Turn 16-17
Turn 16
Just as the people celebrate the unlooked-for return of their God from what seemed like his death, tragedy again strikes the Cirinist faith. In a battle at the Ulmish stronghold, a vampire swoops down upon the Most Holy Prophet of Cirin and claims his life. The beast is promptly annihilated by the combined fire of the nearby mages, but the damage has been done: Cirin has lost his prophet, just as he made his triumphant return.
Taking possession of a few keepsakes made for him by his followers (a black steel helmet ("for that last blow, the one where he conked you on the head, not the one with the lance") and an endless bag of wine, whose endlessness Cirin certainly put to the test), and bearing a scabbed-over wound that would never quite heal, the dragon flew out to inspect the siege.
"So a vampire has tasted dragon blood. I mean to enjoy the taste of broiled vampire."
Ofagion the commander collects up the expected straggler from the previous fight (just one hoplite this time), along with a couple spiders shuttled in by poor old Shujaa. He is replaced at his post by the three Voices of the Lord (Kamau, Abasi, and Mkufuzi), who had been trained to perform the ceremonies that led to Cirin's return, and now found themselves in a competition to see who could take the Prophet's mantle.
In the meantime, Giuseppe Del Migo, the inquisitor, was pleased to find himself hunting vampires. "No filth more unclean," he said, "not even among the tribals."
Recruiting: 1 sage, 1 scout, 1 black sorcerer, 1 black hunter.
No mercenaries this turn (thank God).
Pythium has dispersed his (still alarmingly large) armies. Scouts are moving into position to find out a bit more about Abysia and the other still unaccounted-for Pretenders.
Troops moved to the front of the field so as to give the Vamp Queen a bit less time to summon her undead minions.
Provinces: 7.5 (I need to start conquering the remaining bits of Ulm soon. Maybe another mercenary will turn up.)
Income 595 Upkeep 161
Research: Evocation 56 (96 needed for level 4) (with a pair of Earth Boots, Kinya could cast Blade Wind. That is all.) Also, Alt 2, Con 4, Ench 1, Thaum 1.
Gems: F 10 (+1) A 7 (+1) E 24 (+6) D 1 (+1) N 5 (+5). I forgot to mention that a necromancer stole all my death stones. Jerk.
End turn. Host.
Turn 17
Once again, the vampire sorceress attempts to retake her castle. This time, she finds the fresh mercenaries of Giuseppe Del Migo and a very alive, and very angry, dragon to contend with. Cirin flies across the battlefield hunting down vampires, very happily munching down the vampire who had murdered his prophet before becoming bogged down in a seemingly-endless stream of the undead called up by the Queen. His forces eventually came to his relief, and the Queen, sensing that her dominion had passed and that she might not revive if she stayed to the bitter end, fled the scene.
Scouts, in the meantime, report that Ulm controls only two more provinces beyond its capital, and that beyond those provinces lies the Jotun capital. Jotunheim and Abyssia appear to share the bulk of the southern portion of the continent. But where is Tien Chi? The mysterious Easterners have yet to put in an appearance.
It turns out I recruited a regular sorcerer instead of a black one last turn. Oops. Still, Kitunzi shows promise as a site searcher (1F 1W 1D 2N) so I'll send him to the one unsearched province I control. No Earth searching, but I do not anticipate a shortage of earth gems being a concern.
Shujaa ferries a Hunter along with a ring of regeneration and a bag of wine to the staging point at Gula Kusten. Two of the three Voices of the Lord step in to assist at the siege. The third awaits Shujaa's arrival.
Vatteskog U now boasts one faculty in each of the main specialties of Magic except for Blood (as is only right), and has two faculty each devoted to Hydromancy and Astral magic.
Pythium continues to shuffle its troops about according to no clear plan.
I rehire Gynter Blukroft (who has probably never seen such soft service) and train a sage and a black sorcerer (this time for sure). Fordo Boggit is up for hire, but I blanch at the 220 gold he demands. If Ulm wants to pay him, so be it. At last sighting, the Queen was leading an elite band of slingers, so I doubt myself if she has the financial resources to pay mercenaries.
But I could be wrong.
Provinces: 7.5
Income 612, Upkeep 185
Research: 40 Evocation (40 needed for level 4), 33 Construction (160 needed for level 5). Planning on shooting for enchantment 5 and construction 6, not necessarily in that order, so that I can get Gift of Health running. Construction 5 and a pair of Earth Boots gives Kinya a chance to build some fun wind-up toys.
Gems: Fire 11 (+1), Air 8 (+1), Earth 30 (+6), Death 2 (+1), Nature 10 (+5).
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Threaded Mode