A City of Kreen

[DM Bob]

Enemy's Slumber, 4th of Dominary - Early to Mid Day

Current Locations: Kreen Empire

Ande and Chat'cho fly ahead. After the recent faux memory of flight, the druidess finds this to be quite enjoyable... the tickle of further shared memories threaten to rise once more. But like a dream, once the focus begins, it quickly melts away. Much like our halfling's ice from the night before.

A few hundred amber colored domes are seen, the grasses that surround a tad more flattened than what your friends currently plod through. Wingless jalath’gak pull sledges stacked with globules, wax balls, cut grasses and (or) clay urns. There are kreen of many different shapes and sizes here, bustling about the immediate outskirts of the resinous abodes. The ones steering the jalath'gak look the most like those from the Tablelands. The others are closer to the city proper.

There are other insects about as well. Black & brown Kanks are seen, as well as large holes in the earth that they are seen entering & exiting. Pale yellow waspy wezer fly from underground hives that are only visible by the papery wasp-like nest openings in the earth. And then there's the smaller ones. The noise is both grating and hypnotic.

You are most definitely noticed (unless you had planned on some sort of subterfuge before arriving, although I'm pretty certain you were still planning on heralding your party's presence).

***

The rest of you ride for an hour or so to find the way bisected by a gigantic rut of freshly rent earth and grasses, perhaps 250 feet wide and a good 5-7 feet deep. Luckily it slopes and is easily traversed. This is the path of The Messenger. Every so often something rustles through the tall grasses, but this isn't pokemon, so they sure AF aren't Caterpies. Various pale maggot-like insects, about dagger-sized, inch worm away at your approach. Hurk swears he catches a whiff of tobac for a second as he coaxes his inix, Fruit Cart, over the far rise.

[Attilius]

*snif snif* "You guys smell that? Someone's smoking upwind!" the half giant stands up in his stirrups and looks into the winds direction...

[Deleted]

When the pair land, Chat'cho will immediately present herself to the Tohr'Kreen below, introducing herself both verbally in their language and through a healthy dose of her pheromones.

[Tohr'Kreen] "I am Chat'cho, druid-guardian of the south and east. I am a young adult female yet seeking a mate. I have come with companions that seek to make contact with your mighty state and form a mutually beneficial arrangement. I submit to any demand you make of me."

Chat'cho lowers her head and makes no threatening movements, hoping to ensure the Tohr'Kreen do not harm her by way of submissiveness.

[DM Bob]

I guess that begs the question, "Where do you land, Ande/Michael?".

[AthasianLaborer]

No subterfuge.

Just Ande with Chat'cho's head poking out between Ande's shoulders.  We'll stay fairly low, like 200-500' in altitude so we can be more easily heard.  Ande is just megaphoning the following (without the megaphone obviously).  She'd take care to circle or slow down to be heard.

<Kreen> "Be not afraid, we come from Kurn bringing gifts of our lands and seeking diplomacy.  The bulk of our envoy trail us from the east, please greet them as you would diplomats"

Edit: Ande wouldn't land until she spotted a Black chitin J'ez Tohr-Kreen

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Eslyk gets her senses up as she moves alongside the party scanning around in case anything gets complicated - "Yes, I agree with speaking now with the Tor-kreen in case they see us as a potential enemy and then would be even more difficult to try to sort something in a civilised way"
The halfling picks her nose, plays with it and throws it away, avoiding herself to get too close to the grass around whilst moving silently

[OOC: I rolled a 9 out of 13 in Danger Sense, PSP 96/99; MSilently success 37%]

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

Quila leads her war crodlu through the rift the Messenger has created. She looks north when passing to see if she can see anything at all in the distance betraying activity from third parties near the Messenger's location. She feels both exposed and totally closed off in the high grass at the same time and feels the old familiar feeling of a rising unease in her stomach. She makes sure, continuing their trajectory, to be extra alert for any ambushes or unforeseen threats.

(OOC: I roll for my Alertness NWP, rolled a 5 vs 19, success)
(PSP 107/122; the 6 turn maintenance Danger Sense costing me 12 PSP)

[DM Bob]

No immediate danger is sensed. You aren't paranoid though. This is Athas, of course.

***

As you get closer to the city to inspect the carapaces of the locals, you find a J'ez Tohr-Kreen pair with a group of smaller kreen. These also have black chitin, however, it is glossier... newer.

In Tohr-Kreen one responds, "Welcome to Nirik then, travelers. It is odd to see one's pet speak. Almost as odd as having Otherlanders visit." It talks directly to Chat'cho.

The other thing you notice is that the other kreen have stopped and begun staring at you, perhaps 30 souls await your reply. On the ground, you begin to realize how structured and organized everything is. Weirdly shaped, but pleasantly laid out.

[Deleted]

Chat'cho turns her head slowly, regarding one Tohr'Kreen at a time. Slowly, she moves nearer to them, fascinated by their strange features.

[Tohr'Kreen] "They have talents I do not, and facilitate tasks that I would otherwise find impossible. Please, forgive them for any faux pas they may stumble into, for they--and I as well--know nothing of your customs. For your welcome I offer my infinite gratitude."

The druid keeps her head low and her arms knit, doing her utmost to preserve her demeanor of femininity and subservience so as to offset her indubitably savage mannerisms.

[AthasianLaborer]

Ande will land long enough to allow Chat'cho to disembark before bowing and returning aloft to facilitate visibility for the party's benefit.

Ande would ping Quila "We've made contact with a group of black chitin kreen with two J'ez among their number.  They do not seem hostile and are speaking with Chat'cho now"

(OOC: I assume that Tohr-Kreen is different than what Ande knows?  I figured Chat'cho would be where Ande learned Thri-Kreen as a language, unless they are the same)

[Deleted]

((Thri-Kreen and Tohr'Kreen are very different languages, yes))

[Skrye [AC3; 48/48HP]]

- Eslyk shows up, appearing near Quila, to avoid been discovered sneaking with so many Tor-kreen around and make from this encounter a failure or distrustful event - 'Trust is gained by been honest' - thinks as she looks Chat'cho and the locals communicate with strange sounds

[Quila Oris (John M.)]

Quila relays the information she got from Ande to the group as a whole. She adds, “Let’s up our pace and not let them wait too long on us.”

To Ande she responds, “Let us know if anything changes or you see something from above we aren’t aware of as we approach the settlement.”

(Bob: I assume we aren’t too far behind timewise or is Ande that much faster than our mounts are moving or can safely move here?)

[Niachi]

As we approach, Niachi puts away his bow and arrow. He will pack his club, sword, bow, and dragon’s paw on a crodlu to greet the kreen with open empty hands. The forearm axe stays, unless others feel it should be removed.

[DM Bob]

It will take about another hour or so for the rest of the party to arrive. Flight has that benefit of having fewer obstacles as long as the wind behaves. However, as you are pinged mentally by Ande, you do make out a circular depression in the grass. It is much like in the real world, where a deer and her fauns might lay during the evening. There is no evidence of hair or spoor either. Tell me if you wish to pause and investigate further or carry on.

***

[Tohr'Kreen] "They have talents I do not, and facilitate tasks that I would otherwise find impossible. Please, forgive them for any faux pas they may stumble into, for they--and I as well--know nothing of your customs. For your welcome I offer my infinite gratitude." States Chat-cho. The second of the pair replies in turn.

"Ah! Strange times call for strange clutchmates! That can be understood. Kri-kir, we must notify the others so no alarm is raised. The Nirik-Tohr fret these last few days."

The smaller kreen chirp out a few noises that the one referred to as Kri-kir replies, "No. Pretty bird not to hunt."