Medora Serpens 2017/11/03(Fri)14:17 No. 842269 ID: c88e6d
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>Various translations

Hmmmm.... So she wants food and release from those collars? That sounds reasonable. Lagraz and Myself, Melora can eat most anything, but we have seen the Tall Thin Things eat very little. Once, Lagraz witnessed a younger Tall Thin Thing male pick some of the delicious berries that grow sometimes on bushes and he seized up and began puking. Regardless, there are still plenty of natural fruits I have seen the Tall Thin Things eating, and we have a fair number of them in the Spark-Stone cave.

More difficult will be the collars. There is some kind of catch on one side, and a piece on the other side that seems made to open. I approach, slowly, and the female curls more around her child until I tap my neck and say, "Break!" She does not understand what I'm saying, of course, but she gets the gist of it and lifts her head, turning to let me examine her more closely. The little hole in one side seems made to accept something, but I do not have the knowledge or ability to make something that fits. What I DO have is blood that can burn through wood, flesh and bone given time, so I bite a fingertip hard enough to break the skin, then press the wound against the hole and squeeze. It takes around [a minute], and the female squirms a lot as her collar hisses and steams, but there is eventually a series of tiny snapping and plinking sounds and the collar springs open, incidentally flinging tiny and complicated-looking pieces of metal into my self's face.

The female looks absolutely stunned, rubbing her neck with wide eyes as one of my selves approaches her child, and at first she looks ready to pick up her child and run before she relents to merely holding the offspring. Another few moments and both parent and child are now free of their collars, and presented with a small heap of things that taste similar to what I have seen Tall Thin Things eat, which the female begins picking through and selecting particular fruits and nuts to give to her child.

Medora Serpens 2017/11/03(Fri)14:18 No. 842270 ID: c88e6d
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With their immediate demands granted, however, the female begins scribbling more in the dirt, more quickly, and starts trying to teach my selves words while I try to teach her my own. When it grows dark, we convince the female to withdraw closer to the cave and give her a comfortable pile of leaves to rest in with her young before waiting until the sun rises to continue our interrogation.

It takes time, but our earlier language research with Lagraz has paid off, and we are able to cobble together a crude understanding of one another's languages over the next several days. According to the female (whose name I haven't really asked), the collared Tall Thin Things ('Elz' or something like that) were members of a large group ('nation') that was attacked by another, larger, stronger group. They chose to surrender and accept dominance from the larger nation, but another Nation of Elz was angered by this and attacked them to capture their females and young and kill their men. The raiders then fled the larger nation when they unleashed weapons of terrible power against them, and are trying to build a new nation in this forest to try and destroy the larger nation.

Medora Serpens 2017/11/03(Fri)14:19 No. 842271 ID: c88e6d
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She promises that in exchange for removing her people's collars and exterminating all the Elz who do not wear collars in the village, her people will submit to us as rulers and give us everything they possess and know of. This is... to say the least, a rather significant decision. Lagraz is afraid of bringing more attention to his selves, being less numerous and physically weaker than Myself, Melora, and does not want to rule over the Elz, just kill the un-collared ones so they stop trying to cut down his jungle. I am uncertain what I want.

>>842271
You may suggest now

>>842271
if we are to go the route of diplomacy then we will need to have some space to grow and that means we need to have the ability to put seeds in the ground to grow food which the village is perfect for. Let's try and get Lagraz to help us out with this reasoning and save the village people.

I think you should accept a lesser deal. Knowledge and maybe some items that they have, but you don't want to take all they have and you don't want to rule them. Their information is far more valuable anyway.

After the battle the collared ones will be in a weakened position... maybe you can agree to a temporary alliance? You'll fight any threats against them that show up if they fight alongside you. It's only meant to last until they stabilize their camp and become self-sufficient. The alliance could be made permanent later once we find out how advantageous it really is.

>>842274
> I think you should accept a lesser deal. Knowledge and maybe some items that they have, but you don't want to take all they have and you don't want to rule them. Their information is far more valuable anyway.
This.

Melora 1/2 Serpens 2017/11/04(Sat)14:35 No. 842556 ID: c88e6d
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>Try a lesser deal
>Talk Lagraz around

This does seem the wisest course of action. Politely, I have one of my selves speak to one of Lagraz and start explaining my ideas, while simultaneously I speak to the Elz female. The child, I note, is stroking one of Myself, Melora just out of its mother's view. It is nice.

Starting from the top, I explain that, rather than directly staking Myself, Melora and Lagraz as rulers of the Elz village, we would rather simply help the Elz gain their own freedom and live alongside them in peace, as well as learn from them all of their knowledge of tools and food and other such helpful things.

While Lagraz is happy, the Elz female is... skittish? Afraid? An emotion like that, I think. She is worried that unless her people are ruled over by someone strong, they might be defeated again, but is willing to accept our bargain, so long as we promise to slay all the 'evil empty-hearted ones' that hold her people in the village as slaves. Still, Lagraz is much happier that he won't be seen as a primary target to attack. Neither Myself, Melora or he have told any of the 'single' creatures of our [hiveminds].

Now is the time to plan our attack. According to the female's testimony, there are a few 16s of Elz trained with the spear, and maybe a few hands more who can be drafted. We could wait longer to gain more resources and numbers, but the Elz woman explains that the longer her people remain collared, the more of them will be broken or hostile when we attack the Empty Elz, and that her people's [untranslated word, means something like hivemind but apparently emotional?] will be broken forever and her nation will be lost should we delay too long.

Melora 2/2 Serpens 2017/11/04(Sat)14:36 No. 842557 ID: c88e6d
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According to the Elz female, the village has a great tower in the center in which the Empty Elz '[mythical intangible entity] Men' do ceremonies, drink [undefined word, means 'important', 'not to be touched'] mixtures and call down 'their [undefined word meaning 'unpleasant', 'never to be touched because it's bad'] powers'.

Every [third day in seven day span] is a 'myth night', wherein the male Empty Elz gather and drink, becoming intoxicated and enraged around the tower. The day after, all the Empty Elz start the day weakened and sluggish.
The village lacks any significant walls, but there are large, open fields wherein grow plants. The Elz female asks us not to destroy those fields, as without them her people will starve to death.

Currently, the village has dirt paths connecting houses and the 'ritual circle' around the tower in the center. There is a lake behind the town from which they get much of their fresh water, supplementing it with wells dug elsewhere, and there is a creek running near the southern end of the town. To the west are large fields planted on cleared forest and generally guarded by Empty Elz watching over the captive laborers, while to the eastern edge are the ruins and totems used by Lagraz as a buffer.

Generally, houses are arranged so that several families will sleep together, with captive Elz being made to sleep on floors and Empty Elz using beds. There is a large building called a 'Granary' because the 'grain food' is kept there, though at this time of year it is apparently nearing empty.

There are also several 'lumber camps' near the edge of the deforested area in the north, containing sharp metal the Elz female suggests I can use, as well as 'axes' which apparently make a good weapon and can break chains easily.

Finally, the tower in the center of town is generally unoccupied in the early morning, and holds the place where the Empty Elz mix their drinks, but is surrounded by dozens of houses and the streets have sentries watching at night to hunt for any captives who might be trying to escape.

I am going to need a plan. Feel free to be as detailed as you like and ask for more information in the Dis Thread

>>842557
Alright so first off we attack when they're weakened and sluggish. We want to steal weapons from the lumber mill and occupy the tower with archers after the attack starts. Dawn seems to be the best time to attack since the sentries will be off of alert and the tower will be empty.

More specifically, I think we should spend just a few more days recruiting as many Elz as we can, then attack. We approach just before dawn, while it's still dark enough to sneak around. Steal weapons from the lumber camps then split our forces into two groups: a smaller one to assault the watch tower from the east as a feint, and a main force to sneak around through the jungle and behind the lake then across the channel to the south edge of town where there are fewer buildings blocking access to the tower. They'll take over the tower and use that fortified position to rain down arrows upon hostiles. Once the Empty Elz forces are thinned out the main force can start clearing out houses and finally deal with the watch tower on our own time. The skuts in the tower can relay enemy positions to our army in the streets.

>>842557
the best way to deal with them would be to send one body in and get their attention to chase it into the forest and then dogpile on the group that comes to kill it until they wisen up and then take out the rest by grouping up aginst them in a minimum of 3 per enemy. do it as quickly as possible to prevent growth in numbers and the forest is far from the fields to prevent their destruction.

Oh and be sure to have some Elz recruits in your ground forces so they can tell the other captive Elz that you're liberating them.

>>842557
>Every [third day in seven day span] is a 'myth night', wherein the male Empty Elz gather and drink, becoming intoxicated and enraged around the tower. The day after, all the Empty Elz start the day weakened and sluggish.
Obviously, we should attack at the beginning of the 4th day, when they'll be weakened and sluggish!

So... they worship their [god] at the tower, and they drink some sort of [sacred/holy] beverage which grants them [sacred/berserker] powers. Every third day of [a week] happens a party night, which is when they drink intoxicating beverages that devolve them into fierce beasts... Let's avoid that day. Seems like a horrid idea to attack a group when they're horridly hostile, drunk, intoxicated, and not thinking straightly. Plus, we get an advantage of being unscathed when we attack next day.

We should prepare on the night the Elz gather together and drink, since all are presumably away from their usual workplaces and therefore, lumber camps will be empty, patrols would be presumably lacking, and guards would be presumably not looking out for trouble. Although, these assumptions have a fair chance of being wrong, it won't matter too much if we stay along the outskirts.

Melora Serpens 2017/11/05(Sun)15:28 No. 842765 ID: c88e6d
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>Send in one body

>Lure them into the woods

>Riddle them with arrows

>Take the town center's tower

My head buzzes with ideas, easy and difficult, valuable and less useful, but I settle upon a plan. I pitch the idea of gaining Elz recruits to Lagraz, but he points out that after he destroyed the Lumbercamps and houses near the Jungle the Elz grew extremely active and defensive for several [months] after, and I accept his counsel that it would be more risky than beneficial.

Still, it is not a long wait till the fourth day of the seven-span, and so I resume crafting weapons alongside Lagraz, doing what I can to gather intelligence from the Elz female (whom is apparently named Dorz), and try to teach her offspring (whom is called 'Baz', but wants to be called 'Skut-petter') my own language. Baz is actively attempting to improve on it after only a few days, far exceeding his parent in learning what few rules there are to it and starting to work in rules of his own to throw Lagraz and Myself, Melora curves. He explains this as 'poetry', which is what his male parent did before he was captured by the Empty Elz.

The day of the attack finally rolls around, and all is as planned, mercifully. The Elz on watch are few and inattentive, the majority of the Empty Elz are incapacitated and sleep deeply, and the watchtower is focused only on the Jungle. Fascinatingly, the Jungle Sentries seem far more attentive and on guard than the rest of their kind, suggesting that they believe Lagraz to be a true threat.

Still, there is nothing preventing Myself, Melora from sending a body in a long arc through the rows in the fields to easily circumvent all the Elz on watch, when a problem occurs.

A female Elz chained to a younger female and an infant opens a door and gazes about, looking for something, before starting to sprint low to the ground, into the fields. She is heading away from the Elz, but there is a sentry sitting just beyond a cluster of crops. If I do nothing, the sentry will be alarmed and see the fleeing female. Shall I stick with the plan and move to the center of town to gather as many sentries as possible?

>>842765
our bodies are expendable goodwill of friends are not. Take out the sentry and start the assault.

You're about ready for the assault. Don't wait for the civilians to die.

See if you can warn the fleeing Elz to stop so you don't attack prematurely.

>>842766
This.

Melora 1/2 Serpens 2017/11/06(Mon)14:50 No. 842957 ID: c88e6d
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>Do not allow civilians to die

>Warn them

It is clear that the attack is about to occur, but there is little enough danger in risking a single body. Creeping up under the house as the female and her offspring hobble along towards danger, I speak out. "There'sz dan-jer ahead..." I manage, internally cursing that the scout's body seems to have a nasty cold. The female Elz looks around, shocked. "Waaait hhhere... I will chhh-lear it." The female seems terrified, but is unable to locate my scout as he slinks around under the house and moves behind the Empty sentry on watch. Drawing his small bow as far as he can without breaking it, he lets fly a single arrow into the Elz's neck.

The sentry, half asleep, drops his spear and clutches at his throat, unable to breathe or cry out, before falling to his knees and expiring silently. The attack has now technically begun, ready or not, and there is no easy way to dispose of the signs of violence. Slinking back to the family, the scout pokes his head out, causing the female to flinch in fear until it speaks. "Go na-ow." I rasp again, before withdrawing under the house and slinking towards the town center. Whether or not the female withdraws is her own problem now, as the plan must be executed.

Creeping to the center of town, there are implements used by the Empty Elz in their rituals, including cones of various materials they scream into to work themselves into a frenzy. My Scout-self picks one of these up and draws a deep breath as I prepare the body to run, before letting forth the loudest scream any of my selves has ever made, amplified further by the echoing streets and the hollow cone. From my other scouts amidst the bushes I see one of the Jungle Sentry Elz clutch his pointed ears and fall off the watch tower, while across the village guards clutch at their chests or heads in shock and pain.

The scout-self continues screaming at a reduced volume, sprinting through the village and howling as doors are flung open and exhausted Elz rush forth with spears to slaughter whatever creature has split their heads and awoken them early. With only a few [minutes] of delaying and sprinting about the village, at least 3 fingers-and-toes of Elz have seized knives and spears and are in pursuit of the scout-self. I flee with him towards the trees, still screaming on occasion, with the pain they feel at the noise apparently blotting out any fear of a trap.

Melora 2/2 Serpens 2017/11/06(Mon)14:51 No. 842958 ID: c88e6d
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When the swarm of Empty Elz reaches the tree-line, it is a massacre. With all my selves working whenever awake to either train with bows and spears or make more, and Lagraz lending his lesser, though more experienced numbers to our force, more than [16 squared] arrows are fired within the opening moments of the ambush. While not every shot that lands is a killing or even crippling blow, and only a minority of arrows find a target, the sheer volume of fire wreaks great carnage upon the Elz, with those uninjured left stunned by the sudden deaths of their kin around them. The survivors do not last long, spears plunging into their bellies and throats as my selves run dry on arrows and pick up sharpened stakes or the spears and knives of fallen Elz. The last handful of surviving warriors, those too wise or sluggish to leave the town, try to rally in the deforested area, forming into a great line of warriors, but it does not matter. Even the Jungle Sentries, their most skilled warriors, simply cannot deal with our overwhelming numbers and perfect coordination. They die under a mass of selves, torn limb from limb, and even those blows which land simply add to their own suffering.
In the immediate aftermath of the battle, wounded or dying selves are laid in the town square to be treated as best Lagraz and Myself, Melora can manage, although our knowledge consists primarily of 'blood should typically remain inside the body'. The Empty Elz will make fine meat, and selves unoccupied with recovering arrows or tending to the wounded are already hauling them off the cave's camp. Perhaps now is a good time to build a drying-house...

Regardless, any surviving Empty males are quickly killed when Dorz arrives without her collar and calls out to her kin to slay their captors. With only the sickly, weak or unconscious left in the village, or the females and young, the Elz in chains fall upon them and tear them apart.

Dorz approaches one of my selves and thanks Myself, Melora for 'her' assistance, and promises to build a [place of teaching] in the village in gratitude, and that 'all who serve Melora' are welcome here.

Thread 1 End: Total Victory

>>842958
Please do not close this thread yet. The story is not moving on to a new thread right now. It is time to make plans for the next five years.

>>842964
Obviously the next thing to do get some medical knowledge!

Then work on communication skills, making better weapons, learning how to grow your own food (farming), etc.

Find out more from the Elz about the world overall, then send out scouts to various nearby locations to get more current news.
Of utmost priority is finding out what kind of reputation your actions will have given you. Who will be upset, or thankful?

It might be a good idea to start developing a trade. Something of value that you can produce and sell to others, so that you can obtain things that are difficult for you to otherwise get.
As always, increasing population is important. Knowledge of farming should help to support increased numbers.

Learn more about yourself and the elz.
Maybe come up with a name for things like you and Lagraz.
Maybe there are more things like you out there somewhere.

Resource generation is your first priority. You won with numbers, and you need to exponentiate those numbers when the main army investigates why this city stopped sending tribute.

Start with basic agricultural sciences and work your way from there. Capture scientists and craftsmen to build defenses and weapons.

Don't let yourself be noticed, and you can build an empire in the shadows of a backwoods forest.

build a back-up village for when they eventually send someone to assault the Elz. then when they find an empty village and confusion you can assault them with your combined powers after they have sent a message back that it was a ghost town and start a legend.

Your plans have been made. You shall soon see the outcome.

>>843146
>Build fake town
When did this become the movie Blazing Saddles?

Chapter 2: Exploration Serpens 2017/11/07(Tue)18:02 No. 843326 ID: c88e6d
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>1/2

Five years have passed.

In this brief period, I have learned many skills, and my number of selves has swollen enormously. Lagraz has chosen to restrict his own growth so as to avoid exceeding the limit of resources he can acquire without attracting attention, but I have seen little reason to do so. With more selves in close proximity comes sharper intellect, and so I now see Myself, Melora as the most intellectually capable organism in this small region I once could not imagine beyond.

The Elz have been most informative and near worshipful since Lagraz and Myself, Melora liberated them from their captors. Initial fears that the Empty Elz might have reinforcements sent proved unnecessary, as these raiders were the last of their kind, and their slaves destroyed all who survived our initial attack, including females and offspring, mentioning something about a 'cycle of vengeance'. Regardless, the last five years have not been a waste.

The Elz we inducted were far more mechanically inclined than the Empty Elz, knowing a great deal about metallurgy, construction, digging, agriculture and many other fields of information that we have worked to learn around the clock. Where once I wielded sharpened stakes and bows carved from branches, I now have shortswords, pikes and the impressively devastating 'crossbow'. My home cave has proven to be a fantastic resource to both the Elz and Myself, Melora, the 'spark-stones' being unusually rich iron ore. Steel is now something that can be gained, albeit with difficult forging requirements.

In a less militant vein, with my selves helping to harvest from the fields, the Elz have been able to devote themselves to working as artisans and 'inventors', trying to find new ways to improve what they have. In their old home, their females generally worked at home while males fought as soldiers, but with the loss of so many males and plentiful selves around (which the Elz call "Sk't"), their sexual labor distinctions appear to have broken down.

I have also learned many ways to treat wounds... for Elz. For Myself, Melora, in the absensce of bandages that are immune to my corrosive blood, I have merely learned bone-setting and how to apply naturally occuring herbs through careful trial and error. Lagraz has found many more small groups of 'empty' Skut in the jungle, and believes this to be the form our species takes without enough numbers to think properly. We currently share them as breeding stock and pets, caring for them and feeding them, and generally ensuring they live pleasurable lives while being of use to us.

Melora Serpens 2017/11/07(Tue)18:02 No. 843327 ID: c88e6d
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>2/2

As to learning about the situation globally, things do not look good for any of us. According to Dorz and the most historically inclined among the Elz, twenty years ago a war beyond anything ever imagined prior began. A nation, the Fulgurine League, known for its seemingly magical powers and terrible lightning weapons somehow gained a power greater still, and unleashed a conquest of the entire known world. Citing divine authority stemming from a newly discovered star, the Fulgurine League unleashed armies clad in strange metals and riding great, aerial machines, possessing the power to speak to one another at great distances and unleash bolts of lightning strong enough to tear through stone walls.

Many nations fought against them, including the Empty Elz former homeland, but the Elz of Dorz chose to surrender and work alongside the Fulgurines instead, hoping to avoid destruction. This somewhat backfired when remnants of fallen armies ravaged their homeland. Something also changed just before Dorz's village was enslaved. Previously, their soldiers had always been present, with at least a small garrison in each village and patrols along every road, with the occasional flying ship sent by to protect the area. The latest conquest was declared on a place called 'The Pale Kingdom', and then, one day, all the soldiers simply left. There was no word from the capital, or any advance warning. The Fulgurines simply left in the middle of the night, and no more ships came by.

Aside from the vast and powerful Fulgurine Union, and the swarms of bandits and raiders made up of the armies they crushed, what she knows is that there are reputed to be people roaming the steppe to the west who might trade for weapons or food but are not well know. To our north there are great mountains said to hold madmen and prophets who dwell there for the isolation and harsh conditions, while the Fulgurine Empire's capital lies far to the south, past the rivers, lakes and swamps by a distance I have never traveled. To the east, all she really knows of is The Pale Kingdom, which she has nothing more than rumors that it is a wealthy utopia ruled by a single ancient family, and even that has nothing to substantiate it besides the fact that the Fulgurines declared it a conquest target.

Dorz does warn that while the Fulgurines are not wantonly cruel, they ARE ruthless in their conquest, and desire the entire world to be placed beneath their banner. They are obsessed with their 'divine right to rule as ordained by the Prophet Star', and their High Electrician has claimed to speak to it. They cannot be reasoned with in terms of sovereignty, and will demand fealty and service or simply smash their foes with their armies till they submit. Trade could be started easily enough, but would most certainly attract the attention of higher ranking members of the Union.

Regardless, I am now confident in my numbers to start exploring the world. With the technologies and skills shared by the Elz, and my ever-increasing population, I am now capable of moving Myself, Melora across regions with supplies enough to ensure my own safety. I feel something now that my requirement for survival is sated... Ambition. I have no desire to serve underneath the Fulgurines, and from how they 'helped' the Elz I have no illusions of their competence. Where should I explore first? The Pale Kingdom, who might be powerful enough to defeat the Union? The steppe peoples, of which little is known?

Exploration shall take a number of weeks regardless of the direction chosen, however for example heading north into the mountains will cover a smaller area than heading south to the Union or west across the planes due to terrain. Terrain is not the only possible danger however...

>>843327
explore the mountains cool stuff might be there.

>>843330
Yeah, seems a better idea than poking big empires that will demand fealty.

Thirding the mountains as well.

How about we talk to the Steppe People who will most likely not kill us and also might have things we need?

Serpens 2017/11/08(Wed)15:59 No. 843579 ID: c88e6d
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>Go to the mountains!

And so I select my destination, the most harsh and jagged region known to the Elz, a place bereft of sustenance and low on shelter for most living beings. An immensely rugged and near impassable mountain range with only the most marginal population, the mountains to the north prove remarkably inconvenient to explore.
In the first week, it is discovered what an 'avalanche' is, and though the dozen buried selves are easily enough recovered, it costs us time and food, as well as firewood needed to heat them up again. At first, I do not see a living creature barring the occasion bird, insect or small hoofed creature, but after the second week of dragging my supply train up and down mountains and through rocky valleys, I finally come upon the Hermit 'Village'.

The hermits spend their days perched atop long poles embedded in the rock and ice of the mountain slopes, and sit in silent contemplation, retreating to caves by rope when night falls or choosing to test their physical mastery against the ice and wind, but regardless, after two or three tries we find a living hermit. A weathered Elz (and seemingly young despite his wrinkled features), the hermit's voice is cracked and rasping from disuse, but interrogating him about these mountains proves fruitful. Another two weeks to the north is an ancient ruin, supposedly left by wrathful gods centuries ago. He speaks of alien remains and mounds of bones, blood splattered walls and unnatural contortions of matter left by raging deities.

However, I have not been able to replenish my food supplies while traveling through this region, to the point where I am in danger of reaching the point of no return, especially if another avalanche occurs or something more severe happens. I am going to start losing selves if I continue north. I simply lack the experience in mountaineering to do this without casualties.

I can either try and push on to the Twisted Gods Ruin, or withdraw towards the Jungle and continue my exploration in another direction.

>>843579
Let's go back. Head towards the Steppes instead.

>>843580
This.

Go back, rest, resupply, and then go to the Steppes.

>>843579
Do the hermits want for anything? You might be able to trade with them in the future, if and when you send teams back to the mountains.

Head back. You have no guarantee you'll find the supplies needed for a return trip by the ruins. You can always mount a better prepared expedition later, especially know that you know the mountains better.

Melora Serpens 2017/11/09(Thu)17:27 No. 843926 ID: c88e6d
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>Do the Hermits want anything?

While I offer them trade, they politely but firmly refuse, stating that they willingly take a life of hardship and suffering upon themselves for reasons of self-improvement. Strange.

>Back towards the Steppes!

Alright...

Another week or so passes while I work my way out of the mountains, the trip back mercifully easier thanks to my knowledge of the terrain. It's still an exhausting and miserable time, and I find Myself, Melora looking forward to the company of Lagraz as I finally enter the jungle. I spend two days resting after the trip through the mountains, before making my way back to the Elz village.

While they are mildly surprised to see me return so quickly and with only a few 16s of moderate injuries, Dorz (now de facto leader of the village) nods at my descriptions of the terrain, peoples and events before noting them down for future explorers. Another week of preparations is made, which I spend enjoying Myself, Melora thoroughly, before finally we set out to the west.

The steppes, as I thought five years ago, are indeed bereft of cover and short on forage, though they are at least more habitable than the mountains. As far as the horizon there is nothing but gently hilly terrain and flat ground interspersed with the occasional dips and hummocks. After a week of exploration, I am near-certain the rumors of inhabitants are false, until 15-2 creatures that resemble Elz but more lanky and with strangely long legs leap out from beneath several blankets concealing ditches and attack, flinging long, thin spears with deadly accuracy and hurling torches to frighten and confuse my selves.

The attack is far less successful than it could have been, but 7 selves are killed instantly by javelins penetrating their vital organs, three are maimed or severely wounded by the same, and one is badly burned by an exploding cask of vegetable oil ignited by the Steppe Elz' torches.

In the aftermath of the battle, I find that while our archery and spear tactics were perfectly acceptable against the massed formations of the Empty Elz, the Steppe Elz' chaotic circling attacks and seemingly random battle plans are extremely effective at distracting Myself, Melora from more subtle intruders attempting to steal supplies. They only managed to steal a few packs, though, and I slew as many of their own as they did of mine.

should I continue on through the Steppes to try contacting the Steppe Elz? I know little about them, but despite their ambush I should be better able to counter their attacks in future by preparing myself ahead of time. I can also always just go back and search the jungle as well, and we do know now that there ARE people on this Steppe, even if they do seem more intent to raid than speak peacefully.

>>843926
continue on

>>843926
What fraction of your scouting force did you lose?

I'm tempted to go back.

>>843943
I started this trip with 2-0 scouts, but now I have only 1-9 scouts due to the seven deaths. My entire collection of Selves is on this trip, however, numbering approximately [three hundred], but not even close to half of them are healthy or strong enough to act as scouts.

So, we had 32 fighters and lost 7. Also the enemy numbered fucking 242, and only lost 7.

I feel like retreat is a good idea here. If the Steppe Elves want us dead then we're dead.

>>843967
I agree.

Time to do this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zrUWwkVPG_w !

>>843967
You're ignoring Visitor tactics, those give Melora a huge advantage.

The main character is a hive-mind and they outnumber the Steppe Elz. A few kamikaze soldiers with a comedic density of explosives, and the guerrillas will be cowering before the hive's apparent insanity.

>>844056
That's dumb and we don't have explosives.

Serpens 2017/11/10(Fri)17:29 No. 844145 ID: c88e6d
File 151036375071.png - (207.99KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening Decisions.png )

>Explosives

I do not possess any method of constructing practical explosives. I am uncertain if anything like that even exists.

>Bravely Run Away

Deciding to exercise discretion and avoid further casualties, the dead are left to slowly dissolve pits in the earth while I reverse course and begin doing my best to return to the village. Disturbingly, numerous smaller raiding parties attack on the way back, but are repelled without casualties on either side, suggesting a more cautious approach by the Steppe Elz. Moving swiftly, I manage to leave the steppes within a mere four days, albeit I feel utterly ragged at the end.

The Elz appeared to cease pursuit after the first three, but I am grateful to be back home once again. I am starting to suspect that this region isn't controlled by the Fulgurine Union because it's extraordinarily inhospitable. Dorz is shocked by the reports I give of Steppe Elz, stating that they sound like an Elz children's story of monsters that chased their ancestors from the plains and into the southlands. While I am not particularly afraid of them, Dorz immediately organizes a construction effort to fortify the village with Lagraz's help.

As to what should be done now that my wounded are cared for and resting, I can go to the South or to the East. The Fulgurine Union lies far to the south, but they seek to conquer and dominate all within reach, and their lands are only safe because of the vast army that patrols it. On the other hand, the Pale Kingdom supposedly lies to the east, and they might be able to help us build a nation of our own.

>>844145
east

>>844145
Poke you nose into the pale kingdom.

>>844145
Let's check out the Pale Kingdom. (Time to raid the fallen kingdom of its relics!)

To the eastern kingdom!

>>844145
Head East, but in a wide pattern so we don't get our whole group ambushed again; scouts ahead of our center Eastward, to the sides Northward and Southward, and behind us Westward should do.

Melora Serpens 2017/11/11(Sat)16:49 No. 844345 ID: c88e6d
File 151044775035.png - (1.84MB , 4000x4000 , Awakening Crash Site.png )

>East

East it is!

>Spread out

Wise. I'll do this in future to decrease the number of Selves I lose in future ambushes.

Thankfully, Lagraz has knowledge of much of the jungle near the village, and can even accompany me for a significant distance thanks to the dispersal of his selves. After three days of easterly travel, I big him farewell and continue on.

It's another week of traveling before I encounter an anomaly, a trail hundreds of [feet] long. The long, deep scar in the earth appears to have been scored long ago, and while I was fortunate enough to encounter a meteorite in the five years of development I spent in Dorz's village, this is far larger and less scorched. Following the trail I encounter... I am uncertain what it is. It appears to be manufactured, and there are definite signs of the Fulgurines about this thing but.... I have never encountered anything like this before.

What is this?

>>844345
examine anything that doesn't look like a plant in like a 2-4 skut radius around this area.

>>844345
Hard to say.
"Extravagantly broken" would be my guess.
Sweep the area. Scavenge anything you can find.

>>844345
Looks like a crashed "flying ship". You heard about those already. There's a weapon embedded in it. Is that a really big javelin? Did someone in the Pale Kingdom throw that thing at the ship to take it down? Scary.

Investigate closer. See if there's anything immediately worth looting, or anything worth studying for an extended period.

MelorAAAAAAAAAAH Serpens 2017/11/12(Sun)16:10 No. 844588 ID: c88e6d
File 151053181865.png - (208.49KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening Forensic Analysis.png )

>Sweep the area

>Scavenge everything

>Search for anything interesting

My scouts immediately begin to search through the crash site, starting systematically from the area around the beginning of the scar and over to the end point of the wreckage.

I discover many fragments of what I think are components of the crashed object, composed of an extremely lightweight metal and coated in some sort of durable cerable that my spears and swords can hardly dent. A few of these fragments are in good enough condition to be used as shields, but most have had the metal substrate crumble beneath them. Somehow, enormous rents were torn in the object's armor by what appears to be claws.

At the exterior of the craft is some kind of rock-pile resembling the figures Dorz used to represent the Fulgurine Union, and limited probing shows it be a shallow, vertical grave. I choose to not disturb the corpse any further and return it, as it has long since decomposed into bonefragments and cloth fragments, and according to Dorz any number of terrible things will happen should a corpse be disturbed.

Near the grave site is something that at first appears to be a helmet, but on closer inspection seems to be part of a massive insect of some kind. Digging a little around the front of the aircraft, a corpse crushed beyond any recognition is found, suggesting this 'head' was shorn off at the neck when the flying ship struck the earth.

While I examine all these things simultaneously, I reach into the cockpit and pull out the anomalous weapon. It feels a little strange in my haaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHAT DO I DO OH ME I CAN FEEL IT IN MY FLESH, HELP ME, ANYONE, AAAAAAAAAAH!

Oh god put it down.

... if you can. Looks like it's kind of doing a number on you there. Uh... is there some way to ditch this particular body? It might be, uh, not usable anymore.

You grabbed the wrong end! Chop that arm off and find something one-handed for this body to do.

>>844588
It's just one body, stop freaking out. Let whatever's happening happen, but be ready to put the afflicted body out of its misery if necessary. From range, just in case.

This is science! When you encounter a new phenomenon, you observe it.

>>844593
This.

I hate to say it, but it is just one body. Observe what'll happen and see if it makes that body stronger or something.

And be ready to put it outta it's misery, should you need to.

>>844603
this,

>>844603
put out of its misery at range, of course.

>>844593
SCIENCE!

Melora Serpens 2017/11/13(Mon)12:43 No. 844800 ID: c88e6d
File 151060580352.png - (199.64KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening Skutssimilation.png )

>ABANDON BODY

>KILL IT AT RANGE!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Aaaaaaaah! This is the most horribly weird feeling I've ever had! I try and shoot the arm or cut it off, but I can FEEL my muscles being activated and the blade swings about, knocking the nearest scout's sword into a tree-branch, before it swats an arrow out of the air!

>Just let it happen

>Study it, for science

As my panic subsides and the other selves withdraw from the unfortunate scout's vicinity, I can feel it moving through my arm and up along my shoulder and I FEEL IT IN MY SKULL URGH IT'S MOVING I CAN- The self being penetrated by the sword shudders as the AWFUL sensations finally subside, but something is definitely happening inside my other self's head. I am receiving sensory input... from the sword. I can detect heat at range, sense light I've never been able to perceive before, and most strangely I can [read/smell/hear] SOMETHING left in the air around this crashsite. It's most potent about the sword and the severed head we found... satisfaction?

Who is there?

Regardless, now that my scout has been so.... thoroughly violated by the sword's appendages, they seem otherwise healthy, weird tubes aside. Poking the tubes doesn't hurt, and if anything they feel armored. More, they provide a sense of touch. The scout self feels... quicker? And I get a sense of 'muscle memory' from it, like I do from the most heavily trained soldier-selves, like this body could fight on its own without any input from Myself, Melora if need be.

Should... I continue east? I can still sense the sword growing through my scout-self's muscles and around its skeleton... But I have full control and do not sense any abnormal thoughts.

>>844800
Yes, let's keep going. If we find more of these weapons we can upgrade more scouts!
(even if they wind up possessed by what are effectively ghosts of the Pale Knights, we'll be fine since we're not affiliated with their enemy and in fact are opposed to the invading kingdom)

Keep paying close attention to the senses of the altered scout. If you feel anything unusual, focus on it.

>>844801
This.

send that scout back towards the center of the group where if they break off and become other you can surround and capture them other wise continue savaging and moving east.

>Who is there?
The sword is attempting to communicate with you.

Melora Serpens 2017/11/14(Tue)17:05 No. 845119 ID: c88e6d
File 151070794978.png - (176.51KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening Journey Thus Far.png )

>Keep the Scout surrounded

A good idea, in case that sword turns out to be some kind of nasty parasite

Where is your mind? Nothing is in here.

>Examine the Scout's senses

My senses feel... off? Focusing on the Scout's eyes and ears and the sword stuck to their hand I get the feeling that I can hear things I never thought possible. I can [taste] the satisfaction of the creature crushed under the fallen flying ship, I can almost understand the chirping of the insects in the trees almost like a choir of Elz singing.

Such thunder, but only echoes of greater thoughts.

>Keep moving

I continue heading east, searching for more weapons as I go, but finding little evidence of such. It seems the flying ship was the only craft to fall in this region.

I can nearly feel you... find our lady. She knows what to do.

As I travel, however, farther than I ever have before, I find Myself, Melora three weeks from my former home when I sense something... wrong. At first only my Sword-Scout can sense it with their altered flesh, but within a day even my normal selves can taste it.

The wrongness increases as we move east, until finally pass through a thicket and see the source.

Melora Serpens 2017/11/14(Tue)17:06 No. 845120 ID: c88e6d
File 151070799549.png - (307.60KB , 2000x800 , Awakening The Pale Kingdom.png )

The Pale Kingdom is dead.

What now...?

There is still hope.

LOOT!

Send in the augmented scout and a small team of warriors. The kingdom might be sacked, but they left broken technology for the taking! Record everything you can't take with you, from the shapes of buildings to the locations of kitchens and wells.

>>845119
Melora, can you not hear that voice? Ever since you picked up that sword, there's been an extra voice saying things to you.

Try talking to the voice.

>>845120
Obviously, these guys ain't gonna be needing their weapons anymore!

Start looking for any food and/or weapons that you can take!

.....what's that thing at the top of that pole in the distance?

>>845120
Wait, do you feel something to the north?

>>845120
Send some scouts to investigate the city.

>>845120
loot

Melora Serpens 2017/11/15(Wed)13:23 No. 845291 ID: c88e6d
File 151078099122.png - (262.55KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening City Exploration.png )

>Loot the place!
A reasonable decision, I am merely... I did not think I would have to use a number like [millions] to estimate a quantity of corpses. The entire field from the edge of the jungle to the walls of the city miles away is CARPETED with decayed corpses.

It seems to be a mix between a race that looks something like Elz (judging by the skeletal structure), and.... lots and lots of very big bugs. There are also hundreds of pieces of wreckage like the flying ship I found in the jungle, some the size of Dorz' entire village by themselves.

I immediately set out to salvage, but going through this area of the battlefield alone would take weeks. I cannot see the edge of the city's walls past the horizon, and the battlefield seems to encircle it as far as I can see. I will leave the majority of my bodies here and my enhanced-scout will take a dozen other scout-selves into the city ruins.

>A voice
I do admit to feeling drawn to this place, and feeling unaccountably sad upon seeing the... massive dead thing lying in the middle of the city, but I cannot hear any voice consciously.

Our king is fallen.

>That shiny thing in the distance
I get a sense of hope and joy as I look upon the shining thing. It seems to be a light on top of a very tall and thin structure. My enhanced-scout is somewhat twitchy, feeling extremely energized and excited as I move towards the light.

Our lady!

Where should I send my scouts first? There simply isn't enough self-power to cover the entire city at once. The light is a few miles away. There's also that creepy dead thing the size of a mountain lying in front of the ruined gates, and the buildings inside the city itself, though strangely beyond the walls there are very few dead bodies of anyone, bug or Fulgurine.

Send a few scouts through the seemingly-crash area.
There might be a reason why it's crashed alongside there, and it could be valuables.

Head for the star, have small squads of guards patrol your exit strategy. You can start scavenging after you've grabbed the most important piece of loot.

>>845291
Let's be efficient. Head towards the huge dead thing but peek into buildings along the way. After paying respects to whatever it is, head towards the light. Again, peek into buildings along the way.

>>845291
eat the flesh of the big thing to take its powers of big. If that doesn't work go to the light I guess looting a bit along the way.

If you see something interesting made of metal or something unfamiliar, inspect! They're probably very distinguishable from ordinary trash and rubble.

The big dead thing looks very interesting. How long do you think the big dead thing have been dead?

>>845324
This!

Melora Serpens 2017/11/16(Thu)16:45 No. 845574 ID: c88e6d
File 151087954396.png - (212.79KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening Dead King.png )

>How old is the dead thing?
Presumably as old as the rest of this battlefield and all the wrecks. According to Dorz, it was around fifteen years ago that the Fulgurine Union announced their conquest and then abruptly had their armies withdraw from the edges of their territory.

Presumably they were unable to recover from the losses they took destroying this place.

Victory!

>Seeming Crash Area
At first, I though the buidings with a circular section missing all lined up was a crash too, but there was far too little debris for that. It seems like some kind of force simply tore a massive section out of the structures and the wall.

>Head towards the dead thing, looting along the way
>Head for the star

I can do both, as they are conveniently in-line with one another, the 'star' apparently being near the center of the city.

Despite the sheer devastation of the city's structures, it seems less like there was a true battle amidst them and more that the Fulgurines hurled some sort of explosive weapon into the city repeatedly, gradually tearing it apart.

There do not seem to be any dead locals in the streets barring the occasional creature crushed beneath rubble or eviscerated by a fragment of metal traveling at high velocity. Apparently the populace took to the walls and fields to fight.

This DOES mean that the interiors of most structures, the ground floors and basements, at least, are nearly untouched. While the vast majority of the city's towers have partially or totally collapsed, this means there is more 'loot' here than any thousand or so scavengers could dream of.

Wealth beyond wealth, treasure of this world.

Unfortunately, while there is an incredible amount of stuff, much of that which could be considered most valuable, that being the books which are endemic to this city, are seemingly blank pages. I have no idea why they would create thousands of empty pages...

Find our lady first, then you will learn our words.

Regardless, it isn't long before we reach the dead body of this.... I am uncertain it can even be considered a creature. I know of no natural process which could build something miles long that apparently had wings at some point.

Even testing our iron blades against what is presumably a carapace weakened with age does nothing to even scratch it, yet there is scarcely an inch of the monster's armor that does not bear scars and scratches, not to mention the great and terrible rents in its hide that seemingly killed it.

Thankfully, it seems to have been rotting for a very long time, and does not seem to inclined to get up and begin rampaging. Interestingly, my enhanced scout does not seem able to strike at it, the pearlescent blade deflecting before it hits and scoring the pavement.

Such insolence! Have respect, cur!

Shall I proceed to the 'star' in the distance? I have found vast quantities of jewelry and local currency (though strangely no hand tools), but there's really no purpose in dragging salvage into the inner city. Unfortunately, we have not found an armory either.

>>845574
Apologies, uploaded the uncolored one by mistake.

>>845574
Yeah head to the light. Time to find out what that good feeling is about.

>>845574
To the star!

>>845574
Go to the star!

To the star!

Perhaps the books' pages have been bleached by the rains and shines of years past.

>Towards the Star
Heading towards the star takes longer than I had thought, and it takes until sunset to reach the base of the spire near the center of the city. It's strange, but despite the great damage to the tower, the spire, somewhat bent in the middle, seems to stand as high as ever. There is no obvious way to climb it, but at the base there is a monolithic stone, apparently dragged from the rubble of the palace that stood around the spire.

There are three figures here, but all of them are very, very dead. Two warrior creatures, still gripping their weapons and standing guard, and one squat, round creature with wings, dead in the midst of carving. From the way they are positioned, I think they might have starved to death.

The monolith they guard is a declaration of unequivocal victory and defiance. I can tell because it appears to be written in every language, and Dorz' Elz writing is around ten feet up. The rest are incomprehensible to me, but my Enhanced Scout can detect an intense aura of pride and jubilation around the stone.

Joy! Glory! Victory! Our lady is safe below! Check behind the last scribe's great work.

Interestingly, from what my Enhanced Scout can see with its better eyes, the monolith's writing starts out crude but gradually improves as it goes along. The words the squat creature is carving into the stone (with its fingertips no less) is... I can find no other words to describe it than 'beautiful'.

Melora has developed an interest in fine art.

Regardless, Should I try and climb the spire? Or is there something else I should do?

Enter the palace you stupid deaf rats!

Image Update Serpens 2017/11/17(Fri)12:56 No. 845725 ID: c88e6d
File 151095217246.png - (155.05KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening Monolith.png )

>>845724
Forgot the image, sorry!

>>845724
Check behind the tablet.
If such a direct instruction cannot be justified, investigate the immediate area around the scribes and guards, looking for an entrance to the spire. Heck, try to take guards' weapons to enhance a couple more scouts. If the same thing doesn't happen, put the weapons back for now out of respect.

>>845724
>Enter the palace you stupid deaf rats!
Suddenly feel insulted by the "voice" coming from the sword and refuse to do what it wants until you get an apology! >:'-(

>>845738
Yeah apologize sword!
then steal the guards weapons and the bug creatures finger and start climbing

Melora 1/3 Serpens 2017/11/18(Sat)18:32 No. 845981 ID: c88e6d
File 151105876553.png - (423.41KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening Special Door.png )

>Get the sword to apologize
While I get a vague sense of anger and contempt from the sword, having my Enhanced Scout whack it against the floor a few times seems to calm it down.

Cut it out! Fine, I'm sorry!

>Climb the spire
I literally cannot even estimate how tall it is. it just stretches into the sky and has no handholds. Climbing it is not going to happen short of my selves developing wings.

>Grab the weapons
While I have several scouts stack up into a pyramid to grab the weapons' hafts, it doesn't cause the same response at all. They are also a different color to the pearl-colored sword I found, and don't seem to be 'alive'. Without the enhanced abilities the sword gives my Enhanced Scout, I cannot wield them, and thus can simply leave them here.

Good, let dead heroes lie.

Prying the writer's finger out of the stone, meanwhile, is not possible without destroying either the stone or the deceased creature's body, and I get a very, very foreboding feeling from contemplating that.

...

>Check behind the Tablet
Behind the tablet is a rather small door, only a little above my own head in height. It extends at an angle downward to a winding staircase that goes even further into the earth, supported by material that resembles the Scout Sword.

As I go deeper, I can see pale roots pressing through the stonework around my scouts in increasing numbers, to the point where after descending half a dozen floors the staircase seems more luminous plant than stone.

Finally, at the end of another lengthy and gradually widening corridor, I come to stand before a door wrought in something that resembles the shell of the dead king-creature on the surface.

AT LAST.

With a thunderous echo in my mind, I at last hear the voice of the sword and my Enhanced Scout abruptly loses muscle control, right arm and leg extending fully and throwing the scout at the door. The blade slides into a slot in the center.

Melora 2/3 Serpens 2017/11/18(Sat)18:33 No. 845982 ID: c88e6d
File 151105882192.png - (371.49KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening Opening Door.png )

With a loud hiss, the door slides into the floor as the blade is withdrawn, and blinding light floods the corridor.

??? 3/3 Serpens 2017/11/18(Sat)18:35 No. 845985 ID: c88e6d
File 151105893524.png - (374.84KB , 1200x1200 , Awakening Open Door.png )

???:"Hello there."

Chapter 2: Exploration Concluded

>>845985
oh hey cool its a giant tentacle monster stuck in a portal/large room. when do we get the cool Magibeast powers?