Gundar listens to the exchange for a moment as he munches on some trail rations, then speaks up.
"They ain't as different from us as you'd imagine, really. They have society, they can be reasoned with... er, technically. And they can be intimidated, sure. Thing with orcs is, they only value power. They only love struggle, battle, war. Before you can reason with them they have to respect you, and that means you have to have power of some kind. And even then, you have to appeal to what they want. They don't care about wealth (at least not silver and gold and such), long life, art, any of that. They want to fight, conquer, dominate. If they aren't in a fight they're preparing for the next one. But... they also don't like fights they can't win."
Gundar takes another bite and speaks as he crunches down the dried fruit.
"The jungle orcs down here are better than most, really. And worse, in a way. Up in Liria, as I hear, the tribes are so numerous and so large they are almost impossible to reason with or frighten. The local kind are warier, maybe smarter. Doesn't mean they ain't still perfectly happy to try and kill ya, but they think further ahead at least. No use dying in a small fight today when you could die in a big fight later, eh? Least, that's how they see it."
"Well, I was thinking that they might not know that. Some primitive cultures ate particularly trepidatious when it comes to magical power."
"Orcs aren't especially magical, but they do have magic users and they aren't any more afraid of magic than the average creature. It's not the magic itself, but what you do with it that they'll respect and fear. Specifically, if you can hurt and kill a whole lot with it."
Gundar brushes crumbs off his clothes as he rises. "Anyway, our best bet for avoiding a fight with 'em is to make it too dangerous to come at us. Hence the traps. We're not famous warriors, we're not in large numbers, and we're already off their land. No reason to see us as any kind of challenge."
"Well. That's a cheery thought. I think perhaps Torble should help keep watch tonight as well."
"And thus we come to the conundrum most mages run across. We can eventually have the magic to lay waste to great swathes of the battlefield in the hopes that when the dust clears none will be left standing. For if they are and we have nothing left the discrepancy between physical prowess becomes abundantly clear. I have split my talents but I doubt I could last past two or three. Should it some to it Luca would likely last the longest if she put her mind to it. I agree to leave them be unless they seek us. Then it seems a strong attack is the best defense correct?" He looks to Gundar to see if his commentary is correct.
If nothing else, Luca would probably be hiding behind the others - in front of people who saw strength and power as the only defining asset, a small female child was about the third-weakest thing you were ever going to find (trailing only people with multiple missing limbs and infants).
Gundar looks surprised by Dante's suggestion that they go on the offensive, and doubly surprised at the notion that Luca is the most dangerous of the group. He peers at her for a brief moment before answering.
"It's an idea, I suppose. They're hanging back and watching, so they can't be too confident... could be we'd scare them off by turning the tables on them. Could also be that we'd only convince them we put up a good fight, meaning they run off and gather up more of their tribe to come around for a second go in a few days. Still, if'n you folks want to take the fight to them, I'll be there with you."
"I'd prefer to hope they leave us be. Dante's theorising" I hope "but should they start to attack us it will indeed be all hands on deck. I believe his instructions were that when I next have the opportunity to prepare spells I should prepare spells that kill, rather than healing, warding, and enhancement spells."
"Still, if we are to try something, how about I augment... and we send it out into the night to hunt. I can't imagine being hunted and eaten is very appealing to the Orcs."
Dante looks confused for a moment before seeing his mistake. "Oh no. I am not looking for a fight. I would prefer diplomacy. I don't know how long we will need to be here to convince Naswel's apprentice to come back. I just meant that if it comes to a fight, we should go all out. Beat them hard so they know not to mess with us."
Luca looked at Tyrus for a bit, then shook her head. "It can't go that far." she explained quietly. "Honestly, it's much better when I'm on the defensive, even if they don't know that." Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, though - but she had to protect herself, because if she didn't, they would do it for her. She had exactly no real choice here.
Gundar nods as the group clarifies. "Ah, I see. And aye, Dante. That's the way to deal with them. You'll never make them too afraid to attack you again, but you can make sure they take you seriously."
The dwarf gets a blank look on his face when Tyrus and Luca talk about some mysterious it, but he asks no questions.
The rest of the day passes uneventfully, with Gundar occasionally going off and checking the perimeter, setting more traps, and keeping track of the watchful orcs.
"You lot have the bulk of work to do tomorrow," Gundar says as you prepare to bed down for the night. "I'll take watch through the night. Don't worry about my rest," he says with a wink. He pulls a vial of clear liquid from a leather case at his belt. Pulling out the stopper he upends it. "Uncommon stuff, but as good as a full night's rest! Get on to sleep now."
The night passes without incident, and you wake to find Gundar seeming no worse the wear for his vigil. "Nary a peep," he says. "Don't think they even bothered to test an approach. Damned odd. But let's get going."
Gundar leads you forward once more. A couple hours later, whenever you come a rise in the rolling landscape, you can see a structure off in the distance. As you move slowly closer it starts to resolve into a squat, pyramidal shape on the bottom with a partially-collapsed tower rising from the center. As the day wears on to past noon, you come close enough to make out the details. There are a variety of orc corpses arrayed about the area in front of the tower. Some are burned, others cut. Still others seem to have been mauled by wild animals. Some are mounted atop poles thrust into the ground.
"Understanding the orcs' caution, now," Gundar says. Then he points. "There's the door. Let's hope we don't get the same welcome."
The structure is very old, but seems to have been partially repaired recently.
The structure is a remnant of an ancient human culture, labeled the "Makon" by scholars, which occupied parts of southeastern Ottrunval long, long ago. They had a highly diverse religion revering hundreds of divine spirits, and were known to build religious shrines all over the place. It is likely this is a remnant of just such a shrine.
Luca narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering if she should sco- no! That was just the kind of thing they wanted her to think - the more she relied on them, the more they could control her! She swallowed nervously and looked at the site again, feeling her stomach heaving. "...Oh." she said.
Dante wrinkled his nose at the smell as much as the sight. This did not bode well. His confidence in helping Naswel was quickly ebbing away. Either something very bad happened to her or she was doing something very bad. Or maybe she just understood orcs better. But this seemed too harsh to send a message.
But even with the grotesque scene before him, he quickly became distracted by the ruins. Wait. Not totally ruined. There was definitely some recent work done here. Some rubble had been cleared away and some wood scaffolding peeked out of the tower. And what he thought was dirt build up seemed to actually be ornate pictures of small creatures.
"Makon? Yes. Those are Makon spirits. Wonder what she's doing at one of their temples?" he muses to himself.
The sight doth not faze thee.
What? Well obviously that's a bad sign but I have also never seen a Makon temple up close.
Thine priorities are askew.
...Sorry
Chastised by a blade.
Tyrus swallows convulsively a few times. "Perhaps Naswel is right to be concerned."
"Yes, Makon, I think." He agrees with Dante, and swallows again. "Could be that she's attempting to conjure remnant spirits. Could be that it was just that it was already standing. Either way it seems she agrees with your tactical doctrine, Dante."
" I suggest we proceed very carefully, in case she uses the same anti-orc techniques as Mr Forgelight. I'd rather not have us fall victim to some trap out here."
He looks at the others
"I took the liberty of preparing some fireworks, in case we needed to signal. Should I use them to attract attention?"
"I'd say no because it might seem like an attack but all I see is Orcs and I highly doubt they would use fireworks. So it will certainly get her attention. I don't want to get close either so...go for it." Dante stands a safe distance away though. Either way their was bound to be a reaction.
Tyrus nods, and advances. He stops a good three hundred feet out, squints, and casts.
A bright, fizzing mote of light streaks away from him, moving towards the tower and climbing into the air until it is two hundred feet up.
the Firework explodes in a puff of purple light.
"Wave!" he yells at his friends, waits as long as he can, then releases another firework, this time straight up two hundred feet. As soon as the second firework is released he waves frantically.
They... er... what was going on here, exactly!? Luca swallowed slightly, seeming uncertain, but her hand rose up of its own accord and brushed her hair to the side as she stuck close to Tyrus. At the same time, all of her sight seemed to be concentrating on just one of her eyes as she looked forward.
The two explosions go off in the air, spaced apart by many moments. Long seconds go by after the final bang sounds. Then, a voice is heard ringing out over the landscape. It seems to come from the building, though you see nobody.
"Who are you?" it rings.
The voice sounds female.
By the peculiar echo, you think the person is shouting from somewhere within the ruined tower atop the structure.
Dante is intrigued by the strength of the voice. It was female, so that was a good sign. But it also wasn't magic. The temple must be a natural amplifier. Neat. Wait. "What was her name again?"
Luca winced slightly as the loud bangs faded away - she'd heard something in the distance, but no more than that. "Kelsa?" she prompted, mostly certain that was the name.
"Right," he says to Luca before turning to the temple.
"Kelsa. My name is Dante Florance. I am an acquaintance of your mentor Naswel. He is...concerned about your well being out here. Though seeing this," he says waving a hand at what is left of the orcs, "I assume you are doing well. Might we come in to talk?"
"Master Naswel?" asks the voice, a note of surprise in it. Another few moments of silence. Then a different voice shouts, also female but lower. "What's he so concerned about? You can see we've got things handled!"
"We?" Dante asks surprised. Wasn't they only supposed to be one of them? "I thought he only had one apprentice? Who else is there?"
"We've come a long way to deliver a message, and potentially trade spells. May we come in?"
Tyrus considers this new apprentice - potentially not so different from himself.
"And we can take back a message where you explain how well you're doing!"
Luca kept her voice very low. "I don't look as dangerous. If you... um... need someone to run back and forth to carry things between you, I could do that." she offered timidly.
You are kept waiting several long moments. Finally, you hear the first voice again. "You can come closer! Let us get a look at you, then we'll decide what to do."
As you walk closer you see two figures emerge from one of the tower's ruined walls to stand atop the building. One is short and wears the short, comfortable robes favored by magicians. The other is of medium height and stocky build, and you can see an axe hanging at her side and the hilt of a sword poking over her shoulder.
"I'm Kelsa," says the shorter one. She is smiling, while the other woman wears a sullen, unhappy look. "Delighted to meet any friends of Naswel's! As you can see, it's been a long time since we've had company we actually wanted."
"I am Tyrus..." there's a gap while Tyrus decides against his full name "And these are my companions Luca, Dante and Gundar. We've a letter for you. Might we impose on your hospitality?"
The tall woman leans over and whispers in Kelsa's ear. Kelsa gets a look of exasperation on her face and whispers something back.
You're pretty sure you heard Kelsa use the word "paranoid."
"Sure! Head to the door, we'll be down in a moment."
The "door" is really a narrow opening in a partially-collapsed wall, covered by a stout tree timber. As you approach, it is slowly and painstakingly shoved aside by Kelsa and the other woman. "Come in! You may need to squeeze a bit, Tyrus, but you should make it. Oh, and meet my friend Emerine. Most of that out there is her handywork." You squeeze through and into a low hallway. On the other side is Kelsa - dressed in somewhat frayed and stained auburn robes. She looks a bit underfed and haggard, as well, but seems cheerful enough despite that.
Around Kelsa's neck is a leather cord tied around some kind of small, angular rock shard. The shard itself doesn't seem worked or etched in any way.
Emerine does not seem to share Kelsa's haggard look. Her clothing (she wears no armor) is clean and whole, and she looks healthy.
Kelsa leads you further into the structure, while Emerine waits until you are all through before she follows. At the top and bottom the stone walls are covered with carvings in the pictographic Makon language. A few paces down, the corridor opens up into a room that is lit by both torch and spell-lights. There are a couple of wooden chairs, but the room is mostly dominated by a huge and crudely-made wooden table. On it are books, spell reagents, handwritten notes, and magical instruments. "Welcome to our humble abode!" Kelsa says. "I'm sorry to say we're all out of tea. Care for some roast snake?"
Luca was always a bit too nervous to be properly observant, but she did see a rock.
...
Moving on!
Tyrus twitches when they enter the room, obviously trying not to stare at the magical notes and implements.
"Thank you for your hospitality. As it happens we've some travel rations we'd be happy to share as well. I dare say we could all use some variety."
"Thank you," Dante says as they enter the temple. He hangs near the back close to Emerine and once Kelsa mentions the orcs he looks at her curiously. "You did all that? Are you a mage too?" he asks, noticing she wears no armor. "Or perhaps you are one of the folks I have read about that wields no weapons or armor. One who has transformed their body into a weapon through training and discipline," he asks looking hopeful. It would be interesting to meet one of those warriors.
Dante is less reserved than Tyrus when they enter the main chamber. He stares are all the magical knick knacks. Something big was going on here. "Sure. Sounds good," he says to the offer not really paying attention.
"Variety, what's that?" asks Kelsa with a laugh. "You know, they say jungles have all sorts of plants and animals and such, but we only seem to eat a few of them around here. Not that I should complain. Emerine does all the hunting and cooking, so I can focus on my little projects. I'm sure I'd do a lot worse. Anyway, I'm happy to do a little food exchange. Especially if you actually brought tea."
Emerine shrugs at Dante's question. "Armor is heavy," she says curtly, one hand on the axe hanging from her belt.
Kelsa sets herself down into one of the creaky wooden chairs. "You said something about a letter?"
"I did. We're happy to wait for a reply before heading back."
Tyrus sits down on the other wooden chair and pulls out the letter, then pauses for a second and hands it over to Kelsa, still sealed.
This could be the end of our warm welcome.
"So what are your projects? I'm guessing something to do with the Makon and summoning? Have you found evidence the Makon spirits were actually summoned outsiders? "
Oh, joy - more creatures summoned to places they shouldn't be. That was... always more than a bit of a problem. Luca quietly stood near Tyrus, fidgeting nervously as she glanced towards the rock Kelsa was wearing around her neck. Why... why did they care about it?
"I suppose I could spare a bit of parchment to reply to my old mentor. A lot of fond memories of my time with that man," Kelsa says as Emerine takes up a watchful station in the corner.
"So what are your projects? I'm guessing something to do with the Makon and summoning? Have you found evidence the Makon spirits were actually summoned outsiders?"
"From what I know, so-called Makon spirits were all sorts of things. Outsiders, sure, but also undead, fey creatures, magic beasts, blah blah blah. They worshipped anything with power really, as far as I know - but I admit I don't know all that much. History always bored me. Anyway, I'm not here because of the Makon - I just needed a place to do some experiments. It was great luck that I fou - "
Kelsa is interrupted as Emerine clears her throat loudly from the corner, still scowling at the visitors. Kelsa glances at her, and when she turns again her eyes have narrowed.
"Wait a second. Is that why you're here? Old Mr. Naswel's still scared by a little summoning? Got you guys to come drag me back for my own good, or something?"
If they really understood the dangers of summoning, they wouldn't be so blase about it - and one of Luca's hands curled up slightly. They didn't even know how lucky they were, did they? "All magic is dangerous." Luca said quietly. "I don't think it's unreasonable for people who care about you to want to be sure you're being cautious and not jumping into things you're not ready for. Erring on the side of caution never hurts."
"Apparently there are stories - though from what we've seen I suspect they are of Emerine's decorations. And we're not some puritanical prosaics scared by a 'little summoning'. We've a background in dark and experimental magics. Consider us a peer group. If we think what you're doing is too dangerous you really shouldlisten."
"So far I've seen nothing, except for a harsh, if understandable, response to your environment."
Kelsa chews her lip as she mulls over Luca and Tyrus' words, then she opens Naswel's letter and begins reading. A moment later she looks back up. "Yeah, fine," she says, appearing to settle down. Then, after another half-glance at Emerine. "But I'm not convinced I want to share what I'm working on with you. It's big stuff, sure, but it's my big stuff. You can stick around for awhile, see that nothing is going wrong. Then scuttle back to Naswel and tell him I'm fine. Deal?"
"Can't they already see we've got things handled? They can go now," growls Emerine.
"Well..." Kelsa looks at her, then back to the group, and finally shrugs. "They can stay a bit. Might be nice to have a bit of new company, honestly. And they can give you a break from killing orcs!"
At Kelsa's words, Emerine's scowl only darkens further.
"Speakin' of orcs, there's a group were tailing us from the tribal territory a bit to the south. Never attacked us - just watching. Reckon it has something to do with the welcome you've been giving 'em up here."
Kelsa giggles a bit at the dwarve's words. "Reckon it does," she says teasingly, mimicing Gundar's accent.
"I don't learn magic from books." Luca said quietly. "Whatever you're working on is almost certainly worthless to me anyway." She was concerned about that other group of orcs, but maybe all the bodies outside would encourage them to stay away... or maybe not. She quietly moved back over to the entrance, glancing outside to keep an eye on things.
Dante watches the interactions tensely until they come to a reasonable conclusion. He claps his hands together, hopefully to signify the end of the deal. "Great. We will help where we can but generally stay out of the way. Anyone hungry? Any snake left? Sounds interesting if not appealing."
"Someone my size can't scuttle" jokes Tyrus self-deprecatingly, before turning serious "It is not my intention to steal your secrets, I assure you." he pauses "Though this aura of mystery you've built up has me interested in trading if we can come to terms. I'm not sure simply trading spells is sufficient, but I am also trained in at least one of the Dark Arts."
"As for killing orcs - perhaps we can be of some help. Dante especially, as he has studied military tactics. I can help with some of the other chores, if you like."
"Oh, are you a sorcerer too?" Kelsa asks Luca. All traces of her bad mood seem to have vanished. "I am, but I wanted to understand magic from the book-side, too. It's helpful."
"We've got all the snake you can eat. And it's not bad, really. A bit stringy and tough, but tastes fine. I'll trade you for anything you might have."
"I study summonings. That's enough for you to know," Kelsa says. "I'm sure my investigations are no more mysterious than any other wizards'. I know it can be a tricky field - I came out here to keep people safe, not to hide. Anyway, c'mon. There's a little antechamber over here where we sleep and eat. You guys aren't all going to fit - you'll have to bunk up in the tower. Shouldn't be too bad unless it rains!"
"We should just make them sleep outside," says Emerine.
Kelsa shakes her head. "I'm not a barbarian, Emerine. I have a sense of hospitality."
Kelsa leads you to a room where the roof is partially collapsed, allowing the smoke from a firepit to escape. A spit over the fire hold a section of a monstrous snake.
After taking a bit of food and rest, Gundar rises. "I'm out to check if those orcs are still hanging about. Wouldn't mind someone or two to tag along. Hard to sneak away from this place unnoticed, so safety in numbers and all that."
He looks to Emerine first, but she shows no sign of wanting to join him. Then he looks to Luca, Dante, and Tyrus.
Luca looked back at Gundar for a moment. Unlike Tyrus and Dante, he had exactly none of her trust, but just as obviously, if either of them wanted to go along with him, she'd be willing to come along and help. Goodness knew that her natural abilities were fairly good for getting more defenders on a moment's notice...
"Well" says Tyrus reluctantly "I suppose if there's no sneaking, then I could come. I was going to try to waterproof the tower."
"If you are interested in trading, Kelsa, we should probably go somewhere else to demonstrate. More than a few of my spells are dangerous or loud. I assume you know the twelve Elementary Prestidigitations, but do you know Paraman's Polypurpose Panacea?"
"Well, do I like dangerous and loud," Kelsa says. "Don't know that one, no. Never even heard of it." She glances over as Emerine touches her lightly on the shoulder. "But we can worry about spells sometime tomorrow. I've got work that needs doing. You guys can come and go as you please."
Emerine and Kelsa leave the room. As she walks by, Emerine glances blankly at Tyrus, but says nothing.
Emerine definitely understood what you were trying to say to Kelsa - and she was not happy about it, not one bit.
"Not sneaking as much, but - no offense meant, Tyrus - if we need to hightail it back to the safety you might be at a bit of a disadvantage. Best you stay here. I'll be back in a bit," Gundar says, and follows Kelsa and Emerine out of the small chamber.
"Well, Ill start on the chores then..." Tyrus trails off as the others leave him.