On a country road...

A brown traveling cloak served to mostly hide the form of the riding figure, though the speed of his galloping horse created a wind that tugged the cloak aside now and then to reveal a glimpse of red coat or green cuff. A brace of pistols were in easy reach of his hand, and now and then his eyes strayed to them above the collar turned up to his nose.

He slowed the horse's gallop as he neared the rickety wooden bridge, just where he'd been told it would be. A leap took him into the stream with a splash, and he set off down the watercourse before turning out of it at a rocky shelf that jutted into the water's course. Trecherous footing, even for his horse, but a careful path over the stone left a cold trail for any followers before he struck out through the woods again. Soon, the thatched structure appeared in a small clearing, and he slowed again, making a careful approach. As he neared, a young woman came out to meet him, ushering him inside.

"Patrick...I see you had no trouble finding the place. Did you meet any patrols along the road?" The young teen who greeted him as he ducked inside was older in demeanor than his years suggested. Wiser, too. Patrick had been concerned when the boy had stepped into his father's shoes upon the elder's untimely death....he was so young for such a mantle. But it seemed his father had taught him well. He greeted the young man with affection. "None, but I had a chance meeting with one of Asgard's spies in the village. He told me of the silver pig incident. Do we know who was behind it?"

The young teen smiled slightly, a calmly self-satisfied sort of look that stopped well short of smug. "The first thought would be the Stagonian agitator....he's been stirring up sentiment against the Princes amongst the smiths in town. But I have reason to believe that it may have been a Nachtschwein agent. To learn the answer, we must first learn who the pigs were destined for...."

Discussing the Vile...

A private library, somewhere in Hesse-Engelburg....

A man in a Major's uniform studies a wall map, before stepping to pull a bell-cord. A few minutes later, a slightly aged but still strong butler enters to attend him. "You rang, Herr Major?"

"Yes, Karl...has there been any further word from Mutter Anna?"

The butler seems to have expected the question, shaking his head with an appropriately apologetic expression. "I am afraid not, Herr Major. The latest post just arrived, and there was nothing."

Pursed lips greet the news, before the Major turns back from the map to face the attendant. "I did not think there would be. I fear Mutter Anna is holding out on us, Karl...she has sent us nothing of importance from Stagonia these several months, and now she cannot find even one merchant. We financed her house with the expectation of useful information from her patrons, and I do not think it is the girls who are failing to deliver....I fear Mutter Anna is lining her pockets without holding up her end of the bargain."

"The dearth is....conspicuous, Herr Major," agrees the butler quietly, nodding a couple of times before he inquires, "Have you any instructions for the next post, Herr Major?"

"Yes, Karl...I feel that Mutter Anna is going to have a tragic accident....most unfortunate, but clearly only an accident." He pauses, moving to his desk and opening a book, looking down a list of records in a curious shorthand, before looking up to the waiting servant again, "I think Belinda would be best to take over the position of Mutter. Would you agree, Karl?"

The servant considers, then nods decisively, "Ja, Herr Major...it was her own initiative that gave us the opportunity to free those 3 prisoners from the Baron's dungeon. I believe he *still* believes the Austrian count responsible for that one."

Another purse of lips, and then the Major nods, "You are right, Karl. It is time she saw more of the fruit of her labors. You will arrange the details?"

"Of course, Herr Major. Is there anything else, Herr Major?"

"No, Karl, that will be....wait, just one more thing. Tell Belinda that from now on the girls' cut will be increased to forty percent of the fee for any useful information provided. It will smooth the transition nicely, and perhaps bring us further information. Mutter Anna was only giving them ten percent. That suffices...see that it is discrete."

"Ja, Herr Major. It shall be done." A bow, and the butler retires, leaving the officer to his thoughts.

Spies Like Us

I've received about six sets of info for the spying system. I know y'all haven't heard from me in a bit, so I wanted to post a brief update. The emails for this are currently sitting on my laptop, which has display issues, so I'm going to try to get enough access to print them out soon. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, I have been tinkering with some ideas to make this function more easily, which I will hopefully get some time to flesh out soon. Among other things, I'm looking at implementing something for counterspies to allow designating countries who spies, if you detected, you'd want to know about but wouldn't want to kill, since by default the counterspies will attempt to kill any spy discovered except your own.

The Walls Have Ears, part 2

Alright, looks like we've got enough interest!

Feel free to send the details to hesse-engelburg AT snickeringcorpses DOT C O M. Take out the spaces and change the emblems appropriately of course.

What I'll need are the name of each spy, the country that they operate for, the place they will operate in, whether they're functioning as a spy or as a counter-spy, and what skill level you would place them at on a scale of 1-6.

My one suggestion is that those who have narrative characters (such as the Lady Petigree), NOT put those characters in my system. The little program does allow for Counter-spies to kill spies, so I wouldn't want a mainstream character killed. Beyond that, have fun!

The Walls Have Ears....

I acquired a little free program somewhere, though I no longer remember where, into which you input the following info about spies:

1) Country Employing
2) Name
3) Location
4) Focus (Either spying, or counter-spy)
5) Skill level (1-6)

Then you click the nice little button, and it rolls dice and adds skills and checks counterspies....and spits out a report.

This shows you for each spy whether they report or not, and how accurate their report should be. There's a chance, if there's an active counter-spy in the area, that they'll be supressed, preventing them from sending a report that round. Or even killed (which also prevents sending a report). For the counter-spy, there's a report of whether he detected any spies, and if so, it may or may not identify who the spy was he supressed/killed and who they worked for.

I say all this to ask....is there enough interest for it to be worthwhile for me to volunteer to take a list of the above info from each person interested, put it all into the system, and periodically request the data found by spies from the spied upon party and send it to the party doing the spying?

If there's enough interest, I would be willing to act as a clearing house for this. Thoughts?