Have the research team continue their efforts on the project, then send the rest of the Ironwinged out to negotiate the reconstruction of the broken section, extracting pacts of loyalty and alliance in exchange.
It seems the Merchants will have to test their mettle earlier than expected.
The Merchant of the North is to dart amongst the falling Spiderlings, and offer the Contract of the Winged to those who accept loyalty.
The Merchant of the South is to join the fight against the fragments and the Sand, and hopefully lead the group to victory.
The Merchant of the East is to fetch the Deer-men from the Glass Tower, and bring them to the Wetlands, in preparation for their debt repayment.
Finally, the Merchant of the West is to fetch fine silks, Tribute Tokens, and an honor guard of Winged, and search for the nearest Shardform settlement. Once found, they are to begin converting them to the ways of Bargain.
((While making a horde of minions is an excellent move, strategically, I'm going to have trouble writing turns for all of them. For now we'll just keep things short and snappy. EDIT: Apparently not. Oh well.))
Weavers: 6 & Contractors: 4
Merchant of the North: 3
Merchant of the South: 6
Merchant of the East: 4
Merchant of the West: 3
The Ironwinged weavers and their hired help continue working on a more efficient photosynthesis process. Using magic to improve upon the existing chemical process isn't difficult, so their research mostly centers around ways to distribute the enhancement to large numbers of Spiderlings at once. Their solution is to make the Weavings replicate themselves, which works well up until an experimental version escapes containment and spreads through the Silken Nest. Infected Spiderlings can survive on less starlight, but being exposed to too much at once causes their bodies to char.
Most of the falling Spiderlings were at the epicenter of the battle, and were hurt too severely by friendly fire or Ira's Nothing-breath to be saved. The Merchant of the North does find a few survivors amongst the dead and the dying, but the group which glides to the Silken Nest is much smaller than Gral would have liked.
The Merchant of the East flies to the tower, where it finds the Dr. Bob and the Deer-Men standing around a garden. Its curiosity is piqued enough that it listens in, and learns about the uses of corn and bean plants along with the mortals. When the lesson has finished it leads them across the moat and out to the center of the Wetlands.
The Merchant of the West finds a small herd of Shardforms wandering at near an ooze colony, but they aren't interested in any of the goods that Gral sent for them. They are also incapable of comprehending speech, much less the intricacies of buying and selling. When Ironwinged appear overhead their primary response is to cluster together and make clacking sounds.
Have ordinary spiderlings retreat, focus all efforts on killing Ira with mix of weavers light spells, sentinels fireballs and primelings acid
I did not want this to happen, but you don't leave me any other choice
"I tire of this, if you agree to punish but not kill awake I'll leave."
If Nazi doesn't agree coil around him to restrain him while blasting nothingness at the small fry's
((Ira- I'm assuming you mean to coil around Nazir, since Awake is already restrained pretty thoroughly.))
Ira: 3+1 vs Order: 3 & Sentinels: 6 & Primelings: 2 & Nazir: 4Ira whips her tail back up to the web and hooks it around Nazir, but the other primordial still has relatively solid footing. Instead of dragging the spider down with her, they both hang in the air hundreds of feet above the ground. The world-eater pulls her head upwards and maneuvers around Awake's silk cocoon, which is still gripped in one of her coils, so that she can breathe more Null-gas at the Spiderlings who are still holding on. It billows outwards in an uncontrolled cloud and meets compressed fireballs from the sentinels, which pushes it back in Ira's general direction. It doesn't harm the sandworm herself, but it does eat away at Nazir, the Awake's bindings, and crucially, the strand of silk keeping everyone aloft. Nazir loses his footing and all three tumble, this time through Nothingness-suffused air.
((I really wanted to help, but I got now something more intresting, so, sorry Nazir))
"If you help me stop this fighting we will consider the possibilities"
Stop the fighting between the Buzzards and dustwalkers to the Fragments.
AJAMA: 2 & Apollyon: 4
Fragments: 5 vs Merchant: 5 & Buzzards: 2 vs Sand: 3AJAMA politely tells everyone to stop killing each other, but its voice is overwhelmed by the sounds of the battle. It responds by amplifying its voice and screaming at the nearest combatants, but they don't seem to care much about the black sphere's disapproval. Some of the Dustwalker martial artists pause and look around in confusion, but they all resume fighting when a giant steel bird appears overhead.
Apollyon doesn't say anything, but its focus drifts from the conversation for a moment, and the other Fragments abruptly start to retreat. They are still being attacked by both the sand and the bone fortress troops, but they do their best to avoid retaliating. That directive becomes more complicated when the metal vulture leads the Buzzards in an attack from the air, forcing Fragments to defend themselves or be torn apart. There are casualties on both sides.
"You better be careful with my deers bird, anything happens to them I'll kick your ass."
Tell the deer men what corn and beans are good for before the bird takes them, then I shall try to make yeast and finish my vodka making.
6A steel-feathered vulture that looks like a smaller version of Gral lands at the base of the tower. It informs the Deer-Men that it will be collecting their debt, and says that they should follow it into the Wetlands. Before they depart, Dr. Bob teaches them how to prepare corn and beans, a process which conveniently also provides them with meals for the journey. The Merchant looks mildly intrigued by his lecture, but when he finishes it only flaps its wings and leads its charges away.
Once they've left, Bob returns to his laboratory. He smashes a glass brick against the floor until it has been reduced to fragments, and then dust. He fragments the dust further, until it is so small that individual grains could only be seen with a microscope, and then shovels the pile into a bowl on one of the tables. The deer-headed primordial concentrates on it until the dust dissolves into liquid, which bubbles sporadically. It doesn't look much like yeast, but Dr. Bob pours it into his still anyway.
A curl of smoke comes from the mixture that he's been fermenting, which turns from a cloudy yellow liquid to a dull, entirely uniform red. It smells like alcohol, but Dr. Bob is fairly certain that it isn't vodka.
Ashe stashes her pile of Brass Buzzard feathers underwater, arranging them in various shapes. Then heads to the desert to collect more!
6Ashe picks up her stash of feathers and dives into a pool, so that she can place them in patterns on the lakebed. She makes several large triangles, a circle around nearly the entire body of water, and a fractal-shape that looks a bit like a star before using up all of the feathers. Now that they're safely filed away, the Collector swims back up to the surface and makes a note of the spot, so that she can find it again later. Then she follows the trail of brass feathers out into the desert.
The air outside the wetlands is much drier, and there isn't so much as a trickle of water on the ground or a droplet in the air. Ashe feels a bit like a fish out of water, since she's been in the wetlands for her entire conscious existence, but dry ground is still bearable. If nothing else, she's constantly adding to her supply of feathers, and they seem to be leading her to something truly interesting. The Buzzards are actually flying overhead, in the wake of a larger, stronger bird with steel feathers.
They dive downwards, towards a group of incorporeal black wisps and oozes-creatures that look more like holes in existence than real matter. Some jet directly past Ashe, coming so close that they nearly cut her with their talons.
Hynsyr accepts their decision and immediately bestows the first civil positions upon the Seven. Now that a course of action is decided Hynsyr decides to work with Prismatics in setting up the new Government. Creating more civil servants to work under the Prismatics, founding the order of warrior-priest, and generally ensuring that the new government can run smoothly with or without Hynsyr there to directly lead them.
Hynsyr: 4 & Prismatics: 4Hynsyr leads the seven Prismatics back into the city proper, where he appoints each of them a minister of the Spires. The seven disperse to find other trustworthy Lightfolk, so that they can also be granted offices or initiated as warpriests. As the government swells in size, they claim a few spires in the center of the city to use as administrative hubs. The tower closest to the center of the city becomes the Capitol building. The warpriests use their creation magic to raise barracks near Einyar and the Temple of Yig, so that they are close enough to form defensive perimeters in an emergency. Patrols are also sent out into the desert and stationed on the walls.
While everyone but the Prismatics themselves are inexperienced, the city continues to run smoothly. For the time being, most government duties involve planning for the future and settling disputes, both tasks which the populace has already been dealing with. They'll have time to get accustomed to their positions before any major interventions become necessary.
Dr. Bob, the Unmoved Mover
-Regent of the Tower
-Spidersilk net.
-Glass chunks
-Improvised glass tools.
-Glass automaton
-Perpetual-motion bus
-Vial of Einyar
--------------------------------
Kūhaku, the Mirror
-Catatonia
-Rain-Maker
--------------------------------
Nazir, the Weaver
-God of the great web.
--------------------------------
Ira, the World-Eater
-Empty
-Woven together
-Debt: Gral: Three Favors Owed
--------------------------------
Gral, the Contractor
-Contract: Winged Spiderlings
-Contract: Deer-Men: One Favor
-Contract: Ira: Three Favors
-Pinion Blades
--------------------------------
AJAMA, the Demiurge
-Ooze-born Body
-Ooze-born Spheres
-Sphere of Darkness
--------------------------------
Hynsyr, the Titan
-Yig, the Golden Flower
-Twelve spears of light
--------------------------------
Awake
-Echoes of ALTERTH
-Smelter's Armor
-Dawn Axehead
-Slightly lopsided
-Bound in silk and aether
-Stomach wound
--------------------------------
Ashe, the Collector
-Brass Feathers
Bestiary:
Demons: Crude imitations of the primordials made from sand and absence.
--Obsidian Archdemon: An obsidian dragon crafted by the Empty itself. It was granted the power to manipulate nothingness.
Fragments of Emptiness: ?
Shardforms: Obsidian creatures which absorbed the Empty's already-incomplete consciousness. The broken pieces of ALTERTH's identity they possess give them animalistic intelligence.
Steel Maggots: Metallic larvae which Gral accidentally created while trying to make avian Emissaries. After they were pulled off of the vulture, few escaped into the desert, where they accepted Gral's peace terms and moved into the shifting bog.
Steel Grubs: Steel maggots that have been bound with Pact-collars and transformed into livestock. They have grown larger than their sapient kin, but are unintelligent and largely peaceful.
Brass Buzzards: Brass birds crafted from Gral's feathers. They are infused with the pain it felt while creating them.
Spiderlings: A race of intelligent spiders which can live on light. They cover both the stars and the great web.
--Dustwalkers: A Spiderling subspecies which can feed on sand as well as light. They live on the sand and fight an asymmetrical war against it for survival.
--Ironwinged: Defeated Spiderlings who made a deal with Gral. They received wings in exchange for service, and have built a nest on one of the new stars. They were later granted the ability to weave metal.
--Ancestors: Aetherweavers who have achieved immortality by becoming spirits bound to the great web. They are incorporeal, and their astral bodies make it easier for them to manipulate aether.
--Scarred Spiderlings: Spiderlings who have gained great strength and endurance because of their mistreatment by the Brass Buzzards. They built a market but have mixed feelings about Gral and his servants.
--Sentinels: A army of biologically and magically augmented Spiderlings, created by elite Aetherweavers with Nazir's guidance. They serve the Spider Demigods, and stand ready to protect the Web alongside them.
Primelings: Ten entities created by Nazir and a group of the most powerful Aetherweavers. They watch over the Web in Nazir's stead, but are weakened by flaws in their weaving.
Lightfolk: A species of humanoid mortals born from Hynsyr's golden light. Their powers of creation threaten to overwhelm their bodies, causing their inner light to warp chaotically. Many have begun to train so that they can gain more control over this ability.
--Prismatics: Seven lightfolk which glow brighter than the rest. They were hewn from the rainbow light of Hynsyr's eyes.
Deer-Men: A humanoid race with the heads of deer. Dr. Bob originally crafted them from the silk of Nazir's web. They were granted superior dexterity through a contract with Gral.
Three-Headed Worm: A juvenile sandworm created by Ira to serve the Dustwalkers.
Crops: Hemp, potato, corn, and bean plants created by Dr. Bob.
Atlas:
The Living Sands: An awakened desert that extends outwards indefinitely. It consumed ALTERTHENTERRINTARTINTH, the being which brought it to life, and subsumed a part of their consciousness known as the Empty.
The Stars: Glass spheres filled with fire. Gyaweft created them and threw them into the air to illuminate the world.
--New Stars: A second set that isn't accessible through the Great Web. Fortunately, that means they can't be blotted out by Spiderlings.
--Negative Star: A black sphere which radiates darkness, created by AJAMA after Gyaweft's death.
Nazir's Web: A giant web that begins in the desert and reaches up towards the stars.
--Silken Nest: A new star that the winged spiderlings have claimed as a nest. It can only be reached by gliding or descending on strands of silk.
--Tapestries: Libraries of spells and other knotwork which have been woven together and hung from the great web. Some have begun to collect aetheric cobwebs.
--Market of Scars: A grand market built by the Scarred Spiderlings in exchange for their resilience. The Ironwinged sell metal equipment there.
Shifting Bog: A large pool of mud drawn from the sand by Kuhaku. Islands rapidly form and dissolve as the sand beneath it moves. It has been tainted with Nazir's venom.
Glass Tower: A tower made of glass, raised from the sands by Gyaweft. It extends upwards through the web, tall enough that its upper floors reach the stars.
--Moat: The Tower is surrounded by a lake. Only one thin bridge connects it to the rest of the sand.
--Sandcastles: A series of elaborate sandcastles built around the moat. They were crafted so masterfully that they won’t dissolve in rain.
--Garden: Several different crops which Dr. Bob planted outside the tower.
--Laboratory: A room furnished with chemistry equipment and various glass containers.
Light Spires: A glowing city made by the Lightfolk using their creation magic.
--Temple of Yig: A golden temple which houses Yig, the First Tribute. It is an intricately-carved cathedral with walls made from an aurora.
Einyar: A sea of golden light drawn from Hynsyr's aura. It preserves the spirits of the Lightfolk after death, so that the cycle may advance.
Bone Fortress: A giant tree grown from one of Ira's teeth, and given to the Dustwalkers as a gift. It has become a large fortress.
Glass Crater: When Gyaweft flew his Sunship into the ground, it melted a wide swathe of the sand into glass. Fiery essence spilled from the ship still burns here, and sealed fault lines radiate from the impact site.
--Smelter's Grave: The center of the crater. Gyaweft's corpse lies here, alongside the molten remains of his Sunship.
Wetlands: Areas of the sand and the Great Web which Kuhaku continuously showers with water. The rain is heavy enough to form rivers and lakes.
--Abandoned Nests: A nesting ground that was briefly occupied by the Brass Buzzards. It is strewn with metal feathers and bloody talon-prints.
Knowledge:
Knot-Writing: A written language Nazir formulated so that Aetherweavers could record their spells. It involves weaving complex knots into silk, and therefore comes intuitively to Spiderlings but is almost impossible for anyone else to comprehend.
Bargainer's Tongue: A simplified version of knot-script which can be etched into a flat surface rather than woven into silk. It is comprehensible to non-Spiderlings, but not as intuitive.
English: A written script based on twenty-six letters and a few punctuation symbols. It was introduced by Dr. Bob and is primarily used by the Deer-Men.
Metalworking: Blacksmithing techniques that are typically available to the Ironwinged. They can be used to weave metal objects.
Aetherweaving: A magical discipline which involves spinning spiritual webs. It was taught to the Spiderlings by Nazir and is available to the Tribes, the Primelings, and any other arachnid capable of making silk.
Lightforging: Creation magic unique to the Lightfolk. It is a powerful but chaotic ability which can be used to make solid-light constructs out of one's own aura. More advanced techniques allow practitioners to create complex materials such as metal or wood.
Eight-Talon Way: A powerful martial art created by the Brass Buzzards. It is purely offensive in nature, but consists of strikes so lethal that defense isn’t usually necessary.
Agriculture: Farming is only feasible in the wetlands, but plants watered by Kuhaku’s rain grow quickly. The Deer-Men have been taught to cultivate and use several kinds of crops.
Items:
Seven Rainbow Spears: Weapons Hynsyr forged from a rogue splinter of his soul and gave to the Prismatics. They amplify their wielders' magic immensely, and provide slightly more control over their powers of creation.
Black Ooze: A patch of black goo created by AJAMA which can grow by absorbing sand. A column of ooze goes deep beneath the earth, where it breached a reservoir of Emptiness.
--Chaos Ooze: Blobs of ooze which have accidentally been made to assimilate a variety of substances and concepts. They were later sealed away.
--Silence Ooze: A strain of chaos ooze that can feed on silence. AJAMA transplanted some of it to the empty desert, where it has grown rapidly.
Pact-Arms: Metal weapons, armor, and tools which can compel their wielders to carry out tasks for the Winged Spiderlings. Most are in the possession of Spiderlings on the Web.
Tribute Tokens: A currency minted by the Ironwinged and infused with the power of the Bargain. They see light use in the Great Web but are not considered especially valuable, so most of the economy still relies upon bartering.
Sentinel Plate: Magical armor developed for use by the Sentinels. It can drain the force of attacks and release it in the form of telekinetic blasts.
Factions:
Spiderling Tribes: Prominent groups of Spiderlings, mostly organized by subspecies. The are scattered across the Web, the stars, and the sand.
--Order of Strands: The first Spiderlings to learn the art of Aetherweaving. Many have strained their minds and bodies to hone their abilities, making them feeble despite their mystical strength.
High Council of the Web: The governing body of the Great Web. It consists of delegates from each of the tribes, as well as one Primeling. Most meetings take place in Nazir's nest at the top of the Web.
Lifeweavers: A group of Ancestors who helped Nazir create the Primelings and Sentinels.
Author
Topic: Sand & Souls - Let There Be Turns (Read 60627 times)