The war room of Anthropolia - Free form game-

[Orcus The Vile]

This is the IC character thread of the game "The war room of Anthropolia."

Info about the game is here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?460693-The-war-room-Free-form-game)

And the Out-of-Character Thread is here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?462853-The-war-room-of-Anthropolia-OOC&p=20110690#post20110690)


It is winter in the kingdom of Anthropolia. The cold wind blows and all leafs have fallen leaving the trees with a dreadful aspect. Despite all this cold there are no signs of snow, by the looks of it it will be a snowless winter.

The capital used to be one of the most important cities of kingdom. The nexus of all forms of commerce. But now it lies decadent, a pale shadow of its former glory. They say merchants felt the crisis ahead and decided to flee like rats.

It is night of full moon, and in the castle a group of powerful individuals were invited for something that would change the kingdom.

They are led by one of the Archduke most trustable servants. The Archdukes is the kings’ brother but the title of archduke can be held by any noble of the kingdom, the power this title holds in the current situation makes the black castle of Maar, the seat of the archduke, more powerful than the crown itself.

After entering a large library with cathedral ceiling and going down an excessively long stairway. They arrive in a meeting room.

There they see four large fancy tables forming a rectangle with a big map of the kingdom drawn on the floor. Frescoes showing old members of the royal family defeating dragons and giant serpents are in ceiling. Many paintings of landscapes decorate the walls.

Around the table there are twenty three chairs. There are already seven individuals waiting.

One is dressed with extravagant clothes made of expensive fabrics. Next to him is an elder dresses in blue robes decorated with golden stars and moons.

In the other side of the table is a disturbing and ugly old man dressed in black robes and an old monk. Sitting by herself is a beautiful young maiden of fair hair dressed in white.

To the right and to the left of a very fancy and empty golden chair, where the king should be sitting are the marshal and the Archduke.

The marshal is an old man with frail body but his eyes emanate an severe and wise spirit.

The Archduke is dresses in black, he has pale silvery hair and he is pale, lean and serious with a short beard but no mustache. His crown is a simple slender gold band.

As the gusts take their seats, the Archduke begins to speak.
“Gentleman, I thank you for coming to this meeting. As you may already know our kingdom is about to collapse in war and crises.”

The Marshal says, “That is why we summoned you, powerful nobles, aristocrats and strategists, the best and the wisest of the realm. Together we can change this situation.”

The Archduke gets up and says, “You will be all handsomely paid for your services. But if the idea of fighting in the shadows for your kingdom sounds beyond your league I suggest you leave now. Since there will be no turning back.”

The room remains silent for a few minutes and after that the marshal goes on.
“Excellent, it is necessary to say that we expect complete loyalty form you. You are all working directly to the crown now and any form of betrayal will not be tolerated."

"Getting straight to the point we have two major crisis to work with, the imminent attack from Bellum and the internal conflicts of our own country."

"Bellum only plans to attack because of our dysfunctional state, so it may be a good idea to start fixing this."

"But they are ready to attack so maybe we should deal with that first. What do you think? After all that is why we are here to decide what the best strategy out of this situation. Should we start fixing our own problems? Or should we do something about Bellum?".

[Exthalion]

The Lord High Treasurer was the first to speak.

"Before we begin in ernest there are at least two questions which must first be answered to our satisfaction.

The first, quite understandably, is to what extent we may trust those present with our true thoughts. I am sure many of us here have secrets or less than unusual opinions on something or another. Shall such unorthodox thought be voiced or should we assume that nothing should be uttered which we would not be comfortable being announced in the public square?

Secondly, to what extend are we free to act? No doubt all of us are acting as best we can for this most honorable goal, and if nothing else than a forum to share information meetings such as this are highly useful. Yet I gather from your words and our location that such a dialogue is not the whole of your intent with summoning us.

With those matters settled we will all know how we are to approach the problems you have presented to us."

[Orcus The Vile]

The Marshal says, "We have selected what we believe to be trustable and responsible individuals, willing to fight for the greater good. Sure there may be one or other more interested in person gain but I can asure you this is a safe place."

"Traitors have to deal with me." Says a voice from the entrance. Two men, twins enter the room. They are tall and slender with long dark hair.

You all know who he is. Hanchen, the leader of the inquisition, an organization responsible to hunt down and capture traitors. All conspiracies against the royal family were discovered and stopped by them. They are the best at investigations.

"All the things discussed in this room will never leave this room. I will be responsible for that."
His twin brother is the leader of the city guards and probably the least powerful person in the room

The marshal goes on: "To address your second question. It depends on what conclusions we get here. The course of action may go from mobilizing armies to diplomatic banquets."

[Raunchel]

Xanthe of Thaliseth enters the room, smiling as she always does. Today she wears a blue dress, set with diamonds. It is meant to dazzle and draw attention. Just like everything else about Xanthe, she simply doesn't find it acceptable if she isn't at the center of wherever she is. Of course, this is a different place, but still. People ought to be dazzled. She sits down, smiling at everyone in turn, going through her head to remember who they are. She of course fears a dull meeting, but on the other hand, this might be important, and entertaining.

"I would prefer a banquet to be honest, armies tend to make such an awful mess of things. And have you ever seen soldiers? Most of them are nothing but uncouth barbarians, it is much better to keep them away from the important matters. Of course, there is the little affair with Bellum, which has been behaving most distastefully. They even dared to take some of my holdings there, and one of my favourite sewstresses came from there. It is simply unacceptable. As is this utterly awful talk that I have been hearing lately, did you know that there are those who would wish less than the best for our realm? I of course talk to them, but not all of them listen to poor little me. But I was thinking, maybe I could hold a grand ball at my summer residence. Everyone has to attend such a festivity, and then we could talk to these people a bit more, and perhaps, although I am of course far from suitable for anything of the sort, there could also be some espionage. That would be so romantic!"

[Zurvan]

After hearing what Xanthe has to say. Ingway rolls his eyes.

“I must say, I agree with Armand, I’m rather disappointed with the members of this league. I came here expecting an elite but the only thing I see is a room full of women, heretics and brutish fools.”

“But I do understand that this is a council made out of desperation, do you all believe the king of Bellum will allow us to keep our positions of power after he burn our cities and murder our people? We must protect our lifestyle and all here with all our efforts combined we may have more power and lucidity than the king.”

“We may not trust each other for now, but we must work together for the sake of the realm.”

“About, the course of action I believe working our crisis first is the best way out. Since Bellum is ready to attack I don’t believe we are going to be able to stop that, and if we fail Anthropolia will suffer. If we work to reinforce our defenses and solve our internal problems we won't look so weak, making Bellum think twice before attacking. And if they do attack anyway their strike won’t be so effective as if our country was at such deplorable state.”

EDIT:

I will post here because not everybody posted in the OOC the thread yet.

Since my character's job description is knowing stuff, can you shed a light in who are the NPCS that are in the room other than the archduke and the marshal? Thanks.

[Voshkod]

High Constable Lord Panne enters the room, a blue cloak over light mail, his sword at his side. He salutes the Marshal, and bows deeply to the Archduke. "We are here to serve the King," he says in a voice that once carried across battlefields, "and we will only do that through our honest thoughts. We are in difficult straits, and the 'uncouth barbarians' that Lady Xanthe believes make up our armies may be our last hope." He gives a curt nod to Xanthe. "But wars are expensive, hard on soldiers, civilians, and the kingdom."

He walks over to the map. "Bellum is dangerous, do not doubt it, as both I and the Earl of Narlondi can testify. When we beat them last time we were strong, and now we are not. We can be destroyed from forces outside our borders, or forces inside of it. But we can better control the forces inside the kingdom. Let us put our house in order so that if we must fight Bellum, we fight from strength."

He strides over to Lady Xanthe. "That said," he says, taking her hand and kissing it, "spreading some mischief in Bellum to weaken them can't hurt." He raises his eyes from the Lady's hand to stare at The Spider.

[The_Admiral]

One of the attendants, a mere baron finally spoke up. "Most of the issues here have spawned from a weak central government, at this point a banquet would do naught but confirm the fears of weakness internally, how well can your brutes manipulate perception? That's all internal stability is, perception, control that, you control the nation, I have not been paying much attention, who are the loudest voices in the perceived doom of our nation? Changing their opinions should amongst our first order of business, and whatever do you mean? I am a mere baron." he adds, the last bit directed at the insinuation in his direction.


"draws four hundred and fifty pounds a year, remains a subordinate, has no ambitions of any kind, will receive neither honour nor title,"

That's really Moran's entire charachter in a nutshell. :P

[YourWaifu]

The small woman in all black with a raven on her shoulder shifts uncomfortably. She'd been standing to the side for quite a while now, but like always, she had yet to be noticed. She has been carefully eyeing each member of the room, judging their capabilities. She had been gathering information on them for weeks, but one cannot just judge strictly from what they've heard. Too many make that mistake with her. Raven Arundell is the infamous Shadow Queen, a figure most regard as an urban legend.

"Exactly as I had thought. I had hoped what I had heard was untrue and that my associates would be more skilled...Such things are the mere fantasies of a fool, it seems." Raven muses, loud enough for the others to here, but quiet enough for it to be mistaken as the sad ramblings of a disillusioned woman. "A war is not won through merriment or force. A war must be won through subtle manipulations in the shadows. Bellum is just a simple tool. We must find what makes them tick and exploit it, while we do the same with our own people. Those unfit to rule may serve another purpose as puppets."

[Razade]

"Perhaps your humble servant may assist with one of your more nagging problems?" Voice like smoke Haun Shol strides confidently into the meeting chamber draped in heavy layers of gray and green wools and heavy furs to keep himself safe from the cold. "Your humble servant has the pleasure of being one Haun Shol, of House Shol, High Ambassador of Death Valley. It is with the wise judgement of your hosts that Death Valley may voice their desire for an alliance with your glorious nation and state our terms for such a deal. If I may be permitted to sit?"

[silphael]

Edgar quickly greeted those he hadn't already met today, that is, most of the sycophants. As always when in court, his gaze was cold and stern, weighting everything through the filter of cold pragmatism.

"We can't afford to focus on the inside or on the outside : we have to do both. If we try to strengthen our kingdom, there is no way we won't look weak when it happens, and we cannot sustain an all out war with Bellum right now - or against any other country for all that matters. Of course we have no reason to seek war right now, but we have to reason to postpone it should it arrive - again, a matter of appearing strong or weak - if anyone would be to declare war on us, we have to strike back with all our might, even if it makes us weaker on the short term."

[Zurvan]

Ingway, whispers to himself after Raven remarks.

"How tipycal of her kind to see others as puppets without seeing her own marionette strings."

After hearing Edgar, Ingway gives him a scornful smile.

"Strike back with all our might? What might? I won't be part of a suicide attack."

[Voshkod]

"Despite our callow sniping," the High Constable says, "we all seem to be in agreement on one point - we can best deter our enemy by being stronger, and we are stronger when we have dealt with our own problems first." He takes a seat at the table. "So please, why don't we all sit down and hash out what our problems are, and what problems we can cause Bellem without starting a war." He glances over at the servants. "Perhaps we can even arrange some warm drinks and food?"

[Raunchel]

Xanthe remains smiling kindly, looking at everyone in turn. Her eyes seem a little vacant, as though there is little to nothing behind them. But over time, as more people speak, she saddens visibly: "If I understand all that is being said, which I might not, I'm only little me after all, some here are mocking others for their suggestions? That seems awfully rude, and worse, mean. We are supposed to all be friends, right? The best suggestion so far is that of refreshments, a little cake would be wonderful, especially with herbal tea."

She pauses, looking over everyone: "And as I understand it, there are proposals for several ways to protect the realm. And everyone is saying that their idea is the best. But couldn't we do several things at the same time?"

[YourWaifu]

"Feelings are mere illusions. Illusions may feel as real as you are I, but they are nothing more than a trick of the light. When dealing with such matters, we should seek to be disillusioned." Raven says coldly as she sits. "I doubt any of us are here to make friends, nor should we be."

The raven on the woman's shoulder eyes each person in the room with his beady eyes before hopping down to stand on the table. Raven pets the bird slowly with her gloved hands as he makes a guttural crowing sound.

[Orcus The Vile]

The marshal rings a small bell that makes no sound.

"Gentleman, gentleman calm down. My plan is to do a list so we discreet and systematically solve all the main problems we list. Here is what I have worked out so far."

At this moment a servant who seems to be both deaf and blind enter serving wine and small pieces of cake to the guests,

"First inside our kingdom."

He open a scroll and start reading.

"We need to solve the city-state problem, many cities plan to fight for independence and self sufficiency. We can't let this happen, the king already gave sovereignty to two cities we must bring them back to our banner."

"The king sanity is unstable to say the least. We must find a way to bring him to us. An young ambassador from a foreign nation used some kind of cristal to cure his mind... And it really worked. It seems that it was no magic or spell...."

The old man dressed in blue robes and stars start talking clearly excited like a child.

"It was not magical at all I can ensure you all. It was an mundane Cristal I have no idea how he did that."

The marshal goes on

"Unfortunately he had to leave, and the king's mind returned to decay. We may try to find out what he did or maybe locate him and bring him back."

"The Southern Islands, a former colony of our kingdom and our main commercial ally is exploring new seas and creating new trade routes."

"The Aureal, ancient relics used by the royal family to maintain their position of power have been lost, sold or stoled. Many lords plan to use this artifacts to legitimate their freedom."

"Rebels called "The red blood" are causing the populace to hate the nobles and blue blooded by spreading rumors and propaganda"

"Barbarians are raiding the cities near the kingdom of Murata borders."

"We must choose a problem and try to solve it"

[YourWaifu]

"Who is the leader of The Red Blood? I have a fondness for blood...Perhaps I could deal with people of my own tastes." Raven says with a smile. The way she smiles, though, made her words feel off and wrong. Clearly, whatever she planned to do with these rebels would not be pleasant.

[The_Admiral]

The baron again sat scanning the room and glanced through the book in his hands, flipping page after page for minutes. Snapping it shut he finally says, "I for one wish to return to my schedule and fishing. However it seems like we must divide and conquer our issues, Mr Ingway, you should call in some favours, The Red Bloods are a grassroots movement, but they require support, support from merchants and the like for supplies and propaganda material. I will deal with the lost Aureal, The Hunters are most skilled, but are too small to deal with the barbarians, that task should go to our military men, Constable, Edgar. Ambassador Haun, would the people of Death Valley know of any such crystal? Your grace, duke, you seem the most appropriate person to communicate with the islands, finally, Xanthe, would you be so kind as to lean on the free cities with your resources, it would be most appreciated."


So tempted to join the Bolsheviks

[Orcus The Vile]

"I do believe we should focus on one problem at one at a time. Such tasks won't be done quickly or easily. They require many set of skills... Skills that we all posses together."

Says the marshal.

"Our intelligence says that almost the entire bourgeoisie support the red blood revolution. We can't just go and arrest all our merchants. We need to find a way to show them that such revolution is not viable.
We believe they will attack at the prince coming of age Jousting tourney. We can't let that happen since the king of Bellum will be present and he may use the attack as a excuse to start the war. But The leader of the rebels may make an appearance making it a good way to capture him."

"Also..." He looks at Raven.

"Red blood is the name of the "organization" since they oppose us the blue bloods. I don't believe they deal with blood directly."

"We received a message from the regent of Quarthmall claims he is in possession of a lost Aural and he is willing to exchange it for assistance from the inner circle in a civil war that was initiated in his city."

"None of our contacts know anything about the Cristal and what you mean with "communicate with the islands" there is no communication problems they just found a way to bring their products to ports without having to pay taxes for our territories. We need to show them that the only way to do it is through Anthropolia."

"If you all agree split it is fine.... But I do believe we should focus one task."

[YourWaifu]

"It's all the same to me Marshal. They may not deal in blood, but it may be their downfall..." Raven knew the group probably had nothing to do with blood, but she took the name as an omen. An omen of how powerful she will become, perhaps, or maybe just Fate taunting her, daring her to strike.

"If we are to be working together...I feel we should at least speak of our skillsets. Picking a problem to solve may be problematic in itself if we don't know what anyone is capable of." Of course, Raven knew a few things about those attending the inner circle. She had done her research, after all, but why should they know that?

[Amazon]

"I guess The Aureal are important. We need to do something about keeping the king as a competent leader. I guess the relics can do that."

He looks at the Archduke, "How many cities are considering fighting for independence?"

[silphael]

"Quarthmall? Can we at the same assure his loyalty? That would be hitting two birds with the same rock... But that's probably not where we should start, even if bringing back the Aureals would regather nobility and push the folk to lie down again. But about focus... We here have too much power to be able to gather all of it on a simple task, at least not without interferences. I think we should work in three men - or women - team : that will avoid overlapping expertises."

He slightly bows his head toward the woman present.

[Voshkod]

"There is an issue I hesitate to raise," the High Constable says, visibly discomfited. "And that is a regency council. If his majesty is currently not in a state to rule, will he accept a temporary regency of his trusted advisors?"

[Orcus The Vile]

The marshal hands over to the Shadow Queen some papers coataning a description of each member and their main skills. He gesticulate as if saying for her to pass them around as she finish reading.

He looks at Ferdinand and says, "Our informants tell us of nine cities considering the possibilities of becoming city-states. But only three have the power to do so. The king already allowed two large cities to become independent, losing large portions of land in the process."

"I do believe helping Quarthmall, one of the cities with the power to fight for independence, will demonstrate not only to them but to all the cities of the realm how important is to have the crown support."

All the people in the room look at Baraton.

"No." Says the marchal. "He won't" says him with an expression of contempt. "But I do believe he will listen to our advices, we won't be able to rule directly, but we can manage important events from the shadows."


The man dressed with extravagant clothes made of expensive fabrics: The leader of the Altny bank, the largest bank the the kingdom. He is a great ally of the white smiths, merchants and jewellers guilds and the richest man in the city. He is a noble in all but in birth, something he fixed my marrying a young noble of blue blood.

The elder dresses in blue robes decorated with golden stars and moons:The court Astrologer. He don't' deal with magic directly but can use weird machines to analyze energies. or so he says, there are no proof his methods work. But people are superstitious and he know how to use that in his favor. He is the king's favorite advisor and know a lot about his intimacy.

The disturbing and ugly old man dressed in black robes: The court wizard. A black mage, extremely corrupted by his craft and a repulsive and vile man. He is called when problems of magical nature appear. He could not care less about the kingdom but he want to maintain his position of influence and his well equipped laboratory.

The old monk: An old friend of the king, a monk form an order of hermit monks. He is now out of his seclusion to advise the king on the matters of faith and morals. He is a cleric of the trinity.

The beautiful young maiden of fair hair dressed in white: The eldest daughter of Archduke. A famous writer, philosopher and patron of the arts.

[Voshkod]

Baraton nods stiffly. "I wasn't suggesting ruling directly, but as we said earlier, all options need to be discussed. I would say, then, our first order of business is returning the King to health."

[Zurvan]

Ingway stares at Baraton.

"Do you have any suggestions of how to do that?" he says in a sarcastic manner.

After that he says, "I agree that helping Quarthmall is a good idea. Since we are talking about a city in the middle of a civil war, I believe the younger and more martial inclined members of the group should go."

"And about the Southern Islands problem, any of you familiar with the concept of corsairs and buccaneers?" He says that with a malevolent grin.

[Voshkod]

The High Constable slams his fist down on the table. "And this is why we're going to fail," he roars. "Damn it, I'm a soldier, not a doctor, so no, I have no ideas on how to cure the king. But cure him we must, and I look to those with training in the medical arts to do so. We are all here for our talents, but that should not keep any of us from speaking our minds, without backhanded retorts." He takes a drink from the glass in front of him. "Now, a civil war in Quarthmall? That I may be able to speak to. Or dealing with our own cities that have grown to large in their own estimation? Tear down their walls and drag their leaders out in chains. The commoner has little care over who rules him. Destroy the local leaders and reward the peasants with some small benefits and they will be ours."

[YourWaifu]

Raven passes along the papers after giving each of them a quick glance. They'd done her infamy justice at least. Raven laughs as she watches The High Constable yell. You might call it a giggle, but as she does it, you can feel the sinister connotations behind it.

"Your anger deceives you Constable. It pulls at your mind in twisted ways. You've been strung up, it seems." She muses aloud. "I cannot claim to be fluent in the medical arts, but I can provide...other solutions...The king's mind is clearly gone. On that we can all agree. Perhaps we should not focus on picking up the broken pieces, but on looking at those pieces differently? If done correctly, this weakness can be a strength."

She sighs. "I doubt I will be of any use for keeping our cities. My skills are more tailored to dealing with a few people at a time, not entire cities."

[Zurvan]

"Assault our own cities? That is your tactical advice? It is hard enough to make the commoners trust a mad king and now you want to make them trust a mad king that attack his own people? Are you insane? We can't let this conflicts escalate to a complete civil war. We can't attack our own cities specially with Bellum about to invade."

"The men we are going to waste doing that, should be preserved for when the Bellum strikes, so does the walls and the cities. If we are going to be victorious in our internal conflicts is with wits and not with might."

He takes a sip of his wine.

"And let us be sincere, with all the obstacles imposed by temples in the study of anatomy and technology, the so called "medical arts " are useless. They will use leeches to drain your blood and you may leave the the doctor's office either the same or worst."

"Or do you plan to hand over the king to the temple of Tyra? They could use him later against us and as the representative of the god of justice I must say this is not fair with our dear sovereign."

[Orcus The Vile]

The marshall look intrigued by Ingway question.

"Are you suggesting that we hire pirates to attack ships forcing then to use our protection and routes? Do you have means to make that happen?"

"If we are to send a group to Quarthmall, would any of you volunteer?"

He stares at the High Constable.

"Our armies are at your disposal"

[Voshkod]

"Very good," the High Constable says. He rises, and begins to pace. "The will of this council is not the will of one man. While I may be the one to stain my hands with the blood of our own kinsmen, I will not be the only one to stain his soul. I will explain my plan in more detail, and call for a vote." One gets the impression he's done this before, pacing in front of a group of peers, discussing war, in a calm and steady voice.

"We need a fractious noble who meets four requirements. He must be rich, he must have heirs, he must control a walled city, and he must not be near the border will Bellum. An army made up of levies from distant lands - certainly no one from our target's lands - marches on him. We give him two choices. He can submit to the proper authority of the king and ride here to bend his knee. He must surrender his heirs as hostages to his good behavior, although we can claim they are simply being sent to the Capital for their education - those that need to understand will understand. And he must agree to have the walls of his city breached." Baraton stops pacing, looks over the group.

"Our target will almost certainly not submit. He believes the king and kingdom to be weak. We will offer amnesty to his soldiers and serfs, and give them two days to come to us. And then we will attack, breach the walls, nail those that oppose the king up on pikes, and send our target and his heirs to the capital in chains. Our target will be beheaded in the public square and his children imprisoned and stripped of their lands and titles. Evidence will be manufactured that he intended to sell the kingdom out to Bellum. His riches and lands will become the king's. And any other noble who is thinking of rebellion will understand their fate. Bellum will be sent a message as well - that they will find no friends in our kingdom." He sits down.

"And this plan has one more advantage. When the king comes back into his own, he can break me, exile me, or execute me, and claim that the High Constable, mad with power, exceeded his charge. I can be the monster, and the king can be the hero. I've lived long and fought hard in the service of my kingdom, and lived well due to the munificence of the king. I do not fear dying for king or kingdom, nobly or ignobly. That is my plan for our internal strife. Vote."

[Zurvan]

Ingway seems pleased with the marshall's reaction.

"But of course I have the means to do that. I have sent many pirates to their deaths but I have also saved some. I knew they would be useful one day, now they owes me a favor and they all will be more than happy to be paid to kill, steal and loot once more. Many were just young men tired of miserable life and wanted to live adventures, before they knew it they were dragged to a life of sin and crime."

After hearing the High Constable strategy Ingway says, "I still think this is stupid idea. Attack our own people? To claim territories that already belong to our king? That is useless and insane."

EDIT:

Can we get more info on Quarthmall and the other cities?

[Orcus The Vile]

Where are my players? I PM them and update later.

EDIT:

"Well, we have two plans, that is start." says the marchal as he stroke his chin.

"Let us vote, is everyone in favor of leaving the southern islands problem in the hands of the minister of justice? And how about Lord Panne's plan? Is everyone here in favor of that?"

"How about the other problems? Any plans or ideias?"

[Amazon]

Ferdinand looks worried. His collegues sound more evil than the enemines, but he must say soemthing for the good of the realm.

"I think both ideas are problematic. Using criminals can be risky, what if one of them is captured? After torture and interrogation they would end up confessing that he is working for our kingdom and that may lead to problems.

"Second, I'm not comfortable about using our nobles as scapegoats. Third, I would have no problem being part or even lead a group to a city in civil war."

[Zurvan]

Ingway seems surprised, he hasn't thought about that.

"I guess that is true... Perhaps I should hire an agent of trust to work as an intermediary between the corsair and this council"

[Raunchel]

Xanthe leans back, all the talk of war going over her head. "Can't we simply talk to them? Dance with them? There is so much more than blood. And it would be awful if anyone would suspect us of dark deeds, I do have a decent reputation, or so I am told."

[Zurvan]

"That is not a bad ideia."

Says Ingway suprised.

"We could establish a trade agreement with their merchant guilds and ambassadors, presenting our wishes and concerns. They are our allies after all."

[silphael]

"I do think as well that this isn't a bad idea, despite being an idalistic one. But sending them conditions will allow us, possibly, to set up the population against them if needed, ensuring we are saviors later when needed. Again, that may as well work fine right from the start."

The whole sentence is announced with a cold emotionless voice : those are facts, nothing more.

[Orcus The Vile]

"Very well" says the marshal.

"We will try to approach the southern islands problem with diplomacy at first. Any ideas for the other problems?"

[Amazon]

"We can ask for help from other nations I believe in militaristic empire is a threat to them as much as it is a threat to us."

He looks at Haun Shol.

"It appears we already have the Death Valley support. Why not go after other nations? Since no battle or open conflict started already, maybe, we should use diplomacy first."

[YourWaifu]

"Diplomacy is....not my strong suit." Raven pauses for a moment. "That ambassador with the crystal though? I may be able to find him. Though...there is a catch you all should be aware of." The woman's eyes seem to light and she smiles sickeningly. "It requires blood. One pint, to be exact."

Raven draws an ornate and jagged knife, putting it on the table. "I'm sure the court physician won't mind me taking a few vials of his. Oh, don't worry, I'm very experienced."

Feel free to be very opposed to this. Raven isn't expecting people to be down with it.

[Raunchel]

"Blood?", Xanthe, asks, shocked. "The thought alone makes me unwell. If you wish to proceed with such affairs, please, withdraw yourself from our present company. I could not bear to see such a thing, as would other tender souls among us."