[Blight!] [1.2a] A welcome of an unascertainable temperature.

[magnificentmomo]

"After reconstruction efforts came to a close, we started to recognize the position we were in. We spent a fair amount of time trying to reconnect with Greater Claslat, but the Tram Lines were destroyed beyond belief. Since then we have been trying to scrape together the necessary materials to create even a mundane production facility, let alone a Municipal Factory. In the meantime, the workshops of the Research facilities have been attempting to make due, but they are more geared towards prototype development than mass production."


The autocrat grabs his cup of Kaff, realizing it is empty, he motions for a refill,


"So the people of the slums weren't even remotely swayed by the stranger's grandstanding? I heard that you had to counter his hominy with a sermon of your own?"

 

[happerry]

Thousand Diamond Echos nods "As well, to start a mass purge of the slums while both decrease our available workers and suck up resources and manpower just as we need them most. That might be the whole point to void cults trying to sneak in there, in fact."

 

[MrSerious]

"Then the Blight Zone must be dealt with before we can gain the metals needed to fulfill our goals. The Slums can be a source of troops and support personnel with the right training and motivation. I volunteer And you are well informed, naturally, Autocraft. Yes the people of the Slums listened to a voice that offered a way out of their idle uselessness. All that was needed was to remind them of their duty, their faith and that we had not forgotten them."

 

[magnificentmomo]

The Celebrant, who had been silent thus far, leans forward with his elbows on the table, his hands steepled in front of his face,


"Then it seems we have our work cut out for us. There is something we have been keeping from the public. No protocol weaver since the Great Void Quake has been able to properly invoke The Great Maker's Pattern Reassertion to cleanse a Blight Zone. Which makes the reports from the caravan survivors that much more troubling."


He lays out a crystal screen,


"They found a metal conduit, a very large one. One that could launch our industrial revolution, but-"


he runs his finger along the screen, pulling up the next page,


"it is in the center of a large blight zone, regrettably teeming with heretics and gremlins. But I think, if we were to rally and arm the residents of the Slums, with the use of the new Blight Skiff, we could take the conduit."


The Autocrat sips gingerly at his fresh cup of warm kaff,


"Then I suggest we start laying the plans for the operation. You will have whatever resources you require to weed out the voidbringers, and to deal with the glot boss, Grimm."

 

[happerry]

Thousand Diamond Echoes nods "I would request then that we be given what information you have gathered on both this conduit and this... Grimm, so we make make efficient plans."

 

[magnificentmomo]

"Our information on the conduit is scarce. Pieced together from survivor testimonies, and they only got a scant look at it before they were overrun. It is about 10 hours away by skiff. It sits inside a decently sized chamber, which is in the center of a staggeringly populated blight zone. And Grimm..."


the Autocrat sets his kaff on the table and leans forward on his elbows,


"Grimm was a high ranking oligarch who found it easier to position himself at the top of the glot market than our rightful government. He is slowly buying the allegiance of the Slums with food rations bought with a remarkable amount of glots. We've attempted to manipulate the reward system, but every attempted sanction meets with public outcry, which is something we just haven't been able to afford. Every attempt at bringing him in ends with the arrest of some useless patsy."

 

[MrSerious]

"Then my presence is needed back in the Slums to remind them of the inefficiencies of the Glot system. I will assign new military recruits and lift the morale of the Slums. Grimm shall not find his despicable glots needed for much longer."

 

[magnificentmomo]

"I think we've made some progress here. You'll have access to whatever information and personnel you need as you prepare for this endeavor into the Slums. I think in the meantime we should send a reconnaissance team to check on our endgame, make sure that we aren't gearing up for a wild rat chase."


With the collected Chosen's guidance, the Autocrat we all know and love started to show.


Sentinel abruptly stands at the mention of a recon mission.


"As much as I would love to take the fight to the vile glot boss that threatens our way of life, I couldn't possibly allow my countrymen to risk their lives in the Reaches while I remained safe in Bastion. I will verify the existence of the conduit, and assess the Voidbringer forces."


The Autocrat nods his shaved head quietly,


"Very well, I can see you feel strongly about this. But I would still encourage discretion and caution; I'd hate to lose one of our champions because he couldn't curb his zeal when faced with blasphemy."


Just then, the lowly clerk that the Autocrat had sent to find Tryr finally returns, alone and panting heavily,


"Autocrat, Celebrant, Sodalites, Scholar Tryr is missing! When I arrived at his quarters, I found it empty, with blood on the floor and two large holes in the window, as if he had been fired on by canons."