Chronicle of the Scavenger Lands (Exalted 3E) - IC

[Esbilon]

"No one here is against helping one another, Ryan," Ysandre offers, her words taking on a slightly more ominous cadence than usual from her cloak and hood. "To stick with your analogy, what worries me is that the attack on the fortress was akin to chopping down another neighbor's orchard in order to help the first build his barn."

 

[Rykon]

Epiphany
"I'm definitely on board with that. For my part, I'm not looking to wreak death and destruction or anything. I just accept that people aren't very quick to forgive one another when a life has been lost. Both for them and for us. They've felt the pain of the dogma for as long as we have. The chosen aren't wont to lie down quietly and peaceably more often than not. They've already lost parents, siblings, and children to those with the same brands we bare. Just as folks like Ganzin have lost loved ones to the zeal of Immaculate doctrines. We have to remember that if we ever want to end that pointless conflict. In the end though, I think what we build will be worth it. Even if it's further down the road than we'd like. For today's dealings, I trust you two for your part in these matters. Whether I trust the spirits themselves to follow through is a different matter. I reckon we'll just have to see how this all unfolds. I am hopeful my misgivings will be unwarranted."

Esbilon
Ryan tried to remind himself that Ysandre had a much more empathic upbringing when it came to the Dragon-Blooded than he did. Everything about how he saw the world seemed tinted by completely different lenses. Still, even if he was brought up to start from a place of distrust, he might as well explain that. "I am well aware of the price of what was done. I agree with and understand your concerns. However, trying to paint them as a 'neighbor' in that metaphor is to fatally misinterpret our relationship to them. They aren't a farmer, they are a hunter. We are the fox that just killed one of the hunter's hounds. They were always a hunter, we were always the fox. Picking the fight with the dog never changed that. It only risks the hunter's attention. Drawing that attention isn't something any of us want. Yet, we know the hunter will inevitably come for us one day. Whether it be solely for the sake of the pelt, or because we ate his chicken, or attacked his dog, or left little presents by his fence, it makes no difference at all. To drop the metaphor, we all should've known there was never going to be a real peace with them without bloodshed. They've suffered from the efforts of the chosen long before we entered this picture, whether those chosen are us or not means no difference in the wake of the brands we carry. No deception we presented to the contrary would've lasted long either. Rest assured, I don't intend to provoke conflict just to have something to do. Until our time comes, I have to keep this company together and in good cheer while the challenges will only grow greater and greater with each battle. Mixing bandits and knights isn't as simple as beating their leader upside the head with a stick after all. Still, I'll try and keep you two in closer counsel if that's what you want."

 

[jaydude]

Setting off into the city, the Circle soon manages to find a prosperous jeweler where they can buy some aquamarine gems for the drinking horn Quill plans to craft. The proprietor - a blonde-haired woman in her late thirties - is soon persuaded to part with the raw gemstones for a price the Circle can afford, thanks largely to Catseye's haggling ability.

"Will that be all?" she asks, directing her attention towards Quill. "Or would the monsieur like to buy a material for the work he intends to create?"

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill bows with a little flourish "My sweet lady, you have given us the gems we've been looking for, and if it pleases thee, I hope to come back here soon with a small gift, to thank you for thy kind service." It never hurts to foster good relations with merchants, especially one like that, that he might have need of in the future.

 

[Epiphany]

Esbilon Rykon
The Eclipse looks sympathetic to the Zenith's concern but let's the two of them talk it out.

"There's nothing easy about forgiveness," Catseye says at last, meditating a bit on the words exchanged. "I can't say I have any room in my heart for those who sacked my homeland and planted a mountain corpse in its heart. For conflict between Exalts to end, or just between people for that matter, we have to do more than remember their losses and ours. Someone has to be willing to make the first move and find a way past a transgression. Otherwise, you get blood feuds for centuries."

"As regards Lookshy, what's done is done. All we can do is manage things forward. Together."

jaydude Red Shadow Claws
While the Eclipse is prepared to do a bit of haggling to drive down the price, she has no issues yielding the floor to the Twilight. While she privately suspects she has a better head for business, there's no denying the man is the expert when it comes to gems. So she saves her bargaining for a good wine merchant, should they come across one.

 

[Esbilon]

"I don't disagree wildly with your description of the current state of events," Ysandre answers Ryan, "I may consider it less well-advised to provoke said hunter, but that is a minor point. What I do contest is your use of the word 'always.' Where the Unconquered Sun gave you a head for war and a swordarm to contest with empires and titans, he gave me the means to sway the stubbornest of fools and Catseye the acumen to settle the most ancient of feuds. What has been given to us was made to change the very nature of the world, and we should not think that just because something has always been one way, it will forever remain that way."

 

[jaydude]

Red Shadow Claws
The jeweler gives Quill a smile, and her eyebrows rise pleasantly at his mention of a gift. "In any case, I'm glad to be of service." she says. "Dare I ask what kind of gift it is?"

Spoiler: OOC - Crafting

With regards to crafting the drinking horn - that is hollowing an animal horn out, treating it to make it safe to drink from and then adding aquamarine stones to it - I can imagine this being a simple project. As for the project difficulty, I was thinking this would depend on the level of quality Quill is aiming for. In terms of quality scale, difficulty 1 will be something any mortal craftsman (professional or apprentice) could create with the appropriate materials, difficulty 3 would be the product of a master craftsman (mortal or terrestrial Exalt) with a mortal lifetime of experience, whereas difficulty 5 would be something that is unmistakably the work of a Celestial Exalt.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Red Shadow Claws
The jeweler gives Quill a smile, and her eyebrows rise pleasantly at his mention of a gift. "In any case, I'm glad to be of service." she says. "Dare I ask what kind of gift it is?"

Spoiler: OOC - Crafting

With regards to crafting the drinking horn - that is hollowing an animal horn out, treating it to make it safe to drink from and then adding aquamarine stones to it - I can imagine this being a simple project. As for the project difficulty, I was thinking this would depend on the level of quality Quill is aiming for. In terms of quality scale, difficulty 1 will be something any mortal craftsman (professional or apprentice) could create with the appropriate materials, difficulty 3 would be the product of a master craftsman (mortal or terrestrial Exalt) with a mortal lifetime of experience, whereas difficulty 5 would be something that is unmistakably the work of a Celestial Exalt.

With a twinkle in his eyes, he says "My dear, if I told you what the gift was, it would lose the element of surprise. But trust me, it would be a compliment to your beauty."

Spoiler: Crafting

I aim to do a Celestial Exalt worthy work. It wouldn't do to show him something a mortal can achieve, if we're gonna show ourselves as Celestial Exalts.

 

[jaydude]

"Oh, you flatterer." the jeweler replies, though not without a grin and a slight blush. "In that case, I think I can wait for whatever you have planned."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Thanking the merchant, Quill heads out of the store, and finds a quiet spot, where there are no prying eyes. He then tells his fellow Exalts "I plan to make a gift worthy of a river god, but one that shows that it's maker is an Exalt, and not 'just' a Master Craftsman. It will be a while, so feel free to discuss things between you, while i work. just don't expect me to participate till I'm done with this." He smiles at them, and then grabs the horn, and the aquamarines, and begins to mentally build how he wants it to look, before doing the actual work.

The horn itself, while plain looking, for now, needs to be cleaned and cured. then, it needs to be shaped to the proper shape, and then the gemstones cut and embedded in it. It might seem simple enough, but for a mortal, it would take days to do. Quill did not have days.

And so he starts by cleaning out the horn, and curing it, but as he cures it, he pushes and caresses it, shaping it's sides so that they show images of ships on a river, with marine life under the waves. Next, he cuts the stones to various shapes and sizes. Some will me embedded as eyes to the marine life, while others will serve as accents to the ships. last but not least, he brings out a marine snail, and uses it to make a blue dye. With it, he starts adding blue colors to the shaped drinking horn, to bring out it's shape.

Spoiler: Craft

Spending 6m on Craftsman Needs No Tools, and 10m on Craft Excellency, and 6m on Flawless Handiwork Method.
So, 23 dice on the check (5 Int + 5 Craft + 10 dice from excellency + specialty + 2 from 1-die stunt)
And I can reroll 10's until they fail to appear.

9 successes rolled.

 

[Rykon]

"For all your problems with it, you seem to think that was done set us back from that path. Instead, I think you'll find it was a few steps forward. Thanks in no small part to Doc and Ganzin. The great part about being the fox is all the tricks up your sleeve." Ryan chuckled.

 

[jaydude]

Red Shadow Claws
By the time Quill is done, he has produced a veritable masterpiece of a drinking vessel, one that will surely impress anyone who looks closely at it.

Spoiler: OOC - Rewards

With 4 threshold successes, Quill gets 6 silver xp for fulfilling two basic objectives, as well as the once-per-story 5 silver xp bonus for using a Craft Ability rated at 5 or over.

 

[Esbilon]

"Very few foxes have sleeves, much less ones they keep anything in," Ysandre deadpans. "As to the ultimate result of this encounter, that remains to be seen."

 

[jaydude]

With the drinking horn crafted, do you all wish to head for Baphinol's temple?

 

[Rykon]

Assuming nothing else comes up, let's move on to the temple, yeah.

 

[D. Rex]

I'm all for it.

 

[Psychie]

Sure. Good for me.

 

[Sherwood]

I'm down with moving on.

 

[jaydude]

The Solars, Arumi and Ganzin proceed towards the walled complex they saw from the Silver Mermaid earlier. Within the wall they find a great wooden gate, currently open to admit worshipers of Baphinol and visitors to the temple.

The temple grounds are paved with white stones, and most of the space within the walls is taken up by a vast, square-shaped lake with rounded corners, in which several river dragons can be seen swimming freely. They appear peaceful and docile, but all of you can safely assume that the robust-looking bronze fence running along all of the lake's edges was put there for a good reason. In the center of the lake - connected to the rest of the grounds via a series of wide wooden bridges - sits an island, also square with rounded edges, upon which you see the actual temple; an ornate building resembling a small, Shogunate style palace.

It isn't long before the Circle is approached by a young-looking man in sea-green colored robes gilded with gold leaf. His jet-black hair is long and wavy, but it's his eyes, gleaming like diamonds at the bottom of a riverbed, that give a hint at his true nature.

"Greetings." he says in a deep voice that Catseye instantly recognizes. "I am Nerrocen, son and sorceror of Baphinol, the god of this river. And you are Ysandre, Catseye and their companions, are you not?"

 

[Sherwood]

Ailera sticks close to the others, but keeps her mouth shut. She is hardly the most diplomatic one of the bunch, and is more likely going to ruin things if she butts in.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Quill raises an eyebrow. The river god has a son, and he's a sorcerer?! interesting. Maybe he can drag Catseye and Nerrocen to a discussion on Sorcery. He was still new to this, and he had some questions on the subject that he'd love to pick their brains for some answers.

 

[Epiphany]

Catseye looks impressed and pleased by the spectacle of the temple. In truth, she's seen a lot of temples in her life but Gods love being fawned over. It cost her nothing to show a bit of awe and it could gain them favor, so no sense in not pandering to his tastes. Besides, the lake with the river dragons is pretty spectacular.

The approach of Nerrocen finally distracts Catseye from her show of marveling over the temple's blissful harmony. Putting on a slightly overawed smile, the Eclipse steps up to the God-Blooded and offers her hand to shake. "You're well informed, Nerrocen. I'm Catseye, that's Ysandre and let me introduce the rest of my companions." Which she promptly does so, pointing and naming them in turn. Turning back to the divine sorcerer, she adds a "And we're delighted to come to such a blissful, peaceful place. Baphinol clearly understand hospitality."

If the man takes the hint to offer her and her companions refreshments, she looks dutifully surprised and pleased or at least satisfied depending on what is offered.

"Your father's puissance is clear, Nerrocen," she says in a more conversational tone, regardless of hospitality. "But then, if you've learned the arts of Sorcery, you're plainly not content to simply sit in the lap of his luxury. You're interested in making something of a name for yourself, I take it? What's it like for such a man serving in your father's court?"

 

[Esbilon]

Once inside the temple, Ysandre lets the hood of her cloak down, no longer having as much of a need for secrecy. She smiles at Nerrocen when the man introduces himself and attempts to gauge what lies beneath the man's initial reaction. He looks young, but being both godblooded and a sorcerer, there is no telling how old he is in truth. Likewise, it would be very useful to know if he has any loyalties to the now-absent duchess.

 

[jaydude]

Ysandre can see nothing but polite respect for the Solars in Nerrocen's voice and mannerisms. She guesses that it's born from a combination of him recognizing how rare it is for a Solar Circle to visit, and knowing that the group could probably sack the temple if provoked sufficiently.

Nerrocen shakes Catseye's hand, before letting go and giving the Circle a small bow. "Forgive me, Quicksilver Falcon." he says humbly. "Had the priests and I known that you would be arriving at this time, we would have prepared refreshments for you ahead of the moment. Still, if you come with me to our dining area, I believe we can prepare something."

Assuming no-one wishes to do otherwise, he will lead the group into the temple, through a set of open double-doors. The group emerges into a great hall, where a grey-haired woman in robes similar to Nerrocen's can be seen and heard leading a congregation of several hundred people in prayer. From what the Circle hears, the prayers are directed towards Baphinol; there are requests for a good inundation of fertile soil for farmers on the river's banks, an ample supply of fish and fortune for fishermen, and guarantees of safe travel across the river's surface.

Whispering for the Circle to stay quiet, Nerrocen leads them around the edges of the hall and into a wood-walled corridor. Along the way they encounter another man in sea-green robes, though his are less ornate than Nerrocen's, and he is unmistakably human. The sorcerer gives a command to the man, who nods and heads for the kitchen as Nerrocen leads the Circle into a small dining area, no doubt used by Baphinol's priesthood. A dining table with six chairs on each side and a throne-like wooden chair on one end takes up most of the space in the room.

Nerrocen directs the Circle to sit down, shortly before everyone hears the sound of rushing water. The noise gets increasingly louder as the seconds pass, growing to the volume of a raging river less than a meter away, before there is a flash of white light. Once it clears, the Circle sees stood within the room a tall and musclebound man with cerulean blue skin, glowing white eyes, a short, sea-green beard and a thick queue of the same color descending from the back of his head. He wears nothing but a pair of light brown trousers befitting a fisherman, along with boots and a girdle of brown leather, both accented with gold trim.

The shirtless man looks around at the assembled Exalts, and smiles. "A group of Solars comes to my temple to bargain with me. And they bring along Dragon-blooded as well, as if the Usurpation was but a distant memory. To think that I would have the fortune to see see such a sight." he says in a pleasant voice that is nevertheless booming.

He sits down in the throne-like chair, and addresses the group. "I am Baphinol, god of the Nalian River. And I understand that you wish to negotiate with me?"

 

[Epiphany]

Nerrocen is so polite. The Eclipse's eyes gleam with appreciation. What a pleasure to deal with people who understand the game.

"No forgiveness needed, my friend," Catseye says as the God-Blooded Sorcerer leads the way. "I'm sure you and your patron understand that travel, even on the finest river, doesn't always go as scheduled. It's kind of you to offer, though. It's clear Baphinol not only understands hospitality but he embodies it."

The dance, the give and take of compliments, is both familiar and a bit foreign given its been sometime since she's had much opportunity for real diplomacy. Meanwhile, the Vaktri she summoned hopefully keeps pace with her and joins them all in the dining area. While the crystalline Earth Elemental hasn't had much to say so far, hopefully it'll speak up if she risks a misstep or at least offer an amendment to soothe any unexpected offense. Catsye had dealt with more divinities than any other person she personally knew and that was just enough for her to appreciate how whimsical, arbitrary or contrived such beings could be over things nigh-impossible to predict.

When Baphinol puts in an appearance, Catseye looks dutifully anxious over the impending flood of sound before putting on a pleasantly surprised expression at his arrival. There was no mistaking this being for anything but a God. Good. The visual reminder would hopefully keep her from relaxing even if things started to go well.

"My Lord Baphinol," the Eclipse says, rising from her seat and executing a respectful nod of her head with the barest bend of her back. This God was owed his proper reverence but the highest God of all had given her and her Circle a place on par with these terrestrial divinities. At least that's how she saw it.

Once more, she makes introductions of the entire Circle.

Then she sits back down, folds her hands together and looks upon the God seated on his throne. "My friends and I have indeed come to speak with you, Lord Baphinol. But perhaps not in the way you think. You speak of bargains and negotiation. I'd rather speak of friendship, points of mutual interest, and possibly the future. Bargains and negotiations are transactional, something exchanged for something and the matter concluded. As we're aware, you've seen ages pass. And we are returned, in force, in numbers and with friends not seen since a time perhaps only you remember well." Catseye smiles pointedly before finishing with, "Things have changed, things are changing and they won't be going back to the way they were. Not in the recent past and possibly not in the ancient past. Instead, we have the opportunity to do something different together. Something better, now and for the future. Will you hear us out, Lord Baphinol?"