GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 13: Holding Court

Characters:

Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster

Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

 

The Terran Faithful

The Triumvirate resumed its meeting on the rebel/reform movements, but struggled to come to any decision, and conversation drifted to the subjects of leverage over the Segretan League, and yet another attempt by Pomegranite to sway the others into going to war with the dwarves.  Before long, they were interrupted by Friedrich Quarry, their "new" High Priest, who was there to inform them of progress on the reconstruction of the Mountain's Maw temple complex.  Quarry had adopted a human first name in honour of the old emperor and was a thorn in their side, looking to radically restructure the church to merge it with the Imperial Faith.  He even wore human-style clothes!

 

Simply put, it would not be possible for the foreseeable future.  The earth below the mountain and temple was continually shifting, and anything they built would collapse in a matter of days.  Mielikki asked if there were signs of volcanic activity, as that was part of the end times foretold in earthling religion, but Friedrich assured him that their terramorphers had dug deep and found no signs of magma or rising temperatures, so for now, at least, this was not a larger threat.

 

On the subject of the end times, though, the version of events as told by The Book, the holy text of the Imperial Faith, seemed much more relevant.  The sun was red and hanging in the sky, it was unseasonably warm, and stars were going out.  This was driving people to the Imperial Faith as a result, something the Triumvirate knew the high priest was actively facilitating as he tried to merge the two faiths.  Mielikki "joked" about "finding another book of Terran myth", which shocked both Thicket and even Friedrich, radical that he was, badly enough that he was forced to drop it.

GURPS Fantasy Warriors Session 12: Dealing with Dukes

Characters:

Granmarg The Striking Vanguard, The Boulderstruck, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate
Pomegranite The Treefallen, The Spymaster

Mielikki The Field Marshal, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

Thicket The Grandmaster Terramorpher, Member of the Earthling Triumvirate

 

The Imperial College

The earthling army marched back out of the province of Tauschun and to the College far to the northeast. The further north they travelled, the longer the red sun hung in the sky.  By the time they were approaching Halberst, there were only a few hours of normal daylight, the rest an orange twilight, with night perhaps half as long as it should be.  As they passed through the rocky and mountainous terrain that had been transferred to the College in the recent treaty with Ulrich, some of the College magisters took their leave from the army to begin the work of assessing the value of the region.

 

Weeks of travel through the rocky highlands of Halberst later, they arrived at the Imperial College itself, which was defended by a one hundred foot tall circular wall of solid, magically created stone which was, they noted positively, similar to earthling construction methods.  Leaving the bulk of the army to camp outside the city, the commanders arrived at one of the great circular gates and walked down the broad thoroughfares of the "new city" until they arrived at the edge of the College campus, which had been built over the ruins of the old city following its destruction after the rebellion of the old King of Halberst.  A few sections of the old fortifications still stood, typically where they abutted buildings.

 

As they arrived at the campus, a small delegation led by High Magister Curzo came out to meet with them.  There was no fanfare, and those from the College wore only their typical robes.  Curzo extended a curt greeting, and congratulated the commanders on a successful campaign in Tauschun.  Mielikki explained that, though they had acquired some of Tauchun's land, they had been unable to secure the province's support for Cliffside, the nephew of Thicket that they were supporting as the next Emperor.