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[IronyOwl]

Pyrite nodded to Hialarth and the lad.

"Thank you both, that should prove most helpful. And I'll have to do just that," he added, nodding to Canvas with a grin.

Then he fell into a contemplative silence, staring at the boat bottom with an unusually serious expression on his face.

After a bit of that, he smiled slightly and turned to the smith.

"Say, have you ever worked in jewelry?"

Then he turned to their guide, seeming genuinely inquisitive.

"Mortus, could you tell me more about the ancient families, what they did and why they're now relatively powerless?"

[escaped lurker]

" What foolish Ideas... ", the golden one grumbled, slammed one of his clawed hands on the wodden boarding of the boat, and begann his rant in earnest.
" If you kill Bar-Saad now, you make him a martyr to Tremor! Is that your goal, smith? Aranging so might bring some form of honour to Tulwor, but will lessen yours instead." Standing up, he paced around the boat.

" No, if you want real revenge to be wrought, you need to make him a sinner to his god, and unredeemable at that. " Now in front of Ux, he looked insistently into the mortals eyes. " You need to make him submit to another god, forsake his old one, and let his hands smash that ill-fated golden idol. Anything less than that, is only a weak compromise. "

Breaking away from the herald, Auratus raised a smirk to his face. " Well then, let us know - what do you prefer? Fleeing with your family from the city you seem to be so fond of, or putting that pirate into what ever barbarian hell there is, with a god of your own? " Not waiting for an answer, he went back to his seat, taking a short glance at the others.

[Digital Hellhound]

Tulwor frowned at the others' intrusion. He seemed almost baffled at their suggestions.

'Flee the city? Why would he do that? This dragon speaks nonsense. There is no need for convoluted schemes of revenge - no, you only need prove your honor and not let yourself be cowed by these tyrants. They must respect your strenght; they never will a schemer.'

Ketemos' words he considered a little more, Mortus' words fresh in his memory and the god's eyes on his back. He said nothing, though, meeting that god's gaze.

[IronyOwl]

Pyrite cracked an amused grin at Auratus' tirade and Tulwor's counter.

"The dragon's a bit hostile, but you're both right, you know. Have to play to your audience, after all, and different beings respect different things.

Of course, I'll have to throw in with my brother on this one. The man sounds more useful alive than dead, and the god I've no particular quarrel with as of yet."

[GiglameshDespair]

The Eater of Birds merely watched the exchange, absorbing the information.

[Weirdsound]

A growl had begun in Tulwor's throat by the end of the man's tale. Features that had been jovial a moment ago were now dark and rigid. His fingers played on the haft of the Helmhammer, perhaps unconsciously.

'This Bar-Saad sounds to me a coward and a tyrant,' he said. 'Only a weakling would attack another through those who cannot defend themselves. Ah, your death sounds like Rexxis' doing indeed. Has he so much fear of being replaced that he cannot stand one dedication to the Earth Father?'

He planted a thick arm on Ux's shoulder. 'You have been unjustly punished, in my eyes, Herald,' he said. 'And for the wrong crime. You should have killed Bar-Saad or died in battle, and then this Scion - and any who would have come after him. You have shamed your family by not standing up for them. But perhaps I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself, for that...'

He trailed off and looked into the distance, as if thinking he could see the shores of the Isle already. A small smile crept up his face. He heard the boy's tales of the denizens of this land. Chimeras? The less they knew about these creatures, the better. He would have all the pleasure of travelling this land and battling these Orcs, Harpies and Chimeras to himself.

Sin? Barely. The man did what he had to do to survive. Fake worship of foreign gods means nothing if it means that he lived...shame he still died.

"I'd advise against Tulwor's suggestion, Ux. It may make Bellian operations on the Isle more...difficult. For all his faults, he seems to be a stable ruler...his heir is something else entirely, as you say. You did the right thing for all by not striking him down and despite your present appearance, you have been rewarded another chance at life."

Pausing a moment, he asked the smith a question.

"Tell me, would you know if your family is still in Selma's Gate? If they still are I will do as I can to relocate them, if you so wish."

" What foolish Ideas... ", the golden one grumbled, slammed one of his clawed hands on the wodden boarding of the boat, and begann his rant in earnest.
" If you kill Bar-Saad now, you make him a martyr to Tremor! Is that your goal, smith? Aranging so might bring some form of honour to Tulwor, but will lessen yours instead." Standing up, he paced around the boat.

" No, if you want real revenge to be wrought, you need to make him a sinner to his god, and unredeemable at that. " Now in front of Ux, he looked insistently into the mortals eyes. " You need to make him submit to another god, forsake his old one, and let his hands smash that ill-fated golden idol. Anything less than that, is only a weak compromise. "

Breaking away from the herald, Auratus raised a smirk to his face. " Well then, let us know - what do you prefer? Fleeing with your family from the city you seem to be so fond of, or putting that pirate into what ever barbarian hell there is, with a god of your own? " Not waiting for an answer, he went back to his seat, taking a short glance at the others.

Ux hangs his head as Tulwor chastises him. "You are right of course. I should have found a way to defend my family and my town. But there were just too many complications for my mortal mind to figure it out. Killing Bar-Saad would have meant my arrest and likely execution, would would have been fine with me, but it would have rendered me unable to go after Scion if I had to. I'm also not sure if it would be right to raise a weapon against Scion; his mind is still as sharp and wicked as ever, but he is in at least his eightieth year and very frail. Battle between me and him would be so lopsided in my favor that there could never be any honor in it."

He offers a slight chuckle as the scholar speaks. "Stable is the last word to describe the rule of Port Selma, we believe that any man will become a tyrant if left in power long enough, so our system allows for our leader to change often. Should Bar-Saad have occasion to lead his fleet on a raid, or should a more powerful pirate lord arrive in town, power would change hands. It would be rather disheartening if the town had the same ruler and heir that it had when I died, but it would also be terribly unlikely. I'd eat my apron.

...As for my family I can't be sure what they would have done to cope in my absence. I am a far better smith than I am a teacher, none of my sons are skilled enough at my trade to take over at my work. To support their mother, they would have had to sell my business, or find other work. If the former, they will have made a good chunk of change selling my livelyhood, and could probably live the lazy highlife for several decades. If the latter, Piracy would be their likely employment, and they will have left by now. Ironically, I never told my family about Bar-Saad's threat, so there is a good chance that they may have signed up as part of his fleet."

He stares back into the dragon's eyes as Auratus lectures him. "I fear that although I have many virtues, the wit required to pull off such a scheme likely eludes me... My youngest son, Ror, has the mind to pull it off though. If Bar-Saad is still in town, I will have to think carefully on all the advice I am getting here."

Then he fell into a contemplative silence, staring at the boat bottom with an unusually serious expression on his face.

After a bit of that, he smiled slightly and turned to the smith.

"Say, have you ever worked in jewelry?"

Then he turned to their guide, seeming genuinely inquisitive.

"Mortus, could you tell me more about the ancient families, what they did and why they're now relatively powerless?"

Ux offers wide smile. "The gems themselves? No. I don't work with them, but I have good and talented friends I could point you towards, and if you want them set in gold or silver, you will not find anybody on the island better than me unless one of you is a smith yourself."

Mortus considers the question. "Ta old families? I'll take it history is not an area ya have studied heavily then lad. The Bellians and their gods got their beginning when the Belpine Elves, a once proud race pushed ta near extinction by the dragon Korroar, came ta the hill giants for help. Their two remaining goddesses, Kia and Autumn, offered ta raise the Giant King Rexxis to godhood and swear eternal fealty to him, if he was to have his people declare war on the Dragon Lords, and mix their blood with the Belpine Elves so that neither would exist as a separate people any longer. Rexxis obviously accepted, and soon the first generation of Bellians was born.

As the first few generations of Bellians fought with ta Dragon's minions, Rexxis, Autumn, and Kia rewarded the strong and crafty among them. The absolute best among them were elevated ta godhood, and many others were granted names, titles, artifacts, and other such things that allow for a mortal ta establish a dynasty. They may have been a wee bit too hasty in handing out these earthly reward though, as when the war was one, and Rexxis declared the time of Bellian rule officially begun, there was way more families of distinction than was needed for stable rule of the land they 'ad won. Which families got mortal power was merely a matter of luck and circumstance." 

The vulture faced ferryman gives a glance to Hialarth. "She said she is of Infelix and Wildefair.

Infelix is said to be cursed with bad luck, and even us gods often suffer fa no just or understandable reason. The hero Felix, my son actually, had three beloved sons o' his own; Tranton was a nice boy and by no means stupid or weak, but Alvin and Calvin were both magical prodigies and almighty warriors. Rexxis decided, perhaps with a bit o' urging from 'is new Ferryman, that one of the boys should be given godhood, and one an earthly title. Alvin was much younger and already slightly stronger than Calvin, so he was raised up ta godhood. Calvin was swallowed, body 'an soul, by a dragon not even a month after that, leaving the earthly title to poor overwhelmed Tranton... The god's suffered, as they learned that an immature mortal will never mature if granted immortality, an' house Infelix, under the rule of Tranton and 'is sons, just always got a poor break here, or made a wrong move their, an' never was able to win much power for themselves."

As of Wildefair, they won themselves a large plot of land, and had many brave children and leaders, but they live on the border... Their hands be too full and they be ta remote to ever exercise pull on the cities."

Mortus gives you a glance and a knowing wink. The Wildefair were favorite prey items of your father and yourself, as well as of several other lesser beasts. They did also often take the brunt of various Barbarian invasions and various 'punishments' from aggressive barbarian gods. You had no idea that they were an old house, or that they had no power in the cities for all their trouble. It makes sense that they might be bitter then.

[Digital Hellhound]

'Hmh. You show promise, Herald. Be well,' Tulwor said. He left the burned man to be tormented by the other gods and stomped over to Ketari instead. Tulwor raised a muscled arm as a greeting.

'Well met, sister!' he boomed again, a great smile breaking his features. 'I am glad to share this new land with my own blood. Perhaps we shall go find these Harpies together?'

[GiglameshDespair]

She smiled back.
"Yes, blood of my blood, that would be a pleasure."

[micelus]

Ketemos said a few more words to the smith in reply.

"Oh I know very well the anarchy inherent in a town of pirates, but it seems this current leader is better than this Scion person...perhaps you should wait until he falls to natural causes before you...'settle your honour' with Bar-Saad?"

Before the smith could speak, Ketemos spoke again, this time to all the Heralds..

"Regardless, I think its time I understand this Isle in more detail. Heralds, I have questions. I would hope you have the information I require."

Taking a deep breath, the god listed his queries.

"These Populi...their beliefs are not uncommon amongst philosophers and I've studied such things in detail. But I must ask, do the majority of this group want a republic because of their devotion to Abbey or because of their intellectual musings?"

Ketemos could barely maintain a neutral tone when speaking of that accursed god.

"The orcs...were they always hostile? Have there ever been peaceful contact with them?"

They could be useful, these natives.

"The pirates...do they raid the orcs? I find it hard to believe that a flourishing enclave can survive only by raiding Kiatown and the ships that visit. Surely they must deal with the orcs in some way."

These pirates could also be used.

"Finally, do any of you have any information about the native gods, spirits or perhaps intelligent godlike inhabitants?"

Ketemos knew that phrasing wasn't very elegant but using the word monster would not be wise with the present company.

[IronyOwl]

Pyrite tried to hide a chuckle at Mortus' last bit. No wonder they were bitter indeed- it seemed he would've liked to meet her husband as well!

He watched Tulwor and Ketari's exchange with interest. Two sets of siblings, plus the dragon... he wondered if that had something to do with the latter's abrasive nature. Or maybe the other way round; perhaps Auratus' mother had instilled in her son whatever had kept her spawn from being more prolific.

He also noted with some interest that Fletchtania's brood seemed rather cheerful. His own brother seemed rather grim, and he couldn't find a strong likeness between the two pairs. Perhaps the giant and the bird-eater's siblinghood came from... a boisterous enjoyment of life, he supposed? While he and his brother seemed more unified in duty and concern for mortal happenings... and, at least compared to present company, in a respect for the delicate aspects of a situation.

He sat there, musing a bit longer, before addressing the giant on a whim- though he kept one eye on Ketemos and the Heralds.

"How do you feel about human flesh?"

[Digital Hellhound]

'Good, good, sister!' Tulwor bellowed at Ketari. 'We'll properly celebrate finding eachother when we get on-shore! You have my word.'

He turned to look at his questioner. The lad looked strong and able enough, though he needed to be rid of that ridiculous beard.

'Human flesh?' he asked. 'What, eating it? Like an animal? Who'd want to do that?'

[IronyOwl]

"Hah! Well, me for one, but I suppose it's not for everyone. What about gentler uses, then? You fancy any mortals intimately?"

[Digital Hellhound]

A great big smile broke out on Tulwor's features at that. This he could understand!

'I can appreciate the beauty of mortals like any other man, aye! And gods for that matter, too,' he said, looking pleased. At the latter comment, he stared off into the distance. There were some sights he'd miss from the mainland, perhaps.

He frowned, but that faded away quickly as recognition dawned. 'Are you not the spawn of the great scorpion, friend? Hah, that must have been a strange union! I'd very much liked to have faced him in battle before we left. Perhaps you'll do me the honor in his stead, some day?'

[IronyOwl]

Pyrite laughed.

"Certainly! I can't claim battle as my first preference, but I understand the need to test oneself. And I do know something of pride," he finished, grinning enthusiastically.

[Weirdsound]

"Oh I know very well the anarchy inherent in a town of pirates, but it seems this current leader is better than this Scion person...perhaps you should wait until he falls to natural causes before you...'settle your honour' with Bar-Saad?"

"I'm afraid you misunderstand." Ux says with a shake of his head. "I am saying the anarchy is such that neither Bar-Saad nor Scion are even remotely likely to be in the same positions that they were in when I left."

"These Populi...their beliefs are not uncommon amongst philosophers and I've studied such things in detail. But I must ask, do the majority of this group want a republic because of their devotion to Abbey or because of their intellectual musings?"

"The people in charge are merchants, who would much rather not pay taxes to kings." The Noblewoman explains. "They patronize thinkers and Zealots of all stripes to fire up the masses. Some of them are indeed true worshipers of your father, some are pure intellects, and others still twist the words of other gods to serve the cause of a republic. No offense to your father, but his worshipers are indeed numerous enough so that it is advised that women of virtue remain indoors during his feast days."

"The orcs...were they always hostile? Have there ever been peaceful contact with them?"

"My dad says the Orc gods consider warfare a constant duty. They can have allies, but they must always be fighting somebody," Messel explains "We used to be able to align with smaller Orc clans against the larger ones, but since they put that fort up, we have been cut off from any Orcs aside from the hostile garrison."

"The boy's explanation is oversimplified," Canvas responds sharply, "It is indeed true that most of their gods prefer large scale blood sacrifice, but it goes deeper than that. I have known more than a handful of Orcs in my time, and my only son is in fact half of one. The largest issue is that equality of any sort is an alien idea to their race. They simply must know if they are superior or inferior to any individual person or society they encounter, and on account of their gods, battle and combat are the ideal way for figure this out."

The pirate offers a slight smile "Once they have their answer, they are a reasonable enough folk. I'd go so far as to say they are better people than that army from Kiatown they are fighting. The Bellians put all the Orcs they capture to death. Most Orc clans treat their captives in a humane fashion, and furthermore, an Orc taken prisoner is usually loyal to its captor; I have armed captive Orcs with sharp tools and even weapons, and have turned my back on them and even used them as guards and soldiers."

"I have heard rumors of the Orcs good behavior outside of battle." The Noblewoman chimes in, "I hear the army kills the prisoners to prevent the political factions from using Orcish slaves to supplement their goon squads. Pitty."

"The pirates...do they raid the orcs? I find it hard to believe that a flourishing enclave can survive only by raiding Kiatown and the ships that visit. Surely they must deal with the orcs in some way."

"The pirates of Selma's gate don't actually do a whole lot of pirating. The Orcs tend to live too far inland, and tend to defend their goods too fiercely, for raids against them to be worth it for any but the most adventure obsessed of pirates. We sometimes do hit a ship or two going to or from Selma's gate, but for the most part Selma's gate is a port of rest and haven."

Canvas leans back on the bench as she continues. "It is a town out of the reach of and even beyond the interest most Bellian navies, where Pirate Lords can hoard their wealth, purchase new ships and supplies, take on new crew, and raise their families in relative safety. Pirates in need of an easy score can also do a legitimate trade run; The wee-folk on the west coast control a mine from which Adamantine can still be drawn, and they sell it at a price far lower than the Bellian mainland will buy it for."

"Of course," Ux chimes in, "sometimes a poorly armed merchantman ship will attempt to make an Adamantine run, at which point the pirates are inclined to ply their natural trade."

"Finally, do any of you have any information about the native gods, spirits or perhaps intelligent godlike inhabitants?"

"An Orc once told me that four of their twenty gods reside at a grand arena, somewhere far inland on the dry side of the island. There the bravest and strongest of the Orcs fight to please their deities; The losers are eaten by the divine and the winners honored by the same." Explains the pirate.

She lowers her voice. "It is said that the other sixteen have been captured by the monsters in the mountains, where they are eternally tormented and kept in servitude. It is said that the monsters lop off the limbs of the gods they catch, and use them to augment themselves and their own deities."

"What about the Harpy Goddesses? You should know about them, right pirate? They don't let men worship them, or even learn about them, but I know some female pirate lords have found their favor. These gods are giving you your life back, don't withhold from them." Ux chimes in with an accusative tone.

Canvas shakes her head. "I know very little, and I'd rather not share what I do know in the presence of mortal men, lest I draw their ire. I will say that the pirate lords known to engage in Harpy Worship the most are Vii the Seafox, Tifi the Rose, and Meltip the Indecent. The flags their fleets respectively fly bear the image of a chessboard's black knight, a red rose, and a Bellian woman having cardinal relations with a large serpent. I doubt they would be willing to talk, but if you would like to try peaceful discussion before threats, I could easily set up a meeting with any of them who happen to be in port."

"You might also consider talking to the remaining Dread Pirates, who ruled the seas before Selma bested them." Ux offers. "They despise the idea of a female pirate lord, and the Harpy Worship that such beings often engage in. They might know something of the matter... Of the four remaining, Scion visits port most often, but Deltrox is the least wicked and most affable to deal with. All Dread Pirates fly a flag bearing a trident with the freshly severed crowned head of a Bellian Monarch impaled on the middle spoke of the fork."

"My husband and I used to visit the fortress of the little people as diplomats before the Orcs put the pass under siege," The Noblewoman offers in response to the scholar god's inquiry, "They worship a great nameless seaserpent made of pearl as a monotheistic deity. Said serpent has servants and spawn that are supposed to equal the Orcish and Harpy pantheons, but those do not make any claims of godhood for themselves."   

Messel, perhaps a bit ashamed that none of his stories are about gods, chimes in sheepishly. "There is a crazy rumor going around that the merchant Haze keeps some sort of monster in the basement of his house..."