Gramps' quest for a stable family (HP / Overlord/Homm crossover quest)

Interlude : The Bright Lady
Aife Negaverse (2)​

(Looks like somebody on QQ got their wish)

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The maid fight was supposed to last 30 words, but I had so much fun with the Moody-trained QCQ Specialist Terminator Meido Martha ( who may or may not be a Ruler Martha expy) that I just rolled into existence that it lasted much longer, like 1010 words longer. She was just supposed to be a mook; but she was so interesting, like Dace and Oliver, so why not? Besides, the rolls back then were 116 (maids) vs 122 (Aife's group), with all bonuses already counted in, it was still rather close and I hope it showed! It's good training for fight scenes! I'm not good with them, so if you guys have any advice / remarks about it, don't hesitate to speak up! I'm a bird, I have no teeth to bite you with

Also, Aife fails at being a proper shounen hero. Much sad. On another news, the train still has no brakes!

This chapter is 3x as long as originally intended. My bad.

 

Weeell. Since we're a bit deeper in the game, and since it seemed to be a good time, time to unleash... the full action list. Do you have enough AP, player?

Spoiler: Winning votes

[x] Well, he can't very well let them go unscathed after this, right?
[x] Proper timing: Bonus to opportunity attack
[x] Yes
-[x] Scathach (Junior)

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Summer 1984 ​

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Tents are still uncomfortable. Especially since that old witch is around.

Still, there was quite the surprise, as when one day you were trying to train your strength you saw one of your head maids...

[]Martha : Brawler type, QCQ Monster.
[]Chloé : Ranged type, sniper disposition.
[]Laurie : Mid-range type, spying/assassination type.

Almost shaking you down so that you'd order her to do something because being paid to do nothing for over a year didn't sit well with her. A dit dazed (because dear lord, she's strong...), you absentmindedly ask her to clean the mess Agatha's explosions caused, which she ran towards, almost cackling.

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Turn 4 Possessions:

Spoiler: Ledger

Gains:

-Animal (mundane and magical) Ranches: +45,000 Galleon (after salaries and charges), 1d6 Epic animal components/ Turn
-- 1000 Employees, payed 544 G/t on average.
Greenfire (Floo powder producers since 1930): + 10 000 Galleons/ Turn
--200 Employees payed 500 G/t on average
Potion shops 'Montmorency' in England: + 60, 000 Galleons/ Turn
--500 Employees payed 550 G/t on average
Medjica (Healing salves and potions): + 30 000 Galleons/turn
--150 Employees paid 770 G/t on average
'George's Inferno': +6 Sulfur /turn, +6 Mercury /turn

Spendings:

Gwallawg Academy of Superior Learning: -40,000 Galleon / turn, 1d6 Chance of producing a Druid, 1d100-80 chance of Loyal Hero Unit. (Muggleborn population: 95%)

Manor employee salaries: (50 of them, 380G/t on average) (Paid vacations/medical leave)

Salaries: Agatha (1 000), Jason Swallows (1500), Mad Eye Moody (1000)

= 82500 Galleons / Turn

GASL Rolls
d6: 4 Druids joined the army
d100-80: 94-80 = 14 Heroic unit!
D6 : 3 Martial. Welp.

Elizabeth roll
19 : + 2 Gems
Animal ranches:
10x Unicorn hairs

Spoiler: Treasury

262 600 Galleons
12 Mercury
12 Sulfur
4 Crystal
8 Gems
40 Stone

Skylight: A sapphire that seems to shine with an inner light. +10 to results if used to create items with [Life/Order] Attribute.
Nature Anchor: Allows to soak up a zone with Nature energy, necessary to build a Rampart.
Book of Air:
Dragon Rearing book
Dragon nest plans


Ingredients:
10x Unicorn hairs
Hydra venom
Chimera heartstrings
Jobberknoll feathersx4 (Truth and mind potion ingredients)
Unicorn horn
Inventory:
Cloak of Crystal: Gain 1 Crystal / turn (Value: 5000 G)
Still Eye of the dragon +1 Troops Morale, +1 Troops Luck (Value: 2000 G)
Quiet eye of the dragon +5 Troops attack damage, +5 Troops attack defense (Value: 2000 G)
Pendant of free will: Immune to mind magic and hypnosis. (Value 8000 G)

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Diplomacy: Advisor – Elizabeth Gwallawg: Actions: 2

Lizzie has shootings for charity and nothing much to report with your network down.

[] Meet up with people. Going here and there, talking with people and interacting with them may yield interesting results, after all, when you go out, you never quite know who you will meet later in the day. Managing to make lasting ties in one encounter though... Is quite a bit harder.
50 / 30 / 10 % Chances to meet influent and/or important people. Opens new SLs.

[] Networking at the Ministry. With the new minister, comes a new balance of power. You never really bothered with it before, but with the current state of things, getting a few people to report to you and allowing you to influence the decisions would be rather advantageous.
60 / 20 % Chances to forge ties with ministry workers. Gain access to Ministry confidential information. Chance to get access to Ministry resources.

[] Visit Rufus: See how he's been going in his brand new office, you haven't had any news of him for a while, and you suppose he'd like some explanations about what exactly happened last winter.
70 / 50 / 20 % chances of success. Chance of opening the Rufus Scrimfeour SL, Chance to strike an alliance, Chance to subvert his loyalty.

[] Diplomatic meetings. Most of the leaders of the new world that seems to be coming have been identified. Do you dare to try and contact them?
-[]Dumbledore : Neutral, friendly.
-[]Riddle haha no.
-[]The Overlord : Neutral, Neutral

[]Slander Reveal dark secrets of: Sometimes, people do things they are not very proud of and try to keep buried. Along the years, you have collected and hoarded those secrets, to unleash them at your convenience.
-[] Write-in
Chances vary depending on who is targeted.

[]Bolster reputation: Having well placed friends is a boon in and of itself. And if they owe you favors, well, even better.
-[]Yourself
-[]Write in (Must be a SL)
Cost: 10 000 Galleons. 70 / 50 / 20 % Chances of success.

[] Attend Academy graduation. You are, after all, the owner, founder and the one who funds the Gwallawg Academy of Superior Learning, located in Cardiff. This will increase your chance of people with exceptional potential stepping up, such as Oliver and Agatha. Miss Evans is currently indisposed and cannot give a speech, sorry.
+ 10 % chances to recruit heroic unit next turn.

Stewardship : Advisor – Oliver Lapierre: Actions: 2
Oliver is taking it easy, though he and your granddaughter seem to disappear quite often, you aren't that worried.

[] Trade for resources ( free action )

Spoiler

Buy:

1 Wood for 2000 galleons
1 Stone for 2000 galleons
1 Crystal for 5000 galleons
1 Gem for 5000 galleons
1 Mercury for 5000 galleons
1 Sulfur for 5000 galleons

Sell:

1 Wood for 250 galleons
1 Stone for 250 galleons
1 Crystal for 500 galleons
1 Gem for 500 galleons
1 Mercury for 500 galleons
1 Sulfur for 500 galleons

[] Develop the land (Free action):
-[]Gold mine:
Cost: 5000 Galleons. Reward : 1 000 G/Turn, 1d6-3 Native Gold / turn afterwards.
-[]Stone quarry:
Cost: 20 000 Galleons. Reward : 16 ore / turn, 1d6-3 Flawless Marble afterwards.
-[]Crystal mine:
Cost: 40 000 Galleons. Reward : 8 Crystal / turn, 1d6-3 Flawless crystal afterwards.
-[]Gem mine:
Cost: 40 000 Galleons. Reward: 8 Gems/turn afterwards.

[] Find sources of building materials. Your contacts went out of business not that long ago, and you need good sources if you don't want to keep paying so much for them. Guaranteed access to Wood and Stone production facilities. Chance of getting access to Gem, Crystal, Sulfur, or Mercury production facilities.
Cost: 40 000 Galleons

[] Develop your budding empire, you need to spend gold to earn more gold, after all.
Costs 10 000 Galleons. 50 / 20 / 10 % Chances of success Gains variable.

[] Takeover. You're well placed in your country, due to both luck and shrewd management. Now is the time to launch your attack and corner the magical side of the market!
Cost: 100 000 Galleons Guaranteed success

[] Civilian infrastructure. (Requires Rampart step 1 to be complete to be built : One building of the kind may be built per turn.)

Spoiler

-[]Tavern:Cost: 25 000G.
Increases morale for standing army, Information on other players
-[]Market:Cost: 25 000G.
Trade resources at better prices ( the more markets you have, the better the prices)
-[]Town hall: Cost: 25 000G.
Allows for minor settlement, gain 5 000 gold / turn
-[]Resource silo : Cost:Cost: 25 000G.
+ 5 Crystal / turn
-[]Blacksmith :Cost: 25 000G.
Builds siege weapons
-[]Workshop:Cost: 25 000G.
Opens up crafting options
-[]Druid hall level 1:Cost: 5 Wood, 5 Stone, 20 000G
Five level 1 spells become available for heroes to learn. Heroes are able to purchase a spell book from the guild for 500 G.

[] Real estate hunt : Riddle already two places directly under his control now. See if you can't even the numbers. Though, first, you'd have to find suitable spots...
Cost : 0 Galleons. 40 / 20 / 10% Chances of success.


Martial:Advisor(s): Alastor (Madeye) Maugrey, Jason Swallows. Actions: 3
The two seem to get along rather well now, bonding over how the youth today have no respect. That includes you, apparently.

[] Hire more security staff. -10 to enemy infiltration rolls. 2000G
Cost : 1 000 Galleons. 60 / 40 / 20 % Chances of success.

[] Combat drills. You have units, but they don't know how to fight as an army.
Cost : 0 Galleons.

-[]Pixies : 0 / 50
-[]Wolves : 0 / 100
-[]Treants : 0 / 150
-[]Druids : 24 / 200
-[]Dragons : Combat ready.

[] Military expedition:

-[]Orkney Islands: After the fall ot the Order faction, the undead are rampaging throught tie Isles. Both muggle and wizarding wonder what kind of deranged serial killer is to be found there, and there are talks about invonling the army.
Cost : 5000 Galleons. 60 / 30 / 10 % Chances of success.

-[]Lundy Island: The Necromancer's base. No life can be found there, only cursed bodies and damned souls.
Cost : 5000 Galleons. 30 / 20 / 10% Chances of success.

-[]Dyfed: (This turn only)Directly South of your area of influence. You have read reports that there were strange events taking place there. Go investigate.
Cost : 1000 Galleons. 90 / 70 / 50% Chances of succes


[] Dwellings (Free action)(Requires Rampart step 1 to be complete to be built : One building of the kind may be built per turn.)

Spoiler

-[] Pixie huts: Produces 15 Pixies/turn. Costs 20 Wood, 1000 G
-[] Wolf den: Produces 10 Wolves / turn. Costs 10 Wood, 2000 G
-[]Homestead: Produces 7 Elves/turn. Costs 10 Wood, 2500G
-[] Dendroid arches: Produces 3 Treants / turn. Costs 10 Wood 3000G
-[] Moon glade: Produces 2 Mood does/turn. Costs 15 Wood, 10 Crystal, 6000G
-[] Druid's circleroduces 2 Druids / turn. Costs 5 Wood, 5 Stones, 10 Gems, 6000G
-[] Dragon Cliffs: Produces 1 Green dragon/ turn. Costs 30 Stone, 20 Crystal, 20 000G

Intrigue: Actions: 2 (1+ Intrigue over 25)

You're not sure you'll find anyone you trust with this to help you, save for your wife, but you need her more where she is right now.

[] Plots are good for your health! Plot against: (Will receive intel on their moves, plus additional actions if the opportunity arises.)
40 / 30 / 20/ Chances of success.
-[] Dumbledore's little club of vigilantes.
-[] Voldemort's band of hooligans. Well, what remains of it, anyways.
-[] The Overlord of Chaos faction
-[] Riddle. He's tried to kill you thrice already.
-[] Aife. Better keep tabs on her.
-[] Investigate Aife's plot (this turn only)

[] Plots are good for your purse! With all those people being arrested left and right...
60 / 30 / 10% Chances of success
-[] Plot to take over shops in Diagon Alley (England, London).
-[] Plot to take over shops in the Green Alley (Wales, Cardiff)

[] Compulsive plotting is also good for the morale!
50 / 30 / 10% Chances of success
-[] Go on a matchmaking spree. Chance to increase Diplomacy, RP with some people, reputation.
-[] Go on a trolling rampage an adventure! Chance to increase Intrigue, cripple enemies, RP with some people.

[] Plotting is an excellent bonding activity!
Autopass
-[] Plot with Oliver: +10 to Stewardship action rolls (+2 RP with Oliver)
-[] Plot with Elizabeth : +10 to Diplomacy action rolls (SL MAX)
-[] Plot with Scáthach (the younger): +2 RP with Scáthach, Scáthach gains 1d2 Intrigue to base score. She's still a bit young, but better get started early!

Learning: Actions: 2 (1+Learning over 25)

You're not letting anyone not from your family handle those books. Ever. You'll have to wait until either Elizabeth finds herself a newfound passion for reading, or until little Scáthach decides paper isn't for eating and learns to read. You have a feeling the latter will come earlier.

[] The old tales are sometimes true. Brush up on your knowledge, after all each time something supernatural happened, a wizard was behind it. Variable results, autopass, may be taken multiple times.

[]Survey the land. You'll never know what you can fins by running around, but at the very least, you'll know the land's map.
70 / 40 / 30 chances of success. May be taken multiple times.

Mysticism: Advisor: Agatha: Actions: 2 (+30 to rolls)

It stings a bit that you're just on the lower spectrum of powerful, but you'll deal. After that unpleasantness this summer, you've learned how much you are limited, however, and this displeases you. This displeases you greatly. On other news, Agatha's work with more... Enthusiastic...Colleagues of hers is continuing at a steady pace. It would be easier if she could give up on those 'Tolkien elves', but at this point, Dace'll take her just keeping the explosions away from camp.

[] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2) (Restores Rumor Mill)( You really should take it)
-[V] Find a suitable location.
-[V] Find a full roster of Nature-themed creatures.
-[] Build basic fortifications: Pay 30 000 G, 30 wood, 30 stone. (0/30 000, 0/30, 0/30)
-[V] Investigate the Nature Anchor


[] Y Ddraig Aur. He emerges once every thousand years and is currently chewing on a few cows in what remains of your backyard, but this time, it was early. Why?

[] Screw you Tolkien. Agatha tried and tried again. This time, she agreed that if the two of you work on it, if it fails again, she will give up and you'll be free to recruit other creatures in their stead. If it's a success, well, you'll have supernatural snipers.
40 / 30 / 10% Chances of success

[]Where the wind blows. Dace will train hiw wind magic affinity.
30% Chances of success.

Personal: Actions: 6 (1 + Stewardship Advisor + Diplomacy Advisor + Mysticism advisor + 2 Martial advisors)


[] Spend time with one of your SLs: +2 RP
-[] Therapy Spend time with Lily: +3 RP, +1/? to recovery
-[]Write-in (must be SL)

[] Personal supervision. Supervise an action from the other sections. Gain +10 to rolls if Martial, Stewardship or Diplomacy action, +20 if Leaning or Mysticism action, +30 if Intrigue action. (May be used multiple times, but not on the same actions.)

[] Train. You hate doing it, and it hates you back, but if it makes Madeye shut up, you'll do it.

[] Extra action. Use your own free time to do stuff. (May only be taken once, may be used as substitute for AP)

[]Personal development:
-[] Way of the Alchemist: You're the best at potions, you know it, they know it, but there's still a lot of things to learn...

-[] Way of the Architect: You worked yourself from the ground up, but there is always much more to be done

-[] Way of the Whispers: Shadows are your home, your tool and your defense. However, with recent events, they may need to become your weapon.

 

Spoiler: Rampart

Visual aid:


Buildings:

Fort:
Walls added to the town : Hampers ranged attacks (1/2 damage), land creatures cannot pass through (save exceptions), may begin building creature dwellings.

Town Hall:
+ 5 000 G/T. Minor living quarters are installed, enough for the staff at hand, but no more than that.

Tavern:
+2 Morale for standing army
Gives information on other players.

Wolf den:
Produces 10 Wolves / turn.

Spoiler: Influence Map

Spoiler: Influence bonuses and maluses

Influence Bonuses and Maluses (Capital must have been occupied for 10 years.):

Muggle: Nothing.
Nature: +50% [Nature] Spell effects. - 50% [Order] and [Death] spell effects.
Life: +50% [Life] Spell effects. -50% [Death] and [Chaos] spell effects.
Death: +50% [Death] Spell effects. -50% [Life] and [Nature] spell effects.
Chaos: +50% [Chaos] Spell effects. -50% [Order] and [Life] spell effects.
Order: +50% [Order] Spell effects. -50% [Nature] and [Chaos] spell effects.

These do not apply to frontier territories.

Faction ability : Requires Capital territory to have been occupied at least 5 Turns (years)

Chaos wave:

Chaos is change through destruction, most fear it, but to those who can control it, unlimited power is at their fingertips.

- +10 to dungeon creature attack
- Catastrophe dice must be rolled each turn for all other factions. The effect strengthens the more land the faction controls.

Land of the dead:

Death comes for all, and for those who welcome it, safety. A cradle. A bed where all will lay to rest, even the world itself.

- -1 Morale to all living units passing through dead lands. Will spread indefinitely if left unchecked.
- Impossible to cast spells over level 1 for everyone, including death faction members.



Nature's bounty:

Nature runs strong and wild, as it used to and should. The land remembers its rightful shape and will reject abnomalies.

- The magical ground protects owned land from both Chaos wave and Land of the dead effects. Will spread around owned territory up to one county away.
- + 10% Resources gain.



Law and Order:

Laws are the system created by people to keep the world running. With Law comes Order, and with Order, peace.

- + 50% Mental resistance.
- + 10% Growth to magical and nonliving creatures.

Live and grow:

Living is Growing, a perpetual motion of evolution and amelioration. As long as there is life, there is hope. Those who cherish those words will aim for the greatest heights.

- + 25% Growth to all creatures
- All Life faction heroes start with the ability to cast Death ward.

Spoiler: Luck and morale

Luck : A stat that effects causality. For each point of luck, you get 10% of having a luck proc. Luck has multiple effects :

-On the offensive, it doubles raw damage of an attack or a fes compatible spells, before resistances are counted in.
-On the defensive, it halves the damage taken pre reduction.
-On story mode, it adds +20 to all rolls it applies to.

Morale: A stat that effects one's bravery. For each point of morale, you get 10% of having a morale proc. Morale, if it procs, has two major effects :

- Causes the character or army unit to attack twice on the same turn.
- Causes the unit to attack first regardless of the respective speed of the fighters.

Heroes :

Spoiler: Martha Drake

Martha Drake.

Experience: 2200/3200

Level 4 ???

Starts with Basic Combat, Advanced Combat, Basic Melee, Basic Magic resistance.
CQC Monster gives: Basic Tactics, Basic Offense, Advanced Melee, Basic Leadership.
Gains Basic Nature Magic upon joining faction.

Ability: CQC Monster : May not used ranged attacks or spells ( will however be able to use magic spells at close range). Each time she chooses a skill from the Combat Skill tree when she levels up, she may take another of the skills proposed as an extra.

Personal stats:
Luck: 1
Morale: 1
Damage: 22
Hitpoints: 130
Speed: 7
Movement: 23
Mana: 10

33 % Melee Attack
36 % Melee Defense
30 % Ranged defense
30% Magic resistance

Army stats:

+1 Luck
+1 Morale
+1 Speed
+1 Movement
+10% Melee Attack
+20% Ranged Attack

COMBAT - Primary Skill Increases hero's Melee and Ranged Defence. . Advanced: Melee and Ranged Defence = 20.	Melee - Combat Secondary Skill Increases hero's Melee Attack and divides the natural defence of enemy creatures. Never reduces enemy hero's defence. Never reduces creature defence below 10. Advanced: Melee Attack = 20. Natural defence of enemy creatures divided by 2.		Magic Resistance - Combat Secondary Skill Hero has a chance to resist hostile spells. Basic: 30%.
TACTICS - Primary Skill Increases speed and movement of all friendly creatures. Basic: +1 speed, +1 movement.	Offense - Tactics Secondary Skill Increases Melee and Ranged Attack of all friendly creatures. Basic: +10% to Melee and Ranged Attack.		Leadership - Tactics Secondary Skill Increases morale and luck of all friendly creatures. Basic: +1 morale, +1 luck.
NATURE MAGIC - Primary Skill Gives hero the ability to cast Nature Magic spells. Basic: hero can cast level 1 Nature Magic spells. Gives one level 1 Nature Magic spell.

Spells:
Basic nature magic spell : d7 : 2 :

	Speed - 2 mana Combat - Blessing Speed increases a friendly target's speed and movement by 3. Something flashed at the edge of my vision. I turned. Nothing but trees. There it was again! Little did I know that this would continue for hours before I left the forest.

 

Winning plan :

Spoiler: A new home

Diplomacy:
[X] Visit Rufus: See how he's been going in his brand new office, you haven't had any news of him for a while, and you suppose he'd like some explanations about what exactly happened last winter.
70 / 50 / 20 % chances of success. Chance of opening the Rufus Scrimfeour SL, Chance to strike an alliance, Chance to subvert his loyalty.

[X] Diplomatic meetings. Most of the leaders of the new world that seems to be coming have been identified. Do you dare to try and contact them?
-[X]Dumbledore : Neutral, friendly.

Stewardship:
[X] Trade for resources ( free action )
-[X] 40 Wood for 80,000 Galleons

[X] Develop the land (Free action):
-[X]Gold mine:
Cost: 5000 Galleons. Reward : 1 000 G/Turn, 1d6-3 Native Gold / turn afterwards.

[X] Find sources of building materials. Your contacts went out of business not that long ago, and you need good sources if you don't want to keep paying so much for them. Guaranteed access to Wood and Stone production facilities. Chance of getting access to Gem, Crystal, Sulfur, or Mercury production facilities.
Cost: 40 000 Galleons

[X] Civilian infrastructure. (Requires Rampart step 1 to be complete to be built : One building of the kind may be built per turn.)
-[X]Tavern:Cost: 25 000G.
Increases morale for standing army, Information on other players

Martial:
[X] Hire more security staff. -10 to enemy infiltration rolls. 2000G
Cost : 1 000 Galleons. 60 / 40 / 20 % Chances of success.

[X] Combat drills. You have units, but they don't know how to fight as an army.
Cost : 0 Galleons.
-[X]Druids : 24 / 200

[X] Military expedition:
-[X]Dyfed: (This turn only)Directly South of your area of influence. You have read reports that there were strange events taking place there. Go investigate.
Cost : 1000 Galleons. 90 / 70 / 50% Chances of succes

[X] Dwellings (Free action)(Requires Rampart step 1 to be complete to be built : One building of the kind may be built per turn.)
-[X] Wolf den: Produces 10 Wolves / turn. Costs 10 Wood, 2000 G

Intrigue: Actions: 2 (1+ Intrigue over 25)
[X] Plots are good for your health! Plot against: (Will receive intel on their moves, plus additional actions if the opportunity arises.)
40 / 30 / 20/ Chances of success.
-[X] Investigate Aife's plot (this turn only)

[X] Plotting is an excellent bonding activity!
-[X] Plot with Scáthach (the younger): +2 RP with Scáthach, Scáthach gains 1d2 Intrigue to base score. She's still a bit young, but better get started early!

Learning: Actions: 2 (1+Learning over 25)
[X] The old tales are sometimes true. Brush up on your knowledge, after all each time something supernatural happened, a wizard was behind it. Variable results, autopass, may be taken multiple times.

[X]Survey the land. You'll never know what you can fins by running around, but at the very least, you'll know the land's map.
70 / 40 / 30 chances of success. May be taken multiple times.

Mysticism:
[X] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2) (Restores Rumor Mill)( You really should take it)
-[X] Build basic fortifications: Pay 30 000 G, 30 wood, 30 stone. (0/30 000, 0/30, 0/30)

[X] Screw you Tolkien. Agatha tried and tried again. This time, she agreed that if the two of you work on it, if it fails again, she will give up and you'll be free to recruit other creatures in their stead. If it's a success, well, you'll have supernatural snipers.
40 / 30 / 10% Chances of success

Personal: Actions: 6 (1 + Stewardship Advisor + Diplomacy Advisor + Mysticism advisor + 2 Martial advisors)
[X] Spend time with one of your SLs: +2 RP
-[X] Therapy Spend time with Lily: +3 RP, +1/? to recovery
-[X] Lucius Malfoy

-[X] Personal supervision. Supervise an action from the other sections. Gain +10 to rolls if Martial, Stewardship or Diplomacy action, +20 if Leaning or Mysticism action, +30 if Intrigue action. (May be used multiple times, but not on the same actions.)
--[X] Plot against Aife
--[X] Screw you Tolkien.

[X] Train. You hate doing it, and it hates you back, but if it makes Madeye shut up, you'll do it.

[X]Personal development:
-[X] Way of the Architect: You worked yourself from the ground up, but there is always much more to be done

Total expenses: 184,000 galleons, 40 wood, and 30 stone.

Got a bit busy IRL. Changed medication, hopefully it'll get better. Since I'm late enough already, posting it without beta. I'm still way over my 1/week post minimum, but still.

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Autumn 1984​

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September 13th, 1984​

Diplomacy:
[X] Visit Rufus: See how he's been going in his brand new office, you haven't had any news of him for a while, and you suppose he'd like some explanations about what exactly happened last winter.
70 / 50 / 20 % chances of success. Chance of opening the Rufus Scrimgeour SL, Chance to strike an alliance, Chance to subvert his loyalty. Rolled 51

"Mister Scrimgeour is ready to receive you." The secretary's voice droned on, dark shadows under her eyes and a bored expression on her face. He couldn't really fault the woman, considering the fact that entire wizarding villages up and disappeared last months. Well, Dace was here to correct that, hopefully.

The office in itself was sober, though, with the amount of diplomas and prizes on the creamy painted wall and sturdy oaken shelf, he could guess Rufus made some allowances for his personal pride. Having those ones be the first thing one saw when entering did help reinforce the projected professionalism of the former Slytherin head boy. Not that it was that useful nowadays, mind you, but a bit of posturing helped, he guessed. Dace preferred to let the results speak for him, himself, because you tend to be much less embarrassed when your plans fall when you don't advertise them. His eyes glided to the right to Rufus' desk, where he was sitting, fingers crossed under his chin, eyes fixed on him.

Dace looked at him critically with an 'are you really doing this?' expression full of disbelief and the other man sighed, leaning back, letting his hand fall and began to rub his temples.

"Why are you here now?"

A headache on sight? Dace was feeling flattered. He walked across the room and sat on the chair in front of the desk, looking as if everything was right in the best of worlds.

"My, good morning to you too, Rufus. I was just here to tell you Tom Riddle took control of the means of production to create dementors, is currently depopulating the Orkney islands and Cornwall to feed his army of undead, and has infiltrated both the ministry and Dumbledore's little club of vigilantes." Butter wouldn't have melted in his mouth as he talked to the Head of the Auror Office with a mellifluous voice, as if Rufus was his dearest friends.

The dull thud of a head banging against a desk made his smile grow wider.

Still, enjoying other's despair wasn't what he was here for, regretfully, so he patiently waited, hands neatly folded over his lap, as Rufus used a discretion charm and proceeded to use words that would make a sailor blush. Considering Moody's vocabulary when he was training people with no child in sight, he was beginning to suspect that it was an auror thing. After the other man visibly ran out of steam he looked at him, a feral gleam in his leonine eyes.

"And I suppose you're here for more than gloating?" He bit out, making Dace adopt a thinking pause.

"Well, I can't say you weren't warned, because I remember sending the note myself..."

"The same note that was found in Minister Bagnold's bedroom?"

"And that you were here for the attack on my person when I was on family business..."

"In which you proceeded to threaten an official."

"Now now, don't sound so sour, it was for your own good you know? My cute little pets found the spy shortly after, imagine what its master would do, knowing that the Ministry began to choose sides that early" Dace chastised Scrimgeour lightly. " Why, he may even gear up to attack even more of the population, instead of trying to stamp me out first."

Scrimgeour's face turned from annoyed to focused.

"Explain."

Dace sighed. This was going to be a long meeting. Thankfully enough, Rufus belonged to the rare and dying breed of good listeners who didn't interrupt when people were telling them things, so he didn't have to repeat himself multiple times. At the end of it, Rufus looked as if he was carved from marble, his complexion pasty white. Too much information? The man just looked at if waiting for something, before letting his head fall, writing a note from the pad that turned into a flying origami and flew out of the room.

They remained here in silence, until a brown haired woman with a square jaw and an intelligent look entered the room, face flushed from having probably run all the way down here.

"Code Black?! How in the world has nobody raised the alarms yet?!" She shouted after closing the door and reapplying the charms. Upon hearing her voice, Rufus sat up once more, waving his wand and making another chair appear, in which the woman sat, her eyes not leaving his figure even for one moment.

"Amelia Bones, meet Dace Gwallawg. I'm sure you already know of him, he's worse than the rumors say."

Dace looked at him with a mixture of indignation and betrayal.

"I most certainly am not! This is a conspiracy from the events against my image, I tell you!"

"And he's also the one who produced the material for the Order division." Dace's ears perked up upon hearing the capital here. "He also apparently is in open war against the Necromancer responsible for the disappearances in Orkney and the Massacre of Tintagel."

... That, Dace didn't hear about. This didn't sound good at all for anyone involved. He really needed to get his spy network in order. Still, right now was the time to reveal his cards and he leaned against his chair's backrest, crossing his arms and lifting his fingers.

"Dace Gwallawg, Undead hunter extraordinaire, it seems. Pleasure to meet you, Miss Bones."He sent her a quick smile, before his face turned into a focused mask. "The first time I met Riddle " He heard a gasp coming from the woman. "Was in 1981. You've probably heard about the dragon's abnormal behavior?" Rufus nodded, intrigued. "Long story short, we met there. I didn't really know what he was after at the time, however, now I know that he was after that." He opened his fist, revealing the small, glowing, emerald square that was the Nature anchor, making both Rufus and Amelia look at him in both wariness and evaluation. As the green light was inundating the room, both of the aurors' eyes briefly flashed Indigo, confirming Dace's theory. " It is my hypothesis that the Dragon Utopia was house to both the Nature and Death anchors. My informants tell me that shortly after, Riddle was forced to retreat because of Dumbledore's intervention. It matches with some of the disappearances among the members of his little club and Dumbledore's own heavy injuries, but it's still conjecture at this point." He paused for a moment, letting them assimilate the information, before continuing.

"The second time, you already know of. No doubt the aurors in place were pretty vocal about what happened when the necrotic traps activated." It was Amelia who nodded this time. " The third was shortly afterwards, when I received an invitation to the Meeting of Erudite, Scholars and Scientists that takes place every decade and was organized by Riddle this year. By this point, I liked to think I had gotten better at detecting creatures. Upon noticing what was crawling under the building, I immediately ran away after setting something on fire. However, it seemed all of the others were already bewitched, so I was the only survivor. That's when I knew for sure the Necromancer was Riddle and I sent the warnings nobody heeded. Oh well. The next time was when I was visiting your predecessor."

"But Mrs. Golly was already dead by that point..." Amelia piped up, pointing out the inconsistency, earning herself an exasperated look that he her huffing.

"Order Leader, Lily Evans, who set up her base in the Orkney Isles." Dace continued unperturbed, though, Rufus raised his hand with a complicated expression, that Dace promptly ignored. "We were discussing trade, Dumbledore and his little club also there, when we got attacked by his army. I managed to destroy his air force, however in the confusion, Dumbledore had run. I saved Lily and the Order anchor before Riddle got to them, however, it was for naught, as when Aife attacked my manor last summer, the Anchor was destroyed in the struggle, and Lily is currently entering her second year of convalescence. Whatever happened here stuck her in a permanent berserk state and she currently is unable to understand people, let alone talk to them. Which makes me think that if you link to an anchor, its destruction will have catastrophic consequences on you." He thought for a bit, trying to remember any more occurrences of Riddle's activities nearby.

"You already know of his attack on my dragons, and I have heard strange rumors in Dyfed that I will investigate shortly, most likely it is him scouting out the location and trying to set up a base to attack me, which tells me I probably have less than a year to prepare before he tries to launch an assault against me and mine." He noted almost nonchalantly as the other two stared. And stared. And stared some more. Amelia threw a look towards her superior, to which he answered with his exasperated one.

"I suppose you're telling us all that because you're willing to cooperate?" Rufus asked prudently, his second in command trying to make sense fo what she heard.

"To an extent, yes. You'll understand I won't be very active this year or the next one due to taking care of Riddle's expansion. However, I have with me copies of some schematics Lily had with her concerning some Order compatible constructions. " He lifted a stack of papers that the other man stared at intensely.

"You're really trying to reach out here." He noted with a small amount of amazement leaking into his voice as he took the papers, making Dace huff.

"I'm a businessman, I can behave, should I wish to."

"Which is almost never." Concluded the head auror, rifling through the papers.

"I don't do well with authority figures." He answered mildly.

And that was that. The both of them were very busy men after all.


Contact with Order faction established.

Order faction revealed: Ministry's Auror Division, headed by Rufus Scrimgeour.

Relations set to [Allied]. Expect some help from Rufus in case of attack this year.

Rufus Scrimgeour SL unlocked. Due to previous actions, Rufus Scrimgeour SL set to 3. Gain perk: Hypocrisy.

---

October 1st, 1984​

Hero Unit:

[X]Martha : Brawler type, CQC Monster.

Martial:

[X] Combat drills. You have units, but they don't know how to fight as an army.
Cost : 0 Galleons.
-[X]Druids : 24 / 200 Rolled 47 : Synergy with ME : +37 x 2 (Full victory)+ 10 (Martha) = 131. 155/200

Martial:

[X] Military expedition:
-[X]Dyfed: (This turn only)Directly South of your area of influence. You have read reports that there were strange events taking place there. Go investigate.
Cost : 1000 Galleons. 90 / 70 / 50% Chances of success Rolled 37 : Synergy with CD : + 47 +10 (Martha) = 94 = Full victory, no more undead in Dyfed. Martha Gains 1 level.

Martha has been following Dace faithfully as he poured over the strategic map in his tent, explaining the situation to her as it went, and her piping up with suggestions that were actually well founded. Apparently, she'd been spending her free year training on her own in some cave and hounding down retired aurors for tips for her self training. Save for her complete lack of interest in anything involving aiming, she's a pretty well rounded fighter, though her trying to hide her brutal nature under mild manners and pretty smiles is quite amusing.

Still, the reason for Dace giving her the information right now is for another matter entirely. Namely, sending her on a mission with a double objective: Train the druids, and try to find out what's happening South of here.

Of course, being given carte blanche had her doing exactly what he thought she would.

Half a month later, Martha was sitting primly on the chair, sipping tea, the trainees behind her looking half dead with suspicious-looking bites here and there. It seemed that not only she managed to turn that weak minded mess of people into a group that at least wouldn't commit too much friendly fire, but Martha herself got a chance to let loose. Considering the utterly satisfied look she had when she informed him all undead presence was eliminated and the terrified look the trainees were sending her, she probably crushed a few skulls again.

Hero Martha Drake joins the army ( More information Here. )

No more undead in Dyfed.

Martha Gains 1 level.

Martha is now level 5.

Choose 1 Skill ( Combat tree skills trigger [CQC Monster]). 2 Primary skill slots left.

[]Primary Skill : Nobility.
Increases all creature growth in the town that recognizes the hero as its governor.
Basic: +10%.

[]Primary Skill : Life Magic.
Gives hero the ability to cast Life Magic spells.
Basic: hero can cast level 1 Life Magic spells.
Gives one level 1 Life Magic spell.
1d6 : 3:
Holy Word - 2 mana
Combat - Direct Life Damage to Death Units
Damage: 49 + 4 dmg/level + Spirituality
Holy Word does damage to a single Death target based on the level of the caster.
The power of Life concentrated in a single word - it's as good as a sword against those with evil souls.

[]Secondary skill : Herbalism (Nature Magic)
Gives the hero mana and increases mana recovery.
Basic: +10 mana, +2 mana recovered per day.

[]Secondary skill : Magic resistance (Combat)
Hero has a chance to resist hostile spells.
Advanced: 50%.


Martha reached level 5, it's time for her to choose the path she will follow. You may either advise her, or let her choose what she thinks is for the best.


[] Choose Martha's Class :

Spoiler

[]Nature + Combat : Beastmaster: +20% bonus to Summon Wolf spell
[]Nature + Nobility : Beast Lord: +20% bonus to Summon Wolf and Summon Moon Doe spells. (Needs Basic Nobility to be taken)
[]Nature + Tactics : Warden: gives all friendly creatures +10% to their Melee and Ranged Defense
[]Nature + Life : Summoner: summons +20 Experience Points worth of creatures per day (Needs []Basic Life Magic to be taken)
[]Combat + Tactics : General: +1 morale to all friendly creatures
[]Combat + Life : Paladin: has Death Ward (50% resistant to Death spells, Melee/Ranged Defenses +50% against Death-aligned opponents) (Needs Basic Life Magic to be taken)
[]Combat + Nobility : Warlord: +5 to Melee Attack (Needs Basic Nobility to be taken)
[]Tactics + Life : Crusader: hero always has maximum morale (Needs Basic Life Magic to be taken)
[]Tactics + Nobility : Lord Commander: gives all friendly creatures +2 morale (Needs Basic Nobility to be taken)

[]Let her choose. Will open her SL.

---

November 20th, 1984​

Mysticism:

[X] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2) (Restores Rumor Mill)( You really should take it)
-[X] Build basic fortifications: Pay 30 000 G, 30 wood, 30 stone. (0/30 000, 0/30, 0/30)

Stewardship:

[X] Trade for resources ( free action )
-[X] 40 Wood for 80,000 Galleons

Personal:

[X]Personal development:
-[X] Way of the Architect: You worked yourself from the ground up, but there is always much more to be done Rolled 94 +50% (Rampart+Resources) = 141. Massive success.

On another note, Dace finally enough of his tent and while Martha was busy cleaning the countryside of its undead, Dace decided that it was time to get to building fortifications worthy of the name. First he recalled all of his time spent at Hogwarts ant the time he spent marveling over its secret passages. Then came to his mind tales of the Library of Alexandria, of all the knowledge that was gathered here...

Fort complete.

Due to his competency at the task, Dace decided he liked architecture. Choose one :

[]Secret passages: + 10 to Intrigue related rolls.
[]Great Library: +10 To learning related rolls.

Rumor mill restored!

Turn 4 Rumor mill:

Event roll: 58:
With his Network finally back up and running, information flows in Dace's office. He's missed quite the important amount fo information, such as James being released after 2 months at Azkaban, the high number of births among the notable families, strange rumors of a mysterious Item in Cornwall and an ominous group after it. Still, there were now some fresh reports waiting on his desk.

Due to Dace having spent some time on last year events that he met, AP : 1

[] Walburga has written about some strange occurrences taking place near Stonehenge. Strange noises, items breaking at night, one of their family celebrations had to be postponed because of that, how dreadful. (41)

[] One of the druid apprentices, called Dave, pointed out something strange was happening not that far in the East. It didn't seem that dangerous at first glance, however, from time to time, the dragons were glaring in that direction too, he pointed out, and they have better sense for magic emanations than regular humans... (7)

[] Agatha broke in the safe. Nobody knows how, or why, but the golden coffer that was found years ago was stolen. While she may not be up to anything dangerous, this was still Agatha, supervision was necessary. (100)

He was standing in the safest place of the Rampart (after Agatha's damage was repaired), alone in the bare room.

In his hand the emerald cube was thrumming.

He extended his arm so that the cube was in the middle of the room and opened his hand, the item slowly falling to the ground. Once one of the Cube's ridges made contact, it sunk into the ground, emerald green lines spreading everywhere like ivy. The walls, the floor, even the glass of the windows. Then, they too, sunk in, making the whole structure tremble. He looked through the window and he could see the green lines spread around, the vegetation become that tiny bit lighter and greener, the creatures he brought grow. He could hear sounds of howling and growling all around the place. Then the sound of stoned rubbing against each other was heard and he turned around.

Where the cube fell now stood a pillar, the anchor, looking a bit dimmer, was pulsating like a heartbeat.

---

Currently updating the information section. I haven't translated all of it yet, I need to lose my habit to write on paper and in French for this quest...

Edit: Modified the BB Code so that it would send to this site's strategic section instead of SV;

 

]

[X]Primary Skill: Life Magic.
[X]Secondary skill: Magic resistance (Combat)
[X]Let her choose. Will open her SL.
[X]Great Library: +10 To learning related rolls.
[X] Agatha broke in the safe. Nobody knows how, or why, but the golden coffer that was found years ago was stolen. While she may not be up to anything dangerous, this was still Agatha, supervision was necessary. (100)
[/SPOILER]

---

Winter 1984​

---

December 10th 1984​

[X] Find sources of building materials. Your contacts went out of business not that long ago, and you need good sources if you don't want to keep paying so much for them. Guaranteed access to Wood and Stone production facilities. Chance of getting access to Gems, Crystal, Sulfur, or Mercury production facilities.
Cost: 40 000 Galleons

It took him quite a bit of maneuvering, what with the more and more alarming reports he was receiving, but in the end, it seemed his offers found some sellers. While he had focused on wood and stone producers, it just so happened that he managed to suborn a diamond mine and an alchemist.

Assorted producer business: +8 Wood, + 8 Stone, + 2 Gems, +2 Sulfur / Turn



[X] Develop the land (Free action):
-[X]Gold mine:
Cost: 5000 Galleons. Reward: 1 000 G/Turn, 1d6-3 Native Gold / turn afterwards.

The construction of the mine went very well. In fact, it went so well that it started producing gold immediately.

+1000 Galleons, +1 Native Gold.

---

January 2nd 1985​

[X] Civilian infrastructure. (Requires Rampart step 1 to be complete to be built: One building of the kind may be built per turn.)
-[X]Tavern: Cost: 25 000G.
Increases morale for standing army, Information on other players

Perhaps it was Dace's newfound interest architecture or good weather, however, the tavern was up and running rather quickly. As Dace was inspecting the building incognito while the workers were relaxing there, he heard something interesting.

[Rumor has it that house elves were behaving strangely as of late.]

His eyes narrowed as he drank some firewhiskey. It seemed the Overlord was shoring up his strength. Why, however, was a worrying question. The answer was even more worrying. The Overlord attacking the Ministry would offer Riddle the opening he needed to attack him instead.

[X] Send word to Rufus. [Since you're allied, Dace's sense of Justice compels him to do it]
[] Don't, he's busy enough already.

More intel on Riddle's strategy, increased SL with Rufus Scrimgeour, increased chance of Order faction survival.

---

February 14th 1985​

Learning: Actions: 2 (1+Learning over 25)
[X] The old tales are sometimes true. Brush up on your knowledge, after all each time something supernatural happened, a wizard was behind it. Variable results, autopass, may be taken multiple times.
Rolled 4 + 10 (great Library) = 14 Failure due to related critical.

[X]Survey the land. You'll never know what you can find by running around, but at the very least, you'll know the land's map.
70 / 40 / 30 chances of success. May be taken multiple times.
Rolled: 1+ 10(great library) = 11. Critical failure (mitigated)

It started well enough, the survey had revealed several pieces of useful information, even if Dace couldn't make head of tails of it because his research got interrupted by Hassan, who was whining, a giant brush in his jaw.

Having a dog was hard work, especially if he was pony sized.

Still, he was spending his time leisurely brushing his dog, who was on his back, eyes closed and tongue lolling around, when somebody knocked at his new study's door.

"Enter." He began rubbing the beast's belly, causing it to chuff in delight, tail hitting the ground repeatedly with a dull thumping sound.

Martha came in, the slight creases on her dress indicating she ran here.

"My l- Mister Gwallawg." She smoothed her dress, before curtseying slightly. "We have unannounced guests. Albus Dumbledore and a retinue have arrived. They have been led to one of the waiting rooms."

Dace held back a groan and got up, making the canine at his feet jump up to his four and follow him as he got out his living room. The hallways here tall and arched with an organic design of paper thin ivies behind which small, glowing inclusions were shining a green light in a hallway, giving the impression that this hallway was made of leaves under the sun, instead of within a stone castle.

As he was entering the waiting room, he took a moment to take stock of the situation.

Albus Dumbledore was wearing a hot pink robe charmed to have yellow birds flying on it and currently sat in a chair under the sun, his good hand poking at a branch that was spontaneously sprouting through the cracks between the stones while his prosthetic one was twitching, clearly itching to take his wand and try to make heads or tails of what he was seeing. Dace supposed that as a transfiguration specialist and an alchemist, the Rampart would stoke the fires of his intellectual curiosity.

To his right was a young auror, Kingsley Shacklebot. Tall, dark skinned and eyes unusually focused on his surroundings.

He cleared his throat, causing both the auror and the old man to turn towards him. Martha took a step behind him in warning as Shacklebot's eyes were fixed on Dace, something lurking behind those dark irises. He was beginning to feel annoyed. If Dumbledore invited himself over here, could he at least not bring a spy with him?!

"Normally, I would try and observe the basic courtesies as a host, however I happen to feel disinclined towards offering them to uninvited guests, considering what exactly happened last time I had some of those." He crossed his arms, looking at Dumbledore emotionlessly as the man coughed and apologized, ignoring Shacklebot who might as well have been a statue, himself ignoring Dumbledore's glances. Hm, to confront or not confront, that is the question... Oh, please, when did he ever miss a chance to ruin Dumbledore's day?

"Indeed. I apologize for coming in unannounced, however, there are a few matters that have come to my attention that I thought you may wish to look into personally."

Dace just looked at him, before sitting down on the chair Martha produced, crossing his legs and waving for him to continue.

" As you've probably heard of, Riddle-"

"Has been steadily depopulating the Orkney Isles and is currently emptying villages left and right in Cornwall; is raising an army of undead to attack me; and has infiltrated your organization ..." He paused for a moment, raising his hand and snapping his fingers, causing Martha to appear behind the dark skinned auror and pin him to the ground. His index fell towards Shacklebot's prone form and he finished, "Right there." With no little amount of smugness as Dumbledore jumped to his feet, wand trained on the maid and the downed auror in warning.

"This was part of what I was about to talk to you about." He admitted, while Martha was looking around.

"The other one isn't here."

And indeed, Arthur Weasley still hadn't come back from the loo. And when they arrived there to check on his status, they saw the fresh corpse of one of his butlers. Dace closed his eyes, his annoyance rising. Couldn't he have an hour or two for himself where the rest of the world didn’t go to hell without him?!

If he was going to infiltrate the enemy's base, where would he go to do maximal damage... Stupid question. With one last warning glance, he began running towards his study, Martha keeping up with him easily, her gauntlets visible to all with crimson blotches on them looking suspiciously like blood. At this point, he didn't even have the heart to reprimand her for doing what he wanted to do himself. The run was long, and when they arrived, it was to a strange spectacle.

His office was turned upside down, some documents outright destroyed, paper was flying everywhere and the wayward Weasley was head in the floo, a cluster of sheets in his fist. Before anyone could react, Martha ran to him, caught the back of his ratty robes, sent him flying over her over her shoulder and almost crushed him against the wall. Scratch that, not 'almost'. The Weasley patriarch began shrieking in a distinctly inhuman way when Martha's gauntlet clad hand accidentally – at least Dace hoped it was accidental- crushed the man's head like a grape over his lower lip in her hand. She jumped back in surprise when the man's form began bubbling and the normally pallid flesh turned grey, muscles bulging and strangled gurgles coming from the undead's mutilated head, his lower jaw and exposed tongue lolling uselessly.

This was when Dumbledore arrived, took stock of the situation and paled. Looks like he didn't know about Weasley. Oh well.

"Martha, please be a dear and finish that off." Dace rolled his eyes, waving his wand to replace the furniture neatly, all the paper folding itself and landing neatly into a pile that was slightly taller than he was.

"Yes, Master." She raised her fists, gauntlets humming with a golden white energy and almost pounced on the shambling undead. The creature, feeling her intent, tried to scramble away but she was too fast and her glowing fist made contact with its torso. The energy crackled, before her fist turned and sunk into the undead's chest, its ribs giving out due to the strength of the blow. Then, the undead that was Arthur Weasley exploded, his gory remnants burning into dust in midair.

Martha then dismissed her weapons, dusted her dress and turned around.

"Would you like some tea?" She asked inquisitively, while Dace just sat in his chair.

"So that's what she meant by training... No, that won't be necessary."

Dumbledore just looked in silence, utterly flabbergasted at what happened, before he focused on Martha.

"Forgive me if this old man is wrong, but was that Life magic you just used?"

Martha looked at Dace, who waved his hand in a 'do whatever you want ' motion and she nodded, offering nothing more on the subject. Dumbledore, seeing that, sighed, his form sagging a bit.

"It seems every time we meet, events conspire against us. Very well, I shall take Kingsley with me and try to break him out of that enchantment that was weaved upon him. As for Arthur..." He waved his wand and the ashes gathered in an urn that just appeared, regret evident on his face. " I will make sure Molly knows what happened. My inattention is what allowed this to happen, after all."

"It is a fault of yours to keep your eyes on the prize and forget everything around you." Dace agreed easily, beginning to separate the folders into piles and producing a quill to sign it, as Dumbledore flinched.

"... Indeed." Blue eyes scanned the room, encountering photographs of Dace, his wife and their granddaughter. "So this is Little Scathach. It gladdens me to see you caring for her. At least one of us learned from their past mistakes."

The quill in Dace's hand broke, Martha dropped the papers she was holding in disbelief and the people in the photographs all turned to glare at the elderly wizard. Dace put his hands on the table, counted to ten, then to twenty when this wasn't enough. He then opened his eyes, formerly blue eyes glaring into older, yet similar ones.

"Contrarily to me, Aife never wanted to have a father." His voice was trembling with barely restrained rage as energy began arcing around his arms, the castle picking on the mood of its owner and shuddering lightly. "Do not assume, for a single instant, that our situations are even remotely similar. Contrarily to you, I never avoided my responsibilities."

Dumbledore grimaced and raised his hands in a placating gesture but Dace was having none of it.

"Don't presume to talk to me about duty and family, Albus Dumbledore, when all of your life you have been running away from it." His voice was even, and his face calm, even as he was slowly rising from the table. "Get out. I've had enough of you for the day."

"I've apologized time and time again, Dace, with the encroaching darkness rising, isn't it time to put our differences aside?" Dumbledore tried to reason, intent on deescalating the situation.

"Apologies won't bring aunt Ariana back. They won't bring back uncle Albeforth, and they certainly won't bring back my mother's life or restore her honor, father. This is your last warning, remove yourself or I will."

Martha looked at the men hesitantly, before steeling herself and summoning her gauntlets back, eyes fixed on the elder wizard, who had closed his eyes, as if he was suffering physical pain.

"I will. If you are so intent on your current course."

As he came back to his office, he thought about another young man, also full of negativity. He knew Dace's eyes were originally blue, but with the Nature turning them green, the resemblance was striking.

Back in his own office, Dace groaned and put his arm over his face, his chair turning into something more comfortable for him to lie on. It was far too early in the day, and he was much too sober to deal with all of it. He heard noises of something padding the room and cracked open an eye as he felt a weight on his chest.

Hassan was looking at him with puppy eyes and whining.

"It's not my fault. He's the one running around with a bunch of incompetents and poking his overly crooked nose where it doesn't belong." He justified himself, feeling the migraine coming.

The dog whined harder.

"Fine. I'll bring Eli and Scathach to deal with him."

"Wuuuuuuuuu~."

Dace groaned harder. Was that what having a conscience felt like? Because if it was, being normal was overrated.




-10 to all Rampart related rolls until the situation is resolved (aka, the paperwork is organized again). Riddle gains awareness of your base's layout. Riddle gains awareness of the zone map. Riddle gains a +10 roll against your faction.

---

At least now you're getting an idea why Dace is acting like he is ! Feel free to ask any question you may have about that~

 

Spring 1985​

---

March 1st 1985​

Martial:
[X] Hire more security staff. -10 to enemy infiltration rolls. 2000G
Cost: 1 000 Galleons. 60 / 40 / 20 % Chances of success.
Rolled 36 –10 (Nat1) = 26: Failure!

Dace had hopes last winter's bad luck didn't carry over, however, that was wishful thinking. With all the mess in his office however, some of the applications disappeared, and Dace was left with subpar candidates at best, and barely concealed spies at worst, which was annoying, considering those investigations didn't come free. However, he'd deal. At least all of his staff on site was as loyal as ever.

---

March 19th 1985​

Intrigue: Actions: 2 (1+ Intrigue over 25)
[X] Plots are good for your health! Plot against: (Will receive intel on their moves, plus additional actions if the opportunity arises.)
40 / 30 / 20/ Chances of success.
-[X] Investigate Aife's plot (this turn only)
Rolled 70 + 30 (PS)-10 (Nat1) = 90. Pass.

At least, His ex-heiress’s chicken crawl was noticeable enough that it was easy to distinguish from that mess in his office. The fact they were mixed between old books procured from the Hogwarts library, if what he read was right, probably helped too.

The first common point of the books was that they were comparisons between historical records and myths. Historia regum Britannicae, Le Morte d'Arthur, and many, many more books.

It was amusing, and concerning, considering that if her research was correct, king Arthur was still alive, only asleep. Though, what about him is truth, what about him is myth, Dace didn't know.

Still, the most concerning by far was that she was roaming both lower England and Cornwall; which was where both the Overlord and Riddle were based. While he was reasonably sure Riddle had other things to do right now (such as plotting his demise), he was also equally certain that the Overlord was planning an attack.

There were also all sorts of annotated maps, indicating supposed places frequented by Arthur in the legend, such as the entrance of the Underworld, the Lake, Camlann and even three supposed places for Camelot itself. Suspiciously absent were the cave in which Merlin is supposedly trapped, and Avalon, where Morgana has taken Arthur to rest until Britain's hour of need.

Dace sat at his desk, the ever-growing paperwork piles threatening to eat him alive and contemplated what to do.

[] Sabotage her efforts (will take an Intrigue Action slot next turn). You do not trust her at all with old magic and myths that were forgotten for a reason.
80 / 50 / 10 Chances of success.
[] Let it go... For now. You have other fish to fry right now.

Aife has gone on a quest to revive King Arthur! Why? Probably because she's getting desperate. How? Good question. What for? Probably to attack Riddle and the Overlord. And you.

---

April 2nd 1985​

[X] Plotting is an excellent bonding activity!
-[X] Plot with Scáthach (the younger): +2 RP with Scáthach, Scáthach gains 1d2 Intrigue to base score. She's still a bit young, but better get started early!

"Grandfather?" The little girl raised her head, looking at Dace who was doing that damnable paperwork. "Why do people not tell what they think all the time?"

"Because some people are incredibly thin skinned, and they would lash out or be hurt should they be told what other people thought of them." He answered, not raising his nose from the parchment, readjusting his square, brass rimmed glasses.

"Oh." She said nothing more. The silence stretched in the room and after writing at the end of his document and put it down, turning his head towards the little girl, who was looking at a picture book about a fox, a bear and an alligator. Without looking at it, he could get what it was about. He stretched his arms and cracked his neck, before speaking up again.

"Sometimes, people also want to deceive the people they are talking to in order to obtain something. That's why you should be cautious of the people who are approaching you.

"Hm." She hummed, brow furrowed and a frown on her juvenile face. Like it or not, it was better for her to learn that lesson early on. Less heartache for her that way.

+2 RP with Scáthach, Scáthach gains 1 Intrigue to base score. Base intrigue score reached 10 ! Intrigue base cap reached.

---

April 23rd 1985​

[X] Dwellings (Free action) (Requires Rampart step 1 to be complete to be built: One building of the kind may be built per turn.)
-[X] Wolf den: Produces 10 Wolves / turn. Costs 10 Wood, 2000 G

Hassan was padding next to Dace as the man led him and his tribe towards a stone structure in a small area where the treants installed themselves, creating the beginnings of a forest. It looked like a wolf's head, its mouth being the opening with stalactites and stalagmites forming a vicious looking set of teeth.

The animal approached the building, sniffed at it and looked around, before entering cautiously. He howled and the rest of his tribe entered quickly, the puppies bouncing everywhere.

Hassan then walked back to the Fort, presumably towards Dace's bed to take a nap.

Wolf den built. +10 wolves / turn. Hassan still won't leave your bed, though.

---

May 9th 1985
​

[X] Spend time with one of your SLs: +2 RP
-[X] Lucius Malfoy
[X] Screw you Tolkien. Agatha tried and tried again. This time, she agreed that if the two of you work on it, if it fails again, she will give up and you'll be free to recruit other creatures in their stead. If it's a success, well, you'll have supernatural snipers.
40 / 30 / 10% Chances of success
Rolled: 78 + 20 (PS) + 30 (Agatha)- 10 (Nat 1) = 118. success.

Agatha had an insane smile on her face as both her and an exhausted looking Dace were looking down on a table. On that table was the body of a deceased house elf. Or, more accurately, the body of a deceased house elf that regressed to minion.

After a heavy session of dissecting, Dace finally managed to get through her skull that no, house elves were not degraded 'Tolkien elves' and no, there was no evolution mechanics to the whole species. After that, it was trivial to convince her that other venues would be easier to investigate. Which led them to the other table, where a nondescript, featureless homunculus was laying, empty eyes soullessly staring at the ceiling.

Agatha then lifted her wand as Dace fed the vial to the body and began chanting. There was a vibration in the air and through the window, they could see the remnants of a broken spell being woven into the Rampart's own. That made Dace frown.

It seemed the Overlord was ahead of schedule.

The homunculus began to convulse as Agatha continued chanting, its flesh bubbling and its proportions shifting. Once the changes settled, they fell bonelessly back onto the table. The creature looked human enough, albeit with some deviations. Their eyes were slightly bigger than a human's with cat-like irises, pronounced chins and cheekbones, pointed ears, long fingers and limbs, and their shoulders were more developed than their hips. They looked slightly alien, and a bit unsettling.

Then, the creature, tentatively dubbed elf, regained consciousness, blinking rapidly as they tried to take in their surroundings, then their body.

"It... Worked..." they croaked, wonder visible on their face.

"So it seems." Dace answered noncommittally. " Do you feel any compulsion? Destructive impulses? Need to clean up?" The creature shook their head.

"Dobby... I... Don't. I... Am free." The words were spoken as if they were water given to somebody lost in the desert.

From behind the one-way glass on another side of the room, Lucius Malfoy looked at the remaining corpse of the house elf turned minion, his wife's face chalk white as she gripped his arm in almost panic with a worrying gleam in her eyes.

"Lucius..." She whispered, half question and half warning.

"I know." Was his only answer, as he was planning to find a stock of clothes to give, a new manor to buy, and new alliances to build.

Anti-elf Nat 1 purged. House elf to elf conversion possible. Elves available for recruitment once homestead built. Elves gain abilities Double Shot and Chaos Ward. Lucius Malfoy abandons the Death Eaters, muggleborn prejudice diminishes again. +2 RP with Lucius Malfoy. (SL reaches 3 , gain Goldfinger: +10 to Stewardship action rolls

---

May 28th 1985​

Personal: Actions: 6 (1 + Stewardship Advisor + Diplomacy Advisor + Mysticism advisor + 2 Martial advisors)
[X] Spend time with one of your SLs: +2 RP
-[X] Therapy Spend time with Lily: +3 RP, +1/? to recovery

After he managed to convince Lily to drink the new recovery draught he brewed, he could see some clarity coming back to her.

"One blink for yes." He blinked. " Two for no. "He blinked twice as an example. "Do you understand me?"

Lily blinked once.

"Good. " It could still be a fluke, so he decided on another question. " Do you think you can break out of those chains?"

She looked at them unblinkingly, then blinked twice.

"Hm, so you're lucid enough for simple questions. Good. Can I count on you to behave if I untie you?"

Lily stared at him, then, after an uneasy paused, slowly nodded. Dace lifted his wand, causing her bindings to fall onto the ground, the noise making her jump up a little. Then, on the seat on the man's right, a small furry head peeked out of a cloth sack. The puppy got out, yipping slightly, before its eyes locked onto Lily, who stared back at it as it clumsily made its way towards her.

The woman became completely immobile as the small animal jumped on her knees, tail whipping the air as it began to try and get her to pet it.

Meanwhile, Dace was recording the data, ignoring his former apprentice's looks for help.

+5 RP with Lily, +1 to Recovery score. Lily is now coherent enough to understand when she is talked to. Still has poor control of her strength and cannot read.

---

June 1st 1985​

[X] Train. You hate doing it, and it hates you back, but if it makes Madeye shut up, you'll do it.

Once again, he got beaten by his ancestress, though, this time, he did learn some more concrete things about fighting.

+1 Attack, +1 Defense, +2 Martial

---

June 12th 1985​

[X] Agatha broke in the safe. Nobody knows how, or why, but the golden coffer that was found years ago was stolen. While she may not be up to anything dangerous, this was still Agatha, supervision was necessary. (100)

Dace's eyebrow twitched as he heard the news, Martha pouting him tea. Of course, the girl wouldn't stay put for long now that the Elf project didn't take up all of her attention. Still, her breaking into the safe was concerning, so he got up and stalked out of his study, the maid shadowing him silently. Wasn't she following a bit too closely though? He asked himself, turning towards the woman who immediately stopped, her face emotionless and blue eyes fixed on him, unblinkingly. After ten seconds, he decided that a staring contest was a stupid idea and went back to his original plans, namely, find the girl before she blew up the castle. She wasn't particularly hard to find, what with her demented cackling, and he found her soon at the very top of the mountain, her back to them and crouching, the golden coffer open laying at her feet and the blue gem shining brightly as she was hitting it with gusto against the stone.

Each hit made it glow brighter, small ripples of energy coming out from it, until one particularly vicious hit made it sink into the stone, that particular spot becoming the same color as the gem before a massive amount of water emerged from it, seemingly endlessly. The waters of the fountain were winding down, creating a river that headed towards the sea.

The effects were obvious. (Provided they drank from the fountain at least once a year)

[X] The creatures and people approached and a few were even brave enough to drink from it, and they realized soon it strengthened their life energy.
+50% Population Growth. Nature faction heroes' aging process stopped past 20 years of age.

[X] If the Population was strengthened, the land was too, and the river carried with it riches coming from the earth itself, the water taking a sparkly, almost jeweled appearance.
+25 000 G/Turn.

[X] The Fort and the land vibrated lightly, green glyphs lighting up brightly before dimming. Nobody really knew what it did, but life seemed to become... Easier.
+2 Luck to all Nature faction heroes. Nature's bounty now also ignores pollution and nefarious radiation (Including Nuclear fallout. Not that you need to worry about that. No siree. Maybe a little bit.)

Nat 100 Bonus: Choose 1:

[] The land already rejects change, but now, it could even take actions against the unnatural.
- -10 To Undead and Technological (Muggle) related rolls and damage in all territories.

[] While life was all about healing, and protecting, Nature was about Growth, and as you shower Nature with the wonders of Magic, so does it, with its own.
- [Ignores base stat caps] Each turn, one chosen hero will get a permanent boost of +1 to all of their statistics (both in Planning (Diplomacy, Stewardship, Martial, Intrigue, Learning, Mysticism) and Adventure (Attack, Defense, Ranged attack, Ranged defense, Speed, Movement) type).

[] The waters of the fountain were winding down, creating a river that headed towards the sea, and yet, at the foot of the mountains, greenery immediately took root, shrubs leaving place to sturdy trees, the sparse vegetation becoming thicker and livelier, and animals appeared from seemingly nowhere. The sky became a touch darker, its blue gaining the slightest of emerald hints and Nature saturated Mana.
-[Nature's Bounty] and Influence bonuses activated. [Nature's Bounty] and Influence bonuses will automatically activate in any owned territory, regardless of the time spent, as long as you take one action to spike the water supplies with water from the fountain of youth. That action can only be done by the one the Nature Anchor recognizes as Nature Leader.

Grail building obtained: The Fountain of Youth.

---

Behold! The power of repeated stupidly high rolls!

Yep. The Nat 100 was rolled after it was decided that it would be your Grail/ToA action. I used the H3 Totem, rebalanced the money so it's not that trivial anymore and made a few flavor changes, including the reference to H1-4 Nature type Hero, Gem. Cause, you know, if you're going to have to fight everyone to keep it, I kinda need to make you guys want to keep it in the first place.

As a precision: Regular human's base stat caps for Diplo and all is limited to 10. Special cases and hybrids, like Oliver, Arthur, Merlin are capped higher.

As a freebie. Fumbledore once again deserves his name. If a mod ever likes this quest, I want Fumbledore as a freaking Tag.