Minas Leon/Northern Defense Initiative/origins
What follows are the recorded messages detailing the origin story of the Northern Defense Initiative.
Archive of Events
Lead up to the Formation
Roleplay from Lazlo Lemont
From Lazlo's quarters in Brackhead, he could hear the hawking of the black market salesman outside his window.
"OI!" shouted the pernicious purveyor of purloined goods, "GET YAR GEN-U-WINE ANTIQUES RIGHT HYEAR!" "Good gracious, M'lady, is that not the jewelry your grandmother gave you which was stolen not two days ago?!" responded a different, somewhat more refined voice. Lazlo imagined it to be one of the tavern owners he'd see on his midnight walks, the type that swept out the working girls as best he could and hired goons to throw out the rest of the riff-raff. The type who were still trying to make some piece of sanity in this cesspit of crime.
"I happened to come across these materials all on the uppey-up." sneered the salesman in a more hushed tone, the grime of his voice sending a shiver through Lazlo's soul. "Move along now. GET YAR-" "But see here, sir, I happen to know those jewels were stolen!" interjected the gentleman. Lazlo heard the sound of a crate wobbling, most likely indicating the dismounting of the salesman. "Now you lot listen 'ere, I gots mah papers roight here..." "UNHAND ME, SIR, I'll have you know I am an upr-"
A woman screamed. The sound of a large sack hitting dirt. The wobble of a crate.
"Take 'em away, boys." the gravelly voice growled. "GET YAR ANTIQUES ROIGHT HYEAR, NOW..."
Lazlo couldn't remember how long he'd been in Brackhead. At first the visit was something of an excitement - neither he nor his troops had visited the Northern metropolis. The sights and sounds of the large city entertained their senses, and it was immediately a pleasant respite from the cold north of Upper Tell. With a positive note in his heart, Lazlo set his men to patrolling the streets and himself to speaking with the nearby administrators, sorting out what troubles he could find in the bureaucracy.
What he found shocked him.
His men, thankfully, were untouched by the gangs which had taken up the most successful part of Brackhead's economy, illicit and otherwise, in the absence of their brave Lord; but Lazlo himself found the administrators to be the resident vipers in this dark den. Bribery and Graft were common. Obstinate officials made every attempt to obscure their coffers. The people would file valid complaints against their tax collectors only to find the papers gummed up by a well placed bribe elsewhere. The machinery of governance worked in its own teetering way, but Lazlo clearly assessed that these administrators were more loyal to their own pockets and the gold coins which filled them than the face printed on that coin- something which worried him to no end.
Thus, early on, he'd sent off a request to his fellow Home Guard members for assistance. He hadn't really expected any help at the time- his former liege Baroness Lisa and her brother Sir Spade were tied up fighting the attrition of distance in the North. Some Home Guard members followed the army South to fight Silnaria, a worthy cause in its own right but nowhere near Brackhead. In general the Home Guard was a rather quiet sort, preferring independance to any orchestrated effort to maintain the realm's stability. This worked well for Lazlo in the past, but as the days went on and his efforts to bring Brackhead back from its dip in control stalled out over time, he could not deny his frustration had grown.
Pots had been sent out to ensure the body and blood of the aforementioned tavernkeeper had truly been cleared from the street. The hazy allowance of Lazlo and his men depended, at least at this moment, on an unspoken understanding: civility and appearance must be maintained. Lazlo held no illusions that his insistence that his men not engage in heavy patrols did not contribute to the spike in Brackhead's crime, but what could he do? Until the administration was brought under heel, he could not turn his attentions to the ruffians outside his window. Alone and beginning to feel helpless, Lazlo pulled a piece of parchment from his trunk and sat at his table with a glass of Tellian Ale.
"My good friend and former Liege," he began, pausing to wonder what it was he was even doing.
"I must tell you I am at my wits end. If you could offer some solution or respite to help with the glory of our realm, I would gladly engage you in your efforts...."
Upon explaining his situation and sealing the scroll, Lazlo took care to call one of his soldiers to his door. "Deliver this letter to Baroness Lisa." he intoned, giving the soldier the requisite amount of bribes to make it past the streets and gate unmolested.
Roleplay from Lisa Seraphen
Lisa sent Captain Lorne on his way. He was now under the command of the newest militia in Yule. Lisa hated having to station so many stationary troops in her region…
But this was an act of desperation.
She had heard a call for help go out ages ago. It was a call for help which had largely been ignored by the home guard for too long. Lisa had a large amount of patience. Patience she had used when setting up her sisters untimely demise via ship. Patience she had used when her bastard sister was exiled and then subsequently killed by monsters. But even Lisa had come to her wits end when it came to the lack of leadership coming from the home guard. Some of the home guard nobles had even seen fit to abandon their charge and march with the main army south. So here she stood alone and without unit, ready to march off across the open lands to York and gain another. All this was in the name of defending her home and realm. Even she had to admit as much as it pained her to do so, that her cousin Spade had been an invaluable asset to her. Now she would send him off alone as well, off to York and then to help Lord Lemont.
Just then a runner ran up and saluted her. Usually she let them stew for a while as they were not allowed to talk in Seraphen House, and it was a guilty pleasure to watch them squirm, but she was not in the mood. She extended her hand and took the scroll. The runner ran quickly away happy to be let off so easy.
Lisa opened the scroll and began to read.
"My good friend and former Liege," Lazlo’s script began.
"I must tell you I am at my wits end. If you could offer some solution or respite to help with the glory of our realm, I would gladly engage you in your efforts...."
After finishing her reading, she sat back and pondered his words. The looping of his hand writing and the timing of his scroll told a tale.
This was also desperation.
She had to admit the man had been a good knight, and he was shaping up to be a good lord. He too seemed to feel the apathy of the home guard was simply too much. There was only one solution. If the home guard was so broken, and understandably so, they would have to find a new way. She would create a place where the most driven of nobles could go to defend their realms boarders from the too real threats of monsters and commoner rebellion.
She would make a new Home Guard. Lisa took a scroll and quickly wrote in her own hand…
“My dearest Lord Lazlo Lemont,” “What would you think about making a new unit with me…”
She continued to write and then sealed the letter off and sent it on its way.
Roleplay from Lazlo Lemont
The mud spat and gurgled as Lazlo led his armored retinue through the pagan woods of Shiverwood. The word had spread quickly to his quarters in Brackhead. "Monsters" it stated, "Eating the peasants of Melmoor. Send Aid Quickly!" In retrospect, it should not have surprised Lazlo that one of the few messages to not get bogged up in bribes and mess would be something urging him to leave. His men were quick enough to take their leave of the streets. As novel as the brickwork had been, Lazlo sensed the Militiamembers were growing restless patrolling the city. These were, after all, men of the northern wastes. Thus, Lazlo determined, it would be best to grant them something of a vacation.
So Monster hunting it was.
Lazlo had left Pots in Brackhead on the off chance that Baroness Lisa would respond to his inquiries. The boy was certainly growing in his ability to reason and write, but had no stomach for the battle. Perhaps some day, under the haze of mead or ale, Lazlo would confess to the boy that he himself rarely felt any great glee at strapping into armor...that he'd gladly taken his place behind a quill rather than a sword...
"Sir!" shouted one of his guardsmen, pointing behind them. "A portly figure approaches!"
Lazlo turned to see the round shape of Pots waddling up the road, his jerkin and tunic doing little to conceal the several times he'd fallen into the muddy sink. "Dear Saints..." Lazlo murmured to himself, passing his shield to the guard and removing his helm. "Pots! What in the Saints' names are you doing out here?!"
Pots finished his flabby jog upon reaching Lazlo and bent over, breathing heavily. His arm flung up into Lazlo's face, bearing a remarkably pristine scroll with the Yule seal upon it. Lazlo snatched it from Pots' hand and turned away, breaking open the scroll and reading it.
"Hmm..." thought Lazlo, "Baroness Lisa thinks to develop her own version of the Home Guard? Enticing..."
Lazlo truly held no real allegiance to Margrave Kanuni. His joining the Home Guard had been a matter of timing- his appointment to Upper Tell required his attention, and thus a role which suited that attention was far better than requesting periodic leaves from the Legion. Once Upper Tell had regained its place as a true Minas Leon territory, Lazlo had found he did quite well behind a desk- almost better than he'd ever done in the field.
But a far more centralized force would improve the efficiency of domestic security operations...and Lazlo certainly enjoyed the idea of having his finger in yet another initiative to help Minas Leon...
Lazlo pulled some paper from his tunic and jotted down a quick note. "Dearest Baroness, What would one say of a "Northern Defense Initiative," seeking to secure the domestic security of Minas Leon and supported by our two regions? I happen to have some fine ideas for a charter..."
Sealing it, he passed it to Pots.
"Guardsman. Find two suits of armor and hammer them into something suitable for my squire." Lazlo ordered a nearby soldier. Pots looked breathlessly at his Lord. "At this stage you best stay with us, and it's about time you learned what sorts of dangers lurk in these lands." Lazlo counted out some coin, sealed it in a bag, and pass it along to Pots. "At the first inn we come by, send that note and bag of coin to Baroness Lisa."
Though Lazlo was excited at the prospect which laid before him, he could not deny his trepidation as well. How would King Raoul, or worse, the Home Guard react to this? As his men marched to face the monstrous beasts in Melmoor, Lazlo was failing to distinguish which group scared him more...
The NDI is Formed and Marches to its first battles
Roleplay from Raoul De La Fere
Raoul reads the letter from his favorite writer and comments about it to Richard.
"Hah, now he makes his own army of pen pushers. I must admit, that man is something else. See son, the Lemont family must be watched closely. Mostly to learn from them, as you know, we De La Feres are warriors and quite lack the pen-skills. And that Baroness Lisa... Well... She is a real woman."
Roleplay from Lazlo Lemont
The letter came in a plain scroll, unadorned but for a simple ribbon tying it together. In swirly but simple text, it reads:
Greetings Nobles of Minas Leon,
In the interest of developing a more efficient form of combating the ghouls, skeletons, and crime lords of Minas Leon, Baroness Lisa Seraphen and Baron Lazlo Lemont II have elected to create the Northern Defense Initiative. The NDI is dedicated to ensuring the stability and sanctity of Minas Leon's holdings in the domestic theater.
We charge that the Home Guard's independence of action and tactics are ill suited to a realm as large as Minas Leon. The NDI will seek to provide an order-based framework which will allow quick responses to the fast-changing environments of Minas Leon.
We further charge that the Home Guard's lack of coordination may have led to some members finding themselves joining the Legion's march South. While the NDI does not seek to take anyone from the glories of battle against the Silnarian menace, the NDI does understand that for it to best support the Legions in foreign lands, it must remain as a whole unit within the theater of its charge: Minas Leon.
Finally, we charge that both the independence and the lack of coordination in the Home Guard has created a situation in which calls for assistance within the group can often go unheard or unanswered. The NDI is dedicated to the premise that we may, at times, work alone, but that we must always be ready to work together.
If you are a Region Lord who is considering a domestic placement for a knight, consider the Northern Defensive Initiative a viable and efficient alternative to the Home Guard.
The Northern Defense Initiative: We check for the monsters under your bed when you're at war.
Roleplay from Lazlo Lemont
As Lazlo trudged through Dunstroke on his way to York, his shattered men around him, he repeated his mantra.
"The Silver Lining, Lazlo. Keep your thoughts on the Silver Lining."
The battle in had gone utterly terrible. His militia had been walking through a relatively quiet part of Uforth, a few days march from Fort Ironsides, when an advanced scout sighted the beasts. It was unbelievable - giant badgers. Vicious, nasty, frothing badgers.
But to his men, it had been excitement. Glory. Reason enough to take leave of their senses and go charging after the damned things. Lazlo and, Saints bless him, Pots had tried to call back to the men, but it was for nought. Four men were cut down before the first badger was put to the spear. More quickly followed.
The Militia had been able to put a dent into Uforth's monster issue in the form of 3 monster pelts, but there had been no chance to take out the remaining two with what was left of Lazlo's militia. Only five of Lazlo's men escaped the ferocious teeth of the Badger Menace. Of those, only three were capable of walking, not including himself.
Lazlo's men passed by the returning Legions on their way to York. This was possibly the worst part- their makeshift banner made quite the comical sight held by two men in stretchers who were in turn being carried by four men, one of whom was a Noble.
What an auspicious beginning to the NDI. Still...the silver lining...
Pots, for example, had handled himself quite well in his first outing. He managed to avoid stabbing himself or anyone else, and his armor didn't even smell that soiled afterwards. The remaining wounded died on their way back to York, which certainly made the business of carrying them in stretchers that much easier. And, for his troubles, Baroness Lisa had asked him to take up the Marshal mantle.
This was something that could be of interest. Although he and Lisa still had an understanding about co-leadership within the NDI, to be Marshal could offer him a bit of prestige should he need it. Perhaps, for example, if he were to seek out King Raoul's endorsement at court. King Raoul might be supportive of The Leon's Roar and may have been one of his earliest corresponders, but Lazlo would rather not rely upon his loyalty and friendship when pleading his case- done too much, such a thing might be seen as insincere. If he were to come to King Raoul with the title of Marshal, however...
Lazlo ordered his troupe to stop and began to fish for some paper. An actionable plan was needed, something with which to show the King that he was seeking an endorsement of a solution, not a favor from a friend. As he pondered and began to brainstorm, he absentmindedly began to thumb through his message pile. Coming across reports of Field Marshal Ciryatan's return to Brackhead and the subsequent surge in the grave digger industry, Lazlo smiled to himself. "At the very least there is that..." he thought, ruefully wishing he'd been around to see the nooses snap. Silver linings abound when one knows where to look.
Roleplay from Lazlo Lemont
Stopped at an Inn just inside the borders of Rotherthorpe, Lazlo Lemont II sat in silence, his meal untouched, his fingers arched before his face in contemplation.
The Battle in Uforth was his first true test as Marshal. Earl Puff had laid the groundwork by bravely charging against the Badger Necromancers and their undead army, but the fighting was far from done and this was the first time Lazlo had ordered another noble to charge. It had been Sir Spade, Lazlo's former fellow-in-arms back in Yule.
Lazlo gazed out at the dark sky from his window. Sir Spade was drinking ale either with his men or with the Saints by this point; the former would a testament to Spade's courage and tenacity, the latter to Lazlo's inexperience and unreadiness.
In many ways, Lazlo believed the future of the NDI hinged upon the outcome in Uforth. For this reason he'd sent requests to Field Marshal Ciryatan and Marshal Kanuni, asking for backup to assist Sir Spade in the charge. "Did the messengers reach them in time?" he wondered, "If they did...would the letter fall upon deaf ears?" Thus far neither the King nor the rest of the realm had expressed outrage at the boldness of Lisa and Lazlo's sponsorship- this was, by far, the best possible response Lazlo had hoped for. But he could not rule out the possibility that the others, out of their commendable loyalty to the King and realm, would be hard to convince of an army funded, founded, and led outside the ruling hierarchy.
There was a soft knock at the door.
"Come in," commanded Baron Lazlo, gathering his plate and preparing it to be handed off. Pots came in, freshly suited in a more fitting armor. "Letters, m'lord." whispered Pots, his voice slightly quivering. "One came by way of a messenger from Sir Spade's retinue."
Lazlo exchanged his plates for the letters. He placed Sir Spade's letter on the table and began opening the other letters, fishing out news from the words of the rest of the realm. King Raoul clarified noble placement in armies. Brackhead was seeing a burst in recruiting offices - thank the Saints those youths would have something beneficial to do now. Nothing seemed to indicate a positive or negative feeling in Uforth...nothing was left but to see Sir Spade's encampment's report for itself.
Lazlo cautiously opened the letter and read its words. Pleased to report the Undead have been turned back to dust Sir! Sir Spade Seraphen Knight of Yule
The men feasting in the Inn's common room heard an uncharacteristic whoop of joy from their Lord's quarters. Baron Lazlo burst into the room holding Sir Spade's letter above his head.
"Joyous news, men! Ufoth has been cleansed of the undead army. Sir Spade has triumphed! Drink heartily, men, for I am paying!"
For the first time in a week, Lazlo breathed easy.
