names and habits, with their children not knowing a lick of Sarlann culture or language. While the dictionaries contain some translations, the way Sarlann language sounded was lost, and the books do not contain enough information to string together whole sentences, meaning their language effectively died out.
Rodrigo absentmindedly remarked that unless there was a way to visit the past, there would likely be nothing further to discover.
Florian, Natharia, Morgaine, Rosalyne, and Lisette, travel to the forestlands of Osteiermark to investigate the Hinterlandic Ravens and attempts to stabilize their declining population. Consulting local Ravenpluckers, the group had the intention of inquiring ways to capture a few Ravens to study them in a laboratory.
Upon meeting the Ravenpluckers however, the group finds out that something remarkable has occured while the wealthy weren't looking. All across Osteiermark, the Ravens collectively stopped doing the very thing they were famous for: suiciding. The Ravenpluckers remark that just out of nowhere a few months ago, the Ravens started behaving oddly, and paid no further attention to Ailor walking around the forest. While normally one would find several dead birds on the ground after walking into a particular patch of forest, now they all flew overhead in a rapid criss-cross to and from places unknown while paying no heed to those on the ground.
Several Ravenpluckers had attempted to see what the Ravens were doing, but the exact process was hard to follow, as the Ravens flew far and fast, faster and further than a horse could keep up with, but it looked like the Ravens were ferrying things back and forth. One Ravenplucker shot down one of the Ravens a few weeks back, and found the Raven to be carrying a small marble of grey-white stone, but the exact stone could not be identified by a geologist because it defied classification. Attempts to destroy the stone also resulted in hammers smashing, as the stones were remarkably strong to the point of unbreakable. The stone is given to Florian du Poncaire, who now owns the "Unidentified bead of stone".
The group is taken to where the Ravens usually nest. Sure enough, their nests are still there, but the Ravens completely ignore the group below. Morgaine observes that the way the Ravens fly, their patterns, look like a logistical supply network, wondering out loud if the Ravens are ferrying something back and forth, and for what purpose, and more importantly, at whose behest, as the group collective decides that Ravens suddenly developing omniscient civilized logistics on their own accord, is highly unlikely.
Leopold, Heinrich. Hera, Humaira and Saren open up a history book and read that Emperor Allestrain died on the battlefield of Hessa in the Cain Kingdom of Cerne-Cain Ålle-Sunde. But Saren looked very roguish as he fetched the history book from the front row shelf of history of the Emperors.
The Chancellor inquires in how much money Torse & Arlora need to upkeep their military and push out to reclaim the rest. The bureaucracy says they need 10 Wealth Tokens per cycle to clear as a regular payment, and then it may take several cycles to complete.
Amir, Imara, Seishan, Ailred and Argo travel to al-Alus to try and find unexplored Hadrityas or Sariyd places. (order miswritten, order implies search starts in Al-Alus, but Al-Alus is a city, it is not a "desert", and has no deserts. Clarified with player that the intent was to start looking there - but negative response remains the same). None of the locals are willing to fork over any information about digsites. Some of the merchants laugh at the group for even asking, while others clarify that the Qadir have been here for centuries, and that anything west or south of the Songaskian warzone has been picked bare centuries ago. Qadir on habit don't just leave archeological dig sites laying around for others to snoop in. If they want to find anything Qadiriq, they need to go deep into the Songaskian deserts and risk entering foreign territory.
Jamat, Maelstrom, Corathella, Alban and Rue travel to the south of Farahdeen around the Songaskian-Qadir warfront to search for Manathar in the desert. Attempting to stay low profile is impossible given how red Maelstrom, Rue and Alban are, and given how loud Alban is, but it does not seem to matter much to the locals. The locals of the port town remark that some of the smaller villages north have been attacked, and that the local military governor has sent armies, but faced little luck in bringing them to task. The group is eventually led (for some cash) to a small town further in the desert called Ulwat. The guide refuses to go even within viewing distance of the town and quickly leaves again, though leaving behind the transport and maps on how to get back. The group enters the town, and is confronted with the general view of Void worship and Void relations that many try to pretend is not there, or romanticize away. The town stinks to high heavens of decay and putrid rot, with corpses strewn all over baking and decaying in the sweltering desert sun. The traditional orange and yellow buildings are covered in sprays of blood that appear like violent slashes across the brickwork, several disemboweled corpses lay outside of the gates, and it only gets worse inside. Various bodies are arranged into a circle in the town square, with effigies built out of the corpses, parts of their bodies having been re-arranged and magically fused back together to grotesque monstrosities, with what looks like liters of blood caked into the desert sand. The town pond is filled to the brim with corpses to the point that the water looks more like a viscous red liquid, and several bodies were impaled on the tops of the spires of the Songaskian temple. A single Songaskian priest remained chained on the dais of sunlight, apparently roasted by the blood soaked sun disks that were used to torture and execute her while she was chained to the dais. There are no hints or sightings of these supposed feral Manathar here, nor can the group discern any reason for why the corpses are all displayed like that, or even why they were killed to begin with. There is latent Magic in the air, this much Alban the sorcerery-positive can detect, but he is not skilled enough in Magic to understand where the currents are going or what the echo of Magic even says at all. The group eventually leaves, hopefully with their stomach contents intact.
@Hemingway7 Noble finances: Funding the Viridian Order
House von Schwarzkrau sends 3 Wealth Tokens to the Viridian Order, sending three orphans in Moritzberg to the Viridian Order.
House von Schwarzkrau donates 1 Wealth Token to the Civics Ministry in name of Florian du Poncaire.
@RaggedyGrace Check the Scholar Academy and Steigenfrit Institute
Emilienne visits the various libraries of New Town, asking if the recent Vampire Crisis did any damage. The Librarians and Scholars respond that the libraries survived remarkably well. While some books of the Empire were defaced with silly faces drawn on some of the pages, the Vampires in general disregarded New Town during the crisis, which remained mostly in free hands. Occasionally some of the "classy" Vampires would claim the territory, but their venerability to knowledge caused them to protect the integrity of the libraries which were put under lock and key early on during the crisis. The librarians assure Emilienne that they have contingencies for an invasion, an underground trolley system that allows them to quickly store and transport the rarest and most expensive manuals to an underground bunker complex in times of crisis, which they did the moment Greygate fell. As such, there is no long term damage and the books are all fine, but they thank her for showing interest.
Akurgal, Enheduanna, Sarrapu and Kar-chok-vor travel to (order was really unclear, didn't specify exactly which Polon, or even in what state, so I assumed it was just some random Polon in Artamon). There, they meet with the Chontes, the Philosatorium, the Capitals, as well as the Warrior Poets, who all seem to resound the exact same reasoning when inquired if they would consider joining the Empire:
The Regalian Empire is weak. It engages in gunboat diplomacy, but cannot even bite when its fish bites back. The Eronidas consider Regalia's stance on the Allorn weak and submissive and unworthy of alliance.
The Regalian Empire has a track record of military failure after failure in the past years. The Eronidas are not impressed with the incompetence of the Marshals.
The Regalian Empire has a weak military system, losing entire military conflicts to save the lives of what they consider worthless generals.
The Regalian Empire does not honor and respect the Eronidas like they should, with many still stuck in slavery camps and work camps and the government not giving a hoot.
The Regalian Empire in general is dishonorable and does not have an internationally recognized reputation for classy and honorable diplomatic conduct. More often than not does Regalia have the reputation of being a sleazy rogue state with more spies than competent and trustworthy leaders.
@soggytoenails Inquiry into the Destruction of Ceardia (Return to the Zenithian Islands)
Ana, Anneke, Leidolf, Mihaela and Reselda travel to the Zemlith Islands to meet with the locals. There however, there is a dead-end for information. The Zemli people know very little, and even if they did, do not understand the complexities of Magic or Essence to explain more than what they experienced at face value, which they already have. They feel indifferent about the continent. They won't lie in that living in new fertile lands would be nice, but at the same time they are Zemli, and don't feel like they owe anything to Ceardia as a concept. Positive relations with the Zemlith people is already present, but as with anyone who has a harsh living out in the furthest reaches of the Empire, it would be nice to have more support from the government, like shipments of wool and food on a regular basis to off balance how poor the islands are.
Emilienne, Humaira and Lisette travel to Tirgunn with permission from Duke du Poncaire to talk to the Darkwald order. Immediately from the moment they walk in the frontdoor, the Darkwalds make it very clear they don't like Lion Pelt knights, or indeed any other Order of Knights, and seem strictly dismissive of their attempts to investigate.
They have no information about Coraveau itself, besides military treatises on how to defeat Coraveau. They refuse to share, but remark that Sangria is present in many of the speculations.
The Sarlann people are extinct, and you as presumably good Unionist Empire-loyal citizens should not even want to look into the history of these savage non-believers.
The Murder, in Darkwald records, refers to a hippie-band of pre-adolescents who get high in hallucogenics and live in run-down and water logged ruins deep in the forests. The Darkwalds have indicated them as "extremely low risk assessment", that they do not have Occult powers, and are mostly harmless while they do more damage to buildings of Occult history than keeping it alive, and are as such considered passive assistants to the dismantlement of the Occult elements in Brissiaud.
They have no further data for the requested questions (or are refusing to share with outsiders, it is hard to tell since Darkwalds aren't just crude to the Occult, but generally assholes to anyone who is even remotely close to the Occult, and Emilienne has pointy(ish) ears.
Ana, Merrick, Zhelezno travel to San Girobalda. They investigate the Opium rehabilitation clinics (lovingly called, the copium clinics by the locals).
The Effectiveness of the clinic appears to be less than zero. Centered in San Girobalda's richest coastal city, it is unfortunately right in the middle of the Regal cultured epicenter, where good lifestyle choices, healthy eating, and abstinence (as well as du Briërust inspired alcoholism) makes them naturally abstinent from smoking. It is even starting to be hard for Ana to recognize any Daen elements in the city, most of the Haciendas have broken up and been replaced with Anglian-style waterfront houses and larger baroque manors. What few visitors do arrive to the clinic(s), are people from the deep forestlands of Forriesta Natal, who have traveled hundreds of miles in the hopes of getting rid of their destitute situation.
The Regal population of most of San Girobalda supports the Opiate ban, believing them to be mind corrupting essences. The countryside is a bit more mixed about it, stating that they believe it to be government over-reach. But equally, none of them would dare to oppose de Azcoissia's order on it, as they don't want to get "zapped on the spot by some mage."
The opinions of the locals are equally split also. The wealthy and industrial capital areas are very pro state and Azcoissia while being lukewarm on the Anahera, while the countryside and the forested areas are pro Anahera and anti state, while being lukewarm on Azcoissia, preferring a bit more political blood sport familiar with House Anahera. There is obviously one exception: the homeland of the Anahera, Anahacasa, is fanatically loyal to House Anahera, and against de Azcoissia and the state, despite the local Viscount being a vassal of House de Azcoissia.
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