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<blockquote data-quote="Lylandra" data-source="post: 9259704" data-attributes="member: 6816692"><p><strong><em>How to save your dragon</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Ashima-Shimtu reports that her restraints are much less severe in the new world, and she still points out her hope that we will eventually free her - though she knows that we have more important things to do right now. She also explains that she has learned empathy over the years and now wants to show signs of her good will as well.</p><p></p><p>Then the demoness freely tries to share several information with us, some of which we already knew: that the Obs are planning a conference in Danor and have invited the whole world to participate. Well, everyone except us and her. Ashima-Shimtu also tells us that she has been trying to gaze upon Ber, only to have "something stare back at her" and we suspect that our neighboring country might just have a serious Gidim problem. Also, she muses that her prison might have been changed yet again. And finally, a fleet of Berans had sailed off to Axis Island, but at the moment a Danoran Obs fleet is probably on its way there as well, so we should hurry should we still call the Berans “our friends”.</p><p></p><p>Then the Titan Blood Construct collapses and we are still not sure what to do with the demoness as she is obviously trying to stay on good terms with us, but probably just trying to win us over in the long run. What we are sure about though is that we will most likely return to the Crypta Heraeticorum in the near future...</p><p></p><p>After Ashima-Shimtu has vanished into bloody sea foam, we head straight to the Impossible and give the order that all motorized ships should stay ashore or near the coastline for the time being. Together with Margit, Flying Spark, Xambria and Asrabey, we head for Axis Island, repeating the very same nightly maneuver from almost two years ago. We dive through the hidden cave again appear right next to the very same petrified tree. Only that now we can classify the split tree as one of the fine adjustments needed for the Axis ritual.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(Ha! There was the missing part with the motorized ships <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" />)</span></p><p></p><p>As we try to make our way out, Gabriel suddenly smells the scent of unwashed human and old blood, and we stumble upon a run-down woman named Cosette Arianne who was in charge of taking care of the ritualists on the island. We tell her that we didn't come here to harm her, but are just seeking information and our people, she starts talking about what happened to her during the Calamity: When everything fell apart here, she hid, she says, but then all of a sudden everyone wanted the same thing. Then the remaining workers worked until they succumbed. and she got so hungry that she started eating her own, deceased people.</p><p></p><p>We feel a mix of pity and disgust regarding Cosette's situation, but then Gabriel realizes that the woman is not alone but also possessed by the spirit of Nicodemus.</p><p></p><p>As soon as Nicodemus realizes that we know about his presence, he immediately asks us for a cigarette and bluntly asks us why on earth we sabotaged the ritual. He notes that due to our interference, the world is not a better place as he and the Obs had planned it, but a pretty broken one.</p><p></p><p>We look at Niocodemus in bewilderment in return.</p><p></p><p>“How can you even think that we had a hand in your failing? Yes, we send a team to investigate, but if Lya Jierre reformed in your Ghost Council just as we believe she did, she might have told you that we literally admitted we had no chance in stopping your ritual.”, Auryn says, irritated at the combination of obvious lack of information and prejudice of the Obs' leader.</p><p></p><p>Nicodemus takes a deep drag from his Leaf of Nicodemus and replies that his magic had revealed quite clearly that "the order" to sabotage the ritual came from Risur, so nothing to debate here. Whereupon Gabriel raises his eyebrows and points out the obvious:</p><p></p><p>“From Risur does not necessarily mean 'from the Risuri'. Or do I have to remind a 500 years old spirit that within my land lie powers much grander and older than any of us here? We have good evidence that the Titan known as the Voice of Rot has been planning something for quite a while now, and the fact that this very same Titan who is so keen on bringing on the End of the World is now nowhere to be found points toward some pretty strong evidence, don't you think? Besides, our very own 'investigation magic' revealed his agents to be your saboteurs. You're welcome.”</p><p></p><p>“It's a tragedy, really...” Auryn adds with slightly less snark than Gabriel. “...that it was ultimately your lack of knowledge about the mysteries of Lanjyr and your underestimation of any of its players that isn't part of our modern nations caused you and your plan to fail so horribly. All that we ask of you now is to admit your mistake and help this dying world survive another day.”</p><p></p><p>We then tell him about the planar invaders we had warned about in advance, who had tried to set up their own domain days after Starfall and ask Nicodemus if shattering the planar barrier was an accident as well. But it turns out that the Obs had actually readjusted the plan after the incident on Mutravir.</p><p></p><p>“It was Han Jierre's idea, wasn't it? He was so keen on getting his teleportation powers at any cost back then at Mutravir.”, Auryn interjects, but Nicodemus doesn't react in any readable way.</p><p></p><p>As we mention the Hiveminds and the Gidim, Nicodemus appears to be well aware of the Hiveminds, but it is still news to him that they were actually Gidim. He points out that he and the Obs will deal with the problem, and that everyone needs to pull together first, whereupon we accuse him of not really trusting people after all, since he "had" to resort to mind control - which the Berans in particular won't like very much.</p><p></p><p>When Nicodemus mentions talks about the conference he has planned for bringing the world together, Gabriel remarks that the king of Risur has not yet received an invitation, and that he wouldn't be opposed to joining their meeting on peaceful terms. Nicodemus laughs at that suggestion, stating maybe that the others might at least agree to fight against Risur. We, in turn, have no interest in conflict and war (which seems to be the only thing Nicodemus is really good at), but offer to work together to improve the situation.</p><p></p><p>“You're serious then?”, Nicodemus asks with a mix of disbelief and challenge.”Then lower your resistance against our lighthouses and join in the community of rationale. We will be glad to have you at our side and stop this conflict.”</p><p></p><p>“And you still don't understand your own philosophy. What good is cooperation, when it is forced by magic, and when its outcome is already set by your ideas?. So no, we won't submit to your <em>thought control</em>.”, Gabriel returns</p><p></p><p>“Then face the storms of the world all on your own, while the rest of Lanjyr comes together in unity”</p><p></p><p>“You speak of unity, when you don't care who you're inviting at all, sowing the seeds of dissonance right from the start. You'd arrogantly rather work with those in league with literal devils than with the sane people of Kellandia and the enclaves, just because they are affiliated with Risur. Do you have no conscience left?”, Auryn asks Nicodemus rather angrily when she remembers that an invitation had gone out to “Mad King” Vardanis.</p><p></p><p>“It doesn't have to be him though. You could easily become leader of Elfaivar and ensure the safety of all your people forever, if you just abandoned your pride and joined me instead. Come to my side, and find the peace you're longing for”, he offers her all of a sudden, his voice returning back to the soft, almost gentle tone he had during the Convocation.</p><p></p><p>“We both know that this is only a little bit better than straight blackmail. Sorry, but I know exactly where I stand in this regard.”, Auryn replies with a similar calm demeanor.</p><p></p><p>At some point, Nicodemus realizes that his other host is approaching the island along with the Danoran fleet, and he leaves Cosette's body after begging her not to hurt the poor woman.</p><p></p><p>“I'm not the one hurting innocents, Nicodemus...” Gabriel whispers in disbelief just as the spirit dissipates. Cosette is at the end of her tether and we prefer to cast a sleep spell at her and put her in the Absurdist Web to spare her any further suffering.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(Wow, Nic has really lost much of his cool over time. It is quite certain that he is quite desperate after having his plan fail so horribly at Axis Island, and we also got that divination magic can be misleading, but at this point he was very much set on scapegoating Risur as a means to keep face. He just could not deal with the fact that he and the Obs alone screwed this up by underestimating the Voice of Rot. Which is an escapist behavior that's very much consistent from this point on.)</span></p><p></p><p>Next, we take a moment to magically contact Fordren and ask him about his whereabouts. He tells us that he is currently locked himself up in the tower of the island's fortress, and from his words it is also clear that a huge Hivemind has spread out there and is preventing him from leaving the tower again. So it seems like it's time to rescue the princess from her tower...</p><p></p><p>We wait for nightfall and fly to the fortress under the veil of darkness. Once at the fortress, we see that some soldiers are working extremely efficiently to guard the place, while another group is busy assembling a strange, box-shaped ship. From the sight of several domes we guess that there are new fortress defenses in play, and as we approach, we see that there is indeed a huge tentacle-armed brain hidden in ethereal form right above the fortress.</p><p></p><p>Remembering our last encounter with such a creature in Slate, we decide to attack it to incapacitate the soldiers. We protect ourselves from mind control and Xambria pulls out a tuning fork she created especially for Gidim to make them vulnerable to her attacks. Seems like someone has spend quite some time researching the Gidim and their weakness. We then fly towards the Gidim brain and finish it off before it really realizes what is happening. However, the Hivemind Cerebrum seems to be unstable and is about to explode.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, Gabriel is quick to react and protects us all from the magic wave with a cleverly placed anti-magic field. And just as we expected, all the workers and soldiers fall into a deep coma after the Hivemind is dissolved. We then knock politely on the gate of the inner tower and are greeted by the sight of a much confused Mr. Fordren. He nods his head towards King Gabriel and then hands over a letter to the new king of Risur.</p><p></p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Fordren. I appreciate your... renewed affection for the Kingdom of Risur despite your Danoran roots.”, Gabriel states with a friendly smile and “Fordren” is immediately able to get that no one but Auryn and the King know about the Pact of Boyle. So he reacts rather reserved and keeps up the image of the famous Danoran businessman.</p><p>“Oh, and Miss Auryn... Thank you for coming to my aid as well”, Fordren adds, appearing to be... genuinely glad that we helped him leave his fortress imprisonment.</p><p></p><p>Fordren then reports that he came to the island alongside the Danorans right after they had realized that this new world allowed larger objects to fly. There, he was assigned to build an airship for them. Even after the explosion, the people continued to work on the project until it became too scary and he retreated to the tower. We tell him about the Gidim and ask him to show us the island and especially the ritual site. We also warn him that a Danoran fleet is on its way, so he should avoid being seen with the Risuri if he'd wish to keep up the facade.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(I guess this is much different from the original book where Gradiax straight up took Axis Island. Here, he was invited, waiting for the right moment to seize control and gut surprised by the formation of the Hivemind.) </span></p><p></p><p>We agree that we should first get the airship airworthy so that we can move around the island more easily. Even if Gabriel still has his reservations regarding airships. So we all work like madmen and actually manage to finish the project before the approaching Danoran fleet can retake the island. However, a vanguard of 15 ships is approaching at an alarming rate, which in turn sends the Porteurs du Mort to the fortress. But since they have no idea what's going on or where we might be, they first go through their standard procedure, which presumably includes sifting through their own unconscious men.</p><p></p><p>We take the opportunity to take off and fly towards the ritual site, but are targeted by the ships armed with a laser weapon. Auryn takes a look at the soldiers operating the laser cannon and then turns to the rest of the group.</p><p></p><p>“I have a plan that will buy us some time. Just keep steering this ship to the ritual site.”, she explains sternly.</p><p></p><p>“Are you sure...?” Fordren replies, but Auryn is already busy turning invisible and spreading her wings of flying.</p><p></p><p>“Keep flying. I'll return later.”</p><p></p><p>Then she invisibly drops down onto the ship with the laser crystal. With a quick glare of her rapier, she manages to blind the operating soldiers and have them make an otherwise well-aimed laser shot at the airship miss before she sneaks into the control center for the cannon and overwhelms the Porteurs there. She then tries to aim the weapon at her own ships, but is unable to operate the heavy mechanism all alone.</p><p></p><p>After a while, Gabriel spots her inside, understands what she is trying to achieve and comes to her aid. Together they adjust the weapon, agreeing to jam and overload the firing mechanism. So after the next shot, the weapon overloads and explodes as we make our way back to the airship.</p><p></p><p>When we are well on our way to the ritual site, Fordren warns us of a brain-controlled robot that is apparently capable of forcing the ship to the ground. We confront the thing on the ground (Asrabey and Auryn won't let the King fight alone), and Auryn manages to take control of the robot body with her <em>apparent master </em>spell. Unfortunately, the magic does not extend to the Gidim brain. We hope that the robot can still be used against the Danorans and fight the brain. Unfortunately, the automaton becomes quite immobile without its brain as it is missing its head and we have to leave it behind.</p><p></p><p>Just as we are about to return to the airship, we discover a group of Berans led by none other than Brakken Heffanita who are just as surprised to see us as we are to see them...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lylandra, post: 9259704, member: 6816692"] [B][I]How to save your dragon[/I][/B] Ashima-Shimtu reports that her restraints are much less severe in the new world, and she still points out her hope that we will eventually free her - though she knows that we have more important things to do right now. She also explains that she has learned empathy over the years and now wants to show signs of her good will as well. Then the demoness freely tries to share several information with us, some of which we already knew: that the Obs are planning a conference in Danor and have invited the whole world to participate. Well, everyone except us and her. Ashima-Shimtu also tells us that she has been trying to gaze upon Ber, only to have "something stare back at her" and we suspect that our neighboring country might just have a serious Gidim problem. Also, she muses that her prison might have been changed yet again. And finally, a fleet of Berans had sailed off to Axis Island, but at the moment a Danoran Obs fleet is probably on its way there as well, so we should hurry should we still call the Berans “our friends”. Then the Titan Blood Construct collapses and we are still not sure what to do with the demoness as she is obviously trying to stay on good terms with us, but probably just trying to win us over in the long run. What we are sure about though is that we will most likely return to the Crypta Heraeticorum in the near future... After Ashima-Shimtu has vanished into bloody sea foam, we head straight to the Impossible and give the order that all motorized ships should stay ashore or near the coastline for the time being. Together with Margit, Flying Spark, Xambria and Asrabey, we head for Axis Island, repeating the very same nightly maneuver from almost two years ago. We dive through the hidden cave again appear right next to the very same petrified tree. Only that now we can classify the split tree as one of the fine adjustments needed for the Axis ritual. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)](Ha! There was the missing part with the motorized ships :D)[/COLOR] As we try to make our way out, Gabriel suddenly smells the scent of unwashed human and old blood, and we stumble upon a run-down woman named Cosette Arianne who was in charge of taking care of the ritualists on the island. We tell her that we didn't come here to harm her, but are just seeking information and our people, she starts talking about what happened to her during the Calamity: When everything fell apart here, she hid, she says, but then all of a sudden everyone wanted the same thing. Then the remaining workers worked until they succumbed. and she got so hungry that she started eating her own, deceased people. We feel a mix of pity and disgust regarding Cosette's situation, but then Gabriel realizes that the woman is not alone but also possessed by the spirit of Nicodemus. As soon as Nicodemus realizes that we know about his presence, he immediately asks us for a cigarette and bluntly asks us why on earth we sabotaged the ritual. He notes that due to our interference, the world is not a better place as he and the Obs had planned it, but a pretty broken one. We look at Niocodemus in bewilderment in return. “How can you even think that we had a hand in your failing? Yes, we send a team to investigate, but if Lya Jierre reformed in your Ghost Council just as we believe she did, she might have told you that we literally admitted we had no chance in stopping your ritual.”, Auryn says, irritated at the combination of obvious lack of information and prejudice of the Obs' leader. Nicodemus takes a deep drag from his Leaf of Nicodemus and replies that his magic had revealed quite clearly that "the order" to sabotage the ritual came from Risur, so nothing to debate here. Whereupon Gabriel raises his eyebrows and points out the obvious: “From Risur does not necessarily mean 'from the Risuri'. Or do I have to remind a 500 years old spirit that within my land lie powers much grander and older than any of us here? We have good evidence that the Titan known as the Voice of Rot has been planning something for quite a while now, and the fact that this very same Titan who is so keen on bringing on the End of the World is now nowhere to be found points toward some pretty strong evidence, don't you think? Besides, our very own 'investigation magic' revealed his agents to be your saboteurs. You're welcome.” “It's a tragedy, really...” Auryn adds with slightly less snark than Gabriel. “...that it was ultimately your lack of knowledge about the mysteries of Lanjyr and your underestimation of any of its players that isn't part of our modern nations caused you and your plan to fail so horribly. All that we ask of you now is to admit your mistake and help this dying world survive another day.” We then tell him about the planar invaders we had warned about in advance, who had tried to set up their own domain days after Starfall and ask Nicodemus if shattering the planar barrier was an accident as well. But it turns out that the Obs had actually readjusted the plan after the incident on Mutravir. “It was Han Jierre's idea, wasn't it? He was so keen on getting his teleportation powers at any cost back then at Mutravir.”, Auryn interjects, but Nicodemus doesn't react in any readable way. As we mention the Hiveminds and the Gidim, Nicodemus appears to be well aware of the Hiveminds, but it is still news to him that they were actually Gidim. He points out that he and the Obs will deal with the problem, and that everyone needs to pull together first, whereupon we accuse him of not really trusting people after all, since he "had" to resort to mind control - which the Berans in particular won't like very much. When Nicodemus mentions talks about the conference he has planned for bringing the world together, Gabriel remarks that the king of Risur has not yet received an invitation, and that he wouldn't be opposed to joining their meeting on peaceful terms. Nicodemus laughs at that suggestion, stating maybe that the others might at least agree to fight against Risur. We, in turn, have no interest in conflict and war (which seems to be the only thing Nicodemus is really good at), but offer to work together to improve the situation. “You're serious then?”, Nicodemus asks with a mix of disbelief and challenge.”Then lower your resistance against our lighthouses and join in the community of rationale. We will be glad to have you at our side and stop this conflict.” “And you still don't understand your own philosophy. What good is cooperation, when it is forced by magic, and when its outcome is already set by your ideas?. So no, we won't submit to your [I]thought control[/I].”, Gabriel returns “Then face the storms of the world all on your own, while the rest of Lanjyr comes together in unity” “You speak of unity, when you don't care who you're inviting at all, sowing the seeds of dissonance right from the start. You'd arrogantly rather work with those in league with literal devils than with the sane people of Kellandia and the enclaves, just because they are affiliated with Risur. Do you have no conscience left?”, Auryn asks Nicodemus rather angrily when she remembers that an invitation had gone out to “Mad King” Vardanis. “It doesn't have to be him though. You could easily become leader of Elfaivar and ensure the safety of all your people forever, if you just abandoned your pride and joined me instead. Come to my side, and find the peace you're longing for”, he offers her all of a sudden, his voice returning back to the soft, almost gentle tone he had during the Convocation. “We both know that this is only a little bit better than straight blackmail. Sorry, but I know exactly where I stand in this regard.”, Auryn replies with a similar calm demeanor. At some point, Nicodemus realizes that his other host is approaching the island along with the Danoran fleet, and he leaves Cosette's body after begging her not to hurt the poor woman. “I'm not the one hurting innocents, Nicodemus...” Gabriel whispers in disbelief just as the spirit dissipates. Cosette is at the end of her tether and we prefer to cast a sleep spell at her and put her in the Absurdist Web to spare her any further suffering. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)](Wow, Nic has really lost much of his cool over time. It is quite certain that he is quite desperate after having his plan fail so horribly at Axis Island, and we also got that divination magic can be misleading, but at this point he was very much set on scapegoating Risur as a means to keep face. He just could not deal with the fact that he and the Obs alone screwed this up by underestimating the Voice of Rot. Which is an escapist behavior that's very much consistent from this point on.)[/COLOR] Next, we take a moment to magically contact Fordren and ask him about his whereabouts. He tells us that he is currently locked himself up in the tower of the island's fortress, and from his words it is also clear that a huge Hivemind has spread out there and is preventing him from leaving the tower again. So it seems like it's time to rescue the princess from her tower... We wait for nightfall and fly to the fortress under the veil of darkness. Once at the fortress, we see that some soldiers are working extremely efficiently to guard the place, while another group is busy assembling a strange, box-shaped ship. From the sight of several domes we guess that there are new fortress defenses in play, and as we approach, we see that there is indeed a huge tentacle-armed brain hidden in ethereal form right above the fortress. Remembering our last encounter with such a creature in Slate, we decide to attack it to incapacitate the soldiers. We protect ourselves from mind control and Xambria pulls out a tuning fork she created especially for Gidim to make them vulnerable to her attacks. Seems like someone has spend quite some time researching the Gidim and their weakness. We then fly towards the Gidim brain and finish it off before it really realizes what is happening. However, the Hivemind Cerebrum seems to be unstable and is about to explode. Fortunately, Gabriel is quick to react and protects us all from the magic wave with a cleverly placed anti-magic field. And just as we expected, all the workers and soldiers fall into a deep coma after the Hivemind is dissolved. We then knock politely on the gate of the inner tower and are greeted by the sight of a much confused Mr. Fordren. He nods his head towards King Gabriel and then hands over a letter to the new king of Risur. “Thank you, Mr. Fordren. I appreciate your... renewed affection for the Kingdom of Risur despite your Danoran roots.”, Gabriel states with a friendly smile and “Fordren” is immediately able to get that no one but Auryn and the King know about the Pact of Boyle. So he reacts rather reserved and keeps up the image of the famous Danoran businessman. “Oh, and Miss Auryn... Thank you for coming to my aid as well”, Fordren adds, appearing to be... genuinely glad that we helped him leave his fortress imprisonment. Fordren then reports that he came to the island alongside the Danorans right after they had realized that this new world allowed larger objects to fly. There, he was assigned to build an airship for them. Even after the explosion, the people continued to work on the project until it became too scary and he retreated to the tower. We tell him about the Gidim and ask him to show us the island and especially the ritual site. We also warn him that a Danoran fleet is on its way, so he should avoid being seen with the Risuri if he'd wish to keep up the facade. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)](I guess this is much different from the original book where Gradiax straight up took Axis Island. Here, he was invited, waiting for the right moment to seize control and gut surprised by the formation of the Hivemind.) [/COLOR] We agree that we should first get the airship airworthy so that we can move around the island more easily. Even if Gabriel still has his reservations regarding airships. So we all work like madmen and actually manage to finish the project before the approaching Danoran fleet can retake the island. However, a vanguard of 15 ships is approaching at an alarming rate, which in turn sends the Porteurs du Mort to the fortress. But since they have no idea what's going on or where we might be, they first go through their standard procedure, which presumably includes sifting through their own unconscious men. We take the opportunity to take off and fly towards the ritual site, but are targeted by the ships armed with a laser weapon. Auryn takes a look at the soldiers operating the laser cannon and then turns to the rest of the group. “I have a plan that will buy us some time. Just keep steering this ship to the ritual site.”, she explains sternly. “Are you sure...?” Fordren replies, but Auryn is already busy turning invisible and spreading her wings of flying. “Keep flying. I'll return later.” Then she invisibly drops down onto the ship with the laser crystal. With a quick glare of her rapier, she manages to blind the operating soldiers and have them make an otherwise well-aimed laser shot at the airship miss before she sneaks into the control center for the cannon and overwhelms the Porteurs there. She then tries to aim the weapon at her own ships, but is unable to operate the heavy mechanism all alone. After a while, Gabriel spots her inside, understands what she is trying to achieve and comes to her aid. Together they adjust the weapon, agreeing to jam and overload the firing mechanism. So after the next shot, the weapon overloads and explodes as we make our way back to the airship. When we are well on our way to the ritual site, Fordren warns us of a brain-controlled robot that is apparently capable of forcing the ship to the ground. We confront the thing on the ground (Asrabey and Auryn won't let the King fight alone), and Auryn manages to take control of the robot body with her [I]apparent master [/I]spell. Unfortunately, the magic does not extend to the Gidim brain. We hope that the robot can still be used against the Danorans and fight the brain. Unfortunately, the automaton becomes quite immobile without its brain as it is missing its head and we have to leave it behind. Just as we are about to return to the airship, we discover a group of Berans led by none other than Brakken Heffanita who are just as surprised to see us as we are to see them... [/QUOTE]
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