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`Apr. 25, 2025` · [[Horseapple]] · #Fragment #Characters #Warband
> [!custom-callout]- All mentions, including keyword *“npc6”*
> *Pulled from* [[2-strings-(Warband)]]
> - “Captain -- you have dispatched Firentis to tell the lords of this land that you intend to impose a peace, under which no one should settle their disputes by the sword. Would you have us all die in our beds, then? That is a great shame, for my people. A {king/sovereign}'s duty is to lead us into battle, not to tell us how to handle our quarrels and differences.”
> - “I am lost... Lost...”
> - “I have commited the greatest of sins, {sir/madame}, and it is to my shame that I must appoint you my confessor, if you should like to hear it.”
> - “I was a captain of horse in the service of the lord {s19}in {s20}, and my brother served with me. But we were both in love with the same woman, a courtesan -- a temptress, who played upon our jealousies! My brother and I quarreled. I had drunk too much. He slapped me with his glove, and I spit him upon my sword... My own brother! My sword-arm was stained with the blood of my kin!”
> - “Do you believe there is hope for a man like me? Can I find the path of righteousness, or am I doomed to follow the demons that dwell inside of me?”
> - “I have been wandering Calradia, but have yet to find redemption.”
> - “Yes! You must have been sent by divine providence! Lead me -- lead me away from darkness!”
> - “I am well practiced in the arts of war -- but I beg you, {sir/madame}, I wish to use my skills to defend the innocent, the pure, and the defenseless, not to be a common brigand and wreak more misery than I have already wrought.”
> - “Excuse me, {sir/madame}. As you know, I joined with you to right wrongs, protect the innocent, and make amends for my sin. I did not expect to {s21}.”
> - “{Sir/Madame} -- you may choose to {s21}, but would prefer to have no part in it. Such is not the path to my redemption.”
> - “Your pardon, {sir/madame}, but I cannot keep my tongue stilled any longer. That harlot, {s11} -- every time she sees me she points the five fingers of her hand at me -- a peasant's sign to ward off evil.”
> - “I know the crime I committed was an abomination, but I am seeking repentance, and I deserve better than to be the object of some witch's superstition. I just thought you should know.”
> - “My lord. Did you see {s11} during that last battle? He taunts the fallen foe as they lay stricken and helpless on the battlefield, mocking their parentage, their foolishness for having fought us.”
> - “My lord -- such hubris will not be overlooked by Heaven, and I fear we shall all of us pay the price.”
> - “Captain. Sometimes I am troubled by all this bloodshed, although I know that proud warlords must be humbled, and cruel bandits tamed, if we are to restore peace to Calradia.”
> - “I must say that {s11} is a source of great comfort to me. I have told him of my sin, and he said to me that Heaven will forgive my transgression, if I truly repent and truly desire such forgiveness. He is wise, and I am glad that he is with us.”
> - “I joined this company in the hope that you would lead me out of darkness, and indeed I have found a measure of peace here. But I have some qualms about your leadership, and have begun to suspect that the path to redemption can be found elsewhere.”
> - “It is good to see you, {sir/madame}. Everywhere I go, men are in awe of your deeds. I have not had it so well since I left. Wherever I go, I feel my demons returning. My soul is in turmoil. For reasons that I cannot fully explain, I had found peace in your company, even if I had questions about your leadership. Will you allow me to serve with you once again?”
> - “I can see by the vines and terraces on the hillside that I am near home. I have no wish to see my family, so I will linger outside the walls if you go into town. I am sure that you will understand.”
> - “Here in the Vale of Suno, our dialect and customs are closer than anywhere else in Calradia to those of the old Calrad Empire. We grow olives and wine, both crops brought to this land from overseas by the emperors, and also follow the old Calradic ways. We keep our pledges and pay our debts.”
> - “We men of Suno also never forget an insult, and avenge any wrong done unto us. Old-fashioned Calradic honour, I dare say, has brought me to my current fallen state. But despite that, I am proud to be from this region. Our lord is a vassal of the Swadian king in Praven, but as far as we are concerned he is just yet another barbarian chieftain, and we are the Empire's true heirs.”
> - “My family lives in {s21}, but I cannot bear to face them.”
> - “I cannot judge the legal merits of your claim. However, I think that unlike the other kings here, you have the capacity to unify this land -- and that would put a stop to these endless wars, between kingdom and kingdom, noble and noble, and brother and brother, that have brought us all into disgrace in the eyes of the heavens.”
> - “I would. I would tell anyone who listens of your deeds on behalf of the weak and helpless, of your ability to lead men against great odds and triumph, and tell them that if you were to become {king/queen}, there would be one law and one peace -- from the Rhodok highlands to the Vaegir wastes, from the high steppe to the Nordic shore.”
> - “Very well. Although I am now a stranger to my family, I have entered many a noble's hall in your train, and I reckon I would be welcome again. I shall go about this land and tell the nobles that when you are {king/queen}, you will strive your hardest to protect the weak and to crush discord, so that no man will raise his hand against another with impunity, and one day, perhaps, the sin of fraticide will be no more.”
> - “I understand that you have dispatched Rolf to fabricate a claim of royal descent. I have to tell you, {sir/madame} -- I do not think that the heavens will smile on such an attempt to take the throne by fraud.”
> - “Captain -- while I am not strictly welcome in {s17}, I would be able to make contact with some former tenants of an estate of mine nearby. I granted them ownership after my abrupt departure, and they are now well-placed in society, and also less inclined than most to hold my crime against me. If you give me a few days, I may be able to collect some interesting information about the {s18}.”
> - “{Sir/Lady} -- I am surprised that you find me worthy to govern men, as I am just beginning to learn to govern myself. But if you indeed wish it, I would be most honored to hold {s17} in your name, and dedicate myself to the protection of those who live there.”
> - “It grieves me more than anything I can say to meet you like this, {playername}. I shall not dwell on the circumstances that have led us to this point. I can only hope that we may one day be reconciled.”
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>*“A massive `Mount & Blade` wikipedia.”*<br>About [Encyclopædia Calradica](About-the-Encyclopædia.md)<br>About the [Project](Project-(Pillar).md)<br>About the [Author](Horseapple.md) <br>