The glassworkers are a temperamental lot. Valued, privileged, but far too valuable to allow from their cushioned cage. They know they are the source of Serault's fortunes. Sometimes that gives them ideas.
The ovens are cold. The chimneys are still. Crossed glass swords hang over the glassworks' gates: a sign that the guild have downed tools. Their complaints, as ever, are numerous.
Available actions[]
1.
Make an example of someone One of the more outspoken, but less skilled, members of the guild.
Difficulty: Cunning*2
Success: An example The glassworker is young. She had talent and promise. That's important. It says that no-one is safe should they shirk their duty. Your soldiers pull her from her guild and escort her to the town gates, where she is proclaimed an outlaw. As a final gesture they take her one possession - her glass sword - and smash it. Its shards sparkle on the cobbles, green as cats-eyes. The glassworkers' resistance crumbles. Within the day, the sound of bellows can be heard and smokes coughs again from the chimneys.
+10 Prosperity
Failure: Dimmed A sandy-haired youth chants slogans from the walls. You have your soldiers seize him, proclaim him an outcast, and drive him from the town. The resistance continues. You have deal with two more apprentices in the same way before the guild breaks. They return to work, but sluggishly. Their spirit is dented, but so is their pride, and their glass lacks its previous luster.
-4 Freedom, +2 Rumors of Revolution, +6 Prosperity
2.
Grant leniency Hear their complaints. Bow to the least objectionable. Smile while you do it.
Difficulty: Rulership*6/5
Success: Diplomacy The Guildmistress' Smile never falters, even as you negotiate her away from her initial audacious position. She raises the issue of freedom of movement, but you will not bend. Glassworkers are too valuable to risk their theft or escape. Other matters are more tolerable, though. You promise them more windows in the glassworks, and to provide game from your hunting preserves for a meal a week. You allow them to recruit more apprentices. The concessions will cost time and coin, but the guild return to work and no-one is too unhappy.
+5 Prosperity, +5 Freedom
Failure: Generosity The Smiling Guildmistress apologises extravagantly as she joins you in the council chamber. She blames radical elements in the guild for the disruptions, but that doesn't keep her from negotiating as savagely as a wolf with the scent of blood. After you settle, the guild return to work. You can't help but feel you've given away too much. The nobles ask if apron-clad labourers rule Serault, now.
-6 Dignity, +4 Prosperity, +2 Freedom
3.
Delay a decision Grant the Guildmistress and the ringleaders an audience, but promise them nothing.
Result: An impasse You feed them steaming partridge and an deceptively spicy red. As you dine, they detail their woes. At length. You learn a great deal about glass, trade, and the goings-on on the far bank of the river. You shake your head sympathetically. If only there was more you could do, you say. You understand, you do, but times are hard. The meal mollifies them, but they leave unsatisfied. A fraction of the glassworkers return to work, Most refuse.
+5 Clues, -5 Prosperity, +5 Rumors of Revolution
