You decide to stay some more.
Nothing either exciting nor threatening happens, although Cyl seems to have more guards around and the noblemen seem to be avoiding you.
After nearly a month of this frivolous loitering in total, you bid Cyl a kissy farewell and return with your escorts and kids home, to Methiant.
1180 AD, Mid-Spring
The cartographic expedition has returned from the far south!
The men speak that they visited the Republic, Damedia, then skirted southwards through Ysirene, before entering the far southeastern duchies of the Empire, and then ventured into the kingdoms of Spania and Cadia. It seems that your royal grant of priviledge was quite helpful to the cartographers, especially in northern Republic and the religious land of Damedia; but the further they went south, the less questions were asked.
They've noted the high degree of freedom and mobility the lowest peasant class have; it seems they can leave their family homesteads on a whim, and even challenge noblemen and officials in the court, if their case is valid enough. One peasant family was met by the cartographers, the parents and their three kids were traversing from northern Republic to Cadia; all they had to do to leave was to notify their village governor that their house is now empty. A stark contrast with Methiant, Cyl and elsewhere, as here peasants cannot move unless they obtain a grant from the village elder or a nobleman.
For most part, Damdamian lands are comprised of gentle hills and vast flatlands, with rivers and streams cutting through them in great numbers. Strangely, Damdamians have little livestock - donkeys and mules, especially, weren't seen even once - and horses seem to be restricted for use of military and nobility. Forests were also sporadic; lots of them were on outskirts of vast farmlands - speaking of farmlands!
In the south, they had plenty of time to learn about the vast, fertile plains of wheat and barley and flax, which were stretching behind the horizon. Thousands upon thousands of bags of grain were shipped out of those lands in the times of harvest, to the marketplaces and homes of Damdamians elsewhere, the diet supplanted by bounty of saltwater seas; fish and clams and oysters, but also, urchins, seaweed, wavefruits (free-floating mushy apples carried around on the sea waves), citruses and coralmeat (an underwater plum, that one).
They speak that different people from different Damedian cliques still helped each other out with harvest and network, Scanian peasants being escorted about by Imperial soldiers and banners of Imperial duchies patterned on the merchants' wagons. Despite fragmentation, there's still a strong unity between the southerners, especially when it comes to religion and brotherhood.
However, the southern merchant princes of Spania became quite interested about the surplus in which Methiant has minerals, in particular Spanians where interested about gold. Further prying about made it obvious to your explorers that while far-southern Damdamian peoples have wide access to amazing variety and amount of foodstuffs and other delicacies, the southern shores are somewhat lacking in metals and jewels.
They also visited the slave markets of southern Damdamia; there, black elves (really, black-skinned elves with no hair), impoverished Damdamians and some exotic brides and pretty boys with tanned skin and red tatoots from some distant land called 'Moria' were sold for the highest bidder. The prices were absurd; some noblemen were offering as much as the slaves' weight in silver coin. The market is thriving, slave variety astounding, and indifference of common people to slaves' wellbeing more than obvious.
They had learned little about the distant lands beyond Damdamian shores, and even less about the 'thick, dark' forests on the other side of the sea from where the dark elves came. Apparently, the forest is called 'Anutuheatacull' or something like that, and they're ruled by king-priests, or priest-kings, and apparently they practice live sacrifices of their own subjects and slave duty is duty most sacred and respected - something something about self-harm was also mentioned.
The explorers from Cartography Charter even brought sketches of coats of arms of Spania, Cadia and that strange elven land of Anutuheatacull.
Azure, six wheat ears or, a bordure argent
Per pale sinister fusilly bendy gules and or, dexter argent, over all the parts a label azure
Or, a sun gulesYour courtiers are greatly impressed by the scope and achievements of the cartographers. The lead explorer bends his knee and his fellows follow.
"My lady Empress, to bring geographic and cultural enlightenment for people of Methiant, as we were returning from the south, we were already discussing about going on another expedition before this year is over. During brief stay at the House of Learning, to leave information and map sketches for the map makers, our superiors and colleagues agreed that our voyages simply must not end with this one. Therefore we ask of you - please sponsor another expedition for Cartography Charter! We've reached a consensus that it's about time we gain knowledge about distant republics beyond Eldrican Kingdom."
A) "No, no, you had enough money given to you. Now shoo to your learning chambers!"
B) "Fine, distant west it is this time! Take the money and may God of Travelers bless you!"
C) "Fine, but I have a different idea for where you're going... (specify destination/direction)"
