This Thread will record all submitted Progressions as they are processed. Deadline for Period 5 is 14th of February, Midnight London Time. Submissions will be posted as replies until the Deadline is reached.
@NebulaePrimo Finance Actions House Guentyr pays 2 Finance Tokens to the Occult Ministry. An inquiry is made for sponsoring Unionist Missionaries to the Rutgher Theocracy - to which the reply is simply "Command them to go, and they shall, for all they need is someone to take responsibility for their entry into a foreign country". @Lutowski Palace Things Medea, sponsored by House de Azcoissia tries to join the Imperial Palace as a courtier, or lady in waiting through the Vanguard Faction. While she does eventually meet Prince Raymond Kade who comes out to her in front of the Palace as she was denied entry, he has to disappoint her by informing her that "The climate at Court is not particularly good for Isldar right now, especially Shiva's Cavern Isldar", and that "Medea is an Aberrant, and as such banned from entering the Palace on account of her eyes and affiliation to the Dragon Cult", expressing that the Dragon Cult is not particularly popular at Court, and that Medea will be seen as nothing but an infiltrant. He finally adds that the cards were always stacked against her, the sponsorship of House de Azcoissia does not matter, for ladies in waiting and attendants at court have always been noble, with a few extremely rare exceptions (Princes have been known to take Commoner guards or servants, but only through direct recruitment and Raymond says he is not looking for any new servants). Medea eventually leaves again. @MrsCripple Civics Spending Sivrid initiates a spending program quickly dubbed the "Anti Opiate Bill" by bureaucrats. 18 Wealth Tokens are spent on a variety of things, mixing from anti-Daen Viscount Propaganda to depict them as evil Opiate Barons, to clarifying the dangers of addiction with posters, and also attempting to fund several opiate rehabilitation clinics for those who want to clean themselves of opiate addiction. The propaganda is all well and paid for, and seriously pisses off the Viscounts, who in response declare that the Regalian Government is undermining its own federal subject. In response, they ban all communication and publications from the Regalian State, and clamp down on the freedom of expression and press in Daenshore, causing a complete news blackout between Regalia and Daenshore's Viscounties, while also putting heavy punishments on anyone found smuggling news from the capital in without going through the Board of Communication. The funding for Rehab Clinics does however run into some issues. The Propaganda was paid for by about 5 Wealth tokens, leaving 13. The bureaucrats eventually calculate that in order to keep a clinic running in perpetuity, they need 5 wealth tokens. With what is available, they decide on this: Regalia itself will have one single clinic built to serve the entire island with a few hundred capacity. San Girobalda, the place with the most Opium addics in the Archipelago, will have one single clinic built. The North, not explicitly opium addicted, will have one clinic built, with a specific cultural twist to also help the Velheim people understand that one does not need opiates or hallucogenics for their faith or Skagger rituals, and to get rid of them. The Civics Ministry as a result has emptied out its bank completely, while going -2 wealth tokens into deficit to cover the cost. @bwmwags3 Music School in Porte Piratis Atum Morathes travels to Porte Pirtais to explore the possibility of funding a cross-Race music School. The Bureaucrats spend a long time calculating and result the following: 5 Wealth Tokens will get a Music School going with capacity for the local population, but only the wealthy can attend. 10 Wealth Tokens will get a Music School going with capacity for international population, but only the wealthy can attend. Funding the school for Commoners would unfortunately crank up the price to 25 Wealth Tokens, but make it internationally accessible. The Bureaucrats do however clarify that just because a School is created somewhere, does not mean it will suddenly result in students traveling there, a School needs providence, famous names and talented artists attached to it to go anywhere, and even then it will remain a money sink because artists make barely a livable wage in Regalian society. @HydraLana Travel to the Tryllejag Realm Round 2 Ardige, Yngvarr, Ivar, Ithelion, and Lily travel back to Tryllejag for round two. House Viduggla sends 3 Wealth Tokens to Tryllejag which they happily and gratefully accept to buy supplies for the ample refugees in the capital. House Viduggla mobilizes its army and sends them north to Tryllejag where they are given permission to join the fight against the Ogres from the government. The government accepts the aid of House Viduggla both militarily and financially, considering it of different nature than the Regalian espionage mission (and also, they are more desperate now). Ardige and Yngvarr Viduggla provide some military expertise to the relative uneducated military leaders of Tryllejag. (further interactions or continued leadership of the army is however bounced for now, the orders all went through, but interacting with armies is a bit different than you are used to, so after the Upper House the Army management Manual will clarify what's what and then you can send in orders based on that in the future.
@JamiJam017 Pol Corran Investigation Darak, Etsu, Srak and Ashur travel to Pol Corran to investigate any potential leads to information on old Eronidas Relics. Darak travels the lower levels and the generals to speak, though finds no conclusive information on this level. Etsu uses Slizzar Abilities, Shapeshifting and manipulation where necessary, and discovers something while shapeshifting into the Lyceum Library's hidden sector. Srak finds nothing on the industrial level. Ashur finds nothing in the Lyceum, being denied entry to the hidden sectors of the Library that Etsu got into. It is important to clarify at this point that while House Ghiskim did not get caught, the usage of manipulation and subterfuge (Slizzar Abilities and Shapeshifting) is considered a forbidden taboo and Honor crime in Eronidas society, as stated by the Race page. To clarify again, House Ghiskim did not get caught, but they should know internally that using subterfuge labels their self-worth as dishonorable in the eyes of Eronidas Culture. The information found by Etsu is this: The chronology of travel between Guldar and Daenshore makes very little sense according to more strenuous mathematic calculations. When some Eronidas hired a few Regalian mathematicians, these mathematicians concluded that the large vessels upon which the Eronidas came traveled much slower than they were claimed, and using the last Regalian expedition to Guldar, they calculated that the Eronidas were at sea for much longer than the projected decade or so. The Mathematicians claim that given the size constraints of these ships, their movement speed, and the requirements of food for an average Eronidas, that unless they engaged in cannibalism, those ships must have been at sea for at least a century, which leaves many decades worth of history untold. This in turn implies that Eos didn't just die of some mysterious cause, but actually died of old age. More importantly however, the mathematicians also calculated that the population offset would be incapable of being sustained by the ships which were designed with the lift-off capacity in mind. The implication there being, unless the Eronidas had a routine of throwing children overboard or executing excess population, there is a very high likelihood that many of the smaller unmapped islands the fleet visited, had Eronidas populations left on them as the fleet moved on. The numbers implied that there may be several isolated and hidden Eronidas populations on far away islands in the western sea. This information was immediately suppressed by the Lyceum which considered it harmful to the cohesion of the Eronidas, to believe that they somehow abandoned their own people along the way. It should be clarified for future orders that House Ghiskim does not have navigational exploration capacity, that capacity is reserved to the Regalian State Navy (Marshal's Cabinet) and House Nordhjem with its exploration ships.
@Epsilyon Archaeology in Farah'deen's Deserts Imara, Amir, Saren, Abigail and Seishan travel to Farahdeen on expense of House de Azcoissia. They travel from the western coast to the interior, trekking past vast expanses of deserts with days just surfing across the sand in a sandskiff, nothing in sight. The true vastness of Farah'deen settles on those who would not have ever visited the interior, as the sand dunes stretch on for hundreds of miles. (Abigail goes nuts of boredom). At night, the group strikes the sail and covers it with sand so as not to be seen, watching occasional Songaskian desert patrols. The group identifies a rare sight - an Ordial mage's patrol group which involves a massive mummified bird, rotting and covered in ordial sickly green flames, carrying a large barge underneath its immense wing span, several Songaskian scouts pacing the railings on the sides and lanterns gently dangling from the bottom, as well as a sickly green searchlight scanning the dunes. Occasionally it homes in on a small patch of sand and some sort of sand dervish comes out, shrieking at the animal high above. The scouts then use special tipped arrows and seemingly slay or cleanse the creature, before they continue along their path. More boring stretches of desert are covered, not a single thing in sight, no tree, no oasis, no town, not even any paths from the desert caravans. On the 11th day the group runs into a Rishiq, or rather, the Rishiq finds them, sneaking even past the rogues in the group. Rishiq are Qadir who still roam the deserts and stay hidden from the Songaskians, but owe no true allegiance to the Hadrityas or Qadir states, rather just being scavengers. Imara and Amir trade a few trinkets with the Rishiq who is shifty and secretive enough for the group not to trust him. Eventually he gestures overhead for another Songaskian patrol, remarking that they have started getting more frequent, and that "you really don't want to get caught without cover at night". As soon as the patrol clears, the Rishiq unfolds his clockwork surfboard and speeds off across the dunes. On the 23rd night, the group watches several Songaskian patrols converging one an unusual valley, and they witness the patrols taking turns circling the area and pelting down projectiles. The group cannot get closer to the valley edge, else they would risk discovery, but the valley beyond emits a green light from the amount of projectiles they fire, with shrill hissing and shrieking sounds coming from beyond. When day breaks, the group ventures into the valley, finding half-covered sandstone pillars with a vast hole in the middle of the valley, sand pouring down into it. While Imara and Amir had intended to "make excavation equipment on the spot", this massive valley is far beyond the scope of what they had with them in materials, and all of their attention is spent on making sure Abigail doesn't jump into the black hole at the center to receive even a shred of entertainment after staring at desert banks for 3 weeks. The group returns to Regalia, having mapped out a location called Misrit, however calculating they need about 30 Wealth Tokens worth of equipment and labor to fully dig into the site. This Progression is now unlocked, meaning it may be entered with up to 30 characters.
@MyJhintuition Artifact hunt of the Great expanse Following in the footsteps of House Viduggla weeks before, House Nordhjem sends an expedition to try and scout out the Northern Expanse. Tujia, Asger, Godrun, Aman and Viggo Braggison set up camp near their landing location, with temperatures already being immensely frigid below zero, and snow so high that it becomes difficult to even more across the vast ice plates. The group witnesses the same birds that House Viduggla saw, plugging up holes in the cliffs. The group comes well equipped with a camp setup and all the relevant knowledge, but early scouting does not bode well. The Northern Expanse is so massive, it stretches well beyond Fendarfelle to the north of Lonia. Even with excellent sight during the day and during calm wind and sunshine, the group can't make out a single thing. There is nothing but nearly entirely flat ice stretching on for miles and miles, with knee-high snow to trot through. Normally on expeditions, one would use landmarks and geography to search for likely settlements, but the continent entirely seems to lack mountains, rivers or even anything sticking out of the ice at all. The group eventually returns emptyhanded, settling in for the night, which bites even colder than any of them expected. Temperatures plummet to well below -40 degrees (C), and all their supplies freeze, and the tents start collapsing under the cutting blizzard winds. Eventually, an emergency flare is shot up from the fleet, where the group decides not to tempt fate any further and get off the continent. On the way back, Aman informs them that he tried his best keeping the fleet warm, but that heating devices weren't able to cover all parts of the ships. The sailors noticed some of the ropes were freezing over, and the wind caused the masts to sway back and forth, tensing the ropes and causing them to snap. He recounted that if they had waited until morning, the ships would have likely been stranded, and there would have been no way back to Regalia. On the trip back, Tujia puts two and two together that the Ohnak probably were never real, and that those who witnessed them likely didn't understand what Cahal were, also connecting their presence with the supposed reincarnation of the Archexist, and all the Exit-tinted eyed individuals present. Either way, the Northern Expanse was likely a dead end, as the weather and the cold ensured that if there was even anything interesting, it would be hundreds of feet below thick layers of ice and glaciers that had formed over the thousands of years and would resist the feeble attempts from even the most efficient clockwork burner to get through.
@Athelois Hinterlandic Ravens Quin, Amir, Seishan, Kabili and Valarosta travel to Osteiermark to investigate the Hinterlandic Ravens and their behavior, using a combination of Url hunting and Qadir clockwork to tag and track the birds. The capturing and tracking of birds carrying the small pebbles is seemingly worthless. The moment one gets caught, it immediately tries to suicide into Amir's skull, only stopped by the timely intervention of Quin's horns. Despite this setback however, the group still manages to track one using the Url tracking skills. The group eventually happens upon a strange hole in the ground. It is seemingly made of the same material the beads are made of, and anything they put on the hole (like a twig) is quickly blown off by a gust of wind from the hole. Even heavier things (like Quin) standing on top are blown back with enough force to keep the hole clear. Occasionally, every few hours or so, a Hinterlandic Raven will nose dive into the hole and disappear (the hole being just big enough for the Ravens to fit through). After a few minutes, the Raven would pop back out, and just fly in any random direction, seemingly without concern for their presence and without stone in its claws. Amir devices a thin net device strung across the hole with the lightest material they can weave something from: Quin's mane hairs, which the hole does not seem to detect as an obstacle. The next bird then pops out of the hole, intercepting the wire, which wraps a small clockwork device around its neck with momentum. Amir attempts to locate the device, but remarks that it flew in a specific direction in a straight line, then disappeared, then re-appeared in Bragacao, before re-appearing in Osteiermark moments later. Similar tests done with other birds equally track them to about the borders of Osteiermark, before they disappear from the device, and then re-appear in other regions, Hellatia, the Krainivaya lands, Kintyr, and so forth. From here there are multiple options. Tracking where the birds are going outside of Osteiermark might be a dead end. Equally however, excavating the hole in the ground would be unlikely to be missed by House de Poncaire, and cost at least 5 Wealth Tokens.
@Birdsfoot_Violet The Chancellor's outgoing orders. Taken from the Government finances: 10 Wealth Tokens are used to buy up Opiates and burn them. 15 Wealth Tokens are used to build 2 more clinics in San Girobalda, and 1 more clinic in the Capital ran by the Civics Ministry. The sale of Opiates is still permitted through the Navigation Acts. House Anahera lodges severe complaints with the government, but the situation had seemingly changed since Delmotte last tried to revoke their monopoly. Among the nobles, Opiates had largely ran out of fashion for some time now, with a marked movement to alcoholism since the Chancellorship of du Briërust. Furthermore, while Anahera was immensely powerful in San Girobalda and San Selin once, the arrival and rise of House de Azcoissia in the area as the eminent power meant their means to grief the state over this development was severely reduced. Essentially, House de Azcoissia had the means to chokehold Anahera property, and they were well aware that freezing of assets and confiscation would bankrupt them. They weren't happy about it, but started mass-dumping Opiates onto foreign nations in accordance with the Navigation Acts. To be continued. 20 Wealth Tokens are sent to Torse & Arlora which immediately begin pushing back into the heartlands to reclaim lost territories to the Bone Horrors. Torse & Arlora indicate they will welcome any private and noble armies, as they are essentially government troops anyway. Torse and Arlora as kingdoms are dead, it's all Regalian property and Regalian settlers and soldiers now. 15 Wealth Tokens are granted to the Civics Ministry.
@Ocularum Sirallis Archaeology Bartolomeo, Saren, Saana, Ro-Aduro and Wyatt travel to Sirallis with the intent to start an excavation in the slaving pits. Barolomeo does in fact not acquire permission. Sirallis is ruled by the magnates from Kilarallis through their duo-island politics, and the wealthy families of Kilarallis are keenly aware of the potential value of what lies in the slaving pits. They themselves say they have had scant success in excavating the pits, but are willing to fork a permit for unlimited excavation for the sum of 50 Wealth Tokens. The group returns to Regalia to consider their options.
@Vivamente Hunt for the Wolfswind Armoury. Leidolf, Godrun, Aldair, Enheduanna, and Revna travel to Ellador in search of the Wolfswind Armoury. They drag along fifteen Nordhjem guards, reaching Wolfswind bay, with Alduir and Godrun constructing a camp and setting up traps around the area. The group splits up in three, with Leidolf and Aldair going in one direction with five men, Revna and Enheduanna going in another direction, and Godrun staying at the camp. (I'm not sure if it's Aldair or Alduir, the name keeps changing in the order). The group had expertly taken everything into consideration, providing a safe base location, guarding against animals, and going off in multiple directions to cover more ground. They had however forgotten one very crucial aspect: They were treasure hunting in the middle of a warzone, and when the Ailor fled the area because of the large canines that enrcoached upon it, the Isldar took hold of the area. Before long, when the group split up, one Revna in their group remarked that she heard the faintest of singing in the wind. Both groups were separately beset upon by Isldar snow-ghasts. Their sight was blocked by a sudden onset of blizzards, their faces lashed with snow and cutting wind alike. Revna decided the most practical course of action was to pick up Enheduanna under their arm and galloping out of the area, being the only one with directional awareness the moment their sight went blind, leaving the "expendable troops" behind. On their way back to camp, they dropped off Enheduanna, before charging off after Leidolf. Having had experience with Isldar in Jorrhildr, Revna knew very well what their usual tactics were: attack at the same time, blind the opponent, and then hail them with javelins from all sides. Revna charged out of the snow to reach for Leidolf and Aldair, who were taking cover behind a rock. Revna however quickly appraised them of the situation, namely that there was no such thing as cover in an Isldar ambush, as they were all around. The three then charged back to base camp which was now also under attack. Leifold tried to go back for his soldiers, but found all of them already face-down in the snow with ice-javelins in their backs, a single Isldar standing over them with a bone mask covering their face. Revna reminded Leifold that this was not the enemy showing itself in a moment of weakness, but a provocation to taunt him and to play with him like a cat does a ball of thread. The group eventually fled all the way back to the boat, though perhaps they were let go, they would not know the truth of it. On the trip back however, they counted the beginning part, the sailors on the ship, Revna with a few arrows sticking out of their back, and 3 of the Nordhjem soldiers left, with one crippled, having to leave 12 soldiers behind, all likely dead. Upon their return to Regalia, the dockmaster, upon being told the tale, reminded them, that to travel into a warzone is asking for trouble, especially a warzone with a race with a particular centuries honed skill of ambushing people when they least expect it. Another Altalar dockmaster overheard the story and remarked "You were marked for death the moment you made camp, any disturbance of the area is usually immediately noticed by the singing towers high up in the mountains. On a bright day you can see them. If they want to be seen. Ellador is a death trap. There is a reason why the Velheim fled that landmass." Nordhjem advisors remark that while the existence of the Wolfswind Armoury is extremely unlikely, and even if it hasn't already been looted by the Isldar, returning to that cursed bay is inadvisable without an army. And permission to do so from the government which is still quasi involved with their civil war.
@SuperKamiWarlock Investigating the Ruined Sepulchere Argo, Kauhet, Ailred, Imara and Saana (@Iyyiushi please control what progressions you are put on, you already have 2 progression participations. I am letting this one pass, but next time you will be ejected from the orders) travel to the same Ruined Sepulchre looted by House Gwyntyr last week (though it was not looted much, as they found nothing). The group all attempt to use their specialties to discover more about the place, but find that it was already thoroughly pilfered through by the previous group, and even Saana's Sorcery is unable to peer through the protection charms of the area, which are of the calibre of a Mage-Knight of the Wardens, beyond even that of a Mage (Mage3). The technician investigates the Crystal tech on the roof, finding it difficult to get up there given how much in a state of near collapse it is, but eventually does look into it. Imara finds that she can't track any of the crystal dust and shards on the ceiling, whatever Crystal tech was used here completely disintegrated on impact or only left behind scrapes as it finished its work. Microscopic inspection however does remark that the shards are of an exceptionally intricate quality, a level of high detail design and etching pathways that Imara has never seen before, far beyond the capabilities of what any crystal technician has certainly ever produced. She speculates that it might be from the Home Swarm, as they possess Crystal Tech that is centuries ahead of whatever the squatters on the surface cobble together with scraps of information and outdated tech. The group eventually returns home, finding nothing else.
@Birdsfoot_Violet Manathar Contact in Farah'deen Anathema, Corathella, Rue and Cecil travel to Farah'deen to the town of Ulwat previously visited by other members of Hexenblood, using Anathema's superior Mage(3) skills to divine the purpose and the magic that was lingering the area. While attempting to figure out the drifting Magic, Anathema finds that it is reactive, as if it is reacting to their presence and more specifically: observing them back, and even more specifically. Anathema becomes uneasy, but is interrupted by Cecil pointing at a "funny looking fellow" at the entry of town. Anathema turns around, squinting their eyes together before they recognize: a tall tanned individual with scaled legs and arms, wearing Aelrrigan Order (using the new term for Fae Knights in this prog) insignia and blind-man's goggles. That same weirdo they saw in Regalia. All they can produce is a muttered "shit" before all hell breaks loose. In the split second of brain processing Anathema could spare before what happened next would be unleashed upon them, Anathema reasoned that "of course" the Aelrrigan Order would send someone to investigate heavy magic usage to kill and murder, and "of course" they had the misfortune of landing there exactly when he did too, and "of course" he Mage-Knight would walk in just as Anathema had their mind all over the essence in the area, looking triple guilty at having done all of this. And in here, the Aelrrigan Order's indifference to due process would be put on display. The Mage-Knight unfurled his large cape and robe, showing two large curved blades glowing in purple light as it jumped off from the ground, a single loud crack of its tail on the ground as it leapt towards them. Anathema could barely hear some sort of shout from Cecil behind them before the Mage-Knight slashed one of the swords in mid air, causing spears of purple to appear and shoot in direction of the others. Corathella and Cecil were able to quickly duck, but Rue was impaled by several spears and flung against a wall, pinned up against it. From here, the battle became a blur, Cecil kept trying to figure out what to do while Corathella frantically rushed over to Rue to try and keep them alive with healing Magic. Anathema exploded into a hundred tendrils of flesh, grabbing onto the corpses and decaying and sundried flesh mass in the area and dragging it back in, before shooting a large ball of it backwards to form a wall of inter-woven corpses to protect Cecil, Corathella and Rue. They then took a full forward blast from the Mage-Knight, their body exploding into several pieces and canvassing the wall behind them. The Mage-Knight returned to its previous stance, sheathing its blades and attempting to re-cover itself with its shroud, only to notice that Anathema was in fact not dead, as the split body parts had landed into the flesh-wall, and merged with it, Anathema thus becoming the flesh wall that kept the others safe. The Mage-Knight seemed to smirk almost, as if he enjoyed the fact that Anathema was not yet dead, giving Anathema several seconds to recompose their body into that of a multi-legged crab-like monster, growing in size as it used up the dead mass, pushing up against the Mage-Knight and trying to get them away from Cecil and Corathella and Rue. Cecil had meanwhile started trying to dissolve the magical spears that were still impaling Rue while Corathella kept trying to heal up the wounds and internal damage, but Cecil would find that these spears had Magic in them beyond what he has ever felt, and getting rid of them proved slow, especially while Corathella would continue to yell at him to go faster and Rue was spewing blood. Anathema changed again while pushing the Mage-Knight away into a dune worm, tunneling around the sand as they tried to lead the Mage-Knight further away, which had now stood on one of its swords and used it as a gliding board to chase Anathema, shooting glowing spear projectiles with each sword swipe, chipping away bits and pieces of flesh from Anathema. Anytime Anathema tried to fight back, the Mage-Knight would just counter their abilities with anti-Magic shields and Magic dissolving blows of its swords. While this fight wasn't one of desperate exasperation because Anathema had led the Mage-Knight far enough from the others, this was a new experience for Anathema: being toyed with. The Mage-Knight seemed to thoroughly enjoy what he was doing, and not even breaking a sweat. After about half an hour of chase or so, with exchanging blows and changing forms, Anathema had shrunken down severely, down to a rump and an arm, which nonetheless kept trying to move away, while the Mage-Knight was still nonchalantly chasing. In the final stretch, Anathema tumbled off a cliff, and saw the very thing that would save them: The Songaskians and Qadir going at it again. Anathema's rump fell into an ongoing battle between massive Clockwork crabs and centaurs against hordes of undead. Hordes of delicious dead meat. Anathema just rolled around it, no doubt to the annoyance of the Ordial Mages who were planning on using that flesh to fight the Qadir for the 7000th time, absorbing more and more mass until Anathema was larger than the mountain they rolled off of. Now the Mage-Knight seemed to be getting serious however, jumping off his sword, disintegrating both of them and casting a series of spells with strong hand gestures. Before long, a massive creaking and groaning Clockwork crab slammed into the side of Anathema, seemingly being lifted off the ground by the Mage-Knight and flung at Mass-Anathema like they were just pebbles. More and more clockwork was being tossed into Anathema, who kept trying to move, but find that the Mage-Knight had re-oriented the crab blades to start hacking and cutting into Anathema, controlling the Soul Essence inside the Clockwork and turning it purple. Anathema had enough, and eventually just massed as much flesh as they could and pile-drove it into the Mage-Knight, jamming him and all that flesh dozens, hopefully hundreds, of feet into the ground, and covering and hardening all of it. And just like that, the fight suddenly stopped, with a hardened frozen flesh mass on the ground in front of Anathema, and Anathema extremely worn. Almost comically, the Clockwork and Undead in the area around Anathema just went straight back to business as if nothing had happened, mauling each other, while Anathema traveled back to the town to catch up with the others. Eventually dragging back into town, Cecil had finally dissolves the magical spears, and Corathella had stabilized Rue, but they were still not entirely out of harm's way and needed more stable healing than a deserted desert village could afford. The group eventually went home, because Anathema knew but did not say, that even when walking away from the Mage-Knight buried under the flesh pit, they could feel the hardened flesh dissolving slowly upwards.
@Annie_Short A Journey & Expedition to Jorrhildr Tuija, Quin, ( @Iyyiushi disqualified, this is the 4th progression you are mentioned for this period), Allestane and Ortoak travel to Jorrhildr for a variety of expeditionary reasons. This time however, Jorrhildr is temperature-wise more passable than the Northern Expanse. Temperatures are still well below freezing, but not so much that a ship's ropes would freeze and shatter, and so the group can within reason explore some of the interior and spend some nights out. Quin and Ortoak make sure that the group avoids any Url, as the locals would no doubt become aggressive if they were met. Fortunately for the group however, most of the region they start exploring has been emptied out, presumably because the majority of the Url present went with the Kades to Ellador to fight the Isldar. Using old maps and location data, Tuija is able to track some supposed "ruins", however finding her way through the frozen wastes, she happens upon a series of mountains which look anything but ruins. The mountain slopes are covered in rock-dwelling like structured of intensely intricate detail, hewn into the sides with massive columns and towering what seems like platforms for pyres. Each of the mountain in the area is covered with them, but the group is unable to approach. Running into the same magical wards, each mountain is seemingly surrounded by an invisible shield that defies even the Url bashing into it. Built in a ring around the mountains are statues of as of yet unidentified beings, humanoid in origin, but having the lower body of a quadruped with lizard-like features and a long tail. These statues hold up their hands forward, as if they are the ones holding up the Magical shield preventing anyone from approaching. Investigating the shield further: it appears to block even the simplest of vegetation. While some sparce tundra bushes and moss grow on the non-shielded side, nothing grows beyond the wall, and snow does not fall beyond it either, leading Tuija to reason that it is in fact not a wall, but a massive mountain-spanning dome. Further more curious, there seems very little frost damage inside the dome shield, implying that even temperature does not cross the magical boundary. Unfortunately, no mage or sorcerer is present in the group, so they are unable to figure out if the wall can be broken, however Tuija reasons that if the wall has remained undisturbed for the past 1800 years, it is unlikely that any mage, even Archmage in the Allorn Empire, was ever able to break them. Observing the architecture and structures, Tuija reasons it could be a necropolis, with vast numbers of burial sites and burning pyres, however it is not possible to discover anything more beyond just looking at the outside from afar. Further attempts to find frozen creatures on the east coast result in nothing, implying they are either more rare, or simply don't exist at all. The group finally returns home, having been unable to find anything interesting. The Url observe that if the Kade offensive in Ellador has halted, and the Url are to return to Jorrhildr (provided they didn't make a deal and stay in Ellador), re-exploring the same area next time would be much more dangerous, and guarantee either being killed by the Url for being too "weak" to go through Symbiosis, or being eaten, as the Url are known for cannibalism in this area. For any repeat trips to Jorrhildr, an army is recommended, and even then, extreme caution.
@Birdsfoot_Violet Torse & Arlora Military Aid House de Azcoissia has mobilizes its army and sent the soldiers to Torse & Arlora to assist the local garrisons in reclamation and cleanup of the Bone Horrors in the interior, assisting the local garrisons with their movements. Updates to follow. @Hemingway7 Army Deployment House von Schwarzkrau mobilizes its army and sent soldiers to Torse & Arlora to assist in much the same as House de Azcoissia. Letters of cooperation are issued to House Delmotte and van Hal to mobilize together, however Delmotte generals decline, stating they have orders from their Duke to act independently, and van Hal's generals decline saying they have not received a mobilization order at all and will not be participating, and as such, von Schwarzkrau's army goes in alone (or rather, in the wake of de Azcoissia). von Schwarzkrau's army goes after the highest density of Bone Horrors. Updates to follow. @Arhbi Campaign against Bone Horrors in Arlora House Delmotte mobilizes its army and sends it to Torse & Arlora to campaign against the Bone Horrors. While the family members join initially, the generals of the Delmotte Army take over, and the Delmottes return home, no doubt not in it for a multi week campaign. Delmotte's army takes defensive positions around the cities. Updates to follow.
@NebulaePrimo Foreign Actions House Guentyr mobilizes its army and sends it to Torse & Arlora (quite the busy place, so it seems) and joins up with the other houses in fighting the Bone Horrors. House Guentyr's soldiers assist in much the same way as Azcoissia, with the local garrisons. Updates to follow. House Guentyr spends 4 Wealth Tokens to send missionaries of the Breizh Unionist faith to the Rutgher Theocracy to increase their presence in the area. The Missionaries report back immediately that their work is being made /very/ difficult by the fact that Petrou soldiers are assisting the Soren Kingdom, saying that the Rutgher Theocracy does not want more missionaries, but for the noble houses to get Petrou off their back, because they are expanding the Empire's influence. @festiveCorvid Noble Realm Order: Avanthar Refugees, Troops Petrou approves army orders by Mene'lains. Petrou makes an open offer of settlement to Avanthar refugees, which is roughly rebuked. The Avanthar make it fairly clear they aren't interested in serving under a Unionist, especially when the alternative is a low-population landmass further south where the rulers are Avanthar, and where they are the majority, instead of living among an intolerant religious majority of Etosians, regardless of Horopadosi loyalties.
@soggytoenails Impacts of Anti-Opiate Bill in Daenshore Ana Cervantez, Merrick Felwinter, and Demetrius travel to Daenshore on a basic information scraping missions. They find that the Daen Viscounts are not easy to leak their plans, and so they are unable to discover what they are planning, if they are planning anything at all. Indicators in the region point out that they are just coasting off the status quo, and aren't overtly hostile or retaliatory. They find that the Anti-Opiate Bill is completely not-enforced. Local guards do not arrest anyone consuming opiates, and even the government officials in the offices consume opiates right in front of waiting customers. There is no anti Opiate propaganda in Daenshore. They also find that the Daen people aren't even aware of an opiate ban, but when asked about it, laugh it off, and say that an opiate ban sounds like unneseccary over-reach and meddling from the capital that is oh-so far away from Daen. The Daen people say that Regalians don't understand the Daen way of life, and will never appreciate the nuances of it, and so they have no place to try and regulate their freedoms.
@AlphaInsomnia Build Academy, Send Army to Nordskag House Sorenvik builds a multi-winged magic academy in Irvainvik with boarding, with heavy emphasis and required schooling on Old-Gods and Velheim focus. School construction costs 7 Wealth Tokens and opens to lukewarm response. A few countryside mages that have grown beyond the capabilities of the local shamans and wise women are sent to the school, but overall the attendance is low. Not that it matters anyway because the school was paid for. The Sorenvik army is mobilized and travels to Nordskag to assist the King in the fight against Hvitskag. The King however indicates that he is unwilling to invade Hvitskag while regressive elements are still active in Nordskag itself. As such, the army is now present, but simply camping near the capital, until House Sorenvik approves fighting the Nordskag resistance to the King's modernization. (This can simply be communicated in a ticket, don't need to send in a new order). Updates to follow.
@fantuinn Investigating the Plains population in Mandu. Harlow, Kip, Aedalyn, Sage and Faran travel to Mandu to meet with some of the plains people. Inquiring about their treatment in the Allorn Empire, the responses are very mixed. They say that when the Allorn Empire was established, they became second-rank citizens overnight, as the Altalar supremacy of Talea recognized the Cielothar and Avanthar as "dimuitive races". While some villages were entirely ignored, some other villages were torched immediately, all the Cielothar arrested, and expelled across the border to Sol Fazais. The Sol in Fazais, with the help of the Regalian ambassador and the Emperor's Chamberlain, secured funds from the Emperor directly to help them migrate to Regalia, but obviously, they are still quite upset over having their towns demolished that they lived in for hundreds of years. Some others say their villages were treated fairly, while some others say their villages were practically enslaved by the Altalar and sent to forced labor camps. They said the situation was tenable, they could survive, but the situation became much-much worse when the Allorn Empire was caught in a two-sided war against the Sendrassians and the Suvial. When the Suvial invaded, whole regions of Cielothar towns were leveled and the people press-ganged into slavery to work in mines, mining some sort of shining blue rock that they were unfamiliar with. The Avanthar refuse to speak, and leave much to the imagination, though supporting the Cielothar tale of things.
@kirishark Death to the Horsefuckers House du Poncaire sends 2 wealth tokens to House Novak House du Poncaire issues orders to ambush any Szabadok who try to cross the border and requisition the horses for glue production. @BeashSlap a gift to the Szabadok Sa'vael travels to the Szabadok, offering monetary compensation to hold a meeting. Ostensibly, the Szabadok agree to meet, but the moment the full party of Zarko, Miomyr, Paulina and Frøya arrive, the group is surrounded and taken captive. Zarko is pinned to a spinning wheel and made target practice for knife-throwing among the Szabadok while attempting to still negotiate, while Sa'Vael is tied to a pole and the Szabadok slice off some plant-matter (non disfigurement, hair or whatever) and try to smoke it. The others are just left in a cage while the Szabadok entertain themselves. Eventually, the group is let go, with the statement that whatever discreet thing they tried to pay the Szabadok for, they should come back when they have 40 Wealth Tokens.
@kirishark Investigating Ivenna du Poncaire pays 5 Wealth Tokens to Azcoissia for their excavation. Florian, Elmyra, Zahzo and Morgaine travel to Ivenna, more specifically the foot of the Irole Alps where Elmyra was able to track the creation of the strange pebble. For hours they camp out on the location with nothing but a few mountain marmots occasionally peeking out and squeaking at them before running away. Then, just as night starts falling, a flash of white light pops up in the air, coalescing for a few seconds, before it compresses and implodes, forming a small pebble. For a moment it hangs still in the sky, then starts falling, where it is immediately caught by a Hinterlandic Raven mid-fall, which then immediately speeds off in the direction of where the hole in the ground was found. None of those present, even the Mages can discern what is going on. There is no Ordial Magic present in the area, but the group lacks any other dimenthist Mages to figure out if something on their end of scale is occurring. @Athelois Excavation of the Raven Site House de Azcoissia pays with the 5 wealth tokens provided by du Poncaire to excavate the hole in the ground. The group brings in workers and excavation begins while Concordia and Cordenia try to discern what the source is. Moments before surprise attack, Cordenia is able to detect some sort of fluctuation and connection to the Leylines, and just as she figured out in what part of the leylines the system hooks up, a Dragon crashes from the sky. The workers all start scrambling away from the excavation site (where the hole, now a pipe, sticks awkwardly out of the ground), moments before a cattle-sized Grey Dragon slams down on the groud near the hole. As soon as it lands, rumbling noises can be heard for miles away, the town bells of a nearby city ringing in quick succession as rock crushing and crumbling can be heard in the distance. While the others are unfamiliar, Quin being from Gallovia, calls out "Earthquake!" to the others, who quickly grab the nearby shaking trees to hold on as the ground furiously shudders to the Dragon's presence. Far in the distance, an avalanche cascades down the mountain as the Dragon roars, its roar echoing in the alps further and even being heard by du Poncaire and his group. When the earthquake is over, most of the excavation equipment is ruined. The Dragon paces around the hole in the ground with Ravens still flying in and out as time passes, seemingly guarding it and letting no one come close, growling even on approach of Cordenia. It refuses to speak, the group isn't even sure if it can speak. And so all progress is halted.
@HydraLana Travel to The Lone Man + Minor Finance Actions House Viduggla pays 10 Wealth Tokens to the Legal Financial Ministry. House Viduggla sends Ardige, Yngvarr, Ivar, Ithelion, and Lily to the Lone Man off the southern coast of cain to observe the large statue, after which they land. They explore the accessible areas and would try to observe anything from the symbolism to the carvings on the statue. However, they find that the statue is too badly weathered to even make out anything at all. While much of it must have resembled a statue even 10 years ago, since one of its arms fell off in 290, it has deteriorated at an exponential rate, the locals say even that recently, an event that no-one was witness to caused significant damage, blowing up the head and causing it to crash into the ocean. Many presume it was a freak thunder storm, but the Staargir believe the statue was of Basjtur, and that its decay represents the general decay of Velheim traditions and customs, as well as faith in the Old Gods. With nothing left to gleam, the group goes home.
@indyfan98 Travel to Ostynde Kingdom Wan-Xia, Liang-i'nuchi, Shen-li, Zhimura, and Ra'nin travel to Ostynde to meet with the Sihai minority in the region. The Sihai here seem well adapted to the cold, but also, have effectively abandoned Sihai culture and sensibilities. Save for some of the architecture and customs to hospitality, they are effectively Velheim, speak Skodje, and worship the Old Gods. They do not need any help. Wan-Xia expends 1 Wealth Token of his own finance for this trip.
@slurmancer Inroads to Fumeripit, Contracting the Razkhaar Zzen, Haszlal, Tuzasil, Nezzall, Si'Zralli travel to Fumeripit where they ask for his specific goals, and what he would change to make the situation in Hadar more stable for Hadarians. Fumeripit essentially just re-iterates the same thing that was asked of him last, and believes these discussions to be redundant and a waste of his time, so he dismisses the diplomats and has them talk to a lower level court administrator. Fumeriput's assistant indicates to the diplomats that what would be needed to break the current deadlock, would be to kill Cro-Droq. The assistant believes that Cro-Droq will inevitably kill the alternatives and probably cause his lord to win, unless he fights Digmaan Kabau's Champion, who he believes is cheating, but has no actual evidence. The Assistant cannot discuss Fumeripit's opinions of the other Digmaan, but speculates that the Digmaan holds no ill will against the other Digmaan, and that this "just the way Hadar works", or more specifically: "Just the way Digmaans work, there is no bad blood between them, except maybe Kabau, because they believe he is cheating". Attempts to communicate with the rehabilitated Allar from Sendrass has mixed results. Speaking to them is hard to begin with because they speak an entirely different language, however someone is able to translate. A lot of the supposedly rehabilitated Allar are just barely repressing their urge to make sacrifices and blood sport. But others in contrast say that living in the Sendrassian Empire was miserable, and that whole families could just be killed because one member did something wrong through blood feuds. The thoughts were reminiscing of the Kathar who flee the Kathar Empire and it's high level violence. ((I dont know what a Xochi-Ach is and I can't find it on the wiki, so I skipped the Razkhaar orderl, it's also kind of a dead end I think)).
@slurmancer Inroads to Kersa, Inspecting Bathanga Szaralaszotl, Igramnovire, Vyldello, Barbodssa and Si'Zralli travel to Digmaan Bathanga's realm, and ask whether or not he intends to become Qar-Digmaan. Bathanga dodges the question largely and just gives a general "We will see where it goes" response, "though if it goes, it will be legitimate", indicating that he may conquer all of Hadar, or simply preserve the status quo which he is equally happy to do. He says he remains loyal to Regalia, but does want to remodulate some of the agreements between Regalia and Hadar, indicating that he believes the agreements to be punitive and unequal, saying Hadar can be just as wealthy and strong as Ithania, if not better because they don't waste money on frivolities. Digmaan Kersa is visited next, who responds to the inquiry as to what would cause him to support another Digmaan with: "When I believe they are good for Hadar". Inquiries about whether he would support Fumeripit receive a resolute no, Kersa believes that incorporating Void Worshipers into the army and society will only result in suffering in the long run and an increase of violent crime. He will only support Fumeripit if he expels the Sendrassians to the proverbial slave pit. Attempts to discover deeper meaning to the rumors prove ineffective - perhaps there is no truth to it.
@Stellarrix @festiveCorvid Mercenary Skirmishes on Rutgher Theocracy Mene'lainn, Briareth, Aaliyah, Casper and Yariel travel to the Soren Kingdom to take command of the Petrou troops. Mene'lainn arrives just as the Etosian priests provide the Sanktisms and blessings with the incense and the prayer gestures. The whole officer corps just goes silent as the orange eye-glowing hair Solvaan walks up with orders from the Duke to fall in line with her orders. One of the priests runs up to her and starts performing an exorcism on the spot, while the other generals start loudly cussing in Etosian. Eventually, the officer corps unsheathe their weapons, crossing their swords in the sky, a gesture from the Etosian culture that remarks "Until here and no further", while another priest starts yelling things like "Vile-demon-haired witch", forcing the group to retreat from the army or face a mutiny. Yariel Kearney is accepted to lead the navy forces, taking to the seas and bombarding a few coastal military objectives, slowing down some of the Rutgher army, but is unable to push their success on a more offensive attack against the Rutgher army as the Petrou army effectively mutineered against Mene'lainn. The Generals send a strongly worded letter to the Duke, not in overly kind words asking him if he has lost his marbles, sending a magic freak and her gaggle of Occult to lead an army of good faithful men on a holy mission to do the Emperor's word.
@Stellarrix Sabotage of Rutgher Generals Daenestra, Narla, Aylin infiltrate the Rutgher Theocracy and go after the Generals of the Rutgher army, successfully delaying their deployment. Their work assists in making Kearney's fleet movements easier, but the Petrou army does not manifest on the opportunities created due to the aforementioned mutiny against Mene'lainn, who had the unfortunate job of taking command of the most religiously intolerant and culturally bigoted Ailor from the Archipelago.
@Birdsfoot_Violet Manathar Contact in Farah'deen Cadwyn, Carmen, Anathema, Corathella and Cecil travel to Farah'deen to Ulwat, ostensibly to try and scout if the Aelrrigan Order Make-Knight is still present. The Mage-Knight indeed is still present and so Carmen and Cadwyn move up ahead to try and convince the Mage-Knight, or inquire about the situation. The talk goes on for a while, while the others watch from very far away, until Carmen and Cadwyn nod at the Mage-Knight and go in a completely different direction. Dumbfounded, Anathema decides not to take their chances, and take Corathella and Cecil back to Regalia. Once back in Regalia, they meet up with Cadwyn and Carmen again who were waiting for them. While initially annoyed, Anathema has it explained to them by Cadwyn and Carmen that retreating in a different direction was the only way to prevent them from being put in a difficult spot with the Aelrrigan Order. Order hierarchy demands that if the Mage-Knight was to command them to attack Anathema, they would have to, and they attempted to convince the Mage-Knight to leave the area, but he would not, saying he was convinced his prey would return. They inquired further about the area and the Mage-Knight said that the Magic had ebbed away already, and that he was still investigating the area, but wanted to release nothing else to avoid speculating in reports to the Order Grandmaster, which would eventually be available to the other members when they were put up for knowledge sharing. They decided to retreat in a different direction, because they knew the Mage Knight would be watching them, and the situation had already been putting them in an uncomfortable position of having to pseudo-deceive a Mage-Knight, some of the most prestigious and high ranking members of their order, regardless of how curt and rude he was to them.
@AtticCat 8 minutes before deadline!!!!! Torse and Arlora Fashionably late to the party, Hera mobilizes her army to send troops to the busy Torse and Arlora area. They are directed to work alongside Delmotte's men wherever possible. 5 Wealth Tokens are sent as additional supplies, meaning van Hal troops are /very/ well supplied.
