Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
EN Publishing
Tizbiz Zeitgeist Campaign
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Lylandra" data-source="post: 7598219" data-attributes="member: 6816692"><p><strong>Old Fox</strong></p><p></p><p>Well, thanks <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> </p><p></p><p>We took quite the effort in trying to win Lya over and she's still alive by adventure 8 (we haven't seen much of her after the beran episode) but we don't know about her true colors right now.</p><p></p><p>Actually we'd be glad to find another regular player who isn't annoyed by our rather slow pace and has enough time to play regularly. Or a DM who is as much into interweaving character background and development with the prepared plot as we are. And I do think that you'd fit in quite nicely <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>regarding the RP, it kind of emerged from our online-RPG past where all development is character-based and there is little pre-structured plot. Plus I regularly exchange thoughts with both Tiz (we do have a forum where I write down some of Auryn's thoughts) and Carlyle (being married has its merits in this regard as well). Who is really good at portraying different kinds of characters even if paladin-esque types tend to be his favorites. </p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>We take some time to travel back to Reo Pedresco and hire a group of half-giant mercenaries to protect Liss, his workers and his shipments. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: #008000">(As we already knew the city from our time preparing to play the Fernandez family, asking the right people was quite the easy feat.)</span></p><p></p><p>After that, we try to get more information about Mr. Pemberton's future interests before we head to Citada de Cavallo. So we teleport back to the summer court and ask for either him or Bradko. The local merchants tell us that they haven't seen Pemberton for a while, but then direct us to a local tavern where Bradko tends to spend his evenings. To our surprise, said orc is enjoying the company of Mr. Fordren and Brakken Heffanita who seem to be having a friendly chat over some ale and wine. </p><p></p><p>As Carlyle knows that Auryn isn't too fond of getting too close to Fordren, we both try to stay in the background and just observe the strange trio. But since we don't actively try to hide and aren't really unobtrusive people per se, this plan fails pretty soon and we're being invited to join their chat. Which we do, even if that means a lot of teeth clenching for Auryn.</p><p></p><p>We start the conversation by asking Fordren about his business in Ber, and more specifically at the summer court and find out that he's been establishing his business in this country for quite a while which is kind of surprising as he's not really known for meeting risuri working standards and berans are even stricter when it comes to exploitative working conditions. When asked about Lya Jierre, he says that no, she didn't hire him to support her strange Ber game team.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #008000">(Which is actually a relief as we discussed this scenario earlier and Auryn told Carlyle and Margit that she'd out Fordren as being a slaver as a last resort to remove him from the table. Even if that meant breaking her deal with him. Plus he'd most likely never be able to set foot into Ber after that.)</span></p><p></p><p>We hint that Pemberton might be a competitor then as he's currently desperately trying to make a name for himself. After all, he obviously used the Shaggy to one-up Fordren's B.E.A.R and hired the very same Bradko as his representative. </p><p></p><p>When we mention Pemberton, Fordren turns quite sour as he seems to be in Fordren's bad books. But then again, he doesn't wish to go into more detail about their relationship or break-up. When we suggest that Pemberton might have stolen or copied schematics from Fordren, he neither denies nor confirms it.</p><p></p><p>“The little sparrow does what he does. We'd better leave it like that.” Fordren says with a good amount of bitterness in his voice. Which is something completely new in his repertoire and we don't really get whether that “little sparrow” is meant to be a real nickname or simply mockery.</p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">(The german word for sparrow is actually used sometimes as a rather old-fashioned nickname for children or lovers, especially in its diminutive form.)</span></p><p></p><p>We then tell him more about our experiences with the B.E.A.R. and tell Fordren about possible design flaws, including the programming. Like Pemberton, he's very keen on hearing our opinion and immediately jumps at smaller details. Plus it seems as if he's quite aware of the B.E.A.R.'s weaknesses. </p><p></p><p>After his technical interest is satisfies, Fordren then changes the subject <span style="color: #008000">(again, very surprisingly)</span> to ask us about our reasons for coming to the summer court. Brakken already told him that we were trying to get an audience with the Bruse and he had obviously been asked by the Bruse's men to lend them some automatons, so there must be a bigger story behind all this.</p><p></p><p>At first, we try to hide our intentions behind replacing the deceased ambassador and trying to negotiate trade deals, but then we both non-verbally agree to tell him a bit more about our concern about Borne. We explain that the Bruse is currently employing the man who helped building the Colossus which is why we'd like to ask that man, Oddcog, a few questions. </p><p></p><p>“Helped whom? I'm pretty sure that this Oddcog fellow didn't have the resources, nor the intellect to be the driving force behind such a construction and the risuri government didn't order that magnificent creation either, am I right?” Fordren adds calmly, but with a certain amount of curiosity.</p><p></p><p>As we don't really have reason to believe that Fordren is actually part of the Obs -after all, he's more of an egocentric than a misguided or fanatic idealist – we finally decide to tell him more about our knowledge of the conspiracy behind Borne's creation.</p><p></p><p>“Very well then.”, Carlyle starts, “I guess that more secrecy only plays into the conspirator's cards at this point. So let's bring some light into this <em>obscure</em> situation.”</p><p></p><p>He then carefully explains that the people behind Borne are a group of influential international conspirators who, at least partially, believe that they're trying to make the world a better place. Some of them, he says, are truly altruistic individuals, while others will fanatically follow their part of some plan we haven't fully figured out yet. He tells Fordren a bit about their suspected cell structure and their fondness of hiding their industrial structures in Bleak gate pockets. The Colossus Borne is by far the most terrifying of their endeavors and he's quite glad that the Obs cannot really control this gigantic child. </p><p></p><p>Fordren appears to be truly impressed by Carlyle's description of Borne, especially when it comes to fusing mind and machine. We are both quite concerned that we just did a big mistake by telling him so much that he might be interested in joining the conspiracy, but when Carlyle asks him about his own thoughts on the Obs, Fordren frowns for a moment before giving us quite the surprising answer:</p><p></p><p>“I believe that they should be stopped at any cost. As theoretically inspiring as this creation may be, such a being should have never been brought into this world and these people are lunatics who try to control the uncontrollable. They should be taught that they've gone too far.”</p><p></p><p>Now it is Auryn who's looking at her old enemy in disbelief as she really didn't expect Fordren of all people to be so reasonable. But then she realizes that an unstoppable force like Borne is a threat indeed to the industrialist's own strive for supremacy and she quickly focuses her thoughts again. </p><p></p><p>We then talk a bit about Leone as another constructor of Borne, a fanatic who was able to control metal as a means of showing Fordren that these Obs are dangerous individuals on top of that.</p><p></p><p>“Oh my, these powers remind me of someone these Berans talk about a lot: Maybe he's simply a progeny of this ancient Steel Dragon. Have you tried to trace his family's bloodline yet?”</p><p></p><p>“We had this thought as well. But we're not... that well read in Dragon Tyrant bloodlines”, Auryn says while being intrigued that he's actually the first other person to come to this conclusion. Especially as she knows that Fordren isn't really that interested in anything beyond his personal goals. </p><p></p><p>He then fascinates a bit about the theory behind Borne a bit as he's clearly interested in this mind-making magic or technology, even if he adds that this is highly disturbing. When Auryn reminds him that Borne appears to be a sentient, albeit child-like being and that stopping him might just mean murdering an innocent, he laughs a bit and adds that being empathetic with the most unusual of creatures is so typical for her.</p><p></p><p>“Not with all creatures” she replies coldly, which makes Brakken raise an eyebrow in response.</p><p></p><p>“And though I have to admit that the very core idea of the Obs of creating a better world is admirable indeed, I have to condemn their means and implementations of their plans. World peace and harmony between all people of Lanjyr should be the result of a mixture of hard diplomatic work and free minds coming together, not of people being forced to agree with one another. What's peace worth if it is nothing but the result of forced obedience, and not of free will?” </p><p></p><p>“Holding the mirror straight in front of me. You truly are a fascinating woman.”</p><p></p><p>Fordren's gaze locks at Auryn and for a moment it seems as if his grey predatory stare is dueling with her violet defiance. Then he turns more amused by the whole situation, even if his eerie fascination still lingers for a few moments.</p><p></p><p>Carlyle realizes the tension between the two and so he shifts the subject back to Flint where he explains that the Obs are being a financial threat to Fordren Industries as well. After all, they were in league with the Kell Guild who stole a few shipments of raw materials. This triggers a rather emotional response from Fordren who turns visibly angry.</p><p></p><p>“So you say they've STOLEN from ME?! They'll regret the day they put their filthy hands on MY property!” he shouts, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with pure fury.</p><p></p><p>Carlyle is surprised for a moment as he didn't expect such an outrage over such a seemingly marginal loss, especially not by a man of his stature. Auryn on the other hand winces for a split second before putting up a perfect poker face.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #008000">(She obviously got flashbacks that moment even if Fordren never directed his rage at her and simply left the scene whenever he had been dissatisfied by her stubborn defiance. But she knows his temper quite well.)</span></p><p></p><p>After this short outburst, Carlyle continues to say that Michael Carlyle may provide further insight into what has gone missing. He also mentions that it is likely that Fordren Industries might already be infiltrated by Ob members, so Fordren better check up on his own staff. He adds that the RHC already checked on Vantrys' workers and it seems as if this company is - fortunately – clean of Obs influence. Carlyle then takes this as opportunity to shift the subject yet again <span style="color: #008000">(he's really riding a slippery slope it seems)</span> to ask Fordren about his interest in investing in risuri industrial companies.</p><p></p><p>Fordren relaxes pretty quickly and explains that he's trying to expand his business there and that he already has realized that one has to be honorable to stand a chance in today's changing environment. Goodson seemed like a good bet at the times, he says, even if he wasn't too content with that man's personal choices. He states that he's got a lot of respect for Risur as the nation stood the test of time which is another reason why he wishes to have good trade relations with the Risuri. </p><p></p><p>Carlyle agrees that this sounds like quite the good and even admirable plan for a Danoran. He adds that trying to adjust his business model to the local customs, especially in countries like Risur and Ber (where failing to meet the standards can get you beaten up by the Executores), is generally a good idea. Regarding Risur, he explains that there is this newly formed circle of Industrialists who set a new standard on production quality and working conditions, so anyone who wishes to stand a chance on the flinter market should probably think about joining them.</p><p></p><p>Fordren seems to be interested in this new movement, especially if his business partner and soon-to-be nephew in-law Vantrys is among its founders. Auryn then mentions that the circle was formed after a long history of civil protest among brave risuri citizens, something she calls both admirable and sympathetic. After all, Risur has become her home away from home which is why the people of Risur and their prosperity mean a lot to her. Even if they mostly belong to different races and follow different traditions than her own. So she kind of has two places to call home and hold dear right now.</p><p></p><p>“Is that so? Well, then maybe the two of us have more in common than you think. Maybe... you will even understand me in time.” Fordren says with a reminiscing sigh.</p><p></p><p>We then take a full circle to discuss the Obs again and Fordren signals that now that he knows more about these people, he has decided that they are indeed his enemy. After all, they are a threat to his business and his power.</p><p></p><p>“This is something we'll never have in common. In my opinion, power is not what you take but what you are being given by others. Their combined support, their trust, even their love. That is true power.”</p><p></p><p>“You're right, Miss Auryn. We won't come to an agreement here. You should keep your dependencies for yourself.”</p><p></p><p>After a few minutes of small talk, Fordren asks Brakken and Bradko to excuse him and the two of us as he'd like to have a private chat with the two agents of Risur. He then leads us to the beach of the summer court's large lake and explains that he'd like to talk about his relationship to Pemberton again. He admits that the two of them do know each other quite well as both of them studied engineering in Danor at the same time. We then ask him why Pemberton would deny any connection of them at all, but Fordren insists that he doesn't wish to go further into detail with the little sparrow. Again, we sense this strange, almost tender bitterness whenever he talks about this “little sparrow” <span style="color: #008000">(to our surprise, he never calls him by his first name).</span></p><p></p><p>He then tells us that he'd like to leave it like that and vanishes into the night. </p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">( That was a pretty long and intense talk. In a hindsight, all of Fordren's strange behavior totally made sense, but back then we left the evening with even more questions than we had before.</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">I'll discuss the impact of Fordren on Carlyle and Auryn in a later post, when the two of them had more time to talk about him and Auryn's struggle to leave her past behind as this is yet another intricate subject. But now to this part:</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">First, he's declared himself to be an enemy of the Obs, yay! Even if this means that Fordren might play the role of temporary ally in the future and Auryn will have to deal with him. Still this is far better than having to fend him off constantly because he's trying to get his hands on Obs tech and use it for his own gain. </span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">We took a bit of a risk to out the Obs to him, but we were pretty sure that he's too selfish to even think about lending the Obs his knowledge and inventions. </span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">Then there is his strange fondness of Risur which we could not really place as he's a born Danoran, even if he has little ties with his home nation. We initially thought that he'd try to sell weapon to both parties should a fifth Yerasol war break out which is why he'd like to be on good terms with both nation, but his intentions seemed fully honorable. But then again, Fordren has never been a cheat. Ruthless, yes. But he'd rather crush his enemies than poison them with intrigue. </span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">Add his strange relationship to Pemberton and his sudden rage regarding the Kell guild's theft to the equation and we were thoroughly confused. </span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">So after this session, we tried to make sense of both Pemberton and Fordren and created this little fact sheet to test a few theories. You may guess which one(s) turned out to be right, but here are our facts plus a few of the theroies:</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">Fordren:</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Uses "little Sparrow" as nickname for Pemberton</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Seems to dislike/feel bitter about Pemberton, but doesn't want to talk about him</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Doesn't see a competitor in Pemberton</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- studied engineering in Danor and stems from Danor</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- became really angry when we told him about the theft of his shipments</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- has honest intentions regarding Risur</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- has no relations with Lya or the Jierre family</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Is worried about the Obs and will fight them</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Is as fascinated as Pemberton when it comes to tech, especially in terms of fusing mind and machine. </span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Has a "second home" that is not Danor</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Solely interested in personal power</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Linked Leone Quintal with the bloodline of the Steel Dragon (which is something not even Harkover Lee thought of)</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Is still interested in Auryn and enthralled/fascinated whenever she speaks about their past</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">Pemberton:</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Uses the "old Fox" as nickname for Fordren</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- got angry when we talked about Flying Spark being a Dragon Tyrant</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- totally lied about his relationship to Fordren. Both know each othre quite well and it is highly unlikely that Fordren stole designs from Pemberton</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- cheats for benefit</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- is honestly interested in technical details of all kind</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- was highly interested in Auryn's relationship with Fordren</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- knows the B.E.A.R. quite well</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- had been quite surprised when we appeared in Ber and Sawyer</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- doesn't know jack about Flint and flintish industry</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- dislikes Goodson</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- had been to the KATE, even if he denied being there</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- he's operating from Macdam (Fordren confirmed that he's stemming from there), but studied abroad in Danor</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">Theories (ranked from likely to crazy):</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Pemberton and Fordren both studied in Danor where they befriended each other. Maybe they were simply close, maybe they were lovers. Pemberton stole something (designs?) from Fordren which is why Fordren is mad about Pemberton. Still he doesn't deem the one who abused his trust to be a worthy competitor ("little sparrow"), so he just views him with disregard. Pemberton on the other hand is still fond of and even idolizes Fordren, even if he cheated on him. Which is why he secretly follows him. So he's no competitor either.</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Pemberton and Fordren are the very same person as he's a shapeshifter who tries to own the industrial market and play games in the mean time. Fordren is the "original" act, which is why he's much more defined. We didn't see magic on either of them as a shifter's abilities are natural.</span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">- Fordren is a former Dragon Tyrant, which is why he's still thinking of Ber as his original home. Because of that, he's obviously forced to live in exile. Pemberton is the only one who knows about his little secret which is why he turned so angry when we mentioned dragons. No one insults dragon-senpai! They most likely met at a danoran university and were pretty close. Fordren fears that Pemberton may spill his secret, so he doesn't want to talk about his little weakness. Would explain why Fordren got so mad about someone stealing his property. And why he'sl obsessed with power. And Auryn. </span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000">Oh and did I mention that both are named after recent popes? Francis and Benedict. But that's just a funny coincidence. )</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lylandra, post: 7598219, member: 6816692"] [b]Old Fox[/b] Well, thanks :) We took quite the effort in trying to win Lya over and she's still alive by adventure 8 (we haven't seen much of her after the beran episode) but we don't know about her true colors right now. Actually we'd be glad to find another regular player who isn't annoyed by our rather slow pace and has enough time to play regularly. Or a DM who is as much into interweaving character background and development with the prepared plot as we are. And I do think that you'd fit in quite nicely :) regarding the RP, it kind of emerged from our online-RPG past where all development is character-based and there is little pre-structured plot. Plus I regularly exchange thoughts with both Tiz (we do have a forum where I write down some of Auryn's thoughts) and Carlyle (being married has its merits in this regard as well). Who is really good at portraying different kinds of characters even if paladin-esque types tend to be his favorites. --- We take some time to travel back to Reo Pedresco and hire a group of half-giant mercenaries to protect Liss, his workers and his shipments. [COLOR="#008000"](As we already knew the city from our time preparing to play the Fernandez family, asking the right people was quite the easy feat.)[/COLOR] After that, we try to get more information about Mr. Pemberton's future interests before we head to Citada de Cavallo. So we teleport back to the summer court and ask for either him or Bradko. The local merchants tell us that they haven't seen Pemberton for a while, but then direct us to a local tavern where Bradko tends to spend his evenings. To our surprise, said orc is enjoying the company of Mr. Fordren and Brakken Heffanita who seem to be having a friendly chat over some ale and wine. As Carlyle knows that Auryn isn't too fond of getting too close to Fordren, we both try to stay in the background and just observe the strange trio. But since we don't actively try to hide and aren't really unobtrusive people per se, this plan fails pretty soon and we're being invited to join their chat. Which we do, even if that means a lot of teeth clenching for Auryn. We start the conversation by asking Fordren about his business in Ber, and more specifically at the summer court and find out that he's been establishing his business in this country for quite a while which is kind of surprising as he's not really known for meeting risuri working standards and berans are even stricter when it comes to exploitative working conditions. When asked about Lya Jierre, he says that no, she didn't hire him to support her strange Ber game team. [COLOR="#008000"](Which is actually a relief as we discussed this scenario earlier and Auryn told Carlyle and Margit that she'd out Fordren as being a slaver as a last resort to remove him from the table. Even if that meant breaking her deal with him. Plus he'd most likely never be able to set foot into Ber after that.)[/COLOR] We hint that Pemberton might be a competitor then as he's currently desperately trying to make a name for himself. After all, he obviously used the Shaggy to one-up Fordren's B.E.A.R and hired the very same Bradko as his representative. When we mention Pemberton, Fordren turns quite sour as he seems to be in Fordren's bad books. But then again, he doesn't wish to go into more detail about their relationship or break-up. When we suggest that Pemberton might have stolen or copied schematics from Fordren, he neither denies nor confirms it. “The little sparrow does what he does. We'd better leave it like that.” Fordren says with a good amount of bitterness in his voice. Which is something completely new in his repertoire and we don't really get whether that “little sparrow” is meant to be a real nickname or simply mockery. [COLOR="#008000"] (The german word for sparrow is actually used sometimes as a rather old-fashioned nickname for children or lovers, especially in its diminutive form.)[/COLOR] We then tell him more about our experiences with the B.E.A.R. and tell Fordren about possible design flaws, including the programming. Like Pemberton, he's very keen on hearing our opinion and immediately jumps at smaller details. Plus it seems as if he's quite aware of the B.E.A.R.'s weaknesses. After his technical interest is satisfies, Fordren then changes the subject [COLOR="#008000"](again, very surprisingly)[/COLOR] to ask us about our reasons for coming to the summer court. Brakken already told him that we were trying to get an audience with the Bruse and he had obviously been asked by the Bruse's men to lend them some automatons, so there must be a bigger story behind all this. At first, we try to hide our intentions behind replacing the deceased ambassador and trying to negotiate trade deals, but then we both non-verbally agree to tell him a bit more about our concern about Borne. We explain that the Bruse is currently employing the man who helped building the Colossus which is why we'd like to ask that man, Oddcog, a few questions. “Helped whom? I'm pretty sure that this Oddcog fellow didn't have the resources, nor the intellect to be the driving force behind such a construction and the risuri government didn't order that magnificent creation either, am I right?” Fordren adds calmly, but with a certain amount of curiosity. As we don't really have reason to believe that Fordren is actually part of the Obs -after all, he's more of an egocentric than a misguided or fanatic idealist – we finally decide to tell him more about our knowledge of the conspiracy behind Borne's creation. “Very well then.”, Carlyle starts, “I guess that more secrecy only plays into the conspirator's cards at this point. So let's bring some light into this [I]obscure[/I] situation.” He then carefully explains that the people behind Borne are a group of influential international conspirators who, at least partially, believe that they're trying to make the world a better place. Some of them, he says, are truly altruistic individuals, while others will fanatically follow their part of some plan we haven't fully figured out yet. He tells Fordren a bit about their suspected cell structure and their fondness of hiding their industrial structures in Bleak gate pockets. The Colossus Borne is by far the most terrifying of their endeavors and he's quite glad that the Obs cannot really control this gigantic child. Fordren appears to be truly impressed by Carlyle's description of Borne, especially when it comes to fusing mind and machine. We are both quite concerned that we just did a big mistake by telling him so much that he might be interested in joining the conspiracy, but when Carlyle asks him about his own thoughts on the Obs, Fordren frowns for a moment before giving us quite the surprising answer: “I believe that they should be stopped at any cost. As theoretically inspiring as this creation may be, such a being should have never been brought into this world and these people are lunatics who try to control the uncontrollable. They should be taught that they've gone too far.” Now it is Auryn who's looking at her old enemy in disbelief as she really didn't expect Fordren of all people to be so reasonable. But then she realizes that an unstoppable force like Borne is a threat indeed to the industrialist's own strive for supremacy and she quickly focuses her thoughts again. We then talk a bit about Leone as another constructor of Borne, a fanatic who was able to control metal as a means of showing Fordren that these Obs are dangerous individuals on top of that. “Oh my, these powers remind me of someone these Berans talk about a lot: Maybe he's simply a progeny of this ancient Steel Dragon. Have you tried to trace his family's bloodline yet?” “We had this thought as well. But we're not... that well read in Dragon Tyrant bloodlines”, Auryn says while being intrigued that he's actually the first other person to come to this conclusion. Especially as she knows that Fordren isn't really that interested in anything beyond his personal goals. He then fascinates a bit about the theory behind Borne a bit as he's clearly interested in this mind-making magic or technology, even if he adds that this is highly disturbing. When Auryn reminds him that Borne appears to be a sentient, albeit child-like being and that stopping him might just mean murdering an innocent, he laughs a bit and adds that being empathetic with the most unusual of creatures is so typical for her. “Not with all creatures” she replies coldly, which makes Brakken raise an eyebrow in response. “And though I have to admit that the very core idea of the Obs of creating a better world is admirable indeed, I have to condemn their means and implementations of their plans. World peace and harmony between all people of Lanjyr should be the result of a mixture of hard diplomatic work and free minds coming together, not of people being forced to agree with one another. What's peace worth if it is nothing but the result of forced obedience, and not of free will?” “Holding the mirror straight in front of me. You truly are a fascinating woman.” Fordren's gaze locks at Auryn and for a moment it seems as if his grey predatory stare is dueling with her violet defiance. Then he turns more amused by the whole situation, even if his eerie fascination still lingers for a few moments. Carlyle realizes the tension between the two and so he shifts the subject back to Flint where he explains that the Obs are being a financial threat to Fordren Industries as well. After all, they were in league with the Kell Guild who stole a few shipments of raw materials. This triggers a rather emotional response from Fordren who turns visibly angry. “So you say they've STOLEN from ME?! They'll regret the day they put their filthy hands on MY property!” he shouts, breathing heavily, his eyes filled with pure fury. Carlyle is surprised for a moment as he didn't expect such an outrage over such a seemingly marginal loss, especially not by a man of his stature. Auryn on the other hand winces for a split second before putting up a perfect poker face. [COLOR="#008000"](She obviously got flashbacks that moment even if Fordren never directed his rage at her and simply left the scene whenever he had been dissatisfied by her stubborn defiance. But she knows his temper quite well.)[/COLOR] After this short outburst, Carlyle continues to say that Michael Carlyle may provide further insight into what has gone missing. He also mentions that it is likely that Fordren Industries might already be infiltrated by Ob members, so Fordren better check up on his own staff. He adds that the RHC already checked on Vantrys' workers and it seems as if this company is - fortunately – clean of Obs influence. Carlyle then takes this as opportunity to shift the subject yet again [COLOR="#008000"](he's really riding a slippery slope it seems)[/COLOR] to ask Fordren about his interest in investing in risuri industrial companies. Fordren relaxes pretty quickly and explains that he's trying to expand his business there and that he already has realized that one has to be honorable to stand a chance in today's changing environment. Goodson seemed like a good bet at the times, he says, even if he wasn't too content with that man's personal choices. He states that he's got a lot of respect for Risur as the nation stood the test of time which is another reason why he wishes to have good trade relations with the Risuri. Carlyle agrees that this sounds like quite the good and even admirable plan for a Danoran. He adds that trying to adjust his business model to the local customs, especially in countries like Risur and Ber (where failing to meet the standards can get you beaten up by the Executores), is generally a good idea. Regarding Risur, he explains that there is this newly formed circle of Industrialists who set a new standard on production quality and working conditions, so anyone who wishes to stand a chance on the flinter market should probably think about joining them. Fordren seems to be interested in this new movement, especially if his business partner and soon-to-be nephew in-law Vantrys is among its founders. Auryn then mentions that the circle was formed after a long history of civil protest among brave risuri citizens, something she calls both admirable and sympathetic. After all, Risur has become her home away from home which is why the people of Risur and their prosperity mean a lot to her. Even if they mostly belong to different races and follow different traditions than her own. So she kind of has two places to call home and hold dear right now. “Is that so? Well, then maybe the two of us have more in common than you think. Maybe... you will even understand me in time.” Fordren says with a reminiscing sigh. We then take a full circle to discuss the Obs again and Fordren signals that now that he knows more about these people, he has decided that they are indeed his enemy. After all, they are a threat to his business and his power. “This is something we'll never have in common. In my opinion, power is not what you take but what you are being given by others. Their combined support, their trust, even their love. That is true power.” “You're right, Miss Auryn. We won't come to an agreement here. You should keep your dependencies for yourself.” After a few minutes of small talk, Fordren asks Brakken and Bradko to excuse him and the two of us as he'd like to have a private chat with the two agents of Risur. He then leads us to the beach of the summer court's large lake and explains that he'd like to talk about his relationship to Pemberton again. He admits that the two of them do know each other quite well as both of them studied engineering in Danor at the same time. We then ask him why Pemberton would deny any connection of them at all, but Fordren insists that he doesn't wish to go further into detail with the little sparrow. Again, we sense this strange, almost tender bitterness whenever he talks about this “little sparrow” [COLOR="#008000"](to our surprise, he never calls him by his first name).[/COLOR] He then tells us that he'd like to leave it like that and vanishes into the night. [COLOR="#008000"] ( That was a pretty long and intense talk. In a hindsight, all of Fordren's strange behavior totally made sense, but back then we left the evening with even more questions than we had before. I'll discuss the impact of Fordren on Carlyle and Auryn in a later post, when the two of them had more time to talk about him and Auryn's struggle to leave her past behind as this is yet another intricate subject. But now to this part: First, he's declared himself to be an enemy of the Obs, yay! Even if this means that Fordren might play the role of temporary ally in the future and Auryn will have to deal with him. Still this is far better than having to fend him off constantly because he's trying to get his hands on Obs tech and use it for his own gain. We took a bit of a risk to out the Obs to him, but we were pretty sure that he's too selfish to even think about lending the Obs his knowledge and inventions. Then there is his strange fondness of Risur which we could not really place as he's a born Danoran, even if he has little ties with his home nation. We initially thought that he'd try to sell weapon to both parties should a fifth Yerasol war break out which is why he'd like to be on good terms with both nation, but his intentions seemed fully honorable. But then again, Fordren has never been a cheat. Ruthless, yes. But he'd rather crush his enemies than poison them with intrigue. Add his strange relationship to Pemberton and his sudden rage regarding the Kell guild's theft to the equation and we were thoroughly confused. So after this session, we tried to make sense of both Pemberton and Fordren and created this little fact sheet to test a few theories. You may guess which one(s) turned out to be right, but here are our facts plus a few of the theroies: Fordren: - Uses "little Sparrow" as nickname for Pemberton - Seems to dislike/feel bitter about Pemberton, but doesn't want to talk about him - Doesn't see a competitor in Pemberton - studied engineering in Danor and stems from Danor - became really angry when we told him about the theft of his shipments - has honest intentions regarding Risur - has no relations with Lya or the Jierre family - Is worried about the Obs and will fight them - Is as fascinated as Pemberton when it comes to tech, especially in terms of fusing mind and machine. - Has a "second home" that is not Danor - Solely interested in personal power - Linked Leone Quintal with the bloodline of the Steel Dragon (which is something not even Harkover Lee thought of) - Is still interested in Auryn and enthralled/fascinated whenever she speaks about their past Pemberton: - Uses the "old Fox" as nickname for Fordren - got angry when we talked about Flying Spark being a Dragon Tyrant - totally lied about his relationship to Fordren. Both know each othre quite well and it is highly unlikely that Fordren stole designs from Pemberton - cheats for benefit - is honestly interested in technical details of all kind - was highly interested in Auryn's relationship with Fordren - knows the B.E.A.R. quite well - had been quite surprised when we appeared in Ber and Sawyer - doesn't know jack about Flint and flintish industry - dislikes Goodson - had been to the KATE, even if he denied being there - he's operating from Macdam (Fordren confirmed that he's stemming from there), but studied abroad in Danor Theories (ranked from likely to crazy): - Pemberton and Fordren both studied in Danor where they befriended each other. Maybe they were simply close, maybe they were lovers. Pemberton stole something (designs?) from Fordren which is why Fordren is mad about Pemberton. Still he doesn't deem the one who abused his trust to be a worthy competitor ("little sparrow"), so he just views him with disregard. Pemberton on the other hand is still fond of and even idolizes Fordren, even if he cheated on him. Which is why he secretly follows him. So he's no competitor either. - Pemberton and Fordren are the very same person as he's a shapeshifter who tries to own the industrial market and play games in the mean time. Fordren is the "original" act, which is why he's much more defined. We didn't see magic on either of them as a shifter's abilities are natural. - Fordren is a former Dragon Tyrant, which is why he's still thinking of Ber as his original home. Because of that, he's obviously forced to live in exile. Pemberton is the only one who knows about his little secret which is why he turned so angry when we mentioned dragons. No one insults dragon-senpai! They most likely met at a danoran university and were pretty close. Fordren fears that Pemberton may spill his secret, so he doesn't want to talk about his little weakness. Would explain why Fordren got so mad about someone stealing his property. And why he'sl obsessed with power. And Auryn. Oh and did I mention that both are named after recent popes? Francis and Benedict. But that's just a funny coincidence. )[/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
EN Publishing
Tizbiz Zeitgeist Campaign
Top