I'm mid-starting-talk, even have my finger in the air, when he asks for a horse.

"Oh, uh, yes. How well can you ride? Are you sure you don't want an escort?"

I have dreamed of sending adventurers on quests before...
This message was last edited by the player at 01:42, Mon 24 Oct 2022.

'Ermmm... yes... well, mostly yes. I think I will survive it... but a guard would probably not go amiss. I'm heading to the woods south of the Spine, so there's all sorts of critters in there...'

'And here I was thinking you were an all powerful wizard.' Randulf says.

'I'm a learned scholar...' Vermillion retorts.

"My mother always said that the true power of wizards was in what you didn't know they could do. That's why commoners are frightened of magic. Anyway, I can have some of my men go with you. How many guards do you think is enough to ensure safety but not enough to slow things down or drive away the witches?"

‘One. I don’t expect any trouble, certainly not from the witch, but road bandits and the odd critters are another thing…’

Randulf quips ‘Let’s hope the dragon lady does not make an appearance…’ he then realizes what he just said and makes a gesture of apology to you ‘…I mean the other dragon lady… speaking of which, when you battled dreky-something, was she there watching from the sidelines?...’

"I will send two. Never send just one man on watch. One man can be ambushed silently; two at least have a chance to react." That was a lesson my father taught me.

"Drekroyaster. I keep wanting to call him Drekytoaster."

I snicker self-indulgently.

"Yes, let's hope she doesn't show up. I know who you mean."

This time I smile pleasantly, to indicate I am not offended and not threatening anyone.

OOC intermezzo

So, where are we.

a) Vermillion will go find a neighbouring witch
b) Randulf is lodging with you until the time comes to go on your quest
c) Meanwhile... your domains have been somewhat neglected!... We'll soon be entering summer and the first crop.


What do you want to do next? Bit of feudal lord business and manage the domains (ie, check crops, etc) make sure all is well in the lands of Ataraxia? Or something else all together?

Entering summer! I thought she was only gone for like a week. Whoah. Best to do her job then.

The key word is 'soon', how long soon is depends on what you want to do in the meanwhile...

Investigate the strange magical stuff! Mostly just do her job though.

Kingdom

OOC : This is a bit of a far ranging posts, essentially it covers the 'kingdom run' portion of the game, rather than the nitty gritty investigation on the magical stuff. As such, the actions in these posts will span more time and be broader than the normal RPG. I'm titling these posts 'Kingdom'. Let's try to see how this goes, or we may end up splitting them into another thread.

As you gather the fine minds that run your lands in your absence they bring to your attention the main point in the agenda. The crop this year is looking to be poor. This is not really new as they have seen the same in all of the lands of the north. This promises a hard winter which will require you to source some further animal forage.

There are also issues on the south-east border. It's not a major problem, the odd bandit is expected, but the bandits that have shown up in that area have been a bit more... resilient than usual. There's the expected fight in your 'council' between those that live close by and that urge more action and those that live far away and that end up saying it's all exaggeration.

Sorry to be slow again. I'm very demoralized lately. I need to get back into regular posting. Also, that plan is fine.

I even arranged for more animals to be delivered in the summer to help with harvest and then planting next year. Drat. Being a huge dragon won't really help with that. I can't possibly hunt enough to feed the many people in my demesne. Unless...

I wonder if I could somehow drag some really big nets behind me as I fly. Could I catch enough fish that way to make a difference? It wouldn't be a long-term solution, but it might help for the winter. Alternatively, I could use my size and strength to fly around to nearby cities and buy surplus food there, before the winter really sets in and prices go up. I don't think I could afford it, with all my other projects, but if the common people want to put their own coin into a fund, so to speak, I could take advantage of better prices elsewhere. That would require them trusting me.

Bandits, though. That I can take care of. My huntsmen can find where they are, and then I can fly over there and destroy them. Maybe have a little fun. I haven't gotten to properly stomp around for a while. As much as I restrain my impulses, I am still a dragon.

Re the nets, are you really up to try that?

I dunno, if they think it will help keep people from starving, sure. Let it not be said that Ataraxia the Great and Powerful was unwilling to use her Great Powerfulness to help the Not So Powerful.

Go figure. Great ideas come on the spur of the moment. It will not save winter, because there is still the matter of salting or smoking the fish, preparing it, etc and there are no facilities to industrialize this process but, this certainly was a morale booster around your manor. People gathered to, almost literally, see fish falling out of the sky. An impromptu celebration is held and lumberers are sent to bring in the wood needed for the smoking. One of the storage buildings is converted into an ersatz smoke-house. It's a real feel good moment for all, something much needed as the spectre of an hard winter sets in.

The bandits prove to be a wee bit more strange. The huntsmen arrive back heavily divided, much like your council was. Some say it's a real problem, some say it's just banditry as usual. What was not controversial is that they are struggling top actually pin point their origin. It's clearly somewhere in the east, but where is another matter. More troubling, they brought fresh news of bandit activity and this time the bandits where not local, but looked like eastern tribesmen (well, or what your huntsmen think it's an eastern tribesmen since none of them ever actually saw one...).

I go through a lot of nets, which will take the women of the land some time to replace. I am very, very large as a dragon and unusually strong even for my size, so I tend to break human-made things when I stay in my true shape for a while. This is also not sustainable, either on my time or, more importantly, the fish. I would probably deplete the bay entirely if I did this for more than a few weeks, and I can't carry the nets out to see in my paws; they're too fragile. Nevertheless, I enjoy the praise and feel quite smug about the whole thing.

Are these supposed easterners preying on my people? Or across the border on people nearby? Do they appear to be attacking anything in particular? What are they stealing? Are they kidnapping anyone?

Oh no. It's Genghis Khan isn't it. It's Genghis Khan. EVERYBODY PANIC AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA =p

I can assure you it's not Genghis Khan. Speaking of which:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4xmOc_Ou0A


The reports are mostly highway robbery, the occasional raid on a farm, etc. It does not seem to be organized as a big storm of invaders, but it does seem like a big coincidence that groups of marauders are now showing a lot more frequently than they ever did.

If I go stomping around, they'll probably go to ground until I leave, wait for a while, and then start up their banditry again. Explaining this to my huntsmen, I instruct them to let up on gamekeeping and focus on gathering intelligence on the bandits, especially any indication of where they might be coming from and any camps or hideouts they may have.

Ok, there will be a period of time for info gathering, etc. We're talking weeks not months. Your people generally accept this as a sensible way of proceeding even if, as could be expected, the locals are manifestly more anxious and a bit cross at the lack of apparent immediate action. Now game wise, we move some time deeper into summer so, Vermillion is back...

Vermillion returns, safe and sound, no problems to report. Well, other than the witch manifestly not budging from her location. He's a bit apologetic as the guards were keen to just put her over their shoulder and bring her back, but Vermillion stopped them. He mentions being very alarmed at what the consequences could have been. Ultimately, you have to go to the witch, rather than the witch coming to you. Randulf just says 'Witches eh?...'

Well it is their stuff getting looted after all. I can understand why they'd be upset, even with things explained to them. Hopefully they can be compensated somehow.

I shrug at Randulf. Witches indeed. Strange people. Well, whatever. I finish my work for the day, which consists of assuming my true shape and uprooting a lot of trees. It was suggested that, since I was willing to help fish earlier in the year, that I could also put my size and power to use helping to clear wasteland for cultivation next year. It's a good plan, and I'm a bit ashamed I didn't think of it earlier. Let other dragons be content lying on piles of gold; I am making more wealth generation capacity. It's not like I'm ever going to get old. I can enjoy the slightly increased productivity of my people for thousands of years. Probably. Unless something kills me.

Naaaaaah.

I have Vermillion lead the way and bring the same guards. I don't need them, but they also went the same way, so that will be helpful if the witch does any shenanigans with faerie mists or something of that sort.

(fast forward)

The witch lives in a rather atypical setting. Rather than an isolated cottage in a mystical groove, she lives on a large farmhouse, part of a small village nestled at the base of the Spine of the World. The setting is quite breathtaking, with the mountains a looming presence, majestically presiding over the plains and the village. The archetypical idyllic stream runs from the mountain through the village, the gurgling sounds of the running water being clearly heard.

Vermillion leads the way into the house, where children run about in play. The only thing typical about the witch is that she's on her winter years. She busy cooking the family meal, for her children that will soon return from a hunt in the mountains. The children are her grand children. You cannot help to notice that Vermillion does not play the grand wizard, but instead the meek supplicant. The witch welcomes you warmly and offers you a seat at the table whenever the meal is done and the hunters return. She then takes her apron looks sharply at you and asks, 'Lady Ataraxia, what do you want from me?...'

Sorry for the delay. I'm going to get back on the wagon and post daily! It will happen! I'm just so busy, studying for exams.

"It makes sense to me," I comment to Vermillion, Randulf, and the couple of retainers with us. "If she has real magic powers, of course the villagers will want to set her up in comfort."

I want to run around in my true shape, but that would probably panic the locals. I don't get to just run around much, and it's fun. Almost as much fun as flying.

I make sure to thank the lady for the meal and her hospitality. Taking bread and salt is sacred, as is the oath of hospitality. I have never broken it, nor have I ever allowed it to be broken in my presence. I give the witch a gift of salt in the appropriate ritual reciprocation of a wealthy noble receiving hospitality.

As we take our repast, I reply to her, "I seek your help with something of an arcane, mystical nature. Forgive me, madame, but you have me at a disadvantage. May I know your name?"

'Arcane and mystical? The wizard not up to the job then?...' and she laughs much to Vermillion's discomfort, but you can understand it's all in good nature. '...Adaire is my name... and what is this mystical and arcane matter?...'

I explain: "There is a mystery around my court, with visions of ghosts and ancient wyrms long though disappeared into myth, a magic shield with a glamour cast upon it, hints of great treasure and other such things. I will tell you the full story if you wish. For now, I will say that Vermillion here believes that my ancestry may have something to do with it, and magic which scries upon the past is, apparently, the domain of witches, rather than academics. I am a dragon, raised from a hatchling by good-hearted humans, and so I do not know the ancestry of my blood."

The children look positively engrossed with your tale. Adaire, not so much. 'Hmmm... I see. As long as you understand that there limits into what can be seen from the past... and that what you see might be unhelpful... a dragon raised by humans... that is... unique... tell me more about your upbringing...'
 

It took me a while to come up with some stuff whole cloth without stepping on your toes as narrator. I'm not very good at it anymore. Sorry.

"My adoptive father was a knight errant, his wife and my adoptive mother a priestess. They did many heroic things and wandered the world for several years in their late teens and early twenties, along with several companions. They slew a red dragon that had been the terror of this land a few decades ago; you may remember the beast. My parents were no more able to slaughter an egg than a babe, so they adopted me and raised me well, in morality and comfort, as lords of the land by acclaim rather than royal decree.

I know very little about the dragons which were my parents by blood, not even their names, which my blood-mother did not give before attacking. She slew three of my parent's friends in her death-frenzy and razed a village to the dirt. I was told that not much of her treasure was found; either she had little or hid it with exceptional cleverness.

My parents were kind and attentive. They treated me with dignity and respect, as an individual, and appropriately for my age. They would have been wonderful parents for any child, though as far as I know they never had children by their own blood. They taught me empathy and morality first, to ward off the instinct of my kind to regard mercy and generosity as weakness. It was, I think, their final righteous deed in this world, to mold a creature like a dragon, rapacious and greedy by nature, into someone better than its forebears."

At some point my eyes got misty and a couple tears appeared, which I wipe away.

"They have not been departed long, and I miss them very much."