Damn, I need to replay fnv someday soon. If only I could bring myself to bother to install, conflicting, and order all the 158+ mods I have on the "must-have"-list...
>_<
The frozen one, whom mortals and immortals alike had named Hulmabi, the Torment of Ice, among many other names, had seen its circumstances change time and again over the slow ages, from barely remembered torments of metamorphosis of the spirit that saw a blind lemure emerge from the husk of a mortal soul consumed by darkness, up through the ranks, fighting with fang and claw, weaving spells of ruin, whispering secrets and temptation with forged tongue ever changing. Yet it had not thought it would find itself in quite these circumstances.
Flying above the Sea of Fire, yes, his was the frozen breath of Stygia which the creatures of this realm had best be wary of, fighting against the Brazen Throne, perhaps, for though the Heir of Iblis was an ally he was as treacherous as he was haughty, and many were the times when one Archduke or another had to settle disputes upon the edge of blood-drenched steel. But to serve another, a mortal, or mortal-born at least, that Hulmabi had not pondered in its long years of existence, until he found himself in a summoning circle faced with a... stark choice. Perhaps he had grown senile in his old age, mind fracturing under the weight of years uncounted, but as he descended upon the Efreeti outpost veiled in silence and illusion he did not think so.
It was a little mentioned power of his kindred that they could spin illusion off a easily as breathing, light fracturing off their frozen shells as easy to shape as clay in the potter's hand or flesh beneath one's claws.
Hulmabi conjured for the thin-blood's ship a full fleet of mirage, crewed with rapacious salamanders looking to blunder and destroy the lightly defended port. Above this fleet flew dragons of flesh and steel, but not under their true guise, far from it, Horned devils and mighty Pit Fiends armed with blades of fire, together with their companies of lesser baatezu all bearing the gold of Mammon. The irony did not escape Hulmabi that those few devils of flesh and blood interspersed with his illusions and the works of the thin-blood actually were renegades from the hosts of the Lord of the Third... and it tasted sweet.
When the 'fleet' was still comfortably out of range of any sharp-eyed watchers to pierce through the glamor, a Salikotal flew down under a banner of parley, not peace of course, for peace was a lie between those who served different masters, as was known the soldiers of Hell and those who stood beside them.
"In the Name of Mammon, Lord of Avarice, King of Greed, Archduke of Minauros, and Treasurer of all Baator, we demand imediate restitution of a slave ship pirated in these waters by clans of the fire-lizards which are supposedly in your keeping. Treasure precious beyond your understanding has been lost to the endless depths. If no restitution is given, even if only within your paltry means, we shall raze this miserable place to its foundation and crush the pumice upon which it sits to ash. Souls of fire may yet burn in the Flames of Hell."
Hulmabi himself had once served as a herald to one of the generals of Minauros. He was really quite proud of his work. If this did not draw out the outpost commander then nothing would.
From the chaos of the outpost arose the ordered ranks of the azer and behind them dervishes with swords of molten steel swift and sure. Arcane weapons aimed at a host of devils that were mostly not there and from the dark below emerged a colonel of the Hosts of Brass, garbed in blacked armor and Salamnder hide. In a voice like brazen trumpets she called for them to make themselves known and stake their claim or face the wrath of the Great Sultan.
War, Hulmabi knew, never changed, and as the dragons descended and the trap was sprung, he reveled in it, the only thing that could still warm the ice in his veins.
What do your forces focus on the most during the month's preparations and particularly the capstone false flag attack?
[] Gaining information about Efreeti movements, was that actually a trap, what are they planning
[] Acquiring wealth, the Efreeti are rich and that can be put to much better use in royal coffers
[] Doing as much damage as possible to aid the salamander rebellion
OOC: I know you guys assigned the ice devil for its offensive potential, but they have other assets to bring to the table too, magically and strategically. Not yet edited.
Here's an edited version of the chapter, @DragonParadox.
...You are one hella entitled player, aren't ya?
[]
But, uuh, hate to break it to ya, but fnv is the old-ass piece of game that really doesn't change much no matter the FPS, be it 10 or 100
For that to be of any significance, well, F4NVis a mod that is being made. (the "entitled"-line is just a joke, if that's not clear enough)
On a more related to-quest note, what do we have left for the month IC, again..?
Summoning vote (because of course), fuckload of reports, and..?
Shall we worry about a brainless mailman from the Irradiated Wasteland of the Abyss as well? Preferably the ones that has been shot in the head, before?
Being fair it is a very powerful sentiment and very fitting to a devil forged in the fires of the Blood War, not my fault its linked to radioactive mailmen in pop culture.
Not the next month (main focus is on clearing out the Sarnori Undead - as a Free action from all available combat-capable units), likely not the 3rd month (either Reach or Qohor taking up all the time, maybe Illithids), definitely not the 4th and 5th months (Reconquest time).
By the 6th month, no point in this info, imo.
We just don't have the sheer resources to pull another "Adamantine-Convoy"-grade attack right now, and likely won't have them for a while yet.
I would not have dared to try such a plan. I don't actually expect this to do much on a strategic level (I presume they'll see through the lie before actually fighting Mammon or anything) but more short-term confusion is always good, and it's not like doing this cost us much...
[X] Doing as much damage as possible to aid the salamander rebellion
I would not have dared to try such a plan. I don't actually expect this to do much on a strategic level (I presume they'll see through the lie before actually fighting Mammon or anything) but more short-term confusion is always good, and it's not like doing this cost us much...
[X] Doing as much damage as possible to aid the salamander rebellion
If you wanted cautious plans you should not have assigned the Siduri to the job. Her idea of cautious is using a combination of blunt trauma and geas to make unwilling devils serve.
If you wanted cautious plans you should not have assigned the Siduri to the job. Her idea of cautious is using a combination of blunt trauma and geas to make unwilling devils serve.
The gelugon's antennae brush against the ceiling of your study with a faint scraping sound. That can't be pleasant, perhaps you should have it raised. There is however no sign of discomfort in the great insectile eyes glittering like a thousand shards of ice in the light of the mage lanterns. "The raids have been a success Dragon Lord," the mind voice holds perhaps a hint of pride. "Much ruin and confusion upon the Hosts of Brass at the cost of but a few losses among our forces and repairs for the Golden Wind. Among the baatezu only two vengeance devils perished and even then with a purpose, their death throes ending the lives of fire-winged messengers who might have summoned reinforcements for the foe."
"Make a personal note not to use that tactic again," you reply wincing internally, and not just at the material costs of each resurrection. You neither want nor need any of your soldiers, baatezu or otherwise, turning themselves into living weapons thus. That is what you have beetle drones for.
Corpses:
335 HD (no individual being greater than 13 HD)
Loot:
6,600 Great Brass Seals
9,700 IM in various other portable wealth
43x Minor Efreeti Forged magic items (CL 5)
Losses:
10,000 IM in Resurrection Diamonds for the Salikotal
5,500 IM in repairs to the Golden Wind
Raiding in infernal guise had been an inspired if bold gambit, as you have grown to expect from the crew of the Golden Wind, you realize looking over the reports from Yrten, Siduri and even the Herald assigned to the battle. Ultimately you still gained more than you lost in terms of gold, but only just, still the addition of minor efreeti enchantments captured in battle, the bodies of the dead and most importantly the seer chaos the raids have sown throughout the efreeti held portions of the shifting Sea of Fire was more than worth the effort. Hopefully the salamander rebellion can rally and hold firm, perhaps even push out the expeditionary fleet of the Brazen Throne.
***
Turning your attention to more affairs once more of this world you discover two things about Lorath. Firstly that very projects you have set for the City of the Three Islands are going steadily, if not particularly swiftly, as the administration of the old order buckles and changes under the weight of Imperial law. Secondly that everyone this side of the Bone Mountains appears to have had spies in Lorath. The Inquisition has found Lannister agents using a local trading company as a front, Qarthi sorcerers trading in spices and rare reagents, Norvosi priests acting as missionaries and possibly direct agents of the city... and a bloody demonic cult dedicated to one whose name you could have done without hearing of for a another century, or perhaps ever. Abraxas' influence was aboard and loose among the narrow streets of Lorath.
Establish Messenger Service in Lorath (4/12)
Establish Inquisition Base in Lorath Bay (6/30)
Establish Messenger Service in Lorath Bay (6/37)
Establish Inquisition Base in Morosh (4/4) -> Complete
As far as the local commissar, one of Alinor's former deputies in the Silver Eye, was able to establish from the testimony of captured cultists the Lord of the Final Incantation has only a small following in the city, mostly would-be mages with more ambition than skill. The Inquisition has so far found no indication of grand plans to overthrow the Princes or usher in the domain of their dark lord. It is possible the cult was just establishing itself, then again it is also possible they are particularly good at hiding. That skill would hardly surprise you from the Demon Lord of Secrets and Forbidden Magic.
Thankfully the commissar's letter does not ask for royal agents assigned to help his branch of the Inquisition. What he does ask for is more trained mages, more investigators and more gold to dig deeper into the various secrets hidden among Lorath's mazes. The most extreme measure he suggests is martial law, though he is obviously not in favor of it. The Empire would lose goodwill and the trust of the people of Lorath both to be seen reacting so strongly to a threat most of the city were ignorant of.
How much aid do you send to Lorath?
[] Dispatch elite investigators (Cost 3,000 IM)
[] Dispatch battle mages (Cost 8,000 IM)
[] Declare martial law in the city (Cost as Action locked in for next month)
OOC: The fight on the Plane of Fire was sadly not that interesting other than the devils blowing themselves up to prevent reinforcements so I decided to just do a report and move on.
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