Warsinger James Baldwin (read this if TXT) 📖

sifting through the wreckage have no choice but to drink contaminated water and dispose of their waste in open gutters.

This quest comprises two sub-quests:

The World Beneath – Part 1: The Fol Alugut, Karhad’s ancient sewer line, is backing up and disgorging toxic sludge onto the streets. The filth is leading to outbreaks of disease that threaten your population’s safety and may lead to riots. Discover the cause of the blockage and remove it to restore hygiene to your city.

The World Beneath – Part 2: Restore Karhad’s water supply by employing an engineer to repair the Great Conduit, the system that pumps water to the city’s public wells and plumbing. Consult your Kingdom Management Menu to review your options.

Difficulty: Moderate (Level 20-25)

Rewards: 1400 EXP, 50 Build Points, Unlock New Locations (Karhad Bathhouse, Tannery, Fertilizer Production), +200 Renown (Myszno, Renown (Karhad).

Special: Complete this quest within 7 days to earn bonus rewards. Quest must be completed within 27 days.

This quest was probably going to teach me more about waste management than I ever wanted to know. I accepted it with a sigh. “Alright, thanks, Alan. Now, issue me the ones for the marketplace and whatever else you need. We’ll get to them all – somehow.”

Chapter 5

By the time the Great Hall was empty, we had a lot of quests. An unbelievable quantity of quests. Twenty-three different titles sat in my special Kingdom Quest pane, conveniently organized by urgency - which meant they were not organized at all, because every single one had equal priority and they all had to be completed within twenty-seven days.

“What the actual fuck, Istvan?” I had my face in my hand, massaging my brow to try and release some of the tension there. “Is Ignas trying to kill me? Like, death by a thousand cuts or something?”

“This isn’t Ignas’ doing,” Istvan replied. He was stuffing a long ebony pipe with what looked and smelled like really good weed - the same herb that his partner, Vash, also liked to smoke. “Andrik was still Volod when the invasion first occurred.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s right. This is his fault.” The massaging intensified. “Is that everything for today, or…?”

“The Royal Herald’s cruiser was docking when I went to retrieve the guards,” he remarked, waving a flame over the plug of leaves and testing it. “Shall I summon them?”

“Might as well.” I sighed and slumped back. “I’m already sitting on top of this shit sandwich with shit cheese and extra shit sauce. Might as well throw in a pickle on top. Fuck, I’m terrible at this.”

Istvan regarded me for a moment, lips pulled to one side. “You’re being too hard on yourself, Hector.”

“Hard on myself? Dude, I’m down to 1087 Renown in Myszno. That keeps me in the ‘Public Figure’ category by seven points.”

“If you judge yourself by your Renown alone, you will go mad. It goes up and down, like the price of iron or the value of currency. This was your first court session, and you handled the chaos satisfactorily. The noble families of Racsa have come away from this meeting calmer, the commoners are placated-”

“I should have come out of this with more Renown, not less. I’ve been Voivode less than a day.”

Istvan took a long hit off his pipe, and shook his head. He held the smoke and exhaled. I wordlessly held out a hand and made the ‘gimme gimme’ fingers at it.

“Have you gone through the Kingdom Management System tutorials yet?” he asked, passing the pipe.

“I haven’t had time.” I took a grateful toke and slumped back into my chair.

As if to emphasize my words, the door at the end of the Great Hall cracked open, and a small but impressive woman strode on through. She was dressed in men’s clothing, which in Vlachia consisted of a long scarlet coat over a black tunic, breeches, and high boots. She wore a fine fur-trimmed cap, with a hookwing feather jutting up in front, and carried a saber on her hip. I gave Istvan his pipe back, straightened up and prepared for Quest Number Twenty-Four.

When the woman reached the dais, she bowed deeply, sweeping the feather along the floor. “Good afternoon, Your Grace. I am a Royal Herald of the House of Corvinus, and I bear a letter and a message from His Majesty. Volod Ignas Corvinus the Third, king of Vlachia and Prince of Taltos.”

“A letter AND a message?”

“Yes, Your Grace. I have one written message and one spoken message.” She reached into her satchel and pulled out a slim scroll case, and from there she removed a roll of stamped vellum and handed it to Istvan. He took it, and handed it to me.

[You have obtained Key Item: Royal Charter - A letter affirming your new noble title and outlining your responsibilities as Voivode, as well as your duties to the king.]

I was reminded of the draft letter that had changed my life for the weird. The idea of trying to read anything right now made me nauseous, so I folded it into my Inventory and focused on the herald. “Thanks for coming all this way. What’s the message?”

The Herald drew her heels together with a small click. Her eyes focused on a point past my head, and she began to recite.

“Hector, congratulations on your victory. Now that you have your charter, be sure to consolidate and personalize your province as you see fit, within the limits set out by law. There have been two significant developments in the conflict with Ilia. Firstly, my spies report that Baldr Hyland is amassing an army in the capital of Liren and plans to mobilize against one of several potential targets. Secondly, Rutha of Vasteau has awoken from her coma and has important information for us. She is to give a formal testimony in Parliament. Representatives from each White Sail Alliance nation will also be there to hear her speech. I require that you attend the Royal Courts at the Orlihatz on the day Boseg Hava 5th, at midday.”

Rutha? My heart