The March Across Maltak Revisited [Sijian, Tetrada, & Alsen Gor]

[Kyeudo]

Two travelers, one a stranger and one strange-looking, make their way into the foothills of south-western Maltak, following a winding trail as it ascends towards the mountain caves where the local Shintula tribe should dwell. Here in the shadows of the surrounding hills, the heat is less oppressive than it was out on the plain, but the vegetation is still sparse, limited to scruffy-looking shrubs and stringy grasses.

The first traveler seems normal enough. A man not yet to his thirties, he wouldn't seem out of place in any of the cities in the Scavenger Lands. But he's not in the Scavenger Lands. This deep into Maltak, humans are rare. Before the start of Callanian settlement, only those few peddlers willing to trade with the native orcs could be found this far from civilization. With the war causing deep distrust of humans among the orcs, if not outright hatred, even the peddlers are gone.

The other is more unusual. Resembling a pangolin covered in stone scales, the elemental ambles along beside the first, unfazed by the heat. Her kind have little to fear from the orcs, with their reverance for the spirits of the land. Perhaps her presence will be enough that the Shintula will choose to talk first instead of attack.

Meanwhile, in the Shintula caves, Alsen Gor finishes the last words and gestures of a ceremony to honor the tribe's ancestors. If there ever was a time when the orcs need the guidance of their forbearers, it is now. Though the humans haven't yet come this far south to slake their accursed lust for shiny rocks, it's really only a matter of time. The Alheera clan, stubborn fools though they are, is already a shell of its former self, holding onto its identity through pure bloody-minded stubborness. If the Shintula are to avoid such a fate, they must act, and soon.

[Kirindal]

Reylis mopped the sweat off his brow for what felt like the hundredth time in the past five minutes. He took another swig from his waterskin and looked at the sky. The hills provided a bit of shade, but the heat was still pretty grueling. Reylis looked at his elemental guide and smiled,

"Tetrada, it's no fair to not sweat. Could you at least pretend that the heat affects you even slightly? Think of my poor ego for a minute."

[Jukashi]

Tetrada maintained her pace, her movements seeming slow on her large frame as she kept pace with the human beside her, but turned her head down to look at him. He had begun to learn how to read emotions in those black eyes, and she seemed mildly nonplussed. Could she? She couldn't sweat. What else did mortals do when they felt hot?

Drink? He needed the water to live. Stay in their tents? No tent. Put on a hat? She didn't have one. Take off their clothes?

She glanced down at herself.

"Mmm... How would you like me to pretend?" she asked, her voice as slow, smooth and cool as ever.

[Kirindal]

Reylis stared for a moment at Tetrada, dealing with elementals was a tricky business. It was hard to tell when they were being facetious...if they were being facetious to begin with. He hadn't had too much experience summoning elementals but he knew that some of them could be startling intelligent while others were equally dim-witted. He wondered which Tetrada was.

Reylis shook his head,

"Never mind, I was just posing a rhetorical question."

Reylis paused for a moment to look around. The hills seemed to go on for quite a bit and he wondered how much further it would be to reach the Shintula caves.

"Tetrada, how much further is it to where the Shintula dwell?"

[Jukashi]

"Not far..." she replied, raising a heavy arm to gesture vaguely ahead of them. "The Shintula are strong, so of course they get targeted by Callan, and by young orcs who want to prove themselves... They conceal themselves so that they're not bothered..."

She glances down at him.

"We could get there faster if I carried you. No rolling," she added; their one experiment with him as a passenger for that mode of transport proved it... uncomfortable. "But I don't get tired easily anyway... But, then, that might make you look weak..."

[Kirindal]

"That could be problematic, I think I want try to keep all the dignity I have left." Tetrada's suggestion of rolling brought back some rather unpleasant memories that he preferred left locked away. "I think I'll walk."

Reylis left the words hanging for a moment in the air before he spoke again. "Could you help me brush up on my Shintulan history and protocols? The books back in Callan weren't very useful and what I did know might be a bit out of date. Best not to make a horrible first impression."

[Jukashi]

Tetrada let the question hang for a moment, considering, then said: "I'm an elemental, so, the way I deal with the them is different from how you would... But..." she lifted a thick claw-finger to her mouth for a moment as she thought. "... Even if I tried to remember how the orcs deal with each other, you're Exalted. It might be patronizing to try act like one of them, especially since you're human, too..."

The spirit shrugged, setting some of her stone scales clattering against each other with a mildly pleasing clink sound.

"The important thing is to remember that this is their place," she continues. "Be respectful of them, and their home, the land they live on... and especially the chief, because he represents the whole thing... in a way. I think. I don't usually have to bother much with formality," added the nine-foot rock-beast-woman.

Another silence.

"The Shintula are very close to the... nakta..." Tetrada's long tail swooshed over the dust behind her, speaking a momentary discomfort. "... So they're not as friendly. Maybe if they knew you were Exalted, they would be more respectful, at least... Though I hear they have one themselves, now."

[Kirindal]

"They do? That's quite interesting, I wonder who they are..."

Reylis pondered, he hadn't really encountered an Exalt since his time at the Heptagram. Well barring that encounter with some Dragonblooded mercenaries hiring out to protect that site. It would be interesting to meet another Exalt although he hoped that it wouldn't be a violent meeting. He had no desire to repeat their last encounter at one of the tent communities where the orcs had taken offense at something he said and it came to a brawl.

He sighed, best to take everything step by step. Who knew what the future would bring so it was best not to jump ahead to conclusions. Reylis continued to probe Tetrada with idle chatter get a better sense of the elemental. Despite journeying together for a few weeks, Reylis still knew very little about Tetrada. Their conversation seemingly ate up the rest of the journey and they were soon nearing the caverns that Tetrada mentioned.

Spoiler

Show

OOC: Apologies about pushing ahead a bit, I figured we might want to pick up the pace so Alsen has a chance.

[Justyn]

Alshen sprinkled a bit more of the powdered Belkla root to the mixture in his mortar and began to mix it into the paste. Feeling that the paste was mixed throughly enough, Alshen reached-

"<Honored Nakta, may I enter?>"

Alshen shook, the voice has startled him. "<Y-yes, just a moment.>" Alshen reached over to his side and picked up his scarf and wrapped it around his face, then pulled the hood of his robes over his head, leaving only his eyes uncovered. "<Enter.>"

The orc, three orcs actually, entered. Hunters.

"<Honored Nakta, while our group was leaving for today's hunt we saw something... well, two somethings.>"

Alshen scowled. "<Don't pause for dramatic effect; if you came to me, it must be important, so tell me already.>"

"<A human... And... well, something else.>"

"<What did I say about being dramatic?>"

"<But, we really don't know what it is.>"

Alshen cocked an eyebrow. "<Describe it.>"

"<Uh, I'm not too sure that...>"

"<I got a good look.>" the hunter to the right chimed in. "<It looked like some kind of giant animal made of stone. But I've never seen anything like it before>."

"<Made of stone?>"

"<Yes.>"

"<Alright, I should investigate myself then.>" Alshen said as he placed his mortar and pestle on a small outcropping and pulled himself up. Reaching back down, he grabbed some cloth strips and handed them to the smallest of the three hunters.

"<Dump the mixture in that small bowl there into that big tub of liquor there, don't drink any though, it'll make you throw up and give you bad stomach cramps.>" he pointed. "<Then soak these bandages in it until they turn dark yellow, then take them out and wring out the liquid, and repeat that until they stop changing colors at all, it shouldn't take too long. I've gotten it to the point where it's idiot-proof, and I doubt you're an idiot; just don't spill any.>"

The hunter's eyes shot open. "<W-why?>"

"<Because it's very hard to clean up off stone, and no one in ten generations, not even my great grandfather, has had any luck of cultivating the plants needed to make it.. and we are out of one of the ingredients.>"

"<"Now,">"Alshen reached to the doorway and grabbed his staff. "<Let's get going to where you saw them.>"

Spoiler

Show

Forgot to do this earlier, so I might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Demons summoned and bound:
Amayala, an Angyalka: bound under The Functionary ("Play your music", the first demon Alshen Gor summoned, he tried to keep the bindings simple but strong. Because of the nature of the bindings, Alshen knows that if he dismisses her from his presence, he can usually find her playing in the more active caverns.)
Nameless Sesselja: bound under The Functionary (Bound to keep Alshen in good health, but can be convinced to help others, but only if allowed to return to Alshen post haste.)
Oolthil, a Demjen: Bound under The Functionary ("Sing in the tunnels to find metal". She has had little luck thus far, finding only chalcopyrite and bismuthite. She however, is delighted that her chalcothetes are such delightful colors; she has also assisted in expanding the Shintula's caverns, but she only does so if she can be convinced that there might be ore to animate.)
Ikuljul, a Haranhal: bound under The Ecstatic (Having no ready access to metal or a forge, Ikuljul usually assists Alshen and the other Nakta with creating alchemical products; he also spends a great deal of time flirting with any woman he encounters.)

[Kyeudo]

From the last cliff overlooking the pathway below, Alsen Gor can see the two travelers making their way up the trail. One is an earth elemental, an aegeris, but the other is a human.

[Jukashi]

Spoiler

Show

Ok, I'm going to make a Perception + Awareness roll to see if I notice these fellows, maybe get things moving again. Tetrada's total is 7.

EDIT: Tarnation, it's been ages since I've used this forum's dice and I messed it up. I'll try again tomorrow.

[Kirindal]

"So that explains all the stories about boulder-skinned people down in the South. That's interesting, I didn't realize they were about aegeris and not Wyld barbarians. That should change some of the texts about the ecology over there."

Reylis smiled, always happy to learn something new about the world. He continued hiking along, the heat stopped being oppressive once one got into the swing of things.

Spoiler

Show

OOC: Also making a Perception+Awareness roll to see if I notice Alshen and company. [rollv]7d10[/rollv]

Spoiler

Show

OOC 2: Buggerit, I'm doing something wrong, let's use this for the meantime: Perception+Awareness to notice Alshen & Orcs (7d10=[1,5,9,2,1,8,1] Two Successes)

[Jukashi]

"... I'm the only one of my species that I know now..."

Spoiler

Show

Tryin' again!
(7d10)[10][9][4][2][8][6][9](48)

[Kyeudo]

Spoiler

Show

If Alsen isn't trying to hide, then you both see him. If he is, you see him if you beat his Dexterity+Stealth.

[Kirindal]

"Is that a fact? You're the only one of your kind? Perhaps the people saw some other kind of earth elemental that looked similar to your kind."

Spoiler

Show

OOC: Tetrada doesn't know about other aegeris? Apologies for making assumptions while generating idle conversation.

[Jukashi]

"There were others I knew of... born from the earth to protect this land, as I was," Tetrada answers, turning her head this way and that as she scans the landscape for threats. "The war created us; we come into existence to answer and forestall injury. But those others were destroyed, one by one, by the soldiers of Callan, and I am the last... now there is not enough life in the stone of Maltak to birth more. Perhaps there are others in the world... I wouldn't know. We stay with that which we protect."

[Kirindal]

"Ah, that might be a possible explanation. I have a question for you. You said you were created the war. As in the land of Maltak birthed you out to defend it without prompting by the orcs? Was your creation prior to or after the taint started to plague Maltak?"

[Jukashi]

"After..." she answers, "but only just, I think. My birth was to protect the land itself... We are each born with powers not only of stone, but related to our charge; and mine is to manipulate the substance of sanctity and corruption. I am of the Sacred Earth... So, I think, perhaps I was born to answer the very first tainted strike against these plains. I like to think so. I do not know... Maltak is vast, and the history of war is confused. But I have never known any peace here."

[Kirindal]

"If I can figure out the exact nature of nakta, I might be able to help you. There must be some sort of solution to purge it from the land. The taint of shadowlands don't strike me to be a natural occurrence which means that if cut off properly, it won't just reappear at another location."

Reylis wondered if his current mastery of sorcery was sufficient to back him up on the task. He hadn't recalled reading anything in the treatises his patron had provided on the matter. Perhaps he needed to combine Emerald level sorcery with necromancy to achieve the full effect?

"In the meantime, could you describe to me how the taint of nakta feels like in the earth? In comparison to non-tainted earth, of course. If I could understand the exact interaction of the taint, perhaps there is a key to its removal."

[Jukashi]

Tetrada tilts her head slightly to the side, and lifts two claws.

"The taint and the nakta are two different things," she says. "The one comes from the infernal powers of demons and those who serve them, and are my foremost enemies... The other is the power of the Underworld, bleeding through into the lands of the living. My nature rejects these as well, but there have always been a few of the nakta-places... far too many, now, but you should know that many orcs consider them sacred, for their ability to commune with their ancestors there... so be careful what you say."

She lifts a hand to her mouth as she ponders a moment.

"As for what they feel like... the infernal taint is like poison, like acid and harsh light and broken sad songs. The nakta is cold, and hungry. They both cling to you, like blood."

[Justyn]

Spoiler

Show

Rollin' to see if you see what I see me seeing you seeing me.(3d10)[8][7][7](22)

[Kyeudo]

Spoiler

Show

Alright, looks like Tetrada spots Alsen Gor.

[Jukashi]

Tetrada pauses. Speaking of sensation had drawn her attention to her senses; the comfort of the earth beneath, the passing of the wind, the scent it carried, and...

"There are orcs watching us..." she says, more quietly than before. "Up on the cliff."

Spoiler

Show

Does Alshen have any demons with him? The sesselja, maybe? Just for later reference.

[Kirindal]

"Interesting insights Tetrada, I'll see what I can think of. If the taint is demonic in origin, then there must be a way to isolate...."

Reylis trailed off as he started mumbling to himself. Perhaps some sort of method to reformat the materials to separate the earth from the taint? How would that be accomplished? Perhaps utilizing motonic engineering, Reylis recalled from his lore about devices that the First Age Solars had used to convert the Wyld into stable Creation. Maybe a device that extracts the demonic taint straight out of the land... Reylis' musings were interrupted by Tetrada's next statement. Reylis looked up at cliff before looking back at Tetrada.

"How many are there? I wonder if they're from the Shintula or a different clan."

[Jukashi]

"It is too rare for other orcs to come here... I cannot see the clan markings, but they must be Shintula," she replies. "I doubt they will attack. They can see me."

[Kirindal]

"I'll keep that in mind to remind you if we get attacked by them later."

Reylis faintly smiled as he kept walking. First impressions were always important and he did not want the orcs to think he was a coward or an indiscriminate homicidal maniac. He started going over the lines in his head as they continued on and finally the mouths of the caves were in sight. Reylis looked around to see if there was going to be someone coming out.

[Kyeudo]

Spoiler

Show

What can I do to facilitate you people actually meeting up, talking about whatever it is you need to talk about, and then get on with whatever plans you have?

[Kirindal]

Spoiler

Show

I think perhaps we could bump into a few of the Shintulan sentries before being allowed to meet Alshen. Make some enemies from people wondering what a human's doing on Shintula land.

[Kirindal]

Reylis was a bit surprised, it had been a few minutes since they had reached the cavern openings and there was no sign of life. Normally by now, there would have been some sign of life like a orc with a grimcleaver to grind against humans. Which meant either they were at the wrong caves or the orcs were bringing up something bigger and nastier to use on them. He looked at Tetrada quizically for a moment before speaking loudly in Orcish towards the cavern.

"<Greetings, I am an humble traveler who seeks the wise council of the Shintula and its chief.>"

[Jukashi]

"I don't think you can really say you're humble with me by your side..." Tetrada says. "It does make you look like a sorcerer."

A pause.

"That's probably why they're wary."