A letter nailed to a door on a Church...

[ChikenKannon]

Sitting in the stands of the Arena a merchant looking fellow seems quite agitated, looking to the sky to see that it is very nearly sunset. Muttering loudly to himself,

"Ruttin hells. Neither of em showed..."

Both of em must have chickened out, the last part said only in his head. Mr. Hall stood up slowly and dusting himself off before wandering off to see if the day could still be salvaged.

"Bloody Dwarfs...."

[Thralik]

Aalric leaned back as he read the Fleet's letter and sipped his ale. It had been perfect, just perfect. The gambit had worked exactly according to plan. Open conflict had been avoided. Rumours would continue to circulate in people's mind about the weakness of Lochwar , it's clergy and their being afraid to accept a trial by combat. And if the Lochwarians didn't accept this Faustian deal, they would have gained a new powerful enemy, the Cerulian Fleet.

He thought about his village and slain family, remembering the pompous Lochwarian who had refused to heal or raise the fallen unless presented with a kingly sum of gold. Today, a small chink has been made in Lochwar's armour...

[Torquil Lamond]

The door opened, admitting a cool breeze into the stuffy District Guardhouse of the Cerulean Fleet.

The summer often reduced the stone-crafted building to stifling temperatures during the warmest days of the year. Due to the providence of the local harbour, however, and the unique geography of Cape Cear, the city was often filled with a cool, clearing breeze.

Torquil lifted his head, having spent the better part of the afternoon buried in paperwork, and glorified in that breeze.

The door closed, and the Commodore shouted, "Open that door, Corporal! Rhauth above, keep it propped open. Use that armour rack, there—handsomely, now, handsomely—yes, wedged like that, like so. Good man."

The door now stood open, admitting that wonderful breeze. Why hadn't he done that hours ago?

He looked down at his desk, and nodded. That's why. He had spent the afternoon pouring over the Notable Laws of the Empire, and referencing several texts of Varanite jurisprudence alongside it.

The finished product was his latest missive for the Stormbeards, which, further to the agreement with Father Marrent, conveyed the Church's wishes and acknowledgement, as well as the Cerulean Fleet's opinion of the public notice.

He leaned back in his chair, groaning somewhat. His back ached.

He stood up carefully, stretching. With a grunt he handed several copies of the missive to the nearby courier, and the boy set off to deliver them.

A well-crafted letter—inked on fine vellum with an even and well-practiced hand—is delivered to the recipient by a Constable of the Fleet. It is sealed with a dark cyan, azure coloured wax and bears the seal and crest of the Commodore of the Cerulean Fleet.

Opening it would reveal an illuminated depiction of the Fleet's crest, along with its Imperial Designation. The letter body is enclosed below.



Venerable Stormbeards,

I trust this missive meets with the venerable Stormbeards in good health and in promising spirits.

I have had an opportunity to speak at length with Father Marrent of the Church of Lochwar, and we believe that, with some effort on behalf of the Stormbeards, this issue may be worked through to a peaceable conclusion.

Further to our conversation several days ago at your camp, I conveyed to Father Marrent your declarations; i.e., your acknowledgement of Lochwar, your belief and faith in his position (the King of the Gods), and your reluctance to engage in any conflict or violence. He was quite pleased to hear this.

In response, I have faith that the good Father will be willing to look beyond this incident, provided he may have an opportunity to speak with the Stormbeards, both on this unfortunate conflict between mutual citizens, but also in order to convey to you the doctrine and truth of Lochwar and His Church. The good Father subscribes to the polytheistic nature of the Varanite pantheon, and believes all of the gods and goddesses recognized within it are powerful and respectable deities; having said that, he wishes to meet with the Elders of the Stormbeards in the Temple of Brintha at Ravenswatch, as a token of goodwill and respect to the Stormbeards and their patron deity.

I would recommend that the Stormbeards arrive and treat Father Marrent with both deference and respect, as he has been more than reconciliatory in attempting to look beyond this incident. He hopes that, by speaking with you, that the truth of Lochwar may be brought to light, and to cast out whatever misconstructions or misassumptions have been concluded.

On another matter, Stormbeards.

As you are well aware, the public notice you posted over a week ago was contrary to the Laws of the Emperor; as a member of His Imperial Majesty’s Cerulean Fleet, I am bound by duty to investigate and to recommend charges based on such violations of His Law. As you posted notices on both the Mistyvale Inn and the Halls of Justice (located in the Trades and Commons, and affiliated with a government building), I am required, as laid out in my jurisdiction, to pursue charges against you and yours.

I have yet to officially draft the Cerulean Fleet’s declarations in this matter, as I am, of course, waiting until this matter is closed on a diplomatic note. Having said that, however, I would like to point out to the Stormbeards the following edicts they may have breached with their notice:

Article I. Imperial Law

Section 1, paragraph 1 ~ Strictly prohibits anyone who offends with his words or in writing or in any other way disrespects the Emperor or his Governors will be punished swiftly and accordingly. In reference to not only the treatment of the Church of Lochwar in its public posting, but also, by proxy, the disrespect accorded to representatives of His Imperial Majesty’s, the chosen deity of His Imperial Majesty, Lochwar, whom His Imperial Majesty supports and worships.

Article 1, Section 1.2. ~ No part of these laws shall be constructed or construed as contrary to the decrees of the Emperor, or of his appointed governors. Offending statement: "As with all legal documents, the Church of Lochwar has 7 working days to respond. If we hear no response in 7 working days, it will be presumed that all allegations, charges, etc, etc, etc against the Clan have been dropped, never to be revisited."

Article 1, Section 3.5.1. ~ It is forbidden to impersonate any Imperial family member, governmental official, those of the clergy, and those of Imperial forces. Offending statement: "Queen & consort of the Thane". The imperial government does not acknowledge the royalty of the Stormbeards.

Article 1, Section 5, paragraph 2, subparagraph 2 ~ The tampering or destruction of governmental buildings, be they Imperial, Official, or Council, is prohibited. In reference to the attachment of the public notice to the Halls of Justice.

Article 1, Section 14, paragraph 3, subparagraph 1 ~ It is forbidden to cause any act that will cause civil unrest and anarchy in the attempts to bring about the downfall of the Emperor and the Empire. In reference to the hostile and disrespectful tone conveyed within the notice. The Church of Lochwar is an instrumental institution in the Empire, and public insult and denigration to that institution in the form of a martial challenge may be perceived as an act of anarchy in an attempt to bring about the downfall of that institution.

Article II. City Law

Section 8, paragraph 3, subparagraph 8 ~ No public notices are to either be removed or posted, without the express permission of the respective District Governmental Office. Defacement of said notices will also be treated as a breach of said notice, and penalties shall be extracted in a manner that is befitting of the nature of the crime. In reference to the act of posting the public notice.

Article III. Divine Law

Section 1, paragraph 1 ~ The defiling of any holy place of the True Gods is sacrilege. Those found doing so will atone for their desecration. In reference to the attachment of the public notice to the Church of Lochwar in Thrall’s Gate. This is out of the Cerulean Fleet’s jurisdiction, but permission may be sought to pursue this charge irrespective.

Article 3, Section 3.3.3. ~ The public blasphemy of the True Gods is an offense to the civilized people of the Empire, the churches, and the Empire itself. Those found doing so will atone. In reference to the denial of Lochwar as the supreme deity, as laid out in the public notice.

These charges are not finalized as of yet, venerable Stormbeards, and I hope that, based on the goodwill your organisation shows to not only the Church of Lochwar, but to the Cerulean Fleet, that many of these charges may be re-examined.

As you say yourselves, the war with Canas, the encroachment of orcs, beasts and undead that seek to unravel the noble strands of Varanite civilisation, must be met and dealt with. These disputes are uncharacteristic of our self-professed priorities, and it is best if we act to make amends.

I hope this meets with your satisfaction. Brintha keep your forge hot and your hearth warm.

Kind regards,

Commodore Torquil Lamond
The E.M.S. Resolute
His Imperial Majesty's Cerulean Fleet

[vastgoten]

Early morning – the crimson line of the sun rise burns the silhouette of the city Ravenwatch. Father Arghivius climbs the steep road towards the gates. He nods and greets the watchmen with a pleasant smile. Inside the double gates he turns left heading toward the temple of Brintha.

[Thralik]

Aalric walks to the office of the fleet with 2 letters

To Coomodore Torquil Lamond,

Greetings,

Please find enclosed our letter to Father Marrent. As you can see, we have done everything in our power to try to mend the rifts between our 2 groups.

May I make the following comments with regards to the possible charges that you were considering levying against the Clan:

The Clan Elders have interrogated Uzzik who nailed the letters up throughout Cear. He had not been instructed to do this by the Elders - he was supposed to personally deliver the letter to Father Marrent due to it's sensitive nature. Uzzik couldn't find the father & wasn't prepared to pass it on to a neophyte so, on his own volition, he decided to nail the letter to various places so that the Father would definately see it.

Uzzik is sometimes erratic. He means well, but we have found during this incident that his execution leaves something to be desired. He didn't mean any malice by his acts and has steadfastly protested that the one act that might be construed (in his mind) as vandalism, ie scratching the paint of the door, he has paid for by giving a gold coin to an Exemplar.

The Elders have explained in no uncertain terms the error of his ways to Uzzik. He has been censured and also punished. Although as Dwarves we would feel it as a slight upon our honour to give Uzzik to the mercies of the fleet, we can assure you that the punishments that he has recieved (being sent to pandemonium and a possible flogging) are quite severe and possibly even more severe than what the fleet would have sentenced him with, especially due to the circumstances of his "diminished responsibility".

We do hope we can put this matter behind us. We have just heard that one of our Elders has left us and, as we have discussed many times, the Empire is at war. We should all do everything possible to foster unity and not the opposite at this trying time.

signed

The Elders
Clan Stormbeard

Greeting your Eminence Marrent Arghivius, father of the temple of Lochwar at Thrall Gate.

At our last meeting inside the temple of Brintha we shared our thoughts of the religious beliefs. We even shared prayers under your presence.

We elders of the Stormbeard feel that this exactly what you wanted, to share cultural exchange and explain the empires religious doctrine.

The following high ranking clan-members were presented at the meeting. Counselor Ash,
the voice of the Thane, Master Defender Lorval of the military cast and Hagar priest of Brintha.

These individuals are according to us enough to understand and share to the rest of the clan that the Varanite Empire sees Lochwar as the king of gods. All other gods is used when appropriate, just as the prayer you were holding at the meeting. We understand the empires religious view and accept that.

Therefore the religious exchange is not needed according to the elders of the Stormbeard Clan.

We trust that this will conclude any claims and counter-claims between the Clan & the Church of Lochwar. May we all live in peace and brotherhood.



Counselor Ash Stormbeard
Matriarch Kattnar Stormbeard
Runemaster Aalric Stormbeard
Master Defender Lorval Silverbeard

MEANWHILE

Uzzik is walking around Cear when he hears a whisper

"Were you the dwarf that nailed that letter on the door of Lochwar's church?"

"Who wants to know - show yourself"

"Who I am is not important. I have a message"

"And what exactly is this message?"

"Swallow your pride and make peace with the Lochwarians"

"Oh i get it, you're just another of them yellow bellied Lochwarians, too afraid to meet me in the open. Well you can tell your masters...."

"I do not follow the lord of plots"

"So who pulls your strings?"

"The lord of scales"

Uzzik whistles and then mutters,

"this gets better and better all the time...."

[Torquil Lamond]

The District Guardhouse was now empty.

The Commodore looked up as the last prisoner departed. He nodded to the guards, placing the quill he held in his hand back down on his desk. Leaning back, he allowed himself to exhale slowly, a discreet smile forming across his lips.

Everything had been handled diplomatically, yet the law had been equitably upheld. Each person responsible had been charged, and subsequently had served their time. Though the dispute between those incarcerated and the Church would undoubtedly continue, the Fleet had seen to its duty, and had carried it out to the expectations of their original mandate.

Torquil stood, gripping the book that stood before him, and closed it with a sense of finality. Nodding to himself satisfatorily, he locked the book away, grabbed his cloak and helm, and made for the door.

It was time for a quaint, evening patrol.

[vastgoten]

Father Arghivius found himself surrounded by dwarves of the stormbeard clan. He was openly questioned by them. The dwarves made fun of the church and him. They spat at him, and made soundly smelly clouds cover the crossroads as their leader kept discussing as an equal. She did even sound as a superior to him questioning why the Empire allowed slaves. One of the dwarves compared Lochwar with Culnul… the number of uncivilised ironical remarks shocked him. Madmen, heretics… Without honour or sense of Hierarchy.

dwarvesatthralls.jpg

Father Arghivius watched with a concerned expression as the group left Thralls gate, heading north.

Silently he spoke to himself:

"So this is what the law of the province can muster to safeguard its loyal citizens, the very servants of their patron God? This is what I get for defending them? they will never know, or understand." His face showed a genuine disbelief - His eyes turned to watch the body hanging in the cage. "And that is the Inquisitional law he mused."

Stroking his chin he summoned a thrall. "Have that sign polished before sunset" he ordered before he headed south toward Cear…