The Children of Assur Civilization, Thread 3: Cries of the Merrow

>Population: 1560
>Notable Citizens: Ajax, Veteran Leader and accepted supreme ruler of the united tribes. Cassian, his supposed commander, who acts as a subordinate, a man who seeks only peace and happiness for his people. Uskar, a venerable noble mage, learning to use the magic of flame and the mind. Arcax, an adventurer who seeks out great enemies to slay. He visits very occasionally to resupply, and talks to almost no-one. He is married, though they meet very rarely, the Ajax's sister Helea. Along with these, the figure of Elkar, a child made into a man, a boy made into a magical mastermind, who no-one is quite sure how to deal with.
>Military: The Army consists of a militia of 250 Men, split into chariot drivers, infantry and archers.
>Technology: Primal Iron Age.
>Magic: Assurine Magic, Cassite Manipulation.
>Structures (Riverside): Bustling Village, Palisade Walls, Simple Farms, Bloomeries, Watch towers.
>Structures (Mazdai): Mid sized village, Palisade Walls, Bowyery, Fletcher, Rye farms.
>Structures (Ajacharia): Large Stone Fortress, Barracks, Servant's Quarters, Food Supply.
>Religion: The people revere Assur as their defender and Messiah, he who protects them by giving them the chance to protect themselves, who wards of the beastlord.
>Quality of Life: Your people dwell in wood and clay homes, sometimes walled in with clay bricks in drier regions, or places with little wood. Stone is sometimes used for larger constructions such as towers, but rarely for homes. Each home contains simple clay and wooden furniture, built around cooking fires and bloomeries for smelting of copper and such for daily tool repair. Artisanry is highly respected with most if not all citizens working to produce the best they can, or to be the best at what they do. Competition is a part of life, as is the militia. Prayer is uncommon, but reverence is ubiquitous. Many still hunt, but most subsist on a rich, fish supplemented agrarian diet of barley, rye, fruits, pork, beef and antelope (Bek). Life is currently pleasant enough, but fear of the ape men is common, and the borders with the great open grasslands are dangerous to travelers. Trade with the up river tribes is common, and few of them are large enough to pose a real threat or to need much respect from your now very large tribe.

>What do you do?

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>479128
Start building a water mill near the river. It should help in lumber production dramaticaly

>>479141
Starting off strong.

>>479141
Milling has always been practiced b y your people, but usually manually, with a quern or simply with manual labour, but with the increase in population, the process has become too slow. The idea of using the power of the river comes to a man named Macax Mankarii, who keenly observed as a few children played in the river, attempting to lodge old driftwood in the dirt of the shallows, to hold themselves against the flow, only for the wood to spin and send them back with the rush of the river.

This small sight brings to him the revelation that a construction could be crafted to spin by the power of the water, and to spin a millstone over grain automatically through an axle. Summoning up his own personal wealth, he constructs a squat stone building on the riverside, containing a ring of stone with an inlet in it's centre, a millstone held on a wooden axle to spin around and to crush the grain as it rolls, and a large water wheel to connect to the millstone.

This invention is perhaps the most mechanically complex thing your people have created, and it is incredibly beneficial. The production of flour skyrockets, as sack after sack of Rye, Barley and wheat flow into the Mankarii Mill, and wealth flows towards Macax. Several other mills are built by the only other people wealthy enough, the descendants of the old noble figures who grew wealthy enough.

It is around this time that surnames come to exist in the tribe, as individuals identify with their larger families, as a result of the increase in inter-family trade. The major families are:

>The Ajaii, The Royal family under Ajax, which holds supreme power, and takes it's wealth from taxation and so forth
>The Arcaxi, Headed technically by Arcax, but realistically by Ajax's sister Helea, who has become something of a businesswoman, distributing grain and food to the fortress of Ajacharia to bring herself a large amount of wealth, to be bestowed to her son, borne by Arcax.
>The Mankarii, supposed heirs of Mankar, who remain the most prevlent sellers of iron and copper
>The Cassii, the family of the old, iron faced Cassian, consisting of Uskar and Cassian. They deal in magical sales, in the production of Cassite, and in the care of Elkar, a ceremonial post.
>The Celiae, supposedly heirs of Celia, who are smaller, but they work hard to manage religious services.

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>479144
Hold a feast. A festival where people can relax and enjoy themselves for at least a night. Ajax uses this time to mingle with the people and ask them what THEY feel is lacking. What troubles, hardships and dificulties plague their our people the most. A drunk person is more likely to open his thoughts to you. It should give us a better handle on what issues the people think we need to adress. Whether we take that into account or not depends on what those requests will be, but the people don't need to know that.

>>479152
Your people are masters at their crafts, and cooking is among them. To mark the anniversary of Assur's visit, the great bonfire at the sight is relit, and used to cook a veritable feast. Twelve full pigs are cut into halves and roasted over the flame, along with two bek and several cattle. Along with the rising scent of roasting meat comes that of boiling stews, as massive pots of broth bubble and steam, stirred by eager cooks.

Honey is used to glaze some of the meat, and the well practiced cooking artisans are out in force to provide biscuits, fresh breads, soups, jams, and all manner of varied and delicious food. The drinks come in barrels, rich barley ale being a particular favourite, but simple fruit wines acting to please the poorer or more refined of society.

People enjoy themselves heartily, and Ajax sets to work listening for complaints. Unfortunately, the people are much too absorbed in their drinking and eating. A few comments are made regarding the encroachment of the beast men, how the fields are becoming strangely less fertile, and how the neighbors son is a better cheese maker and such.

People generally seem to relish challenges to the degree that it's hard to discover them. Everyone seems to want to be challenged, to be provided with a chance to prove their worth as artisans, as warriors and as children of Assur.

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>479210
Has anyone noticed if certain crops grow better if a certain kind of different crop was planted there last year?
(Yes I'm trying to develop crop rotation)

>>479223
It's striking me that there's no-one else here.

With the recent advances in milling, and the increase in population as a result, more efficient farming is needed. The farmers are audited and asked whether they have noticed any way for their crops to grow that makes them grow faster, or if any sequence of crops over a few years results in any change. They seem not to have done, and steadfastly maintain that their crops are grown by hard, intricate work, and that their jobs require just as much artisanal skill as any smith.

>>479308
Give it an hour. Europes just getting off work.

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>479308
Tell them that we had a theory that just as a working mans muscles become tired so may the earth grow tired if farmed year after year. We didn't mean to insinuate that their jobs require less skill.

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>>479402
The idea that the earth must be nurtured is not a new one, but the idea of the ground needing to rest is an entirely new one. The farmers are more than eager to hear these news theories, once the idea comes tio light that this is a form of artisanship, that caring for the soil and the plants would make them even more skilled and admired in the community. This, naturally, leads to competition. Farmers work throughout the season to have their crops in early, to discover new ways to fertilize the fields. Increasingly elaborate irrigation becomes prominent, and then one bravado filled youth decides that perhaps he would unleash pigs onto his rival's plot, to ruin it.

Fortunately enough, this allows for the discoveries that excrement makes for an excellent fertilizer, and that holding animals, especially pigs, on a plot of land for a long while will allow it to rest, and pre-plow it for the planting. Bek drawn ploughs soon race across fields, increasingly efficient tools developed to make the harvests and planting more and more effective.

With this increase in the ability to farm, more crops are established into the diet, notably in the form of a fast growing, bitter berry called a Kas, which grows in most soil, and is surprisingly sweet when boiled, allowing for it's use as a sweetener and enhancer in foods. A few other plants are harnessed too, with the richest grasses being used for better hay, stronger strains of wheat used for better flour and beer.

Naturally, this leads to a further abundance of food, and with it a population rise. Fields now expand for a good distance throughout your lands, split into small estates, usually rented out by the milling families or directly held by freeholders. Another effect of the abundance is the appearance of a proto-currency, flour. Millet and Barley are the most common grains, and are used to produce a low value flour, which is exchanged in sacks for goods and services.

In many civilizations, this would cause regular fires and explosions due to the flammable nature of raw flour, but your people dwell in almost exclusively very well ventilated clay homes, and store their flour in cellar-pits in the damp earth. As such, trading becomes much faster and easier, with items and services being priced at certain amounts of flour rather than arbitrary barter. Land is rented to poorer citizens by richer ones, and labourers can expect consistent pay for the first time.

Not everyone may have riches, but everyone, at least, will have bread and beer.

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>479501
Ok with that out of the way we can focus more on defence. Start construction of watchtowers throughout the land. Archers are to man them at all times to take down any small raiding parties. They should have braziers that can be lit when a sizable enemy force is spoted moving towards us. These towers are to be within such a distance of one another that the brazier can be seen from at least one other tower when lit. Patrols are to be organised. The beastmen will harass our people no more.

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>479501
We can't keep Elkar locked up forever. His mind will catch up to his body sooner or latter. Start teaching him wisdom and humility. Make him understand the importance off caring for your fellow man. Give him the wisdom needed to use the power he has correctly.

>>479548
Dude, that could have wrecked us so bad. It needed to be done, but still...

>>479548
>>479527
Sorry, I just had to go cook a pie.

>>479527
With the food to feed them, the flour to pay them, and the materials to arm them, the Militia are out in force. Their defense of the land has thus far been unorganized, but under Ajax's direction, that will all change. First, the entire militia Is split into groups, each with five drivers, twenty archers and twenty five infantrymen, along with three chariots each. Split into these cohorts, the squad groups are now able to follow larger, more broad instruction, and the system of daily patrols can be re-organized, with each cohort patroling once every five days, excepting the drivers, and then the collection of drivers working for a rest day, with any volunteers and commanding officers not needed for other duties.

Along with this, several large trees are felled, hacked into planks, and carried by cart to the borderlands. Three large towers mark the main outposts, with smaller watchtowers between them. Each of these towers contains a food supply, an armoury, a bloomery, and a small staff of non-combatants to work as maintenance. Each tower has one of the cohorts assigned to it at a time. In this way, a routine may begin, as each cohort works one day on patrol, takes a rest day, and then transitions to the towers, leaving all divisions recently rested, and at least one cohort free for command at any given time.

The militia also gains a new corps, the messengers. New recruits of sufficient speed and ability, once they have worked as volunteers in the sixth day patrols, are given the chance to work as messengers between the fortress and the towers, ensuring early warning, and that the spare cohort can be easily commanded as needed.

The small beast men raids stop, as each time they attack they are met by a wall of shields and a hail of arrows from on high. It seems that they have retreated back to their tribes, but somehow they keep coming, time and time again, in steadily greater numbers.

>>479548
Elkar has never been a bad young man, never without virtue. He was chosen by Assur for a reason, and his years of tutelage under Ajax and Uskar have brought him to have all of the qualities your civilization prides itself on. Each morning he awakens before dawn to wash himself, to revere Assur, and to eat a meal that he has either produced by his own hand, or bartered for something he has produced. He refuses charity as much as he may, and has grown to be a fine example of a young Assiite.

He is a formidable enough warrior, taught long and hard by Ajax and Cassian, and a young man wiser than his years show. When once the people suggested constructing him a statue, he denied the choice, telling them to use the stone for themselves. More regulation is needed, and he is taught time and time again the risks he may have to take, and the ones he never should. He asks that he be allowed to serve in the messenger corps of the militia, for the honour of his god and the safety of his people.

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>479760
So the croc men. Have the mages try sever whatever conection they have with Magnan. But do it from a distance. We have learned not to touch them. If we succeed question them. Who are they, why they attacked us, etc.

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>479760
The everpresent threat of the beastmen is looming over us. We must be prepared. More iron is needed to improve our weaponry. Much more iron. Start a mine. A big mine. Dig into the belly of the earth. Our mages now armed with Assurs magic and cassite to enhance it can make short work of the ground in a location that is deemed iron rich. They can start an enormous open mine that can be used to gather amounts of iron never available to us before. Maybe even discover veins of metals that we hade no access to before?

>>479760
finally caught up but not sure about the rolling, so can i support >>479887 idea with >>479818 roll?

>>479894
Welcome aboard.

>>479818
The Eruditiae approach the Merrow once again, to find them languishing in their stone prison, seeming to both be in the depths of fever and as if half drunk, swaying unsurely, as if their mutated fin-feet are alien to them. The mages question them simply for a short while, establishing firmly what has happened. It seems that the Merrow are made up of those humans that tried to flee out to sea, away from Magnan, once he had called vengeance upon them for their sacrilege. They remember their ancestors flight into the waters on boats, and they remember stories of those boats being destroyed by furious storms, curshing them against the shoreline, and leaving them to mutate in the Delta.

They are in constant pain, forced to mutate gradually by Magnan's withering influence, as it flows from the jungles along the river. But there is something, someone more. They were not alone tainted by the mad god, but they remember someone, a trickster. They cannot say what the trickster did to them, but they cannot forget her face, it haunts them, smiling and taunting them to further mutation.

The Mages are unsure of what to do, they search for a connection to the river and the god at it's beginning, and they find it, like a poisonous vine snaking from the aether into the flesh of the Merrow to tear them apart. The connection is iron cast, and none of the Eruditiae can break it. Several try, and they face an immense battle of will to keep control of themselves, straining, but failing in their task. With vigilance and the assistance of the mages, the Mutation can be halted, the pipeline can be pinched shut, but not cut, not without much greater power, if you should be willing to unleash it.

>>479894
If you want to support something, roll for it. That would actually be a d20, so a reroll is permitted for the first roller, and a roll is fine for you.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>479912
Big money, no whammies

>>479916
kek
no need for me to roll then, off we go

>>479910
Lets just keep looking into it then. Lets keep Elkar away from them for now, for fear of Magnan turning his mind against his own people.

>>479929
agreed, I think its not worth risking our most powerful asset this early for such little return

>>479887

The Eruditiae are set to work on a more practical occupation, mining. Twenty of them, accompanied by Elkar, head to the depths of the quarry, where one of the masons have discovered a small vein of iron. The first few of the mages prove able to extract the ore but little more. The more experience of them dredge up several hunks of stone, slamming their fists into the ground to dredgs up the stone, and drawing their hands over their heads to bring the rock back behind them, shattering the clumps of stone into the quarried stone fast enough to shatter out the veins of ore.

Copper is the most common, but iron is found in large quantities. The Eruditiae are pleased with their work, as the day draws to a close, but Elkar gives them pause. He reaches his arm in the direction of the river, a snake of water flying towards him. He moves his arms in a melodic fashion, and the water seems to seep into the stone, into each and every crack in the vein. He then abruptly swings his arms upwards, and the stone shatters.

Then, he plants his feet into the ground steadily, pulling the massive amount of dust and rock out to hover slightly above him. Swinging his fist into his palm, the ore is torn away from the rock, with the stone discarded. The Ore floats in an orb. He begins a flurry of movements, striking his fists out as if fighting against the air, or drilling himself, blasts of flame coating the orb of ore.

He grins to himself in glee as the ore turns molten, as his flame succeeds in moments where an artisan would take hours. He seems incredibly glad of the chance to use his powers, and he ensures to show off his creation, raising the iron towards the sky. He then shapes the raw metal into ingots, able to replace casting by his own ability to hold the metal down.

With the stacks of ingots neatly placed, ready for transport, and all onlookers suitably bemused by the show, Elkar asks that he be allowed to continue the practice. He is not a mettalurgist, so his ingots are sloppy and poorly crafted, but he is more than adequate as an extractor of ore. He works with the miners, gradually growing his own power whiel extracting the necessary iron to give the militia it's spear heads, axes, even helmets and shield reinforcements.

He says it feels good to be useful for once, and has built himself a small home, carved out of the rock by his own magical ability. It is a simple home for a simple young man, filled only with the rich produce he can grow and the tolls he can produce. His beard has begun to grow in, and he will soon begin to seek a wife.

>You may choose to intervene or not as you like in Elkar's marriage. Any woman with control over him could prove dangerous, but he will likely dislike the interference.

>Otherwise, continue

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>480120
>Have Ajax counsel Elkar on prudence in marriage, on the responsibilities of strong men to the tribe, and the ways of women in general

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>480156
Uhhh shit. So it doesn't go well the first time, but maybe Ajax succeeds the second time thanks to bringing in Helea?

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>480120
I imagine Ajax has a few heirs by now. And being children of Ajax they are most likely tought of loyalty and honor. Give Elkar a gentle nuge. Don't force his choice or push him toward anything he doesn't want. Respect his decition if he says no. But othervise introduce him to some of Ajaxs doughters. If he doesn't have any or they are too young, introduce him to some of the young woemen that put the needs of the comunity first. Do it as a friend looking out for a friend. Don't push any decition on him as it is ultimatly his choise.

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>480166
>>480176
Well for better or worse they have that covered. Me on the other hand, I'm gonna propose we try using the water mills to turn a round blade to to cut logs and more easily produce wood. In theory that should improve our wood production tenfold.

>>480166
>>480176
Ajax, in his warrior like fashion, has looked after Elkar for a good number of years. The boy has lived under his roof for years and Ajax has something of a paternal instinct. He walks to Elkar's new home, in the stern, warriorlike fashion he has held his entire life, his beard unruly and wild as ever, in full armour. He isn't sure quite what to expect as he steps into the young man's home, finding him sat in a small wooden chair, using movements of his finger to cook a small piece of flatbread.

He smiles to his mentor, beckoning for him to sit, and constructing for Ajax a chair from the stone in which the house is built. The Old man is unnerved by his student's skill with magic, but he sits all the same, and sets out, in his warriorlike fashion, the most blunt argument imaginable. He does his level best with the unskilled, blunt words of his strangely simple mind, but achieves little more than stuttering through a few exhortations for Elkar to be vigilant, to always keep a good position and to ensure his wife is "a solid choice".

A vague attempt at suggesting his oldest daughter, Aurelia Major, fails decidedly, as he was never one for subtlety, and finds no way to insinuate the idea in conversation. Sensing that he is losing ground, Ajax retreats respectfully to his home, thinking his job done. A few days pass, and one morning Helea steps into the throne room, her hawkish, demanding frame stalking up to her brother and asking

"It's done then? You've asked the boy?"

To which Ajax, the great statesman says, in a profound statement

"What?"

An hour later, Helea arrives at Elkar's door, along with her the fourteen year old Aurelia and her mother Sera. The two older women sit Elkar down, and begin to talk, in the manner of noble matrons, as if giving a command without saying it. Elkar finds himself agreeing by nature, understanding the suggestions made so intuitive by Sera, and hearing the secret commands given by the formidable Helea. In the evening, Ajax's daughter Aurelia is allowed to meet him, though the two grew up in the same household, and is formally introduced.

They make for a good match, the two young partners both awash in flowing blonde hair, Aurelia excited to be in a new home with her childhood friend, and Elkar almost gleefull of the chance to have someone to work on the behalf of. Before the night is over, the engagement is settled. All that is left is the dowry, and the bride price. Elkar must pay something for his wife, and his wife must bring something to the new household. Elkar's mother is invited to negotiate, but the old hen is rather out of her senses in her advanced age, and utterly confused by the change in her son.

Elkar is allowed to negotiate freely, but he dutifully awaits Ajax's suggestion

>What services/goods will Elkar render freely in exchange for his wife?
>What will Ajax promise his new Son in Law as a Dowry?

>>480284
Ajax apologises in advance for being unsure how this is suposed to be done. He asks Elkar to come study with him the art of leadership. Ajax is growing old and someone will need to replace him eventually. He asks for Elkar to come learn how to be a fair and just leader who puts the lives of his people before his own. As a dowry he promises his throne after Ajax is no more. He waits for Elkars to decide if that is acceptable to him or if he would make a simpler offer.

>>480284
>What will Ajax promise his new Son in Law as a Dowry?
Can we have him craft Elkar a fine weapon, like the assur statue: a Cassite inlaid shield, to protect himself, an a magnificent ax, to remember that Assur chose him, but Assur's judgement hangs above everyone
>What services/goods will Elkar render freely in exchange for his wife?
He will work for 3 months towards a project of Ajax's choice, deal to be done at a later date; a deference to Ajax's wisdom and his servitude to the tribe

>>480411
>Dude...
Fair, just and WISE ruler.

>>480418
So we need to decide wich one huh?

>>480432
I support the idea of Elkar studying with him, but i don't really know if we should promise him the throne, he still has a long way to go right? So split the difference, give him the weapons and THEN invite him to study, so that he may learn to use them wisely and in service for his tribe?

>>480470
A chance at leadership if he prooves himself as a wise and selfless man. I like that.

The deal is as follows:

Ajax will provide for Elkar a set of military gear, as befits the great grandson of Assur, and his chosen son. The armour is assembled slowly and delicately, and consists of a large shield of iron, reinforced with Cassite, a tool to protect Elkar from the magic of his foes, and of Magnan. With the shield comes a full suit of Iron and copper armour, resplendent in it's design, made to resemble the shifting molten form of Assur himself, designed to allow flowing and easy movements to facilitate Elkar's unique style of casting. Along with this comes a weapon, a formidable one, The axe of Assur's Judgement. The hilt is crafted of glazed and glossed wood, inlaid with amber and jet, with a chain of Cassite set through the pommel to chain the hand of the bearer to the weapon, reminding them of their mortality, and of their duty to their brothers and sisters under Assur. The hilt is wrapped in leather bindings to make it easier to hold, but the most remarkable thing about the weapon is it's head, a two headed battle axe. One side is crafted of an iron and copper banded core and an edge of gleaming cassite, inlaind with gems and kept brutally sharp, while the other head is crafted fully of Iron, built both to chop and to tear at flesh with a serrated edge.

The axe is designed to be heavy enough to need to be focused on, but light enough to avoid being burdensome, so as to always remind the bearer of Assur's watchful vigilance over them, and the penalty for a lack of virtue. Elkar is glad to receive these gifts, and wears them whenever he can, though he foregoes a helm to allow his hair to flow in it's golden splendour whenever he can.

Along with the gifts, Ajax will be allowed to instruct Elkar in the matters of state and war as he should so please. The curriculum begins with a teaching of discipline, as Ajax gives his protege a thousand chances to break honour for his impulses, many chances to break his vows with his new wife, or to be swayed to disobedience. Once discipline is taught, the boy is run through the entirety of the Militia training system, then he will serve actively for his spare time until told otherwise. With the military side of training set, Ajax spends days teaching his son-in-law statecraft, how to lead, to give speeches, to bellow when it is needed and to cajole when it is.

Elkar is an eager student, particularly in learning about trade. The ledgers and records of the tribe are dredged up from storage and he reads through them constantly, learning the written language more eloquently than any other than Uskar, and the spoken word at the level of Ajax, if not surpassing him. His training will continue until Ajax decides otherwise, and until that time, he will regard the boy as his son and protege.

In exchange, Elkar offers three months of free service in whatever manner he may to Ajax, the full brunt of his Arcane might behind any task without consideration for his own desires or any rewards.

>Cont..

With the deal made, and the training having commenced, now all that remains is the wedding Ceremony itself.

>Roll to see how well the wedding goes?

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>480731

>>480751
DAMN IT!

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>480731
Hell of a post OP, really enjoying reading it live

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>480751
Maybe it's a d100?

>>480779
Lets just hope OP is feeling generous and nothing TOO bad happens

>>480751
>>480763
>>480779
Looks like we're getting attacked, boys
Let's hope Elkar brough his axe to the wedding

>>480794
Lets just hope he can keep his head cool and not couse too much coleteral damage.

>>480825
I'm afraid of thinking what might happen for fear of giving OP ideas.

>>480895
>>480825
He must be cooking up something big

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>>480779
>>480763
>>480751
The proceedings go simple enough, with the entire tribe relaxing to appreciate the occasion. The people are out in force around the great bonfire, and the very beginning of the morning is greeted with the smells of roasting meats. As Elkar holds no livestock, Ajax donates enough to make a show of it, donating fifty pigs, twenty heads of cattle, more than two hundred loaves each of Rye, Wheat and Barley bread, eighty casks of soft barley beer and two casks of berry-wine, along with a Bek Stallion for sacrifice, and all manner of other small gifts, such as animals to live in the home of the family, and the ceremonial seeds to allow them to start their farming.

Tradition dictates that Elkar will ceremonially fake kidnapping his bride to be, and to rush her to the site of the wedding, along with his brothers, if he were to have any. As Aurelia is fully willing, the two travel by Chariot in one another's arms, arriving at the pyre at dawn. The family of the groom arrives armed to "defend" the new marriage, and the family of the bride arrives for a ceremonial battle with the family of the groom, a friendly fight to kick off proceedings. Once all parties are satisfied that their counterparts have made a good show of defense, the tasks will begin.

The first day of the wedding is filled with the bride and groom going through endless tasks to prove their skills as husband and wife, cooking, woodcutting, smelting, brewing, construction, warfare, all manner of tasks are put to the young couple, and by the end of the first day of the wedding, all are hungry and ready for the celebration. The night is spent with the guests tricking and japing one another, with those who are willing to grin and bear the hassle gaining a level of respect for their restraint.

By morning, the pyre has been going for a full day, and the various animal cuts are already beginning their slow roasting. Halved pigs crackle and crisp, the skin packed with salt and spices, the heads glazed so they will be easy to mince for the couple's larder. The cows are skinned before cooking, with the hides being dried and used to pack the extra food produced for the couple in coming days.

At mid day, the bride and groom come together under the eyes of the two oldest women of their families, and sacrifice a Bek each to bless the union. They will then cook their sacrifices personally to see who can produce a better work of craftsmanship. Then, the feast begins. The people are lavished with bread, saturated with the juices of cooking meet and massive amounts of barley beer, a staple of your people, and all provided with fruits and milk to ready their appetites. The families of the bride and groom then cut the cooked animals into cuts for the guests, each and every man receive a cut of pork and a cut of beef, along with a generous amount of fresh salted crackling.

The people rejoice on this joyous occasion, all the way until night falls....

>>481046
He's dedicating an entire post to the "but". I'm betting right now. It's those damn dirty apes.

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The revelry is interrupted, very abruptly, by a horrific screech, coming from nearby. The screech could only have one source, only one maw could produce such a tortured, enraged bellow. The Merrow, in their numbers. Ajax had left Cassian to guard the fortress as he had left, and in this moment of horror, realized what danger he had left the old man in. The able bodied men of the ceremony immediately arm themselves and set out to the fortress. As they go, the night turns to thunderstorm, a rolling sheet of clouds filling the sky, as the thunder seems to boom with laughter at the misery of the soldiers.

No refugees run past the approaching troops, no fleeing soldiers, no-one passes, and no-one speaks, all there is is the roiling bellow of the sky, and the crash of lightning in the earth. Screams may be heard, as the troops get closer, spiraling up into the air, louder and louder, only to intermingle with the tortured cries of the insane beasts. The outside of the fortress is Anarchy, as the hulking, ten feet tall brutes rampage through the small hamlet at the base of the Fortress ramp. They are massive now, bigger than before, their bodies fully mutated, their flesh that of a hippo, their heads of crocodiles, their limbs like snaking tendrils and reaping scythes.

Buildings collapse under their horrific attacks, with the small cottages barely as tall as each of them now, and it seems that the soldiers defending the hamlet are long dead, all but a small few, visible at the top of the ramp. Cassian and four or five men stand guard in the gateway, fighting with a huge Merrow, more beast than he ever was man, who's claws seem to cut through metal like butter. Ajax's part can only watch as Cassian's old frame is gradually exhausted. The old man's legs are broken, and he scrambles backwards, luring the beast forward into the gateway, only to drop the portcullis, the heavy iron frame slamming onto the beast's back with a sickening thud.

The death of one fuels the rage of the many, and the soldiers cannot fight all of their enemy. For Ajax, it is a reminder of a time long passed, a time when he fought elephants and dwelled beneath the trees, when he was a younger man, and for Elkar, it is a newly blossoming challenge, one that he is eager to face. Each of them challenge one of the merrow-giants, and the two of them launch into battle. Ajax fights with his elephant tusk long-knife and his axe, hacking at the beast's wrists each time it attacks him, and jumping to stab it's unarmoured torso. The inexperienced and mad Merrow is no match for the old warrior, and the fight concludes with Ajax's dagger piercing the beast's mutant heart, the deep blue blood of it's kind coating the armour of the old King.

Elkar's battle is a harsh one, his first true fight, as the beast's fists slam into the dirt. He is terrified, scrambling back from his assailant, before the chain on his wrist seizes at him, and he sees the pleading eyes of the beast before him..

Cont.

The beast lashes his arm down to the dirt again, narrowly giving Elkar time to roll to the side, and to leap to his feet. Firmly on the ground, the young mage summons up the earth to bind the beast's arm to the ground, before hacking down at it's wrist with his axe blade. He is forced to dive back to the ground below it's torso as it's other arm swings to break the stone lock, breathing a torrent of fire out onto the beast's unprotected belly, searing at it's distended fat. It kicks at him, it's titanic foot slamming into his armour and sending him flying into a wall of clay bricks.

It approaches his tired and wounded form, and lifts him up in both hands, as if offering him to the sky. Elkar managed to writhe free, dropping onto the monster's back and sinking his grip into it's scaled flesh. The young mage scampers around his opponent's body, swinging from joint to joint to evade the massive clawed hands, his every moment an adrenaline fueled bonfire of terror and glee. With a stray slash of it's claw, the merrow pulls on his axe, the chain ripping at his arm and pulling it from it's socket. Elkar bellows in pain, his roar silencing the thundering sky for a moment, before the beast regained his composure and continued his relentless attack, clawing at the mud where just a moment before the young man was.

Swipe after swipe, he is tiring, swipe after swipe, the claw tears away at his armour, and swipe after swipe, the beast coming closer to grasping hold of Elkar and lifting him once more to the whim of the sky. It takes one mis-step, and the chosen of Assur is high above the ground, held in the disgustingly long and bulbous arm of the beast, easy prey for the gods above.

The sky swirls above him, and Magnan prepares to drop the axe down upon the chosen of his enemy. The bolt of lightning arcs through the sky...

It stops at the last moment, as Elkar's dislocated arm whips up, his finger catching the bolt of energy. With a phenomenal scream of rage and pain, the young man swings his dislocated arm down, and discharges the bolt into the skull of the merrow, the lethal bolt causing it's muscles to spasm, realeasing the screaming mage. As the Merrow's limp frame hits the ground, it seems to twitch, as if about to get up, before Elkar stands ad does what is needed, coated in the mud, hacking the head from the Merrow's body, before bellowing up to the sky above and daring it to try once more. The Storm fades, and the other Merrow are slowly vanquished, their bodies burned. Cassian is left with an extra cohort, and a trusted lieutenant, who cares for his destroyed legs and guides him to death.

After that, the wedding is consumed by tales of Elkar's bravery and heroism, how the Merrow had left his dislocated arm free in the knowledge that it would be useless, but that Elkar had used his magic to wrench it back into place just in time to catch the bolt of energy. Elkar keeps good spirits, complaining good naturedly to all that his arm is aching, or that his hair has been ruined by the rain.

The celebration continues a day longer and fades into the twilight, everyone leaving with food, knowledge, and a memory, good or bad. Elkar and Aurelia are happily married together, and she is quickly pregnant.

Life goes on, for those that survived. Thirty good soldiers died that day, along with two of Cassian's family, and the old man himself. Many think that this is it, the best Magnan could do, but the ever present war horns from the grasslands continue to grow and swell, and all know that this is simply the start.

>What now? Ajax, to say it, is in his late fourties to early fifties, and will likely last a while due to his good constitution, but soon he will be unfit to fight.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>481321
Ajax should train a master of arms, his champion, the Axe of Assur. Elkar should be warned against winning, because he has a higher responsibility to the tribe

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>481321
are all the Merrow gone? If not freeing them from Magnan is now a major priority and moral imperative. If we can't stop Magnan's magic from flowing into them, maybe we can push it back. Seek to teach the Merrow to build their internal reserves like the Erudites.

>>481359
The river delta still teems with them. For all you know they have their own civilization down there.

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>481321
That was intense
This has shown us that we need better defences. Build great bows. As tall as a man to launch arrows as large as a spear. Mount them on our wals and on carts(balistas). Build cross beams with a log that has a great weight on one end fixed onto the crossbeam so that when the weight is lifted and droped it will hurl a huge boulder or several smaller ones in a basket on the other end of the log over a great distance(catapults).
Also >>480204
On the side Ajax starts starts with that leadership training for Elkar. He also takes some other promising young men to create a bit of cometative drive. A son perhaps?

>>481425
That didn't go as well as it could have...

>>481425
You know, for a literally legendary orator Ajax is shit at talking to people. also, I think that needed a d20 roll.

>>481425
>>481431
Not the worst failure i guess? If >>481359 had screwed the pooch i'd be really worried

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>481321
Start raiding our enemies. They grow in streanth and we can't allow that.

>>481448>>481425
It was only a matter of time I guess.

>>481441
Ajax is not a sociable person, but he is charismatic. He was just a random explorer in his youth, he can make a speech better than anyone, he has incredible passion if not eloquence.

It seems we're getting all the people now, which is annoying because it's midnight and I need to sleep sometimes soon. I don't think I can write up to standard this late. Would you guys prefer sub-standard posts now, or decent quality ones Tomorrow morning GMT? In about nine/ten hours. Guys, seriously, thanks for the devotion thus far, and the willingness to accept whatever is thrown at the tribe. It's admirable, and it gives me a lot more freedom in writing when I know you aren't going to ragequit.

>>481558
I can wait till tomorrow, although it's 3pm locally for me so i may be absent. And yeah I appreciate that this quest has actual serious consequence and we're not just steamrolling everyone
RIP cassian

>>481558
write when you want to write. I'm not going to be able to post in 10 hours and I'd still rather you did it when you were fresh.

>>481577
Cassian had a good life, or good enough. I mean sure, he was dispossesed of his inheritance by some random guy from the jungle, sure he spent the better part of his life knowing his father chose a random stranger over him, but hey, the sacrifices you make as an NPC. He had a few children, so don't worry about that.

>>481349
Ajax decides that this cannot be allowed to happen again, and that ot ensure it does not, a second in command, a leader of the militia exclusively with no other responsibilities, would be needed. This man would be the axe of Assur, would be the shield of the people and the protectors of the royal family. The candidates are drawn from the most valorous soldiers of the militia, especially those who fought in the battle against the Merrow, with two of Cassian's bodyguard deciding to participate as a pair, performing penance for their failure to their commander.

The two men are fully clad in copper and iron, their skin and faces covered entirely. They bear heavy shields, and wield all manner of weaponry, very skilled candidates for the position, who easily defeat all who oppose them, individually or as a pair. Their spear blows are swift, their knives dextrous and their skill in command unquestioned, as the pair of masked warriors speak with a uniform, booming voice that instills obedience in the most unruly of men.

They have already risen through the ranks of the Militia to the highest positions available, as personal guards to Ajax initially, and Cassian later, and Ajax, though not personally friends with the pair, is aware of them. They are both in their mid twenties, and wear their hair in the classically fashionable style, in a lion like mane, a form inspired by Elkar and by the Mazdii before him.

The two of them challenge each prospective candidate for the position of Militia leader, and they spend their time gradually defeating each challenger. Elkar had attempted to battle them each individually, agreeing to forego magic, but had actually been beaten, each of the pair managing to successfully avoid damaging his armour in the process. Their names are Laetus and Lacon, and they claim to be brothers.

Laetus is the more martially skilled of the pair, easily sidestepping even Elkar, who was previously considered among the most skilled of the tribe, while Lacon is the mind of the operation, having managed personal accounts for Cassian in his days a guard. Ajax hands over to them the ledgers and records of the militia, and grants to them a substantial budget to outfit three new militia battalions, as a test for them and to ensure against future attacks. The test is a success, as the brothers convince many young men to enlist on their own, traveling between the villages and finding the third sons, the disinherited and the destitute, offering them the chance at glory in military service.

The militia now numbers four hundred men in strength, administrated by Lacon and commanded by Laetus, with the two men receiving regular instruction in tactical matters by the aging Ajax.

>>481425
A crew of workmen are dispatched to construct a new weapon, a great bow to be mounted on the towers. Elkar and Uskar engineered the new weapons, and were given the authority to construct them, with Ajax's son Lagash there to observe. The young son of the king is almost immediately insolent, pointing out every flaw in Elkar's ideas and doing his utmost to get the older wizard enraged. This baiting works, and the two argue constantly. Lagash can feel his inheritance being stolen from him, and has had years of experience watching the regretful old man Cassian to know what it is to be a disinherited son.

The two almost come to blows before Uskar intervenes, holding them apart. Ajax is called to the scene by Uskar to assist him in adjudication, but it makes things no better, and Lagash throws a whirlwind of accusations, that his father prefers Elkar to him, that he was second the day that Elkar was blessed, and that he will have his life stolen from him because his ftather will betray him. Ajax is deeply hurt by these words, and Elkar even more so, he himself launching into a tirade.

"I am selected because I am not a snivelling coward, not a child who thinks it is all about him. I am selected simply because I am the better choice. I could see why already, but knowing the alternative is so quick to rage shines more light on it. Perhaps that is why I am chosen over you?"

Ajax bellows out to stop the argument, but can do nothing to part the two. The rage comes to a head as Lagash, shoutning and belllowing and barely a man, sets out a mortal challenge.

"I would rather die fighting for what is mine than let myself live how my father has forced my uncles to. I, Lagash,. SOn of Ajax and rightful heir to the tribe of the Assii, to fight to the death for the inheritance. The winner will take the tribe on my father's death, the loser's body will be burned."

Before Ajax can say anything, before he can escape the daze, Elkar speaks with a mocking laughter

"I accept your challenge. Tomorrow at nightfall before the bonfire. One spear, one axe, one shield, to the death."

Not even Ajax can break this pact easily, and with a heavy heart he escorts his son home, his frame for the first time showing it's age, his eyes slumping in their sockets. One of them will be dead by the next half moon, and the other will have his inheritance in hand.


>Does Ajax intervene? Can I have a roll for each combatant on a d20 if not. Elkar will likely succeed, but then, he may not.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>483337
Try to talk them out of it.
Ajax talks to his son. The leadership of our tribe was never once inherited. It was always the most fitting ruller who took up leadership himself. Ajax is dissapointed in his son for feeling entiteled to leadership, when the throne was never Ajaxes to give away. It was always there to be earned by the most worthy and throwing a tantrum over not getting it for nothing shows that he is not worthy.
(It's true. Assur, Cerei, Ajax. All of them took leadership themselves so it wouldn't be very in character if we sudenly became a monarchy without actually agreeing as a people that that is how it should work.)

>>483360
Yea. Assur handpicked Elkar. Who are we to say otherwise.

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>483360
it is true that the Assii are a meritocracy, but the tribe and Lagash in particular are now of the Assii and the Mazdii. Precedent is spit on the matter and being in the right here depends on your point of view. Neither young man should have been so quick to discount the other. If they are to fight each other to the death let them wait a year and learn of the other's life in the meantime.

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>>483360
Ajax sits his son down in the throne room, before the statue of Assur, and speaks to him of inheritance. Lagash had always heard of the Mazdii history, how their chieftains had inherited the throne from their fathers, and now Ajax must tell him of inheritance among the Assii, dating back all the way to the weeks after Assur's death. Lagash, now, is silent, his eyes staring into the eyes of the statue and not his father, barely reacting to the words spoke to him. Ajax talks for a long time on the subject of duty, how he could not be worthy if he were to bawl like a baby at disinheritance.

Lagash does not look at the old man, but speaks anyway

"I hear you, father. I hear your words. I cannot apologize for what I have said, because I do not any less mean it. I cannot revoke my words because they are mine. Father, please, I cannot see how it is you do this. You have chosen him, another man's son over your own blood? I care not or the inheritance of it all, but to know that my father is so dissatisfied with me that he may eagerly adopt a new son to replace me? I cannot understand. What is more, my words remain. I would sooner die than live in a world ruled by this man that my father has chosen over me. I ask only that you let me throw myself upon the shining blade you have given him, at least to die honourably rather than to pursue the withered old men that are my grandfathers, who have spent their lives as servants by happenstance."

He pauses to sigh, to rise to his feet and to look down at his father's eyes, to see them pleading in a manner unbeknownst to their bearer. Ajax asks his son, almost begging, to take pause, the live, to live for the joys of the world, and something in his gaze is convincing.

"Perhaps exile. I shall ask that when I lose to my replacement that I be granted the clemency of being allowed to wander as Arcax. At least I may find glory in the defeat of the beasts beyond the tribe. Perhaps one of them will let me die in glory, will let me see my god and ask him why he chose to so sway my father's heart."

The young man, barely with his beard grown, sets off to sleep for the night, without another word to his father or his mother, and leaves before dawn the next day, his face covered in a helm, a car purchased with his own funds and filled with the supplies needed to survive the wilderness alone, as Arcax had.

In the twilight, Lagash and Elkar meet, with Elkar deigning to forego heavier armour so as to allow for his magic to flow more easily, safe in the knowledge of his absolute advantage. The two meet in the center of the burnt out circle of grass and whisper to one another, before stepping away and standing facing one another at five paces. It takes Elkar a mere flick of his wrist to pull Lagash's weapons from his hands, and another to slam two plates of earth behind his knees, not hard enough to damage permanently, but enough to knock the boy to his knees.

By dawn, Lagash has set out by cart to the wilderness.

>>483430
As Lagash sets out Ajax gives him his elephent dagger saying that despite what he may think, Ajax loves him and Lagash will always be his son.

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>481425
With no more arguments interupting maybe we can try this again?
also I dont think this was ever resolved.
>>480204

>>480204
With Lagash gone, Ajax busies himself with work. He has the free workforce of labourers dispatched to chop down enough wood to expand the defensive network on the border. One of the mill families is contracted to develop a new construction, a waterwheel that instead of grinding wheat will chop tree trunks into long, thin planks. This idea is a complex one, and the machinery involved is cutting edge, literally in fact. The invention of the Sawmill is a momentous one, and it results in a massive increase in the production of lumber and the use of wood in construction skyrockets as a result. Houses can be build far faster and far more uniformly, allowing for smoother and more efficient streets, while carts, tools and weapons can bow be assembled with the much more commonly cut wood, making them cheaper and easier to use.

Along with this, the principles of tension in a blade are taken and modified in such a way that a much larger bow may be envisioned, one that could in theory cover the massive distances needed to effectively deter attackers. With the fresh wood in hand, and the planks readily available, this discovery leads to an expansion of the fortifications, and to extensive repairs where the small weekly raids have been repulsed. The new weapon is created only once in each large tower, to be mounted in an elevated position to instantly respond to a raid with a hail of arrows. The bows themselves are crafted of rich heartwood, that has been moulded by magical energies and by conventional methods to allow the wood to more easily bend when needed. The bowstring is kept taut, like the blade of a sawmill, but with enough elasticity to launch the arrow.

The arrows of these new Greatbows are huge in themselves, and it takes a good deal of mathematically ability or spatial awareness to aim shots correctly. To this end, the more military minded young mages are placed in the militia as Towerkeepers, acting as magical advisors, accountants and artillery-masters for the great-bows, capable of very slightly manipulating the trajectory of shots to make a miss into a hit.

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>483461
Send out a few raiding parties to wreck havoc among the wild beast men. Drive bys on chariots, pepper them with arrows from behind a few shielded warriors. Try to minimize the losses on our side. Investigate their campsites for artefacts that they have perhaps stole on their own raids on us and others. They mostly use stone, bone and wood but surely they have lifted something usefull or interesting.

>>483600
seconding the raid, seems like a good idea

>>483600
Raiding time boys! Make those apes regret ever taking beef with us.

>>483603
>>483613
Realisticaly what most of them can fight us with is wood, stone and bone so the meat of their hordes should just melt away infornt of us.

>>483646
Yea, that should just bounce off our shields and armor. It's the big guys that are gonna be the problem.

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>>483600
One evening, for the sport of it, and to expel some of the anger that comes with fighting the same enemy defensively for too long, Lacon and Laetus gather up two cohorts of militia, a hundred men on their own, and call for as many chariots and carts as may be gathered, adding substantially to their numbers. The copper armour and chariots glint in the sunlight of the morning, and the sounds of chattering men and Bek fill the air. The carts are loaded up with militiamen, spears bristling from them, the men within covered by shields, and the chariots bristling with longaxes, ready to slice down at any of the beastmen to pass too close. All in all, something in the region of fourty drivers are called, along with sixty eager archers and a full eighty infantrymen.

The day's sport is set as hunting, with each man racing to collect as many tokens of his kills as possible, receiving extra pay as a reward, and with the monetary initiative set, the hunt begins. A small camp along the river is the first target, inhabited by a strange race of ape men with knotted brows, who have mastered javelins, and who provide a substantial difficulty for every patroling soldier, and against whom many men have developed grudges. They number around three hundred with their families, and they should prove little challenge.

The chariots thunder across the grassy scrublands, the hooves of Bek followed by the hoots and shouts of men. The wagons seem to fly in the dustcloud, like a boat upon a wave, or a bird on the wind, the men within thumping their shields to produce a resonating metallic ringing. The ape men rush out from their homes to fight back but their javelins very rarely hit their marks. They are plowed into by ton after ton of chariot, scything wheels tearing through them as axes slash and javelins are hurled down into their unarmoured forms.

The soldiers chase the fleeing apes, following them to another village, and shattering it. By noon, five of these villages have been shattered, and the war-horns have been blown in the distance, a signal for the oncoming hordes. From the ransacked villages, numerous gemstones, beads and large amounts of ivory are gathered, with the tents being burned and left to ashes to discourage the apes from resettlement near the towers.

Many items of your people are found in these destroyed villages, with copper armour and weapons being the most common. A few tools are found, all stacked atop altars of Magnan, which depict the god s a raging ape, and which are all burned. The men are pleased to have had this chance, but they know that the real battle is oncoming. These villages are small, tiny outcast tribes, further afield are much larger tribes, who will field true forces to fight off the raiders. The men would be glad of a chance to fight a real battle, but there is always the possibility of loss.

>Does Laetus order the men to charge deeper into the ape lands and confront any massing armies, or to retreat behind the walls?

>>483651
Confront them. Don't give them the time to fully prepare. Attack while they are still unready for it. But send a messenger back home to prepare a defence or reinforcment just in case.

>>483651
Lure them in with quick strikes, leading to a trap via large cavalry charge if we can find the terrain for it. Never a full engagement, rely on our speed instead.

>>483651
Anihilate them. We've hid from them long enough.

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>>483664
>>483677
>>483674
Laetus very quickly devises a battle plan. First of all, a section of chariots race off to the right and to the left, to lure the enemy into thinking that the army was nothing more than a few chariots. The Chariots rush for a few minutes before sighting the enemy horde after cresting a small hill. The men in the chariots gasp at the sight. Before them, completely filling a small valley, is an army, the likes of which they have never seen. The beast men are of all shapes and sizes, their ceaseless thousands marching towards the stopped chariots. They have a few seconds to hoot and shout before the beasts see them, and the horde begins to charge up the hillside. If there were fewer beasts, the chariots would turn and dash them against the rocks, but the weight of bodies limits them to harassment with arrows and a slow maneuver backwards, drawing the enemy along with them.

The horde is a morass of flesh and teeth, tearing across the Savanna with a bestial gait, filled with creatures like hulking men, and beasts more ape than human, surely the most blighted of Magnan's children. Among this horde are giants, like a rolling thundercloud in the rear, their footsteps shaking the earth. Arrows thud into flesh, and stones clatter on chariots, but the horde is drawn further and further back, the squadrons of chariots on the right and left working to lure the army into splitting down the middle, exposing itself to a charge by wagon and for them to be spread out enough to be charged efficiently. The beasts are faster than expected, but they hold nothing on the speed of chariots, even in the hilly terrain of the scrubland.

After a tense, noise filled few minutes, the horde has been drawn down onto the plain, it's force split into two advancing but side facing forces, joined at the back by a thin line of men and giants. At this moment, the charioteers charge for their finest hour, circling around the horde to draw them into turning about face, before slamming into the weakened and confused force of enemy, scything through them as if through a field of golden barley. The Bek begin to tire, and the main charge begins, with Laetus at it's head.

The wagons, bristling with spears, and the body of the chariots, begin to race across the plain at their enemy, without a war cry to further disorient the beasts. The first chariots sail into the few men in the center and push through further, passing the giants without issue. One chariot is kicked and sent flying by one of the more dextrous beasts, but the first charge is a success. Now the enemy is surrounded, with the chariots racing through them over and over, ripping them to shreds in quick successive charges.

The wagons slam into the bulk of the backwards facing enemy flanks, with each group of infantry dismounting and effecting several successful encirclements of small groups of apes before cutting them down.

Cont.

The battle is comprised of a hundred tiny melees, with groups of apes being hacked into, and clawing their way into the infantrymen, finding themselves severely outclassed by the skill and armour of your men. The small detachments are connected only by charging chariots, which deliver men all across the battlefield where help is needed, and scythe their way through the beasts in a constant barrage of charges. Blood soaks everything, the ground, armour, weapons, even the sky seems to darken with the blood red hue, as the thousand melees become hundreds, and as the hundreds merge into dozens, and the into two or three united formations, ripping into the defiant and bloodied enemy. The giants face no challengers, annihilating their enemies whenever they are near. The charioteers avoid them, as two or three now have fallen prey to their kicks.

By the beginnings of evening, the beasts begin to retreat, the giants surrounding them in an impenetrable wall, something beyond the ability of the charioteers to breach. The knot of beasts fight their way out, fleeing back to their homes with arrows in their backs. Thousands lie dead on the battlefield, all looking as if different mockeries of mankind, their pitted and furred flesh torn into by axe or by spear. The corpses are burned on great pyres, with the human casualties separate from the apes.

Many on both sides are dead, but you have won the day. Your men return home signing, with much loot taken from individual apes in the forms of beads and little shining trinkets, along with all of the copper tools taken from the tribe over the years. The revelry continues into the night, until another warhorn, far into the darkness, is heard. The people are safe behind the towers and militia, it seems, but the Savanna is immeasurable in it's immensity, and Magnan in his wrath.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>483730
So we were outnumbered what? 20 to 1?
Shore up our defences. Warn the greatbows that in case of an attack they are to focus on the giants, for apart from magic nothing else we have is likely to harm them. Send out some scouts to assess the situation. Are they gathering their armies? Are the armies larger than the one we faced? If they were to attack how badly would we be outnumbered? All these are things we need to know.

>>483730
>>481359
>>483373
I remind about the Merrow freeing, which seems now again relevant. The teaching of empathy and patience to Lagash and Elkar is now moot, but I feel like one of my rolls at least should be able to avoid obvious incoming problems.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>483755
agree with him on this, and maybe we need to prepare mobile forces to harass the beastmen if they make a push. our strength is mobilitiy, so hit and run strikes should be our main focus, and if a big horde shows up, trying to split it into a bunch of smaller ones like we just did seems to work well

I've just received news that I'm visiting family over the course of the next few days. I unfortunately need to go get packing, and to declare the second hiatus thus far in the civ. I will return on Saturday as best I can, and will announce the new thread, if this one isn't dead, on twitter: https://twitter.com/

Thank you all for your patience!

>>483820
Thanks for running a good quest, QM...BUT WHATS YOUR TWITTER DAMMIT

>>483821
https://twitter.com/LafayetteQM