The guard yard quiets behind you. Emily remains with you while the recruits and veterans stay beneath the lanterns, reviewing watches and preparing for the road to Trent.
Emily
Walk with me, Prince. Promises stirred them, but promises alone cannot command a guard once hardship begins.
She leads through the noble quarter, where rain beads on carved stone and muted voices slip from shuttered windows. Rin joins you near a secluded arcade.
Rin
The observers are already waiting. Some can fund ships and supplies, while others can grant recognition that makes your expedition difficult to dismiss.
Beyond the arcade's pillars, three discreet nobles stand beneath dark cloaks, accompanied by scribes carrying sealed tablets. Their attention settles on Jericho's royal pin.
Emily
State terms that can be measured: wages, shares, rank, and what distinction earns. If they know the bargain, they can choose it without confusion.
Rin
And tell Flores what Trent will become under your banner. Funding follows profit, but recognition follows a future others believe they can safely support.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish workable terms for the guard
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure funding and supplies for the expedition
Director's note
Choosing a princely capital is one of the most important decisions a prince will make. My declaration confirms the suspicions that many nobles had.
“I direct my attention to Rin and the nobles watching me. "My ultimate goal for Trent is to turn it into my Princely capital. Its resources and location makes it so that during every king's reign it serves as the apex city in its region." "Once I arrive in Trent I will eliminate the bandits that have settled into the area, begin rebuilding the city, and then use that momentum to get the local nobility near Trent to swear their allegiance to me." I look at the nobles and can see their are already half-convinced on my success. I smirk as I ready for the finale. "Of course these are just my immediate goals. After this I will reestablish the mines in the Brence Mountain Range, bring back the artisans, and expand the towns ports. Finally I will use the profits to build a teleportation node."”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled -1)
Jericho Font Helmsworth
My ultimate goal for Trent is to make it my princely capital, the apex city of this region through every king's reign.
Jericho Font Helmsworth
I will eliminate the settled bandits, rebuild the city, and win the allegiance of the surrounding nobility. Then I will reopen the Brence mines, restore its artisans, expand the ports, and use the profits to build a teleportation node.
The cloaked nobles exchange sharp glances. Their scribes begin writing before Jericho finishes, recording not a hopeful venture but a declaration of territorial ambition.
Rin
Then Flores has heard your choice plainly. Trent is not merely a ruin you intend to rescue. It is the foundation of your power.
Emily
That is a campaign with an ending worth guarding. Give me authority to impose order, and I will make the road to Trent safer for every recruit who follows.
the senior noble
My house will finance the first supply ships and provisions. In return, we require written shares in the port revenues once Trent is restored.
The senior noble presses a sealed tablet into a scribe's hands, committing the offer to record. The cost is immediate: Jericho's future port income now carries a public claim, but the alliance is secured.
“"You will receive your shares and the first 5 years of the ports creation will be tax free for the port." I then turn to address the guards. "I should also mention that as we clear the land from the bandits, I will be giving out increases in ranks, additional shares of the loot, land, and titles for accomplishments during the campaigns. This will be in addition to your standard wages of course."”
FAILURE (Fair Negotiation, rolled +0)
Jericho Font Helmsworth
You will receive your shares, and the first five years of the port's creation will be free of taxes.
The senior noble's scribe pauses, quill hovering. The offer is generous enough to draw interest, but its certainty unsettles the careful arithmetic behind the tablet.
the senior noble
My prince, I accept the shares, but I cannot bind my house to a tax exemption before Trent's charter exists. Secure that charter, and I will place the concession before the proper council.
The bargain does not close as promised, yet a route opens: the noble will support a formal charter, making the exemption a political instrument rather than a private pledge.
Jericho Font Helmsworth
As we clear the land of bandits, accomplishments during the campaigns will earn increased rank, additional shares of loot, land, and titles, in addition to standard wages.
Emily
Then every soldier will know exactly what courage can build. I will record each accomplishment publicly, so no patron's favorite can claim what another earned.
The guards murmur approval. The scribes add the reward structure beside the port agreement, while the nobles watch a military expedition become the visible beginning of a new power.
Quest Complete
Establish workable terms for the guard
Skill Upgrade: Persuasion Great→Superb