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From the Hidden City (Warhammer Lizardmen Temple-City Quest)

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Turn 5 Results
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan Crocodiles Take To The Water
    -[] Stewardship:
    --[] Fleet Expansion: 0 dice and Xehtzaihl
    --[] Tower Repairs: 0 dice and Xilotl
    --[] Clearing Rubble: Temple of Xokha: 0 dice and Awanabil'tat
    --[] Reseeding the Pastures: 0 dice and Tehe'tenq
    --[] Spelunking: 0 dice, Gif'a-gab
    --[] Diving In: 2 dice

    -[] Martial:
    --[] Detail Addendum: Qu'Qu-Kor should still be working with the Tlaqua Expedition, helping guard the slann there.
    --[] Write-In: Naval Expedition to southern tip of continent. 1 die, Huatza-Botl with Leviathan-Bone Harpoon
    ---[] Mission: Explore the possibility of the orcs being encamped around the obelisk of the Old Ones. Work in conjunction with the chameleon skinks from "Spying on Orcs," such as by providing transportation.
    --[] Spying on Orcs: 1 die, Hua'Ximni the Elder Chameleon Skink
    ---[] Mission Detail: Coordinate with the naval expedition for transport, especially infiltration and exfiltration.

    -[] Trading:
    --[] Sea Boiler: Buy silver, gems, and some cloth. Buy a few barrels of wine.
    --[] Waverunner: Buy Ivory and timbers.
    --[] Inform elven captains that you value maps, and also literature of the elves or of other civilizations they may encounter, such as the dwarves. Breeding pairs of interesting animals. The lord of Zlatlan, Wik'keer'mal, especially prizes rare and unusual plants.

    -[] Developing an Understanding: 1 die
    --[] Write-in: Guide a group of humans to a reasonably secure location, relatively far from orcs and demons, but not immediately near to Zlatlan or the ruined temple-cities. Teach these humans some lizardman agricultural knowledge.

    -[] Slann Actions:
    --[] Getting to Know your Attendants: 2 personal Wik'keer'mal Dice
    --[] Purifying Crystal: 2 Fifth Spawning slann
    --[] Prophecy of the Grass: 6 Fifth Spawning slann
    --[] Linking the Harbor: 2 Third Spawning slann, 3 Fourth Spawning slann (including Udhi-Tegha of the Fourth Spawning)
    --[] Study Disc of Yuxa: 2 Fifth Spawning slann

    Turn 5 Results

    Trading
    - Sea Boiler: Buy silver, gems, and some cloth. Buy a few barrels of wine.
    - Waverunner: Buy Ivory and timbers.

    When the ships first came in, first the Sea Boiler then the Waverunner some three months after, there was a great deal of confusion. Having perhaps expected a little more competition the two ships had come loaded, one might even say perhaps a little overloaded, down with goods for trade and that relative lack of activity in Zlatlan's harbor gave them pause. Still the docks were in good order and they had been judiciously guided in the whole way from the mouth of the bay.

    As it was the city had not the surplus to buy out either ship of its stores, though neither could have afforded to take the whole of the stock of feathers for the city either owing to how overloaded they both were. So in the end Zlatlan managed a fair deal. Of course to the skinks negotiating it hardly mattered, after all what good were a few extra gems and a small cartload of silver. Nevermind the wine.

    For certain the ivory could be an effective reagent in the future and the timber was useful enough, though trees were in no short supply, and cloth was always desired. But there was nothing truly needed carried on either ship.

    To questions about the prospect of live animals or specimens of exotic flora the elven captains of each ship responded uncertainly. Any such creature or plant would surely suffer in the unfamiliar climes? The skinks averred that there were manners and methods to moderate such difficulties and allow for the flourishing of said, provided it was not too large.

    When the ships departed there were assurances that the captains would put the notion about to others and consider it for themselves, but made no promises.

    Action Completed. Gain small amounts of silver, gems, and ivory. Gain moderate cache of cloth and timbers. 16 barrels of elven wine.

    Fleet Expansion: Xehtzaihl
    Auto, Auto

    2 Successes!

    Total: 2

    More frames joined those laid down during the last century even as the fleet of monitors continues to expand. When the elven ships depart, their holds carrying nearly Zlatlan's entire stock of feathers plus pelts and several crates of fine daggers from now pouring out of the newly functional forge districts.

    Ten stone keels sat dry against the keel blocks while the skeletons of their wooden bodies went up, supported by further blocks, and the shape of the frigates began to solidify. Double that number of war canoes were carved out on the top deck of the dock. Whenever work was not ongoing large mats of woven grass were laid over the openings so that the partially constructed vessels would not be damaged by inclement weather.

    By the decades end most of the vessels would be nearly completed, with their main masts in place and the top decks ready to be added. In another five years the forge district would have produced a sufficient backlog of great bows to arm each frigate fully by the time the first was ready to sail and with most of the spawning pools active there would be enough spare bodies to crew them all fairly regularly without straining things overmuch.

    Action Incomplete - 2 Successes Remain

    Linking the Harbor: 2 3rd Gen Slann dice, 3 4th Gen Slann dice
    69, 100, 75, 82, 55

    5 Successes! 1 Natural Critical! +1 Success

    Total: 6

    Crafting the necessary thread to connect the harbor to the geomantic web was no small undertaking, though it paled in comparison to some of the efforts that had been made in the past. Memre-Xoq led the efforts, recalling the ancient work of the communion in the days of the founding of Zlatlan and the other temple-cities upon the continent.

    The spirits of the assembled slann flew to a particular corner of the city-glyph and of the great edifices of energy there began to spin anchor of mystic resonance with the harbor itself. Unlike the city-glyphs of the temple-cities this was more or less an elaborate method of describing the physical relation between Zlatlan and the harbor to the geomantic structure of the city's glyph. Meanwhile in the material skink priests travelled to the harbor and undertook some minor work of tearing down certain temporary structures and moving them elsewhere within the fortified area. A few of the wooden docks on jutting off the central promontory had to be extended or shortened, though they would eventually be replaced by proper quays they could not be ignored.

    Rooms were emptied of their contents and walls broken to join to others, a few halls were filled in. Numerous sacred glyphs of the Old Ones were filled with arcane energy, and the central pyramid-temple was the site of an extensive month long ritual in which it was fully consecrated to Tzunki. Offerings of seaweed, crustaceans, fish, and salt water were burned all over the temple.

    At the top the glyph of Tzunki was carved into each face of the capstone chamber.

    With this done a nub of energy emerged into the pseudo-dimension and began to pulse with the gentle flow of geomantic energy fed to it by Zlatlan. Only at the end of the decade did it, with a final flare bright burst, emerge fully into the web.

    The glyph inscribed walls of the harbor citadel shimmered and the wards of Zlatlan extended themselves to gird the harbor in interlocking shields of anti-daemonic energy. A wave of energy went out from the temple over the harbor and for a moment the waves stilled and calmed — the hall of the fishing boats that day was three times its usual bulk — then it was over and the usual pattern of tides resumed.

    Action Completed. Further Actions Unlocked.

    Tower Repairs: Xilotl
    Auto, Auto

    2 Successes!

    Total: 2

    Stone was hauled and hewn. Metal smelted and beaten into shape. And the fallen and ruined remains of towers cleared at last to begin erecting the new in their place.

    Work first started on the southern walls, if attack was likely to come in the immediate future it was judged that it would be from that direction — orcs being the most significant known threat — and from there spread outward. And proceeded rapidly apace. Soon enough sixteen octagonal towers rose at half again the height of the wall itself at even intervals, with an additional two near each of the main gates.

    Over half the work still remained, and most importantly with the fleet expansion ongoing there were few great bows free to be mounted atop the towers themselves, though as that project drew to a close that would soon resolve itself easily enough.

    Action Incomplete - 4 Successes Remain

    Naval Expedition to Southern Tip: 1 die, Huatza-Botl
    Auto, Auto, 88

    3 Successes!

    Total: 3

    Huatza-Botl once again took command of the pair of frigates, though this time they were setting out for a much closer destination and would not be leaving the sight of the coast except to avoid detection by the orcs down south. All twenty-seven chameleon skinks were taken aboard. Though that was perhaps slightly inaccurate, for it was more that they suddenly appeared on the ships one morning a few days before the expedition was to set out.

    Their senior most member, Hua'Ximni, introducing themself to the oldblood as the latter was preparing to bring the two ships back into dock to take on the last of their supplies and the aforementioned chameleon skinks.

    Or at least the crews assumed that was the point at which all of them boarded, it could not be proven that some had not been aboard longer or did not alight later. Which indicated good things for their chances of success against the orcs who would not even know to expect them at any point.

    It was in such spirits that the ships set off.

    Nothing else of note happened until the skinks were let off in canoes loaded aboard specially for the purpose; they had a lower profile and were shorter than most war canoes. Evidently to make them easier to hide. After that brief pause the frigates continued on their way.

    Drifting wide off the coast Huatza-Botl tracked their position carefully and positioned the pair of vessels so that when they swung back north they would approach the southern tip of the continent head on. That way any orcs who spied them would not be able to say from which direction up the coast they had come. Not that they expected such deceptions to fool the creatures so much, not unless some other source of a fight had been found up the eastern coast, but it was good practice nonetheless.

    And orcs were slow witted enough that it might just delay them some.

    So the ships approached the coast again, keeping careful watch for signs of orcish habitation. The ruins of a few crude villages which might have once been home to human habitants were spotted and at their closest approach a wrecked collection of timber indicated a fishing vessel had run aground. Whether that was a sign of orc presence was less certain.

    Distant puffs of smoke indicated some extant habitation, but such things were the mission of the chameleon skinks and so Huatza-Botl turned the ships south again. Structures like the standing stones of the Old Ones were not so large as to be seen from such distances, so whether the orcs were encamped near the one further inland would by necessity be determined by the Hua'Ximni and their kind.

    But there was another standing stone which could be seen from shore not far away. On a promontory jutting off the easter shore of a nearby island, from older records it was known that the land it occupied was isolated by the surrounding terrain. Mountains and rocky hills cut it off from the rest of the island except by a few narrow passes, and the beach near it was sheer and filled with half-submerged reefs.

    And indeed it was as the records said, though overgrown. There the war canoes were detached and maneuvered into the best landing possible and a few weeks were spent exploring the area. While eminently defensible there was no sign of current or past habitation by orc or human or anything else. Perhaps in the future an outpost could be constructed to better safeguard the work of the Old Ones.

    With that the expedition departed, to return and retrieve the chameleon skinks and thereafter deliver their reports to Lord Wik'keer'mal.

    Action Completed.

    Clearing Rubble (Temple of Xokha): Awanabil'tat
    Auto, Auto

    2 Successes!

    Total: 2

    The past two centuries had seen Awanabil'tat at near constant work restoring the temples of the Old Ones to proper order and the beginning of the new one did not herald any change in that. Gathering together many of the same work crew he had in previous years, the skink chief set about organizing the repair of the temple of Xohka, giver of strength and arbiter of duty.

    Many of the temple's lower chambers and halls were cleaned of debris, murals restored to their proper state. Most of the work still remained of course.

    Action Incomplete - 3 Successes Remain

    Reseeding the Pastures: Tehe'tenq
    65, 47

    2 Successes!

    Total: 2

    Great jungle trees were felled, brush cleared away, and fencing laid out. Then the work crews cleared paths between each pasture. For five years the jungle east and north of Zlatlan was busy with the activity of skinks and kroxigor as they cut trees down, unearthed stumps, tore out unwanted plants, and seeded those preferred by the beasts.

    Sunny clearings were desiccated, grasses burned down to nothing and dug up before being filled in partially with a layer of loose, sandy soil. A number of wells were dug and buried pumps installed, accessible through a series of low tunnel networks, where convenient streams could not be diverted to provide frequent opportunities for the beasts to water themselves. Enormous false caves were erected, large enough to fit seven adults and a handful of calves at a time.

    Once everything was in order, the final step was to of course to lead the last of the beasts still within the walls of Zlatlan into their new homes. For the first time in centuries the pens of the city, at least those that had housed the bastiladon and stegadon, stood empty.

    Action Completed. Small, variable boost to dice (1d3 rolled and added to normal dice pool each turn). Beast Pen Repairs DC lowers.

    Spelunking: Gif'a-Gahb
    31

    1 Successes!

    Total: 1

    What's down there?
    99

    At the site of the former pastures Gif'a-Gahb assembled over three hundred skinks and several dozen kroxigor and set about constructing a series of cranes overlooking each of the enormous sinkholes which had opened over two centuries ago. While the bulk were to remain above ground; passing down supplies and aiding in both the descent and eventual ascent, just generally keeping the whole venture possible, the number of skinks and kroxigor heading down into the bowels of the earth passed over a hundred. Split into groups no larger than fifteen they were lowered down on platforms of thick planks lashed together and balanced between two seperate cranes.

    Down at the bottom, the former roofs of soil and stone formed mounds twice as tall as even a kroxigor. On those temporary fortifications were built with wood sent down from above, simply wooden palisades and elevated surfaces from which to warn off any errant subterranean creature which might wander by. Two sets of gates were built into each.

    Of the three sinkholes two split in two directions immediately and the third had only one accessible path. Though from the efforts of the slann it was known that those caverns quickly split off into dozens of intersecting and intertwining networks of winding tunnels. Some were judged to be just large enough for a kroxigor to fit through, others not even a skink could manage, while still others could have contained a small temple-pyramid.

    Only a fraction could be explored in the span of the current decade with the forces available.

    For the most part what was found was a great deal of nothing save for fleeting glimpses of blind, pale skinned creatures.

    But near the seventh year of explorations, underneath roughly the location of Zlatlan's forge districts the search parties began to detect a growing sulfuric odor. Of course for nearly as long Gif'a-Gahb had begun the whole enterprise such smells were not uncommon — though usually they were only faintly detectable even by the powerful noses of skinks.

    This though was different, for the odor was strong. And only grew stronger as the party in question pressed onward, for a time, once it was clear there was some manner of geothermal vent or crack leading directly into deeper sections of the system they sent back for the priest and settled into a relatively defensible position to wait.

    When Gif'fa-Gahb arrived two days, in the company of two dozen saurus and five kroxigor, they found the party exactly where they ought to have been. Unharmed. Though distinctly unhappy about the pervasive smell.

    Reinforced, the now some fifty Lizardmen proceeded yet deeper down the passageway. Eventually it opened into an enormous chamber, absolutely swelteringly hot even by the standards of the reptilian denizens of Zlatlan, and stinking to near impossibility of sulfur.

    Several vents in fact shimmered with latent heat. The entire enormous cavern was tinged yellow all over with discoloration from the sulfur in the air. But all that was not what drew the most attention of the gathered skinks, instead it was the clusters of round vaguely egg shaped formations around each —

    "Form ranks!"

    — the call from Gif'a-Gahb was instinctive.

    Saurus responded instantly in near silent cohesion, hefting shields high and lowering the tips of spears as the closed ranks around the priest; some bodily dragging fascinating skinks towards the center of their formation.

    Even the kroxigor, usually the slowest to respond to the call of war, shifted uneasily at the tone of the priest's voice and reached for the great mauls and strapped to their backs. Their handlers had to scramble to undo the ties so that they could actually unlimber the weapons.

    Heart beating loudly in their ears, Gif'a-Gahb waited for the inevitable crash and roar. Old Ones preserve them all, it was near a miracle that the original party had not heard sign of the creature or been devoured before they arrived at all. Likely the overpowering stink of the sulfur suffusing the cavern had saved them from such an unfortunate fate. Which was all the worse for the priest and their reinforcements.

    Imagine stumbling blind into the brooding grounds of a dragon.

    Notoriously attentive with their eggs, it was nearly incomprehensible that the creature had stayed away for so long. But with so few threats it must have felt comfortable going forth to —

    No. It was incomprehensible. Dragons did not abandon their spawn, no matter the state of their surroundings. One of the nesting pair would always remain with the clutch of eggs.

    Pushing past the ranks of saurus warriors, Gif'a-Gahb went to the nearest clutch of eggs, ignoring the overpowering stench in the air, and stooped low to peer at one of the smooth shapes. They tapped it with a claw.

    Tink. Tink. Tink.

    Amazing. Something had petrified the eggs. And not just petrified, but transmuted each one into pure obsinite. There were dozens of them, perhaps even a couple hundred; a treasure trove of obsinite to be sure and yet…

    What other properties would such objects hold?

    Action Incomplete - 3 Successes Remain. Geothermal vents discovered; extend downward into deeper parts of the cavern system. Formerly a dragons nesting sites. Obtained dozens of Petrified Obsinite Dragon Eggs.

    Diving In: 2 dice
    50, 10

    1 Success!

    Total: 1

    In order to explore the transition from the collapsed spawning pools to the aquifer below two key steps were needed; first the underlying stone had to be examined for further weakness and instability, then a method for shoring up the bottom layers of the former pools had to be devised in order to ensure the problem would not simply reoccur. Neither was simple. Cursory dives when the pools had initially collapsed had shown that they ran deeper than was reliably manageable for most skinks or kroxigor, moreover visibility was low.

    Poor working conditions in other words.

    To address that difficulty, work began in the last five years of the decade to install lamps regularly spaced to give survey crews the ability to reliably report on their findings. Using some of the simpler and less expensive glyphs, a lifespan of a couple of decades was judged sufficient for the task at hand, these lights slowly trickled out of the temple workshops and were gradually installed. At the end of the decade they only reached perhaps three quarters of the way to the aquifer itself, but already they had enabled surveyors to adjudge that the transition stone was largely stable enough at that point to be built off of.

    Assuming a method for the repairs could be found, it could be safely integrated into the existing rock structure.

    Action Incomplete - 1 Success Remains

    Spying on Orcs: 1 die, Hua'Ximni
    54

    1 Success!

    Total: 1

    For a week from the point the ships of Huatza-Botl's expedition had dropped the chameleon skinks off they saw nothing save the wilderness of the plains. Herds of ungulates, scattered nests of nuum, great feline hunters. Wild flowers and stubby prickly shrubs.

    No sign of humans or orcs.

    A week that lasted. Then they stumbled upon a warband of orcs, dressed in skins and bones and wielding stone weapons fighting an enormous elephant bull; three of the savage creatures already lay broken and dead upon the soil but ten more prepared to assault the beast anew. In all likelihood the creature would win out against the greenskins.

    Though whether it would take fatal injuries or not was uncertain. But this was a prime opportunity to obtain discrete intelligence while leaving nary a trace of their presence.

    Darts were loaded and the skinks quickly scattered to get optimum angles of fire. Hua'Ximni watched the greenskins charge in, their grating voices raised high in that same warcry that all of their kind repeated and at the point that most but not all had engaged the elephant they let out a shriek like a hawk's and fired their own dart. It found the flesh of one of the rear orcs and sunk deep.

    Whether any noticed in the bloodcrazed state was uncertain, but certainly none made any motion to turn and search for the source if they did. The front ranks experienced the consequences first as their reactions slowed in seconds and the elephant obliged to end their existences shortly thereafter.

    Behind them came the last four, stumbling in unceremoniously and quickly being dispatched with a swipe of the great trunk which sent them pinwheeling through the air. After a few moments of anxious waiting the bull trumpeted its victory and began to wander off.

    Slowly the chameleon skinks edged tow where the last four orcs had fallen and with caution began to examine them to see if any might live a few moments longer to answer questions. One did. In their addled state, both form the cocktail of poisons flowing through their body and the extensive blunt force damage suffered, they did not seem to recognize that the figures before them were not fellow greenskins of some description.

    That was good. Orcs were otherwise quite resistant to forceful removal of information except by magical means. No priests were at hand.

    From their brief captive they learned the direction of the main bulk of greenskins in the area, their numbers 'lots an' lotz,' and the name of their apparent leader — Dorzug da Eye. A shaman of no little power.

    Soon after the orc in question expired and the Hua'Ximni led their cohort on. For near on a month the chameleon skinks traveled on following the well beaten trails of orc migrations from one camp to another, avoiding the occasional inter-tribal wars and lazy patrols. At the very least they gained a better accounting of the total numbers of greenskins within the loose agglomeration of tribes that followed this Dorzug; perhaps two to three hundred thousand.

    Not yet a 'Waaagh,' it seemed dangerously close to become such. It would only take the emergence of a notable warrior leader to catalyze the reaction most likely and though several candidates existed they were still as of yet struggling with each other for the position of strongest.

    How long this would take to resolve itself was unclear.

    More crucially Dorzug had indeed ensconced himself at the base of the standing stone of the Old Ones which had long ago been placed at the southern tip of the continent. So far the shaman had not yet moved to further desecrate it apart from what was inevitable from the mere presence of himself and those other shamans he had called to himself. For there were a great many encamped there.

    All focused on the nexus of energy.

    The full news of this must reach Zlatlan, thus the bulk of the skinks turned their path back while a handful stayed to gather additional information on the nascent warbosses.

    Action Completed. 200-300k Greenskin population in the southern plains of the continent. 'Led' by Dorzug da Eye, an orc shaman encamped at the base of the standing stone. Not yet a Waaagh, may catalyze soon into one - numerous warboss prospects; details to follow at beginning of next turn.

    Getting to Know your Attendants: 2 personal Wik'keer'mal Dice
    29, 63

    2 Successes!

    Total: 2

    4 Skink Attendant Rolls
    1-4 Scribe 5-8 Chief 9-10 Priest
    5, 9, 4, 5

    Dust rose in great clouds in the wake of the herd. From their position atop the leader stegadon, a favorite of theirs, the skink chief Ittetuhlot was able to keep a steady eye on the whole group. Which was fortuitous because calves had a habit of running off at the slightest hint of something even vaguely unfamiliar.

    Usually the older matrons noticed quickly enough and one or two would amble in that direction to keep an eye on things and urge the little one on before the rest of the herd got too far gone, but occasionally none of them would notice. That was when Ittetuhlot would have to hop down and, gently, bully the young back on track.

    So far that day they hadn't had to leave their perch. In a few hours the matter would be mostly resolved as the ehrd took up residence in its new pastures and could happily run free. Relatively speaking.


    Riz snapped the fish from Poh'paloq's hand in a lightening quick moment and swallowed it whole, then eyed them curiously for a moment. Ever insistent of being hungry, no matter that she'd eaten with the rest of the flock not two hours before, Riz bumped their hand as if wondering where the rest was. It had been the sixth.

    "No more, greedy creature," Poh'paloq scolded.

    With a scornful trill the terradon turned away sulkily and waddled to the edge of the window to the hatchery to stare out at the city beyond, though the skink did not fail to notice one of her eyes kept careful watch on them. The other terradon in the hatchery paid little mind to the scene playing out before them. They at least seemed sated, of course their riders did not spoil them nearly so much as Poh'paloq did Riz, or so at least the other skinks said.

    Of course none of the other terradons were nearly so fine as Riz — her distinctive spiralling horn made her stand out. She was also half again the size of the other females, which made her twice that of the males, and had more than earned special treatment over the years of being the skink chief's mount.

    Action Incomplete - 1 Success Remains
    Ittetuhlot
    - Type: Chief
    - Specialization: War Leader
    - When Assigned:
    -- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions
    -- +1 Dice to Martial Actions
    -- +1 Dice to Martial Actions Involving Stegadon/Bastiladon

    Zille'mi
    - Type: Priest
    - Specialization: Heavens
    - When Assigned:
    -- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions
    -- +2 Dice to Diplomacy Actions
    -- Good at negotiating deals. Not good at assuaging tempers or fears.

    Tzakani
    - Type: Scribe
    - When Assigned:
    -- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions

    Poh'paloq
    - Type: Chief
    - Specialization: Flight Leader
    - When Assigned:
    -- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions
    -- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions Involving Flying Creatures

    Developing an Understanding: 1 die
    35

    1 Success!

    Total: 1

    Zille'mi, accompanied by the Tzakani, a scribe of Lord Wik'keer'mal's, and three saurus guards, returned to the site of the ruins in which they had first greeted the humans /Khusa and Dhon.

    Barely a year later.

    Again the first step was to make their presence unavoidably noticeable. Thankfully this time the process was notably faster and only the third day at the ruins some observers were spotted, Zille'mi made sure to stand out in the open, hoping to be recognized and ease any fears at the presence of the other unfamiliar faces. Either it succeeded or the humans were no longer as instinctively frightened of the sight of scaled creatures.

    On the morning after, two hours past sunrise /Khusa appeared at the edge of the ruins, flanked by two unfamiliar humans bearing crude wooden spears and hide shields.

    "Zille'mi, you have returned. With others."

    "As I said I might," replied the priest. Then indicating their fellow attendant, "Tzakani, a scribe of my Lord."

    "These others?"

    Zille'mi glanced at the saurus, who though they had made no overtly threatening moves could not help but appear so by their nature.

    "Guards only."

    "My own companions are Ves//ihl and Kuxhosu."

    Warmbloods and their obsession with personal connections. Though perhaps it was understandable given the small size of their communities and the manner in which they reproduced, likely a necessity to ensure individuals did not disassociate from the whole given their unfortunate lack of steadfast purpose. Biological imperatives could only extend so far.

    A test then? Or an effort to guarantee that all of Zille'mi's party would see them as individuals? Either way unnecessary, and ineffective.

    Granted, it cost little to humor them.

    "Kor'Gor," the priest pointed to each saurus in turn. "Boqxla, Turqu'itt."

    /Khusa smiled and made a sweeping gesture, "Well met, all of you."

    None of the saurus in question so much as acknowledged her beyond a flicker of their eyes. Zille'mi sighed.

    "Pay them no heed, they are intent upon their duty."

    She frowned but after a moment nodded. Then began the long process of slowly leading the humans to the desired conclusion, somewhat irritatingly lengthened by Dhon's appearance, who as it happened had been hunting when the party arrived, several days later and the subsequent need to recount all that had been discussed previously to him.

    Whatever position of prominence the two enjoyed within their small encampment did not extend to making sweeping agreements for the whole of the community. And so though both /Khusa and Dhon saw some benefit in closer contact with Zille'mi's people they were unwilling to agree to it on the face. It would be put forth to the whole and even that much took several weeks of back and forth.

    The answer from the rest of the community, when it came back was a flat no. As Dhon told it, too few saw the benefit in moving from their current range and especially not permanently; after all, would they not in the space of a few short years hunt the beasts of the region to nothing and then starve? Not even the gods could feed their people on grass and bark.

    Handfuls of yams were not enough to subsist on and even if yields could be quadrupled, who would be willing to eat nothing but yam and the berries of the forest?

    Perhaps if a suitable site could be found nearby there could be further discussions on these strange notions of Zille'mi.

    Though it would have to wait as the tribe was due to move on from their current home for some location further upriver where there was plentiful fishing in a nearby lake and the population of mountain goats ought to have replenished from previous visits. It was hoped that the tiger population had not also recovered but such was not expected. When they returned in several years the topic could be revisited.

    Did Zille'mi expect their own people would be close by during that time? Otherwise some other arrangement could be made, perhaps a meeting at a suitably prominent landmark; /Khusa suggested a stone outcropping near the Cave of Blood while Dhon suggested the Finger of the Gods. Neither was anything the priest recognized.

    More discussions followed, but they were from Zille'mi's view wholly unproductive. The difficulty was in inducing the humans to understand the scale of benefits that could be accrued from even the simplest of teachings passed down to them by the slann. Their world was so… small and large in equal measure that they had no reference point except themselves those like them.

    Action Completed. Humans currently uninterested in the prospect of relocation to unfamiliar grounds, and unenticed by prospects of agricultural knowledge. Open to further relations though.

    Prophecy of the Grass: 6 Fifth Spawning slann
    94, 81, 5 Reroll! 7 10, 5 Reroll! 55, 28 Reroll! 99, 92

    5 Successes! 1 Natural Critical! +1 Success!

    Total: 6

    Again do the slann turn their gaze upon the twinkling constellations and orbits of lifeless worlds to peer past the shroud of the world in search of glimpses of future threads. The cold infinity of an inky black void stares back and in the afterglow of starlight and turning moon phases unwritten potentialities realize themselves and cast atemporal shadows.

    Slann caught these half-forgotten maybe's in the gossamer threads of their minds and stitched them into something approaching a cohesive whole. The ancient dead unborn spoke with voices of a thousand rasping tongues. A pattern repeated. Passed down and revisited again and again and again and again, different players wearing unalike costumes but threading from the same script.

    Blood slick tongues, mocking laughter, a wound unhealed, a watching eye. String pulled taut —

    For it rides aback a beast of horns from which it sups
    And in its hand a chisel to crack even deep vaults

    Cries raised
    Cries silenced

    Flowers of the jungle, wilted, will sink roots deep
    Into dark currents seeking strength to match strength

    — and the thread of prophecy concludes, wrapped inward into itself. Latent psychic echoes give shape to stuttering phantom afterimages of the world layered over itself; time compounds and flattens into two-dimensional abstractions. The prophecy recedes from the now.

    Its culmination comes in the now that is to come, distant but not formless. Close, but not yet arrived. Approaching with the steady drumbeat of the cycle of seasons.

    Action Completed. Timeframe; soon-ish.
    Grass creeps in amongst the jungle
    Blades glinting that do not bend for the sun

    Mouths to feed
    Minds to grasp

    Fearing neither stone nor the flood
    For it rides aback a beast of horns from which it sups
    And in its hand a chisel to crack even deep vaults

    Cries raised
    Cries silenced

    Flowers of the jungle, wilted, will sink roots deep
    Into dark currents seeking strength to match strength

    Purifying Crystal: 2 Fifth Spawning slann
    23, 53

    2 Successes!

    Total: 2

    Crystal Integrity
    37    , 45

    Orerry Roll
    8 - Not Exhausted

    The two crystals hung, suspended by stone pins capped with lead sheathes, in wooden cages. Several skink priests hurried about the room, arranging the potent purifying totems hauled from out of the deeper chambers of the temple of Tepok and taking careful measurements of the spacing between each object within the room. Polished bronze mirrors stood in the corner, ready to be lifted to reflect purifying sunlight onto the corrupted artifacts.

    A groove circling the room had been filled with sacred waters and glaring idols of the Old Ones, emblazoned with glyphs of purification, sat half submerged. Despite the pace of activity there was a quiet that had settled over the room as the skinks worked to make it ready for the appearance of their slann masters. It was a terrible thing to see the works of the Old Ones defiled so with the taint of the enemy.

    When Chiccti and Lixhua of the Fifth Spawning finally arrived all was prepared.

    Nary a word passed between the slann, not even psychically, before they began their work. Immediately falling into simultaneous trances the slann focused their spirits on drawing in the wind of enlightenment, Hysh, and weaving it into an arcane mechanism of purification.

    First a shell, grounded by the idols of the Old Ones and the pure waters.

    Then a series of glinting needles of crystalline thought. Quivering in anticipation from every angle.

    Below the shimmer haze of condensed light which burned the stray flakes of crumbling corruption which clung to the outer shell of the revification crystals.

    At last they could begin. Slowly the spears of Hysh cut and peeled away the evil which lurked within; piercing it and feeding it into the purifying light to be dissolved away into everlasting nothingness. When all was done two revification crystals sat within the cages, once again free of taint and pulsing, faintly, with life giving energies.

    Action Completed. Assets Gained: Revification Crystal x2.

    Study Disc of Yuxa: 2 Fifth Spawning slann
    25, 88

    1 Success!

    Total: 1

    In the depths of the temple of Tepok a series of darkened chambers had sprung to life near the opening of the decade; surging power through the geomantic web had brought long dormant glyphs springing to life in soft glows of cool blue tones. Six chambers surrounding a central seventh on all sides, with large apertures leading from the outer in a straight line to the middle where an enormous device sat suspended between two forking stone platforms.

    Dozens of skinks spread about the outer rooms, double and triple checking the various instruments in each.

    Brass mechanisms hummed and shivered as energy flowed through them in the first time in an age. Arcane lightening arced between basalt pillars inscribed with complex hierarchical glyphs to lay the secrets of the universe bare and whirring devices of mystical insight. Lenses snapped into place and rainbow beams of wind laden light played over empty space.

    On both of the central platforms a slann of the Fifth Spawning sat in deep meditation as half circles of brass spun gently around on arms of invisible power and invisible bands of winds danced; slowly forming into complex mystical arrangements of spells. Held within was the Disc of Yuxa. Its central bronze worked glyph of Yuxa blazed with power, glowing such that the reliefs carved into the muted seagreen slate seemed to twist and snarl and roil.

    A powerful pulse shook the platforms, jostling the thick forms of the meditating slann though they themselves took no notice as the psychic backwash of the Inference Engines poured half-formed nuggets of knowledge into their minds.

    – reaction– second degree effects precipitate– focused on the subject as a result-warning-cascade-temporary effects of– precipitate from sub-layers flow into pseudo-dimensional–

    But understanding eluded.

    Action Incomplete - 1 Success Remains

    Note: You didn't fail the diplo action for the humans, but it was always going to be a tough sell to get them to completely change their ways of life. No matter what it will always be a long path to take.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • The dragons allied with the Old Ones to build the warpgates.

    With that many eggs, if we can transmute them back into viability, we could gain an astonishingly potent force of allies.

    They may count as a fauna as well.
     
    4 new skinks, 1 for martial, 1 for diplo and 2 for stewardship. For the humans probably setup trade arrangements of goods to build relations before doing anything else. Also looks like we need to take care of the orcs and that prophecy, is it skaven? Also that disc we need to finish that next turn. Good that linking the harbor finished.

    Also important line:
    Small, variable boost to dice (1d3 rolled and added to normal dice pool each turn )

    So thanks to that we are getting an extra 1-3 dice each turn. Also lowered the DC of beast pen repairs
     
    Alratan said:
    The dragons allied with the Old Ones to build the warpgates.

    With that many eggs, if we can transmute them back into viability, we could gain an astonishingly potent force of allies.

    They may count as a fauna as well.
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    They were tethered, you mean. In any event it's not like that situation will affect these unborn dragons, hypothetically. They weren't there.
     
    EVA-Saiyajin said:
    They were tethered, you mean. In any event it's not like that situation will affect these unborn dragons, hypothetically. They weren't there.
    Click to expand...
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    No, they were allied, based on my understanding and the scant description we have of their relationship.

    What matters is that there's precedent in the Slann's minds for alliance and coopoeration with dragons, rather than simply seeing them as a threat or problem, which means the concept of restoring them should be something they'd be able to get their heads around.
     
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    Are you telling me that complete prophecies aren't simplified into something more easily understandable? That's...unfortunate. I'm not a fan of investing into riddles.
     
    godofsmallthings said:
    Dragon eggs!! Wonder what effects the obsinite will have on them.
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    A good point, given the way dragons can be aligned with flavours of magic if we can restore them, they may turn our to be quite interesting.

    I wonder if the person who transmuted them did so to protect them from the Chaos attack. Perhaps an elder Slann or even someone greater was responsible.
     
    Prophecies are by their very nature vague and difficult to understand. My main problem is the time-frame, when they say soonish do they mean decades or a couple of centuries down the line?

    Cause my main bet is skaven.
     
    Amilia said:
    Prophecies are by their very nature vague and difficult to understand. My main problem is the time-frame, when they say soonish do they mean decades or a couple of centuries down the line?

    Cause my main bet is skaven.
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    For slann soonish means decades to a century.

    Edit: As for the complaints about not being explicit about the meaning of the prophecy... well even for the slann peering into uncertain futures is a tricky business. Half the fun (for me) in the prophecy options come from getting to give you guys vague clues about future potential events without outright telling you and seeing what you can figure out.
     
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    Looking at it, Zille'mi really incentivises making deals with the elves.

    I do think people should reconsider rewarding elven adventurers for assisting us with the orcs.

    We should also look into whether we can pay for them to send other forms of assistance. Some of their apprentices to fertilise our fields could be pretty helpful, as would simply getting elven architects and builders. If they['e from Saphery, we could combine that with a training action for them to help with the work they're doing to turn Ulthuan into a huge primitive city-temple.

    We should also look into whether the can sell us magical reagents or anything else that would be directly useful.
     
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    CuttleFish2.0 said:
    For slann soonish means decades to a century.

    Edit: As for the complaints about not being explicit about the meaning of the prophecy... well even for the slann peering into uncertain futures is a tricky business. Half the fun (for me) in the prophecy options come from getting to give you guys vague clues about future potential events without outright telling you and seeing what you can figure out.
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    For me, its not the vagueness thats an issue. Its the amount of slannpower we put in to it combine with the vagueness.

    if it only cost us 2 slann dice it would be fine. But it cost a lot more than that.
     
    Alratan said:
    Looking at it, Zille'mi really incentivises making deals with the elves.

    I do think people should reconsider rewarding elven adventurers for assisting us with the orcs.
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    We've seen There are more to things than rolls. There's common sense, like with asking about beasts and relocating humans. Common sense says very few Elves will come to the other end of the world to fight hundreds of thousands of Orcs with uncertain alien beings.
     
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