Chapter 5.11 - Preparations

Serin sat with counselors, heads of departments, and the various townsfolk of importance. There were too many people to have the meeting at his residence, so the meeting was held at the town square. Various topics were brought up as usual with the weekly meeting, but tonight those topics seemed to all revolve around preparing for the shadow of war.

Serin looked at Shurik, and by proxy Jorvik. " How are the implementations of the full face cover armor?"

Shurik nodded, "We made a few small improvements to the designs to lighten it as well as increase the speed of donning and doffing the armor. The armor has been completed, and distributed to the protectorate, with the remaining pieces in reserve at the armory room in the capitol building. Besides being completed, they are surprisingly well received among the protectorate, especially the facemask part. The previous uniformity of the armors we developed seemed to de-personify the individual, and this allows for teams to decorate together fosters cohesion." Shurik then smiled, "I am not sure how to take it, but it seems wearing masks is somewhat of a trend, as several shops offer custom masks for both the soldier's models, as well as for civilian use." Jorvik then stepped forward. Shurik motioned to him.

"Serin, it seems that the purifier on the air was the last piece to helping the Gole's habitability. I have designed suits that, when fully used with regulated temperature and humidity, prevent us from having exposure sickness, as well as be able to endure inhospitable weather that previously kept us indoors. Plus a mechanist Gole looks more stylish in suits of armor than in tunics."

This left a bit of laughter and applause.

Serin looked at Josef Blomst, "How goes progress on your project Josef?"

Josef was still angry. Although his external demeanor was calm, Serin could tell he was upset. His granddaughter Claire and her partner were two of those that had to be brought back after the saboteur's attack. And Josef could tell she was still shaken. "The cannons are ready. The targets are identified, and you know all that I know. So if you need me, I will be helping out at my granddaughter's teahouse."

Serin accepted the curt answer from Josef and nodded, to which Josef bowed and exited the meeting. Serin then looked at Hassan, "How are your ships?"

Hassan smiled, " We have helped develop windrunner ships and at this time we have a fleet of 6. Additionally we have two crews for trade vessels, and we are ready to begin trade. Additionally smaller one person craft have been designed for transporting materials between regions. They are easier to maneuver and move slower, but need more magical input.

Serin then looked at Jericho, "Any news on your box Jericho?"

Jericho nodded his head. "After bribing thousands of credits, we received a report that the box I am looking for is as I feared and is being kept as a trophy by the Grand General himself. Until we get that box, we are without luck gaining an influx of allies."

Serin then looked to Dana, "speaking of Allies, how are relations with Narissa?"

Dana smiled, "Trade continues, and it seems out of all the neighbors, she finds our gifts to be the best. So for now I count her as a non-intervention ally."

Serin looked at Master Tyber, leader of the society of explorers. "How are dungeon operations? Have we learned anything new?"

Master Tyber bowed his head. "Sadly without you no group is powerful enough to go past the 20th level, or if they are they refuse. The black metal you found past the 21st floor, when made extremely thin, is as malleable as cotton and wool, but strong as steel. It does not measure up to the strength of adamantine's resistance to blunt force, but it is near impossible to cut through or pierce."

Serin perked up. Good armor is layered, and this base layer seemed on par with the thin snakeskin. "Anything to make it better than snakeskin?" Master Tyber smiled, "a few things. It is almost as resistant as the snakeskin, but if you noticed the snakeskin is white and dyes don't seem to work, magical or otherwise, while this armor is black and seems to meld into shadow. So although not as strong, for subterfuge it is without equal."

Jorvik piped up, "Additionally, The Mechanist gole can mold it like clay. It makes for great gloves, since its high heat resistance allows us to handle molten objects without the heat transferring to our bodies underneath."

Serin smiled, Master Tyber continued, "And I am sure that it is not some great revelation, but we found out how to hatch the giant eggs you found on your first expedition. For the longest time we were unable to figure out how to get them to incubate, so we put them into cold storage. Upon their next retrieval, they hatched. We theorize that the eggs must go through a hibernation period in the cold to gestate. Sadly this was to the surprise of the few dhamphir that were researching the eggs, and the young birds made quite the mess before Timot and Farrah could be summoned to wrangle them. They are now under their care."

The group laughed. Serin settled them down.

"I want to ask. Is there anyone who needs us to hold off for any reason on announcement rites, or is there any part of our preparations that needs more time?"

The group collectively looked apprehensive. Dana answered, "We know that this is a large step, and we are here with you. But what is to keep the leaders of the various nations from immediately declaring war?"

With that Serin used illusion magic to display to the group what he saw on his kingdom management screen. There were hundreds of lines on the rules and regulations on his nation, most of which were written in as their laws and rules were announced. Serin then flipped to the information on announcement rites.

Serin had been looking through the information provided by the divines on announcement rites. He then laid out his plan. "If we informally announce, we are at the disadvantage, as this means they are usually forced upon us. Had we been discovered through expansion or through attempted conquest this would have been the path forced upon us. But by the old magics of this world, we are able to perform a formal announcement. Doing so begins the process diplomatically, and we send invitations to the various nations and groups we have discovered. The various nations that attend have their dignitaries protected, and their good conduct is assured by the divine. And should a nation fail to attend, they will be permanently disadvantaged in any future conflict. So even hostile states will attend, if to do nothing more than gain intelligence and mock us before attacking shortly after."

Serin continued, "It will be up to us to convince those dignitaries in attendance that it is in the best interest of all of our neighbors to not act aggressively towards us. Whether that be through a luxurious banquet or any other means. It is imperative that no harm come to the dignitaries though for any reason. I am open to ideas on how to convince our neighbors to play nice."

The group nodded as they understood. "With that, we also get to name our nation and our city.I will request a meeting with the divines, but does anyone have any suggestions?"

After a brief discussion it was decided, and Serin activated the announcement rites in his kingdom management page.

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