Hale pointed out the Sea of Oil on the map. It was the sea bordering the north of Karnala, Apath's neighbour.

"I don't know exactly where this warrior dwells," said Hale, "Or even if he truly exists. All I know is that he is said to be able to kill even the Earned Kaiyaash. He is a Shage who has developed a technique to hunt his kin. Perhaps he can be convinced to assist you.. but do not rely so easily on your godly gifts, Conclave-Lord. This place is stranger than most, and it does not belong to you or me. Divine teleportation, I have heard, is dangerous, and the 'paradox' of most gods is non-existent in this place."

Ruse frowned.

"So paradox besides the one you're speaking to now does not work in the realm savage? That really is...savage and barbaric."

He was not thrilled, as that was one of a god's best tools.

"I don't think I am comfortable with leaving Apath without any oversight, and I do need to meet the mayors still too. How about I summon a daemon to try and find this elusive artist. Does daemonology - and magic in general for that matter - work normally here? I am powerful enough to conjur a potent daemon to help me track this artist."

Hale shrugged. "The Shage can paradox, but due to their.. interesting ways, they choose not too. They believe time shouldn't be butchered. I might agree - I have the ability to live through time only a second at a time!"

He laughed at that.

"Magic should work fine, for the most part. There are some spots where you are best never to conjure. They belong to the things that dwelt here before the Shage existed.. sacred sites, perhaps. Or unholy sites. Your demonology should work fine."

"I can conjur a mist daemon to assist us. All such beings now owe me their fealty now anyway, due to my deeer connection with her ladyship. I will do that then for now. If I find a way to paradox here, I may be able to follow up on this lead myself too." Ruse replied thoughtfully.

"Is there anything else I should know about apath, the shage, my magic, the funky issues of the world savage, et cetera before I head out to the town?"

"Her ladyship?" asked Hale. "Forgive me, I was under the impression that you were.. of a more masculine nature. And there are plenty of things you should know - don't pick a fight with a Shage being one of them, don't drink their alcohol being another - but the rest you could probably figure out for yourself. Go explore, friend."

The lord of mist sighed at Haled, and replied sharply,

"Do not think to apply your race's petty and irrational views on gender and sexuality to a god - we are above such trivialities, foolish as they are. Also, do not insult her ladyship in my presence again - she is Yggdrasil, the tree of life. Her name has nothing to do with your genderization or the negative stereotypes humans apply to them - she is greater than either you or I will ever be."

Ruse nodded at Hale, and looked at the maps again, searing the image into his memory. He needed to be able to replicate this without SUIT, but thankfully ruse had one of the sharpest minds around.

"I won't try to pick a fight with anything, but if I have to I will defend myself. However I did not come here to kill shage though - with the possible exception of the kiyaash. I came here to secure power, slaughter osiris cultists, and apparently to hunt down elusive art masters."

He grinned a bit. Even ruse had a sense of humor it seemed, even if he was a stoic prick the majority of the time. At least he was a relatively nice one.

"Okay I am off. I am going to get a daemon to help track down this artist for me. I am powerful enough to conjure up something potent, and if I align its affinity right it will serve me without the usual whealing and dealing. Please let me know if you wish to speak to me again in the future. For now, I intend to establish my presence in the nearby city in the southern province."

With that, Ruse left Hale (unless Hale needed to speak further to him) and headed outside the fort and in mist form began to head to the city. When he was about half-way there, he would stop.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:03, Fri 12 Mar 2010.

"Negative stereotypes?" Hale laughed. "Calm down, friend. Voice like that, you'll be stabbed fifteen times before reaching the Khaiyaash. The only way you can succeed here is if you quickly and quietly build up a power base, and alienating your most powerful ally over semantics probably isn't the greatest idea, wouldn't you say?"

He smiled, humoured.

"Good luck to you, then, High Lord, in all your acts of demonology."

Ruse exited, finding that the Fort itself was within the city - but the area surrounding it was simply abandoned and overgrown. Astura Ogur was much closer than he'd thought.

"My apologies, friend. I do consider you an ally, but just feel very protective of her ladyship. It is literally in my blood - I am a special type of god that enjoys a somewhat closer bond with the tree than most. Although lately the zealous god curse of being at the forefront of all sorts of stuff is becoming more and more apparent, unfortunately, given the absolute mess my realm is in. But yes, worry not for our relationship is most intact, and this fort will always enjoy the friendship of the conclave lord of Apath."

Ruse flashed him a genuine smile, and headed out.

When he was outside, but before leaving the overgrown area and going to the city proper, he decided to stop and work some magic.

He drew a circle in the ground using razor-sharp mist that instantly accomplished the job, all the while preserving the aesthetic appeal and detail such a summoning circle would require. He grabbed some near by grass and herbs and placed then inside the circle, and lit them on fire so they would burn and create a gentle smoke. A misty smoke, really.

He chanted sonorously and began his daemon summoning. He attempted to call as strong a daemon as he could safely pull into his presence, that was aligned with mist, gas, vapor, or anything of that sort. Normally this would be risky, but all such beings now owed Ruse their fealty.

"Spirit of sensuous vapor, come forth! Tendrils of sliding mist and banks of veiled billowing gases, the lord of Primordial mist beckons you to come forth! Come, daemon of mist! Come forth under divine suzerainty!"

The demon, thus summoned, did not appear in the form of mist or vapor or any of the noble gases. It appeared outside of the carefully constructed summoning circle. It appeared in the form of any other humanoid being, dressed in armour crafted of fine silk - no, of mist. His hair was long, of fine silver, and his face was thin and gaunt. He looked much like Ruse, in all actuality, except he had not the air of a pretentious, arrogant noble, but instead that of a pretentious, arrogant scholar.

"You've called, Lord of the Mists, and whilst I am not typically bound by your strange paralaws and secondary clauses, I find myself curious enough to arrive," the demon said gently, though with great force.

Ruse was amused by the daemon, who surely was not expecting a bearer of the primordial mist. That fact may also be what makes him so appealing to the daemon - enough to show itself. And it resembled him so much too.

"You're a handsome devil - takes after my own heart. I am indeed the lord of Mists, and have called you here to request your assistance. While I'd like this task completed faithfully and efficiently, I can tell by your scholarly disposition that this might interest you greatly. So daemon, I will grant you a lead on a potentially fascinatingly interesting piece of knowledge, but in exchange you must follow up on this lead, verify if it is real, and if so, return to me and disclose full details on your findings. Of course, you may not turn against me or use the knowledge that you gain while working for me against me in any fashion. If you agree and this lead turns out to be legit, you and I will both gain a potent piece of information about the Shage."

Ruse smiled pleasantly, and said,

"So, do you agree to my conditions?"

"Perhaps," said the Scholar of Mists. "Perhaps. The Shage have amused me for some time.. and your conditions seem fair, if rather vain. Before I can make a solid decision, however, I request that you give me a short summary of what it is, exactly, you wish me to investigate. The intelligent demon does not work blindly, you see."

Ruse grins, and nods.

"Fair enough. I would be having you investigate a means that can possibly greatly weaken a shage, even in the heat of battle. I hear it has something to do with art, of all things. I have a lead from a very reliable source as to where someone who may possess this knowledge is located, but I need it followed and verified. However, I'll tell you that only after you agree to the contract, of course. Given your interest in the shage, you must surely be as intrigued by this as I am, yes?"

"Ah, yes, the martial art of tahik-yur. It is a strange thing to be asking, sorcerer, even in these lands. The art is all but lost, save for a single practitioner in the isles beyond the sea.. the Khaiyaash-ha of this world do not care for those sort of assassins, you see."

The Scholar of Mists grinned.

"I am the most intelligent creature on this entire World-Tree," said the demon. "How could I not have studied something as - delicious - as that, as tahik-yur? In another guise, another timed, I trained under Grand Master Sacheer, before the poison got him. I learnt many of the ways. But I have forgotten them, perhaps. Perhaps I cannot recall them.."

A glint of teeth in the mist.

"Perhaps you might wish to, aheh, help me remember..?"

Ruse returned with a grin of his own,

"Oh you're a ballsy daemon aren't you - I am a much more dangerous individual than I appear, but since you were drawn to me like a moth to the flame I'm sure you realize that by now. But if you have the information that I seek, it would be...less annoying to me than sending you out to the oil pools. And like they say, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. So fine then, daemon, I'll entertain your "faltering memory" with something that may be able to help."

Ruse considered for a moment - there were plenty of things he could give to it (besides using primordial mist to force it, which he did not want to do. He could offer it knowledge, power, wealth, position. Maybe even one of the earthborn weapons he owned. There was a lot he could - at least potentially - offer.

"Daemon, I can at least potentially offer you one of multiple different things. But really such things are only as valuable as the person who wants them, so it would be inefficient for me to just starting listing things to you. So instead, I'll start by asking you what sorts of things are currently interesting you the most - both physically and non-physically?"

Ruse's face then lit up, and he added,

"I am the conclave-lord of Apath now - all that you survey here belongs to me technically, not the shage. You did tell me that you had a great interest in the shage, yes? I am willing to bribe you with a position - bribes need not always be physical you know. How would you like to work for me, here in apath? The conclave fort is somewhat off-limits unless you're with me, but the rest of this country is free game. If you are willing to provide service to me as a scholar-noble vassal of sorts, I will let you dwell here. There are many shage that you can interact with to sate your curiosity, and you also get the fun of witnessing first-hand (and possibly impacting) all the fun that I seen to attract to myself as a Zealous god. However, the one condition is you have to remain loyal to me during your tenure. However, once I fully secure my power here I will have your material needs and comforts provided for - within reason but as if you were nobility - as if you were a shage noble yourself."

"You'd get to live here comfortably, and witness all sorts of interesting things in exchange for your support. How does this sound to you?"

"It sounds fine enough, for a mortal," said the demon, the Scholar of Mist. "But I am not particularly fond of the offer myself. I am free to wander the Realm Savage as I might, ever freer than, say, yourself. I am intrigued with the Shage and have studied them for almost a thousand years - there is not much I could earn by serving you. However.."

The Scholar of Mists stopped, smiled wickedly.

"There is something you could do with me in return for service. Even now, your Conclave hyper-astronomers are noticing irregularities in the stars. They see beyond the Void, sighting those rare bodies that gravitate around the World-Tree, or are drawn towards it. Today - or possibly tomorrow - they will come to a startling discovery. They might have found it already. The discovery is thus: there is a creature, artifact, vessel or relic from another Tree - or from within the depths of the Void, or Elsewhere - and it is headed toward collision with Yggdrasil. Do you understand?"

Ruse listens with interest, and responds,

"Hmmm...interesting. So, if this thing or being is arriving on Yggdrasil, it will be happening soon. What is your interest in the matter then, and how does it relate to obtaining your service? I guess I'll be blunt and ask what you want from it?"

"Information," chuckled the Scholar. Such a stupid question. "I have come upon a signal, a code, a precious key which will unlock certain gates and seals within the crashing star. I am willing to offer them to you - offer you glory - in return for an additional fee. Two trades. All I ask is that you allow me to travel within your mist as you enter the blasted valley.. and that you allow me a glimpse of the pleasures of the flesh."

The Scholar smiled, and Ruse suddenly noticed how pretty a smile it was. It spoke of a higher intelligence, of true values. Its hair was long and magnificent, and its features were unlike anything he'd seen before. He felt an immediate attraction to the being, a lust that, he realized, had been working within him for some time..

Ruse ignored his growing lust most stoically, like a stalwart sentinel. Ruse was, at the end of the day, a very stubborn son of a bitch and never gave into such things unless it was on his terms.

He shook his head, and replied,

"Hmmm...nice try, but that will not do. You're asking for more trades than you're offering. So I will redefine our terms, and add new ones if you'd like more from me. You'll also need to clarify your own goals, so that I can determine if they clash with mine or not."

Ruse was a shrewd man, and he had the power to back up his shrewdness and guile.

"You want information then? Information on what? The star? I can provide this, in exchange for knowledge and training in the Tahik-Yur that will allow me to overcome any shage. You would like to travel in my mists? For what end? Where would you be traveling to and for how long? This, if I offer it, would be in exchange for the passwords, codes, signals, and whatever it was you were offering that would allow me access to the fallen star. However, on top of this since me allowing you travel in my mist has a 20fold benefit of allowing you to get to your location as well as me not disintegrating you in my mist, you will also have to TRUTHFULLY tell me everything you know about the fallen star, the passwords, and otherwise be willing to answer my questions."

He grinned, and continued,

"Then is the glimpse of flesh. You request this with no compensation for me. So we can negotiate. I can provide this to you in several ways. I can use mind magic to give you a literal glimpse of and even sensations of an act of passion - that is well within my power. I can take it up a step and pleasure you with my mind and my mist alone in ways you've never experienced other sexual "toys." A step above this would be allowing you to mate with one of my people. The final step, of course, would me sleeping with me personally - something that would not come cheaply I assure you. So, tell me which would you like and how much is it worth to you?"

The daemon, of course, could not lie to Ruse. Well it could but it wouldn't achieve much. The whisps of mist surrounding Ruse writhed whimsically as their master waited for a reply.

"Will not do? Hah! You amuse me, Lord of Mist. Perhaps we shall meet again. Goodbye. My place of birth is under attack and I am being called by one who truly needs my presence."

With that, the demon had gone, leaving a bitter taste in Ruse's mouth.

Ruse sighs. He could try binding it witht he primordial mist, but you catch mpre flies with honey than vinegar after all, so he lets the daemon go. For now.

It seems that he would have to figure this out himself. However, on the plus side he did obtain some free information. He now knows the name of the technique that can slay a shage: Tahik-Yur. He also suspects that the master of this technique does exist still, near those oil lakes to the east. At least he got the legend confirmed to be fact now, but was a bit upset the daemon broke of negotiations. Perhaps it realized Ruse was as cunning as it was? He had a feeling it would be back though. No misty or gaseous entity could resist Ruse's allure at this point.

Ruse doesn't want to leave Apath quite yet. He needs to solidify his presence in the city, as well as meet the Kiyaash. He won't fight the Kiyaash now - perhaps the shage sun prist may even take a liking to him for some reason. He does want to warn them of possible osiris cult activity though - he'd be a fool to not view osiris as a shared threat.

Ruse heads back to the southern province of apath - the city.

The City of Ogur Astur is a paradox of shifting spaces underneath the all-present canopy of the jungle. Vines overtook walls, trees shattered brick and everywhere the smell of the jungle permeated. It was almost pleasant; the typical smells of a large city deadened by the aroma of nature. Sometimes he walked through poor areas, sometimes he walked through areas that had been struck by meteoric showers, and sometimes he wandered through the wealthy districts. The entire city was built, he slowly realized, in an ancient pattern, following astronomical laws as to protect the city, as best possible, from things hurtling from the heavens..

"You're not from here," said the Shage, a tattooed, fully-naked beggar. He clutched at Ruse's pants. "Can see it in your eyes. Straight teeth and sharp looks. You're foreign, you are."

Ruse looked down at the shage on the ground, and replied,

"That is correct, Shage. I am High Lord Ruse, the new Conclave Lord and owner of the kingdom of Apath."

He sighed, and replied,

"So, what can you tell me about this place? If you are particularly helpful, I will use my magic to conjur up some food for you."

"You are new here, Lord, and your presumption betrays that," said the homeless Shage, his eyes ablaze. "You hold conclave, I see, your aims as treacherous as that as you seek. I can tell you much about the fabled city of Astura Ogur, of its astronomical calculations and its cultural oddities, the mystical patterns and the laws that hold the streets, or of the herbs that will kill a stranger dead and the metal which leaves magic in the minds of cruel men. If you, perhaps, are useful to me, I can divine your position upon the map."

He rattled his begging bowl expectantly.

Ruse looked at the Shage quizzically. He did not expect to be called treacherous. Not in light of there being people like the Kyaash, Lictros, and potential cultists in these midsts. He was curious that the shage viewed him - and by extent the convlave - as presumptuous and sinister, yet did not seem to have true opposition or malice towards him. It was a strange interplay, but then again these shage were strange folks.

"Hmmm...you're interesting to me. You have interesting, mixed views...ambivalence. Curiosity. Yes, I will talk to you. I would like to hear about everything you have just mentioned, and more if able. Presumptuous as I may be, this is my feif now and I'll not let my people starve."

Ruse snaps his fingers, and uses his magic (probably life or something lol) to fill the man's bowl with hearty fruits and vegetables, some of which brimmed over and spilled to the ground. The fruits and veggies were already cut and in an ideal form to be consumed.

"First though, do tell me your name. Then let us sup together while you dispense your wisdom upon me."

"You're not the brightest star that the has been cast to the embittered Astura Ogur," said the beggar, smiling ruefully as he dropped the fruit and vegetables onto the filthy ground, keeping his little bowl. "Perhaps you should learn more about the people, about the Shage, before you go about handing out various fruits. We live in a jungle. Fruits are everywhere."

Once again he shook his bowl.

"I require coin," he said, simply. "And then you can have my name."