Bay 12 Games Forum

Year 6, August

Regarding the church: it is assumed that Feroshire has an appropriately sized religious building. I avoid delving too deeply into religion in game, as I have found that it can cause massive derails, unproductive tangents, and hurt feelings.

Another sweltering summer month, and you still focus on the plague gripping the County. You send riders with information on the cures that were found effective towards Denton's and Percival's lands, but find that they are flying the black flags now as well, scaring your riders off. You begin to worry that word will get out that your town is a haven from this disease, and post armed guards on all the roads coming into town with the orders to kill those that won't turn back. You do not want another outbreak.

That being said, the plague has disappeared from your town entirely. Life is getting back to normal. Farming and food production is back to normal, and your harvest should only be slightly below average this year, easily made up by slaughtering a few more sheep or cattle. The tower is finished this month, and you begin to move your supplies in to your designated quarters. The walls should be finished next month, as well.

You are about to send a letter to Silverhills, hoping to inquire as to the use of the mines as a future burial site for plague victims, but are shocked when a small stream of refugees arrive and state the town is abandoned, with numerous dead in the streets. The head refugee says that many of the dead were struck down not by the disease, which was mild, but by panicking citizens driven to riot by the death of a young man breaking the quarantine. A rider sent to investigate corroborates, and informs you that your councillor and head miner, Curtis Stumpf, is among the dead.

You hold the refugees apart from the town for a couple of weeks, to make sure they are not diseased, then incorporate them into the town. You will need to repopulate Silverhills and the mines in the near future if you wish to continue paying for large projects like the walls.

With your gold source cut off for the moment, you hold off on starting another major construction project you had planned, the creation of a series of covered sewers along main thoroughfares. You worry that if you start now, you will lack the funds to see the project through.

Your men stationed as guards on the roads tell you that they have had to kill a few determined refugees who refused to turn back. Word percolates back to you, however, that there are rumors that Curbiston is devastated with the plague, and whispers that the young Count has perished. Your stomach drops after the risks you took to see the boy installed, but you hope that the rumors are just that: rumors.

September beckons, and with it the possibility of cooler weather, which the monk tells you may have an effect on the plague. What will you do, Sir Stone?

+2

Year 6, July

Very pleased with the longevity of this game. My best by far. Quite fun. And the username was the result of me trying to think up a name for a bumbling, evil wizard in... Dungeon Siege 2, I think. The implication being that he was bad at being devious. I always enjoy the Ackbar clip, too, so +1 to that. Without further ado...

You move cautiously forward with life this month, eager to avoid a return of the plague. You divide the city up into four quarters, based on the cardinal directions, and remove the quarantine from each quarter when there are no remaining signs of the plague. By the end of the month, half of the city is plague-free and tentatively back to normal, while the other half only has a few cases of the plague remaining.

Work starts back up slowly, and some progress is made on the walls and tower. The tower should be finished next month, you imagine, barring any horrible setbacks, while the walls are maybe two or three months off, depending on the pace.

You send out letters to your neighbors, inquiring about the state of the plague in their localities. Sir Percival and Denton both report some rather severe cases still ongoing, while the riders sent to Curbiston and Carshire inform you that they did not enter the town or city, because both were flying black flags, indicating pestilence and warning off visitors.

Slightly disturbed, you nevertheless recall Marna, Isaac, and your elite troops. Your wife and son had a bit of a rough month, being quartered with your slightly gruff elite troops, but are unscathed from the encounter. You have a warm reunion, and reacquaint yourself with Marna, before going about the rest of your business.

With the spectre of the plague still looming large, you ask the monk if he will remain in residence at your town, to work with the healer on diseases. He agrees to stay for a trial period, boarding in a simple room at the school. You hope that he will be able to impart some of his wisdom on the town healer.

Finally, you turn your attention to Luther. You want to get the man a horse, and are pleased to find that the breeding program you implemented is starting to produce more hearty steeds that could be used by an armored knight. These foals are still young, but will be of much use in the near future.

For the time being, you put him on the largest steed you can find, and work on his horsemanship. Simply put, the man is a wreck on a horse. His natural ability as a combatant does not transfer to this area, and this will be a long process. However, you make his continued sparring contingent on horsemanship lessons, and hope that he shows some improvement going forward.

What of August?

Acting quickly, you send word to Marna, Isaac, any visiting nobles, and some of your most elite soldiers to take a "hunting trip" in the northern forests. You are sure that they will be safer there than in town. Despite some reservations, you decide to stay in Feroshire, lest the people think you are fleeing from a simple plague.

Marna and Isaac are away that very afternoon, and you set up waystations on the roads: no one out, no one in. You send your regrets to merchants travelling here for the fair, few though they may be, and offer to recoup their travel costs if they return next year.

The plague, unfortunately, is very much established in Feroshire at this point. Despite your best efforts to contain the sickness from spreading, and treating it when it does occur as best as the healer knows how, more and more fall ill. You send riders to the next towns over looking for doctors, but they return empty-handed, saying that other towns are similarly locked down at the moment.

People die. Many people die. Bodies are hauled away to be buried in a mass grave, the sick are separated, but still, people die. By your best count, nearly 35 people perish in May. Most are peasants of little note or travelers trapped by the quarantine, although a few of your soldiers do succumb. Thankfully, despite your presence in town, which does calm the people somewhat, you do not fall sick.

The month is over. The sickness still has its roots deeply in Feroshire, and you are cut off from all other help, it seems. Work stops on the towers and wall; life practically grinds to a halt, with the only business being the hauling of the dead and the frantic letting of the sick's blood. What will you do in this next grim month?

Just to clarify, again: don't call each other names. Don't get heated. Don't be sarcastic. Don't willfully misinterpret statements. If you are mad at the other person, curse at your screen all you want, but do not type out those words. Typing that and posting it makes me mad. Mad me does not want to continue this game. We have been down this road too many times before, and this is truly your last warning. Any additional instances that cross the line will result in a quick "thank you" post, and me locking the thread.

Wow, I'm really in your heads, I guess

Year 6, May

Good job stopping that potential argument. Now, a bit of game mechanics here: the reason you didn't implement all the neat, modern ideas about sanitation and such is that your character would have no idea about them, and I rolled a 1 when you consulted your expert (the healer). I can't just let every bit of modern insight pop into your head from on high.

Ah, the Spring Fair! Many Feroshirians would say this is the best time of the year. Usually, they would be right. This year, however, is anything but joyous.

The month starts inauspiciously enough. Merchants began arriving in dribs and drabs, at a much slower pace than usual. You furrow your brow, but your attention is drawn elsewhere at the moment.

With rumors of illness spreading, you consult with the town healer, who tells you that there is naught much to be done for the plague besides letting of the foul blood. You nod your head grimly, and move your attention elsewhere.

The month is proving to be especially stormy, with construction slowing to a crawl on both the tower and the wall. Still, they are nearly done, and you can see the end just a few short months off. Still concerned about the talk of illness, which is growing more insistent, you order a few men to put together a small hunting lodge in the northern woods.

It is but a few days before the fair arrives, and word reaches you that a sickness is spreading among the people. Their eyes swell shut, then they are struck with a horrible fever, and constriction of the airway. Despite the enthusiastic letting of their befouled blood, a few children and older people have passed away already. You have to make a decision, now: what will you do? Shall the fair go on? Or will you cancel it and retreat to your cabin?

Short roleplaying, go!

For future reference: it is assumed that you are performing your marital duties. No need to suggest.