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Post by xerxez on Jun 22, 2024 22:55:20 GMT -6
Also, yes, I love the reed hall. Ive got a great pic from the 70's of one somewhere here in a book. That is from, I believe, a culture in Iraq that builds amazing reed and mud structures and boats and really lives as one with the water, kind of like the people at lake Titicaca.
I don't know about the longevity involved in using these materials but the climate there seems suitable for a good run.
There is very little source material available to me about Haida Pakalla but it seems to me that having no Sakbe roads (with their built in stone shelters for travelers) that something like this would be provided, probably by locals compensated by the Empire.
In Barker's Tekumel, there may be Sakbe roads in Haida Pakalla. I'd have to look at my Gamescience map.
Also, I don't really know much about his thoughts on the Imperial presence in this land, so I'm ad-libbing greatly. I don't even know that Gorulu is an Imperial outpost but for our purposes it is now!
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Post by xerxez on Jun 22, 2024 23:13:54 GMT -6
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
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"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
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Post by flightcommander on Jun 24, 2024 21:04:27 GMT -6
Gas Belly turns and points at an outlying round hut standing some ten feet above the ground on stout poles with a latter beneath it. "You sleep there tonite...tomorrow talk with others. But when moons come out tonite, you all guests at Ahoggya dance! Good food you will eat, not city swill. Boiled ku'ruku beasts and slug-worms! Nothing better for strong fighters. Me sleep in hut of old mate who lives here. Safe here for night- tomorrow more dangerous. Tonite, enjoy guest-wlecome!" Mi'kímu retreats to the hut for a bit to rest, and steels himself for what sounds like an evening of difficult food choices where, as a traveller and guest, propriety demands he try anything presented.
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Post by xerxez on Jul 1, 2024 16:33:54 GMT -6
Sorry for my long silence. Of late I have come home for work and almost immediately retired to my couch where I have not moved and sat somewhat like Dra the Uncaring. I think the heat wave here has somewhat to do with it. I don't do summer well...
The hut is nondescript and the Ahoggya seem to have no use for ornamentation or decoration of any kind. Bundled sleeping mats hang in mesh bags from the ceiling and there is a small table with log stump seats.
Mistress Amiyala and Doshi are given a different hut.
Karunaz pours water from a gourd and splashes it on his face and sips it.
"Well," he says. "I've heard of the ceremonial dances of these creatures. Its apparently their favorite past time aside from eating and fighting. I've heard they have no religion at all, and cannot produce a magic user. They've simply no aptitude or inherent openness to it's use."
"Indeed," F'sal replies. "In fact, did you know there are some born among them who somehow exude a negative field of energy that will actually hinder a spell caster who is near them?"
"I'd heard that as well," says Karunaz.
Conversation continues and then a few of you try stealing a nap but the oppressive heat makes it difficult.
But the night comes eventually and cools things off, and you begin to hear a music start up, surprisingly in good time. Mostly drums and rattles but you hear a bell or two as well as a gong. A festive hooting and hollering rises up. Gas Belly's head pokes up through the floor.
"Come on, friends. Come and dance!" He proffers a large clay jug with a stopper. "Ahoggya no drink the madness juice, but keep some for guests."
As you descend the ladder and walk through the village to the communal area, you see it ringed about with Ahoggya swaying and stomping.
The music swells and you see four of them appear bearing upon their shoulders a great bleached skull as big as all of them put together. It looks reptilian with a long pointed beak like jaw but row after row of sharp teeth.
They set it down in the center of the pit and begin dancing around it, arms raised.
There are fires lit and the smell of roasting meat, surprisingly pleasant to your sense.
Suddenly a long row of Ahoggya with hands on shoulders swirls onto the pit floor and begin to writhe like a serpent. The one in front occasionally cries out and throws its hands up like claws.
Three Ahoggya with wooden shields and mock weapons appear and run about the pit, gesturing at the crowds.
The assembly cheers them on and they suddenly begin a stylized dance in time with the "serpent" chasing it around the skull and the pit until it turns on them and they begin a mock battle that is actually a skilled dance with whirling and leaping.
The "serpent" actually strikes at one of them who does a death dance and falls slowly and dramatically to the floor of the pit--this seems to drive the crowd mad as they urge on the remaining warriors.
To your surprise, Gas belly appears with four mock spears and shields and drops them at the feet of Balesh, Mi'kimu, Fi'ru and Mohammad!
He grunts and points at the dance pit!
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Post by makofan on Jul 1, 2024 16:55:07 GMT -6
Balesh accepts the challenge!
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flightcommander
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Post by flightcommander on Jul 1, 2024 19:57:18 GMT -6
Mi'kímu recalls the Imperial soldier's remark that he and Bálesh were "touched by the gods." His silent retort is, "Wait til you see this!"
"Put on your dancing shoes, Fi'ru!" he says, handing the lad a mock spear and shield and grabbing a pair for himself. He hopes they can all show off some of their close-order spear work from their marine training, while also dancing and emoting entertainingly. [OOC — I'm imagining something like a Māori haka!]
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Post by xerxez on Jul 1, 2024 21:24:47 GMT -6
Quite the roar of approval goes up from the villagers as the heroes enter the fray and Mistress Amiyala leaps up and claps as well and bobs up and down in concert with the Ahoggya spectators. Karunaz is grinning.
I rolled a percentage check for each of you against Dexterity, all of you are high Dex, 97 and 93 and 77 (for Fi'ru)--everyone falls in well with the performance, although Balesh and Mi'kimu grew up with similar rituals and celebrations and pull it off well while the youth Fi'ru does not come from such customs and his performance and expressions are somewhat awkward...he feels like a squid on land at this moment!
The Ahoggya warrior-dancers permit you among them and the crowd is wildly entertained by your aggressive and dramatic dance (OOC-I like watching those Maori dances! Good choice).
As you all dance before the skull you feel a primal synergy and a strange fascination with the relic of some great beast of massive proportions and somehow know instinctively this dance is a re-enactment of a historic battle...you carry on a good fifteen minutes the two remaining Ahoggya fighters also dance the "dance of death"...it appears they are leaving the "slaying" of the serpent to you three!
To that effect you see the Ahoggya file begin to make obvious openings in their movement, exposing their flank, apparently inviting our heroes to finish the monster off!
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
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Post by flightcommander on Jul 1, 2024 23:08:10 GMT -6
[OOC — haha, I knew Fi'ru would have trouble keeping up, but he's a good lad, and I think the Ahoggya would recognize his status as "student warrior". And I imagine this all happening with Mohammad singing a war chant in the midst of all the shouting and stomping — but his song suddenly stops.]
The Nuroab warriors retreat to a feigned posture of carelessness, turning their backs on the "monster" [OOC — like bullfighters on the cusp of the estocada]. When the "monster" predictably charges, they quickly turn to lunge their "spears" into the beast!
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Post by xerxez on Jul 2, 2024 4:46:19 GMT -6
[OOC — haha, I knew Fi'ru would have trouble keeping up, but he's a good lad, and I think the Ahoggya would recognize his status as "student warrior". And I imagine this all happening with Mohammad singing a war chant in the midst of all the shouting and stomping — but his song suddenly stops.] The Nuroab warriors retreat to a feigned posture of carelessness, turning their backs on the "monster" [OOC — like bullfighters on the cusp of the estocada]. When the "monster" predictably charges, they quickly turn to lunge their "spears" into the beast! The file of Ahoggya serpent dancers show amazing unison as the monster convulses in dramatic death throes and finally "dies" with a shudder. Villagers converge on you clap your shoulders and eventually hoist you up and hop around with you, cheering. After you're set down food is served-- the cooked meat, though of unknown origin, is lathered in sauces and smells good...less appealing are the live slugs that are passed around from earthwaren jars. They are almost the size of your hand and several are proffered to you. A strange brew is passed around in cups- it is greenish colored and filled with the pulp of a sweet fruit. As you are seated again, Gas Belly begins to recount the tale of the A'kho's demise to the villagers around you. They nod approvingly at you. A few of their young sit nearby, staring at Doshi. His ears are down. The little Ahoggya appear rather comical to your eyes- they have only sparse fur on their frames instead of adult's shaggy coats and the carapaces on their heads are smooth, absent of the tough knob-like protrusions that will later grow in. It appears that Ahogyya grow into their arms because in spite of being miniature versions of their folk they have absurdly long arms disproportionate to the rest of them. You also learn from Gas Belly that the skull comes from a S'ro Dragon which was killed by the scouts who chose this steading. It is brought out for special occasions, like when visitors are present. A fair number Ahoggya begin a new dance which you quickly realize is some sort of mating attraction- you are somewhat embarrassed by its ribald style. F'sal, ever the man of business, ignores the lewd spectacle and asks the villager who questioned you that morning and seems to be a leader of sorts: "Honorable Warrior, many thanks for this hospitality and...(looking at a writhing slug it plops into its mouth, gulps almost imperceptibly)...delicious fare. I have heard tales of a place of power in these lands, an old dwelling of the Ancients established before the fall of the Old Races, the S'su and the H'lyss. I would know more." The creature nods. "Lost Sun,"it says. "In your tongue." You are each offered a slug...also you feel free to speak as equals here and ask the Ahoggya anything you would like to know about anything, Lost Sun or anything else.
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Post by makofan on Jul 2, 2024 6:19:48 GMT -6
Balesh declines the slugs. "I will leave these to those who grew up on them"
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Post by xerxez on Jul 2, 2024 6:48:17 GMT -6
Welcome to the Jungle
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
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Post by flightcommander on Jul 3, 2024 22:12:42 GMT -6
Mi'kímu grabs a slug and bites the head off. He focuses his mind elsewhere as he chews and swallows, the tail of the thing still wriggling in his fist. "Lost Sun — what is that place? I have in my memory many songs, but none sing of a Lost Sun."
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Post by xerxez on Jul 8, 2024 17:10:53 GMT -6
Flightcommander please roll 3d6. Based on Mi'kimu's Constitution (90) I rolled 2d6 and got a result of a 4 and a 1. Because of your high CON you may roll 3d6 and if any die you roll matches the control dicee (4 or 1) you are fine. If you miss, Mi'kimu begins to feel a rising nausea upon eating the slug...
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Post by xerxez on Jul 8, 2024 17:24:45 GMT -6
Mi'kímu grabs a slug and bites the head off. He focuses his mind elsewhere as he chews and swallows, the tail of the thing still wriggling in his fist. "Lost Sun — what is that place? I have in my memory many songs, but none sing of a Lost Sun." The Ahoggya answers: "Place of Beginning, said to be. Ancient legend say Ahoggya no come from Te'kumel, but come from lost world. Bah! I not believe, but some of our people say there was First Sun, now lost. Place of Beginning... they call it Lost Sun. There, power of the First Ahoggya may be found, or so say tales. Since the Time of Ancients, it is taboo for Ahoggya. No punishment for those who go, but these no listen to counsel. Few have gone...none have returned. Turn back. Go back to your boat and the sea. Forget this place, and seek it not! That is my counsel!"
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
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"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
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Post by flightcommander on Jul 8, 2024 19:03:03 GMT -6
Flightcommander please roll 3d6. [OOC — I rolled a 2, a 4, and a 6.] Mi'kímu tries to listen to the Ahoggya with an air of nonchalance as he struggles to swallow the slug. (Hopefully the tail tastes better and stops moving.) He looks askance at F'sal for some clue as to how he receives the information about Lost Sun.
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Post by xerxez on Jul 9, 2024 3:11:16 GMT -6
Flightcommander please roll 3d6. [OOC — I rolled a 2, a 4, and a 6.] Mi'kímu tries to listen to the Ahoggya with an air of nonchalance as he struggles to swallow the slug. (Hopefully the tail tastes better and stops moving.) He looks askance at F'sal for some clue as to how he receives the information about Lost Sun. Matching the 4, success! Apparently Mi'kimu has a belly of steel. He decides the swamp slug is actually a delicacy and wonders how they might taste deep fried and crispy!F'sal seems patient. "Surely, though, some knowledge of its general location must still exist, even if the place is shunned." The Ahoggya nods. "The Qeqash Swamps...deep within. The Imperial road stops there and turns towards a man-city to the West, but Lost Sun is far South. There is another settlement of our people there at the edge of Qaqesh. Fortnight from here. Many old Ahoggya there. Some remember. If die you must, they can point you to doom." Amiyala rises, holding a swamp slug in her fingers. She eyes it bemused. "How could you eat a creature so adorable as this, Mi'kimu?" She sets it down and it begins to inch away into the darkness. Doshi whines at her. She laughs and bids everyone good night. Fi'ru is not so lucky, having failed his roll. Balesh and Mi'kimu look on in amusement as the lad's face turns a greenish hue and he bolts from the firelight to retch against the palisades.Bak Suul has finished whole handfuls of the creatures, squishing them in his leathery beak. "Long journey, Jungle Cats. Eat up. Tomorrow we head for Qeqash." The festivities carry on for some time and then the villagers begin to trail off. Strange cries of unknown beasts occasionally pierce the night from beyond the palisades. F'sal thanks the Ahoggya and drinks with him a bit more, sharing news of goings on in the frontiers of the Petal Throne's dominions.
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
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"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
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Post by flightcommander on Jul 10, 2024 0:32:27 GMT -6
"I knew it was adorable by looking at it, Wise Sister. But I did not know what it tasted like, la!"
As Amiyala retires, Mi'kimu follows Doshi for a moment, suspecting that the creature is feeling insecure and out of place in this strange land, among these strange creatures. He observed Doshi's ear posture during the dinner, which suggested discomfort, aggression, or possibly mistrust.
Mi'kimu looks around and finds two small stones in the dirt, both the same [maybe blue-ish-grey] color. He wipes the dust from them so they shine a bit, and hands one stone to Doshi with a wink. Then, after tapping the two stones together, Mi'kimu puts his stone in the small pouch he wears around his neck. An unspoken promise.
Then Mi'kimu collects poor brave Fi'ru, brings him home to their hut, and makes him some ginger tea to settle his stomach. He'll also sing him a Nuorab sailor song to help the youth go to sleep.
Later he lazily plays dice with Bak-Suul and Balesh, losing many coins to them, alas! He soon finds that the travel, the food, the dancing, and whatever that green stuff was that they drank, have all taken a toll on his endurance ... Mi'kimu succumbs to sleep, deeper than he has experienced in months.
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Post by xerxez on Jul 10, 2024 2:58:44 GMT -6
"I knew it was adorable by looking at it, Wise Sister. But I did not know what it tasted like, la!" As Amiyala retires, Mi'kimu follows Doshi for a moment, suspecting that the creature is feeling insecure and out of place in this strange land, among these strange creatures. He observed Doshi's ear posture during the dinner, which suggested discomfort, aggression, or possibly mistrust. Mi'kimu looks around and finds two small stones in the dirt, both the same [maybe blue-ish-grey] color. He wipes the dust from them so they shine a bit, and hands one stone to Doshi with a wink. Then, after tapping the two stones together, Mi'kimu puts his stone in the small pouch he wears around his neck. An unspoken promise. Then Mi'kimu collects poor brave Fi'ru, brings him home to their hut, and makes him some ginger tea to settle his stomach. He'll also sing him a Nuorab sailor song to help the youth go to sleep. Later he lazily plays dice with Bak-Suul and Balesh, losing many coins to them, alas! He soon finds that the travel, the food, the dancing, and whatever that green stuff was that they drank, have all taken a toll on his endurance ... Mi'kimu succumbs to sleep, deeper than he has experienced in months. Nice. Really enjoy your writing as it takes me into the story.Mi'kimu is probably not afar off in his assessment of Doshi's inner state--however, it also enters his mind the Ren'yu may have been whining because a tasty snack wriggled away! But there was something unsettling in the look of the young Ahoggya towards the Ren'yu..perhaps Doshi sensed they were wondering what a Ren'yu might taste like. Or maybe they were simply intrigued. It was difficult to get any real conception of how an Ahoggya mind worked. The Shen collects his coins with a chuckle as the ginger tea simmers upon the fire pot, the smoke escaping through a small vent in the peak of the conical roof. "I hope your luck is better tomorrow, Mi'kimu. Your tribe seems to have a good measure of it...but not at dice. Ha ha ha!!" Fi'ru thanks his master for the tea and drifts to sleep, and soon all are lost in sleep while the sounds of the night birds and other things resonate under the Twin Moons.
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
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Post by flightcommander on Jul 11, 2024 22:16:27 GMT -6
Mi'kimu stirs early, just before the sun rises, while the others still slumber. Perhaps at some echo of a dream, his attention is drawn to the weird S'su dagger he has been carrying with him, and practicing with. Only now, in the odd quiet of a dawning day in an unfamiliar place, does he notice the squiggly inscription on the blade. Not a man of letters, he had assumed the designs were just decoration — but now, recognizing them as writing, he looks upon them with foreboding.
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Post by xerxez on Jul 12, 2024 23:33:00 GMT -6
Mi'kimu stirs early, just before the sun rises, while the others still slumber. Perhaps at some echo of a dream, his attention is drawn to the weird S'su dagger he has been carrying with him, and practicing with. Only now, in the odd quiet of a dawning day in an unfamiliar place, does he notice the squiggly inscription on the blade. Not a man of letters, he had assumed the designs were just decoration — but now, recognizing them as writing, he looks upon them with foreboding. Mi'kimu sits in the darkness, his friends sleeping, as the waning light of the receding moons falling upon the steel blade, highlighting its strange engravings. To him, the tendril like whirls and circles set amongst sharp inverted V's seem like sigils of hatred and black magic, inscribed by an alien heart with nothing but malice and malevolence for the race of man. He has long ago noted the handle is hollow, with a fill hole and stopper, and that a channel runs through the blade to permit any liquid inside to be dispensed through a small hole in the tip of the blade. Obviously a weapon of poison... He realizes that a weapon thus envenomed would be almost as deadly to the one who wields it as any potential target. One slip or fumble could result in the wielder dying the death he intended for another. He himself has no knowledge of the black apothecary arts involved in such concoctions, though his mind goes back to his childhood in the jungle when his mother warned him of the colorful amphibians that swam the streams and rested upon the tree fronds. "Pretty," she had said. "But death to touch, my son."Soon Karunaz awakes and starts a bit of morning brew upon the cooking pot. "Isn't it a beauty?" he says, looking at the blade. "Wonderful creatures, the S'su." By mid morning the party is assembled and bid farewell by the villagers. The party of bondmen with collars who joined you in Gorulu loads supplies upon themselves, but F'sal and Bak Suul also load up with them. Gas Belly and his companions bump against the villagers and you are off. After a long hot march, Amiyala begins a song to keep up your spirits. It seems to be a song of the love of the Tsolyani God Hn'alla and his wife, Avanthe. You have trekked a fair distance and left the village well behind when upon the road you spy a stone structure taking shape. Drawing near, you realize it is a pair of co-joined conical stone buildings set upon stacks of squared stones with a porch. A roof of wood and jungle thatch stands over a door. The building appears well maintained. "
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
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"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
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Post by flightcommander on Jul 13, 2024 21:33:41 GMT -6
"Gas Belly, what do you make of this?"
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Post by xerxez on Jul 16, 2024 3:34:07 GMT -6
"Gas Belly, what do you make of this?" Gas Belly: "Old shrine. Somewhat kept up by occasional visitors from the port city. Avanthe, human mother goddess." Amilyala: "I could have told you that. I must enter to make offering and prayers. Please all come- a blessing awaits."
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Post by makofan on Jul 16, 2024 6:06:58 GMT -6
Balesh follows
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
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Post by flightcommander on Jul 16, 2024 13:28:33 GMT -6
Mi’kimu follows as well — a bit of shade would be welcome, maybe that’s the blessing!
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Post by xerxez on Jul 16, 2024 21:00:31 GMT -6
The party mounts the porch and proceeds into the shrine. The Ahoggya apparently have no interest and wait outside, snatching at bugs that fly around them and eating what they can catch. As soon as you enter, you hear a music of water. The shrine's two spherical chambers are separate, connected by a curtained door, the curtain moved to one side. Apertures in the roof permit light and air into the place. In one corner of the first sphere-chamber is a worn depiction of the likeness of Avanthe. Candles are everywhere on shelves, unlit. ![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvbuaP2Sy1YdGKlfANypABqJpIrWm-ux2EVoge7QMNYkT2gTWCE-dpEDMTJ9GRK9pLyLJxpgrXY4KbK6XQQUe6fWNIGZ2zjVW-nJhuzqKteoSg-Wy_AT0GSwGyHLMXfAzY2vP9zYyCVZDVMXesGEiYXfC6LB4vbExV7gmakgMhhxfzmLE_aJA33gjpIqJV/s320/c3e78c5dcd7d4edabd568add856c644b~2.jpg) From the second chamber comes the sound of the water- obviously a fountain lies beyond the door. However, you also hear the rustle and clank of gear, and a step...peering through the doorway you glimpse a figure in the chamber beyond. Another traveler--his back is to you and he appears to be a Tsolyani, stripped to his skirt to beat the oppressive heat. He is intently studying a large carving on one of the shrine walls. Tor'ku You are standing within the road side shrine studying the carving and hear others enter ...![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ8cBBS_ff0gQynTrlSlBGkE8LWyUnFi-r5UId3YPB0AiXwEs2MlxnSRPPwhgcj-zc-cg9Dd4PXjZ75oNASNsa6e_9EQqIxF_cED5uyEFPNulYLVpbBwpu2hlBL6mBEgoSqwZlhGNO0HTm_cThhesjXWV1lpdJG2hH1Adnh8VtV2tglz32_SeLMuCt1bo1/s320/d790fb74bdefad4b891f10169908590e~2.jpg)
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Post by xerxez on Jul 16, 2024 21:23:17 GMT -6
Edit: There is a small spring fed fountain built into a wall in the chamber with the carving
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Post by Tor'ku on Jul 16, 2024 21:43:25 GMT -6
Tor'ku stares intently at the likeness of Avanthe, his practiced pen capturing each detail in blue ink on the scribal parchment stretched out on a small board held in one hand.
So great is his focus that he no longer feels the stifling heat of the day, the melody of flowing water a mere murmur in his periphery.
The excitement of roads newly traveled has died down; only a detached joy in the privilege of preservation remains.
His depiction complete, Tor'ku carefully applies his mark in small, thin lines at the bottom of the page.
Just then, he hears the scuffing of footsteps approaching. Carefully, he lays the board aside to finish drying the ink.
He turns to face the approaching strangers, storing his pen and ink in the small pouch at his waist. Strangers could mean trouble, but this was the risk he had gladly assumed.
Grabbing the withered staff from the floor, he leans on it and calls out:
"May the Mother's comfort find you well this day, travelers! Please, join my humble person in her arms. Beggar or lord, the cool waters of this place will comfort both alike, though I make better company for a beggar than a prince."
The still aspect of his lacquered mask, polished white but for the eye in violent red on its forehead, conceals his apprehension.
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
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Post by flightcommander on Jul 17, 2024 2:03:34 GMT -6
"La! Beggar or prince, we all find comfort here in the cool darkness of this shrine, and the sound of the water soothes my soul. But I would know your name, stranger, and mine is Mi'kímu."
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Post by Tor'ku on Jul 17, 2024 10:22:06 GMT -6
“A name that shall prove worthy of veneration and respect, I am sure. I am Tor’ku, a humble scribe in service of the inestimably proud clan of the Iron Plume.
Tragically, time is has been cruel to many of the tablets and parchments in our libraries. I have been granted the dubious privilege of traveling the wilds and fringes of our great lands to chart and reestablish records of the roads, settlements, and features once recorded in our scrolls.
I hear whispers of strange and dangerous sites in this region, sites not yet captured in the ink of our wells. Though my hands are better suited to a pen than a sword, and my feet more accustomed to the halls of a library than a labyrinth, it is in my heart to see these strange sites.
This is my purpose. Tell me, for what reason do you travel this region? Is it commerce that drives you? Are you pilgrims? Or is it simply the restless heart of the adventurous wanderer?”
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Post by xerxez on Jul 17, 2024 19:43:14 GMT -6
“A name that shall prove worthy of veneration and respect, I am sure. I am Tor’ku, a humble scribe in service of the inestimably proud clan of the Iron Plume. Tragically, time is has been cruel to many of the tablets and parchments in our libraries. I have been granted the dubious privilege of traveling the wilds and fringes of our great lands to chart and reestablish records of the roads, settlements, and features once recorded in our scrolls. I hear whispers of strange and dangerous sites in this region, sites not yet captured in the ink of our wells. Though my hands are better suited to a pen than a sword, and my feet more accustomed to the halls of a library than a labyrinth, it is in my heart to see these strange sites. This is my purpose. Tell me, for what reason do you travel this region? Is it commerce that drives you? Are you pilgrims? Or is it simply the restless heart of the adventurous wanderer?” Amiyala steps forward into the chamber. She is a striking black haired woman, tall and lithe but muscular, and obviously Aridani (free woman) and a warrior. At her side stands a Renyu, one of the dog-headed folk known as the Loyal Follower. He is of copper hued fur and cocks his head at Torku inquisitively, perhaps unsettled by his strange mask. "I know well your clan," she says. "Javak hiLemma is your clan house master in Jakalla. Two hundred strong there, many more throughout the Empire. Your scribes and bookbinders enjoy renown for the art of writing and drawing. My own Clan of the Emerald Girdle contracts with Iron Plume for our lineage books and courts its poets for their verses. Your clan chiefly reveres Belkhanu, Lord of the Excellent Dead, and his Co-hort, Qon, Guardian of the Underworld, the same as our Priest here, Mohammad. dtspurrier1 I greet you with honor, Torku. I will let my companions give what information they will."
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