All the Strange, Strange Kingdoms - IC Thread

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
Two Weeks Later

"Unfortunately, Lady Regenisis, our investigations have led us to believe that the bodies you checked in with us are not legitimate bounties as per the terms of the contract. It has been determined to our satisfaction that neither the heads nor the bodies were the products of a raid on Veiian holdings, and we have reason to call into question the legitimacy of the bodies presented as Veiian in origin." said the clerk.

[Greystone]

Two Weeks Later
Lad y Regenisis's eyes rose in anger "Are you calling me a liar? I attacked that settlement myself, spilit their blood. What proof do you have to the contrary?"

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
Two Weeks Later

"I am afraid you don't quite understand, Lady Regenisis. The contract clearly states that the bounty is payment for raids on Veiian holdings. Veiians that simply happen to have been killed at a settlement are not legitimate bounties, no matter how much you wish it to be different. That the City of Shadows has completely failed to react in any way, shape or form is proof enough that what you may have believed to be controlled by Veii was, in fact, merely an independent settlement."

The clerk stared down Regenisis.

"Until you have evidence to the contrary, I'm afraid no bounty will be paid."

Devil's contracts were extremely fickle things - such harsh penalties (with no heuristic judgement, one might add, unlike your standard contract) cried out to be quibbled to death. For example, the fact that the bounty had never specified how quickly any bounty had to be paid. Or the fact that it wasn't a bounty at all - merely a mode of payment for raids on Veiian Holdings.

[Greystone]

Two Weeks Later

Regenisis's face turned deadly cold "Your not that smart are you? There has been no retaliation because there wasn't a single survivor from that settlement to tell" she took a step forward "You have noticed that they have stopped their attacks, this is because they don't want to risk another massacre"

She slammed the desk "You will pay the Company or you shall all pay with your life, there is no third option."

The twowarforged guards she had brought moved as well getting ready to easily catch and slaughter every goblin in the room.

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
Standoff

"Again we must remind you that a Veii settlement is not the same as a Veii holding. We have no records of any such raids, and even were there any, the massacre of an undefended settlement would not provoke any such withdrawl of troops from Veii. Moreover, homes and settlements are not holdings of the state, and are not legitimate claims for a bounty."

Of course, the warforged were making the exact same mistake so many others had in dealings with the goblins. Time and again, time and again. The goblin guards steeled themselves for conflict.

"Ironhold Trading will not be held responsible for your disregard for the terms of the contract. Nor will it be swayed by petty threats of violence. I suggest you leave, before our guards are forced to make you leave." He tightened his grip, and steeled himself behind the counter.

This clerk had nerve. Moreso than the usual clerk, even. It was questionable if he was even supposed to be a clerk at all.

[Greystone]

Standoff

"A holding of the Veii is the ownership of the nation. The Veii have no innocent settlements. It was the beginning of a staging point to te surface. It was likewise NOT undefended, we killed the guards and mages...since it is our job"

A flicker of something more human crossed her face "I would advise you to listen to me"
(Explain the room to me, how many goblins, how many appear to be guards, and so on)

[Johel]

The Spice Faith must flow !! : Agakaan

Kulius nodded. Legends had told of monsters trying to befriend humans but these were mere tales for children, or so he had thought until now. The fact that Johara, even if it was not through pure and sincere friendship, had succeed in doing so was unbelievable.

But as far as he was amazed by the gremlin society and its efforts to become something more than a savage alliance of monsters, the cardinal couldn't avoid thinking about the "firearm". The name was saying much about its use but still, Kulius knew of some mages, especially World Magic practitioners, who could easily create fireballs. Yet, to create a item capable of this cost fortunes. Had the Federation of Agakaan truly equipped its whole army with these weapons ?

"-Peace through Strength is something we can relate to, despite our rather pacifist policy. I think I understand the purpose of your story. We'll advocate peace and cooperation, of course, but I guess goblins and gremlins won't understand true pacifism yet. But if you allow it, the Order of the Dove, a sisterhood of healers, might work to ease this path.

Our peoples have a lot to share, I'm sure. And they will, as long as you'll agree to respect the True Faith's principles. With your blessing, the Order of the Owl and the Order of the Dove will be happy to settle in this city. Libraries, schools and hospitals will open as soon as the temple will be built...all of this, of course, only if we're invited."

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Fan of Dune, aren't you ?

Ok, I get that the gremlins are not hippies but if you don't want more Grey and World magic...you'll get them anyway.

It's in the "My Faithful Friend" Package, along with White magic, small welfare support and military help if you need some fanatic meatshields fearless allies.

Faith must spread !! : Ebony Hills

"-So be it. Thank you, my...heu...Lord ? How shall I address you ?"

------

As soon as they were allowed inside the city, the missionaries from the Dove built a temple. A majestic building with thin arcs erected from a pool of shallow water, the whole complex was made of stone but a large opening had been left in the roof, where an superstructure of bronze and copper was set to install panels of colored glass. Even with plenty of funds and motivated workforce (be they volunteers from Rivan or well-payed locals), the whole thing would take time to finish and for now, wide but thin colored canvas closed the roof where windows would one day stood.

Yellow, white and azure lights engulfed the place during the day. At dawn, torches burned along the walls of the main hall where many small alcoves had been set for individual prayers, while the center was filled with banks for the faithful to sit. Additional rooms were used for the medical assistance, the storage of material and the accommodation of both adepts and patients.

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Ok, so that's free healing for the population.
In exchange the faith will rise slowly.
Agree ?

[Greystone]

Faith must spread !! : Ebony Hills

"Just call me Doctor Unbara"

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It will take years to convert the normal populace, and the mercenaries won't stop fighting, but you'll sway some.

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
Tea and Cupcakes

"And I suggest you come up with evidence to prove your claims. We will pay, but only when it has been proved to our satisfaction that the settlement you attacked was, in fact, a holding of the Veii state. To date, we have seen only evidence to the contrary."

The guards in the room were the same in number as the first and second times Regenisis came by. Three more were outside, and likely another few in a breakroom or something.

The Spice Faith must flow!

"Which orders you choose to establish here are immaterial." replied Longtooth, pointing at the plot on the map. "What we will be doing is turning over the use of this plot of land for you to build a temple."

"The land can only be used for a temple, but once it is built you're welcome to run schools and hospitals inside, too. But, I'm sure you'll be able to find old buildings you can buy and convert. Standard stuff applies - no summoning eldritch abominations, no raising hordes of the undead, no undermining the city from below, you know, basic stuff. "

"Of course, we will have to ask one thing of you. Namely - Opening your borders with us. Simply put, allowing our people through, and only applying the same regulations as you apply to everyone else. After all,"

Longtooth stood, and held out a hand.

"We welcome you with open arms. We ask only that you do the same."

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I'm not sure you quite understand what Mayor Longtooth is saying here. He's saying - here's this big plot of land, build a temple as you please. Any order that wants to set up in the temple is welcome to do so, because they're not going to regulate which orders, precisely, decide to set up.

[Johel]

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Ok, I thought you told me the city's history just to point that gremlins don't want to be stormed with "peace propaganda" while most of the world still see them as "savage goblins" and will gladly slain them.

Kulius looked confused.
"-Well...I've already promised you that, haven't I ? Just provide some certificate to the travelers, so they may not be mistaken for goblin raiders. Things should run smoothly in two or three weeks for your traders and a delegation from the Orders will arrive here at around the same time, with funds, adepts and craftsmen. I expect goblin traders to be able to travel without certificate in about a year or two."

He extended an open hand.
"-We may contact you again soon for another proposal. But we must first judge your nation through its actions. It was a pleasure to do business with you. The archdeacons can handle whatever paperwork is needed..."

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
The Spice Faith must flow!

"One last thing,"

Longtooth pointed at Archdeacon Raffil.

"What order is he a part of?"

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It was more to make it clear that while the orders are welcome in, the goblins really won't be switching to pacifism for quite some time, and Kulius shouldn't expect it too quickly.

It's something the Rivanians need to take into account, because while they can spout peace propaganda as much as they like, it will still be a long, difficult journey.

[Greystone]

Tea and Cupcakes

"What evidence do you want? You did not require evidence in the contract. We have the bodies of the Veiins, you have the mages insignia's, that of some magical order. If you've seen the settlement we burnt it to the ground practically during the fight. I am not exactly sure what you need?" she growled "I have seen no contrary evidence, perhaps if you pointed it out instead of side stepping the matter we could get somewhere"

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
I can make Greystone put anything I want as a title

"No, but given the evidence to the contrary, we request evidence in order to verify that it was, in fact, a Veiian holding that you destroyed, and not simply a settlement. For example, armour from the soldiers, or perhaps some wands that actually have charges remaining."

[Greystone]

Cannot!

She was clearly losing her patience "You asked for no such proof. I see no evidence to the contrary. You have heads and wizards, and the wands charges were all used. Any armor and weapons has long since been melted down and used in the forges. A settlement IS a holding you stupid little bastard. You have two options. You will pay now, or you will not."

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honestly, your stretching it a little thin here

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
Oh well, it was worth a shot.

"We are not obligated to explain further the evidence we have acquired. The inconsistencies are sufficient to call into question your claim. No retaliation, no weapons or armour to show for it, nothing but mass-produced insignia. Surely you don't mean to tell me that you managed to drag out the raid long enough to cause all the mages to expend every ounce of magic in the wands. We will pay you, only when you have produced proof."

The Clerk watched Regenisis.

"You were informed that we would request additional evidence if it became necessary. If you have chosen to destroy all evidence that could verify your claims, then it is no fault of Ironhold Trading."

[Johel]

The Spice must flow! ...I mean Faith !!

"-Raffil ? The Archdeacon is part of the..."

"-Cloud Order, Mayor !! The finest of all, if you want my advise, for we are in charge of bringing light in the hearts and souls of the mortals. We take it as our duty to entertain them but also to teach them some moral through the entertainment. Music, comedy, painting, poesy, dance, anything is a vessel for the True Fai..."

"-Yes, yes...hum...Thank you, my son. We'll be leaving now. It was a pleasure to deal with you, Mayor Longtooth."

[kopout]

'We normally do not allow outsiders to enter into the City of Shadows. But we can arrange for some of our Magi to go to your universities and advise your spellcasters."

"good"

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Um, have we arrived in the city yet? because my industrial spy is ready to take in the mechanical marvels (if any) of the shadow city

[Greystone]

Neener

Regenisis sighed "Fine, would you like me to show you how we defeated them so no retaliation would come?"

Moving faster than the eye could track she crushed two small orbs that appeared in her hands. The Grey gas effected the Goblins instantly.

Each one was paralyzed briefly, and they could neither move, nor speak. Regenisis and her guards moved and gathered each one of them and gagged them before it wore off.

She picked up the clerk harrasing her "Scream and they all die, Now do you understand? We do not play these bureaucratic games. You will approve the payment or I shall kill you and take it. Period"

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These are pellets that do not work on constructs....makes sense huh?

[Raz_Fox]

Envoy

Lucius stood and bowed deep. "I bring a message from the Black Diamond Mercenary Company, Ruler of the Ebon Hills. We offer any who hear this message aid, troops, or workers. We are honest and hard-working and are willing to do practically anything you require"

After glancing at the other two, the maiden shook her head. "The Jaela do not need your help. We have lived alone for centuries, and our reptilian friends are hard-working and honest. The Black Diamonds are not needed here."

The tall male interrupts. "Troops? Mercenaries? We are warriors when we must be, but when war comes we can fight alone. We are warlike enough without encouragement from outlanders." His tone is disapproving, like a father reproving a negligent child.

"Herathine is right. War is the only thing we need less of other than outlanders in our..." She blushes as she realizes what she's saying. "M-my apologies. That was rude of me. Nevertheless, I do not think we should do it. What do you think?"

The one called Herathine shakes his head. "We should allow them unmolested passage through our lands if they decide to make alliance with southerners. However, an alliance with the Black Diamond would not be prudent."

The quiet one in the back chuckled. "I think Herathine is speaking sage advice. He's got a point when it comes to letting them through our sacred lands - as long as they treat the land with the respect it needs. However, we don't need more soldiers but more guardians and sages. We should say no to these mercenaries, but that does not mean they cannot travel along our paths."

The maiden nodded her head. "Yeah. Um... As It Is Said, Let It Be Done. You may travel through our lands as you will, Lucius of the Black Diamond, by the will of the Children of Light and the Talin Gythaint. Now, you may stay with the Jaelaizand for as long as you wish, Lucius of the Black Diamond." She stepped back, all but sighing with relief.

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LongVin, stuff about the Kobolds coming later.

[Greystone]

Envoy

Lucius bows again "Thank you. If ever your people are in need, we are easily contacted."

He paused and then turned "A Promise. The Black Diamond Company will not attack you out of malice, if we do it is due to a contract. I say this to assure no ill will, it is the nature of our buisness. I hope our paths need not cross again"

[LongVin]

"good"

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Um, have we arrived in the city yet? because my industrial spy is ready to take in the mechanical marvels (if any) of the shadow city

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you are in the city, but you are in a windowless carriage. You can hear the bustle and bustle outside

The sound of gates being slammed shut puts an end to the noises of the city and the carriage comes to a halt a moment or two later. Opening the door, they are met by the imposing sight of the Tower of Wizardry reaching the top of the cavern.

"Welcome to the City of Shadows."

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
The Lock

"Now, if you had presented such devices as evidence earlier, we may have been able to work with you." replied the Clerk. This one was good.

"I will need to open the safe. Put me down, please."

The clerk headed over behind the counter, and kneeled at an iron chest, placing his hand on it.

"Just a magical lock I'll need to open." he said.

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That was a dirty trick, pulling that out of thin air. Honestly, I should have just had the clerk shoot Regenisis when she tried to pull that trick.

The Spaith, I mean the Fice, I me- Oh, you know what I mean.

Longtooth chuckled at Kulius' hasty cutting off of the chatty Raffil.

"Yes, I suppose you have things to do. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Archdeacon Raffil. The Order of the Cloud will also be more than welcome in Johara in the future."

[Greystone]

The Lock

Regenisis carried the goblin to where he needed to be, and waited intently for him to be done. She was ready at any moment to strike if he so much as twitched in the wrong way.

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Don't worry, there is only ONE reason why she was ready for this, and that was the two week wait. One of her strengths is Dirty and Sneaky fighting, and she will be the only one ever to use this. Ergo if this would of came to violence when you told her to wait, she wouldn't of had it

[Kaiser Omnik]

That night, in a border town

The Jaela heading towards the watchtower were suprised by the sounds of drums. Had they been spotted? Suddenly, several men armed with spears and bows ran out of the tower. The Jaela explorers feared they were going for them, but they went in a totally different direction. They heard screams, then a loud roar, and everything was quiet again. A few minutes later, the guards returned dragging the corpse of a large panther.

------------------------------------

The Faith must spread

The gates of the keep opened and a delegation of twelve men and women rode out to meet the missionaries diplomats from the Rivan Theocracy. One of the males wearing a golden scale armor dismounted and bowed before them.

"- Greetings to you, strangers. I am Cahya of the Sohei, and this is Fort Turtle. You are about to enter welan territory. May I know what your intentions are?"

All the while they were talking, a few pheonixes joined them, circling the sky directly above their head.

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
The Stock

The clerk walked over to the chest, and knelt, putting his left hand on top of the chest and producing a key from inside his pocket and inserting it carefully with his right.

His firearm was clearly visible on his hip, and it wouldn't be possible for him to draw it faster than Regenisis could respond. Instead, he focussed on the task at hand.

"Rosso, Forza, Bullone, Tiro, Venti" he said, his hand glowing momentarily as he turned the key, the lock opening with an audible click. For the way the clerk said it, it sounded a lot like a five-number combination lock being operated in goblin. Or a set of lotto numbers.

The clerk pushed the chest open, and produced a pouch visibly full with coins. He handed it to Regenisis.

"Here. Your ill-gotten plunder."

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To be perfectly honest, it was only because Regenisis was your national leader (and the clerk is an unimportant player) that I didn't.

[Greystone]

The Stock

Regenisis saw the bag and she quickly shot out one hand. It grabbed the gun, not the bag, and she tossed it over her shoulder, under the desk.

Then she grabbed the money "Pleasure doing business with you" she looked him in the eye "Be warned, we do not like playing these games. We do our job and get payed, no questions asked. We don't worry about beuracracy"

She turned and her guards followed her. Before anyone could stop them, they had vanished.

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Nobody else will do that dude, just her. She really was irritated at the time. She almost killed him anyway, but something held her back

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
The Barrel

The Clerk stood, and dusted himself off as Regenisis seemed to be intent on escaping with what was apparently her bounty. He watched her leave, then shrugged, and motioned to the guards, who hurried outside and into the warehouse to begin moving things. He finished counting to twenty, and discharged the magic into the floor.

Regenisis had really outdone herself this time.

The guards quickly added a number of rubies to the room, and placed a barrel labelled 'Embalming Solution' behind the desk. Around the warehouse, they did similar things, while the clerk carefully wrote out a notice informing anyone who might be interested that owing to breaches of contract, Ironhold Trading had terminated the raid contract effective immediately, tacking it on the office door.

A number of gremlin mannequins, dressed in heavy cloaks to disguise their nature, were set up inside the office, and equipped with hollow replicas of the famous firearms.

The clerk mannequin was rigged to a small flywheel mechanism to make it looks like it was working on something, while the bell over the door was broken off and dropped on the floor as though Regenisis' departure had destroyed it. Finally, the clerk produced a black disk from within his coat, and, with the aid of a ladder, planted it above the door and tapped a few symbols on it.

Before Regenisis could get away and back, the work was finished, and the gremlins gone, leaving with the preserved bodies covered under the cart and vanishing through the security checkpoints while their credit still held. They were simply removing the bodies for proper disposal, after all.

No agent of Ironhold Trading was going to be caught still around when Regenisis discovered that in her haste she had only been given the pouch of administration fees.

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Interesting. Dodging out by saying she vanished 'before the goblins could stop her'. Well, turnabout is fair play.

Since it doesn't really matter anymore (you're still not allowed to use this knowledge, btw), if she'd stopped to count the money, the clerk would have blasted her with red magic - very powerful red magic, for that matter.

(If you hadn't noticed, I'd been lining up my cards for it for the entire confrontation. The gun? A red herring. I can explain in the OOC how I seeded hints, if you want.)

[Greystone]

Anger

Well a warforged of hers found that the warehouse was empty, she left.

The first thing she did was pull out the contract, which Julius had so helpfully given her, she began to read of words that she had memerized.

The contract glowed and burnt away in a blue flame.

Wherever Baruk was, since his name was on the parchment, he saw the glowing scroll in his mind before his heart stopped.

Regenisis gathered her men, they were planning on a little payback. Using Sending Stones she contacted the Ebon Hills garrison.

The Iron Hold Trading Company people inside the realm were to be captured, alive if possible.

She had not been idle in the two weeks she had to wait. In case of treachery she had tracked down important Company holdings and Warehouses. They were going to burn.

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I'm sorry, the Goblins knew this was coming if they didn't pay. You can't just say you want a contract canceled and now they die unless something spectacular happens to appease the company. And any of them in the Ebon Hills are captured, there is really no way around it.

[kopout]

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you are in the city, but you are in a windowless carriage. You can hear the bustle and bustle outside

The sound of gates being slammed shut puts an end to the noises of the city and the carriage comes to a halt a moment or two later. Opening the door, they are met by the imposing sight of the Tower of Wizardry reaching the top of the cavern.

"Welcome to the City of Shadows."

"Amazing!" exclaims Karel "What is this building?"

[pingcode20]

Agakaan
Contingency

The trouble with this notion, of course, was the fact that the Ironhold Trading Company had planned sufficiently for this contingency. The warehouse was the primary holding in the Ebon Hills, and most of the staff had been removed from the area. The doors of the warehouse were locked, and only the office door remained unlocked.

Charge

The remaining staff arrived at the security checkpoint. Hopefully they were fast enough, but if not, well, that was what weapons were for.

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Oh, I know the remaining staff probably going to die. I'm just going to have them fight their way out.