The Kingmakers, Session 9

I'm feeling lazy, it's thanksgiving, so I'm going to bullet point the important bit:

• Valen strangled Baron Frond after the party at his estate

With that out of the way, I'm going to segue awkwardly into discussing the effects of this.

1. Baron Frond was the wealthiest noble around Pyrim and also the second-largest employer due to his Orchards. (Lomar Stronghoof employs more people in his mines but is not a noble.)
2. Joanne Frond is now a very wealthy widower.
3. Baron Frond was connected to The Locust- the antagonist I am building up towards.
4. The Private Army Frond had raised is now without a leader.

Building off of those points, I have some options:

1. Joanne Frond's father arrives to take over the estate. I'm shaky on this idea because of my own lack of knowledge about how such things worked in Fuedal society. That said, such a person could be a relative to the late Baron, such as a brother.
2. The mercenaries hired by Frond enter Pyrim and take over. This option is very appealing at the moment given the political situation that I've been trying to create. Most of the King's army is currently tied up to prevent the commanders from attempting a coup, which means that rural areas are under threat of bandits, roving mercenaries, etc.
3. Since Frond is connected to the Locust, the players just tied themselves into the web by removing one of its links. Dalzell in Pyrim still lives, and might prove useful. The tunnel under his Tavern still can be used to extrapolate.
4. Frond's workers were also very unhappy with him, and I'm fairly sure looting will happen. Whether this brings the peasants into conflict with the Mercenaries... a massacre could be fun.

Overall, all forecasts of the fallout from this point towards things getting worse in Pyrim.