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>>273341

The specter of the Laughing Dog evaporates like smoke in the wind, leaving naught but dusty footprints in the sand. Footprints...Your mind recalls the previous times you have witnessed the creature. In the catacombs, outside the monastery, in your dreams, in the wilds – never once before had it left footprints behind. In fact, never once have you ever found evidence of it existing at all until now. The phantasm has never left any trace of its presence in the world. What that means, you are not sure. Its final words to you resonate faintly in your memory as you return to your camp.

(((I am too weak to give you every answer you seek. As you are an echo of your tribe, so am I of what I once was...)))

“Keje?” Kirari greets you as you return. “Did you find anything?”

“Just more desert...if we are to find our way out of this place, we need the girl more than ever.”

The two of you look back to Kiyya, the young girl clutching her legs as she buried her head in her knees. She has not spoken a word since she lost her horse.

“I’m...not sure we can rely on her,” Kirari says.

“The merchant, then? Royt?”

“He did not want to come this way to begin with. I don’t know if he is familiar with this terrain at all, but maybe he could lead us back...”

You consider this. How much water did you have? How many days to turn back? You weren’t sure, but you felt those were long odds. Then again, how long were the odds of Kiyya getting you to her people now? You curse this damned desert and everything it has done to you. Since awakening, it has always been carrying the promise of death just steps behind you, like a patient shadow.

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

>Tell Kirari and Dorje about the Laughing Dog’s words.
>Try to get Kiyya to resume guiding you through the wilds to her people.
>Convince Royt to lead you back whence you came.
>Set out in another direction.
>Write-in

2/3

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>>273347

CONTACT

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ignoble_dark
Questions: http://ask.fm/Ignoble_dark
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=laughing+dog


RULES


>Voting

Most posts will be narrative, with the player and QM working together to create a worthy story. Every post will provide at least one might-based, nobility-based, and artifice-based avenue if applicable to the situation, and write-ins are both permitted and encouraged. Players vote for their preferred option, with majority determining the final choice. However, in the case of especially critical events, called “trials,” fate will be given its due through the roll of dice.

>Trials

During trials, after the majority have chosen a course of action, the QM will then roll 1d10, add the player’s relevant Aspect (Might, Nobility, or Artifice), and add any relevant bonuses from items or context. If the resulting sum meets the trial’s threshold, the player succeeds. If the sum falls short of the threshold, the player fails. For each margin of 3 the player exceeds or fails the threshold by, the outcome will be more severe (either positive or negative). Poor rolls by players in combat trials are assigned as enemy hits.

The thresholds for each trial are known only by the QM, and are different for every option. Depending on the situation, one option or another will probably be easier than the others. Sneaking past the elite palace guard will be easier than fighting all of them. Killing the feral tribe of cannibals is probably easier than talking them down diplomatically. This could change, of course, if the player is particularly proficient with one Aspect and deficient in another. Perhaps your Artifice is so bad that Might is the better option for getting past those palace guard, after all. Players should consider which approach is most likely to succeed given both the context of the trial and the character’s own skillset.

>Criticals

A trial roll of 10 that passes the threshold is a critical success, and reaps additional benefits. Conversely, a 1 that fails the threshold is a critical failure, and has additional consequences. A 10 that fails to beat the threshold still fails, but the player receives some accommodation, insight, or unforeseen benefit in the attempt. Likewise, a 1 that passes the threshold succeeds, but with a minor hiccup or unforeseen complication.

>Damage

Damage dealt by an enemy is equal to half its Might score (rounding down), and is applied to a character’s weapons and armor first. Once all weapons and armor are damaged, excess damage is assigned to a random Aspect (M, N, or A) by rolling 1d3. That Aspect is permanently reduced by this damage until it is repurchased with XP. Should any Aspect reach 0, the character is crippled and incapacitated until 1 week of medical attention restores the first dot of each Aspect. If any Aspect falls below 0, the character suffers death.

>>273347
>Tell Kirari and Dorje about the Laughing Dog’s words.
we should probably follow the tracks, he left them on purpose

hi, Dark

>>273417

The tracks don't go anywhere, they are just where the creature was sitting as it spoke to you

>>273424
my bad, but we should still tell them about it

>>273347
First,
>Tell Kirari and Dorje about the Laughing Dog’s words.
Then
>Try to get Kiyya to resume guiding you through the wilds to her people.
Since she's our best shot navigate this place

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>>273417
>>273429
>>273458

>Tell Dorje and Kirari what you saw
>Convince Kiyya to continue guiding you onwards

You call Dorje over to your side, beckoning him to join the conversation.

"I saw the creature again. Just now, not 200 feet from this place."

The others exchange a look, but do not seem to disbelieve you. Too much has happened for them to dismiss anything like this any longer.

"What did it do?" Kirari asks.

"It spoke to me."

"You heard its voice, then? I have not," Dorje adds.

"Not heard so much...felt. It is difficult for me to describe, but it told me a little about why we awoke in that crypt, and why it continues to follow us. From what it said, and what I can remember, we were killed in battle in our previous lives, and buried in that monastery because over time, it may have had the power to bring us back from death."

"I do not recall any such magic existing, Keje. That seems unlikely to me," Kirari says, unsure of your theory.

"I have no memory of such magic either, but the craftsmanship of that place was alien to me. It did not belong to our people, and perhaps then neither did whatever enchantment was placed upon it. I think our people buried us in someone else's tomb, hoping to use its magic to bring us back."

The others consider this...it made sense, but there was no way of knowing for certain. At present, it was the best explanation you had.

"Then those creatures buried with us..." Dorje says, piecing it together himself.

"The enchantment failed before its work was done. We were the only ones to come back whole," Kirari finishes his thought.

"And we have been brought back for a reason. The dream we have all seen - the creature says it is a warning, and we don't have much time to stop what it heralds. It is trying to help us."

"Why?" Dorje asks, suspicious.

"Because it is honorbound to us." You explain the fable you remembered about your ancestor meeting the creature.

1/2

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>>273512

"I remember this story, now that I have heard you speak it. It is familiar," Kirari says.

"That is why I believe it, at least with this much. I still do not trust it completely, but I trust what few memories I still possess."

Dorje nods in agreement. "But the creature, for all its help, can't just lead us out of here?"

"No, it claims to be too weak to help us to the extent we might ask it to. Something about being a reflection of our memories, I didn't truly understand the meaning."

"Then we will have to get out of the desert ourselves," Dorje says, always the voice of pragmatism.

"I can try to bring Kiyya around. We can't waste moonlight if we need to get to her people before our water runs out again."

"Or another storm rises," Dorje points out, remembering the last one that nearly consumed all of you.

Kirari walks over to Kiyya and kneels beside her, wrapping her arms around the girls shoulders. You can't make out the words, but the tone of Kirari's voice is one of sympathy and tenderness, punctuated only softly with necessity. After some moments, the girl rises to her feet and wipes her eyes.

"Tel Amarset," she says, leading you onwards on foot.

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

>Travel through the night, stop at dawn
>Continue through the next day, as well
>Speak to Dorje/Kirari/Royt
>Write-in

>>273545
>ask kiyya how long the trip should be
>Travel through the night, stop at dawn unless we're really close

>>273545
>>Travel through the night, stop at dawn

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>>273545

Kiyya seems to speak most easily with Kirari, so you leave it to her to extract some details from the mourning girl. As it turns out, she believes you are only two days from journey's end. Two days...

You have enough water for that time, you think, but you ran out of food yesterday. There was no game to be found anywhere, and even if there was consuming food would only increase your thirst. In three days time, you would be four days without food. You sigh, but realize you have no other options. So long as water is scarce, you would be going hungry. You prayed to whatever gods or spirits were listening the girl was right and you would soon be out of this gods-forsaken place.

You travel through the night largely in silence. Dorje is taking up the rear, on edge carrying one of your two weapons and only intact armor. Royt is just ahead of him, looking weak but stubborn. Kirari stays close to Kiyya, making sure the girl is not completely alone. A twinge in your throat and a twist of your stomach reminds you that every step you take weakens you further - as if you could forget. And on top of all of this, your eyes drift to the horizon every few minutes, hoping you do not see another roiling cloud on the horizon...you don't think the Laughing Dog could save you again.

****

The day breaks, and you think to stop before the heat rises to overtake you. Before you think to ask Kiyya and Kirari to stop, however, you notice the girl has already halted in her tracks, scanning the sandy dunes and hills around you.

You do the same, a soldier's instinct noticing the U-shaped corridor you have wandered into, surrounded on three sides by elevated terrain...

A slow, hot wind passes through your group, making the womens' hair dance lazily. Without a word, Kiyya slowly raises her hands, and places them on her head.

No sooner has she done so than the sand all around you erupts suddenly, cloaked human figures surrounding you...you start to count...a dozen? Armed with shortbows already drawn and aimed. You had not noticed them at all...you had not heard a single sound. Dorje tenses up and draws his knife beside you as Kirari takes a few steps backwards...

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

>Run!
>Charge!
>Wait, don't move or provoke
>Write-in

>>273730
>Wait, don't move or provoke
we have no chance anyway, and kiyya was aware of them, so...

>>273730
>>Wait, don't move or provoke

MADE IT

>>273730
>Wait, don't move or provoke

>>273831
>>273798
>>273768

writing this now

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>>273768
>>273798
>>273831

You grab Dorje's hand and force him to lower his weapon. "Wait, brother. They haven't struck yet, and the odds are out of our favor."

Kirari continues backing towards the two of you, instinctively grouping with the people she trusts most. Royt looks panicked, ducking low to the ground as he looks to the masked faces of the bandits surrounding him.

No, not bandits...soldiers. They are too coordinated, too orderly to be thieves. This was a planned, practiced ambush executed with military precision.

"Kalaset! Kiyya et Amarsei, doresh Kora-thei imal!~" Kiyya calls out to them, keeping her hands on her head and away from her equipment. The cloaked figures keep their weapons drawn and trained on you as a pair of them descend the elevated dunes and approach Kiyya with short, curved swords drawn. She makes no move to flee or defend herself.

You can't make out the words, but it is clear they are not pleased to see her. Several times she gestures back to the lot of you, pleading your case and motioning with her wrists.

Eventually, the officer among them raises his arm and gestures for the weapons to be lowered. There is a sudden chorus of neighing as a dozen horses climb to their feet, each one having been painstakingly camouflaged as it lay silently on the ground. The same warpaint covers their flanks as you saw on Kiyya's dead stallion.

"These are her people, then," you say to the others. "They don't seem pleased to see her."

Kirari nods. "She didn't mention anything about being on poor terms with them...I don't know what to make of this..."

The soldiers mount their horses and encircle the four of you, their eyes peering down from masked faces with suspicion. You notice that their gaze lingers over the tattoos scrawled into your shoulders and Kirari's exposed legs and back. Dorje does not seem happy about this in the slightest.

The conversation ahead seems to conclude, and you are shocked to see Kiyya offer her wrists to the two men, who promptly bind her prisoner.

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

>Intervene. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that.
>She obviously surrendered herself willingly, stay out of it for now.
>Try to intimidate your captors
>Write-in

>>273896
>Intervene. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that.
we owe her one

>>273896
>She obviously surrendered herself willingly, stay out of it for now.

>>273919
We shouldn't fuck up her plans.

>>273896
>>She obviously surrendered herself willingly, stay out of it for now.
No reason to rock the boat

>>273896

my boss just called, this next response will be delayed

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>>273980
>>274000

>>274000
>>273980

After all she had done and lost to get you this far, Kiyya is bound much the same as you found her in that Gnollish fort. Much as it inflames your sense of honor to see the young girl taken like that, you cannot risk the lives of your kindred to intervene - she seemed to know this was coming, and went ahead with it any way. It would only undermine her if you did something foolish that led to violence.

Dorje seethes silently beside you, no doubt sharing your thoughts. You catch his eye, and shake your head. "Wait...for now." He relents, though with hostility boiling just beneath his stony demeanor.

Beside you, one of the horses neighs suddenly, stomping its feet beside you and making you raise your guard. The soldier astride the beast eyes you warily, looking over your tattered pelt clothing and shoddy bone weapon. You look the savage.

The Imashet soldier is wearing light leather armor over loose linen clothing and an earthen-colored cloak textured to look like sand. A cloth mask covers his mouth and head, leaving only his eyes and bridge of his nose visible. A shortbow is slung over his shoulder with a quiver of arrows, and a scimitar and knife are on his belt. Strapped to the saddle of his horse, you notice something else - a pair of dried Gnoll heads, still frozen in their final death snarls. War trophies.

The officer joins the rest of his unit and converses with the Imashet beside you, who then dismounts and offers you the reins of his horse. Three others do likewise, letting all four of your group mount the steeds and ride along with them.

*****

The Imashet patrol winds its way throw the dunes and rocky crags for the first few hours of the morning, braving the sun as it climbs steadily higher above you. They seem to be leading you to the Mountains North of you, then cliffs growing closer with every minute. After perhaps two hours of travel, you pass through a pair of Gnollish corpses skewed anus to mouth on spears, flanking a narrow crack in the mountain's cliff face. In single file, the troop squeezes through...

The entrance is barely wide enough for a single horse and its rider to pass through - a chokepoint if you ever saw one. The narrow ravine is flanked on either side by painted rock walls covered in ripples of strata, the sound of a dozen horses trampling in unison echoing off their surfaces.

Finally, the crevice opens, revealing the marvelous sight of a small city nestled deep in a circular canyon, embraced on all sides by the rising cliffs. A single stone bridge, wide enough only for two riders, leads across a deep chasm that descends hundreds of feet below, isolating a raised mesa like an island surrounded by a moat. You are amazed at the defensibility of this city - a corps of engineers could not have designed a better fortress than nature has here.

1/2

1/2

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>>274215

The patrol leads you all through an open gate with a group of sentries watching from above, and into a small courtyard flanked on all sides by stables and what appears to be a garrison. You are prompted to dismount, and then led on foot through the small city's market to a military-looking structure in the city center. A single tower, worn a bit low by time and disrepair, is surrounded by walls perhaps 15 feet high. Soldiers carrying spears and scimitars converse and train in the courtyard as you are lead inside. Those non-military looking citizens of the city, you notice, stop and look at the three of you in particular with a mixture of what can only be disbelief and fear. Outsiders are not common here. They also notice Kiyya, and more than one of them stops in their tracks to glare at her poisonously.

"The natives do not seem fond of your guide," Dorje observes.

"Nor of outsiders in general..." Kirari adds. "Though...they seem more afraid of us than hostile."

Kiyya is led away from you, down a flight of steps into the lower level of the tower before you. She gives you one last glance, nodding her head in reassurance, before disappearing inside.

In her place, a larger man in a beard wearing studded leather armor steps forward.

"Saffoi et Bahadurei," he barks, standing to his full height (some three inches less your own).

A civilian-looking elder man, also bearded, steps beside him. "You talk the old words?" he asks.

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

>You speak our language (sort of)?
>Who are you? What is this place?
>Where are you taking Kiyya?
>Are we your prisoners?
>Intimidate (M)
>Use diplomacy (N)
>Conceal your origins for now (A)
>Write-in

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>>274276

(City layout)

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>>274287

updated map

>>274276
>Where are you taking Kiyya?

>>274276
>Where are you taking Kiyya?

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>>274292
>>274331

The translator, who seems to have trouble understanding you with his rudimentary grasp of your language, turns to look at the doorway the girl has been taken through.

"Ah, I know this. She is...ehhh...*inaudible grumbling*...witch. She not hurt, just hidden."

"A witch?" you repeat the word, looking over to Kirari. She nods in understanding.

"I sorry. I know words from books, your sounds are different," the translator says, trying to mimic your pronounciation a bit more closely.

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

>A witch? She is no witch.
>She saved our lives and brought us here.
>How do you know our language?
>Are we prisoners, as well?
>What is this place?
>make demands: Intimidate (M)
>make requests: Diplomacy (N)
>obscure identity: Manipulate (A)
>Write-in

>>274438
>we brought her freedom from the gnolls.
>She saved our lives and brought us here.
>what's supposed to make her a witch?

>>274478
Yeah, this.

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>>274478
>>274488


"We bought that girl's freedom from the Gnolls, and she returned the favor by leading us here. She is no witch."

The larger man in the armor grows impatient with his interpreter and barks something to him.

"This is General Saffoi et Bahadurai, of Bahadurei warrior clan, protector of the city. He wants to know who you are before answers more question..."

The general looks the four of you over, then adds something else in a lighter, more patient tone.

"...and he says you are his guests, and you must honor him by eat and drink with him."

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

>No, you will tell us why you have imprisoned Kiyya first (N or M, and who)
>We will eat with you if you promise us no harm will come to Kiyya first (N, and who)
>If you are imprisoning her, you are doing the same to us. She is our ally before you are.
>Very well.
>Write-in

>>274584
>No, you will tell us why you have imprisoned Kiyya first (N or M, and who)
go for the might, Dorje

>>274584
>>No, you will tell us why you have imprisoned Kiyya first (N or M, and who)
Might and Dorje, let him blow off some steam

>>274617
>>274630
This is a terrible idea, but I guess I add my vote.

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Rolled 8 + 6 (1d10 + 6)

>>274617
>>274630
>>274638

"You tell the General that I've almost died six times in as many days, so if he thinks threats will stop me from beating the beard off his face he is mistaken. My people do not break bread with those that imprison our allies. He will tell us why our friend is in chains now."

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>>274682

The translator hesitates, but delivers the message. In mid sentence you see his expression change, looking to the interpreter and then to Dorje with a steely look in his eyes. The two of them stare each other down with menace...

Until Saffoi's expression erupts into guffaws of laughter. He places his hand on Dorje's shoulder, saying something disarming in his native tongue.

"The General says he can recognize a soldier at once. He will explain why the girl is in his custody."

Saffoi walks through the four of you, pointing to a large abandoned building not far to the southeast of the complex.

"That building was once the palace of the Amarsei tribe for which our city is named. Our rulers have for many generations been of the Amarsei lineage, residing in that villa. Our last chieftain, however - Duran et Amarsei - was a madman who committed treason against his own people, and other crimes improper to speak of in public. The girl, Kiyya, is his daughter. The people demanded she be investigated for participating in the same foul acts as her father, but before the General could investigate she fled into the wilderness two years ago. It is forbidden to leave the city under those circumstances."

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

>What kinds of crimes did her family commit?
>Is there proof she was guilty, as well?
>Why is it forbidden to leave?
>Write-in

>>274730
>Is there proof she was guilty, as well?
Say something about how she's saved our lives again and we'll vouch for her character.

>>274730
>"so, who is in charge now?"

>>274730

>>274748
Seconding along with
>Why is it forbidden to leave?

>>274776
agree

I just wanna say I love this quest and I'm glad I caught it.

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>>274748
>>274761


So the girl was an exile...that explained her hesitance to return, and her expectation of being apprehended. And not just any exile, either - by the sound of it, she was a member of this tribe's former ruling dynasty. Within the span of two years, she had fallen from the ruling class here to a Gnollish slave. Had they not been fortunate enough to come across her that night...well, there was no saying what the Gnolls would have done with her. The veterans watching you from the walls and in the courtyard all seemed to be wearing trophies of Gnoll teeth and claws - they were obviously at war.

"Whatever her father has done, she risked her life to bring us here. The girl lost everything she had, and voluntarily walked into your soldiers with the knowledge she would be taken. I must ask that she be treated fairly."

(through translator)

"General Saffoi does not consider Kiyya et Amarsei to be guilty outright, but you must understand that the common people of the city believe her family name to be a curse on them. She is safer in his keep that outside of it under these circumstances."

A political prisoner, then. "With her father deposed, I assume the General is the new Chieftain."

"With the collapse of the Amarsei family, General Saffoi and the Bahadurei clan of warriors have assumed control of the city, and reestablished order. He does not claim to be the Chieftain. As for the girl, Kiyya, you must understand - when she left the city, she placed all who live here in danger. If the monsters discover the location of this, our last city, it may be destroyed as the others have been."

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

>Your last city?
>We demand you release Kiyya.
>At least guarantee to us that she will not be harmed in any way until we can sort this out.
>How do you know our language?
>Why does everyone seem so suspicious of us?
>Continue this conversation in private
>Write-in

>>274837

Glad you are enjoying it. Our crew is small, but enthusiastic.

>>274863
>Your last city?
We should start feeling out what kind of apocalypse we're dealing with.
Also we should go inside and eat while we converse.

>>274863
totally agree with this guy: >>274887
but chances are it's just war with the gnolls

>>274863
>How do you know our language?
and
>How long have you warred with the gnolls?

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>>274887
>>274900

"Your last city?" you repeat his words, looking around you with a different eye. These people, like your own, were dying out?

You turn to your kindred, lowering your voice to keep your conversation private. "The girl is a political prisoner from the sounds of it. I want to know your thoughts."

"It isn't right that she sit in a prison cell after bringing us this far," Dorje says first. "We can't let that endure."

"I agree with Dorje, but we can't help her without earning these peoples' trust first. They are already suspicious, and we help no one by antagonizing them further. If we want to help Kiyya, we need to prove we are friends of this people," Kirari counters.

You ponder both of their words. "You are both right. Dorje, we must be certain we are not being lied to, and ask to meet with Kiyya and ensure she is not being harmed. We can't ask for her release, though, until we can learn more about where we are and show we are no threat to this place."

You turn to the translator. "We will accept the General's hospitality, so long as he can assure us we may meet with Kiyya et Amarsei and know she is not being harmed."

The message is passed along, and, while he seems irritated he is being forced to accept conditions on his hospitality, Saffoi gives a terse nod of his head in agreement.

"The General will arrange a place for you to stay, and get provisions."

*****

You are given some Imashet desert clothing to replace the tattered sandcat rags ripped nearly to shreds by the last storm. By this time, you have been practically naked for so long that clothing almost feels alien to you.

As Kirari emerges from her quarters, you hardly even recognize her - she is even more strikingly feminine in proper clothing than in the tattered rags she has worn through your travels thus far. As she passes by, you stop her and whisper quietly so the translator will not overhear.

"These people seem quite suspicious of magic - do not let them know the extent of your talents yet."

"I know - I just hope they don't ask Kiyya if she has seen me perform spells."

"There is nothing we can do about that. With any luck, the subject simply will not come up. Try to keep the conversation about them, and keep what we say about us as neutral as possible."

Royt is absent when you are escorted to the general's table. "He is sickly. I sent him to our physicians for now," Saffoi explains.

"Please, be seated - and tell me, who you are and why Kiyya brought you to our city."

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

>Write-in

>>275074
tell them our names
"our histories are tied, it seems"

>>275074
Oh shit, how much do we tell them?
Is it possible that we can use our noble wiles to distract them with a tale of how we rescued one of their people from the gnolls? I'm afraid they'll have some sort of legend about our origins that will get us thrown in jail.
What do you think, thread?

>>275127
>>275141

tell them the truth: we are a trio of not-zombies, awoken from undeath and guided by a ghost dog only er can see and hear. Also, one of us is a witch.

>>275154
DO NOT TELL THEM THAT LAST PART

>>275141
well, we are all covered in tatoos and speak the "old tongue" fluently so if the cat is not already out of the bag, it's just a trip to the library away

but yeah, keep the Laughing Dog and most of the magic shit we know to ourselves unless they start talking about it first

>>275169
Agreed but under no circumstances are we to squeal on our witch.

>>275177
right.

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>>275169
>>275166
>>275127

Saffoi's quarters are spartan and simple - he is not a man given much to decorum it seems. His desk, against the room's far wall is covered in maps and correspondence, and what few garnish the room has is of distinctly military nature - a pair of crossed swords on one wall, a shield by the door, and a chest with a saddle resting on top of it in one corner. Outside, the sounds of soldiers undergoing martial training is clearly audible.

The building's interior is much like the exterior of the tower - simple, made of earthen-colored stone blocks and with ceilings that always seemed too low, doorways too narrow, windows too small. It was not built with comfort in mind. In fact, the slate table at which you now sat was probably the most expensive thing in the room aside from the finely-crafted scimitar Saffoi carried on his hip - a steel blade and scabbard trimmed in decorative copper leaf.

There were no chairs, but the table was low and simple cushions were provided for all of you to sit on. You begin to piece together what best to tell him - how much is proper to reveal was difficult to determine. If you were completely honest, you were likely to be disbelieved...but if you lied, you would never be trusted again. Your thought are interrupted when a plate of bread, dates, and some kind of meat are placed in front of you. All of a sudden, you are reminded that you have not eaten in nearly four days and the weight of hunger nearly overcomes you.

"Please, eat before you answer," the general says through the interpreter at his side.

You give him a nod of thanks and oblige.


*****

"Now, please..start from the beginning. Who are you, and how did you come across Kiyya et Amarsei?"

"We are lost travelers, unsure of where we come from ourselves, actually. We awoke in the wilderness with few memories, scarcely even of our own names." You leave the bit about the undead creatures out for now. "We do know, however, that our tribe is Korathi, and we are soldiers in its army. Or perhaps, we were at one time."

Saffoi betrays no emotion as he listens, letting you continue.

"We had no water, and had to cross the desert to find some before we died. By chance, we found the girl Kiyya and the merchant Royt enslaved in a Gnollish camp. We purchased their freedom. For reasons unclear to us, Kiyya seems to have taken an interest in our people, and risked her own life to bring us to you."

Saffoi ponders your story for a few long moments, idly stroking his beard. "So you do claim to be Kora-thei, then? That is what our scouts told me the girl said when they captured her. You understand it is a great crime to lie to me in this matter?"

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

>Nonetheless, it is true
>We don't really know what or who we are
>Why is us being Korathi significant at all, anyway?
>Write-in

>>275322
>"Nonetheless, it is true. If there is a way to prove it, we will oblige."

>>275322
this: >>275347

>>275322
>>Nonetheless, it is true

>>275347
>>275354
>>275361

"Nevertheless, it is true. We know very little, but that we are certain of. If there is a way to prove this to you, we will do it."

There is another long pause as Saffoi judges your sincerity. In his place, the translator pipes up.

"My friend - Kejeral. My name is Weir et Taphrei, a merchant of the Taphrei clan currently serving the general. I feel I should explain why it is difficult for us to believe this from you. There are stories - myths, really, of your tribe and ours being closely aligned...but these stories are over 60 generations old. If you really are Kora-thei, where have your people been for so long?"

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

>We were sleeping in the earth
>I cannot say, our memories are incomplete
>60 generations?
>What stories do you have of our tribe?
>You suspect we are charlatans, then.
>Write-in

>>275432
>I cannot say, our memories are incomplete

>>275432
>I cannot say, our memories are incomplete

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>>275441
>>275451

60 generations!? That was...1700 years? Your vision seems to go blurry, and suddenly you remember you haven't slept in nearly two days. How could it have been that long? So much time...the world would not even be a shade of what it once was, even if you were ever to remember it. Everything you knew...it would be long dead and buried. You had no connection left to this world after all...

Dorje and Kirari look equally shocked by this revelation, both of them looking to you as if you had any answers. It is too much to comprehend yet.

"I...I have no words, Weir et Taphrei," you manage.

Kirari adds her voice to your own. "To be honest, general, we do not know how we survived or where we came from. We have only pieces of our memories left, and the more we learn the more we only seem to realize how much we don't know. I am sorry we cannot give a better answer, but it is the only honest one we have."

Saffoi looks from her, to you, then to Dorje. The infantryman and the general look stoically at each other, assessing each other's measure.

"I am no politician," Saffoi finally says. "But I know neither is he. That soldier would be a terrible con artist."

The tension in the room dissipates with his remarks, even though they are technically an insult to Dorje in an abstract way. If Dorje knows this, he only seems to consider it a compliment.

"There is some evidence to support their story, general. The marking they have - they are consistent with both the lore and Korathic script. Their language is the most genuine and fluent form of Korathic I have heard - these are not things faked without a great deal of academic knowledge."

"Then I will choose to believe them for now," Saffoi says, almost like you aren't there to hear him. "I still need to decide what to do about them, though. Every person in the city saw them come through the gates."

"Why is...that a problem?" Kirari asks.

"It is a problem because many will assume you are charlatans, especially since you came into the city in the company of a very unpopular exile of ours," Weir explains. "The city has been...unruly, since the Amarsei house collapsed. We have only recently restored order, and now dissidents in the city will have a new reason to stir up trouble."

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

>Dissidents?
>How can we allay these concerns?
>Write-in

>>275502
>>Dissidents?
>>How can we allay these concerns?
Can we say both?

>>275502
>Dissidents?

>>275516

yes, you can. They are suggestions, as always. Write-ins are always acceptable so long as what you say is contradictory

>>275545

isnt* contradictory

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>>275516
>>275534

"Dissidents?" you ask. "How so?"

"The Amarsei family has always been the ruling dynasty here. They are now effectively gone, and I very much doubt the people will accept their rule again. That means that many other factions have taken the opportunity to assert their own claims to leadership. In particular, there are some elements of my own house, the Taphrei, and of the general's house, the Bahadurei, which have made it clear they have designs to replace the Amarsei...and they have employed some distasteful tactics to rally the people against the general of late."

"And now I have a hated exile, and a band of foreigners in our city, eating at my table," Saffoi interjects. "I mean no disrespect, but you have made my job very suddenly difficult, my new friends. I expect my enemies are already planning how best to use this against me."

"Then...to defuse this problem, we need to win over your people, and convince them we are who we say we are?" Kirari asks.

"Yes. There are four houses left in our tribe," Weir explains. "The Bahadurei, our warriors whose company you now enjoy, the Tephrei, our merchant family, and the Solathei, our artisans. Bringing the heads of each house to your side will help them quell the rebellious factions in their own ranks."
((Ok guys, I am calling it here at the 8 hour mark. Thanks for playing, and as always twitter for announcements, ask.fm for questions, and the archive for the previous story))

((Party gains +4 XP this week, total of 12 to spend))

>>275683
We politics now

>>275683
Thanks for running!

>>275683
thanks for running

>>275683
>There are four houses left in our tribe,
>"The Bahadurei, our warriors whose company you now enjoy, the Tephrei, our merchant family, and the Solathei, our artisans
Oi, hol' up m80. That's only three tribes. What's the fourth?

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>>275683
Also, just caught up with the quest and I've gotta say it's been pretty enjoyable thus far OP. Looking forward to next session.

>>276714
Yeah wait hold up.
He'll probably continue in the next OP.

>>276714
Thinking back on it, the Amarsei are probably the fourth tribe, but I don't know if they'd be included considering only one of them is still alive.

Wait, when's the next thread?