Enemy's Slumber, 3rd of Dominary - Daytime

[DM Bob]

You all awake a bit groggy and once leaving your respective apartments, notice the odd knowing looks from the locals. Concern? Fear? A mixture of both?

Those that choose to peruse the Great Library are greeted by a large, thirty foot tall room almost entirely taken by long, stacked scroll cases. Very few actual books are seen. Your guess would be that these were copies of text or events... perhaps the originals existed somewhere else? The scrolls are stacked in nooks, much like catacombs would stack bodies, down the long rectangular chamber. A few templars are seen at low tables in the center of the room. They're fashioned of the soft white wood common to the forest nearby. Deep red tasseled square cushions were placed instead of chairs. A few perches, wooden and about ten feet high, seem to be for the bird folk that might need the facility. A dwur (dwarven) templar greets you. Gruv is his name, and he seems to know the contents of the room by heart.

It is noted that Ande has pulled a small squad of templars to help search... it is unclear how much help they'll end up being.

***

Hurk returns to the Tribunal's facility, and is told to wait as the psion, Akos, prepares to mentally invade the goliath's memories. A brown clothed elf, he keeps company with another elf in more traditional tribal garb, that has a small ivory colored horn tied about his neck. Ulali has prepared a set of questions to begin with - and is going to be back for the latter part of the mental probing.

***

Was there anything the others wished to be doing to prepare as these two tasks are being attempted?

[AthasianLaborer]

"Gruv!  Comrade!  It delights me to see your lovely face this fine morning!"  Ande hurries towards Gruv  "As you can see--" Ande gestures towards the Templars assembling behind her before continuing "--I bring research assistants!  I know, I know but, unorthodox times call for unorthodox methods.  I'd appreciate all of the help you might be able to provide as we've a large task before us and scant time with which to accomplish it"  Ande gives Gruv as sheepish a look as an Aarakocra can present before tilting her head and speaking almost sing-song "I bring keeeeeyyyy-words!!"  Returning to a serious demeanor she implores Gruv "I need to compile everything we know on 'Tohr-Kreen'; and 'The Messenger' and I need it before we leave in two days."  She does her best to smile at Gruv knowing the enormity of her ask.

Edit: Ande has brought her team and is ready to pull this all nighter right up to departure.  She has 5/4/3 spells per day in first, second and third level spells.  She's cast Idea once today prior to this thread but still has 3 second level spells to cast today.

I am figuring that the 3 third level spells will be Locate Object for any elusive texts (if needed).

Idea is likely to be the rest of the 2nd level spells for this day too.  Timed appropriately to maximize the efforts of the research compilation.

Restful Sleep is an Orison she'd use on herself as well as anyone else who volunteered for it.

She's longhauling it except for the 4 hour power nap from Restful Sleep.

"Idle hands are The Dragons playground"

[Attilius]

Aug 4, 2023 10:34:55 GMT -12 DM Bob said:

Hurk returns to the Tribunal's facility, and is told to wait as the psion, Akos, prepares to mentally invade the goliath's memories. A brown clothed elf, he keeps company with another elf in more traditional tribal garb, that has a small ivory colored horn tied about his neck. Ulali has prepared a set of questions to begin with - and is going to be back for the latter part of the mental probing.

The half giant nods to the elves "Well met Akos. I've heard of the abilities of brown garbed elves. This will be... interesting." He says with a smirk.

[Niachi]

Niachi waits alongside Ande with eyes agog at the trove of secrets. He waits for his turn with the dwur until she finishes, hands folded behind his back in perfect drill at-ease. He carried no weapons into this sanctum. This is no question the most important official in the city.


"Auspicious night, Templar Gruv, This is a fine place. A few more subjects?!



He draws a deep breath and steadies his voice to the measured cadence of an arms dealer listing his inventory of blades and armor: 


"Elven maps and writings of the Tohr-Kreen empire and the White Mountains, and the means to make -with Kurn's approval- copies of requested maps and texts deemed important for our journey ahead.  Any ephemera dealing with unthinkably vast Undead powers in a nightmare far to the south. Strategy and tactics of siege warfare. Strategy and tactics of doublehand weaponry. Something described 'The Philosophies of the Aweful.' Details of the regional beasts and plants. Methods of repelling insect vermin and antidotes for their venoms. Current studies on the outer and inner planes. Local varieties of giants. Local populations of underground arachnids and their tribal affairs. Tutorials on mental defense. Stuff about obsidian. Many thanks. My people would honor this exchange of knowledge and return the service, if the chance favors."

[Deleted]

Chat'cho seeks out someone in Kurn much more wealthy than she is who is concerned about what may have been the Messenger passing over Athas yesterday night. If she can locate such a person, the Thri-Kreen attempts to use her charisma to talk that person into securing her a set of 1,000 CP material components to cast the 5th level Consequence spell of the Sphere of the Cosmos.

If she succeeds, she'll cast the spell with the intent of learning whether the bright light was the Messenger, and whether or not its appearance is relevant to the restoration of Kurn or their journey to the Kreen Empire, and tell the city what she learns.

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- The female halfling looks astonished to the library in front of her, left to right and back here and there, her mouth opens but no sound emanates from it, until the dwarven templar gets to the group.
When she is asked what she is interested to see, she replies - "Could I see anything related with wildlife and flora in the Tablelands behind the Ringing Mountains, wherever the Tor-kreen lands are located please? One that shows and describes which beasts, which animals can be found, with loads of depictions and drawings" - she opens wide her tiny arms for a moment, smiling to the templar she has in front of her, as she tries her best to organise her hair in a more civilised manner after that

[DM Bob]

At the library...

Eslyk finds a very small selection of western flora & fauna. Very few explorers have ventured there and back... even less with any serious artistic skill. You can imagine the scant few she sees are much like ancient seaman renderings of sea monsters in the real world. One interesting picture shows a thri-kreen with an even larger flying bug with a big stinger led on a tether.

Ande, Niachi and the templar brigade have too much to paw through. Maps are not very helpful. It seems that the Tohr-kreen live in a large unsettled area to the west, and landmarks aren't anything with a true scale. There is one account of a large swamp and even "rivers"! Imagine that. Roads of flowing water. Surely that text could be discounted as fiction. There are some accounts of diplomacy, mainly the same accounts that the Presider had mentioned before. Bodach and it's Lawkeepers had maintained a truce of sorts before the fall to Waverly and the Warbringer's forces.

There are tales of the Dead Lands, but they are laid out mainly as fable and fancy. Of an elven tribe and hero that stole from ancient undead. Huh. Reminds you of your own elf friend in Bodach... funny, perhaps that's where Haske Skysinger had gotten inspiration for his doomed heist. Heck, Coden currently carried the whistle the old ally had lifted.

The Messenger has much in writing (almost too much), both ancient and current. Detailed sky maps show it's positions in the sky in comparison to the twin moons Ral & Guthay and the general constellations for many iterations throughout the Ages. The tales of it visiting the Dragon and bringing news of the Heavens. To the odd light one could travel during the evening to. To the exact weather, state of City States during the visit, etc...

The Philosophies of the Aweful is mentioned once, that it had been secreted away by a thing only known as a "goblyn" deep beneath the earth. You have never heard of anything like this except for the goblin spiders that Niachi already knew. He did not think they were the same - this "goblyn" was described to be smaller than a dwur (dwarf).

As far as repelling insects? Burning ranike sap was the most effective method, as the smoke causes extreme agony and disables most giant insects including the kreen for a few minutes. As to where to find ranike? That question remained unanswered.

There was a lot more that Niachi could find... if he only had more time. There were many texts on psionics, tactics and tales of battles fought.

***

Hurk is subjected to a mental scouring - the brown elf was quiet outside of the predisposed questions and it turned out that the second elf was there to verify with truth detecting rites of Air. He is unable to hide one key fact - that they'd stolen urns from the Shadow King himself. That revelation came when the Presider took over additional question paired with mental probing and truth dweomers. He was exhausted by the end of the ordeal and eventually gifted with a meal that was considered large even by his standards.

The Tribunal would meet that evening.

***

Chat'cho finds that the Tribunal is *very* interested in such rituals and provides the sacrifice necessary for it's enactment. Proostrating herself and calling to the Spirit's of the Land, the kreen druid learns that...

It was indeed the Messenger. And the flash of relevance is so strong in her head, concerning Kurn's future and their travels... that she is left with a splitting headache and a bit of tremor to her extremities.

[Niachi]

Niachi scampers out to enjoy the city's markets once more. He meets his contact to whisper of this 'goblyn.'

Then he rushes back to his quarters and shines up his boots and armor for the Tribunal.

[Attilius]

Aug 5, 2023 15:01:20 GMT -12 DM Bob said:

Hurk is subjected to a mental scouring - the brown elf was quiet outside of the predisposed questions and it turned out that the second elf was there to verify with truth detecting rites of Air. He is unable to hide one key fact - that they'd stolen urns from the Shadow King himself. That revelation came when the Presider took over additional question paired with mental probing and truth dweomers. He was exhausted by the end of the ordeal and eventually gifted with a meal that was considered large even by his standards.

The Tribunal would meet that evening.

Technically we didn't know they were his urns yet when we grabbed them. And to be fair they were more like individual penitentiary's that he kept the 2 prisoners within.

Regardless HurK thanks those involved, eats his fill then waits for the evening meeting while meditating somewhere quiet and in the shade.

[Deleted]

Chat'cho takes to the streets, proclaiming her findings to anyone and everyone within earshot. Her magnetic personality and apparent total belief in the truth of her words gives her the appearance of a deranged doomsday cultist, howling about the end of days for hours on end. Among her impassioned ranting is the sentiment that the Messenger has somehow sacrificed itself to deliver to Kurn and its denizens some sort of forbidden knowledge, hence the comet's name, as well as other, wilder theories such as the happenings being the result of divine intervention and the comet possibly being composed of an alien super-metal that, if forged into a proper implement, could result in a deadly "starsteel" weapon with which to combat the kings of the south, though she is clear to delineate what is certain and what is baseless speculation on her part.

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- "Thank you, I guess I'll have to do it myself, to get some rolls and charcoal or ink to portray these different flora and fauna myself.." - like thinking as speaking then she turns to the templar and smiles again.

The small halfling looks for a sit to look through the images in, trying to learn that way, as she's illiterate

[AthasianLaborer]

OOC: Apologies, my dumbass thought I had posted earlier, it must've been ate by the internet.

Ande will use Idea, Moment (PSCv2 pg 417) and the Bottle of Memory to assist in gathering what will hopefully prove to be the most helpful texts available.  It might not look like coherent info at the moment, but hopefully the magic guides her selections so that when it counts, she has the info she needs to be most helpful.

She won't ignore any summons by the Tribunal or Templarate but in her eyes this is important and pressing given the deadline.  Especially knowing now what Chat'cho is shouting from the rooftops.

[Coden Rokos (Jesse H.)]

Coden is up and about at a good time, having missed much of the action the prior night and gone back to bed since there wasn't anything to see. Once he's filled in by HurK, he heads to the library to assist Ande and Niachi in the library, mostly because he happens to be literate.

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

Quila is up early and does some light stretching and meditation.
Even though the night was eventful with the Messenger streaking across the skies, she has learned to sleep well when you can on all her Tablelands missions in the past.
You never know when you are out there and really need to stay awake and alert.

Having been a direct report to Mereth at the School since her return to Kurn in Dragon's Agitation, Quila has been more in the loop of events and quite a bit more at rest, just by being in Kurn most of the time.

Sure, troubleshooting some communication problems of House Azeth in Draj about the Kurnan coin mintage, and making sure House Tsalaxa doesn't get too much of a trading foothold in Tyr, Urik and Raam, that could hurt Azeth and Kurn and their (silent) allies, that's important. But all in a day's job.

Quila knows by now a mission has been issued to a group by the Tribunal. Mereth told her exactly word for word how the group was instructed. And provided commentary where she felt it was necessary. Things to look after, to notice.

Quila listens to any advice and commentary Mereth is bound to give her.

[OOC: Bob, you might or might not want to drop any info my character receives into that meeting I have before I connect up with the rest.]

During the early morning Quila gathers up some old familiar things from the Celik days and puts them in her travel bag. After that she goes out into the city to drink a raktajino and casually stroll into the Library and look around a bit without attracting any attention. Just sit and read like so many Kurnans do. 

I make sure to be on time for the meeting of the Tribunal that evening.

[DM Bob]

Having used divinations beyond that mentioned before, you are able to learn these general caste related details of the kreen empire. However, physical descriptions are scarce.

Members of the j’ez subspecies are lawful in nature and tend to fill roles as leaders and bureaucrats. They command legions, oversee work details, rule imperial holdings, and perform the administrative functions necessary to keep the empire running smoothly.

J’hol, in general, have an evil bend. They make up the majority of the empire’s military base, though they also make good builders and crafters.

Those of the jeral subspecies tend to serve as teachers, though a few also own ranches and farms.

T’keech are the laborers, performing tasks that the other subspecies consider beneath them but that are too complicated for any of the enslaved insectoid races to be trusted with.

Members of the to’ksa subspecies are the shock troops and gladiators of the empire. In general, they don’t hold a firm position in imperial society. The place they do have is considered to be the bottom rung on the societal ladder. They are wanderers in a settled society, barbarians among the civilized kreen. They are nomads and hunters who fill the wilderness between imperial holdings.