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Annie:

Kunigas, who had until now been silent, said "We have indeed sent people up north as guests aboard the Skyherd Fleet, since it's the safest way to travel. Going by foot is a long, and dangerous journey. A few miles north of Central Sudovia is Ludesio Laukas - The Valley of Crucifixes. It is one of the most haunted and dangerous places in Sudovia. There's been so much death there, that spirits possess the trees, the bugs, the animals. Birds of all sorts peck at travelers in that area relentlessly, the bugs grow unnaturally large, the normally peaceful animals are extremely aggressive there. It's also near where Brimblemir's clan comes from. And now there's talk of a Kalgerion Demon prowling the area, according to Keldia, one of Brimblemir's mages, you met her in Castle Gern.

Vyras chipped in. "There's politics going on in that faction, as far as I can tell. Pride can convince people to do the opposite of what he should."

Kunigas nodded "Pride can cause people to do all sorts of things. The rebels up north want to break away from Sudovia and form their own nation. It won't work. Trakai is the scholarly, and religious heart of Sudovia. Even if we win against the vampires, whoever is monarch will clamp down on them hard if they do not rejoin Sudovia. There's an entirely different culture up north. Bushi culture is prevalent up there. Honor is taken extremely seriously, even more so than down here. The architectural style is different, too. Outside of the cities, the countryside is distinctly Bushi-esque, with pagodas, temples to Kane, god of the winds. Even the food is different. But in Trakai, Linkuva, and Seda everything is distinctly Sudovian.

Vyras cleared his throat "Northeast Sudovia is drow country. The drow are our enemies, but not all of them support the Gerns, or Lord Vovolga, some have fled, like my daughter, others have taken positions as sailors. They have an affinity for the sea. If you are in that area, Just your friendly neighborhood gay boy!

31-Jul-2023 17:40:33 - Last edited on 04-Aug-2023 19:18:37 by Pink 4 Twink

avoid Fengh Pass, It is leads directly to drow territory. Closeby Fengh Pass is the railcar to Balvorrik. Balvorrik is in the Esun Desert, outside Sudovia, the dwarves closed off the gates to the city in the Esun, and the rail station is heavily fortified. The dwarves take the security of Balvorrik extremely seriously. Have you met Farth, by the way? He is to be my replacement as commander."

"Northwest Sudovia is an elven meeting ground. The elves wander around Sudovia, but they meet there every 5 years or so. It is sacred ground to them, and the sentinels who guard it are reluctant to allow anyone near it." Kunigas said. Just your friendly neighborhood gay boy!

31-Jul-2023 17:49:55 - Last edited on 04-Aug-2023 19:20:07 by Pink 4 Twink

"I notice my friend doesn't answer all your questions, young one, so I will tell you that records from that time are difficult to come by without stealing them from the vampires There are supposedly vast repositories of Sudovian history that the vampires store valuables in, hidden from the humans with clever illusion magics and illusionary charms. If you look carefully, you may come across a few. People do not always learn from history. The resistance that came before the one we are talking about now, had multiple factions, then that resistance failed, and it went to a singular, but large faction. What separates humans from animals is our ability to try new things. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail, but never should we try the same thing and expect a different outcome. I think that is why our ancestors tried a single faction, but even they failed." Metras said.

"That and the chance to fill their stomachs," Vyras chuckled. Kunigas chuckled with his husband.

"One last thing," Vyras said. "From time to time the vampires come across one of Metras' descendants, supposedly. Though some believe these are false heirs, the Tale of Metras has one final statement:


---------------------------
On the day that Metras died
Some say that Lathana cried
In her grief did she bestow
the means to strike the winning blow

Ability without ken
A fighting chance for all men
A chance to restore at last
The demolished throne of past

Though some men will say we lost
And say it was worth the cost
And sell away culture for coin

Though elves wander the land living off what they purloin
And with help from those that fly the skies, some strike out to make some coin
Though the Drugal trade and steal to keep afloat their failing fleet
Soon their sundered ships will cease their ceaseless sailing through the skies
The drow make hasty treaties who will use them only for their gain
It falls to man to right their wrongs and rescue them from their own shame Just your friendly neighborhood gay boy!

04-Aug-2023 18:34:41

Though they will claim that their power gained from them has not a cost
It falls to us to teach the Fallen Ones that because of it, their race is lost

Though some people will forget their oaths to the Shattered Throne
We will fight and die and shed our blood so one day we may have a Home.

--------------

Vyras cleared his throat. "Put simply the Legend of Metras was written not only to tell of Metras and his downfall, but to also give hope to resistance fighters. It's also not just a poem, it is a manual of sorts for techniques to fight the vampires. Nobody knows who wrote the poem. Some say that the Goddess of Law, Lathana did, but I'm not so sure. It has been tradition to give resistance fighters a copy of the book, and I will make no exception for you.
You may find it interesting." Vyras said, handing her a copy of the book.

"In years past, I became obsessed with the old legend, and from my research it would seem that from time to time, a descendant of Metras pops up, and the cycle of war begins again. There is rumored to be a descendant of Metras alive right now, you can tell them from normal people from a brand of possibly divine nature on their body." Vyras said.

"When such rumors circulate, the vampires become nervous. 60 years ago, they re-banned the Legend of Metras, they banned the retelling of it, they banned the possession of it in book form, they even began executing, or assassinating those who know the oral traditions of the story. They even banned the name "Metras" and began executing anyone who possessed the name forcing those with the name to fight on our side for their safety. Such descendants of Metras are said to have uncanny abilities. When said heirs come up, these men and women are in grave danger. It may be my status as a fugitive talking, but when their status becomes known, they often choose to fight. The reason is that fleeing does not guarentee that they won't be found and assassinated at some point in the future. Just your friendly neighborhood gay boy!

04-Aug-2023 18:57:54

Annie:

You now have Vyras' amulet, which will lead you to Dievas if you need training, you also have a copy of the Legend of Metras, as is resistance tradition. Just your friendly neighborhood gay boy!

04-Aug-2023 19:23:38

26-Aug-2023 22:51:43 - Last edited on 29-Aug-2023 18:49:49 by Annie1227

Annie:

Vyras shook his head at the question of whether they found Metras' heir. "Metras' heirs hide themselves well. They also tend to hide the brand on their bodies well. Fatalities on the Skyherd Fleet are rare, but they do happen, the guys we sent aboard, we have no if they made it. we know they disembarked all fine, but we don't truly know if they made it to their destination. We sent drugal couriers to their locations, but they were not there. It's quite possible they made it. Only one returned from their mission, Darius Saugokis, if there is anyone more secretive about what they saw on his mission than anyone, it's Darius. He refuses to speak of it. And he has it in for Belar. Now for my favor. I am retiring, but before I retired, I promised our good smith friend, Metras to look for his daughter, Gabiya. Since I promised Kunigas to stay in retirement, I want you to keep an eye out for her. There is one more thing I want to show you, but first, I see the smith gesturing for you. Time to pick up your items, I suppose." Vyras said chattering. Just your friendly neighborhood gay boy!

31-Aug-2023 00:26:48 - Last edited on 31-Aug-2023 00:34:55 by Pink 4 Twink

Erik:

Pallidus reached for the door to the basement. The door was locked, and he could hear someone whisper, “Shoosh!” Pallidus reached into his satchel and took out a lockpick- his last one- Pallidus, was adept at jimmying a lock, but this lock was beyond his expertise. “Curses, if only Lithia were here.” He said as his lockpick broke.

“Damn, I’m out!” Pallidus said.

“Same here,” said Burgrod. Zurga, gestured for her brother and Pallidus to move, and took out one of her lockpicks. Lockpicking was not her area of expertise. Within three seconds. The knob jammed. “Screw this!” Zurga shouted, as she took her warhammer and arched her back backwards for a mighty swing. When the blow connected, the door flew forward off the hinges and down the stairs. “Lock picked.” Zurga said.

The commotion drew everyone in the basement to the door. Two were drugal. One was an elderly wizard, and one was a drow. The drugal pair were of the hawk clan. The two were male and a female. They each wore a talon ring, chainmail armor, on a hat stand hung a drugal courier hat, and the two, at first embracing, were instead angry that Zurga had knocked the door off the hinges.

The old wizard did not look to be a mage, he wore no wizard robes, but the dirty clothes of a beggar, a brown tunic covered in dirt. And ripped green trousers. In place of a staff, he had a beechwood cane charred black. Pallidus’s drugal eyes picked up more about the cane than a “groundwalker” would. It was not just a cane. It would take an incredibly observant examination to figure out that the “cane” in question featured a small button.

The man wore no wizard’s hat. To cover the man’s chest, he wore a white tunic underneath. His eyes were green, his short hair was the color of ginger. It had flecks of grey in it, and he kept his hair long and disheveled to look like a beggar. He was skinny enough, and harmless enough that nobody would suspect that he was, in fact, an incredibly dangerous wizard. Just your friendly neighborhood gay boy!

31-Aug-2023 00:36:29

The old man frowned at the orc. A clear expression of the unbridled rage of a cranky old man.

The drow was a male, he wore black chainmail armor, and took off his full helm made of blackened steel to get a better look at the group of “intruders.” His short curly white hair reminded Zurga of a sheep. His chain armor covered his arms. To further supplement his armor, a rearguard made of blackened steel, black vambraces to protect his forehead, a black steel gorget to protect his neck, blackened steel knee guards, and thigh guards to protect his knees and thighs, along with black chain to protect his thighs further. He wore blackened steel boots to protect his feet. Attached to his belt was a wand. On his back in a leather sheath was a bardiche, a polearm of considerable reach and chopping ability. It looked like a halberd, but it lacked a hook like one. The drow cringed with incandescent ire at Zurga.

All four shouted in unison: “You idiot! Now nothing will stop them from finding us!” to Zurga.

Burgrod took control of the situation. “Surly we can keep our heads cool in the face of our true enemy.” Burgrod said. The drow sighed. “I can control my people, though Deroth is still out scouting. Who are you by the way?” the Drow asked. Just your friendly neighborhood gay boy!

31-Aug-2023 00:36:31 - Last edited on 31-Aug-2023 00:38:01 by Pink 4 Twink

31-Aug-2023 03:04:01 - Last edited on 31-Aug-2023 03:10:11 by Annie1227