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[Mardent23]

+1. Once the princess rises to power, the first thing she will do is make some nice jewelry for the court...
Also, can we expand our influence later on? For instance, if we willed the princess to make a new collar for one of her prized hunting hounds, can we corrupt the hound through the collar?

[10ebbor10]

Also, can we expand our influence later on? For instance, if we willed the princess to make a new collar for one of her prized hunting hounds, can we corrupt the hound through the collar?

Sure, if you pay the price. You can only ever have one active POV artifact,creature, beast or manifestation at a time though.

Artefact Name: The Silver Stone
Form: A brilliant gem, almost like a pearl but brighter and of greater substance
Artefact Power: Charisma, that he/she who wields it may acquire the love and adoration of all...for our own ends.

Princess Ishtar moped as she walked down the banks of the great river. Not half an hour ago, a gossiping servant had confirmed what she'd feared. Her father was thinking to marry her off to King Atup, lord of the neighboring Kingdom. Intellectually, she knew she should have expected nothing better as the youngest of four children, and she knew that it was a logical choice. Atup's hair was already graying, and yet he had no living children. His kingdom was nearly the size of father's own, and it held just as much fertile land and abundant fishing grounds. Tying the Kingdoms together would greatly improve their standing and power. It was a logical, smart decision.

The only issue was that she detested the man. She thought of him as a brute, as he was a lowborn who conquered his kingdom by force. His sons had all died in his pointless wars while the spirits had taken his wife and daughter from him with river fever. She'd met him only once, which had not endeared him to her either. Whether it had been drink or basic lack of matters, he had presumed to much about their future relationship, and she had to have a servant forcibly remove him from her presence.

But the needs of the Kingdom must go first, which is why she knew that her father was likely to accept the formal proposal by spring, and she'd married by the time the river flooded.

That was still months away however, and for now the river was sedate, seeming almost diminished within it's broad riverbed. Here, where the reeds had been cut away, she could clearly see the muddy banks and the serfs fishing on their reed boats on the distant glimmering water. One glimmer, closer than the rest, caught her eye. A large gemstone, sitting cleanly on the mud. For a moment she was hesitant, wary of ruining her clothes in the mud,  but then curiosity overcame her and she bent down, leaning on a stalk of reed to pick it up.

Don't ruin your clothes ...

A shock passed through her, a name burned into her mind. She did not loose grip upon the reeds however, and within a second she was once again standing safely on the river bank. It was a strange game, brilliant, almost like a pearl, but with the strange illusion of swirling light beneath it's surface. Pocketing the her new treasure, she got up, deciding that she'd moped long enough, and it was time for relaxation.

Princess Ishtar

A : Visit Market square
B : Go back to the Palace
C : Talk to the Traders at the Docks
D : Observe rites at the Temples
E : Go for a Hunt

Nur-Skalen
A : Observe Princess Ishtar as she does her business, taking the opportunity to glean knowledge from everyone she meets
B : Aid Princess Ishtar in her doings, lending her your strength and intellect. Such action is draining however, and your powers in the mortal realm are very limited.
C : Communicate with Princess Ishtar. The Princess has no idea that you exist within this gem, while you can manipulate her actions, having a willing and informed accomplice makes things that much easier.

[NUKE9.13]

We need information. Traders will have tales of distant lands- perhaps including one that our bearer might find refuge in, should she choose not to marry her fiance.

C, A

[Harry Baldman]

B, A, no reason to give a crap about traders just yet, let's see what our digs are like first.

[Shadowclaw777]

We need information. Traders will have tales of distant lands- perhaps including one that our bearer might find refuge in, should she choose not to marry her fiance.

C, A

+1

[Weirdsound]

C
A

I say we reveal our self dramatically to the princess when we are in some sort of position to help her greatly. Make a good first impression. Until that happens, we should lie low.

Ideally, once the princess knows of us and is well along on the path to darkness, we should convince her to give the gem to Atup. Then we work together to manipulate and control him. She gets a complacent and obedient husband, we get control over a king.

B, A, no reason to give a crap about traders just yet, let's see what our digs are like first.

We are likely to be moving in with a new husband soon. Our current digs are not that important.

[chubby2man]

We need information. Traders will have tales of distant lands- perhaps including one that our bearer might find refuge in, should she choose not to marry her fiance.

C, A

+1

+1

[Mardent23]

We need information. Traders will have tales of distant lands- perhaps including one that our bearer might find refuge in, should she choose not to marry her fiance.

C, A

+1

+1

+1.

[10ebbor10]

Visit...
Observation...

Visiting the docks will surely clear her mind. The traders always bring interesting tales, and are always willing to show their precious and interesting wares to a Princess. Having left the Palace in a hurry, Ishtar has neither money nor an aide to carry her purchases, but if she finds something remarkable she can always send for the palace.

The docks are a bustle of activity. Many smaller ships are docked to it's wooden pillars, small crafts that ply up and down the river to trade with neighboring kingdoms. Two vessels stand out however. One large vessel decked in strange colors, the other a small squat craft. Sailors of both ships appear to have some kind of heated discussion, in one language (perhaps two?) that you do not understand. A few guards are gathering to see what the uproar is about, but are clearly uncertain what to do.

The other merchants are, though more understandable, less interesting. A few merchants from some of the downstream Kingdoms are buying grain, in which you have no interest. A trader from the upper Kingdom is selling copper bracelets encrusted with gems, but you have better ones stored in the palace. The last thing that catches your attention is a man tucked away in an alcove, a crate covered by cloth standing at his feet. He does not seem to be selling anything, so you'll leave him alone.

Truly, the market is failing to entertain you, making you wonder if you want to stay any longer.

Nur-Skalen

The Docks are a wealth of information, and as Ishtar passes through you drink it in. You sample each mind as she passes it, having neither time nor interest for a complete survey of these commoners life. Many are boring examples of perpetual mundanity, but a few stand out.

Pests have been eating harvests in the downstream Kingdom's, driving up the grain prices and sending the merchants upstream for cheap supply. On it's own an innocent fact, but an image you gleaned from the mind of the merchant tells you these are no ordinary pests. These are ravaging locusts, and you expect that by the next harvest season their numbers will have grown innumerable, sending great swarms up the river consuming all in their path.

The strange vessels are even more interesting. Where most merchants here originate from one of the many kingdoms along the river, these vessels hail from beyond the grand river, from a place called Ozob-Zong. The grand vessel has traveled along from the coast before sailing up the river. Why it is here, you can not tell, but you know it can not get much further. The ship simply lies to deep in the water to head further upstream.

The small, shallow boat is radically different in design. It's clearly been designed to deal with shallow water, able to flit over the waters with ease. The people upon it come from the badlands near the river's source, an area in which all sorts of dangerous creatures live. Gnolls, Lizardpeople, walking skeletons and figures made of light. The memories are fragmented, and you are uncertain just what is myth and what is real. They call themselves the Urrullac, tribes living in close cohesion.

Sailors of both sides are apparently bickering over the price of the cargo, which you understand to be enormously valuable. The amounts of copper, silver and gold being offered by Ozob-Zongians are enormous, and the demands of the Urrullac even more so. A quick perusal through the memories of the princess hows that her father could probably afford both, but not without significantly burdening the Kingdom.

You are nowhere near done with your investigation when the princess continues on, passing by a mysterious stranger. His story is far simpler to fleece out. The unfortunate fool has captured a Vampire Snake, and is quite clearly unaware of the fact. In fact, you are almost certain it's the other way around, and the beast has captured him. It would explain why he's carrying the blood drinking reptile in a covered yet open cage, and why his mind feels as if it may fall apart at the slightest touch.

Princess Ishtar

A : Go Elsewhere (Refer to previous choice)
B : Buy Something
C : Try to settle the Merchant's discussion with your own authority
D : Try to settle the Merchant's discussion by setting the guards upon them
E : Investigate the Strange Person

Nur-Skalen

A : Observe Princess Ishtar as she does her business, taking the opportunity to glean knowledge from everyone she meets
B : Aid Princess Ishtar in her doings, lending her your strength and intellect. Such action is draining however, and your powers in the mortal realm are very limited.
C : Aid Princess Ishtar in her doings, by shoving a piece of knowledge into her mind. Such action is far less draining than others, but she may be distraught to suddenly speak another language, or to know about mythical beasts.
D : Communicate with Princess Ishtar. The Princess has no idea that you exist within this gem, while you can manipulate her actions, having a willing and informed accomplice makes things that much easier.

[Mardent23]

C, B. We want to get her confidence up.

[Weirdsound]

C, B. We want to get her confidence up.

CB

[NUKE9.13]

Indeed... let us test our powers of charisma on these squabbling merchants.

C, B

[Puppyguard]

C, B.

[Mardent23]

When do you think would be a good time for our reveal?

[NRDL]

C B