Stories of Lore 18

 

The situation has developed further. The Nezatl and Xiaoshen have managed to produce enough warm gear for the champions to venture out, though not enough for the entirety of our warriors. So we are now free to take further action, however a complication has arisen.

Ragniva and her army have returned to the south, apparently she is faster than expected. We have since learned her clan’s huts are carried by the horde so that she is constantly mobile. Without ever needing to sleep or rest her horde can move surprisingly fast. It turns out the living among them have learned how to eat long dead corpses and can feed on their own minions to make sure there is no need to slow down and hunt or scavenge for supplies.

Her horde is moving directly towards Auwana. There is suspicion from Koamalu and Zhuan that she is about to lay siege to us. Even if the army cannot get up here, we will be limited in methods to get down as well. That army will never rest nor need supplies, but eventually we will. Without the gryphons it will be difficult to move. Those who are down below will not be able to return and those who are up here will not be able to go down below. Exception to those who can fly. I am sending some of my clan now while they can still escape Ragniva’s notice and spreading them further out so we still have a way to interact down below.

Haleh herself is at the Vargr village amassing her forces. Notably, not many of them can fly. Though there is the constant threat that she leads those who can up here with her wyvern, just that beast alone could cause a lot of damage. So be sure not to send everyone down below too hastily.

However, she is trapped in a position that is not advantageous to her. Hallvard has destroyed another village to the north and the Howling Horror claimed more victims. We are deep in her territory as well, which leaves her having to split her forces to deal with many issues at the same time. Thanks to Kaya we have learned that the Asvald and Hedin clans have been appointed to try and deal with Hallvard and Thorinson problems along with support from the other northward clans.

Haleh and Ragniva are focused on us with their handful of clans in the immediate Vargr area while Icno has been sent to try and figure out what is going on with the Howling Horror, accompanied by several champions to protect him.

This has in turn released some of the pressure on the Ivor clan, though they don’t seem all that interested in taking advantage of it other than rummaging the eastern forests for food and supplies.

Other than Alihana and myself, the rest have recovered from their wounds they acquired fighting Xiomac thanks to Xacalli’s persistent work.

 

 

I suppose I can take over as advisor to you along with running the temple for the time being. Though if there is too much to be done, my duties at the temple will take priority.

It would seem Kaya has infiltrated deeper into the Vargr, having been recruited by the Asvald. They even gave her a warbeast to ride around on. They still don’t actually know what her abilities are. So we know what the Asvald are up to in particular. It would seem they were originally clearing out the territory near the lake they set up by, though with the incoming barrage of problems they’ve been reassigned to try and handle both Hallvard and Thorinson.

Kaya doesn’t tell us much, but fortunately the scrying pool keeps tabs on her. The Asvald are a different ilk than most warrior clans we’ve met. They’re all…really coordinated. While the Dozen have some training, and Iiniwa once provided a village-wide level of basic training for those who wanted to go, the Asvald have almost daily training mandated by their chief Asa. They train in things they call formations, the art of walking together in unison. Not to mention weapon skills as well. They are divided into something smaller than a clan they call parties. Small groups of five who know each other well and specialize in specific tasks. The end result of all this is that they seem to win a lot of their battles. She has also learned how Asa became the chief. Asa isn’t as strong as even half of her own clan, but she is the most gifted in telling people what to do and when to do it. She also leads the training and was apparently the one to originally suggest the creation of the Asvald to Haleh. So the whole clan is her personal creation. It is likely that Kaya could defeat her one on one, but the Nezatl would be left in ruins in a clan battle.

Being deep enough among their midst to ask as many questions as she wants, we’ve also learned that the Asvald village is the furthest reach of the Vargr territory. Draw a line from it to the Hedin village and you get the idea of how wide they really are. It is also worth noting that the Asvald are more loyal to Hoskuld than Haleh, despite being the tribe’s elites they don’t seem to have a full grasp of what is happening politically back home. That being said, Asa bears the mark of the Chanai on her left forearm so she might know more than she lets on. Which leads me to suspect the Asvald serve a second purpose, most of the champions loyal to Hoskuld are now very far away from the Vargr village and under the control of one of the elusive members of the Chanai. This means a lot of those remaining close to the Vargr king are actually those who favor Haleh.

The Vargr tend to take prisoners of the villages they defeat but then relocate people from those villages. Very few remain left alone, those that are tend to be the ones that surrender to the messenger rather than requiring a conflict and subjugation. These relocated people are seldom seen again, and Kaya has learned that they are ‘put to good use’ to atone for their rebellion.

Slaves?! READY THE WARRIORS! I will lead a raid to liberate them within seven mornings.

 

Calm down Necatzlai. Even if that is true, we don’t know where they are taken and there is a distinct lack of slaves in the villages as far as we’ve seen so far. Though the men sometimes take captured women as additional wives-

SHARPEN THE SPEARS!

 

You do know that Kaya is the clan’s war leader right? As I was saying, we’re not sure where they’re taken. Judging by the materials coming into the Vargr village to expand it, as well as the sheer reach of the tribe, there is likely a village specifically made to contain these prisoners and make use of them. Originally I suspected they might be cannibalized for food in the winter but the Vargr don’t seem to have any issues hunting meat. There are also no crow-folk among the Vargr so mass ritual sacrifice seems unlikely. However, the fact that we have no idea where they’re taken is foreboding of something sinister.

 

The meeting with Ragniva was a confusing mess evidently. Though we learned some important things from it. Mostly that Ragniva is Esin but less so. Feigning idiocy to make it harder to figure out her real motives.

But Koamalu sent Esin to shut up Rohaka so what she has gathered is that Ragniva is a rather practical person but has somewhat of a loyalty to Haleh for reasons she did not fully disclose. There might be more digging to do but at least she’s not all ‘rawr kill all rahana’.

That being said Hamona arrived at the Rahana and they give a slightly different version of the story Ragniva gave. According to them they have been in friendly negotiations with another tribe that is extended from this strange empire Ragniva spoke of and the chief took a liking to one of them in particular, so she moved into the village for the time being. Ragniva was requested to travel to their village as a sort of cultural exchange of magic and stuff. Though it is worth noting, their empire sure do love human sacrifices so its not like Ragniva’s impression might even be wrong. It is also possible they recognized how powerful it would be to integrate her into the heartland of the empire.

Hamona gets the impression both are leaving out little tidbits here and there to make sure the other one is definitely the bad guy. Because they didn’t mention anything about her son’s involvement.

We learned more about the Ivor from Ragniva than we did the Ivor oddly enough. Kawil already found the clan albeit not Ashyln. They don’t seem to have a primary village, just live scattered across a vast distance. Though Ragniva mentioned that they are some of those who Xiomac has reached out to in the past. They probably don’t know he’s dead. This tells us we can expect them to be hiding magic items and the like though.

 

Judging by Kawil it is a talent that can be learned, though judging by the amount of effort it has taken the Nezatl to acquire any of it, it may be more difficult than we might be inclined to think. With the Akarona here there is at least a place to attempt it and see if any learn the art.

Kennae has returned to Auwana and is now just sitting by the fire of Auwana with the others.

Contacting Ashyln is not too difficult really. Kawil already found her clan, it shouldn’t be too hard to ask to meet with her. Though Kawil the talking tree of horror might not be the best first impression. Then again her clan seems to indicate she is used to such oddities. Either way, we can probably find her if we just figure out how we want to approach first contact.

<The monsters of note are few and far between. Most have been hunted within the realm between two mountains. Most of us must seek shelter within the eastern mountains where few men go. I am one of the strongest, so is the elemental who also came to your mountain. We do not see other monsters too often, usually this leads to conflict over food or to eat one another. So we do not have as many rumors and legends as those that persist among men evidently. All know Vandrad, but few know others. Though there are strange scents the further north you. I lived closer to the south side of the white lands as you describe it. The elemental is from further north. With the information I have learned from those around here, I can surmise that there is a pattern. Those more inclined to flesh, fur, and fang like to live a little further south. We are dependent on the bounty of the forests. The further north you go, the more…bizarre the inhabitants become. As for rumors… I do not know of many. As I said, we do not talk to one another often.>

You’re adapting quite well though.

 

This is Tzelac, he didn’t have a name so I gave him one. As he says, the monsters out here tend to be quite isolated compared to ourselves. Though that is a recurring story everywhere we seem to go. He is a frost troll, and capable of regenerating his wounds and withstanding the cold. He is adapting to fitting in around here still, though he is quite well spoken in the monster’s tongue. Not so well with the common one of the village. We’re working on that. Don’t send him to talk to humans.

 

 

Though he propositions the theory that the further north we go, the more magical the monsters become. Similar to Kawil or the elemental. The further south we are, the more they rely on flesh and bone to produce raw power. The problem with recruiting such creatures is that though they are powerful, they don’t need food in the same way as most others. So it is hard to offer them much if they are already dominant in their territories since the security of Auwana is not as necessary for creatures of their kind. Upon questioning all of the new recruits, I’ve gathered that they don’t talk to each other much as Tzelac said. Few know rumors beyond Vandrad. Though there are notes of strange scents or signs of powerful monsters across the land, these never develop into rumors because they were very quickly avoided and their territory is rarely ventured within by anyone smart enough to form a social structure as those we have recruited.

One of the most peculiar is a creature described to live within the forests just a little southwest of us. This is deep within Vargr territory, few monsters survive here due to being hunted. Actually a lot of our recruits that are clearly far from apex predators came from this area since they had nowhere to escape to yet doom seemed impending. They mention that there is a creature here that is everywhere within the forest yet has never been seen. No one knows what it eats, where it lives, or what tracks it leaves. Just that there is something there that is a bit off but always present.

There is one mention of a terror that might be the second strongest monster in the north. It lives far north, in the land of what the Vargr call the savage folk. It is the only one known by rumor instead of ‘someone came across the scent’. Supposedly it is the only beast to survive a targeted hunt by members of the Vargr hunting parties. Information from Kaya leads us to believe the Asvald are actually hunting this specific creature before the village they inhabit can bring common villagers to the area.

The last one is less of a rumor but a well known and confirmed ‘we don’t go there’.  Far to the north, farther than we can see from here, there is a single smaller mountain. There is nothing alive in that area, no man, beast, nor monster. It is a dead place, but it is well known to monsters that something lives there. Something so dangerous that even the northern clans have learned that they must never go there. Supposedly, even Vandrad does not go near that mountain. Granted, Vandrad’s territory is the south anyways so there is no reason for him to be near the mountain.

That covers rumors of big scary things out here in the north that we might take interest in.

Aside from rumors, some of our scouts were rummaging through the ruins of human villages. Northwest there are reports of a scent described as a burning cold that stings the nose and marks of a powerful, and large, creature roaming the land. Those who have encountered this territory suggest the creature must be made of stone, ice, fire, and rage. Vague, but interesting at least.

We have seen to equipping Taike with some of the charms from the armored serpent. Though before we can proceed with the drain experiment, it must be noted that your weapon only is reversed when affecting Alihana. In order to create a new weapon that is reversed when used on Taike we will need another weapon that channels your same power. So basically we need to create a second one like yours, which requires some specific bones. Fortunately, as this is just for an experiment, we do not need quite the same scale of bones as would be needed for an exact copy of your weapon. Unfortunately, in the north it may be hard to find something aligned to the necessary aspects. We were able to create a similar tool for Esin using Dalyn’s bones, but we’re out of those now. Sawiri says something parasitic would do well, or just something that drains blood. Mosquitos don’t have bones unfortunately, and there are no blood sucking bats this far in the north.

As for mining, according to Esin she hits rocks really hard with harder things. The problem with exacating the caves below isn’t avoiding the crystals, but knowing where they are before striking into the rock as many are hidden in the rock walls.

Zhuan reports that Hallvard can easily move that axe in any direction. I think the Xiaoshen have more on the matter.

We can deploy the hunters now that the warmer gear has been prepared for a larger number, though they didn’t do anything these last few weeks.

The “east” is still in the white lands. Look east of the island. Also the Travelers are along the southern border of the white lands. We may wish to consider sending someone to get them properly dressed.

As for the curved spear blade, its currently still too brittle to see much use with how its been made. Though if it could withhold its shape, as we know to be at least possible, there is merit to the idea. It would open new offensive opportunities, likely ones people are not used to seeing.

Lokala’i is currently traveling. It is a long journey from the southern end of things all the way up to the Thorinson in the north.

To be fair, Haleh didn’t use any bones to make her armor. They are made from the scales. That being said, I suppose the travelers can start trying to hunt down the trail while they’re not doing anything in the south. Not sure where it died at though.

As for looking for the sacred spring, we know thats two territories south in the grasslands in some mountain or other. Up here…not so sure where they’re making these things.

 

I suppose I’m here while Zhuan is away. He has managed to slip into Hallvard’s…horde as you call it. As their adviser to the chief…and their strategist. So…that’s convenient. Apparently Hallvard likes it when we do that Wenhai fireside storytime thing where we are really unnecessarily wordy and exaggerated. We’ve learned a lot from this though.

First off, Hallvard’s physical strength was given to him. Similar to how Kaya received hers, though he did not say from who. Though his strength is somewhat bizarre. Zhuan described it as being unlimited but he doesn’t move like someone who is actually that strong. Esin is the strongest in our clan, physically speaking, and she has a certain weight to everything she does. She can also move very quickly very suddenly, like when punching. Hallvard lacks that. He’s not prone to bursts of momentum nor does he seem to have to obey the weight of his own strength or weapon. It’s kind of like he just moves normally, but nothing can prevent that movement from happening no matter what is in front of it.

We’ve also learned he’s not invulnerable, Zhuan was able to dislocate something just as well as he could have against anyone else. Again this is a strange contrast to our strongest tribe members. Esin, Wehilani, and Uyitzan are all just as hard to take down with a spear as it is to survive them hitting you with a spear. He’s really tough, enough to rival maybe Uyitzan. Though not enough to rival Xacalli or Coszacatl. Not even as much as Esin actually, which is unbefitting his supreme strength.

Then we learned he’s kind of smart. Smarter than we might normally assume but still kind of an idiot? His understanding of warfare and logistics is terrible basically. Zhuan is in a position to fix this weakness or exaggerate it though.  As it stands, Hallvard is a terrifying enemy to face but his army is sort of wild. Given the reports from Kaya about the Asvald, it is likely that he won’t make it all the way into Vargr territory as he is right now. The Asvald will cull most of his forces, and if he makes it through the northern border the Hedin will finish the job. Especially if Haleh herself goes to face him.

On to other news, Caowei took another route into Hallvard’s forces in case Zhuan’s mystic man approach didn’t work. She just walked into them overnight and no one questioned it. The army is not well put together, everyone keeps assuming she’s from some other group and that’s why they don’t know her. The army itself is pretty much being held hostage by Hallvard as he conscripted them by way of murdering everyone who resisted. That being said, at least half of the army truly believes in him. He is promising to lead them to defeat the Vargr and take the southern areas of the White Lands for themselves, which is richer in food and resources. Since he managed to “unite” so many people into one large group they are willing to take this chance. Though the other half might be fairly willing to give up and go home if they could, maybe even turn on him for murdering their clan members.

We have also learned that Hallvard has five major champions…only five. He kept dueling them all to death as his method of forcefully recruiting various clans so he is kind of lacking in that department. That being said the five he has are pretty terrifying.

Zhuan and Caowei are able to retreat at any time you like…since as I mentioned before he’s not so good at logistics. Most people in his army have nowhere to go and no idea where to start walking but Zhuan and Caowei can just come back here. Though we’re in an interesting position with Zhuan as his adviser and Caowei sneaking around among the troops.

Also, we managed to make enough winter clothes for all the major champions of the tribe. Hakenu’e covered that one for us but we should be able to send everyone out now. Though we’re on a bit of a narrow time frame to do so since Ragniva is on the way.

Speaking of which, Esin says if we trade off some of our old silk stuff we have laying around we should be able to get a large amount of hides from Ragniva. I’m still not sure how she worked out that deal but…well we have unlimited silk up here thanks to the Huanacan and maybe it would be worthwhile. Though we would be trading with the enemy, not sure how I feel about that. Also we did get kind of volunteered into it without being asked….also not sure how I feel about that.