Cassius nodded but he still looked wary of the Captain and where their intentions truly lie.
"So be it. Let our lands prosper above whoever is left behind. I will arrange an embassy to be set up in the merchant's district and as for your shipbuilders, I advise you to make them come with haste. Please Captain, rest your men." Cassius pointed them to a nearby inn. "You will have to rest there shortly until the arrangements have been made, don't worry the place is clean. Now if you excuse me, I have business to attend to."
Cassius turned around but he passed by a few of the guards as he walked by. Quickly he leaned to them and spoke in a hushed voice.
"Keep an eye on them. If you catch them sneaking into a place they shouldn't be in, don't hesitate to act first." The guards nodded and watcched the men, diligently.
Cassius was then barraged by his advisors and head researchers where they told him about the slow progress of the construction of the next Griffin. Not only that but also of the research opportunites the ocean offered. Cassius pushed for more lumber to be gathered at Benton at the cost of more hours for the laborers but most of them were slaves anyway. As for research, Cassius listened closesly at his head researchers.
"M'lord, we have discovered a certain fish whose spines give out the most pain-inducing venom we have ever seen. If given the resources then we would certainly try to find a way to harness it." One of them said.
"So be it." Cassius said plainly until he was confronted with a new message from Ostav. Cassius didn't hesitate to tell the scribe to pen a acceptance of assitance. He had a bone to pick with the Prince and this seemed like a good oportunity. He felt that his own navy wa quite powerful compared to that pitiful excuse of a ruler. It made him grin thinking of all the opportunites to be made.
Apologies, i've been out of country with out connection and swamped with study, i'll try my best now and catch up as i'm back but my content will probably be really brief as it takes me about an hour to make an RP post which i don't really have the time for. OP if you want to pass my faction of to a waiter in the wings or some such i understand
Donal headed for the Mercantile District of Cassius' city, and found provided a moderate compound that they decided to christen Derasa House, after Shannow's capital back in the Southern Notch. While his men settled in for a much deserved rest, Dolan set about writing a report fopr his master, detailing events and sending for academics to come and learn from the shipbuilders of Phyra.
Wilkes, the foreman in charge of the woodcutters shook his head at his sights. His old features furrowed into a frown. He expected his lord to be as dissatisfied with the lumber as he was; he had fifty men to chop down as many trees, and only to produce a paltry cartload was way below his expectations. It got so bad that he personally went to the Wilds to make sure they were in fact doing their job, which the old man felt was more trouble than it was worth. He expected a sloth of bears to settle in the edge, or those slack-jawed slaves to be 'breeding' on behalf of the slaver.
What he didn't expect to see at the camps was a wooden statue of a robed woman. The facade was exquisite; she had a youthful elegance to her face - and the rest of her certainly wasn't bad to look at - and had an effigy of a snake coiled around her neck and arm. But what really caught his attention was a hoard of the woodcutters knelt before it, heads hung low and hands together in prayer.
And Wilkes was not pleased at the sight.
Damn cultists. With an ax in hand, the foreman moved toward the statue. Some of the slaves in prayer took notice and rose up staring intently at him, but he paid no mind. If they started to shout, he'd simply cut them down before the statue; after all, they were slaves and they never wielded a weapon in their life. With each step he was closer to the effigy, and the slaves' intensity grew but they still did nothing, even when he was an inch away from the woman. It was when he raised his ax did something happen; a throbbing pain enveloped his left calf, causing him to kneel and clutch the offending limb; it felt raw, but no bleeding. For his slow and methodical march to chop the statue, Wilkes didn't notice the shadow that was cast over him, or the sound of metal sliding against metal.
"Iukini's visage shall not be marred."
It was at that declaration that he turned his attention, still nursing his leg, To his surprise, he saw instead of - a lone slave not knowing his place - an red cloaked figure covered head to toe in armor and armed to the teeth in daggers, swords, and a tower shield. Obviously an overprepared knight or well-off mercenary. A plate-mail hand clutched a sword as long as an arm, poised and ready. The slaves immediately backed away, expecting a grievance to occur and did not want anything to do with what will happen, but still kneeling in prayer. The gears in the Wilkes' head were turning, staring back at the statue before facing him.
"This your doing?" The foreman's eyes narrowed at the knight, looking right where his eyes would be behind the iron helmet. The last thing he wanted was for the slaves to 'get religion' and interrupt his lord's orders... or make things too convenient for an uprising.
"Who put you up to this?" His voice raised an octave, and his axe followed suit. "No fool priest or mercenary would erect some fetish without a want for war!" A frustrated hand threw the axe at the knight with the intent to kill him, but one step to the side crushed such ambition. Wilkes was now unarmed, and the scraping of metal rang out in the air.
"This is not an act of war, but a plea." The knight finally spoke, his voice deep, and strangely placid. "Mons Caelos is entering dark times. We need Iukini's blessing lest we may never recover from the oncoming storm."
"And what will your precious 'Iukini' do? Raise the first King from his grave." The foreman scoffed, turning his gaze to the woman statue with a malcontented glare. Wilkes never understood why people thought that these spirits would do anything; they didn't stop Rurik from bringing the land to his boot; the bodies of those who resisted piled up even with the spirit's champions leading the defense.
He expected a more passionate plea about some forgotten virtue, but instead the knight leveled his sword against the neck; the edge an inch from piercing the skin and further. "Only Iukini can give us the blessings to heal this land, but she only grants them to those who believe." he intoned to the kneeling foreman. "If you would raise arms against her, the Lady of Hope demands I kill you." He gulped at the declaration.
*.*.*
Another small delivery of wood came to Phyra, barely enough to complete the infrastructure but the supplies stopped after beginning construction of the inner hull. But a message did come with the lumber.
My Lord,
A Devout of has established an influence in Benton; all the slaves' work effort has been subverted for constant prayer, along with death to those who debase his influence.
Another message awaited the Lord of Phyra, with sheer panic seeping in its words despite how clean and calm its etchings; Ridl requested some ships and crew to fight off Pravo's encroachment, and to recieve them swiftly as a fleet from his brother was to invade Ostav.
Research still didn't fare well, for their enthusiasm scholars were loathe to touch the fish without feeling the poison's effects; in their haste they thought of simply flinging it to their enemies like catapult fodder.
*.*.*
Goods were being bought out left and right in the markets; countrymen from the Southern villages made emergency purchases for arms and armour, while mercenary troops from Rain Brinks were buying out provisions and weapons to maintain their hackneyed fleet against the Pirate horde. Barely did Kennet's military acquired some needed goods, though a good twenty men were welcomed into their army.
*.*.*
Rain came upon Kennet, churning the coastline, and making simple work feel all the more taxing from the colder air and ground. Construction came to a halt from the start; wolves in the Treefell Range, took the opportunity to feed their hungers and spread like wildfire. Research didn't fare too well either; no new ideas came to mind, even with the alchemists' experiments. It was pitch black when the scavenging party took notice of something terrible. A great fire bellowed from the southeast horizon; from out of nowhere a thunderous roar erupted from the patter of rain, and smoke veiled the night sky. The sight could not be ignored and its audience couldn't help but feel a sense of terror, as if the Earth Mother herself suffered a contraction. At least that was what a spiritual person would say; a more practical man would assume something more pressing like war or terror. Sul'giat must be on the move...
The citizens of Sura knew far better; one moment all was calm, when on the outskirts the earth itself erupted in an infernal blaze. That one man, 'Ven-something' as they called him was in a secluded part in the outskirts of town. One moment the simple tower stood firm in the plains, then the entire area was devestated by a great fire; the tower fell and left a stench of death on the stone walls, the fertile ground was scorched gray, and the flora into dried black husks. It was in great fortune that Sura was nowhere near the sudden darkening of the earth, but one thing came into the mind of every man and woman: Something terrible was going to happen. The armies were mustering for battle, and it made sense for the rest to follow suit; with whatever gold they carried, they made for the nearest blacksmith to purchase whatever may happen.
They were in a village south of Kennet when a dark cloud descended upon them. Horsemen from the north came upon the settlement, armed with torches and swords. The army without any provocation or warning rode through igniting every house they dashed through. A great atrocity was committed, and the peasant militia took what weapons they acquired and attacked the horsemen. Casualties were light; none had died, but the horsemen suffered a good deal of injuries; the archers had killed most of their steeds, while the actual soldiers suffered from sword wounds that would've killed them had they not wore armour. Demoralized, the army fled back, while the new peasant militia - naming themselves the Fireborn Order - had to flee; the village was being consumed by flames, and there was little to save.
*.*.*
In an old pub hidden in the Treefell Range - referred only as the Latchstring, laughter and surprise echoed from the walls.
"Y' have ta be shittin' me! Why would th' man set his own village on fire?? Tha's preposter-sterus!" News of Kennet's internal campaign spread beyond its borders, eventually reaching the ears of the Latchstring. Stenehjem - the owner of the pub - couldn't resist sharing the story to the patrons; with dark times coming people need all the merriment they can find. Especially if it meant they'd give him more gold. "Ther's no way tha' th' lord would just send troops ta burn the place down!"
For the whole night, the bar partrons were picturing out the lord of Kennet's motivations in between the stout Stenehjem was eager to hand out. But one question did come to mind. "What happened to the villagers? Where do they go now?" With this question the mood changed to a more somber tone; at the end of the day, what the lord did was uncalled for and ended lives as they knew it. Stenehjem had to say something; he wouldn't tolerate a sad moment in his bar.
"From what I got, they went in two directions. The barking order of the village went to Kennet for home, while the peasants went along with this 'Fireborn Order.' Most of the slaves followed them too." he said to the customers. "People have been tight-lipped about these people save for them 'becoming like fire' and 'burned a hole through the soldiers' shields.'"
The barroom echoes with ambivalant grunts over the event. "Suppose they now have thralls and new soldiers to boost their number." One insightful barfly said in passing. "Good things seem to be happening for this band of warriors. We'll see what happens next."
And now we have the full post. All in all, a lot of odd things happen, but we'll get to that later.
ThreeWords: Your research at 'fire' weapons have botched, leading to a hellish explosion, The good news is that your envoy has survived; the least that happened to him was being arrested in Crowsnest. Better news is that you have a peasant militia to play around with.
Jokerboy Jordan: You've barely succeeded in burning your village down, though the people aren't exactly happy with what happened, and neither are your retreating soldiers. Research and development has gone nowhere sadly; rolls just weren't good for some reason.
Redryhno: You've managed to get some goods for your people, not as much as you would like, but still plenty.
Mr. Ivebeenframed: Construction for the Griffin is still crawling along, but the problem has made itself appear. Research however is at a standstill due to people unwilling to get their hands dirty.
The Clown: You'll be recieving spy reports Via PM.
On another note, I figured now would be a good time to explain religion, or at least one religion; it's not the true religion and only Kolour's Principality practices this religion, so don't feel discouraged to try usurping it. But the story of the religion goes as follows: Before the First King conquered Mons Caelos, the people were in separate tribes that believed that the world is being carried in the womb of a god until the world has matured. Worship is primarily focused on four key deities: Okelani, the Earth Mother who carries their world in her womb; and the three guardian spirits - Iukini, Spirit of Hope and Healing; Aishe Lilo, Spirit of Bounty and Nurturing; and Pele, Spirit of Ambition and Awakenings. Officially, they are supposed to be equally revered, but it doesn't stop the people from playing favorites. If you have any questions about these spirits, do not hesitate to ask by PM or Skype.
On a more morbid note, I've been thinking of restarting the RPG and trying to get new people. We've lost two people and a lot of the rolls have been inauspicious. At this point I want to know if anyone still wants to continue this RPG, or hit the reset button. Please PM me your opinions.
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