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Worldbuilder #3 - Flint, a Colonial City
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Main focus: Deities
The natives of the land possess primitive beliefs that the missionaries would certainly like to eliminate, the belief that the divine walk among the living. Everything must be blamed on a divine body, whether it be fortune, death, disease, storms, war. Everything has a divine representation, and the local natives aren't exactly open to change, when every single one of them has a story or two about an encounter with the divine.
Main Focus: Giving tactics, ideas, and plans of one side to use against the other.
"Sister, the mortals are at war again..." sighed Cecila
"They really are sick of themselves, aren't they?" responded Omyala
"Us nymphs can at least disguise our selves to look like pretty human women."
"Funny, humans really will only listen to things that are attractive things will they." joked Cecila
"Fancy that"
That's a good point. Legends are fine, just don't spam the thread with them.
Topic: An Orc Shaman
Meanwhile in front of a secluded wooden hut deep in the wood...
"What are y'all outlanders actually doing here in this jungle?" Asked a rather annoyed orc shaman because he doesn't particularly like to be visited.
"We are just looking for someone who can help us by some rather... big affair, good shaman." Answered Ivana sheepishly. Derrick only stood behind her with folded hands and an annoyed look.
"And why is that good for me?"
"Do you want gold?"
"Of course. Who in the spirit ya think I am?"
"...Okay. Then it's-"
"And I also want to be recognized as a citizen of your city without any discrimination since y'all humies are mostly don't like my kind."
"A full citizenship then, it can be arranged, I
suppose." She muttered a bit.
"Deal. Get inside then." Ivana and Derrick then went inside the hut. There are another two wooden doors and a kitchen inside that hut, which is particularly large, for a person of course. They then sat on a wooden bench and rested their weapons and other stuffs.
"Yeah, the seat isn't really the best when ya are living alone in the woods. I'm Dalthu anyway." Said the orc while preparing a sort of vegetable and meat stew.
"I'm Ivana and this grumpy person is Derrick." Derrick just sat silence. Ivana then told the orc about her current mission.
"That's pretty stupid and reckless." Remarked Dalthu while serving the finished stew to both his guests. He then sat on the other bench and also started to eat his own stew.
"Judging by the current condition of our city, I could either just waiting in my home to get raided over and over again or do something against it." She then looked at the stew.
"It's good. Just try it." Convinced the orc.
She finally tasted the stew with its pretty large wooden spoon. "Hey, this is good. Hey Derrick-" She just stared at him.
"What?" Said him while eating the stew rigorously. "Don't look at me like that, I'm hungry."
"...Anyway. I also found this particular tome." She then handed Dalthu the magical tome she found long ago.
"Hmm..." He then looked at its pages. "Those are really impressive spells. But sadly I won't be able to cast any of them properly. What y'all need is a planeswalker. Let me guess, y'all want to eliminate those savages once for all and then expand yer civilization, right?"
"...Mm, yeah, that is correct." Answered Ivana.
"Fine. I also don't really like those savages anyway. In the past, many of my fellow bretherens were killed in the wars between ours and their clans, and so my family. As far as I know, there are not many orcs anymore in this land. They're also mostly hiding themselves because our number is just too few to do an open conflict. And they're not particularly bright anyway, besides a shaman like me of course."
"Oh.." She just stared the ground.
"Back to the topic, to find a planeswalker or just someone with very strong magical capabilities, we can only assume him or her by direct observation or with an enchanted crystal ball that specifically to see the magical anomalities in that person."
"And.."
"Lucky for y'all, I have that crystal ball." Said Dalthu with a grin.
"That's great! See it Derrick, this mission isn't pointless at all."
"We still have a long way to our goal." Stated him flatly.
"So, when do we start?" Asked Dalthu.
"Can we just stay here for a while, I'm just started to sick to sleep on the ground everytime." Protested Ivana.
"Ha ha ha..." Laughed the orc.
Derrick just rolled his eyes.
"And one thing, watch out towards some spirits of the forest or even nymphs because those are wild, very dangerous and deceitful, especially towards outlanders like y'all. Y'all lucky to manage yerselves until here." Added Dalthu.
"Uh, alright. Thanks for the warning." Responded Ivana.
topic: where we are located at in the story
flavor:"whithin the cloudwood, all are protected by its endless maze of trees"
as Ivana and Derrick sat down around a circle table whit the orc, they wondered if this would finally give them the sense of direction they were looking for.After the orc started his chant our pair of "heroes" wondered what the chant meant, after all to common folk unversed in orc clergy all it sounded like was the disjointed ramblings of a madman. suddenly the treetops shook with what seemed like unnatural powers, the crystal ball lit up with a pale, blue light, with what seemed to be coming from the central point of the ball which gradually grew brighter and brighter until .....
Iverna and Derrick fell lump to the ground, knocked out by the orc's high level daze spell
the orc chuckled to himself "those foolish enough to venture into a orc's house deserve what is coming to them, and i bet these two will fatch a nice price to the native elders.
Nah, it's alright.
Main Focus: Grab for resources by the colonists
Lore: Sinister characters such as the orc Dalthu have caused nearly all of the area's natives to become severely feared and hated by the colonists of Flint. While much of the land around the city is considered unsafe, it's all thought of as picnic-worthy when compared to the Cloudwood. The average citizen wouldn't dare go near it. However, the Cloudwood is also home to the highest quality (and highest priced) timber found in the known world, making it the most important export for the colony. Because of this, any average colonist can quickly climb their way to success if they manage to bring the valuable resource back from the Cloudwood. They just have to find a way of doing it without being speared, eaten, sacrificed, crushed, poisoned, lost, or enslaved.
Topic: Escaping
Deep in the night, in a small and almost empty warehouse of a small orc settlement, two people were sitting back to back, with an addition they were binded by some rather tight ropes.
"Psst, hey, wake up!" Flustered Derrick.
"Wha- ugh, my head..." Protested Ivana.
"Well, didn't I warn you to rather not to venture into a stranger's house, especially in the middle of this wilderness like this." Said the personal guard rather nonchalantly.
"Yeah, yeah. Either that or we just didn't make any progress at all." Retorted the daughter of the governor.
"Hmph. Luckily, I still got some tricks in hand. Look at my hand."
"Yes."
"Can you push the metallic button under the bracer?"
"Hmm wait, oh, that." She then clicked a button that hidden between the intricate pattern of the bracer, a short silver blade then sprang out under Derrick's right arm.
"Watch out." He then started to cut the ropes that binded them.
After struggled for a while, they finally freed themselves from that rather tight situation.
"Crap, they even just confiscated my favorite kitchen knife." Flustered Ivana while hiding in the shadows.
"As far as I see, there are just six of those greenskins." Derrick peered through the cracks between the wall of the wooden building. "I'll handle them." Derrick pointed at two standing orcs that stood with a spear in each of their hands in front of the wooden but loose door that also unaware of the condition of their captives. "I'll give you the spear afterwards." Derrick said shortly.
Ivana just nodded.
After the silent stabbing and dragging jobs, they both then went outside in the bushes, observing the camp from a hiding spot.
"Which one do you think they put our equipments in?" Asked Ivana with a spear in her grip.
"We'll look at it later. I'll handle those two." Derrick pointed at two orcs who were currently sitting in front of a bonfire, also with a spear in his grip.
"Okay, I'll get the rest." She then went to the other two orcs who were currently playing some sort of a gambling game.
Finally, after the orcs were silently killed and dragged into the bushes, they started to look for their equipments.
"Those damned heavy orcs." Protested Ivana.
"Keep watching. I'll go to the right, you take the left buildings." Ordered Derrick.
"Fine."
After a while searching Ivana then found the warehouse where the orcs hid their equipments. She then signaled Derrick to come to her.
"Good grief, the gold is still there. But the tome... is gone..." Uttered Ivana sadly.
"It's probably offered to their leader."
After that, they just packed their stuffs. They then slyly searched for the house of the village elder of those orcs.
"I think that one is the house." Signaled Ivana, still hiding between the bushes. She pointed at a house which had much more tribal decorations than the other houses.
"There are probably children too inside of it."
"Let them be." Stated Ivana coldly.
"Alright."
They both then broke inside the house via the backdoor, by broke it. Luckily the sound wasn't as loud as they thought.
Ivana then searched the other rooms while Derrick just searched the kitchen.
"Psst, Derrick!"
"I'm currently busy to not let us starving." He flustered while munching some sort of dry but cooked meat and packing some food.
"I found the room. But there are children with them."
"Just do it quickly then."
"Hmph." Ivana then went inside the room where the tome just placed. There are two sleeping grown up orcs with two little orc children on a large stone and furred bed.
"Sorry about your parents, kids." And with some quick stabs in both necks, both the adult orcs were dead without much hassle. She then took the tome along with a small crystal ball that lied on the table with her and went to the kitchen.
"Let's go Derrick."
The guard only nodded in silence.
Walking under the moon was normally deemed as a nice experience, if nobody could threaten you from the shadows of the trees here and there of course.
After a while walking they both finally arrived near a small stream.
"So, you think that crystal ball would do something to our cause." Asked Derrick while drinking some liquid from a leather bottle.
"I'm not a wizard, but this seems to be ominous, don't you think so? Dalthu probably lied to us, but his crystal ball really did something to him, like just amplified his magic. I've even still had the protection charm from the cleric with me, see." Said Ivana while showing him a small pendant that glowed faintly with blue hue. "Let's go back to the city, we'll ask to someone who knows about this orb. But for now, let's wait until tomorrow morning. There." She pointed at a cave.
"Wonder where that backstabbing greenskin now. Doesn't matter, I'll get some woods." Retorted Derrick.
They both then went inside that cave and rested there. The orc shaman Dalthu probably would hunt them later, but for that night, they just wanted to remove their fatigue from their previous accident under the (un)comformity of their current shelter.
Topic: Escaping
http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/hidden-blade-18
(Going back in time a smidgeon here. Obviously, this is Derrick's hidden knife. Next person to comment, go off of the ending of @sanjaya666 's comment.)
Ok
Focus: Ivana and Derrick.
The child woke up in a pool of blood. Panicking, he reached for his mother... who's body was stone cold. Jolting awake the little orc beheld the scene: blood seeping from his paren'ts necks. Not fully comprehending, he shook them to no avail. His hands went limp. He shook. He would find who did this, and he would... he was to young to think of just what he was going to do, but it was awful. With newfound resolve, the child slid off the bed.
(Perhaps a returning character ?)
Thanks! Glad you like it ^-^
Focus: Tensions in Flint
Plot: While, out in the uncivilised, uncolonised lands of the nearby regions treachery rose and Ivana and Derrick were slaying orcs, his Governor Torq was traversing the labyrinth-like corridors winding round the bosom of the great Pardwright University. An expression of worry and discontentment was chalked onto his facial features, as his short, stuttery gait brought him through the endless stone corridors the university was constructed from, before he finally stopped outside a pair of great oak doors. A gold plaque was mounted slightly above Torq's eye level, reading two words: "TRADEMASTER DARIAD".
He knocked once - an urgent knock, yet no so urgent as to be impolite.
'Who is it?' a voice rasped back, like the sound of an out of tune instrument.
'It is me, Dariad - Governor Torq,' Torq replied. 'Governor Torq, your successor to this treacherous city.'
'Come in.'
Dariad office had certainly once been a comfortable, spacious one, yet was now plagued by clutter; leather-bound diaries and other assorted tomes lay thick over everything, from the great mahogany desk at the other end of the room and the poof where the trademaster's feet now rested; the carpet was frayed and almost entirely worn through at one end; a mysterious assortment of vials and potions were weighing down a shelf in the far left corner.
'Dariad,' Torq said, 'you once ruled this city, when our world was starved of strife. Yet now, there are rumours of tension in the uncivilised lands - orc killings, as well as murders and kidnappings. I need your advice; if we do not do something soon, this city may be snatched from my hands.'
Focus: Increasing children
Many citizens are noticing an alarming increase in the amount of children selling and trading in the central market. They seem to be living alone, often with ragged clothes. If asked, they say they are working for Trademaster Dariad, but none can confirm the claims. Many citizens are worried for the children. Are there simply more births and subsequent parent deaths? Or are the savages perhaps closer than anyone had dreamed?
See the comments for Betrayal.
"Auction counters" are just a type of counter specifically used for this card.
Putting counters on cards to retain effects is an easier way of doing so.
Basically, I'm far too lazy to read everything to extrapolate the information needed to create a coherent story. Sorry.
Torq is the governor of Flint. The natives of the West are rebelling against the colonists. The merfolk recently got angry with the colonists as well. This guy, Dalthor, is the head missionary and has made lots of enemies trying to convert the natives to the religion of the East, but also a few allies among the Westerners. Ivana, Torq's daughter, who feels underestimated by her father, sets out alone to find a wizard or mage or somebody who can help her father crush the natives. Alone, or so she thinks. Her father sends out this guy named Derrick to follow Ivana and protect her. Derrick and Ivana find this magic book with lots of powerful spells that could be helpful in defeating the natives, but it would take an extremely powerful mage to use them. They meet this orc who tells them that he has this magic scrying glass he can use to find a Planeswalker or other powerful mage to use the spells in the book to help the colonists. However, he deceives them and stuns them with his crystal. They awaken, captured by orcs, but manage to escape, killing two orc parents who have a child. Ivana persuades Derrick to spare the child. The young orc later vows to find and kill them both. Torq meanwhile asks Dariad, the merchant who basically controls all of the trade in the colony, for advice and help.
And that's where we are.
*Ivana killed those sleeping orcs because those orcs were the leaders of that orc tribe and because she thought it would be advantageous for her and her allies.
Thanks guys, you're the best.
It's been a day sanjaya666, so no it isn't.
We'll be posting something later today as well!
Focus: Dariad, an assassin
http://mtgcardsmith.com/view/unsavory-conclave
The assassin rode away into the forest, the sounds of his passing quickly fading as the light rain muffled the sounds of the moonlit night.
Replacing the pouch of gold coins in his belt, now much lighter than it had been before, Trademaster Dariad smiled. It was a grim smile, one that showed many teeth and little humor.
Governor Torq had told him about his daughter's quest. He had asked for Dariad's assistance, and had foolishly believed the Trademaster's promise to help.
Dariad was a merchant at heart; his goods were sold to the highest bidder.
And Torq wasn't the only player in this game.
Not even a player.
A pawn.
With Ivana out of the way, Dariad was ready to seize Flint. His scheme to use orphaned (or newly orphaned) children to provide free labor was only the first step.
The Orphan Maker. That was what those who knew his plans called him. He liked the name, relished the fear it created. Dariad was a master of preying on fear.
And everyone is afraid of something.
(Ominous ending, huh? What will Dariad's next move be? And what will he do about the rebellious natives? Will he conquer them, ally himself with them, or let them and Torq's forces kill each other off?)