"Lost Continent: Flight From Muurdaan" (BeckonCall's FNB!)

[Prince Vaethorion]

The Highborn approve of the latest Attolian acquisition. The colony needs to expand and be able to defend itself from many threats.

The Prince will bring up the issue of port defense in their talks with the other colonial factions. The Colonial customs is a joint operation. A naval force and coast guard defense was needed.

The spires and all areas of knowledge regarding the mysteries of the world needed to be addressed as a group. The Highborn Prince will take the initiative to bring these issues to the forefront. The Spires, the clockwork automatons, Zebani have been dealt with loosely and not with a joint focus. The various guilds are asked to give status reports to the Colonial officers and executives.

Threat assessments were needed. Joint goals and strategies to defeat the Cull.

The Highborn take inventory of their magical items, analyze them and distribute them to be utilized.

The Highborn linguist offers assistance to the Attolian linguist in deciphering the Iron Book.

The Highborn Prince presents a map to the Colonial council with a large area shaded to be explored and cleared.

Spacekitty

The Highborn view the recent acts by the Fennec as violations of their prohibition, the rumors of hired assassins to kill Caelis, wild snake people murdering colonists, Fennec blowing up caverns, were enough cause to stop some of their business dealings with the Fennec. Any collaboration in the theater District was ceased. The Theater District would be highly polished. In any case, the Fennec tastes for entertainment were not aligned with the Highborn vision for a very upscale, respectable area for culture, entertainment and pleasure. The Fennec have also created additional mistrust with their recent antics. The recent rumors of a merger between Natvik and Fennec also didn’t sit well with some, especially with Muurdan House elite lurking. Many people remember the Narvik massacre which was also the fault of the Fennec. The Highborn were also allied with the Attolians and wanted to show solidarity.

However, the Highborn higher ups see the Fennec as a reality that can’t be ignored and could be benefited from with less sensitive endeavors like cave fisher Silk. However, a close eye would be kept on them. Meanwhile, Highborn investors remained that had a vision for a Red Light districts on the outskirts of the theater District towards the cliffs and to the West of the depression. This area would be acceptable as it was not directly connected to the Theater District (it would be walled off). The Highborn uppers saw those interested had an agreement with the Prince didn’t want to be associated directly with the Fennec but wanted a Red Light district, so back channels were used to provide The clients what they wanted. This Red Light district would be well managed, upscale but would be for those visiting the Port and for those requiring privacy.

Order:

Spymaster and spy network keep eye on Fennec.

Red Light district opened kept separate from the theater District.

Cave Fishing farming materials are used to create ballistic armor. A thin layer of Mithril-bull iron is used to mitigate fire damage by encasing Silk.

Order:

Produce Cave fisher silk armor with Mithril and bull iron.

Armorer, five skilled and five unskilled.

SpiralErrant
Highborn Swordmasters and Drill Master train with Tyren Blood units.

Order:drill master trains swordmasters with Tyren to improve discipline in them and endurance Strength in Highborn


Order:
The Highborn Prince and entourage ride out to known colony. Prince visits Caelis, Orm, Grimdr, leader of Stoutman. The Highborn Prince surveys the borders of the Colony and begins to plan expeditions in every direction.

Order:
The Highborn send their Wagon Stores to trade with Stoutman. The Highborn send 2 unskilled to Stoutman trade school.

The Highborn spends 2 wealth to improve exiles living conditions to make them closer to real Attolians living situations.

The Highborn demonstrate the newly made portals made with the Mithril they both cultivated. The Prince wants to show Orm personally.

The Prince will also discuss the Portal with Caelis and help alleviate any tensions between Highborn mages and Attolians. The Mage guild is summoned to discuss Portals and using the way. The Highborn share what they are allowed to.
Entourage included. Prince, Bard, and those officers available.


(20 Armored Alpha Runner calvary (ridden by Swordmasters and High Offic), Ten Armored Chariots set out)
Ooc: I think I am caught up? Sorry for double posting

 

[Beckoncall]

Heyitsjiwon

the attolians, in the discipline of silence, actually lost the rest of the expedition. two many blind turns and the Attolians were on their own. In their attempt to backtrack and/or find sign of the rest of the retinue, they found themselves walking in front of a great half dome, with a huge sandstone monument of a lion with the head of a lady on it, and the wings of a falcon.

"Shhhhh mortals, or you will wake the Sphinx. The statue purred."

and like a playful cat, it's great stone paws blocked the way forward and the way behind, and turning the paws to face each other, as if the statue might clap all of a sudden, with the entire attolian group standing between the giant claws of the sphinx...

"Answer me a riddle and I may yet spare your lives... will you answer the lesser riddle, or the greater one?"

 

[SpiralErrant]

"Oh my sweet girls!" Hulhuff cried as the little pack of runners were scooped up and doomed to slide down that giant gullet.

All the tyren shepherd could do was stare in horror as the wall around them morphed into a watching sea of flesh and his mind was rudely barged into. Do his best to take in what was 'said' and clutching the bone hand safe, Hulhuff looked around in fright as the warriors braced themselves and the elves made their darting hand gestures he couldn't follow.

At least it sounded like this Olm wouldn't eat them... At least not now.

Maybe in the meetings between great heroes and monsters important questions were asked. Truths would be told and the world would sit up and take notice of their words. But folks like Orm and the shaman weren't here. Hulhuff wasn't a hero, he was an old shepherd who planned to wrangle some critters today. And as a shepherd one thing was important to him above all others, looking after his flock.

Hulhuff gulped and tried not to shake too much.

"Well if I'm to get a question, Master Olm, and if you'll answer honestly- which I'll hold you to do by the power of all the spirits! Then I'll ask you... what's the best way to get out of here when it comes to running?!" Not a grand question but a pressing one to his mind.

The warriors just looked at Hulhuff incredulously.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

The University Mage sighed at the situation. It was already bad enough that his feet were swollen, but now they faced a major threat to their lives. The 20 elite soldiers looked around the area as they shuffled about. To most they were simply looking around, dazed and confused.

However to an Attolian Commander, this was a deliberate movement. The men were slowly spreading apart in anticipation of an ambush via a volley of arrows. However, in this case, they were spreading apart to not all be felled by a single clap.

The University Mage gathered his courage despite his swollen feet and replied "Hail, if it would please thee, then we shall answer both. Though may I ask what is it that you are called?" as he then proceeded to assess the creature/being and see its magical capabilitites or perhaps discover how it is given life... perhaps it is a construct?

 

[Beckoncall]

Spring Thaw? Not on the mountain.

They should have waited for summer. It was too cold up here. At least nobody had died up here -- not yet.

The Attolian and fennec task force had miraculously found each other in the violent snowstorm. The fennec scouts had found a crevice in the mountainside wide enough to hide the group, but it was cramped and uncomfortable and while it protected them from exposure it was critically, terrible cold. They were closer to the crater from where they were now than to the foot of the mountain... and there was debate and unsurety if the wisest move was to find the warmth of the caldera or to attempt to escape the mountain before it became a tomb...

And next time, they'd make the trip in summer. If there was a next time...

DECISION POINT: Fennec and Attolian Mountaineers stuck in snowstorm... can they work together to escape?

 

[Beckoncall]

Tyren Orders... SpiralErrant

The new healer's guild in Harun'Taras was a redundancy, but it served the spread the medical knowledge and services more evenly throughout the colony. Incidental injuries, and the still common colds and winter illnesses were beaten back further with the project. With the population of Tyren Exploded, the move made sense... though it spread the healers thinner.

_____________

At the mine of vines, Deryn and the tree-singers called forth the spirit of the mine to relinquish it's secrets...
It had long been left fallow, and as Deryn touched the tables and tablets that made for strange consoles in the mine's pulsing heart, they told a story...

...A story of A vein of "Katana Gold" -- a magical isotope of the native element, this kind of gold was hard as steel, and even more valuable.
...A story of a chunk of rock filled with emeralds, and a great ruby entwined in a mesh of roots.
...A story of a map of iron and coal, touched and ready to be brought forth.
...A story of copper, of lead and of silver.

...and of Adamant and diamond yet untouched in the depths. The mine was strong. strong enough to bring any number of these stories to truth -- the question was how much strength did it indeed have, surely it could not pull all it's treasures forth?!

_______________

The salvage crew sent to the GewGaw ruin found it largely picked clean of valuables, but the Tyren were not ones to waste even the fallen building materials -- they would be needed for proudhorn houses now. They speculated at the reservoir for greater means to exploit the area, and indeed ideas were had -- a water-wheel could be built over the waterfall, what with the gnolls so friendly now... the wheel could power a mill, or a rock tumbler, or a giant loom for whool, or something else newfangled but unconcieved.

_________________

The barns for the Tyren Livestock are quickly built. Strange days indeed when even the Tyren livestock have shelter! (Tyren morale improves! Wool and herd products increase in volume!)

_________________

Then there was the business of Tyren Mithril in the hands of the highborn...

Prince Vaethorion

The highborn built their mithril gate and found they could create FOUR steady portal ties from it to areas around the colony, or even beyond. These portals would require short jaunts through the ways, but in relatively sound and short areas of the planar maze. They would need to decide where these portal ties would lead... and if one of them indeed could be opened inside the home of the cull itself! (+3 Influence Highborn)

In addition, the Tyren Earth mage worked with the highborn to turn much of the mithril into Great swords for the use of the burgeoning ranks of Tyren warriors. Further, Warriors so inclined donned great gauntlets of mithril increasing their defense and yet more to the tips of their horns... protecting the horns from breaking in combat and threatening to puncture the heaviest armor with Tyren might behind it...

(Tyren gain Mithril Weapons!)

 

[Beckoncall]

Prince Vaethorion :

In addition to deciding just where the magical portal doors would open to through the ways, other business was afoot besides the success of the Mithril Gate..

So little was known of the Asphodel... the Malaphite... whatever it was. Perhaps capturing Mannikins or a sample of the vines could help? The fennec had promising ideas for herbicides that the highborn had potential to improve and weaponize... but much more needed to be known about the enemy before any fruit would come of it...

________________________

With the Tyren Present on the top of shearcliff, they worked together with the Highborn to raise a significant piece of spire 10 from the reservoir! The Attolian sirens were called to help, and echo-located the majority of the spires pieces... the next largest, and perhaps easiest to reach was the very top of spire ten... with numerous significant but smaller parts deeply mired under depths of mud and buried under rock inside shearcliff itself. How could such pieces be retrieved at all?!
_______________________

The High cleric examined the skeletons and "miscreated" to learn of the threats they posed. The skeletons the Attolians used were not true undead, they were more akin to puppets, or constructs -- animated bones with no spirit to speak of. Morbid? Definitely. Blackest Magic? Hardly, surprisingly.

Of the Fennec creations much different could be said -- the jig-saw creations were sustained with dark magics and were controlled with will-supplanting magics and fear and pain to control and motivate them. Surprisingly however they found a mind much different than the rest in the one the fennec called "The transcendent" -- an infant spirit with a halo of innocence around it... though it was presently ruled by instinct and the prodding of the black doctors -- masters of the miscreated. More than anything they seemed pitiable creatures.. and beings of filth. Vile magic indeed sustained them...

_____________

The magical steam device, dubbed "The white engine" began development.. there was much to be done to make steam engines crude machinations elegant and refined for the highborn... this would require time, personnel, and most importantly money to accomplish...

_____________

The Highborn sent their Tactician, 10 Elite Spearman, 10 Swordmasters, and 10 Archers, to aid in clearing and exploring the Menagerie district -- they were unable to link up with the firebeards and tyren, nor with the attolians... but they did find the spoor of the Manticore, and could indeed if they desired -- track the beast to it's lair in the northmost part of the district...

______________

Highborn have more orders, but will be processed later!

 

[Beckoncall]

SpiralErrant --

"Well if I'm to get a question, Master Olm, and if you'll answer honestly- which I'll hold you to do by the power of all the spirits! Then I'll ask you... what's the best way to get out of here when it comes to running?!"

The shepherd stammered, strong though his voice may be.

High above, a tail flicked from the ceiling and smashed a wall in the pavillion they presently stood under.

"Through that wall, you will quickly find yourself in familiar streets, if flee is indeed what you'd do before parley. It has been a while since I had such a good meal however, of your "girls" and longer still that I had a partner in conversation. It would be sad to see you leave too quickly..."

The Olm lowered it's head from the swirls of it's coiling body and it's tiny feeble arms wrung it's hands in front of it's blind and eyeless "face"...

 

[Beckoncall]

Heyitsjiwon :

"Hail, if it would please thee, then we shall answer both. Though may I ask what is it that you are called?"

The University mage studied the Sphinx closely -- it was a creature of flesh and blood, it seemed, but it's lines were too fine to be natural, it's feathers were all congruent and identical, it's symmetry almost inspired past the natural... it was a construct, but an animate one, somehow. That it was once stone was a practical surety, whether it could or how it changed from stone to flesh could only be guessed at.

The sphinx heard the question of the mage, and answered in her own feminine voice with a hint of threat in her tone...
"I have been called many things. Though you may call me Sek-Ahntet... it was a name of an ancient love of mine, and she has no longer a use for this name, so you may call me this."

"You call for both riddles, and I am well pleased. Brave plaything -- the first riddle is thus:

'What is at the beginning of everything, and the end of space and time?'"

The eyes of the sphinx burned like baleful galaxies as it awaited an answer.

"Let us dispense with the lesser riddle before I challenge you with the greater. It will be a thrill to hear a correct answer as much as it will be to smash you all for a wrong answer... but to win my game is to have my friendship, Sek-Ahntet, holder of the gates of the menagerie mundane, monument of Berytos made flesh."

 

[Beckoncall]

COMING SOON... Confrontation with the Fountain!

 

[SpiralErrant]

"Through that wall, you will quickly find yourself in familiar streets, if flee is indeed what you'd do before parley. It has been a while since I had such a good meal however, of your "girls" and longer still that I had a partner in conversation. It would be sad to see you leave too quickly..."

Well that was something at least. With the massive serpent breaking down a wall perhaps the bulky Tyren and short legged Dwarves would have a handy shortcut when it came to fleeing for home. Of course Hullhuf would have preferred to avoid running for his life if he could. Any chance of finding the bears that had already been hunted or any kind of tamable animal had been quickly dashed, the most he could hope for was to meekly trudge back to the hills with his tail between his legs.

Some expedition leader he had turned out to be. The bearded Tyren was perfectly fine puffing out his chest when his greatest contender was a stubborn sheep. Now, given the care of a magic tool by his shaman, he'd been shown a coward, made the inferior of youngsters like Anuc and Minax who had carved names for themselves. It wasn't his fault, was it? Hullhuf was old, he was a herdsman! He'd done more than enough to honour his ancestors by travelling across the great blue and guarding his herd in a land of gods and monsters! That thought stunk of an excuse to him though... even surrounded by warriors he shook before this dragon, feeling like prey before its sightless gaze.

'A true son of Auroch you are...' Hullhuff scorned himself. No, if he was to return to his caravan it would be with something worthy of this effort. If he was to die here then he would do so standing tall as a minotaur should, honouring his ancestors and his caravan, proving himself worthy of vengeance if need be.

Smart and giant as this Great Olm was it was still a beast of a land, as Hullhuf himself was. He was a shepherd of the Black-Chargers, first warden of the fields! He would not meet his ancestors and admit himself a coward or shame himself further before the eyes of Sky and Earth. There were enough stories in his culture of plucky shepherds parlaying and outwitting monstrous spirits and magical rams. Hullhuf had always passed them off as children's stories but he could put aside those thoughts to rise to the challenge and try his hand at diplomat in the face of a blind dragon that spoke right into someone's mind.

In fact that last part gave him an idea.

Hullhuf swallowed down the last of his nerves and forced himself to stand straight backed as he looked up at the bank face staring down at him.

"Well, Great Olm, it'd be rude of me to disappoint you there and if it were you and I talking alone I think there might be a lot for us to talk about. But all this running for our lives talk doesn't put us in the best of situations for it, and I'm a simple shepherd, not the sort of mind it sounds like you're used to dealing with." The Tyren started, huffing in ways to encourage his own confidence as each word walked him further out of his depth.

"But you do set me to thinking and reminding me of some of the folks that call my village home. It gets me to thinking that you might find them better company than us and that in those hills you might fill your hunger for food and company. I'll guess from this talk, Great Olm, that you're a fellow who can see the thoughts of the folks you talk to, so I'd invite you to take a gander at mine to prove this offer a good one and not a swindler's ramblings."

Now to think, Hullhuf had to keep his head and to think. When he'd had his fortunes read and his spirit issues handled the shaman and readers always said they had to think hard and picture what they wished to conjure. So the shepherd would do the same, he just had to focus and to picture things just so!

"Why I can tell you from experience we've good food to offer." And He thought hard of his herds at home, grown many and healthy. He thought of nights around the fire and the great taste of dripping meat and roasted vegetables. Delicious stuff and unnamed livestock, which the dragon preferred as far as Hullhuff understood it.

"And we've gathered there all sorts of exotic folk from around the world. Why some are so wise and knowledgeable that the whole village goes to hear their words and scholars write books on what they know. It's all beyond me but you strike me as a fellow of the world and knowing of such things." And so Hullhuf dug into his memories. He dug up images of the day Orm and Bruul found Anaid the aboleth and how people had crowded around when she was brought to the village, the chains on the chest that had bound her broken. He thought of his won time in her watery longhouse, the waters sparkling with quartz, coins and offerings. He thought of all the times Orm was seen going to her for council, the the human scholars and lords that marched up the hills to see her.

He also thought of Whiporwil the ent. Once again he thought of the sight of the weary ent walking up the hill with manacles that had been smashed by Tyren weapons. It seemed to Hullhuf that this Olm had been put in a cage before the fall of this city so the shepherd made sure to think of things that showed Harun'Taras as a place of freedom, a place where cages were shattered and a tempting prospect for a pleasant home to the blind dragon. Then he thought to more recent days with the coming of spring, when the old ent stood tall and proud. When he was surrounded by adoring little elves and walked through a glade where the wood acted as metal and the metal acted as wood. An impossible sight that would intrigue anyone to try and see it! He even through on that red headed elf lass who walked around as naked as Tyren babe and had such a way with other animals that folk said she could speak to their minds as well! Hullhuf hadn't thought that was true but here he was now trying the same with a giant lizards so that just showed what he knew.

"And that isn't even to mention the magical folk around the place!" Hullhuf added with a cry, as if he was introducing a new course in a great meal. "Forgive me for assuming but I've heard in many a story that great dragons such as yourself are fond of talking about magic and its ways, and our shaman are always going about making new works and experimenting with interesting things. Why I've even seen one of them talking to the thin air and plucking mysteries and answers from it!"

These last images came more easily, the shepherd had been around the shaman most of his life. He summoned up memories and thoughts of times when he'd seen Shul communing with spirits of the fields, smoke and sparks dancing around him. He thought of Bruul and his blasts of magic shattering fallen trees or stones, and of times when he'd pulled out scrolls to summon the magic of others, no one could ever tell where he'd gotten it from in the times before. He thought of Uumush, wise and constant among a people who saw something new every day on the road. An ancient that had been old in the time of Hullhuf's grandfathers. A mystery that none dared to try and answer yet was looked upon as a source of strength and comfort. He thought on what he could of the new shaman as well but knew little of them compared to his native circle. Yet he could still think of seeing their little lass shaman as she circled the two mad berzerkers as they levelled a hill under their own feet. He could think of their leader and the mad sight of seeing her turn stone to clay and conjure up its power.

Through Hullhuf's eyes each of these things that seemed so plain to their own kind became figures of awe and mystery! A tempting intrigue, each full of their own stories that could bring a self claimed hermit like this dragon far from his den. They were also powerful in Hullhuf's eyes and, he hoped, something that would make him seem more credible for being linked to them, powerful things that would avenge him and his company if they fell.

"You seem like and honest sort, Great Olm, an honourable chap for how openly you've spoken to us when you could have attacked." The shepherd said as he came to the end of his colourful descriptions that had accompanied his mental show for he couldn't be sure how clearly the dragon saw his mind. "If you were to show that honour and bring our company safely back to Harun'Taras in the hills then I would put it to my chief to put you up and you might stay as long as you wish and share the company of the folks I've spoken of. Why, given our colourful residents, I don't think it would be strange for you to stay if you asked. And I tell you this, Great Olm, days in Harun'Taras are rarely dull and never lonely, I tell you that for true!"

Now the shepherd just had to hope he hadn't bored the dragon and made them all its dinner. And that word of this never made it back to the elders who would surely call him a brown noser.

(5 Influence spent recruiting Great Olm! Convincing him to come peacefully to Harun'Taras, offering a more interesting home in exchange for safe passage out of the menagerie district.)

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

The University Beast Mage continued to probe the Sphinx to see if he could perhaps control it or determine more of its construction. He spoke and continued to entertain the being. "Hail Sek-Ahntet, I am called Rex. I must say your physicality is one to be admired. Just the sheer symmetry and design! The residents of Berytos are certainly a colorful folk. I have heard about General Patricia Sheal and Manhk the Chronicler. Friendly folk. Now then the riddle!"

Rex the Beast University Mage paused and pondered the riddle. Depending on who was asked... they would likely give a different answer. "Well... if you asked the Priest, then he would come up with some concoction of fables and tales that would point to "the divines" as the answer, the Alpha and the Omega so to speak. If you asked that grim Death Mage, Grim, then he would merely mutter "death" as the answer for this riddle. Quite literal when you consider his recent creations with Talion the Constructor with all those bone constructs. However, since this is the lesser riddle. I believe that the answer is simpler than either of those. If anything, the answer is in the riddle itself. The letter "E" is at the beginning of everything and at the end of space and time."

---

In the other direction, the 3rd Attolian Mountain expedition encountered a group of Fennec who were exploring the area for the first time. However, it was becoming very evident that the weather here was... treacherous. Snow continued to pile and threatened to trap the expedition in the mountains. The Explorer saw the positives and negatives of both going back down and continuing to climb up to reach the Cinder Cone. Looking at all the experts that were a part of this expedition... the group certainly had to ability to survive and some protection through the 20 elite soldiers. However, would their disappearance till the summer cause issues back in the Colony? The ultimate conclusion was, yes. Their knowledge was too valuable for them to be gone for such a period of time. Thus, rather than reach the top of the mountains, the group decided to descend and begin to build small outposts along the way to make future expeditions easier. These outposts were not going to be anything grand. Rather, small huts and cabins with a little bit of supplies and equipment for future climbers to use. Thus, the Attolian Mountaineering Expedition began to climb down the mountain.

---

Summary:

Rex gives an answer to the lesser riddle

The Attolian Mountaineering Expedition decides to climb back down and return to the Colony while building small outposts along the way whenever they rest to make future expeditions easier and safer.

 

[Beckoncall]

SpiralErrant :

The great Olm uncurled from the ceiling as Hullhuf told of his nearby homeland -- the maze of albino snake slowly unfurled into less threatening and relaxed coils around the top of the dome.

"You have shown be great intrigue, and I did not know there was life again beyond the ruins. Freedom is something greater when it is shared, Shepherd -- and share Harun'Taras with you I will, if it suits me. I shall become the great watcher of the herds, and while I might eat the occasional stray, I will protect the herds at night and keep them strong. The sun... does not suit me... so during the day the mighty Hullhuf must assure the safety of the herd, and I shall find the darkness. May there be a place for one as strange as I... and my lauding to you for being as blind to the frightfulness of my visage as Indeed I am blind to the intricacies of yours. I join Harun'Taras. We shall see for how long..."

The Great Olm resolves to come to Harun'Taras at nightfall... the expedition is free to leave the district!

 

[Beckoncall]

Heyitsjiwon :

THE GREATER RIDDLE:

"Oh... not a fool, are we? Well I have crushed great philosophers to paste in these claws. Now we shall have a meeting of minds -- and we shall see if you deserve the respect of the Sphinx Sek-Ahntet.

"Ask me any question that can be answered yes or no -- anything I might know at all -- and the answer I give must be honest. and if the answer is yes, I shall eat you alive. If the answer is no, I shall leap from my perch and crush you utterly. If I cannot answer truthfully, I must set you free. What question do you ask of Sek-Ahntet, likely slaughterer of Rex the mage of Beasts?"

The sphinx purred again. A glimmer of excitement in the smooth-rounded eyes of the great she-beast... or was it a glimmer of hope for Rex? her claws retracted and protracted reflexively, scratching furrows into the stone...

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Beckoncall

"See lads! The residents of Berytos are a friendly bunch! Now I am the only one in danger of being killed! Hahaha!" Rex said to the soldiers as he waved them away to back away a bit. He turned back to the Sphinx and smiled with a gleaming toothy grin. The soldiers looked at each other incredulously. The mages of the University were all odd figures like Nicholas. The men gave no attention to his odd mannerisms. But Rex seemed to have a death wish of some sort as he laughed in the face of great peril. Regardless, they took a few steps back in the event that the Sphinx took a leap to squish Rex. Rex on the other hand was exhilarated. Him and the other University Mages came for the promise of adventure. For too long, their minds were used in academia and theory. Toiling under such constrained settings was soul draining. He had never felt so alive than now with his life on the line. In fact, he could almost ignore the fact that he feet were so swollen.

"If Cassandra were here, then perhaps we could quite literally have a meeting of minds, but alas that is not meant to be, for now at the very least." Rex said to the Sphinx. "A question that cannot be answered truthfully...hmm" Rex's brows furrowed. He needed quite a bit of time to think. Thankfully, there was no time limit, so Rex decided to take a seat. He then proceeded to take off his shoes to alleviate his feet. If he was going to die, then he was going to die in comfort. To this end, he reached into his small pack and pulled out a flask and a sandwich he packed. Freshly baked Attolian bread, with cuts of Capy dark meat, water plant, and black garlic butter spread. He took a nice bite out of the sandwich as he continued to ponder the question to the bewilderment of the soldiers who were perplexed, but maintained their ranks in the event that they had to start fighting.

Rex continued to chew on his sandwich, but something got caught in his throat as he swallowed. Coughing up a storm, Rex took a deep swig of water. "Ahh, pardon me. Something got caught in my throat. The follies of the human body. We climb to the top of the food chain and yet sometimes can't even swallow food properly. It's odd how we sometimes get caught up in the most minute and unimportant things." Rex laughed. "Anyways, thank you for your patience, Sek Ahntet. It's not everyday that I have such an engaging conversation with such esteemed beings! I have my question! Something that only you could possibly know the answer to. After all, that's the only way that this can be fair! Will your next answer be no?"

 

[Beckoncall]

Heyitsjiwon

"Will your next answer be no?"

The Sphinx grinned, showing two rows of feline teeth. Then squinted at the little man. Pausing, moving the speak. then pausing again.

Then the Sphinx turned to stone. Hanging from her neck, a great mirror remained at her breast between her giant claws -- only in this form, the mirror was a great door. The smell of flowers and grass emanated from behind the door, and then the ground began to shake...

The Mirror SHATTERED as a team of elephants rampaged out of the gateway and outward towards the east -- into the agora district and presumably the plains beyond.

The attolians, already having dove for cover were equally surprised when the dust of a herd of buffalo roared out from within the sphinx and nearly blinded them with dust. nearby ruins crumbled and more than once men had to move at risk of safety. Then a herd of wild pigs streamed past, presumably to infest the eastern woods... then giraffes, and horses, and armadillos... a whole zoo of mundane animals spread across the landscape, herd animals and herbivores all.

The land henceforth would be full of game and animals to hunt -- at least until the cull would strike again.

When a river of ducks finally blew past the attolians and took to the air in the direction of the river, the endless stampeding finally waned. Every man was caked in dust and many were shaken.

It was in that moment the "EATER OF THE JUDGED" appeared, clearly drawn by the promise of prey. With an alligator head the size of a wagon and lion's body the size of a house, it roared a roar preternatural and ancient. The clouds of dust were blown away and a horizontal rain of spittle and humidity flew like a fetid cone in front of the beast.

The attolians stood before the slavering titan... knowing in seconds the battle must be joined...

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Beckoncall

The 20 Elite Attolian soldiers scrambled to take up position. They split up and took up positions among the ruins. A typical tactic when dealing with larger beasts that they had learned when they first encountered the Abyssian War Howdas. They would spread themselves and try to safely inflict wounds from a distance, death of a thousand cuts was the theory. Rex got up from the ground and brushed the dust off of him to make himself presentable. He then gave a deep bow and then looked up at the titan in the eyes. People say that most communication occurs through the body and eyes. This was no different in Rex's opinion with animals and beasts. While not all animals can speak common, all animals know what a yawn means or what a tear is. It was then that Rex began to speak in a calm demeanor "Hail Great Devourer of the Judged. I am Rex, a mage of beast magic, who was having a pleasant game of riddles with the Sphinx, Sek-Ahntet. However, that mirror suddenly spawned as the Sphinx turned to stone where many animals emerged from the mirror before thy arrival. May I inquire for what do I have the pleasure of meeting thee and what it is that thy seek or desire?"

Rex sought to minimize interest in the Attolians. Fleeing was simply asking to be chased. Thus, they had to meet the titan head on. Fear was something that many animals smelled and acted upon. Thus, Rex's nerves of steel came to use... he had years and decades of experience interacting with bears, tigers, and other fierce predators. They could not afford to be afraid and he had to lead by example. Attolian discipline and expertise would have to persevere once more in the face of great danger. In addition, Rex began to summon up the magical power to "convince" the Eater of the Judged to not give much mind to the Attolians and to pacify it. As if they were not "judged" and thus not subject to the beast's wrath. After all, judgement assumes guilt and Rex had nothing to be guilty or scared of.

 

[Beckoncall]

The Eater of the "Judged"...

It roared insanely loud. It locked vicious gaze with Rex, and sought the eyes of his elusive soldiers. Then it paced, as if waiting for an instruction, a permission... that would never come.

Rex's magic began to slowly take it's effect, and the creature sat on it's haunches. He subtly called upon his soldiers to withdraw.

Rex could read it's mind now... confusion... looking for scales of judgement... always the scales. Never there. Never time. The beast was miserable.

In the end, the creature folded it's forelimbs and laid it's head upon them. Rex Backed away, and the last of his soldiers formed a rearguard for him.

The beast was an abomination -- but Rex found it pitiable. Starving while hunting for animals and the hearts of the unworthy. The Attolians were worthy it seemed... leaving the beast to hunger.

It was time to leave the district... in the distance creatures were fighting what seemed like an endless struggle... was this the battle of the Linnorm and the Drakon? The Eater of the judged seemed to ignore it and seek slumber. The host decided not to seek it either. Breaking free of the city it was glorious to see the land a-populated by wild animals.

Rex, near exhausted at his exertions still marvelled at a giraffe walking in pace with an elephant...

The land was new somehow, and yet it was time to return to a familiar home...

@heyitsjwon

 

[SpiralErrant]

"My goodness you have been resting on your laurels." Deryn cooed to the vine covered walls, indulging in the kind of plant based humour that always brought sighs from her coven.

Deryn may not have been an expert in precious metals and their working but she had heard enough from her new neighbours to know what this colony craved. Gold and jewels were the kind of wealth that made the powers that played for this colony take notice and these minotaurs liked to talk of themselves as experienced traders. This would give a boost to the economy she knew so little of and she would have the vines put the majority of their strength into the effort. Yet as they sung their song and urged the vines to motion Deryn could not suppress a feeling of mischief, the vines had sat still for so long, perhaps she would push them to exercise themselves a little more and circled her attention around the veins of copper that ran through the rock. No doubt someone would find a use for it.
[Claiming the jewel cluster, along with the veins of gold and copper. 1 Druid, 3 Treesingers, 1 elf bard.]

"Well if it isn't the chieftain himself, and here I was thinking we'd be exiled to the arena for our whole stay!" Brighteye brayed as they arrived to their summons, finding Orm waiting for them on the nearest stone big enough to serve as a chair.

"It was good stuff you did in there. Folk are still talking about the hill you two flattened in your sparring." Orm called back, cheery but laced with a chief's firmness.

"We've earned names that deserve better than fighting for the amusement of shaman and witches." Keenhunter grumbled in his avalanche of a voice.

"That sort of thing was good enough for the one you call chieftain. Count yourself lucky; I was made to train and do drudge work when I was a yearling, never mind a warrior. At least with you two the basic's are done, now we get to try the fancy stuff."With a wave of his hand Orm rose and motioned for the two berserkers to follow him.

Down the way they went to meet the elves in their glittering armour. What chances Orm had gotten to speak with their warriors and what else he'd heard about them spoke about them being inhumanly dedicated to their war discipline as they stayed calm in all situations. He'd also heard that all the elves did this thing called 'meditation' which he didn't understand besides something a shaman might do. It sounded mad to Orm but he couldn't deny what he'd seen. If he could use this then it might do him some could and it would certainly help him trust these two mercenaries if they took to it. Truthfully he'd been avoiding dealing with the two of them directly. There was so much to do and Orm's few encounters with his own kind had been brutal meetings.

But no one becomes chieftain without ambitions, and Orm's ambitions saw potential in these two. If nothing else it might be nice to have someone by his side the next time he charged headlong into the fray.
[Orm and the blood-touched join the highborn elietes in their new training regime. Orm, 2 Blood-Touched, 1 Highborn Drillmaster, 15 Swordmasters.]

"Well that went well I'd say." Hul'huf said, finally feeling like he could breathe again.

He got a few nods and grunts of agreement from the assembled warriors, though most looked like they still didn't believe the agreement he'd just brokered. Then the land exploded into a storm of wailing animal cries and the sound of hooves and claws stampeding across the stone streets. Tall animal heads poked over the smaller buildings, birds thickened the sky as they flew north, looking for roosts.

"And there's... there's some critters to wrangle." The old Tyren sighed. All agreed that it was time to head home.
[The expedition leaves the district.]

 

[Beckoncall]

SpiralErrant Spacekitty Prince Vaethorion Heyitsjiwon :

The Assembly in purgation of blood...

There they stood assembled -- The Tyren Shamans in their gear of magical war, Five hooded witches -- the snakepeople sent by the fennec, The High Cleric wreathed in divine fire and a tear of blood, and the great war host of the Attolians...

Caelis bearing an Astral Tear, Lothar, 3 University Mages, 2 Astrologers, 1 Spellbreaker, 1 Pantheon Priest and 20 Knights of the Circle stand ready to begin the mission with the decorated elven skull...

The corrupted fountain ceased it's flow and the fountain of the blood titan rolled and boiled in the face of the confrontation...

"THIS?! It has come to this!? The soul of a young girl? Whether you have noticed or appreciated, I have served the interests of these myriad peoples, this colony -- Caelis, I have more tendrils around your heart than you'd care to admit. I have asked for so little, and have honored all our dealings. I say to all assembled here that it is not my wickedness but Caelis' fear that brings this confrontation to a head."

The fountain quieted slightly, and resumed it's speech:

"I offer two options. The one I want and the one you are seeking...

I will relinquish the soul of Cassandra and leave her with the staff bloodscourge to empower her free of my influence, I will withdraw the protection I have over Caelis and in return for my withdrawal where I am unwanted... I seek refuge in Harun'Taras -- where I gather Titans and non violent Monstrum are not judged by their appearance but rather by their deeds. I call upon Ummush, Take a vial of my blood and keep it in an urn in the land where the strong and strange are not judged by their looks. You have adopted the Great Olm, The beast of the mine, your ent and your gibboleth... I am no stranger than these. Sweep aside these fears IMPERIAL and give me safe kresh in the true land of this colony's free. All stand aside and let Ummush take me into this pretty skull for a vessel, then onto Harun'Taras as friend!"

"Alternatively, I shall summon my full strength I have garnered in the belief of all peoples and the might of the two fountains and if you are indeed bent on enslaving, imprisoning, or destroying me -- you will not find it easy, or cheap. I shall kill all but the Tyren Shamans for fighting me, and then Level the Attolian Housing District before I am destroyed. Do not trifle with what I say, for I am nothing if not an entity of prophesy."

"So what is it to be? Am I to be allowed a life free of the judgment of a harsh government and it's fear-borne regrets and revisionist promises, or is there to be a battle to bring me down? For if it shall be the latter, you will have long from tommorow wished you had never spared as you found me..."

DECISION POINT:

The fountain entity wants status as a protected refugee in Harun'Taras... or there will be combat. Choice?

 

[Beckoncall]

Coming next:

More orders of the highborn! Prince Vaethorion

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Caelis walked up to the Fountain and said "All I asked was for the soul of that girl, and it was your fear that forced my hand in this matter. You are no better than a lord who keep "wards" and "guests" of their vassals within their castles to ensure fealty. Tis a pity. I did consider you a friend once and it is in respect of that time that I will agree to let you leave to Harun'Taras... if the Tyren will accept you into their home." Caelis then gently placed the decorated skull on the edge of the Fountain. "Though you do claim to be and do many things. I wonder which of those you truly are. Perhaps, you should inform the Tyren of your true self? After all, do we not fear that we do not know?" Caelis rested his hand on the pommel of his sword and leaned on his left leg as he waited to hear the response of the other parties.

---
Summary:

Caelis places the skull on the edge of the fountain, seemingly willing to let the fountain leave peacefully

 

[Shireling]

The Stoutmen of Standin
​

Over the days since the brewery had been cleared and restarted and their docking crane successfully built, the Stouts went about their business as usual. Marriages were officiated, children were born and blessed, and the Stouts put their whole heart into the business of living. By the end of the early spring weeks, the Stouts began making preparations for the Green Festival, an annual celebration of renewal and a time for finding romantic partners in both Standish culture and the Stout religion. A few Stouts who could spare the time from their assigned tasks began to buy out store space in some of the newer buildings outside the colony's palisade wall. There were several skilled wood-carvers who made furniture, beautiful chess sets, and other household items in their spare time. For economic exchange, the Stout colony began to issue carved wooden tokens as there was very little in the way of actual wealth that wasn't held in common. From those outside the colony, they would only accept coin however.

Despite the arrival of the governor, it seemed he was content to let colonial politics proceed at pace. This being the case, the Stouts again presented their charter and lobbied to be included as full voting members on the Colonial Council. Following the proceedings at the Fountain and in the Menagerie districts, the Stouts are intrigued with the sudden influx of new animals. They appoint a few guards to make sure that the grazing land of their flocks is secure, and to capture any stray sheep, cow, oxen or other useful fauna for agriculture use that wander into Standish land. Heyitsjiwon SpiralErrant Spacekitty

Captain Gardver had been getting acquainted with some of his contemporaries in the Firebeard Dwarf colony, sometimes visiting their hall and remarking on the success of their joint ventures. He asks if the Dwarves would be interested in a joint project to build high stone towers and a strong stone wall along the eastern border of the colony to protect it from attacks from afar. He suggests a preemptive project might be the ounce of prevention that saves a pound of cure. General Deth Glitch

Kearney, one day as he is taking tea with his valet in the Platz, is approached by several Zebani, whom he had never seen before. Thinking it unwise to offer them tea, he chuckles good-naturedly to learn that they are interested in the tenants of his religion. He proceeds to give a summarized catechism of the Divinus Dualisimis, how the faith was started by the Prophets in Standin, how their ecclesiastical tradition was structured, and finer points of doctrine such as the dual nature of the Universe as being made of both Spirit and Matter, the nature of the Godhead, and the nature of Malignity. Being the only religion in those lands to have such abstract concepts as an infinite, non-embodied deity, he tried to stress the differences between his faith and the Pantheon gods so that they might understand. Beckoncall

No new build orders were posted, but unassigned Stouts made themselves useful where they could or hired themselves out as day labor in the Platz. Several of them begin part-time apprenticeships to the new craftsmen's shops popping up in town. A few guards on runner-lizards are posted around the pastures to intercept stray livestock from the Menagerie. 2 Draftstouts and 15 Stalwarts begin assisting the Dwarves in the brewery and free laborers make roads with carts and shovels between the town and the brewery and the cliffside crane.

 

[SpiralErrant]

With the words of a bloody titan ringing through the square and all eyes falling on them the three shaman glanced from the fountain to each other, before closing ranks and bowing their heads together in a huddle.

"So I don't think anyone saw that coming." Bruul muttered.

"We can't bring it back to the hills, can we?" Shul chimed in, even more flustered for the situation. "It feeds off blood. That's not what we're about."

"Well it's not like the thing actively asked for living sacrifices, right?" Bruul shrugged.

"You were the one saying how all the spirits around here have gone feral and will be wanting more worship!" Shul hissed at his bulky armoured elder.

Bruul seemed to have his reply loaded and ready. "That was before Orm made us bring a sea monster that eats people's brains home."

"That is completely different, she's happy to just eat fish and things on the shared menu and you know it. Besides, we're supposed to be representing Orm and the caravan here. Do you think they'd all be up for keeping this around Harun'Taras?"

While his peers were happy to bicker Ummush was left in thought, quietly listening as each of his old pupils vied for his attention and agreement. Shul was right about one thing, they were here representing the wishes of others, such was the place of a Tyren shaman. They were the shadow of their chieftain. Orm did not trust this thing. He had not even trusted the green goddess they had sent into exile and its ways were far less violent and more in line with their usual needs. But Orm was not a mage and he had the instinctive mistrust of blood based magic that all his sort did. It was the way of wild shaman to say that spirits and magic cannot be held to mortal morality. They were neither good nor evil, just wild.

Wild came with its own problems though. The crux of their debate now. Could it be tamed, could it be trusted? As dangerous as the things it named as its example could be (except this Great Olm thing, Ummush would have to ask around about that) they had all come to the hills at their weakest point. They were something that could be eased into the caravan as folk got used to them. This thing had glutted itself on the blood of all the colony's battles and whatever else it managed to grab. It didn't even try to hide the hold it had over these humans. Those lies weren't in its nature, it was a wheeler and dealer, Ummush had dealt with this sort of spirit before. Each one always came with a kind of honour of its own. One this one now argued had been betrayed.

The final point Ummush had to ponder was: What could he do with it if he took it in? Perhaps it was just in the nature of his own sort to be tempted by such offers and to ponder the possibilities. With all the power it had gathered and his own knowledge he could wield that blood with a true fury. Combined with all the other magics they'd gathered he could destroy The Cull without a worry. Not to mention what he could do with it about the hills, mixing it with Anuc's life magic or the boiling rage of the blood-touched. With a simple touch he could make them giants on the battlefield. He could see it now, that which they'd held as a curse turned into their greatest weapon. Their veins pulsing with power as the blood was finally brought to heel.

Then he pictured Orm as he'd been. Laid low and buried under the dead, his spirit struggling to join them. Ummush remembered the blood that had caked his boy's fur. The blood that had almost blinded him and run from his sleeping eyes like tears. Such a strange thing was blood and the power it held.

Ummush raised a hand, silencing his coven. Silently he stepped forward, his hooves clacking against the stone ground as he approached the fountain. Silent still he took the jeweled skull, dipped it like a bowl into the red pool and opened the way for the spirit to enter.

"All the fanfare I've heard about you. All the dread of this power." The old shaman's voice was a grating whisper. "You are right about one thing, we do not share their same fears. And I must admit I have need of more power..." And with that Ummush let the blood flow over the skull and onto his flesh as he opened himself up along with the vessel.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

"Master Miyamoto, how does one fight with their sword sheathed? What you ask of me is ridiculous." The young heir asked his sword master.

"Young Wolf, victory in a fight is not achieved with just aggression. Sometimes, one must wait and bide their time." The elder Kriegan Lord chided. "In due time, you will learn the virtue of patience. Now come, and attempt to strike me down."

"But Master... how will you fight while sitting? Attacking while you are not ready to fight... Such an act is dishonorable."

"A warrior is always ready to fight. Now come. While you may have your youth to enjoy, I have much to teach you before I must pass on from this plane. I will leave my legacy to you, but only if you are worthy."

Caelis sheeply began to advance towards the Sword Master. When he approached, Caelis gingerly swung at the Master, who reached up to grab his sword hand to stop the swing and promptly followed up with a quick blow to his stomach with the other hand.

Caelis staggered back, getting the breath knocked out of him. "COME AT ME. Such half heartedness will kill you in battle." Caelis coughed as he struggled to regain his breath. But, his adrenaline began to kick in and with a newfound anger, Caelis suddenly charged at the sword master.

In the blink of an eye, the sword master unsheathed the dulled blade and struck Caelis in his stomach once more. Before Caelis fell, the blade was back in its sheath. Caelis gasped as he couldn't breath. He remained on all fours as he seemed to choke on the air.

The Sword Master calmly waited for the young Lord to regain his breath for a few moments. Caelis slowly got back on his feet when the Master said "Sometimes, when in the face of great aggression, the best option is to wait and counter quickly and decisively. There will be many who are stronger than you in the world. That is nature and fact. However, you must be more patient than any of them if you wish to win. You must breath, bide your time and wait for the perfect moment to strike. Now, sheath your sword and wait."

Caelis silently turned to the sword master and sheathed his sword. He calmly stood with just one hand on his hilt and waited...

---



then he swung. With one swift movement, Caelis lunged at the skull as it entered the fountain and cleaved it into pieces as the brittle skull shattered within the blink of an eye.

"What the bloody...!" Lothar yelled in surprise.

Caelis ignored Lothar and yelled "Thou who calls himself BELIAR, primordial, ancient Devil of a former creation who was banished and blended to Tartarus by the Pantokrator! You foul, formless Quippoth who has no body to call your own. You sin, covet and hate those who have their own true forms, even other demons. You, who exists on the souls and bodies of others for you have no soul of your own. You, who has no right or place in this world. Leave! I banish you to the pits of hell that you come from!" as he gripped the stellar tear with determination and hope.

"What have you done..." Lothar muttered. He unsheathed the large rusted sword with one hand and reached into his pocket. From it, he pulled out a fire tear and placed it on the sword. There was only one way to re-enchant Gottendammarung and it was to use a tear. Thus, Lothar braced himself for a potential fight with this ancient demon, ready to re-enchant the sword without Caelis' knowledge or permission. Caelis was playing a dangerous game, and Lothar would do whatever it took to make sure that he would live. "Begin the exorcism and banishment!" Lothar yelled at the Knights of the Circle, the Spell Breaker and the Pantheon Priest.