Land of Despots

Author Topic: Land of Despots  (Read 15191 times)

10 men come forward, raising the total number of his men-at-arms to 46.

The Khan also tries to equip his army mainly of horsemen and Calvary

The Khan gets the message, and retreats back to the village

Dolo peers at them as the Khan and his men ride off. His shoulders slump as he turns back and returns to the camp, looking to the others. "Red basket. Now." One of the men nod, running into a tent and grabbing a basket painted red which they toss into the river- letting it drift down to alert the other camps, who pass on their own warnings.

Five men from the middle camp climb into a canoe as they get the alert, heading up the river to joint the furthest camp's defense, bringing with them a collection of javelins, slings, and sling ammo along with their regular arms.

When the new reaches Hamcha, alerts are raised and some defenses are planned and prepared. Trenches, some moats to create chokepoints for entering and leaving the village, and some semi-permanent basic palisade walls.

The Haluti camps along the river are completed.

Following the full completion of the camps, hunters and gatherers begin to frequent the sections of the river between the camps- with hunters more frequently visiting to carve out some basic hunting paths into the wilds, and gatherers beginning to start cutting down trees to ferry back to the village, as well as gathering other resources.

The Halut-dan sends out small teams of shamans to begin painting Haluti emblems into landmarks along the rivers, as a way of beginning to try and claim that part of the river.

Some minor scouting parties are sent to head eastwards along the coast, to map it out.
The scouting party travels by canoe for 8 days along the coast and arrives at a river delta. They have enough supplies to make it 6 days over land, and can continue to eat fish from the waters, but only for so long without being malnourished and only if they can get to land safely to cook it. They also find bivalves and crabs near to the shore.

The river ahead is not small by any measure.

The hunting paths are carved out successfully, however 2 men die to bear attacks and 1 is injured critically in one such attack. 1 man dies to wolf attacks, but the party he was in remarked he had been antagonizing them. Several hunters report plentiful deer and foxes. Ten fox furs are gifted specifically to the Halut-dan.

The territories are marked in due time. The shamans warn the men of the camp they must not cross into the swamp at the fork.

(Will update map later.)



A man enters. It's your new defense advisor. He bows at your feet and reports earnestly to you. "We have 24 horses ready for battle, Great Khan."



Shef, in his travels eastward, finds the old, familiar marking on a tree trunk, indicating his people, at least at some point, had been nearby.



BOOM— thump thump   thump, Clack Boom, Clack Boom—BOOM— Clack clack   clack—
The sounding of drums proceeds and a small choir of women begin singing over the drums, "Mother spring, sweet dewdrops falleth, gate of plenty may we enter. Wind and rain, soft, strong Sky gifteth, may we eat this year our fill.

The festivities sound dull from the inside of the tent. A servant man, helps Tiwak te-Koh to his feat, the ancient shaman's legs quivering as he finds the strength to stand.

"Tell me, is everything ready?"

"Yes, holy one," the servant answers, handing him his staff and leading him by the hand to the door, letting him go gently as the Yaksha shifts his weight back onto his staff.

Pushing his way through the flaps of the tent, the shaman receives cheers from the crowd as he exita in full ceremonial garb—a great many furs draped in layers over his light frame. The song picks up in volume as the latest verse ends. The drummers pick up the pace, leading into a new rhythm. The men, baritones and bases, sing a melody. "May the spirits, ancient voices, guide the spirit of this man. May our kinsman and our land dearest, be blessed in the new year forevermore."

The drums crescendo and speed up yet again, few drummers dropping out on every other beat, and then more until the next group drops to half of that, the drummers slowly dropping to a pace a quarter that of what they started with at the height of the crescendo. This rhythm goes on as several children are sent out in front of the rest of the crowd.

The Yaksha appears barely able to stand.

Dhokem looks over his shoulder to see Tiyala speaking right into his ear. He is at first startled, but quickly relaxes, speaking back in a hushed tone, "I tried to give them what you said, and they agreed that this ceremony would be the last he would oversee."

The children begin singing a melody to the slow-beating drums, starting with an introduction and chorus sung all together.

"This one? You know that he very well could—"

"Husshh—" Tiyala responds, "I know. Let's hope it won't come to that."

The children each take turns singing solo I'm between collectively-sung chori.
« Last Edit: June 15, 2018, 08:10:07 PM by SWAT One »

The Khan nods to the defensive advisor. "Have them ready to defend the village. Keep our army open to new recruits, however. 24 is a good number, but it's not a lot.", he says as he looks over a map in his tent.

"Yes, Great Khan."

Military drills start, but a number of officers request training dummies and courses up in the hills to the west. Your military advisor dissents, "Although they might gain some valuable experience in the hills, it is for your consideration, whether we would be at risk from attack from our new neighbors to the north."

The Khan turns to his advisor. "Have the craftsmen make dummies and plant them along the hills for the warriors.", he says.

Shef rises, stretches and rubs the soreness from his limbs and continues walking, albeit at a leisurely pace, all the while keeping an eye for anything edible.  As he goes, he drinks any dew he can find on larger leaves he passes.  His hunger only grows, but his years of hardship have prepared him well to endure and keep on moving.

The Khan turns to his advisor. "Have the craftsmen make dummies and plant them along the hills for the warriors.", he says.
The advisor bows out silently.

The dummies are created by the town Craftsman and in 4 days' time are set up on and around the hills for combat practice. Those that are worked beyond further use are replaced.

Your military advisor returns to you. "There are wild horses in the plains surrounding us. We might be able to obtain these and break them, but there are also another 10 horses that the people possess for their work that are accustomed to man. Should we seize these?"

Your domestic advisor dissents, "Please, the military has enough for now. The people need to work and eat. We feed the soldiers after all."

A great argent erupts in the tent.

"Are you threatening the military with starvation should we take your horses?! We would be weak if we don't expand our army!"

"No, we can only do so much without our stock. Please, do not take them!"

Your advisor-governor silences them and implores you make a decision.



Shef rises, stretches and rubs the soreness from his limbs and continues walking, albeit at a leisurely pace, all the while keeping an eye for anything edible.  As he goes, he drinks any dew he can find on larger leaves he passes.  His hunger only grows, but his years of hardship have prepared him well to endure and keep on moving.
He picks out greens, nuts and berries that are familiar to him. To his near left and right, there is brief shouting and rustling of bushes. 6 hunter-warriors stand up, javelins in hand.

Wait a minute... These men look familiar.

They seem to notice the same in you as well, and relax their weapons. One of the men, perplexed, inquires, "Shef? Shef is that you?"
« Last Edit: June 06, 2018, 02:10:19 PM by SWAT One »

Shef drops to his knees in shock.  He had only had the name his parents gave him for a couple of years before he was captured, and during the many moons of his enslavement, nobody had called him by anything more than slave.

He replies, his voice filled with emotion, "Chunn!"

The scouting party travels by canoe for 8 days along the coast and arrives at a river delta. They have enough supplies to make it 6 days over land, and can continue to eat fish from the waters, but only for so long without being malnourished and only if they can get to land safely to cook it. They also find bivalves and crabs near to the shore.

Arriving at the river delta, the less committed scouting force looks over the area and maps it out before simply turning around and beginning to head back. Upon arriving, they report on what they've found and plans to make another scouting party is begun.

The river ahead is not small by any measure.
The hunting paths are carved out successfully, however 2 men die to bear attacks and 1 is injured critically in one such attack. 1 man dies to wolf attacks, but the party he was in remarked he had been antagonizing them. Several hunters report plentiful deer and foxes. Ten fox furs are gifted specifically to the Halut-dan.

The territories are marked in due time. The shamans warn the men of the camp they must not cross into the swamp at the fork.

Full respects are given to the men that died, with a bit of added assistance given to the injured man to try and keep him alive in hopes of figuring out some details about the attack afterwards.

The Halut-dan accepts the gifts, as stoic as ever, and has some worked into his garbs as linings to show his status while the others are kept for decorative purposes around his home.

The forward camp adheres to the warning, though the shamans are able to catch the curious glances of some of the younger fighters.

The advisor bows out silently.

The dummies are created by the town Craftsman and in 4 days' time are set up on and around the hills for combat practice. Those that are worked beyond further use are replaced.

Your military advisor returns to you. "There are wild horses in the plains surrounding us. We might be able to obtain these and break them, but there are also another 10 horses that the people possess for their work that are accustomed to man. Should we seize these?"

Your domestic advisor dissents, "Please, the military has enough for now. The people need to work and eat. We feed the soldiers after all."

A great argent erupts in the tent.

"Are you threatening the military with starvation should we take your horses?! We would be weak if we don't expand our army!"

"No, we can only do so much without our stock. Please, do not take them!"

Your advisor-governor silences them and implores you make a decision.
The Khan shakes his head as the two argue. "Let the people have their horses, and send a team out to herd the horses and have them return here to be broken.", he says.

While they were there, Khan turns to his domestic advisor. "Have a team of herders herd some sheep to the village, I've heard that they graze south of here, no?", he says.

Arriving at the river delta, the less committed scouting force looks over the area and maps it out before simply turning around and beginning to head back. Upon arriving, they report on what they've found and plans to make another scouting party is begun.
The scouts are prepared to depart with considerably more supplies.

Full respects are given to the men that died, with a bit of added assistance given to the injured man to try and keep him alive in hopes of figuring out some details about the attack afterwards.
The village honors the gesture.

They are able to glean that the man got too close to the bear's cub. The mother was not happy to find him there, ran him down and left gashes in his calves, back, arms, and thighs. His party pulled him into a canoe before rushing him back.

The man has died of a combination of blood loss and disease.

The Halut-dan accepts the gifts, as stoic as ever, and has some worked into his garbs as linings to show his status while the others are kept for decorative purposes around his home.
+15 Swagger



The Khan shakes his head as the two argue. "Let the people have their horses, and send a team out to herd the horses and have them return here to be broken.", he says.
Bands of men rove the countryside to wrangle horses. They are brought in to stables and the taming process begins.

1 man dies to an infected horse bite. 1 man and 1 woman suffer serious, but non-critical kicks to the chest.

While they were there, Khan turns to his domestic advisor. "Have a team of herders herd some sheep to the village, I've heard that they graze south of here, no?", he says.
"Yes, Great Khan."

Teams of herders go out and bring in sheep to be herded around the south area of Kolyion Scars.



Shef drops to his knees in shock.  He had only had the name his parents gave him for a couple of years before he was captured, and during the many moons of his enslavement, nobody had called him by anything more than slave.

He replies, his voice filled with emotion, "Chunn!"
Awaiting you, Grunter.

"Bring me Kahul", The Khan says to a warrior, who nods and walks away. He returns with his domestic advisor. "How many medical staff do we possess?", he says.

Shef drops to his knees in shock.  He had only had the name his parents gave him for a couple of years before he was captured, and during the many moons of his enslavement, nobody had called him by anything more than slave.

He replies, his voice filled with emotion, "Chunn!"

The men look back and forth between themselves for a moment or two, the hesitation and suspicion obvious before one steps forward and looks him over with furrowed brows. After a minute of looking Shef over, his suspicion fades and is replaced as he expresses his joy in Shef's return with a squeezing hug.

"We all thought you were gone! Praise the tide for bringing you back!"

The others in the party don't seem too convinced- one even showing a bit of disgust that one of them's even touching Shef. Regardless, they turn and help guide Shef back to the village. Though where he'd probably hope to go straight back to his family, he's instead being taken up to a crude recreation of the old longhouse of their old home.

"The Halut-dan has to be made aware of your return," Says the smug one, "You've been gone for so long, you can tell him what you saw of the inlanders and whether they're coming this way or not. He'll also decide how to cleanse you of whatever they did to you."

Shef is guided up to the entrance of the longhouse and ushered inside, door shutting behind him- resulting in the only sources of light being dim torches along the support pillars and the great central fire. On the other end of the longhouse is the Halut-dan, sitting in his throne with one leg crossed over another and beckoning him over.

"Come- tell me your name, and let me get a good look at you."



The scouts are prepared to depart with considerably more supplies.

The scouts are sent back out east to follow the path they once took, with the aim of crossing the delta into the river on the other side.

They are able to glean that the man got too close to the bear's cub. The mother was not happy to find him there, ran him down and left gashes in his calves, back, arms, and thighs. His party pulled him into a canoe before rushing him back.

The man has died of a combination of blood loss and disease.

His injuries and the cause of death is taken into consideration, and warnings on how to prevent these same things from happening are issued to the people. He is given a proper burial after his departure.