- Location
- Argentina
I know. I am just mentioning that the guy frequently raided by norsemen is not the one likely to get us land inside the city.
Age of Ice and Blood: A Pathfinder System Heroic Fantasy Quest
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
-
- Tags
- pathfinder open voting
I know. I am just mentioning that the guy frequently raided by norsemen is not the one likely to get us land inside the city.
He would not participate, but otherwise he is fine with allowing it to happen for the rest of the herd. He does not feel like he is the same sort of being as his unawakened brethren
@DragonParadox, editing:
Thirty-Sixth Day of Ikomi-eza (Ikomi Ascendant) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)
Among the throng of folk who had come this way to see and to be seen it seems to you that the one who finds least joy in the company, fine food and finer drink is the host of it all, whose rising star it is meant to mark. Oniso Nkosi Odorin Koire, that is Trade Master in the tongue of the city, seems neither particularly masterful, nor all that engaged in trade. He goes through the motions of greeting and smalltalk with the air of one doing it half by rote and passing from one to the other as swift as he can manage it, and yet he has no company for it, no trusted advisor or steward of the family's fortunes at his side.
It is as much for curiosity's sake as sympathy that you approach him offering apologies for the disturbance you have just been party to, sincere apologies as far as they go, but still making it clear that you could not let the affront to any in your company pass without note, or simply stuff a man's mouth with gold to silence him. Here the demands of honor and those of good stewardship of one's purse go hand in hand.
"I understand... you were not... that is you did not start the trouble and it was I who failed to put an end to it," he offers, stumbling his way into what was probably more of an admission of fault than he had meant to.
"Fights like that, like squalls at sea are." What a pair you make, each struggling to find the right words to the moment.
Thankfully you spot Swift Pebble nearby sampling some of the local pine nuts with a quizzical tilt to her head as though she cannot quite make up her mind if she likes them or not.
"Easier to speak without words if you like?" you offer to the young lord.
He hesitates, but only a moment before nodding, the uncertainty of strange magic overcome, or so it seems to you, by the anxiety of a naturally shy disposition thrust into a stage he was not prepared for.
"Thank you, you saved my family from the death of dishonor," the raw admission spoken without the artifice and the veils of polite fiction all but stuns you.
"It was no more than we would have done for any ship being boarded by pirates and the journey north was its own reward as the profit of our holds shows," you finally manage to get out.
"Mother says it is dangerous to associate with foreign magicians, not knowing whence their powers spring, but you are no magician for all you are a foreigner and you have acted with nothing but honor to me and mine. I think you are a worthy friend and as the head of the House I offer friendship in return." Swift Pebble stops as the boy gathers his thoughts. "Many are the debts we must pay and not all of them can be paid with coin alone. We have had to take the muddy road in many places where the dry one would have been too costly..."
The thought cuts off as the otter-kin realizes the meaning is not getting across, eventually she manages to tease out that it means something like 'pinching pennies', though she is now confused as to why one would want to pinch metal.
"Our guard has seen better days, many of the most experienced of them have been sent as levy to the war, leaving no one but greybeards and striplings to guard our interests in the city and the former do not have as much luck training the latter with the weight of many winters on their shoulders. Though I cannot now pay for the services of such a skilled warrior to train them I would give bond-oath to repay the service when the fortunes of the House are not balanced on reeds."
You are getting a bit better at teasing out the meaning of Swift Pebble's translations, he is offering a favor to be repayed at a later time in exchange for the training of the sworn men of his House. You nod and say that you would give him an answer soon after you had consulted with your fellow founders of the Fellowship.
Unlocked Train the Soldiers of House Koire
Who do you speak to next?
[] A broad shouldered bear of a man wearing the tall cylindrical hats of the Priesthood of Ashinu, he had been the one to bless the opening of the feast thought you had not seen him since, yet now he seems interested in speaking to Swift Pebble, though she is hesitant to approach alone as she does not understand the gods of this realm all that well
[] Antonio motions you over to speak of the raising of horses, particularly with an eye to capturing the wild horses of this land to perhaps breed with your own stock
[] A man wearing not robes but red fringed pants, one of the first such garments you have ever seen would like to speak of your journeys. According to Esha he is one of an order sworn to carry messages to far off places while keeping them secret and safe from all eyes, likely he wants to hear of the less fantastical parts of your journeys, perhaps more
[] Zaia managed to find a book seller of all things among the guests, but unsurprisingly rare books are quite expensive, too much so for him to make any promises of the company finances on his own account
OOC: You cannot speak to Bragi at the moment, Roland can no longer see where he is.
Thirty-Sixth Day of Ikomi-eza (Ikomi Ascendant) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)
You had never before pondered the prospect of a realm and a people skilled in martial matters ashore who do not know the horse, not really. It was to your mind easy enough to dismiss the Anwa who dwelt upon an island in the midst of the churning sea and must sail to war and not ride, but the folk of Orinilu while keeping their eyes upon the sea are not without lands held in vassalage, along the coast where the forests are their fortress just as the walls of stone and the palisades of wood.
Hengo Perys is not a man seeking horses as a curiosity, as a sign of prestige or of virility. He does so for the blood that is shared each autumn by the Yayar, riders of the horned beasts, distant kin perhaps of the Wyrdoki, though far fiercer and more numerous. Indeed, by the accounts you are given of their savagery and their rapaciousness you would think them demons in the skin of men given to fire and butchery for the sheer joy of them. "Olweje they call Great King over all the kings of their wide land and to no law but his do they bend. Wild like the north wind and just as cruel, they come with greed and with evil in their eyes, though the wise Iki-uma know to give bread with a cunning portion as well as a fair one."
"They pay tribute then," you interject, the way he had called the lords of the hinterlands wise gives you pause and makes you wonder if for the first time in your stay in the city you stand before one who is more a worshiper of Elnu than Ikomi or even Ashinu. Not that you have any reason to personally dislike the old aristocracy of the land, you remind yourself. Digging to the root of things you probably have more in common with them than you do with the merchant lords like Odorin Koire, or at least the man you were a year ago would have more in common with them, the mercenary and perhaps merchant you are now... you are not so sure.
"They pay tribute," Hengo agrees grimly. "Some have even tried to persuade some of the raiders to let go of their wandering ways and guard the land as man of old made dogs of wolves, but to this day no such attempt has gone well. Their beasts sicken and die or their fellows fall on them in raids or they seek to bite the very hand that fed them. Feh I say to them and their beasts..." he spits for emphasis upon the fine marble floor. "We shall ride against them upon the backs of horses, that are larger than their foul tempered beasts, and we shall match their horns with armor of metal."
"That would be the work of decades of breeding our stock with the wild beasts," Antonio tempers the man's words.
"Assuming they can breed and their offspring after them," you add, thinking of mules. Judging by the look on your friend's face that might be a bit more tempering than he had wished for, but that does not make it any less true.
"I am sure we can find something to offer our stud services to, though of course you know these forests and the trappers whom might best work on them," he adds. "The great war steeds of distant Verley shall bequeath their blood upon the beasts of this land and by their progeny shall the wreckers of fields and the destroyers of hearths be driven from the lands of Orinilu..."
And with that the fire is again in the man's eyes, almost zeal in dealing with these invaders. It is not hard to guess at Antonio's purpose, a deal that costs you nothing but bringing the horses you have to breed costs little but time and in the case of the mares the chance to use them on the field that year, but you cannot help but worry that these tribes may take ill to you handing out cavalry to the city and its dependencies.
Do you agree to the deal to loan out stallions and mares of your herds for a fee once Hengo acquires wild stock?
[] Yes (Gain 8,000 gp next year in the spring for stud services with potentially even more in the years to come if the breeding is successful)
[] No, you do not want to risk making more enemies, both within Orinilu and beyond its walls so soon
OOC: Just to be clear the 8,000 gp above do not require an action, just a commitment. The cost for the passive income is the association itself.
Unspoken Offer
Thirty-Sixth Day of Ikomi-eza (Ikomi Ascendant) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)
Among the throng of folk who had come this way to see and to be seen it seems to you that the one who finds least joy in the company, fine food and finer drink is the host of it all, whose rising star it is meant to mark. Oniso Nkosi Odorin Koire, that is Trade Master in the tongue of the city, seems neither particularly masterful, nor all that engaged in trade. He goes through the motions of greeting and smalltalk with the air of one doing it half by rote and passing from one to the other as swift as he can manage it, and yet he has no company for it, no trusted advisor or steward of the family's fortunes at his side.
It is as much for curiosity's sake as sympathy that you approach him offering apologies for the disturbance you have just been party to, sincere apologies as far as they go, but still making it clear that you could not let the affront to any in your company pass without note, or simply stuff a man's mouth with gold to silence him. Here the demands of honor and those of good stewardship of one's purse go hand in hand.
"I understand... you were not... that is you did not start the trouble and it was I who failed to put an end to it," he offers, stumbling his way into what was probably more of an admission of fault than he had meant to.
"Fights like that, like squalls at sea are." What a pair you make, each struggling to find the right words to the moment.
Thankfully you spot Swift Pebble nearby sampling some of the local pine nuts with a quizzical tilt to her head as though she cannot quite make up her mind if she likes them or not.
"Easier to speak without words if you like?" you offer to the young lord.
He hesitates, but only a moment before nodding, the uncertainty of strange magic overcome, or so it seems to you, by the anxiety of a naturally shy disposition thrust into a stage he was not prepared for.
"Thank you, you saved my family from the death of dishonor," the raw admission spoken without the artifice and the veils of polite fiction all but stuns you.
"It was no more than we would have done for any ship being boarded by pirates and the journey north was its own reward as the profit of our holds shows," you finally manage to get out.
"Mother says it is dangerous to associate with foreign magicians, not knowing whence their powers spring, but you are no magician for all you are a foreigner and you have acted with nothing but honor to me and mine. I think you are a worthy friend and as the head of the House I offer friendship in return." Swift Pebble stops as the boy gathers his thoughts. "Many are the debts we must pay and not all of them can be paid with coin alone. We have had to take the muddy road in many places where the dry one would have been too costly..."
The thought cuts off as the otter-kin realizes the meaning is not getting across, eventually she manages to tease out that it means something like 'pinching pennies', though she is now confused as to why one would want to pinch metal.
"Our guard has seen better days, many of the most experienced of them have been sent as levy to the war, leaving no one but greybeards and striplings to guard our interests in the city and the former do not have as much luck training the latter with the weight of many winters on their shoulders. Though I cannot now pay for the services of such a skilled warrior to train them I would give bond-oath to repay the service when the fortunes of the House are not balanced on reeds."
You are getting a bit better at teasing out the meaning of Swift Pebble's translations, he is offering a favor to be repayed at a later time in exchange for the training of the sworn men of his House. You nod and say that you would give him an answer soon after you had consulted with your fellow founders of the Fellowship.
Unlocked Train the Soldiers of House Koire
Who do you speak to next?
[] A broad shouldered bear of a man wearing the tall cylindrical hats of the Priesthood of Ashinu, he had been the one to bless the opening of the feast thought you had not seen him since, yet now he seems interested in speaking to Swift Pebble, though she is hesitant to approach alone as she does not understand the gods of this realm all that well
[] Antonio motions you over to speak of the raising of horses, particularly with an eye to capturing the wild horses of this land to perhaps breed with your own stock
[] A man wearing not robes but red fringed pants, one of the first such garments you have ever seen would like to speak of your journeys. According to Esha he is one of an order sworn to carry messages to far off places while keeping them secret and safe from all eyes, likely he wants to hear of the less fantastical parts of your journeys, perhaps more
[] Zaia managed to find a book seller of all things among the guests, but unsurprisingly rare books are quite expensive, too much so for him to make any promises of the company finances on his own account
OOC: You cannot speak to Bragi at the moment, Roland can no longer see where he is.
By Rumble of Hooves
Thirty-Sixth Day of Ikomi-eza (Ikomi Ascendant) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)
You had never before pondered the prospect of a realm and a people skilled in martial matters ashore who do not know the horse, not really. It was to your mind easy enough to dismiss the Anwa who dwelt upon an island in the midst of the churning sea and must sail to war and not ride, but the folk of Orinilu while keeping their eyes upon the sea are not without lands held in vassalage, along the coast where the forests are their fortress just as the walls of stone and the palisades of wood.
Hengo Perys is not a man seeking horses as a curiosity, as a sign of prestige or of virility. He does so for the blood that is shared each autumn by the Yayar, riders of the horned beasts, distant kin perhaps of the Wyrdoki, though far fiercer and more numerous. Indeed, by the accounts you are given of their savagery and their rapaciousness you would think them demons in the skin of men given to fire and butchery for the sheer joy of them. "Olweje they call Great King over all the kings of their wide land and to no law but his do they bend. Wild like the north wind and just as cruel, they come with greed and with evil in their eyes, though the wise Iki-uma know to give bread with a cunning portion as well as a fair one."
"They pay tribute then," you interject, the way he had called the lords of the hinterlands wise gives you pause and makes you wonder if for the first time in your stay in the city you stand before one who is more a worshiper of Elnu than Ikomi or even Ashinu. Not that you have any reason to personally dislike the old aristocracy of the land, you remind yourself. Digging to the root of things you probably have more in common with them than you do with the merchant lords like Odorin Koire, or at least the man you were a year ago would have more in common with them, the mercenary and perhaps merchant you are now... you are not so sure.
"They pay tribute," Hengo agrees grimly. "Some have even tried to persuade some of the raiders to let go of their wandering ways and guard the land as man of old made dogs of wolves, but to this day no such attempt has gone well. Their beasts sicken and die or their fellows fall on them in raids or they seek to bite the very hand that fed them. Feh I say to them and their beasts..." he spits for emphasis upon the fine marble floor. "We shall ride against them upon the backs of horses, that are larger than their foul tempered beasts, and we shall match their horns with armor of metal."
"That would be the work of decades of breeding our stock with the wild beasts," Antonio tempers the man's words.
"Assuming they can breed and their offspring after them," you add, thinking of mules. Judging by the look on your friend's face that might be a bit more tempering than he had wished for, but that does not make it any less true.
"I am sure we can find something to offer our stud services to, though of course you know these forests and the trappers whom might best work on them," he adds. "The great war steeds of distant Verley shall bequeath their blood upon the beasts of this land and by their progeny shall the wreckers of fields and the destroyers of hearths be driven from the lands of Orinilu..."
And with that the fire is again in the man's eyes, almost zeal in dealing with these invaders. It is not hard to guess at Antonio's purpose, a deal that costs you nothing but bringing the horses you have to breed costs little but time and in the case of the mares the chance to use them on the field that year, but you cannot help but worry that these tribes may take ill to you handing out cavalry to the city and its dependencies.
Do you agree to the deal to loan out stallions and mares of your herds for a fee once Hengo acquires wild stock?
[] Yes (Gain 8,000 gp next year in the spring for stud services with potentially even more in the years to come if the breeding is successful)
[] No, you do not want to risk making more enemies, both within Orinilu and beyond its walls so soon
OOC: Just to be clear the 8,000 gp above do not require an action, just a commitment. The cost for the passive income is the association itself.
This spring, though at the end of it as they actually need time to catch and pen wild horses.
The added genetic diversity is not advantageous, it is required, as, as far as I was able to find, the consensus is that with an initial breeding population size of less than 50 inbreeding defects are inevitable; we'll not be able to keep a pure strain of norman horses, to have non-defective breeding strain at all we'll have to breed with something else.
Unless, @DragonParadox, you will rule away the dangers of inbreeding and allow us to keep breeding our horses pure with no defects?
I also tried to find anything magical to help with possible fertility problems, only was able to find these two 3rd-party spells for a 3rd-party class: Analyze Fertility, which tells if a creature has fertility problems or not, and Conception, which overcomes sterility and infertility, whether natural or not, and, while having a range personal, explicitly allows to be brewed as a potion by this 3rd-party class.
@DragonParadox, can there be something like that in you setting? Maybe if not as a 3rd-level spell, then as a ritual?
Also, if you could clarify, does this
mean that that they are of the Knikut race? And them worshiping Olweje means that while most Knikut worship spirits, some can worship gods? Actually, are the gods (Ikomi, Ashinu, Elnu and his siblings and their progeny, not meaning Olweje here, as IIRC he was brought by Ikomi from the outside chaos) thought of as specifically human gods, like e.g. in Forgotten Reals where there are human gods and elf gods and dwarf gods, or are they thought of as gods of and for everyone and everything?
- Location
- Argentina
... but we will be in Apuku during spring, right? How will we handle that?
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
@DragonParadox, I don't remember seeing what kinds of mundane loot we got from the most recent batch of pirates. Did I forget or have we just not gone over it yet?
That would open up a good amount of cargo space, too, or room for more people. I wonder what the going rate for decently trained mercenaries is, and if there are any available we might be able to hire to bring with us to Apuku?
We should be able to return by the end of Spring, plus we don't need to take our stallions with us when we return to Apuku. Another advantage of having a real base is being able to leave some of them behind with a greater likelihood of them remaining safe.
That would open up a good amount of cargo space, too, or room for more people. I wonder what the going rate for decently trained mercenaries is, and if there are any available we might be able to hire to bring with us to Apuku?
- The issue of inbreeding and any solutions, magical or otherwise you might come up with will have to be done IC. What I will say is that I will not exclude using magic for the purposes on any OOC grounds and given that the fertility of beasts and of the soil would be a deep concern to many people in this age as their lives depend on good harvests and healthy beasts odds are someone came up with something
- Well that is not as easy to answer as up north. homo Sapiens and Homo Neanderthalensis were able to have children and were no strangers to living together. The Yayay, like all tribes close to the sea are living proof of the fact.
They would wait for your return, though you would of course only be paid on said return.
I'll add an armory section on the front page tomorrow. Generally speaking there is little market for Anwari arms and armor around here, but you could sell at least the spears and such if you want.
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If we are successful in Korman, we can consider sailing south to Inaurna immediately to trade and get knowledge, and maybe look into shadow plot there. It is the most civilized and ancient of the human realms we know, and we have an in through Inoko worshippers, I hope we can get more knowledge and magic there.
Nothing prevents us to come to agreement with House Koire to handle some of our business in Orinilu while we are away.
And I'm against getting mercenaries, I don't want to participate in large-scale war engagements, Anwa can do it alright by themselves, what we have is highly skilled warriors and mages, we should perform a targeted strike against the daemons while conventional Anwa forces are battling it out among themselves, like Aina's party did, they engaged the daemons themselves while there was a night raid by other people in progress.
- Location
- Germany
So, do we want to go to a temple next, due to our promise of dealing with the curse to Tom and our men?
Would you try the Ikomi temple for our known connections, or rather find an Olweje priest (if there are such in the city) from the guesses that the curse is related to Him?
Would you try the Ikomi temple for our known connections, or rather find an Olweje priest (if there are such in the city) from the guesses that the curse is related to Him?
- Location
- Argentina
I'd go everywhere until I find a solution
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Inaura does sound promising, though I really want to make contact with the Court of Gears. Hopefully we can manage that during the Winter in Orinilu.
As for mercenaries, I was just mentioning the possibility of hiring them for the assault on Korman. Specifically, to have them aboard in the event of more ship to ship combat, which is likely, and possibly to help guard Marcella in our absence during the main assault.
Another possibility would be to bring some trained Koire guards with us to get them some field experience, which could be like getting mercs without necessarily paying merc rates.
Probably best to start at the Ikomi temple because we've already got a fairly well established reputation with the clergy there.
Inge already went to Ikomi's temple, I hope DP would write about it soon and I hope Inge was able to at least ask about how we could go about this Olweje blessing/curse of ours among other things.
Though I think we should try finding somebody directly related to Olweje to be sure.
Though I think we should try finding somebody directly related to Olweje to be sure.
I decided against her doing the visit on her own actually, you guys will be going on screen so you can vote on whatever you discover.
- Location
- Russia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Yes (Gain 8,000 gp next year in the spring for stud services with potentially even more in the years to come if the breeding is successful)
I also want to visit Inaurna next.
@DragonParadox, tried to find in the previous updates if there is a temple to Olweje in Orinilu, so far found only references to temples in general in High City, remaining temples of the Great Gods and shrines of lesser ones. Given that Olweje is not associated with Elnu and is a Great God, there is an Olweje temple in Orinilu with organized priesthood, right?
The cult does indeed have a presence in the city, it is understandably popular among warriors by trade, like the standing guard of the city, but everyone prays to him before war.
Good night guys, see you tomorrow as we wrap up the deals and the arc.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
8,000 gold is a significant investment for this dude to make, or to gamble really, on the hope of eventually creating a mounted force capable of standing up to the Yayar's annual depredations.
He is either extremely rich and can afford to eat the cost of this endeavor if it fails, merely very rich and has a serious grudge against the Yayar, or it's not all his money he's gambling, but rather something raised from multiple interested parties. Of course, it could be some combination of all three of these, but still, a very risky investment from his POV, since relatively little is known about us and our horses.
We know long term Divinations aren't really a thing in this setting because there are gods who specifically block that sort of magic (thankfully!), but more petty Divinations, like Augury are probably not inhibited, since they're so relatively minor and localized. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Hengo went to a Diviner or temple and paid for an Augury to determine the likelihood of his success before ever approaching us. Even if it can't tell him how likely a breeding program is to succeed, it could still help him decide if we were trustworthy, willing to actually commit to helping in exchange for payment rather than half-assing it or just trying to take the money and run, etc.
If true, and such services are available here in the city, we might wish to avail ourselves of them at some point in the future.
He is either extremely rich and can afford to eat the cost of this endeavor if it fails, merely very rich and has a serious grudge against the Yayar, or it's not all his money he's gambling, but rather something raised from multiple interested parties. Of course, it could be some combination of all three of these, but still, a very risky investment from his POV, since relatively little is known about us and our horses.
We know long term Divinations aren't really a thing in this setting because there are gods who specifically block that sort of magic (thankfully!), but more petty Divinations, like Augury are probably not inhibited, since they're so relatively minor and localized. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Hengo went to a Diviner or temple and paid for an Augury to determine the likelihood of his success before ever approaching us. Even if it can't tell him how likely a breeding program is to succeed, it could still help him decide if we were trustworthy, willing to actually commit to helping in exchange for payment rather than half-assing it or just trying to take the money and run, etc.
If true, and such services are available here in the city, we might wish to avail ourselves of them at some point in the future.
With Augury's half an hour limit he would have to do it just before the party we are at or even after it has started, the logistics are troublesome. Though maybe he managed it.
There is theoretical possibility of a more long-tern diviation, as it looks like divination is one of vocations of the priesthood of Nikure:
So maybe the man really tried something like that and is more assured than it may appear.
But given how he was starting to be dissuaded when Antonio and Roland mentioned required time and possibility of fertility problems, it looks not so plausible.
And 8000 gp is about a cost of using fleet of 3 ships for a season, and it looks like these Yayar cost much more and constantly, with all the out-of-city landowners giving them part of their income as tribute each year. So maybe 8000 gp is not so much a sum to try, horse breeding is essentially military R&D so a natural money sink even if the prospects are not completely clear.
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Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
I was thinking it might be something similar to how the Cleric of Ikomi was able to ask so many questions of the Hedon's skull when we went there to have Speak with the Dead used on it.
If the Augury was part of a Divine ritual, it could have reached a bit further than a traditionally cast spell.
Just a thought, since the Seers are possibly available and willing to provide their services so long as the topic doesn't pertain directly to the war.
Just happened upon it, it appears we tried to use Nikure priests' services, at the time to look at Marcella, but had no luck:
So it's not a sure thing if we could ever get long-term divination services from them. Still worth keeping possibility in mind.