Tall Tales 4

As expected, a Federal Marshall came by to ask a few questions. Apparently the boys in the city asking around caught their attention, though they didn’t know until they were three quarters past halfway here that the town had some new and more interesting developments. I was curious what would be on the top of their priority list once they realized what this town has lurking around. Turns out their greatest concern were taxes and patents for Amber’s shop. Probably because they too have realized these bandits were after something of Amber’s but I didn’t particularly divulge that we found out exactly what they were after. The Rangers will definitely be coming by next, if they weren’t already on their way they’re definitely going to be interested once the Marshall reports on things going on around here.

It would seem the city of Bowman is intentionally trying to make itself lost to the miasma due to…taxes. Though knowing what we do now, I think they have vastly underestimated Rapidvale or overestimated us. Might explain their constant failures to stop the government from reaching them.

I asked John about this deal we heard. He isn’t sure if Holloway’s mysterious boss is the city’s mayor or a third party courting favor with the mayor. Perhaps a power struggle between them and the Renwick family that Kallus heard of. Who we know have ties in Wallhalla to Arrun. All this doesn’t even touch upon our bandit problem, it’s just an excuse for them to drag us into whatever trouble is brewing.

That being said everyone is a little worn down from traveling to Bowman and you should watch out on that half chewed leg of yours. It was a bit of a difficult journey though for some reason the local newspaper felt we didn’t need to run two tales of the miasma this week.

As we amass information it seems that the territory wars we’ve been seeing over the last decade or so have been speeding up in this area. Largely due to the miasma that has been steadily creeping further and further.

Halona found what he was looking for, it was bad. I’m aware you live in this basement and came from the foreign world, so you might not really know what a Shiyo is. Allow me to explain, it’s bad. Also kind of complicated and poorly understood by the less learned. Fortunately for you my gluttonous friend, I am well learned.

The Shiyo tribe is ancient, possibly the second oldest tribe among our people. They come from a time when war between our tribes was much more frequent, and obviously they ate their victims to become wendigos. The ritual to become one is known to most howlers. They only know the surface elements though, the ‘things to avoid doing on accident’. The Shiyo tribe however have mastered this ritual and become so thoroughly intertwined with it that their people are born as wendigo. As a result, they are the only wendigo’s that do not go mindlessly insane within a few years of the transformation. At least until we learned about Lara. It appears there is a new shaman to discover the secrets of the ritual but that’s a whole other problem.

For now, having a Shiyo in the woods means we are not going into those woods. Judging by Halona’s description, it is an elder as well. They work kind of like our version of vampires honestly. They lurk around the forests, they eat people, the older ones are super powerful, and they somehow integrate themselves into my people’s politics all the time. Though rather than relying on long lifespans and subtle manipulations, they just threaten to eat the whole tribe. Some tribes have a taboo about talking to them due to their reputation but it’s hard not to when it’s “talk or die”. A Shiyo’s presence means your life ends in the next few minutes unless you can offer them something more interesting.

That being said, it is interesting to hear from Halona that they’re scared or at least cautious of Noel specifically. Though I suppose all the stories about the Reclaimers will feature her as the main representative. It would just be a little concerning if they’re afraid of her specifically because she’s a half angelic warrior raised from birth to kill mistborn creatures. Because they shouldn’t know about that. Probably just the army of reclaimers thing. Hopefully. As I said, they do have a way of being politically prominent among the tribes and often know far more than you would want them to.

Anyways, it appears this shiyo elder is looking for the very same bandits that attacked Rapidvale. It also appears these bandits are just pissing off everyone. I don’t know who is powerful enough in the south to get a favor carried out by the Shiyo, but apparently the bandits went after them anyways. The elder wants to chat with Kathryn it seems, at least that’s the bargain that Halona struck to save his own life. They also have one of his hunters as collateral. I will caution that bartering with Shiyo is a very dangerous prospect. Sure it starts out really easy and you’re just doing a small thing to not die, but then the next favor…and the next favor…and the next favor…all the while they keep eating someone else in the area while you stall for your life.

If it is alone, we could deal with it using more violent forms of confrontation. Now that we know it is nearby we could enact a plan with Rapidvale’s help to trap and kill it before we wind up being known as ‘the people who worked with the shiyo’ all throughout the territory. It would further the Reclaimer’s reputation as well. Though it might also invite the wrath of the Shiyo and whoever their patron from the south is. This being the second time we’ve heard of the Ajawo, and from just as concerning a mouth. Up to you, but as your advisor I caution that both roads are quite dangerous.

Though this all doesn’t explain where the rest of the Shiyo went. Anyways as for Noel’s report, she’s still walking along the tracks of the Iron Road to see where it goes. It hasn’t exited the miasma yet and she’s down in South Dakota now.

Thanks to someone’s…encouragement…Grimold has now started tending to his garden of “herbs”. I suppose to his credit it is more than just tobacco, I have no idea where he got half of this stuff though. Is it just me or is it a little ironic for a vampire to be growing plants that need sunlight?

A few younger folk seem interested in coming back with you, we’ll see how well they fare with the initiation process once Shen gets ahold of them. Though on the old politics end of things, other than what we’ve already been roped into, there are basically three major vampiric territories. The old world, the eastern coast, and the frontiers. None of them like each other and they’re all meddling in one another’s affairs.

The frontier’s eldest vampire is De’Caux, he generally operates out of New Orleans. Our territory is mostly under the eye of Arrun. He is under Thomson down in Bellevue who in turn reports to De’Caux. We are technically under the command of Arrun. Though all vampire hierarchy, especially on the frontier, is tenuous at best. Just sort of a pecking order unless a mass summons or a direct order are issued. Ironically all the vampires of the new world had the same mindset as you…until they amassed enough power to settle down. As such, Arrun, Thomson, and De’Caux are all a bit more lenient and hands off. Waiting to see what families rise to power before leashing them as not to have to invest too many resources into the dangers of the frontier.

We’ve had issues getting along with Arrun in the past due to your…frankness with the man. That and he has noticed you have mostly eastern vampires and been somewhat turned to our influence. So he’s not entirely sure that we’re going to be all that cooperative with his kind or if we’re suddenly going to pull a revolution and announce that we report to Xue Long. The actual eldest vampire still alive, who happens to share a homeland with Shen. We’re right in the middle of the continent too, and it’s likely that just beyond the miasma you’ll find other clans dominated by Xue Long’s influence.

For the time being though, most of the frontier clans are busy trying to tame the colonies as they spring up. Specifically dealing with the natives, especially their equivalents. Shiyo, The Coyote, the beast of a hundred eyes, and so forth. The native powers that are just as manipulative and powerful on a wide scale as any vampire lord. Not to mention the Whatelys. Vampires really hate the Whately family, which of course gets into the power struggle of the witches. Going after the Whately family is going after their witch mother as well, and while their infamous misfit child is a bit of a dick – touch his mother and you will die within the fortnight. All this is to say, the vampire clans of the frontier have enough to deal with to keep infighting and power struggles at bay compared to the eastern coast and old world clans. Despite trying to make plays to situate themselves to be as powerful as their old world rivals, the frontier is not hospitable for them. Small towns, open plains, and non vampiric rivals abound. So for all the bluster, it’s unlikely Arrun is in a hurry to discipline you or anything. Our clan might be small, but individually we are some of the strongest vampires in the northern areas.

Unfortunately, no library knows what your sword does either.

As for work as miasma guards, the federal government is always hiring people in Rapidvale to take them in to reach the barely-consumed colonies near the edge of the miasma. Tax season should be soon too, so that’s always some easy money.

The sensitivity training has definitely confused people throughout the town but on the upside it is sort of further covering the base of “wait Tom is a werewolf?” to help with normalizing certain aspects among the town. Though Javier is a difficult case since we can’t tell if he’s cooperating or making even worse slurs because he keeps snickering and none of us speak spanish. He’s not even employed by the shop but he keeps showing up…

Also I put a pulley on wheels. It wasn’t that hard but the townspeople are suitably impressed so I guess mobile cranes was a good idea. Not the most practical thing given the size its base has to be to support the concept but we have wide roads around here.

We’ve started repairing the armor as best we can with spare parts from other pieces of the armor left behind as asked. Though the sets we’ve managed to rebuild have a very short window of effectiveness depending on fuel reserves. Maybe throw them on a wagon and only put them on when its time to use them. We could use Van Tien on them just like the trackless engine and not tell a certain subject about their fuel requirements though.

Their weapons are powerful but need the armor to be carried by most people. Aside from the actual size of the weapons is the ammunition for them and the mechanized ammo feeding. I’d say they’re not superbly exceptional since the army has weapons like these already and we put even bigger ones on the shop. The only special quality they exhibit was that the armor the bandits wore could carry them. Though they’re not as powerful as Lenard’s cannon or my own rifle on an individual basis but probably have less specialized requirements to be used by whatever passes for a recruit to them.

The mayor is apparently recovering from the aftermath of the town’s destruction, so it’s been hard to get her attention. Though speaking of specialized equipment of supernatural variety, a lot of them would just need the trigger guard removed and enlarged mechanisms for their hand size. Probably specialist ammo at that point too.

Tall Tales 3

Honestly I’m not sure which words Amber is even after. I’d argue wendigo is a technical term but who knows with that woman.

As per your instructions I have announced the town’s supernatural presence. Invoking a slight panic and people preparing to leave town. Though not too many of them. No doubt we’ll soon be having a chat with the federal rangers about all this. Not that they hadn’t already figured out most of it, it’s why they like to use our town as a staging ground, but I imagine this will have some sort of political ramifications for the state.

Apparently John and the bite boys have found some leads in the big city as to who we’re looking for. The bandits that came for Amber’s shop are theorized by many to live somewhere in the miasma. One of the old vampires are pretty sure there is a city in the mountains somewhere that might be above the mist but have lost contact with the rest of the country. There are multiple rumors of their presence but no one has really amassed enough information on it as a particular interest. Though some think they are a sort of expeditionary force whose city has become so isolated that they’ve become independent and hostile while they try to build their own nation.

How did meeting the wendigo for yourself go? At the very least it sounds like she’s a product of another’s machinations rather than a power hungry mortal who sought the easiest path. Though I am concerned about what those plans might entail if they involve creating wendigos and who knows what else.

Also asking Alihana to not be an arrogant grievance for all she encounters is like asking a mountain not to be tall.  Fortunately, Rohaka is the one who gets to do the talking for the most part.

As requested, I have built what they call a ‘porch’ outside of our new abode. I’m still fixing the roof but it shouldn’t be too much effort.

Oh right, the other creepy thing in the fog. Yeah we could send Halona to look for that too.

Training shamans to hold the shrines would involve years of practice. Given that the risk should they let their ward slip would be an almost inevitable death were they by themselves. Though we could have some of the more experienced ones walk the path to check on the shrines and maintain them to a degree, placing a guardian over each one might take some time to cultivate. Depends how large you wanted to make them.

Noel is on her way back to Tall Rock. The damage the town has suffered can no longer be easily alleviated by her presence. Especially with their recent decision to release many of their secrets. They had far more than I had anticipated. To the point that it is abnormal, even if they were openly recruiting all they could it is strange so many creatures would find a way to making their home there. I think Kathryn is either intentionally gathering them or that there is something strange about that town specifically.

According to Kathryn, they control the wendigo by…doing almost nothing different. I suppose the threat that Kathryn will kill them if they break any local laws isn’t that different from the rest of how their society works. So it is an uncontrolled cannibal they just give stern warnings to. I’m going to say that town might be crazy, I would dispatch the hunters to deal with it but for some reason that creature is under Kathryn’s protection.

The southern reports are in. The Shiyo are indeed nowhere to be found. It would require Noel to say for certain but it seems the realm has shifted once more, an iron road is where it once wasn’t and the Shiyo forest is gone. Replaced with a bunch of rocky hills.

So what counts as offensive? Can we call Salvatore a vampire? What about his feeding stock? I’m guessing fangfucker is out but what about cattle?

Also yes, Van Tien is a bit of a tricky toy to navigate. It’s what makes our trackless train work, as well as the cannon Lenard put on it, though it miiight be responsible for some of the things we now understand to be kept in Kathryn’s basement.

I suppose I could make something resistant to Lenard’s radiating energy and give him a blanket or something.

We’ve taken to enforcing the shop with really big guns. I will say, I think the shop has never looked better.

Also I can make construction cranes out of steam engines if you want though we aren’t building anything too tall…then again I could put it on wheels. Hrmm…I’ll look into that. As for fireproofing, we have metal. Though that’s expensive to make houses out of.

As for the more interesting matters, Nathan has been looking through the bandits bodies. They show minor but detectable mutations that would be caused by prolonged contact with the miasma. Very prolonged and unmanaged contact. They would have had to be swimming in lakes of vapor oil or something. Some even had dramatic mutations implying being out there for multiple generations.

Their armor is expensive and difficult to produce but not technologically exceptional. I can make this with enough time and materials but equipping so many this heavily would be prohibitively expensive and require more resources than our entire town has. They had miniaturized engines in them to power the armor though, which is rarely done except for exceptionally heavy shock troops. I don’t know what is implied by them all having this level of equipment.

I’ve started recruiting some new hands from around town to work at the shop. Keeping the basement labs restricted for now, don’t need them getting into Nathan’s chemistry warehouse or my bombs.

I’ve seen to getting the hunting lodge look down just to heavily imply that we eat more deer than the people expect. Though with the recent revelation of how many oddities are in this town, at least the attention isn’t as intensely on us as it was before. Though it is still a lot.

Ah yes, getting everyone else a job. That I can do, if half of us weren’t away at Wallhalla. I have Shen keeping up the whole woodcutting job, its reliable right now with how much of the town is being rebuilt. Grimold wants to start a smoke shop of some sort and I have to keep explaining to him how expensive that is and how terrible we would be at competing with Amber’s shop in ‘pipes’. Though he started a garden with a lot of questionable herbs in it recently.