Corco's Villa (IC)

[TGLS]

"Well then good night." I assume V will switch to a sleepless form.

[ericthered]

The night is uneventful.

In the morning, you are able to approach the town. Many men are headed to their fields to work, while others go to their shops in town. Women are spinning thread. The people at the estate aren't waking up nearly as quickly. The two magicians at the tomb have gone home.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

The night is uneventful.

In the morning, you are able to approach the town. Many men are headed to their fields to work, while others go to their shops in town. Women are spinning thread. The people at the estate aren't waking up nearly as quickly. The two magicians at the tomb have gone home.

I meander around shopping, making small-talk with merchants about the estate and ask about caving.

[745] 24-01-14 18:09:07 GMT
Memetics!
3d6 <= 15
5 + 6 + 1 = 12 ... success

[the_matrix_walker]

Vassarious accompanies Halcyone into the settlement. As they travel, they discuss the situation...

"So we will poke around and see how people feel and take the pulse of this place... Is it the right thing, I wonder? This whole 'mission' makes me quite uneasy. We have no guarantee the prophecy is even about the one we think it is, and no real reason to do it other than being told. It is one thing to be sent to protect a ruler, or to set right a kingdom gone wrong. This... Feels like wetwork. It feels dirty. I'll be glad when it is over."

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

Vassarious accompanies Halcyone into the settlement. As they travel, they discuss the situation...

"So we will poke around and see how people feel and take the pulse of this place... Is it the right thing, I wonder? This whole 'mission' makes me quite uneasy. We have no guarantee the prophecy is even about the one we think it is, and no real reason to do it other than being told. It is one thing to be sent to protect a ruler, or to set right a kingdom gone wrong. This... Feels like wetwork. It feels dirty. I'll be glad when it is over."

"You don't become an immortal despot without doing one or two awful things. And given how long this Bel seems to have been around for, I doubt he hasn't done several other terrible things just because. This isn't clean, but it's justified."

[the_matrix_walker]

"Easy enough to justify, I can agree with you there. But does it mean he is who the prophecy is calling out? There are doubtless countless despots the world would be better off without."

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

"Easy enough to justify, I can agree with you there. But does it mean he is who the prophecy is calling out? There are doubtless countless despots the world would be better off without."

"Perhaps. All I know is that after meeting Corco I decided I was done with doing small things. Like at the end of the day, Bel's evil is limited by the reach of his witches and a state that's probably more uncaring than anything else. Not that uncaring is a positive trait, but even the biggest Bronze age despot doesn't hold a candle to an army of slaver golems being defrosted or a demon lord becoming the god of another world. I can't imagine we'd be here if it wasn't for the most important tyrant around."

I pause momentarily, before adding, uncomfortably, "And I don't go in for all that fate stuff, but, if our 'fated target' wasn't Bel, wouldn't we have gotten a kick in the direction of someone else by now?"

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

I meander around shopping, making small-talk with merchants about the estate and ask about caving.

The town is proud of the estate:

• "You know they've provided magicians to Bel for generations!"
• "Its the best school for magicians in the world!"
• "The Ayya family is the foundation of our wealth... they serve all over the empire, bringing large amounts of wealth home."
• "Surely you've heard about the family-- why else would you be here?"
• "Yes, they visit my stall almost every day"
• "They frown on unannounced visitors... you'll want an invitation"
• "My daughter is a candle lighter there!"

Caving they respond to with more surprise:

• What's special about the irrigation tunnels here*?
• Talk to Rimush, he knows the tunnels well*
• the vertical wells are maintained by war captives, digging these wells in dangerous and unpleasant*.
• The tomb caves are considered sacred, guarded by curses
• There are monsters up there too
• Going up there is a good way to get killed or worse. There was once an immortal who went up there are came back with the ability to talk and walk only backwards
• The Ayya family consider the caves part of their estate
• They often perform rituals up there
• The caves are usually empty, and the servants who go up there find it creepy. They say they're given special instructions to keep safe

*this is about the vertical wells they farm with... you asked about caving in general.

[the_matrix_walker]

Originally Posted by TGLS

I pause momentarily, before adding, uncomfortably, "And I don't go in for all that fate stuff, but, if our 'fated target' wasn't Bel, wouldn't we have gotten a kick in the direction of someone else by now?"

Originally Posted by ericthered

The divination yields multiple possibilities: the tomb, and the wrong king both seem to lie in your fate.

There was an indication Bel might be the wrong king, but that the Tomb was still embedded in our fate.

Perhaps rather than sneak or raid, we should arrange an audience and ask these learned people for their aid in determining how we can all best serve fate?

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

There was an indication Bel might be the wrong king, but that the Tomb was still embedded in our fate.

"The wrong king could mean lots of things. Like, it might mean that Bel is not the king we're supposed to kill, but we'll have run-ins with his people along the way. Or it might mean we'll meet King Drum and he'll aid us in our quest to kill Bel. Or maybe there's a pretender to Bel's kingdom."


I chuckle a little, "Or it might mean that the current Bel is a fake that we'll rub out."