Turn 5 - Late Summer
TURNTURNTURN
Far above the Rolling Hills, an observer lurks, monitoring the conflict of Good and Evil.
An old man watches for a while, then turns and walks away. The younger man maintaining the scry is confused.
"Master, the battle has not yet ended. Do you not wish to know the victor?"
The old man shakes his head.
"I've seen enough. This battle changes nothing."
Western Protectorate - Pestilent Marshes
There is no warning. One moment, the guard is staring half-heartedly into the mists rising from the bog, the next his throat is missing, the fountain of blood absorbed by the unseen assailant. However, no warning is needed. Within the ring of off-white stakes, red eyes snap open, and the bearer, skin paler than the stakes, leaps to her feet.
Though crude, the fortifications are enough to delay the Vampire Lord’s assault. Though it takes him only a few seconds to get the makeshift gate open, he does not rush in- instead peering through cautiously. A glint of silver in the dark, and he leaps back- his definitely-not-vampiric counterpart charges forth, and he does not even attempt to stand and fight.
Previously, the Good Doctor would not maintain the chase for long, so as not to leave her comrades unguarded. Yet now, the palisade offers sufficient protection from other potential prowlers that she is determined to end the blood-sucking scourge. While he is slightly faster when drawing upon his gemstone, its power is limited, whereas her stamina is comparatively boundless. The risk of being led into an ambush is insignificant, as her ability to sense nearby foes would alert her before any trap was sprung.
The Vampire, predictably, sets his thralls upon her path. They present little more than a speedbump, and any minor wounds she suffers whilst eliminating them is more than compensated for by absorbing their blood (she’s not a vampire). The mists, mud, rotting vegetation, pools and streams- these could all pose an obstacle to regular folks, but the trail of her quarry cuts through the mist like a beacon, whilst her nimble feet barely register the uneven terrain.
The chase has gone on for several minutes, but she is catching up. She weaves through a rare stand of trees, leaps across a stagnant pool, all-but dances across a fallen tree laid across a deep bog… and plunges into the putrid waters when the tree suddenly vanishes.
She receives a mouthful of swamp, and struggles momentarily to untangle herself from the rotting vegetation beneath the murk. She breaches the surface, and is immediately greeted by peals of helpless laughter. Two figures stand on the opposite bank: her target, a condescending smirk on his face; next to him, the source of laughter, leaning against the missing tree now propped up on the comparatively dry ground.
She has little capacity for fury, but the grating cackles of the Impossible Thief cause even her stoic visage to twist in irritation. Irritation only strengthened when she senses a large swarm of Hound Spiders approaching. A brief moment of contemplation later, she turns to swim (/wade) back towards her camp, unwilling to face this carefully-prepared ambush on her enemy’s terms.
The spiders arrive just as she is dragging herself from the water. A few arrows pierce her skin, but nothing vital is hit. The most grievous injury is to her pride, and the news that another pack of Hound Spiders took advantage of her extended absence to kill a few more guards.
Cavalry on both sides are better suited to the swampy conditions than conventional horses might be. Drakegulls have their amphibious ability, letting them cross bodies of water with ease, whilst the spiders’ eight legs distribute their weight more evenly, preventing them from sinking too deeply into the sucking mud. Both do better on the open steppe, of course.
Unfortunately for the Hound Spiders, their nocturnal raids are less effective, as the horde of Sea Servants accompanying the angelic host now carry tools and stakes, with which they are able to erect rudimentary camp fortifications on a nightly basis. While less immediately relevant, the Sea Servants also make the camps more comfortable by digging ditches that drain the worst of the constant damp away.
The Hussars have no fortifications to overcome, and suffer only minor losses whilst harassing demonic camps and patrols. Hound Spiders end up spending most of their time in a defensive role, intercepting Hussar raids to give the rest of the army some reprieve. The Vampire Lord likewise acts defensively- while the Good Doctor is humiliated, her loss was too minor for him to risk a straight fight in the midst of a fortified camp.
The demonic forces had intended to draw their rivals deeper into the marshes, to a battlefield of their choosing, but the angelic army moves more quickly than expected. Rather than drag the carts carrying the barrels used to form Liquid Light Elementals all the way to the battlefield, the elementals are deployed days in advance, their glowing gelatinous forms flowing into massive shells of multicoloured coral. Whilst still awkward and heavy, the en-shelled elementals are able to propel themselves, and by extending their limbs further out of their shells are able to overcome obstacles that cumbersome carts could not. Combined with Sea Servants being able to set up rudimentary bridges across larger streams, and the relative camp comfort enhancing the stamina of angelic troops, the demonic army is caught off-guard by their advance.
Battle is joined in a typical stretch of bog- the ground is soft, each step squelching, and streams and pools offer plentiful obstacles to regular manoeuvres. The pervasive aura of decay saps the strength of combatants on both sides, the undead only slightly less affected than the living.
Formations on both sides resemble those seen last month, though the exact composition has changed on the angelic side. Sea Servants are present in a lower ratio than before, but they wield iron tools rather than crude clubs. The Liquid Light Elementals are similarly present in lower numbers, but encased in towering coral shells. Finally, there are fewer Acolytes, replaced by strange purple-skinned figures wearing mottled orange robes.
As the angelic army advances, Hateful Bowmen fire their first volley. Angelic casters raise wards in response. While each Acolyte raises a ward over a small section of the angelic line, the new purple-skinned casters work together in groups of five, conjuring large wards that even a layperson can tell are considerably more powerful than those the Acolytes muster. And, indeed, those sections of the line blessed with this protection suffer much less damage from arrows and magic as they advance. Even Agony of the Soul is unable to penetrate them, at least not until the ward has already taken a fair number of hits. Fortunately for the demons, there is plenty of angelic formation that is not protected by the super-wards, so it doesn’t render the ranged exchange one-sided, but it does give the angels an advantage.
Two new developments from the demonic side show themselves once the angelic forces get a little closer. Some of the Soul Magi switch from Agony to a new spell, that after a brief windup causes sections of the angelic line to suddenly float a short distance off the ground. After about fifteen seconds, the effect unceremoniously ends, dumping the floating forces back down. This is especially unfortunate in the sodden earth, as coming down hard often results in getting feet stuck in mud.
Which ties into the second thing the demons show off. Demonic Acolytes seem to have their own form of gravity-manipulation, briefly increasing the downwards pull on a single target. In the case of Sea Servants, this generally results in them falling to the ground, whilst cultists are just staggered, causing them to feel like their feet are stuck in mud (even on dry ground).
Combined, these effects break up the cohesion of the angelic formation quite well- going from a more-or-less straight line to a haphazardly staggered affair. The Liquid Light Elementals, though slightly slowed by their large coral shells, are essentially unaffected by both spells- if lifted into the air, they can simply extend their amorphous limbs and drag themselves forward, out of the area of effect, and the foot-dragging spell is too weak to hold back the bulky behemoths. However, their infantry support lags behind.
Moments before the LLEs make contact with the braced demonic forces, the purple-orange spellcasters unleash something that looks like five magic missiles twisted into a single spell, which on impact easily crushes demonic wards, armour, and bones. Though it doesn’t affect more than one or two demonic troops at a time, they churn them out fairly quickly, which leaves the demonic line somewhat unbalanced as well as the LLEs’ charge connects.
The result is not pretty. Or, well, it kind of is- those coral shells feature a delightful kaleidoscope of colours, and the bright glow of the LLE limbs makes for a rather unique tableau which is… oh, right, the battle. The LLEs are now significantly harder to kill, and have even more momentum. They don’t just smash into the demonic formation, they smash through it- which is actually a bit of a problem, since it means they are surrounded by demonic troops on all sides. Lower numbers of LLEs mean that more of the demonic line is untouched than last month.
The Ratmen are devastated, though Cultist Spears held in reserve quickly move in to shore things up. Cryptarii take a bigger hit than last month, but manage to recover, and start to hack away at the glowing limbs with their swords. Skeletal Recallers intercept the elementals charging the demonic right, and though their explosions do not destroy the coral shells, they do crack them, rendering them vulnerable to follow up attacks by Rememberers. A number of Soul Magi concentrate their attacks on the over-extended elementals as well.
By the time the angelic infantry catches up, several elementals have already been whittled down by spear or sword, or outright slain by a Rememberer’s weapon or Magi’s magic piercing their damaged shell and striking their core. Nevertheless, the demonic formation would still struggle to receive a coordinated infantry charge- unfortunately, they have a much easier time receiving the staggered groups of angelic troops that close in.
The Sea Servants use iron tools as weapons (as opposed to going unarmed or using crude clubs like before), which makes them more lethal, especially when it comes to piercing the carapace of the Cryptarii. Yet their numbers are somewhat lower, and with their formation disrupted, they are unable to overwhelm their opponents.
Of course, the angelic army does not rely on success in the frontline melee- Hussars are already moving around the flanks to prepare for a devastating charge. Once they see that the majority of demonic troops are committed, they break through the screening Hound Spiders, rapidly closing in on the vulnerable rear.
At which point, the Soul Magi tap into their Soul Gems to empower their new spell. It affects a significantly larger area, but more importantly, it doesn’t just cause the victims to float- rather, it causes gravity to fluctuate wildly in the area of effect. While the winged gulls would’ve been a lot less bothered by becoming briefly airborne (and may even have been able to flap out of the affected area), the roiling forces are much more debilitating. The Hussars are supernaturally skilled at holding on to their mounts, but are still disoriented by the dizzying effect. When it ends after roughly twenty seconds, they drop inelegantly onto the ground- which has been churned up by the magic, turning from sodden ground into thick mud, further slowing their recovery.
The demonic forces are not idle whilst the Hussars are immobilised, peppering them with arrows and magic and moving around to better receive the charge (the Vampire Lord shouting orders helps somewhat). By the time the Drakegulls reorient themselves and resume the charge (having lost momentum), a fair number have already been slain.
Even so, the volley of Spears of Light, and subsequent impact of beak and sabre causes significant damage. Not as much as last month, though, and this time around the Vampire Lord is hale enough to run around actively killing Hussars. The Hussars deploy their inkscreen, retreat, charge again- and while this is by no means ineffective, it lacks the decisiveness needed to shatter the demonic army.
Recognising the need for a coup de grace, the Good Doctor makes her move. She gives orders to a quintet of orange-purple casters, then sprints out and around the front line, zips through the lingering ink, and with single-minded determination heads straight for the Vampire Lord. She takes a few hits on the way, but nothing she can’t handle. The Vampire Lord sees her coming- sneaking up on him is not really an option-, and predictably gathers minions around himself for protection. Undeterred, the Doctor stops short of charging into a spear, absentmindedly cutting down two cultists who try to attack her from the side, and then… just kind of points at the Vamp.
The Vampire Lord is somewhat confused by this- is she expecting him to fight a duel or something? Did her injuries earlier in the month give her brain damage? Fortunately, his confusion is alleviated by the sight of a combo-missile streaking over the melee, remarkably accurately avoiding wards, on a collision course with his face. Though seldom seen in action, the Good Doctor does have an ability to share targeting information with allies, after all.
Unfortunately for the Doc, there’s one more participant in this battle, who likewise has an ability so far underutilised. Biding his time, the Impossible Thief judges this the optimal moment to make a difference, and/or the funniest use of his powers. The spiralling missile blinks, reappearing with a slightly altered trajectory. The Good Doctor doesn’t notice anything amiss until the powerful projectile hits her square in the back, knocking her off her feet, face-planting into the mud. The demonic forces around her waste a brief moment wondering what happened, but then surge forwards to take advantage. She barely manages to roll away from several potentially lethal spear-jabs, and gets back on her feet just as the Vampire Lord reaches her- but not in time to avoid his sword, which carves a deep gash across her hastily-raised arm, causing her to hiss in pain (she’s not a vampire).
Though she manages to escape before being cut down, she suffers numerous severe injuries in the process. The sight of their crippled champion fleeing has a demoralising effect on the angelic cultists, while the Vampire Lord is free to roam the battlefield without worrying about his rival intercepting him.
While the fighting continues for a while, the tide turns in the demons’ favour. Eventually the Soul Magi unleash a volley of empowered Agony of the Soul, which is the final straw, forcing the remaining angelic forces to retreat. The retreat is complicated by movement-disrupting demonic magic, though the remaining Hussars are able to provide enough screening to prevent a total rout. Fortunately, they are able to fall back to their fortified camp, which gives them a chance to regroup- but they have suffered too many losses to push on this month, and are ultimately forced to fall back further to recuperate fully.
Swampland is not a great place to suffer gravity magic, and even a ‘non-combat’ trickster can turn the tide of a battle in the right circumstances.
The Demonic Army pushes the front line in the Western Protectorate by 1 segment, bringing their control of the Vast Steppe to 1/8. Next turn's fighting will occur in the Vast Steppe.
Chegitha - Rolling Hills
The Rolling Hills are well suited for field fortifications. The angelic army is all-but untouchable when encamped, as Sea Servants are able to quickly secure hilltop positions (often taking advantage of ruined villages as a source of materials/partial fortifications). Conversely, the demonic army finds itself harassed by Hussars on a daily basis, making it difficult for them to simply camp out on a hilltop and wait for the angels to come to them.
Nar-Carok, who is once again personally leading this front, attempts to manoeuvre his forces in such a way as to draw the angels into a wide valley, but Muu, likewise personally leading, does not take the bait, instead advancing steadily from hill to hill, certain the demonic army will have to fight on her terms.
And indeed, eventually the demonic army stops retreating, as Nar-Carok decides that Muu’s latest camp is on the lowest hill she’s likely to be caught out on. The demonic army marches up the slopes, and battle is joined.
Fighting an entrenched uphill enemy is no fun. Elevation renders the range of angelic archers equal to that of the Hateful Bowmen, while having palisades to hide behind more than makes up for the disparity in rate of fire and accuracy. Thus the demonic forces continue to advance, as Nar-Carok recognises that an archery duel will not favour him.
In addition to the eldritch avatars leading each force, the demonic army is accompanied by what looks like a senior Soul Magi, bedecked in a far more ostentatious set of regalia of shimmery, semi-transparent steel set with not one but dozens of Soul Gems. As the forces enter magic missile range, he demonstrates his superior spellcasting talent by hurling forth Agony of the Soul with almost the same speed and strength that Nar-Carok himself does- though the wards deployed by the new casters on Muu’s side (and Muu herself) blunt the impact considerably. Thus, the demonic forces advance further still, as the magic duel does not favour them either.
Cryptarii stoically march in the fore with shields held high. This is reasonably effective in blocking arrows and the magic missiles of Acolytes, but the new casters’ combo-missiles can easily shatter a shield and the roachman holding it. The Ratmen are far less resilient, but necessary to provide numerical bulk to the demonic line.
It would seem the demonic efforts are doomed, as by the time their melee forces reach the angelic fortifications, they will surely be whittled down to the point they couldn’t possibly dislodge the defenders. That would be an easy battle to report on. Alas, things are not so simple.
Each time a spell is cast near or by the new demonic champion, his regalia glimmers a little more brightly. As the demonic infantry nears the palisades, this glimmering has gotten quite noticeable. In addition, where most Soul Magi’s gems have gained a modest dark lustre, the champion’s gems are almost pitch-black. And now, the accumulated power is unleashed.
First, the soul energy contained within his gems is distributed to the other Soul Magi, instantly boosting their gems, allowing all of them to cast empowered Agony of the Soul, pummeling the angelic fortifications with searing lightning and causing many Sea Servants to collapse from the impact of the accompanying ‘thunder’.
Next, the remaining power in his gems is drawn into a spell- which looks like Agony. Or maybe it’s magic missile. No, wait, it’s that new gravity spell. Hang on, is it a ward? Even Muu isn’t sure what she’s looking at, but she recognises that it is trouble, so throws up a powerful ward of her own to block it.
Unfortunately, the champion isn’t aiming at her, he’s aiming at the base of the central section of palisades. The chaotic jumble of magic hits the ground, exploding into several spark-balls that scatter over a wide area. Where those sparks hit the ground, ward-like energy spreads out horizontally, creating glowing fields of magic that intersect with the wooden stakes. Those fields begin to quiver, then explode, shards of magic tumbling through the air as a visual depiction of disrupted gravity. The palisades, though sturdy enough to survive basic attacks, were not engineered to withstand this sort of assault on their integrity, and consequently are torn apart, the bone-white stakes flung in all directions along with clumps of earth and shards of magic.
When the dust settles, a large swathe of the fortifications have been knocked over, along with the defenders manning them. A fair number of demonic troops have suffered collateral damage, but the remainder quickly charge into the breach, with Nar-Carok personally driving them forth.
Muu is shaken, but not so shaken as to avoid an opportunity to duel her nemesis, and the two quickly focus on each other whilst their armies battle around them.
The angelic defenders are on the back foot initially, but soon the Liquid Light Elementals held in reserve lumber forth, stabilising the breach. Meanwhile, Hussars- having lingered on the flanks of the battlefield, skirmishing with the demonic Hound Spiders- charge into the demonic rear. Defenders on intact sections of fortifications soon turn their attention towards the breach, firing arrows and magic into the sides of the demonic intruders.
Ultimately, the demonic attackers are forced to retreat. Nar-Carok is forced to cut his duel short as several quintets of purple-skinned casters fire combo-missiles at him, driving him to retreat along with his remaining forces.
The new demonic champion’s chimera-spell was certainly a surprising twist, but the odds were so heavily stacked in Muu’s favour that it only managed to turn a complete slaughter into a decisive defeat. The demonic army retreats a considerable distance before being able to regroup, bringing the front line all the way back to where the war started.
The Angelic Army pushes the front line in Chegitha by 3 segments, bringing their control of the Rolling Hills to 4/8. They gain 1 Wealth Token.
Thpenos
Gridlocked Polis
The Senate has gathered. A serious subject is on the agenda. Possibly the most serious thing they’ll do all year.
Decide whether to revoke the ban on cinnamon.
Meanwhile, the Polis is graced by a debutante from the East. Maybe? She’s not especially forthcoming on her origin. Her silver hair and eyes have some speculating a relationship with the imperial family of the Silver Empire. Either way, she’s making waves in the political scene, earning many admirers with her song performances. Several senators seem to be rather infatuated with her, in fact, inviting her and her retinue to a number of soirees attended by their peers.
Which is where Siren of the West and her fellow Angelic agents make good progress in swaying the upper classes towards Good. The food and drinks are surreptitiously seeded with Worms of Muu, and the Siren’s hypnotic voice is used both to directly convert key targets, and to more subtly influence larger groups.
Indeed, swathes of senators (and other important figures) are won over- and by directing them to support the Centrist cause, Centrist leadership likewise gains a more favourable view of Muu. A little hesitation remains, but another month of socialising will surely see Angelic converts sitting in on senior Centrist meetings.
3/5
In comparison, Demonic operatives have a rather boring and unproductive month. With operations in the Restless Satrapy disrupted, they’re left with fewer resources to work with than they had hoped for, slowing progress some. Not that much progress was on the agenda, as they lack means of infiltrating the upper echelons of society.
3/5
Bountiful Quarries
Shoddy maintenance causes the entrance to a large mine to collapse, trapping hundreds of workers within. Spontaneous protests and riots ignite as details of the poor management responsible emerge. Nobody can quite agree on who is to blame, but everyone agrees that something needs to change.
For instance, senior leadership of the Communalists change from passive acceptance of Muu’s cult, to active support. Already on the edge, the latest disaster (combined with the usual efforts of Angelic operatives) is enough to tip the scales.
Which presents Muu with a new challenge. See, to fully control the region, she can’t just convert senior leadership- she has to help the Communalists achieve dominance, through some combination of achieving their goals (which means communal ownership of mines and quarries) and weakening their rivals (the Meritocrats). Then she also has to convert/replace the person in charge of the Communalists… which is tricky, since there is no such person. So she’ll need to elevate someone to that role, persuade the Communalists to accept a supreme leader of that sort, and keep the newly-appointed leader on-side (harder than it sounds, as with great power comes great ability to resist eldritch influence).
3/5 -> 4/5
The disaster is also a windfall for Demonic efforts. Many bereaved relatives or friends of those lost in the accident turn to the Masters of Rites for funeral services and grief counselling, which the Masters use both to further spread Nar-Carok’s own influence, and to steer some support towards the Meritocrats. The Meritocrats are able to pin the blame on a number of incompetent overseers, and manoeuvre to have their own members replace them. Though they recognise that this is somewhat of a fluke event, they cannot deny that Nar-Carok helped them take advantage of it, and a number of junior Meritocrats tentatively sign on to his cult. Whether they will stick with the cult in the future is uncertain, but for now Demonic influence increases.
2/5 -> 3/5
Restless Satrapy
After the recent upheavals in the local administration, the governor promotes a number of lesser officials to fill the vacancies. Either by design or coincidence, the majority are sympathetic to the Assimilator cause.
Which includes a number of existing Angelic converts, who maintain their allegiance even after their promotion. This, combined with other Assimilators turning a bit of a blind eye towards Angelic efforts to spread the Good word (and Good Worms and Good Coral), is sufficient to give Muu’s cult a foothold in the halls of power, at least for now.
2/5 -> 3/5
While new recruits are mostly Assimilator-aligned, there are plenty of Federalists who survived last month’s purge, and with the heat having died down, they’re eager to reconnect with Nar-Carok’s cult- because they’re very loyal to the Demonic cause, obviously, the access to puppet rebels controlled by the Masters of Rites is just a bonus, promise. Would they lie to you?
2/5 -> 3/5
Xyrania
Schism'd Capital
The Shah makes a rare public speech, in which he condemns the ongoing schism, insisting that citizens should cast aside heresy in all its forms- only unwavering orthodoxy leads to salvation. Though this pleases nobody, few dare to directly challenge the Shah's word, and many distance themselves from radical religious leaders… and eldritch cults.
Tolerance sounds nice. A certain amount of tolerance may well be nice. But like all things, there is a limit. For instance, traditional Xyranian theology has a clear stance on the subject of human sacrifice: never do it. Yet this is but one of many rulings that the Myriadites consider to be overly restrictive. Who’s to say that Tokchoko wouldn’t appreciate seeing sacrifices slowly die of dehydration whilst chained to the sun-baked golden roof of his Grand Solarium? Are we to deny Slask, god of fear and murder, his bloody tithe? Xyranian theology likewise has a clear stance on negotiating with demonic powers, but it’s important to keep an open mind, isn’t it?
Besides, Nar-Carok is willing to help them spread alternative viewpoints, to lower the public’s guard towards novel concepts, and to undermine the religious establishment.
In turn, the Myriadites might share their expertise- or rather, their amateurise, since few amongst the Myriadites are experts in anything. Instead, they like to dabble in everything. While of little help in furthering Nar-Carok’s knowledge in any particular path, they can offer a first step into almost any field.
While the Shah’s words cannot sway Nar-Carok’s staunchest allies, it does cause the less entrenched to rethink their position, whilst potential converts voice increased scepticism. However, this brief stumble does not lead to a significant loss of influence, as for every wavering ally who departs, two new are brought into the fold. The Masters of Rites are especially useful, both in bringing the masses on side, and in pleasing the Myriadite faction.
Masters of Rites had been focused on simply spreading Nar-Carok’s influence, but they are perfectly poised to spread other messages as well. They continue to encourage Evil thoughts, and the New Age Recovery Centers churn out unwitting pawns, but their victims are also introduced to new interpretations of the faith- sinister, twisted, and harmful interpretations-, furthering the theological divide in the city. The Myriadites are appreciative of their efforts, rendering their leadership receptive to further conversion efforts.
By the end of the month, all the converts lost to the Shah’s speech have been replaced, and even some senior members of the Myriadites express signs of interest in Nar-Carok’s messaging. While bringing such big fish on side is likely to require more potent efforts, having a toe in the door never hurt. I mean, well, having a literal toe in a physical door could definitely hurt, but… you know what I mean.
3/5
Some may argue that since it is impossible to find absolute truth, we should not judge the beliefs of others. But such nihilism is a path to damnation, to atrocities, to discord and division. Even so, the Revisionists do not seek to impose their beliefs on others by force. Rather, they believe that as they refine the faith and get closer to the Truth, people will recognise its superiority, and join them willingly. Nobody is beyond redemption- not even eldritch cultists. While Muu’s path might not perfectly align, the Revisionists recognise her benevolent nature, and think it is possible that Angels have a role in the divine order.
They will seek her aid not only in hindering the Myriadites in their efforts to splinter Xyranian society, but also in seeking out the Truth (through research or debates).
In return, the Revisionists will help Muu in refining her knowledge. Uncomfortable as they may be with radical new ideas, once they come to terms with them, their ability to polish and optimise is incredible. They will not be able to help with initial forays into new fields, but projects seeking to improve or iterate in existing fields will benefit.
While some Angelic converts are swayed by the Shah’s speech, none of particular importance are lured away. This is due to there not being any converts of particular importance- they’re all replaceable, and the effects of the Worms, Coral, and Gadflies continue to provide a solid foundation.
Indeed, without the sabotage of the Impossible Thief holding them back, they are able to expand Muu’s influence into more prominent circles, including some junior Revisionist theologians. They appreciate Muu’s community-building slowing the fragmentation of the capital, providing her with a foothold in the Revisionist camp.
2/5 -> 3/5
Raiders' Roost
The celebrated return of an adventuring party goes awry, when it emerges that different members of the party made conflicting promises to both the Archaeologists and Reliquars. A heated argument turns into a brawl, which spirals into a riot involving dozens of adventurers on both sides. It is eventually quelled, but it still causes many to despair at the ongoing chaos.
The Archaeologists are insistent that they didn’t start the fight, and bemoan how unfair it is that they got kicked out of the gourmet tavern as well. Nar-Carok’s cultists didn’t ask, and don’t really care, except insofar as the frustrated Archaeologists are slightly more willing to hear them out regarding the potential benefits of siding with the Demonic cult.
It isn’t enough to sway more senior members, but it does further solidify Nar-Carok’s influence amongst the junior leadership.
3/5
The Reliquars concede that it was one of theirs who threw the first punch, but insist that chivalry demanded they stand against the Archaeologist scourge. Muu’s cultists didn’t ask either, and are frankly a little bewildered that this group of Reliquars sought out their hideout just to tell them. Not so bewildered as to miss the opportunity to explain the benefits of Muu’s assistance in countering Evil in all its forms, though. The Reliquars are not fully convinced, but agree to speak with the Angelic operatives again next month, which is a good sign (especially with more support expected from the Capital).
2/5
Pirate Haven
A group of pirate sympathisers are given a stay of execution by the governor, in the hopes of appeasing rampaging pirates. Though the army is furious, pirate raids do decrease in intensity, leading many to praise the governor's actions.
The Blockaders who were convinced to support Nar-Carok’s cult last month grumble a bit that they have nothing to show for it, but are ultimately willing to wait a while- the pirates aren’t going anywhere on their own, so the Blockaders are in it for the long haul. Senior members are a lot less interested in empty promises, of course, and even amongst the juniors, the Demonic hold is tenuous.
3/5
The Privateer faction is recruiting, as the apparent vindication of their policies by the governor encourages people to join up. It isn’t that hard to ensure that some of the new recruits are already-converted members of Muu’s cult. While this earns the cult a few more friendly voices in the lower ranks, it doesn’t help much in influencing the more senior members, who remain hesitant to expose themselves to outsiders.
3/5
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Topic: Chiaroscuro 2 (Read 3295 times)