Olav strode into the room, pulling off his wide-brimmed hat and tossing it on a post. He accepted some wine from an attendant passing by. He, of course, wasn’t just here for a party. He had already sent three of his four airships back to Rhug’na’ru to gather a modest amount of supplies to improve and repair parts of the city. He was however, happy to join in on a party for the heroes of this fine city.
They hadn’t done much in the battle, aside from their missile barrage, but they had not been without a nice view of the “battle”. More like a slaughter of idiotic Church of Oners if you asked Olav, but he wasn’t to judge too harshly, they had it coming. He would walk around the manner, giving greetings to those he knew, specifically Lord Mada. They owed him slightly for the petrol refinery incident, and he had meant to thank him.
Goblin Lands 2 Diplomatic Mission WEEK 16: A Party at Simonsburg
Tla’al looked at Maggul, somewhat incredulously. First, she called Shirley a girl. Nobody ever dared do that. Secondly, she wanted to talk about Stalkers. Neither would end well.
“Ok, like, first… never refer to Shirley as ‘girl.’ It’s highly offensive in our culture, even more so to her. Second, Stalkers aren’t traded. Period. But if you get your hands on some, I’m sure we can work on an arrangement for helping you train them.”
Tla’al was distracted, again, by Shirley. She was accosting another ‘guest.’
Shirley got tired of playing with the nightmares. She found another victim. He, apparently, looked squishier to her. Or, more precisely, a nut that needed cracking. She walked over to the Earther in platemail armor, a dashing young man who was still wet behind his ears and wearing a cape. Oh no, not a cape!. The last time someone wore a cape around a drunk Shirley, they ended up being twirled around her head and launched into the desert. It was the last time Hikiti thought it would be fun to wear a cape.
Shirley walked over to the young man, standing at the edge of the party. “HEEEEEEYYY!” She landed nearly on top of him, getting unnaturally close to his face in the process. “How are YOU doin’!!!” She broke out into raucous laughter, throwing her face to an inch of Blake Jorn Ar’Lash. She clapped his armor hard enough so that the entire party could hear it. “Oooh, ain’t all this rehsed fun???” The massive Brezan then started to play a drum beat like the ferals in the desert did on his armor. She, of course, was completely oblivous to the man’s reaction… and thankfully, his cape.
(OOC: As far as I’ve been told; I have complete control over my nightmare penguins (results in live games may vary). However, seeing as this is a social gathering and the penguins are not the brightest tools in the box, they will obligingly take requests to entertain the other guests to the best of their absurdity.)
Lord Mada watched as Shirley easily chased down one of his nightmare slaves (which, lets be honest, isn’t difficult). She then proceed to hug (crush) it until its beady red eyes bulged out and a moment later, the rest of its body burst, spewing black ichor onto several guests. No more than a second after, a new penguin emerged from beneath Lord Mada’s cloak and waddled over to begin cleaning the mess of its former self. He mused at seeing his weak-minded slaves beginning to dance, somewhat surprised at their coordination upon their little feet.
The Kasanthian Ambassador, for a moment, thought that he glimpsed the notorious Lorne Harlas through the crowd, but was shaken from his suspicion when greeted by Olav. Mada exchanged pleasantries with the olgog, letting him know that the Magi Cannons his tribe supplied were quite handy in the defense of Simonsburg. “I hope that you’ll consider my services in your future endeavors.”
His conversation was interrupted when he heard a loud slapping sound. Like a hand had slapped hard against a metal sheet. And the metal received more damage. He turned to see Shirley, no longer occupied by chasing penguins, beating on the armor of a man Mada had met before the siege who had introduced himself as “Blake”. Lord Mada turned his full attention to this new commotion and, crossing his arms, awaited the amusement that would undoubtedly come next.
Olav turned, swallowing the rest of his wine. He saw a young Earther in full armor and cape looking quite distressed as he was accosted by the Brezan Shirley. Olav took another glass of wine, sipping slowly. If Lord Mada hadn’t been here he wouldn’t have been reminded as to whom this Blake fellow reminded him of. He shrugged, deciding to get comfortable before any scene unfolded.
Lalder says to Maggul “Now is not a good time to talk to Shirley. But what do you need the Stalkers for? If it is transport, maybe we can work something out with either the civ or lur union skimmers instead?”
Maggul nodded, “Yes, I see your point but it is never truly a good time to talk to Shirley;” and followed it with a large swig from his drink. " It’s not really for me personally, but it is somewhat needed for transportation. I appreciate the assistance, but I will have to find another way to get her a stalker."
Blake had been amusing some locals with tales of his heroics, but feeling his throat get a bit dry from all the talk, he turned to get a glass of wine. In doing he saw in his peripherals, a greenish blur moving in his general direction. He instinctively reached for his blade to take a defensive position but found nothing, and with horror he remembered he had disarmed completely. He had no more looked up, than he was suddenly seized in a grip stronger than a vice, and was beaten so hard his armor sounded like some sort of instrument. Someone was shouting in his face, and he couldn’t comprehend what was being said, but he sensed that the voice was more drunken than malevolent. He tried to resist at first, but eventually stopped struggling as he was battered by an overly strong olgog.
“I’m not nearly drunk enough for this sort of thing.” He muttered as he was knocked about like a child. “Do you know how expensive it is to have this armor buffed? Unhand me at once! The noble house of Ar’Lash will not be shamed with this sort of OOF!” As he took a particularly hard hit to his armor which rattled his bones. He cast a pleading glance at the other guests for help, or even to find a look of sympathy. Instead he saw only amusement and vague interest, and for once, Black Lorne was truly afraid.
Lord Mada smiled inwardly at the sight laid out before him. The fear from the helpless individual was rather satisfying. While normally, he would simply watch and feed on the poor fool’s misfortune, Mada also liked having people indebted to him. And while it seemed a shame to intervene, the vampyr commanded his minions to begin poking at Shirley, trying to entice her into chasing them again. Not that they stood much of a chance if the plan worked, but they were expendable. And if they should fail in their attempts, then it was no huge loss anyway.
If/when the penguins fail in their task, Lord Mada will sigh and activate the strength on his bone rings, then walk over to Shirley and Blake and grab each of the drunken Olgog’s arms to restrain her from putting more dents in the Earther’s armor. While doing this, he says in a non-condoning tone, “As much as I enjoy the suffering of others, I would please ask you to refrain from beating the other guests. Do this for me, and I’ll give you one of my minions to play with.” Much to the penguins’ dismay.
(OOC: The Bone Rings give me STR 12 while active.)
Shirley never realized that the Earther she was toying with didn’t understand olgog. To her, it looked like he was having a great time. Or it may have been the wine… Next thing she knew (or understood), she was being pulled off by the hooded creature. At first, she got angry, but then she realized that it took brutish strength to do that… and she liked it.
“Why hello there!” She grabbed his arm, appreciating it’s strength. “Ain’t you jus’ full o’ og?!?!” She disregarded his offer for a penguin, trying to get closer to him. When a penguin ended up in her arms (even though she had no idea how it got there), she shook it a few times, smiled, and then tossed it, one handed, across the room over her shoulder to make her way closer to the one with the strength to release her from her grasp. She shimmied as she approached, feeling really good and anticipating what lay beneath the cloaks and hood.
Tla’al, on the other hand, shook her head sadly. The worst part, in her mind, was that she knew Shirley wasn’t that drunk… and could get much worse. In the mean time, she listened to Lalder try to be a good friend and back Shirley up. It was awful nice of him. Shirley, of course, could never know. Otherwise, she’d think he had a crush on her. She liked Lalder too much to let that happen.
She looked up at Maggul and Lalder, “Stalkers can’t be traded well anyway. You have to break them. Find 'em young, train them, and work with them. They rarely allow different handlers. Like, even if they do, they’re not as good in battle anyways. But if you’re so insistent, I’ll talk to Shirley and see if we can’t go on an expedition to find us some stalkers. When we find some, we’ll help you train them. In friendship.” She looked over at Lalder, “you can come too, if you like. I’m sure riding der isn’t always the best answer.”
As an Uthveylor, Lord Mada rarely felt any strong emotions. Especially feelings like alarm and shock. However, at the moment, those feelings were nearly strong enough to send him into a frenzy. He was barely able to contain himself as the Olgog he had tried to restrain grabbed him. But she didn’t appear angry or upset about his intervention. She liked it. He narrowly avoided an embrace that he had just rescued the Earther from by quickly sacrificing a penguin.
It was quite apparent that this olgog intended to pursue him with… less than desired attentions. Something Lord Mada was not accustomed to as a vampyr or an Uth. However, his pride would not allow him to be seen being chased down by a drunken olgog. Without another moment’s hesitation, the master shadowmancer became one with the shadows in the room. While in this state, he made his way over to the Earther and whispered in his ear, “When I have use of you, I will call upon you to repay your debt.” and then remained hidden within the shadows of the room until his pursuer had either calmed down or sobered up.
(OOC: Just to clarify, I’m using Become a Shadow (Shadow lvl 5). Awesome reply Gang. Was not expecting that at all. XD)
Lalder says to Shirley “I would love to join in the hunt, though you are right, my riding skills are lacking. Its the problem i’m sure you’ve noticed with Leadership. Responsibilities rarely let you do relaxing things.”
Lalder looked over at the poor earther who had Shirley’s attention. He then stopped and looked closer. Something at his mind…… it reminded him of something …. he had to get back that crystal, sooner than later.
Lalder pondered for a minute continued to ponder the Djinni Crystal that was stolen. The consequences of if it were to break and the destruction that would follow. It could cause a war which would destroy most of the goblin lands due to the number of tribes cloned. And while others might consider Lalder war like, he does hold back from fighting when possible and works for the greater good. But to have a version of himself who doesn’t hold back scares him. Lalder knows what destruction he is capable of and is afraid of what his clone might do. The Warmonger would feast, that is for sure.
Lalder, hoping she at least softened the hits and sound, continued “
A few weeks ago an object was taken from me when I was attacked by the Black Scale Gangers. It is a crystal that I need back along with anything containing it. The Black Lornes stole it after he betrayed us at the meet. The last time I or any of the gogs who were there saw the crystal, it was contained in a stone sphere with a crack in it. The Crystal also radiates Leyas energy so it should be detectable if you are close to it.
I’m offering a reward for its safe return to me unbroken. If this crystal were to break, I’m not sure what would be left of the our lands. In fact I know its undamaged just by us just being here.
This reward is open to any who wish the reward, including the Merc who stole it the Black Lorne. Though this is a one time offer to him as I want the crystal more than his life. I will open this out to other mercs as well that are capable as well as send out my own forces in search of it.
The reward is a Lur Union skimmer and I’ll create 2 artifacts for the person or gog who returns the crystal based on what they want as long as its within my abilities. You supply the item to be artificed if the item is special. If multiple mercs or gogs work together I will do this for each one of them.
Any questions, come speak to after this. Thanks”
With this Lalder will walk back to his spot and get a drink.
(OOC I will work with the Narrator for a mission for this (War declarations when set and all) , unless the black Lorne hands back the crystal right away :-p . I have a message into the Narrator about this already.)
(OOC This will be open to Scout and Grim as well 
)
Tla’al giggled at Lalder’s comment. “It’s not relaxing if you’re doing it right!” She giggled some more. “Well, if you can’t make it, send other members of your tribe.”
When Lalder got distracted, she wondered at what was going on. She knew Shirley was involved, but didn’t know anything else. She would have asked Shirley, but Shirley was staring at shadows. It was a strange sight, looking at Shirley. Tla’al knew enough of Shirley to know that she was wondering two courses of action. Tla’al didn’t want to know… even if it was her duty. Besides, the banging and clanging had stopped, and that was a start.
Shirley didn’t know it at the time, but Tla’al was right. She was pondering two courses of action. On the one hand, she knew her man of the hour was hiding in the shadows. All it would take was some ur’sa’or and that problem would go away. What held her back was her inability to measure the consequences of doing so. She didn’t like knowing that if she was wrong the answer wasn’t going to be “punch it harder.”
At this point, she lost interest in the Earthers, grabbed another drink, and moved to rejoin Lalder. En route, she high-fived Eve. Or rather held her hand up so the young girl could hit it with all her might, which barely affected Shirley. As she approached Lalder, she missed Lalder’s entire proclamation. “So, what’s cookin’ good lookin’?”
Na’z’ez walked away from where she was standing, and moved around the perimiter of the room. She was kinda enjoying the festivities, and watching the gathered representatives. The large Olgog female was especially entertaining, drunk as she appeared to be. As Na’z’ez really only knew Tla’al and Eve, she stayed away from pretty much everyone, as she wasn’t really curious about who was who, and who they worked for. She was only here because Krodnok asked her to make an appearence, represent the Devotion’s presence in Simonsburg, to show that he and his followers supported the hope that Simonsburg represented. She was playing diplomat today.
So far, so good.
Maggul was really taken for what Tla’al was doing for him, this meant to so to him personally, and even more for someone else special in the tribe. Not that he was going to get all misty or anything, but he would definitely have to do something to reciprocate the behavior. So for starters, he headed to the bar and picked up two more drinks. He scratched his head on his way there, not sure if Tla’al was actually drinking much of anything. To be safe, he ordered one to celebrate, and then another that was just water. He was fine having whichever Tla’al didn’t want, and that way he might be able to inquire more.
Maggul made his way back over to the group, and made the offer of the stronger drink to Tla’al. And if that was an issue, there was always that other drink. He made the very obvious movement to the edge to talk showing that they both could keep an eye on the scene. He called over,“So Tla’al, I definitely owe you for bridging this gap. I really appreciate you and your tribe taking the time to school me. I hope you don’t mind but I did have some other questions, you seem to know much about the stalkers. How did you come to know so much about them? You said that they weren’t much for battle, if so how are they normally significant? What is their interactions with the Mighty Yadol? And that’s about it!” Though there was still something else, he kind of wondered about the importance of inviting Lalder along as well.
Tla’al smiled as Maggul brought her a drink. She had been so preoccupied about Shirley that she hadn’t eaten or drank anything either. But the real question wasn’t whether or not she should accept the drink, but which one she should accept.
Being an Ur Rhug was the best life a young olgog would want in Brez. Being being than most people double your age, you got to boss people around. You’d get better treatment, have to do less, and got to be a raider, get glory, and show you’re stronger than everyone. The flip side: still only a pup and not really an adult. It was starting to become a problem in her gang because the tribals were no longer as weak as they once were. It meant the Ur Rhug were challenged to prove their worth in the pecking order. Ur Rhug started acting more maturely, being leaders and not bullies. Having Tusk around helped. Being thrust into her current position in Simonsberg helped too. As did the fact that she had the body type of an olgog twice her age. Nevertheless, she was still a youngling, and certain types of entertainment were forbidden to her by Urog.
She took the glass of water and thanked Maggul. She glanced over at Eve, to make sure she was ok. Eve was stuck talking to some local Earther blowhard who never stopped talking. Eve’s eyes were about to glaze over. She turned to Maggul and said, “Hold that thought.” She walked over, grabbed food and drink for two, and walked it over to her. “Eve, you haven’t eaten a thing all night.” Brandishing two plates of food, she winked at the young Earther girl as she gave her a plate of food. Tla’al then spent the next minute or so pretending to eat with Eve, and then was suddenly ‘distracted’ and went back to Maggul to finish their conversation. Luckily for Eve, the Earther guy whose name escaped Tla’al sat down next to her and ate the plate of food that Tla’al had prepared.
“Sorry, had to take care of something. Where were we? Right, gaps.” She shrugged and pointed to Lalder. “He started it, this whole Olgog cooperation thing or whatever. Urog liked it, so we do it as well. Not everyone likes it, but it’s done us plenty of good so… like… why not? Oh, and stalkers, yeah, well, it’s a Brezan thing so, like, no big deal. Until Urog, if a Brezan couldn’t fight with something, then it was ignored. So… not really sure what we would do if we didn’t ride them into battle.” She shrugged, and drank her water. “Oh, and Mighty Yaldol don’t like Stalkers. It’s an Alpha thing. One ruler to their land kind of thing. Best way to hunt a Yaldol is to lure it to you using Stalker blood.” She chuckled, “Easiest lure for the worst pray. I’d rather take on a troop of Earthers.” She sipped her water, looking at Maggul, not sure of where to go from here.
Maggul was starting to understand the pressures that were upon Tla’al’s shoulders. He didn’t fully know about Brezan life, and he now realize his accidental slight at Shirley. He knew that for the part she has played Shirley was considered an elder of their tribe, much like himself. Maggul was constantly antagonized with this problem, because he was just past being considered a juvenile and thrust in a role of elder and respect. He was now his tribe’s council representative in the UtR, and before that he was just some crazy cub that got into as much trouble as any of the rest. He was just older than Yagogi’al’s own cub, Tun’Dra, who was already being polished in his own regards; really stunk to be him. He thought much of this was due in part to being selected as one of the totem tribal students of Zhgog’ol Maklur, the tribe uhryu and well enough respected both in and outside of the tribe. Either way, things were somewhat coming together for Maggul, and it was happening with the Gangs because of his interactions with Tla’al.
So he tried to keep up the conversation, saying “Well thank you for clarifying things. Now that I have learned a little more about the stalkers, I am pretty excited for the expedition. So not to completely catch you off guard and change topics, but you seem pretty close and protective of Eve. It’s important for her to have people that she can rely on, and talk to. You seem to have something special going with her. So before you scoff about my tribe giving a child a sword, know that it’s a ceremonial sword not meant to be used in or encourage battle but really a powerful healing artifact. Though the Yagogi were not in the battle (OOC playing at Running GAGG) , if need be we would come to help out Eve and provide Simonsburg aid too.”
As Maggul talked with Tla’al, he realized he hadn’t actually had any food since back in Karov. The trip didn’t take all that long through channeling means, but as he checked around the room Tla’al had a plate of food, and both Yayi the Trumpeter and Bazman had plates sharing in the feast. Bazman secretly sneaked Maggul an earther sign of thumbs up before Yayi smacked him to stop. If Maggul were closer with Tla’al, he might have swiped a little something off her plate but he didn’t and that just would have been bad. He took the moment, “That really looks good, I should go get a plate of my own. I’ll be right back, would you like more to drink?” And that left the young olgog with the dilemma of picking food that would not be messy and get all over his fur.
Blake had no sooner been freed, than he had managed to strike the most dignified pose that man who has just been played as an instrument can. He dusted off his fine sable cape and began assessing the amount of time it would take him to get his armor shiny enough to stand out like a beacon again when he noticed his rescuer. For a split second, he stared directly into the darkness of Lord Mada’s hood as he was in some sort of odd cultural dance with the olgog who had just beaten him like a drum. The sight was so unexpected that Blake burst out laughing in utter shock. His guffaws dragged people’s attention who had managed to miss the scene and in turn looked at the sight anew. Then Mada disappeared as Blake knew he was keen to, but the next part he expected even less. After the invisible voice stated its intentions to him, his face drained of color. He stopped in his tracks, terrified of being indebted to a being such as he.
He had no sooner come to this revelation than another olgog which he recognized as Lalder began to speak. He used his leyas to translate what he was saying, and then Blake’s blood chilled even more so than before. "He can’t know who I am…can he? How can he know this?! I’ve got to get out of here! A bead of sweat ran down his brow as he quickly looked about for a way out. Suddenly everyone seemed to be a hostile face, looking to collect on his life. “They know!!” he thought, his heart sinking. He made a sudden move for the door, upsetting a tray of wine and shattering it on the floor. He turned and looked around at the surprised faces faces surrounding him, then ran out the door, shouting something about leaving the stove on at home.
Lalder was curious why the earther left so quickly. In fact he could no longer see either merc which reminded him that he needed to announce his reward for.
Lalder responds to Shirely "I’m just glad to find Olgogs willing to work together. And Urog I think understood the benefits more than I did. I’m not sure I would have had it in me to try and make friends with Oners without Simonsburg as an example of what is possible. And that proof is why this place must not fall.
Lalder Smiles and turns Tla’al “If possible, I would love to join. If not, I will send someone who needs the to learn.”
Then to Shirley, Lalder says "Ok Shirley, I’ll try to do less work talk now. I did tell you I’m not good at that. "
Lalder then paused to ponder about all to do, “Find out how to detect the oners and prevent their attacks, recover the Crystal, Stop Unit 111 from destroying more, and why did the Lost colonies not assist Simonsburg. That still bugged him and he hasn’t had a chance to find out what happened. And what did Krodnok really want in the Falling star. The Feral tribes attacking supplies, and still have that militia that has been quiet too long. Quiet generally means up to no good. The Weight of an Elder of not just a tribe, but multiple tribes is crushing some days.”
Lalder sighed “Yeah, I’m not good relaxing at all.”
(OOC I’m assuming Lalder would have no way of knowing Black Lornes alter ego and there is a reason for this, he’s not just pulling a superman.)
(OOC I’m not trying to give the Narrator a list of things to crush us with, just that Lalder still looks out for and remembers.)
Shirley saw the concern in Lalder’s eyes. She felt bad for him. It also reminded her why she never bothered to unseat any gangleader before her. Too much responsibility. She hated this enough, to have to be responsible for others at all times was too much responsibility. She went over to Lalder and gave him a real hug. Not her usual abrasive ones, but a tender one. “Yer one of tha good ones. Remember that, even when ya make mistakes.”
Tla’al then shot her a look. Shirley wondered if it would be appropriate to smack the Ur Rhug. Sadly, she knew the answer was no. Life was easier before that damnable trip to see the Sylvan. She grabbed a pitcher of water and drank it in one chug. She resisted the urge to belch. Tla’al gave her a look of approval. She would smack the Ur Rhug later… for good measure. She then focused, using ShapeShift Leyas to clear her mind and clean the alcohol from her system.
“Ok, then … what’s next? We saved Simonsburg, again, from the Church of One Earthers. Howdawe make shurr it never 'appens again?”
Lalder smiled at the return of topic and said "I’m trying to figure out a way to detect the troops. Using their own life force to detect rather than trying to use an Olgogs eyes to see the army. This may take a while to figure out though.
I would like to rebuild the outer parts of Simonsburg with the idea I suggested earlier. A wrapping wall with housing and roads built into it. But more importantly, bunkers built into for non fighters to shelter in.
I don’t know if we can block the Oners from getting here the way they did before. We just need to be able to find them before they setup and ambush us. In addition if we harden our cities, we can at least keep the casualties down.
I also still like making some mountains or set of walls between our lands and the Church of One lands, making it hard for their equipment to make it way here the normal ways. But the other options give us more for the effort spent."