Lou brings everyone to the Society of Explorers, and bars the doors against entry for the evening. Only those that are partaking in the ritual will have permission to be in the spacious Explorer's Hall. For those who have not experienced the ritual previously, she has taken extensive amounts of time to talk to them about what's involved, and teach them what's needed to perform their own, and expresses that the ritual is very different for each person, as it is their own vision that's required to make it a success, and then she invites them, and others, to help her with her own ritual.

The thirteen candles are set up around the grand map in the Explorer's hall. Each is placed in a spot where Lou has directly explored before. Everwinter, Eventide Vast,
Lastlight Hold, where Morien's final stand took place, the location of the Battle of Blackwoods where Pena Stormryder asked Petrichor to help against their Sylv'alfar foes, the Isle of Storms, Whitepeak, the beautiful aerie in the mountains where Brass's magical map to help find the dwarves was located, the caves at the Lodge of Petrichor, the not so general location of the Wolfheart Tribe, the blackened ruins of the where the great hold of Eastguard once stood, the general location of the four castles from the Northern Sea Marches, Icefall, where she met and helped rescue 5 live dwarves, the general location of the caves she shared with a pack of wolves for the evening. (OOC: these are locations from @actions and/or @clue 45 - Lou's Travels.)

Once the candles are set up, they are lit at the proper time, and Lou takes the time to meditate over each item, and infuse both herself and her item with her intention. When she's ready, she starts to feed each of the items into the flames, passing her vision and her intention into the fires. As she does, she says the following.

"There may be darkness, but in the darkness there is always light, and where there is light there is always wonder and hope in the world, and in the dream. My wish, my intent, is for the dream to be ever filled with wonder and hope, that people get to experience all of the amazing things I have experienced over the years, from the beauty of the mountains, to the strange wonders of an unknown ocean. To run away form an avalanche, and be able to discover an old people, or new to you people, long thought lost and dead, only to have them revive before your very eyes, having the chance to bring a long thought lost race back into the world. To have passion, and spark of imagination, and to see it grow, and unfold, until you're holding your own tiny clockwork griffon in your own hands - and watching in amazement as it flies around, not once, but three times, before landing at your feet. To experience the fear and worry, but then also the joy and warmth, of sharing a night with a pack of wolves, in an agreed upon truce for a peaceful night of slumber out of the worst storm you've ever experienced. To play, and learn new songs from children of a people long descended from a great people, even if they give you a bit of a scare with one of their games. To always, always want to dream, and explore, and learn something new, and bask in it. For, adventure awaits in everything that we do. Adventure Awaits."

Each of the items she puts to the fire are tiny souvenirs, things that mean only something to Lou, based on her finds from her adventures. Some are more precious than others. A scarf from Viktarkim from their trip to Everwinter, a piece of Mason's shirt from the day they first met when he fell into her encampment while she out exploring, that arrow that was accidentally loosed against Luca when out on patrol, that was meant for an abyssal wolf, a copy of the map she drew of Brass's magical map, a copy of the schematics she made of the clockwork bird she helped make which gave her the other half of the map to find the living dwarves, bits of dried flora she collected from Whitepeak, and a number of other things, until all thirteen pieces are delivered to the flames and burned.

Once that last piece is burned, she whispers again, "Adventure Awaits."

Calaudrin is here to observe and not break anything!

Arcadia is here to watch, learn and support. She will focus on good thoughts on adventures and exploring as guided too and be quiet and still when she needs to be.

Quintin is along to watch the ceremony, participate as needed, and make mental notes for his own ceremony (hopefully).

Having already done his own ritual, Mason is here to support Lou and assist her in adding her own vision to the Dream. Given the theme of adventure and exploration, he will focus his thoughts on the many many adventures he and his wife have gone on together, (and the ones he's only heard about from her). There seems to be no worry or doubt on the man's face, as he fully believes in Lou and supports her. When the time comes for the ritual to be completed, he will also try to meditate and see if he can't witness the culmination of her efforts with Mage Sight.

Amantha will help out as and when asked to as she takes mental notes of the ritual and everything around it.

Cufre is among those who relatively new to the ritual, so she briefed on what was to come and its personal nature. She lends a hand, as needed, during the setup the precedes the ceremony. Once the ritual begins, Cufre's attention is fixed on Lou's countenance and words far more than on the individual offerings.

Lou closes the Society of Explorers for the evening, bringing only those who will witness her ritual to the Explorers' Hall. Still, it's important to her to have this here, and now. Even as she explains what's needed, it's fitting for her, she feels, that she is explaining such a thing in a place that is so very much a part of who she is. Of how she sees the world.

And then she sets up her thirteen candles around the map in the Hall, each one placed in a spot where Lou has directly explored. And in the thirteenth hour on the thirteenth day she lights them, feeding her sacrifices into the flame. As she does, she speaks.

"There may be darkness, but in the darkness there is always light, and where there is light there is always wonder and hope in the world, and in the dream. My wish, my intent, is for the dream to be ever filled with wonder and hope, that people get to experience all of the amazing things I have experienced over the years, from the beauty of the mountains, to the strange wonders of an unknown ocean. To run away form an avalanche, and be able to discover an old people, or new to you people, long thought lost and dead, only to have them revive before your very eyes, having the chance to bring a long thought lost race back into the world. To have passion, and spark of imagination, and to see it grow, and unfold, until you're holding your own tiny clockwork griffon in your own hands - and watching in amazement as it flies around, not once, but three times, before landing at your feet. To experience the fear and worry, but then also the joy and warmth, of sharing a night with a pack of wolves, in an agreed upon truce for a peaceful night of slumber out of the worst storm you've ever experienced. To play, and learn new songs from children of a people long descended from a great people, even if they give you a bit of a scare with one of their games. To always, always want to dream, and explore, and learn something new, and bask in it. For, adventure awaits in everything that we do. Adventure Awaits."

Each of the items she sacrifices are mementos, precious to her for their experience, and her relationship to each one. And as the last piece burns, she whispers again, "Adventure Awaits."

The phrase echoes through the hall. "Adventure awaits, awaits, awaits." The fires flame up, bright as sunlight, and suddenly they are not in the Hall at all, but they are on a mountainous peak, and from the peak they can see all the world spread before them. For a moment, they see not just the world at their feet but the fabric of the Dream itself - the feeling that everything is connected. The thrill of knowing all the threads that have gone into weaving this tapestry, and the thrill of not knowing what will come next. The joy in the adventure, in the story. Tales of love and laughter. Tales of sorrow and betrayal. Adventures of discovery - of the world, of the people within, of oneself. For a moment, they can see it all spread before them and then they are back in the Hall, and the candles gutter out as one. "Adventure awaits," comes the whisper again, though not from Lou's voice this time. "Make it a good one."

Riagnon lost his turtle, Responsibility. He's assembling a team of the most talented minds, swords, and bows in all of Arx to solve this mystery!

"Hello, my name is Responsibility. I'm a Crownlands hardshell turtle and this... is my story..."

So begins the 8 1/2 page mission briefing and summary distributed to all those involved in the rescue of Responsibility, the reckless turtle.

In addition to detailing the animal's day-to-day at the Acheron's residence in Arx (life on the Grand Shellington Estate, the turtle-sized castle where the noble turtles of House Acheron reside; relaxing by the turtle pond in Acheron's 'Glacial Grove' courtyard garden; drinking at Spirits in the Redrain Ward; the occasional appearance in the entirely mirror-lined locked closet located off of Mydas's former quarters), the documents also include a few wildly inaccurate factoids about turtles as a species. For example, it claims that one can determine the gender of a turtle via smell according to Marquessa Rhea. It also suggests that as turtles age and grow, they abandon the shells of their youth for newer, larger ones found out in nature. A very vulnerable time for any turtle! Who put these two in charge of a place? Oh, right! No one.

Dame Esoka Greenblood, Gloria's Sword, former wielder of the Twain of Riven, Disciple Leader of the Templars, and prodigal knight of acclimated esteem, will use all her questing powers to find Responsibility, the reckless turtle. She will utilize her knowledge of turtle habitat and habits gained as a girl in the riverlands. She will ignore the factual inaccuracies in Lord Riagnon's instrutions (bless his heart) and tell the people she meets in her search accurate things about turtles. She figures he found a place under the ice to wait out the winter and will check frozen-over ponds and garden arrangements in the Redrain Ward. She prays to Petrichor that nobody ate him. That'd be a tragic end to their noble quest.

"Riagnon, none of these turtle facts are true!"

Eleanor, the (RESPONSIBLE) owner of all of the other residents of the Grand Shellington Estate, is aiding in the search for the missing turtle. This largely consists of two things:
1. armed with strawberries and every turtle fact she knows, Eleanor will try and marshal the other turtle-hunters into some sort of organized turtle-hunting force. They will look in the pond, they will take a census of the Grand Shellington Estate, they will check the spoopy mirror room, they will (carefully) look underneath any old towels or discarded laundry. They will otherwise listen to Eleanor's wise and excellent turtle-hunting leadership.
2. shouting at Riagnon about his incorrect turtle facts.

As Rhea's protege, part of Calaudrin's job is giving Riagnon non-terrible advice. He'll try to manage that this time, when he's not combing the streets, looking in sewers, checking puddles, ponds and reflecting pools for the turtle. He also asks numerous tavern owners if they've been serving TURTLE STEW recently. They better not be.

Tikva is vehemently ready to go on this great turtle hunt. She blithely discards all of Riagnon's advice when it comes to searching for turtles, but spends her time examining the parks and outdoor areas of the Redrain Ward, and a little in the Crown ward, and a little just like... you know, around. It's like a scavenger hunt.

Umbroise really doesn't know what's up with this turtle business, but she'll help her cousin out and see what she can find. She'll first check her own rooms, to make sure the turtle isn't hiding there! And then she'll use her charm and manipulative skills on the Household staff to see if she can root out anyone who may have seen the little bugger... er... turtle.

All of Austen's knowledge about turtles comes from Riagnon. This is concerning.

As is the fact that he's trying to avoid Eleanor every time the subject of turtles come up. Which is difficult to do when you're working together to search for a turtle.

Mostly, to help find Riagnon's missing Responsibility, he's trying to figure out what he would do if he were a turtle. This mostly involves making maps of the Acheron residence and moving a little turtle figurine around it.

When outsiders fight over our souls, when the beast below us threatens to engulf us. When the days turn darkest. We must band together. We must show strength. We must

Find this damn turtle. Jeffeth doesn't have a lot of turtle tracking experience. Though he has found a couple on accident, and he is hoping that real world training will apply to this situation. Like most things Jeffeth really wants to apply himself to, he'll just do it doggedly. Tiredly searching probably the same place ten times over. But he doesn't have any quit in him. So he'll keep a searchin'.

Rhea, who has gotten just-- really, really great at this leadership thing, trust her, she'd give herself an A+, is going to give a rousing speech to the would-be turtle questers. She will be sure to ensure these valiant heroes that they will have all the thoughts and prayers they need to succeed in saving Riagnon's failed -- she means lost, sorry, -- Responsibility. Also? PLENTY of turtle facts (likely to be fact-checked on the spot by Eleanor, but whatever). Finally, she will offer a mysterious REWARD to the one who does, in fact, find Responsibility.

Jasher probably wishes he brought some rum, now.
Sufficiently moved by Riagnon's eight and a half pages of briefing and summary regarding Responsibility, Jasher will join the others in searching for the lost turtle. While his knowledge starts and stops at what Eleanor can tell when she's not shouting at Riagnon, he can combine what little he knows with good old logical thinking to map out where he would go if he was a normal wayward turtle. Come the Abyss or high water, he's not leaving a rock unturned.

In the Grand Shellington Estate, missing turtles are among the most serious events. The men and women who search for them comprise an elite turtle task force. This is their story.

The staff has the 8 1/2 page document in hand about turtles, though even as Riagnon is beaming about his amazing presentation, Eleanor is already marking through lines and correcting the wildly inaccurate factoids to anyone who will listen - which is mostly Rhea, who is being extremely indulgent as is her wont, and Austen, who has a look of long-suffering on his face - or perhaps he's just anticipating suffering a long time. Eleanor is gesturing with strawberries and handing them out to everyone as she continues her educational conversation.

Esoka searches the pond, her lips moving in a prayer to Petrichor that said turtle is not frozen under the ice, or stolen, or.. or eaten. Turtle soup is a delicacy in some parts. Some parts other than here of course. Nothing so awful would be cooked here - and Esoka finds no sign of Responsibility.

Calaudrin takes the show on the road, looking in streets and sewers and pubs and taverns. If Responsbility is taking the day off, he reasons, wouldn't he want to get drunk? But if the turtle isn't going to get drunk, well - this ale won't drink itself and Calaudrin does an extremely thorough job of investigation, and seems happy enough to do it.

Jeffeth is enthusiastic, to say the least. Enthusiastic, but not terribly effective. He goes through the house calling for Responsibility, and he sounds Very Serious when he does, but Responsibility does not show up.

Tikva, having watched all this for a while, is suddenly nowhere to be found.

Jasher, pleased with what he keeps calling a so-shell outing, joins Umbroise in the search, and the spiders - yes, even in a well-kept estate like theirs spiders do dwell - start to swarm. And they start to lead the way to a room... Casimir's room, as it happens, and there's a scratching on the door.

Responsibility! Found at last, for some reason in Casimir's room, and safe - if a little hungry. And just as Riagnon is happily reunited with Responsibility, Tikva bursts through the door waving a very surprised turtle that looks -just- like Responsibility. "I found him!"

Success!

A team of survivalists will build traps and oversee the building of traps around the Lodge to aid in its defense. Traps will be built in choke points/most likely places for sneak attacks/attacks by human or animal forces - with Calaudrin having made a map of where they're best placed for defense. In particular Jyri looks to protect the flowers of the Lodge, but also the Unicorns, but no stone should be left unturned in order to build smart traps to injure/stop enemies.

Silas has given Jyri command of unit 1291 (army 327), which will serve as scouts and focus on any enemies coming in towards the traps or getting past them. Their job isn't to fight hand to hand but to pull back should that happen - and keep ranged.

Additionally, during any attacks, the team will stay on and fight (those that want to) or trigger traps, pull wounded out of traps if it is deemed safe and generally just be there to help.

Perronne makes traps! She's talked with Jyri about using the handy-dandy map that Cal provides and using it to be sneaky. She proposes (and can help construct) a multi-layered wall of traps. Outer layer has lethal, hidden traps. Next layer has mostly dud traps, with the occasional real one to ensure that anyone trying to make it through the trapfield has to slow down and check /every single trap/ for whether it's a dud or going to take off their head. Last, innermost layer has all lethal traps again, for when they start getting exasperated and decide to just plow ahead. She also suggests that the density and lethality of the traps be used to funnel and guide invaders towards those places where defenders will be most ready for them.

Calaudrin is going to be hunkered down in the watchtower for a significant portion of this whole thing, probably. So while he's there, he spends what free time he has writing up a slim instruction manual on where to place and where NOT to place the traps. Because it would be sad and unfortunate if they snared one of their allies. :(

The instruction manual is pretty straight forward and comes with illustrations, maps and arrows on where are good places to do things. There's also a cartoon of a cat with an eye patch named One Eyed Jack. He provides comical narration.

Thesarin will be assisting in the laying of traps along the ways leading to the Lodge. Ditches, pits, snares, spikes, blinds and redoubts. With half his life lived in the forests, as a hunter and a warlord both, he'll be working with Calaudrin to set the maps, shaping the terrain to the defenders' advantage, and laying some unpleasant surprises for the Horned God's forces.

Harper will be assisting by documenting the traps. She will check, double check, and triple check the locations reported to them to make sure that no traps go undocumented on the maps they are keeping of the area. In order to help keep their allies out of the traps, she will make absolutely certain that Calaudrin's plan for the traps is followed and make sure the information is up to date and gets into the right hands. Since she is stationed at the tower with Calaudrin, she will continually track the progress of those setting the traps and update Calaudrin and their allies on any possible changes to the plan. Oh, and she will also add a sketch of a very cranky looking old goat on the drawing from Uncle Cal, with the name under it of 'Old Carl.'

Sable is an experienced hunter, and so she's familiar with setting up traps, including traps for people and not animals. She'll help plan the traps out, make suggestions where she can, and do some of the grunt work if necessary. If she is shown the sketches, she will purse her lips and shake her head without saying anything.

Under the direction of Jyri, a small group go into the Gray Forest with the intent of laying traps. Not focused on gargantuans - that's really too big a problem to handle with such devices - these are focused on cultists and slowing anyone who attempts to come from the Gray Forest to the Lodge. They work quietly, secretly, their efforts not really known among the Compact at large.

With Perronne's suggestion, they make layer after layer of defense. Sable quietly helps with her expertise in trapping. Thesarin adds his forestry knowledge and his experience from a life spent in the forests proper. Jyri keeps a weather eye and directs the work. And Calaudrin helps from his vantage point at the Watchtower - and Harper makes sure to document exactly where the traps are to avoid future Compact tragedies.

With their work done, all they have left to do is wait - and hope.

Lou is putting together a team of people to explore the western mountain range detailed in @action 2512. She brings the map she discovered with her, and has made certain to outline the areas of the range that are of the most interest to her and thinks would be the best places to explore. She's made certain to put together all the necessary gear for expedition survival - for Lou knows how to make sure to prepare for such things - and pack some spare food and clothing just in case. She even brings small trinkets and gifts in case they might run into people she might actually have to talk to in order to smooth the way and not get killed. Hopefully!

Warm summer weather? Out exploring with the woman he loves the most? What's not to love about an expedition into the mountains?! -- Cliffs. That's what. Still, Mason is eager to go out with Lou and will gear up and leave the kids with the nannies.

A chance to get out of the city? Sure, Calaudrin is going to take it! Plus, he hears that the company is going to be pretty good. He packs his important gear, his writing tools and his shiny new bow and sets off with Lou and company to adventure.

An ADVENTURE! Elly's running late - but she's so THERE. Places to go, stuff to study, things to inspect and look at and maaaaaybe more.

Vitalis is an expert tracker and pathfinder (no Capital P, just a regular pathfinder). Reminders in Arx and at home in Ostria of his late father are thick enough that an excuse, any excuse, to seek the horizons is welcome. As it happens, chasing horizons is one of his favorite things to do, so this is the best kind of excuse the young explorer could hope for.

There was adventure! New vistas! New discoveries! A map! But most of all, it's the view from atop the mountain, the serenity found there and the peace as they watched the land for miles around on a beautiful summer's day that sticks with them as they return to Arx. With a map that might point them to.. dwarves? Adventure awaits!

House Igniseri has an eye to the future with the potential for expansion on the horizon. In order to factilitate such expansions, Quenia needs to have a solid idea on what might be on the property of her March, as well as what areas seem most likely available to expand into in order to grow her march. She has hired a team of explorers, to be led by Lord Luis Igniseri, to survey House Igniseri holdings, and the immediate areas around Granato for future expansion.

1) The party being sent out has been instructed to map out the lands owned by House Igniseri, paying special attention to locations that might be used for mines, mills, or historical value - such as ruins.

2) They have also been asked to list any properties that might be adjacent to their lands owned by others (baronies, counties, duchies), and to see what land is available for possible expansion in order to grow the 'domain' of House Igniseri further, and what obstacles they might encounter for that to happen - IE: local shav'arvani that must be dealt with, critters that might need to be vacated, etc.

Quenia will be accompaning the group, to act as a translater for any Lycene shav'arvani tribes they might encounter, as well as to work any diplomatic efforts with them. To help smooth the way, if a way to be smoothed is needed, she makes sure to bring gifts to exchange for any potential encounter of the shav'arvani people (referenced by the inclusion of 300 economic resources). She's also hired extra guards (referenced by 300 military resources) to go along in order to ensure that the party going on the scouting mission stays safe, should there be any dangers involved.

Leading an expedition, Luis will begin with what he knows and the rumours that he has heard from his time as a youth in Granato. From there he will utilize the explorers as best he can with their strengths and what makes them valuable for being part of the mission. For himself, he is mostly muscle and charm, with the ability to lead those whom would come with. Differeing to each of their specialties and allowing Quenia to set the goals, Luis will help the team to achieve the goals set out.

Calaudrin will be accompanying the group of Explorers as they survey. He'll use his experience scouting to the groups advantage when they're out in the wild.

There's better negotiators and better scouts, so Jasher does what works for him. He keeps an eye on things, provides a voice to bark orders and provide direction when needed, and worse comes to worst...well, he's already brought his sword.

Donato donates several ships to the cause and sets about mapping the coastline in the indicated areas, taking regular measurements of depth and marking reefs, rocks and other obstacles, as well as promising natural harbors and key strategic positions. When opportunity arises, he turns on the charm with the local nobility, looking for opportunities to expand Caina's network of trading relationships.

Oswyn is good at cartography. It's involved in his Senior Scholar project, after all, not that that has anything to do with southern lands. He's using his best social graces to chat people up, too. Beyond that, his other function is to be a field medic, in case something goes horribly wrong... or if they encounter people who need help.

Aahana is accompanying alongside Marquessa Quenia, offering her diplomacy in her native tongue should it be needed. As well as helping with understanding the cultures of any of the tribes they run into, since she is a newly ennobled prodigal herself.

Donato is taking one direction, Ariella takes the other! She sets out in the Red Bargain, determined to map out the coat leading into the Bay of Granato on the other side, looking for places that would make for good fishing villages, or which call for fortification, or which could use lighthouses to protect ships, or coastal shav settlements that could use someone to go and see if they're friend or foe.

Lord Cullen, the General of Greenmarch, has come to see Granato for himself! But beyond that, to assist the scouting party in matters of battlefield tactics and strategy, should it come to that. Highly experienced at both commanding on the field and wartime theory, should they come under attack, he'll be able to hopefully utilize the guards to their maximum advantage. Also, through the Marquessa translating, he can speak with any non-hostile Abandoned about the advantages of bending the knee, given his own history in the matter.

Marquessa Quenia gathers a crack team of scouts to search her lands. She's looking for anything - places to expand, places for infrastructure projects, places just outside her reach where maybe the shav would be amenable to bending the knee and adding to Igniseri - and Compact - control.

Ariella and Donato go by ship, and find two secluded coves that would make excellent locations for quiet villages to block potential smuggling - that's always a potential problem, though for many in the Lyceum this would potentially amount more to an increase on taxes by calling them bribes to make them more palatable for these pira...privateers. In any case, there are places to expand along the shore.

Lord Luis and Sir Calaudrin scout across land, and take Marquessa Quenia, Lady Aahana, and Lord Cullen with them - particularly with Scholar Oswyn to make maps. They find another area - a mine that appears to be - haunted in some manner, if the stories those who live nearby can be trusted. Most concerning is a nest of... creatures. Creatures that potentially escaped the carnage at Setarco and traveled far to find a quiet place to live. Of course, quiet is relative, as it seems there are plenty of nearby citizens of Igniseri who would like the night terrors to go away. They can't precisely describe the creatures, but they're fairly afraid of them.

All in all, it's a mixed bag - there are plenty of places to expand, but also there are some troubled areas to which the Marquessa could direct forces. And indeed her people hope sincerely that she does just that.

Duke Cassius Pravus has been murdered in the Lowers. Known to be furyborn, he sent some messengers before heading to his death with a cohort of Knights of Solace. Whatever killed him suffered the loss of a giant paw in the process, and the duke himself was found in a pool of ichor. Abyssal forces are suspected. Grazia has a special talent of noticing Abyssal taint on people (though she's not quite certain the extent of this talent) and so there will be an Inquisition-led expedition into the Lowers to investigate the crime scene thoroughly. Known Clues: Braxxus the Bloodsniffer, The Bloodsniffer Hunts in Arx

As Mirrormask and scholar of the occult, and leading the other investigation on his cousin's death, Mydas joins Grazia's efforts in the hopes of finding information on the identity of those responsible, directly and indirectly, for the slain Pravus born Nightgold. He brings with him his Mirrormask, and plenty of other mirrors besides, as well as his knowledge to the investigation of the crime scene.

Ainsley is not particularly an investigator. What he is, however, is a man who can stab things. _really well_. So he'll be coming along not to act as an investigator but as a bodyguard. He'll bring Threnody along just in case. Alaricite against demons is always the best idea.

Thena will join the expedition in hopes of discovering more information about what killed her troops and why they were there to begin with. She brings her diamondplate dagger, the insider knowledge of someone raised in the Lower Boroughs, and hopefully the protection of the gods.

Silas is much more proficient at stabbing abyssal-tainted things than he is at detecting them or studying them, but this isn't his first foray into the Lowers to hunt such things and it isn't likely to be his last. He'll let others in the party do what they're good at, while protecting them with his alaricite blade.

This is likely not the first very bloody situation that Calaudrin has had to look at in his life. He accompanies the Inquisition as well as his fellow Iron Guards. He inspects all of the nooks and crannies and keeps an eye on who might be hanging around the scene that might not belong there. He'll talk to locals, he'll search high and low for clues.

Kenna is actually okay with the fact that it seems like most of the stabbing is done. At the suggestion (voluntelling) of Ainsley Kenna has joined the expedition into the lowers. Since she doesn't have much in the way of fighting type skills she'll focus more on their surroundings to see what clues her eyes can pick up and be ready to shout an alarm if the stabbing things isn't quite as over as it seems to be.

A wounded foe of such size and nobody knows where it went, that is a worrying situation. Sparte will be there on behalf of the Iron Guard, bringing city maps and his knowledge of tracking. His hope is to determine if there is a hidden den that the creature may have retreated to, should the abyss sniffing talents of others not already lead them to find the beast.

As one of the last people to hear from Cassius and his admitted lover, Eirene has personal interest in tracking down the persons behind this killing. Knowing the signs and symbols of occult activity, she lends her expertise to the crime scene and related searches.

Cassius was her brother and last surviving direct relative. Lydia will stop whatever else she is doing to directly participate in the ongoing investigation in any way she is able to assist, and will get out of the way in areas where she cannot assist. She will listen to those leading the investigation in various areas to determine which is which. If necessary, and under the direction of those leading the investigation, Lydia will commit active military in service of Nightgold and military resources not to exceed 100 writs worth. She will not commit these resources frivolously, only upon advisement or request of more principal investigators. She defers to Grazia's lead to decide between any conflicting advice.

There's a number of things that are telling about the crime scene. The type of force that hit Cassius could not have been a man, not with the wounds inflicted or the damage done to the buildings. A full grown bear wouldn't have had that kind of strength. Further, the ways the assailant could have fled were limited, and -someone- would have seen a giant beast of some kind running around. But questioning witnesses, no one saw anything like that, only a few mentioning that afterwards they saw an attractive, redhaired man that apparently had his hand cut off- a few kindly mercies tried to offer him aid, but he rudely brushed by them. They thought he was a victim and survivor of the attack, but he wanted nothing to do with anyone, and had seen to go down to the Gray River.

Some oddities at the crime scenes- a lot of bugs. It's getting cool this late in the year, but not -that- cold, there should have been flies and other bugs taking advantage of the gore left behind, but there just weren't. No bugs at all, which was just exceedingly weird. Minus the lack of bugs, the area shows worrying signs of corruption. Animals refuse to get near that alleyway. Horses approaching it will throw their riders in a panic. Dogs bark and growl at it or whine to get away from it, and so on. People have reported seeing strange shadows moving to and from the crime scene, or what has sounded like screams coming when it is empty. It's a foul place, and the blood stains seem to return after they are cleaned.

The Lord Commander is organizing a party to protect the Gray Forest (or at least the immediate forested area around the city) from the mysterious canine beast which has escaped the city, and to investigate just what it may be and potentially hunt it down if it poses any immediate danger to travellers en route to the city. A retinue of approximately 80 guardsmen will be deployed to scour the Gray Forest, commanded by himself and Lieutenant Calaudrin Estardes.

If they find the creature they will attempt to avoid killing it outright and instead see if they can lead it further away from the city - where travellers are unlikely to go. If it proves to be hostile, however, they will not hesitate to defend themselves and slay the creature.

Calaudrin doesn't like the sound of this! He's going to assist Silas in combing the Gray Forest. He'll be assisting Silas in leading the 80 men and will be looking for signs of anything unusual out in the woods.

Kenna finds things best when she isn't particularly looking for them so while the others are intent on combing the forest she seems a bit disconnected from the rest of the group. She pokes about in the bushes and sets herself just a little apart from the group to do her own brand of searching and finding. If they're lucky, hopefully they find... whatever it is, if not, well, maybe Kenna will pick up someone else completely that can help solve this mystery.

Reese will attempt to help track down the large feline in a few ways. One is she lives in a watch tower right on Sea watch gate with an upper room where she lives overlooking the gate, the boroughs and part of the lands beyond the gate. She plans to keep regular watch which is the point of the tower. This includes watching frequently, but also doing patrols in the area around the gate, the upper boroughs and in the out skirts of the gray forest near the gate and the beaches. She will use her survival skills to try and find tracks, signs of the canine and so forth. She isn't above asking about too, see if anyone has word or information on such. She will try to use her reputation to good effect in terms of getting anyone to talk.

Leola is here to try to track down this large, impressive beast of a canine. So she tracks. And she thinks. To find a too-large dog that's hurt none.

Sparte is happy to offer his assistance against a threat that may very well be abyssal in nature. He is carrying his diamondplate polearm on horseback for the trek, the one bearing the symbols of Gloria, Skald, and Petrichor. Blades, wolves, and forests. There is no hurry to combat for him, it is clear he is open to the notion this isn't a threat. Doesn't hurt to be prepared though.

Thesarin was born in the Grey Forest, and is no slouch as a hunter and a tracker. He'll be going out into the woods with the scouting parties, looking to find evidence of the creature, as well as keeping any of the city folk from drowning in a brook stream or eating the wrong sorts of berries while they're out there.

There's good news and bad news.

The good news is hunting through the woods, one can be reasonably sure that the wolf that escaped Arx had absolutely nothing to do with Duke Cassius' death. The way the tracks went, there definitely couldn't have been one returning to Arx. Not... as a wolf. And that might be the bad news.

The tracks just plain don't make sense. They just... stop at some point, as if the wolf climbed some trees. There were people in the area, so some guardsmen thought one of the Crownsworn forest travelers might have killed the wolf and taken it, but there wasn't any blood for that, and no sign of a struggle for a wolf being captured, so they are largely baffled. Wolf tracks just stop, nothing going -back- to Arx, and just plenty of tracks that could be people. It's very confusing. But definitely no wolf returning to Arx, even if it's elusive. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the entirely separate wolf that killed Duke Cassius is almost certainly still at large. While they were away, there's been another murder inside Arx of a person torn to shreds. There's not much of a body, but a beast tore its way into the Grayhope mansion and Moira's bedroom is drenched in gore, the head of the Grayhope family presumably being brutally murdered. A beast definitely still being at large. That's the bad news.

Iron Guard, Faith and Kings Own got you covered, baby. Plans in case a fleet feints and heads for Arx, possible attempts at a hostage situation:

Have plans in place to evacuate the Boroughs, but only if absolutely necessary, and more geared towards getting the city's most vulnerable to safety (we will NOT be moving people OUT of the city, only to more defensible areas!). Shelters will be prepared to accommodate the masses who seek refuge, and we may require the other wards to accept commoners seeking shelters should the Boroughs no longer be safe to occupy. We will begin to plant the suggestion that we may need to evacuate the Boroughs in the forseeable future as an attempt to alleviate panic.

* The Iron Guard and the Faith factions will be coordinating their efforts under the direction of Lord Commander Silas and Dame Thena, much like they did in the last siege. The former will be more focused on maintaining the peace, whereas the latter will likely be fighting with both sword and soup ladle. This should put the populace at greater ease in the following weeks.

* Checkpoints will be placed at the gates from the plains into the city, the harbor into the Lowers, and the Compact Ward into the Crown Ward to better acquire and organize information. These checkpoints will be overseen by Lieutenant Michael and Faith appointees, and some of the Iron Guard's newer recruits who come from the isles will be placed at these points to better vet the people providing their documents. They will be taking take names, affiliations, destinations, etc.

* Dame Thena and Princess Marian will be reaching out the the Commoners Council to rope them into more specific plans for the defense of the Boroughs. May include traps and/or harbor fortification.

* The King's Own will be protecting the royal family.

Calaudrin will be doing his job, training and leading groups of Iron Guard. This will including scouting with small groups beyond the walls to check for potential threats and keeping an eye on the walls.

Rymarr will be focusing much of his attentions within the greater Iron Guard effort on his assigned area: the Seawatch Gate and Seawatch South. Increased patrols, heightened readiness, and group training regimens are called for. Rymarr intends to lead by example and thus perform his own duties with a touch more gusto. On top of that the hope is that those fellow Iron Guard that he has sway over may join him in setting that example of a more proactive defensive force in the face of potential invasion. Along with following the orders dispensed from above, Rymarr intends to begin preparing the Seawatch Gate and Seawatch South for more potential pitched battles. In answer to those same orders from above, Rymarr hopes to orchestrate a streamlined system of patrols around the area and heightened inspections of those entering or departing the city, while attempting to not make it so inconvenient that traffic in and out of Arx is disrupted. To accomplish some of this, Rymarr fully intends to invest some of his own funds and contacts into the endeavor to hopefully ensure that the Iron Guard is prepared to face a threat.

Estaban will be helping the long ships get ready and make sure they are set up for their patrolls on the water, he will also be doing Dock patrols and making sure everything is set before he himself has to ship out with the fleet.

Kenna will be putting her organizational and logistical mind to making sure that all the little details of the guard get settled. Schedules, organizing reports, and making sure everything goes where it needs to go will be her part in this. Where others look at the Macro she'll keep her eyes on the micro and hopefully put together any pieces that might otherwise not get connected without a dedicated set of eyes. She also puts her time into making sure that the individuals in the guard have someone looking out for them on a personal level. She'll be looking for signs of stress and individuals taking too much on at one time. (Especially Silas.)

Princess Marian Redrain, military liason to the Ministry of Defense, has reached out to the Commoners Council to arrange for a town hall for all commoners to hear what the Iron Guard, King's Own, the Faith and Ministry of Defense are doing to keep Arx safe. This town hall will occur once military plans have been finalized by these organizations. She will also assist Iron Guard in coming up with an evacuation plan for non-combatants in the Upper and Lower Boroughs to ensure no lives are lost from panic if the enemy comes at our doorstep.

Sparte has fallen into the role of organizer between the Iron Guard and the other guards and troops in Arx that may be called to the defense of the city if it is under siege. He has received approval from each of the great houses to organize cross-training between their men and Iron Guard forces, so that if a crisis does come to Arx again they will be ready to work together to protect the city.

Derovai has been approached to keep an eye on the Lowers. He'll do so and check back with Calaudrin, whom he knows, to see if there's any other potential usefulness he might have.

Even as the diplomats focus on esprit du corps, the Iron Guard, some of the Knights of the Faith, and the King's Own are settling in to protect Arx.

Under Lord Commander Silas Whitehawk and Calaudrin Estes, the Iron Guard are instituting checkpoints at all the major gates. Marquis Rymarr and his people secure the Seawatch Gate, setting the example for a proactive defensive force in case of potential invasion. 'Constant Vigilance' is his watchword, and his influence spreads. The guards at the South Gate are looking particularly sharp these days.

Baron Estaban Saik mans the docks and leads the Iron Guard to make sure that all ships are properly inspected, and all cargo correct and complete. It's a difficult job, what with the propensity of ship captains to smuggle the odd thing here and there (as is their inalienable right as captain, most will argue) but he does a commendable job. The docks are quiet and safe, for now.

Derovai Voss heads to the Lowers, keeping an ear to the ground on behalf of the Iron Guard - he's casual enough to make it seem like happenstance, but he's clearly probing to try to keep ahead of any rumors of malcontent or, worse yet, cultists. So far so good, and Arx is as secure as the Iron Guard can make it.

Meanwhile, the King's Own is keeping a close eye on the King, the Queen, and the babies, more diligent even than usual and certainly more formal about who is admitted into the presence, and who is allowed to keep anything sharper than a table knife when approaching.

Lady Kenna Whitehawk keeps an eye on everyone as they work, determined to make sure they are still taking care of themselves even as new trainees fresh from classes with Officer Sparte Fatchforth start their own patrols, following plans coordinated between Lord Commander Silas, Princess Marian Redrain, Dame Thena Grayhope, and Lord Commander Leona Thrax.

The truth shall set us free.

The call has been made and a great archival is being set into motion by the Scholars of Vellichor, reaching out to the entirety of the discipleship far and wide in an effort to duplicate and spread information contained in each outpost of Vellichor’s faithful from the grandest library to the smallest monastery.

The plan itself is no small task and in reality Bianca is aware it will take years to come to fruition, but they had to start somewhere.

Phase 1: Organization - A rather large focus team is gathered utilizing local Scholars and overseen by three Senior Scholars (NPCs) to take point on the clerical end of the Archival process. The role of this team is ongoing, their job being to disseminate information to the known enclaves of the discipleship throughout the many territories of Arvum regarding the archival process and how it will function. Once the process begins, they will be the ones dealing with the incoming reports and developing an encoded master inventory list of all outlying literary collections within the jurisdiction of the Scholars. A secondary list will also be created in regards to the location of lost relics that may be hidden away though in the possession of the Scholars. This secondary list shall also be encoded, its construction remains solely in the hands of the three senior scholars on point for this team and is only to be viewed by them and Archscholar Bianca. Once both lists are completed a secondary action will be taken to protect the contents of the pages (either via in-game actions or a storyrequest). From there a procedure will be set in place for all future acquisitions to be reported to the Archives to be properly categorized and added to the proper encoded list.

Phase 2: Reproduction - The next step of this accounting is the duplication of documented works. Any pieces of literary record (fiction AND historical) not found in duplicate shall be reproduced by the Scholars located in the parish these works are found to be and aid from Arx will be sent to the smaller libraries in the form of manpower to help. The goal is that a copy of everything not deemed ‘imprimatur’ will be replicated and disseminated to the Archives as well as the discipleship’s library in each of the five regional capitals: Sanctum, Lenosia, Maelstrom, Farhaven, Bastion. Anything deemed ‘imprimatur’ will also be duplicated though these duplications will only be sent to the Great Archive. This process will also be applied to all new information coming into the Archives or discovered by the discipleship moving forward.

Phase 3: Dissemination to the Public - While the Archives have always been open to the public and all noble houses, an immediate public relations campaign is set in place to better inform those of Arx and Arvum on the whole that the pursuit of knowledge and information will not be turned away or looked upon with wary eyes. This campaign is to be fostered by /all/ of the discipleship setting the stage for an open door policy and as more information is collected in Phase 1 and Phase 2, the Archive will be able to ideally provide direction if not a copies of what is being sought. The title of the campaign is “Let no question go unanswered.” For those seeking knowledge that extends beyond the bounds of what is considered safe for public consumption, they will be directed to petition the Scholars for access. A small council of senior scholars headed by Archscholar Bianca will be set to task in reviewing such requests and disseminating information on a case by case basis (unless of course PCs come to her directly).

Now, with the discipleship’s funds recently diminished due to the recent expenditure in Stormward, Bianca is also reaching out to all those outside the Scholars willing to aid with this tremendous undertaking. Donations are to be accepted in specific to aid in the Archival as well as individual manpower for replication of books not marked ‘imprimatur,’ though the most poignant request in the forefront is martial cooperation and aid. There is a great danger present and those tasked with the duplication or simply traveling to disperse information and transport copies will undoubtedly need protection and assistance while traversing the many territories of Arvum. And sometimes boats. Boats are cool and there are a lot of islands to be reached.

Lady Monique Greenmarch has a wide net of contacts she employs, along with their silver and her own gratuitous charm, on behalf of the ArchScholar's endeavor. How does she find out the things she does? It's impossible to know, but she will attempt to secure safe roads to travel, and trusted safe houses for those scholars and their handlers to stay in, alongside vaults for the information to be saved.

Fortunato, although no official scholar, is happy to lend his hands and eyes to the work of replication (if with a tiny bit of illumination in the margins as strikes him, not enough to seriously detract from the speed of the task). He is able and willing to travel to the regional archives to aid copying work there as well, if, of course, with escort.

Sophie will be aiding in Phase 2, leading any and all Mercy volunteers to go through the extensive medical records and white journals of known Mercies, collating what is deemed important information. She will also write to the Mercy chapters throughout the Compact, seeking their cooperation, and offering organizational instruction to those wanting. Finally, she'll do what she can to procure what House Valardin has.

Phase I-III: Ailith will coordinate through her increasing network of Seraph contacts across the Compact, and reaching out also to the Seraphs that the Dominus and Legate of Creation informed Ailith about. She'll explain the first Phase of Archlector Bianca's process and encourage the Seraphs in how the parishes may assist such as the Seraphs providing copies of any texts to the Archlector or the three Senior Scholars. Ailith will assist in fielding any questions if the Seraphs respond directly to her. In additional letter will be included.

Calaudrin will be joining with other members of the Iron Guard in helping protect the Faith's documents as they move through the city. He'll be especially on the lookout for anything at all suspicious as they go.

Lord Commander Silas will be helping direct his men in protecting the precious cargo -- copies of invaluable lore from several great libraries and archives. He himself will likely lead the retinue guarding the largest cache. They will avoid all thoroughfares known to be havens for thieves and criminals, and all guardsmen on this mission will be thoroughly armed and alert. They will also not be guardsmen with past criminal history, themselves, no matter how small the theft or how long ago the incident occurred. No chances!

Ainsley will be helping with the Iron Guard portion of things. He'll be assigning more senior soldiers to help with the transportation and dissemination portion-- helping to protect the scholars. He, himself, will be with one squad of people helping to transport and protect. Carrying with him his Alaricite sword and his rubicund plate, as he leads the forces. He'll also supply some of his own military favors, writs, and currency to help with the project.

Harald has given leave for the the scholars of Vellichor to travel to Grihem's Point aboard his ships and under his protection, as well as granting them access to the Grimhall libraries. While the private Grimhall libraries are largely collections of literature (especially traditional poetic sagas which are widely believed simple verse fiction) any pieces desired for copying will be made available. After all, the Scholars certainly aren't likely to find any decent sagas on the mainland; it's a mission of mercy, really.

Phase 1: Knights of Solace agents, in the course of their usual duties, will help disseminate the new archival procedures across Arvum, and bring back reports if needed. They will also be instructed to share with Blessed Bianca or her chosen representatives any information they may have picked up in the course of their journeys regarding the possible locations of valuable documents that should be included in the archival effort. Phase 2: Knights of Solace will help protect sensitive archival works as they are transported to or from the various repositories in Arvum.

Mae has began to distribute the Commoners Bulletin, as well as a primer on a subject (Marin'alfar) that has otherwise been erased from history. She'll be writing more, including a book on reincarnation, and all will be spread far and wide. Take that, Fable!

Christine will help with phase 2, copying books that need to be reproduced, and translating those in Isles shav so they could be spread more easily.

Eirene, with the help of her own soldiers, goes through any of the Malvici libraries in Arx and sends word for the libraries of Southport to be duplicated and the copies added to the efforts, transported as quickly as the lot can be completed. As Malvici has a longstanding history of fighting demonic forces, she hopes to find useful information to be added to the master archives.

Lord Corban Telmar will invest both time, treasure, and resources into the Archscholar's appeal to duplicate and preserve knowledge. He will donate 200,000 in House Telmar silver to copying, transporting, and preserving Archives information in the Oathlands. He will also call in House Telmar's extensive network of military favors to ensure that the convoys transporting the materials are protected, and will personally lead some himself, lending his sword and considerable leadership abilities to the effort.

Armand, as a Templar disciple, will aid in the Scholar's efforts by ensuring their protection, notably during the more dangerous Phase 3 of the project, the dissemination and duplication. Able and willing to travel wherever the Scholars need to go, he will ensure that those he is tasked to protect are able to do their work unhindered. No criminal nor servant of the Abyss shall be allowed to stand in the way of Vellichor's holy work.

The main effort the Templars will offer, as well as general help should they be asked, is during phase 2. With the threat that bandits or indeed things more foul could try to stop the material reaching Arx, the Templars will make up to 1000 men at arms available to escort material from the various holds back to the capital. Alongside this, each Parish will be expected to have their templars provide additional support as material moves through their lands, more a procession of honour though that for military support. As the various archival holdings come together from the regions to head to Arx, the Templars will blob the escorting forces together and ensure that the material makes its way safely to Arx.

Cybele is good at organising and teaching and digging up info, so more than happy to dive into the deep stacks, and set to work looking at what comes in. Besides, the shaman has a knack for finding the right texts. Right? Right.

Delilah will be focusing her efforts on Phase 2, working closely with other scholars to replicate as many texts as she possibly can in her spare time. She will also be speaking with the Master of Questions in an attempt to more closely incorporate the Inquisition with the ongoings of this entire process.

Alaric will be having lots of nice things to say about the project, dropping little mentions to nobles and Crown functionaries and important merchants alike about how nice it would be to hear of people and groups lending some aid to the Vellichorian discipleship with their work, and generally generating some positive PR and motivation for people to get involved with helping.

Fatima will allow the Scholars access to the Thrax libraries available in Maelstrom to aid the Archscholar. More than that, though, she's using her social circle to help circulate the news of Phase 3: Dissemination to the Public. When Bianca signals it's time, Fatima will utilize her propaganda machine to get out the word the Archscholar desires.

Percephon will be participating heavily with the Phase 2 portion of this very important project. Working within his position as Senior Scholar, he will go to the library in Sanctum to assist in creating faithful duplicates of all materials that are that are uncovered and found. With a focus on organizing which overly important and sensitive materials will be sent to the Great Archives.

Estaban will be opening the Saik Library to the scholars of Vellichor, he will also be giving military esscort the schollars where they may need to go.

Victus will be allowing the Scholars of Vellichor within the libraries of the Maelstrom, as well as to comb the Isle the capital fortress is located on for nay other information they deem noteworthy. In addition, he'll be sending a detachment of some Thraxian scholars and stewards who are better versed in history than he is. Surely, the Isles will have LOADs of interesting stories to tell!

Aiden can help considerably in Phase 1 and Phase 2. Since he's had a lot of practice with the Court in reproducing works, that's where he will initially provide the most support, however, he's got a good eye for organization, so he'll certainly swap between the two roles, depending on what's more important at the time. Though since he's an excellent teacher, he puts a lot of his time into Phase 3 as well, answering as honestly as he can and has he has done to anyone in the past who has come to him for answers.

Not being much of a smarty himself, Edain will do his best to give the scholarly types the access and the trust they need to do something good, making sure they have access to the archives in Sanctum. He will also task 100 of his knights with the task of helping to escort the travelling scholars, with as much travel as this entails it is sure to tax even the Knights of Solace and so Edain will do his best to help them escort travelling scholars.

Alis has offered to help Bianca by assigning military escorts to and from Sanctum for the scholars that she sends, ensuring their safety and the safety of any materials they bring with.

Princess Isabeau Valardin will primarily be lending her assistance to this endeavor (in Phase 3) by using her considerable charm and skill in persuasion and propaganda to get the word out to the people that the great Archive's enriched texts are available and that the Scholars of Vellichor can guide everyone, high or low, rich or poor, to greater understanding of their world and the vast knowledge contained within.

Lark is opening the Grayson library to the Scholars, and spending her own time overseeing and directing efforts of scribes to copy their works.

While waiting to offer what aid he can for the protection of contents, Aleksei will also reach out to his the vague network he's beginning to form of those freed or aided in their freedom by the Liberators of Skald. Plenty of ex-thralls served in administrative capacities, and he'll kindly ask if they'd be willing to help the Scholars in their various local parishes. Hopefully it will provide some additional manpower for the copying of books and journals to be conducted under the local Godsworn at these various parishes.

Cicero is promising the scholars the use of the Silver Consortiums contacts and networking of infrastructure for moving about the Compact and keeping their scribes supplied as needed.

Deacon will focus his efforts on Phase 3. As a composer of some small renown, he will write a short series of ballads to promote the knowledge contained within the walls of the Archives. The goal will be to help popularize the pursuit of knowledge on the cultural level. Once he's written the music, he will make it available to every bard and performer whom he can convince to take it.

Samael will open up Pridehall libraries and provide military escorts for the Scholars coming to and leaving Pridehall. In addition to that in Phase 3 Samael will help to disseminate information using his oratory skills.

Sasha will in Phase 1 and Phase 2, she is able to reproduce and also translate many texts should the need be there. She is also a very good teacher as well so she will also assist with Phase 3 when the time comes.

Lucita, with her love of music, has been collecting old songs and legends through trading them with other musicians and travelers, bards and music lovers in the taverns, inns, bars and during social events in Arx. Many of these serve as oral history and some have not been documented. This she does and helps contribute to the overall effort toward Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Sebastian will be assisting in accompanying scholars to provide protection and whatever other assistance is needed as they travel throughout the Lyceum to various smaller locations. He will assist in acquiring passage through the lands and courts with which he is familiar, particularly around Setarco and the surrounding isles. He will also assist in locating the smaller repositories of knowledge, acquiring the information and documents required, and seeing their return to Arx during Phase 1. He will also work to help with transcription and the reproduction of drawings and other artistic work contained within the documents acquired during Phase 2. During Phase 3, he will help with the public relations campaign to help promote the use of the Archives and the future expansion of the knowledge contained therein through art and social engagements.

Juliana will be helping Sebastian and the accompanying scholars to provide protection and healing as well as any other assistance is needed as they travel throughout the Lyceum to various smaller locations. She will assisting him in acquiring passage through the lands and courts with which they are familiar, particularly around Setarco and the surrounding isles. She will also assist him in finding the smaller repositories of knowledge and in acquiring the information and documentation, to see that they are returned to Arx during Phase 1. She will also try to help with the work of transcription of the documents acquired during Phase 2. During Phase 3, She will help with the public relations campaign to help promote the use of the Archives and the future expansion of the knowledge contained therein through art and social engagements.

Orathy will be helping Sebastian and Juliana Pravus during the course of the events. He's particularly good at flanking the enemies if there are any, his fighting style coming from the shadows rather than direct assault, therefore, scouting might be his thing. He'll shield Sebastian and Juliana while on mission, body guarding for them.

Nierzen sets to work writing propaganda in support of Phase 3 to move the hearts of people to favour and support the work and effort. He aims propaganda at nobles, motivating them to generously give silver to the Scholarly work, and he aims propaganda at the residents of the Boroughs, moving them to cooperate and even go out of their way to help collect stories and information. In all things, his propaganda tugs at the ideals of duty, faith, and self interest.

The Great Archival Project of 1007 AR causes a complete uproar. In every corner of the Compact, people turn up to add books to the archives, to add knowledge to the archives. To make copies of precious books and send them on. To spread the word - if you need information, your best hope is to find it in the Archives. High Lords and Nobles have opened their libraries. The Templars and the Knights of Solace, as well as many guards hired by various families across Arvum are moving to preserve knowledge and see it safely from the far corners of the Compact into Arx itself. It's a huge project, and under Archscholar Bianca's watchful eye, an incredibly successful one.

Tomes once thought lost are found, copied, and brought to Arx under guard. People are encouraged to come to Arx to seek knowledge. Learn from the Archives of Vellichor, learn from our tutors, our Scholars. Knowledge is available, free for the asking.

Fatima found slight in the betrayal of the Isles Canines when they abandoned Thrax in the wake of Dominic's death. She found injury in their taking up with Port Defiance. Neither of these are conditions that the princess can leave alone, especially if the sellsails might sully the good name of House Thrax - either by showing how easy it is to escape their grasp with impugnity or through their actions and association with Thrax through their former master, Dominic. Action, then, must be taken.

Fatima is organizing a watch of the docks for when the dromond appears so she can set into action the following (with helper actions for each part, listed below):
* Edward will lead Thrax forces to take the Dromond. He'll be aided by Iron Guard forces so that, with overhwhelming force, we might minimize violence.
* Iron Guard will pick up the crew on shore leave.
* Thrax ships will prevent escape (Faelan in command) and take the Isles Canines longship if it doesn't dock. Harald will back up this action as well.

* Halsim will continue to investigate for proof of treason.

* Samael is making sure this is all legal.
* Alaric is king and does what he wants.

* Fatima, then, will go to the bankers and lay claim to all funds and resources of the Isles Canines.

Princess Fatima has laid out the role she would like Edward to play in taking the Dromond. With 50 Infantry and 35 Infantry in Reserve he will wait for the timing of the taking of the Dromond. Either at sunset or sunrise when the ship activity is to be the lowest and will permit the men to get on the ship without raising an immediate alarm. The primary goal is to take the Captain under arrest. Any who resist will be put to the sword. Those who surrender will be taken captive and handed off to House Thrax on charges of mutiny and sedition. As far as Edward knows this is an internal matter of House Thrax resolving itself and the House is handling all other legalities and thus Iron Guard who arrive will be permitted to observe but not intervene.

Samael was consulted on the legal position Princess Fatima has and he has agreed to oversee her actions pro gratis, so that a conflict doesn't present itself considering he is the Acting Chief Magistrate of the Court of the Crown. The matter is likely Thrax business and they have the legal grounds to execute their legal authority but if it were to come to something Samael might be expected to rule on he would be obligated to recuse himself for conflicting interest. Samael's role is simply making sure everything is legal and above reproach.

Faelan is going to be commanding the detachment of longships trying to prevent the escape of former Isles Canines ships when they dock at Arx.

Harald has detached a few ships to support the recapture of the renegade vessels. He will take a supporting role, leaving command of the initial operation to Edward and Faelan. If called upon by the commanders, or if the mercenary ships look to be in danger of escape, he and his men will step in.

Calaudrin will be helping capture the thieves that Princess Fatima is after. He'll lead groups of the Iron Guard through the city in the event that they make it to shore and will be certain to put an arrow in the knee of any would be adventurer that thinks it's okay to break the law. Because it's not, it's really not.

Halsim takes the time to help the team, cleaning up operational details with intelligence work on his and other 'friends' parts. Using bribery, stealth, and old fashioned observation, Halsim will try to take as much of the guesswork out of things as possible.

In the run-up to the operation Alaric will be stopping by some of the Guard platoons and crews expected to be involved in the interdiction to give them a little royal pep talk, tell them how great a job they're doing, how proud he is of them, how this operation will be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the Crown's strength and ability to provide security for Arx and its vassal houses, and so on basically topping up unit morale for any necessary action to come.

Silas will be commanding the Iron Guardsmen being used to help apprehend the traitorous sellswords, like a good Lord Commander. He will assign experienced Lieutenants to help him with this particular endeavor, alongside Ainsley and Calaudrin, as well as guardsmen who may have passing familiarity with mercenary companies and sailing. There will be more emphasis on capturing than killing, but his men will defend themselves, obviously.

Ainsley will be organizing a battalion of Iron Guard for this operation. Gathering men who have experience in this sort of situation and getting them prepared and out. He'll be assigning 500- roughly 10 platoons in a single battalion -of the Iron Guard infantry so that there are plenty of IG on the mission to handle the arrests that may/will come up.

Per Alaric's request, the Inquisition has a few lovely little cells set aside for some of the prospective prisoners. Laric and some inquisitors will be treating each of them to 'amiable chats' (thorough interrogations) over 'good food' (bland bread) and 'fine tea' (actually the most bitter of coffees). They'll be released to House Thrax afterwards.

Every once in a while, things go well. Suspiciously well. As if there is divine, karmic counterbalance to everything that happened recently in Stormward, for example. The ships could have escaped. But they didn't- the dromond never got underway, and the two longships were politely guided back to the harbor by Harald and Faelan's ships. There could have been overwhelming violence and a massive political incident with the crownsworn being horrified at House soldiers of the Isles fighting crownsworn in the streets. But full Iron Guard support made certain it never happened. There was several dozen mercenaries aboard each ship, but when a full five hundred iron guardsmen showed up along with the Inquisition, the Lord Commander of the Iron Guard, two of his most trusted, and seventy five house troops under Lord Edward, none of the mercenaries were all that eager to die and surrendered without a fight.

Now, they probably would not have done that if they were aware that they could be charged with treason for dealing with Abandoned, and none of them knew that this was anything more tha a dispute over possession of the Black Diamond, Dominic's ship, which they all suspected the moment they saw Thrax troops. There's loud protests as they are handed over to the Inquisition for questioning.

With the thrax men on the ships, the ships are now back under Fatima's control, with her ganing possession of the recent ledgers of the mercenary company. ((Clue sent to Laric for his questioning, Fatima made back in charge of Isles Canines, army under her command that could be moved wherever))

With House Kennex having abolished thralldom within its borders and ships and ships going there to bring back anyone who wants to leave, it's probably safe to assume a nice chunk of those newly freed thralls are going to end up in Arx. And those people will be looking for work! And for those people, there's the Iron Guard. They'll be hanging around, happy to direct anyone (without a significant history of ugly criminal behavior of course!) to their barracks. Where there will be (kind of lumpy) cots, food (cooked by Sparte?!) and plenty of training by reasonably seasoned guardsmen. Calaudrin will be one of people taking those thralls in and teaching them the ropes of being a guard. Hopefully it won't go too poorly.

Sparte is aiding Calaudrin by taking time to get to know the people joining the guard and, perhaps just as importantly, talk to them about their life ahead now that they're out of Thralldom. While he'll see to food for the thralls he expects he'll learn as many recipes as he shares with them, and perhaps will take a different view from most others - Kennex lands were their homes, and still can be. They are free, and should be treated fairly, but that doesn't mean they need to leave the lands they once loved. If anything, they now have a voice to make those lands better. He'll also lend his skill to helping train them.

Sparte will advocate for allowing them to leave the guard and return home should they wish it, even if that is a loss of resources to the guard for having trained a guardsman who doesn't end up serving.

Silas has helped recruit displaced peoples into the Guard before, and will happily provide any law-abiding Thralls room and board in addition to training if they desire to join the ranks of the Iron Guard. They will be held to the same standard as every other guardsmen, but Silas will make sure they're welcome within the barracks in hope they will appreciate belonging to 'family' of sorts.

Once their basic training is complete, their strengths and weaknesses will be assessed and they will be placed under the tutelage of a senior guardsman who specializes in the skill sets they may be interested in.

Among the surge in refugees in Arx, a fair number decide that the Iron Guard is the life for them. For many, it's greatly empowering, since some see it as joining the military that everyone in the Isles would have to answer to. So the good news is that they have a surge in recruits. The bad news is some iron guardsmen might have strong biases against anyone from the Isles, and they might need to keep an eye out on new guardsmen trying to abuse Isles commoners in Arx.

Lord Commander Silas Whitehawk has donated 50k to Mae Culler's soup kitchen, and will be sending volunteers -- primarily Iron Guard trainees -- to help serve meals to the needy with the intention to help improve relations between the Iron Guard and the denizens of the Lowers. They're here to help! Veteran members of the Guard are also encouraged to join if their schedules permit (and they'll be attached to this request).

They have been ordered to leave their weapons at the Barracks and to wear only plain cotton clothes. Should there be a physical altercation of some sort, they are encouraged to use their fists if they must defend themselves, but are greatly encouraged to try de-escalation tactics first!

Additionally, Silas will allow Dash the Guard Corgi to visit to entertain the elderly and the children who drop by. Guests are encouraged -not- to give him their food...

(This is a Vox-related storyrequest if that isn't obvious!)

Mae is always on hand, and this will be no exception. While present, she's going out of her way to encourage her people to talk to the guard, to get to know them, to build a bit of rapport. She'll likely be policing the guards, should any of them get particularly bristly or forget they're here to help. And if they do? Oh, Mae will come down on them like a-... No, she'll tattle to Silas.

Rymarr is prepared to go full Hell's Kitchen on this. Gordon Ramsey it up a bit. Okay, not really to that extreme. But he will dutifully follow orders, rock his little comfortable crimson-and-gray striped apron, hair net it up, and go unarmed to serve food to some commoners of the Lower Boroughs. Unarmed may be a misnomer. He'll have a frying pan close at hand, no doubt.

Calaudrin isn't thrilled work in a kitchen, but he'll it's for a good cause so he's down with helping. That and he can't exactly shake his finger at the new recruits for not doing enough community service if he isn't.

The Iron Guard mobilizes to the Lower Boroughs, and this time it's not to perform any ill-advised nosings about. Though initially they are greeted with downright suspicion, it turns out that Lord Commander Silas, Marquis Rymarr, and Calaudrin Estardes are headed to Mae's Soup Kitchen to help serve food to the lowers. It takes a bit to calm suspicions, especially with Marquis Rymarr Deepwood wielding that frying pan - but under the watchful eyes of Mae Grayhope, no violence breaks out. She's everywhere all at once, here calming a scrappy kid named Vitus as he thinks about setting his ratters on the guard, there making friends with a newer Iron Guard named Vasily who just doesn't understand why things are so tense. In the end, people were fed and the Iron Guard didn't start a fight - and didn't look for one either. It's not all joined hands singing around a collective campfire, but it's a start.

Reese would like to organize scouting parties to hopefully subtly track the actions of the slaver and/or his minions in the Gray Forest. Her intention is not to be noticed by the slaver (although she is not sure if such is possible). She would like to look for the following. 1. The location of any hostile Shav forces, including how close they are to Compact or Grayson lands. 2. Into any stories, reports or evidence of attacks by the slaver or his minions against those living in the forest and/or on the outlaying Graysin lands. 3. The presence of any abyss tainted animals or plants. She is especially interested in looking into the presence of wasps, wolf packs, tainted bears and etc. 4. The state and condition of the land. 5. Any signs of the slaver.

She would like to encourage the parties she sends out to remain as subtle and discrete as possible. They will have orders to retreat from any overwhelming odds and to quietly clean up threats only if they think can win. This is primarily and info gathering venture. Reese is overseeing the missions, taking reports from scouts, but not heading out herself. She feels that sometimes a good leader doesn't do all the things herself. Sh also feels like she is not stealthy and subtle enough for this. She will include pcs who seem suited to the task and some Grayson npc tasks. I hope to run prps for those joining the scouting missions.

Aiden would help with the scouting and the archers

Samael has offered up the Bisland army on a volunteer basis as per General Reese's insistence on this mission being strictly volunteer only. The Bisland army will support the Grayson army and/or act as reserve units. Samael makes a passionate speech to the army attempting to encourage volunteers without coercion.

Approved to run - sent @mail to Reese with some additional suggestions.

Silas orders his men assigned to the Lower Boroughs patrol to comb the area for clues which may provide insight on who attacked Lady Titania Kennex at the Beach Walk and their possible motivation. The Iron Guard will seek out witnesses who may have seen what had happened, including Torian's 'workers' (with his permission!). The Shrine of Mangata will also get a once over, though they are instructed to be mindful of the worshippers there.

The Thatchers were rumored to be potential suspects, and Silas and a handful of his men will approach the head of the family with questions about where they were that night, if they are willing to take an interview.

Something weird is going on with this. There's rumors that someone named Walsh loosely affiliated with the Thatchers might be responsible, but when looking into the Lower Boroughs, there's no sign of someone named Walsh living down there. Actually, there's no sign of any Walshes anywhere in Arx, which with the better part of a million people in the city at times, -no- one by that name is weird. Really weird.

Under the command of First Lieutenant Calaudrin and Lord Commander Silas, the Iron Guard takes possession of a dozen small wooden boats to go out and attempt to fish out any survivors in the harbor, as well as begin to collect bodies of those lost in the harbor disaster. They will use paddles and ropes to assist, and will avoid getting into the freezing water themselves for obvious reasons.

    The bodies will be moved to the Commons Medical Clinic for cleaning and identification.

Vox post up!

Silas begins a recruitment drive in the Iron Guard aimed towards refugees who may be in need of work. It extends throughout the city, but particular interest is given to the wards of House Malvici, House Saik, and House Deepwood -- all of whom have expressed interest in having the Iron Guard Lord Commander visit for that particular purpose. Additionally, there is a slight uptick in guard activity within those areas as a result.

(OOC: I agreed to do this for Hadrian so why not.)

Vox post up, increased the size of the Iron Guard by 2500, this will increase Arx's upkeep costs.

I would like to attempt the Vox Populi reputation change thing. Dedicating 75 social and 50 economic resources towards this one. Thank you! --- In addition to Calaudrin's other duties as First Officer of the Iron Guard he's also been dedicating his time to helping out the less fortunate in the lower boroughs. He's helped organize one charity drive under the Iron Guard, humorously referring to this as as 'the Iron Charity'. With the assistance of other watchmen he's collected, organizied and donated the goods and silver to orphanages and families with children who suffered during the siege. He's also been spotted helping citizens with mundane tasks that just need an extra hand. A lot of boots on the ground time has been spent attempting to build a better relationship between his organization and himself in the lower boroughs.

Calaudrin is not the most charming individual in the world, and he might need someone talented in social skills to get the word out for him. That said, his efforts are still noticed, and earn him some warm regard. Vox post up.

    Silas will be equipping his men with the best arms and armor available to him.

    Using his mercantile connections, he will begin urging traders to supply foodstuffs to local shelters within the Boroughs and in the Compact ward - this includes the Mercier Shelter.

    His men are ordered to start preparing for a city siege. Town criers are paid to begin urging people to exit the Lower Boroughs for their own safety and to find housing further into the city (away from the walls).

    Silas will begin training the new recruits he has received via successful recruitment drive in earnest. Ainsley, Merek, Ywaine, Agnarr, and himself will split the load with Ainsley being the one primarily in charge of the program. With Calliope's/Grimhall's assistance in donating armor, as well as supplementing it with funding from the Iron Guard's own coffers, he intends to get them well-equipped and ready for battle. (there will be a +donation to Iron Guard Training Program to accompany this)
    Presenting vague siege plans!

Silas - Walls, Infantry (wielding spears, blades, shields), Command
Ainsley - ...
Michael - Walls, Infantry (wielding spears, blades, shields), Command
Calaudrin - Walls, Archers (wielding longbows, flaming arrows, blades), Command
Calathane - Walls, Archers (wielding longbows, flaming arrows, blades)
Serafine - Lower Borough/Docks parameter, Infantry (wielding blades, shields)
Reese - Will be with the Dominus's group
Merek - Graveyard/Lower Borough guard parameter, Infantry (wielding blades, shields)
Sparte - Hall of Heroes guard parameter, Infantry (wielding blades, shields)
Harper - Ward of the Crown guard paramater, Infantry (wielding blades, shields)

    Silas will attempt to recruit 5000 additional men (instead of the initial plan to recruit 10000, though it will still presumably cost 100 silver per man) and have them equipped and trained by himself, Ywaine, Agnarr, and Calaudrin. Since Ainsley has more or less locked himself in his room now, he will no longer be doing the training program as intended.

    He will be using ballistae and flaming arrows against the Bringers as they approach the walls. He's betting on fire being particularly lethal against undead flesh (of course he may be surprised!). Silas, Michael, and Calaudrin are given command powers over the troops.

    Then when is all is said and done he'll go drink heavily upon realizing Ainsley's not coming back and he's forever alone!

    (OOC: Additional note - the recruits will be used for the siege only, primarily, though some will presumably be kept on the payroll to replenish the numbers initially lost in Everard's betrayal. Iron Guard will have bolstered numbers for the siege, then hopefully will be back to full initial strength afterwards.)

(OOC: Also use the 1000 econ/mil resources pls if you can, not the silver. I like having money to equip people. ;_;)

    Merek is reassigned and placed in an active duty role assisting with the protection of people within the city direct. When the battle starts, he will be in charge of finding citizens safe places away from the fighting.

    Prince Tristram is taking over Merek's previous assignment. He will be guarding the Catacomb entrances with the men assigned to the Graveyard parameter (approximately 75 men).

    Actually, just default to Tristram's attached action and nix the above. He's doing that thing.

    Tristram's -appended assist-: Tristram is giving anything dangerous in the catacombs that is already *there* (undead, mysterious areas, anything else dangerous) a *wide* berth. There is zero desire to engage with or investigate or poke around down there or disturb the temple(s)?, the Labyrinth (?), the undead or anything else down there. The goal here is solely to be a response team *in the event* that portions of the Bringer army, or Tolamar Brand, attempt to use the catacombs, the sewers or any underground route to move undetected through the city or dig in underneath the walls.

Calliope has been tasked by her Uncle to aid in the war effort by supplying arms and armour to Lord Commander Silas Mercier. Price isn't an object, she's to ensure that he get them.

Merek Black will be taking Meeka with him and teaching members of the Guard the ways of combat, and in addition to that, he will also be assisting in making them basic weapons in supplement to what is already being supplied. He is hopeful that with these actions, he will assist the others in preparing the Guard for what is to come, if the siege manages to reach the city. He understands that just because they have new recruits, doesn't mean they are well-trained for what needs be done.

Will be helping the archers in group volley tactics along with sharpening their skills, more strength to pull as aiming won't be so much a problem and a whole army at the walls makes it hard to miss anyway. With Silas's direction to take command of half the archer's the iron guard has for this operation and showing them the effectiveness of fire. All in the preparation of the siege that is expected to come.

Calaudrin will be reaching out to the new recruits and taking anyone with a penchent for archery and helping them fine hone their skills before the siege. While raining down a sea of flaming arrows is all well and good, there might be a time during this confrontation where the ability to take a more measured shot could be prove invaluable.

Sparte is patrolling the Hall of Heroes, and has taken an interest in having flasks of oil and lanterns ready on patrol. Both blessed as able. Holy water is also desired for completeness of precautions, but Sparte is inclined to think holy oil will have a more satisfying result. When it comes to training the new recruits, he has a familiarity with the countryside that helps him to work with those not from the city itself. He does his best to help get them situated and motivated, though he isn't that experienced yet himself.

Tristram, along with a contingent of Iron Guard and a small band of Valardin troops as well as his panther Sasha, will be patrolling *underneath* the city and at the walls. Giving the undead of the catacombs a wide berth as best he can, he will be watching for intrusions and tunnels coming in from the outside. He will maintain contact with those on the surface via messenger relays to make certain they can reposition forces as necessary in the event of an underground breach. If there is a major incursion inside the city--if the enemy gets past the walls--he will move to address that concern. Prior to this, however, he will be keeping vigil and praying in the Shrine of Gloria until such time as the patrols must commence.

All noted! The attack will most likely be live GM'd, so this will all be accounted for when the siege starts (and the resources deducated for the bolstering of the guard).

Docks & Lower Boroughs Defense

There are two halves to this defense:
1: protecting commerce during the siege, and 2: military defense of the waterfront and Lower Boroughs. Initial reports suggest Brand's army will focus its attack against the city walls, but the waterfront and Lower Boroughs are being prepared to repel a heavy assault, just in case.  This defense is focused on approaches to the Graveyard.

Part I: Protecting Commerce
-Iron Guard as harbormasters, overseeing typical daily business.
-3 companies of Crimson Blades as on-call muscle/enforcers for IG.
-Isles warriors on land kept in reserve for combat situations, to minimize tensions with Crownsworn.
-Mourning Isles longships will patrol the adjacent coast in squadrons no smaller than 6, to escort incoming merchants, disrupt enemies along the shore outside the city, and intercept any seagoing Shavs before they reach harbor, or at least give advance warning if a large enemy attack is inbound from the water.

Part 2: Military defense (tl;dr: if there's no attack planned for the Lower Boroughs, you can skip this stuff)
-Fortifications: barricades, wagons with blocked wheels as gates, etc., able to quickly block all approaches to the Graveyard, with heaviest defenses prepared along the River's Edge/Crows Lane and Rivers Mouth/Commons Square routes.
-Stacks of large stones and bags of arrows stashed on rooftops overlooking approach to main barricades.  Fresh shields, bandages, drink, and rare vials of holy water at resupply points falling back on the Graveyard, in the event the waterfront defense fails.  A large reserve force of Grimhall warriors will be kept in Commons Square under Harald's personal command.
-Regarding Tolamar Brand: if an ominous evil figure in black armor that ISN'T Thraxian is spotted, standing orders are to thin out his escorts as much as possible and send word to the Five Paladins. Some will inevitably take doomed shots at Brand, if he appears.  It's a Mourning Isles thing.

Assisting at the Docks:

Part 1) Calaudrin will join the Iron Guard overseeing daily business in the harbor. His goal will be to maintain order despite the on-going tension of the siege. He'll insist (as politely as he can manage) on thorough inspections of the boats and any cargo that's unloaded into Arx. Despite his not always sunny disposition, he'll make an honest effort to put the citizens of Arx at ease and to feel supported by the Iron Guard. Everyone will be encouraged to be extra alert and stay together in groups or at the least pairs, lest a bringer or shav attack unfold by surprise or in the ugly event of a riot.

Part 2) In the event of an attack, Calaudrin is drilling a team of experienced archers to race to the top of the barricades and make surgical shots. Their goal won't be merely raining arrows down on the enemy but to make precise shots in order to cover those fighting on the ground.
Part 3) Additionally, Calaudrin will be venturing amongst the refugees and other lower boroughs residents to offer aid from the Iron Guard and attempt to recruit those who are willing to join and fight. He is to turn over those he recruits to Serafine for training.

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Captain Lady Merida has a ship and a fearsome crew and is cruising for danger with both swords, baby! WOO! She’s patrolling the harbor and coasts, escorting merchant ships into port, and keeping watch for Shav vessels and landing parties trying to enter the harbor. WITH TWO SWORDS!

Being a former Thrall Sameera is a little wary about the seige and so she is spending idle time seeing if she can find a stable way to get out of the city via underground passages. She is using her investigative skills to do this and a lot of talking to her shells (because that is what Sameera does). She is also keeping an eye out for passages that can be altered once passed through so they can be changed should it need to be done. She will definitely be watching for anything that could be considered a ritual, just in case it is a threat, or sometihng of the occult variety. She'll be a little more focused in Thrax areas for these things but she will also be looking in other places. Anything she finds she will report to Harald, since he is in charge of defense stuff. Esepcially if it is something that poses a risk.

Prince Dominic Thrax is returning his dogs from the battles with the bringers up the river to the gates of Arx to assist Lord Harald Grimhall in not only identifying them, as the dogs have developed a taste for bringers and have been trained to spot bringers in disguised. Lord Harald will get Prince Dominic as a Houndmaster alongside the prince's own houndmaster to operate dogs at the waterfront and lower borough.



Prince Dominic Thrax is ordering his dogs to deploy from the field back to Arx to support Lord Harald Grimhall's operation in the docks and lower borough. The dogs have been trained to detect bringers in disguised and have developed a taste for the creatures. As a result, they were instrumental in Dominic's assaults and can be used as accessories to patrol security or as an offensive move to flush them out. The dogs come with houndmasters separated into "packs", they respond to Prince Dominic Thrax who in turn reports to Lord Harald Grimhall.

Lady Lianne Pravus, as Voice of the Stormborn, is routing half of Nilanza's fleet from their return to the home waters toward Arx instead to assist with defense of the shore and waterways, including assisting with the regular patrols and escorts for merchant ships. Wheresoever they're needed, they'll follow orders well, deferring to the leadership and judgment of their liege's admiral Alrec Magaldi should there ever be questions or conflict about orders.

The third of Setarco's fleet that was retained for defense during the Gyre action is summoned to Arx; they have not thus far seen conflict. As well, a number of the ships that were previously heading home will instead be diverted to Arx's defense, bringing the total to half of Setarco's fleet, arriving in two waves. Vassals will be instructed to participate, as well, though it is not insisted that they send their ships before the rest of their fleet reaches home. They will be placed in Admiral Alrec Magaldi's command, and he has been placed in Harald Grimhall's command. The command structure as is will be respected; Alrec will be responsible for the assignments given to her fleet.

Alrec has once more taken over his role of the Admiral of Pravus' naval forces. As such, Belladonna has put him in charge of the Setarco fleet at her command; her captains are reporting to him and he, in turn, will be reporting to Lord Harald Grimhall. His contribution on this is rather simple. First and foremost -- and truthfully there should be an ease given his pirating history to do this -- he will be intercepting all merchant ships approaching the Arx. They will be inspected, the cargo examined, the history of them and name of buyers sought. His ships will carry enough mirrors so that he can try to find any Bringers aboard. Security detail. Secondly, he will be scouting the coasts as he can, looking for movement of Brand's army. Any news would be swiftly relayed to his liege. Finally, any other commands that Harald offers forth, within reason and not counter to Belladonna's own interests, will be complied to without delay.

After coming across some brigands in a tunnel near the Dockyard, Thena shares details of the tunnel and of the map that one of the brigands dropped. The map itself was delivered to Commander Silas, but Thena was able to get a good look at it and can offer some insights on where the tunnels lead, aiding in identifying defense points in the event of an attack.

Mae will be working alongside the Iron Guard, and focusing on providing intelligence and covert assistance. She doesn't look Iron Guard, and very few people know she's working with them, so she will hopefully be able to pick up intel the others can't, and get into places the others can't, and ultimately root out Brand's infiltrators.

Orathy is working side by side with Lord Harald to rig up the Lower Boroughs and the Upper Boroughs with the second round of defenses, going over thorough plans of the slums and pointing out weaknesses and vantage points, and tactical strong holds. Like the first time rolling out gurellia tactics, traps will be set. Thraxian fire will be used for the supply that Grimhall gets. Pinch points will be better manned by a combination of Lowers men and Grimhall Soldiers. Working cooperatively offers a better advantage over any threat that breaks through the lines. Orathy will be acting as the point man for the Lowers fighting force, once again, preparing 'squads' for sabotage against the enemy and readying them to deploy in the strategems in which Harald and Orathy have worked out.

Valdemar will command a squadron of six longships on patrol off the adjacent coast. The six ships and their men have been with the Compact's army since Pridehall (none of these are the ships that sailed with Valdemar to battle the servants of the Gyre). The squadron will carry out the duties listed in the first half of the defense: Part I: Protecting Commerce. They will also rain down unholy hell, arrows and some really stinging insults on any unknown vessels, enemies, monsters, or beasties that attempt to pass them and approach the docks and Lower Boroughs.

The Iron Guard has now been given the authority by the Court to arrest any ship captain who refuses inspection under suspicion of smuggling, and to seize their assets until the siege is lifted. Those who wish entry into the city are required to obey all lawful orders from their escorts and the harbor masters.

Max is assisting in the efforts by keeping commerce flowing. Using Black Mountain convoy defense and elements of the Darkwater fleet for scouting possible threats, he works to make sure that food and supplies keep flowing from across Arvum into arx. Cooperating with the harbor master, efforts are made to keep ships in a berth the very least amount of time possible, with bonuses paid for the roustabout crew that unloads tonnage the fastest.

Ulfric will remain close to his liege and their vessels to provide additional organization of commerce-based defenses. He will happily offer assistance to any retinue preparing for voyage or move on board himself, as well as directing vessels and advice in strategizing patrols. He will stay hands-on for whatever else he may be needed for, at the Darkwater's beck and call.

As requested by Lord Harald Grimhall, Carita will use her outstanding Lower Boroughs connections that she had as Carita Brightshore (as the youngest in a family of seven - this means there is a lot of extended family) to persuade the common folk that the Thrax are indeed there to offer aid. With those connections (hand in velvet glove), she uses the diplomacy and persuavie refinement learned as a courtesan to make sure that those she speaks with are truly motived for their shared cause.

Archene is supplying some healing supplies to one of the caches placed through the defenses. He is also standing by in case he is needed to administer such supplies.

Seva will be placing healing supplies in the various caches that have been set up, and standing ready as a healer herself, if needed. Her own charity based shop will be offering it’s wares to those involved for free during the time of crisis.

Leta is going to be assisting the Iron Guard by tagging along with Serafine in the Lower Boroughs. She's a local so she knows her way around, more or less, and a shortcut or two, so they can rush to any hot spots as needed. Also, she can fight and not much more, so that's what she'll be doing. In case of Bringers, she'll mostly focus on the Shavs or help prove distractions for Serafine to do the stabbing with her fancy sword. Also, Leta has composed some rude folk songs making fun of Brand, and these will surely help with morale!

Serafine and Leta are a great team; Leta knows the boroughs even better than Serafine who patrols them, Leta having lived there her whole life. It means that when it comes to defending the boroughs, Serafine is the muscle and speed and silent attacker, and Leta takes her to all the best places to hide, scout, sneak, and strike.

While it's not a huge response, it's bound to be an effective one; both women have experience working together, both have been in combat situations together, and both have fought Bringers and their Shavs successfully. And both are devoted to the well-being and honor of the other.

Unless given orders otherwise, Serafine would continue to patrol the lowers as is her peace-time duty, defending should the need arise with Leta patroling with her. So with Serafine wielding a diamondplate sword, she's the one taking point and attacking the Bringers and defending those citizens that need it, trusting her Leta to take out the Shavs that might linger about. They use their combined knowledge of the area together to find the best spots to attack from, hide, and so on.

Tagging along with her are the recruited guards Calaudrin and Silas have given her to train, Serafine teaching what she can with the aid of Leta, and then helping them learn on the fly as they patrol the city. This starts as soon as she gets them and will continue on into what battles and invasions that happen, defending them as need be but mostly as support to help them learn through experience; the best kind of teacher. After Leta, of course.

Donella and her shield-laddies (guards) are manning a section of the interior walls between the boroughs and the Thrax ward, acting as a sort of crow's nest with spyglass in hand. From such a raised vantage, she hopes to be able to observe the fighting, and COMMAND a reserve force of Thrax men-at-arms, broken up as needed, to reinforce the most vulnerable areas (200 mil resources), and/or deliver word of critical developments-- like a sighting of Brand or spotting the necessary opening the city is waiting for, to the powers that be, in the name of her high lord. And herself, of course.

Dagon will lend his military might and strategic command to the conflict at hand. He heavily relies on his military advisor Harald for direction. Seemingly distracted by something. However he does provide the troops a rousing speech and a keen sense of command.

The preparations for the defense of the harbor and Lower Boroughs go well. While there are some attempted attacks upon commerce, the Grimhall, Darkwater, and Nilzana vessels never truly are challenged significantly, and under Admiral Alrec's guidance there doesn't seem to be a whiff of bringers slipping into the city by boat or much losses dockside. There's no repeat of the harbor attack before the siege began, in large part due to all their efforts. The tunnel entrances to the Lower Boroughs are guarded, and the lower city is well patrolled and prepared for any attack in the coming battle.

((The battle will be live GMing, and the AP and resources factored into reduced difficulty for all involved. All contributions will be factored into the coming fight, whether characters are physically present or not.))

Silas is gathering artisans from his barony - primarily masons and carpenters - and sending them off to build small shrines dedicated to Mangata along the White Mountain River and the Gray River. A small contingent of soldiers (about 20) is dispatched to guard them and dissuade brigands from attacking. His steward, Eshken, will be entrusted with reaching out to other counties and baronies to help aid and expedite constuction.

Sister Thena dispatches three Godsworn agents of the Knights of Solace (cost: 50 military units from Solace org) and contributes 10k of her personal income to the building and blessing of the new riverside shrines.

Eshken will assist with organizing Silas' selected artisans and soldiers before sending messengers to the other holdings and villages dotted along the rivers, in the hopes of persuading them to aid in the construction. In addition, he'll reach out to a few men of the pantheon, hoping their goodwill will be enough to motivate them in aiding the godly effort.

Lieutenant Calaudrin Estardes of the Iron Guard is happy to assist Baron Whitehawk, since he's his boss (and comrade) and possibly something about 'needing a vacation'. He'll help guard the workers along with the other solidiers as well as keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Not because he necessarily suspects something but well... okay, he /always/ suspects something.

Lady Stonewood has agreed to send materials and fifty Wardens to help safeguard the craftsman and stonemasons while they erect the shrines along the Rivers. In exchange, the Baron's people will work to erect the shrines and statues in Stonewood lands, continuing all along the Gray River. Arianna has made arrangements with Baron Whitehawk in regards to the trade between their Houses. Seeing how this combined effort will benefit them both.

In Farhaven and the surrounding area, Darren will be calling for Shamans and Faithful alike to band together and build small shrines to Mangata along the rivers and lakes, particularly close to the Red Run. He makes a passionate and implored speech to these people, attempting to inspire them to work together for the betterment of the Compact. Darren himself will assist in building some of the shrines around Farhaven in particular. ((Note: we will be utilizing 200 economic resources and 200 social resources (please take from Redrain Org) in order to assist with this action).

It's an uncertain time right now. The reports from Maelstrom are grim, and more and more people are flocking to shrines of Mangata to pray, to offer gifts, to give thanks and to pray for their loved ones to come home. Under the direction of Baron Silas Whitehawk, small shrines to Mangata have been built all along the White Mountain River and the Gray River - personal shrines but no less beautiful for all their size. In Farhaven, Prince Darren calls for Shaman and the Faithful to band together to build more shrines to the goddess around Red Run. Lady Arianna Stonewood, Sister Thena of the Knights of Solace, and Lieutenant Calaudrin Estardes of the Iron Guard all offer help to protect the craftsmen organized by Eshken Greenblood. The shrines are safe and used - in ones and twos people come to offer prayers to Mangata.