The Summer of 500
The Summer of 500 would be one of the hottest in recent memory, with day after day of scorching weather and the earlier spring rains disappearing almost entirely. Farmers feared that the overabundance of heat would badly affect the harvest, while laborers and soldiers sweated in the hot sun. Everyone from prince to pauper was grateful for a drink of water when available.
By mid-summer, the Namidist Kings were beginning to suspect the Holy Alliance was not worth the paper it was written on. Hendal had nearly laid off, then re-hired a fifth of its army, and continued to fight the Northern barbarians without any indication that reinforcements from the other Kingdoms would be coming any time soon. In Dalmira, the highland Dukes had signed the Magnus Charter, which would have significantly curbed the power of the King to respect the terms of the Holy Alliance - under pressure from these same dukes, Magnus began to speak of repealing the "internal threats" clause in the Alliance charter. Meanwhile, Meddish soldiers camped on the Bar River, hearing of the lowland Duke's rejection of the Magnus Charter and Tydreach-Gottor's warming stance towards the Ardans, began to suspect that no Dalmiran assistance would come in the event of war - and they would have been less surprised to see a dragon coming to their aide than Hendal troops for, if the rumors were to be believed, half of North Hendal had fallen to barbarian raiders.
Hendal
With North Hendal returning to a relative state of calm after Baldwin Montague's marginal military victory against the raider warbands, Hendal returned to questioning how the deficit could be reduced. The issue of the mercenaries did not help - the King ordered the mercenaries re-hired after they'd been laid off earlier, and a considerable amount of coin was necessary to smooth over bruised egos.
The King also took decisive steps to stop the Tavan Morin incursions, drawing three great lines across the map where he said he wanted fortifications to be completed. Only a meager amount of work was completed in summer, however, as it took time (and money) to design and organize such a project. It was suspected that some of the lines of fortifications would take years to complete, as they stretched for kilometers.
A curious man also arrives at the Hendal palace with a strange message - the man claims to be a ransom broker who has in his custody the bastard son of Conrad the Black (held at an undisclosed location). With no ransom paid for the bastard, the ransom broker asks for payment - a hundred ducats - to transfer the man to Hendal custody. He offers as proof a locket with Conrad the Black's crest, which supposedly was taken from the prisoner. Though this might well be a scam, if it proves to true it could be earthshaking, as the bastard would be a claimant to the Dalmiran throne.
Prince Henry easily found some clerks and administrators to tell him about from the navy - with the additional offer of coin, he could hardly fail. He learned a good amount about the administrative operations of the navy, payroll, logistics, recruitment, and so on, but he could not say for sure how much of this information was practical. Four ships were easily loaned to the Lord Treasurer, though no one knew for what purpose.
As per Laurens Jansingh's orders, the Royal Bank of Hendal cut its rates to encourage lending. This worked quite well, and respectable people began to take out loans from the bank. However, the bank continued to have no depositers. Hendal's looming cash crunch was well known and people feared that the King (who was not exactly known for his empathy for his fellow man) might again try to raid the bank for cash if his own reserves ran dry. Additionally, the slashed interest rates lowered the fees the bank could pay to depositors, making it less attractive. Hendal's wealthy elite remained content to either manage their own money domestically (and preferably in secret) or send their fleets to Meddeland to deposit large sums.
Jansingh also prepared for a naval voyage, taking receipt of the four ships - though no one knew exactly where he was going.
With the mercenaries rehired, Anders Wyngarden was forced to take more drastic measures to stabilize the budget in the form of taxes. He ordered the Sound Toll raised - which was done almost immediately - as well as taxes on goods that passed through the Hendal borders and "internal trade" - which was essentially taken to mean tariffs between cities.
The internal trade tax was essentially scrapped as Sanapiro traders successfully argued that the exemption for sacked areas of North Hendal should apply to them. This left only goods between Burnhem and Etela to tax. The tax was assessed on trade passing through certain gates of these cities but was essentially dropped due to various administrative difficulties - no one could tell where the goods were coming from, if they had already been taxed, etc. It ultimately garnered very little revenue, but did succeed in angering the populace.
The tax on other trade by sea was assessed with difficulty, but it ultimately was assessed, as collectors stood at the major ports and inspected cargo as it came in. This proved to be a significant bottleneck for traders and it did not bring in as much revenue as was hoped.
The tarrif on foreign goods imported by land was probably the most easily assessed and most successfully executed. Little trade passed over the treaty line but it was trivially taxed at the wall. Most of the trade over the land border with Arevmarch was also quite easily assessed.
These taxes were commonly resented by the general public as the prices of imported goods increased, though nothing came of it other than a lot of grumbling. Trade began to taper off due to the taxes, but revenue was not sharply decreased.
Rhett managed to gather together a large number of serfs (he could not say if it was quite the 5,000 he wanted, but that was immaterial) and began construction on a winery on the Kitrine Sea. Progress on construction went amazingly quickly and the winery was finished within a few months; it did not even cost anything as he brilliantly managed to force the serfs to collect all the materials themselves and work for free.
Talinus Blackgate trained at his family estate. His swordsmanship probably improved, though no one could say if his leadership skills had improved much. Unfortunately, he failed to find enough backers to fund the construction of a military academy.[1]
The Iron Hands took on enough contracts to sustain their numbers in South Hendal but did not grow much this year. News of potential action in North Hendal, however, encouraged the men and their internal training went quite well. Their cultivation of a cavalry arm went exceptionally well for a first year, with their green cavalrymen picking up the basics quickly.
[1]((Zex, I can't execute your second order as you formally don't have any money to invest. Only characters with special traits, like Trading Princes, start with meaningful sums of money.))
Dalmira
In Dalmira, the King increasingly began to appoint his own relatives, friends, and courtiers to household roles. Though this did not affect the Kingdom at large - as they were mainly for domestic roles - and no one questioned the King's authority do so, it did increase court expenses somewhat and these appointees began to step on the toes of the servants...
The King begins a breeding program of his dire wolves in the summer. This goes extremely well, as it transpires the 6 wolves are 5 females and one male and all the females are in heat. By the end of the summer several litters have been born and the breeding program is well underway, though it is expected to take years to build up a good number. Additionally, the hound-keepers who have been charged with the particulars of the program begin to suspect that the animals may not be domesticable as dogs are.
A second attempt to build a road system goes much better, as the summer sun has dried the previously impassably muddy ground and put an end to the ferocious mudslides that impeded previous progress. By the end of the season, Halbstadht's workers have cleared undergrowth around traditional footpaths and established smooth and even (albeit dirt) roads throughout the King's domain. It remains to be seen if this will encourage trade or have other economic consequences, though most agree it is a positive development. Vasa takes over the project after the King leaves; his brilliant administration greatly reduces its cost.
Vasa also succeeds in finding some workers for the new mines - mainly serfs rather than full-time miners - but the mine is not operating at full capacity. The sale of land to the Superiacy and his holy orders goes through without a hitch.
The King gathers together his standing army of 4,000 and begins a march for North Hendal as per the terms of the Holy Alliance - an act that demonstrates to all that the alliance is more than just talk. Though the soldiers are not necessarily thrilled to be going to the aid of the Hendal, they follow their king without dispute. After the forces are mustered and his other business wrapped up, the King sets out in midsummer; day after day of marching in the hot sun takes its toll. By the end of the season, the King has only just barely reached the city of Arevmarch.
Prince Vytautas heavily focused on the domestic economy during the year. He succeeded in encouraging artisanal wool products somewhat, though it did not have an effect on his balance sheet. However, he failed in expanding weapons manufacturing for trade to the other dukes - for the moment, no one was buying. The attempt cost him some coin in lost investments.
He also, sadly, did not profit from his attempt to show the sword to the local clergy. Almost as soon as he saw it, the local bishop declared the weapon to be evil, corrupting those around it, and insisted it be discarded immediately. It remained to be seen if the prince, who had grown quite attached to the weapon, would comply.
In the Lowlands, Duke Wiegraf - who had joined Igskada in refusing to sign the Magnus Charter - arranged for marital ties between Duke Riosh and himself. His land reform and construction programs continued, with some new peasants attracted - however, mindful of the budget, construction on various farm-related buildings was ended. This reduced the cost - though of course, it also meant that potentially helpful buildings were not built. Between the land reform and the recent crackdown on crime (not to mention his hardline stance against the King, which proved to be very popular among the local nobility), Wiegraf was shaping up to be a fairly popular Duke.
The wizard eagerly converted to Namidism. Once released from prison, he revealed himself to not only be a talented wizard but also a talented artist, and painted a splendid portrait of the Duke as a meager token of his gratitude. The picture drew favorable comments from Wiegraf's courtiers and visitors, though they did not know who had painted it.
Sofia begins her combat training in earnest and benefits from it. Her skill in using concealable weapons improves... though towards what end she will direct these skills is uncertain.
Henry Stolgen is able to open a mine with the help of several experts but not much revenue is generated - a series of early setbacks and mining collapses mean that little revenue is generated and the mine is still not running at nearly full capacity. On the other hand, he proves wildly successfuly at expanding the metalworks. With a potential war in North Hendal heating up, it transpires that the country is hungry for iron exports. The metalworkers are easily convinced to expand their workshops of their own accord. Stolgen does not even have to pay any money to cover the costs. The new Hendal taxes, however, prove to be an annoyance and it is not clear how much trade actually increases.
Prince Augustyn of Weldheim sends a team to prospect in Weldheim and excitement breaks out in the city a month later when they return, hoarsely gasping that they have struck gold in the northern hills, where no one ever expected it. The gold deposits have yet to be exploited, but surely this is a positive development for cash-strapped Weldheim...
The Prince's further investigation into the dragon statuette, however, bear little fruit. He is able to determine that the object is several hundred years old and is said to date back to a dragon attack in the depths of the past, but more clues elude him.
Another fire breaks out in Weldheim in the heat of the summer, causing some damage - though fortunately, the fire is easily extinguished and the Duke does not have to pay for repairs.
Igskada constructs a road network with some difficulty owing to the size of the duchy, but they do succeed in the end despite various difficulties, with simple dirt roads stretching across the length and breadth of the duchy. Some uptick in trade is noticed almost immediately, as the roads make it easier to transport goods from Igskada to other places (and merchants also claim taxes in Hendal have something to do with it). Unfortunately, the project proves to be quite costly, as the project takes thousands of laborers who demand pay.
After a promising start to his ducal tenure in Spring, Odal'in found himself nearly besieged in summer. He signed a trade agreement with the Ardans to find a less-than-enthusiastic reception from his own people and local nobility, who did not think that the Duke should be getting quite so friendly with a pack of heretics. Pressure from the church exacerbated this view, and much of what Odal'in had achieved in smoothing over relations with his nobles last year was lost. Though he received funds from Ardans for the construction of trade houses, it remained to be seen if these houses would ever be built - construction was not initiated in the summer. The stated tarrif also was not levied. Trade did initiate between Ardans and Gottor-Tydreach but was less than robust.
Dal'Athgar an Odal'in Uthbar's attempts to create a "Buirdeasach" in Gottor-Tydreach failed more or less completely, as he did not (perhaps forgetting) to tell the serfs that if they joined the Buirdeasach they (or their family, since rents were often charged by household) would be forgiven half their tithe. As no one was willing to sign up for military duty and pay for the privilege, the project was more or less a failure.
Meddeland
In Summer, the surprise end to the policy of "royal secrecy" that was aimed at protecting the lives of the King's family brought an additional unexpected result - the King's second son, Prince Phillipe Briarling (who the public had only just found out about), announced his engagement to a young noble woman of good standing. The public, particularly the nobility and burghers, followed the marriage with interest.
The offer to buy the King's salt monopoly expired in summer without the King having accepted it.
Alfons Windfell began a state lottery to generate funds for reconstruction and civic improvements. This went quite well, his skills as a
merchant serving well as he did so. It generated a fair amount of money for the crown, though it remained to be seen if this was a one-off event or meant to be a persistent revenue-raising measure. His attempts to impose a city tax failed because, of course, the King did not have the right to levy that or virtually any other type of tax.
King Maximilian took great interest his own holdings in the summer, establishing weekly markets and fairs within his demesne for the general benefit of commerce and the farmers. These proved somewhat successful but not wildly so and were generally popular with the farmers. It cost some coin. The establishment of a Royal Commission to compile a manual of recommendations on farming - the Field Manual - was also generally successful, but the commission had yet to report back and the book compiled. Experts told the King that the manual probably would not be completed until winter, as the Commission wanted to make various observations at harvest-time this year before making any final recommendations.
An attempt at land reform was initiated by Sane Thunderfalcon. The goal was two-fold - first, that strip holdings should be exchanged for more compact holdings, and second, to move villagers out of village communities and into farms.
On the first point, this was accomplished within the King's own lands (with farmers being moved onto different, more compact plots) but could not be done in most of Meddeland - farmers arguing successfully that the crown had no right under the Council Code to confiscate their private property without compensation (which of course, it did not). The enclosure of the farms at the end of serdom, many decades ago, had largely already put an end to strip plots and transactions between farmers had generally already disposed of irregularly or inconveniently scattered plots that might have popped up one way or another. It was uncertain that rearrangements on the King's old lands would yield any positive results, as swapping farmers to new land in the middle of the growing season seemed unlikely to work in anyone's favor in the short term.
Similarly, villagers refused to move out of their village communities. Thunderfalcon reasoned that they did not need to be groups into villages as they no longer had local lords to rule over them from a nearby manor house (the fact that many tenant farmers actually did still pay rent to a local lord even though they were no longer serfs escaped him), but he completely ignored the fact that most peasants lived in village communities because they liked or needed to live in village communities. It but them close to friends and family, gave them access to markets, churches, smiths, public houses, other professionals, and so on, and often they had been living there for generations. Efforts to push people further out of the villages for the sake of making them work more land were ignored outside of the King's direct holdings, and much resented within it. Riots nearly broke in some places - and indeed, it might have come to rioting if were not for the King's more popular measures initiated at the same time.
Compilation of the Orshaftsbook, the nation-wide survey of production, resources, and valuable goods continued. Work continued at record speed, and though the book turned out to be instead be a set of books - incorporating tens of thousands of pages and cross-referenced notes on resources and production - its compilation was just finished by the end of summer.
Kishburne continues to torch his way through North Meddeland, setting fire to numerous buildings - this time targetting mainly churches, abbeys, and other religious structures. With no army to stop him, local citizens begin to form "anti-mage" groups, which amount to militias and lynch mobs. These mobs do not succeed in catching Kishburne but do lynch a number of innocents on suspicion of being wizards. Local authorities began to write to the King, warning of a looming breakdown in public order.
Along the Bar River, Francis II of Vantage, regarded as a
True Hero of Meddeland for his outstanding actions in the past, took command of the army. Morale - which had been suffering - was greatly increased by his presence and patrols along the Bar River were doubled and executed with extra discipline and zeal. His efforts to drill the troops also went extremely well, with the new recruits easily integrated into the forces and even some of the regulars put on their toes by his methods. It was obvious he was quickly whipping the flagging Meddish army into shape.
His presence also attracted about a thousand more soldiers to the army, but he could hardly effectively recruit and lead the army at the same time.
An Ardans agent - Argent Grancour - is captured on the Meddish side of the Bar River.
Ardans
In Ardans, news of the unprovoked attack on the army near the Bar River spread quickly and incensed Ardans nationalism. It drove the so-called "petty concern" of substandard payment out of the minds of the soldiers - at least temporarily. Public outpourings of support for the troops also led to small amounts of donations flowing into Ardans coffers. Local militias - composed of men who lived near the Bar River and wanted to fight for their country - began to arrive near the Bar River - these militia units rapidly grew to thousands strong as tensions ran high on the border.
Shortages of wood, however, would stop effective defenses from being constructed along the Bar River. The soldiers and militiamen take to taunting the Meddish, shouting jibes and insults across the river. This does boost their morale somewhat, though it also riles up the Meddish.
Decades of Superiarist occupation had left the Old Statist church scattered and divided. In the summer of 500, a collection of Old Statist clergymen, local priests, self-declared bishops, and other preachers met in Moraille to discuss whether or not trade with the Superiarist infidels should be allowed. Ultimately, the conclave did not reach a definite conclusion and the clergy released an ambivalent statement on this and other subjects. They had not been able to agree on many issues of dogma. It was not thought to be a good sign for those who hoped the church would again centralize.
Haaken the Vandal was removed from his post in the Moraille mountains and sent out on maneuevers, to much fanfare, including a pompous announcement from the marcher. This was publicly well received. Construction on toll boothes to begin collecting the tax more formally, however, did not go well amid local opposition.
Funds were tranferred to Gottor-Tydreach for construction of trading houses (as per the agreement signed by the Marcher), and both the new Minister of Trade and the Marcher began to encourage trade with the duchy. There was indeed some trade flowing by the end of the year, where previously there had been none.
Michel Szabolcsi was tasked with performing the Marcher's census, and with all the preparation done the previous season, the survey proved to be wildly successful. Though it was less ambitious than the Marcher's previous grandoise plans for an extremely comprehensive census, this may have played to the census' advantage - fewer questions meant less paperwork. Census-takers completed the survey rapidly and returned the documents to a central repository in Moraille, their efforts having reached all corners of the nation, not just the cities. Though turning the hundreds of thousands of census forms into a useful form would take more time, it was already benefitting the city poll tax implemented in the spring, with revenues increasing.
Argent Grancour, acting as a Ardans agent, attempts to cross over the Bar River to the Meddish side for covert operations. However, he is captured by Meddish patrols.
Tavan Morin
The Tavan Morin war parties returned to the rest of their people in the summer, largely resting on their laurels after their defeat at the hands of the Army of North Hendal. Though about two hundred had died in that engagement, the trinkets, baubles, and gold they brought with them as spoils of war outweighed the fears and concerns that the minor defeat inspired. More hardy men came forward to join the warbands.
Ja'hani Chisan - who had conducted his own raids rather than join the Dagch Morin's assault - continued to inspire fear in North Hendal. He encountered no patrols but looted several villages, exacting a toll in gold from others. His efforts to take prisoners generally failed as his men had heard that the Dagch Morin had declared no prisoners should be taken.
Among the Tavan Morin, a small number of fights broke out over the spoils of war - as raiders began to argue about what was rightfully their share of the loot. A few cases of some robbing others as a result of particularly egregious disputes were heard by the Dagch Morin.
The "Onion Sage" continued on his way towards Sanapiro. His decision to not be the center of attention proved prudent and he had a number of interesting conversations with local elders and scholars. By the end of the summer, he had more or less learned the language.
Other
The Superiacy's work on a new city for the faithful and a new high church begins in summer, with hired laborers working in the sweltering heat, somewhat mitigated by the altitude. An old saying, "Victorsburg was not build in a day," is on the lips of many as they watch this progress. It seems likely construction will take years. After his dispute with the Duke, the Superius also send missionaries to Gottor-Tydreach, who begin to preach zealously about the evils of Old Statism and ensure no heresy spreads there.
Much of the church remains doubtful of the mission to build a new high church.
Dwaler begins work on a castle for the Forgiven Knights, downstream of the new church-city. This work goes slowly, with many of the local workers having been engaged by the Superiacy. It also seems likely to take years. The work of attracting people to the Forgiven Knights also proceeds slowly.
((end of update, though there is an incoming mini shortly after this. Next deadline will be in a week, ie: next Saturday.))
Hint: The more orders you submit, the less likely each one of them will be to succeed. The broader or more expansive the orders, the bigger the penalty.