CMP

"At long last, someone who understands the true purpose of this bridge. Is it so hard to believe the Kingdoms simply want to benefit both sides? Paranoia and bitter feelings are the only things breeding these unsavory suspicions of war."

"Precisely. Our culture is unique, but unrefined." "The High Kingdoms are the only exposure to other customs we're going to get. We have our own culture. It's the same culture that kept us killing eachother in this wasteland for a thousand years. I'd like to get past the age when killing the most opponents in combat determines your social standing. We more or less are, we simply need fresh ideas and concepts. Being blocked off from the rest of the world doesn't do positive outside influence any good."

"I don't seek to quash our own culture. I want to refine it. I take the culture of the Kingdoms - usually only in the form of ideas, unfortunately - I take what I deem would blend well with our own, and apply it. You landed in Vim-Lhzar, I'm sure you've seen that city. Compare it to mine. This is expansion done right. Once we were squabbling about with mud huts, now look at it. The road, the stone architecture, attention to artistic detail given the respect it deserves. I don't think it is unreasonable to create cities in the vein of the Kingdoms, for theirs are spoken of with awe among the travelers and outsiders. I want to make Baltarok a country that's truly a privilege to live in. The other clans want us to keep stumbling about in the same darkness we've always have; they equate blood with culture without a second thought, then move on to discuss the next army improvements." Karstaal took another long drag on his pipe. "It's a waste of time. The Kingdoms wouldn't dare attack us. Whether our culture is unrefined or not, I hold the word of the great lords of the High Kingdoms in the highest esteem. They have everything, why go seeking war where there is none?" Olmstyr sighed. "I've told you, my friend, very few have forgotten the Invasion as easily as you have." "Those are memories, Olmstyr, of days long past. Don't be so quick to condemn war as inevitable when we've given the Kingdoms no reason to attack us."

Desolation of Smaug. I liked it much better the second time around.

"Can't be ashamed of what you don't have. Culture's always been secondary to war to us. Or perhaps they were just indistinguishable from one another? No matter. I see the High Kingdoms not as enemies, but as a great opportunity. They're alight with culture, luxuries, wealth. We've grown as a race, yes. Economically, militarily, but culturally? You could find more in those filthy vikings. I measure countries by their new ideas, their works of art and technological advances, not by the size of their armies or territories. I see no reason not to embrace their offers of increased trade and contact with open arms!" "The other clan leaders would disagree." "Bah, they'd make an enemy out of a brick wall just to have something to fight."

"Fortune and glory, eh? Haha, I like this one! Wish my goals were that straightforward. Alas, I spend my days shipping culture into my land. When we did become so desperate as to have to treat culture like a resource?"

Bad Pretzel sounds pretty stale to me. You were all thinking it.

Olmstyr chuckled dryly. "We're orcs. A threat above such ramifications. A common enemy to all Kingdoms, you might say. A human war is a mess of politics and morality. Humans waging war on orcs is like....a hero slaying a dragon. It's almost the natural order of things. It would be foolish to expect any significant backlash against the Kingdoms if we were invaded by them. Orcs have stood alone since the ancient times. That, I think, is the largest mistake of our race." "I very much doubt we could do so anyway." "Exactly. Such a sudden event would be all they need to declare war." "Indeed. I don't know how to respond to the bridge, but I very much doubt war and destruction is the answer. Our first priority is the support of the clans. Then we can start thinking up of ideas. If we're lucky, we can secure said support at the Clanmeet." The hours passed mostly uneventfully. At times a flock of aepyorni would dart across the snow-layered plains speedily, or the cart would rumble past a wandering orc on the road. It was afternoon by the time Imaestym came into sight. Unlike Vim-Lhzar, this city was made mostly of stone, and the ground was flecked with pebbles and cobblestones to keep ruts from being dug into the ground. The buildings were taller, less makeshift. The architecture was nearer to that of the High Kingdoms than Vim-Lhzar. But they soon turned a corner and set their eyes on a small, rough building, stone padded with mud, loose bricks, and reinforced with wood. A spire was mounted on each corner of the building; one with a velvet red flag, another rich purple, the third a muddy olive, and the fourth a deep green. Olmstyr stopped the cart in front of it, tying the reins to a post outside and motioning for the heroes to climb out. A number of guards, each clad in four distinct styles, hovered near the entrance, but made way as Olmstyr led the heroes indoors, through a single, straight hallway. "This is the Taaln. The war-haven. This is the building in which Tarokai gathered the leaders of many clans. This is where war has been decided and declared from for centuries. Don't worry about your weapons. Forcing one to surrender them is a sign of mistrust. Just don't go waving them around too much. And don't honey your words like these are politicians. These are clan leaders and warlords, not kings and princes." He walked through one final archway, and the party came into a room. Eleven figures stood round a thick wooden table, divided into four groups, each one talking quietly amongst themselves. Their guide walked towards the only group of two. The other orc turned to him and the heroes. His hair was unusually neat for an orc, and underneath (mostly decorative) armor pieces, he wore surprisingly well-tailored robes. In one hand he held the mouthpiece of an elaborate oil pipe. "Ah, Olmstyr. Yreg il oroc. Was almost beginning to suspect you would fail to show up. Yet again." "Cal Karstaal, girahk anh avh tan dol durm, il nal oroc." Karstaal looked at Olmstyr hard for a moment, then laughed. "Aha, true enough, my friend! Perhaps I was hasty in doubting your scheme. These are the sellswords? Ah, sorry. Olmstyr insisted I refer to you as heroes for whatever reason. I'm sure whatever you do in the wide world is beneficial at least to somebody. Jaret here says he knows of your organization." The human fellow regarded the heroes with a close, measuring eye. One temple appeared to be plated in metal, a mess of scars deforming the side of his head, only half-covered by his hair. "Indeed. Heroica's made....quite a name for itself. I have dealt with them in the past." He paused. "The best you could hire, under these remarkably poor circumstances." Karstaal took a long drag from his pipe, a small plume of bittersweet smoke billowing into the already-thick air from the corner of his mouth. "Afraid I'll have to take both your words for it. Unless Olmstyr's little plan pays off, then you'll have to much to show for your efforts! But I would like to hear from them first. Why are humans - and elves, it seems - so willing to offer my poor, hostile country aid?"

"Not a possibility, I'm afraid. It's very close to completion already. You could already cross it, they're just putting the finishing touches on it before they open it."

Atramor was quick to take on a defensive stance as one of the ghouls took a swing at him. He merely repeated his attack, knowing he'd be dealing even more damage in his orderly state. He shook a few slips of paper off his hat. "Is it just me, the sun, or the desert, or is it rainin' Grogmas cards?"

As long as you give them something to do in the meantime (passing out in a desert does not, in fact, count ) it's reasonable, in my own opinion.

"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?"

Loving the Embassy update, Scorpiox. Lots of cool stuff. And this Grogmas thing is pretty great, too.

Vote: Finn the Squinter (fhomess).

Atramor pushed the ghoul back after taking a chunk out of the thing's face. "I think I'll take on the crippled one. I ain't lucky, so havin' an enemy who can't hit back is a pretty good deal, plus maybe I could hit his friend, too." He took a swipe at Dune Ghouls D and E from the front row.

Ether Core Dispenser - (Suitable for Sorrow, 1/6 chance to create an Ether Core per round, accessory).

"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."

Then I guess you're guilty of it too; And if you'd been listening you'd know this isn't the behavior I've been calling people out for- -this is. If you're cutting sentences out of what people say it's easy to make them appear like they're saying nothing. You seem to have missed the majority of my post. I personally haven't dismissed the possibility, but we're at the end of here. One mislynch and we probably lose. We don't have any other leads. No voting to analyze. All we have a scum investigation result on somebody. That's a pretty solid lead, and it's the only one we've got. Well there's your problem. It's not crystal clear in my eyes. It's simply the only practical way forward at this point. We've got one chance to catch scum today. Are you going to trust an investigation result, or do you have something that points to the town block being infiltrated?

Cannot believe Dagstyrr came up town. At this point it looks like one foul-up means we lose. We have an investigation result. I don't see any practical way of going forward but lynching Finn. If the game goes on, we can work from there, so I don't think giving the scum a list of who to kill a good idea in the long-term. And I don't see how it would help at all anyway, Snotra.

"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."

"Namyrra, the dead could probably take down the first Ghoul now." Atramor took a glance at Docken drawing the horde's attention. He slid the Pheles Rod into its sheath across his back, stuffing each hand deep into his overcoat, pulling them back out with the lethal Tiger Claws bared. He couldn't help but grin as he ran down Dune Ghoul F in the front row.

"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." "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."

Olmstyr glanced over at Thormanil and chuckled a little. "If you ever do, just pray they're on your side." "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." "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.

"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."

It doesn't balance out if their share would be 50 gold and they've made 500 in battle.