Baron Silas Whitehawk leads a contingent of his military force westward (about a quarter of Hawkhold's forces), to where Pella's Wish once stood, for a more thorough combing of the area - in search of missed survivors or clues as to why that village was attacked and where the things that attacked it may be going next. He is not super optimistic that the search will be more fruitful than what the previous report relayed - his scouts are pretty good at what they do - but for his own peace of mind, he's making the effort to see it for himself and make sure. Outside of the ruins themselves, they also trek along the river the footprints disappear into.

His uncle Bedivere remains the general of his forces, and Silas may part from the party to do his own scouting while the larger force is nearby - where they could help him should he run into trouble.

When all's done, they will give whatever corpses remain a proper burial, even if the graves must remain unmarked and unnamed.

As per usual MO, Uncle Lord Bedivere Whitehawk mixes together not only Whitehawk Troops but also fellow Knights of Solace who have worked together during previous missions to back up favorite nephew Baron Silas Whitehawk during his investigative operations.

With experienced decades behind him in strategic formation/positioning, this Marshal of Hawkhold (and War Minister of Whitehawk) will do his utmost best to set up their back up to help out in the best ways (if worst case ever comes).

With his sharp mind and his war wisdom, he charts out attack sites upon an Arvum map to figure out the big picture, hears out Silas's reports, and then ultimately contemplates likely potentials. Unlike Silas who is here to lead, Bedivere is here to read. Can he make sense of this whole mess?

A> Do the attack reports/sites -- also including those publicly known -- possibly show a geographical progression toward a future destination/target? C> Are there any relative cultures/landmarks/names/religions/resources/etc which are being specially targetted? B> What may be the overall agenda/finale, or are all these crazy attacks completely random? D > Anything else of potential note that a smart character might consider and likely know?

It's a very long trek out to Pella's Wish, as the Mother is not close by any stretch of the imagination and the village is in Whitehawk lands more in name than anything else. They paid Hawkhold a meager amount of taxes every year, and that is, more or less, probably the only reason Hawkhold scouts were the first to discover the massacre.

There are rumblings along the way about horrible, cannibalistic shavs, but that particularly theory fizzles when they enter Pella's Wish itself. The carnage is almost beyond description. Doors have been smashed in where the houses and buildings are made of stone, and there are big holes in walls where they aren't. The ground has been torn up. Blood is everywhere. There are giant claw marks on doors, walls, nearby trees, and the bodies have either had massive bites taken out of them, or, where flesh is simply gone, the gouges of very pointed teeth in the bone. Not cannibalistic shavs, the soldiers reluctantly concur. Probably shavs wielding man-eating bears.

They don't find bear tracks though. The reason for the 'particularly sizable wolves' report becomes obvious; where tracks can be made out clearly, they certainly look like wolf tracks. Very...large...wolf tracks. And strange wolf tracks, as sometimes they can only find half a set, as if the wolf they came from just decided to stand right up on its hind legs. The single set of bare human footprints that was reported have nearly entirely faded, but they're found. Rain has cleared out most of the blood, but not ALL of it, as there are traces, and the footprints are much easier to follow once they reach the muddy river bank. A woman's footprints, Silas suspects.They go along the bank for a while, and one of Silas's more talented scouts points out that the footprints don't seem to be from someone who was running, or even walking particularly quickly. There are no signs of dragging that might indicate the owner was slow due to injury, which is what one would EXPECT when following what were bloody footprints. They're deeper than expected too, as if the person who left them was carrying something heavy, which would explain why even in the tall grass the scouts were able to locate them again. And then those footprints merely turn into the water. They don't come out again. It's as though their owner just decided to swim across the river, the extremely wide, wide river, a feat most humans would quell at, let alone while apparently burdened with a heavy load. They eventually find a bridge, and do check the other side, but if the owner of those footprints made it across, they aren't able to pick them up again.

The giant wolf tracks enter the village from east, north, and south, going from what seems to have been a slow walk to an astoundingly fast run. One seems to have leaped about twelve feet when entering. The woman entered as well; from the west, and much more slowly, though her prints are extremely light this time, and the scouts lose them only a short distance into the tall grasses.

As for the bodies, and there are quite a number of bodies, almost all of them have been dragged into what served as the town square, with the exception of the village's two guards, torn to pieces and left to lie where they were killed, their swords drawn but unbloodied. There was no battle here, not even a brief one. The smell is horrific, enough to turn the stomach of even the hardest soldier. The bodies in the town square aren't particularly whole either, there's no real way to count how many there are, only that, by the sheer amount of blood that's soaked into the ground, this is where most of them died. The shavs with man-eating bears theory gets a little more traction; why would man-eating bears drag all the people to one spot before killing them?

Compared to the rest of the buildings, the village's humble shrine is nearly untouched. Its door is nearly, but not completely torn off its hinges, there are only a few claw marks in the doorway. There's blood, but not enough to kill someone; likely the seraph was dragged out to die with the rest, and a very, very thorough inventory of the bodies confirms one is wearing clothing with what used to be the symbol of the Pantheon. But the shrine itself? Any damage is restrained to the main room, where the altars were clearly at least a casual sort of target. There's nothing in the room where the journals, white and black, are kept. Even the door is still locked before they force it open. The black journals might prove more helpful, but these are loaded carefully into a secure chest to be taken back later. The white journals, on the other hand, are fair game and a lot to sift through, which is a task Silas takes on himself while Bedivere and the force they brought see to the bodies.

Burying them in separate plots is impractical, and many of them are so torn up it's impossible to tell which body is which. The journals are all neatly marked with names, but there's no way to match names with faces. When this becomes clear, Bedivere directs the soldiers to dig a single, large pit behind the shrine, where a small graveyard already exists, careful not to disturb any of the already existing graves. When that's done, each body, or piece of a body, is carried gently into the pit, where they're laid out as respectfully as possible. Some of the more thoughtful soldiers even sift through belongings in the houses, choosing anything that doesn't seem particularly important to what's going on, but possibly important to their deceased owners, in order to put them into the mass grave as well (and Bedivere makes damned sure none of the soldiers actually pocket any of these items, or anything else, though it's not difficult, nothing is of particular monetary value).

Silas works his way through the journals, reading each as thoroughly as he can. They're all mundane, the sorts of things one might expect. Harvest season. Petty feuds. Small celebrations, and complaints about the weather. One man never stopped talking about his potatoes, to the point Silas starts wondering if 'potatoes' is an euphemism. He finally finds one journal by a young woman named Albree. Her journal is also entirely mundane, unless someone was looking for anything that might stand out, and Silas is. She talks about dreams a lot. Most of them happy, if not particularly remarkable. Occasionally she remarks about a dream that seems to be very similar to something that later happens. It's never anything big; a good harvest. A friend twisting their ankle. Dancing with someone during a festival.

The last entry about her dreams is different. Albree had a terrible nightmare in which beasts killed everyone else in the village. Everyone...else.

Silas and Bedivere both help to fill in the pit once all the bodies have been interred. A large stone is rolled on top, and there, carefully, are carved the names Silas collected from every journal. Albree's is included. It seems only right.

On the way back to Hawkhold, Bedivere goes over maps. Charts. Theories. It's easy enough to conclude that the village was surrounded before the attack began, a beast to the south, the west, and the north all at once, a three pronged attack that prevented anyone from escaping. And there were definitely at least three of them; he found three sets of tracks also leading down to the river about a mile away from where the woman appears to have crossed, and these, too, seem to have crossed. But why was it attacked? What was the purpose? He finds no pattern to the attacks they know about. Timing, though...there were attacks near Farhaven. A few days later, the strange livestock destruction near the Cloudspine. Right after the battle at Artshall, possibly within a day, Wealdstone was hit near Blancbier. Then Pella's Wish in the Crownlands, and Crossroads back up in the Northlands, at possibly the exact same time.

There's no possible way that all of these attacks have been carried out by the same group. It's even questionable whether or not the attack on Crossroads could have been carried out by the same one that hit Blancbier; whatever they are, they move fast, but not nearly THAT fast. There must be at least three; one that hit near Farhaven, and then later hit Crossroads. One that seems to have passed through the Cloudspine, and then hit Wealdstone. And then the one that hit Pella's Watch. But why? There are hundreds of villages in those vast swathes of territory that, so far, have gone untouched. Nothing further south in the Crownlands has been hit, though the things do appear to have crossed the Mother, and Bedivere finds that ominous. But why? What's the reason for any of this?

All they have is Albree's journal.

3871 Reese is going to be leading the Crownlands Defense at the Mouth of the Gray River. She is coordinating her action with an action to help the defense that will be lead by Marquis Malesh. She is heading to the mouth of the Gray River with a good portion of the Grayson military and with allies. The goal of this defense is to make sure that the Eurusi do not enter the Crownlands through the Gray River route. The goal is to protect Grayson lands, The lands of Grayson vassals and to protecte the crownlands. In order to be mobile, Reese will be bringing the Grayson navy along with her. Everything done here has been coordinated with Princess Liara.

She will bring the cavlary with the hopes that they can be mobile, moving to differen stations along the river as need be. They are sending some of the Archers, Pike men and Infantry to Thrax and a few will need to stay in Compact as well. STill she will have 1000 infantry, five hundred pike and 500 archers with her. This will be the less mobile force stationed near the mouth of the river where she thinks the eurusi would land. If they do land she hopes to attack the Eurusi right as they dock to get the upper hand if possible.

The cavalry and ships will be ready for movement. She is working the House Deepwood (Rymarr and Jessa), House Whikehawk (Jauffrey) and house Ashood (Rhiannon). House Stonewood is doing a seperate, but related action at the same area and Reese plans to communicate closely with them. Reese wants to be ready to move as needed, to response to orders and to be alert to any messages from the King or Liara. 4

The 1st Banner under the command of Marquis-Consort Rymarr Deepwood sets out from Old Oak to join with the gathering banner of the Crownlands. Under General Reese Grayson's instruction the plan is to wait for possible incursion by the Eurusi into the Compacts lands and catch them when they're making landfall. So that's the plan he intends to follow. On the prospective battlefield he sets himself about the task of organize his troops, conveying orders through Captains, and delegating some of the command responsibilities to Lady Jessa Deepwood. If this will be their place to defend, then Rymarr sets about the task of ordering defenses and pickets established in order to defend that beachhead against a threat to the Compact.

The 2nd Banner under the command of Lady Jessa Deepwood is called to arms. The Infantry is set in parallel to the 1st Banner. Jessa and Rymarr have coordinated a tag-team cohesion, ensuring their armies can have each other's backs in a pinch. Her defense is primarily for the innocent people in the area, focused on being the solid line (or wall of Woods) between Eurus at the coast and the rest of the Compact.

Rhiannon, as the Ashford General, is bringing all the Ashford troops to bear that are not under other leadership for this engagement. She leads the bulk of the Ashford troops to protect Grey River. Rhiannon doesn't just have the Ashford Infantry, she is a scout at heart and she will have some scouts at her disposal to be located along the river mouth and the land leading to the river. These scouts have ways to signal through sound and hidden markings in the forests to share information with infantry or cavalry to have a heads up on any movement toward the river by hostile forces. She leads these Ashford information networks just by sending out troops to keep an eye out.

The bulk of the Ashford Troops will be at the river at the possible landing spots into Grayson and Crown lands. They will coordinate with Princess Reese in protecting the river mouth and ensuring that this location can be defended and not used as a site for incursion into Grayson and Crown lands.

While not of a military mind, Rey is assisting House Grayson and Princess Reese with the defense of the Gray River by making sure that Brighthold is able to support the troops, offering the city and port as a place for rest and supplies. Rey will also be sure that there are mercies on hand should anyone be need in medical attention, first aid supplies and medical tents at the ready. As well as a place to use to send out patrols and the like from. Including adding Laveer's army to the troop numbers.

Cabbit must stay home this time while Bedivere heads out to the Crownlands Defense at the Mouth of the Gray River : with a whole slew of Solace and Whitehawk (with a siege weapon) behind him to join up with his fellow commanders.

Liam will join Reese with a force from the Riven lands to join in the defense of the gray river mouth. He and the Riven warriors will deploy with the main detachment allowing others to handle more scouting duties. Liam will offer what insight he can to preparing their defenses and readiness happy to hold the line in case of invaders.

It's a good, sensible plan to defend the mouth of the Gray River. Of course, it's often said that no plan survives contact with the enemy, and in this case well before it, as the strategic position has greatly changed since they first received their orders. The Eurusi fleet is being met at Sungreet by the combined forces of the Lyceum, the Mourning Isles and the Faith, and a great whirlpool now blocks Arx's harbor. This has made a defensive position there to intercept incoming Eurusi forces not as pressing a need as was originally planned.

Which is not to say that they don't have threats they need to respond to.

Word comes up from House Leary lands that a great many of the refugees may, in fact, be dangerous and they had to stop some refugees that were clearly advanced scouts of Skal'daja sent with orders to torch the farms and villages of the Crownlands. There's indications of fires and attacks throughout the Crownlands, and their forces are the ones in position to respond. So they march upriver in search of hostile forces.

Princess Reese directs scouting missions with the different forces under her command, finding evidence of minor villages being attacked and farms being burned throughout the Crownlands, and some murders of Eurusi refugees with evidence that suggests it was from Skal'dajans trying to stop innocent Eurusi from giving warning. Ashford troops under Rhiannon's command report movements from along the Gray River and the groups of refugees that have turned inland, and Laveer and Riven forces under Rey and Bedivere respectively track inland giving aid to villages that were attacked. And then it falls upon Rymarr and Jessa leading their Deepwood banners north from the river to hunt down the Eurusi saboteurs.

Rymarr and Jessa march quickly passed torched farmlands, and tragic signs of farmers put to the sword, of Grayson, Bisland and other vassals cut down as they worked their land. As Rymarr presses his troops for speed, the first signs of smoke are seen, and he steadily follows a line of ravaging towards Deepwood lands, including passing a slaughtered picket near Deepwood's borders. Several dozen dead soldiers, but they had bought time, and it's not long after that at a small hamlet named Lost Tree near Old Oak that Rymarr and Jessa find the raiders.

There's not many of them. A few dozen mounted Eurusi who had been riding hard and burning and killing everything on their way. The hamlet of Lost Tree is aflame when they arrive, the huts burned and bodies of cut down villagers in the street. There's the sounds of battle as raiders ride down villagers, and Rymarr sees a pair of templars desperately trying hold the door of the local church, where the children had managed to be ushered for safety. There's only a handful of armed villagers, and a robed Eurusi barking orders is pointing his scimitar at the church.

Rymarr and Jessa lead the charge, their archers taking mounted Eurusi off their horses while some crossbow fire comes in return. Jessa brings her forces around to encircle the village and to be certain none of the mounted raiders could ride off into the woods and continue their slaughter, and her pikemen manages to plug potential escape routes as Jessa matches swords with an Eurusi raider. The clash of her diamondplate sooted blade Storm's Fury splits the air as the Eurusi slashes again and again with his scimitar, but Jessa finds and opening and cuts the man down.

Rymarr is charging through the hamlet, cutting a rider off his horse that comes at him, and Rymarr doesn't even break stride as he parries another charging Eurusi and cuts the man in half.

The robed Eurusi points at the templars guarding the church, and both of the men scream and tumble over, bursting into a black flame that turns them to ash where they stand. The fighting is quickly dying down with most of the Eurusi down to Deepwood soldiers as Rymarr and as the robed figure turns and starts to gesture towards Rymarr, the Marquis of Old Oak cuts the Eurusi's arm off, sending him sprawling off his horse and mortally wounded.

There's a haunting bubbling laugh that comes from the dying Eurusi bleeding on the ground, who with his remaining hand lifts a dagger up and then plunges it into his own heart, his laughter silencing. And then the ground rumbles. Jessa, Rymarr and most of the Deepwood soldiers struggle to contain their footing as the ground shakes from a sudden, impromptu earthquake, and Rymarr is coming to his feet when he is thrown back towards the church as the ground by him and the corpse of the Eurusi suddenly erupts in a gyser of flame and a beastial inhuman roar that further shakes the earth.

From the cracked earth, a clawed black fist as large as a man rises from the ground, slowly pulling a mishapen beast from the earth. The scaled monstrosity looks like a mix of alligator, ox and man, with horned tusks, scales and rows of fangs in an elongated snout. Covered in flames and hulking at twenty feet at the shoulder, it bellows in rage and stares at the church where the villagers and their children are hiding and starts moving forward, as Deepwood archers feather arrows at it.

And the only one standing between the demon and the church is Marquis Rymarr Deepwood, once of the King's Own.

What stands in the memory of the Deepwood soldiers afterwards is the complete lack of hesitation on the part of the Marquis of Old Oak. The roar of the beast has hardened soldiers turning pale and stumbling backwards, screaming in terror, and Rymarr is running as well- but he's running directly at the beast.

The beast's clawed fist swipes at Rymarr, and he batters away the claw, his alaricite shield bending under the inhuman pressure. Rymarr's alaricite sword flashes, cutting the hand away as he charges, slashing the underbelly of the beast and drawing a cry of pain and rage.

A frightening fast turn of the beast's body and a massive tail slams into Rymarr from the side, but he rolls away on the ground before its maw finds him and snaps him up. Rymarr then slashes into it's jaw, drawing another roar as he's splashed with the black acidic ichor of its blood, and Rymarr's shield is torn away by another claw that finally catches around his waist as his alaricite armor makes a shrill squeal as it bends under the demonic strength.

The Marquis slashes off a demon's finger, but the beast lifts him into his maw. Its fangs that are the size of a man's arm closing in on him, and biting through his armor with a horrifying crunch as it tries to swallow him. As the fangs pierce through Rymarr's chest and his upper body enters the beast's mouth, he thrusts his sword up with all his might, the blade piercing all the way up through its skull.

The beast's monstrous body turns black and begins to disintegrate into ash and smoke, with Rymarr falling to the ground as Deepwood troops rush and surround him. His body ravaged, the Sir Rymarr Lyonesse and Marquis Rymarr Deepwood of Old Oak lets out a final shuddering breath. It's silent in the village, save for the sobs of relief from the villagers in the Church. Not much is said for a very long time, but all the soldiers and villagers agree.

None had seen a man die as valorously as Rymarr.

Hickson organizes an investigation into who is responsible for the annihilation of the Village of Coldreach and House Coldrain. He starts investigating in Coldreach, collecting and recording all relevant physical evidence with painstaking care - from fragments of weapons or armor, bits of debris, an analysis of the likely tactics used to attack the village, to the approximate size of the attacking force. Hickson records any and all relevant information that might lead him to deduce who is responsible for the attack. He will also speak to anyone living near the village, as well as those who may have had contact with House Coldrain in the Mourning Isles more generally or in Arx.

At various intervals, Hickson will hold meetings with his fellow investigators, in order to share information and refine theories as well as help to focus the group's attention to places most likely to lead to them to the answers they seek.

It's a personal matter for House Darkwater, this whole mystery of who trespassed onto their lands and slaughtered the people of the village of Coldreach and so while Lord Asriel Darkwater is confident that he's assembled a competent team, he takes to the field himself on this matter as well. The only thing better than a keen eye is one's own keen eye, after all. He wants to examine the aftermath of Coldreach for himself. He'll be going over the settlement and the surrounding area with a fine-toothed comb, because nobody comes and goes without leaving behind a single tell-tale trace and even if they do that can be indication enough of certain things.

While others venture to the grotesque murder scene, Wren takes a slightly different route and heads toward settlements nearby. She's a brave, charming merchant and good at striking up conversations with people, helping to lower their guard with talk of trade and the area before smoothly peppering her discussion with questions about Coldreach as she'll have steered conversations toward it through some gentle manipulations. It was a horrible and tragic thing after all that happened. Did anyone see anything? Know of anyone who did? Hear any salacious rumors? She's a traveling merchant and needs to protect herself after all.

Once Wren has what answers she can get (and made some possible future merchant-related contacts), she'll reconvene with the others to exchange notes, grateful she escaped having to see the sights (and the smells) of Coldreach itself.

Evander will be investigating the incident on a couple of fronts:

* He will be pulling up the whites of people who live in Coldreach in the period leading up to the event, trying to determine whether there was any clues, unusual events, or hints of what was coming, or whether there might be clues in the history of Coldreach or the Coldrain family.
* He will be looking for trade and other ship routes that regularly stop by Coldreach in the hopes of tracking down their crews and either directly discussing with them, or following their whites on anything they may have seen before, during or after the event.

He will be sharing these notes with those that travel to Coldreach, but will not be attending himself.

Quintin will be doing his best to figure out WTF happened at Coldreach. He'll do his best to figure out the particulars of how it all happened, considering strategies and tactics.

Corbit investigates the area, looking for clues, figuring out what exactly happened, trying to reconstruct the scene as well as hopefully figure out who did all this. He will meticulously search both the village and Coldrain house for anything from dropped weapons, to blood spatters to footprints that might still be left both outside and inside.

Lady Delfina isn't much of an investigator, but she knows how to use a sword. It seems rather dangerous to poke around in a place where something unknown murdered an entire settlement, so she's there to protect everyone and provide security.

A seasoned veteran of riding up to the disgusting battlefields and then figuring out what actually happened, Lord Bedivere carefully inspects the crime scene from varying distances before finally combing it for every clue that they can possibly find, doing so with intelligent coordination with his fellow investigators and the Darkwater Peers. With an open mind, he tries not to pre-emptively assume but to diligently gather thorough evidence to accurately paint the historical picture behind what really transpired around/within Coldreach village.

Having been part of the building of Coldreach (See: Action 460), Carita has maps of the village, thanks to Sameera Coldrain (RIP) and what they were shooting for, as well as a general idea of where everyone living there came from (thanks to her people knowing people that kept track of these things). If anyone has already investigated the village, she'd have those same people hook them out for questioning. She's not overly keen on the smells of death, but she's happy to help her family find justice of some sort (while heavily guarded), if only just why it was done. Her goal is to see if these deaths were at all linked with the murder of Oliver Arterius nee Coldrain. The Inquisition began an investigation on him, but it remains open to this day, according to the Master of Questions (Laric), and High Inquisitor (Alistair) who told her the only suspect they had slit his own throat. She would also ask her guards to be very, very aware of cultists that could possibly turn in to a swarm of bugs that bite, and that should that happen fire is best. She's also bringing in the Lament Marines to keep the group safe.

It was a sellsword group of Undrowned Sons.

It's exhausting, compiling evidence. There weren't many eyewitnesses that survived, and none at all at Coldreach, but some fishing vessels did spot ships with no banners sailing towards Coldreach, coming from the southeast, which would have been a direct path from Port Defiance. And while that suggests pirates, this was at least flotilla strength of all warships, including at least one drommond.

Other bits of evidence turn up, suggesting who might have hired the sellsail company. Some Thraxians claim in Arx that Sheena got into some heated argument at the Ebb and Flow with some lords and ladies, and a lady with a dress decorated with a sunflower motif took particular offense. Some darkwater commoners at Darkwater Watch say there had been a few uncomfortable incidents with visiting traditionalists being outraged at the existence of a thrall settlement. It was clear that Coldreach was seen as a stick in the eye of traditionalists, but as to who in particular was offended enough to hire sellswords to murder them all? That's less clear.

The conflict is brewing and people are suffering. Displaced refugees, most of them likely abandoned, move to where they won't get attacked and lose their homes in the process. Though no huge numbers, some refugees have fled the cruelty of the Shavsbane house, or left the Greyreeve area for fear of violence. Jyri asks for any aid in helping them and will once more put his leadership skills to use. All sorts of aid is needed, so he reaches out to the houses in the Bisland fealty chain since this time, it's directly impacting his own house and it's more personal. Though all refugees will be offered aid in forms of medical help, supplies to sustain themselves and at least temporary shelter, only those that bend the knee and join with either Whitehawks or Riven, will actually be escorted to live on the lands. The others, those that won't bend the knee, will be left alone and given just enough help to keep them going, without interfering. He will not force anyone to bend the knee, even if one could argue that they ARE being forced by dint of wanting to survive.

A mission like this requires certain skillsets.

* Diplomats: Any with skills to smooth talk and reassure the refugees of the good intentions.
* Soldiers: Protectors and escorts and those used to campaigning in the field.
* Organisers: Those good at organising and keeping tabs on where the money goes, keeping things in order.
* Members of faith and shamanists: Knights of Solace, other followers of the faith, and Shamanists are welcome in order to see to the religious needs of the refugees (and for more protection - who doesn't want a Knight of Solace at your back?
* Security: There's a risk that enemies sneak in some spies amongst the refugees, in order to get another intelligence source. Plus, there's always the risk there's cultists. Someone with a good eye for this sort of thing is very valuable.

The Baron of Hawkhold will provide Jyri with the supplies and military protection he may need to adequately protect and provide for the refugees. He will make himself present should anyone wish to bend the knee, or may be on the fence on doing so, in hope of the idea of having an attentive liege lord may sway a few or them to his side - or at least make the mission go more smoothly.

Thena provides Solace knights to protect and escort the refugees the safer areas. The Godsworn in their number are prepared to see to the needs of Pantheon followers, and they have orders not to attack those who choose not to bend the knee unless they are attacked first. They will also patrol the new settlements and escort supply trains.

Working cooperatively with everyone else, Uncle Bedivere sets up a vetting process (which not only involves 1-on-1 interviews with him but also the imperative input from all those who are helping out here, too, concerning their own experiences with each refugee). With the help of our organizers, detailed dossiers are written up on each-and-every refugee (even young ones), and these important documents are always guarded (subtley/strategically so).
During camp time across several days, small cells of Solace/Whitehawk troops are set up as 'secret supervisors' for a single refugee who shall aide their appointed group in cooperative-yet-easy-yet-productive tasks while being socially observed. This is not the first time that Bedivere ever employed this vetting tactic, so his trusted troops know what is up and what to do with these familiar shenanigans (talk lots with their assigned refugee as well as report back on anything amiss/off/noteworthy/etc for follow up).
Should there ever be any suspicious person who we picked up who might be a potential cultist/doppleganger/spy/threat/etc, Uncle Bedivere can turn into the bad cop. Lord Commander of the Iron Guard Baron Silas can be the good cop (who can pretend to save their souls from Uncle, so they might spill their beans and secrets to him rather than his Uncle).
All this is not only about weeding out bad apples, though. The flip side is to take note on how to hopefully provide the best help we possibly can, too, for the 'good ones' who will ultimately inhabit Whitehawk lands. There could be future recruits who sign up with the Solace or Whitehawk militaries, doing so after actually interacting with our fine forces during the vetting process (and quite possibly learning something new, too)!

Lady Kaia, representing Bisland, is helping Jyri and the rest of the party with both diplomatic and organizing services. She is smooth talking and reassuring the refugees, with her innate charm, sliver-tongue and honeyed words, of the multiple benefits of bending the knee to Bisland's vassal Houses; and, also providing assistance with the overseeing and proper management and distribution of supplies.

Evonleigh is eager to help the refugees, having found a calling in this sort of work. She speaks highly of the Rivens, Bislands, and of course the Whitehawks to assuage the fears and worries of those uncertain of finding a good life in the lands of those houses. When it's helpful, Evonleigh uses the Crownlads Shav dialect to help the Refugees feel she truly is listening to their needs and questions, to make them feel more at ease with her and her companions. She speaks of those Prodigals she knows who have found meaningful, rewarding lives after bending at the knee. And she speaks to assure the Refugees the choice is truly theirs -- that no one will be forced into a way of life they don't believe in, that they will be aided and supported regardless, so long as they remain on friendly terms.

Eshken will take on the role of an organizer, helping to develop and manage the plans and assist the other personnel in performing their duties without problem. Should any problems arise, Eshken will use his quick-thinking and skills at commanding to help corral everyone and ensure everyone stays on plan and continues to perform their jobs properly.

Conditions on the ground might have been far worse than it even seemed. It looks like House Shavsbane has certainly been trying to do active purges, and small Abandoned tribes flee into Whitehawk lands under the security that Jyri helps organize. Thena's knights report that they run into some very tense confrontation with Shavsbane troops that demand that Abandoned be turned over to them, but thus far thanks to Kaia's diplomacy the Shavsbane troops are willing to back off.

Evonleigh is able to help launch a charm offensive presenting the refugee taking in a positive light, and the compassion that Whitehawk is showing does improve some nobles opinions of them, even if it is an uphill battle against anti-prodigal sentiment for the Abandoned bending the knee. Eshken and Bedivere are able to keep the stream of individuals settling into Whitehawk lands well organized, and fortunately Jyri and Silas are both extremely experienced at keeping the peace.

Great Road Patrol/Reese is going lead a patrol of the Great Road in the Crownlands in the name of Grayson and Solace. Her goal is to keep the road for travelers, merchants and civilians safe. She wants to help keep the road in Bastian as a safe place to travel and she wants to contribute toward the road being used to help increased trade in the Crownlands. She is bringing along about half of the Grayson army. She is going to try avoid battles if possible. She will be focusing on chasing off thieves, those stealing and attacking from the road. She will not attack anyone who is not hostile to their patrol, clearly tainted by the abyss unless they are someone attacking others who will not cease such. She will retreat from overwhelming odds. She will try diplomatic means before going into combat if possible. She really wants to bring back the army in one piece. They are staying on or close to the road. They are going to follow the normal paths that Solace would take. She is not going to venture into the lands of Grayson Vassals because she respects agency. So while she patrols the pathways, she won't go chasing down bad guys in Riven lands for example. She hopes to make a positive show of force that will help those in the Bastian. She hopes to a patrol that reflects well on both Grayson and Solace. She will throw in the weight of her name as the Knight of Ribbons and the Grayson General to help in the image of the patrol. Since many important members of her family supported the road, she also hopes to give the road a better image as well.

Reese has invited Rey to be the head Mercy that moves on the road with this large group. She will be there to offer healing to the warriors as well as any on the road that has need. During this time she will be looking and marking sites for warstations to be placed along the road itself.

Rymarr will be present to aid in the patrols of the Great Road alongside House Grayson's efforts. He will be present to offer himself in the physical sense, but to also act as counsel when sought by the General of House Grayson.

Lisebet has been asked to come along, bringing her diplomatic skills. She's there to try that diplomatic approach in an attempt to settle things peacefully wherever possible. To that end, she'll be studying up on the lands they're going on, and making sure she's got a good idea of who she might be speaking to and with, so that when they are there, she will be at her best. Although she's not a Whisper, she's a fairly good diplomat, and used to helping out in such ways.

As a former Crownsworn and with a fierce loyalty to the crown and the vassal houses under the Graysons, if Princess Reese asks Jyri to help, he will come. So, using his expertise as a soldier, he will join this effort. He has a vested personal interest in the safety of the road as well, and it fits perfectly with his wish to see that refugees can travel safely to safe areas. The safer this part of the road is, the better for them. He will keep to what Reese orders, but offer his expertise at living in the wilds, work as a scout in the nearby forests to look for trouble, and he can also talk Crownlands Shav'arvani should they face any Shav'arvani of that kind - not that he's much of a diplomat, but he can translate if needed. And of course, if it becomes violent, he knows how to use that spear.

As per the modus operandi of Princess Reese, Lord Bedivere rides forth with Hawkhold's Soldiers and some promising Solace recruits mixed in ((from @action 3080)) at a 10:1 ratio. He will help patrol that Great Road which he and his men helped build. Whenever come close to Whitehawk lands, they temporarily detour to check those then join back up with the Grayson patrol.

Olivia is comming along to help keep the group healthy. She is not a fighter and won't be able to contribute in any martial way, but hopefully her knowledge of Medicines, Herbs, Alchemy, will help keep everyone in top top shape! Ideally though the group stays safe and healthy enough to not need her skills.

A show of force is enormously helpful. The Crownlands were spared much of the worst of the problems facing the rest of Arvum as a result of the Great Road, due to Alaric forbidding construction in areas that would have cut through largely Shav'arvani controlled lands. Being spared the worst doesn't mean 'no', however, as more than one Abandoned group took advantage of the distraction of the chaos of the Great Road to prey on travelers, and brigand attacks are at a high not seen in decades. Reese patrol largely puts an end to that.

Some of the groups can be talked down, of course, particularly with force behind them. Lisebet is able to resolve one inane border conflict between House Twinstone and House Ratherford, two of the baronies sworn to Grayreeve that had quarreled since Augustus' declaration. Jyri is able to convince the Gray Forest Reavers to stay well clear of this, after some had ventured from closer to Nox lands. Rey and Olivia help aid many of the wounded on the road, which turns out to be more than might be expected- there was at least four significant skirmishes between Whitehawk soldiers under Bedivere's command and brigand groups, ending with the latter's apprehension.

Reese and Rymarr lead the main Grayson forces, and there is one major engagement against a several-hundred strong force of Clan Wildrage, who seemed to be preparing a major raid against villages near Old Oak lands. Suspiciously, Clan Wildrage is closer to Grayreeve lands than it is to Old Oak, making it exceedingly odd that they would have been able to travel that far unchallenged, but unfortunately the handful of ones that surrendered were clan spearcarriers that only knew that they were told by their leaders that Old Oak lands were vulnerable and ripe for raids.

At any rate, as a result of the patrols, the Crownlands are significantly safer for it, and word spreads of their success.

Some time ago the idea of improving County Pearlspire's infrastructure was seeded. The idea began as a military effort, improving roads to improve troop movements. Which would improve trade. And like the bit of grit that eventually becomes a pearl, the idea has grown and taken shape. And grown some more. Inspired by Lord Michael Bisland, the success of the Empyrean trade route, and encouraged by Marquessa Deepwood, Lord Kaldur has begun shepherding a massive infrastructure project - an overland analog to the Empyrean Route that will set a series of trade roads through Grayson's principalities and farther. /From Stormwall to Ostria and beyond!/ says young Kaldur, with emphasis on 'and beyond.'

When the planning is done and construction begins in earnest, Lord Kaldur is a man who prefers to lead from the front when he can. In County Pearlspire he will work tirelessly alongside the men and women (and horses!) of the Seliki Engineering Corps as they plan and execute the work laid before them. He is a steadying presence with encouragement and focus at setbacks and ready with praise for work well done.

(OOC: Recommended support is 100-200 resources for Baronies and Counties, 200-500 resources for Marches and Duchies; but any and all support is welcome)

As work proceeds all over the Compact, who knows what will be discovered!!

Lady Peri Seliki has a strong relationship with the prominent traders that already flock to Pearlspire's shores and has reached out to those that she tipped off previously to some lucrative opportunities on lumber. She gathers information from them on where the best routes would benefit from roads to add to her brother's efforts and arranges for them to get the word out to others, both to fulfill the gap in transporting materials to the workers and in preparation for the new network.

Considering that some adult supervision will be required, Kalani would be happy to go along and serve as a stand-in for said-adults. Chiefly, if anyone is going to build anything, someone is bound to get hurt in the process. It's a natural outcome of people + tools = broken body parts.

Samantha is wholeheartedly invested in this notion, especially with Old Oak (presumably) being one of the stop points on the road. She'll invest resources into its creation, and encourage the hiring of the March's population for all levels of its creation. She will also look into facilitating the formation of security for the road, and aid in the diplomactic and economic efforts surrounded projecting its cost to create and projection of its maintenance.

As a purveyor of stone, particularly granite and marble, Grazia is going to have stone shipped to the Selikis for Pearlspine. Some of the stone will be used for the very roads it is to be transferred along, but the bulk of it will be sailed along the coast to the actual port city to be used to build the harbor. This is an important trading endeavor, and Grazia expects that due to the long-term nature of the project that it will offer a nice economic boost for her quarries.

Aviaron's Peak rests atop a MOUNTAIN, which means its architects and workers have experience working in... the MOUNTAINS. So Rhea will consult with her stewards to put together a crew of advisors and workers to help with Kaldur's project, lending them valuable experience. Aviaron's Peak will also provide any necessary metal for the project at a discount.

As stewards and protectors on the roads of Arvum, and as followers of Gild who favors trade, civilization and hospitality, the Knights of Solace lend their aid to the project with the promise that it will feature a few Solace waystations and shrines for pilgrimage. Thena offers the Solace soldiers stationed near the proposed route for protection and manpower. She also sends resources and silver for the project. Once complete, the route will be added to the Knights of Solace regular coverage.

Ann believes in Kaldur's efforts for a trade route and signs Stormwall up, understanding that he needs support in many ways to see success in the long run.
*She puts her economic mind to use, saving Kaldur where she can and maximizing profits.
*Pours over paperwork with him to make sure no one is pulling a fast one on him.
*Assigns Crovane's reserves to patrol the route inside Crovane lands.
*Uses her Inquisitorial contacts to make sure no one is sharing the details of the road to those outside of the Compact for their own benefit.

Michael Bisland rounds up maps and engineers who know how to READ said maps to help a vassal in need. Or in want. Since Kaldur doesn't /need/ these roads but he sure does love to talk about it. So much. Just constantly. Leave me alone, I helped!

Grady is following Samantha's lead here, helping smooth the way for increased security and infrastructure between Pearlspire and Old Oak, ideally helping both domains grow stronger and more secure. He talks to people, he negotiates, he encourages the soldiers, and he keeps a careful eye out for any rising arguments, moving to help quell those as swiftly as possible.

Gabriel Bisland is encouraged by the younger generation's drive to see the Compact reach new heights. He adds the weight of the mighty House Bisland to the project. Not only to fund the improvement (or new construction of) roads in Pridehall, but so that the project over all might avoid the danger of dipping into the red.

Giulio will assist in helping those that wish it in building a uniform code / set of agreements to make the best money they can on this.

Stonewood is no stranger to road building, having recently refurbished the road to Pridehall that helped put them on the map. What's not on the map, however, is a great way to cross the river at Stonehearth. So in coordination with this network of roads, Malesh will oversee the creation of a bridge or ferry (whichever is more practical/profitable) crossing the Gray River not far from the docks at Stonehearth.

Recognizing the opportunities for trade and also for his house, Fecundo is lending his diplomatic skills to getting the project moving, working through any of the lands where the road is planned to go. It also doesn't hurt that he'll be able to point to the quality of output from the Gemecitta stone.

Etienne has a vested interest in the pursuit of the expansion of civilization, trade, commerce, and the cause of safe journeys. All of which are accomplished by a well funded and functional transportation system. Etienne will be contributing silver generously provided by the Faith as well as speaking well of the endeavor whenever possible to those that need help convincing. Etienne would indicates the funds are for the builders, and those that support them, soldiers, cooks, and the like. Etienne would also be on hand for cutting any ribbons with hilariously large scissors.

Eddard uses all of his wiles and charm to help speed along permits and coax constructions crews to take on the needed jobs. If Duskshire ends up on the new set of roads, thats not so bad, eh?

Lord Bedivere Whitehawk will be acting on behalf of his dear newphew (Baron Silas Whitehawk) to lead forth Whitehawk soldiers to help out on the road project for Lord Kaldur Seliki. Bedivere himself will be out there as a managerial force to help out every day.
He seeks the help of huntsmen and cartographers in the area to help map the road around mountainous and hilly terrain to connect agricultural communities.
Since gravel and paving is time-consuming and expensive, wood is used in these instances to limit excessive sliding on the steeper side of a hill.
Whitehawk soldiers are deployed to help with security and digging where soil is already worn away, close to the bedrock, so muck will be less of a concern.

While the Volkov Woods is one of the newer areas of the map, and that they may not come anywhere near the proposed current trade route - Ruslan is hopeful that someday, when the trade route starts to create the terciary routes, that the Volkov Woods would be part of this future. As such, he has created a small patrol of 150 troops to be sent to provide security and protection for the crews along the route.

Lady Rey Laveer, as Voice of Laveer and a Mercy has decided that roads are more than needed to connect trade routes, but as a side not would be good for movement of healers to farther reaches of Arx. And has offered her House's support as well as her personal support to the Roads Project.

Given the Twainfort's traditional seat as a trading hub due to its control of the fork of the Mother in the Daughter and Son Rivers, it's simply good sense to see that more and more overland routes from far-flung, land-locked Houses can reach Riven's ports and speed the passage of their goods along its way. Mia will work with a number of her advisors, particularly those most familiar with the landscape and locations throughout her County, and those recently joined Prodigals from surrounding areas of the Gray Forest to find the appropriate blend of transversible but also defensible routes through the woodlands.

In her role as minister of upkeep to Inverno, Mirella will be working on behalf of the house to aid Lord Kaldur's project. Alongside advisors from house Inverno she'll be investigating the safest and most convenient routes for roads to the island city of Caina and any surrounding settlements, as well as figuring out required costs prior to these roads being built. She'll share this research with the Seliki Engineering Corps and assist them in any way that's helpful and beneficial to Inverno and Seliki. She'll also be donating 100 economic resources to the project, representing Inverno's ministry of income rising to the task to provide funds.

Though their home is an out-of-the-way island, the Truesworn are often keen to participate in the broader life of the Compact. A grand project to improve the infrastructure of the coastal trade routes evidently meets with the Truespeaker's approval. Sudara duly brings to bear all the Setarcan know-how and book-learning she can muster, in guiding her people through work to develop Esterhold's internal structure and develop its external trade.

Tenebrae, a warrior above all things, will help in this endeavor by both allocating and commanding soldiers to protect the works, as well as using soldiers as workers on the Isle of Esterhold. They will be learning from the engineers as much as possible, while also ensuring no resources go missing, and protecting lives. This protection also applies to guarding the sea lanes to ensure the transport of resources, skilled craftsmen, and the money to pay them.

The Marquessa of Nilanza is happy to supply as much as we can of the materials and labor required for the stretch of road to be built across the march, if the engineers to see it through can be provided by other means. Then we, House Malespero, can contribute both economic and social resources to the effort, and to all upkeep.

Belladonna has received an invitation to take part on Kaldur's new efforts to build a more cohesive network of roads for commerce. She will be seizing that opportunity and trying to convince other lords, traders, merchants, crafters, etc, to join in with some of their own resources, thus investing much of her Social pull into this. She wants to make Setarco, the whole island, a place of culture and wealth. She will know places to avoid and where the roads should go through.

Lord Sebastian Pravus will be visiting Setarco during January of 1010 as part of some other work. While there, he will talk with local contacts to get an understanding of the breadth and scope of work needed to build roads on the island, as well as the best ideas for placement to assist the engineering corp. Additionally, he will assist the project by spruiking the benefits of a well-built trade road far and wide with his many contacts in Arx and especially within the Pravus lands to drum up additional support and interest in the project and its potential benefits to the local economy.

Following her sister's lead, Celeste is offering her expertise in terms of patrol schedules, strategic importance to areas, most likely to be ambushed here... that kind of thing. She'll further take effort to extol the virtues of this project to important and influential figures in Arx and Setarco.

Mikani helps Kaldur understand the unique location that is Redreef. She gathers funds and encourages the infrastructure project through out her Barony. Mikani addes in economic resources to help with the building of the roads and other paths knowing that anything can be useful.

Baroness Skye Blackshore is a founder of the Empyrean Trade Route. She provides all the mappings where the ships will stop along the way, providing recommendations for fortifications so that goods can be transfered from the ships to the land. Then she will using her mapping skills and knowledge of war to figure out potential ambush points and provide that to people who are going to managing security of this route. She will also use her economic skills to assist Duchess Ann with negotiating better building rates, using her woodworking and infrastructure talents to make sure they get the necessary supplies for building without spending to much.

Dycard is going to help out with the persuading of people that this is a good idea and one that should be supported. After all, roads help farmers get their produce to market as well as letting military forces travel much faster, and that has to be to everyone's benefit come tax-time, right?

Tyde lands are connected both by more traditional roads on Tyde Isle, but more often by more watery roads. Increased trade is good by land, but with goods arriving all the time and boats being a bit more infrequent but with larger cargo capacity than a cart, it is important that there are places to store the goods and efficient places to load and offload. As part of Kaldur's efforts, and to connect this large Grayson road network to the Empyrean and the Isles, Tyde makes land and resource available for the construction of proper warehousing and expanded stone piers to allow for efficient offloading, and offer this same expertise to help build them on the Grayson shores.

Mirk had planned something similar himself, so there's no hesitation when he's offered the chance to connect Whitehold and Cascade Springs to this planned network of roads. As the Minister of Coin for the Halfshavs, he brings some of his House's resources to the table: chiefly stone for the main roads, but also access to scouts with experience finding routes through the mountains. He acts mostly as a diplomat and negotiator, working with others to see to it that those resources are used where they'd be most effective.

Magnus will participate by guiding and assisting in the direction and protection of the roads approach to the Bonespire and surrounding winter wasteland. Utilizing his tactical and martial aptitude he will make himself available to personally advise on any potential known threats or Shav'arvani bands in the area's which they pass through as well as coordinate the protection of all participants with other collaborative members of the team, to include the usage of a detachment of assigned Bone Warden's.

With the building and improving of roads into the far reaches of the Compact, some things might be discovered-- or rediscovered that are best left alone or need a Shaman's expertise to navigate. Volcica will be lending all of her skills to this effort, making sure the spirits remain content in Stahlben's lands and as far out as she can help.

House Ravenseye will happily do their part to be included in a road project to try and make their remote area a little more accessible. Cadern will be sending out missives to Ravenseye and some of their neighbors to avoid any ruffled feathers and ensure things get handled amenably for the usually isolated northerners.

As Voice of Steelhart, Col will invite the trade road to Highhill and provide some military support and strategy as needed to ensure everything is kept safe.

Believing this to be a good endeavor for his house (roads are great for horses), Count Philippe signs up for the project. Alongside his officials, they lay the foundation for dirt paths, making sure to disturb as little as possible of their natural resources by routing the road system through ground that has already been used. Philippe is adamant about raising ranger stations for the Knights of Solace on these roads.

The Rivenshari know other roads, those of the water ways that move through the lands. Which is not a bad thing, they can use that knowledge to help intergrate the two road ways together as well as the roads that will run through Riva. Eshra puts her best minds to this, with the Knights of Solace already having a barracks in Riva and the trade routes that have already been established.

Sasha is gather up 500 economic writs, 500 social writs, and 500 military writs for the roads coming through Giant's Reach. She is also offering to aid with the spreading of the good word of the trade route.

As Marquis of one of the more remote holdings, Gaston is thrilled at the prospect of expanding the Roads and making Cloudspine more accessible. Aside from lending Blackram's political support for the effort, Gaston will also dedicate silver, and military resources to help protect the engineers as they work through expanding into the wilder parts of Arvum.

Cullen will work with his brother-in-law, Lord Alessandro, to make sure that the section of the road that will link Greenhaven to the network (by running along the south bank of the river and establishing a ferry system just west of the fork, ideally with the aid of Rivenshari river captain expertise) will be well-defended during its construction. He will take personal command of a troop of light cavalry and archers. He will also inform any other soldiers, including the engineers, where the safest - and most dangerous - places in the area lie, and how best to fight in the region.

As Minister of Upkeep for Greenmarch, Alessandro is eager to collaborate on a project such as Lord Kaldur has put forth. He will work with the Seliki engineering corps, as well as all other engineers who are assisting, to devise the best route through Greenmarch lands for the roads, perhaps partly running near the river as suggested by his brother-in-law, Lord Cullen, for easier trade with those houses such as Rivenshari and others who are at the forefront of maritime trade. He will also assist with bookkeeping, allocations of funds if necessary, and various economic portions of the endeavor, should it be needed.

The Voice of House Lyonesse takes a personal hand in the great roadworks project, enthusiastic for the potential of growth it can bring to Lyonesse lands and its people. Lady Jenessa temporarily returns to Lyon's Redoubt to assist, providing insight into the geography of the area as well as the best routes for travel. Not only does she oversee the exchange of lumber for proper stones for the road surface, she also plots out the route itself with the Seliki engineers and Lord Kaldur. Furthermore, the Lyonesse offers use of what sailworthy ships they possess to expedite the transport of building materials up and down the river to the surrounding holdings of those involved. Not only is time spent and investments made, but Jenessa further encourages the locals of Lyon's Redoubt to make the experience a memorable one for the visiting engineers and Lord Kaldur himself, throwing a modest but personal banquet for the guests of House Lyonesse and all the workers who put in time and labor.

Reigna had been planning on building roads throughout Oakhaven to stimulate trade and facilitate troop movements throughout the March. Kaldur's plans dovetail perfectly into this plan, and she shifts her focus from just Oakhaven to the surrounding areas as well. She will be contributing resources from wood and stone, to engineers and laborers to help with the construction.

Olivia will draft a plan for House Ashford's particiaption, along with providing some necessary material support. Given her area of expertise, she will prioritize roads in Ashford territory to provide good access to typical regions of agricultural surplus so that these products can be moved to market more quickly without risk of spoilage.

Lilia Telmar offers maps and recommendations for routes through the Temarch, with particular diligence paid to their placement in respect to pre-existing towns and trading routes. She's trying to find that sweet spot between maximum efficiency in road construction and minimum disruption to the people of the land, who might like to use the roads but who don't want to give up their lands. She's tagged a particular river crossing for the establishment of a new bridge, and indicated that it is likely to become the site of a thriving inn catering to travelers.

In an effort to bring more interesting people to Acorn Hill, and support the travel development plan, Tessa is personally funding the construction of an inn in the town of Acorn Hill, with stables enough for larger groups of merchants, mercenaries and travellers that may be passing through. The Golden Dame, as the inn is called, also keeps a very comfortable room always open and free of charge to any musicians or entertainers that are willing to perform for their supper so to speak. The HOPE is that this will make the stays for every one more pleasent.

Kritr will put people working towards a road in the land he controls to link it with the rest of the road system and accept whatever help of engineers is offered.

House Grayson will be taking advantage of the economy of scale of the overall effort to acquire the supplies to improve the existing roads surrounding Bastion and Arx at favorable rates, with an eye to planning linkages for future expansion to the ducal territories of the Crownlands.

Saikland Greens is a small area but a link and a junction along the path between areas to the north and Iasu to the west and Ostria to the south should the route extend that far. The route, if it succeeds, is an opportunity for networking with other houses and fealities, for enhanced trade opportunities. The mappers, guards and engineers provided by Lord Kaldur to begin the initial planning and feasibility of the route are welcomed and she accompanies them during one of her trips to Saikland to make sure they find places that do not disturb the farming and vineyard, existing businesses, have resting points with water, camping areas, spots near villages and military posts for protection and provisions. They plan out areas to avoid such as difficult stream fords, the small bog to the south that moving inland a bit can circle. Lucita adds some of her military forces to the group as they look over the areas to the south and north and around the perimeter of Saikland, careful not to intrude into Fidante Holdings but to see the locations and condition of any existing routes and trails, help secure the areas within and adjacent to Saikland and the number and location of any abandoned groups along the way. Her charm and propaganda skills can sooth the way and help persuade some to join the compact rather than resist and prey upon the merchants using such a trade route. Once areas are secured, she will assess to see if improvements to her docks becomes necessary.

Sabella is well aware of the issues that might come up with this road and so she is ready to be on hand to talk it up to anyone and everyone that wants to listen. And even those that don't want to listen, painting a picture for people of the Compact of safe, faster travel and trade, and trying to pitch it to the Shavs that instead of having Compact people traipsing their way everywhere through their lands this will keep them all in one place and hey, they can set up stalls to sell them products along the way and everybody wins! Yay roads!

Tikva thinks this is a terrible idea. She has been repeatedly insistent that it is a terrible idea whenever it has come up. However, a number of her vassals are insisting on involving themselves in it anyway, and despite her best efforts to persuade him and others otherwise, the help of House Grayson has been sought. It is not in her to refuse what aid she can offer in order to defray some of the hazards that she perceives in creating a massive overland trade route through lands that are not held by the Compact. She does what she can to ensure that any workers are actively protected by soldiery, that there are relay stations set up along the route that she believes to be an ultimately doomed project so that messages and emergency cries for help when the raiding parties come can help protect them. Tikva does not anticipate that her efforts will be able to prevent anything from ending in disaster, loss of life and potential deep economic distress for those houses embarking on an ill-advised venture, but at least if she does something to try to stave off some of the worst, maybe she can mitigate the damage to people who insist on failing to follow her good advice.

Niklas will mostly make jokes about how they should extend the road to Stormward. Like, hey guys, why can't we do a road to Stormward? This is a massive undertaking, but you know what would really make you guys legends? Uh. A road to Stormward. Really, he'll keep doing it until people are annoyed with him. But only the people who are actually working on the project. For everyone else the celebrity prince will turn on the megawatt smile and gladhand like the white hot grease fire of charm and charisma he happens to be. He's no good with a sword, he doesn't run his own domain and he doesn't have an army to offer, but what he does have are contacts who can help to make sure the money gets to where it needs to be and parts more easily from those who may be reluctant to turn it over. Call it monetary logistics. You don't need to know what you're moving, you just need to move it.

As Minsiter of Infrastructure for the Crown, Jaenelle understands the captial city is certainly a hub of activity. Arx will continue to assist where needed, making sure the roads leading to and from Arx are kept safe to the traders as well as making sure the steets themselves are kept free from holes, cracks, or anything that might make travel harder. Jaenelle's focus will be the roads directly around Arx.

Jennyva has been given permission from Duke Malcolm to sign Graypeak up for this project and contribute writs, time, whatever Kaldur may need. Her expertise is in negotiations and marketing and she ensures that the merchants know to use these new roads to their advantages.

As a capable steward and Voice for Blackram, Teagan has stepped up to oversee her family's participation in this expansive project. As remote as the Cloudspine is, such a road will be greatly beneficial. She will gladly see to aiding in what ways she can beyond providing what Blackram will for the connection of their holdings to the road: primarily with her economic skills.

Sir Andry Bayweather seems more then interested in the idea of helping connect the compact into a more unified whole and is helping arrange patrols with the Knights of Solace as well putting in work to arrange funding for any sections which otherwise seem to be neglected

Seymour believes an effort like this can only further enhance the trade network between fealties, to the benefits of trade at all levels. Seymour is ensuring that there are ample resources to ensure the holdings in Stormwall and Ashford he is responsible for can be a part of this, and to establish new trade posts for Oak Mercantile where the need for additional trade along the new route may exist.

The Great Road is easily one of the most ambitious projects launched in recent years in the Compact, though the scope is so vast and the current state of travel in the Compact is so dangerous that it verges on quixotic. Still, the bold ambition is embraced by scores of notables in the Compact, and ambitious or no, they get to work with the massive project.

There are numerous challenges. First and foremost, the traditional respect for the autonomy of every domain holder. The Compact has always had paths, or even rough mud roads between major thoroughfares, and the Knights of Solace have long patrolled many of the most popular, but the proposed brand new road attracts notice of every domain holder that they would pass through, and this is hundreds of them. The majority welcome the increase in trade... provided a) it doesn't stir up an Abandoned response and b) that they aren't responsible for patrolling it with their own funds. That is relatively little help, and they are happy to profit from it, if it is at no cost to them. A smaller number enthusiastically welcome it, and are EAGER for an Abandoned response, and are actively looking forward to doing battle with their hated enemies. Particularly in the Oathlands, there's talk about 'cleansing their lands for good and all', which goes well outside the bounds of a friendly trade agreement, and is more than a little worrisome. Some of the talk goes well past a little worrisome, in fact. And a very few outright refuse to have any new road built on their land, despite all reasoning, pleading, threats, forcing the road to be built entirely around some random baronies and counties that simply do not wish to risk any sort of conflict with Abandoned or increase the flow of riff-raff through their borders.

But with initial agreements signed up, then comes construction. This is thousands upon thousands upon thousands of miles of road to build a road that unites the different domains on somethnig more than dirt, often overgrown, hunting paths. The sheer engineering this takes in laying down the stones and creating the waystations will stand as one of the most remarkable marvels done in the Compact in centuries. Much of the land goes through Abandoned controlled territory, even if it is ostensibly owned by the Compact, but the amount of forces brought make most of the Abandoned steer clear aside from the odd skirmish here and there as the road is being built with overwhelming force. But the key words are 'as the road is being built'.

The good news is that trade spikes up immediately, and many of the traders in the Compact are absolutely thrilled to have better overland paths in order to move their goods when rivers are inaccessible or impractical. It's a boon many of the domains, and the economic consequences should be strong, in the long term. The bad news is that there simply are not anywhere near enough Knights of Solace in the Compact to patrol thousands of miles of road. Certainly they do what they can, but the raids start immediately, and in great force, and the losses from the Knights of Solace start to mount, even as caravans start to hire sellswords and travel in greater numbers for protection. Which in turn, has prompted stronger raids. Much stronger.

The Great Road is an economic success, overall, despite the raids. And fame comes with such a large, daring project. But the social and political consequences are another matter all together, and those will be forthcoming.