The Smiling Guildmistress' eyes shine when she hears the sum involved. But the job is not small, and the customer wants the glass immediately. More importantly, this commission could generate more. Fads drive the high families of Val Royeaux like a sheepdog drives a flock.
When the glassworkers learn about the work, they grumble. "Can't be done," some insist. "Not without working us to the bone. Not that that'll stop you."
Available actions[]
1.
Limit the glassworkers' freedoms It's the only way to complete the job on time.
Difficulty: Rulership*2
Success: A reputation for excellence Day and night the glassworks smoke. A pall settles over the west bank where the oven-fires glow. Two endless strings of flat-bottomed boats arrive at the quay, carrying soda ash from down stream and quartz pebbles from up it. You complete the commission in time. The client is ecstatic. For a time, Serault glass becomes the talk of the capital. More commissions arrive, and the glassworkers have little rest.
-10 Freedom, +1 Bag of Royals
Failure: Payment in glass They work in shifts, sleeping beside the glass-ovens to minimise wasted time. Petitions for leniency reach your hall. You ignore them. It's not the petitions that concern you; it's the muttering. Some of the guild are beginning to question not only the current conditions, but the traditional ones. As hard as they toil, they cannot complete the commission in time. The client pays you every ounce of silver he promised, but does not return for more. Petitions for leniency arrive at your hall from the glassworkers. It's not the appeals that concern you, but the whisperings
-10 Freedom, +1 Bag of Royals, +10 Rumors of Revolution
2.
Turn down the commission The glassworkers are already worked to the bone.
Result: A rare sight It hurts to pass up good silver, but there will be other clients. The glassworks stand quiet. The forges are cold. For the first time in weeks, the chimney-smoke over the West bank and the folk who live there glimpse blue sky. Glassworkers wander, at ease, in the streets. Some of them are even smiling.
+10 Freedom, -10 Prosperity, +1 Authority
3.
Deliver a lesser work There will be other commissions. Perhaps you can keep the client on the hook; reel her in another time.
Result: A time of strife You send the Guildmistress to negotiate. She moderates the client's expectations, and though they are disappointed you think you'll hear from them again. The Guildmistress returns with news from the capitol, and rumors of the latest movements in the civil war.
+5 Clues