Royal Capital, Liberation Festival, Early Spring
You are Zariss the Learned, and that is not a title to be taken lightly. Many claim the title of sage or scholar in these lands, but you have devoured a truly vast amount of knowledge on a staggering array of subjects. One thing you have learned through this is that knowledge begets knowledge- one who knows the edges can find the center, one who knows the beginning can trace the end, and one who carries a thousand unrelated points can connect them to the monstrous truth beneath.
So it is that you know precisely how this charade is going to go. You summon Niala and a cohort of antwomen. Tumbles shambles along just in case.
Outside your palace, the ground is rocky and grey. Your domain sits in the craggy expanse between three great mountains, sparse on both resources and beauty. What it lacks in natural charm, it makes up for in your glorious presence.
With a wave of your snakes, a hovel-sized sphere of air begins to shimmer and spin, the center resolving into a landscape of rolling green hills. You and your entourage step through to the other side. From there, it takes about ten minutes to walk to the edge of some admittedly impressive city gates.
"Make way! Make waaaay! Make way for Zariss the Learned! Zariss the Leeeeeearned!"
Tumbles shakes a lantern on a stick and admonishes passersby the entire time, which adds a nice bit of flair to the occasion.
As for the city walls, they are orangish-red clay brick affairs some thirty feet high, studded with thick, squat towers at regular and fairly close intervals. You can tell they're fairly new, both by their relatively clean surfaces and the fact that they contain very little Qi- the mystical essence that flows through all things. All things accumulate Qi, so in general the more present, the older the item.
No guards appear to be posted, so you simply walk through the large gates, under a pair of raised portcullises and several murder holes, and into the city proper.
The inside is a riot of color and sound. There are people everywhere, some dressed very brightly, some in shabby rags, but all dancing, celebrating, laughing, and indulging in food, drugs, and drink. Colored lanterns are strewn between many of the buildings, granting a decidedly festive air to the proceedings.
The buildings themselves are somewhat varied, but there's a distinct preference for a mediocre red wood in walls and mass produced blue-black roof tiles. If you're not mistaken, rich red woods are favored by the nobility and well to do, so this probably represents plentiful byproduct of royal timber operations. Most of the clay around these parts, not coincidentally, is the same tan as its common citizens, but you know there's a streak of blue-black clay not far up the river, possibly the fallout from some mass grave or ancient evil.
The cobbles are harder to place, largely because they keep shifting. Some areas are paved in wood, some in stone tiles, some in mortared irregular stone chunks, and some is just plain dirt. There appears to be a relatively consistent effort to maintain the roads of this city, but no consistency whatsoever in how it is done. Curious.
Regardless, it does not take long for you to reach the center of the city- specifically, the royal gardens surrounding the royal palace, which have been opened to the public for this display. Clusters of well-dressed noblemen wait in line for a chance to present to the king, and you calmly take your place at their rear.
"Fools! Foooooools! Do you not know whose path you block?!" Tumbles raves, shaking his lantern-stick menacingly.
The reactions from those assembled is enlightening. About half pay you little heed, no doubt unimpressed by one more well dressed sycophant. A third eye the phalanx of antwomen on each side of you warily, concerned by either their number or exotic nature. And the expressions of perhaps one in five darken, recognizing you for a sorcerer. The conversations ahead shift noticeably in your presence.
A few of these sycophants gather your attention in exchange.
The group directly ahead shift between conspiratorial whispers and outright crass threats, neither of which is hard for a serpent such as yourself to make out. Based on their conversation, they're merchants intending bloody retribution against other merchants, who enjoyed political favor under some previous order and have presumably now fallen. You do not keep close track of the economic situation within nearby kingdoms, but it's normal for them to be rather disjointed and violent.
However, the main reason this group catches your attention is that their leader is quite a bit larger than the others, surely possessed of some Bull blood. Also Niala sidles forward to inquire about his martial status.
The second item of interest is an old man in a teal robe, who looks back at you frequently and worries his beard nervously. He looks vaguely familiar, so it's possible you've had some ruinous dealings with him or his kin before, but it's also possible he just looks similar to some of the countless fools you've crushed over the years. It's likewise possible his concern over you is coincidental, but his motions speak to deeper thoughts than "oh, a wizard." You can't make out what kind of group he's associated with until they're presented to the king as a noble warrior family pledging service.
The third is a sorcerer... after a fashion. The fat catfishman is dressed as a pompous merchant, but performs a few parlor tricks to demonstrate his paltry abilities. The one thing he has going for him is a swaggering arrogance, trying to strongarm the king into making him an ally before he becomes an enemy. The king rather diplomatically maneuvers the issue to a later date, though you suspect your own performance will upend this arrangement.
The last is a hulking crablike entity claiming to hail from a foreign power. Your knowledge of the sea is tragically lacking, other than that it is a far, far more dangerous place than those skimming along the surface would believe. You find its probing desire for "closer relations" intriguing, and wonder what slumbering superpower or desperate fringe element would find this place worth courting.
At last, it is time for the main event. You are announced by both an official crier and Tumbles, shaking his lantern frantically at the tired-looking boy in a fancy chair.
Physically, he's not much to look at. Dull humanoid, possibly bat ancestry, small or young athletic build. He's definitely perceptive but naive, looking at you with a neutral expression tinged by a faint recognition. He can sense danger, just not right away.
You pass your gift to Niala, who sidles up a bit too close. Her back is to you, but you can see her winking by both her body language and the way the boy's expressions shifts to a very careful neutral.
"O Great Sovereign," you begin, still concealed entirely by your robes. "I grant you this golden scarab, that it may protect you from the coming darkness."
A clerkish looking individuals takes the gilded masterpiece in a pair of padded tongs, studies it through a jeweler's lense, and grimaces.
"You needn't fear its magic," you continue. "Great works are often fearful to those who do not understand them."
The boy's upright and suspicious now. "Of what darkness do you speak?" he asks in a surprisingly confident voice.
"I speak of course, O King, of the wrath... OF ZARISS THE LEARNED!"
You throw your hood back dramatically and flare your arms out, conjuring a maelstrom of dark energy around you. This is no parlor trick- even the uninitiated can sense the raw unfocused power at your command.
A squad of elite guards surround you immediately, spears pointed inwards, antwomen and Niala ignored. You laugh, adopting a casual swagger while juggling enough power to melt flesh from bone.
"I could not help but notice, boy, that the greatest sorcerer in all the lands was not invited to your celebration. Surely such an insult can bear only one response."
With that, you smirk with absolute malice. The spearmen strike as one, six elite warriors moving with the speed and strength of a lightning bolt. Their spears rip through your flared cloaks and nothing more, there is a flash of light, and six crystal spheres hover in their place. Tiny figures scramble within them.
"BEHOLD THE FATE OF YOUR KINGDOM!" you roar, spreading your snakes towards the decorations around you. "Your people, your servants, your vassals- all baubles for my collection! So sayeth Zariss! ZARISS THE LEARNED!"
The boy strikes instantly and intensely, wielding a jeweled sword and an inner flame in an overhand lunge that could make the ground shake. One he's forced to shift to a defensive parry as Niala strikes with her still-sheathed sword.
The two land apart, and Niala winks at him again. "You know, it's not too late to recruit me."
You fix her with a very particular glare. He grips his sword in determination.
She sighs and strikes him instantly with an unsheathed blade, which he blocks but is clearly caught off guard by. She casually swings a second time, arm blurring into a series of rapid strikes that pushes the warrior king back. It's not until he predicts and manages to catch her blade on his own that he's able to lock her down and shove her back, which sends her tumbling across the ground like a tossed cushion. She makes odd squeaking sounds with each bounce and lands in a heap, which the boy wisely regards with suspicion.
He instead turns back towards you.
"I am King River of the Kingdom of Maku, and I will not forgive you harming my people, sorcerer."
You grin sadistically. "Then you will not forgive very much, my king."
He scowls at that, but your attention is also drawn to some commotion approaching, apparently a group of armed individuals. Now would be a good time to leave...
...or further demonstrate your might.
A. Leave gracefully
B. Vanish just as an attack is about to hit you
C. Pretend to attack but disappear before it hits
D. Brawl!
E. Kidnap someone important on your way out
F. Duel that brat to demonstrate your superiority
G. Have Niala duel that brat to demonstrate your superiority
H. Wreak havoc with your sorcery
I. Other, you've got something else in mind
Once that's done, you'll need a plan moving forward.
J. Relax! Job well done, you deserve a break
K. Sorcery! You'll need plenty of devious rituals to properly weaken their feeble kingdom
L. Raiders! Mercenary goons are pivotal for actually getting in and grabbing stuff
M. Guards! Those fools are sure to launch reprisals sooner or later
N. Spies! You could use more information about what's going on in there
O. Emissaries! Allies are a good source of strength, and more importantly fawning
P. Talent! You could really use some powerful minions other than Niala
Q. Other! There's something else you've been meaning to take care of