Heroica RPG - Quest #89: Reclaiming Glory

[Scubacarrot]

"Aepyornis?" The raider asks as he climbs aboard. "Place frowns upon drinking... Great." The raider knocks down a mead, smelling salts and nostrum.

[Scorpiox]

"It's a cart, at least it only moves when you want it to."

Haldor climbs onto the back of the wagon and pulls out his new, not so fresh beard and wraps it around his neck, just beneath his beard.

"Ugh. Not exactly clean, but it'll help to keep out of the cold."

He equips Ognar's beard.

[The Legonater]

I smile at the sight of High Kingdom horses. It has been too long.

I climb onto the cart.

[CMP]

"Aepyornis?" The raider asks as he climbs aboard. "Place frowns upon drinking... Great." The raider knocks down a mead, smelling salts and nostrum.

"Birds. Very big birds. Native to Baltarok, though some spread out to the world due to the Invasion. We have very few horses, since we don't have terribly much to feed them with, but aepyorni are content with whatever they pick out of the ground. Their vast numbers are the only reason meat's in such good supply here. Other than that, there are a few who have mastered the art of riding them. They can't bear much of a burden, and they can't fly, but you'll never see a faster sight on the field of battle. And don't worry; as long as you know where to find them, you can drink however much you like. It's not outlawed, just frowned upon in public, save for special occasions. Plus you're human, so nobody would think twice if they saw you drinking."

Haldor climbs onto the back of the wagon and pulls out his new, not so fresh beard and wraps it around his neck, just beneath his beard.

"Ugh. Not exactly clean, but it'll help to keep out of the cold."

"Heh, not the prettiest scarf in the world."

[swils]

Thormanil hops up into the cart with Arx settling in next to him.

"Aepyornii? Taken down a few of those nasties back in the Fields, never thought someone'd try ridin' one."

[CMP]

"Aepyornii? Taken down a few of those nasties back in the Fields, never thought someone'd try ridin' one."

"It's no easy feat. They're very temperamental. But few as they are, aepyorni cavalry divisions are quick, efficient, and terrifying for anyone on the receiving end. We haven't produced real machines of war for quite some time, but between the aepyorni and troll-mounted battle platforms, I don't think we'd need them to put up a damn good fight against the Kingdoms. If it comes to that."

[swils]

"Troll-mounted platforms? Ho, now this I've gotta see!"

[The Legonater]

An Aepyorni cavalry? This I have to see. Any chance of learning to ride one by the end of this?

Edited December 18, 2013 by The Legonater

[Capt.JohnPaul]

OOC: My weapon has no longer any poison.

Alexandre holds onto the cart. "Can you tell me more about the relationship between orcs and humans?"

[CMP]

"Troll-mounted platforms? Ho, now this I've gotta see!"

Olmstyr glanced over at Thormanil and chuckled a little.

"If you ever do, just pray they're on your side."

Alexandre holds onto the cart. "Can you tell me more about the relationship between orcs and humans?"

"These days the High Kingdoms mostly keep to their side of the Navaosh. They keep most ships from passing between the Helvetian Sea and Vim-Lhzar, and don't let a single soul across the river. They're keeping us isolated but at the same time building a bridge to 'stimulate trade' and 'strengthen relations'. Whether that's their true motive or not, the clans all have their different views on the issue, and we need to make sure they don't fall apart while figuring out what to do. If you mean humans themselves, well....there are very, very few of you in Baltarok. For good reason. I can't speak for every orc, but frankly, the human race has been pushing mine into the dirt since anyone can remember, and it came to a head in the Invasion. Tarokai was our one, best shot at reclaiming our glory. And we failed. A lot of orcs harbor ill will towards humanity, and elves aren't much of a stretch. Don't expect a warm welcome from anyone. And for the sake of us all, don't bring up that it was your Veterans who assassinated Tarokai, alright? Almost nobody in Baltarok knows what Heroica is."

An Aepyorni cavalry? This I have to see. Any chance of learning to ride one by the end of this?

"Effectively? Heh, no. If we get the chance, go for it, but I'd be surprised if you could stay on for more than few yards. Speed and persistence is their best advantage, but they're not as hardy or as strong as horses, else we probably wouldn't need them at all. If we were trained riders, we could be at Imaestym in an hour or two. The way it stands, it'll take us a good chunk of the day to get there. Here, this'll give you an idea of where we're going."

Olmstyr handed a map back to the party.

Once everyone got aboard, Olmstyr whipped the reins, and the horses were off. The road they followed was more like a dirt path, but the earth was packed tightly into the ground, likely from extreme use over a very, very long time.

"You can see there the territories of the four major clans, as well as the two bordering High Kingdoms...the Four Boulders and the Red Lizard. They're behind the bridge. The concept. The construction. The consequences. It all belongs to them."

Maybe if one of the other clans was bordering the river, they wouldn't've gotten as far as they have. But the last thing Clan Musalnav wants is friction, with the Kingdoms or the other clans. In fact, probably the only reason they exist as one of the four main powers today is because they're somewhat peaceable...for orcs, of course. The Invasion was launched from Imaestym, but Clan Musalnav elected to stay out of it. Their troops only guarded the then-capital of all of Baltarok, they didn't go out on what they thought was a needless slaughter. You can imagine the position of power they were in when the war ended. They were one of the few clans who maintained most of their standing, and absorbed many of the surviving smaller ones who'd suffered severe losses in it. They quickly became one of the largest clans, and have always been the voice of diplomacy among them all.

Their attitude during and after the Invasion, however, hasn't earned them many friends. You must understand that for the longest time, our culture revolved around war and glory in battle. To a point, it still does. The fact that they remained behind may have saved our race, but some think it wouldn't've needed saving if they had been out fighting as well. My good friend Karstaal is the current clan leader. Add in the fact that he's been adapting human technology and customs and, well, some still believe we're straying much too far away from our heritage. I know that quite well. I'm a part of Clan Musalnav, and my ancestors all served as generals. As the military leaders, they were somewhat responsible for the...relatively poor image of our armies. I've never really been one for leading warriors anyway, I guess."

"Clan Irlaz, whose capital, Vim-Lhzar, we just left, is the oldest of the four clans. Their history can be traced back to a time when a clan would destroy another for the sake of maintaining an image. Vim-Lhzar is also our oldest city, and held Baltarok's only shipyard before the High Kingdoms razed it to the ground after the Invasion to make sure we wouldn't launch any naval attacks. As if we had the warriors for that at the time...Irlaz has always had the most contact with foreigners. These days, few ships come out in this direction. Those that can survive the ice fields of the Helvetian, the vikings, evade Bonaparte ships, slip past High Kingdoms patrols, and care to land in Vim-Lhzar, still do, but that's an understandably small number. There are a few non-orcs living there. Very few, but they're still there.

Irlaz has been the clan most open to change and outside contact. They actually had very good relations with the vikings, a long time ago. But around the time of the Invasion, when we became more than squabbling tribes, well, they stopped seeing Irlaz as an ally and began seeing them like everyone else; a target. They haven't directly attacked for quite a long time, but only a few months ago they swept in and captured Grishnod, the clan leader. I don't know what their purpose was. But we've gotten no ransom demands, so it's unlikely we're getting him back, alive or otherwise...his daughter Bastala has taken over. She's been changing age-old laws and traditions. You remember what I said about drinking? It's well-known Bastala has a taste for fine wines. Those remote few foreigners who dock in Vim-Lhzar? She practically has them catered to in an attempt to stimulate more outside contact. This all sounds fine on the surface, but these aren't things one can just change on a whim. These are customs, traditions, some older than the clan itself. You saw those groups of orcs on the streets? Rioters. Protesters. She's changing too much, too fast. Even the other clan leaders can agree on that."

I'll be out for much of tomorrow. I'll describe the other two clans when I get back. At least this way it won't be too big a wall of text.

[Scubacarrot]

"Actually. Heroica was formed after Tarokai was defeated... And in all the versions of the story I've heard, Tarokai was being controlled by an Archdemon. I guess your people don't have that take on the whole thing."

Guts scratched his throat: "If no one knows what Heroica is, how will you present us?"

[swils]

"How 'bout 'Legends of the Southern Islands, willing to bare blades in the name of a glorious (sic. well-paying) cause!' I rather like the ring of it, m'self, even if it's a bit fancy."

[Scubacarrot]

Guts raised an eyebrow at Thormanil. "Mercenaries from the Southern Islands? And what would be doing all the way in Baltarok. Or in Eubric, for that matter?"

[swils]

"Obviously our strong arms've been called in to see to it that no one interrupts these talks. Sure, y'could have fellow orcs be the enforcers, but who's to say they're not bein' paid off? Least this way, we've been hired by the, uh, council, I s'pose?"

[Scubacarrot]

"Well, we're not actually being paid. So besides that point let's do it. The Legends of the Southern Islands it is..."

[swils]

"Not gettin paid, eh? Your wallet begs to differ!" Thormanil laughs, and Arx looks up. "Back t'sleep, Arx. Got plenty of travel ahead of us. 'Legends'.. Got a nice ring to it! Should make sure everyone back in the freeport hears it that way, heh."

[CMP]

"Actually. Heroica was formed after Tarokai was defeated... And in all the versions of the story I've heard, Tarokai was being controlled by an Archdemon. I guess your people don't have that take on the whole thing."

Guts scratched his throat: "If no one knows what Heroica is, how will you present us?"

"I know. Simply be careful what you say."

Olmstyr stared as Guts went on.

"Remind me to tell you the true story of Tarokai at some point. I knew he wasn't looked upon kindly by your kind, but it seems the stories have gotten ever more senseless."

"How 'bout 'Legends of the Southern Islands, willing to bare blades in the name of a glorious (sic. well-paying) cause!' I rather like the ring of it, m'self, even if it's a bit fancy."

"Like I said, every orc knows Tarokai was killed by six warriors. We didn't stick around long enough to see what happened afterward, but from what we gathered everyone called them Veterans, probably because they were the only survivors of their strike team that set out to kill him. As long as you leave out that they are the founders of your organization, feel free to refer yourselves as Heroica. Nobody knows that name here."

[Capt.JohnPaul]

"I still think we should avoid the name Heroica. You never know if a foreigner or someone overhears who does know..."

[CMP]

"I still think we should avoid the name Heroica. You never know if a foreigner or someone overhears who does know..."

"True enough. It's up to you, I'll be introducing you as sellswords, which isn't too much of a far cry from the truth."

"Clan Aj-Kahr has been the worst off of all the clans. Aj-Kahr was once a name that inspired fear, one of the most notable warbands in all of Baltarok. The overwhelming majority of them were killed in the Invasion. They likely had the highest casualties out of any tribe in the war. Now it's a shell of what it once was. When the survivors returned to Baltarok, they and other fractured clans banded together under their flag, in the capital of Un-Nal-Gov, carving a life for themselves in the harsh southern reaches of Baltarok. Thing was, almost all of them were warriors. Old, often crippled warriors. Their existence was not easy. Even today they still have skirmishes with some of the Broken Tribes to the west, the smaller clans of old that cling to our ancient ways. Each of the major clans was still busy rebuilding, so they had to turn to Goblonia for help. The goblins and hobgoblins of the land flooded into Aj-Kahr in vast numbers. Goblonia is in a constant state of civil war, they figured a hard life was better than no life at all.

It was a struggle, but the clan survived, scavenging what they could from towns abandoned in the war and pillaging the more violent of the Broken Tribes and small Goblonian factions. Their culture's...unique. Nearly half the clan is made up of goblins and their kin now, so many such ideals they hold come from Goblonian lifestyles. The most recent ruler, however, Marga Pointed-Crown, is trying to fix it. She's intent on revitalizing on many of our older laws and traditions, those that had been abandoned out of necessity or forgotten out of ignorance. In doing so, she's brought a stability to the clan that it hasn't experienced in quite a while. She wants to restore Tarok to his rightful place in the hearts of all orcs...in the old manner, in the sense that he has complete dominion over all of us. Her religious fervor is quite strong. And she hates humans. Almost everyone of Clan Aj-Kahr does. To them, humanity has given orc-kind nothing but hate and pain. They're not entirely wrong."

"And then there is Clan Tarokin."

"Be careful with them. The leaders of Clan Tarokin are, as it sounds, all descendants of Tarokai himself. Clan Aj-Kahr may be fervently devoted to Tarok, but in Clan Tarokin, they hold his son in the highest esteem. He's a hero to most all orcs. To Clan Tarokin, he's nothing short of a legend. After the Invasion, when the remnants of our race returned to Baltarok, Tarokai's eldest son, Tar-Valstyr, had the fate of an entire race thrust upon him, As I said, Clan Musalnav played the largest role in prioritizing a stable country over vengeance upon humanity, but it was Tar-Valstyr who kept fear of total destruction at bay in those dark times. He built up an army over the course of three days; they prevented the sacking of Imaestym shortly after the Invasion's end in a retaliatory attack by some of the lesser High Kingdoms, and helped to restore Vim-Lhzar after it too was pillaged. Tarokai founded a line that would forever embody what it truly meant to be an orc, but Tar-Valstyr, his son, and each generation that followed, they carried on that legacy.

Clan Tarokin is made up the orcs most devoted to maintaining their independence. To thriving as a civilization. That the High Kingdoms would dare to cross the river into Baltarok is nothing less than an act of war in their eyes. They have the largest military of all the clans. They are the ones that forced the uncooperative clans to the southwest, kept them away from our developing society. They are strong, and they have much sway among the people; not only of their own clan, but of all. Every orc knows of Tarokai's importance, and his line today is no less potent than it was then, so respecting them, if at least for their great deeds, is almost a given. Their current clan leader is Tarvalk....if we fail, he's going be the first orc across that bridge. Nobody has been more willing or capable of leading our armies since Tarokai himself. But he wouldn't do it out of hate, nor fully out of vengeance. He would do it for the sake of leading our kind to the place of glory we deserve, the place thousands have died for but none yet have achieved. War and honor are of the greatest importance to Clan Tarokin, for one is ever bound to the other in the eyes of an orc. He would bring us to utmost of both."

Olmstyr blinked and lost wistfully off east, before, with a sigh, he spurred on the horses.

"You see now why I hired you. This bridge is the blade dividing Baltarok. If you can't help hold it together, that blade will draw an ocean of blood. We need the support of each clan leader, first and foremost. I won't see my country crumble from within, war or not."

[Masked Builder]

Alexis shivers as she listens to the Orc, wondering how much longer it will take them to get to the market.

[Scubacarrot]

"So we've got your friend, with generations of fighting humans behind him. An independant woman that has enough reason to dislike and distrust humans, or a false tongue might suggest she bribed the norse to capture her father. Not that'd I'd suggest that, of course. We've got a traditionalist that hates humans, and we've got a gloryhound that will probably kill a lot of humans if we don't succeed."

"This is going to be easy."

[CMP]

"So we've got your friend, with generations of fighting humans behind him. An independant woman that has enough reason to dislike and distrust humans, or a false tongue might suggest she bribed the norse to capture her father. Not that'd I'd suggest that, of course. We've got a traditionalist that hates humans, and we've got a gloryhound that will probably kill a lot of humans if we don't succeed."

"Clan Musalnav's got the fewest warriors of any clan and Bastala's actually one of the most open to interaction with humans, but yes, that's the...general idea of things. It is indeed rumored among the protesters in Vim-Lhzar that she did have the nords capture Grishnod to take power, but there's no solid basis to them."

[Capt.JohnPaul]

"Now, who to talk to first? The Pinted-Crown queen seems like she has a lot of mistrust so it would easy to gain support.:

Alexandre stops as a Grogmas Letter poofs infront of him, telling him about the Special Event. "Party Members, what do you think about gifting my new greatsword? You think I'll get a better thing back in time? Or send my Elven sword, hoping for an upgrade? Or is it too risky?"

[CMP]

"Now, who to talk to first? The Pinted-Crown queen seems like she has a lot of mistrust so it would easy to gain support.:

"Strange logic, but-"

Olmstyr paused as a shower of pink, green, and black cards burst into existence above the heroes. He turned his head, blinking at the new addition to his cargo, and gave the heroes a strange look, then just shook his head and turned forward again.

"I....won't ask."

"Anyway, assuming Marga doesn't try and kill you the moment she sees you, it shouldn't be impossible to sway her. She despises humans, but her devotion to Tarok makes it very clear in her mind that for orc-kind to thrive, they need to stick together. I have a couple trusted allies in the clans gathering information, but right now we're headed to the Clanmeet, a summit where the clan leaders and their advisers meet to discuss problems that would affect all of Baltarok. I won't pretend that I expect a reasonable solution to come out of this. But it'll be your first impression on the clans, and give you a chance to try and maintain a little order while it's going on."

"Do you have any more questions?"

[Capt.JohnPaul]

"Ah, I meant to mean that if she distrusts humans, we can stop the building of this bridge...."