>Regret, remorse even, but no repentance

You look into her eyes as they glaze over and feel regret. Sadness. She was obviously an innocent and had nothing to do with those that wronged you. Hopefully she doesn’t have a family that will miss her. You know that’s the mostly likely scenario for a girl pushing around a cart at this hour in this seedy part of town. You wish you had time to properly pay your respects, but it would be foolish to be caught standing over a girl’s corpse in the middle of all of this chaos. You move on to the jetty at the southern end of the district that serves as your rally point, striding purposefully but not running like a guilty man. The rest of your companions will be doing the same, taking different paths to avoid attracting too much attention. You find your way to the jetty easily enough and within half an hour you’re a group of six again. No injuries, no tails. To your annoyance, a good number of the ships have pulled away from port and created a clusterfuck in the bay. You resolve yourself to waiting until daybreak to sort out your return passage and tell everyone to clean their blades by the water. It won’t do to walk around in the morning reeking of blood.

You return to your impromptu campsite to a small fire with your men huddled about it. One of the cheeky bastards snatched a cask of Vale liquor on his way out and before you know it, you’re all settling in to get piss drunk and watch the rising flames. Before things end up getting too out of hand, you consider the men around you. All of them are amongst the best at what they do. Without question, they’re more capable and accomplished than the average knight and thrice as insane. You may be the only knight of your house right now, but you don’t have to be. Why not knight the lot of them right now?

>Knight them
>Don’t

>>3792361
>>Don’t
Let's wait for a more appropriated moment.

>>3792361
>>Don’t
Let's knight them after something more honorable.

>>3792361
>>Don’t

>>3792361
Could squire them instead

>>3792401
>>3792414
>>3792419
>>3792421 They are all older than you

Okay, calling for Don't!

>Don’t

You end up thinking better of it. You’re not even sure if the older ones would even like the idea of being knighted. The truth is, you’re not in the mood to call for them to swear to protect all women and children after what you just did. Instead you all spend the next few hours draining the cask of firewater while shit talking and story swapping. It’s a welcome distraction from the events of the early evening and you feel like your relationship with your men, at least these men, has improved.

You awake the next morning feeling like the dead reborn. Your head feels like you slept on one of your hatchets, you’re close to vomiting, and it’s much too fucking bright out here. The prospect of spending the better part of a day on a ship sounds worse than taking your chances on another night raid, but you're all more likely to wake up worse if you stay an extra day anyway. There really is little else to do for your lot. You do still have some time before you can reasonably expect to book passage on a ship. The question is, how will you spend it?

>Return to the dock area early. You’re very unlikely to be recognized and may get a better picture of how much damage was done
>See if you can get a little shopping done at the market nearby. No flashing coins at armorers or anything crazy, but Esmeralda’s nameday will be upon you shortly after your return. (If so, I could really use some gift ideas)
>Just lay low and do nothing until you can catch a boat
>Other

>>3792477
>>Just lay low and do nothing until you can catch a boat

>>3792477
>>Just lay low and do nothing until you can catch a boat

>>3792477
>>>Just lay low and do nothing until you can catch a boat
Also for the gift perhaps a necklace with a small emerald?

>>3792477
>>Just lay low and do nothing until you can catch a boat

>>3792477
>>Just lay low and do nothing until you can catch a boat

>>3792483
>>3792486
>>3792497
>>3792509
>>3792595
Just lay low and do nothing until you can catch a boat

You decide not to chance too much exploration and stick to finding a ship that will be passing by the Point. It does take some searching due to the relatively small amount of trade done in your part of the world, but you do manage to find a ship that will be swinging by Dye Den before continuing around the Point to Blackwater Bay. You board the ship a little early instead of loitering around prying eyes. You’re sure someone must be looking for culprits or scapegoats after last night. A good chunk of the area is still smoldering and some of the nearby taverns were hit hard, but you can’t see the extent of all of the damage from here.

You make it back to Dyre Den’s port after nightfall with little incident, having spent most of the trip catching up on some much-needed sleep. Your group heads down to the stables, passing some of those ridiculous pikemen Lord Eustace keeps about. You know he has a taste for the exotic, but they seem so impractical for conflicts on the Point. What does he do with them? Stack them all up on the single dirt road to his castle as a big fuck you to warhorses? At least you don’t have to worry about them invading you, even if talks do sour in the coming months. Perhaps Atia and Tyrra will go over well with him. It’s too bad he’s the only eccentric that comes to mind. You’re honestly not sure what will come of your wedding tournament and what, if anything, you are looking to accomplish other than keeping the knives from your back.

(1/2)

>>3792720
You end up having to wake up a stable boy to unlock the door and grab the mounts you left here. You pay the lad and head on your way, expecting to be back sometime in the morning. You dread this part more than anything. You never stopped to get a gift for Esmeralda or your wife, despite mentioning that possibility before you left. More importantly, you know Atia won’t like what you’ve done. You left to seek some revenge or justice on whichever nobles were involved in the plot against your house and you ended up doing untold damage to the city at large. It goes without saying that many smallfolk had their livelihoods ruined even if they managed to get away from the destruction in time. And you killed an innocent girl with your own hand. Somehow, you feel that will matter to her the most.

But what do you do? So far, you’ve shared everything with her. She knows about Esmeralda’s mother. She knows about your strange experiences. She’s been very open with you about her own past as well. You even came to the realization that you may be in love with her and you have a feeling she feels the same way about you. But you saw the way she was shaking after the close call with the assassin posing as a builder. It’s hard to admit, but you can’t help but feel at least some of her distress was because of how quick you yourself were to turn to violence as an answer. Keeping the worst from her may keep her opinion of you intact, but it could end up making things even worse as well.

>Attempt to keep certain parts of your trip a secret from Atia
>Tell her everything that happened, as you have in the past

>>3792725
>>Attempt to keep certain parts of your trip a secret from Atia

>>3792725
>>Attempt to keep certain parts of your trip a secret from Atia

>>3792725
No secrets tell her everything

>Tell her everything that happened, as you have in the past

>>3792725
>Tell her everything that happened, as you have in the past

>>3792725
>Attempt to keep certain parts of your trip a secret from Atia

>We act distant at first
>wife does not know why.
>But she suspects
>she does a bit of prodding but drops it for now
>gives us space and time to open up
>eventually we tell her bits and pieces
>until she figures out enough to confront us
>when she does, we spill out everything to her in private.

>>3792725
>>Attempt to keep certain parts of your trip a secret from Atia

>>3792725
>>Tell her everything that happened, as you have in the past

Lol, tie vote. I'll keep it open a bit longer then.

>>3792886
I am fine with switching over. The more I think about it we make pick up Pious and I feel like this would be a good IC way to go towards that way.
Also helps us move in is nice. I want to be able to vote before I knock out. Lol

>>3792851
I believe this is me. My iP keeps changing I guess cause in on my cell phone. No idea.
We can with hold a little and keep our wife's faith in us for a little more. Something I guess.

>>3792909
You in an area with overlapping WiFi that you connect to?

>>3792911
Nah been at work the whole time. Havent connected to the wifi. It's strange, havent moved since the thread started. If I'm not wrong >>3792419
I think that's also me. No idea why all the ip adress changes so suddenly.

>>3792923
Wtf lol again.
And I was right that post was mine got the (you) lol
I didnt think my IP adress would change that much being in the same place.

>>3792909
>>3792901
>>3792923
>>3792930
If you want Pious, I feel like it would make more sense to tell her the truth...And stay with your vote.

>>3792945
I would tell her the truth just not right away.
Doing it slowly over the course of a week or a month would also make her more understanding and give us less flak.

No doghouse treatment from her.

Same with knighting the guys, we will knight some of them later on, just not at a campfire.

>>3792901
>>3792909
Oh man. Okay then. Calling it here so I can start writing.

>>3792949
I would personally rather we knight them after a battle or after they did a good job leading the men. Or after a particularly well-fought battle. They've already earned it. But I believe it would mean more to them if we didn't give it to them right after doing something that would be quite the opposite of what a knight should be doing. Leading them all to believe they only earned it due to their dirty work.
Also something like surprises them and do it in front of all of the men in our small army. That way everyone in our small piece of the world knows it and we did it right by them.

>>3792972
We can change the knight ought to something more suited to serving our house and to us.

>>3792972
I agree. Knighting men just because we can kind of defeats the purpose. If the men arn't true knights, the prestige effect of having them sworn to us is kind of lost. And seeing as we're swearing to Cersei, I can see plenty of conflict coming up with opportunity to knight some of our boys in sight of the realm and R'hollor

Can I get 3 rolls of 3d6 for deception?

Rolled 5, 1, 4 = 10 (3d6)

>>3793085
FOR THE LORD OF LIGHT!!

Rolled 5, 1, 5 = 11 (3d6)

>>3793085

Rolled 1, 5, 4 = 10 (3d6)

>>3793085
Remember to spread out the rolls with time.

Rolled 1, 2, 2 = 5 (3d6)

>>3793085

>>3793014
Assuming you meant oath here. I found one to work with that doesn't have any thrice-damned Seven references in it that I'm going off of as the oath Cormaic swore by.

A more prestigious event is definitely something I can work with in the future.
>>3793094
>>3793103
>>3793105 Spreding out the rolls matters? I honestly had no idea. That's interesting.

Oof. Looks like I won't even need to bother with the counter rolls. DC was 13.

>>3793117
>Oof. Looks like I won't even need to bother with the counter rolls. DC was 13.
Was this to decieve our wife?
Because if so
>Choosing a wife skilled in intrigue and diplomacy to shore up our own weaknesses
>Immediately trying to decieve said wife
We deserved to fail this.

File: Atia.jpg (173 KB, 566x479)

173 KB JPG

>Attempt to keep certain parts of your trip as secret from Atia

You arrive back to the heart of the Boggwood around midday to find your family and servants rushing out to meet you. The relief is palpable when it’s clear that everyone made it back in one piece. Atia is smiling ear to ear as she quickly wraps you in a warm embrace before dusting off her dress. You hadn’t exactly had time to change from your cloak and traveler’s garb. She looks up to you, searching your face, and her smile falters briefly. She takes a step back as the others crowd around. Your group ends up going their separate ways after some brief pleasantries. Barth and the greybeards are off to do whatever the fuck they do. Aodhan is probably going to freshen up and go to that servant girl he thinks no one knows about.

Your first priority is a nice hot and hearty meal. It’s greatly appreciated after a week of hard breads and dried meats. You catch your mother and Atia up on the basics of what you did, but you make a point to leave out the worst details, especially what you did to the cart girl. Your mother doesn’t seem particularly bothered, but you notice Atia is less cheerful and more distant than you’re used to, especially considering this is the first time you’ve been apart in your six weeks of marriage. You head back upstairs to your chambers to wash away the dirt of your travels.

Atia follows you. She regards you with an unusual expression from her chair after you settle into your bath before speaking at last, “so, husband, how was the rest of your trip? I would love to hear more of Gulltown. I’ve been there many times, you see, and of course you didn’t just show up and set a fire and leave,” she says this almost sweetly, almost, “so what else happened?”

>>3793159
You’re more than a little uncomfortable with the line of questioning and hope it doesn’t show too much as you say, “like I said, it was simple. We spent the day in a tavern and broke into the warehouses at night. We camped out at a jetty nearby for the rest of the night and caught a ship back to Dyre Den the next day.”

“A tavern? And you were there all day?” She has this vacant expression like she isn’t even looking at you anymore. She sounds… hurt.

You really don’t like where this is going, but feel compelled to give some sort of answer, “yes… we didn’t want to be recognized around the city and figured it would be best to lay low.”

“Lay low. So, what was her name?” Her bright purple eyes are shimmering with tears.

“What,” you respond eloquently.

“Do you think I’m stupid, Cormaic? I’ve told you my deepest secrets and I thought you told me yours. And to think I---,” her voice is trembling before she shakes her head and tries to put more strength into her tone, “your tavern girl. Or was there more than just one? I know you’re lying to me, Cormaic. Lie to your friends. Lie to your mother even. But how could you lie to me? I trusted you.”

She holds up a single strand of long, mousy brown hair. Your mind flashes back to a dark alley and a frightened girl with the same hair. “From your cloak. Pretty hair. Are brunettes more your type? I hear tales of Westerosi men using their wives just to form alliances and breed children. You’ve done both now, so you move on to some pretty thing that isn’t getting fat from child.” She storms out of the room without another word. You sink back under the water.

>That's it for tonight. I won't have time for a run tomorrow, but I'll probably have some sort of vote up in between now and Wednesday. Thanks for playing!

>3793159
>No! Atia, wait!
Run after her you fuck.
Im happy for her to think us a murderer but not to think we'd betray her like that.

gay

Haha. Fucking hormones.

>>3793163
Oh come on, be reasonable. What? Tavern wenches don't scatter their hairs around while serving drinks?

>>3793302
My thoughts too.

We should've brought gifts.

>>3793163
Two can play at that game

How could you possible know?
It was just some lowly common girl, it shouldn't mean anything.... and yet it bothers me so.

You weren't there, how could you possible know what I felt in the heat of the moment. I did what I felt was needed.
Then later she finds out we didn't cheat on her and it was a huge misunderstanding. She ends up being happy we just killed a girl and not cheat on her.
:p

alternatively when she starts loathing us for it, shout at her its not like I cheated on you goddamit!

That would probably confuse her for a bit until she it slowly dawns on her.

>>3793311
I kinda like this

>>3793311
>>3793318
I don't. Not how Cormaic would behave but a slimy neckbeard. Sounds passive-aggressive and awkward to read.

Be a man, let her calm down and deny the accusation.

>>3793324
In my eyes our character would need to be really dense for this to happen and I don't think Cormaic is. He just kinda gave me a chuckle

>>3793324
You sound pretty mad over a common relationship trope.

>>3793332
You get it.

>>3793163
>>3793217
This.

>>3793217
Yeah, tell her about the true about the murder, no way we are going to let her think we cheated on her.

>"Did you penetrate a bar girl?"
>"Technically yes..."

>"I'm sure you broke her heart too."
>"Yeah you could say that..."

>>3793302
Yeah, I could convince myself that there was at least some sort of a thought process to some of the decisions taken in Gulltown.

However, there was nothing remotely reasonable about doing a 180 and trying to hide your mistakes from her. Even just looking at in mechanically, you're shit at intrigue compared to her. And she is literally smarter than you at cunning 5. Her lower awareness was probably the only hope you had and that went out the window when you missed the deception DC. The reasons for doing so were also outright confusing to me. Hiding things to keep her faith in you? She's not a robot. She isn't going to smile and nod and pull you into bed at whatever you do. You all chose a woman with one of the more independent personalities I could've thrown your way and this is more than likely going to get worse before it gets better. She hasn't even realized you didn't bother spending the time to get your daughter a gift for her nameday despite being in an area loaded with merchants.

Now you've definitely kept secrets from her. There's no taking that back. Secrets that will definitely upset her. No, she's not fine with you setting a city on fire either. Why would she be? She's just preoccupied with thinking you're having affairs right now. I've mentioned her having a jealous streak over your past. This shouldn't be too much of a surprise if you think about it. An 18 year old girl, about 5 or 6 weeks pregnant and going through hormonal changes, who you've known for less than 4 months and been with for even less. You leave her for the first time after finding out she's pregnant for a port city. She knows what men do by the docks in port cities. You come back and she finds a suspicious hair on your cloak when she hugs you. Okay, maybe there is still a reasonable explanation. Then you give her half a story and slink off to go take a bath and continue to provide half truths with a guilty and uncomfortable expression. And here we are.

>"Did you look in her eyes while you did it?"
>"Okay this is getting silly."

>>3793428
And this is why anons dont deserve relationships.

>>3793482
To be fair this is 4chan and I wouldnt be surprised if most anons have never had a relationship.

Let her be mad. We can deny her accusations because we can honestly say we were faithful to her. If shes a month or so pregnant she'll likely be starting to suffer from mood swings so let's not over react and go running to her like a dog with a tail between its legs. Having your wife be mad at you for a week isnt the end of the world, especially when shes pregnant.

>>3793508
>To be fair this is 4chan and I wouldnt be surprised if most anons have never had a relationship.
Also different anons vote at different points in the story. Such is the nature of quests, we as a whole can't be consistent all the time.

>If shes a month or so pregnant she'll likely be starting to suffer from mood swings so let's not over react and go running to her like a dog with a tail between its legs. Having your wife be mad at you for a week isnt the end of the world, especially when shes pregnant.
And this is mature behavior.

>>3793557
I'd say realizing that people, especially couples, fight is alot more mature than panicking because "oh no, waifu mad". People and characters have emotions and people need to realize that no relationship is perfect all the time.

Have you ever tried to calm down a hysterical pregnant women? If you havent let me give you some advice. Don't. Let them calm themselves down and they'll approach you to finish the conversation when they're ready.

>>3793562
>Have you ever tried to calm down a hysterical pregnant women? If you havent let me give you some advice. Don't. Let them calm themselves down and they'll approach you to finish the conversation when they're ready.
People overreacting and generally acting pissy behave like angry children. And you can't reason with that inner child, got to let it sink back in. Thus I support waiting for Atia to get hold of herself first.

>>3793567
And she is acting like a child. Yeah we spent some time in a tavern and it's that improbable that a hair fell on our cloak from the general experience? Especially in an age where more men had long hair? Are you kidding me? And after a boat trip home that hair was still there? It's way more likely that it's the hair from one of our men than some tavern wench from Gulltown so for her to start throwing accusations like that means shes self-conscious about herself. Go give her the dick when she calms down and show her that we don't give a fuck about her being up the duff.

Hmm okay, I think I see two distinctly different approaches being formulated here. So I'll put it to a vote for tomorrow night's opening post. I'll pop in periodically to answer questions, about this or anything else.

>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now.
>Give her space and let her come back to you when she's ready instead.

>>3793666
Just go and tell her what happened

>>3793666
>>Give her space and let her come back to you when she's ready instead.

Great trips too

>>3793666
>>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now.
Apologize by telling her we're still processing what we did, and we're not comfortable with it either, so we didn't want to burden her.

>>3793666
>>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now.

>>3793666
>>Give her space and let her come back to you when she's ready instead.

>>3793666
Give her space and let her come back to you when she's ready instead.

Virgins...

>>3793666
>>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now.

>>3793666
>>Give her space and let her come back to you when she's ready instead.

>>3793731
> Letting significant other fester over misunderstanding

>>3793764
>Being this much of a faggot and wanting to go chase after our wife when shes being irrational...
Fucking hell did we give her our balls when we gave her that pelt too? Giving her a few days to calm down isnt letting something fester. Besides, imagine how this conversation is going to go.
>Atia wait no. Stop. I'm sorry. I didn't cheat on you. That hair is from an innocent girl I murdered, but I didn't sleep with her I promise.
Yeah that sounds like its going to go over real well when shes already freaking out about other stuff that is far more minor than murder

>>3793666
>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now.

So many incels calling other people virgins in this thread.

>>3793792
This, this is just sad.

>>3793809
Good comeback retard. Try addressing why you think spilling out our guts to our wife of 2(?) months about murdering a girl in cold blood while she is just starting to grow a new life inside of her. Oh wait. There isnt one.

>>3793817
Treating her like an equal rather than a child would be a good reason.

>>3793822
If she wants to be treated like an adult maybe she should act like one instead of storming off after finding a single brown hair.

>>3793666
>>Give her space and let her come back to you when she's ready instead.

>>3793830
>after finding a single brown hair
And clearly noticing that we are hiding/lying to her about something

>>3793836
So we can explain to her that we didnt once she calms down. We can swear on Rhollor and explain to her rationally. Chasing after her full of excuses looks guilty, telling her the truth is a terrible idea. But not even dignifying her accusation with a response? Let her go off and pout for a while and once her anger leaves her shes going to start thinking... what the hell? And she gets curious and comes back to us. Seems much more in character for the aloof and pragmatic Cormaic anyways

>>3793817
Depending on the woman, either options could work.

In my opinion, Aita is more of the former, so correcting the record sooner rather than later would be best.

Think of the downsides of not giving her anything to reaasure, refute or counter her thoughts about an affair? What if she where to send a letter to her dad demanding that everything be called off? What if she plots to inform enemy houses or the crown of our activitives,? What if she even tries to harm the unborn child? All to get back at us.

>>3793846
From what I've seen, letting a girl "cool off" tends to work better in more seasoned relationships were there are known aspects and quantities of each other (some girls even storm off and lock themselves in their rooms until they calm down). We are fairly newly wed and we haven't had a emotional hurdle like this before, so its best to make sure we communicate things well enough till we know and understand each other better before leaving her alone and giving her space.

I'm open to hearing everyone's thoughts on this.

>>3793883
You think she is going to react that poorly to be left alone for a few days? And in regards to getting a divorce? Tough luck. Ain't no such thing unless its annulled by the faith (lol) or the king himself. And if she starts plotting like that so immediately then anons chose the wrong wife. Let's just not look like a pussy and go chasing after her. All I'm asking I'd give it a few days to get our story straight and not tell our wife we committed murder.

>>3793883
>From what I've seen, letting a girl "cool off" tends to work better in more seasoned relationships
Lets get pussy-whipped from the start :^)

She has Cormaic's child, she's not going to divorce anybody. And over what? A hair? lol

>>3793846
What she wind out is that.
> He let me live with the lie even seeing my distress
> He murdered innocent girl
So after "cooling down period" she will have not one but two things to be pissed about.

And of course she knows that we killed fucking people. We didnt went there to pick flowers.

>>3793899
Well there were only two options so 50/50 chance of the wrong wife :p

>>3793903
Depends on how you handle it.

>>3793919
Hey now! I totally had a Neither option that would've been fine too! If you like being fully beholden to the Lannisters.

I disagree with the lot of you. We may as well commit to telling the truth. She will not become super aware of of us. So she wont be passively listening to anything we tell her. Activity looking for potential lies. We are already bad at it. Tell her the truth. And that we thought we were protecting her from some hard truth. And that we dodnt want to look bad infront if her.

>>3793926
>Cersi mistress? Or a Lannie bride? What if we cuck Jamie outta his sisters bed?

>>3793945
With our persuasion? Anon pls

File: Lancel.jpg (31 KB, 309x404)

31 KB JPG

>>3793950
This guy made it look easy, don't make it look hard.

>>3793945
One of Cersei's many court ladies. It would've nullified your debt and the future of your house would've been tied to the whims of the Westerlands. Even more of an intrigue type than the other two and quite catty. Probably more polarizing than Alysanne overall, but would've been the most okay with this weird murderhobo streak.

I also had a Frog from the Neck earlier on. She was going to be from the other House Boggs. Yeah, fun fact there, there's another one in the Neck. Got me confused a couple of times when I was prepping for the quest at the beginning. You were only going to be able to run into her if you decided to keep fighting in the Riverlands instead of pulling back with your loot. (You were almost certainly going to get captured if you pressed your luck.) I maybe would've added in more Old Gods and greenseer stuff.

>>3793992
What if our sister in law helps Cersei relive her frustration?

>>3794007
relief*

I wonder how things would go if she never sleeps around with other men?

>>3794007
>>3794011
Are you talking about Tyrra? She's actually not a lesbian. Like, less than Atia for sure. (And no Atia isn't going to sleep with the queen.)

Cersei has already been sleeping with Jaime. I'm not going to cause any crazy ripple effects anyway.

>>3794045
>less than Atia for sure
Interesting.

>Cersei has already
Wait what? Jamie beat Robert to cherrypunch?

>>3793666
>>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now.

>>3793666
>>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now.
Whole truth

>>3793666
>>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now.

>>3793666
>>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now

>>3793666
>>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now.

>>3793899
>Let's just not look like a pussy and go chasing after her.
To who? HER? it would be more of a choice to show her that we love her. And didn't want her believing that we would cheat on her, especially considering she just got pregnant with our child.
We would explain that while we did not cheat on her what we did, we are so ashamed of what we did we did not want to share that part. And wouldn't want her to think less of us as her husband considering what we did. And further, explain that as she knows some times things happen where we have to get our hands dirty. It may not have been the best choice we made but hindsight is 20/20.

Like some anon said, letting this fester may not be the best choice. It may just solidify these angry thoughts of hers atm. Fess up the truth, and how we thought hiding information that doesn't exactly put us in the best light was best to hide or not important.
I also don't see why this was a real deception roll entirely. Omitting one part of the story was the only reason to not tell her the whole truth. But I guess we as anon's should have put that as a write-in.

>>3793666
Actually thinking about it, I’ll go for
>Give her space and let her come back to you when she's ready instead

>>3794481
>spoilers
Basically, I started writing up the scene with the fact that she knew you were leaving a bunch of details out and it was bothering her immensely because of the conclusions she was jumping to. Then I thought, why not at least give anons the chance to see if they could smooth talk/ downplay over the details well enough to get her to think she was overreacting. I'd go as far as to say the DC was generously low too. I didn't throw any circumstantial modifiers in, which would have jacked it up. It was just her intrigue defense plus 2 from her Affectionate disposition towards you. Pic related for disposition levels. Basically, it's easier to persuade and harder to deceive those closest to you.

File: 89EFF264-313A-447D-B330-6(...).jpg (141 KB, 640x592)

141 KB JPG

Aaaand forgot the pic!

Also, I think it's safe to call it for going after her now. Yes, that was the right choice. Now you don't have to go after her in the morning. And by go after I mean she was 100% going to pack up her bags and head to a villa she's used before on the outskirts of King's Landing. You're living in a crowded tower in a swamp that is also under construction. Why would she would clear her head here?

>>3794678
I still stand by we should have let her go. How the fuck is she getting out of the swamp by herself? And anons thinking she isnt overreacting in the ost ridiculous if ways are fucking kidding themselves . Hooray.another pussy whipped MC

>>3794740
She is this lands lord. Who would stop her? Short of us barring her way, who would stop the wife's lord from doing anything? At best our mother or sister could try and convince her, but her own status is above theirs's technically speaking I believe.
And we would be an idiot to enrage a pregnant woman, who is carrying our child by barring her leave and potentially locking her up if she is that dedicated. It would do way more harm than good.

Anon if you're fighting with your gf/wife..is that what you would do? O_O

>>3794752
Any of our men should realize that hmm. Maybe something is amiss and I should either a.) Stop her. Or b.) Immediately tell the knight of Boggwood. Which is us.

When me and my wife argue we absolutely do that and have since day one. Argue, leave each other alone, figure things out. Can't talk sense into people when they're furious.. Been married for 7, together for 10 so I'd say it works pretty well.

>>3794778
So you would stop your wife from leaving to cool her head where she feels comfortable going? And expect people around you to stop her from leaving?
I am sure others would let us know as lord and all. But Don't believe anyone would stop her outright.
>>3794740
>anons thinking she isn't overreacting in the ost ridiculous if ways are fucking kidding themselves
I also honestly don't see the part where she is overreacting reacting. We told her about some of the things we did. She noticed we are not telling her everything, or lying about something. She is a merchants daughter, she knows exactly what happens at ports. Trading and fucking, since you are away from home.
We come home, with another presumably's woman's hair on ourselves. And she storms out of the room.

Again, she is pregnant and has not known Cormaic, her husband for even 6 months. She can't tell what kind of life he lived beforehand. He has a child, to what he said was a noblewoman, but that could have been a lie as well. What she does know for sure, is he has a bastard.
I can't seem to connect your logic to think that she hasn't made a rational decision. She is also pregnant. Which I believe as a not shit human being you give some leeway, on things to and come back to later when things have cooled off or something.

>>3794809
Absolutely. You ignore each other and stay in different parts of the house. Maybe dont sleep in the same bed. You dont fuck off half way across the country after a day of not talking to someone.

The real question is how the fuck did a hair stick to our cloak all the way from fucking Gulltown. That's a long fucking way we could have picked it up from literally anywhere.

Tyrra would obviously be going with her. And yeah your men would've been fairly quick to tell you they saw her leave, but obviously wouldn't bar the Lady of the House's path without explicit instructions from you. Not that she was going to completely sneak out without telling anyone where she was going. It's not quite that bad of a situation, but not great either.

All women are different. This one likes to be chased by you. Alysanne, for example, would've preferred the space for sure.

Another thing that piqued my interest earlier in the day that I avoided commenting on was the idea of divorce or separation. It's really important to remember that she's Pentoshi. There's no way a Westerosi wife would be able to leave you without scandalizing both your house and her father's house unless you were severely mistreating her. But Atia? She married you for one simple reason: she actually loves you. Her father was interested in the arrangement for one simple reason: ships. He has no reason to care where she is living as long as he still has an alliance intact, which it would be one way or another as long as your heir is around. A good example of how this could've played out is Mellario of Norvos.

>>3794809
>>3794834
I think both of you guys have a point to be made here. On one hand, I personally would have voted to let her cool her head for a little while, and then approach her later that evening and tell her parts of what happened. Not rushing out of our bath (I think we were taking a bath?) to chase after her. Fucking work getting in the way of posting on chinese papaer hat forums. I'll admit that seems a bit out of character for Cormaic in my eyes seeing as our nuptial bliss has only lasted 6 weeks. HOWEVER!

I wouldn't go so far as to say that Cormaic is "whipped by this" and as Boggs said, it was the right choice for the relationship. We arn't people living in the setting, and we have modern sensibilities and values so the character isn't always played 100% period accurate and that's okay. It's what makes roleplaying fun. Besides, the votes been called and we're chasing after our little pregnant essosi wife.

Boggs is Cormaic an ass man or a boob guy? These are crucial details we need to know

>>3794834
A little ridiculous, if you ask me. But OP has to write a conflict somehow. Can't be all rainbows and sunshine. I think this was a great conflict. That if we play the next few cards right. ould make our bond stronger. Or you know we both live cold lives around each other. House Reynold kind of thing.
>>3794851
mhm
How are Pentoshi Divorces handled?
>>3794852
Agreed we need to know. So IC we can make the right calls...

>>3794778
>>3794834
If you really are married, I can''t imagine it being anything but a rollercoaster.

Everything seems to be about ego, pride and power dynamics. That just doesn't sound healthy or sustainable.

>>3794861
>How are Pentoshi Divorces handled?
Probably very bloody.

>>3794834
>>3794861
My dudes, the cloak is wool. Have you WORN wool before? I have literally had this happen. Not with the misunderstandings and all of that crazy shit, but with a single strand of fucking hair sticking to it over a long trip. It IS absolutely ridiculous. Horrid material.

As for divorces, there likely wouldn't have been one even if this played out a lot worse than I could reasonably see it going. If you somehow had such an irreconcilable falling out, then she would've just moved away. I seriously doubt that's going to happen at all since you're going to talk this out now. She's obviously going to ask some things of you though.

>>3794852
I probably could've phrased it better then because you're not going to spring up out of the tub. You have more dignity than that. She wasn't going to leave for a few hours anyway.

And wow, asking the important questions!

Exhibit A:
>You give the barmaid your patented smirk and sit back in your chair, content to drink the pisswater that passes for ale here and bide your time. Aye, she’s definitely your type. Curves in all of the right places, a sultry smile, and some sort of complex that makes her gravitate to the most dangerous thing in the room. The type men ache to bring to a room upstairs and try to conquer, but not the type a man of your means and talents would think of settling down with. You’re a big fan of a pair of tits, but you have something more now. You have the trophy.

Exhibit B:
>And then you see her. Flowing brown hair, a finely embroidered dress in the green of her house, tracts of la—her face. Hazel eyes and a pretty face that is a testament to good breeding.

These are the only parts of the quest so far in which I've said anything in character one way or the other. Both have a hint towards boobs, but the former mentions curves, which one would typically, though not necessarily, associate with ass. Probably a boob guy?

I'm giving this way too much thought. Here's your overnight vote. Hopefully there will be less shit flinging with this one.

>Ass man
>Boob guy

>>3794962
>Hourglass
So a good healthy proportional ratio of boobs and ass, on a nice curvy body.

D cup+plump rear

>>3794987
Oh no. That's too easy. The whole point is to pick just one.

>>3794994
>Feet

>>3794999
You've gone too far.

>>3795025
>hands
for handholding

>>3795034
As degenerate as that is, it's better than feet.

>>3794962
>Leg enthusiasts

>>3794778
I'm on your side
that said, people are different
I need to blow off steam to fix shit, my wife needs to square shit up immediately. which is a cause of a bunch of trouble in our house.
people are different
my vote went the same way as yours.

though i feel the majority of anons itt are virgin whiteknights, what can you do? these threads arent exactly rooted in reality

>>3795071
looks like my trip should be tommy-two-time

>>3795074
>>3795071
Stop fucking spoilering every sentence.

>>3795142
They have something to hide.

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>>3795151

>>3795142
n
o

f
a
g

I mean obviously whatever Atia's best feature is. So most likely
>ass man
Only acceptable answer.

>>3795347
She's kinda lacking in both right now. That's where Shona's "too skinny" comment came from after the pregnancy announcement. Maybe motherhood will change that?

>>3795408
Well, shes gonna need to feed the babies so they grow up big and strong so.....

Maybe......
Elbows

Should be resuming in 1 hour. Wrapping up some work right now.

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>>3796242
bobs and vegana

>Follow Atia and attempt to explain things now

You almost call out to her or leap out of the tub, but you think better of it. You’ll take the time to gather your thoughts and explain yourself as calmly as possible. Besides, you have more dignity than to be seen chasing after her in a state of undress like a desperate boy.

Of all the possible reactions, this was probably the last you expected. You’ve heard horror stories of the moods of women when they’re with child, but this came out of nowhere. You don’t get the insecurity. She doesn’t even have a bump yet… getting fat? Your mother and Ciara are actively trying to get her to gain weight now. She doesn’t look unhealthy by any means, but she’s far too skinny by the standards of women of First Men stock, especially for an expectant mother.

You finish cleaning yourself and throw on some simple clothes. There are only so many places she could be in the tower, assuming she hasn’t done anything too crazy like heading out on a ride. You end up following the lingering scent of her perfume to… Ciara’s room? You knock on the door and Ciara opens it, glaring at you. “May I speak to my wife?” you say.

Ciara wordlessly opens the door, still glaring at you. You enter and see Atia sitting on the side of the bed, her face a mess from crying. “May we have some privacy,” you say as Ciara hovers over your shoulder. She leaves in a huff, grumbling about it being her room. You’re not going to appear vulnerable around your sister if you can help it. She’s probably one of the most caring people you’ve met, but it just doesn’t feel right.

You spend the next thirty minutes or so explaining what really happened in Gulltown. She believes you fully by the end of it, but clearly isn’t pleased either. “Cormaic, this isn’t you. You are a knight, yes? Knights don’t kill innocent girls,” she says with some fresh tears, “you have a girl of your own. She had her own life, maybe people who cared about her. She didn't plot against us. You’re better than this. I want you to promise me,” she touches her stomach and stares up at you with purple eyes shimmering with resolve, “Us. That you won’t harm innocents again. There is always another way to do things and you of all people should be able to figure it out.”

Well?
>Promise not to kill innocents
>Don’t

>>3796322
>Promise not to kill innocents
We are just and this whole excursion was retarded idea.

>>3796328
+1

>>3796322
>Promise not to kill innocents
I mean this could just make this relationship stronger.

>>3796322
Not even a persuasion test? Man. Alright well obviously we're playing suck up, but I find it very unbelievable that she believes us that easily.

>>3796322
>Don’t
What if our house or loved ones lives will be at risk if we do not? What then?
[Atia gives some reason]
Okay, I will. I will promise because I love you.
>Promise not to kill innocents

Sappy love ending unlocked!
>Roll Credits

>>3796345
Other than this one blip, you two have been very close. She can tell you're not lying if for no other reason than she knows you're not this convincing of an actor. There'd be a persuasion test if you actually were trying to persuade her of something, like say if you have a write in to justify killing innocents.

>>3796322
>>Promise not to kill innocents


If it can be avoided :^)

>>3796322
>>Promise not to kill innocents

>Promise not to kill innocents

Why make this worse? It’s not like you are that comfortable doing so in the first place. And if it does really come down to it… well, you’ll cross that bridge when you get there. You take her hands in yours, look her in the eyes, and vow, “I promise, Atia. I’ll do my best to avoid harming innocents.”

She stares into your eyes for several long moments and then nods with a slight smile, “I’m trusting you,” she pauses, “but I have a confession for you too. I… wasn’t myself before. I was going to leave with Tyrra and go stay at a villa I’ve used before to go think. I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to leave to punish you, but it’s just so crowded and loud with all of the workers. I know they’ve been vetted, but I can’t help thinking another one is going to leap at me. In truth, I still wish to leave. With you, of course. We have a few weeks before we need to go to King’s Landing, but we could stay at the villa nearby? I’ll be good! No flaunting around town that we are married! I just want to get away from everything here.”

She’s told you of this villa before, but you hadn’t thought much of it, just pillow talk. It should be just north of King’s Landing near the Rosby Road… You suppose you’ve never had time away to yourselves at all since the wedding. It could be nice to spend time alone without constant knocks on your door or banging on the walls and ceiling. Of course, Atia would have to stay on the grounds of the villa itself for now, but you could get some shopping done at the nearby markets.

You also could really use some better traveling clothes. And clothes for court. Anything that doesn’t function as armor, really, as absurd as the notion is. Seven worshipers like their men to be prettied up like women. You’d think they would’ve learned such notions breed weak men. You’ve had a lot of time to think on this. How else was the war lost when the Loyalists had numerical superiority? The North, the Stormlands, the Vale. Respectable martial cultures all. Against what? The Crownlands, Dorne, and the Reach. The houses of the Crownlands had grown too weak catering to their courtly lifestyles, Lordlings powdered up like they were off to their very own Maiden’s Day Cattle Show whenever they went grasping at the Mad King’s teat. Dorne and the Reach? Buggerers, nothing more.

>Head down to this villa, your mother or Barth can handle things here. The Lady Shona did fine while you were off fighting.
>Stay here, you may be needed for something.

>>3796474
>>Head down to this villa, your mother or Barth can handle things here. The Lady Shona did fine while you were off fighting.

>>3796474
>Stay here, you may be needed for something.
This is a trap to screw us over, and be exploited by blackmail. Why do you keep throwing traps at us Boggs? Why?

Send some of our trusted and elite men for her safety.

>>3796523
Lol, I already threw you guys the reparations amount. You'd need to do something pretty stupid to mess that up. Like get caught in Gulltown stupid. Remember, you're just a status 3 knight. The Realm doesn't whisper at your every step. Not yet, at least.

>>3796474
>>Head down to this villa, your mother or Barth can handle things here. The Lady Shona did fine while you were off fighting.

Going on record and saying this is a very hesitant vote

>>3796474
>>Stay here, you may be needed for something.
I really want to head down to the villa. But we can't be too careful. We should send 2-3 of the men we took with us to gulltown. That isn't too obvious. And send them off privately so few know she even left elsewhere.

>>3796474
>>>Head down to this villa, your mother or Barth can handle things here. The Lady Shona did fine while you were off fighting.

>>3796506
>>3796523
>>3796588
>>3796590
>>3796598
Calling it here so I can get another post out. No joke, it wasn't a trap lol. Unless you do some silly shit while you're there I guess? Anyway, writing!

Got called away from my computer. So just because it's somewhat related to something I was about to type up, I just want to reiterate: I 100% rolled for every aspect of this pregnancy/child. That's all.

>>3796699
This leads me to suspect that this child is going to be an absolute baller, with Valyrian features and catlike pupils...or an absolute scrub with the worst of both parents....

>>3796474
>Head down to this villa, your mother or Barth can handle things here. The Lady Shona did fine while you were off fighting.
Bring 20 good man with you

>>3796708
Bring 14 and play Fortnite.

>The vote at the end is the overnight vote. Thanks for playing!

>Head down to this villa, your mother or Barth can handle things here. The Lady Shona did fine while you were off fighting.

“You’re not going to cause any trouble? No hopping into my saddle or boasting to merchants or whoever else?”

“No! I will stay at the villa and cause no trouble! One of Papa’s ships should be here to pick up the pearls any day now. Perhaps he wrote back to me too? We can take it down the coast instead of having to deal with gossipers. And it will allow us to pack for a longer stay!” She wraps you in a tight embrace and then rushes off to start preparing, already knowing your answer from your expression.

You pass by Ciara on your way to your room and assure her it was just a misunderstanding. It’s good to see those two are becoming close enough for Atia to rush to her in such a way. You also tell her offhandedly to pack her bags before continuing on your way and ignoring her questions. You’ll never pass up an opportunity to throw her off.

With a ship at your service, you can pack your gold up too. You’d rather it all travel with you and some of your best men directly than it get “lost” or stolen by “bandits” on its journey to the Crown’s coffers. These are desperate times for a lot of houses right now and you’re not exactly well liked. Even purportedly honorable types may see some justification in taking from you with so much at stake. So, you’ll bring along a score of your best Sparrowhawks. It would be best to have them as a deterrent if nothing else. You haven’t seen the proper Crownlands since the Sack, but you doubt it’s as safe as it used to be.

(1/2)

>>3796761
Ciara is obviously coming as well with her husband hunting. Is hunting the right word for it? Since it’s her… yes. As is Esmeralda, if for no other reason than because you won’t leave her here with just your mother for her nameday. It just doesn’t feel right. You probably will leave her at the villa instead of bringing her into the city though. No good can come of that. You’ve been giving a lot of thought to her future lately. She may not be your trueborn heir, but you can still guide her development. The question is, who do you want her to mentor under the most?

>Atia. She can learn how to be a steward and hopefully won’t turn into a seductress.
>Ciara. You don’t speak of it often, but your sister has remarkable talents as a healer. You don’t think Ciara would mind either, she also likes the girl.
>Tyrra. Water dancing has served your good-sister well at least. Not a traditional upbringing, but Esmeralda is half dornish, right?
>Yourself. You could teach her how to shoot a bow if nothing else. Definitely not traditional.
>Other.

>>3796765
>Tyrra. Water dancing has served your good-sister well at least. Not a traditional upbringing, but Esmeralda is half dornish, right?

>>3796765
>Tyrra. Water dancing has served your good-sister well at least. Not a traditional upbringing, but Esmeralda is half dornish, right?
>Yourself. You could teach her how to shoot a bow if nothing else. Definitely not traditional.

Bring more men with us. Just in case.

>>3796769
Oh you are. A score is twenty. Any more than that and you'd draw unwanted attention. Also, probably best to pick just one option for this vote, given this is going to be my idea for what sort of character sheet I need to make for her eventually.

>>3796765
>Tyrra. Water dancing has served your good-sister well at least. Not a traditional upbringing, but Esmeralda is half dornish, right?

>>3796765
>Yourself. You could teach her how to shoot a bow if nothing else. Definitely not traditional.
Keep the family tradition alive, she will one day lead her own scout unit of all female archers.

>>3796699
sure, you are not the type to railroad anything boss man

>>3796765
>>Tyrra. Water dancing has served your good-sister well at least. Not a traditional upbringing, but Esmeralda is half dornish, right?

>>3796765
I'd say Tyrra and perhaps somebody from Dorne later on to introduce her to dornish court.

>>3796765
>>Tyrra. Water dancing has served your good-sister well at least. Not a traditional upbringing, but Esmeralda is half dornish, right?
She can also teach her her language so she can grow up bilingual. So when she grows up and if she feels Westeros isn't right for her, she can go across the narrow sea and have adventures and shit.

>>3796765
>>Tyrra. Water dancing has served your good-sister well at least. Not a traditional upbringing, but Esmeralda is half dornish, right?
Good fighter and a sprinkle of Atia to let her hold her own anywhere she moves around.
Now if we have a son, it would be ourself, tyrra, and Atia for persuasion.

>>3796849
Yeah, I plan on giving an option when she's older to tell her about her mother or not. I'd imagine she'd want to go learn more at that point.
>>3797060
This is also true. There's a good chance I'll set her up as a playable side character for the Five Kings era if we get there. Especially if Cormaic ends up dead or something.

I think I'm going to assume this is the direction we are going now. It's unlikely the vote will drastically shift in another direction by tonight.

Thinking about it, this is probably the best all around. You and Atia will have your hands full with your trueborn children and Ciara doesn't plan on wasting any time having some of her own. Tyrra has no children to care for, but she's actually always wanted one. Water dancing wasn't exactly her first choice in life. She was in love with a Bravo when she was around Atia's age and always assumed they would have a family together of their own. Then he died in a duel, as young swordsmen in the free cities do all too frequently. She never really got over it and focused on her water dancing as her only real outlet. Maybe this will be good for her?

>>3797127
Praise Rhllor she isn't a lesbo.

>>3796765
>>Tyrra. Water dancing has served your good-sister well at least. Not a traditional upbringing, but Esmeralda is half dornish, right?

>>3797128
I almost went that way when I made her, but lesbian fighter just feels like too much of a trope to me. Some may say that's for good reason, but I'd like to keep things fresh and original where I can.

>>3797135
We need to find her a husbando.

>>3797222
Trips of truth, but it would be a tough sell and she's not someone you're personally entitled to marry off. Luckily her father doesn't see her as a useful asset in that way due to her age and general disposition. That's why she's been allowed to stick with Atia.

>>3797335
I'm not saying to marry her off, just to get her a guy that likes tough fighter chicks.

First post will be up in the next 45 min.

Also, if anyone could tell me what I need to do to archive the last thread then that would be great. I see there's a request form. Do I just fill it out and press go? Probably a dumb question, but I don't want to mess it up after hearing of misarchives in other quests.

>>3797900
>Do I just fill it out and press go?
Yes it's all you need to do

>>3797900
Thread number
Thread title,

Make a decent but short discription of a summary of the thread and notable things that happened.

Throw up some tags, like Main characters name, QM name ie "Boggs" put in quest and GOT related tags including "House Boggs" and such.

Then hit GO!

>>3797929
>>3797932

Cool, thanks guys!

>>3797943
Don't forget to put commas to separate your tags.

Boggs, Game of Thrones, etc,

Like so, otherwise they may not form proper links to said tags.

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>Tyrra. Water dancing has served your good-sister well at least. Not traditional by any means, but Esmeralda is half dornish, right?

>2 Days later

You find yourself on a Pentoshi merchant cog sailing around the tip of Crackclaw Point and you’ve come to an important realization. Women shouldn’t wear pants. An old maxim ingrained in polite society that you’ve had little reason to consider until now. You’re perched at the bow of the ship, as you tend to do, watching Esmeralda run about and hopefully exhaust herself. Your daughter is surprisingly agile on her feet for a two-year-old, especially considering this is probably her first time aboard a ship. She’s been spending a lot of time with Tyrra and they both seem to enjoy each other’s company. You’ve resolved yourself to talk to Tyrra, probably with Atia’s assistance, about her mentoring Esmeralda. As odd as it seems, she’s the logical choice. Atia is going to be busy with a child of her own soon enough, and she is the one that handles the majority of the finances now as well. Ciara is likely going to be in a similar position sometime in the next year or two and you’re looking for a long-term commitment here. You could mentor your daughter yourself, and you think you may find it to be enjoyable, but it’s just not done. You’re more than likely going to end up with a squire soon enough and it will be taxing to handle teaching a young girl your skills on top of a squire and your heir. Not to mention the possible slights that could be perceived against any that are made to learn martial skills alongside your natural daughter. But Tyrra? Her only job is to be a bodyguard and apparently braid your wife’s hair. She also has no children of her own and is approaching an age at which that will no longer be an option. She has an abundance of time and skill. Teaching Esmeralda to defend herself has a lot of appeal to you as well. It’s a harsh world for the bastard-born, especially for girls. You feel as if your presence and reputation alone may serve as a deterrent for the worst of the predations, but another part of you knows you won’t always be there.

But where were you? Right. Pants. You’re trying to keep your jaw wedged in place as you watch Tyrra squatting down in a pair of traveling breeches while she helps Esmeralda untie a knot in the length of rope she’s been swinging around. Two details are readily apparent: whatever exercise routine she has is doing absolute wonders for the shape of her ass and almost half of it comes out of the top of her pants when she squats like that.

cont.

>>3798015
You’re not one to gawk at women like an awkward squire, but this is just different. It doesn’t help that your wife has been starting to feel under the weather from her condition. You spent your first night back just cuddling with her after your fight and subsequent make up. You figured you could wait until the morning to catch up on what you’ve been missing for the past week, but then you woke up to her retching. You really didn’t know how to handle that, so you woke up Ciara instead who assured you it is a normal occurrence for women with child. The trouble is, sea travel has only made it worse. Luckily Ciara has been attending to your wife in the main cabin, sparing you the worst of it. You don’t think you’re merely being insensitive. Childbirth and all of the business that surrounds it is not supposed to be a place for husbands, or any men really. Atia seems to agree, though that may be somewhat related to her insecurities she expressed in her less rational moments upon your return from Gulltown.

In any case, the two go back to playing about the ship and you turn your attentions to the east. Spring is waning and summer is quickly approaching and with it come the storms. Your stretch of land receives plenty of rain in all seasons, but the storm clouds on the distant horizon look nastier than usual. It shouldn’t trouble your voyage too much. You will make landfall well before the worst of it hits, especially with the southwesterly winds pushing your cog down the coast. That doesn’t mean it’s been easy either. The crew has had to constantly fight the wind to avoid coming too close to the coast and risk running up on the rocks. Thankfully, you have no issues at all with pirates or their ilk. The last pocket of the resistance to the new King is holed up on Dragonstone with a sizable fleet of ships anchored around the ancestral Targaryen stronghold. You’re sure that will change with the surrender of the Tyrell’s. Their sizable fleet through the Arbor and House Redwine should prove enough to ferry over Robert’s army. The scale of the warship presence in Blackwater Bay has dissuaded even the boldest of pirates from taking their chances and has allowed some degree of normalcy in trade to resume.

>1 more post!

>>3798039
You ended up making landfall the next day at a small set of docks near Rosby. Duskendale would’ve been the more obvious port of call, but you didn’t want to make your presence known in the port town itself and this actually cuts some time off of your journey over land. A fact you were thankful for with the considerable amount of baggage you had to haul behind you. Things were so such simpler when it was just you, your bow, and a horse…

The villa itself is within the boundaries of what is considered the city of King’s Landing itself, but not within the walls. It really is a beautiful home, with its own bathing room off of the master suite and a small stable for your horses. It’s not the most defensible property, but it is enclosed behind a wall for privacy if nothing else. It still could use some work though… despite the servants’ best efforts, you can tell it was broken into somewhat recently. Probably a result of the Sack. If so, you’d still count them lucky. It’s not a burnt-out husk like some of the other buildings you passed on the way here and you’re sure the homes within the city walls faired far worse. Atia seems pleased enough by it, but she is still weak from the journey and doesn’t waste time seeking one of her favored hot baths. You end up taking over a study with books along the wall for your personal office while your men take care of moving the luggage and settling in themselves. You find you’re being asked after by both Aodhan and Ciara in short order. You also recall Atia mentioning a letter from her father. You could join her in the bath and find out more, but you may end up having to push the other two off until tomorrow if you do that. Which will you handle first?

>Women
>War
>Intrigue

>>3798073
Intrigue

>>3798073
>>Women
Might as well enjoy the wife before the bad shit comes

>>3798109
My bad, I should've been more clear on that one.
Atia is intrigue
Ciara is women
Aodhan is war

>>3798121
>Intrigue
Alright intrigue it is then

>>3798126
this is me >>3798109
I'm using a hotspot so it changes easy

>>3798073
>>Intrigue

>>3798151
>>3798126
>>3798105
Intrigue it is! Writing!

>>3798073
>Intrigue

>Sorry, got caught up with family stuff

You tell Aodhan and Ciara to find you on the morrow after you’ve all gotten some rest. Whatever it is, it can wait. You leave your temporary office and head to the bathing room attached to your chambers. Steam billows out after you open the wooden door. There’s no doubt Atia prefers her baths to be hot. She’s lounging with her head back against the stone and her pale breasts just out of the water. She eyes you lazily as you enter the bath with her. It takes you a moment to adjust to the temperature before you can really sink in. “I was hoping you would join me, Cormaic,” she says with a sigh, “I really needed this.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. You haven’t been yourself for the past few days,” you say.

“No, I suppose not. I truly didn’t expect pregnancy to be so… difficult. If you only knew the half of it…” she shakes her head with a rueful smile, “but that is between me and my new physician, no?”

You frown, “your physician? I don’t recall seeing one.”

“Ciara! She’s been such a wonderful help! You never told me she was so talented with the healing arts. This trip would have been so much worse without her. I’m a little afraid to travel back again, especially if she does find the husband she so seeks,” she smiles at you mischievously, “has she told you of her plans?”

“Yes, she’s always fixated on medicine and healing. She’s learned from some of the midwives of our land, though she lacks real formal training. I suppose my father never saw the need to hire an adequate tutor for her considering she was expected to simply marry one of our neighbors and secure an alliance. In truth, I’m not even sure my mother cares much for it. Still, I’m glad it’s been helpful. And no… she hasn’t discussed her plans for King’s Landing… is this something I need to know?”

“Oh, I just thought you may be curious. She plans on attending one of those silly tournaments and sitting in a box looking all charming for Westerlands Knights to woo and ask her for favors. I think it’s cute!”

“That’s it? That’s her whole plan? Doesn’t that seem a little too optimistic?” You have to admit, you expected more.

>>3798508
She scoffs, “Cormaic. I know she’s your sister, but please be reasonable. Now, I’m sure she’s usually complimented on her hair, which is very pretty, but have you seen the tits on her?” She grabs her own and mimes them expanding outwards. “Those things in a dress with the right cut? I would be more worried of distracting those boys when they are swinging around their swords.”

There are some conversations you have never expected to have in your life that have somehow come to pass. You can’t help feeling like Atia is the prime suspect in the majority of them. “I’m going to go ahead and trust your judgement on this one. Speaking of, what do you think of having Tyrra mentor Esmeralda in her water dancing? I don’t mean for a few days either. I’m talking about a long-term commitment. Do you think she would accept?”

“Yes! Oh, this will be so good for her! You didn’t hear this from me, but she has always wanted a child of her own. She never got over a lost love though, so I’m not sure if it will ever happen. She was like a mother to me in many ways, but not in such a way where she could pass down her legacy. Maybe this will distract her from her moods. She gets so melancholy at times… Oh! News from my Papa. He thinks he may know who was seeking to harm me. There are a few of his rivals that would have wanted to prevent him from gaining access to ships. He’s still not sure if it was just one of them or if it was all of them.”

“This is troubling. Is that all he had to say?”

“Oh, not exactly. He’s taken some precautions while he sorts out the details. He sent one of those Sorrowful Men that he so enjoys off to kill the head of one of his strongest rivals. The man had many sons, but no favored heir. The infighting it will spark will keep the city busy for some time. Perhaps enough so that we won’t be bothered any time soon,” that she’s businesslike about it this even with her qualms over violence speaks volumes as to how cutthroat Pentoshi politics can be.

“But enough about that. You have needs and so do I. I’d like to ride you until the water cools, but I’m still weak,” she wades to the edge of the pool and leans over the side with her butt up out of the water. She favors you with a coy smile and a slight wiggle, “a little bird told me you may like this.” That’s all the invitation you needed.

>>3798509
You shuffle into your office the next day and leave the door open. Aodhan finds you first to no one’s surprise. It’s not so much that he is an exceptionally early riser, but that Ciara was so prone to sleeping in. You wave him in and he grabs a chair, “Cormaic. I’ve been meaning to catch up with you on the state of our forces. I’ve talked to Barth as well and we are in agreement. We need some infantry to replace our losses. As it stands, we look weak compared to some of our neighbors. They’re going to see this at your tourney and it may make them bolder.”

You frown. It’s concerning that he’s coming to you like this. You’re of an age with Aodhan and played together as boys. He’s always been on the quieter side, thoughtful even. A rare trait for those a warrior bend in your lands. It’s what pushed him up so quickly in the Sparrowhawks. He wouldn’t be sitting here with such a concern unless he’s been thinking it over for quite some time. “What are you proposing exactly?”

“We were thinking we need to reform your dad’s old Bronzeguard, only with some changes to avoid a repeat of last time,” he raises his hands up at this, “meaning no offense to your dad, but they’re all dead for a reason. We are better off fighting in our own way and bleeding the enemy. You proved that with the Sparrowhawks by the end of the fighting. So, we were thinking, why not form some light infantry? Skirmishers. Give the lot of them some spears and light armor like the leather we already have laying about. They could throw some spears and pull back or they could stand and fight almost as well as the regular infantry used to if it comes down to it.”

“And how do you propose we do this? The tactics seem sound, but we only have so many men,” you point out.

“That’s the other thing… the Sparrowhawks. Plenty of us are good. Great even. But a good number are holdovers from the Bronzeguard survivors and some of the other Greybeards are getting on in their years. Strictly speaking, neither can shoot for shit compared to the boys you and I grew up with. The same lads that you brought with you here. Cormaic, with you leading us like you did back in the Riverlands, we could accomplish just as much with twenty men that we can with a hundred. Sounds crazy, but the truth is some of the others are slowing us down. Whether it be with a bow or in sneaking. Especially the Bronzeguard, they’re too fucking loud,” he grumbles.

We'll pick up tomorrow night with more story, but let me break this out so there's no confusion. I'm saying the Sparrowhawks will stay the same from a mechanical standpoint but will function as a unit of 20 in the narrative. Why? Because you could use an actual personal guard and the regular ones make no sense for you. It also means I don’t have to figure out how to handle rolls for a fraction of a unit on your end if you’re out and about with a typical honor guard and get in a fight. I’m satisfied with the narrative justification as well, but please let me know if you’re not.

Also! Basically, Aodhan (and it seems Barth as well) wants to raise a unit of Green Skirmishers. It’ll end up costing you 5 power (feel free to upgrade to trained later for 2 more power). I’m using the Special category for the unit’s stats. They are marginally less heavily armed than regular infantry, but also have a ranged profile to compliment your fighting style. You currently have no units that can fight worth a damn in close combat and it’s a glaring weakness that any potential enemies will attempt to exploit.

Obviously, you have plenty of other potential options for an additional unit, but this seems to be a fair middle ground between all of the different suggestions I’ve seen over the past couple threads. You still need to worry about ships eventually, but your docks are 8 months from completion before you can consider that option. So what do you all think? Commit to spending 5 power on this unit when you can afford it?

>Yes
>No
>Something else?

>>3798538
>Yes

>>3798538
>>Yes

>>3798538
Yes

>>3798508
So, #1 - set Atia to shop with Ciara for a fancy dress. We can afford it, correct?
Have we had a picture of Ciara?

>>3798538
If we're weak in CQC, why would we raise a unit of skirmishers? They won't relieve that disadvantage, yes?

I am fine with converting the Sparrowhawks into a special unit, but for "actual personal guard" they remain as mediocre in melee as before. Doesn't make much sense.

Lets assemble a proper unit of personal guard comprised of some real bastards/hedge knights we hire. It shall serve as our melee force.
As for Aodhan and the better lads from the Sparrowhawks, let them join the guard if they like (with a pay raise).

>It also means I don’t have to figure out how to handle rolls for a fraction of a unit on your end if you’re out and about with a typical honor guard and get in a fight.
Does it mean putting the 20% of the unit against full units?

>>3798702
I kinda agree

>>3798538
My preferred 3rd unit is a dual-trained Infantry(or Personal Guard)+Scouts.
They'd be as good in melee as any other infantry or personal guard unit but with scout training they'd have stealth as a key ability and a long-range attack for only 2 extra power. Sounds like a bargain to me.

I'm not all that enthusiastic about thrown spears. The fact that they're only short ranged means you lose out on a lot of synergy with the Sparrowhawks - if they both had the same range then they can support each other much better. Long range also makes you better at kiting more dangerous enemies - you can loose a couple of volleys and disappear back into woods whereas shorter ranged spears make you much more likely to get caught in melee and destroyed.

>>3798819
>They'd be as good in melee as any other infantry or personal guard unit but with scout training they'd have stealth as a key ability and a long-range attack for only 2 extra power. Sounds like a bargain to me.
To be fair, that's a lot of stats, making it OP.

Personal guard is
>Athletics; Endurance; Fighting
and that's pretty much what an elite melee unit should have. Trading Endurance for Stealth I can get behind though. Less formation holding power and stamina but more utility.

As for skirmishers, I am pretty sure Boggs would give them that extended rules kiting ability which our Sparrowhawks already have, taking half a step back and attacking.

>>3798702
First was just Ciara talking with you about a few things. We will still get to it tonight though.

>Does it mean putting the 20% of the unit against full units?

I was going to have to work something out for it, but there are examples in the rules of treating certain units of 20 as being as capable as the units of 100, representing their elite nature. Cavalry and personal guard are what are usually used in such a way. One may say that's because of the horses, but they still keep being monsters on foot. I'm saying I'm fine with treating this particular guerrilla unit the same way. It just seems to be the easiest fix all around. The whole bit about raising a unit with the less talented Sparrowhawks is just the fluff explanation.

We've already had a vote to convert the Sparrowhawks into an actual personal guard type unit and the majority didn't want to do such a drastic change. Mechanically, this is no change at all besides easier bookkeeping for me and a touch more prestige to their reputation.

>>3798819
I thought that was a good idea too, but that was something we already voted on. A big issue is with the sheer amount of power investment required. It could end up taking a massive amount of time. If it helps, >>3798828
is right in that I see no reason why skirmishers wouldn't have Hit and Run.

I should break out what this unit's stats are.

Skirmishers (4 base power)

Keywords: Athletics, Endurance, Fighting

Armor : 2 AR -1 AP base (3 AR -2 AP upgraded)
Melee dmg: Athletics base (Athletics +1 upgraded)
Ranged dmg (close range): Athletics base (Athletics +1 upgraded)

Yes, athletics for range damage too. I'm not going to use agility for throwing spears/axes when regular characters already (rightly so) use athletics.

So! Mechanically they do a point of damage less than regular infantry and use lighter armor, but have the same keywords and a ranged presence.

>>3798873
>I was going to have to work something out for it, but there are examples in the rules of treating certain units of 20 as being as capable as the units of 100, representing their elite nature.
I meant to get clarification if that was the issue. I don't have any ideas on how to treat understrength Sparrowhawks pitted against a full unit either except for going by the rules. Unless they are converted into an elite unit. In that case however we have to figure out where to stick the remaining 80.

I would keep Sparrowhawks as they are as a unit, then
>As for Aodhan and the better lads from the Sparrowhawks, let them join the guard if they like (with a pay raise).
and invest in the guard.

>A big issue is with the sheer amount of power investment required.
That's 7 power for the base unit, right? It is not such gross difference with 5 for infantry. I believe we could raise enough money for the project.

>>3798884
I like skirmishers and they fit Cormaic's style of warfare, but I don't see how they would plug the current hole in our ability to hold our own in melee combat. We would just have two ranged units.

>>3798889
>I meant to get clarification if that was the issue. I don't have any ideas on how to treat understrength Sparrowhawks pitted against a full unit either except for going by the rules. Unless they are converted into an elite unit. In that case however we have to figure out where to stick the remaining 80.

That was the biggest issue for me, yeah. As for the remaining 80, some would just find work in the new unit or find work on one of your projects you have spinning up. Some would simply retire. There's a generational component in play here with those from Barth and your father's generation becoming a little too old to fight well going forward.

7 power for a green unit of personal guards, but the majority wanted them to at least have some sort of ranged capability so the scout or guerrilla type was set to be mixed in for an extra 2. And that's just for a green unit, which honestly feels weird for a personal guard.

They plug a hole in that your biggest conventional threat right now is actually your fellow Clawmen, who typically run with smaller armies themselves, but still larger than your own. This is 100% known in character too. These people have been fighting each other over petty shit for thousands of years, only uniting to fuck up outsiders. You're hosting the lot of them in at the beginning of month IV. It's the middle of month 11 right now. If they show up and see you don't have shit that can soak a charge if need be... I'm not saying they'd be down to invade you just based on that, but I can't see them taking you as seriously at a negotiating table either. Skirmishers are effectively light infantry and are almost as sturdy as regular infantry. They can definitely eat a charge, but probably would get flattened by a more experienced or mounted unit. Not too terribly concerning considering your neighbors don't have any elite units after the war and aren't known for fielding cavalry at all.

>>3798908
>but the majority wanted them to at least have some sort of ranged capability so the scout or guerrilla type was set to be mixed in for an extra 2
I don't recall any serious discussion. You are underscoring in no uncertain terms our lack of cqc capability, so that should convince other anons to consider getting a strong melee unit.

>And that's just for a green unit, which honestly feels weird for a personal guard.
Well, unit upgrade cost increments are the same across all units. The difference between a trained/veteran infantry and the same of personal guard would still be 2 power.

I understand that recruiting a real unit of personal guard presently is out of realistic scope. Thus getting skirmishers may be something logical. Still it is only 2 extra power and as for their greenness, it doesn't have to literally be inexperience. Call it lack of cohesion or tendency to lonewolf. We could outfit them to be more agile than your typical foot knights and nobody will mistake them for bodyguards.

Take our eager Sparrowhawk vets (and replenish their ranks with new blood), add some of the more financially motivated here at the capital especially considering the time when every loyalist is paying inordinate reparations, perhaps also a few of those who just like the idea of less than knightly action. And there is the unit.

What I am saying is that if we can get 5 power, we can get 7.

> If they show up and see you don't have shit that can soak a charge if need be...
Their surprise when they deem us weak and get countercharged by 20 good men.

>>3798938
>I don't recall any serious discussion. You are underscoring in no uncertain terms our lack of cqc capability, so that should convince other anons to consider getting a strong melee unit.

This is a good point too and I'm more than willing to work with it. You could go with another unit type instead. Like I said, this was just the best middle ground I could come up with. The original unit that was destroyed at the Battle of the Bells was regular infantry. I put a "something else" option up just to see if we'd have other suggestions. I have to say, an actual personal guard unit with no talent for sneaking feels very weird for Cormaic's personal unit and is also an odd option for a conventional melee unit. Like, odd in the why would you do that sort of way, not odd as in innovative.

>as for their greenness, it doesn't have to literally be inexperience. Call it lack of cohesion or tendency to lonewolf.

Agreed. It's actually how I was intending to write the skirmishers who would have a solid core of war vets based on the explanation above. The same would likely apply to any alternate unit as well.

>Their surprise when they deem us weak and get countercharged by 20 good men.

I suppose there's nothing stopping you from luring them into a fight, but it's far from ideal. You could do a hell of a job bleeding them in the swamp with just your Sparrowhawks too, but there would be little stopping them from just sacking your hamlet.

>>3798884
Yeah, I like them but not having stealth or a long range attack is a killer.

Paying 2 extra power for
>1 extra melee damage
>Stealth (and Awareness) as key abilities
>A long ranged attack
is just so worth it.
Close range means a range increment of just 10ft. That's pointless. If we're that close to the enemy we might as well just charge them (or expect to get charged - even with the Hit and Run ability).
With long-range (and it's 100ft range increment) they can sit back with the Sparrowhawks, both units raining arrows down on our foes as they slog across the battlefield towards us. They finally arrive, expecting to fight a soft unit of archers only to be countercharged by a perfectly competent (if lightly armoured) infantry unit.

>>3798938
>What I am saying is that if we can get 5 power, we can get 7
I agree ... but I think that should go towards a unit of Infantry+Scouts rather than Personal Guard. I just think stealth and a ranged attack are so much more useful to us than being slightly better in melee.

>To be fair, that's a lot of stats, making it OP.
Not really. As with any combat they still only start with a set amount of experience to invest in their key abilities, they just have more abilities to choose from. A point put into stealth is one not put into athletics or endurance.

>>3799006
Oh and I'm for refluffing the Sparrowhawks as a '20 good men' unit. Like you say, it makes things easier for you and it makes sense in character. Especially if old Bronze Guard vets end up making the core of our 3rd unit.

>>3799067
>Close range means a range increment of just 10ft.

20 yards for unit sized elements. 10 yards for individual characters. Using athletics instead of agility for damage is another advantage. It's not so bad with light armor and hit and run tactics. Lets you get a good throw in before getting stuck in a fight at the least. Or get a quick toss in at retreating or flanking horses.

IDK the way I see it is if we are changing our Sparrowheads into a personal guard. We are taking the best 20 men. And the other 80 just fuck off? I feel like its a complete loss IC for any other unit we create they should be trained to some extent. But Mechanically I get where you are coming from entirely.
From our current elite special unit.
3(archers)+2(guerillas)+7(elite) = 12 Power

I like our current Unit as it stands. I would rather narratively we let go of the bottom 10% wether that includes vets from the bronze guard or not. As well as some/any from the bronze guard who wish to retire. And take in fresh blood to replace them. And drop our Unit down a peg on discipline. Till we get back up to elite.

And revisit the issue of the house fortune before our wedding.

>>3799087
>20 yards for unit sized elements
Ah. Still, it's 200 yd for long range elements. The point still stands

>Using athletics instead of agility for damage is another advantage
Yeah, that's definitely true.
But in the end I don't think it's worth it.
When units can charge over a 100 yards being able to throw a spear 40 yards isn't often going to come into play. Even with the Hit and Run rules we'd be lucky to get off a single shot, rather than the several we'd likely end up with from bows.

>>3799103
If we turn them into personalguard wouldnt they lose either marksmanship or stealth?
And adding a third option such as personal guards seems a bit expensive adding 6 power. And makes the unit in my opinion to well rounded.
Or say at best, we could do it so for a group of 20, add war hounds and it adds a dice. And I think that makes more sense narratively. Make the warhounds cost double?

>>3799123
Or even just a bonus die. Added to fighting along with the +1. Seems like a huge hassle to figure out a middle ground. I am happy I am not a QM.lol

>>3799103
> And the other 80 just fuck off?
They would find work in your expansion projects, join the new unit, replace a few Badgers, or simply retire because a good chunk like Barth are hovering around fifty years right now. That's getting into old age territory in this setting.

I'm not going to do a revote on altering your current units mechanically because that vote wasn't even close.

>>3799118
And that's a good point as well. How about this? The Special type that I used as the basis for skirmishers includes the option for close range or long range. We can put which ranged style they use to a separate vote later on.

>>3799123
Nah I'm not talking about altering the Sparrowhawks at all mechanically. In fact, I won't consider it after the last vote to keep them intact. Just talking about using them as your personal guard in the narrative. It's your signature unit right now and the group you personally captain. All of the other personal guard discussion is about creating one as opposed to skirmishers or some other infantry variant.

>>3799136
Replace endurance with stealth and you got yourself a deal.

>>3799136
Alright, that being said I would be fine with that. The mechchanically stay as a unit it's just they're only 20 narratively.
I like this option. It makes pretty good sense with all of our sneaking and maneuvering.
I like our creations of small elite units. I would be fine with Creating a personal guard instead of infantry myself.

>>3799006
>I have to say, an actual personal guard unit with no talent for sneaking feels very weird for Cormaic's personal unit and is also an odd option for a conventional melee unit. Like, odd in the why would you do that sort of way, not odd as in innovative.
I'm advocating a modified 'personal guard' that fits Cormaic's style.

>Athletics; Endurance; Fighting base stats
>Trade Endurance for Stealth

>>3799067
>I just think stealth and a ranged attack are so much more useful to us than being slightly better in melee.
Same as above.

>>3799123
Its about taking the best of Sparrowhawks to shape a new unit, not disband them or anything.

>Take our eager Sparrowhawk vets (and replenish their ranks with new blood), add some of the more financially motivated here at the capital especially considering the time when every loyalist is paying inordinate reparations, perhaps also a few of those who just like the idea of less than knightly action. And there is the unit.

>And adding a third option such as personal guards seems a bit expensive adding 6 power
Infantry cost is 5 power. Personal guard is 7.

Replacing endurance almost entirely negates the purpose of forming a unit that can tank a hit. What I will do is offer an option alongside the ranged style vote to spend 1 extra power on the "stealthy" unit quality from Iron and Hate. It will give +3 to stealth rolls and take 3 off the DC for warfare tests for the ambush order. That should be just as good if not better for a green/trained unit anyway.

Hey Boggs, I've got a few small bits of critisicm/questions here. I was going through Cormaics character sheet and I noticed that he didn't have any drawbacks. Is there a reason for this? I was under the impression that all adult character begin with one drawback. I also noticed he had a Combat Defense of 12, but his agility, athletics and awareness only ad up to 10? Just looking for some clarification I suppose.

Loving the quest though!

Personally I'm of a mind to just leave things as they are, and perhaps invest in a unit of plain jane infantry. Yesm theyre boring but when we host the other crackclaw houses, having 200 fighting men should be a fairly impressive show of force for such a small house. Of course where we're going to house these men is a bit of a problem but we can cross that bridge when we come to it.

>>3799264
Oh he has the Threatening drawback. I just threw it under benefits. It just hasn't come up much because I'm not applying it to those who are close to him and he hasn't had many interactions with outsiders recently. It'll certainly be rearing its head in King's Landing though. The combat defense is also modified by his superior hatchet that he uses with his stiletto in place of a shield. Obviously that wouldn't help him in ranged combat. I'll add another line showing him as having 10 when using his bow, just to keep things clear.

>having 200 fighting men should be a fairly impressive show of force for such a small house
Don't forget the Badgers! They aren't much in a straight fight, but they are still 100 armed and uniformed men. Also, that reminds me that I did say you bought enough uniforms for a 3rd unit. I'll be sure to add in that quality.

>Of course where we're going to house these men is a bit of a problem but we can cross that bridge when we come to it.

I have a feeling you may be crossing that bridge very soon indeed. We may even get to it tonight.

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>>3799294
Ah okay that makes sense! I glanced over threatening as a drawback and assumed it was something to do with sinister. My bad. Looking forward to seeing how his flaws come into the picture once we get our swamp boi out of his swamp, and that explains the combat defense. I had just assumed that was his baseline combat defense.

I doubt I'll be able to participate tonight but looking forward to catching up!

>>3799199
>What I will do is offer an option alongside the ranged style vote to spend 1 extra power on the "stealthy" unit quality from Iron and Hate. It will give +3 to stealth rolls and take 3 off the DC for warfare tests for the ambush order. That should be just as good if not better for a green/trained unit anyway.
This settles the vote for me. I'll let shekel-knight anons figure out how to produce that much wealth to convert to power.

>>3799264
>perhaps invest in a unit of plain jane infantry.
That was my thought too before I noted that the difference in power between units is slight. I assumed infantry was cheaper.

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I'm going to start posting a little early tonight so that I can leave the first vote up a little longer. I'd say it's an important one.

>Yes, but with a couple details to be voted on later when the 5 power goal is reached. Thanks for all of the ideas everyone. Nailing down a unit can be like pulling teeth, but it’s a lot more fun for me with good discussion.

Aodhan is still as a statue as he awaits your response. He sinks back in his chair in relief when you give him a nod. “I’ll have Ciara send a letter so Barth can get to work sorting out the details. They will replace the Bronzeguard we’ve lost, but we will sort out the details for their equipment once we have enough good men together to equip in the first place.”

“Easy enough, Ser. And what of their captain? You know I’m a Sparrowhawk through and through,” he says, anticipating the possibility, “Barth could maybe hold them over for now, but we all know he’s close to leaving his fighting days behind him. He won’t shut up about it after all.”

You drum your fingers on the arm of your chair in thought, “I have some ideas, but we will wait on them for now. I don’t want to send out an open recruitment call yet. I don’t know where we will stand with the other houses and won’t suffer a captain with dual loyalties.” In truth, you’re also of a mind to find another knight to lead the unit, but you don’t voice these desires yet.

“And the Sparrowhawks, Ser?”

“Start drilling them in the grove of trees behind the villa. The way I see it, I’m renting those too. Anyone who finds issue with that can come find me. If you’re convinced you can pull this off with twenty men then I’d like to see some proof,” you command.

“Aye Cormaic, you won’t be disappointed,” he says with a grin before leaving to gather the men together.

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>>3799899
The Red Terror makes her entrance next. She looks tired, as if she hasn’t been sleeping well.

“Ciara. To what do I owe this pleasant visit?”

“Your wife, Cormaic,” she says plainly, “I’m worried.”

“And here I was thinking this was about a new dress, My Queen of Love and Beauty,” you say slowly, prompting her to blush, “what has you so worried?”

“She wasn’t supposed to tell you about that,” she says with some annoyance, “I don’t need your teasing, this is serious!”

“We talk about everything. She can’t resist me,” you say with a shrug.

“So I’ve HEARD. You can’t quiet her at least a little? A gag even,” she stops there as your grin widens, “no. Stop giving me that stupid grin and listen. I’m worried FOR her. Cormaic, it isn’t normal for her to be feeling the effects of her condition this acutely. I’ve seen plenty of pregnant women and she has it among the worst of them.”

This gets you to sit up with a sinking feeling in your gut. You’ve never really paid much attention to birthing issues before. Ciara was born when you were little older than Esmeralda and you had no one else worth concerning yourself about. It’s not like you knew about Ynys’s condition until it was much too late. You assumed this was somewhat normal.

“What can I do?” You fight to keep at least some of the worry from your voice, but she can see right through it if her look of pity is any indication.

“I’m not a maester, but I would have her avoid too much travel at the least. Take it easy. She can probably handle King’s Landing well enough if you get her a litter. You should anyway as they are in fashion. But heading back to the Boggwood? Cormaic, she needs to wait until the baby is born. I know it’s a while off and it will make your tournament a little less lively, but I’m concerned for her safety and that of your child,” she says this with stone cold seriousness before adding, “keep her away from shellfish, too. She’s a glutton for them and they can make her sick. Especially if they are from these waters.”

This is a lot for even you to process. She’s always so lively, it’s hard to imagine her as being so delicate. She is rather slight of frame though… You know Ciara has a knack for this sort of thing, but this is a lot. What will you do?

>Make arrangements for her to stay down here for the duration of her pregnancy. She will miss your tourney in a few months’ time, leaving you to deal with diplomacy without her.
>Risk transporting her back to the Boggwood after your business in King’s Landing is concluded. This could be very risky, but you need her by your side.

>>3799902
>>Make arrangements for her to stay down here for the duration of her pregnancy. She will miss your tourney in a few months’ time, leaving you to deal with diplomacy without her.
We don't know shit about babies.

>>3799902
>Make arrangements for her to stay down here for the duration of her pregnancy. She will miss your tourney in a few months’ time, leaving you to deal with diplomacy without her.

>>3799902
>We need a second opinion, hire a maester in Kings Landing.

>>3799940
You can't, unfortunately. Such a great holding, but you need to hit 21 influence and status 4 first. Also, they are 10 wealth.

>>3799902
Now that I think about it. Couldn't we arrange tournament near villa? Unorthodox I know. But people actually could arrive by a road.

>>3799944
Can we ask maester IN THE Kings Landing for second opinion?

>>3799945
Nope. You don't have access to enough land for it here and it would actually force your guests to travel much further even if you could.

>>3799949
Another unfortunate no. Maybe if you were down in Old Town, but they don't exactly have maesters that aren't on retainer to other houses around here. You would also be risking having word spread of Atia's pregnancy and likely your marriage in advance of bending the knee.

but can we go north of the wall and beat the night king in an arm wrestling constest?

>>3799944
Not full time, just to check up on Atia.

>>3799992
Perhaps you could arrange something along those lines after you make yourself known in King's Landing. You'll be around some fairly influential people. Right now? Not really an option unless you're willing to risk quite a lot on a second opinion. If it helps, Ciara's character sheet is up on the google drive. She has Healing 4 and the Miracle Worker benefit. She's being humble from her lack of formal training, but she's the next best thing after a full maester with some healing links in his chain.

>>3799902
>Make arrangements for her to stay down here for the duration of her pregnancy. She will miss your tourney in a few months’ time, leaving you to deal with diplomacy without her.
Call for more more men to guard her, 20 go with us, 20 stay with her.

>>3799902
>Make arrangements for her to stay down here for the duration of her pregnancy. She will miss your tourney in a few months’ time, leaving you to deal with diplomacy without her

>>3799966
Nah but we could probably one shot a dragon bard style with our sick ass weirwood bow

>>3799902
>Make arrangements for her to stay down here for the duration of her pregnancy. She will miss your tourney in a few months’ time, leaving you to deal with diplomacy without her.

Whew. Okay, calling the vote and writing. I'm glad you chose to keep her down here. I really didn't want to roll for the outcome of her traveling back. That could've gotten very ugly. And yeah, she had some good rolls and some bad rolls for pregnancy/childbirth/child. This was the result of one of the bad rolls.

>>3800008
>She has Healing 4 and the Miracle Worker benefit
Welp.
>Make arrangements for her to stay down here for the duration of her pregnancy. She will miss your tourney in a few months’ time, leaving you to deal with diplomacy without her.

>>3800120
>The child is born black
>But Corm is the father while Atia isn't the mother

“There is only one choice. My wife and my heir are more important than our neighbors. I’ll have to negotiate with them myself,” she actually winces at the thought before you continue, “perhaps I could arrange for her to stay here even after I head back for the tournament. I’ll also see about finding a maester to check in on her after we settle this farce at the turn of the year. Surely at least one house in that cesspool of a city doesn’t hate me. There should be enough time to increase her guard here as well, if need be,” you muse, “but I don’t own this villa. Actually, I don’t even know who does.”

She seems relieved you’re taking her seriously, but raises her eyebrows at your lack of information on the very manse you’re residing in. “It used to belong to House Hollard before the Defiance of Duskendale. The Crown likely holds the deed to it now, but you are better off asking Master Ryvas for more details. He’s the caretaker here.”

“That’s an odd name. Why does it seem so familiar?”

“I couldn’t say, Cormaic. Ryvas… like the Rykkers maybe? Although he does have a foreign look about him.”

You thank her for her help, you really should buy her a dress now, and set out to find this man to negotiate for a more extended stay. You find him playing with Esmeralda in the courtyard.

>Can I get 5d6 for Awareness (Notice)

Rolled 5, 4, 2, 4, 2 = 17 (5d6)

>>3800143

Rolled 5, 3, 2, 2, 4 = 16 (5d6)

>>3800143

Rolled 4, 4, 3, 6, 1 = 18 (5d6)

>>3800143

>>3800148
>>3800150
>>3800151
Okay, you only hit the first DC. Not a big surprise though. Let's see if you can put the rest together, shall we?

>Can I get 4d6 for Cunning?

>>3800150
Varys?

Rolled 1, 6, 5, 4 = 16 (4d6)

>>3800160

Rolled 4, 6, 1, 5 = 16 (4d6)

>>3800160

Rolled 6, 4, 5, 4 = 19 (4d6)

>>3800160

>>3800161
Whaaat? The QM likes anagrams you say?

>>3800174
Oh hey, that's higher than an 18. Looks like we have a winner!

>Rolled 17 against DC 15, 24 for Awareness (Notice)
>Success 1 degree, Failed

You stare at the man. Plump and bald and jovial. Heartily laughing in a deep voice as Esmeralda adds sound effects to a dragon figurine she’s waving about. There’s nothing familiar about the man. He’s as you’d expect a caretaker of such a home to be, though perhaps a little boisterous. Though one detail does strike you as odd… she’s waving around the same figurines she had when you first met her.

>Rolled 19 vs DC 18 for Cunning (Memory)
>Success 1 degree

You don’t recall ever seeing them since that fateful day. And you also recall a certain cyphered letter. A game called Cyvasse. Atia had mentioned it is popular in the Free Cities and involves moving around figurines atop a board.

You marvel at the man, genuinely humbled. You don’t consider yourself to be easily fooled by mummer tricks like disguises, and yet here you are. You remember your encounter with the “merchant” quite well. This must be the same man, but everything is different. His scent, hair, skin tone, gait, even his fucking voice and personality. He could’ve stayed around sweeping the staircases of your tower and you would’ve been none the wiser.

He looks over to you as if only just now noticing your presence and sketches a sweeping bow before speaking in that same falsely boisterous voice, “Ser Cormaic Boggs, an honor.”

You nod hesitantly, “Master… Ryvas was it? May we speak privately.”

“But of course, Ser! Come, come. I’m sure we have much to discuss. Damn contracts, eh?” He pats your daughter on the head and leads you back to the office.

You close the door and he motions for you to take the chair behind the desk before sinking into a chair across from you as if he was seeking your audience. He lets out an oddly feminine sigh before saying, “appearances, you see. We wouldn’t want anyone walking in on us as if I was dictating anything to you, would we?”

>Continuing in a few, but if you guys have any questions you’d like to ask over the next couple of posts then by all means let me know.

>>3800255
What involvement did you have with our .... firstborn? Were you the sole reason she was sent to me or was it that she was sent to successfully because of you? What involvement of her mothers house did they have, if any was it willingly or with... persuasion?

How did her mother die? Do not skimp on the details now. Surely you know.

Have you been to our house or have close friends and little birds that come by often?

Who else knows the full truth of her origin aside from me? Or, how many?

Will Atia be safe here?

Tell me about the new king and queen, are they "honorable and fair"?

Whom should I be wary of in kings landing, besides you of course?

What can we expect from the current hand of the king?

Tell me something you know that I thought no one else knows?

Would you care for a game of ches-Cyvasse?

>>3800337
>Will Atia be safe here?
>Tell me about the new king and queen, are they "honorable and fair"?
>Whom should I be wary of in kings landing, besides you of course?
>What can we expect from the current hand of the 0?
These are probably the most important imo

I'd also ask
>Why he has been helping us, both with our daughter and with our expected fine

>>3800255
>>3800337
>>3800351
Forgot to ask a question or two.

How did he first learn or discover about our daughter? Did he find out, or did someone tell him? Did he figure it out? And if so, how? We have never truly met before. I mean if he's seen our eyes before then put to and two together, that might be understandable.

How are our war reparations punishment compared to other houses like us?

>>3800362
This anon nailed pretty much all the questions. I'm sure we will get a couple answers. Others we may owe him a favor or two as it stands.

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168 KB JPG

>>3800388
Woooo!
Two for two!

“I’m sure you have questions for me,” he says genially.

You do, mostly half-formed with how quickly they enter your mind, but there are several that stick out. Puzzles you’ve been unable to piece together. And so you begin, “what is your connection to Esmeralda and Ynys?”

“Ynys… I would have called her a friend. You see, the Princess Elia approached me with her when it became apparent that she would not be able to hide her condition for much longer. You see, she was expected to marry into either House Martell or one of their direct banners. An olive branch to mend some of the damage done after the nasty business of the death of her father, the Lord Ormond Yronwood at the hands of Prince Oberyn. A child out of wedlock could have ruined their negotiations and Princess Elia dearly wanted to avoid more bloodshed. I had sympathy for her plight and was compelled to obey regardless. And so, I made arrangements for her to birth your daughter away from prying eyes, giving the excuse of wasting sickness to dissuade visitors. She was a clever woman and quite strong of spirit… I would say you may have a ‘type’, if you will, Ser Cormaic. I visited her periodically to perform my duties in ensuring everything was proceeding as expected, but I soon grew quite fond of our conversations, kindred spirits hiding their nature from the world. She and I spent quite a bit of time discussing the Realm and playing cyvasse. I must confess, she was quite good.”

This just brings you to more questions. You ask, “but why did you help her further? And why wouldn’t you bring Esmeralda to the Yronwoods instead?”

“I came to her as the gates were opened and the Lions were unleashed. I begged her to flee, but she insisted in staying in the Red Keep. Princess Elia’s court didn’t expect such savagery to be turned on them as well. Those that weren’t killed as the Lions entered the Holdfast ended up with their backs against the sea. They chose the path one may expect of the dornish. Her last request of me was to bring Esmeralda to you. She had already spoken to me of you on occasion, so this didn’t come as too much of a surprise. There are other forces at work in Dorne. She knew this perhaps better than I and wanted to spare her daughter from becoming another piece on an increasingly complex board. And so now I have a question of you, Ser, if you will permit it. What are your intentions with your daughter?” He sounds more protective than you would’ve expected at the end.

You see no reason not to answer him honestly, “I intend for her to never find her back to a wall with no means of defending herself. She will be tutored under Tyrra, my good-sister, in water dancing arts. We will have to see where that takes her later.”

You can’t help but feel his smile may be genuine for once. “Yes. We shall. I think she would have liked this… they do look so much alike.”

Cont.

>>3800465
“I do have more questions as to the state of the current court---” he holds up a hand placatingly.

“My dear knight, as much as I would love to help you, you must understand. What I’ve told you thus far, aside from perhaps a small detail or two in my letter, was entirely personal. My loyalty is to the Realm first and foremost. It would not do for me to whisper gossip into your ears for your own personal benefit. No. If you would like my aid in a professional sense then I’m afraid I will require much and more from you in return.”

“Why me,” you ask.

“Oh, I’m sure you can see you are a logical choice even discounting our dear Esmeralda. Proximity, to be simplistic. Your ties across the Narrow Sea and your future ties to the Queen to be more specific. Moreover, it is so exceedingly rare to find a head of a household that has a knack and appreciation for subtlety. I believe you may have much to offer, if you are bold enough to serve the Realm.”

“What would be expected of me?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to spoil anything without a true commitment. I will require your oath first. Take the night to think it over. Until then…” He rummages through his robes and produces a roll of parchment, passing it across the table to you. A deed. To this very villa.

“My last free favor. It’s yours. The Crown has long since forgotten its ownership of it. Your lovely wife will be safe here, I assure you. This property has been in my care and mine alone. Even if we don’t enter into a more professional relationship, I do so enjoy my connections in Pentos and it’s only courteous to extend my hospitalities towards the daughter and future grandchild of Joro the Magnificent. Do give me an answer soon, Ser Cormaic. The Realm waits for no one," he says before exiting the room with a bow, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

>Acquired Townhouse holding. This has no mechanical benefits to you outside of the fact that there is enough space for you to keep a unit here. If you want it to be more useful for things such as hosting guests then you’re going to have to pump some wealth into it.

>>3800512
And perfect timing! Right where I wanted to stop. Rare thing, that. This will be the last story post, but you can see where the overnight vote is coming in here. You may spend a Destiny point slot to pick up the Sponsor: Lord Varys Benefit. Yes, it isn’t just a simple yes/no to work with him. Such a relationship is a much larger commitment than that. I’ll freely admit that you will have one more opportunity to find a true sponsor in Queen Cersei, but the two are mutually exclusive. You can’t truly serve both of them. (The King became a nonoption after your decision to swear fealty to the Queen.) This also feeds into my desire to make more obscure destiny point options more interesting and worthwhile in ways that simple things like armor mastery could never be. Of course, you are more than welcome to turn him down. He will get over it. But a true sponsor, whether him or the Queen, is your real ticket to advance yourself beyond a simple Landed Knight. Doing so still won’t be easy but will at least be realistically possible.

So! Will you choose Lord Varys as your sponsor, tying your own fate with his?

>Yes
>No