In any case, Tyek slaps the table -- hard -- with an open hand and seconds Khessa's words
Vrox nearly leaps out of his chair when his end of the table suddenly bounces up from the force of Tyek's blow. Vrox hopes that the goliath hasn't offended their hosts. He tries to soothe any ruffled feathers, saying, "Pardon my friends, Lord Ulthran. Humans -- and warriors of all sorts, really -- must seem very hasty and impatient to the Asuryani." He adds some adage in Elvish that refers to the brief flicker of a human's lifespan. "But when something must be done soon, you can count on the humans to act with alacrity!"
Vrox turns back to Nyathuren Kith-Menras and says, "Counselor, could you tell us more about how the forces allied with the Nefarious Duo the last time they were defeated. You spoke of beasts and monsters. What sort of creatures? We will be better prepared if we know what creatures we may face in future battles."
You have already seen what they can summon from the darker plane, their demons. They can also influence humans, like the Mera'din raiders, the Golgari and other races such as the Drukhari, I have even heard of a dark race of Dwarves that I can't confirm. Some of the Trolls did fight on their side, the more warlike ones, giants, the dragons who are evil souled, the Devkarin which are an evil combination of beasts warped by the evil power of darkness, twisted to serve as their foot soldiers. We have our versions of what you call Orcs, Ogres, and such, those we have seen them for a long time.
Another one of the Asuryani enters, this one wearing a very fine suit of armor, while he does give the party a wary glance, bows to the King.
"Ah, General Mihrendelas, thank you for coming." He turns to the party. "I would like to introduce General Surinthiel Mihrendelas, commander of our forces and of our Rangers who have been keeping an eye on the developments in and around our borders. General, could you please describe to these good heroes, what your scouts have seen concerning the return of Slaanesh and Azash."
The general pauses for a moment, concerned that he could be giving away state secrets it seems to you, but as it is the King who ius directing him, he bows and turns to the party.
"As I see Counselor Nyathuren is here, he has explained some of the past and our problems we have been trying to keep to ourselves. Yes, I fear the dark deities have not only returned but are seeking vengeance against us for our support in the coalition to stop them. While their main followers, the Zemochs filled their army and fuelede their power, they corrupted a sect of our people who broke away, the Drukhari. They were able to seduce them away from our gods and made them promises if they supported their desires. The Drukhari became slavers, pirates, everything opposite of our beliefs. We thought we had destroyed them back in the great war, finished them off like we did the Zemochs, but my Rangers have spotted them in the fringes of our northern forests, and have heard of them in the northern kingdoms in Dearia and Kondor. My scouts and some of our cavalries have already been skirmishing with them, we believe they are probing our defenses for weaknesses."
"What of the reports of the great beasts and dragons, have the scouts confirmed them?"
"Yes my lord, there are dragons in violation of the pact and have left the vale. Reports have been received of red dragons raiding farms and causing basic destruction between Verel and Arruk to the very north. There have been sightings of Blue and Black dragons also flying outside of the vale in violation of the pact. I sent a party to have words with Nundroirug of the Golden Wing, but they have not returned, and we fear they may have been intercepted. We have received a message from Yôht Grendok of the Ironkin Dwarves, that they have received news through their network, that the Fire Giants in the mountains on the northern coast of the old Zemoch Empire, are gathering other of the old giant war bands, and rumor has it, they are going to try and cross the bay into the eastern Kingdoms and start raising hell."
Khessa tries to sort out the flow of information: "So, thinking back to the past, it doesn't seem like the Nefarious Duo have improved much... They can call upon Demons, as they once did, corrupt other races, as they did with the Drukhari, and seek the alliance of other monsters. This is to summarize, not to minimize - that's still quite a lot, considering that in the past they almost managed to unleash the Immrama! They had more dark gods at their side, but they also had a more cohesive opposition to face them. So they're still not a threat to be underestimated".
"Focusing on the present," the blonde arcane warrior continues "the Drukhari problem is arising in this area - they were thought to be finished, but they are not. While further north, the dragon problem is confirmed".
"Perhaps we should deal with the Drukhari first?" the tall adventuress raises a questioning eyebrow at her fellow adventurers. “They should be the closest threat, and therefore the quickest to reach. If the elf scouts could point us to some key center to hit... a major base or a major depot of the Drukhari , for example... we could destroy it, reducing the threat they represent. Or would you all prefer to let the elves handle it while we move on to the next threat? The elves actually seem to have the situation under control... but I'd hate for the Nefarious Duo to have any unpleasant surprises in store for them”.
Aphrael speaks up, "They are doing the same thing as the last time, they have us running all over the place. Our first task was to go speak to the Trolls and keep them out of this. I recommend we get up there quickly and speak to Bhlokw. He has great influence on the Trolls as he is their Priest to their gods. Once we can keep them out of this, then I can whisk you to where you want to go next."
Khessa playfully ruffles Aphrael's hair. "I trust your judgment far more than my own, Flute, my dear divine child! We will proceed without delay to meet Bhlokw. We have already amassed an encouraging series of successes... It shouldn't be hard to make the Troll Gods understand that allying themselves with a pair of would-be gods who have shied away from every direct confrontation they've had with us - and who have regularly brought ruin to their followers in the past (even when they've triumphed, as in the case of the Cipis Empire) - might not be a very wise idea".
Clarac agrees that the next stop should be meeting Bhlokw. As for what to do after that, she says, "For a group as small as ours, I believe dragon-slaying would be the best way to maximize our impact. We cannot fight entire armies or peoples on our own, but we can stop individual dragons from terrorizing vast areas. Of course, that is a decision to be made after we meet with the trolls."
Aphrael nods, "When you are ready, I'll take you to the palace of King Wargun in Thalesia, we'll need to get Sir Ulath who is friends with Bhlokw." She pauses and looks at Tyek, "I think you'll like King Wargun, besides fighting, he always seems to be drinking with a great mug in each hand."
[[OOC: Giants are one of Vrox's Favored Enemies.]]
Vroxhas fought against dragons before, and he spent many long years fighting various types of giants in the Feywild. But he has never heard of Devkarin before. Vrox asks the Counselor for more details about those creatures. What are some of their abilities? Do they have any weaknesses? How were they defeated the previous time?
Vrox assumes that the Drukhari, like the Asuryani, are many and varied (e.g., soldiers, pirates, and wizards). But he asks whether there were any prominent Drukhari who may have escaped the wars 1,000 years ago and still be alive today. Or has The General heard any reports of particularly prominent Drukhari who are leading their forces now?
Vrox defers to Aphrael's suggestion, of course, and agrees to go to the trolls next.
The Devkarin, was a means of filling their ranks with more foot soldiers. It was a use of their twisted dark powers to create them as they are not natural. While humanoid in shape, they have the heads of boars, bulls or wolves, of great strength and no compassion (if you are a fan of David Eddings and the Wheel of Time-Trollocs). The eat the ones they kill, revel in slaughter and are an afront to nature herself. Not very intelligent, they will be commanded or in more simpler terms, driven by a master and then released to do carnage. They wield great swords and axes, close combat to the point of teeth and tusk. We had destroyed most of them, but they could still be in some dark underground, if more of the dark forces seem to be reappearing.
As for the Drukhari, they are a caste society-warrior castes, wizards or as they call them, psykers, the slavers and pirates are a lower caste. The Drukhari are the living embodiments of all that is wanton and cruel in the their character. Highly intelligent and devious to the point of obsession, these piratical people revel in the physical and emotional pain of others, for feeding upon the psychic residue of suffering is the only way they can stave off the slow consumption by the Chaos God Slaanesh of their own souls. The Warrior Caste focus on perfecting the perfect kill, each warrior will have forged a fearsome reputation for himself in the war-torn halls of their High Commorragh, and has proven himself in multiple battles to be a merciless combatant. The more vicious and ruthless a warrior is, the better his chances for advancement within the Kabal or caste community.
The Wizard caste, viewed with the witch-sight of a psyker, the Drukhari's black souls are revealed, for they eternally thirst only for the psychic energy of the anguish and torment of other thinking beings in order to fill their own infinite emptiness.
They have their own hierarchy in leadership which they squabble and fight for to be on top.
The slavers and the pirates, they seek victims to be sacrificed to the dark gods, to keep them satisfied so that she who thirsts don't come after them.
If you are heading to the northlands, there is another race you may want to seek out for aid, the Tain Shari or True Bloods. AnIndependent warrior society held over from the first Immrama, they roam the border between the ancient lands of the Zemochs, and the settled lands. (A combination of the Aiel from Wheel of Time, and Mongol riders), they have two sects: regular warriors Sovin Nai, and the Rahien Sorei (Cavalry). They hate the Zemochs and the dark deities with a passion that even I have never seen before. They roam the great plains, on the constant watch for the enemy, and eliminate them on site. If you are up there, I suggest you find them, for you are sure to find an ally.
Lord Akkron remembers the mention of the Devkarin liches that he saw in one of the old books. His grip tightens slightly on his staff.
"I found a short passage in one of the books from this land... about the Devkarin liches. How are they connected to these beast-men? I doubt that such creatures as you just described have the necessary cunning to complete, or even attempt, the rites of undeath that I and others like me have underwent..."
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Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
(OOC: @Mister_Whisker, if you're referring to post #321, maybe that was just a simple mistake by @drumdigby. That post says that "the Devkarin is an off shoot of Elves that were found in Eosia." Based on what we just heard from Counselor Nyathuren, it's possible that the post was meant to refer to "Drukhari Elves" and "Drukhari Lich" instead of "Devkarin Elves" and "Devkarin Lich".)
Lord Akkron remembers the mention of the Devkarin liches that he saw in one of the old books. His grip tightens slightly on his staff.
"I found a short passage in one of the books from this land... about the Devkarin liches. How are they connected to these beast-men? I doubt that such creatures as you just described have the necessary cunning to complete, or even attempt, the rites of undeath that I and others like me have underwent..."
They are not the same, the Devkarin were once Elves, but corrupted by the dark powers by combining them into beasts as a way of insulting our natural way and of our gods. There is nothing left of their Elven heritage at all, it has been burned away when they are transmuted into these beasts.
The Devkarin, was a means of filling their ranks with more foot soldiers....
As for the Drukhari....
Vrox thanks Counselor Nyathuren for the information. He asks whether there's anything that worked or did not work against them in the past: "As fiendish creations, are the Devarkin immune to the dark energy of death and decay, perhaps? Or are the twisted creatures particularly vulnerable to an assault on their minds?"
If you are heading to the northlands, there is another race you may want to seek out for aid, the Tain Shari or True Bloods.
Vrox says, "Thank you for the advice, Counselor! We will certainly seek out the Tain Shari if we have time. Against the Nefarious Duo and their followers, we could use all the help we can find. And the good peoples of Eosia will be stronger if they stand together against this threat."
[[OOC: @drumdigby - If you're ready to move on to the next thing, I think that those were the last of the questions Vrox had for Counselor Nyathuren.]]
Having decided it's time to move on, Flute has you all mount up, and like before, she leads you out on Faran's neck. "I have already messaged King Wargun, and told Sir Ulath to head to the meeting place for Bhlokw, and that's where we'll meet." Like before, she begins playing her pipes, and the air around you turns into a mist, and you feel like your half asleep, in a dream. When you come back to reality, its much darker, and in the distance, a great bonfire is burning. A lone figure is sitting next to it.
As you approach, he rises and looks in your direction. "Sparhawk, is that you with Flute?"a booming voice asks. "It's us," answered Sparhawk.
When you arrive at the bonfire, you see that Sir Ulath waiting. Ulath, like Sparhawk in the Pandion Order, is the ideal Genidian- strong, silent, massively muscled, and blonde-braided. Like all the members of his Order, Sir Ulath wears chain mail armor due to the number of rivers in Thalesia. A chain mail shirt can easily be shrugged off by its wearer, unlike plate mail. Resting on the ground is his great helmet, adorned with a pair of curved ogre horns.
Roasting on the bonfire are skinned dogs. "Bhlokw developed a taste for dogs, it was the best way at the time to get him away from humans. This was before he became the priest of the Troll Gods."
You dismount, and it is not long you hear the shuffling gait of something large. Sor Ulath holds his hand up, " Bhlokw is coming, don't make any sudden movements until he gets to know you."
From the darkness, a large figure approaches, while it does appear to have some features of the trolls you are used to, there are other features more unique to his continent. Still alrge, almost that of a hill giant size, the troll comes up just to the edge of the fire light, then sits on his haunches.
"U-lat, why you light summon fire? You come to be nice, bring warm dog for Bhlokw?"
"I do friend Bhlokw, but these people must speak through you to your gods, can you do that?"
He stands, then walks over to you all, sniffing your heads. He nods approvingly to Tyek, when he sees Flute, he bows, then when he comes to Akkron, he doesn't know what to do. "You have no scent, how will Bhlokw know you?" He shrugs, and heads to the bonfire. He begins to recite in Trollish, calling on them to appear. There is a great roaring noise, then five distinct colors that form into visages consolidate. Flute points out the different Troll Gods, "The one that is colored green is Ghnomb, the God of Eat; The one in light blue is Schlee, the God of Ice; the one in orange is Khwaj, the God of Fire, the one in yellow is Zoka, the God of Mating, and the one in red is the leader of the gods, Ghworg, the God of Kill. I will make it so you understand their language, and they understand us."
Bhlokw bowed to the images, turned to the group. He looks at all of you then at Flute. "You made it so they hear what gods say, and gods hear what they say?" he asks, and Flute nods. He grunts and heads towards the cooked dogs. "Good, I eat, you talk, they hear."
Since no one speaks up, Khessa approaches, her usual confidential and direct approach: "Ghnomb, Schlee, Khwaj, Zoka, Ghworg!" she greets them cheerfully one by one "Pleased to meet you all, divine fellas! I am Khessa, Khessa Cabbagefield. My friends and I have come because we have heard that those two treacherous profiteers Azash and Slaanesh are trying to convince you to support them. I admit that I do not know the details of what they have told you - but that is all in all irrelevant".
"History has already shown that those who follow those two wretched gods do not end well even when they win!" the blonde arcane warrior laughs "You remember the Cipis Empire, I suppose... Whose population embraced the cult of the Nefarious Duo... with the net result of disappearing, along with their empire today almost forgotten by all. Azash and Slaanesh offer no real rewards, only deception - because they do not care about anyone, they only know how to despise".
"And anyway," the tall adventuress concludes "they're not even winning these days... They've unleashed their most powerful minions and demons against us to try to eliminate us - Azash even tried to intervene himself... but to no avail; as you can see, we're still here, alive and unscathed. While Zemoch bases have been destroyed, Nefarious Duo's shrines destroyed, corrupting schemers imprisoned, the Devil armies of Avernus will soon engage the Demons in the lower planes, reducing the amount of demonic armies available elsewhere, the invasion of the Duke of Veldos' Castle was stopped before permanent portals could be opened for the Nefarious Duo and their demons... and that's just the beginning - we've only just begun to warm up!"
"So..." Khessa winks "what good could it possibly do, allying yourself with two treacherous deities who have proven no use even when they've won... and who are starting to rack up an embarrassing series of defeats anyway? Their war is not your war - and there's no reason why it should be".
Ghnomb is the first to speak. "We have been offered by emissary if we fight on their side, then the pact is broken, my children can hunt and eat all they want. Not limited to where we are now. Back to be way it was before the breaking."
Zoka then speaks-"The pact says we can have very little pups, the emissary say if we fight for them, we can have as many new pups in the new land, no more pact to follow."
Schlee speaks-"All of the high country where the ice and snow dwell will be ours once more, our homes of old returned to us, no longer stolen by those miniscule ones who scurry underground. The emissary say we fight for them, our land is ours once more."
"It has always been our land!" yelled Khwaj, "Emissary say you cheated us, that's why you won. Not fair fight, magic used. Emissary promise us power too, magic like you mortal things, and even you smaller godling things. No more will we be jokes to you, we will be TROLLs!"
Then the leader Ghworg spoke. "Too long have we been penned up like beasts from the pact. Emissary say we can wage war for them, burn for them, eat all we want, what have you offered? You say you have bested them, I have seen nothing. Prove it, pick a champion and we will see who is better. You win, we listen. We win, we go. Do you accept?"
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You have already seen what they can summon from the darker plane, their demons. They can also influence humans, like the Mera'din raiders, the Golgari and other races such as the Drukhari, I have even heard of a dark race of Dwarves that I can't confirm. Some of the Trolls did fight on their side, the more warlike ones, giants, the dragons who are evil souled, the Devkarin which are an evil combination of beasts warped by the evil power of darkness, twisted to serve as their foot soldiers. We have our versions of what you call Orcs, Ogres, and such, those we have seen them for a long time.
Note-I will be out for a reenactment and won't be back until Sunday evening
Another one of the Asuryani enters, this one wearing a very fine suit of armor, while he does give the party a wary glance, bows to the King.
"Ah, General Mihrendelas, thank you for coming." He turns to the party. "I would like to introduce General Surinthiel Mihrendelas, commander of our forces and of our Rangers who have been keeping an eye on the developments in and around our borders. General, could you please describe to these good heroes, what your scouts have seen concerning the return of Slaanesh and Azash."
The general pauses for a moment, concerned that he could be giving away state secrets it seems to you, but as it is the King who ius directing him, he bows and turns to the party.
"As I see Counselor Nyathuren is here, he has explained some of the past and our problems we have been trying to keep to ourselves. Yes, I fear the dark deities have not only returned but are seeking vengeance against us for our support in the coalition to stop them. While their main followers, the Zemochs filled their army and fuelede their power, they corrupted a sect of our people who broke away, the Drukhari. They were able to seduce them away from our gods and made them promises if they supported their desires. The Drukhari became slavers, pirates, everything opposite of our beliefs. We thought we had destroyed them back in the great war, finished them off like we did the Zemochs, but my Rangers have spotted them in the fringes of our northern forests, and have heard of them in the northern kingdoms in Dearia and Kondor. My scouts and some of our cavalries have already been skirmishing with them, we believe they are probing our defenses for weaknesses."
"What of the reports of the great beasts and dragons, have the scouts confirmed them?"
"Yes my lord, there are dragons in violation of the pact and have left the vale. Reports have been received of red dragons raiding farms and causing basic destruction between Verel and Arruk to the very north. There have been sightings of Blue and Black dragons also flying outside of the vale in violation of the pact. I sent a party to have words with Nundroirug of the Golden Wing, but they have not returned, and we fear they may have been intercepted. We have received a message from Yôht Grendok of the Ironkin Dwarves, that they have received news through their network, that the Fire Giants in the mountains on the northern coast of the old Zemoch Empire, are gathering other of the old giant war bands, and rumor has it, they are going to try and cross the bay into the eastern Kingdoms and start raising hell."
Khessa tries to sort out the flow of information: "So, thinking back to the past, it doesn't seem like the Nefarious Duo have improved much... They can call upon Demons, as they once did, corrupt other races, as they did with the Drukhari, and seek the alliance of other monsters. This is to summarize, not to minimize - that's still quite a lot, considering that in the past they almost managed to unleash the Immrama! They had more dark gods at their side, but they also had a more cohesive opposition to face them. So they're still not a threat to be underestimated".
"Focusing on the present," the blonde arcane warrior continues "the Drukhari problem is arising in this area - they were thought to be finished, but they are not. While further north, the dragon problem is confirmed".
"Perhaps we should deal with the Drukhari first?" the tall adventuress raises a questioning eyebrow at her fellow adventurers. “They should be the closest threat, and therefore the quickest to reach. If the elf scouts could point us to some key center to hit... a major base or a major depot of the Drukhari , for example... we could destroy it, reducing the threat they represent. Or would you all prefer to let the elves handle it while we move on to the next threat? The elves actually seem to have the situation under control... but I'd hate for the Nefarious Duo to have any unpleasant surprises in store for them”.
Aphrael speaks up, "They are doing the same thing as the last time, they have us running all over the place. Our first task was to go speak to the Trolls and keep them out of this. I recommend we get up there quickly and speak to Bhlokw. He has great influence on the Trolls as he is their Priest to their gods. Once we can keep them out of this, then I can whisk you to where you want to go next."
Khessa playfully ruffles Aphrael's hair. "I trust your judgment far more than my own, Flute, my dear divine child! We will proceed without delay to meet Bhlokw. We have already amassed an encouraging series of successes... It shouldn't be hard to make the Troll Gods understand that allying themselves with a pair of would-be gods who have shied away from every direct confrontation they've had with us - and who have regularly brought ruin to their followers in the past (even when they've triumphed, as in the case of the Cipis Empire) - might not be a very wise idea".
Clarac agrees that the next stop should be meeting Bhlokw. As for what to do after that, she says, "For a group as small as ours, I believe dragon-slaying would be the best way to maximize our impact. We cannot fight entire armies or peoples on our own, but we can stop individual dragons from terrorizing vast areas. Of course, that is a decision to be made after we meet with the trolls."
Aphrael nods, "When you are ready, I'll take you to the palace of King Wargun in Thalesia, we'll need to get Sir Ulath who is friends with Bhlokw." She pauses and looks at Tyek, "I think you'll like King Wargun, besides fighting, he always seems to be drinking with a great mug in each hand."
[[OOC: Giants are one of Vrox's Favored Enemies.]]
Vrox has fought against dragons before, and he spent many long years fighting various types of giants in the Feywild. But he has never heard of Devkarin before. Vrox asks the Counselor for more details about those creatures. What are some of their abilities? Do they have any weaknesses? How were they defeated the previous time?
Vrox assumes that the Drukhari, like the Asuryani, are many and varied (e.g., soldiers, pirates, and wizards). But he asks whether there were any prominent Drukhari who may have escaped the wars 1,000 years ago and still be alive today. Or has The General heard any reports of particularly prominent Drukhari who are leading their forces now?
Vrox defers to Aphrael's suggestion, of course, and agrees to go to the trolls next.
The Devkarin, was a means of filling their ranks with more foot soldiers. It was a use of their twisted dark powers to create them as they are not natural. While humanoid in shape, they have the heads of boars, bulls or wolves, of great strength and no compassion (if you are a fan of David Eddings and the Wheel of Time-Trollocs). The eat the ones they kill, revel in slaughter and are an afront to nature herself. Not very intelligent, they will be commanded or in more simpler terms, driven by a master and then released to do carnage. They wield great swords and axes, close combat to the point of teeth and tusk. We had destroyed most of them, but they could still be in some dark underground, if more of the dark forces seem to be reappearing.
As for the Drukhari, they are a caste society-warrior castes, wizards or as they call them, psykers, the slavers and pirates are a lower caste. The Drukhari are the living embodiments of all that is wanton and cruel in the their character. Highly intelligent and devious to the point of obsession, these piratical people revel in the physical and emotional pain of others, for feeding upon the psychic residue of suffering is the only way they can stave off the slow consumption by the Chaos God Slaanesh of their own souls. The Warrior Caste focus on perfecting the perfect kill, each warrior will have forged a fearsome reputation for himself in the war-torn halls of their High Commorragh, and has proven himself in multiple battles to be a merciless combatant. The more vicious and ruthless a warrior is, the better his chances for advancement within the Kabal or caste community.
The Wizard caste, viewed with the witch-sight of a psyker, the Drukhari's black souls are revealed, for they eternally thirst only for the psychic energy of the anguish and torment of other thinking beings in order to fill their own infinite emptiness.
They have their own hierarchy in leadership which they squabble and fight for to be on top.
The slavers and the pirates, they seek victims to be sacrificed to the dark gods, to keep them satisfied so that she who thirsts don't come after them.
If you are heading to the northlands, there is another race you may want to seek out for aid, the Tain Shari or True Bloods. An Independent warrior society held over from the first Immrama, they roam the border between the ancient lands of the Zemochs, and the settled lands. (A combination of the Aiel from Wheel of Time, and Mongol riders), they have two sects: regular warriors Sovin Nai, and the Rahien Sorei (Cavalry). They hate the Zemochs and the dark deities with a passion that even I have never seen before. They roam the great plains, on the constant watch for the enemy, and eliminate them on site. If you are up there, I suggest you find them, for you are sure to find an ally.
"Good," Khessa approves "after the visit to the Trolls, we'll remember to follow up with another to the Tain Shari".
The blonde arcane warrior is pleased to hear about possible allies as well as the countless threats posed by the Nefarious Duo's plots.
And with that, the tall adventuress is ready, if no one else has questions for the elves, to continue the journey...
Lord Akkron remembers the mention of the Devkarin liches that he saw in one of the old books. His grip tightens slightly on his staff.
"I found a short passage in one of the books from this land... about the Devkarin liches. How are they connected to these beast-men? I doubt that such creatures as you just described have the necessary cunning to complete, or even attempt, the rites of undeath that I and others like me have underwent..."
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Provide feedback!
(OOC: @Mister_Whisker, if you're referring to post #321, maybe that was just a simple mistake by @drumdigby. That post says that "the Devkarin is an off shoot of Elves that were found in Eosia." Based on what we just heard from Counselor Nyathuren, it's possible that the post was meant to refer to "Drukhari Elves" and "Drukhari Lich" instead of "Devkarin Elves" and "Devkarin Lich".)
They are not the same, the Devkarin were once Elves, but corrupted by the dark powers by combining them into beasts as a way of insulting our natural way and of our gods. There is nothing left of their Elven heritage at all, it has been burned away when they are transmuted into these beasts.
Vrox thanks Counselor Nyathuren for the information. He asks whether there's anything that worked or did not work against them in the past: "As fiendish creations, are the Devarkin immune to the dark energy of death and decay, perhaps? Or are the twisted creatures particularly vulnerable to an assault on their minds?"
Vrox says, "Thank you for the advice, Counselor! We will certainly seek out the Tain Shari if we have time. Against the Nefarious Duo and their followers, we could use all the help we can find. And the good peoples of Eosia will be stronger if they stand together against this threat."
[[OOC: @drumdigby - If you're ready to move on to the next thing, I think that those were the last of the questions Vrox had for Counselor Nyathuren.]]
Here we go!
Having decided it's time to move on, Flute has you all mount up, and like before, she leads you out on Faran's neck. "I have already messaged King Wargun, and told Sir Ulath to head to the meeting place for Bhlokw, and that's where we'll meet." Like before, she begins playing her pipes, and the air around you turns into a mist, and you feel like your half asleep, in a dream. When you come back to reality, its much darker, and in the distance, a great bonfire is burning. A lone figure is sitting next to it.
As you approach, he rises and looks in your direction. "Sparhawk, is that you with Flute?" a booming voice asks. "It's us," answered Sparhawk.
When you arrive at the bonfire, you see that Sir Ulath waiting. Ulath, like Sparhawk in the Pandion Order, is the ideal Genidian- strong, silent, massively muscled, and blonde-braided. Like all the members of his Order, Sir Ulath wears chain mail armor due to the number of rivers in Thalesia. A chain mail shirt can easily be shrugged off by its wearer, unlike plate mail. Resting on the ground is his great helmet, adorned with a pair of curved ogre horns.
Roasting on the bonfire are skinned dogs. "Bhlokw developed a taste for dogs, it was the best way at the time to get him away from humans. This was before he became the priest of the Troll Gods."
You dismount, and it is not long you hear the shuffling gait of something large. Sor Ulath holds his hand up, " Bhlokw is coming, don't make any sudden movements until he gets to know you."
From the darkness, a large figure approaches, while it does appear to have some features of the trolls you are used to, there are other features more unique to his continent. Still alrge, almost that of a hill giant size, the troll comes up just to the edge of the fire light, then sits on his haunches.
"U-lat, why you light summon fire? You come to be nice, bring warm dog for Bhlokw?"
"I do friend Bhlokw, but these people must speak through you to your gods, can you do that?"
He stands, then walks over to you all, sniffing your heads. He nods approvingly to Tyek, when he sees Flute, he bows, then when he comes to Akkron, he doesn't know what to do. "You have no scent, how will Bhlokw know you?" He shrugs, and heads to the bonfire. He begins to recite in Trollish, calling on them to appear. There is a great roaring noise, then five distinct colors that form into visages consolidate. Flute points out the different Troll Gods, "The one that is colored green is Ghnomb, the God of Eat; The one in light blue is Schlee, the God of Ice; the one in orange is Khwaj, the God of Fire, the one in yellow is Zoka, the God of Mating, and the one in red is the leader of the gods, Ghworg, the God of Kill. I will make it so you understand their language, and they understand us."
Bhlokw bowed to the images, turned to the group. He looks at all of you then at Flute. "You made it so they hear what gods say, and gods hear what they say?" he asks, and Flute nods. He grunts and heads towards the cooked dogs. "Good, I eat, you talk, they hear."
Since no one speaks up, Khessa approaches, her usual confidential and direct approach: "Ghnomb, Schlee, Khwaj, Zoka, Ghworg!" she greets them cheerfully one by one "Pleased to meet you all, divine fellas! I am Khessa, Khessa Cabbagefield. My friends and I have come because we have heard that those two treacherous profiteers Azash and Slaanesh are trying to convince you to support them. I admit that I do not know the details of what they have told you - but that is all in all irrelevant".
"History has already shown that those who follow those two wretched gods do not end well even when they win!" the blonde arcane warrior laughs "You remember the Cipis Empire, I suppose... Whose population embraced the cult of the Nefarious Duo... with the net result of disappearing, along with their empire today almost forgotten by all. Azash and Slaanesh offer no real rewards, only deception - because they do not care about anyone, they only know how to despise".
"And anyway," the tall adventuress concludes "they're not even winning these days... They've unleashed their most powerful minions and demons against us to try to eliminate us - Azash even tried to intervene himself... but to no avail; as you can see, we're still here, alive and unscathed. While Zemoch bases have been destroyed, Nefarious Duo's shrines destroyed, corrupting schemers imprisoned, the Devil armies of Avernus will soon engage the Demons in the lower planes, reducing the amount of demonic armies available elsewhere, the invasion of the Duke of Veldos' Castle was stopped before permanent portals could be opened for the Nefarious Duo and their demons... and that's just the beginning - we've only just begun to warm up!"
"So..." Khessa winks "what good could it possibly do, allying yourself with two treacherous deities who have proven no use even when they've won... and who are starting to rack up an embarrassing series of defeats anyway? Their war is not your war - and there's no reason why it should be".
Ghnomb is the first to speak. "We have been offered by emissary if we fight on their side, then the pact is broken, my children can hunt and eat all they want. Not limited to where we are now. Back to be way it was before the breaking."
Zoka then speaks-"The pact says we can have very little pups, the emissary say if we fight for them, we can have as many new pups in the new land, no more pact to follow."
Schlee speaks-"All of the high country where the ice and snow dwell will be ours once more, our homes of old returned to us, no longer stolen by those miniscule ones who scurry underground. The emissary say we fight for them, our land is ours once more."
"It has always been our land!" yelled Khwaj, "Emissary say you cheated us, that's why you won. Not fair fight, magic used. Emissary promise us power too, magic like you mortal things, and even you smaller godling things. No more will we be jokes to you, we will be TROLLs!"
Then the leader Ghworg spoke. "Too long have we been penned up like beasts from the pact. Emissary say we can wage war for them, burn for them, eat all we want, what have you offered? You say you have bested them, I have seen nothing. Prove it, pick a champion and we will see who is better. You win, we listen. We win, we go. Do you accept?"