"Winning Vote" said:
[X]Plan Chains and Dragons
Snorri/Karstah
-[X] A Wonderful Endeavor
--[X] Petition the Hold 45 Kraka Drakk Favor
-[X] [Difficult] Akazit 2 AP
-[X] [Difficult] The Rune Metal Pt. 3b 2 AP ✓
--[X] Brotherhood Expertise Spend 1 [5 Brotherhood Favor + 95 Cult of Valaya Favour]
-[X] [Difficult] The Rune Metal Pt. 5 0 AP ✓
--[X] Brotherhood Expertise Spend 2 [50 Cult of Valaya Favor]
- [X] Egg(s) for your Thoughts Gain variable number of Viable Shard Wyrm Egg(s). 1 AP
-- [X] Write-in: All Three Eggs.
-- [X] Write-in: Use one Charge per Egg.
-[X] Fimir Eyes 1 Bonus Research + 1 Karstah Action
Retainers
-[X] Glimmering Steel 1 Retainer ✓
-[X] Waywarding 1 Retainer ✓
-[X] Valaya Calls 1 Retainer ✓
Orders
-[X] Order: T4 Magma Wyrm Brain
-[X] Kingly Authority Order 2: T4 Magma Wyrm Brain 15 Kraka Drakk Favor
-[X] Kingly Authority Order 3: T4 Magma Wyrm Heart 15 Kraka Drakk Favor
-[X] Kingly Authority Order 4: T4 Elder Wyrm's Gas Sac 15 Kraka Grom Favor
-[X] Kingly Authority Order 5: T3 Flawless Solar Ruby 10 Kraka Grom Favor
-[X] Kingly Authority Order 6: T3 Dirach Eye 10 Kraka Drakk Favor
-[X] Princely Hunting: T4 Greedy Troll. 10 Kraka Drakk Favor
[X] [Letters:] The Mechanics of Dragon Flight ✓
[X] [Social:] Nain seeking what defines him. ✓
[X] [Social:] Dolgi coming to you for advice on his hunt for a specific reagent.
"Names" said:
[X] [Name:] Write-in. No more than 3, preferably 2, syllables.
-[X] Izgrom (Brave Copper), The left hatchling with beaten Gromril spines and copper flecked eyes.
-[X] Zharrok (Cunning Fire), The middle hatchling, with some spines that look as if they were subjected to flames.
-[X] Grimgal (Harsh/Unyielding Gold), The right hatchling, larger than its siblings with shifting eyes.
━<><><>< 388 A.P. ><><><>━
"I'm not sure I appreciate their attention master," Karstah huffs out, arms pushing away the gently snapping jaws of a hungry hatchling, "I know you said that the book clarifies that Dragon's don't imprint like birds, but still, it feels oddly arbitrary that they, or at least these two, gravitate towards me doesn't it?"
You hum, glancing down at the largest hatchling as it lazes about at your feet, the only one of its siblings to return to you after clearing Karstah of any remaining Troll jerky she possessed. Noticing your attention, it tilts its head up to look back at you, and you watch as its eyes shift from solid and liquid between one blink and the next. It holds your gaze for only a few seconds before it is seemingly satisfied, then turns away and lays its head back down as if nothing had happened.
Size aside, there is obviously something about this one that sets it apart from its kin, but you aren't yet sure. When you get back, you resolve to ask a Brana, or perhaps Menlinwen, given she was at least in part, of the impetus for this fool's endeavour you've undertaken.
Good going Klausson, your mind berates,
perfectly sensible idea to hatch and intend to raise three bloody Drakks in your home right as you smoke the bear out of its den with Khazagar. Whole hog my granite-arse. Wazzok. May as well bathe in troll dung and run around smelling of the stuff while you're at it too if you really want to make them think you've lost it.
You blink, staring at the two dragons around Karstah, watching as their nostrils flare and how they continuously bump their noses into your struggling heir.
"Karstah, were you breaking down the Shard Wyrm before we left?," you ask idly, causing her to blink and turn her attention away from the Drakks and back to you.
A contemplative look crosses your heir's features as she considers your question before her eyes widen when finally catches on to what you're implying.
"But I cleaned myself thoroughly," she mutters, looking a little queasy, "It could explain their behaviour I suppose. Morbid, admittedly, to know they're only attracted by the scent of their dead mother."
You nod, the thought does indeed send a small ping of pity through you, an act that is coincided by the large hatchling opening an eye to regard you curiously before shutting it once more.
"It's only a theory," you reply, "And the realities of their care remain unchanged for the time being, though I will likely have to update our post autopsy clean-up practices to account for it. Boga, I may have to do the same for the parts in the vault too. Hopefully not, but its something to draft just in case I suppose."
"By the way, have you decided on names yet Master?" Karstah asks, looking at you curiously.
"Patience," you admonish without any real heat, "Not yet. I'm not even sure if I should name them or if waiting is appropriate. These are not the Dragons of Ulthuan but all Drakk are prideful beings, so they very well may wish to name themselves. Though you're right, simply calling them 'it,' is going to be cumbersome. Bah! Fine then, a temporary designation."
You stare at one of the dragons on your heir, the one with the copper flecked eyes that Karstah had to lightly bat away from gnawing on her braid for a good half hour before it got the message, and decide.
"Izgrom, bold and without fear," you announce, causing the little creature to turn and regard you with an alien intelligence.
Your gaze shifts to its sibling, now also staring at you as it flexes its spines like a bird might its feathers.
"Zharrok, for the fire you've been tempered in," you continue, seeing the aforementioned hatchling tilt its head.
Then, when you lock eyes with the molten orbs of the final hatchling, staring at you with an intensity it's never displayed in its admittedly short life, the last name comes easily.
"Grimgal, for the molten gaze you possess. There, done and done! Now we can get back to worrying about more pressing issues."
━<><><>< 389 A.P. ><><><>━
When the last of the Brotherhood's notes arrive you begin the long work of collating, sorting and reviewing the knowledge and unique perspectives of so many Dawi into something resembling a unified answer to your question.
It is a labour that is prolonged by the work of Khazagar, raising the hatchlings and…well everything else you do, but it does eventually get done. Its completion should be something to be celebrated, and yet you can only find frustration from it.
The reason why stems from the conclusion you and the rest of the Brotherhood have all independently come to. Adamant is the best path that all of you saw to breaking the Rule of Three, the realization that the defining trait of Lonely Runes could even be partially circumvented by pure Adamant only made this conclusion all the more promising. Ultimately however, the truth remained that not even Adamant could withstand more than three Runes.
The first path that one took in attempts to further improve Adamant was to follow the same general principle that delineated Gromril from Pure Gromril and refine the metal further. The logic being that perhaps there were some specks of unchanged Gromril still within the greater bar which ruined its otherwise perfect composition. Though attempts at both proving the theory correct and resolving it universally failed to amount to anything of any real substance sadly. Grinding the Adamant to dust and checking the flecks for a speck of Gromril, bathing it in chemical concoctions meant to draw out the impure metal, not even running the same bar through successive runs in an Adamant Smelter succeeded. Similarly, attempts at finding a promising catalyst that could lower the metal's melting point never really panned out. Ancestors, Gorra had apparently even tried to alloy the stuff in a fit of pique and desperation going by the increasingly sloppy scrawl of her notes, but Adamant steadfastly refused to combine with every metal the she attempted to use as well. Your attempts, made with the hindsight gained from your colleagues' collective experience too, are equally inadequate and you melt down more than one contraption or break apart a set of Runes that failed to do as you required.
Yet the vision remains there, a figment of something you cannot even verify but compels you centuries after you even saw it.
Which leaves you with only one avenue to take your efforts. If the more mundane methods of improving Adamant have failed, then the only path forward is to use magic to continue the process. Something easier said than done, and one you have very little inkling on where to begin. The fact that you know about the existence and have an, albeit rudimentary compared to the Elves, understanding of the Winds of Magic puts you at an advantage compared to the Brotherhood, but knowing what to do and knowing
how to do it are completely different. You could theoretically create a Rune that did
something to the Winds, by sheer virtue of the knowledge you possess, but you have no way of seeing if its doing what you want without continued trial and error.
Not quite Durin's Consternation, but related enough for your mind to be dragged back towards it all the same.
But that doesn't stop you.
Half a hundred different attempts at Runes begin and end over the course of two years in a frenzy of fruitless work. Each one attempting to manipulate the Winds of Magic to do something,
anything, to the Adamant comes to nothing. You're no stranger to slamming your head against a wall until it breaks, but it's never an experience you particularly enjoy having to do. Intellectually you understand that if it were
easy, the Rule of Three would have long been broken by now, but you've never felt this completely stonewalled before.
There has always been,
something, a glimmering tip of a vein that you could follow, but here and now you are face to face with an endless wall of bare granite.
This is something you'll have to put away for the time being, much as it rankles. It's not as if you're lacking in other things you could be doing anyway.
━<><><><==><><><>━
Nain strolls through the streets of Kraka Drakk aimlessly.
A decade on and the rut remains, a heavy weight on his back that eats at him minutely but incessantly. It feels wrong, to have most everything else in his life do well, his work with Borri has only grown more successful, he isn't sure where he stands with Greta but she's refused another two suitors so it has to mean something that he isn't one of them right?
He's getting off track.
Nain mutters under his breath, eyeing a pair of Brana who proudly bear newly forged Runic torcs, young adults who have graduated from the first ones given to them by their parents. Even from this distance he can tell its Dolgi's work without an ounce of doubt in his mind. Everywhere he looks, some sign or another of his fellow student's work. A newly betrothed maiden wearing the Rune-inscribed jewelry her husband-to-be commissioned from Fjolla's workshop, more than three dozen individual works by Karstah being carried around by those who cannot catch their teacher's increasingly valuable attention and so settle for his heir's, and a passing Bryggeroot Clansmen with a Gromril prosthetic he has in place of his left arm and the badge that signifies his service in the Beerguard on his shoulder. Noticing the ugly feeling welling up in his stomach Nain crushes it underfoot and moves to a less busy part of the Hold, keeping his mind silent.
Bitterness is unbecoming, especially so when its aimed at his fellow apprentices. He has asked them one and all for help, and they have obliged with their own wisdom. There has only been kindness from them, and he will not repay them with such poor behaviour, even if it's confined to his inner thoughts.
Nain's feet carry him to a quiet spot far away from the foot traffic to stand before a nondescript pillar, one amongst the dozens that keep the Cavern structurally sound. He stares at its construction, eyeing the humble Runes that reinforce it contemplatively as he settles his thoughts. Out of simple habit he examines and realizes the Runes that this pillar bears were hewn by his teacher's hand, marking it as a particularly old piece of the Hold.
The very hall he stands in is a reminder of his teacher's efforts. Runes that light the street he walks, keeps the air he breathes clean and the cobbles he walks unfazed by the pounding of centuries worth of feet, enhancing existing Dwarf craftsmanship beyond mortal ability. Most, but not all of it, inscribed at the Hold's founding; serving silently but tirelessly for centuries without sign or need for repair. Master Snorri's touch and influence was more than the Gronti he built, the wonders he made, perhaps more than even Khazagar. It is in the ease with which Dawi may find the work of Thungni, it is the crippled warriors who can walk, work and live as they did before their injuries, it is the miner who is twice, thrice as productively because of a pickaxe he inherited from his great-grandfather, the smith who can make greater works because of the Pure Gromril available to him. The silent yet undeniably vital workings that allow everything he sees around him to be as they are, the foundation of greatness
Nain respects that more than anything, even if there is no glory to a Rune of Ventilation compared to something like
Trollslayer, it is nevertheless important in its own way.
"Copper for your thoughts?"
He blinks, and turns to see that Master Snorri has somehow snuck up on him.
"I was on a walk of my own," Master Snorri explains, answering Nain's question preemptively, "but you look like you're facing quite the conundrum from the look on your face earlier."
Nain sighs.
"In a rut," he answers, turning back to stare at the pillar.
"About?"
"What I ought to…focus on I suppose. The others, they know where they are, where they ought to go largely speaking. There's a goal in their mind's eye, and I…I can't find mine."
His master hums.
"You're not the first to be in that position, and there is no easy answer. Some find it by smashing their head against a wall until one or the other breaks, others simply stumble into something they enjoy. You're a man grown now, and ultimately only you can decide what's acceptable for you."
Nain turns and regards his teacher curiously.
"I would have imagined you would tell me to look to the past for some sort of inspiration Master. Follow the path of my forefathers if I didn't know for myself."
His teacher grunts.
"After what I've committed to doing, it'd be hypocritical of me to tell you to just do what's already been done. Consider it, obviously, but if you know it won't suffice or if it's not a good fit, then it'd be a waste of your talents. You're a clever enough lad to know what's truly beyond the pale or not, but unless you're Thungni Himself there'll always be some fool that thinks you're not doing things properly."
Nain doesn't reply immediately, and his teacher is content to let him digest his wisdom.
What did he want? Many things, the answer wouldn't come from that, he'd agonized over the question for long enough to know that. A different approach then? What could he not live without? Much as he may want it, praise and recognition were only so necessary. If his skill was unquestioned, that would be enough. Money? Talent? Wonderful things to have, and he'd loathe to part with any of them he thinks, but that's not it.
What could Nain not bear? What would break him? What, like the structure before him, kept everything from collapsing inward?
What, he wonders as he stares at the column of Rune-inscribed rock,
is my
pillar?
He isn't yet sure, but it feels like a far more promising path to explore than anything else he's tried.
━<><><><==><><><>━
You grunt warningly at Izgrom, letting him know you're well aware of his sneaking about behind you even as you slide a ham to Grimgal. The persnickety thing chirps and runs off, the patter of its feet telling you he is beating a hasty retreat away from you and his sibling.
Rearing Dragons is an exercise in patience and experimentation.
They are not mere animals, but neither are they like Dwarfs, Elves or Brana. Smart enough to learn, understand and make flailing attempts at cunning, yet still animalistic enough, especially at this age, that proper conversation is difficult. The capability and wisdom for nuanced and lively conversation wouldn't happen until they were a few years older still.
"Eat with some decorum Grimgal," you chide, hiding a grimace when you glance at the remains of the ham Izgrom had been attempting to nibble on.
Grimgal stops eating, and raises her head to stare at you, face blank but clearly meant to challenge you once more.
Scarwind's account had mentioned that the earliest years of a Dragon's life were often a continuous reminder of the proper order of things and beings, as well learning to heed the wisdom and power of their elders. While it's fascinating in an intellectual sense to know that Shard Wyrms, for all their divergence, practiced something similar, it's not an enjoyable one to actually experience. Izgrom and Zharrok do not test you as much as their sister, only trying anything when exposed to a novel experience, but Grimgal constantly challenges your authority in her own, curious, way.
Never screeches, never bites, just a blank stare that's equal parts mysterious as it is unnerving.
"Keep that up and you'll get to the scrap last today," you warn, reminding her about the rule you've diligently been drilling into their daft little noggins.
Dinner before dessert.
The idea that Shard Wyrms consuming ore as part of the process that created and hardened their spines was well recorded, so you weren't completely surprised to find a bite sized hole in one of your tankards, only annoyed.
Dwarfen children were far less troublesome from what little experience you had, though admittedly you think it's more because they couldn't bite through metal and use their claws to carve through granite as if it was wet clay and not because they were better behaved.
The clinking of metal draws the attention of all the hatchlings, and you turn to see the door open for Karstah and the tray she's carting in. Steel and, much to the suffering of your coin purse, Gromril shavings carefully weighed out with an odd bit of scrap work not worth the effort of melting back down.
As you said, the fact that Shard Wyrms ate metal wasn't unknown, but you're now aware of the immense amount of the stuff these three consume in relation to their body size as juveniles.
The three of them line up before Karstah, who diligently begins passing out wooden buckets full of the stuff to each of the hatchlings, who maintain their composure just long enough for her to draw away her hand before they dig into the other part of their meal.
"They'll be needing more per meal soon," Karstah tells you when you walk up to her, "at least according to Menlinwen."
You hum, digesting the words before nodding. When your elven tutor found out you had hatched the eggs she'd been beside herself in excitement, and after a bit of negotiation was allowed to observe and record their development as a side project in exchange for elven connections and because you think it'd be prudent that someone who can actually manipulate and observe the Winds of Magic keep an eye on the little buggers.
A frown graces your features as you inadvertently remind yourself about the most significant bottleneck to your work with Adamant, no, with Runes in general.
The stench and sound of a truly noxious burp makes you stop and stare at Zharrok, the gluttonous little fellow having finished his bucket of scrap metal before happily curling up into a ball to sleep while Karstah does her best not to wretch.
Another fact about Shard Wyrms, their noxious and fear-inducing hallucinogenic breath was the result of equal parts innate biology, a diet of toxic substances and the byproducts produced from when body breaks down the ore it eats for the metal contained within. Juveniles like Zharrok did not possess gas sacs large enough to contain all of the gas their voracious appetites produced, and as such they had to offgas the excess through the predictable methods. None of the hatchlings yet displayed, if they ever would, their species ability to sometimes spit incredibly powerful and acidic venom.
"Wonder if I could collect this, it'd be a powerful deterrent against vermin, maybe even a few Dwarfs. Thank the Ancestors we have ventilation Runes," Karstah mutters to herself, though you catch it easily enough.
You idly consider the idea, would probably be a more than just fitting an airtight sac over their mouths and telling them to belch themselves empty.
Your nose wrinkles in disgust just thinking about that.
No, probably not. Isolated chambers would be best especially considering the hallucinogenic properties, maybe a vent system to pump the stuff into a container.
As the plan begins falling into place you begin to wonder if there are any other uses for the stuff aside from inducing terror and being one of the foulest stenches you've ever had the misfortune to smell. Flammability? Likely, given their draconic origins. You'd have to test how explosive it would be, that would decide if you could put it in a furnace or if it was better off being a weapon. There was that furnace array Bara cooked up, now that you think about it, maybe if-
-you blink.
Furnace…
…furnace.
"Karstah," you announce, "I'll be holing myself up for a few years, you have total oversight over their care until I return. Call in the Hearth Guard, no feeding them alone do you understand?"
Your heir nods and you stay just long enough to help her pack up the buckets before making a beeline straight for your inner Workshop.
Right.
Didn't expect to be inspired by contemplating how to harvest Dragon burps but that was life you suppose.
━<><><>< 391 A.P. ><><><>━
You had known that the key to further increasing access to Gromril Chain meant reducing the difficulty of creating the Runes involved such that even an Apprentice Runesmith could be trusted to do it, and more importantly because they were an apprentice, repeat the process without any Conservative feathers being ruffled. That in itself meant you had to exclude any answer that involved using Master Runes in the final process. Finding a way to reduce the cost of the Chainforger was a long but straightforward process, especially when you realized you were trying to recreate the process and not the machine itself. That lens on things allowed you to begin viewing the room itself as a possible means of achieving your goal, and things, not so much fell into place but became less difficult to achieve. You eventually devised two Runic arrays that not only did what you asked, but had a useful degree of versatility to it. The first allowed you to reduce the massive Gromril cost of the Chainforger to just the Pure Gromril needed for the Drawplate, and by leveraging the Rune of Smednir's odd properties, even managed to find a way to allow an unaided Dwarf to draw a spool of wire from a heated bar with their muscle power alone. The second array covered the heating process, with the runes being carved into the specialty built and involving a newly minted lesser version of the Master Rune of Forgeflame, but that was a far easier cost to bear for most folk than a massive slab of Gromril and a Master Rune in the grand scheme of things. The new Rune of Forgeflame largely retained the Master Rune's ability to absorb heat, but at the cost of its efficiency and losing its ability to maintain that heat, requiring a constant influx of heat energy to maintain itself.
Which is where you found yourself stuck for years, tirelessly but fruitlessly attempting to find a way to generate the heat necessary that was as economical as the room and Drawplate. Filling the room with furnaces and fuel was easy enough, but not only was it inefficient, but not even you could tolerate such a brutish way of solving the problem. There had to be a better way, and, much like with your efforts with Adamant, you realized you'd have to continuously slam your head into a wall until that elegant solution came along.
And your efforts were at last rewarded.
You somehow hadn't noticed it on the first few read-throughs, but buried inside the mass of notes you collected from your colleagues was the key to solving your problem. Bara had, in her efforts to improve the Adamant Smelter, attempted to connect several Rune-enhanced furnaces to the main smelter through a convoluted method of heat transfer which was far too inefficient to be of practical use. But with the Rune of Forgeflame, that ceased to be a concern.
The better part of two years is spent finalizing the design but you come away with something you are satisfied with. A three part system consisted of the room and drawplate, and now the forge which would power the Rune of Forgeflame. A much larger footprint than the first Chainforger, but almost certainly much easier to create. The improved forge, whose design was derived from a special variant made by Bara not only created a far stronger flame but burned fuel less quickly and far more efficiently than what was normally possible. That intense amount of heat, enough to make working in the room unbearable for even the hoariest Longbeard, was then captured by the Runes inscribed into the room and funnelled into a tiny and precise area of space directly in front of the holes of the drawplate and those holes alone, making the actual drawing of the wire possible.
You are incredibly pleased with the results, but are now left with another conundrum.
How would you release this information?
The Chainforger is barely a century old, to release this new method now would invite criticism and derision from your peers. Admittedly you didn't expect to get to this point so quickly, but that wouldn't be sufficient explanation for many. Still, you couldn't see yourself holding on to this discovery for another century just to keep a few feathers unruffled. Your immediate thought is to wait until Khazagar is complete, cushioning the blow by tying it to Khazagar. There'd be talk about you withholding that information to just those who come to Khazagar, but the Runes and methods you were already teaching would be part of the endeavour, adding yet another thing along those lines was expected by everyone regardless of their opinion on your creation.
On the other hand, you cannot deny that this was only possible thanks to the efforts of the Brotherhood. You could release the process now, but under the aegis of the Brotherhood as a whole. You don't think it would take much effort to get the others to agree, it would certainly raise the prestige of the organization. While it wouldn't completely erase the hit, by having someone other than you, if affiliated with you, releasing the method would also weaken the blowback. Getting upstaged or having your work iterated on by others was simply a facet of life, just look at the Engineers Guild for proof of that.
Bah.
[ ] [
Chain:]: Release it when Khazagar is completed and opened to the world
Increase Khazagar Attendance. Upgrade Legendary Deed Chainwright to Mythical Deed
Enticing people to come to Khazagar will do no more to harm you than its own impact has, and would force those who would rather not be there to be there if they care for the chain more than otherwise, something you may actually want? The two shall be tied, invariably, but it will hopefully be to your benefit. To release it any earlier is folly and stirs an already roiling pot.
[ ] [
Chain:] (Special) Release it now and emphasize it as a collective achievement of the Brotherhood of Dron.
Gain +2 Standing with the Brotherhood of Dron and +1 Standing with all members
Alternatively, you can announce it with a special emphasis on the efforts of the Brotherhood. Through honest competition and crucible of critique, as
Durin intended, the Brotherhood have devised a better method of achieving what you initially made. The work of Runelords united in purpose for the benefit of all Dawi.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3
━<><><>< Gain ><><><>━
- Minor bookkeeping error, forgot to update after your specialty ranked up.
-- +1 Progress to Understand the Master Rune of Purification [Banner], new totals:
[Cost: (16 -12) = 4 actions]
- The Rune Metal Pt. 3b complete!
-- With your improved understanding of Adamant and Gromril, a process has at last been devised. You have simplified the creation of Gromril Chain to the point that a Master Blacksmith needs only an apprentice Runesmith to inscribe 9 Runes. Something in far easier supply than acquiring the time and skills of a Master Runesmith who would need to know the constituent Master Runes.
-- New Rune Unlocked!
Rune Forgeflame: Condenses heat generated in area into a specified space, but requires a constant source of heat to draw from.
Structural Only.
-- New Rune Combo Unlocked!
Combo, Rouse the Forge: [Rune of Vigorous Furnace, Rune of the Crucible, Rune of Ventilation] Fuel in forges bearing these Runes have massively increased efficiency and efficacy, enough that only a fraction of the charcoal normally needed to work Gromril is required.
-- New Rune Combo Unlocked!
Combo, Heat the Metal: [Rune of Forgeflame, Rune of Annealing, Rune of Copper] Rooms store and capture ambient heat generated within and can then transfer that heat to a specific item or defined space inside the room, the melting point of the metal is lowered.
-- New Rune Combo Unlocked!
Combo, Mold the Metal: [Rune of Might, Rune of Smednir, Rune of Forging] Metals are drawn through a drawplate more easily and do not suffer defects or snapping.
-- New Set Combo Unlocked!
Set Combo, Grungni's Challenge: [Rouse the Forge, Heat the Metal, Mold the Metal] Siphons the heat from a forge into a miniscule space while both insulating the user and strengthening them greatly.
-- +2 Progress to The Rune Metal Pt. 5, new totals (calculated below)
-- +1 Progress to Understand the Master Rune of Purification [Banner], new totals:
[Cost: (16 -13) = 3 actions]
-- -95 Favour with the Cult of Valaya. (calculated below)
-- -5 Favour with The Brotherhood of Dron. (calculated below)
-- +1 Standing with the Cult of Grungni. (calculated below)
-- Decision will decide further potential Standing and Favour changes.
- The Rune Metal Pt. 5 complete!
-- There is more to Adamant, you're sure of it now. Your fellow Brotherhood members, as do you, believe it will be a process that will involve magic but little else. They do not know the truth about the Winds.
You do, and now the work begins on understanding how to get there.
-- Perhaps it is the height of Hubris, but there is a notion in your heart that Adamant feels,
transitory? The difficulty in working it, the fact that it allows Lonely Runes to break that which defines their existence but not the Rule of Three… Perhaps the vision colours your view, no, it most
certainly does, but you must at least try no?
-- +1 Progress to Understand the Master Rune of Purification [Banner], new totals:
[Cost: (16 -14) = 2 actions]
-- +8 Progress to the Rune Metal Pt. 6, new totals:
[Cost: (18 - 3[Rollover] -3[Standing procs] -2 [Completing 3b]) =10 actions] [Revealed in Part 3]
-- +2 Progress to Akazit, new totals: (calculated below)
-- -50 Favour with the Cult of Valaya (calculated below)
- +3 Progress to a Wonderful Endeavour, new totals:
[Cost: (24 -6) =18 actions]
-- The Realms know what you intend, and they are not afraid to tell you what they think.
--- +1 Very brief but anxiety inducing letter written on Gromril leaf.
-- -45 Favours with Kraka Drakk. (calculated below)
- Eggs for your Thoughts complete!
-- You now own three small Drakk hatchlings.
--- One with beaten Gromril spines and copper flecked eyes.
--- One with some spines that look as if they were subjected to flames.
--- One that is larger than its siblings with shifting eyes.
-- They seem to like Karstah more than you, but at least they'll eat the jerky you brought them.
- The Fixing of Things complete! The Fixing of Things Pt. 2 Unlocked for Turn 49!
-- Ogra's research is of course entirely building focused, and depends on drawing upon existing material surrounding the structure to fuel its repairs.
--- It's of no use when upgrading the Rune of Repair, but it gives you enough information to realize the Rune of Repair isn't worth upgrading. Whoever created it, Valaya or Thungni, seemed to have made this Rune as a mere proof of concept, a way to introduce someone, like say whoever received the metal basket it was inscribed on, about this path.
-- In other news, some of Ogra's notes can be incorporated into your secondary Gronti project at least.
--- +1 Progress to the Movement of Things 5b, new totals:
[Cost: (14 -8) =6 actions]
- The Secrets of Storage complete! The Secrets of Storage Pt. 2 Unlocked for Turn 49!
-- Ogras notes are enlightening. While the direction of her research was aimed towards expanding the internal volume of buildings, some of that knowledge is still applicable to the Rune of Storage.
--- Admittedly they seem to appear to tackle the issue at completely different ends of the spectrum.
--- However, like the Rune of Repair the cost is frankly not worth the effort and points to deliberate action to make it so. An entirely new Rune needs to be designed you reckon. After that, you're certain that you'll reach an impasse of what exactly your focus should be though.
-- +1 Progress to the Secrets of Storage Pt. 2, new totals:
[Cost: (14 -1) =13 actions]
- Supplies ordered!
-- x1 [Ingredient] T4 Elder Magma Wyrm Heart Ordered, received Turn 50
-- x1 [Ingredient] T4 Elder Wyrm's Gas Sac Item Ordered, received Turn 50
-- x2 [Ingredient] T4 Elder Magma Wyrm's Brain, received Turn 50
-- x1 [Ingredient] T3 Flawless Solar Ruby Ordered, received Turn 49
-- x1 [Ingredient] T3 Dirach's Eye Ordered, received Turn 49
--- -40 Favours with Kraka Drakk. (calculated below)
--- -25 Favours with Kraka Grom. (calculated below)
- Princely Hunting complete!
- +1 [Corpse] Ancient Greedy Troll
-- +1 [Ingredient] T4 Ancient Greedy Troll's Heart
-- +4 [Ingredient] T4 Ancient Greedy Troll's Blood
-- +1 [Ingredient] T4 Ancient Greedy Troll's Stomach
- -10 Favours with Kraka Drakk. (calculated below)
Retainers:
- Waywarding Complete!
-- +10 to Waystone Rolls.
- Glimmering Steel complete!
-- +55 Favours with Kraka Krum, +1 [T3] Giant Cave Spider's Venom. Krum produces greater quantities of steel, improves access to and quality of steel across the Far North. The size of the deposit and how easy it is to access mean Clan Truesteel and Kraka Krum will experience more growth than originally thought and more quickly than they expected.
- +1 Progress to Valaya Calls
, new totals:
[Cost: (2 -1) =1 retainer actions]
- +9 Engineers recruited, new totals: 21
- +9 Huskarls recruited, new totals: 29
9 + 9 = 120/120
Favour and Standing
- -95 Favours with Kraka Drakk, new totals: Favours 315
- -25 Favours with Kraka Grom, new totals: Favours 390
- +55 Favours with Kraka Krum, new totals: Favours 55
- -5 Favours with the Brotherhood of Dron, new totals: Favours 0
- -145 Favours with the Cult of Valaya, new totals: Favours 55
- +1 Standing with the Cult of Grungni, new totals: Standing 8
- Revealed Standing with Karak Izril, new totals: Standing -2, Favours 0
-- You are the one who dares claim to carry Durin's torch, his Will? With this farce? Arrogance and disrespect of the past shall be met with derision and disdain by the Glittering Lords.
- Revealed Standing with Karak Brynduraz, new totals: Standing 0, Favours 0
-- Kraka Drakk clearly attempts to assert its strength, and they see you as an extension of this too-young Hold who wishes to prove itself a rival worthy of the Brightstone Hold.
━<><><><==><><><>━
There will be a nine-hour long moratorium for discussion. I'll still release Part 3, but count votes from Part 2 onwards
AN: Sorry it took so long! Basically had to reset the brain then get back in the groove after midterms. Just some final projects and exams in about a month and then I'll be done my undergrad! Yey. Yeah, thought I could do it in 2 parts, it got too big so I cut it into three parts. Less so because of content and more because I want the update to be something people don't skim through. Word count isn't the sole decider for that, but its an easy one to solve. I'll get to the point that I'm concise enough to get stuff under 4k without losing detail or quality eventually. Uh anyhoo, Im really excited for Pt. 3 it's gonna be great! Hope you enjoy and don't forget to C&C. :^) Also belated Valentines Day!
