Tales of History - A Civ-Builder Quest

And thus oaths were sworn on that day. Two men spilled their own blood and clasped hands, a vow forged not in friendship, but shared enmity. On the next day they departed from Riverbend to make good on their pledge, drifting down the Cold River on the River People's boats. Their goal was Great Hearth, a village founded scarce a few years ago, and it would not be given a chance to grow any older. When they arrived, they found the place ready for their coming. A palisade stood tall, its defenders ready, for there was no way they had missed the uncountable boats coming in their direction.

No talks were held before the battle, no words left to be spoken between the two sides. With spear and axe the warriors of the Valley People, White Clans, and River People charged at the palisade, hacking away at the wood and trying to either scale it or drag the defenders down from their perches. A hail of spears and stones fell on them from above, claiming many lives from all sides, though it was the Clansmen who paid the most. But it was not their valiant attempts to breach the palisade that won the day, but the deadly skill of Greenvalley's archers. While their first volleys went wide, they soon found a lethal rhythm, picking off the defenders one by one. Quickly their ranks thinned and long before a hole could have been made to storm Great Hearth in earnest, the Sowing People's warriors fled.

They all surrendered when the attackers finally entered the village. Why they did so, many wondered afterwards. Maybe they thought that Sparrow of Greenvalley would ask for clemency, his people not known for the same brutality as the followers of Makar, though if that was the case, then they were disappointed. No one stopped the Chosen and his warriors from claiming their bloody due. Most of the warriors that had surrendered and quite a few villagers who resisted their attacks were dragged to the Cold River, where their throats were slit and their blood staining the waters red. Their bodies were thrown in afterwards as a message to Brushcrest, the River People chanting praise to their master all the while.

Many Clansmen and Valley People were terrified at seeing this display. They too were no strangers to shows of force and decimating their foes, but this savagery was a new sight for them. Only now they truly understood how the people of Makar had gained such a fearsome reputation. Yet they just stood by and watched, some even joining in to drag the Sowing People from their huts and to the river, for the betrayal by Brushcrest weighed heavily.

At last, though, the last drop of blood was spilled and stock taken of what was left. The River People took their due as it was agreed and their boats were soon laden down with as many people and things as they could carry. Among them was Sparrow, sharing a place of honor in the boat of the Chosen with the maimed warleaders and the chieftain of Great Hearth, though without rope around his wrists and feet like them.

Two great victories had the Valley People won, yet the warriors marching to their home felt none of it. These victories felt too much like defeat. Their band was smaller than when it had set out, even with the few people from Great Hearth that the River People didn't claim being forced to march along. Sparrow was not among them and the spoils of these raids was tiny compared to the effort that went into acquiring them. And this feeling festered. By the time the warriors glimpsed the valley again, they had added hatred to the things they brought with them.

Campaign concluded.
Gained 1 Worker Pop, 2 Food, 1 Sea Shells (converted to 1 Culture)
Lost Elite Commander Sparrow
Antler Clans lost 1 Hunter Pop

Hunters gained new goal: Destroy or Subjugate Brushcrest
Gained +1 Military Experience and +1 Diplomatic Experience in Greenvalley

---

As the seasons turned and the events in the low-lands drifted out of the Valley People's minds again, routine returned to their lives. Not peace, for scouts still walked up and down the Gentle River, clashing every so often. Neither Brushcrest nor Greenvalley felt truly safe anymore, both tribes expecting the other to attack, yet it stayed at these skirmishes. The High Council saw little reason to waste more lives, not with so many wounded among the hunters. Young blood needed to fill the ranks before they would be able to leave the safety of the valley again.

Meanwhile, though, the fighting carried on elsewhere. From the occasional captured scout or daring Clansmen trader, the Valley People learned what was happening around them. The Sowing People had struck at Little River, capturing the village at great loss of life. They marched on to strike at Makar itself, but were repelled after a long battle. The name Blood Sparrow featured in quite a few of these tales, and the people of Greenvalley took great pride to hear that it was one of their own who was beating back the Sowing People.

Alas, even though Little River was retaken by the River People, it did not last for long. Raid after raid, attack after attack, the village changed hands over and over, no side winning decisively enough to truly hold it. They still fought over it, minor skirmishes around the banks of the rivers, not true battles, but still blood stained these lands each summer. It was so much that most had taken to call the village Red Earth for all the death that had stained its soil. Hunger and violence had driven away almost all people from the village by now, leaving only bands of hunters to claim the dilapidated huts.

Meanwhile though, the valley saw a curious development. With all of their hunters away on battle and their gatherers bringing in only meager amounts of food, many members of the Antler Clans had moved to other settlements. The remaining hunters of Greenvalley brought in far more game than expected, the herds being large and plenty with so few others to stalk them, and the river seemed to almost overflow with fish in these years.

Before long, the last borders between the clansmen and the Valley People had faded. They had lived beside each other for so long after all and there was little difference between the people remaining. So it came that on a summer solstice, the chieftain of the clan came before the High Council, laid down his spear and asked to become a subject of Greenvalley. There were many cheers in the crowd when this had been accepted.

Antler Clans absorbed into Greenvalley
Gain 2 Workers (1 Gatherer, 1 Woodcutter), 1 Artisan, 1 Hunter (Standard Infantry)
Woodcutting slots increased by +1


At the same time, more and more clansmen from farther out came each year. Some came in the winter, opting to spend it near the White Halls instead of with their clans, others even using the summer months to make the journey. The Faith of Bones was spreading in the mountains, the many Bone Tenders trained by Speaker leaving their mark. Most still held to older traditions, and it was often difficult for the members of the White Clans to bring the skulls of their dead all the way to the valley, yet it was not only bones they brought. Their pockets often also brought colorful and shiny stones, carved toys and figurines, and many other strange and alluring things from the remote crevices between the mountains.

Soon enough, a few artisans had settled in the village erected for the pilgrims to use, bartering their own works for these things. The High Council thought this practice rather intriguing, for it seemed the pilgrims brought with them an opportunity. On the one hand, the rare materials they brought could be used to decorate the White Halls, making art in the styles of the Valley People from them, but they could also focus more on gathering things wrought by the clansmen as to learn more of their ways of living. Lastly, they could go the other way around and tell the artisans to sell their work cheaper so that the pilgrims carry the art of the Valley People to their clans. In time, they might realize the greatness of Greenvalley and some day even accept the High Council as their rightful rulers, much like the Antler Clans had done.

Pilgrim Village effect revealed
Each turn, the Pilgrim Village can either:
- generate 1 point of Valley People Culture for Greenvalley
- generate 1 point of Culture from another settlement that has Faith of Bones believers for Greenvalley
- generate 1 point of Valley People Culture for a settlement that has Faith of Bones believers

All in all, these years were rocky though stable for the Valley People. For all the troubles in the low-lands, their home was flourishing and they were a little less alone than before. The White Clans, their distant cousins, were stepping ever closer to them with each generation, and for all their vicious brutality, the River People seemed not that different either. But they were still dangerous and now quite aware of the location of the valley, just like the treacherous Sowing People. The question that the High Council faced in those years was thus simple. Would they stay in their home and ignore the troubles of the world around them, or venture forth and make their mark on it?


What should be done in the coming years?

General actions:
[] Reassign some of the workers to different tasks.
-[] Let the simple workers produce some other resource.
--[] Write-In
-[] Tell the artisans to focus on something else.
--[] Write-In
Note: If you reassign artisans, it takes effect immediately. So switching 1 Artisan from producing Culture to Production means you have +1 Production and -1 Culture to spend this turn.

[] Send the hunters on a raid.
-[] Write-In target.
-[] Write-In what troops to take.

You have 0 Production to spend this turn:
[] Improve the village by construction sturdy longhouses for the people. (Cost: 3 Production)
[] Erect menhirs to clearly mark the lands the Valley People claim for all to see. (Cost: 2 Production per map hex)

[] Train some of you workers in other trades. (Cost: 1 Production per Pop)
-[] Train Hunters
--[] Heavy Infantry
--[] Regular Infantry
--[] Light Infantry
--[] Archers
-[] Train Artisans
-[] Train Bone Tenders

[] Create a new village to claim more land for the Valley People. (Cost: 1 Production per Pop settled in the new village.)
-[] Write-In which Pops to settle there.
-[] Write-In where to build the village.
-[] Immediately build a palisade around the village. (Cost: 3 Production, new village must have at least 3 Pops)

You have 3 Culture to spend this turn:
[] Attempt to change a Pops culture to Valley People.
-[] Write-In which Pop
-[] Write-In how much Culture to spend.

[] Try to influence a faction.
-[] Write-In which faction.
-[] Write-In goal.
-[] Write-In how much Culture to spend.

Pick an action for the High Council:
[] Gain +1 Production to spend this turn.
[] Gain +1 Culture to spend this turn.
[] Send a diplomat to someone.
-[] Write-In target of the visit.
-[] Write-In goal of the visit.

Others:
[] (Optional) Change the focus of the Pilgrim Village.
-[] Encourage own culture. (+1 Valley People Culture in Greenvalley) - Current focus
-[] Encourage White Clans culture. (+1 White Clans Culture in Greenvalley)
-[] Bring Valley People Culture to the White Clans. (+1 Valley People Culture in the White Clans)

[] Send your Great Prophet Speaker somewhere:
-[] To the White Clans
--[] Establish local shrines.
--[] Proselytize to the clan leaders.
-[] To the River People
--[] Proselytize


AN: Plan voting only please.