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[WyrdByrd]

Is the commander's corpse recoverable?

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

Probably, but you will have to look for it.

[Weirdsound]

We promised the turncoats "power, pleasure, and endless rewards," and we should be a demon of our word. Throw a victory feast. Spare no expense to form lavish meals from the dead. For our amusement, force Lord Southbend and his wife to play the role of gracious hosts, and subject them to all manner of humiliation. Perhaps include a depraved ceremony in which we officially make a concubine out of Lurrothel, as she was likely too hurt and tired to fully appreciate the moment the first time around. If we have a few sufficiently loyal servants, we could make them debate over who should receive the honor of becoming Lurrothel's next meal.

Once the party is over, get down to business. Imbue the Imperials who joined us with the souls of the ones we killed. Grant our new minions the memories of their fallen comrades, and the ability to assume their physical appearances.

Send them back to The Empire as many-faced spies to gather information and weaken our enemy from within. Perhaps give some of them concealable wings so that they may move between the Empire and our realms quickly if needed.

[King Zultan]

We promised the turncoats "power, pleasure, and endless rewards," and we should be a demon of our word. Throw a victory feast. Spare no expense to form lavish meals from the dead. For our amusement, force Lord Southbend and his wife to play the role of gracious hosts, and subject them to all manner of humiliation. Perhaps include a depraved ceremony in which we officially make a concubine out of Lurrothel, as she was likely too hurt and tired to fully appreciate the moment the first time around. If we have a few sufficiently loyal servants, we could make them debate over who should receive the honor of becoming Lurrothel's next meal.

Once the party is over, get down to business. Imbue the Imperials who joined us with the souls of the ones we killed. Grant our new minions the memories of their fallen comrades, and the ability to assume their physical appearances.

Send them back to The Empire as many-faced spies to gather information and weaken our enemy from within. Perhaps give some of them concealable wings so that they may move between the Empire and our realms quickly if needed.

+1

[WyrdByrd]

We promised the turncoats "power, pleasure, and endless rewards," and we should be a demon of our word. Throw a victory feast. Spare no expense to form lavish meals from the dead. For our amusement, force Lord Southbend and his wife to play the role of gracious hosts, and subject them to all manner of humiliation. Perhaps include a depraved ceremony in which we officially make a concubine out of Lurrothel, as she was likely too hurt and tired to fully appreciate the moment the first time around. If we have a few sufficiently loyal servants, we could make them debate over who should receive the honor of becoming Lurrothel's next meal.

Once the party is over, get down to business. Imbue the Imperials who joined us with the souls of the ones we killed. Grant our new minions the memories of their fallen comrades, and the ability to assume their physical appearances.

Send them back to The Empire as many-faced spies to gather information and weaken our enemy from within. Perhaps give some of them concealable wings so that they may move between the Empire and our realms quickly if needed.

+1. I like the idea,  but we still have to account for  the remainders of the army.
 After all we wouldn't anyone confusing the message we're trying to send. Furthermore, the disappearance of an entire army can't be dismissed out of hand, no matter how  mundane they were. 
Here's  how I propose we not only rectify this discrepancy, but also advance our goals further.

1: Let the news of mass desertions leak to the surrounding population. Not only will this further shake  their faith in the Empire, it provides the perfect excuse for the Ceaseless Consumption to get involved. As soon as this reaches Avendor,  have our members in the City Council spring into action. In  response to this revolting development, have them push for the implementation and mass deputization of our followers in the area as  "County Wardens", members  of the surrounding community authorized to take action for the protection of their communities and the Empire as a whole, ensuring their safety from threats without and within.  If the motion fails, have the Consumption attempt to form  a group of a similar idea amongst the surrounding town, on the grounds of "if the Empire won't protect us, we have to." Regardless of its legality, their first order of business should be the same: to hunt down the deserters  and their supporters, wherever they may hide, and administer "Imperial justice", through posses spearheaded by Consumption members. In practice, alongside the Consumption's guidance,  any sort of action  should be condoned, so long as the "traitors" end up dead. If they have the time, the Consumption should also use this  opportunity  to infiltrate local militias and members of the Avendor town guard.
2: In order to supply this new influx of armed operatives, arrange for the Avar Society to begin trading and sending caravans up to Avendor and the surrounding villages, using  our council connections to smooth any objections that might occur. The main contents of these caravans should be food  and corrupted arms and armor, though none should be tainted to the degree of easy detection. Hidden within the caravans should be colonies of Worms of Avarice, to be released upon arrival.  At the same time, have the bandits assigned to the Barrow Bows begin raiding supplies coming up river to Avendor, thus cutting off some of the  non-Society aid.   This can work in conjunction with the Consumption's efforts, as most of those arms will  likely be going to anxious  citizens and concerned outfits, people ripe for recruitment. However, the main goal  of this effort is to gain both enough social and financial capital to establish an Avendor branch of the Society, which should begin recruitment amongst the more desperate artisans, rakes unused to  this reduced quality of life, and enterprising entrepreneurs. In exchange  for service, we will meet their needs.
3: Taking a number of criers, heralds, and messengers from our realm, we should imbue these  thralls with supreme deductive and analytical skills, minor mind reading, and  the ability to agitate even the most docile of crowds.   These Voices of Change should be sent to the settlements around Avendor, in preparation for the final stage of this plan.
4:
Pick through the minds of the dead priests, the Legion Commander, and other officers, and use the information, tactical knowledge, and tenants of the religion gained to construct a shocking 'truth': The surviving body of priests  were, in fact, in league with a cadre of Dwarvish artillerists, now far removed from the Empire. In part  a matter of revenge against a perceived failure on the  region as a to provide for the Spears of Caverna, and also simple greed, these treacherous clerics conspired to bring the Legion down with the aid of the dwarves, who had struck a bargain with the desert raiders plaguing the area.  The dwarves would lose an army  that could be fought against them, and the church would be able to prove that  further holy intervention was required.  After murdering the clergy they thought would object to their machinations, these conspirators nearly led the Legion to their deaths, sabotaging them at every turn, and brought  them right into the hands of the raiders. The soldiers  were barely able to repulse the assault, and, were it not for timely intervention of  a patrol from Hennord's Crossing, they might not have been able to survive it at all.  But in the end, the traitors were slain, and their raider host was  broken, sending the shattered remnants back into the woods.
Distribute this "Southbound Expose" to Avendor, and, using our recruits from the Society, ensure it is seen by the learned amongst the city. Shortly thereafter, have our Voices of Change  take up the message, decrying "treacherous faith" and feeding  anti-dwarvish sentiment, ultimately leading to a call for action against those that would dismantle society from the inside. The  Legion "Survivors"  can vouch for this truth.
While all of this is beneficial, it serves as both smokescreen and contribution to one of our more important goals: Further infiltrating the council. Not only can we appeal to them on a personal level through our Consumption pawns, but we also  offer a wide variety of solutions to the situations plaguing them. Be it on a patriotic, economic, or personal interest,  our options have increased considerably.

[KitRougard]

-snip-

-supersnip-

...Oh, by the Four that's bloody detailed. +1 it ALL.

[King Zultan]

-snip-

-supersnip-

...Oh, by the Four that's bloody detailed. +1 it ALL.

+1

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

We promised the turncoats "power, pleasure, and endless rewards," and we should be a demon of our word. Throw a victory feast. Spare no expense to form lavish meals from the dead. For our amusement, force Lord Southbend and his wife to play the role of gracious hosts, and subject them to all manner of humiliation. Perhaps include a depraved ceremony in which we officially make a concubine out of Lurrothel, as she was likely too hurt and tired to fully appreciate the moment the first time around. If we have a few sufficiently loyal servants, we could make them debate over who should receive the honor of becoming Lurrothel's next meal.

Once the party is over, get down to business. Imbue the Imperials who joined us with the souls of the ones we killed. Grant our new minions the memories of their fallen comrades, and the ability to assume their physical appearances.

Send them back to The Empire as many-faced spies to gather information and weaken our enemy from within. Perhaps give some of them concealable wings so that they may move between the Empire and our realms quickly if needed.

+1

First, sorry for the lack of update and responses, I have three tests and a lab report this week.

Second, you can definitely make shapeshifting, memory-stealing, hidden winged spies, but you got a lot of new recruits from the legion. Making them all into that would cost you an incredible amount of power, resources, and followers/slaves.

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

Update will come tonight or tomorrow, and I will be assuming you only make a few into magic spies and have the rest be regular spies so that you don't lose all your power and get turned on by your lieutenants.

[Weirdsound]

Update will come tonight or tomorrow, and I will be assuming you only make a few into magic spies and have the rest be regular spies so that you don't lose all your power and get turned on by your lieutenants.

Sure. I'm fine spending a good deal of power on this, just not enough to put us in a dangerous position.

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

The battle is over. If there are any survivors, they are few and scattered, and you doubt they have much left in the way of sanity after witnessing that endless parade of horrors. You dismiss them from your mind, and gather up the Greshspawn and the remaining deathless knights, leaving the slaughtered, trampled corpses to lie in the mud.  It is a brief journey back to Southbend, and largely uneventful.

When you arrive you find a slight skirmish still going on. A few mages stand on the battlements, blasting zombies that stagger on the field. You realize that since you only ever intended the reanimation field to be a way to harass besieging armies, and the zombies aren’t actually under anyone’s control. Irritating. A simple wave of your hand is enough to keep them randomly wandering about, and you land on the battlements, overlooking your new army.

They stand in clumps. They might have sworn to you, they might have knelt at your feet, but they are still terrified, and some are beginning to regret their choice. Fortunately, you have the perfect cure in mind for that. You announce a grant feast, and cheers rise up from your soldiers – everyone likes not having to work. You suspect many of them are eager to erase memories of the long march down.
You also officially grant Lurrothel the rank of concubine, and make it clear exactly what this means. The sight makes an impression on the soldiers – seeing the sadistic witch who tormented them so horribly in that position makes it clear exactly what they have signed up for.

Once you are satisfied, preparations for the feast are begun. Great fire pits are dug, and men are spitted next to hogs and lambs. Crop storages are taken, the wheat nearly rotten and the fruits on the edge of inedibility, but delicious all the same. Musicians are sent for from Avar, from Henord Crossing, from the various villages which make up your realm, as well as other sorts of servants.
The feast is ready within two days, and it lasts for three. People lie everywhere, stuffed to the point of bursting, but they sit up and eat more. Dancers still dance, although they can barely stand, while soldiers sit around them, demanding more and demanding better, even as they can barely keep their eyes open from exhaustion. Fights break out, over this meal and this musician and this dancer.
Everywhere the Lord and Lady of Southbend are compelled to act as good, gracious hosts, cleaning and serving their guests, keeping food coming, offering any and every service possible. They cannot even cry, as you forbid them to show displeasure.

But at long last, the feast is done. All the food is devoured, the dancing is done, and men and women lie in heaps in a mix of contentment and misery.  The entire castle is suffused with evil, of a different sort than usual. This is not the evil of slaughter and torture, but the evil of indulgence and selfish hedonism.

You roam among the feasters, picking out 20 soldiers, all recently recruited spearmen. Each one of them staggers up from the floor, fear sobering them up. You find yourself distracted, and three of them go mad when you implant the memories, their minds shattering into confused shards. The other seventeen take it relatively well, although they seem somewhat disappointed by the mission, except for two. They depart to begin spying, wings concealed by thin coatings of skin and heavy coats. It will be some time before they reach a useful location.

Caravans begin to flow north from Henord Crossing, supplied by merchants in the Avar Society, using lightly corrupted crops along with armor and weapons with subtle demonic sigils. Worms of Avarice nestle within the crates and hide in stacks of hay. Once more, it will take time for this to pay off, or even to test if it is viable – banditry is on the rise, and if people realize where these caravans are coming from, they may take matters into their own hands. Barrow Bows are put to work to both protect the caravans and destroy rival shipments.

You take one final step to ensure your version of events is what people will hear. 15 town criers are called forth, and imbued with something akin to the power of the Seducers, making every word from their mouth ring true. All survive the experience, even if they are a little shaken, and go north to spread word of treachery and murder.

Finally, as soon as rumors begin to spread that the Legion detachment was defeated or deserted or defected, the two loyal council members act, using the aid of the Ceaseless Consumption to make a political coup, driving one member from the council and replacing her with an ally, blackmailing two others into supporting them, and persuading a fourth to join with them. With a solid majority on the council, several votes are rammed through to funnel wealth into the pockets of your followers, and to fund the immediate raising and arming of a Civil Guard to help ensure Avendor and its surroundings are protected. The Ceaseless Consumption makes up about half their members, with Shapers working day and night to help enhance the strength of those involved. Recruitment efforts are stepped up, with more joining, including, amusingly enough, one of the resistant council member.

Meanwhile, Duthrax works in integrating the remaining Legion soldiers into your army, and Caliwick resumes lessons. Now that your Seekers and Seers actually understand the basics of magic, they learn new spells far easier. In addition, two more join the ranks of the Doom-Seekers.

Caliwick wonders if you wish to focus on any particular sort of magic. He suggests battle magic, support magic, or corruptive magic, but there are many branches you could have your mages work towards, including rituals.

Kreth departs to be among the Barrow Bows and spread further corruption.

What now?

Name: Klx-Dryklfx

Time: 9 months

Physical Might: 92 +6 ( +3 feasting, +4 evil, + 34 worship, - 8 leakage, -10 Worms of Avarice, -40 mutation, -15 Voices of Change)

Mental Might: ] 92 +6 ( +3 feasting, +4 evil, + 34 worship, - 8 leakage, -10 Worms of Avarice, -40 mutation, -15 Voices of Change)

Cults

The Ceaseless Consumption
  Members: 7 seducers, 1 high seducer, 3 Shapers, 16 peons, 3 members of the city council in Avendor, 431 Civil Guardmen
  Resources: 8 (+ 8 government corruption)
  Power: 24 (10 spent recruiting, 3 spent training, 5 spent worshipping, 2 spent spreading rumors)
The Avar Society
  Members: 1 seducer, 25 peons, 19 merchants, 11 artisans
Resources: 2 (+5 donations, -3 party)
Power: 4(4 spent throwing parties)
17 mutated spies
15 Voices of Change
Fortresses

Canord
   Strong walls (45), Deep moat (25), Thorn Wall (25), Weak wards (15), Traps (15) Demonic crops, plentiful mines, Strong aura of domination.
Avar
  Basic Walls (25), Living Ward (15), Demonic Mud Moat (20)
Castle Southbend
  Strong Walls (35), Strong Wards (30), Moat (20), Gargoyle Guards (15), aura of reanimation (-4 slaves/week)
Demonic Realm
2400 Peons
1 Doom-Seer, 2 Doom-Seekers, 313 Slaves, 4 Dark Priests
75 resources (-20 trade, - 20 feasting)
+28 power/week, + 20 resources/week
Slight corruption
Demonic Armies
11 Reavers, 2 Doom-Seekers, 50 thralls, 100 zombies in Canord
The Broken – 821 chaff (46 thralls, 441 zombies, 227 skeletons, 17 wisp wights, 89 weeping sores), 701 light infantry (400 Spear-Thralls, 2 Spear-Thrallherds, 297 Sword-Thralls, 2 Sword-Thrallherds), 269 heavy infantry (27 Demon-Touched , 1 Demon-Touched Thrallherd, 199 wisp-wretches, 42 heavy swordsman), 332 ranged (313 Archer-Thralls, 2 Archer-Thrallherds, 17 slingers), 30 mages (2 Doom-Seers, 30 Doom-Seekers), 315 heavy cavalry( 5 mounted god-slayers, 310 deathless knights), 23 Infiltrators (18 Hunters, 5 Night-Stalkers), 28 support (15 Dark Priests, 1 Dread Priest, 12 Shapers), 10 siege (8 armored brutes, 2 crushers), 17 incorporeal(17 specters), 180 scouts (rangers), 17 flyers (17 Gresh-spawn) in Southbend
Barrow Bows – 168 scouts (rangers), 39 light infantry (bandits) in between Avar and Southbend
Champions
Kreth Woemaker
   Physical might: 25 (+10 worship, - 8 corruption)
   Mental might: 25 (+10 worship, - 8 corruption)
   Other: Magic Cloak, worshipped by the Barrow Bows

Duthrax Soul-Render, First of the Thrall-Herds
  Physical might: 9 + 1
  Mental might: 5+ 1
  Other: Duelist, skilled commander, zombie horse, Herald

Lurrothel, Weaver of Nightmares
  Physical might: 3
  Mental might: 8
  Other: Necromancer, skilled at wards and dream magic, pregnant with your child
Caliwick the Arch-Necromancer
   Physical might: 2
   Mental might: 11
   Other: Necromancer, Soulbond, Living Legend

Artifacts

Desecrator
  +6 physical, +6 mental
  Bringer of unholy rot, Reanimator, Focus of Power

Magic Cloak
  Unknown properties

Herald
  +2 physical, + 2 mental
    Inspiring song, crimson regeneration

[Detoxicated]

Well corruption magic seems Like the obvious choice. With IT we can create the Land in a Fashion we desire. I would actually suggest to have some mechanics to Work with the mages to apply Knowledge to areas aplicable.

IT IS important to begin building better roads between Our Holdings and to Establish a light cavalry to Scout Our region for enemies and interesting Locations. Payl each settlements a Village and considering establishing demons AS Barons for Locations.

[Weirdsound]

Well corruption magic seems Like the obvious choice. With IT we can create the Land in a Fashion we desire. I would actually suggest to have some mechanics to Work with the mages to apply Knowledge to areas aplicable.

IT IS important to begin building better roads between Our Holdings and to Establish a light cavalry to Scout Our region for enemies and interesting Locations. Payl each settlements a Village and considering establishing demons AS Barons for Locations.

Roads are important. Perhaps we can round up the zombie that were reanimated in battle and form them into a road building crew to connect our settlements.

Aside from that, I think we should bide our time, encourge worship, build strength, and wait for the next opportunity to present itself.

[WyrdByrd]

How did our Southbound Expose turn out? Any marked increase in anti-dwarf or anti-priest sentiment?

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

So far, there is nothing major, just an undercurrent of tension.