Moss Trolls help Streamland, again
1d20=16
The Moss Trolls redouble their efforts in assisting the Kingdom of Streamland with rebuilding. While last time they didn't have enough materials or manpower to make a significant dent in the amount of work that needed to be done, this time around, they've remedied that. With an entire fleet of merchant vessels, laden with wood, stone and crew. Needless to say, this time they fared much better, and with better coordination, several small towns on the coast were rebuilt almost exclusively by moss trolls.
Blindbeard sets out for treasure and adventure... again.
1d20=14
Blindbeard has just about the same luck as he did last time. There doesn't really seem to be much in the northeast and the journey there was the usual fare. A few islands too small to put on any map, with an occasional shipwreck on the beach, some with their cargo still present. Notable finds include:
An ancient human warship mounted with an Arcane Crystal seige weapon. One of the old prototypes, the weapon was still in salvageable condition. Of course, back then, magic wasn't well studied.
A more recent merchant vessel, carrying pure gold and small samples of Flyrite. Sadly, the silk was not recoverable.
and morbidly: A vessel with its entire hold filled with skeletons, in chains.
The orc-slayer and his crew attempt to break Mohiro out of his palace dungeon
(there are no bonuses in non-combat rolls)
1d20=2
The orc-slayer's attempt to break Mohiro out of the dungeon goes disastrously wrong. The Palace dungeon and its doors are way more secure than the orc-slayer or his crew could've predicted and there is only one way in and out. The bandits get discovered by a guard while fumbling with the lock, who immediately calls for aid. While the bandit orc-slayer and his band attempt to run, they are quickly surrounded and tossed into and locked up in the very same dungeon they attempted to break into.
Sandpond Village's new houses
1d20=20!
Whether its the quality of the sandstone dug up by the dwarves, Broth's crew's apparently hidden talent for construction or Drilka's designwork, the new houses built by Broth's crew and the Sandpond Settlers and directed by Drilka make the admittedly impressive houses that were already there, look mediocre at best. These houses are absolute masterpieces of sandstone construction, each one a piece of art in and of itself, not to mention utterly weatherproof.
In addition to all the new houses, a town hall has been built by the dwarves. The few dwarves there with engraving experience got inspired, too and decorated many of the houses with finely detailed carvings, afforded by the buildings' superior construction. The town hall even has the names of every dwarf who lived in the settlement at the time carved into one of its walls.
Sandpond villagers search for another oasis
1d20=8
Unfortunately, the search for another oasis turns up nothing, these features being apparently exceedingly rare. However they do (re-)discover that there is a river to the southwest and its shores are filled with plentiful plants and fruits. The settlers curse themselves for wandering around the desert for a month looking for an oasis only to then discover that everything they want and more is just a little ways to the southwest. The Sandpond settlers have set up a small outpost on the river's shore.
The Great Scar University attempts get additional help for another expedition
3d20=8+9+4
Streamland, despite being closest to the islands, seems to have little interest in such an expedition, being busy with rebuilding and all. The best the envoys are able to get from Streamland are a few down-on-their-luck peasants who lost everything in the attacks by the giant lizard.
Refugio Guerra as a whole shows a little more interest but not much, the most that the envoys are able to get from Refugio Guerra are a few recently released Goblins, who really don't do so well on ships, but they are known to be good thieves and generally sneaky gobs.
The Council of Dragolia, the Dragons, are not really pleased with the envoys annoying them for assistance, despite the fact it would only take one dragon to capture one of the eggs, but nope, none of the dragons are up to it. Part of the reason may be that they don't want to waste Dragonstones, a rapidly dwindling resource, on such a pointless mission.
Lizardman Slave Traders attempt to open a route for transporting slaves through Refugio Guerra
and
Abolitionists of Refugio Guerra actively campaign against Slave routes through Refugio Guerra
DIPLOMACY
Lizardmen Slave Traders 1d20=13
Abolitionists 1d20=6
While the Lizardman Slave Traders did not succeed in getting Refugio Guerra to let them transport slaves through their territory and up the grand staircase, openly. With a few backroom deals and a bit of political corruption, they were able to secure a "backdoor" route through the lands, as long as no slaves were SEEN. This resulted in a plan to transport slaves in specially made and marked containers that Refugio Guerran officials will not inspect in accordance with the deals. This greatly limits the number of slaves that can be transported through Refugio Guerra and thus raises their price even higher, but is arguably worse for slaves than if they could be transported openly.
While The Abolitionists did succeed in strong arming the officials into denying the Lizardmen an open route through Refugio Guerra, there was nothing they could do to prevent backroom dealings and in fact, many of The Abolitionists themselves were bribed into silence. Turns out that Lizardman gold is strong.
Goblin Raids:
3d20=2+5+8
There was nothing to raid in the Aetherial territories but a bunch of mutated wildlife and the occasional Agglomate. Said mutated wildlife happens to be incredibly hostile to everything not afflicted by Chaos. The Goblins run out of the Chaos Coalition territories barely keeping their lives.
As far as raiding their orc brothers goes, goblins are inferior in every way and even a weakling orc villager can easily choke out a goblin warrior. They do not fare well.
Messing with the Firbolgs goes only marginally better, the giants are largely peaceful and not used to raids from... anyone. However, most raids attempted against border villages still end poorly for the gobs, with many of the raids defeated by simple villagers. The firbolgs and goblins together inadvertently invented the world's first game of kick-ball. In this case, the goblins were the balls.
Orcish raids:
3d20=7+18+8
The orcs do not have much luck raiding their goblin brothers, either. The little green bastards are too slippery to catch and have a habit of hiding anything of value beyond orcs' ability to find.
They do however fare better against the Firbolgs, several border villages are sacked. And lit ablaze by Orc Hellraisers, orcs with skill in fire magic. Somewhere, a Purifier of the Stand Hunter Order is shaking his head in disappointment.
The orcs attempt to raid the bearwalker tribe, with little success. Their greatest enemy being bears, lots of bears.
The bleg hold an animal-sacrifice festival again in an attempt to get some sort of boon from the Monolith.
1d20=13
The Monolith does activate again, with its whole red glow and whatnot. However, on first glance, The Monolith doesn't do anything beyond that. However it does release another energy wave, like it did the first time it was activated, that is sure to result in a variety of strange things happening throughout the world. In the aftermath, some weird things did happen:
Some of the plants in the Bleg territories have taken on rather unusual colorations, and some plants have begun to grow faster or have an unusually high number of fruits. It'll be a good harvest this year. Rainfall has also seen a dramatic increase in the Bleg lands.
What was not expected however, was for The Monolith to cause an undersea volcanic eruption in the north east.
Streamland and co. vs. Black Qhaganate
COMBAT
Streamland 1d20=8
Black Qhaganate 1d20=18
It turns out that the little warning system of the forts works a lot better with a dragon-mounted corrupted slugman as both the watchman and messenger. The approaching armies of Streamland were spotted before they even entered Black Qhaganate land and the watcher immediately made for the capital, to call for Hagtai's aid while those in the fort dug themselves in. And those of Black Qhaganate returned in force, with the bulk of Hagtai's sky legion. In the ensuing fight, the crusaders gave it their all but there was little they could do against the terrifying might of the black wings. The Chaos dragons tore entire ranks of warriors to shreds with their claws or burnt them to ash with chaos flame, leaving the blood red crystals in the wake as a grim reminder of all the lives taken by the accursed flames. While some of the beasts fell to the arrows of the crusaders, the price paid for each kill was too high and what remained of the crusaders were forced to retreat.
Randor builds clay golems:
1d20=7
Unfortunately, it turns out that getting golems to BUILD things is nigh impossible, they just don't have enough intelligence to grasp construction of complex structures. However, they are still somewhat useful in hauling materials in bulk, albeit, rather sluggishly.
YEAR 252.1
Despite the numerous setbacks and increasing difficulty of aquiring slaves from the west, the Lizardmen have completed their construction, The Great Palace, in what is now, their capital city.
For a while now, the Lizardmen have had difficulties with leadership; When diplomats ask to see their leader, they didn't know who should meet them, until now.
Envisioned by the richest and the most influental of the Lizardman elite, the Grand Palace will serve as the seat of leadership for their newly formed nation and it is there that the leader of this nation shall be crowned, the Sultan.
With the completion of their Grand Palace and subsequent formation into a nation, the sphere of the Lizardmen has expanded greatly and all the disparate tribes have unified under this new banner and the nation that shall henceforth be known as the "Jahtari Sultanate". The word, "Jahtari" probably means something in their own language, though it is uncertain what, precisely.
SummaryYear 242.1-243, Naturegirl1999
Moss Trolls help Streamland with rebuilding again and fare much better the second time around.
Year 244, King Zultan
Blindbeard and his crew sail to the north-east. There was nothing there, but the crew did score a few notable finds along the way.
Year 245, TamerVirus
The Miragians begin stockpiling Black Powder, for use against the Black Qhanganate.
Year 246, Lidku
Yarlac Drem, court-mage resigns. Continues in his research of necromancy.
Year 246.2, TamerVirus
Independent slugman duke Yano IV dies, his son, Mohiro II is revealed to be a murderous were-bear, who then gets thrown in a dungeon.
Year 246.3, Lidku
The orc-slayer attempts to break Mohiro II out of the dungeon, get thrown in the dungeon.
Year 246.5-247.2, IncompetentFortressMaker
Sandpond villagers build masterfully built new houses for the new settlers.
Also attempt to find a new oasis for more food, after wandering around aimlessly for a month, discover the river to the south.
Year 246.6 - 247.3, Detoxicated
The Great Scar University attempts to gather followers for another expedition but dont get much.
YEAR 247.5-247.6, Strik3r, Detoxicated
The Lizardman Slave Traders succeed in getting a covert route for transporting slaves through Refugio Guerra
Abolitionists attempt to stop them, but do not succeed
The goblins attempt to raid, generally fail
The orcs also attempt to raid, mostly fail
HCE expands northward
Year 247.7, King Zultan
The bleg hold an animal-sacrifice festival again in an attempt to get some sort of boon from the Monolith
Does not result in anything immediate
Year 247.8, Detoxicated
underwater volcano, Northeast, archipelago forms, Donkebab visits, creates Batpeople
Year 248-251, auzewasright
Streamland and the other human nations attempted to retake the eastern fort from the Black Qhaganate, are driven back, with heavy casualties.
Year 252, King Zultan
The alchemist Randor builds golems to help rebuild Streamland, sadly it turns out the golems are just too dumb to do building
YEAR 252.1, Strik3r
The Lizardman tribes merge together and form into the Jahtari Sultanate.
The Lizardmen complete the construction of the Grand Palace.
Notices
Some RL stuff came up, so this update was heavily delayed(This is becoming a trend, isn't it?)
Also, no more grand island chains in the near future, ok?