-Carolin Argon
]]>
This is just outside the West Gate. Be cautious, friends.
*Signed*
Daria Black
The AML is currently looking to stockpile the following materials. If you have any to sell, please see Severath Reznik.
Metals
Shadow Iron at 2 Gold per Ingot
Leather
Plain Leather at 1 Gold per 2 Strips
-Severath Reznik
]]>Blacksmithy.
And a functional, working service with the following craft(s):
Tinkering
Tailoring
Bowcraft & Fleching.
Quality not guaranteed on secondary craft items.
*Signed*
Daria Black,
Your local, go to, everything fix-it woman, and Blacksmith.
MATERIAL COSTS
In addition to being used to determine cost of an item, these prices will be used for when the AML and its members buy materials from local resource gatherers.
METAL INGOTS
Iron = 0.5 gold per ingot.
Dull Copper = 1 gold per ingot.
Shadow Iron = 2 gold per ingot.
Copper = 3 gold per ingot.
Bronze = 5 gold per ingot.
Gold = 10 gold per ingot.
Agapite = 12 gold per ingot.
Verite = 15 gold per ingot.
Valorite = 25 gold per ingot.
LEATHER STRIPS
Plain = 0.5 gold per strip.
Spined = 2 gold per strip.
Horned = 4 gold per strip.
Barbed= 6 gold per strip.
MISCELLANEOUS
Diamonds = 10 gold per gem.
Gems = 5 gold per gem.
Glass Bottles = 3 gold per bottle.
Plain Cloth = 0.5 gold per yard, or 1 Gold per 2 yards
Reagents = 0.5 gold per plant, or 1 Gold per 2 reagents
Wood = 0.2 gold per board, or 1 Gold per 5 boards
Feathers = 0.1 gold per feather, or 1 Gold per 10 feathers
EXQUISITE ITEMS
Items of Exquisite Quality may have their prices raised by up to 20% rounded up of the normal cost to make them. The League recommends the amount be based on your skill level in the craft for non combat items and for one’s skill in arms lore to determine the amount for Armor and Weapons. While ultimately one can charge the maximum regardless of their skill, it is the belief of the AML that the quality of products will speak for themselves and anyone inflating their prices without the skill to back up the price will ultimately sell less and only hurt their business.
LABOR COSTS
The AML price guide allows for an inclusion of labor cost into the price items. This will be a flat rate of between 5-10 gold.
REPAIR FEES
Repair fees will be a flat cost of between 0 and 3 gold regardless of the type of item.
Example Cost of an Exquisite Shadow Iron Longsword
Ingots Used: 8 Ingots
Shadow Iron Ingot Cost Per Ingot: 2 Gold
Materials Costs: 8x2= 16 Gold
Exquisite Cost Increase of 20%
16 Gold x 1.2 = 19.2
Rounded up to 20 Gold
Inclusion of Labor Cost of 7
20+7 = 27 Gold
Grand Total Cost of an Exquisite Shadow Iron Longsword: 27 Gold
-Severath Reznik
]]>The guards attention was diverted from the silent metal doors as the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. “Huh… feels early, change in shift already?”
The second guard turned his head left and right as he entered the hallway. His movements were slow and purposeful, even for a military man. “I heard we have some high-profile guests?” the new guard asked in a refined tone.
“Yeah, guess you could say that...” the first guard answered as he motioned to one of the cells. “Some guy who kept calling himself an Arkwright, part of that group in Wallside that-”
In a single fluid motion, the second guard had gripped the first by the top of the head, and tilted his neck backward; driving a long knife upward in the same moment. The blade went between the bottom on the helmet and gorget, coming upward through the soft flesh in the middle of the jaw, through the roof of the mouth and into the brain cavity.
Mercurio Valmont hummed gently as he withdrew the knife, letting the guard fall to the floor unceremoniously. He then walked to the cell door as he withdrew a lockpick. The fallen guard had a keyring, but picking the lock would actually be faster than working through the various keys.
“Alright, Bertram...” Mercurio said as he felt the lock give way. “Don’t get too comfortable in there, Oliver has some questions he wants to ask you.” Mercurio pushed the door open and looked downward, his eyes narrowing. “Fucking damn it...” he hissed through his teeth.
“You’re going to have to repeat that...” Oliver stated gravely, several hours later.
“Looks like it was poison. Something high grade, probably a spider or scorpion venom with minimal alteration,” Mercurio explained as he picked up a glass of wine and sat across from Oliver.
“You’re absolutely certain… There’s no chance the food in the prison cells just turned foul?”
“I know my poisons, Oliver. This wasn’t some accidental fungus. I checked a couple other prisoners… someone poisoned the food and purged out all the cells.”
“Fucking hell...” Oliver snarled as he bolted upright, his chair falling over. “Bertram wasn’t just a senior enforcer… He was a damn Arkwright. He was blood. This is unforgivable, they’ve lost any chance to handle this diplomatically.”
“Need me to take care of it?” Mercurio asked as he inspected the color of his wine glass, turning it left and right gently.
“As much as I want to make sure this gets done right… I believe I have a more pressing issue for you, back in Cove. It’s a sensitive issue that I need handled quickly and discretely.”
“Sounds good. Just pay me for the last job and I’ll get right on it,” Mercurio stated not in sarcasm but as a statement of fact.
“Excuse me?” Oliver asked. “I hired you for the retrieval of Bertram. I don’t see him here.”
“I did my work flawlessly and Bertram was denied from you due to circumstances beyond my control. I’m still getting paid. If you don’t like it you can hire someone else for the Cove job.”
Oliver rolled his eyes gently. “Speak to Solomon outside. He’ll see about your payment. You know, if you were anyone else… I wouldn’t tolerate you speaking to me like that.”
“Good thing I’m not anyone else, then,” Mercurio stated as he took a sip of wine before setting the glass down. “If your little mercenary problem hasn’t been cleaned up by the time I get back from Cove, I’d be happy to take care of that as well.”
]]>“How many are there this time?” Joan asked from inside the open doorway. She opened a bottle of vintage wine to help usher her brother back inside and began to pour three glasses for those present.
“Too many. More than last time. Between mass-recruitment and recalling soldiers from every corner of the map, there are at least twice as many soldiers in the city as there were five years ago.” Oliver nearly slammed the balcony doors shut as he reentered the suite.
“Calm down, Oliver...” Solomon asked in a firm voice. He nodded briefly to Joan as she passed him his glass of wine, before turning back to Oliver. “The family has experienced many highs and lows over the years, but we’ve always survived.”
“This is different. The plague has all but spread to our doorsteps and now we’re trapped in here with an ever-growing population of uniformed pricks. Our businesses are being shut down left and right. Agents of the family are being arrested left and right. Nothing gets in or out of the harbor without flying military colors and our exports have been crippled as a result.”
“I’m not normally one to agree with Oliver’s temper tantrums...” Joan chimed in with an audible sigh. “But they executed Marcel, last night. Even a few years ago, when the plague was further away and the military was more relaxed… they never would have pulled something like that. It would have gone to trial and we would have bought his way out. They’ve never given the rope to someone so high in the family, before. Tensions are high and we’ve turned into glorified scape-goats in the eyes of the bureaucracy. ‘No shipment this week? Blame the Arkwrights. Soldiers turned up missing? Blame the Arkwrights. Crime rates are up? Blame the Arkwrights.”
“The price we pay for the business we chose,” Solomon replied sharply. “Half the things they blame us for are actually true, after all.”
“And the other half is due to their own incompetence, but you don’t see them stringing up Sergeants and Magistrates,” Oliver sneered as he grabbed his glass of wine and downed half of it before slumping into his seat. “Things need to change. We need to leave Cove.”
“I beg your pardon?” Solomon asked as he leaned forward, his voice taking a grave tone. “Your father would never approve of you uprooting the family.”
“He doesn’t really have a say in the matter, does he?” Oliver challenged, much to the dismay of both Joan and Solomon.
“Your father has helmed the family syndicate for thirty years, you can’t just-”
“Twenty-nine years,” Oliver corrected sharply. “For the last year my father has been so bed ridden we can barely prop him up long enough to finish his soup. I don’t like it better than anyone else here but the reality of the situation is that my father barely has the strength to speak, let alone lead the syndicate.”
“What exactly are you proposing?” Joan asked.
“Cove is overrun with military and overzealous bureaucrats… They’re in a panic and they’ve pulled all of their resources from every outer territory. They’ve left a lot of their other cities to the wolves, so I say we take one of them for ourselves. I was thinking Altmere… The capital City of Altmere to be specific; named after the greater district it represents.”
“What makes you think you can hold it?” Solomon asked.
“The family has a small army under its command. An army gathering dust as we cower in the shadow of the Covian flag. We have the raw manpower to control the city abandoned by its protectors. We can establish foothold by taking over businesses, get people in debt to us with gambling and loan sharking… Once we have a presence we overthrow the local government outright and finally declare the Arkwright name one of nobility.” Oliver smirked triumphantly as he leaned back and finished his glass of wine.
“You can’t just con and back-stab your way to nobility, Oliver…” Solomon explained as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Who said you can’t? How do you think the current nobles got their titles? During a time of hardship, their ancestors took advantage of a bad situation and came out on top. Enough time passed, and now everyone just takes for granted that their spawn is better than everyone else. We take over Altmere, and everyone hates us for it for a few years. Eventually they accept it, and then later they take it for granted that that’s how it always was.”
“Cove won’t be happy about it… They won’t just let you walk in and claim their city,” Joan stated with concern.
Oliver perked a brow as he turned and motioned out the window. “Do you hear that marching? That’s the sound of Covian military hiking up their kilts and scurrying home. If they had the resources to protect Cove AND Altmere, they would. But they can’t and they’re not. For all they know Altmere will now be consumed by the undead horde. They’ll be pissed that we claimed Altmere but it will still be standing, and they’ll owe us for that. They’ll trade with us and tolerate the change in management out of necessity. Too many mainland nations have fallen for them to get picky about who they bargain with.”
“I’m not leaving Cove,” Joan stated firmly. “Things are hard right now, but this is where our roots are planted. We’ve invested too much to give it all up now.”
“The family is dying, Joan…. We can’t keep things going like they are now,” Oliver protested.
“Enough,” Solomon said as he lifted a hand. “We’re at a crossroads here… With your father out of commission, you both have equal control of the families interests. We need to find a solution you can both be happy with. Now, I was your fathers adviser for years… And if you’ll let me, I think I may have a compromise.”
The two siblings looked between each other briefly before turning back to Solomon.
“First of all…” Solomon said as he laced his fingers together on the table, his expression looked deep in thought. “Oliver is right, things cannot continue the way they have been. Cove has adopted a zero-tolerance for crime and we cannot continue the majority of our operations under this political climate. But uprooting the family in its entirety does not sound ideal to me, either… So… I propose that the two of you split the families assets. Oliver will take the majority of the families enforcers. Our numbers in Cove will be quite small as a result, but that will help us maintain a low profile. Joan will stay here, retaining the family businesses and this estate. We’ll be operating on a smaller scale, but we don’t have much choice at the moment.”
“What about the family vault?” Oliver asked eagerly. “I’ll need funding for this.”
“The vault’s contents stay where they are, here in Cove. Joan is going to need those funds to keep the family out from under the Baron’s boot heel. You’ll be given some start-up capital, and that’s all. Besides, if you’re going to be taking over an entire city; it’s for the best that you arrive hungry. You’ll be more eager to start staking claim, that way.”
Oliver scowled gently. “Fine… Joan gets ninety percent of the vault, but I get ninety percent of the enforcers.”
“I’d rather we each take eighty percent, respectively… That way neither of us is too crippled by the arrangement,” Joan suggested.
“Deal,” Oliver answered eagerly as he stood and shook his sisters hand. With a confident grin, he then walked across the room and began to browse the wine shelf. “Do we have any Altmere vintage? I should start getting a taste for it.”
]]>ALTMERE NEEDS MINERS, LUMBERJACKS, AND CARPENTERS!!!!!
Are you a miner, lumberjack, or Carpenter? Then Altmere needs you. With the Orcs from the west vanquished and the Undead temporarily pushed back, we must act. We must build a new wall to keep the city safe. Altmere needs every able bodied Miner, Lumberjack, and Carpenter that's willing to help get the job done. Your work of course will not go without pay and we plan to offer you a fair wage. Help keep Altmere safe. Help keep our home safe.
-Inquire with Severath Reznik, Master of the Forge, at The Razor's Edge Forge or at his home in the West End of Altmere.
]]>But we're closed today as we clean up a mess from a burglary. We'll reopen tomorrow.
-Staff Member, Carolin Argon
]]>Dear Mom,
Today, I got to put my archery skills to the test. One of the locals named Finn was looking to round up a few people to deal with some zombies and cultists south of the city. I volunteered to take a look with him. We managed to take down a few zombies on our own, but had to retreat to the safety inside the walls. After a bit, we managed to round up a few others to help us. Finn seemed very fixated on getting this done now. I think he was worried about them attacking the city first. We cleared out a ton of zombies, skeletons, some ghost thingeys, and what Chancellor Keres called a Lich. We're hoping to build barricades and possibly a wall in that area to stem the tide of undead. There was a lot more to the fight, but most of it has to do with the others on the raid.
I've met a lot of people in my life, but the few I've met over the last few weeks, are easily the most interesting. Most of the people on today's raid fall into the interesting box. Take Finn, he's easily the bravest man I've ever met. When the cultists came at us the first time, he made sure to get himself between me and the big nasty so I could escape. He put himself in harm's way even though it could have killed him. Then again, with how good he seems to be with several kinds of weapons, I could also not really have a feel for how strong he is.
Then there's Chancellor Keres. Chancellor Keres is, lets say different. He was the captain of the mage division of the army here in Altmere, but a lot of convoluted stuff has happened, and now he's the Chancellor and adviser to the Count. I have never seen someone act so casually in a fight. It was awe inspiring and terrifying at the same time. He dispatched zombie after zombie with such ease. It really made me feel small, like what I did in the fight didn't matter. And I guess you can say, what I did, didn't matter. I missed more than half my shots and I think I accidentally hit Finn at one point. If there's one thing I learned today, it's that I have a long way to go. I just hope I have time to get good enough to truly help out besides serving beers after the battle.
One of the others that joined was Eli. She's a powerful mage, but can also kick ass with a blade and shield it would seem. That seemed to be her weapon of choice in today's fight. In the few times I've met her at the Tavern, she's been really quiet. But the kind of quiet I sense from her is the same sense of quiet I sense when I serve some of the soldiers and mercs. I get the feeling she's seen and experienced a lot of the world's nastiness. I can sympathize with that. Wallside can be very cruel as you know more than anyone else mom.
There was another guy that went with us, who's name I've blocked out and have replaced it with Mister McChestStare. He says he was some kinda of merc, but when he fought it was all murder frenzy and laughing like a mad man. Then when we got back to town, he couldn't hold his liquor. After only a drink or two, he got all "Oh Carolin, you've got such great tits,". You know, the usual bull shit. He even took a swing at Dyre, but Dyre put him on his ass real quick. While he was out cold, I managed to get a few handfuls of gold from McChestStare's coin purse. I figure, he's gonna start shit in my Tavern, it's the price of admission. I'm just glad he didn't try to get all handsey. I'm gonna have a real nice talk with him the next time I catch him sober.
Bye for now mom, I'll write again to you soon.
Your daughter,
Carolin Argon
Covian forces reportedly suffered heavy casualties during their breakout.
Following a pitched battle before the walls of Altmere, in which a large orcish warband advancing on the city from Avaricia was destroyed, the city's Covian Army garrison has marched off in the direction of Cove in what appears to have been an unannounced - and possibly unplanned - withdrawal from Altmere. Sources say that Commander Osric Orson, the garrison's commanding officer, led a force comprising the majority of the Covian Army's locally stationed personnel in a sortie from the east gate with the stated intention of providing a diversion for a raid on the siege camps by the militia. However, no sooner had the garrison formed up beyond the gate than a large warband of orcs exited the treeline and advanced on them! Showing their characteristic discipline and valor, the army held firm and prevailed despite being vastly outnumbered. The cheers from the walls soon died to confused murmuring, however, when instead of returning to the safety of the walls the garrison pressed on and continued their march on the road to Cove! For several minutes the assembled crowds watched in growing panic as the Covian banners disappeared over the horizon, all the while half-expecting them to about-face and return. When that did not happen, the remaining troops - now noticed to comprise solely of local recruits - dispersed the crowd. A tense silence, like the hours before a storm breaks, has since settled over the city.
Questions abound. Was the retreat from Altmere planned? If it was, was the plan authorized? By whom? Did the Count know about it, and, if so, why did he not depart with the rest of the Covian authorities? This alone maintains hope that perhaps this withdrawal was part of a larger effort. Perhaps the Baron of Cove has not forsaken his frontier holdings, and even now an army gathers in Covianshire, preparing to march to our relief? Already the city's refugee population whispers that Altmere has taken the first step toward meeting the same fate as Blackwell and countless other villages. But it seems difficult to believe that Cove would abandon Altmere, the last defensible position between the North and the plague-wracked world beyond. And if that is indeed what has happened, who now rules Altmere? Does not the Count's authority stem from his appointment as governor by the Baron of Cove? What is the status of the city's mage population, now that the Army has withdrawn, and service can no longer guarantee them sanction to work their talents?
For now, this writer sees only one silver lining in this cloud of uncertainty: the militia's raid on the west camp, now revealed to have been a diversion for the eastern force's breakout, was an unexpected and resounding success. Caught by surprise, the orcs were unable to stop the raiders from entering their encampment and destroying their stores. What's more, an undermining tunnel filled with explosives was discovered, and the orcs' own blasting powder turned against them. The militia retreated to the safety of the walls just in time to witness the orcs' main camp explode in a shower of dirt, splintered wood, and bewildered greenskins. The remaining orcs seem to have retreated into the wilderness, but they doubtless remain in the region in great numbers. For now, though, the siege has been lifted. Whether that remains the case will yet be seen.
*Signed*
Marah Ulfing, esq.
Editor-in-Chief