Glamour, Glamour Never Changes
War, War Never Changes.
When the fire rained down from the sky...
War, War Never Changes.
When the fire rained down from the sky...
Fallout: Paradise Lost (C:TL/Fallout, CK2), in Hawaii!
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War, and Freehold Selection
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Glamour, Glamour Never Changes
War, War Never Changes.
When the fire rained down from the sky, when the decadent old world ended, all died, all was lost. Humanity, which had claimed itself the master of this world, unchallenged by any, was nearly wiped into extinction. America, which had thought itself the master and pinnacle of all, was no different. The world, it seemed, had been broken in two. Darkness slid over the planet, and some hid in underground Vaults, and others survived outside.
Yet the world didn't end, and those who survived fought over what remained, over the bloody scraps of a great and powerful and cruel civilization, the likes of which might never be seen again. Raiders and monsters, twisted and hateful and arrogant organizations vying for power. To live in the world after the fallout was to truly know that there was a darkness even blacker than the quiet nuclear winter.
And in the darkness, there is war. Always war. With guns, with clubs, with their bare hands, those who survived fought to make a place for themselves, and in doing so dragged the world yet farther down.
It was folly, the greatest madness of all.
But, you know what they say: War, War Never Changes.
******
When the Gentry took away humans, took them and made them something other, they were not doing anything wrong, to their ears. Immortal, matchless, perfect and perfectly mad, these creatures played god and goddess, twisted humanity, enslaved a few to its will, and had they had the inclination, the mindset, could have easily done the same with the whole world, drowning it in glamour and madness.
Yet they did not, and even their hold, their grip, let through many survivors. These Changelings, twisted and mutated by their experiences in the home of the True Fae, Arcadia, became something other than human. Sterile, and yet granted powerful magic, and the ability to use the tokens and tools and weapons of the master. They were but scraps, like pieces of junk in the heap, compared to the full might of the Gentry, and yet with these weapons, and with their cunning, they fought and hid, survived and formed Freeholds, societies.
They fought the Goblins in the Hedge, the border between Arcadia and the human world, shrouded in darkness, ignorant of the death and destruction beyond their sight, they fought each other. Loyalists and privateers, scum and villains and well-meaning ideologues all.
These Freeholds formed with rules, with Courts. Ways to divide themselves and confuse the Gentry, to hide. Spring Court, the Court of Desire, of love and passion and the shining knight. Summer Court, the Court of Wrath, the Militia whose war is endless, against an unbeatable foe. The Autumn Court, the Court of Fear, which knows the magic and secrets of the True Fae, and uses them against their enemies. The Winter Court, the Court of Sorrow, which knows how to run and hide, how to sneak and murder.
The word comes, all at once, a prophecy. Get into the Hollows, hide in the Hedge, for something is coming that will change everything. The Freehold and its people ask what: what? War.
They look at the chaotic world, an America at peace even as countries around the world descend into war, hatred, and violence. They heeded the advice.
And now they step out into a chaotic, destroyed world, across timelines, across alternate universes, into a world of chaotic war.
But Changelings have their own power, their own secrets. They know their own sort of war in their world of darkness.
Some things might change, but never war.
*****
Select your Freehold--
So this Quest will be slightly different in at least one way. After the first vote, there will be a LOOONG pause, probably a few weeks, while I make the world. As in, I'm not just going to drop you out next to Three Dog just because that makes things easier for me. I'll build up the ruins of Atlanta if that wins, Philadelphia...the small town in the Midwest, Hawaii...all of that. Which takes time. So feel free to vote knowing that they'll be a bit of a pause, but that hopefully in exchange you'll get good worldbuilding.
Second point. I say 'CK2' Quest, but it's going to have a lot of Be X and personal stuff where you control a single character, and I plan on not making it some sort of simple Year=Turn thing, perhaps crib some other systems for a limit on people, or on other things.
Third, updates will probably be slow because I'm not going to give this priority over all of my MANY other obligations, but I will try to keep this from dying if I can.
Fourth, have fun.
War, War Never Changes.
When the fire rained down from the sky, when the decadent old world ended, all died, all was lost. Humanity, which had claimed itself the master of this world, unchallenged by any, was nearly wiped into extinction. America, which had thought itself the master and pinnacle of all, was no different. The world, it seemed, had been broken in two. Darkness slid over the planet, and some hid in underground Vaults, and others survived outside.
Yet the world didn't end, and those who survived fought over what remained, over the bloody scraps of a great and powerful and cruel civilization, the likes of which might never be seen again. Raiders and monsters, twisted and hateful and arrogant organizations vying for power. To live in the world after the fallout was to truly know that there was a darkness even blacker than the quiet nuclear winter.
And in the darkness, there is war. Always war. With guns, with clubs, with their bare hands, those who survived fought to make a place for themselves, and in doing so dragged the world yet farther down.
It was folly, the greatest madness of all.
But, you know what they say: War, War Never Changes.
******
When the Gentry took away humans, took them and made them something other, they were not doing anything wrong, to their ears. Immortal, matchless, perfect and perfectly mad, these creatures played god and goddess, twisted humanity, enslaved a few to its will, and had they had the inclination, the mindset, could have easily done the same with the whole world, drowning it in glamour and madness.
Yet they did not, and even their hold, their grip, let through many survivors. These Changelings, twisted and mutated by their experiences in the home of the True Fae, Arcadia, became something other than human. Sterile, and yet granted powerful magic, and the ability to use the tokens and tools and weapons of the master. They were but scraps, like pieces of junk in the heap, compared to the full might of the Gentry, and yet with these weapons, and with their cunning, they fought and hid, survived and formed Freeholds, societies.
They fought the Goblins in the Hedge, the border between Arcadia and the human world, shrouded in darkness, ignorant of the death and destruction beyond their sight, they fought each other. Loyalists and privateers, scum and villains and well-meaning ideologues all.
These Freeholds formed with rules, with Courts. Ways to divide themselves and confuse the Gentry, to hide. Spring Court, the Court of Desire, of love and passion and the shining knight. Summer Court, the Court of Wrath, the Militia whose war is endless, against an unbeatable foe. The Autumn Court, the Court of Fear, which knows the magic and secrets of the True Fae, and uses them against their enemies. The Winter Court, the Court of Sorrow, which knows how to run and hide, how to sneak and murder.
The word comes, all at once, a prophecy. Get into the Hollows, hide in the Hedge, for something is coming that will change everything. The Freehold and its people ask what: what? War.
They look at the chaotic world, an America at peace even as countries around the world descend into war, hatred, and violence. They heeded the advice.
And now they step out into a chaotic, destroyed world, across timelines, across alternate universes, into a world of chaotic war.
But Changelings have their own power, their own secrets. They know their own sort of war in their world of darkness.
Some things might change, but never war.
*****
Select your Freehold--
Freehold of the Mended Quilt: Smalltown, Midwest
This freehold was formed in the late 19th century by a rather unlikely set of people. A quilter who wove magic as well, a hard-working and hard-partying farmer, his cousin a vigilante who stalked the Hedge looking to save people, and the half-broken, hidden boy whose rescue set off an attack by the Gentry that led to these figures, and several others who joined them, into making a Freehold, though they lacked knowledge of the seasonal courts. But with this protection, and with the magical quilts of the woman as their symbol, they were formed.
Later, when the Seasonal System came and was adopted, playfully people would retroactively place the founders into the Seasons, revered as they are. There are a lot more now then there were then. Well, sorta.
There's not a huge number, so they're not really a big Freehold, but they're a big happy family, and more importantly, they get along well with the locals, many of which are Ensorcelled and in on the secret. Many many. It's a small town, less than two-thousand people, but there are several hundred Ensorcelled, and plenty of other humans who are in the know. They protect their own, they help each other, that sort of thing.
Advantages
All But Family: There is very little in the way of discord between the four courts, and while there are no doubt rascals and strange folks in the Freehold, everyone knows everyone, and trusts everyone for the most part, and so while there is not a strong government, as it were, they definitely don't have as much need for it.
Mortal Advantage: They have Ensorcelled plenty of people, friends and allies, and they will be able to take these people along for the ride, rather than them having been left behind.
Countryfolk Will Survive: They are survivors, all of them, people who are used to taking care of themselves. While there are no super-experts on fields laying around, people are likely to know plenty about, say, survival or first-aid or hunting, and are likely to stock up on supplies, to know little bits of information that might help in the case of troubles.
Neutral
Out of the Way: In both good and bad ways, it is out of the way. In the Dresden crossover, this manifests rather obviously, in not being anywhere important, in Warhammer and Fallout, one will wind up a little more out of the way of the main stuff, which provides both safety and time, but also difficulty and challenges.
Disadvantages
Middle of Nowhere: There is no Goblin Market, there are few Tokens, and most of them are passed down from person to person, and whatever else you might say, it's not exactly the best place to go if you want an exciting Hedge life.
Sleepy Town: This isn't a place you go if you want to be a hot-shot sorcerer, a powerful warrior, or otherwise the cream of the crop. Sometimes people who are taken here or wind up here leave to go to more exciting places, so there's SOMEWHAT less quality in terms of ambition/scope.
We Few, We Happy Few: There aren't a lot of Changelings in this Freehold, better make them count. Total number will be 20-30 (will roll for it.)
Freehold of New Atlanta: Atlanta, Georgia
Formed after the burning of Atlanta, this is an ancient Freehold that has fully embraced the Seasonal System, and is in some ways maybe a little stratified. But this holds advantages as well. For in the ruins of the old Freehold, there is quite a lot to loot, in the wealth of the Freehold there are many advantages, and they have many, many Talebound, having taken to cultivating families of Talebound since the 18th century.
They're currently quite powerful and quite contented, though there are perhaps problems beneath the surface.
Population: 140+ (Will Roll for the exact number)
Advantages
The First Families: The Talebound of New Atlanta are famous for their loyalty and their long and distinguished lineages of both service and power within the Freehold. A small handful of families, but with plenty of retainers and power, their Minor Fae Powers and connection to Changelings makes them very useful indeed.
The Ruins: The remains of the various buildings in the Hedge that used to be the old Freehold are still yet only partially scavenged, and there are many Tokens, Goblin Fruit trees, and other secrets yet to be unearthed. And that wealth draws interest, attention, people willing to trade for its goods.
Blue is the Blood: The Freehold, if in fact not all of its members, are rich. Very rich, from connections both legal and illegal. If they wind up in the Dresden-verse, they manage to maintain some of their ties and contacts, and knowledge of ways to gain wealth, while in the other two, they hoard some of their wealth on their way over, where it will no doubt come to good use.
Neutral
A Feudal Future: They are governed according to the rational and simple principles of feudalism, in which authority and power is properly split up at every level, so that all matters are carefully addressed and everyone knows their place, and so there's no question of who has what authority.
No, wait, wrong notes. They are governed according to the chaotic principle of 'you take what you can' and then trying to preserve it against all comers, creating vast power blocs that bicker and argue, or maintain their authority whether it is for the best of everyone or not, and engage in what is known as 'capture' in terms of both regulation and the economy of the Freehold.
In truth...it's a bit of both.
Disadvantages
Criminal Ties: Said wealth and ties comes partially from doing crime, from being involved in some pretty shady deals, and that both means that there are obligations that come with it, and also even if they leave the universe, they're taking a *lot* of people with them who think that allying with criminals and murderers is perfectly fine and good.
Leaving a Marx: The Freehold is greatly divided by issues of both class and race, and is thus something of a powder keg, waiting for a match, as powerful as it is.
Amid the Ruins: In the ruins, too, are dangerous Goblins, and a crazed member of the Gentry who thinks that the year is 1864, that he is a Plantation Owner, and that everyone in the Freehold is a Yankee. So, yeah, good luck with that.
Freehold of the Marble Arch: St. Louis, Missouri
Built off of the back of the River in the Hedge, Marble Arch is a rich and powerful Freehold indeed, one that in no way should be called second-fiddle just because Thousand Trods is in the same state and more populated and powerful and influential. Because they don't have as good access to the River, and they don't have the Gateway Arch, whose magical and symbolic potential is well acknowledged by all.
Population: 140-160
Advantages
The River Goes On: They are sitting, on the Hedge side, on the largest River in the world, one which can take one anywhere in the Hedge if one follows it, and has vast wealth to be gleaned from it, both in terms of trade and artifacts. Even in another world, this River survives, and is the heart of the Freehold. They also have moderate advantages towards seamanship and other such areas.
Gateway City: While not as full of Trods as the famed Freehold in Kansas City, Thousand Trod, the gateway it has means that in the Hedge there are many ties around the world, and the magical importance of the gateway has spawned an interest in symbology and magic relating to symbols, including sorcery and Onieromancy.
The King Stays The King: Their monarchies seem remarkably stable, and while there is friction between the four seasonal monarchs, and within the courts as well, it doesn't erupt into disagreement and squabbles all that often. The monarchs are likely to be experienced and capable men and women.
Neutral
Borderlines: I suppose if one wants to really get bent out of shape, it's the closest of all of these options to Chicago for the Dresdenverse crossover. So there's that.
Disadvantages
Second City: Their 'second-fiddle' nature means that some of the most ambitious of them resent Thousand Trods, or else go to join it. In the Dresdenverse, one will have to deal with the influence of such a nearby and powerful Freehold (nearby relatively speaking), while in other cases, one will have to deal with not having several of their best and brighest.
A Gateway to What?: Besides the mysteries that surround the Hedge Arch, there is the fact that many wandering bands of goblins sometimes show up to wreck things. They're kinda a problem, but it's even more of a problem because…
Pirates: Argh, matey, there are Pirates on the River. Surprised? Yeah, having to deal with bands of goblin and Changeling pirates, and those willing to give them aid and comfort, sometimes even within the Freehold itself, but generally the Courtless population, will be a bit of a hassle.
Kingdoms of the Volcano: Honolulu, Hawaii
Having gone through a rough time in the 1960s, the Kingdoms of the Volcano are recovering rather well, though recently a few things have gone a little sour, like the return of some of the Courtless Volcano Lords who had been so troublesome in the decades prior. Rather rich, connected, and with plenty to explore, the Freehold is an anomaly in that its Hedge is a sea of thorns and water, with islands jutting out, which connect to many other of the islands of the world. It is quite strange, and sometimes even a little claustrophobic, since the Hedge is far less made of water than Earth, and so everything is closer together.
Population: 100ish.
Advantages:
Remember, First, it is an Island: The Freehold's people are masters, many of them, at all things nautical, and more than that at trade, at learning to navigate the Hedge, and their own relationships are defined by this simple fact. It provides both wealth and talents which will be more than a little useful.
Walk the Fires of Life: Home to several powerful and unique Entitlements, as well as several potent sorcerers, it is not a magical backwater at all, and more than that, it is home to a number of potent tokens whose origins date back to before America ever reared its head.
Friends With the Natives: They are allies of a number of goblin groups, some more brutal and violent than others, and these alliances and bonds are powerful enough that even when transported to another universe, they are worth their weight in gold.
Neutral
Remember, again, an Island: If transported to Warhammer Fantasy, they will have their own...unique starting place, as compared to the Border Princes where I was going to set down everyone as the default.
Negative
Volcano Lords: A group of independent and bizarre figures from the past, at the time they had had strong support and control over several groups of Goblins, and had been a thorn in the Freehold's side, Changelings who acknowledged no master but themselves, and would deal with even the Gentry, though they treated them as equal. This new group, well, it's nothing near as dangerous, a bunch of bandits and thieves and little else...right?
The Dance of Factions: There is at least a little tension in the Freehold between the recent attempts to set up a fully-functional Directional Court, and the traditional Seasonal Courts which ruled over much of the island. It's a complex political issue, and one that is currently engaging the attention of the Monarch, to the exclusion of some other issues.
A Light Footprint: The focus on the politics of the goblins and Hedge trade means that their relative earth-bound wealth is weak, and the Freehold doesn't have its hooks into the politics and culture of Honolulu the way many Freeholds do over their own cities.
Freehold of Strong Fort: Fort Worth, Texas
Dominated by summer, this is a powerful Freehold, if not always rich. Their ties to the military, as well as to the political and art scene, have left them a flexible Freehold, one which is far more than their reputation as strongly militant would suggest. They have a smaller population than some Freeholds, being more normal (whereas most are standouts in one direction or the other), and have to share the space with other, nearby, Freeholds, yet they seem to do alright for themselves, for the most part.
Population: 60-90
Advantages
The Worth of a Strong Militia: Their access and ties to the military, both the air force and others, allows them to have weapons that few would credit, and more than that, the ability to maintain them, though if stripped of a manufacturing base, they'd run into problems. This could allow them to equip themselves or others quite well, and combined with the martial tradition of the Freehold, means they punch rather above their weight.
Mercenary Pursuits: Yet despite this, they quite recognize that they need more than just their numbers, and they are very open with and comfortable around mercenaries, a flexibility that can lend them a pragmatic, whatever-works, air. An accurate one.
Deadly Cultured: Every Court in the Freehold is dangerous, and that includes Spring. Home to many warrior-poets and warrior-artists, whose influence on the culture of Forth Worth and the world at large is felt strongly, they gather about followers and, in general, have a lot of fame and connections that can be exploited.
Neutral
Honed for Struggle: Over the past decade, the wars they've fought have mostly been low-level, and relative peace has reigned. This has allowed them to expand their training and had many helpful advantages, but there are some who fear that this has made them weak. Has it? Probably not, but the fears are there.
Disadvantages
There are Others: There are Freeholds whose territory abuts and sometimes overlaps with Strong Fort's, and so there are definitely tensions there. Room for disagreement, error, and other such hilarious problems.
A Warrior Needs Enemies: Constantly engaged in low-level war, the Freehold's culture tends to value it, and so there is a constant drive to be moving, conquering, expanding into the Hedge, and while doing so can bring a lot of power to the victor, it has made enemies.
Guns or Butter: There are internal disagreements about funding allocations. Sound boring? It certainly can be, but the question of whether to focus on infrastructure and the economy or on becoming yet more vigilant against the coming of any of the Gentry is definition a problem.
Freehold of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ancient and powerful, this is a Freehold that, even more than New Atlanta, has history behind it. History brings wealth, brings power and Tokens and magical excellence which is acknowledged throughout the world, but it also brings a prosperity which can leave a Freehold unprepared, which can make one almost forget that this is the world of darkness, and that ultimately nearly brought the Freehold to ruin. Just under three months, a devastating attack by the Gentry killed three of the four Monarchs and sent the Freehold into chaos, nearly splintering before it was done and the threat was dealt with. But magically, not martially. Now, as they reel and try to cope, the Freehold hopes to recapture its old glory.
Population: 175-225
Advantages
Old Magics: Magic is strong in this Freehold, and examples of almost any kind of Changeling magic-user can be found, and more than that, the Freehold has access to a small number of world-class Sorcerers or Contract-Masters or Talecrafters, or whatever else. They are limited, and of course they have their own agendas, but this is a great wealth in the one resource that nobody in this new world might expect: Changeling's unique magic.
Old Families: As ancient as it is, it is quite wealthy and powerful, and this has extended into the magical (non)-families which are so prevalant. The adoption of one Changeling by another has created ruling first families whose hand is light on the wheel, though some chafe at it. Characters from one of these old families tend to have high Resources and gain advantages in social and mental stats.
Old Beauty: The Freehold possesses, on its Hedge side, many ancient and worthwhile Hollows, whose beauty and resources aren't to be mocked or thought of as something small, though few are made, at least yet, as fortifications. They definitely do serve as hideaways and getaways, sources for meeting and common communication of a sort that might be vital in the days to come.
Neutral
Rich in Tradition: Magically and otherwise, in the case of a Dresdenverse crossover, there are likely to be more than a few powers interested in the state of play in Philadelphia.
Negatives
Young Blood: Three of the four monarchs are brand new to their posts, and relatively untested. They'll tend to have weaker stats, if more room for growth, and are often liable to conflict with each other, not having the easy comraderie of the old monarchs.
Peace and Prosperity: With them brought martial weakness, and a lack of focus and drive that made the Summer Court small and underfunded, and now that the crisis has passed, this problem has been thrown into stark relief. Changelings as a whole from the Freehold will *tend* to be less martially inclined.
From Many, Many: The large population of the Freehold, while primarily a boon, has also led to the threat of it splintering, as it has almost done several times, and even to this moment, there are factions and groups that have threatened to break away.
This freehold was formed in the late 19th century by a rather unlikely set of people. A quilter who wove magic as well, a hard-working and hard-partying farmer, his cousin a vigilante who stalked the Hedge looking to save people, and the half-broken, hidden boy whose rescue set off an attack by the Gentry that led to these figures, and several others who joined them, into making a Freehold, though they lacked knowledge of the seasonal courts. But with this protection, and with the magical quilts of the woman as their symbol, they were formed.
Later, when the Seasonal System came and was adopted, playfully people would retroactively place the founders into the Seasons, revered as they are. There are a lot more now then there were then. Well, sorta.
There's not a huge number, so they're not really a big Freehold, but they're a big happy family, and more importantly, they get along well with the locals, many of which are Ensorcelled and in on the secret. Many many. It's a small town, less than two-thousand people, but there are several hundred Ensorcelled, and plenty of other humans who are in the know. They protect their own, they help each other, that sort of thing.
Advantages
All But Family: There is very little in the way of discord between the four courts, and while there are no doubt rascals and strange folks in the Freehold, everyone knows everyone, and trusts everyone for the most part, and so while there is not a strong government, as it were, they definitely don't have as much need for it.
Mortal Advantage: They have Ensorcelled plenty of people, friends and allies, and they will be able to take these people along for the ride, rather than them having been left behind.
Countryfolk Will Survive: They are survivors, all of them, people who are used to taking care of themselves. While there are no super-experts on fields laying around, people are likely to know plenty about, say, survival or first-aid or hunting, and are likely to stock up on supplies, to know little bits of information that might help in the case of troubles.
Neutral
Out of the Way: In both good and bad ways, it is out of the way. In the Dresden crossover, this manifests rather obviously, in not being anywhere important, in Warhammer and Fallout, one will wind up a little more out of the way of the main stuff, which provides both safety and time, but also difficulty and challenges.
Disadvantages
Middle of Nowhere: There is no Goblin Market, there are few Tokens, and most of them are passed down from person to person, and whatever else you might say, it's not exactly the best place to go if you want an exciting Hedge life.
Sleepy Town: This isn't a place you go if you want to be a hot-shot sorcerer, a powerful warrior, or otherwise the cream of the crop. Sometimes people who are taken here or wind up here leave to go to more exciting places, so there's SOMEWHAT less quality in terms of ambition/scope.
We Few, We Happy Few: There aren't a lot of Changelings in this Freehold, better make them count. Total number will be 20-30 (will roll for it.)
Freehold of New Atlanta: Atlanta, Georgia
Formed after the burning of Atlanta, this is an ancient Freehold that has fully embraced the Seasonal System, and is in some ways maybe a little stratified. But this holds advantages as well. For in the ruins of the old Freehold, there is quite a lot to loot, in the wealth of the Freehold there are many advantages, and they have many, many Talebound, having taken to cultivating families of Talebound since the 18th century.
They're currently quite powerful and quite contented, though there are perhaps problems beneath the surface.
Population: 140+ (Will Roll for the exact number)
Advantages
The First Families: The Talebound of New Atlanta are famous for their loyalty and their long and distinguished lineages of both service and power within the Freehold. A small handful of families, but with plenty of retainers and power, their Minor Fae Powers and connection to Changelings makes them very useful indeed.
The Ruins: The remains of the various buildings in the Hedge that used to be the old Freehold are still yet only partially scavenged, and there are many Tokens, Goblin Fruit trees, and other secrets yet to be unearthed. And that wealth draws interest, attention, people willing to trade for its goods.
Blue is the Blood: The Freehold, if in fact not all of its members, are rich. Very rich, from connections both legal and illegal. If they wind up in the Dresden-verse, they manage to maintain some of their ties and contacts, and knowledge of ways to gain wealth, while in the other two, they hoard some of their wealth on their way over, where it will no doubt come to good use.
Neutral
A Feudal Future: They are governed according to the rational and simple principles of feudalism, in which authority and power is properly split up at every level, so that all matters are carefully addressed and everyone knows their place, and so there's no question of who has what authority.
No, wait, wrong notes. They are governed according to the chaotic principle of 'you take what you can' and then trying to preserve it against all comers, creating vast power blocs that bicker and argue, or maintain their authority whether it is for the best of everyone or not, and engage in what is known as 'capture' in terms of both regulation and the economy of the Freehold.
In truth...it's a bit of both.
Disadvantages
Criminal Ties: Said wealth and ties comes partially from doing crime, from being involved in some pretty shady deals, and that both means that there are obligations that come with it, and also even if they leave the universe, they're taking a *lot* of people with them who think that allying with criminals and murderers is perfectly fine and good.
Leaving a Marx: The Freehold is greatly divided by issues of both class and race, and is thus something of a powder keg, waiting for a match, as powerful as it is.
Amid the Ruins: In the ruins, too, are dangerous Goblins, and a crazed member of the Gentry who thinks that the year is 1864, that he is a Plantation Owner, and that everyone in the Freehold is a Yankee. So, yeah, good luck with that.
Freehold of the Marble Arch: St. Louis, Missouri
Built off of the back of the River in the Hedge, Marble Arch is a rich and powerful Freehold indeed, one that in no way should be called second-fiddle just because Thousand Trods is in the same state and more populated and powerful and influential. Because they don't have as good access to the River, and they don't have the Gateway Arch, whose magical and symbolic potential is well acknowledged by all.
Population: 140-160
Advantages
The River Goes On: They are sitting, on the Hedge side, on the largest River in the world, one which can take one anywhere in the Hedge if one follows it, and has vast wealth to be gleaned from it, both in terms of trade and artifacts. Even in another world, this River survives, and is the heart of the Freehold. They also have moderate advantages towards seamanship and other such areas.
Gateway City: While not as full of Trods as the famed Freehold in Kansas City, Thousand Trod, the gateway it has means that in the Hedge there are many ties around the world, and the magical importance of the gateway has spawned an interest in symbology and magic relating to symbols, including sorcery and Onieromancy.
The King Stays The King: Their monarchies seem remarkably stable, and while there is friction between the four seasonal monarchs, and within the courts as well, it doesn't erupt into disagreement and squabbles all that often. The monarchs are likely to be experienced and capable men and women.
Neutral
Borderlines: I suppose if one wants to really get bent out of shape, it's the closest of all of these options to Chicago for the Dresdenverse crossover. So there's that.
Disadvantages
Second City: Their 'second-fiddle' nature means that some of the most ambitious of them resent Thousand Trods, or else go to join it. In the Dresdenverse, one will have to deal with the influence of such a nearby and powerful Freehold (nearby relatively speaking), while in other cases, one will have to deal with not having several of their best and brighest.
A Gateway to What?: Besides the mysteries that surround the Hedge Arch, there is the fact that many wandering bands of goblins sometimes show up to wreck things. They're kinda a problem, but it's even more of a problem because…
Pirates: Argh, matey, there are Pirates on the River. Surprised? Yeah, having to deal with bands of goblin and Changeling pirates, and those willing to give them aid and comfort, sometimes even within the Freehold itself, but generally the Courtless population, will be a bit of a hassle.
Kingdoms of the Volcano: Honolulu, Hawaii
Having gone through a rough time in the 1960s, the Kingdoms of the Volcano are recovering rather well, though recently a few things have gone a little sour, like the return of some of the Courtless Volcano Lords who had been so troublesome in the decades prior. Rather rich, connected, and with plenty to explore, the Freehold is an anomaly in that its Hedge is a sea of thorns and water, with islands jutting out, which connect to many other of the islands of the world. It is quite strange, and sometimes even a little claustrophobic, since the Hedge is far less made of water than Earth, and so everything is closer together.
Population: 100ish.
Advantages:
Remember, First, it is an Island: The Freehold's people are masters, many of them, at all things nautical, and more than that at trade, at learning to navigate the Hedge, and their own relationships are defined by this simple fact. It provides both wealth and talents which will be more than a little useful.
Walk the Fires of Life: Home to several powerful and unique Entitlements, as well as several potent sorcerers, it is not a magical backwater at all, and more than that, it is home to a number of potent tokens whose origins date back to before America ever reared its head.
Friends With the Natives: They are allies of a number of goblin groups, some more brutal and violent than others, and these alliances and bonds are powerful enough that even when transported to another universe, they are worth their weight in gold.
Neutral
Remember, again, an Island: If transported to Warhammer Fantasy, they will have their own...unique starting place, as compared to the Border Princes where I was going to set down everyone as the default.
Negative
Volcano Lords: A group of independent and bizarre figures from the past, at the time they had had strong support and control over several groups of Goblins, and had been a thorn in the Freehold's side, Changelings who acknowledged no master but themselves, and would deal with even the Gentry, though they treated them as equal. This new group, well, it's nothing near as dangerous, a bunch of bandits and thieves and little else...right?
The Dance of Factions: There is at least a little tension in the Freehold between the recent attempts to set up a fully-functional Directional Court, and the traditional Seasonal Courts which ruled over much of the island. It's a complex political issue, and one that is currently engaging the attention of the Monarch, to the exclusion of some other issues.
A Light Footprint: The focus on the politics of the goblins and Hedge trade means that their relative earth-bound wealth is weak, and the Freehold doesn't have its hooks into the politics and culture of Honolulu the way many Freeholds do over their own cities.
Freehold of Strong Fort: Fort Worth, Texas
Dominated by summer, this is a powerful Freehold, if not always rich. Their ties to the military, as well as to the political and art scene, have left them a flexible Freehold, one which is far more than their reputation as strongly militant would suggest. They have a smaller population than some Freeholds, being more normal (whereas most are standouts in one direction or the other), and have to share the space with other, nearby, Freeholds, yet they seem to do alright for themselves, for the most part.
Population: 60-90
Advantages
The Worth of a Strong Militia: Their access and ties to the military, both the air force and others, allows them to have weapons that few would credit, and more than that, the ability to maintain them, though if stripped of a manufacturing base, they'd run into problems. This could allow them to equip themselves or others quite well, and combined with the martial tradition of the Freehold, means they punch rather above their weight.
Mercenary Pursuits: Yet despite this, they quite recognize that they need more than just their numbers, and they are very open with and comfortable around mercenaries, a flexibility that can lend them a pragmatic, whatever-works, air. An accurate one.
Deadly Cultured: Every Court in the Freehold is dangerous, and that includes Spring. Home to many warrior-poets and warrior-artists, whose influence on the culture of Forth Worth and the world at large is felt strongly, they gather about followers and, in general, have a lot of fame and connections that can be exploited.
Neutral
Honed for Struggle: Over the past decade, the wars they've fought have mostly been low-level, and relative peace has reigned. This has allowed them to expand their training and had many helpful advantages, but there are some who fear that this has made them weak. Has it? Probably not, but the fears are there.
Disadvantages
There are Others: There are Freeholds whose territory abuts and sometimes overlaps with Strong Fort's, and so there are definitely tensions there. Room for disagreement, error, and other such hilarious problems.
A Warrior Needs Enemies: Constantly engaged in low-level war, the Freehold's culture tends to value it, and so there is a constant drive to be moving, conquering, expanding into the Hedge, and while doing so can bring a lot of power to the victor, it has made enemies.
Guns or Butter: There are internal disagreements about funding allocations. Sound boring? It certainly can be, but the question of whether to focus on infrastructure and the economy or on becoming yet more vigilant against the coming of any of the Gentry is definition a problem.
Freehold of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ancient and powerful, this is a Freehold that, even more than New Atlanta, has history behind it. History brings wealth, brings power and Tokens and magical excellence which is acknowledged throughout the world, but it also brings a prosperity which can leave a Freehold unprepared, which can make one almost forget that this is the world of darkness, and that ultimately nearly brought the Freehold to ruin. Just under three months, a devastating attack by the Gentry killed three of the four Monarchs and sent the Freehold into chaos, nearly splintering before it was done and the threat was dealt with. But magically, not martially. Now, as they reel and try to cope, the Freehold hopes to recapture its old glory.
Population: 175-225
Advantages
Old Magics: Magic is strong in this Freehold, and examples of almost any kind of Changeling magic-user can be found, and more than that, the Freehold has access to a small number of world-class Sorcerers or Contract-Masters or Talecrafters, or whatever else. They are limited, and of course they have their own agendas, but this is a great wealth in the one resource that nobody in this new world might expect: Changeling's unique magic.
Old Families: As ancient as it is, it is quite wealthy and powerful, and this has extended into the magical (non)-families which are so prevalant. The adoption of one Changeling by another has created ruling first families whose hand is light on the wheel, though some chafe at it. Characters from one of these old families tend to have high Resources and gain advantages in social and mental stats.
Old Beauty: The Freehold possesses, on its Hedge side, many ancient and worthwhile Hollows, whose beauty and resources aren't to be mocked or thought of as something small, though few are made, at least yet, as fortifications. They definitely do serve as hideaways and getaways, sources for meeting and common communication of a sort that might be vital in the days to come.
Neutral
Rich in Tradition: Magically and otherwise, in the case of a Dresdenverse crossover, there are likely to be more than a few powers interested in the state of play in Philadelphia.
Negatives
Young Blood: Three of the four monarchs are brand new to their posts, and relatively untested. They'll tend to have weaker stats, if more room for growth, and are often liable to conflict with each other, not having the easy comraderie of the old monarchs.
Peace and Prosperity: With them brought martial weakness, and a lack of focus and drive that made the Summer Court small and underfunded, and now that the crisis has passed, this problem has been thrown into stark relief. Changelings as a whole from the Freehold will *tend* to be less martially inclined.
From Many, Many: The large population of the Freehold, while primarily a boon, has also led to the threat of it splintering, as it has almost done several times, and even to this moment, there are factions and groups that have threatened to break away.
So this Quest will be slightly different in at least one way. After the first vote, there will be a LOOONG pause, probably a few weeks, while I make the world. As in, I'm not just going to drop you out next to Three Dog just because that makes things easier for me. I'll build up the ruins of Atlanta if that wins, Philadelphia...the small town in the Midwest, Hawaii...all of that. Which takes time. So feel free to vote knowing that they'll be a bit of a pause, but that hopefully in exchange you'll get good worldbuilding.
Second point. I say 'CK2' Quest, but it's going to have a lot of Be X and personal stuff where you control a single character, and I plan on not making it some sort of simple Year=Turn thing, perhaps crib some other systems for a limit on people, or on other things.
Third, updates will probably be slow because I'm not going to give this priority over all of my MANY other obligations, but I will try to keep this from dying if I can.
Fourth, have fun.
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Fallout: Paradise Lost, Week 0.1
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Week 0.1
The room had no way of telling the time. That was even the point, according to the best so-called Chronomancers they'd consulted. It was a common practice, a situation room, connected via a Gateway which had a single window to the outside, with no clocks or anything even close to the person using the Contract of Flickering Hours.
The room had a large desk in its center, with a dozen comfortable chairs lined up around them, and there were doors that opened up into a well guarded fortress Hollow, whose existence might have been far more controversial, were it not for the fact that it ultimately turned out to pay off.
"Has whatever they said was going to happen happened yet," Queen Loa asked, frowning. She was a short, plump woman, yellow-brown skin marked by tattoos and swirling red marks. The very air around her was hot and dry and scorching, the Mantle of Summer and the Mien of a Master Fire-Walker radiating off of her at all times. It was power itself, but none of the people here, Monarchs all, were likely to be overawed by her. "If this is some trick by the Volcano Lords, some way to get us to weaken ourselves and be put into one place--"
"My contacts assured me," King Secret said, hunched over slightly, staring from one to the other. He was a little pale, yet to look at him, nobody would mark him instantly as a Changeling, unless one shook his hand. Cold, so very cold, his grip. There was something stark about the spymaster, about the King of Winter. For even out of his season he wielded great power, his small Court dedicated to to him. Devoted, even, in a way that few could match. And his cold devotion, the way the small Japanese-American man always seemed to be there to help the Freehold out, in all of his years as King, certainly reduced tensions.
And of course, the fact that his Court clearly wasn't a direct threat in terms of numbers helped. "It should have happened by now," King Oscar Mannings said. A crisp handsome man who looked like he was in his late forties, the rustling of dead leaves and a cold breeze accompanied the Autumnal Monarch wherever he went. He was a hard man to get a read on, ex special-forces, vietnam vet, and Hunter until at last he had been taken and turned into a Changeling. His motivations, even after all of these years, had been carefully kept obscure, just as his colleague King Secret, but he looked tough, and it was known he was a fighter, at least from time to time.
"If it's happened, it's happened," the Red Lady said expansively, "And if so we should act, should we not? There's no time to waste, and so we should begin to send people out and start to figure out just what has happened with this oracle's prediction of doom." She grinned, the woman standing and gesturing towards the door. Beautiful, if flightly, intelligent and impulsive, the Red Lady wore a red dress, always, and was famous enough to have even entered the folklore of Oahu briefly, for her dress and her habit of appearing and disappearing. Yet her beauty came off as wrong, off somehow. A whole less than the sum of its parts, except that once a day, she could turn that whole into something so far beyond the sum of its parts as to be mesmerizing, dazzling.
The four Monarchs waited for a moment, and then three of them turned to the one whose season it was, who--for the time at least--was Monarch over them all, whose decisions were law, whose words they obeyed, or at least heeded.
But who was it?
******
What season it is does matter at the start of this Quest. What it affects is who is in charge to start with, but since the Freehold has alternating leadership, if this Quest lasts long enough, all of them will have a turn. Unless they start dying, in which case their successors will have a turn.
On a few policies, to note: The Red Lady hopes that some sort of deal or compromise or way to disarm their support can be made with the Volcano Lords, while Queen Loa just wants to wipe them out, and King Mannings thinks that whatever should be done should be swift and strong, and rely on their current weakness in relation to goblins. King Secret likely favors what works best, but is also liable to use spies and tricks.
On the matter of the Directional Courts which have formed, the Red Lady will brook no compromises, while the Queen Loa doesn't care, King Secret is willing to make concessions, and King Mannings is uncertain but potentially leaning towards aggression, though certainly not *now* of all times.
More importantly, while all of them have theoretical access to all of the Freehold members, other than the Directional Courtiers, they are more likely to send certain types of people for certain types of jobs, to interpret the priorities (more on that below) in different ways: Putting something at last priority for one Monarch might mean a token effort, and might for another mean they send a single agent in, or--
It all depends on who they know and what they know.
What season is it, then?
[] Spring, and the Red Lady rules.
[] Summer, and Queen Loa reigns.
[] Autumn, and King Mannings takes charge.
[] Winter, and King Secret governs.
*****
So, the things to be given priority are as follows.
1:Checking on the health and welfare of the rest of the Changelings in the various survival-bunker Hollows that were set up/used to deal with this.
2: Doing the same, and also checking to see how much cooperation can be expected, with the Directional Courtiers, who have set up a non-seasonal system, and thus will not automatically defer to the Monarch of the Season.
3: Checking to see what, if anything, has happened with the Volcano Lords, whether via diplomacy, sending a scout, or sending an attack force to see how they respond.
4: Checking on how the various goblin allies are doing, and whether anything has changed with them since...whatever just happened.
5: Sending a scout, or perhaps a scouting party, out of the Hedge and into the real world to make sure that nothing much has happened on that side. Surely everything's like it normally is, right? Honolulu 2015?
Rate By Priority
[] Checking on the rest of the Freehold.
[] Checking on the Directional Courtiers.
[] Checking out the Volcano Lords.
[] Seeing to the allied Goblin groups.
[] Sending a scout or three back onto earth.
*****
A/N: Vote by plan! And so it begins! I hope this update was alright. Learning more about the rest of the Freehold and more about the personality/self of the Monarchs will happen, but I didn't want to infodump too much of personality and priorities and past relationships and etc.
The room had no way of telling the time. That was even the point, according to the best so-called Chronomancers they'd consulted. It was a common practice, a situation room, connected via a Gateway which had a single window to the outside, with no clocks or anything even close to the person using the Contract of Flickering Hours.
The room had a large desk in its center, with a dozen comfortable chairs lined up around them, and there were doors that opened up into a well guarded fortress Hollow, whose existence might have been far more controversial, were it not for the fact that it ultimately turned out to pay off.
"Has whatever they said was going to happen happened yet," Queen Loa asked, frowning. She was a short, plump woman, yellow-brown skin marked by tattoos and swirling red marks. The very air around her was hot and dry and scorching, the Mantle of Summer and the Mien of a Master Fire-Walker radiating off of her at all times. It was power itself, but none of the people here, Monarchs all, were likely to be overawed by her. "If this is some trick by the Volcano Lords, some way to get us to weaken ourselves and be put into one place--"
"My contacts assured me," King Secret said, hunched over slightly, staring from one to the other. He was a little pale, yet to look at him, nobody would mark him instantly as a Changeling, unless one shook his hand. Cold, so very cold, his grip. There was something stark about the spymaster, about the King of Winter. For even out of his season he wielded great power, his small Court dedicated to to him. Devoted, even, in a way that few could match. And his cold devotion, the way the small Japanese-American man always seemed to be there to help the Freehold out, in all of his years as King, certainly reduced tensions.
And of course, the fact that his Court clearly wasn't a direct threat in terms of numbers helped. "It should have happened by now," King Oscar Mannings said. A crisp handsome man who looked like he was in his late forties, the rustling of dead leaves and a cold breeze accompanied the Autumnal Monarch wherever he went. He was a hard man to get a read on, ex special-forces, vietnam vet, and Hunter until at last he had been taken and turned into a Changeling. His motivations, even after all of these years, had been carefully kept obscure, just as his colleague King Secret, but he looked tough, and it was known he was a fighter, at least from time to time.
"If it's happened, it's happened," the Red Lady said expansively, "And if so we should act, should we not? There's no time to waste, and so we should begin to send people out and start to figure out just what has happened with this oracle's prediction of doom." She grinned, the woman standing and gesturing towards the door. Beautiful, if flightly, intelligent and impulsive, the Red Lady wore a red dress, always, and was famous enough to have even entered the folklore of Oahu briefly, for her dress and her habit of appearing and disappearing. Yet her beauty came off as wrong, off somehow. A whole less than the sum of its parts, except that once a day, she could turn that whole into something so far beyond the sum of its parts as to be mesmerizing, dazzling.
The four Monarchs waited for a moment, and then three of them turned to the one whose season it was, who--for the time at least--was Monarch over them all, whose decisions were law, whose words they obeyed, or at least heeded.
But who was it?
******
What season it is does matter at the start of this Quest. What it affects is who is in charge to start with, but since the Freehold has alternating leadership, if this Quest lasts long enough, all of them will have a turn. Unless they start dying, in which case their successors will have a turn.
On a few policies, to note: The Red Lady hopes that some sort of deal or compromise or way to disarm their support can be made with the Volcano Lords, while Queen Loa just wants to wipe them out, and King Mannings thinks that whatever should be done should be swift and strong, and rely on their current weakness in relation to goblins. King Secret likely favors what works best, but is also liable to use spies and tricks.
On the matter of the Directional Courts which have formed, the Red Lady will brook no compromises, while the Queen Loa doesn't care, King Secret is willing to make concessions, and King Mannings is uncertain but potentially leaning towards aggression, though certainly not *now* of all times.
More importantly, while all of them have theoretical access to all of the Freehold members, other than the Directional Courtiers, they are more likely to send certain types of people for certain types of jobs, to interpret the priorities (more on that below) in different ways: Putting something at last priority for one Monarch might mean a token effort, and might for another mean they send a single agent in, or--
It all depends on who they know and what they know.
What season is it, then?
[] Spring, and the Red Lady rules.
[] Summer, and Queen Loa reigns.
[] Autumn, and King Mannings takes charge.
[] Winter, and King Secret governs.
*****
So, the things to be given priority are as follows.
1:Checking on the health and welfare of the rest of the Changelings in the various survival-bunker Hollows that were set up/used to deal with this.
2: Doing the same, and also checking to see how much cooperation can be expected, with the Directional Courtiers, who have set up a non-seasonal system, and thus will not automatically defer to the Monarch of the Season.
3: Checking to see what, if anything, has happened with the Volcano Lords, whether via diplomacy, sending a scout, or sending an attack force to see how they respond.
4: Checking on how the various goblin allies are doing, and whether anything has changed with them since...whatever just happened.
5: Sending a scout, or perhaps a scouting party, out of the Hedge and into the real world to make sure that nothing much has happened on that side. Surely everything's like it normally is, right? Honolulu 2015?
Rate By Priority
[] Checking on the rest of the Freehold.
[] Checking on the Directional Courtiers.
[] Checking out the Volcano Lords.
[] Seeing to the allied Goblin groups.
[] Sending a scout or three back onto earth.
*****
A/N: Vote by plan! And so it begins! I hope this update was alright. Learning more about the rest of the Freehold and more about the personality/self of the Monarchs will happen, but I didn't want to infodump too much of personality and priorities and past relationships and etc.
Last edited:
Fallout: Paradise Lost, Week 0.2
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Fallout: Paradise Week 0.2
[X] Winter, and King Secret governs.
[1] Checking on the rest of the Freehold.
[2] Checking out the Volcano Lords.
[3] Seeing to the allied Goblin groups.
[4] Checking on the DirectIonal Courtiers.
[5] Sending a scout or three back onto earth.
It was never cold, even in winter, but winter was more than a temperature, it was an idea, maybe it was even an idea. He called himself King Secret because that's what he wanted to be, and that's what he liked. Let them whisper and gossip. He would smile and invite their words. For Winter Court, at least in the Kingdom of the Volcano, didn't rule. It governed. He set up councils of the best men and women across the four seasons and listened to them and understood that if he acted presumptuously, they would turn against him.
So he stayed low, and quiet, and careful. As carefully as he'd hidden for months in fear of his Keeper, evading even experienced Changelings whom he'd assumed were mere agents of his former master. He turned, taking them in, and glanced at King Mannings. "May I have a word with you, please?"
Oscar Mannings nodded and stood, and they moved towards the edge of the room. King Secret knew most of Oscar's secrets, the way he constantly worked and strived to fight crime and corruption, his fanatical devotion to making sure that no other supernatural beings preyed on the people of Honolulu. It was a worthwhile devotion, albeit a puzzling one to him. He understood altruism, but King Secret, who had been born Naoki, but didn't even think of that anymore, said, "There is much to be done."
"Your Grace," Oscar said, with a bow more respectful than he had to give, "I would advise you to treat this seriously. As if this is the first step in a war. Supplies, men, morale." He looked tired, and rubbed his eyes, "And I would like to ask if I could be the one to check the outside world. I have a bad feeling--"
"A war? That seems almost like Queen Loa's advice," King Secret said with a tired smile, "But, you're right. I have a bad feeling." It was in his bones, this suspicion, this awareness that any warmth must compete with the blizzard outside.
"Maybe, but Summer is not all that can go to war. May I, then?"
"No. If there truly is some sort of great danger in the outside world, then I would not wish to risk someone like you," the King said. "If you could, could you please try to organize the mission to the Volcano Lords? Try to balance it, perhaps?"
He saw the hesitation, but King Mannings, unlike so many others, respected him and his decisions, and after a long moment he nodded.
*****
Gunny hadn't liked the look on Queen Loa's face when she'd given down the orders. But he was to 'converse' with his counterpart in Spring, and see how the others were doing. She'd brought him right outside the panic room just for the purpose, the old man assumed, of putting him to immediate use organizing a strike on the Volcano Lords. Do this, do that, couldn't an old man have a little peace?
He shuffled along in the Hedge, glancing at the sky. It looked as it always did, and it was clearly light out, just a normal day in paradise. Bah. His fingers ached, and his legs as well, all of him did, just a little. There was this constant, low-grade hunger that ate at him, ate at him like...like a something. He didn't have much education in school, but he knew numbers, knew how much a person had to eat and how to organize a campaign. Maybe even how to fight one, if anyone had a use for a washed up old reprobate who had long ago gone bald. He stepped into the Hollow, one of those little house-huts that were larger on the inside than the outside, and immediately scanned the area.
There was Harris, the even older fucking bastard. He was as huge as could be, six feet tall even with age stripping his bones, with little pathetic wisps of hair and dark, watchful eyes. His body was covered in scars, and the old man had killed far more than Gunny ever would. There were times when Gunny hated being in the same Court as the man, let alone Freehold.
Then over to a corner was Click. Click had the head of a bug of some type, quite grotesque, and a pair of functionless wings on his back, his skin a slight blueish, but he gave off a slight aura of freshness, of youth itself, that was hard to define.
His Spring counterpart, the man was in charge of the merchant fleets that Summer used for its patrols, and Autumn its explorations. he was talking with Dakai Liu, the Red Lady's ex, and the most powerful warrior of Spring, a woman who scared Gunny, just a little.
The Chinese-American woman had a rough appearance, and there was both strength and grace in her and her movements, but it was hard to place just what and who she was. Gunny reckoned the Red Lady had to have huge balls--metaphorically at least--to fucking dump someone like that.
And then in the corner, there was Kelsie Keen trying to befriend the Graveyard Child. Gunny could have laughed at the assumptions all baked into that. Just because both of them were child-Changelings, taken relatively young and both to different extents cursed to age slowly or not at all, Kelsie, Spring Court that she was, must have assumed that surely there would be a way to make fast friends.
But Kelsie Keen was a Japanese-American girl, almost sixteen but looking twelve or thirteen at most, with a fairests sort of clean, almost human looks, while the Graveyard Child was a ragged girl, in black, smelly rags, with dark eyes and long, matted hair, of indeterminate origin, whose words were rasped and croaked and few, who haunted graveyards and took glamour from their fear and the sorrow of the lost, and listened to and cared about no one but King Secret.
Whatever else one said about the sneaky King, he knew how to inspire loyalty, and the Graveyard Girl was apparently something of a good spy.
"What's the fucking Jap got for us?" Harris boomed.
Everyone in the room winced, "Nothing for you," Gunny grunted, then walked over towards Click, "How are the ships?"
Click let out a dozen clicks, and yet everyone who heard them knew that these strange bug-like sounds meant more, and in their head somehow, the words seemed almost to appear. "None of them are damaged, and Arty says that they should be ready if anything is needed. Will anything be needed?"
"I would like to get underway, if the orders have come through," Dakai Liu said, her voice polite, but edged, "I assume we're going to be moving against the Volcano Lords? I would request that I have the honor of being with any strike force you set up, Gunny--"
"There's gonna be no strike forces. King Secret says," Gunny said, "But we will be sending a task force to check up on the Volcano Lords. Not negotiate, not fight, just...check up on 'em. But he mentioned that perhaps you could be the muscle behind checking out the various goblin tribes? See if the Stone Dancers or the Ael or anything are fucked up any."
"Really?" Dakai Liu said, "He...god, well are we at least not wasting all of our men on that rather than--"
"It's not wasting, they're our allies," Gunny said, rubbing his eyes.
"King Secret's put you in charge of the selection of the teams, right?"
"Well, I'm under King Mannings, or he's been seconded to do that and--" Gunny said, getting tumbled up a little in who was doing what.
"Understood, but the question is, how much of the fleet to send and where," Click said, "And, well, there's also the matter of food and everything else. We're supposed to organize that, correct? Then we probably should be seeing Come-Again."
"Aww, not him. I'm in the same Court as him and I can't stand him. He'll make us owe a favor or something," Dakai Liu said, carefully.
Gunny thought about it. Come-Again, that fucking bastard of a tour guide who was also an event planner, certainly knew a lot about saving and storing food and how to get things organized, but then so did they, and it was true what she'd said about him. Everything had a price with him, and it was always steep. Then there was the matter with the ships to consider.
Do They Consult Come-Again To Take Inventory of Supplies and how to manage them?
[] Yes. Come-Again, an influential power-broker, will likely make them pay in favors for the help, and will have influence and power, thus, over this area of expertise, but he'd also add his dice to theirs for working with this.
[] No. Surely their combined expertise will be good enough, and owing a favor and giving power to Come-Again and his Loud Hawaiin Shirt Agenda could spell trouble later on.
In terms of ships, how do they divide them up?
[] The bulk of the ships meant for a fight will go to protect the Volcano Lord delegation in their scouting run.
[] The bulk of the ships meant for a fight will protect the mission to check on all of the various goblin tribes and groups.
[] Evenly split.
[] Aw, just kick it upstairs (King Mannings will decide, choice might be better, but will take longer to make a decision.)
*****
It is a few dozen minutes later, after the decisions are made, that Harris approaches Gunny. The man looms, and even the fact that his clothes are pretty plain doesn't keep Gunny from having to look up at him. God, he was a tall fucker, and a scary one as well.
"One of those boats is mine. The small one with the cannon. You can't have it--"
Gunny stared at him, "What was that?"
"I needta use it to go check up on some contacts. If any of those fucking goblins disappeared, well that's the same as if they jewed me, and so I'll have to see what I can do about that," the old man rumbled.
Gunny looked him over. His fists were clenched and his words spat out with the force and intensity of an assault. The man let off the heat and scent of a fiery furnace, his Mantle brought full to bear on Gunny, who knew to fucking rights that the ship was only loaned, and more importantly that they'd need every Hedgespun boat they had, and everything else, if they were to do what they needed to do.
What does Gunny do?
[] Cave.
[] Refuse his request. (Willpower/Resisting Intimidation Check)
[] Tell him to go fuck himself (Fulfills Gunny's Vice: Obstinate Old Mule, but might start a fight.)
[] Try to advise him to take it up with the King (He might laugh in Gunny's face and do what he was going to do anyways, or it might deter him).
[] Write-in.
*****
A/N: Not the most epic second post, but it'll get there, and I was trying to ease into things by introducing some of the characters a little at a time.
[X] Winter, and King Secret governs.
[1] Checking on the rest of the Freehold.
[2] Checking out the Volcano Lords.
[3] Seeing to the allied Goblin groups.
[4] Checking on the DirectIonal Courtiers.
[5] Sending a scout or three back onto earth.
It was never cold, even in winter, but winter was more than a temperature, it was an idea, maybe it was even an idea. He called himself King Secret because that's what he wanted to be, and that's what he liked. Let them whisper and gossip. He would smile and invite their words. For Winter Court, at least in the Kingdom of the Volcano, didn't rule. It governed. He set up councils of the best men and women across the four seasons and listened to them and understood that if he acted presumptuously, they would turn against him.
So he stayed low, and quiet, and careful. As carefully as he'd hidden for months in fear of his Keeper, evading even experienced Changelings whom he'd assumed were mere agents of his former master. He turned, taking them in, and glanced at King Mannings. "May I have a word with you, please?"
Oscar Mannings nodded and stood, and they moved towards the edge of the room. King Secret knew most of Oscar's secrets, the way he constantly worked and strived to fight crime and corruption, his fanatical devotion to making sure that no other supernatural beings preyed on the people of Honolulu. It was a worthwhile devotion, albeit a puzzling one to him. He understood altruism, but King Secret, who had been born Naoki, but didn't even think of that anymore, said, "There is much to be done."
"Your Grace," Oscar said, with a bow more respectful than he had to give, "I would advise you to treat this seriously. As if this is the first step in a war. Supplies, men, morale." He looked tired, and rubbed his eyes, "And I would like to ask if I could be the one to check the outside world. I have a bad feeling--"
"A war? That seems almost like Queen Loa's advice," King Secret said with a tired smile, "But, you're right. I have a bad feeling." It was in his bones, this suspicion, this awareness that any warmth must compete with the blizzard outside.
"Maybe, but Summer is not all that can go to war. May I, then?"
"No. If there truly is some sort of great danger in the outside world, then I would not wish to risk someone like you," the King said. "If you could, could you please try to organize the mission to the Volcano Lords? Try to balance it, perhaps?"
He saw the hesitation, but King Mannings, unlike so many others, respected him and his decisions, and after a long moment he nodded.
*****
Gunny hadn't liked the look on Queen Loa's face when she'd given down the orders. But he was to 'converse' with his counterpart in Spring, and see how the others were doing. She'd brought him right outside the panic room just for the purpose, the old man assumed, of putting him to immediate use organizing a strike on the Volcano Lords. Do this, do that, couldn't an old man have a little peace?
He shuffled along in the Hedge, glancing at the sky. It looked as it always did, and it was clearly light out, just a normal day in paradise. Bah. His fingers ached, and his legs as well, all of him did, just a little. There was this constant, low-grade hunger that ate at him, ate at him like...like a something. He didn't have much education in school, but he knew numbers, knew how much a person had to eat and how to organize a campaign. Maybe even how to fight one, if anyone had a use for a washed up old reprobate who had long ago gone bald. He stepped into the Hollow, one of those little house-huts that were larger on the inside than the outside, and immediately scanned the area.
There was Harris, the even older fucking bastard. He was as huge as could be, six feet tall even with age stripping his bones, with little pathetic wisps of hair and dark, watchful eyes. His body was covered in scars, and the old man had killed far more than Gunny ever would. There were times when Gunny hated being in the same Court as the man, let alone Freehold.
Then over to a corner was Click. Click had the head of a bug of some type, quite grotesque, and a pair of functionless wings on his back, his skin a slight blueish, but he gave off a slight aura of freshness, of youth itself, that was hard to define.
His Spring counterpart, the man was in charge of the merchant fleets that Summer used for its patrols, and Autumn its explorations. he was talking with Dakai Liu, the Red Lady's ex, and the most powerful warrior of Spring, a woman who scared Gunny, just a little.
The Chinese-American woman had a rough appearance, and there was both strength and grace in her and her movements, but it was hard to place just what and who she was. Gunny reckoned the Red Lady had to have huge balls--metaphorically at least--to fucking dump someone like that.
And then in the corner, there was Kelsie Keen trying to befriend the Graveyard Child. Gunny could have laughed at the assumptions all baked into that. Just because both of them were child-Changelings, taken relatively young and both to different extents cursed to age slowly or not at all, Kelsie, Spring Court that she was, must have assumed that surely there would be a way to make fast friends.
But Kelsie Keen was a Japanese-American girl, almost sixteen but looking twelve or thirteen at most, with a fairests sort of clean, almost human looks, while the Graveyard Child was a ragged girl, in black, smelly rags, with dark eyes and long, matted hair, of indeterminate origin, whose words were rasped and croaked and few, who haunted graveyards and took glamour from their fear and the sorrow of the lost, and listened to and cared about no one but King Secret.
Whatever else one said about the sneaky King, he knew how to inspire loyalty, and the Graveyard Girl was apparently something of a good spy.
"What's the fucking Jap got for us?" Harris boomed.
Everyone in the room winced, "Nothing for you," Gunny grunted, then walked over towards Click, "How are the ships?"
Click let out a dozen clicks, and yet everyone who heard them knew that these strange bug-like sounds meant more, and in their head somehow, the words seemed almost to appear. "None of them are damaged, and Arty says that they should be ready if anything is needed. Will anything be needed?"
"I would like to get underway, if the orders have come through," Dakai Liu said, her voice polite, but edged, "I assume we're going to be moving against the Volcano Lords? I would request that I have the honor of being with any strike force you set up, Gunny--"
"There's gonna be no strike forces. King Secret says," Gunny said, "But we will be sending a task force to check up on the Volcano Lords. Not negotiate, not fight, just...check up on 'em. But he mentioned that perhaps you could be the muscle behind checking out the various goblin tribes? See if the Stone Dancers or the Ael or anything are fucked up any."
"Really?" Dakai Liu said, "He...god, well are we at least not wasting all of our men on that rather than--"
"It's not wasting, they're our allies," Gunny said, rubbing his eyes.
"King Secret's put you in charge of the selection of the teams, right?"
"Well, I'm under King Mannings, or he's been seconded to do that and--" Gunny said, getting tumbled up a little in who was doing what.
"Understood, but the question is, how much of the fleet to send and where," Click said, "And, well, there's also the matter of food and everything else. We're supposed to organize that, correct? Then we probably should be seeing Come-Again."
"Aww, not him. I'm in the same Court as him and I can't stand him. He'll make us owe a favor or something," Dakai Liu said, carefully.
Gunny thought about it. Come-Again, that fucking bastard of a tour guide who was also an event planner, certainly knew a lot about saving and storing food and how to get things organized, but then so did they, and it was true what she'd said about him. Everything had a price with him, and it was always steep. Then there was the matter with the ships to consider.
Do They Consult Come-Again To Take Inventory of Supplies and how to manage them?
[] Yes. Come-Again, an influential power-broker, will likely make them pay in favors for the help, and will have influence and power, thus, over this area of expertise, but he'd also add his dice to theirs for working with this.
[] No. Surely their combined expertise will be good enough, and owing a favor and giving power to Come-Again and his Loud Hawaiin Shirt Agenda could spell trouble later on.
In terms of ships, how do they divide them up?
[] The bulk of the ships meant for a fight will go to protect the Volcano Lord delegation in their scouting run.
[] The bulk of the ships meant for a fight will protect the mission to check on all of the various goblin tribes and groups.
[] Evenly split.
[] Aw, just kick it upstairs (King Mannings will decide, choice might be better, but will take longer to make a decision.)
*****
It is a few dozen minutes later, after the decisions are made, that Harris approaches Gunny. The man looms, and even the fact that his clothes are pretty plain doesn't keep Gunny from having to look up at him. God, he was a tall fucker, and a scary one as well.
"One of those boats is mine. The small one with the cannon. You can't have it--"
Gunny stared at him, "What was that?"
"I needta use it to go check up on some contacts. If any of those fucking goblins disappeared, well that's the same as if they jewed me, and so I'll have to see what I can do about that," the old man rumbled.
Gunny looked him over. His fists were clenched and his words spat out with the force and intensity of an assault. The man let off the heat and scent of a fiery furnace, his Mantle brought full to bear on Gunny, who knew to fucking rights that the ship was only loaned, and more importantly that they'd need every Hedgespun boat they had, and everything else, if they were to do what they needed to do.
What does Gunny do?
[] Cave.
[] Refuse his request. (Willpower/Resisting Intimidation Check)
[] Tell him to go fuck himself (Fulfills Gunny's Vice: Obstinate Old Mule, but might start a fight.)
[] Try to advise him to take it up with the King (He might laugh in Gunny's face and do what he was going to do anyways, or it might deter him).
[] Write-in.
*****
A/N: Not the most epic second post, but it'll get there, and I was trying to ease into things by introducing some of the characters a little at a time.
Fallout: Paradise Lost, Week 0.3
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Fallout: Paradise Week 0.3
[X] Evenly split.
[X] Try to advise him to take it up with the King
Gunny resisted spitting, though it was the second hardest thing he'd done so far today. The only easy day was, it seemed, yesterday. He stared at Harris, aware that the bastard was glaring back, trying to size him up, see whether he'd fold. Harris was a bully, pure and simple, but the dangerous thing was that he was tougher than a bag o' nails and was entirely willing to put someone in the hospital over jack shit.
Gunny, on the other hand, just didn't give a fuck at the moment. The Freehold had potentially been under some magical attack, and might even now be threatened, and they needed those boats out. "Why don't you take it up with the King, if you disagree? It's his ruling, and I don't make the rules--"
"Yeah, you just cluck-cluck-cluck like the coward you are after some Jap that's gonna deny me what I'm owed?" Harris asked, growling, leaning forward.
"Go see King Secret, he'll give you what's coming to you," Gunny said, deadpan, "Or he'll show you how you're wrong."
"You know, I just might. Cause I know you're thinking I'm some little bitch to be scared of some spooky little man, like you are, just cause we both is Summer," Harris said, "But I'm betting he can't afford to piss anyone off right now, because if there's one things the spooks in winter and Fall, and they're both the very defintion of a bunch of fucking spooks, if there's one thing they do, it's worry. Worry, worry, worry," Harris said, shoving past Gunny.
Gunny's fists curled into a ball, and he almost turned to swing, except as Harris left he saw the Graveyard Girl stand...and follow him. Some vindictive, tired old part of him wanted to see how this ended, but he had other people to deal with.
Or rather, cut deals with.
******
[X] Yes. Come-Again, an influential power-broker, will likely make them pay in favors for the help, and will have influence and power, thus, over this area of expertise, but he'd also add his dice to theirs for working with this.
Come-Again was a tall man, tall but lacking in substance, as thin and spindly as a man on stilts, and wearing one of his trademark hawaiian shirts. The man was a tour guide, he ran a gift shop, and he had his finger in every pie. He bought and sold influence, harvested glamour and offered to 'steer' tourists the right way for the right price, for those in need of a little glamour, or money for their own businesses.
At the moment he was hunched over a game of solitaire, grinning up at Click and Gunny. Click knew that there would be more flies caught now with honey than vinegar, but he also knew that Gunny was perhaps as right as anything when he'd said 'give the man an inch, and he'll take and take.' "So you've come to me to ask me to help the Freehold?" Come Again said, "Well, why not?"
But Click knew what his duty was, and so he opened by saying, or rather by making the clicking noises that somehow translated from his brain to his mouth, and then made the same journey in those who coudl hear him, "Yes, because we need to get an accurate view as to what the situation is now, in all of the relevant supplies."
"And how we can batten down for any troubles," Gunny grunted, crossing his arms.
"Oh, certainly. The King, is he going to hold a committee? Make an official post of Quartermaster? Perhaps a council, or divided roles?" Come-Again asked voice oily and smooth, "Because you see, in order for me to help to the full extent that I wish with all of my heart, I need to have the power and the title to allow me to do so. You've seen, no doubt, what a person without the right status gets when they ask around, and so--"
"That's for the King to decide," Gunny grunted.
"Yet he has given you the right to decide to some extent, has he not? Come on, work with me here, Gunny, that is all I ask," Come-Again said, and ignored Gunny's snort.
"And it's not much to ask," Click said, "It is reasonable to do so, and yet I cannot tell you the form that the the compensation will come in, because at the moment, you understand, all is unsettled. But it will come, I give my word, and would give a Pledge if you would ask it of me, dear friend--"
It was a subtle trap, and one Come-Again avoided. Asking someone to Pledge for something such as that was impolitic and impolite, and so Come-Again smiled and said, "Very well, why don't we begin by reviewing the preparation that was done in regards to…"
*****
"...so that's it?" Gunny asked, "Five and a half weeks of supplies at a normal ration, food and water--"
"Well, no, that's not it," Come-Again said, an hour later. The insufferable git was smiling the whole time as he laid it all out, just as he laid cards on the solitaire table, "There are also the goblins--"
Gunny snorted, "I'm counting that. I've run the numbers before." The Summer King before Queen Loa had been a by-the-books sort, who had made them run all sorts of scenarios, just in case. Gunny knew this like the back of his hand. "Even with the full cooperation of the goblins in the area, which we may not have, and without the Volcano Lords, the Hedge Harvest and what we can find in food from the local goblin-markets is likely to add up to maybe two week's supplies every three or four weeks. Maybe three."
"That's unless we call on outsiders," Come-Again said, smoothly, almost chidingly, the little git, "We don't have to go it alone, and if we have been targeted by some magical attack, then surely there are others who will seek to aid us. It is how we dealt with the problem in the 1960s, I am told--"
"This ain't the sixties, this is the 1950s," Gunny barked, "We have no idea what's out there, and the Volcano Lords are capable of standing up to a full assault of our Freehold unless we play it smart, so we need to be careful--"
"There are assets we have that we didn't then," Click said, then added, "But I agree."
"Fine, fine, sure," Come-Again said, "But five weeks, six weeks of food, that's more than enough to weather whatever we're going through--"
"The King may want us to go on rations if there really is some big problem," Gunny said.
Come-Again looked a little pissed, and Gunny stared at him as the man raised himself up, "There are children, Ensorcelled ones, and young Talebound here, who have joined us. And what of the Freehold as a whole? Could we long tolerate rationing? That level of control?"
Gunny laughed, "Now you sound like a regular fucking Harris going on about the government taking all the guns forever. Speaking of, we should prolly gather up all the weapons, especially those belonging to Biggun."
Biggun, Biggun was special. Most people didn't have firearms that could get one arrested for trying to overthrow the government, like old RPGs from WWII, chainguns, just about everything, and worse yet, the fucker didn't like to share. Another Summer Courtier who was a little cracked, but not nearly as bad as Harris, thank god. Cracked enough to start talking to his weapons, though, which was enough.
"Not it!" Come-Again said, almost playfully.
"I too think that would be your task, Gunny," Click said.
Traitors, all of them. Gunny grunted and said, "We'll see, hopefully we don't need to do that sort of thing. What about…" he cast around for something, anything, "Medical supplies?"
*****
[2] Checking out the Volcano Lords.
1d100+15 (Priority)=71
Hosanna at least wasn't singing now, so there was that. Novocane himself would thank god for any damn small mercies he could get. Captain Adam was out on the deck, surveying the horizons, the dim fog of the Hedge, and that left him with the good Baron and Hosanna as company.
He'd rather be taking any of the drugs he peddled under the table, or just knocking himself out, rather than hearing her prattle about the possibility of negotiating with the Volcano Lords. As if you did that with people like that?
Baron Hedgeworthy was sitting down, eyes closed, somehow resting despite all of that. The man was huge, and the horns on his head stood out, as well as just how shabbily he was dressed. The Barons of the Lesser Ones were always a little strange, and Hedgeworthy, and god what a stupid name, was no different.
It was at this point that Captain Adam strode in, and said, "Well, we can see them, and their fortifications look the same as always. Automatons, and what looks to be shore batteries, the full works. But one of the ships is missing from the last time we patrolled their waters."
Novocane nodded, and then edged towards the edge of the cabin entrance, as the ship creaked along. It was why he'd come here, because he wanted to see just what it was about these Volcano Lords that had everyone worried, when so far it had just been a few fights, a few scuffles, nobody dead except a bunch of goblins, which was to say nobody important. He slid at the door, and then stopped when Captain Adam said, "Which leaves us with a question."
"What question?" Novocane said, "It's pretty simple. We found their first island, the seat of their territory or whatever, is that right?"
"They have others," Hosanna said. The woman was a looker, if only she weren't so weird and religious and given to trying to shake things up. After a certain point one learned to ignore things like the scales on her skin or the dusky, hunched over look, look past that to the things that truly mattered--
Like a pretty face, or useful abilities like the fact that she at least couldn't be singing hymns if they were kissing.
He wasn't sure why he was feeling like this, like some child, when he was in his thirties, but perhaps it was something she had done.
"Yes, they do," Captain Adam said, "And more than that, we need to figure out where that ship went."
"It probably went to look around, that's all. They probably figured out about the same thing as we did," Novocane asserted, shaking his head.
"Perhaps, but if so that is news as well," Baron Von Hedgeworthy boomed, standing up, as if he had never been asleep as well, "And disturbing news, in context. It would mean that either they are magically more potent than expected, or they have an insider either with the Freehold or the goblins."
"We should simply talk to them," Hosanna said, "Surely they'll volunteer information--"
Well, bad idea of the year award goes to--
"It could work, if we were merely trying to see what they knew," Captain Adams said, waving his hand, it all depends on--"
He took a breath, and Novocane could guess what the Spring Courtier and Hedge-Trader and explorer was doing. Deciding in a single moment. The space of a few breaths. Some martial-arts thing, he suspected.
What do they do?
[] Continue their explorations.
[] Turn around with what they've learned and go back to the main islands of the Freehold.
[] Try to engage in diplomacy with the Volcano Lords in order to fish for information about what they know...or how they know it.
*****
[3] Seeing to the allied Goblin groups.
1d100+10=30
Things weren't right, Untersea thought, swimming along. They'd been here and there and everywhere with the boats, and that wasn't too bad, and the waters, they felt as familiar as ever. It was said that drowning in them turned you into a mermaid, but--she reflected with a giggle once--if so there wasn't much to do. She was new to the Freehold, but she liked her job. Underwater scout, surveyor, Spring-Courtier, it fit her and who she wanted to be, and ever since she'd been on vacation here, had decided to live here, her life had been pretty smooth, pretty easy.
Not like the memories of THAT PLACE, memories she could only half remember on the best of days. Her own past, drawn like a veil, and she couldn't push it aside, didn't want to. She'd been made to be some sort of underwater servant, and she had escaped by swimming onto dry land, yet she knew she spent as much time in water as anywhere else, and would start to wither and die if she went a day without submerging herself in water.
Even for all of that, even for the batten-down-the-hatches panic that had seemed to infect anyone, she still should have been doing just fine, but the goblin groups all seemed a little on edge. It hadn't helped that Dakai Liu, chosen to head the team, was in a black mood.
Of course, who could blame her, Untersea would be pissed if some guy just dumped her for a younger model, though that'd be illegal, since she was only twenty-three. But Dakai Liu held onto her anger and emotions like she was a Summer Courtier, rather than someone versed in desires like her, and that was a little confusing, as was the growing frown on her face, and Lucky's face, and everyone's.
Lucky had started by smiling and talking with the various tribes, the Pineapple Throwers, the Banarino, the Tzissis, but by the time they were approaching the frigid isle of the Ael, it was clear that he'd heard something was amiss.
Untersea felt it before she saw it. Movements, the disturbance of the water, and more than that, something unclean. The water in the Hedge was good for nobody's health, and under it lurked vast dangers she had to be careful of, but it had never felt bad in *this* way before.
And when she finally saw the island of the Ael, she had reason to be startled. Afraid, even. Because on the shores, a group of seven Ael, four men in a formation, squat and stout, one of them hugely tall for their kind, almost five feet, and three of their women, two bunched together and one at the back with a pair of crossbows, were all fighting these things.
The things, the monsters, were brown, bipedel and rather taller than the Ael, about human height. They were hard-shelled, strange, with claws and segmented parts, and they were tearing and trying to claw the Ael apart.
But the Ael weren't merely laying down and dying. The Ael were a people of craftsmen, short and pot-bellied, dusky skinned and strange, but most of all they were a proud people, and the four men, bald as most male Ael were, wielded the sword-and-spear of the militia with skill, pushing back at the monsters, yet they were failing, bit by bit, as the women tried to inch around, wielding swords and pistols that they'd traded with the Freehold. And the arrows seemed to bounce off of their skin, making only small dings in the shells.
It was seven Ael versus, what, a dozen of those things, and Untersea's heart raced as she saw one or two more emerge from the waters, the odds worsening even as the Ael fell back, bit by bit, in control but for how long?
******
Be Dakai Liu!
So, a bunch of monsters are attacking allied Ael. This cannot stand, but how does one best use the assets on hand?
Who does she have?
She has herself. She is a talented martial artist and warrior, whose prowess can be augmented by Contracts to enhance her strength and physical capacity, but those things seem as if they would likely be difficult to deal with using techniques designed for human-like enemies.
She has Untersea, who possesses a dart-gun, a knife and has skill with the raid-and-withdraw method. The girl is a little rash, and clearly not meant for a close combat, but she could potentially be used to try to relieve the pressure a little.
She has Maria, a tall, rather ugly and scarred woman. An experienced sailor and Spring Courtier, she has been all across the Hedge, and seen a few fights here and there, but is armed only with a very heavy Cudgel. She's an Ogre, though, so she could definitely break skulls and maybe even carapaces, but those aren't good odds.
Erikson: A Fall Courtier and enforcer, he's a Wizened Snowskin, and has a few really interesting elemental contracts under his belt. He mostly uses a samurai sword of all things, so at least in theory if he stabbed in the right place he could do some damage, if they could find the right place.
Zero: Little is known about them, but they're a small Winter courtier who seems to lack a Kith and hasn't said a single word. His eyes, though, they're damn hard, and Dakai Liu is willing to guess he's a killer.
Lucky: A Master of the Hearth Contract, charming man, and all-around arrogant prick, he's also good at what he does. He has a rifle, and Dakai has seen him push himself to the edge and beat an enemy half to death and then pant and laugh and step back, and more pressingly, he has a rifle and a noted ability at trick shots.
Arty: Whether his name is for his Hedgespun automatons, like the ones that are powering the ship as a sort of simple screw machine, or for some other reason, he's pretty skilled with the cannons on the four ships brought along, if it comes down to it.
The Ships: The ships possess several useful tools. First, there are the rather powerful cannons, but more than that, there are the passive defenses. Crowds of Hedgespun swarmers and Hedge Beast Familiars all but bonded to the ship will come out to attack any enemy they are ordered to, but they are willing/able to go only so far from the ship. In addition, there are a few other defenses that Arty can perhaps activate, and there are boats for running out as well.
What's the Plan?
[] Luck Will Out: Go out in a boat, those capable of combat, and distract and lure the monsters back a little bit, and then try to keep them occupied as Lucky tries to take them out from afar.
[] Lure them all the way: Push the ships much closer to the beachhead and then see if they can't chase after the 'fleeing' forces that Dakai will send after them before disengaging. Once in the range of the ships, let them have it!
[] On both sides: Push right up to the beachhead, leap out, and press the monsters on one side while the Ael work on the other, and between them it should be easier to find and exploit whatever weaknesses these hard-shelled monsters have.
[] Fire Away: Fight through the monsters and then have the Ael withdraw some. There's no way the cannons can fire now without *also* tearing the Ael apart, which isn't an acceptable outcome. But if they can withdraw without keeping the monsters on them, then the guns should be able to at least badly damage them.
[] Write-in.
*****
A/N: Yup. Mirelurks! Oh joy. Of course, they're on *this* side of the Hedge, so who knows if they are actual Mirelurks, some sort of weird Hedge-parody of Mirelurks, or, in point of fact, Mirelurk Hedge-Beasts in which case they could potentially shoot fire or do something really crazy. Neither does Dakai Liu know, so you are both in the same boat there.
[X] Evenly split.
[X] Try to advise him to take it up with the King
Gunny resisted spitting, though it was the second hardest thing he'd done so far today. The only easy day was, it seemed, yesterday. He stared at Harris, aware that the bastard was glaring back, trying to size him up, see whether he'd fold. Harris was a bully, pure and simple, but the dangerous thing was that he was tougher than a bag o' nails and was entirely willing to put someone in the hospital over jack shit.
Gunny, on the other hand, just didn't give a fuck at the moment. The Freehold had potentially been under some magical attack, and might even now be threatened, and they needed those boats out. "Why don't you take it up with the King, if you disagree? It's his ruling, and I don't make the rules--"
"Yeah, you just cluck-cluck-cluck like the coward you are after some Jap that's gonna deny me what I'm owed?" Harris asked, growling, leaning forward.
"Go see King Secret, he'll give you what's coming to you," Gunny said, deadpan, "Or he'll show you how you're wrong."
"You know, I just might. Cause I know you're thinking I'm some little bitch to be scared of some spooky little man, like you are, just cause we both is Summer," Harris said, "But I'm betting he can't afford to piss anyone off right now, because if there's one things the spooks in winter and Fall, and they're both the very defintion of a bunch of fucking spooks, if there's one thing they do, it's worry. Worry, worry, worry," Harris said, shoving past Gunny.
Gunny's fists curled into a ball, and he almost turned to swing, except as Harris left he saw the Graveyard Girl stand...and follow him. Some vindictive, tired old part of him wanted to see how this ended, but he had other people to deal with.
Or rather, cut deals with.
******
[X] Yes. Come-Again, an influential power-broker, will likely make them pay in favors for the help, and will have influence and power, thus, over this area of expertise, but he'd also add his dice to theirs for working with this.
Come-Again was a tall man, tall but lacking in substance, as thin and spindly as a man on stilts, and wearing one of his trademark hawaiian shirts. The man was a tour guide, he ran a gift shop, and he had his finger in every pie. He bought and sold influence, harvested glamour and offered to 'steer' tourists the right way for the right price, for those in need of a little glamour, or money for their own businesses.
At the moment he was hunched over a game of solitaire, grinning up at Click and Gunny. Click knew that there would be more flies caught now with honey than vinegar, but he also knew that Gunny was perhaps as right as anything when he'd said 'give the man an inch, and he'll take and take.' "So you've come to me to ask me to help the Freehold?" Come Again said, "Well, why not?"
But Click knew what his duty was, and so he opened by saying, or rather by making the clicking noises that somehow translated from his brain to his mouth, and then made the same journey in those who coudl hear him, "Yes, because we need to get an accurate view as to what the situation is now, in all of the relevant supplies."
"And how we can batten down for any troubles," Gunny grunted, crossing his arms.
"Oh, certainly. The King, is he going to hold a committee? Make an official post of Quartermaster? Perhaps a council, or divided roles?" Come-Again asked voice oily and smooth, "Because you see, in order for me to help to the full extent that I wish with all of my heart, I need to have the power and the title to allow me to do so. You've seen, no doubt, what a person without the right status gets when they ask around, and so--"
"That's for the King to decide," Gunny grunted.
"Yet he has given you the right to decide to some extent, has he not? Come on, work with me here, Gunny, that is all I ask," Come-Again said, and ignored Gunny's snort.
"And it's not much to ask," Click said, "It is reasonable to do so, and yet I cannot tell you the form that the the compensation will come in, because at the moment, you understand, all is unsettled. But it will come, I give my word, and would give a Pledge if you would ask it of me, dear friend--"
It was a subtle trap, and one Come-Again avoided. Asking someone to Pledge for something such as that was impolitic and impolite, and so Come-Again smiled and said, "Very well, why don't we begin by reviewing the preparation that was done in regards to…"
*****
"...so that's it?" Gunny asked, "Five and a half weeks of supplies at a normal ration, food and water--"
"Well, no, that's not it," Come-Again said, an hour later. The insufferable git was smiling the whole time as he laid it all out, just as he laid cards on the solitaire table, "There are also the goblins--"
Gunny snorted, "I'm counting that. I've run the numbers before." The Summer King before Queen Loa had been a by-the-books sort, who had made them run all sorts of scenarios, just in case. Gunny knew this like the back of his hand. "Even with the full cooperation of the goblins in the area, which we may not have, and without the Volcano Lords, the Hedge Harvest and what we can find in food from the local goblin-markets is likely to add up to maybe two week's supplies every three or four weeks. Maybe three."
"That's unless we call on outsiders," Come-Again said, smoothly, almost chidingly, the little git, "We don't have to go it alone, and if we have been targeted by some magical attack, then surely there are others who will seek to aid us. It is how we dealt with the problem in the 1960s, I am told--"
"This ain't the sixties, this is the 1950s," Gunny barked, "We have no idea what's out there, and the Volcano Lords are capable of standing up to a full assault of our Freehold unless we play it smart, so we need to be careful--"
"There are assets we have that we didn't then," Click said, then added, "But I agree."
"Fine, fine, sure," Come-Again said, "But five weeks, six weeks of food, that's more than enough to weather whatever we're going through--"
"The King may want us to go on rations if there really is some big problem," Gunny said.
Come-Again looked a little pissed, and Gunny stared at him as the man raised himself up, "There are children, Ensorcelled ones, and young Talebound here, who have joined us. And what of the Freehold as a whole? Could we long tolerate rationing? That level of control?"
Gunny laughed, "Now you sound like a regular fucking Harris going on about the government taking all the guns forever. Speaking of, we should prolly gather up all the weapons, especially those belonging to Biggun."
Biggun, Biggun was special. Most people didn't have firearms that could get one arrested for trying to overthrow the government, like old RPGs from WWII, chainguns, just about everything, and worse yet, the fucker didn't like to share. Another Summer Courtier who was a little cracked, but not nearly as bad as Harris, thank god. Cracked enough to start talking to his weapons, though, which was enough.
"Not it!" Come-Again said, almost playfully.
"I too think that would be your task, Gunny," Click said.
Traitors, all of them. Gunny grunted and said, "We'll see, hopefully we don't need to do that sort of thing. What about…" he cast around for something, anything, "Medical supplies?"
*****
[2] Checking out the Volcano Lords.
1d100+15 (Priority)=71
Hosanna at least wasn't singing now, so there was that. Novocane himself would thank god for any damn small mercies he could get. Captain Adam was out on the deck, surveying the horizons, the dim fog of the Hedge, and that left him with the good Baron and Hosanna as company.
He'd rather be taking any of the drugs he peddled under the table, or just knocking himself out, rather than hearing her prattle about the possibility of negotiating with the Volcano Lords. As if you did that with people like that?
Baron Hedgeworthy was sitting down, eyes closed, somehow resting despite all of that. The man was huge, and the horns on his head stood out, as well as just how shabbily he was dressed. The Barons of the Lesser Ones were always a little strange, and Hedgeworthy, and god what a stupid name, was no different.
It was at this point that Captain Adam strode in, and said, "Well, we can see them, and their fortifications look the same as always. Automatons, and what looks to be shore batteries, the full works. But one of the ships is missing from the last time we patrolled their waters."
Novocane nodded, and then edged towards the edge of the cabin entrance, as the ship creaked along. It was why he'd come here, because he wanted to see just what it was about these Volcano Lords that had everyone worried, when so far it had just been a few fights, a few scuffles, nobody dead except a bunch of goblins, which was to say nobody important. He slid at the door, and then stopped when Captain Adam said, "Which leaves us with a question."
"What question?" Novocane said, "It's pretty simple. We found their first island, the seat of their territory or whatever, is that right?"
"They have others," Hosanna said. The woman was a looker, if only she weren't so weird and religious and given to trying to shake things up. After a certain point one learned to ignore things like the scales on her skin or the dusky, hunched over look, look past that to the things that truly mattered--
Like a pretty face, or useful abilities like the fact that she at least couldn't be singing hymns if they were kissing.
He wasn't sure why he was feeling like this, like some child, when he was in his thirties, but perhaps it was something she had done.
"Yes, they do," Captain Adam said, "And more than that, we need to figure out where that ship went."
"It probably went to look around, that's all. They probably figured out about the same thing as we did," Novocane asserted, shaking his head.
"Perhaps, but if so that is news as well," Baron Von Hedgeworthy boomed, standing up, as if he had never been asleep as well, "And disturbing news, in context. It would mean that either they are magically more potent than expected, or they have an insider either with the Freehold or the goblins."
"We should simply talk to them," Hosanna said, "Surely they'll volunteer information--"
Well, bad idea of the year award goes to--
"It could work, if we were merely trying to see what they knew," Captain Adams said, waving his hand, it all depends on--"
He took a breath, and Novocane could guess what the Spring Courtier and Hedge-Trader and explorer was doing. Deciding in a single moment. The space of a few breaths. Some martial-arts thing, he suspected.
What do they do?
[] Continue their explorations.
[] Turn around with what they've learned and go back to the main islands of the Freehold.
[] Try to engage in diplomacy with the Volcano Lords in order to fish for information about what they know...or how they know it.
*****
[3] Seeing to the allied Goblin groups.
1d100+10=30
Things weren't right, Untersea thought, swimming along. They'd been here and there and everywhere with the boats, and that wasn't too bad, and the waters, they felt as familiar as ever. It was said that drowning in them turned you into a mermaid, but--she reflected with a giggle once--if so there wasn't much to do. She was new to the Freehold, but she liked her job. Underwater scout, surveyor, Spring-Courtier, it fit her and who she wanted to be, and ever since she'd been on vacation here, had decided to live here, her life had been pretty smooth, pretty easy.
Not like the memories of THAT PLACE, memories she could only half remember on the best of days. Her own past, drawn like a veil, and she couldn't push it aside, didn't want to. She'd been made to be some sort of underwater servant, and she had escaped by swimming onto dry land, yet she knew she spent as much time in water as anywhere else, and would start to wither and die if she went a day without submerging herself in water.
Even for all of that, even for the batten-down-the-hatches panic that had seemed to infect anyone, she still should have been doing just fine, but the goblin groups all seemed a little on edge. It hadn't helped that Dakai Liu, chosen to head the team, was in a black mood.
Of course, who could blame her, Untersea would be pissed if some guy just dumped her for a younger model, though that'd be illegal, since she was only twenty-three. But Dakai Liu held onto her anger and emotions like she was a Summer Courtier, rather than someone versed in desires like her, and that was a little confusing, as was the growing frown on her face, and Lucky's face, and everyone's.
Lucky had started by smiling and talking with the various tribes, the Pineapple Throwers, the Banarino, the Tzissis, but by the time they were approaching the frigid isle of the Ael, it was clear that he'd heard something was amiss.
Untersea felt it before she saw it. Movements, the disturbance of the water, and more than that, something unclean. The water in the Hedge was good for nobody's health, and under it lurked vast dangers she had to be careful of, but it had never felt bad in *this* way before.
And when she finally saw the island of the Ael, she had reason to be startled. Afraid, even. Because on the shores, a group of seven Ael, four men in a formation, squat and stout, one of them hugely tall for their kind, almost five feet, and three of their women, two bunched together and one at the back with a pair of crossbows, were all fighting these things.
The things, the monsters, were brown, bipedel and rather taller than the Ael, about human height. They were hard-shelled, strange, with claws and segmented parts, and they were tearing and trying to claw the Ael apart.
But the Ael weren't merely laying down and dying. The Ael were a people of craftsmen, short and pot-bellied, dusky skinned and strange, but most of all they were a proud people, and the four men, bald as most male Ael were, wielded the sword-and-spear of the militia with skill, pushing back at the monsters, yet they were failing, bit by bit, as the women tried to inch around, wielding swords and pistols that they'd traded with the Freehold. And the arrows seemed to bounce off of their skin, making only small dings in the shells.
It was seven Ael versus, what, a dozen of those things, and Untersea's heart raced as she saw one or two more emerge from the waters, the odds worsening even as the Ael fell back, bit by bit, in control but for how long?
******
Be Dakai Liu!
So, a bunch of monsters are attacking allied Ael. This cannot stand, but how does one best use the assets on hand?
Who does she have?
She has herself. She is a talented martial artist and warrior, whose prowess can be augmented by Contracts to enhance her strength and physical capacity, but those things seem as if they would likely be difficult to deal with using techniques designed for human-like enemies.
She has Untersea, who possesses a dart-gun, a knife and has skill with the raid-and-withdraw method. The girl is a little rash, and clearly not meant for a close combat, but she could potentially be used to try to relieve the pressure a little.
She has Maria, a tall, rather ugly and scarred woman. An experienced sailor and Spring Courtier, she has been all across the Hedge, and seen a few fights here and there, but is armed only with a very heavy Cudgel. She's an Ogre, though, so she could definitely break skulls and maybe even carapaces, but those aren't good odds.
Erikson: A Fall Courtier and enforcer, he's a Wizened Snowskin, and has a few really interesting elemental contracts under his belt. He mostly uses a samurai sword of all things, so at least in theory if he stabbed in the right place he could do some damage, if they could find the right place.
Zero: Little is known about them, but they're a small Winter courtier who seems to lack a Kith and hasn't said a single word. His eyes, though, they're damn hard, and Dakai Liu is willing to guess he's a killer.
Lucky: A Master of the Hearth Contract, charming man, and all-around arrogant prick, he's also good at what he does. He has a rifle, and Dakai has seen him push himself to the edge and beat an enemy half to death and then pant and laugh and step back, and more pressingly, he has a rifle and a noted ability at trick shots.
Arty: Whether his name is for his Hedgespun automatons, like the ones that are powering the ship as a sort of simple screw machine, or for some other reason, he's pretty skilled with the cannons on the four ships brought along, if it comes down to it.
The Ships: The ships possess several useful tools. First, there are the rather powerful cannons, but more than that, there are the passive defenses. Crowds of Hedgespun swarmers and Hedge Beast Familiars all but bonded to the ship will come out to attack any enemy they are ordered to, but they are willing/able to go only so far from the ship. In addition, there are a few other defenses that Arty can perhaps activate, and there are boats for running out as well.
What's the Plan?
[] Luck Will Out: Go out in a boat, those capable of combat, and distract and lure the monsters back a little bit, and then try to keep them occupied as Lucky tries to take them out from afar.
[] Lure them all the way: Push the ships much closer to the beachhead and then see if they can't chase after the 'fleeing' forces that Dakai will send after them before disengaging. Once in the range of the ships, let them have it!
[] On both sides: Push right up to the beachhead, leap out, and press the monsters on one side while the Ael work on the other, and between them it should be easier to find and exploit whatever weaknesses these hard-shelled monsters have.
[] Fire Away: Fight through the monsters and then have the Ael withdraw some. There's no way the cannons can fire now without *also* tearing the Ael apart, which isn't an acceptable outcome. But if they can withdraw without keeping the monsters on them, then the guns should be able to at least badly damage them.
[] Write-in.
*****
A/N: Yup. Mirelurks! Oh joy. Of course, they're on *this* side of the Hedge, so who knows if they are actual Mirelurks, some sort of weird Hedge-parody of Mirelurks, or, in point of fact, Mirelurk Hedge-Beasts in which case they could potentially shoot fire or do something really crazy. Neither does Dakai Liu know, so you are both in the same boat there.