Results, August Year 1
Update - September 1, Year 1
Dominic - Adventure: Old Man of the mountain
Dita - Adventure: Old Man of the mountain
Katiana - Adventure: Old Man of the Moutain
You abort your investigation into the rumors about a mage living in a remote mountain valley after unexpectedly finding two Hand operations in the area. The Hand appears to be operating here with Nikolai's support, but you don't know if Baron Pavel is in on the scheme or not. You're also uncertain whether therumored mountain mage is real, or just a cover the Hand was using.
Dominic - Research: Examine beastman corpses for flesh sorcery research info
Your detailed examination of the beastman corpses leaves you rather impressed with the skills of the ancient mages who created them. You suspect that it was done using something considerably less flexible than your flesh sorcery, although performing such permanent alterations yourself would require Flesh Sorcery 3. While you lack the raw power to duplicate the changes you've observed, your studies have given you some good insights into how such modifications would work.
Research Chain Unlocked - Permanent body alterations (bestial traits, enhanced senses, increased Body)
Dominic - Research: Fire Sorcery technique (flame projection)
While fire sorcery is quite good at creating flames it proves much less suited for projecting them. Fortunately you find that 'pushing' your own flames with your force sorcery is no harder than pushing anything else, and they don't weigh much. With practice you find that you can create a narrow jet of fire that shoots out several yards from your hand, although maintaining the jet requires quite a bit of concentration. While it isn't big enough to actually kill foes, it should be quite effective at setting them on fire and distracting them.
Dita - Research: Holy Sorcery technique (Imbue Holy attribute to your Sword/Arrows)
It takes Dita some practice just to figure out how to invoke her holy sorcery without creating light at the same time, a process which is considerably complicated by the fact that her holy magic tends to glow with a soft golden light even if there isn't any light magic involved.
Once she figures this out she finds it much easier to make ordianry lights of whatever color she wants, and imbuing objects or creatures with holy energy proves almost trivial. The holy energy fades very quickly, but this could still be a viable technique for archery or enhancing individual blows in melee.
Bialis - Promote to captain. Conduct minimal patrols, but focus mostly on training the troops.
Jaroslaw - Assist Bialis with training & leadership.
Bialis takes over organizing road patrols and personal escorts, which frees you from a considerable amount of detail work. During the course of the month he and Jaroslaw give both the 1st and 2nd Corzu Foot skill training, as well as recruiting all your units back up to full strength.
Bialis informs you that he plans to train both units up to Skill 2, discipline 2 over the next few months, and requests funds to upgraid them to Equipment 2 once the harvest tax is collected.
Traian - Construction Project: Improve Corzu's Roads (will promote to Treasurer when complete)
With a considerable deployment of peasant labor (200 man-months) Traian manages to clear useable paths to all of Corzu's hamlets. Simple wooden bridges have been thrown up in half a dozen locations to make it possible for wagons to reach all of your settlements, although there are still many places where small streams must be forded.
Of course, this is still a far cry from a real road system, but at least you have a shot at collecting the harvest tax now. Unfortunately the delivery of the remaining wagons and livestock needed for that effort has been plagued by delays, and Traiain has been too busy working on the roads to deal with the problem.
Traian has located two suitable sites for country inns along the road between Igal and Tamasi. He also suggests further road-related projects that could benefit the fief.
Katiana - Note: Start working on keep repair after returning from adventure
After returning from your trip to Pischia Katiana resumes work on the keep, but only makes about 3 weeks worth of progress on the proejct.
In her spare time she has continued working on her staff, and expects to finish it sometime in the coming turn. With a proper implement she'll be able to work more earth magic with less strain, and she hopes to see a a significant improvement in her construction speed.
Dragos - Appoint as Seneschal. Authorize clear grounds project.
The new arrival smoothly takes over managing the day-to-day operation of your staff, and in a matter of days has work parties out clearing the grounds around the castle. By the end of the month that project is complete, and he has begun to work out plans for making use of the space in the keep once Kat's repair project is finished.
Dragos requests that the 'Unstable Cellars' repair be completed as soon as possible, so that you can take advantage of the increased storage space to begin stocking seige stores.
Order - Reply to Boris accepting his suggestion, and in turn suggest Ezti as a marriage possibility, and that he meet her while he's in Corzu.
Order - Read book on Roman roads.
Order - Send letter to parents, inform them that you intend to court the Balzar girl.
Order - Send letter to Gavrilla. Inform her that the Balzar girl is your preference for wife.
Order - Send letter to Baron Rogatica. Tell him that beastmen were sighted heading west towards the Lim, possibly onto his lands.
Done.
Kat is quite interested in the books you've collected on Roman roads, fortifications and construction techniques,and would like to read them when you're done.
Order - Send letter to Ezti with a plan to avoid some of the large tariffs on river trade by making purchases through Dominic. Ask for any information Ezti has on a smuggling ring on the river, too.
Ezti is quite interested in such a plan, and invites you to come visit her in Bocsa to discuss the matter in person. She sounds fairly eager to see you again, for some strange reason.
Oh, and she fails to respond to your question about the smugglers. Perhaps it isn't something she wants to put in a letter?
Order - Send letters to both Lala and Chesna, asking about Chesna's debut.
Done.
Long before your letter could have arrived you receive a cheery missive from Chesna talking about how amazing the capital is. She thanks you profusely for your part in getting her there, and slyly mentions that the Czene heir is quite charming (although not as charming as you).
Order - Get a cost estimate for what a simple wood and earth fort with a barracks would cost to build
Assuming you want a cheap fort your troops can use as a local base of operations, a basic design would be a square plot about 100' on a side surrounded by a 6' deep moat. Heap the earth from the moat on the inenr side, put a wooden palisade atop that, build a wooden gate in the middle of one side and put a wooden barracks and a small stable inside. That adds up to a nominal cost of 150 SP, practically all of which can be covered with labor tax and/or Kat's time.
The downside will be that such structures need a lot of maintenance, so you'd end up paying another 10-20% of the original cost every year to keep it in good condition. It also isn't going to stand up to anything more serious than a bandit attack, obviously.
Event - Harvest Time
Harvest time has begun. For the next two months all your peasants will be working frantically to harvest their crops, and at least one NPC needs to be assigned to travel around collecting your harvest taxes. Labor tax can't be used during harvest season, as everyone is too busy in the fields.
