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Message: <blockquote data-quote="darkbard" data-source="post: 9402894" data-attributes="member: 1282">Their conversations with Chanvati and, especially, Pa'avu in the desert around the time of the battle against the mutant freaks of the Legion of Ruth in the sandstorm revealed to Arunny where they must seek knowledge of the Henge of Time: The Primal Spirit the Goliath reveres, Stoneroot, the Sleeping Rock, whose connection to all the stone formations of the mortal realm is eternal, both their source and downstream incarnation. They must travel to the Ritual Chamber where the Golden Priestess can undergo the Ritual of Mud, her spirit traveling to the Spirit Realm for consultation.But first, affairs must be ordered and requisitions made for their journey.Ibhea knows that, as spiritual leader of Dolg Hana, he occupies a place of ultimate political authority. He could just take what the travelers need for their perilous journey and depart. Or he could pay the merchants of the village with coin and gemstones with which to replenish their wares by means of the next trade caravan, then allow the citizens to fare on their own the best they can.But Ibhea spent enough time amid the squalid downtrodden of Bantouk as a child to know either tack would build resentment among the bulk of the population--a rich and powerful man taking or buying what he wants in a way none of them ever could. No, instead, he will spend the time to work the relationships with the commonfolk he has established in his ministry. He will speak with Achariya, the destitute washerwoman who has the ear and respect of many young mothers of the village; with Potum, a sergeant who fought bravely in the defense of the Dolgs; with Jopheus, the potter who was a friend to Gan. These and others will be entrusted with the true secret of governance of a tight-knit community such as this: the popular will of the people. Consent in such a community is rarely driven by top-down dynamics. No, it is the common people who shape opinions, manufacture cohesion, resist the turning fortunes of the few who claim power.This is the message IBHEA spreads among the people: that though its governors prepare to journey away from the Dolg for a time, the village has never been better positioned to take the reins of government upon itself, fortified and trained by the engineers, systems, and infrastructure Xin Mae helped them establish in these months. Dolg Hanans, one and all, will continue the work of Delban's mission.[HR][/HR]Ibhea makes a Primary Skill Streetwise check to prepare the Dolg for the absence of its rulers by identifying those among the population who hold reputations of respect and influence among their neighbors, seeding the social cohesion necessary for the community to govern itself in their absence, r12 +18 = 30 vs 22 Moderate DC. Success.</blockquote>

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