Dominion: Session 5
General Summary
Strange Fireside Company
The dominion's forces set up camp for the night just outside the goblin encampment while Damira, her advisors, and a small guard made their way inside to negotiate with Quamaniq and mingle with the other goblins. Qazir surriptitiously scouted the village for any evidence of bloodshed or conflict with the missing kobolds, but found nothing. Mursili studied the kobold fortifications in order to learn more about them, expecting to be called on to help make them going forward. Nazgul helped to coordinate scouts to search for the missing Salted Earth kobolds. Damira, fulfilling her promise to Aiganym, sought out Mild Zhaqiya to encourage him to learn from the other tribes' historians. Zhaqiya agreed that doing so was a good idea, but pointed out that Aiganym was not necessarily infallible; in particular, what she claimed to be Zhaqiya's "misremembering" of the prophecy was also shared by the Wooded Bend historian, so it wasn't just an issue of his inexperience.Blade in the Dark
At the bonfire, Nukilik sidled up to Nazgul and very awkwardly asked her for help. Specifically, he requested a "short, sharp thing"—a knife, she determined—to help "free his brother" from Purnaq. Nazgul decided to help him, but very carefully. She gave him a knife looted from the human settlement, rather than one of kobold make, and then visibly involved herself in conversation with goblins at the bonfire in order to have plausible deniability. The conversation covered several aspects of goblin culture:- They respect strength above all else; they're not opposed to the kind of peace Damira hopes to bring about, but they believe it's only possible through a powerful ruler.
- They believe they are the only race in Aedes with souls.
- They believe in an afterlife, in which their ancestors live (although they "try to keep their dead here for a while" before that.)
- They don't have gods; they assume the rulers of the afterlife are whatever goblins are strong enough to have established control over the other goblins in it. Since they're not sure exactly whom that might be, they're careful not to pray to anyone specific, lest they pick the losing side.
- Their magic focuses on disguise, illusion, mental manipulation, and temporarily ensouling constructed totems with the spirits of their ancestors.
- They consider magical strength just as valid as physical strength. Any goblins are permitted to learn magic, but the shamans are more skilled and dedicated to learning it.
Salt of the Earth
The next morning, the dominion parted ways with the goblin horde. Nazgul's scouts found a recently-set kobold-style snare half a day to the north, so the dominion began their march to the Crimson Oracle with a slight detour to investigate it. Quamaniq, meanwhile, determined to take his horde south, promising to reunite with the dominion there (while threatening that, if the kobolds took too long, they might start sacking kobold villages rather than human ones). Qazir spotted the Salted Earth kobolds from his glider as they approached. He was greeted by a mob of enthusiastic kobolds, who were very excited to see and try out his glider. Nazgul quickly determined the reason for this when gathering their interpretation of the prophecy: their version contained the line "all kobolds will have strength beneath their wings", and they believed Qazir's gliders to be the fulfillment of that portion of the prophecy. The tribe also gave the long-awaited details behind their disappearance—the goblins had essentially intimidated out of the village without shedding a drop of blood, so they had retreated to the remnants of a human village that the goblins had already sacked."The kobold word for engineering comes from the same root as the word for bravery."It took the dominion a quarter-moon to travel to the edge of the Navician Woods, and another quarter-moon to reach the Crimson Oracle from there. It being spring, the valley containing the woods was flooded, which made travel difficult for the three-foot-tall kobolds; Qazir and his new acolytes built pontoon bridges in order to cross. The other dangers of the forest included bears and crocodiles, which unfortunately, Mursili was unable to tame.
Mask of the Oracle
The Crimson Oracle tribal city was built on stilted buildings attached to large trees, and reliant on gondolas and bridges for transportation during the flood season. An emissary in a gondola met Damira and her advsiors right near the edge of the city and escorted them to the center, where they were met by name by Adept Zhansulu, the chieftain of the tribe. After briefly angling for the dominion to stay in the woods for a while and regroup, he invited Damira specifically to go up to the Crimson Oracle's treetop perch, however, she insisted on bringing Qazir and Nazgul with her, and would have brought Mursili were he capable of climbing the delicate wooden stairs. There, atop the forest on the longest day of the year, the three of them met Zahur, the eponymous Crimson Oracle, a gnome in a lacquered red wood mask covering the upper half of his face. He informed Damira that he would not be joining the tribe when they depart (as the world is not currently kind to gnomes, and he wouldn't wish to sully the dominion by association), but offered to teach Damira magic during her short time here, and Nazgul gnomish as well. In Fate: Major MilestonePCs
- Damira: Changed Nazgul Taught Me About The World to I Can't Do This Alone; bumped Discern from +1 to +2.
- Mursili: Bumped Lore from +1 to +2; renamed the Anchor stunt to Force Multiplier; took Towering Presence; reworded Follow in My Wake.
- Nazgul: Bumped Volley from +1 to +2; took Mores and Folkways
- Qazir: Bumped Scout from +1 to +2.
Tribes
- Stone Cradle Tribe: Bumped Clash from +1 to +2.
- Needle Hill Tribe: Bumped Volley from +1 to +2.
- Brisk River Tribe: Added Accustomed To Independence; bumped Clash from +1 to +2.
- Barren Plains Tribe: Changed They Drew First Blood, Not Us to Starting to Measure Up, added Culturally Indistinct; bumped Maneuver from +1 to +2.
- Wooded Bend Tribe: Changed Endlessly Paying Tribute to Diplomacy is Weakness; bumped Maneuver to +1.
- Tribe of Salted Earth: Bumped Maneuver to +1.
Dominion
- Damira's Dominion: Added aspect Come One, Come All.
Quick Notes
Rewards Granted
- A new ritual from the Tribe of Salted Earth, Acidic Spit.
Missions/Quests Completed
- Found and recruited the Tribe of Salted Earth.
- Recruited the Crimson Oracle Tribe.
- Damira finally spoke with Mild Zhaqiya at Aiganym's behest.
Character(s) interacted with
Newly Introduced
- Adept Zhansulu, chieftain of the Crimson Oracle tribe.
- Zahur, historian and shaman for the Crimson Oracle tribe, and also a gnome.
Recurring
- Mild Zhaqiya, who defended his knowledge of kobold history to Damira.
- Nukilik, who borrowed and then returned a knife from Nazgul.
- Quamaniq, leader of the goblin horde (and his shamans).
Report Date
29 Sep 2021
Primary Location
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