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>>4856958
You don’t think – you punch the wannabe murderer square in the face, causing him to spit some blood from where you broke his lip.

He is smiling.

Ayrmidon Valarr
> Warfare Test – 16 vs 12 (DC)
> Marginal Success! One Degree of Success!

The older man moves far faster than his age would suggest – he puts a hand over your shoulder, temporarily stopping you

“Wait! Think, Belaerys! Assassins this far in our camp…and this silence, do you hear it?”

Now that he makes you notice it…there is a lot of noise, but not nearly as much as you’d expect from a camp woken up by the roar of a dragon.

Just what in Balerion’s name is going on?

> Let Valarr handle this..he knows how to make men talk

> “Ayrmidon..if what you are suggesting is real, we do NOT have much time. Think you could make him talk?”

He takes a good look at the smiling assassin…who stops smiling as soon as he notices the smirk gracing Ayrmidon’s face

“I can try…but before that..let me give you a show of what awaits you if you don’t tell us everything you know”

The Patriarch of the Valarr family turns toward the younger of the two men…and you notice a startling resemblance now that they are both unmasked – brothers?

“You know, my grandson was killed by men wearing a similar uniform. Now, I doubt it was you that committed that heinous act…but trust me, this will hurt you much more than it will hurt me, I will make sure of it.”

And so, with a cruel smirk on his face, it begins.

Ayrmidon Valarr vs Hooded Man’s willpower
> Will (Sorcery – Cruentus, Exitium) – 15 vs 15 (Will)
> Marginal Success! One Degree of Success!

…what follows is something that you hope time will help you forget, for you have never seen a man’s eyes bulge out of his eye sockets before, the nerves shredding themselves in front of your own very eyes.

You have also never seen a man’s ribcage crack on its own while simultaneously caving in, further damaging his internal organs – the damage to his lungs preventing him from drawing in enough breath to call for help, yet mouthing the word “brother” and “help” over and over, as the same sorcery slowly killing him prevents his death.

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>>4856961
A man must have nerves of steel to attempt to infiltrate a military camp with only 2 companions and to attempt to kill a noble of Valyria, fully knowing what awaits him should he fail. And yet…it is not until the bones of the arms of his younger brother begin to break the skin that the older assassins scream

“Enough! I will speak! Just..please…stop..”

You feel sick. Were it not for the rage you are feeling, you are you’d have puked by now.

Ayrmidon simply nods and motions to the older assassin to speak

“Be warned. I can make your brother’s torment last for days..or end it right here. Speak quickly.”

The assassin grinds his teeth, hatred clear in his eyes.

“Everything they say about you is true – you Valyrians are nothing but monsters. I am glad that your damned city burned”

A simple flick of Ayrmidon’s wrist and the younger man begins to scream once more.

That’s all it takes for the arrogant tone to disappear from the older assassin’s voice

“Stop! Please..we had help. Someone calling himself an officer came to us in Volantis and”

…you will never know what he could have told you, for the moment he begins to talk, one of the guards stabs him with his short sword, before falling upon it himself. It all happens in the span of a few second, not enough to react.

The next thing you know, an explosion goes off in the distance, on the border of the camp.

> They MUST have had help. Too many coincidences. Finding a traitor among 35 000 men is impossible, but the officers…head count, now.

You turn, readying your stiletto and knife, calling Adam and Gareth by your side, while dragging Ayrmidon behind you. He begins to protest, but a single look is all it takes to communicate him the seriousness of the situation. You made a quick nod with your head toward Tessario, who arrived with the guards…the contingent in which the traitor resided, apparently. Still, you trust the man and tell him to join your small group, much to the astonishment of the other Volantene soldiers

The gods only know how many traitors infiltrated your camp already.

What do you wish to do with the current information?

Priorities (pick as many as you want, but put them into order and/or a coherent write-in to combine them, if you wish to do so)
> We need to assess the situation – NOW.
> We need to ensure the safety of our allies – Write-in how to divide your allies
> We need to support our soldiers and organize a counter-attack
> Write-in

Essentially, I am asking what you wish to do now that the cards are partially on the table.

How do you wish to conduct this night battle, while ensuring the safety of the people you care about?

>>4856961
I meant to link it to the previous thread/last post. Oh well.

>>4856302
>>4856302
>>4856302

>>4856964
> We need to assess the situation – NOW.
Can't do shit if we don't at the least know what is going on.

>>4856964
> We need to support our soldiers and organize a counter-attack
We, Sheira and Tessario are going to support our troops, we don t have time to wait around. We have dragons and can destroy that attack on the camp right now

> We need to assess the situation – NOW.
Ayrmidon, Valarr, Humfrey and Horonno resolve this: which is find the traitors and get our spies and scouts moving right now. Adam goes with Horonno and gets healed, Gareth goes with Ayrmidon while Humfrey goes with Valarr.

Write - in
- Split our westerosi knights to go and guard each of our officers. Weapons out
- Have Humfrey send some westerosi soldiers to protect the scorpios and ballistas.
- Everyone gets armors and weapons now. And we want an healer on Adam.
- Send troops that are already prepared at the camp borders
- Send some men to look at the supplies

>>4857013
Sorry for the confusion - Valarr is Ayrmidon's surname - his full name is Ayrmidon Valarr.

I use the name and surname interchangeably, like I do with "Rhogar" and "Belaerys"

>>4857026
well, uh.
That makes it easier.


>>4857013
i will make a small change, which is send Gareth with Tessario. Everyone of our guys is protected now.

>>4856964
> We need to assess the situation – NOW.
Sheria gets Neltharion on the air and delays the enemy attack, buy time for the army to arm and prepare itself.

> We need to ensure the safety of our allies – Write-in how to divide your allies
Move to the Valyrian Garrison and Westerosi part of the encampment. Ayrmidon can safety rally his officers and give orders after getting a bodyguard of our hedge knights. A couple of knight for Tessario too.

> We need to support our soldiers and organize a counter-attack
Get a Adam to one our maesters, send some of our Infantry to check and guard our supplies.

>>4856990
>>4857013
>>4857031
Assess the situation

>>4857013
>>4857031
Organize a counter-attack

>>4857031
Safety of our allies

I will wait some 10 extra minutes, then write the scene by using the various orders and write-ins.

Roll me 3D6 for Warfare

Rolled 5, 4, 4 = 13 (3d6)

>>4857149

Rolled 5, 5, 3 = 13 (3d6)

>>4857149

Rolled 4, 4, 3 = 11 (3d6)

>>4857149

Rolled 2, 5, 5 = 12 (3d6)

>>4857149

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>>4856964
> We need to assess the situation – NOW.
> We need to ensure the safety of our allies – Write-in how to divide your allies
> We need to support our soldiers and organize a counter-attack

This is bad. This is very bad.

Infiltrators among the ranks, assassins in the camp..you don’t know who you can trust right now…but you know that you will be safer among the Westerosi than the Essosi troops – much harder to find Westerosi infiltrators on such a short notice, if you were to take a bet.

> “Valarr, you can lead the ground battle from among the Western mercenaries that followed me here, right? The likelihood of there being spies and infiltrators among them is much lower than Volantene or Essosi troops.”

The older man looks pensive for a second before snapping his fingers – a soldier quickly steps forward and stabs the suffering assassin lying on the ground.

“I will lead the battle from among the men of Elyria – they are my own people after all. But I will accept the company of some of your mercenaries as bodyguard, if you’ll be so kind as to offer. I agree with your logic.”

You nod, signaling to Adam and Gareth to follow Valarr’s lead, before turning to Sheira

> “We need to take off and survey the situation. NOW.”

Your wife nods, before running off toward her own dragon, Neltharion the White.

A single whistle is enough for you to call upon Urrax, who is sitting nearby – jumping atop his saddle is habit at this point, an action that you do almost without thinking.

It is with a loud voice that you yell the first order you have given so far to the men from this army

> Warfare Test – 13 vs 12 (DC)
> Marginal Success! One degree of success!

> “Everyone! Get your asses to your own unit and begin to move toward the borders of the camp! Now!”

As the men begin to rush away, you quickly yell to Humfrey to stop

> “Humfrey, send some of your own men to guard the supplies and the ballistae – if we have been infiltrated, these are 2 things they will surely attempt to strike. Also get someone to look after Adam – he’s been wounded and I’d rather not lose a valid man so early in the campaign”

You do not wait for a reply, but simply push your dragon forward – and take flight.

….

You can see very little, but from up here you can make out enemy soldiers skulking around the edges of the camp…as well as inside certain sections of the camp. That’s why you did not hear any warning from your scouts – the enemy infiltrators must have made short work of them in preparation for this ambush.

What do you wish to do?
> Focus on hit-and-run tactics – burn down the enemy and move on to another area of the battlefield
> Support your soldiers – some units are already engaging the enemy
> Write-in

Also sorry guys, but thanks to the bloody weather my internet comes and goes. Vote and if it doesn't go to shit I'll continue writing. If I disappear - well, you know what happened and we simply continue tomorrow.

>>4857202
>> Focus on hit-and-run tactics – burn down the enemy and move on to another area of the battlefield

>>4857202
>> Focus on hit-and-run tactics – burn down the enemy and move on to another area of the battlefield

>>4857202
> Focus on hit-and-run tactics – burn down the enemy and move on to another area of the battlefield
Keep pressure on al sides.

>>4857202
> Focus on hit-and-run tactics – burn down the enemy and move on to another area of the battlefield

>Write - in
Have us and Sheira burn in lines the enemy formations, they will not be able to move quickly enough. When we are done move to the next part of the batllefield. This lines of fire will also give some time for our soldier for better organize, as the enemy needs to pass them for reach our soldiers.

Tell Sheira to take out any enemy leaders she can see with the bow.

And a small speech from above :
"Men of Valyria, rally to battle ! Out of your tents and protect the camp ! Show this traitors what you are made of, for the Freehold !"

>>4857235
*battlefield

>>4857235
+1

Am I the only one who thinks Ayrmidon might be the traitor?
He's certainly in the position to organise such an operation and he's definitely ruthless enough to do so. This might just be his way of getting us out of the way so he can command solo.

>>4857402
In the previous thread i thought the same. But honestly it doesn t make sense.

A valryrian has absolutelty not a decent reason to do so. Dragonlords and Dragons are the butter to the valyrian war machine that is the bread. Losing even a single couple of them (especially now), comprimize the reconquest.

Which means less land and power to gain for valyrians, because the valyrians will be the ones to gain much of the control in the freehold as well settling most of the lands that will be taken back at the end of the war. It s like shooting off your arms, while your legs are still broken.
So for valyrians not much sense. Unless they are mad or dumb.


Instead a group of volantene indipentists (even if it s not a smart move, when they gain more with being in the Freehold), west essosi rebels and ghiscari rebels have a larger chance to have done this.

>>4857478
Initially I thought it was the officers from Mantarys or Tolos hoping to cut short the reconquest and gain independence. But now we have volantene officer in the mix. But these suicides are really are throwing me off. That's a lot of dedication to the cause for what should be colonial nobility. Maybe their is a religious element.

>>4857497
It could be religious yeah. Honestly these seems something well thought and that existed before the doom. It has been very precise and well executed, and being able to have a critical officer in our army is anything but simple work.
I have a small suspect, it could be connected to the people the faceless want gone from existance forever.


Eitherway no matter the outcome of what happens in this night at the camp, it will be a major pain for our army to resolve. So the enemy who ever it is, has already achieved successfully an objective against the freehold and our dynasty.
Of course, we will make them regret it to have done so.

If its religious then perhaps its R'hllor worshipers. They are probably the only ones zealous enough to die for their cause

>>4857608
The Norvoshi and their Bearded Priests are supposed to be pretty devout as well, they just don't apear in the books much. Similarly I'd expect the Qohorik to be pretty up there given that's the whole reason they founded their city, their sorcerers might also be able to magically enforce some sort of binding oath on their agents.
Braavos is also a possibility, they're not religious but ex-slaves might be willing to die if it halts the reconquest.

>>4857202
>Focus on hit-and-run tactics – burn down the enemy and move on to another area of the battlefield

>>4857210
>>4857217
>>4857230
>>4857235
>>4857289
Burn the traitors. Alright.

Rolled 46 (1d100)

One flat roll to determine what might change in our MC due to the recent events and these suspected betrayals.

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>>4857202
> Focus on hit-and-run tactics – burn down the enemy and move on to another area of the battlefield

They will pay.

They will all pay for what they have done, to you, to your family, to your homeland.

In your rage addled-mind disconnected phrases and facts you heard over the past months connect in a giant web of half-lies, half-truths.

The Norvoshi priests killed all the foreigners in their city on the day of the Doom and expelled the others from their territory on the same day with unnerving efficiency..as if they knew what was about to happen. The Faceless Man told you someone caused the destruction of your home..the death of your family. The Volantene Triarchs aimed to claim the mantle of heirs to Valyria. The Ghiscari revolted just at the right moment, as if they were waiting to strike. An officer…a high-ranking one at that, was an infiltrator in the Volantene troops. Assassins attempted to kill your wife.

Traitors and rebels all around you.

Aurion was right. We can rely only on ourselves in this cruel world. Our family and our people.

They will pay..you will make sure of that.

These are the thoughts that cloud your mind as you push Urrax toward the enemy, closely followed by your beloved, Sheira..Sheira Belaerys, you remind yourself, the woman that you almost lost tonight.

As rage consumes you, the innate connection you share with your dragon makes it so that he feels the same feelings, amplified as befits such a magnificent beast.

> “Dracarys!”

A simple command is enough to unleash a storm of vermilion flames upon the enemy – they might be dressed in black to hide themselves in the night, but nothing will protect them from the rightful retribution of Valyria.

You do not turn, yet you feel the jet of warm air that signifies Sheira is following your lead, pushing Neltharion to burn down the rebels.

An arrow bounces off your armor – a lucky shot on part of an archer. The last action he shall ever take, for you direct Urrax toward the enemy formation – they shoot arrows, you respond with dragonfire.

The screams of men fade as you keep pushing your dragon to move across the battlefield – for this is what the camp is turning into more and more by the minute -, lighting the night as you go, bathing the enemy in dragonfire as reward for their treachery.

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>>4858712
Looking down you notice that the fighting has reached even the Westerosi section of the camp. You can clearly make out the giant figure of Gareth as he finishes off a man with a single hit of his longsword, while you do not see Valarr until you turn Urrax around – the Patriarch has apparently decided to take to the field in person, recognizing the uselessness of attempting to direct a battle in these conditions.

A Valyrian sword in his left hand, a red hue in his right, you see a man fall to his knees in pain before having his head chopped off in a single hit – a fitting end to a traitor.

And yet, even the heroic actions of your allies cannot change the fact that tonight will be a massacre, one way or another. You fell for their trap.

It is in this moment, as you fly Urrax toward another section of the battlefield, that you have an epiphany – they knew your two most likely landing spots. The ambush was not a real ambush..it was a scouting party.

That means you likely told your army to camp…just where they wanted you to.

You fell for it, hook, line and all

But then..what does it mean? Does it mean they had a set up in Bhorash as well, just in case you decided to take that path instead of this one?

> The North Valyrians conspired with the Ghiscari rebels to gain independence!
> It was a Volantene officer that killed the hooded assassin before you could interrogate him – the Triarchs are behind this!
> You know the power of magic. A skilled sorcerer could bind a man against his will and you found weapons from all over the Freehold when you defeated the scouting party at your landing – this is all a conspiracy to sow chaos among allies!
> There was Norvoshi gold. They knew what was going to happen. Norvos conspired to weaken your army before you could reach them after taking Essaria.

NOTE- this does not determine what is true and what is false. But it will determine who shall take the blame, at least for now, in Rhogar’s mind.

What do you wish to do?
> It is working – our archers are firing more accurately thanks to the fire lighting up the enemy positions, without counting the death caused by Urrax and Neltharion. Continue!
> We have done enough to sow chaos and mayhem – let’s regroup near our allies and support them directly! (Who? Valarr & Tessario along with the Volantene, or Horonno with Gareth and the wounded Adam, along with the Westerosi contingent?)
> Write-in

If you pick the first option, roll me 15D6 (Urrax & Neltharion)

>>4858716
Just a note - picking the option related to Volantis won't make you break your alliance with them. It will simply push Rhogar to blame the Triarchs (all or only 1 or 2), and wish to see them replaced.

Write-ins are actually allowed and encouraged in this case (who to blame), since YOU get to shape the story now.

>>4858716
> The North Valyrians conspired with the Ghiscari rebels to gain independence!
We are in their territories, you can have an army move and prepare an ambush like this without knowing.
> It is working – our archers are firing more accurately thanks to the fire lighting up the enemy positions, without counting the death caused by Urrax and Neltharion. Continue!

>>4858716
>Write In
Who could be ? Who ? There is so many traces and yet not a definitive one. What cruel joke is this ? Why our people are given such treachery, when their homeland still burns ?! They all deserve the blame. The locals ? Someone must have helped here, how could this force not be seen or reported ? Blame. The Volantene ? He made a choice, and turn traitor alongside some of his men. Blame. The Norvoshi, the Ghiscari and anyone else here ? Blame again. They will all deserve to be massacred in fire, their pleas and excuses will not save them from what we will bring them.


> Write-in
Pass again on the enemy positions, then split. We are going to support Horonno and Gareth and Adam, Sheira will support Valarr and Tessario.

>>4858716
Who could be ? Who ? There is so many traces and yet not a definitive one. What cruel joke is this ? Why our people are given such treachery, when their homeland still burns ?! They all deserve the blame. The locals ? Someone must have helped here, how could this force not be seen or reported ? Blame. The Volantene ? He made a choice, and turn traitor alongside some of his men. Blame. The Norvoshi, the Ghiscari and anyone else here ? Blame again. They will all deserve to be massacred in fire, their pleas and excuses will not save them from what we will bring them.

> We have done enough to sow chaos and mayhem – let’s regroup near our allies and support them directly! (Horonno with Gareth and the wounded Adam, along with the Westerosi contingent?)
The Westerosi can't be the traitors.

I'll let it go for another 10 minutes then go with the write-in I suppose, since it received 2 votes.

Rolled 6, 5, 6, 3, 4, 3, 5, 2, 1, 3, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6 = 60 (15d6)

Since no one rolled for the damage

yeah forgot to do that.

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>>4858716
> Who could it be? Who? There are so many traces and yet not a definitive one. What cruel joke is this? Why are our people given such treachery, when their homeland still burns?! They all deserve the blame. The locals? Someone must have helped here, how could this force not be seen nor reported? Blame. The Volantene? Someone made a choice to turn traitor alongside some of his men. Blame. The Norvoshi, the Ghiscari and anyone else? Blame again. They will all deserve to be massacred in fire, their pleas and excuses will not save them from what we will bring them.

These are the thoughts that cloud your mind as you feed your inner flame with the raw emotions you are feeling – rage at this betrayal, rage at the fate of your people, wish for revenge.

Everyone who betrayed your people will pay.

They will all pay.

Urrax releases a deafening roar as he flies straight toward the area where the enemy seems to be grouping.

Urrax
> Fighting Test – 29 vs 21 (DC)
> Great Success! Two Degrees of Success!

A single arrow hits you in the shoulder and somehow manages to find the weak point in your armor – the pain does nothing but feed your rage.

> “Urrax! Dracarys!”

Even before you finish yelling the command, your dragon obeys.

The night lights as if it was day, the world around you becoming nothing but an inferno of screaming men and vermillion flames as Urrax comes close to the ground, breathing fire directly beneath himself.

Neltharion
> Fighting Test – 23 vs 21 (DC)
> Marginal Success! One Degree of Success!

You do not hear Sheira give the same command to her dragon, but you notice the shades of blue as Neltharion breathes his own distinct shade of fire in the midst of the enemy formation.

After the final pass, you push Urrax upward, until he reaches a height that you are sure will partially shield you two from arrow fire, and wait for Sheira to join you.

Your wife does not make you wait too long, and soon she is near you, waiting for you to speak – it is clear from her expression she is horrified by what is going on, yet you can see the steel in her eyes

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>>4858925
> “Let’s split! You go and support Valarr, I will support Horonno and the Westerosi!”

She nods, before taking leave.

A deep breath…and back in the midst of battle.

This time your main objective is not to seed chaos – you achieved that in spades -, but to support the Westerosi mercenaries and your cousin.

You see that the Westerosi men have formed a circle under the command of Humfrey Sarsfield, their commander. A good choice given anyone could be an enemy or an infiltrator tonight – it became apparent that some of your own men were traitors (or infiltrators masking as part of your formations) as the night went on. The chaos created shattered any semblance of cohesion among your troops.

This is a disaster.

You push Urrax toward the enemy force rallying toward the Westerosi – a small band of lightly armored cavalry. Effective against light infantry, nothing against the fury of a dragon.

They pay their betrayal with their blood.

…

In the end it’s not a military victory that causes the enemy to retreat, but the glimmers of light on the horizon – it will soon be dawn and they know that once the confusion clears, their smaller numbers will spell doom.

…and so their retreat begins, leaving behind only death and destruction, a scattered host in the place of the glorious army you led to these shores less than 24 hours before.

The losses are likely severe….on both sides.

Your men behaved in an exemplary manner (the ones that did not betray, that’s it), making the most of any occasion they had to retaliate with deadly force against the enemy sorties.

It is now the time to decide what you wish to do:
> Organize what few soldiers we can and pursue them! We are exhausted and so are our men..but so are theirs! (You will attempt to track down the survivors of the enemy attack to get answers and/or to clear them out. There is a good chance they expect this and it could be an ambush for your exhausted forces that will be left at the camp)
> We need to regroup. The discipline is shot, we likely have traitors and potential assassins in our midst..we cannot trust anyone until we smoke out any potential mole in our forces. (You won’t follow the enemy. You will miss the chance to get rid of them for good, but you will have a much better chance at consolidating your forces and removing traitors from their midst)

Pick whichever option you prefer, and then write-in how you wish to proceed in either occasion.

>>4858928
> We need to regroup. The discipline is shot, we likely have traitors and potential assassins in our midst..we cannot trust anyone until we smoke out any potential mole in our forces. (You won’t follow the enemy. You will miss the chance to get rid of them for good, but you will have a much better chance at consolidating your forces and removing traitors from their midst)
Purge the traitors.

>>4858928
> We need to regroup. The discipline is shot, we likely have traitors and potential assassins in our midst..we cannot trust anyone until we smoke out any potential mole in our forces. (You won’t follow the enemy. You will miss the chance to get rid of them for good, but you will have a much better chance at consolidating your forces and removing traitors from their midst)
With extreme prejudice.

>>4858928
this a bit difficult to pick. We have all just received a punch in the teeth.

> We need to regroup. The discipline is shot, we likely have traitors and potential assassins in our midst..we cannot trust anyone until we smoke out any potential mole in our forces. (You won’t follow the enemy. You will miss the chance to get rid of them for good, but you will have a much better chance at consolidating your forces and removing traitors from their midst)

First we will burn any small groups that is too slow and still in the battlefield, and check that there is no more enemies near the camp.
Then stop a moment, and land (still on dragon), and have Horonno start regrouping our men with Humfrey. When he is done rendeveouz with Valarr and Tessario.

First of all, every officer (beside our own guys, so Horonno, Valarr, Tessario and Humfrey) in front for inspection. Every one in front of our dragons that is, some meters not near them. And disarmed. Gareth and Adam will be on Urrax flank.

All enemies wounded will be brought to the interrogators, which will be armed and controlled by our knights on horses.

All our wounded are to be organized on a large tent where our masters and medics can heal them. This tent will be under watch by our soldiers.

Supplies are to be controlled immediatly, alongside our war machines. Some soldiers will remain for protect them. None beside our men under our orders is authorized to go near them for now.


All the men are called. Organize the soldier and have them ready in ranks.

>>4858928
>> We need to regroup. The discipline is shot, we likely have traitors and potential assassins in our midst..we cannot trust anyone until we smoke out any potential mole in our forces. (You won’t follow the enemy. You will miss the chance to get rid of them for good, but you will have a much better chance at consolidating your forces and removing traitors from their midst)

>>4858949
Good write-in and I will actually let you guys play it out if you wish, but without anyone accusing me of railroading...think how this would play out in a realistic manner:

You are a soldier in this glorious army. You have been attacked by some rebels in the night. You have seen some men that you've known for quite some time turn around and attempt to kill you, on top of having to defend yourself against rebels and worse thing. You killed and maimed men who you thought of as brother..and survived. You won, by the Gods.

And now this young arrogant nobleman who is not even in charge of the army tries to order you to be disarmed so that some Western barbarian (who are they? Who is to say the did not help the rebels?!) might "guard" you.

I will let you imagine the same, likely worse, thoughts that would go on in the officer's heads.

That's without counting that you are not, in fact, the senior commander, on top of commanding the loyalty of a small minority (Westerosi mercs + Stepstones garrisons) of the army, and indirectly the Volantene through Tessario (but like he said, push came to shove his loyalty would be to his men above you).

I am bot railroading, just telling you what would likely (I'd let you roll for a speech and see how the soldiers would take your explanation) go through a normal person in such a situation.

>>4858978
fair enough let me rethink this

First we will burn any small groups that is too slow and still in the battlefield, and check that there is no more enemies near the camp.
Then stop a moment, and land (still on dragon), and have Horonno start regrouping our men with Humfrey. When he is done rendeveouz with Valarr and Tessario.

Tell Valarr that we need an inspection, and we don t trust a single one of the officers beside them, right now. We are going to wait with our guys on another part of the camp. On top of our dragons while waiting for Valarr to decide if he wants to find the traitors. And if he wants us to help.

Meanwhile suggest the following orders :

- All enemies wounded will be brought to the interrogators, which will be armed and controlled by soldiers and our knights on horses.

- All our wounded are to be organized on a large tent where our masters and medics can heal them. This tent will be under watch by any loyalists

- Supplies are to be controlled immediatly, alongside our war machines. Some soldiers will remain for protect them. None beside men authorized can go there.


- All the men are called. Organize the soldier and have them ready in ranks.

also can you confirm that by now the news of us being attacked in the night have spread ? I recon people have start to know that assasins have attempt to kill us.

>>4859000
There are rumors all around - the Mantarians have betrayed us (since the attack happened in Mantaryan territory), the Volantene are traitors, the Western barbarians are trying to use this chaos to do something (what? Nobody knows), someone attempted to kill the Archon and the Patriarch! And so on, so on. It's literally the aftermath of a chaotic night battle - there is no clarity anywhere at the moment.

Still, I will let the vote run overnight, and tomorrow go with whatever you guys decide.

>>4859012
well i am still with

> We need to regroup. The discipline is shot, we likely have traitors and potential assassins in our midst..we cannot trust anyone until we smoke out any potential mole in our forces. (You won’t follow the enemy. You will miss the chance to get rid of them for good, but you will have a much better chance at consolidating your forces and removing traitors from their midst)

this vote, just with the rewritten write in for do more things and do some orders

>>4859021
Oh yeah, don't take my observations as attacks - your write-in is spot on in how to deal with the situation. And it seems there is unanimity on rooting out any remaining traitor.

I admit I put you in a situation where there is no right answer since both could lead to some issues down the line. But really..did you really expect smooth sailing? (being sarcastic here).

>>4859034
Cool.
Yeah true. I admit that i am not sure either but honestly we have 0 power here in confront to others. So we will just wait and that s all. It s all on Valarr if he wants us to help. I think he will not send any offcer to us, because until we know, we aren t trusting anyone that isn t one of our guys to come near us. And for good reasons.


Nah not really. But i am confident that with the routine, i have give we should be a bit more safer when we are at war. For the rest i don t think we have good chances.

This routine that is.

War routine

- Control our surroundings before we land. Twice
- Watch over our army from an high position
- Whenever we land, our personal guard should be ready to be near us.
- Help establish the camp with our dragon help as well our own, so we get the soldiers respect.
- Our tent should have a clear space around it, so that Urrax and Neltharion can sleep near us. Preferably in a elevated position. Makes easier to see anyone coming to our tent too.
- We are at war. Armor on, weapons on and controls of suspicious people/objects/food/water and so on. Not eating/drinking unless we are sure it s safe. A taster can do that first.
- Double the guards around the camp and do unexpected patrols and controls.
- Gareth and Adam tents are now near our tent. Urrax and Neltharion will sleep near our tent as well.

>>4858928
>> We need to regroup. The discipline is shot, we likely have traitors and potential assassins in our midst..we cannot trust anyone until we smoke out any potential mole in our forces. (You won’t follow the enemy. You will miss the chance to get rid of them for good, but you will have a much better chance at consolidating your forces and removing traitors from their midst)

Shiera should immediately use her candle to contact Aurion and Rhaella so they're aware of what happened. Then, if possible, she should scry on the remnants of the army that attacked us and see which direction they're going/who they contact/etc

>>4858992
+1

>>4858928
>We need to regroup. The discipline is shot, we likely have traitors and potential assassins in our midst..we cannot trust anyone until we smoke out any potential mole in our forces. (You won’t follow the enemy. You will miss the chance to get rid of them for good, but you will have a much better chance at consolidating your forces and removing traitors from their midst)

>>4858936
>>4858948
>>4858949
>>4858964
>>4859077
>>4859115
>>4859495
> Purge the Traitors.

I will make use of this>>4858992 write-in. Be warned, depending on how thorough you wish to be in the purge, you might incur small or quite big maluses later on, for you have many soldiers, but comparatively few officers, like in any real army.

Writing.

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>>4858928
As the early morning sun begins to light the vast plane, you see the sheer carnage and death that the nightly battle has wrought upon your army…as well as on the enemy forces.

For while entire sections of the immense camp have been essentially destroyed and the bodies of your men lie everywhere, you do notice with dark satisfaction the sheer number of rebels that lie face down in the ground, or burnt to a crisp by your continuous assault atop Urrax.

This is a disaster for your campaign…but you all bled them white.

You do not doubt for a moment that in the enemy plans, you and your wife would have likely been long dead by now, and your army either routed or destroyed. Instead, they get this – the privilege to witness first hand how true Valyrians fight..and die, sword in hand, striking their traitorous kin down like the rabid dogs they are.

Rage boils in your veins, and you direct your sight toward the small, scattered bands of enemy soldiers that are fleeing the battlefield – they shall join their kin in death.

A sentiment shared by many in the army, if the sheer number of soldiers from Elyria, Mantarys and Tolos freely moving among the wounded enemies to finish them off is anything to go by. What follows is more a mop-up operation than a battle, a massacre of the few enemy soldiers left behind, more than an organized effort.

Your men kill without remorse – it is rightful payback for seeing their brothers-in-arms die in the night.

….

The morning after the nightly ambush is not a good one. Distrust runs deep within the army, soldiers warily eyeing each other.

You find refuge in the only section of the camp you trust due to them being foreigners that never left your side – the Westerosi camp. It is a quick decision taken in the spur of the moment, to recall the troops you took from the Stepstones and ordering them to stand within the same section of the camp.

And yet it causes a bit of a ruckus among the soldiers, already paranoid as they are – a ruckus loud enough to push Valarr to come himself (flanked by four members of the Legio Elyria) to see what is causing it – he finds you sitting atop Urrax, giving orders to your men so as to repair their section of the camp and to make it more easily defensible

“Rhogar. What are you doing here?! I need my junior commander on hand – this is a debacle of the highest magnitude”

> “Can you blame me Ayrmidon? We have been attacked multiple times, betrayed multiple times – I had assassins come after my own wife last night. Can you blame me for wanting to reside among men I know will not be likely to betray me since they have no reason to?”

He sighs and shakes his head

“I am not blaming you for it Rhogar. But I am asking you to do your duty as the junior commander of the expedition, since YOU were the one asking to be a part of it.”

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>>4860011
This..is true. You grip harder the reins, grinding your teeth – it’s simply the truth, and there isn’t much you can do about it. Still..

> “You do realize we need to do a complete purge of any potential infiltrator left, right?”

Valarr grimaces and looks at you as if asking “do you take me for an idiot?”. You can only shrug your shoulders

“I have led more military campaigns than the years you have been alive, Belaerys. I like to think the years have taught me much, rather than made me dumber. Now get your ass down here…actually not. Get your dragon over there. We can use its intimidating presence.”

You take a look around yourself – your men awaiting your orders.

> “I almost lost my wife, Ayrmidon. I almost lost my cousin and myself tonight, thanks to traitors. I want them to be safe. I am your junior commander, and so here are my suggestions: let’s bring all wounded enemies to the interrogators, which ought to be armed and controlled by soldiers we can trust. Let’s bring all our wounded in a single area where our medics can heal them. This tent has to be under watch by people whose loyalties are beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

He takes on an annoyed expression

“Do you think me an idiot, boy? These are the first things I have ordered. Let me take a wild guess about what other great ideas you will give me: let’s check whether the supplies have been tampered, call the men for a general inspection and begin to scrutinize in depth our officers. Am I right?”

You want to reply. But..he is the senior commander here, and he has essentially done even more than what you’d have suggested.

You groan and nod, before signaling Humfrey to approach

> “I want Adam and Gareth to look over my wife and cousin. I will NOT tolerate any risk to their security Humfrey. Am I clear?”

He can only give you a curt nod before you continue

> “Gather the knights that survived last night and tell them to join me right now. We are going to lend a hand. In the meantime continue to repair the camp..make it more defensible if you can, and give me a full report on how many people left us last night”

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>>4860014
He nods, before departing to execute your orders – Valarr makes a cruel smirk

“I would crack a joke about you being so scared you need bodyguards on top of being literally riding a dragon Belaerys, but this might be a good move – there is enough paranoia as it is in the army, and we need to show we are all in this together. Pick a field you wish to help with, I will take another and assign trusted people to oversee the others”

Where do you wish to focus your efforts personally?
> Interrogating the survivors – the presence of a dragon will surely help in loosening their tongues
> Checking the officers’ true loyalties – you are quite perspective, and together with Urrax, you might very well help discern the infiltrators
> Surveying the area – you have the advantage of flight. Enough said.
> Help wherever possible – it will reduce your contribution to almost nothing, but it will boost a lot the morale, seeing a living symbol of Valyrian strength walk among the men, alongside the presence of your dragon
> Write-in (whatever you prefer)

>>4860015
> Surveying the area – you have the advantage of flight. Enough said.
The other things can be done by men without dragons.
This can only be done decently by someone with a dragon.

>>4860015
> Checking the officers’ true loyalties – you are quite perspective, and together with Urrax, you might very well help discern the infiltrators

>>4860049
I agree, but I still wish to let people have the opportunity to choose the tactical advantage..or the strategic one. For now you command the loyalty of the survivors of 1700 men (Westerosi + Stepstones garrisons) out of what were 35 000.

Tactical advantage - surveying the area.
Strategic advantage - begin to act as a junior commander and getting people to follow you (it won't be that easy, don't think that seeing you act once will get them on your side, but it would start the slow process).

You are the new kid that nobody knows essentially, Valarr is the veteran general. If you wish to get the men to be "your" men, you have to begin somewhere.

>>4860049
>>4860015
Also
>Write in: apologize to Valarr if we have overstepped our rank in this expedition and ask him to share some of his expertise with us.

>>4860015
> Checking the officers’ true loyalties – you are quite perspective, and together with Urrax, you might very well help discern the infiltrators
> Surveying the area – you have the advantage of flight. Enough said.

This two, then help around the men and report. Don t keep talking with valarr, he will just use it against us.

I don't mean he's a traitor. But we will only be criticized if we keep talking right now, he's not in a good mood and Rhogar may not take all the digs right now.

Especially after surviving yet another assassination attack.

>>4860015
>> Surveying the area – you have the advantage of flight. Enough said.

>>4860049
>>4860071
>>4860081
Survey the area

>>4860057
Apologize to Valarr

>>4860071
Check the officer's true loyalties

Given I doubt more people will vote, writing.

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>>4860015
You sigh – this is not a good morning.

> “I will survey the area Ayrmidon. We cannot be sure that all the enemies left the area…and moreover the sight of a dragon flying around should reinforce the idea that our strength is not yet broken”

As he is about to reply, you raise a hand to interrupt him

> “Look…we are all extremely tense and infighting benefits no one. You are the senior commander, so I’d rather you deal with the men. I will join you after I survey the area, but in the meantime…how do you wish to proceed to see to checking the officers’ loyalties? It’s not like we can interrogate them all”

He looks up at the sky for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts before answering

“I hope we might catch any mole by cross-checking their stories – maybe someone will slip up. In the meantime, we can hope some of the prisoners will say a name we can connect to someone. After all, all we need is a lead.”

You nod, before turning toward your wife, who is sitting down beside Neltharion a few meters away

> “Love..I know you are just as exhausted as I am, but I have to ask you to inform Aurion of what happened. Could you do that for me?”

Sheira weakly nods, the tiredness clear on her face. She then gets up and walks up to your dragon, placing a hand on your foot (the only part of you she can reach since you are standing atop Urrax)

“Sure beloved. Promise me you will be careful though…we just found each other once more. I could not stand to risk losing you…again”

She whispers the last part, but you still hear it – a smile accompanied by a small nod is your reply, as if to say “I promise”

And then you take to the sky, leaving the earth behind.

….

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>>4860219
From up here, one would almost think nothing happened last night – were it not for smoke rising from the funerary pyres, said person would be forgiven for mistaking your flying atop Urrax a mere pleasure trip.

But this is not the reason you are up here in the clouds – you are surveying the area.

From up here it is easy matter to identify the tracks left by the enemy army – both to come and to retreat. You notice with pleasure that the more recent tracks are far less than the older ones – while it might be impossible to see at a ground level, from high above it is easy to spot the bent grass, whish signals from where the enemy came from.

You also spot what appears to be the remnants of their camp some 10 km inland – it looks abandoned from afar, but you do not get close enough to check, wary of traps.

The enemy has proven extremely resourceful so far, you will grant them that.

Two more points of interest catch your attention while flying back to camp – a lone mountain, atop which a shining light appears to be located, and the remnants of the first camp they abandoned, atop the cliffs where you landed.

What do you wish to do?
> Go back to camp
> Check out one of the points of interest (which? Abandoned camp by the cliffs / Abandoned inland camp / Lone Mountain with shining light atop)

NOTE - you are exhausted. You will get a -1 to any roll you take until you rest

>>4860221
> Check out one of the points of interest
Abandoned camp by the cliffs

Control the surroundings first, we aren t landing there until it s safe. It s unlikely we will find anything but might as well.

I am not sure about going for the mountain honestly, could be a trap and i want us to be on the offensive against them for once, not get catched again.


The inland camp can be looked upon by others, it s easier to reach than the others positions.

>>4860221
>check out the lone mountain
Could be a trap, but it could also be something cool!

>>4860221
> Check out one of the points of interest ( Abandoned camp by the cliffs)
It's located to put pressure on landings.

>>4860229
>>4860306
Camp by the cliffs

>>4860284
Lone Mountain

I let the vote go on for long enough I'd say. Camp by the cliffs it is.

Roll me 1d100 (bo1)

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>4860357

>>4860360
Alright, writing.

>>4860360
Low is better or high is better?

>>4860374
High. So average but a bit bad territory. We aren t going to remain for long there at least.

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>>4860221
> Check out one of the points of interest (Abandoned camp by the cliffs)

Reasoning that there are no enemies in sight (except what appears to be a cloud of dust far to the north, likely due to the enemy forces retreating after abandoning their inland camp) and that Valarr can handle the situation at the camp on his own for now, you decide to take a detour and visit the camp by the cliffs, in the unlikely chance you might find any information about the mysterious forces opposing you.

The first thing you notice, once you arrive, is the abandoned flag standing in the center of the camp – the Mantaryan flag.

And yet, this makes no sense – after a few minutes rummaging through the burned remains of the camp, you find a flag from Volantis…and even one from Old Valyria itself.

> Rolled 43/100

You find little of value, until you begin to examine what you presume had been the commander’s tent. Here you find the burned out remains of a journal.

It has almost completely been destroyed by the fire, and what is readable is written in a language that you are not familiar with. Still, you take it with you.

Other than the journal, you find a couple of maps that are still semi-readable, even if damage from the fire is extensive. The first map has arrows drawn on top of it – you recognize what could have been an attempt to discern in which formation you would disembark, and where you would likely encamp for the night.

It was an ambush as you suspected.

What really catches your attention thought, is the second map you found – it is far more damaged than the first, and yet it shows the Freehold, with different symbols drawn over its different provinces and surrounding lands.
While only few of them are recognizable, you notice a “X” above Mereen, Bhorash, Volantis and Bayasabhad, while you see a lion over Mantarys, Essaria and what appears to be the Kayakayanaya.

You think you discern an..eagle? over Tyrosh, Myr, Lys and Volantis (this one atop the hawk)

Symbols that make no sense to you – you would theorize the lion to represent loyal territories…and yet, you were assaulted in Mantarian territory, and what does Valyria have to do with the remnants of the Patrimony?

Moreover, the eagle is put atop Volantis, who is crossed over as well.

It could be important, or it could be yet another attempt at misdirection.

What is it (it will further shape who is the true enemy in Rhogar’s mind – you are close to gaining a new defining trait)?
> It is proof of who remained loyal to the Council and who betrayed us.
> It is but another attempt to divide our forces by making us doubt each other

Do you wish to continue searching the camp?
> Yes
> No
If yes, roll 1d100, Bo3

>>4860401
>atop an* hawk

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>4860401
> It is but another attempt to divide our forces by making us doubt each other
> Yes
Coinage, types of foods, type of dress, weaponry and more.

>>4860401
> It is but another attempt to divide our forces by making us doubt each other

Why would someone leave it like this ? It s sound too difficult to believe that there is the map of who is loyal and who is not.

> No

The camp wouldn t hold too much with everyone escaping from it. Beside the commander tent, there is not many other important tents too.
At this point i am not sure if is it s even useful finding informations right now. They are all a mess. Kind of hard to present to. "I found some assorted banners and maps suspicioulsy left there."

I'm going to wait more votes, since >>4860420's is a very good roll.

>>4860420
a very nice roll. Well

>>4860401
change to yes. and i will roll too since is a Bo3

>>4860420
Direction that the enemy forces went, organisation of their camp (hab hazard of professional), fortification, means of supply, usage of animals...
You need to know your enemy more than they know themselves.

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>4860401

>>4860439
or* professional not of.

>>4860439
It would be nice, but i am wondering if even the rebels orders are a mess of different things together. Now that i think about it, how our enemies look ? Are they valyrians or ghiscari ?

Or is even that a mix ? We have captured all their wounded from the night ambush.

>>4860444
I have thought about the wounded, but think about it. 2 camps. 2 symbols on the map and an X. Maybe it's a rebel coalition of different forces rebel forces and the map betrayed that?
Just an idea.

>>4860444
The assassins were heavily tanned, but it was hard to say whether they were simply Valyrians from the northern kingdoms in the grasslands (melting pot of Ghiscari, Valyrians etc) or Ghiscari from the northern half of Slaver's Bay...or even just common Valyrians that spent too much time in the sun. Thick accent, but the infiltrator killed the leader before he could speak a lot.

You can roll 3D6 to see if you can identify his area of origin by the accent. DC 15.

I will wait 5 minutes and then go with what you two voted.

Rolled 2, 1, 6 = 9 (3d6)

>>4860458
DC 15... Pretty hard stuff to guess so fair.

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

>>4860452
Maybe, but we need to have more light on the matter. Right now is all in the shadows, even the little we know is vague. And for be a force so prepared, them losing vital pieces of informations sound just too lucky for us.

If we could grasp something a bit more ... solid, we could start having a better idea of who is the secret enemy here. Though this rebels in the marches present another problem, more imminent : they stop our military campaign and they are a enemy that want to take out our army, so we can t ignore it.


>>4860458
Interesting, time to see if we can recognize anything.

>>4860465
Yeah that was just a crackpot idea of mine. Just a what if thought without enough evidence to back it up.

>>4860458
>>4860439
Just another idea. Do they own slaves or are they slaveless? Gives a pretty good idea about their origin.

>>4860470
it could be honestly. Well personally i imagined at first it was the guys the faceless want death, but that sound too absurd. Can t be everywhere.
Your theory might be true honestly, or near it. There are different rebels here at least one Volentene and a mix of Valyrians and Ghiscari.

>>4860471
I can tell you that by observing them with a keen eye, their army seemed a mix between professional soldiers and what were either militamen, or recently conscripted men. They did not desert thought, but this doesn't say much since even Valyria did not send slaves to fight its wars

Writing.

>>4860481
yes, but slaves can be used as campaign followers or is that to much of a real history link and doesn't add up in this universe?

>>4860488
Oh no, it is a logical conclusion. I did not specify anything regarding that fact, just that there seemed to be no slaves among the fighting men

>>4860491
Ah okay. my bad. Just thought with the unsullied and the slave soldiers in the later years that there was some parallel in Valyria.

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>>4860401
> It is but another attempt to divide our forces by making us doubt each other

You scoff.

This is dragonshit.

Really? They expected someone to believe that they’d set their camp on fire to avoid letting you find any important information, and then casually leave behind important maps with their coalition denoted on them?

Come on..

> Rolled 93/100

You decide to continue searching through the burned out camp for the time being. It’s dirty work (literally) and it doesn’t really yield any important information at first, except…after an hour of digging through the remains, you finally notice something: while the enemy has done an egregious job at confusing the most obvious traces one would use to identify them (coinage, types of dress, weapons..), they seem to have forgotten a simple detail – there are no traces of horses.

What do you wish to do?
> Report your findings to Valarr – you need to discuss what to do
> Examine another point of interest (Lone Mountain, 2nd abandoned camp)
> Write-in

>>4860497
> Examine another point of interest (Lone Mountain, 2nd abandoned camp)
Can't give incomplete information. We need to give information about both forces.

>>4860497
>> Examine another point of interest (Lone Mountain, 2nd abandoned camp)

>>4860503
>>4860499
Pick one

>>4860499
>>4860497
>Take the evidence with us like the map. (Even if it's false it shows that our enemy is really crafty.)

>>4860503
>Lone mountain

>>4860497
>> Examine another point of interest (Lone Mountain, 2nd abandoned camp)

Catch a bit of breath before going again. It s not exactly rest, but something.

And i guess pick most of the stuff we have found, for evidence.


>>4860506
2 abandoned camp, though it can be check by others since it s not on cliffs at least. As usual check the surroundings and don t suddenly land.

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>>4860499
> Examine another point of interest (2nd abandoned camp).
3 symbols on the map. Forgot is was 3 not 2 camps.
>MFW

>>4860497
>> Examine another point of interest (Lone Mountain, 2nd abandoned camp)

>>4860511
You got to break the tie apparently - Lone Mountain, or 2nd camp?

Ignore my last post.

>>4860513
Pick one of the 2

>>4860514
I said 2nd abandoned camp. That's the abandoned inland camp.
I think
>>4860513
Is the tie breaker.

>>4860520
yeah, I didn't read it correctly. I will wait 5 min for >>4860513 to pick an option, then go with the 2nd camp. If it's a tie, I'll roll to decide.

>>4860518
Oh shit my bad, didn’t look carefully enough.
>Lone Mountain

Rolled 2 (1d2)

2nd Camp, Lone Mountain

Roll me 1d100. Best of 3

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>4860547

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>4860547

>>4860553
This is a good roll, but I'll wait for the 3rd. If it's above 90 you should have enough clues to put it all together.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>4860547
rip

>>4860549
>>4860553
>>4860557
>>4860560
Another base. Here we go!

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>>4860497
You turn around, looking at the sky – you have spent far more time than you’d have liked here, for it is almost mid-morning. And yet…you could find out so much more if you had more time.

Alas, it’s useless to complain about the inexorable passing of time.

Still…you could make the most of this, since you’re already surveying the area.

You pick up the half-burned maps and flags, alongside the journal, and put them in Urrax’s saddle, before sitting atop him and pushing him to take to the sky.

Up here, far above the ground, you consider your options – you could go back to report to Valarr…or you could examine another one of the interesting sites you spotted.

You opt for the latter, since so far you found only inconclusive, contradictory evidence.

The closest site is the lone mountain with the point of light atop it – you head in that direction.

…

Even flying atop a dragon, it takes you almost 20 minutes to reach it, which is a considerable distance given the speed Urrax can fly at.

One you reach the area and land safely, three things jump to your eyes straight away – a broken…”spyglass” (Is that what these objects are called in the east?), the burnt remains of what was evidently a wooden platform used to convey messages – standard military tech, sending messages using fire signals – and the half-destroyed remains of some tents, as if their occupants had left in a hurry.

> Rolled 69/100

You attempt to determine what the spyglass was looking at– it’s hard to do given its broken state, but you are pretty certain that whomever was standing here had been observing the first battle you engaged in with the rebels on the beach.

Regarding the wooden platform…it’s impossible to deduce what kind of message they sent before setting it on fire.

And last but not least, the tents – they contain nothing of note, except for some gold coins from..Lys? As well as a small sigil, with a strange symbol imprinted on – a goat.

You shrug your shoulders, pick up anything you find relevant, and depart for your camp.

>>4860581
You found these elements far, since you landed on the shore yesterday:
> A Mantaryan Flag and some other flags of different countries/regions
> A half-burnt journal written in an unknown language
> Norvoshi Gold
> Ghiscari and Essarian weapons
> Armor pieces from the Patrimony of Hyrkoon
> The broken remains of a spyglass, an exceedingly rare object west of the Bones mountains
> A map with different symbols - a “X” over Mereen, Bhorash, Volantis and Bayasabhad, a lion over Mantarys, Essaria and what appears to be the Kayakayanaya. And an over Tyrosh, Myr, Lys and Volantis (this one atop a hawk)
> A small sigil with a goat on it
> Assassins that originated from either Slaver’s Bay or the grassland kingdoms that were tributaries of Valyria
> At least 1 infiltrator among the Volantene officers
> Various infiltrators in the formations that came from Mantarys, Tolos and Volantis.
> A map that had circles on it the potential locations of your landing – Eastern Marches of Mantarys or Bhorash.
> A noticeable lack of horses in the forces that attacked you (you met only a small contingent of cavalry), as well as a lack of horses in the abandoned camp.
> You noticed that the enemy soldiers wore an assortment of different types of armor, as if it came from different parts of the Freehold and beyond
> The enemy army seemed a mix of professional soldiers and militiamen
> The enemy soldiers seemed to be of varied provenance – mercenaries? Locals? Foreigners?

What is the current working hypothesis?

You DO have enough elements to figure it out, especially if you paid notice to both the political scenes in the other thread and what happened since then. Had you rolled higher in the last d100 rolls, I'd have made it much clearer.

I call this section to an end, and I am honestly curious to see if you guys can put the pieces together.

I did read some comments earlier in this thread and the last that were quite spot-on, had they been combined together and brought to their logical conclusion. In the meantime, thanks for participating!

>>4860592
Thanks QM

>>4860592
Thanks for running

>>4860592
Thanks QM.

>>4860592
thanks for the run

hopefully i am going to throw an idea there

>>4860583
Adding some info from the last thread.
Volantis is rebelling so the.
Mantarys Volantis Road is rebelling. This may mean some of these forces are from these. regions. The may have come by ship (the coastal camp has no horses. How can that local that big force be local?) The inland camp is probably the Mantarys Volantis Road rebels.

I'm of the idea that its a combination of factions who want independence that allied with some who had religious motivations.;

>>4860604
Eastern Marches of Mantarys or Bhorash encircled.
They knew we wouldn't land on Tolos so we may have some traitors in Tolos and in our hands doesn't mean the citizens support us.

>>4860583
Possible hypothesis (i invite anyone else to make better ones) :

Coordinated Large Rebellions :

Supported by a cabal of magicians of sort and well connected with relations and several traitors in their paybooks ready to come out. Magicians would explain why they have this long range communication and coordination available.


Rebels have contacts virtually everywhere, it s clear from the different people they have and equipment used.


Rebels objective is to likely finish off at it s beginning any attempt of valyrians to reclaim their old glory, so we dragonlords are prime targets.
Rebels uniting together after the war is done in a new state is unlikely. Too many differences, this means they could have some inside fighting.

Vast economical power, Vast manpower and access to vast knowledge.


The rebellion is impossible that it wasn t organized years if not decades before the doom, likely having an hand even if small in it.
Map with circles could be a false, or be a network of allies, neutrals and enemies. Eitherway we can t properly understand it or make something solid out of it. Too much theory again.


Rebels might be not all volunteers, might is the key word here. But so far they have show a very high tier loyalty and devotion. Almost like zealots.

Main issue with this :

North valyrians traitors and locals helps here in the marches.

Any valyrians with even a single brain celll understands that their dragonlords and dragons are the ace of their people that puts them above everyone else. With Dragonlords and Dragons gone, even if the valyrian war machine is very professional they return on the same level of all the other peoples. They can be defeated, there is an actual chance instead of none.


So what s the point of their betrayal ? They would gain the most out of reconquest with our victory, they are still Valyrians afterall. At this point they must have give them a lot of riches, otherwise i wouldn t explain turning traitors for other valyrians.

>>4860638
Agreed

>>4860583
>> A small sigil with a goat on it
Black Goat of Qohor?
They're certainly religious enough to kill themselves for the cause but the coalition we're up against seems too diverse and too powerful for them.

We need to show our evidence to Ayrmidon, Shiera, our maesters and the rest of our inner circle. Especially the joutnal and the maps. We might not be able to read the text or recognise the sigils but they might.

Rolled 2, 2, 3, 5, 1, 6, 3, 2, 2, 5, 3, 4 = 38 (12d6)

Today I will run during the work day since I work from home. Love the various hypothesis and I will say that surprisingly you guys hit the various points, yet didn't connect the dots.

Rolling for Horonno, Sheira and Ayrmidon - Knowledge in the next scene

>>4861182
i check the thread from work so i should be able to see any update, maybe write a fast write in if needed.


>>4860638
btw this is me, only that i post from work and then home.

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>>4860581
It’s time to return.

You pick up any item of note, stuff them in Urrax’s saddle bags, and then take flight atop him.

The return trip takes less than half an hour – you are quite far from your base camp, but not so far as to make travel (by air, that is) impractical. You are riding a dragon after all.

At your return, you observe how the situation evolved in your absence: the soldiers are standing in their formations, stepping to the side as their name is called. These soldiers are then brought in front of their commanding officer and..for some reason some of them are carted off in a separate section under surveillance, while others are told to return to their original position.

It seems Valarr is pursuing a zero-tolerance policy, if the screams you hear from another section of the camp are anything to go by. And it is there that you land, in plain sight of the troops, making sure to put up a show so as to intimidate any remaining spy or infiltrator.
In this you succeed, for you notice a soldier screaming something in Ghiscari as your dragon releases a deafening roar in their direction. He is quickly caught by his comrades and carried in front of their commanding officer, before being sent to the separate section of the camp – not before his commander struck him apparently.

You dismount and see the Westerosi knights off to the side, standing guard around a small tent from which scream come..it is from there that the general of the army, Ayrmidon Valarr, emerges.

To say he’d be more at place in a butcher shop than a military camp would be an understatement, for his clothes, face and arms are covered in specks of blood – which you doubt belongs to him.

“You sure took your time Belaerys. Report.”

You simply nod – it is clear the older man is in a foul mood

> “There are no organized forces in the area surrounding us. All I could see were some stragglers that I took care of. I found 3 places that I think could yield information about the nature of our enemy – a mountain top with some destroyed buildings, their hidden camp near the beach where we disembarked, and an other, larger camp further inland. I visited the first two”

He makes a movement with his hand, pushing you to continue

> “I do not know whether we are facing a coalition, stragglers banding together, or someone smart enough to apply massive misdirection Valarr. I found flags from Mantarys and Volantis. A sigil with a Qohorish goat, and maps that make no sense whatsoever”

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>>4861262
This catches his attention and he almost snatches the maps from your hands, before motioning with his head to move the conversation inside his own tent.

Before you may ask about what is going on, Ayrmidon raises a hand to silence you and speaks up

“Yes yes yes, your family is alright Belaerys. No need to worry about them. If you wanted to ask about what’s going out there instead…a mess, that’s what’s going on”

The older man sits in his chair and for once you can see his age – Blood Magic might help restore the body to a semblance of vitality, thus helping disguise old age and its effects (some even rumor lengthening one’s own lifespan by decades), but it cannot mask the tiredness that comes with having lived for too long. And Ayrmidon Valarr has lived far too long – he was entering middle-age when your uncle was your age, and he appears outwardly to be his contemporary.

> “..how many men have we lost tonight?”

He scoffs at the question

“We are still counting. Estimates put it between 2800 and 3100. Slightly less than 10% of the entire army, Rhogar. If you add how many men are being deemed “unreliable”…this is a disaster”

You nod – it’s better than you expected honestly, given the carnage you witnessed last night.

“Insofar as we can tell, we gave just as much as we took. The bastard had apparently begun to slit the throats of our men in their sleep. Your idea with the dragon, to make it cause a ruckus, put a stop to that and saves many lives. You should be proud of yourself Rhogar”

This…catches you by surprise, for the old Valarr has never complimented you once so far. You can only nod, waiting for him to continue

“As for the officers…it is as we feared. We found that some of the officers from Volantis and Mantarys disappeared in the chaos that ensued the night raid. But we managed to catch one Mantaryan bastard among others. Your return put a temporary stop to…our getting acquainted, so to speak. But he sang. Oh how he sang. I have yet to see a man that will not speak when their own blood begins to kill them, while stopping them from dying”

Ayrmidon makes a cruel smile at this – the man has a reputation for ruthlessness, and in your opinion…it is wholly justified. Still, you remain silent.

“It seems that there were some people in the Northern Marches of the peninsula that thought it would be worth betraying their homeland. Apparently the group this one belonged to was a small military clique that felt more loyalty to their home city that the Freehold at large. I am in the process of extracting any information he might have regarding contacts etc…their group was small. Too small to organize such an attack. There has to be more behind this”

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>>4861264
> “I found many different symbols over different locations on these maps Ayrmidon. Do they mean anything to you?”

He takes a long, hard look at the maps, before looking over the half-burnt remains of the journal you found.

Ayrmidon Valarr
> Knowledge Test – 16 vs 16 (DC)
> Marginal Success! One Degree of Success!

Ayrmidon’s eyes widen as he reads the journal, as if he discovered something important

“No wonder you did not recognize the language. I have seen it only once in my lifetime as well – it’s Asshai’i, the language of Far Asshai. But why in the frozen hells would there be an Asshai here? It makes no sense.”

He sits down and looks down at the maps you brought him

“Unless…of the men we think might be spies or infiltrators, some seem to be much more self-assured than others. The traitor that killed the assassin – the Volantene impersonator, he killed himself immediately after. That’s a gesture that denotes completely dedication to a cause. Either that, or being compelled to do so…why not both?”

He points at Volantis and the two symbols over it

“A hawk and an eagle. The two parties of Volantis are the Tigers and the Elephants? Maybe metaphors for them? Maybe two other factions fighting in the shadows? Still let’s go with the hypothesis that Volantis is divided, if this map is to be believed..which I doubt.”

He sighs, showing that he’s just as exhausted as you are, and remains silent, as if inviting you to speak and express your opinion.
> Write-in

>>4861265
I have a question, in one of the camps there no horses, aren't the unsullied forbidden to ride horses?
Can we check if the dead enemy warriors have their balls cut off xD

>>4861269
That is a valid question you can ask

>>4861265
Report everything that we saw: no horses on the coastal camp.
> I think there is also some foreign interference

>>4861265
>Write In
"Personally, i am not sure of anything i have found so far. But if what i have found has some truth to it, we could be facing a sort of connected rebellion. A vast one that was prepared by years if not decades. And that has plenty of wealth, connections, contacts and men. This would explain in part the use of different equipment, origins of soldiers and the different coins present. It would also explain the incredible loyalty shown so far. A man assigned to be a simple soldier falling on his own sword without hesitation speaks volumes."

"It s obvious that such a vast rebellion, must have the help of magicians or their service for communicate between them and organize. I have notice that after the doom, the rebels almost acted all in unison. Their objective is clear of course : to stop valyrians and kill all the dragonlords and dragons. Assassins attempted to kill me even in Lys alongside my cousin afterall-
"
"Besid having mixed equipment with them, and different origins, they have also some high quality ones. Like this spyglass."

"That s a theory of mine. I hardly believe it myself, but if there is even some truth maybe it could be."

>>4861271
Then I would like to ask this question

>>4861276
>>4861272
>>4861269
I'm going with mixing these three.

Writing.

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>>4861265
You take a seat and cross your arms, thinking over what Valarr told you, as well as what you have seen.

> “To begin, I noticed that there were no traces of the presence of horses in the camp by the cliffs; moreover I saw only an extremely small contingent of cavalry tonight. Add on top of that the fact that I noticed a huge dust cloud due North, likely raised by our enemies in march, and I think that we are dealing with people that make no use of horses”

Hearing this Valarr raises his head and corrugates his eyebrows

“That makes no sense…save in case they were not that far away from their base. You said you saw a second camp further inland, no? It’s likely they had horses there then. I will dispatch someone to check it out and report – it could be nothing, or it could be significant. What else?”

> “Personally, I am not sure of anything I have found so far. But if what I have found has some truth to it, we could be facing some sort of “connected rebellion”. A vast one that was prepared for years..if not decades”

This catches his attention, for the older man straightens himself and motions for you to continue

> “Well…we found plenty of gold. They knew where we would land – the fact we’d land somewhere on the Eastern seaboard of the peninsula was not a secret, but they knew the exact spots we discussed Valarr. This hints at someone that has plenty of wealth, connections, contacts and men. Think about it - this would explain the use of different equipment, origins of soldiers and the different coins present. It would also explain the incredible loyalty shown so far. A man assigned to be a simple officer, falling on his own sword without hesitation? Like you said, that speaks volumes about his dedication to whatever cause this might have been"

“If…IF your hypothesis was right…”

> “Think about it Ayrmidon. The rebels acted almost in unison after the Doom destroyed Valyria; almost nobody knew what was going on, and yet the entire Eastern Territories went up in flames. An area as big as a third of the Freehold, populated by people who have hated us since our ancestors defeated theirs, managed to purge their garrisons and governors almost overnight, by what you told me in Elyria. Moreover we know whomever it is our enemy, they attempted to finish all of us dragonlords off…like they did in Tyrosh…and in Lys”

You whisper the last bit, yet you can immediately see the effects the memory of his dead grandson has on the Patriarch – closed fists, shaking in rage

> “Whomever it is that attacked us, they clearly had at least an Asshaii among them..as well as expensive foreign equipment, such as this spyglass”

You show him the remains of said object

“…how sure are you of this, Belaerys?”

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>>4861331
> “It is just a theory of mine Ayrmidon. I can hardly believe it myself…but what else should I think when I see so many contradictory pieces of evidence, some of which might be nothing more than attempts to mislead us?”

Valarr takes a deep breath, before turning toward the tent entrance

“You are dismissed for now Belaerys. I…you have given me much to think about Rhogar. Go rest for a bit. I will do the same…after I finish getting names out of our guests”

You try not to think of what that last phrase meant.

…

You reunion with Sheira and the others is as happy it could be under the current circumstances – gloomy as all hell, but it seems (according to Humfrey) that your own troops faired far better than the rest of the army as a whole, losing barely 20 men thanks to the lack of infiltrators among their ranks and their adopting a defensive attitude from the beginning, refusing to go on the offensive.

On the flip side, Humfrey continues, this has led to numerous accusations of cowardice on part of the rest of the soldiers, who fought tooth and nail against the enemy..

Sadly the Westerosi officers have little to report, given they followed your orders and stayed put, reinforcing their section of the camp while keeping an eye open for any suspicious activity.

Regarding the last point..Gareth indicates you a tent where three men, heavily bruised, sit on the hard ground with their hands tied to a pole – apparently these three got caught attempting to sneak in the Westerosi section of the camp by mixing with the garrison troops you took from the Stepstones.

It seems you can do your part in finding out the truth after all…if you have the guts, that’s it.
> Rest for now – you are exhausted
> No rest for the wicked. We need to know the truth NOW.
> Send them to Valarr – he knows how to make people talk.
> Deal with this yourself, with the help of your men – it could be a good occasion to prove yourself in the eyes of the army, were you to bring them some useful information.
> Write-in

>>4861332
>> Deal with this yourself, with the help of your men – it could be a good occasion to prove yourself in the eyes of the army, were you to bring them some useful information.
>Write In

Have a messanger mention to Valarr we will interrogate those three men. After getting some light rest, and have clean ourselves tell our men to bring them in a open field near the camp still tied to the pole. We are going to make them talk .. and we will arrive with our dragon from the sky, right on top of them. In an unexpected way. This should be a big surprise effect.

Then we begin the interrogation.

Afterwards we report and get some proper rest. If we aren t able to properly obtain the info, we can send them to an interrogator.

>>4861332
> Deal with this yourself, with the help of your men – it could be a good occasion to prove yourself in the eyes of the army, were you to bring them some useful information.
Does dragon roaring in their face work?
Also do the Westorosy have some torture methods that these fucks couldn't have trained against.

>>4861386
Yes, and no to the 2nd question - there is a reason why Westeros is seen as backwater in ALL areas even centuries after the fall of Valyria..

>>4861340
>>4861386
The vote has been going on for long enough.

Roll me 7D6 +7 (Persuasion 5D6, Wordly 2B, +5 due to being atop Urrax, +2 due to Blood of Valyria).

A write-in will raise the bonus, but I doubt it's necessary unless you roll horribly. Notice that these might be common soldiers, or zealots ready to die - you got no way of knowing (and thus guessing the DC)

Rolled 5, 6, 1, 3, 2, 1, 5 + 7 = 30 (7d6 + 7)

>>4861492
People will speak.

Rolled 4, 3, 4, 5, 2, 4, 4 + 7 = 33 (7d6 + 7)

>>4861492

>>4861492
Once Urrax lands in front of them suddenly start speaking
"So you are the men that where caught attempting to enter the part of my camp. Why would you, when there where given no such orders and your duty was probably in another part of the camp ? I think all of you know very well what has happened last night. Why don t you tell me your names and ranks, and tell me about what you wanted to do in my part of the camp ?"

"Perhaps if none of you don t want to talk, i could give to one of you some fresh air ... up in the clouds with me"

Rolled 2, 2, 6, 1, 1, 6, 3 + 7 = 28 (7d6 + 7)

>>4861492

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>>4861332
You..might have some use for these scumbags.

But first…rest. You are literally falling apart from being so exhausted.

> “Gareth, Adam – watch my tent as I rest for a little. Humfrey – continue reinforcing our section of the camp. Others..go back to your tasks”

Simple orders, quickly executed. Before going to rest for a bit (joined by Sheira, who is as exhausted as you are), you quickly check on Adam, who is now sporting a large bandage on his midsection, thanks to the maesters.

A nod, a short walk to your bed, and sleep embraces you.

…

Once you wake up, you spend some time talking with your wife – it is a very emotional moment, for you really feared you’d lose her last night. And yet..it all turned out for the best, this time.

You raise a small praise to Vhagar for this, even if silence is the only response. The gods do not care about mankind, someone once said.

Maybe he was right.

The time to get out comes way too soon, but duty calls.

You have a show to put up.

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>>4861539
You sent a message to Valarr, telling him what you have planned.

The man responded enthusiastically, inviting you to set up the little show in the open field that lies at the center of the camp, in full view of your men…and more importantly, the rest of the prisoners.

You accepted his invite and gave a few orders – to bring the three men outside and tie them to poles stuck in the ground; to send some messengers around the camp to spread rumors about “The Archon having decided to deal with the traitors in a manner fitting for a Valyrian” (and other rumors along the same note); but more importantly you got dressed in full regalia – full armor, without helmet, but with your sword at your side.

Time to put this show on the road.

> Persuasion (Intimidate) Test – 28 vs 26 (DC)
> Marginal Success! One Degree of Success!

You make an impressive entrance.

From high above you saw the right moment to descend to the ground – when a sufficient number of people came to witness what was going on – and then you pushed Urrax to barrel to the ground, making him roar as he descends from the heavens.

You end your small flight right in front of the prisoners, and say a single phrase

> "So, you are the men that where caught attempting to mix with my men. Why would you, when there were given no such orders and your duty was probably in another part of the camp? I think all of you know very well what has happened last night. Why don t you tell me your names and ranks, and tell me about what you planned to do?"

Silence is your reply.

You make a show of sighing before continuing

> “Your silence is a sentence on its own. I do not care what you thought you reward would be for betraying your homeland, but know this – your reward is death. How you die, is up to you – a quick and painless death, or death by fire, as befitting for traitors. Choose”

The man tied in the middle, likely a “tough guy”, spits on the ground in front of you, before speaking in a thick Valyrian

“Do your worst asshole. The only regret I have is not to have killed your bitch of a wife while I wa.”

He never finishes his sentence, for Urrax bathes him in dragonflame until all that is left of him is a charred, burned husk of what was a man.

> “Choose”

The troops begin cheering, bloodlust rising.

The two remaining men look at you in abject horror – one appears to be uttering a prayer, the other is attempting to make a courageous face, before repeating the same gesture his comrade did and spitting to the ground.

His reward? A breath of dragonflame.

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>>4861546
You turn to look at the last remaining man, who is looking at his dead comrades in horror – it seems he pissed himself in fear, before he begins to speak in a broken Ghiscari

“I will talk! I will talk! Please…”

You give a nod and two of your knights come forward

> “Speak”

Your words are emphasized by Urrax, who roars in the direction of the tied man.

What do you wish to ask?
> Write-in

>>4861548
Who are you? Where did you come from? How where you recruited? Tell me everything you know about anything!

>>4861548
Who are the other traitors in our camp ? How many other rebel armies there are in the marches around us ? Who are the locals that have helped you in disembark your force upon this shores and remain unseen in this lands ? Did you see your leaders and know them ? How large and organize is the rebellion, which are it s main holds ?

have a master write down on a paper what the prisoner is saying.

>>4861567
>>4861548
It has to be written down. While sitting at a table in front of him and the more he says we reduce his sentence. Starting to write his sentence and slowly scratching the sentence when we change it to something else. (starting with dragonfire to just being employed by us)

>>4861569
It sends a simple message: Be with us and be rewarded or against and be reduced to ash.

>>4861569
A good idea, though
I am not sure about having a traitor in our service, more for political reasons for us.
Maybe he can be condemned to have one year of work, not too harsh (like a mine) but work nonetheless. Or become a servant. Both better than death or a brutal death.

We should see if he can recognize, any object we have found in the rebels camps and bodies. And know what use they did had.

>>4861590
* not like a mine

Roll me another 7D6+7 for the next scene

Rolled 4, 5, 3, 6, 5, 3, 5 + 7 = 38 (7d6 + 7)

>>4861720
and 49

Rolled 1, 5, 4, 5, 4, 5, 4 + 7 = 35 (7d6 + 7)

>>4861720

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>>4861548
A quick nod to your knights and they bring the prisoner over to another tent, to be interrogated.

It is at this point that your older counterpart surprised you, for he loudly orders his soldiers to bring out more prisoners, who apparently hadn’t yet talked.

He then addresses you publicly, so that the entire mass of gathered soldiers may listen

“Well done Belaerys! You prove yourself a true scion of Old Valyria, for this is how a true Valyrian deals with traitors!”

At this the assembled troops, thirsty for revenge and seeking confirmation of their beliefs, erupt in a bloodthirsty cry of approval. Valarr waits for it to subside before speaking again

“I hear you, sons of Valyria! We have been betrayed and stabbed in the back by cowards, too scared to face us head on, for they fear the sons of the dragon!”

The soldiers erupt in another cheer, this time louder than before

“No more, I say! We shall avenge everything they have done to us! We shall avenge our comrades and teach the entire world what happens when you mess with the greatest nation this world has ever seen! Ashes to Ashes!”

It is clear what he is doing – while some of the more strong-willed keep their composure, the majority of the prisoners are either trembling or (in one case), openly crying.

You decide to push the envelope, giving Urrax a simple command – he releases a jet of vermillion flame in the air, before roaring once more

> Persuasion (Intimidate) Test – 32 vs 29 (DC)
> Marginal Success! One Degree of Success!

It is enough for a couple of prisoners to break down, falling to the ground and attempting to fight against their bonds to move backward, away from the giant beast that is your dragon.

You point your sword at one and shout a simple command

> “You shall have the same choice – a painless death, or be hurled in the empty Void screaming as fire consumes you”

The man breaks down in cries of “mercy”, before being hauled away by soldiers.

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>>4861788
In the end you repeat the gruesome spectacle of burning someone alive a grand total of 15 times – an impressive number, considering the people Valarr ended up identifying as spies were just slightly above 30 -.

One would think the soldiers would get disgusted by the scene after a while..and yet it seems their thirst for revenge is stronger than their human compassion, for the common soldier cheers on any time one of the infiltrators refuses to speak.

And yet…as Ayrmidon takes place next to you to attempt to break the will of the final 2 soon-to-be martyrs, you come to accept a simple truth about yourself.

You feel nothing, for these people have made themselves the enemy of your people. Were the total extermination of their people necessary for the continued survival of your own, you know that you would execute the order regardless of your personal feelings about it
Gained trait – Valyrian Nationalist*

The final execution is spectacular, if gruesome – you let Ayrmidon “have a go” at it, and the results were..messy.

The troops approved though, if their cheers were anything to go by.

…

Sitting in front of a prisoner, his hands chained behind his back and two soldiers (a Volantene and a Westerosi) flanking him, you begin your questioning:

> “Let’s begin from the beginning. Who are you? Where do you come from?”

He is silent at first, so you give a nod to the Volantene soldier who punches the man in the face with his mailed fist, causing him to spit what appears to be a tooth.

> “Let’s try that again fucker. Who are you. Where do you come from. Speak, or join your friends as ashes beneath my feet”

He grinds his teeth, looking at you with clear hatred in his eyes – a look matched by your own. The thought of his comrades almost depriving you of the touch of your wife makes it very easy to commit atrocities that you never thought yourself capable of -, before speaking

“Haemon, from the Military Frontier”

You nod to the Westerosi, who this time kicks the chair to the ground, causing the Ghiscari to fall alongside it

> “I will be clear with you. Speak, or die. Just be aware that by talking you might avoid a death sentence, as well as spare your home city, wherever that is. Or don’t speak, and I swear on all the gods that I will burn every. single. city. surrounding Slaver’s Bay and finish what my ancestors began”

You mean every single word, and it shows, for his features slowly change from determination to horror

“You win..my name is truly Haemon. I come from the city of Mereen”

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>>4861792
...

The rest of the day is spent interrogating the prisoners that have accepted the offer of commuting their death sentence to either life in prison, or hard labor.

To your surprise, out of a grand total of 54 people that were either captured from the night raid or identified as infiltrator, only 12 in the end “broke”.

And yet, it is enough to begin to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

It isn’t a pretty picture.

*A true believer in the destiny of the Vayrian people to rule the known world, for haven’t the gods given you countless gifts - the ability to control the greatest beasts alive (the dragon) and an affinity for the Higher Mysteries, among them

It will take a while to write down the next scene in a way that I find acceptable, so feel free to have dinner and simply check in later on this evening.

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>>4861795
The evening moonlight finds you sitting at a table, Ayrmidon sitting in front of you and Tessario on your right – the three commanders of the Northern Army sit at a table, combing together through reports on the interrogations, what you all discovered in the past two days, and comparing notes, trying to make sense of this mess.

“So if what the Mantaryan said is true…and I believe it to be, they received orders from a masked individual. The Mantaryan clique was essentially a small fish that got stringed along. But only the Gods know that is very likely that city is full of potential traitors by now..”

As Ayrmidon puts down the piece of paper, Tessario picks it up

“And yet…I cannot fathom how they infiltrated our officer corps so thoroughly. We are talking about a massive, long-term operation, not a spur of the moment attempt at infiltration. We are dealing with professionals”

Ayrmidon scoffs

“I would agree with you…if only because of the mess they left us.”

“I will need to alert the Triarchs of this”

He stands up, but you signal him to wait

> “We will simply send the message via glass candle Tessario. Do not worry about that. Instead…”

You do not finish the phrase – you pointing at the wine is enough for him to understand the message.

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>>4861953
The summary of what you found out is the following:
> A military clique of officers from Mantarys was recruited by a “wealthy patron” that wished to see “their great city prosper, independent from the heavy boot of the Freehold”. Apparently whomever said “patron” was, they never met him/her directly; he/she played on the rage many Mantaryans are currently feeling at seeing their city burdened by emergency taxes (to finance the recent expansion of the Army) and the refugee problem.
> Wealthy merchants from Mereen have been bankrolling the efforts of their government (made up of the men who led the revolt that killed the Valyrian governor apparently) to raise mercenaries and send them West.
> The bandit queen from the Painted Mountains, to your North, has been paid to provide guides for groups of soldiers moving South in the past months
> One officer from Volantis sang the names of many members of the lower aristocracy – it seems they call themselves “The Hawks”, in imitation of the main parties of Volantene politics. Their goals are nebulous as well as their membership, but they seem to “wish to lead Volantis to greatness”, whatever that might mean. Tessario had a field day with the prisoner, with their discussion degenerating in a shouting match where both accused the other of being a “traitor”. The man is noteworthy in that he has been noted as belonging to a minor religion that has been gaining numerous proselytes as of late – a religion worshipping some kind of god of fire, apparently.
> A Tolosi soldier described his life in the past weeks as having been “ a living nightmare”, claiming he was not in control of his own actions and was a prisoner in his own mind – this is the man who apparently slit the throat of the Volantene guarding Sheira last night, when the assassins came for her -. The last clear memory he has is that of an old man whispering “dark words” in his ear.

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>>4861958
> A prisoner turned out to be a woman. She refused to speak even under torture, until you threatened to take an axe to his companion – a man just as silent as her, but who has an axe tattooed on his chest -. At this point she said something in a strange language, before beinning to convulse and die shortly after. The man died the following hour – Valarr has forbidden anyone (you included) from approaching the area, for fear of sorcery.
> You could not find any proof of Qohori involvement, and yet when you have shown the sigil with the goat to Valarr, he confirmed that it represents the Black Goat of Qohor, meaning that either a Qohori was atop the Lone Mountain with the Asshaii, or that the mysterious Asshaii passed by Qohor – if he was alone and not working with others from his home city.
> More disturbingly, two different soldiers confirmed the presence of weapon caches in the area – many of which were rusted, as if these weapons had been buried here a long time ago, in preparation for something.
> A Ghiscari from the two kingdoms in the grasslands confirmed that their king dispatched some diplomats south before sending him and other 500 people West. He did not know where his compatriots went – his orders were to await your arrival in this area and then assist “whomever said the right password”

It’s a mess. And yet…you can almost see the threads connect each other in a vague shape.

Ayrmidon asked your opinion regarding the best course of action – what did you suggest?
> Let’s head North, pursuing the enemy making use of the new information, while informing Aurion/others of what’s going on – you will take a detour in order to deal with the immediate threat. Note that you will likely end up having to cross the Painted Mountains, thus failing in the secondary task of opening a safe route North for the refugees from the Valyrian Peninsula.
> Continue along the coast as the original plan dictated, while informing Aurion/others so that they may deal with the conspirators, if that’s what they are – you will run the risk of being attacked in the rear (risk reduced by adopting a safe wartime routine), but you will theoretically be able to accomplish your original goals, as well as, with a bit of luck, have the possibility of punishing Mereen (it would be a huge blow to the Ghiscari rebels, on top of giving you control to a huge economic powerhouse and control over the local roads)
> Take a detour West and help clear the rebels from Mantarys and the Volantis-Mantarys road. – it might give you leads to find your shadowy enemy and the Volantene will be grateful to you, but you will lose time.
> Write-in

>>4861962
> Continue along the coast as the original plan dictated, while informing Aurion/others so that they may deal with the conspirators, if that’s what they are – you will run the risk of being attacked in the rear (risk reduced by adopting a safe wartime routine), but you will theoretically be able to accomplish your original goals, as well as, with a bit of luck, have the possibility of punishing Mereen (it would be a huge blow to the Ghiscari rebels, on top of giving you control to a huge economic powerhouse and control over the local roads)
Following the coast gives us supply by ship. reducing our supply train and increasing our speed.

I admit I am curious to see what you guys will make of these information, and to see how you play now that you have them

>>4861962
>> Continue along the coast as the original plan dictated, while informing Aurion/others so that they may deal with the conspirators, if that’s what they are – you will run the risk of being attacked in the rear (risk reduced by adopting a safe wartime routine), but you will theoretically be able to accomplish your original goals, as well as, with a bit of luck, have the possibility of punishing Mereen (it would be a huge blow to the Ghiscari rebels, on top of giving you control to a huge economic powerhouse and control over the local roads)
So i take it we’re dealing with a cabal of aristocrats and wizards conspiring to bring us down. Certainly have our work cut out for us, eh?

>>4861971
Honestly i am not sure. It s a big enemy to deal with. We all imagined something more easy to contain.


>>4861967
Not always remember that the sea is currently in hand of no one. Ghiscari are doing their best, and have raid fleets ready.

This is kind of a problem even with the safe war routine. I really don t like rebels stirring the pot in Mantarys and Volantis. Especially for Mantarys since we aren t sure now how many are loyalists and if they will give us supplies. Honestly we might need to do a fast redeployment with our fleet and avoid Mantarys lands.

But same problem. Sea is of no one right now. We can probably destroy any fleet with 2 dragons though.

>>4861962
>> Continue along the coast as the original plan dictated, while informing Aurion/others so that they may deal with the conspirators, if that’s what they are – you will run the risk of being attacked in the rear (risk reduced by adopting a safe wartime routine), but you will theoretically be able to accomplish your original goals, as well as, with a bit of luck, have the possibility of punishing Mereen (it would be a huge blow to the Ghiscari rebels, on top of giving you control to a huge economic powerhouse and control over the local roads)
Time to burn Slaver's Bay (again) a couple of centuries early

>>4862023
I will actually help you an bring attention to this particular piece of information, since you guys guessed it right earlier on:

> More disturbingly, two different soldiers confirmed the presence of weapon caches in the area – many of which were rusted, as if these weapons had been buried here a long time ago, in preparation for something.

>>4862029
This shit has been planned a long time ago.
Maybe they knew the doom was coming and were waiting for their time to strike? Prophecy is real in this universe. R'hllor (the god of light) his priests can see into the fire.

>(From game of thrones wiki) The faith of the Lord of Light is the majority religion in several of the Free Cities (most notably Bravos, Myr, Lys and Volantis), and extends to Asshai in the distant east.
Shit. SHIT. sHIT.
Religious cultists and in the free cities and beyond.
Fuck fuck FUCK.

>>4862041
Also these fucks know high level magic.

>>4862029
Thank you for that Tagaros, but I am not sure what that could mean honestly, I am more confused lmao. Preparation for a larger rebellion or an older betrayal that didn t go through maybe ? I am better with write ins than intrigue sorry
>>4861962
>> Continue along the coast as the original plan dictated, while informing Aurion/others so that they may deal with the conspirators, if that’s what they are – you will run the risk of being attacked in the rear (risk reduced by adopting a safe wartime routine), but you will theoretically be able to accomplish your original goals, as well as, with a bit of luck, have the possibility of punishing Mereen (it would be a huge blow to the Ghiscari rebels, on top of giving you control to a huge economic powerhouse and control over the local roads)


>Write In
- Forage and Hunt anything we can found in the lands around us. Supplies might not be safe.
- Control supplies send by locals. Many times.
- Avoid that people just enter the army camp.
- Consider a possible redeployment more north of here, with the fleet. Especially if we risk to get cut or surrounded or heavily harassed by rebels (high chances).

>>4862041
>>4861962
>>4861967
>Write in.
Check the religions of our army and keep a close eye on the followers of the lord of light.

>>4862041
I mean we arrived to the point that it was planned time ago, for their high level of organization and loyalty. Can t make that in one day.

we also assumed there where some religious freaks already, at least one rebel group is religious now.

And magic was needed for organization and cover this distances

>>4862062
These are thing we knew, but we didn't know which religious group so probably the followers of R'hllor.

I will let the discussion go on for another 10 minutes, then write a small final scene where you get to decide with Aurion, Valarr etc whether to revise the strategy you agreed upon in light of the new information.

>>4862067
i suppose so yeah. Fire and light.
There might be others as well honestly.

I am not sure how we can eradicate this rebels. One thing is fighting them in battle, the other is eradicating them from the cities and our allies. They can just go undercover or leave, with people under them dealing with their holdings until they return. It needs purges done throghly and that takes a while, and risks to backfire on people s support.

More than cultists, it s more all the rebel noblemen ready to use their wealth for get mercs upon mercs, and cutthroats upon cutthroaths and give us quite a pain in attempting to catch them and deliver justice. At least this cult is still quite early, which is something nice for us.

And the sorcerers that help all of this rebels groups and act as their phones, those could be anyone. We can make some guesses for how to find and kill noblemen, cultists and the other groups. But sorcerers where we even start ?

But
Before we think of some plans for find rebels in their holdings and purge them, we need to get our cloaks and daggers. They are vital like air since we are fighting, a real war and a war in the shadows too. With the first one being maybe an even ground (beside neutrals coming in for attack rebels or loyalists, see sandor or dothraki) and the second currently looking bad for the freehold.

A solution (one of many) for the purges ahead could be to find the rebels rivals in their holdings and use them against the rebels. We would need to see first if their rivals would be okay in working with us. No doubt they will want something beside finishing off their enemies.

Still even this can be of use, because we wouldn t need to get all the problems if something goes wrong, And we also get a local help for our purges.

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>>4861962
Aegar Tagaros
Ayrmidon Valarr
Aurion Belaerys
> Rhogar Belaerys
Rhaella Soranyen

That night you find yourself sitting along the banks of a familiar river – it is the usual vision Sheira conjures whenever you two wish to spend some time together when apart..or to dream together.

Except this time you are not alone along the river of molten silver – you can see your uncle, Aurion Belaerys, striding along the path that leads to your small refuge, flanked on one side by your beloved’s mother, Rhaella Soranyen, and on the other by his three political rivals, Rhaenys Naerion, Ayrmidon Valarr and Jacaerys Balemon. And yet this is a meeting of all the main allies – turning to the other side you see Aegar Tagaros, Senior Triarch of Volantis, come toward you, flanked by his junior counterparts - Aryos Maegyr and Laegon Ilvar – and the commander of the Volantene forces sent East (as well as representant of the third great family of Volantis, the Vaelaros), Tessario Vaelaros.

A wave of your wife’s hand and a circular table appears, allowing everyone to sit down.

The situation is tense to begin with, and grows only more and more tense as Valarr recounts what you two discovered, with your occasional intervention.

Aegar grinds his teeth, clearly angered by what he heard, before speaking up

“As much as it pains me to say it…we cannot effectively fight an internal and an external war at the same time against an entire continent. I think the Council will agree with me on this”

Aurion simply nods

“What are you proposing, Triarch?”

“We need to split the war effort, or we shall never succeed. We also need to put down any conspiracy in our territories least they attack us on the inside as our forces are abroad. I propose we focus our attention on re-establishing a direct connection between Volantis and the eastern territories still loyal to the Freehold, before splitting apart along the strategy we agreed upon few weeks ago”

A reasonable proposal. Even Balemon appears to have nothing to say, surprisingly. It is thus a surprise that Rhaella Soranyen speaks up

“Think larger – we might have finally found a string that could allow us to untangle the mess that is the Rebellion! Rhogar, didn’t some of the people you interrogated confirm the presence of more old weapon caches in the area, on top of the ones your men confirmed existing? Triarch, I ask you to search up and down your city and nearby territories – I am sure that if you find some traces of old preparation for a revolt..we might have stumbled upon the remnants of an old planned revolt. Think about it”

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>>4862186
“All I know Rhaella is that we face an immediate risk of being cut off from our western allies if they are truly attempting to take control of Mantarys. We do not have forces in the area at the moment. Tagaros, how many men could you dispatch East to secure the road between Volantis and…Tolos I guess, would be a safe bet. That would include having to take care of Mantarys, if the local government turned traitorous”

“On such a short notice, with the majority of our forces already en route for Myr? We’d be lucky to scrounge together 5 000 men. They might be enough since you planned to send 10 000 West my Lord, but the issue would then become purging Mantarys of the traitorous elements. We have no leads..that's it if Mantarys did not rebel, in which case we'd need to siege it”

This time it is Aryos Maegyr that speaks up – a surprise, for you have never heard him talk before

“My brother, Freeholder of the Eastern Isles, might be of help in this – our…”associates” in Mantarys might help us find out at least some people we could trust to begin building a list of elements to cleanse”

Everyone turned toward him, causing the man to sweat in his seat until Aurion nods at the suggestion.

“Of course there is still the small issue of us not having enough troops to deal with all these threats at once, including the bloody Unsullied out of Astapor who our reports suggest are headed south to join forces with the…”Legions of New Ghis”, and begin their ferrying across Slaver’s bay to directly assault our holdings. Add on top of that the potential involvement of Norvos and Qohor in the West which seems all but confirmed at this point…we’ll need to pick our targets carefully”

Valarr looks directly at you

“You have been silent so far, Belaerys. And yet it is thanks to you that we are where we are. So I wish to hear your opinion, young one. What would you suggest we do?”

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>>4862190
All eyes turn in your direction, awaiting your reply:

We should…
> Play it safe and ensure our continued communications – clearing out the rebels along the Tolos-Mantarys-Volantis road is a priority, as well as securing a safe area where we could fall back, if things turn south. To do this we’ll also need to clean the bandits and enemies south of the Painted Mountains that separate the grasslands of central Essos from the northern Valyrian Peninsula. Once this is done, we should hit our enemies where it hurts – Mereen. A strategic port, an economic powerhouse and a powerful symbol of Ghiscari nationalism. Take it out, and you will deal a huge blow to the Ghiscari while also securing our Eastern Flank.
> Focus on the task at hand. Send 5 000 men out of Volantis and 10 000 out of Elyria toward Mantarys and let them deal the local bandits. We shall strike East to Mereen and then North toward Essaria according to the established plan. We will likely deal with the grassland Kingdoms along the way, thus cutting any potential avenue of communication (save magic or sea) between the Eastern rebels and the Western ones after our conquest of Essaria.
NOTE – players voted for this, but I am simply giving you the option to change the plan if you wish. You don’t have to of course.
> Go on the offensive and be as ruthless an necessary – take the fight to Astapor, New Ghis and Mereen in the East. Support Volantis in the West and adopt a scorched earth strategy to deal with any traitor. It will hurt us in the long run, but it could be an effective way to deal in a semi-permanent way with problematic provinces. You can always re-settle them later on, after all.

Moreover, we need to deal with their magical element. We could..
> Attempt to track down these mysterious sorcerers via magical means and slay them. We could risk some of our own, but there is truth in the old say that the Valyrians were masters of the Higher Mysteries.
> We cannot risk harm to our own flesh and blood. We need to rely on old tried methods – let’s track them down using spies and saboteurs.

And finally, we need to deal with the potential rebels of aristocratic and religious nature...of which we ignore the identity…
> Let’s all focus on our own home turf – we all know our own backyards, and thus we are each the most suited to deal with traitors in our midst (reduce the scope of operations, but improve efficiency)
> I know someone in Braavos that could help, if we could offer something in return…
> Our spy networks are scattered and in disarray – let’s rely on our mercantile networks as well while we rebuild them (it will negatively impact your financial/economic situation, but it will temporarily fill the gaps in your spy networks, allowing you to gather more informations)

And finally, we could also..
> Write-in (you can propose whatever you want)

IMPORTANT NOTE - these are simply ideas. You guys can suggest anything you want in this case. I will roll for each suggestion and see what is decided. Your word will carry weight, since your actions saved the Northern Arm from total disaster and it was your exploring the abandoned camp/lone mountain on your own initiative that led to discovering this hude network of people.

And with this I call the session to a close. We shall continue tomorrow like today (updates through the day).

The big achievement of the day:
> The enemy finally reveals itself, or at least some of the minor components of the shadowy beast do.

Thanks for participating as usual, and comments, critiques etc are welcome as usual - I will hang around for 10-15 minutes to answer any question.

>>4862205
Pretty good as usual.
This vote will be quite decisive honestly for overall strategy. And i am honestly not sure which to go for. Even if having our back exposed is something that can do a lot of damage on loyalists. And that is something we don t need..


Oh right, did Aurion talk about the sun with father and Rhaella ? Did we do the same with Horonno and Sheira ?
If not, err it might be time. At least if Aurion can find a good approach, same for us.


Beside that what effects has the new trait we gained ?

>>4862222
Qm phoneposting - I wrote it in the thread, look for *

Essentially you are a patriot according to yourself...a rabid chaunivist by modern standards. It's mainly flavor, but I will count it if there is ever a time etc.

No, You never spoke to the others about the Sun, and neither has Aurion

>>4862195
>> Play it safe and ensure our continued communications – clearing out the rebels along the Tolos-Mantarys-Volantis road is a priority, as well as securing a safe area where we could fall back, if things turn south. To do this we’ll also need to clean the bandits and enemies south of the Painted Mountains that separate the grasslands of central Essos from the northern Valyrian Peninsula. Once this is done, we should hit our enemies where it hurts – Mereen. A strategic port, an economic powerhouse and a powerful symbol of Ghiscari nationalism. Take it out, and you will deal a huge blow to the Ghiscari while also securing our Eastern Flank.

>We cannot risk harm to our own flesh and blood. We need to rely on old tried methods – let’s track them down using spies and saboteurs.

> Let’s all focus on our own home turf – we all know our own backyards, and thus we are each the most suited to deal with traitors in our midst (reduce the scope of operations, but improve efficiency)


We really need to reduce the number of our enemies before fighting new one. If we fight in too many fronts we will unravel ourselves. First Tolos-Mantarys-Volantis, then the Ghiscari and then the military frontier. Secure the core before reconquering the frontier.

>>4862195
>Write in
"Thank you for this honour, before that one of the things that worries me more is our people. Refugees. They are weak, without food and homes. Attacking the rebels in our supposed loyal lands, would do us a great favour. But meanwhile ... the refugees will remain without a place to go. And our foes know this weight on us a lot. We need a solution for it even if we agree to going for purge our own rebels or go on an offensive against the Ghiscari."
"And even with the army here, as well me and Sheira i am not sure how fast we can be in dealing with all the enemies present in North Valyria, while also purging the turncoats."

"At best it could take a few months, at worst a year if we suffer defeats and if the rebels keep using this type of warfare. Neither of the two is enough time for the refugees or the war.""

"There is another thing, what would you suggest us to do for recover losses ? We aren t sure which of the locals is our enemy, and reinforcements are unlikely to reach us or could be better spend in other fronts. And more losses are simply inevitable with an enemy of this kind."


> Play it safe and ensure our continued communications – clearing out the rebels along the Tolos-Mantarys-Volantis road is a priority, as well as securing a safe area where we could fall back, if things turn south. To do this we’ll also need to clean the bandits and enemies south of the Painted Mountains that separate the grasslands of central Essos from the northern Valyrian Peninsula. Once this is done, we should hit our enemies where it hurts – Mereen. A strategic port, an economic powerhouse and a powerful symbol of Ghiscari nationalism. Take it out, and you will deal a huge blow to the Ghiscari while also securing our Eastern Flank.


I would say that instead of going for Mereen we should go for Essaria at the end. For refugees because it s the best place for them,

Honestly i am not sure, we really have put a lot of write in and time for get the Essaria campaign going and have it approved from the council.


> We cannot risk harm to our own flesh and blood. We need to rely on old tried methods – let’s track them down using spies and saboteurs.
> Let’s all focus on our own home turf – we all know our own backyards, and thus we are each the most suited to deal with traitors in our midst (reduce the scope of operations, but improve efficiency)


>Write In
"If possible, it could be an idea to send diplomats to the Targaryens and south to our colonies. I know... it could be a gamble. But honestly we need to break the rebels. Targaryens can be convinced, with returning in to the fold and honestly presenting the obvious risk of dragons and dragonlords families face with such lower numbers. I suspect they have set their eyes on westeros, for the future. But they could achieve their desire, far better in our new state. For the southern colonies, trade is enough motivation as well mutual aid and representation in the new freehold."

>>4862238

cool

oh well, we need to do that. Preferably if Aurion convinces first viserys and rhealla at home, so it becomes easier for us here.

>>4862364
Supporting this

While at first a personal matter, the decision of having kids with Sheira becomes even a military one. But at the very least it would be a good news many loyalists can cheerish. I recon someone will think about that soon or later.

>>4862195
>> Focus on the task at hand. Send 5 000 men out of Volantis and 10 000 out of Elyria toward Mantarys and let them deal the local bandits. We shall strike East to Mereen and then North toward Essaria according to the established plan. We will likely deal with the grassland Kingdoms along the way, thus cutting any potential avenue of communication (save magic or sea) between the Eastern rebels and the Western ones after our conquest of Essaria.
Meereen is in open rebellion and it's wealth would be vital to the rebel war effort. If we can deprive local forces of that support then it will make the region safer and our campaign north far easier.
It's also what we've already planned for and there is the morale benefit of striking back after the ambush.

>Moreover, we need to deal with their magical element. We could..
>Do both
Primarily rely on spies, assassins and saboteurs but also form our mages into a taskforce that can conduct targeted strikes on the enemy sorcerers when they are vulnerable. If our mages work as one and strike with appropriate caution then they should outnumber and outgun the enemy sorcerers in any particular confrontation even if we're outnumbered overall.
Obviously we'd want our guys to be careful and not take any undue risks but I think attacking on two fronts like this would be worthwhile and likely keep the enemy off-balance.

> Let’s all focus on our own home turf – we all know our own backyards, and thus we are each the most suited to deal with traitors in our midst (reduce the scope of operations, but improve efficiency)

>And finally...
Have we reached out to the Targs yet? I know they weren't the most powerful family but their daughter has the gift of prophecy and one of their dragons is large enough to ride (right?)

Anyone else suspicious that if the followers of Rhollor turn out to be responsible for such a wide-ranging and well-prepared conspiracy then they might also have been responsible for the Doom itself? Sorcerers of a fire god should have some skill with volcanoes after all.
Maybe we should mention it to Ayrmidon?
>>4862364
>I would say that instead of going for Mereen we should go for Essaria at the end.
My concern with that is that if we don't take Mereen out of play then their forces can simply come up from behind us as soon as we leave the area. They'd be able to cut us off from support or retreat, prevent the refugees from following us north and with control over the region they'd be able to reverse any gains we made securing and cleaning up the region. Whereas if we strike the first it makes everything that comes after easier.

>>4862195
>Focus on the task at hand. Send 5 000 men out of Volantis and 10 000 out of Elyria toward Mantarys and let them deal the local bandits. We shall strike East to Mereen and then North toward Essaria according to the established plan. We will likely deal with the grassland Kingdoms along the way, thus cutting any potential avenue of communication (save magic or sea) between the Eastern rebels and the Western ones after our conquest of Essaria.
>Attempt to track down these mysterious sorcerers via magical means and slay them. We could risk some of our own, but there is truth in the old say that the Valyrians were masters of the Higher Mysteries.
>Let’s all focus on our own home turf – we all know our own backyards, and thus we are each the most suited to deal with traitors in our midst (reduce the scope of operations, but improve efficiency)

>>4862195
> Play it safe and ensure our continued communications – clearing out the rebels along the Tolos-Mantarys-Volantis road is a priority, as well as securing a safe area where we could fall back, if things turn south. To do this we’ll also need to clean the bandits and enemies south of the Painted Mountains that separate the grasslands of central Essos from the northern Valyrian Peninsula. Once this is done, we should hit our enemies where it hurts – Mereen. A strategic port, an economic powerhouse and a powerful symbol of Ghiscari nationalism. Take it out, and you will deal a huge blow to the Ghiscari while also securing our Eastern Flank.
> Attempt to track down these mysterious sorcerers via magical means and slay them. We could risk some of our own, but there is truth in the old say that the Valyrians were masters of the Higher Mysteries.
> Let’s all focus on our own home turf – we all know our own backyards, and thus we are each the most suited to deal with traitors in our midst (reduce the scope of operations, but improve efficiency)

Military Approach
>>4862349
>>4862364
>>4862413
>>4863121
Play it safe

>>4863119
>>4862714
Task at hand.

To clarify - you will still go for Essaria since the players voted for that in the Council. The vote was to determine the approach to the current situation and to whether you'd go straight for Essaria or stop in Mereen for barbeque time before moving on to the Military Frontier.

I see 3 for taking a small detour and "visit" Mereen, 2 for going straight to Essaria.

Magic
>>4862349
>>4862364
>>4862413
Cannot risk our own flesh and blood

>>4863121
>>4863119
Fight magic with magic

>>4862714
..why not both?

Homegrown Rebels
>>4862349
>>4862364
>>4862413
>>4862714
>>4863119
>>4863121
Focus on our home turf

Ok, I will write, but first..

>>4862714
No we wheren t able to reach targs, i had in mind to go and have a chat with them when we had finished to talk with Alastor. But we had to be in step stones for properly get them and then we headed east. Didn t found time, so might as well try now.

>>4862742
No is highly unlikely they are the main culprits. They are too young, there are more chances they where the latest group of rebels to join the larger rebellion. And i don t think we know anything about them, Tessario maybe knows something. Or the triarch it self that is here honestly.


The one of Mereen is a risk i admit though, i just want our people to be safe. But the vote has pass right now, so we will see what. to do about it.

I took some time off to finish the map of the Pre-Doom Valyrian Freehold.

Note - MANY of the areas that were claimed/assigned to each province are de facto unsettled and wilderness. For example do not let the massive territory of Pentos or Volantis make you think they have literally tens of millions of people living there - the vast majority of the people live on the coast.

File: The Valyrian Freehold.jpg (409 KB, 1575x1600)

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/Qst/ ate my map.

>>4863293
good to know

>>4863299
very nice for the map

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>>4863299
Current Landscape

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>>4863326
Current political landscape

These three maps should help clarify the current status of the conflict.

Note that I did NOT include the locations of potential rebels (e.g. Mantarys), since for now the official government stance is for one side (or the other). If a revolt breaks out and the political landscape changes, I will represent it on the map.

>>4863326
>>4863330
nice

>>4863331
thanks for that

For diplomacy can we also add the isle of cedars with Velos and Ghozai ? i didn t remember they where so near us when writing the write in

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>>4863347
They are shantytowns at the moment thanks to the tsunamis from the Doom. Still you could visit if you wish to know their status.

Final map - with the battles fought so far, that I have rolled for offscreen. The conflict evolves around you - you are the MC and thus a heavyweight of course, but the continent is at war, so I will roll for battles far from you

Purple - Victory for the Council
Green - Victory for the Rebels

>>4863355
Well Volantis looks bad on land, they risk to be overwhelmed honestly. Maybe they have a chance on sea against Lys thanks to our help.
On our side the sea looks divided. Maybe Aurion can help with naval victories. Bhorash looks kinf of bad.
And we have two victories in the marshes, so good for us.

>>4863367
Volantis advanced at first in Myrish and Lyseni territory, got repelled, and have just now stopped the enemy advance - rolls will determine whether they manage to go back on the offensive or not.

The only front on which they are clearly winning is the one in the middle of the mainland territories of Lys - if they manage to regroup and advance, they might cut off the forces of Myr from those of Lys on the mainland

On the sea the opposite happened - the remnants of the Lyseni fleet caught the Volantene fleets by surprise and scored 2 victories, before being pushed back in 3 consecutive victories for the Triarchs.

In the East the naval war is a stalemate - dragons burn ships..but when the enemy outnumbers your fleet by a LOT, the equilibrium swings back toward the middle.

On land, Bhorash originally declared for the Council, but constant warfare on its shores and even a failed attempt to land inside its harbor on part of Yunkai has sparkled what amount to a civil war since the Council forces (you) did not decide to intervene there.

Had you intervened there, you'd have found yourself knee-deep in the Yunkaish assault on Bhorash.

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>>4862195
You look at the map that appeared in front of you on the table and think before speaking

> “…while clearly stating that we need to reach Essaria sooner rather than later if we wish to have a way to settle down our people – who I remind you are currently living as refugees all across the North of the Peninsula, from Bhorash to Volantis -, I think we need to play it safe and ensure our continued communications. Clearing out the rebels along the Tolos-Mantarys-Volantis road is a priority, as well as securing a safe area where we could fall back, if things turn south. To do this we’ll also need to clean the bandits and enemies south of the Painted Mountains that separate the grasslands of central Essos from the northern Valyrian Peninsula. Once this is done, we should hit our enemies where it hurts – Mereen. A strategic port, an economic powerhouse and a powerful symbol of Ghiscari nationalism. Take it out, and you will deal a huge blow to the Ghiscari while also securing our Eastern Flank.”

Your concise analysis surprises many, but you notice a smile in your uncle’s face, followed by a nod in your direction to invite you to continue

> “And yet…allow me to emphasize once again that we need to think of our people while we do this – many are weak, having being left without enough food and homes. Dealing with the rebels close to home will help us, but in the meantime the refugees will remain without a place to go, and our foes know this weight on us a lot. We need a solution for it even if we agree to going for purge our own rebels or go on an offensive against the Ghiscari”

“They will be taken care of, nephew. We have already begun a settlement program in the area surrounding Tolos and the mainland near Elyria. It won’t solve the issue in its entirety…we are talking about millions of people here, but it will help in the short-term.”

> "There is another thing - what would you suggest us to do for recover losses? We aren’t sure which of the locals is our enemy, and reinforcements are unlikely to reach us or could be better spend in other fronts. And more losses are simply inevitable with an enemy of this kind."

“That will not be an issue young Belaerys – we shall send the promised men East in the following days – they shall meet you halfway between your current position and Volantis”

You nod and sit down, finishing your proposal. Ayrmidon raises his hand, signaling his intention to speak, before standing up

“I approve of your ideas Rhogar. But we need to remember that we are dealing with multiple enemies at once – not all willing to fight us in the field. I propose we fight fire with fire. Aurion, I would call on you to give a standing order as the Princeps of The Freehold, if you approve of my proposal”

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>>4863469
Your uncle nods, motioning for Valarr to continue

“It is clear our enemy is made up of a combination of nobles of various ideologies – independentists, nationalists, etc -, religious zealots…and sorcerers. I propose we fight fire with fire: they want terror? Let’s give them terror! Bounties over their heads, daggers in the dark like what they did to us, death by being burned alive in the public square, the only death that fits a traitor. And as far as their sorcerers?...I say we put to the test whether magic can truly save you from a dagger in the heart.”

Silence falls on the table as the weight of Ayrmidon’s words is understood

“You are proposing total, absolute war. Am I right?”

“After what they have done? YES! Look at the map Aurion! Our enemies are attacking us on all sides, we do not even know if we can rely on our own men to obey our orders for Balerion’s sake! Power and fear of said power are what built the Freehold, not compassion!”

Valarr’s little speech seems to have roused Tagaros as well

“We cannot fight a war against 3 foes at the same time as a war inside our own walls. Those religious zealots have been spreading their drivel among the slaves for long enough, and if they have turned against us…we might be sitting ducks, waiting for the inevitable slave revolt to erupt. If this is true – and I do not doubt your sincerity Belaerys, but you yourself admit it’s all fragmentary information -, we might have some rotten apples among us.”

He looks to his fellow Triarchs, and upon seeing them nod, continues

“They call themselves “the hawks”, right? Well…I invite our representative, Tessario Vaelaros, to communicate to the Council the decision of the Triarchs of Volantis – we support Councilor Valarr proposal. A traitor’s death to all the ones who betrayed Valyria”

Rhaella sighs, then nods in agreement. It is only then that Aurion speaks up – his age clear on his tired face, for once your uncle show all of his years:

“I shall communicate my will to the Council tomorrow. But for now..let it be known that we shall progressively enter a regime of total war. I henceforth authorize you all to take any precaution necessary to preserve the Freehold. If our enemies likes to hide in the shadow, we shall drag them screaming in the light to be judged. Rhogar, Valarr – your new task is to clear the Volantis-Tolos road and ascertain whether the mantaryan Archon is loyal. If he is, support him in cleansing his region of rebels. If he isn’t, and Mantarys itself has fallen…save as many as you can, and then..send a message. Betrayal shall NOT be tolerated. Once you have cleared the land south of the Painted Mountains, I want you to join our army that will head for Bhorash and then Mereen before you turn north toward Essaria.”

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>>4863470
He sighs, before concluding his orders

“I do not know how this will end, but I can promise you this – we shall prevail. On this note, we shall send a messenger to Dragonstone, the place of exile for Aenar the Exile. It is time for the last Dragonlord family outside our reach to rejoin the fold…or be obliged to do so.”

Everyone nods and one by one, they disappear, until only you, Sheira, Rhaella and Aurion are left. Mother and daughter embrace each other, while your uncle talks to you about your father, who seems to be improving, even if it’s too soon for him to join you on campaign according to your uncle.

> “Uncle…have you told them?”

You do not need to specify what you are talking about, for Aurion’s mood darkens immediately

“No..I couldn’t find a right time or place. I..think we should do it in stages – I will talk to Rhaella, you with your wife and Horonno. I will speak with my brother”

You nod, and after a final hug, the dream ends.

…

It is morning, and you can choose what you wish to accomplish before your departure West, toward Mantarys:
> Talk to Sheira about the White Sun – explain everything.
> Confer with Ayrmidon and Tessario about how to best organize the troops during the march (war routine implementation)
> Visit the abandoned camp (Alone? Who do you wish to bring with you? Urrax can bring 3 people remember)
> Write-in

Also – fate of the prisoners who did talk:
> A traitor’s death (death by being burned alive)
> Mercy (Commute their sentences to what? – You are an Archon and you DO have this power)

>>4863471
> Visit the abandoned camp (our Westerosi boys.)
We need full information.
> Talk to Sheira about the White Sun – explain everything.
Better to explain it ourselves and not the sun going hello and misleading her.
> Mercy (Commute their sentences to what? – personal slave)
He talked we keep our word.