In the armory yard, fresh chalk lines crawl over the rock where new watch posts will stand. General Rovan kneels with a squad of Dragon-Crest soldiers, but the cliff wind keeps snapping their cloaks flat. Beyond the sea road, the water pulses with a faint electric churn.
The Envoy
King Hammon, the wording on the manifest has spread faster than the ink dries. Lord Alon’s men are not the only ones asking questions now.
A leather case is opened at the bench. Inside lies a copied charter, sealed with чужд wax and a neat hand that names Ethrosise as a subject for study, and Castle High Wind as a place of interest.
General Rovan
They mean to turn your shore into a lesson, my king. If they come by road, we can stop them. If they come by writ, we need a harder answer.
King Hammon
The horizon flashes blue-white, and the sea answers in a low, distant boom. The soldiers look out at once, seeing the warning for what it is, a reminder that the coast is not theirs to study, only to respect.
The Squire
If outsiders keep circling, they will not just seek the serpent. They will test your right to keep him unclaimed.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish the watch posts
“I say, they are free to visit and view in the public areas which dont have the best view or accommodations and if they tent they pay a tax for being on our land, a small one. If they want a close good view and the luxury of the outdoor view areas inn and tavern and host walking the grounds”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +3)
King Hammon
They may visit the public grounds, but no better view comes free. Tent on our land, and they pay a small tax. Want the inn, the tavern, or a guided walk, they pay for that too.
General Rovan
Practical. Clear. Easy to enforce. I can post the terms at once and have the yard guards carry them.
The Envoy
That is acceptable. It leaves no room for misreading, and no excuse for encroachment dressed as curiosity.
The Squire
A cliff worth claiming ought to be treated like one. Let them pay, or keep their boots on the road.
Rovan turns the chalk board and starts marking the watch posts as toll points, while the envoy folds the foreign charter shut with a tight, approving hand.
The sea flashes again beyond the yard, and the distant boom returns, lower this time, as if something out there takes note of the claim.
The Squire
If they come to look, they will find a held shore, not a gift. If they want the better view, they learn the price first.
“I say, if we see a large flow that choose the viewing grounds and use the inn then we will add more, shops with ethrosise items, carvings, lore books, paintings of ethrosise”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled -2)
King Hammon
If the viewing grounds draw a large enough flow, we add more. Shops with Ethrosise goods, carvings, lore books, paintings.
General Rovan
Then I will note it for the yard masters. A market grows best when the first stall is already expected.
The Envoy
A tidy profit, and a clearer message. Curiosity pays the toll before it reaches the cliff.
The Squire
Ethrosise on a painted board... that will pull eyes hard enough to spend coin.
Rovan scratches a second column beside the toll marks, and the chalk now names future stalls for carvings, books, and painted keepsakes.
The sea answers with a deeper boom, and salt spray blows up over the yard stones.
A fresh crack of thunder rolls low over Morrili, as if the shore itself has heard the plan and does not like being sold.
“I say, if we see a large flow that choose the viewing grounds and use the inn then we will add more, shops with ethrosise items, carvings, lore books, paintings of ethrosise. I add, If ethrosise stays here also for months, years even”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
King Hammon
If a large flow comes, the viewing grounds get it first, and the inn follows. Then we add more, shops for Ethrosise goods, carvings, lore books, paintings. If Ethrosise stays here for months, years, we build for that too.
General Rovan
Then I set it as a staged expansion, first stalls, then storage, then proper frontage. The chalk board should outlast the rain.
The Envoy
A clear charter line, then, not just a toll. Visitors pay to look, and the hold decides what looking is worth.
The Squire
Months, years... that means the shore is not a passing thing. It becomes part of the hold.
Rovan adds a wider bracket beside the stall marks, tying them to the viewing ground and the inn yard. The charter copy gets a new notation, and the first draft of a long-term market takes shape.
Outside the armory, thunder cracks over Morrili, and the salt wind slaps hard against the stone. The chalk on the board stays bright, but the sea answers the claim with a low, distant growl.
The watch posts are now fixed in the plan, yet the coast feels watched back, as if something beneath the waves has accepted the boundary and begun testing it.
“I establish the watch post, and patroling of the all the grounds of our territory with the increase of randoms wandering around. I say i want mounted troops policing the grounds, checking tents, scouting around, checking on the crowds of strangers who came to see erhrosise or maybe cause problems”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
King Hammon
Mount riders on the grounds. They patrol the cliff path, the tents, the visitor yards, and every place strangers gather. No camp, no crowd, no approach goes unseen.
Rovan marks the order straight onto the charter board, adding rider routes that loop from the gate to the viewing grounds and back again. The patrols become part of the hold's law, not a loose watch.
General Rovan
Then it is settled. I will post riders where the tents stand thickest and where the road bends out of sight.
The Envoy
A sensible ward. Visitors will understand they are being received, not left to wander.
The Squire
Mounted patrols mean the shore is being counted as ours, one route at a time.
Outside, the thunder answers at once. A hard wave of salt spray hisses across the stones, and the sea gives a deep, displeased roll beyond Morrili.
The board stays steady, but the air shifts heavy and cold, as if the coast itself has noticed the new claim and is waiting to see who holds it.
Quest Complete
Establish the watch posts
New Gift: Sentinel of the Wilds
“I say, they will not be allowed near the woods offending the elves of the woods”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
King Hammon
They will not be allowed near the woods. Not to offend the elves of the woods.
Rovan’s chalk stops mid-line. He lifts his head, then draws a hard boundary around the forest road, cutting the route off before it reaches the trees.
General Rovan
Then the charter is clear. Visitors keep to the coast, the yards, and the marked paths. No wandering into the woods.
The Envoy
A wise restriction. I will carry that warning with the toll terms.
The Squire
Good. Some borders are safer when they stay untested.
The charter board takes the new line at once. The hold’s claim tightens, but it also concedes the forest edge to its own silence.
Outside, thunder answers again, low and far. Salt spray hammers the stone, and the sea beyond Morrili seems to hold its breath around the finished order.