Winning Vote said:
[X] Plan Father & Daughter Dragon Care
Snorri & Karstah
-[X] Drakk Rearing: 1 Snorri, 1 Karstah AP ✓
-[X] Prod for Prod: 1 Snorri AP ✓
-[X] [Difficult] Monolith Mastery Pt.1: 5 Yorri Prods ✓
-[X] [Simple] An Even Better Smelter: 2 Karstah AP ✓
--[X] Use 10 Bars of Adamant
-[X] [Simple] Commission, Coronation Gift Pt.1: 1 Snorri AP
--[X] Mizpal Zharr: This ring is a band of brightest white Adamant, and inserted into one half of the band is a wall of black flame carven from obsidian in such detail and cleverness that it appears to move. Hidden within the flames is the Master Rune of Expurgation, its glow making the obsidian fire seem to writhe with golden edges. Above this homage to Gazul's domain the other half of the band is inset with beaten gold that shimmers like Grungni's treasures, as if some bright land is hidden behind the wall of flames and shimmers through it. The Runes of Siphoning and Runic Amplification are hidden amidst this gold, empowering the runes with the might of the winds and the deeps. "All magic shall be fed into the Obsidian Flame."
--[X] Combo: Master Rune of Expurgation [T4 Voidstone], Rune of Runic Amplification [T4 Adamant], Rune of Siphoning [T4 Ancient Greedy Troll's Heart]
-[X] [Simple] Chimaera Autopsy: 1 Research AP ✓
-[X] [Difficult] Understand the Master Rune of Valaya: 0 AP ✓
-[X] [Difficult] Compress the Combo Hearthward: 0 AP ✓
-[X] [Difficult] Simplify the Master Rune of Runic Amplification: 2 Snorri AP ✓
-[X] Snorri's Challenge: Provide a rune or rune combo that has the possibility of true killing daemons, with said rune or combo being teachable to master runesmiths. Understanding that this rune or rune combo would be taught at Khazagar. 0 Snorri AP ✓
Retainers
-[X] Way to the Stones 1 Karstah AP
--[X] Add Waywalking. 1 Retainer AP
-[X] Drakk Rearing 1 Retainer AP ✓
-[X] Expedition Aiding Dorden 1 Retainer AP
Orders
-[X] Order: T4 Radiant Pegasus Blood ✓
--[X] Order Expedite 15 Dorden Favor
[X] [Letters:] Knowledge about Caledor [Standard] ✓
[X] [Social:] Gloin
[X] [Social:] Fjolla ✓
[X] [Patreon:] Siggrun Klorahsdottir ✓
━<><><>< 447 A.P. ><><><>━
When you tell Master Yorri the price for your knowledge he merely squints his eyes and deepens his frown.
It isn't a secret that Yorri holds a great deal of distaste for the path you're taking and you can understand full well why he would, but at the same time it's a path you were committed to. The power and possibilities afforded by tapping into the Monoliths was immense, and you didn't need to look far for supporting evidence either.
Barak Azamar was the crux, without the energy your armour brought to bear the Ash Storm would be far less deadly, and your more potent Runes usable far less frequently.
There's an argument to be made about making the most use out of what magic was available instead, it's one that Vragni's levelled at you more than once in his rants, and to a degree you agree with it. There was certainly an artistry of working within limitations, of making something great from mundane work. By Valaya's braid you were willing to brawl with a colleague over his remarks against doing just that, and you've made it clear that there was a point that being overly picky was more detrimental than it was beneficial.
But just because you'll make the most out of the materials you have on hand does not mean you wouldn't stop looking for better.
Everything has a use, everything
could be made great, but not in the exact same way.
You've lost track of the point you think.
Right, the Monoliths. Great benefit there, benefit that you believed was well worth the risk. Tapping into them wasn't something you were planning on doing haphazardly, Master Yorri wouldn't have been okay teaching you if you were, but there would likely always be a risk with having so much magic in place.
Ogra told you her Ancestor had done what he did out of greed and pride, without proper forethought or respect for the forces he was playing with. You were different.
On the other hand, a voice in the back of your mind asks if Ogra's Ancestor had thought the same, as did every other Dwarf who attempted the very same and subsequently died with nothing to show for their efforts.
And maybe, considering your teacher's reticence on but wealth of knowledge on the topic, you would turn out no better.
But you both knew that wouldn't dissuade you, and that more than anything is why Master Yorri ultimately concedes to your terms.
In a few years time you'd both be making the trip to the Monolith once more.
━<><><><==><><><>━
Khazagar's thoroughfares are filled full around lunch time, a small Throng's worth of Dwarfs making the journey from the various wings of the complex heading to the Trogg-Khaz colliding with the even larger number of visitors and passersby to create a real mess that Master Snorri's creation is
just barely large enough to accommodate semi-comfortably.
Karstah barely notices the grunt from Dreng, but she does catch the target of the grunt in question, a gaggle of Runesmiths walking the opposite direction towards her, move aside to let her and the elder pass, standing by and nodding respectfully to her as she moves past them. She nods back out of habit, her mind busy with the duties she's been given and with one in particular taking up most of her musing.
As she's begun tackling the issue, Karstah realizes that improving upon the Dragonblood Smelter isn't a complex job but it
is a meticulous one.
Before Master Snorri developed the new version of his namesake Master Rune her job would have been
much harder and more open-ended, but now it "simply," required using the new Rune in lieu of the array on the older smelters. But just because
most of the improvements to the smelter could be achieved by the new Rune did not mean she wasn't putting in the work to find further improvements where she could. Centuries of watching Master Snorri and now decades of hands-on experience with her own smelters had given Karstah both plenty of time to think, and data to examine on how to iterate on the design.
The most obvious improvement she could make was a matter of material; pure Gromril was honestly the most practical choice, but in the grand scheme making a smelter out of Adamant seemed the better option. Master Snorri had earmarked enough of the metal for her to actually build a current smelter out of it if she so wanted, and she definitely did. The cost would be prohibitive, using that much Adamant always would be, but it was a worthwhile investment in her opinion. Adamant's structural properties alone meant she could expand the overall volume and scale of the smelter for an equal amount of material while maintaining an equal level of safety than one made from Pure Gromril after all. Nevermind the obvious benefits that the metal's enhancing properties on Runes in general.
The second, more minor by comparison, avenue to tackle were changes to the physical layout of the new smelter. Introducing better ergonomics and design to reduce its final footprint, add more efficient methods of draining and replacing the dragon's blood for instance, and thanks to her teacher's newest insights into the forging process with his eye, removing parts that they now knew weren't necessary. Take their use of Elder Wyrms's blood for instance, while it was grandfathered in to the current smelter design because it provided a tangible and obvious impact on the final output was sensible even if her teacher and his colleagues never figured out why. Learning how the Master Rune
actually used the stuff however, taught her and Master Snorri that the Brotherhood's original method was simply pinging off a very crude approximation of how the Master Rune of Purification itself functioned, siphoning energy from the blood to fuel the purification of the Gromril. So in reality it wasn't actually necessary to fully submerge the bar, but merely keep the stuff in proximity with the Rune, preferably touching the actual structure itself, and that in itself could let them be far more specific and hopefully efficient with how much of the extremely costly and increasingly rare blood they used.
The bulk of the effort would just be putting everything together into a coherent design.
At least the next few years wouldn't be boring.
━<><><>< 448 A.P. ><><><>━
Going out isn't something you do very often, but at the request of your niece and the far less polite prodding of your family and friends, you've been making more of an effort these past few decades to actually go and meet with people for reasons outside of duty and business.
And moreover, prove you aren't a hermit who only leaves to begrudgingly do the above mentioned tasks.
Bah!
So as part of your plan to prove that you are
not a hermit, you've begun coming to your former students' monthly get-togethers. A little tradition they made that originally began when Snerra, Fjolla and Dolgi finished a hard day's training and unwound over dinner and a few drinks before bed, that's now grown into a dinner all of their immediate families, Nain and Karstah, and now every so often,
you.
And maybe Yorri, you haven't seen him there but that means nothing when it concerns your teacher.
Truth be told, you aren't altogether
unhappy about being forced to go out, because again you aren't a hermit, but there are always reservations in the back of your mind about attending these. You'd have to be blind to not realize that, as their teacher, your students may act differently with each other when you're around and they aren't. It's one that's died down now that they're older and Masters in their own right who don't quake in their boots everytime they disagree with you, Snerra especially, but it's never really gone for good. Still you tend to simply lurk about in the background, a quiet spectre that does his best to make your students forget you're there so that they can relax a bit easier.
Not exactly beating the hermit allegations with that tactic though.
Still, it's part of why you chose to get here early, already being there when the others arrived tended to help with the whole blending in business, and for this occasion specifically the other reason is because the pot of stew you brought along was large enough that you wanted a bit of a buffer of time just in case something went wrong on the way here and you got delayed.
You turn the corner to Snerra's home and stop when you see another figure handing a small wooden box to your niece. Before you can so much as blink, they both turn to look at you and the noise you made, giving you a better look at the stranger and causing you to blink.
Why If your eyes do not deceive you, that's Brynna.
Rather than stand there like an idiot, you walk over and offer the both of them a nod in greeting.
"Snerra, Brynna."
"Uncle!" your niece says, looking at the pot in your hands, "and you brought the stew! Lovely! Just a moment, let me bring this in and I can take that off your hands."
Both you and Brynna watch as Snerra disappears into her home, scurrying off with the box she'd received, leaving the two of you alone outside her open door.
"Lord Klausson," Brynna begins, making you turn away from the sound of your niece's footsteps to regard your colleague.
The first thing you notice when you get a closer look is the state of her hair; where there was once a uniform grey-white, your fellow Runelord's hairline is now dominated by a band of vibrant obsidian black that intermingles with the grey along the edge of both colors, long enough that she's braided then tied the offending locks behind her head.
The second thing you notice are her new prosthetics.
You stare into eyes made from spheres of veined marble, the bright white broken up by incredibly fine streaks of burgundy and salmon, with the irises made from alternating plates of gold and amber and a circular shard of Obsidian held in the center to act as their pupil. That they dimly glowed with a warm, yet ominous light, made it clear that Brynna had gone through the effort to inscribe the Runes inside each orb.
As for her hand, it's far more overt in its nature. A well articulated but sturdy construction of interlocking and shifting plates of thinly beaten Gromril overtop the intricate mechanisms given the way it clicked and clacked with each twitch of her fingers. Obvious in the way that the eyes at least attempt to appear like a facsimile from a distance.
The two of you look at each other silently, unsure of how to proceed.
"How was acclimation?" you broach, defaulting to what you usually ask newly limbed patrons.
Brynna, thankfully, obliges your attempt.
"Your craft does you credit Lord Klausson," she compliments, "they are far more robust than I imagined. I could imagine myself forgetting they weren't my own flesh and blood if…"
A grunt of understanding.
"Till you see, and then you remember."
"Aye," Brynna admits, looking at the results of your own brush with death intently, "I suppose I should have realized you would understand the dangers of our work more than most."
"For what it may be worth, you've bounced back well, compared to most others, me especially," you offer.
She chuckles.
"I suppose that's one way to look at things. Forgive my abruptness Lord Klausson but I must beg your leave. I planned on meeting with my nephew later and it wouldn't do for me to be tardy."
"Right, I'll not keep you then. Enjoy your dinner Lady Gildedeyes, and may the Ancestors watch over you."
"And you Lord Klausson," she returns before heading off.
For a moment longer you watch her walk away before the sound of footsteps draws your attention back around to see your niece coming back from wherever she disappeared off to.
"Has Lady Brynna gone then?"
"Aye, dinner with her nephew," you answer, making your own niece nod before looking at you pointedly.
"Indulge me, but you didn't just stand there awkwardly beside her waiting for me to come back did you?"
You give her an affronted look.
━<><><><==><><><>━
"And they'll be returning soon you reckon?" you ask Fjolla, just one of many conversations happening around Snerra's table.
"Been about as much time as it took me, and I've 'overheard' their kin hearing much the same in the letters they get too. So barring ill luck I'll be judging their creations soon. Hopefully they'll not disappoint, a terrible shame to be turned back for everyone involved." she confirms.
You hum in agreement
"Thinking about taking any more after?" you ask, eyes glancing over at the stiff figure of Nain's student as he is badgered by Dolgi's youngest.
Fjolla shakes her head calmly.
"I don't think so. Unlike Dolgi or Snerra, I'm not exactly happy to have as many beardlings in my life as possible, barring exceptional circumstances."
You grunt, tucking away that tidbit about Snerra looking for yet more students away in the corner of your mind for later. You have a few youngsters of note tossed your way that she may be interested in teaching.
"It isn't for everyone no."
"Have you seen any particularly noteworthy prospects Master?"
Now you let yourself scoff.
"Nine apprentices is more than enough," You tell her, "Maybe if a youngster with true promise rears their head and somehow goes unnoticed. Khazagar and the duties therein are more than enough on my plate. It's up to you lot to continue this particular lineage now Fjolla."
A job they've been doing more than ably at.
Nain, Fjolla and Snerra all had apprentices by this point, Dolgi more than made up for his lack of students with the size of his family, and Karstah had her hands full with the Dragons and duties as your heir.
As for the others…
…you recall Jargrim grumbling about not practicing pocket gravel on his future students when he thought you were out of earshot once.
Hmmm…
"Master?"
You blink, then look over at a curious and slightly worried looking Fjolla.
"Fjolla? Ah, right. I was lost in my thoughts, what did you say again?"
"I said, speaking of teaching, how was yours and Karstah's project with the dragons going."
Ah.
While you let yourself descend into regaling Fjolla with stories about the particulars of raising dragons, a part of your mind meanders down the path of memories that thinking about Jargrim brought to the surface. Not so much actively recalling snippets and points of pride, but merely going over whatever came up with a forlorn fondness.
One day.
One day you'll meet them all again.
━<><><><==><><><>━
"He was a handsome one I'll admit, but a poor eater. No finesse to his feasting," Solveig tells her sisters sorrowfully.
Siggrun sighs as Jolla nods along, letting Sol share her story while they help clean the dishes.
For all that she and her twin were alike, her sibling indulged the youngest member of their family whenever she talked about her romantic escapades far too often than Siggrun thought was smart. There were ears in the oddest places after all.
"Incorrigible Solveig, really only the fourth outing?" she finds herself asking in mock surprise, before adding on, "and if I recall properly, didn't you predict the very thing you're complaining about too? Why try if you knew?"
"Could have been wrong, and he was
very handsome, with a beard like silk," Sol counters easily.
Before Siggrun can come up with a reply the sound of the door opening makes all three sisters shush up and turn their heads to see who's just entered the kitchen.
"Incoming!" Master Snerra announces, barging into the kitchen with an empty pot in need of refilling, "move aside please!"
The three sisters make way for Master Snerra as she walks over to the stove and switches the empty pot with another sitting atop it.
"I'd like to thank you for your help again girls, very kind of you to ease this old woman's burden," the twins' teacher comments, huffing out of habit as she hoists the fresh pot into her arms.
"Of course Master," she and Jolla say in unison.
"What they said Lady Snerra, it's only fitting to repay you for the meal."
"Hmm, and I'm sure being away from Dolgi before he starts singing is just a bonus."
"No that was part of it/Of course it was a coincidence/I actually enjoy papa's songs," the trio replied.
Master Snerra chuffs in amusement before exiting the kitchen, the sounds of their father's raucous celebration coming through the doorway for a second before its shut.
"Where was I? Right! You can't give me too much lip, you both couldn't have spent your Journeys entirely on learning could you?"
"I won't speak for Jolla, but I was too busy trying not to die, sister dearest," Siggrun says sardonically, causing Solveig to pout.
"No comment," Jolla says, making both of them turn to stare at her.
"A damning statement from your twin, Siggy," Solveig says.
She nods.
"Didn't think you had it in you," she tells her twin.
"No comment!" she repeats, scrubbing the plates harder out of embarrassment before admitting, "people look much prettier when you're drunk and the tavern's dark is all I'll say."
"Scandalous," she tuts sarcastically, "what would our mother think?"
Solveig laughs as Jolla's face turns the same shade of red as her hair.
The sound of the door opening once again makes them pause their discussion, perfectly timed as well considering Lord Gift Giver is the one who's come in this time.
"Lasses," he greets, his prosthetic eye giving them all a once over before his gaze moves to the barrels neatly stacked in the corner, "don't let me stop your discussion. Im just here to grab more ale. Your father spilled some and now your mother's helping him clean up his mess."
"We were just discussing our Journeys, Elder," Solveig comments, making both sisters look at her pointedly, "and how one should best spend their time during the experience. Would you have any wisdom or stories you would be willing to share?"
The Eldest Runelord of the Far North hums contemplatively, easily holding a barrel the size of his chest against his hip as he stood there, before coming to a decision.
"My Journeying was a great deal more fraught than most. Even your father's and his many
many brushes with death would be hard pressed to compete I reckon. I was only fifty winters old, and of course not many want to pay for the services of one so young and inexperienced, Rhunki or otherwise. One night in particular I remember having naught more than a few gold pieces to my name at the time, having spent most of it procuring material for a client's commission ya see. Like the fool I was back then, I decided to spend that gold on one particularly good meal at the local tavern, having grown sick of gruel and some truly wretched beer I'd been subsisting off for months by that point. Aye and it was
delicious, freshly roasted haunch seasoned to perfection, a hearty stew of lowland auroch, troll, and lamb with melted cheese overtop, and a keg of the smoothest drink that'd I ever had at the time. For a few hours that night I dined like a king. Course, I didn't eat much of anything except water and stonebread until the windfall from the finished commission was given to me afterwards. Were I back there with the knowledge I had now? I would have done it again I reckon."
They blink in surprise, expecting the exact opposite. The obvious set up for the age old parable of temperance most Dwarf children were told.
"Ha! Never get complacent plaitlings, it's been the death of many a talented and brave Dawi. As to why? Well, one reason is that when I sat there, eating that bread and drinking that water, I deluded myself into thinking I was eating that meal. The starvation probably helped sell the hallucination honestly, but the point was that the memory kept me going, and that was enough. Most Dawi are the same aye, and we like to think we're all alike, and in many ways we are, but in my life I've learned that no Dwarf is cut from the same stone in the end. The lesson ought to be that you should know yourself, temperance may have worked for many, but it may end up hampering a select few. And well the second reason? Hmph. I won't divulge, but the hours I spent eating my fill like a glutton let someone important have enough time to find me, and for that I'll be eternally thankful. Know yourself, and know the consequence of your actions young ones, that's far more generally applicable advice than most."
His tale complete, the Gift Giver readjusts the barrel under his arm and heads for the dining room. Before he leaves through the door however, he pauses, and without looking back, offers a final parting line.
"And be more quiet, or use better metaphors! Everyone else here is either too young, drunk or busy to have heard, but
this Dwarf has working ears!"
They can only stand, silently mortified, and watch as the Gift Giver returns to the dining room, his cackles cutting off when the door shuts behind him.
━<><><>< Gain ><><><>━
Snorri
- +3 progress to Drakk Rearing, new totals:
[12/?? actions]
-- Each sibling is effectively capable of acting in Dwarf society largely unsupervised, with any escort being there more to calm down anyone than any fear of them going on a rampage, yes even Grimgal.
-- Grimgal, length 22m by 454 A.P.
--- Will occasionally ask for copies of books.
--- Largely content so long as you and
Barak Azamar stay within Khazagar
--- You asked if they had any requests on a level similar to their brothers, they'll get back to you on that.
-- Zharrok, length 18m by 454 A.P.
--- His training, while stymied by his unique circumstances, progresses. The challenge only excites him
--- Has begun adding some of his favourite creations to his hoard.
-- Izgrom, length 18m by 454 A.P.
--- Goes out on regular expeditions into the depths beneath Kraka Drakk, returns with whatever he finds interesting.
--- Occasionally gives Karstah precious gems and ore as repayment for raising him apparently.
--- Has begun growing his hoard with the wealth and material gained from his expeditions.
- Coronation Gift Pt. 1 complete! Coronation Gift Pt. 2 Unlocked!
- +6 progress to Monolith Mastery, new totals:
[Cost: (24 -10) =14 actions]
--
Master of the Odd [12/15] > [15/15]
--
??? [0/6] > [3/6]
- +1 progress to Chimaera Autopsy, new totals:
[Cost: (4 -2) =2 actions]
--
Master of the Odd [11/15] > [12/15]
- New Rune understood!
Master Rune of Valaya
-- +2 Research drip banked.
--
Talent for Talismans [12/15] > [13/15]
- New Combo compressed! Hearthward
-- New Rune understood!
Master Rune of Hearthward
-- +2 Research drip banked.
--
Talent for Talismans [13/15] > [14/15]
- New Rune simplified!
Rune of Runic Amplification [Talismanic]
--
Talent for Talismans [14/15] > [16/15]
- New Runes/ Combos unlocked!
--
Master Rune of Hearthward, Complexity: 0, Necessary Ingredients: [T2] Hearthstone: The user has greatly improved resistance to both mundane and magically induced fatigue and disease, while their body temperature remains relatively constant and feel comfortable regardless of most weather conditions.
--
Rune of Runic Amplification [Talismanic]: Dispelled spells around the user are converted to improve the casting of Runes around the user.
Karstah
- +3 progress to An Even Better Smelter, new totals:
[Cost: (6 -3) = 3 actions]
--
Productivity Like One Other [3/15] > [5/15]
Orders
- +1 [Tier 4] Radiant Pegasus Blood, arriving
Turn 56
-- Order Expedited -15 Favours with Kraka Dorden, new totals: (calculated below)
Favour and Standing
- -15 Favours with Kraka Dorden, new totals: Favours 35
Trait(s) Gained/Upgraded
Snorri
Master of the Odd [12/15] > Master of the Odd [0/15]: Every 2 research actions used for [Odd] Runes and novel phenomena add 1 extra progress. If 3 research actions, instead add 2 extra progress.
Understanding an [Odd] Rune has a 40% chance to produce extra research drip. Research gains from studying odd and novel materials improved.
Talent for Talismans [16/15] > Talent for Talismans [1/18]: Every 2 research actions used for Talismanic Runes add 1 extra progress. If 3 research actions, instead add 2 extra progress.
Understanding a [Talismanic] Rune has a 40% chance to produce extra research drip.
Karstah
Productivity Like One Other [3/15] > [5/15]
━<><><><==><><><>━
AN: I felt bad for not posting anything for 2 weeks. I think this stands on its own pretty well and has value, but people interested in seeing number go up may not be so intersted. If so, I apologize, hopefully the next part will be faster. Aaaaaaaaaa- Anyway, I hope you can find some enjoyment from this, and don't forge to C&C. :^)
