02-23-2016, 11:40 AM
Darkshire felt a little brighter these days.
It wasn’t a change that was dramatic, and it was something that would take a long while before it began to pay dividends. No matter what way you cut it, though, the town was on the upswing. The Moors were still an abysmal place, but the recent ‘reorganization’ of the town’s government had removed much of the sullenness that had pervaded Darkshire over the last few months.
After a month spent ensuring that most of the disgruntled elites of the old regime had been ‘pensioned off,’ Shang was able to enjoy some solace. He spent his days much like he imagined any victorious general or successful CEO would—relaxing and planning for the next grand step. With the Spartan as the middle-man between the council and the military, Shang had a direct link to the institution at the core of Darkshire. The sorcerer made sure that the militia always received their checks when they came due, and while the town was still trying to make up for months of a shrinking economy, he was doing what he could to provide them with better equipment.
Shang—and the rest of the council, for that matter—knew that they needed to find a stable revenue source for the town. The assortment of estates that tried to survive through farming in the Moors provided some fleck of income through taxation, but it wasn’t enough. They needed more lucrative trading deals from outside the verse, which was the responsibility of the business-savvy individuals on the council.
As Dobson and the politicos were dealing with the internal workings of the town, that left Shang and Demetri to deal with the military.
The sorcerer liked Demetri. He was one of those zero frills, no-nonsense types that was just blunt enough to be enjoyable without coming off as a prude or a walking, talking piece of stone. Demetri, someone who had worked his way up through the Town Guard’s hierarchy, agreed that they needed to create some sort of unifying objective beyond ‘survival.’
For too long, Darkshire had been in survival mode.
The two men sat in a small room sipping on piss-poor beer.
“We take the fight to the rest of the Moors, then.” Shang remarked, his eyes on the map they’d laid out on the table between them. “We secure our lifeline to the gate, and then we move into the interior.”
“What’s the goal?” Demetri asked—wanting to cut to the chase.
“You know.”
“Dracula?”
“Is there any other goal?” Shang asked, glancing up from the map. Demetri nodded his head as he stared at the area of the Moors where Dracula resided.
“It’s a long march. An army capable of defeating the Count would be ravaged by that long a march, even if we secure a stable route. The logistics of providing food and provisions for so vast a distance… it’d be a nightmare for any quartermaster.”
Shang nodded his head as his eyes fell to a small landmark pin on the map. “We need to find a waypoint…” He said as he placed his thumb on the half-ruined image of Poenari Castle. “Here. Almost sixty percent of the distance between us and him… it’s got to be large enough to hold any army we can field.”
“Poenari?” Demetri asked, prompting a nod from Shang. “Won’t do… that place is infested with monsters.”
At that, the sorcerer threw his head back and laughed. “The entire fucking Pale Moors is infested with monsters. Hell, this town has its fair share of monsters.”
The military man grimaced. “That place has been in ruins and infested since the war ended. Even if we could clear it, it would require countless resources and manpower to repair and reinforce its walls.”
“That’s fine,” Shang answered. “You think we’re going to march out next week? Time is something we need a lot of to make any of this happen. Time to make this town a little more lucrative. Time to create an effective military. Time to field an army to recapture the Moors.”
Demetri nodded his head. “So what? We send a probing force to Poenari?”
“I’ll go and take a small gang with me,” Shang remarked. “You’ll have to remain here and ensure that everything continues to run smoothly. Dobson’s still green when it comes to being the head man, and you’ll need to make sure those bureaucrats and politicians don’t try to abuse that.”
“Of course,” Demetri remarked as he looked down at the map one more time. “Bold plan you have for the Moors.”
Shang smiled. “You can thank me when this works.”
It wasn’t a change that was dramatic, and it was something that would take a long while before it began to pay dividends. No matter what way you cut it, though, the town was on the upswing. The Moors were still an abysmal place, but the recent ‘reorganization’ of the town’s government had removed much of the sullenness that had pervaded Darkshire over the last few months.
After a month spent ensuring that most of the disgruntled elites of the old regime had been ‘pensioned off,’ Shang was able to enjoy some solace. He spent his days much like he imagined any victorious general or successful CEO would—relaxing and planning for the next grand step. With the Spartan as the middle-man between the council and the military, Shang had a direct link to the institution at the core of Darkshire. The sorcerer made sure that the militia always received their checks when they came due, and while the town was still trying to make up for months of a shrinking economy, he was doing what he could to provide them with better equipment.
Shang—and the rest of the council, for that matter—knew that they needed to find a stable revenue source for the town. The assortment of estates that tried to survive through farming in the Moors provided some fleck of income through taxation, but it wasn’t enough. They needed more lucrative trading deals from outside the verse, which was the responsibility of the business-savvy individuals on the council.
As Dobson and the politicos were dealing with the internal workings of the town, that left Shang and Demetri to deal with the military.
The sorcerer liked Demetri. He was one of those zero frills, no-nonsense types that was just blunt enough to be enjoyable without coming off as a prude or a walking, talking piece of stone. Demetri, someone who had worked his way up through the Town Guard’s hierarchy, agreed that they needed to create some sort of unifying objective beyond ‘survival.’
For too long, Darkshire had been in survival mode.
The two men sat in a small room sipping on piss-poor beer.
“We take the fight to the rest of the Moors, then.” Shang remarked, his eyes on the map they’d laid out on the table between them. “We secure our lifeline to the gate, and then we move into the interior.”
“What’s the goal?” Demetri asked—wanting to cut to the chase.
“You know.”
“Dracula?”
“Is there any other goal?” Shang asked, glancing up from the map. Demetri nodded his head as he stared at the area of the Moors where Dracula resided.
“It’s a long march. An army capable of defeating the Count would be ravaged by that long a march, even if we secure a stable route. The logistics of providing food and provisions for so vast a distance… it’d be a nightmare for any quartermaster.”
Shang nodded his head as his eyes fell to a small landmark pin on the map. “We need to find a waypoint…” He said as he placed his thumb on the half-ruined image of Poenari Castle. “Here. Almost sixty percent of the distance between us and him… it’s got to be large enough to hold any army we can field.”
“Poenari?” Demetri asked, prompting a nod from Shang. “Won’t do… that place is infested with monsters.”
At that, the sorcerer threw his head back and laughed. “The entire fucking Pale Moors is infested with monsters. Hell, this town has its fair share of monsters.”
The military man grimaced. “That place has been in ruins and infested since the war ended. Even if we could clear it, it would require countless resources and manpower to repair and reinforce its walls.”
“That’s fine,” Shang answered. “You think we’re going to march out next week? Time is something we need a lot of to make any of this happen. Time to make this town a little more lucrative. Time to create an effective military. Time to field an army to recapture the Moors.”
Demetri nodded his head. “So what? We send a probing force to Poenari?”
“I’ll go and take a small gang with me,” Shang remarked. “You’ll have to remain here and ensure that everything continues to run smoothly. Dobson’s still green when it comes to being the head man, and you’ll need to make sure those bureaucrats and politicians don’t try to abuse that.”
“Of course,” Demetri remarked as he looked down at the map one more time. “Bold plan you have for the Moors.”
Shang smiled. “You can thank me when this works.”
![[Image: Shang.jpg]](http://www.omniverse-rpg.com/images/Shang.jpg)