Completed Sword of Aragon with a Codexian War Council

[Ulminati]

Rest and patrol. There should be plenty of time before winter to launch a raid still.

 

[Overboard]

Agreed, rest and patrol, until we're ready to 'liberate' Brocada.

 

[Elfberserker]

Lets rest, chill, get drunk and get laid for now.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

So I think I learned a bit of a lesson after being cocky during the last battle and losing a third of our cavalry forces. The reason our forces did so well against the first Marinian unit was because we softened them up through eight rounds of arrows and magic. Keeping that up cost us a couple of hundred gold as I had to spend resources through the Supply option of the game in order to replenish arrows and magical reagents. The second force was entrenched, but we did not spend much time at all trying to soften them. The cavalry charge suffered through hitting the entrenched infantry. This is an SSI game, and the company was formed by tabletop wargamers. Entrenched positions are going to matter, even against an inferior enemy. We'll be spending the next few months patrolling for experience and to scout around, rebuilding our cavalry, improving Aladda, and finally taking any quest we are given in order to increase our treasury's coffers.

Good call for me to wait for better opportunities... you'll see what just happened.

During the month of May, I take our entire force on a patrol east and are warned off by the elves once we find their homeland. "A large group of elves stops your advance. They say: 'We cannot let you pass. We must protect our secrets from all men.'"

Fair enough. The elves have been good allies thus far, so we turn back around towards Aladda. Our combined army is just outside the gates when we run into a few hundred orcs.

This is the kind of random encounter common in the game. You can run into armies sitting even along civilized roads. The fact that these are orcs make it even more dangerous, since they will often fight to the last orc, and will inflict at least a couple casualties each time. I don't want to lose men, but we need the experience so this encounter is welcome. Deuce Traveler, Elfberserker, Ulminati, Azira and the 1st Bowmen take the back row, while Desktop Commander, Overboard, Kashmir Slippers, and the Aladda 1st Infantry are one part of our front line with Irenaeus, Eryfkrad, Monstrous Bat, the 2nd Infantry and 1st Cavalry taking the flank.

We win once more, only losing one cavalryman. Although we are more experienced and a bit richer, no one gains a level. June comes, and although we do not get any quests, we do here about the new emperor's doings.

"A spy reports that Lucinian IV has been ruthlessly suppressing any opposition to his rule. He has replaced nearly all his political appointees with loyal army officers."

I also look for trouble, and find it. Goblins attack from our west, and I eagerly go out to meet their infantry, only to be surprised by a cavalary charge from the east that hits our mages and archers. Tricksy, tricksy goblinses! We have to hit them hard and fast, because their infantry are a mixed unit with bows.

I reverse things a bit on them. The mages and archers rain havoc on the goblins forces, and the cavalry and 2nd Infantry are lead by Elfberserker and the knights Overboard and Desktop Commander into an attack. We clear one of the eastern units this way.

The 1st Infantry is lead by Eryfkrad, Irenaeus, Monstrous Bat, and Kashmir Slippers and they rush west to close with the infantry there. We lost eight men due to the flanking manuever, and Kashmir Slippers was badly wounded and nearly killed. The enemy AI still sucks, but it makes up for it by the game doing such things as having forces start off behind us and attacking from multiple directions. And if the enemy starts far enough away you won't even see them coming.

This is all bad news, but we get an offer hard to refuse. "The elven ambassador from Tranavan has told you that his queen has agreed to offer you an alliance to defeat Pitlag! The Elves will help in any attack upon Paritan that you make!" Why wouldn't we agree to this? It will result in support no matter what we do, and I see no demands against us except for attacking a city we were planning to attack anyway.

We lay low in August, and receive this message. "A traveler who claims to be a deserter from the Paritanian army says that Lord Pitlag is planning an attack on Brocada. Pitlag covets the nearby city and it's harbor to increase his own wealth and power." I'm thinking of letting this happen. If Pitlag attacks, his forces may be weakened from it, and then we can 'liberate' Brocada. I do remember to upgrade Kashmir Slipper's armor, though. It might help him not become a pin cushion like he did last battle.

Good thing, too, since Aladda is invaded by over 400 goblins, more than half of which didn't even show up on the battle roster until after I positioned our troops. Again, they came from two directions and were also able to get into some parts of Aladda and loot it. The fight is bloody, but we do get the experience we were looking for out of it, with Elberserker, Monstrous Bat, and Desktop Commander all gaining levels as does our 2nd Infantry. We also get a new hero to join us, a level 2 knight.

Welcome aboard Octavius!

We also get a new message: "Reports reaching you indicate that Lord Pitlag of Paritan is planning to send an armada to destroy once and for all the power of the Tetradan throne. A trusted advisor suggests that if this is true, Paritan must be lightly defended at this time."

Hmmm... you don't say? The elves also ask us to halt lumber operations, which we do. We will need their archers very soon...

I equip Octavius' horse with mail barding and plan our attack. Our army heads towards our new destination, but there's always a joker in the crowd. "An old, decrepit man comes toward your army and jibes, "Hope those nasty old elves don't help Pitlag to defeat this pretty army of yours!" He laughs and runs into the hills. That asshole can laugh all he wants, since he probably doesn't realize the elves sided with us.

We get to Paritan's gates. "Scouts report that a patrol from Paritan has seen you and fled toward the east."

It is October and we are about to attack when we get this message. "One of your spies reports that Lord Pitlag of Paritan has sent a small military party to help Nuralia fight marauding goblins." He should have looked to his own needs.

We attack Paritan. "The Tanavan Elves have sent you some of their troops, as the elven ambassador has promised. There are about 100 elves approaching Paritan!" Scouts report that Paritan is defended by about 200 infantry and 100 cavalry." Excellent...

Pitlag actually outnumbers are combined forces with 171 of them versus 131 combined elves and Aladdans. I only brought out our two infantry companies and best heroes. The heroes of lower level, 1st Cavalry and 1st Bowmen are defending Aladda and its allies back home. The Pitlag forces have, however, decided to attack me with only a portion of their forces at a time, so I focus our forces at the closest cavalry unit first, with my Fear spell.

We are taking a beating, but Irenaeus is keeping our forces from fleeing with Rally and keeping them in fighting condition with Vigor. Magic and elven archery is making a huge difference. In fact, Fear is causing the units to disperse, while the elves are whittling down the enemy quite badly. I'll be honest. When the Pitlag forces were down to 40% I charged in and that was a mistake. Even with their forces on the verge of collapse, the city's heroes were such a high level that they were able to wipe out most of our forces single-handedly. Instead I just cast Fear and watch the elves fire volley after volley until Pitlag gets below 35% effective forces and surrenders. We lost enough troops in the battle, but I and Eryfkrad gain a level and we end the Paritan threat. A mage wishes to join us after this victory. Say hello to SCO!

"You have broken the power of Pitlag in his home city, Paritan! He is not likely to be a force in Aragon now or ever again! Much to your dismay, however, the infamous Pitlag himself seems to have gotten away. In addition, reports are that Brocada has fallen!" It looks like Brocada will be next, now that we have it surrounded. Also, we have Nuralia to our east, which I know little about.
We get a new rumor about the remainder of Pitlag's army. This is too hard to resist, and it makes a tempting target before we hole up for the winter. But I send the troops in that direction and the ground is too rough for them to travel there and back in time for winter. Later I would find out that Pitlag was in Brocada. The poor bastard took over one city just to find out too late that I had simultaneously taken his home turf.

We make it to the first month of winter. "You have heard from the merchants who have travelled to the south that there are several tribes of nomadic horsemen who live on the plains south of Sur Nova." Seems like Sur Nova may become important to us soon in the future.

"Reports from a caravan indicate that a new leader has risen among the Khalikha nomads. He is called by the name Jantri Khali, which means 'Great Warrior' in the nomad's language. He is said to be attempting to unite all the clans under his banner." Great. Looks like a threat is building in the south.

March comes finally. "You have word from a spy in Tetrada that Lucinian IV has greatly expanded his military in the last few months." So now threats in the south and east. Time to take out Brocada, followed by the remnants of Pitlag's army to the southeast. As we march towards Brocada an old man does a jig in front of us. "An old man dressed in rags come to YOU and says 'Behold all men, for Deuce is the rightful ruler of the ancient empire, the true descendant of the ancient royal line of Aragon!" He does a somersault, a flip, and rolls on the ground before running away into the hills." Great. I've been crowned by a madman.

I approach the gates of Brocada. "You are met by a patrol of about fifty men. They say the represent General Petrov, the rightful ruler of Brocada. The forces of Pitlag have overrun the peasants and forced militia into hiding! Will you help us defeat Pitlag? In return we will become your vassal and pay you 400gp monthly."

I agree to this as it helps free up our army. Also, having an allied Brocada and Marinia will guard our backs while we worry about the emperor to the east and khan to the south. April comes and we are about to attack Brocada, but we receive bad news to the south. "A son of a merchant has returned to Sur Nova alone. He says that his father refused to pay tribute to pass through the plains, and was killed! The remainder of the caravan was looted and destroyed by horsemen!" The people of Sur Nova to our south may soon need help, but one thing at a time!

I have the 1st Cavalry and heroes from Aladda join us for this attack, since they have the mobiity to get here fast and return to defend Aladda in the same turn. I also create two infantry units to protect Paritan. It leaves us broke, but is a necessity.

This is going to be a tough fight. "Scouts report that Brocada is defended by about 100 cavalry, 350 infantry and 100 bowen, all bearing the creat and banner of Pitlag of Paritan! The remnants of the militia has joined your army." I wish I had the elves with me.

The rebel hero decides to go suicidal, charging headfirst into the enemy without any of the rest of us. Of course he gets pelted right away by their archers. The insane bastard then runs directly into the entrenched enemy front lines and nearly gets himself killed! The hero, Petrov, and his men are getting decimated by the enemy bowmen. We have to break them up, which means a cavalry attack. I just hope the cavalry can survive the counterattack or that the counterattack focuses on Petrov's militia. Not only does our 1st Cavalry survive the attack, they destroy two units of bowmen and a unit of infantry in their charge with enough movement and men to spare for another thrust! There are two units of bowmen and cavalry before them, but several heroes join the effort for one more push! They are lead by Overboard, Elfberserker, Monstrous Bat, Desktop Commander and Octavius. Althought they do some serious damage, this second charge ultimately fails. The enemy fires arrows into our men, and the 1st Cavalry has had about enough for one day. Irenaeus and Kashmir Slippers rush into their ranks to deliver to them more Vigor and Rally their spirits. They still retreat and our 2 Infantry units take their place in the foothold we took inside the city. At this point, the mages are just casting magic in order to keep the enemy archers from being effective. After the inital mad push, our allies stopped attacking. At this point I'm with the elves. Humans suck.

I use my own character to cast Fear at the main body of the enemy, then use my wand to attack once more. After that it's up to our heroes, Kashmir Slippers, Irenaeus, Eryfkrad, Overboard, Elfberserker, Monstrous Bat, and Desktop Commander to lead our two infantry companies to victory!

Our forces are exhausted, but our allies are being useless and the enemy has yet to give up. We repeat the formula. The priests keep the units from breaking up, the mages support with their spells and what I now realize our magic missiles and wand attacks rather than arrows, and our allies sit and be useless before our infantry and heroes attack.

Finally, though, the enemy quits. Overboard and Monstrous Bat gain a level for the effort and we secure our northern territory. Also a new hero joins us. Ok, maybe joined isn't the right word. More like conscripted. Say hello to TigerKnee!

Oh, I forgot to mention that TigerKnee, Desktop Commander, SCO, Octavius, Monstrous Bat, Azira, Kashmir Slippers and our four infantry units from Paritan and Aladda went southeast and wiped out the remnants of Pitlag's followers. Unfortunately, the enemy archers were too much for SCO, who got hit hard during the final assault and later died of his wounds. Don't worry, SCO , SCO v2 will be even better than your last character. Or should we name him SCO Jr?

They were back to Paritan in time for breakfast the next day. I am now returning Aladda's two companies of infantry, and the cavalry and bowmen are already there. Paritan has two infantry companies and will soon be adding a unit of bowmen. We are having threats emerge in the south with the khan and the east with the emperor, but we have tribute paying vassals watching our backs to the north and west in Brocada and Marinia. Who wants to face off with the threats to the east in Paritan and who wants to defend Aladda from the threats to the south?

 

[Azira]

I'm feeling brave. I'll go east.

 

[Ulminati]

Into the east! I thirst for the blood of lesser men!

 

[Elfberserker]

I can stay behind to defend from south-

 

[SCO]

Death in glorious battle as a low level mage charging with a dagger against archers. Can't say i'm surprised.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

It was my bad. SCO moved to support with a Slow spell, and the units affected retaliated. When you start making tactical mistakes like that in such a game, it's time to take a break from the computer. Don't worry. The SCO will rise again.

The problem is that it doesn't seem as if a character will raise in level unless you actually cast a lot of magic or actually attack the enemy. And when you do attack the enemy, there better be a large casualty list. For instance, poor Elfberserker wasn't gaining hardly any levels at all until I started putting him with the melee guys, as for some reason the game doesn't allow me to assign his ranger a bow. So he was plucking at the enemy with weak magic bolts and hardly doing any damage, which in turn led to him hardly gaining any experience. The ranger is just like the original D&D ranger: more of a fighter/magic-user/druid than an expert archer. I suppose I should just have low level casters stay in the back and cast spells like Light all day until they gain a level or two and can be more effective.

On the other hand, the computer-controlled heroes are pretty boss. They can wade into larger formations and take minimal damage, even when repelled. If I tried to throw in one of our level 5 characters into taking on the enemy front lines solo, like Petrov did, that character would be toast. I would guess that Petrov must be a level 8 NPC.

Anyway, I am thinking of moving the Aladda force to check on Sur Nova soon and see if they request our aid against the kahn. I'm not sure if we should expect to see the east or the south catch fire next, as both are regularly attacked by humanoids and we would inherit the problem. Here is the info on our neighbors:

NAME Nuralia
POPULATION 3,000
LOCATION Coast north of Luftgar
RESOURCES Rich soil, lumber, minerals
ECONOMY Agriculture, mining, logging, commerce
RULER Wilfreed, Duke

Nuralia occupies the fertile plain between the northern reaches of the Luftgar and the Galation Sea. Nuralia possesses many natural resources: black soil, varied minerals, plentiful forests and easy access to markets. The foothills to the south abound with hardwood forests. The land flattens out in the north into a plain of rich soil. Most trees in this northern region are found along watercourses. Along the coast both thick and thin scrub brush dominate.

Nuralia suffers from raiding Goblins out of the Gernok area. The military is thoroughly professional, though reports indicate it is poorly led. The army is hard pressed to hold its own. There are also hints that opposition exists in the ranks over the methods used to fight the invaders.

NAME Sur Nova
POPULATION Unknown
LOCATION Foothills south of Aladda
RESOURCES Forest, rich soil, river
ECONOMY Logging, agriculture, fishing
RULER Unknown

The city Sur Nova is situated in the western foothills of a spur of the Luftgar Mountains. Sur Nova sits on a hilltop overlooking the main north-south road. It commands the only real trade route through these foothills.
The land is rich in many resources; it has fertile soil, accessible forests, and numerous minerals. The Garrish River is navigable by river boats that may sail nearly to the city itself. Lush grasslands in the south give way to rolling hills covered in hardwood groves.

There is no army left in this area, for it seems that no one wants to support one. Additionally, terrible monsters from the Luftgar and southern Khalikha plains plague the inhabitants, who live in poverty. This is not surprising, as the raiding monsters pillage the city's wealth with regularity.

NAME Tranavan forest (our new elven ally)
POPULATION Unknown
LOCATION Northwest Aragon, east of Aladda
RESOURCES unknown
ECONOMY unknown
RULER Trinangel, Queen

Because of the density of the forest, it is very difficult to discern the topography of the land. The land is dominated less by geographic features than by trunk and root. The huge trees, which appear to be deciduous, do not ever lose their leaves.

Scouting reports are scarce, as most scouts sent to Tranavan have not returned from the forest. Those that have were thwarted in their mission by the density of the foliage or by pesky Elven patrols.

 

[Kipeci]

I don't know anything about this game, but I want to see a khanate come into being, so let's go for the east while that develops in the south.

 

[Monstrous Bat]

Think I'll stay at home this time.

Also

Pitlag's final stance.

 

[octavius]

I think I would secure Nuralia first. Then you have your back secured (I don't think you can move from Nuralia to Tetrada), and Nuralia seems like a juicier target than Sur Nova, and you'll probably only have to deal with goblins once you've secured it.
Sir Nova sounds like a money drain if you conquer it, especially during the upcoming winter, but could provide a good place to get combat practice for your armies due to the constant monster raids.
So I think I'd secure Nuralia before winter and then head for Sur Nova next year with a strong force.

EDIT: or maybe being holed up in Sur Nova during the winter months with the bulk of the army may be the best course of actions, since monsters seem to attack just as readily during winter.

 

[Overboard]

I'll head...due south.

 

[Desktop Commander]

Sur Nova sounds like a resource drain for sure, plus it doesn't seem like their problems are going to solve themselves anytime soon, so there's no rush in taking it.

Nuralia, on the other hand, is only suffering from Goblins, which should be easier to handle than whatever Sur Nova is facing. Plus, they might agree to become our vassals, should we be able to solve their problems. The description the game gives us also makes me suspect that the dissent in their ranks might lead to a change in leadership if we dally for too long, which might or might not make them more effective in fighting off the Goblins. In any case, it might make it more difficult for us to get them as vassals, so I'd say we try to head towards Nuralia, as long as they are still in turmoil and in need of a saviour in shining armour.

 

[Kashmir Slippers]

I'll defend. Are there any negative effects of having vassals? Will they ever revolt or give you trouble, or is it just a way to not have to micromanage every city you hold.

That was a lucky string of events this update. Good work.

 

[Jester]

Would like to join, if there are any vacant places. Class unimportant as long as i will be like this guy.

Wall huger it is.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Kashmir Slippers , vassals will sometimes get attacked and ask for your help if they feel their militia will not be enough. If you do not help defend them, they will get overrun and stop paying you tribute for being such a poor lord and protector.

 

[Kipeci]

What about your other vassals, will they look at the situation and not pay so much either or is it just the one who called for help?

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Kipeci , I am not sure. I haven't really played a game where I didn't defend my vassals. I would assume it would be just from the one who had asked for aid.

I am sorry about the lack of an update today. I have the text and the pics, but I am off to work and do not have the time to upload and properly format. So the update will be tomorrow. However, I played for fewer game months this attempt as I started around August and only had so much time before winter came. So there was less fighting than in the last update, but somehow there seemed to be more going on. I mean, we fought off some orcs, took two more cities but had to retreat from the battlefield of a third, had numerous people kidnapped by ghosts and banshees we have yet to successfully hunt down, saved a bunch of hostages from angry giants, learned about city riots, suffered an unnaturally long and bitter winter that caused a ruination of our economic growth and attrition against our unexpected soldiers in the field, got news about the rise of an evil cult, learned that we have to prepare for a coming demon invasion, and there are a bunch of monks holding the secret of magic we need to find which is our only hope in protecting a targeted city from evil sorcery.

Oh, and some of you leveled up.

 

[Monstrous Bat]

I mean, we fought off some orcs, took two more cities but had to retreat from the battlefield of a third, had numerous people kidnapped by ghosts and banshees we have yet to successfully hunt down, saved a bunch of hostages from angry giants, learned about city riots, suffered an unnaturally long and bitter winter that caused a ruination of our economic growth and attrition against our unexpected soldiers in the field, got news about the rise of an evil cult, learned that we have to prepare for a coming demon invasion, and there are a bunch of monks holding the secret of magic we need to find which is our only hope in protecting a targeted city from evil sorcery.

Seems like there's much more to this game than I had expected...

Spoiler

 

[Deuce Traveler]

We hold pat in July as we are transferring forces back and forth between Aladda and Paritan. The heroes are divided between the two cities and I do not intend to do much until after the winter, except perhaps to strengthen our armies and wait to see if a better opportunity comes. As we wait, the game tempts us to head south. "You have heard that Tentula, to the south, has practically withered since the disaster which devastated the world. They are poor and plagued by attacks from the giants of the Char. Because of these attacks, your captain suggests they may be weak foes, giving an easy victory!"

Overboard gets an armor upgrade to plate mail, and Desktop Commander gets a Plate Mail increase as well as a Heavy Horse and Mail Barding upgrade, Octavius gets Mail Barding also, and Azira gets a Light Horse and Leather Barding. Our cavalry and bowmen also have their armor improved, while I further develop Paritan's and Aladda's economies.

Here are some random thoughts about my experiences so far. First, it seems to me that the game follows the Napoleanic triad of artillery, infantry, and cavalry with archers being the equivalent of artillery. In a simplistic paper-rock-scissors explanation, archers do well against bunched infantry, entrenched infantry does well against attacking cavalry, and cavalry wrecks bow units.

Also, I learned that I can't stack heroes on units that have their full compliment of soldiers, which is why I had trouble putting the knights on our cavalry earlier. A cavalry company can max out at 40 soldiers. If it only has 38 soldiers, then I can stack two heroes with the unit as there is room, but not three. I can stack infantry units on top of one another even if they have full rosters, and cavalry companies on top of cavalry companies. I can only stack cavalry and infantry together if they are depleted units.

I also took a look at crpgaddict 's play of this game, and found that his game closely follows mine, right down to the surprise attack on Paritan that I thought was so novel and risky. He later had to take out Brocada just as we did. He then invaded Nuralia to cover his backside before he headed south. I am tempted to do the same, but I want to leave Nuralia alone for a bit and see if politics develop in a way to invite us to invade. As you'll see in this post, developments in the south escalate in a way that causes me to try to take Nuralia anyway... with bad results.

"A traveler says that Tentula is on the verge of collapse and anarchy. There are riots in the streets!" I am tempted to push south as the game is tempting us to do so, but we would have to take Sur Nova to do so because of the great distance between Aladda and Tentula. I don't want to fight the forces of Sur Nova and have to worry about its defenses, but I also need a place in which to expand from. I'm hoping I can defend Sur Nova with Aladdan forces and eventually put our heroes into developing an army out of the Tentulan city. Expansion may sap our strength in the near term.

Lands to our North with a vassal Marinia and owned Brocada:

Lands to our Northeast, with Paritan east of Brocada and a Nuralia which hasn't caused us any trouble.

Our capital, Aladda, with Sur Nova to the southwest and our elven allies of Tranavan to our east.

Sur Nova, with its history of monstrous invasion and uncharted wildlands to the east:

Tentula, south of Sur Nova with threats in undiscovered lands to its southeast:

I move toward Sur Nova with an infantry unit, cavalry unit, and archers from Aladda, leaving one unit behind to defend. Halfway to attacking Sur Nova I receive a message. "Your scouts report that a group of about 40 giants are camped just ahead and are holding captives!" The giants are pretty deadly, as they are tough and can fire missile weapons (rocks) from a long distance. They wound Irenaeus badly before we can engage.

Elfberserker and Kashmir Slippers lead the infantry into engaging the smaller lead force of giants. The archers weaken the larger group and I cast Confusion on them before the cavalry lead by Overboard, Eryfkrad and Monstrous Bat move in. That attack is enough to end the battle. Kashmir Slippers and Irenaeus gain a level as do our archers. The armor upgrades also seemed to work, as we didn't lose one man.

The surviving Sur Novans are overjoyed and invite us into Sur Nova where we are welcomed as new masters after the rescuing of their people from the giants. "The people welcome you as their new leader! They have heard of your daring rescue of the hostages from the giants!" As Octavius feared, the city is a resource drain. However, I plan to create a strong infantry unit the next turn and then head south to Tentula. "A trusted advisor suggests that most of the monsters which attack Aladda come through Sur Nova and that possession of Sur Nova could help defend Aladda." The good news is that attacks against Aladda should lessen. The bad news is that they'll likely attack us at Sur Nova.

Now that we are focused on the south, I decide to finish off Nuralia, but we find that the forces against us there are too strong with their heroes and many long range archer units, and would probably be too tough to defeat even if we had all the Aladdan forces and all our heroes aiding in the attempt. I decide to leave Nuralia alone and send Octavius and Desktop Commander with the mages TigerKnee, Azira, and Ulminati back to Aladda so they can later join the main army at Sur Nova. Sorry guys. Nuralia is just too hard a nut to crack right now and their forces do not seem hostile towards us.

We get some bad news out of Aladda. "One of your agents reports that a large number of the local people have disappeared recently. The rumors are that they have been possessed by evil spirits and taken away as wraiths!" I have Azira, Octavius, Desktop Commander, TigerKnee and Ulminati investigate the surrounding area to the west with the Aladda 1st Infantry, but all they come up with are orcs.

I missed taking a screenshot of the message, but we also had the merchants of Aladda stir up some unrest, causing damaging riots that resulted in a loss of developed commerce. We decide to fight for Tentula, though we lose two men due to attrition beforehand; most likely because it is November and there is growing cold from what will be an unnaturally long winter.

We and the Tentulans are about evenly matched, but they have a lot more archers. Their archers have short bows, however, so I just have our crowssbowman rain volley after volley against the grouped enemy while our other soldiers entrench. The enemy send some archers to flank us, so they get a little visit from Overboard, Elfberserker, Kashmir Slippers, and the 1st Cavalry. Paper, meet scissors.

After a few volleys from our archers, they send a second force of archers that flank us, injuring Kashmir Slippers and Elfberserker to the point that the two pull back. Overboard and the 1st Cavalry charge in, eliminate the threat, and slip away again before the enemy infantry can retaliate.

I start casting fear effects, which must be working since the enemy starts abandoning their city. The city is ours and Eryfkrad and Monstrous Bat each gain a level, while we only lost three men in an otherwise tough fight.

Winter comes, and we have more bad news that we can do little about because of the poor weather. Aladdan loyalty is hurt, so I lower the tax rate to improve city morale. "Disappearnces have continued! One witness says two of his friends were taken to the hill in the east by demons which came in the night!" There are no hills east of Aladdan, only forest. Unless this is an error and is supposed to be the hills east of Sur Nova.

No, I guess Sur Nova has its own issues right now. "Some local merchants say that a group of priests have been raising an army of demons in the swamps west of Sur Nova! Your population is very concerned about this development!"

We develop Sur Nova's economy and wait out more of the winter. "There is continued speculation about the group of priests in the west. More demons have been reported by trappers, but none have appeared near the city. Everyone is still very nervous, however."

We finally get through the cold winter, although March still looks pretty bleak. "Extremely cold, wet weather comes to your lands. All projects have come to a standstill.
Your court historaian reports that he has gathered, from many hours of interviews, that there is a group of monks somewhere to the east who hold the secret of magic that once protected Sur Nova. The monks are located somewhere in the mountains northeast of Xafanta, or in the foothills farther east."

Ok, folks. We have some new developments. I am leaving Nuralia alone since it isn't bothering us right now. That means our northern regions are secure. However, we have some ghostly disappearances occuring near either Aladda or Sur Nova. We also have a cult of demon worshippers somewhere close by, and news of magic that may help us protect Sur Nova somewhere in the unexplored regions of the east. It looks like we'll be exploring unknown lands for the hidden Xafanta and as well as for unknown threats until we can make our south more secure. I'm a bit lost on where to look and what to do at this point, so suggestions are welcome.

 

[Monstrous Bat]

There are no hills east of Aladdan, only forest. Unless this is an error and is supposed to be the hills east of Sur Nova.

Or maybe the game meant to say the hills west of Aladda.

I say we go find the monks. Though I'm also fine with investigating the kidnappings.

 

[Azira]

Yeah. Send me on a ghost hunt. Aladda is our home town, we need to show ourselves capable of protecting it.

 

[Ulminati]

Send me after the monks. You need your best wizard to glean the secrets of their magic.

 

[octavius]

I think I'd concentrate on getting that magic from the monks first.
And send out some scout(s) (single light cavalry men) to try and find those ghosts.