Divided Destiny?
While the dominion regrouped from their fight with the kraken, Nazgul collected the prophecy from the Crashing Waves tribe. Notably, it contained the phrase "
Others such as I" where most previous prophecies had said "Another such as I", making it the first prophecy variation with an implication vaguely threatening to Damira's divine mandate. Nazgul found this vaguely concerning.
In Fate: Significant Milestone
PCs
- Damira: Changed her severe consequence Corroding Scales to Bandaged Scales; bumped Clash from +2 to +3.
- Mursili: Bumped Volley from +2 to +3.
- Nazgul: Bumped Command from +2 to +3.
- Qazir: Bumped Maneuver from +2 to +3.
Tribes
- Stone Cradle Tribe: Bumped Clash from +2 to +3; gained aspect First Among Equals.
- Needle Hill Tribe: Bumped Sneak from +2 to +3; gained aspect Eager Vassals.
- Brisk River Tribe: Bumped Clash from +0 to +1.
- Barren Plains Tribe: Bumped Scout from +0 to +1.
- Wooded Bend Tribe: Bumped Deceive from +1 to +2.
- Tribe of Salted Earth: Bumped Maneuver from +1 to +2; gained aspect Wings of the Dominion.
- Crimson Oracle Tribe: Bumped Fortify from +0 to +1.
- Crashing Waves Tribe: Bumped Discern from +0 to +1.
- Petros' Squad: Bumped Clash from +2 to +3; gained aspect A True Part of the Dominion.
Tales from Tamera
Just as the dominion was beginning the trek back to the
Stone Cradle,
Celebrated Tursynbek and the rest of the diplomats returned from
Tamera. Nazgul took their report, then brought them to report to Damira.
On the whole, their trip to Tamera went well. Aelia Marcellus met them, smuggled them into the city, and introduced them to three diplomats. Aulus Marcellus, Aelia's father, appeared to be the de facto leader of the city and a powerful businessman. He made a point of treating the kobolds kindly. Paheri Capaneus, a wolf Therian from an old Patrian family, came across as more profit-focused than ethical or diplomatic. Finally, Theron Matuna, a jackal-headed Therian and the owner of much of the city's land, came across as super racist, describing kobolds as "even lower than serpents." Aulus Marcellus definitely stood out as the best person to work with, although Tursynbek admitted that this was likely the impression the Marcellus family
wanted them to take back to Damira.
They managed to gather a few notes about the city as well. While Tamera is officially a Patrian city, nobody in the city seemed remotely concerned about that fact. Their broader concern was the prospect of falling into the same situation with Bracara that they'd had with Modica. Tursynbek also noted that the city's defenses were weakest to the south, where they were reliant on the river for protection. Finally, the diplomats took note of what the merchants seemed most interested in receiving; that being honey, turquoise, glass, resin, and assorted spices.
Spies and Sunset Peaks
After about a moon of travel, Damira's dominion returned to the Stone Cradle and reunited with the Brisk River tribe and their newest recruits, the Sunset Peaks tribe. As the kobolds celebrated their successful return from the north and reunited around fires, Somber Tolegan pulled his daughter aside for a report: thrice, kobold scouts had encountered human spies in the area, snooping around the Stone Cradle. When confronted, they claimed to have gotten lost en route to Caryatis, but these stories were clearly lies.
In pursuit of answers, Damira, her advisors, and a small force made their way to Caryatis, entering the city without any fanfare in an attempt to hide Damira's recovering injuries. They summoned
Drusa Vossran to the embassy to ask for answers. She informed them that the current frontrunner to be the next
Speaker,
Rufus the Firebrand, had sent scouts to the Stone Cradle, and was boasting of it; moreover, he claimed Damira was assembling an army with which to threaten or take Caryatis. Drusa strongly implied that it would be in Damira's best interests if
Amun Khet-Sa were to win instead of Rufus, but cautioned her that it would be very bad if she were
seen meddling in an election...
Downtime in Caryatis
- Damira spent much of her free time on the journey home going off into the wilderness to experiment with magic. She made some progress, but not much; she still struggled with control.
- Nazgul wandered around the Acathan areas of Caryatis, singing Damira's praises and generally cultivating the notion that cooperation with the Dominion is a far better option than opposing it.
- Mursili, planning ahead, went to find someone who knew about siege engines. He found a golem named Sargon who had been a siege engineer in the Legions, and learned a little about siegework.
- Qazir asked Doddering Nergul to seek out alternative sources for kraken acid that might be more sustainable. In Caryatis, he showed off his new napalm to Tukulti, withholding knowledge of the final ingredient as a proprietary detail. After much negotiation, he was able to strike a deal with the dwarves on behalf of the dominion: the dwarves would set up a collaborative workshop in the Cradle, and help the kobolds to produce and study it. In exchange, on Qazir's death, the secret of its manufacturing would be shared with Tukulti.
Quick Notes
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