At the Edge of Humanity {IC}

[Silver Night]

Verin Pak

"You have a talking rat!" Given Verin's dietary preferences (in which rat features prominently) her tone is close to that of a human who has encountered a talking cantaloupe. "I like your hat, talking rat!"

[~Corvus~]

And a welcome to you, Verin Pak.

"A beer brewer's gem?" Tai dons the padded leather armor.

Abdul raises his eyes at Tai. I'm surprised you haven't heard of The Dungeoneer's Guide to the Mountain-verse. It talks about the Six Gems and the Dwarves. He motions to Tai and the Alala as he continues. That armor: You'll have little use for it, as your psionic powers will provide for its lack. I found out earlier that there is a hefty bounty for Alala's capture, and if we're not careful getting you out of my Emporium... He leaves the statement hanging.

Spoiler: please read

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Safety in Abdul's Emporium is not guaranteed unless you are sleeping / resting in the Rest area.

Regarding Neogi, I'd prefer if Silver Night did the DC 38 knowledge exposition. I'm not up to snuff on Lords of Madness or the critters to do this. Silver, I'd love to work with you in this endeavor.

Stegyre, your knowledge checks are requiring me to work to cut and excise information and parse it together so that I don't give too much away, and it's a GREAT challenge I'm grateful to have. I'm going to cut your character off for KCs for this in-game day. I'm waiting on the 6-hour research until you've had a Long Rest AND a Short rest, as it will take time. It will be a veritable wall of text.

[whoiam]

"Of course there is. I'm rare, valuable, and it's hard to claim an armed ex-gladiator isn't dangerous...."

Alala tries stretching out a wing to poke at the... 'neogi of the cloth'..., but is held back by the altered body. Of course, she's kicked out wildly a couple of times before she notices why there isn't a wing stretching out in front of her...

Sylvan: "<Something I'm not going to translate for the sake of not drawing the ire of the mods>!"

Concentrating on the ring, Alala managed to get it to return her to her regular shape. Finally! She couldn't for the life of her think how humans were happy with such oddly-jointed legs.... Anyway, the important part (in her mind) was that she now had her wings back! And she could do what she'd been trying to do, which is reach one out to gently prod the... thing... with a wing-feather.

Some things you just wouldn't believe were real until you'd tickled them yourself...

[Silver Night]

Verin Pak

Verin skitters sideways in an attempt to avoid the wing feather, but is prodded. She does keep her grip on the tent wall, "Rude! Your horse-bird-person is rude, talking rat!" Verin whips out a rapier in a move that would be more threatening if it didn't look like it had been stolen from a cocktail glass and waves it ineffectually in Alala's direction, "Poking at Verin Pak is how you end up with pebbles in your hooves and lice in your feathers horse-bird-person! You have been warned!"

Promises of just and divine retribution thus delivered, Verin puts the rapier away and climbs a bit higher - though it would probably be difficult to get out of prodding range in the confines of the tent. Her attention seems to be caught by the gem that Jerid is holding, and her head stays still even as the rest of her continues to climb, until she has managed to place her entire body above the level of her head.

[whoiam]

And it... draw a sword on her? Well, that needed to be discouraged. Without looking away from the little spider monster thing, Alala reaches into her bag of holding. And draws out her chain. It's hard to miss that the spikes on the chain are probably heavier than the Neogi is... For a few long, long moments, Alala does little more than offer the little thing a slightly deranged grin, while idly swinging the chain tip in a loop.

"Intimidate" - (1d20+15)[24]

Still, she does, at least, draw her wing back as she does so.

"Rude? Probably." Actually, she's *generally* got good manners. She just failed her saving throw vs curiosity, and couldn't resist making sure the neogi was actually real... " But then I'm not in this little grouping for my manners. I'm in this group because I'm really, really good at smashing things apart. People, usually. That's why you really shouldn't draw a sword on me, unless you're sure it's time to use it." Casually, she tosses the chain tip a couple of feet into the air, and catches it when it comes down. Then she switches from the deranged grin to a more genuine one.

"Diplomacy" - (1d20+15)[28]

"And now that we know to take each other more seriously... You gave me your name, so I should offer mine. The name's Alala, and Vutha" gesture towards the Reth Dekala, whether or not he was still disguised, "and I are the muscle. The dragon, the human, the rat and the dryad - or Jerid, Omar, Tai and Xylona as they're usually known - are the brains and the magic. I imagine you're more in their half of the group than in mine, but if you really think you know how to use that blade, I'd be happy to run you through your paces..."

[Swami Monsoon]

Omar is starting to trust Abdul less and less. The slave sellers and buyers are just making "mistakes?" From the looks of the magical implements being used on the prisoners, those mistakes may be impossible to take back... but he holds his tongue for now. Allies are not exactly easy to come by at the moment, especially if Xylona is leaving...

He watches the interplay between Verin and the others, not sure who or what a "Neogi" is. Not that he is any position to ridicule anyone for being strange. He finally speaks up... "So, Verin, what brings you to this, uh, expedition?"

[Silver Night]

Verin Pak

"Glad you ain't just here for decoration." Verin eyes Alala as if she isn't 100% sure on that point, though you may notice she climbs a bit higher still, "And I suppose if you'd like I'll call you Alala, though I think horse-bird-person rolls off the tongue more easily. Anyway, I'd be surprised if a bigg'un like you was afraid of a wee little sword like mine. It's more for things my own size. Pigeons and rats and so on. Killed a Kobold with it once, though. Quite the battle! Took 3 days! I'm sure they still tell stories about me in the Kobold warrens."

Tall tale delivered, Verin looks to see if any of the others are interested in introducing themselves further.

Edit:

"I'm out and about to see a bit more of the world. My sort - undersized Neogi that is - usually end up enslaved or eaten. So, find havin' the opportunity ta do that's valuable to me. An' o course there's spreadin' the word of my most glorious deity."

[Stegyre]

Tai

"Mm, well, let's decide what to do next," says Tai, the rat-in-a-trenchcoat-and-hat. "It seems that Jerid is due at the dwarven moot, if he wants to go, to represent the beer brewers. I'm willing to go with him. Shall we rest here tonight and start early in the morning? I have some reading I want to do."

[blackwind1kaze]

Vutha, still in his disguise as it helps stop his aura from the possibility of hurting anyone Nods a hello to the Neogi when Alala mentions him.

He then listens back in until Tai mentions the meeting and sleeping here tonight. "I think it wise to spend the night here, making sure we're in peek performance for the meeting, who knows what to expect when we're there", he says to Tai. He then looks back at Alala and the Neogi and says, "Am I needed to be in between you two for the rest of the night?"

[whoiam]

"Oh, I shouldn't think that necessary.... It doesn't look all that dangerous, and that Verin's actual threats were as minor as stones and lice (and that it needed several days to kill something I could probably kill with a single stamp) suggests that slitting my throat as I sleep is probably a little beyond it's capabilities, whether ethical or physical I'm not entirely sure." Alala wasn't trying to be rude by referring to Verin as an 'it'... she just has no idea what gender the neogi is, or if they even have them. After all, this was just moments after she had to convince herself she wasn't hallucinating it... Alala was hardly a neogi expert!

As a gladiator, being 'crowd-safe' had been as much a part of her training as being arena-lethal was, and in her mind it was the most natural thing in the world to be calm, peaceful and friendly up until the point her masters told her it was time to be horribly violent. And then switch the violence off again at command. That others (such as Vutha) might have doubts about her 'safety' now that the commands to switch between peaceful and violent were coming from herself... simply hadn't occurred to her. Which is why she'd explained why she was safe from the Neogi, but not addressed why she wasn't likely to threaten Verin.

[Silver Night]

Vutha, still in his disguise as it helps stop his aura from the possibility of hurting anyone Nods a hello to the Neogi when Alala mentions him.

He then listens back in until Tai mentions the meeting and sleeping here tonight. "I think it wise to spend the night here, making sure we're in peek performance for the meeting, who knows what to expect when we're there", he says to Tai. He then looks back at Alala and the Neogi and says, "Am I needed to be in between you two for the rest of the night?"

Verin Pak

"That's flattering but I think we should just be friends." Verin bobs her head toward the rat, "I agree on the departure time, assuming you are all alright with me tagging along. The quick scuttler doesn't get eaten, and the early thief gets the coin as they say."

[~Corvus~]

A rat can't be too careful.

As Tai reads during the discussion, his Book of Worldly Knowledge shimmers and displays many pages from a collection he's skimmed before at the lab.

Spoiler: The Fisk Field Studies of Trade, Vol I: Aberrations through Animals
- Obart Plunth III, Pilna Beauvant & Vesger Fisk, editors.

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Neogi

Neogi reproduce by implanting eggs in an appropriately prepared member of their own species. The eggs hatch and the hatchlings eat their way out, and then turn on each other. Young Neogi are nearly mindless, and spend a number of years eating each other and anything else they can catch and trying not to be eaten in turn.

Most Neogi are about the size of a medium-large dog when adult. They have 8 legs, a spider-like body with long curved neck and an eel-like head. Neogi society centers around trade, prominently slavery but they will deal in any goods with value. They tend to specialize in exotic goods, which their wide-ranging commercial connections allow them to get when others can't. That extends to slaves as well and if you see a particularly unusual slave for sale there is a good chance that there is a Neogi involved somewhere in the supply chain. Locally they have a merchant hall which is a major supplier of specialist slaves in addition to various unusual equipment.

Within Neogi society itself slavery is very important, as owning slaves is a mark of status and Neogi themselves can be the slaves of other Neogi (although the status of a Neogi who is enslaved is quite different than that of any other slave, as they retain many of their rights and freedoms). Slaves are used as everything from currency to a handy source of food. Neogi, behind their facade of mercantilism are also frequent pirates and raiders, which they view as another, much lower cost, version of trade, often stealing slaves and goods when they can get away with it.

In combat, Neogi are frail. However, they are agile, have a poisonous bite, and are immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities. They also have an innate ability to enslave others.

Dwarf Neogi

A small number of Neogi fail to grow to full size. These dwarf neogi have innate magical abilities beyond those of their full-sized counterparts but are smaller and weaker. Dwarf neogi are widely considered even more unpleasant and evil than the rest of their race, but they are also almost always enslaved by a more powerful neogi. Owning a dwarf neogi is a major mark of status, and unlike other neogi slaves they are often treated more like property - valuable property. Due to their small size, they also survive 'childhood' even less frequently than other neogi.

Neogi in Nidea

Where Neogi come from is unknown - even to themselves as far as anyone has been able to tell. Even their language has been lost, and they use common among themselves. They are largely nomadic as a race (though they establish permanent trading outposts wherever it is profitable) and can be found anywhere there is trade or rare goods to acquire - black markets, slave markets, or exotic goods all mean that there are probably at least a few neogi in the mix nearby.

In Nidea, there are relatively few place that they can operate openly: Ür, a few isolated places in Kochus (mostly rare goods, and since they detest the cold, the often operate through agents there), and a number of places in Versuvia where they operate somewhat openly. They infest the Spines of the World as well, trading in rare gems and ores - though they are usually careful to avoid an open presence dwarven-controlled areas.

Of course, the places they don't operate openly are just as likely to have a Neogi presence - many of the places the travel they are forced to operate covertly, not least because a race of slavers who like to eat the less useful merchandise and consider piracy a sort of 'fire sale' aren't always welcomed with open arms. In the regency of Thisk they are banned and being found in dealings with them is a death sentence, but they are active in the black market as greed often overcomes sense - as no few 'customers' have found when taken and sold (gnomes being thought of highly in slavery cicles as hard working and easy to feed). In nearby Sodis they are rumored to be found buying and selling rare alchemical components and arcane materials rarely available from other sources - often with good reason, as few reputable merchants carry orphan blood or ground angel wings. In My'lithar they operate hit-and-run harvesting camps, gathering rare and valuable wood for trade, much to the rage of the elves. They lurk in the Plains of Steosh, doing their best to fill in the trade vacuum left by the disruption of The Roost. They also export the crafted goods the region is famous for (and when they can get away with it, they capture and export the craftspeople too).

Spoiler: OOC

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- and an Action Point to Silver Night for writing this entry. APs in my game last until the end of the next EXP encounter block.

[JonRG]

Jerid sighs with relief. The... neogi, or whatever it was, had drawn attention away from Abdul's revelation. He grunts in response to Tai's reference to him and the meeting.

[~Corvus~]

Abdul looks at the group with a knowing eye. I'd love to trade with you all, but I'm afraid now is not a good time. If you have potions or gems, however, I will buy them. Starting the next time, though, I must charge you all for lodging: 42 gold a person, which includes secure and restful 9 hours of down time, and a meal before and after your rest.


Xylona gathers the gems from everyone and turns them over to Abdul, who, to your surprise, gives you each (including Verin) a Dwarven Coinpurse, which only holds coin-currency but carries it without weight capacity issues. He then gives 2358 gold pieces to everyone but Verin and scurries out of the tent. You hear hushed voices outside but before anyone can check, Nimidia the gnome ducks into the tent.

Spoiler: Nimidia

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Hi there everyone. I met most of you before! I'm Nimidia. If you'll follow me, the dining and rest area is nearby...

And the gnome leads you to a feast-hall where empty plates line the tables, and sets of forks and knives and spoons and chopsticks line the centers of the tables. As you all sit down, several roast-chickens are brought out, carved in different styles and with different herbs and spices. The dragon is brought raw oxen, a little tougher than the last time, but bloody and chewy nonetheless. There are sprouted crowns and orange flower-fruits, carrots and vegetables of all kinds, dips and sauces brought, and 4-foot-tall walking trees bring large mugs of water to the table for each of you.

And for the rest...let us say nothing but that it is a pleasure, for two nights in a row, to have a luxurious place to sleep.

⟣ ﷼ ☫ ﷼ ⟢

[Stegyre]

Tai enjoys a fine meal. Although his magical ring moots the need for food, there is still a definite pleasure in the taste of it. When Jerid is distracted, he even sees if he can snitch a bite of the raw ox. (You lose all of the blood and much of the flavor when you cook it.)

He may be the erudite, well-read rat ever to have lived, yet he is still a rat, with a rat's tastes. I'll bet Abdul's trash heap would be delicious to root through. Some foods really don't reach the height of their flavor until they've lain out for a bit. As he gnaws the chicken bones, he wonders if he will be able to sneak out after dark to find it.

[whoiam]

For her part, Alala's being left wondering why Jerid was the only one served oxen.... (She definitely wouldn't have said no to roast ox...)

Still, any roast chicken the others don't claim quickly enough will end up disappearing at her hand - not only does she have a pretty large stomach to fill, but anything the others don't seem in a hurry to eat will start 'magically' gravitating to one of the side pockets of her haversack. Mostly the spare vegetables - trail food for their time on the road. After all, Alala can hardly count on her own ability to forage (although running down a deer or a boar is definitely possible, if she can find one to chase...)

One of her waterskins was sacrificed to carry the remainder of her favourite of the sauces (something barbecue-ish, probably), and she filled the one she'd been using during their journey from the mugs of water.

"This feels kinda like raiding leftovers from the owners' table. I used to get in so much trouble if they caught me... so I made a deal with the kitchen staff. Menial Labour for leftovers. Worked pretty well, really."

[Swami Monsoon]

Omar is quiet as he eats. He thinks back through the rather unpleasant description of the "Neogi." How much of that was true? Just what sort of thieves and cutthroats is Abdul consorting with? But for monsters, with the current order of things, what other kind of life was possible? Nobody in this company could just go out and get a respectable job. He wonders about the life ahead of him. A rather long life, if what some of the other fae told him was true. Is he going to spend all of that time scrapping and hustling and grifting?

For now there seems to be no choice. He doesn't fancy his chances alone, unless all he wants to do is literally put down roots in the woods somewhere and live out the rest of his days as a real tree. But the dwarves, though... If one of them was so willing to trust someone who was both a stranger and a monster with great responsibility, what did that say about the opportunities in their country? Was there a way to earn an honest living there? He will stay with this group at least long enough to get there and find out...

[blackwind1kaze]

"Well, hopefully we won't need to worry about something like that", Vutha says in response to Alala while still under his disguise. He slowly eats some of the food he grabbed here at there thinking mostly to himself, if he was thinking anything at all.

[Silver Night]

Verin Pak

Verin digs into the chicken with gusto, but seems uninterested in the non-meat dishes. Given her size, even an enthusiastic meal is only about 1 large drumstick. "You were a slave too? I used to just sneak extra food, me. So, what's the story with this dwarf thing? Are there gems there? Are we stealing them? Did you already steal that one I saw earlier?"

[blackwind1kaze]

Vutha politely snaps at Verin saying, "First, we aren't going to be stealing any gems. Second, we didn't steal it. it was passed onto Jerid on the dwarf's dying breath. We need to get it safely to the meeting because of this."

[Silver Night]

Verin Pak

"Welp, there is nothing - ab-so-lutely nothing - I don't like about dwarves. From what they stand for as a people down to how they taste in a nice sauce. Some of them do kill Neogi on sight, though. I don't suppose being part of the crew that's got that gem confers a bit'a what's-it. Diplomatic immunity? Or maybe those are nicer dwarves, over there?" Verin punctuates this with expansive gestures with a chicken bone held delicately in her... hands? Let's say hands.

[blackwind1kaze]

"I don't know what to expect when we get there. Unlike almost everyone here, I've yet to actually meet a dwarf properly and talk with them. Assuming they aren't like most of how this world is turning out to be, we should expect no trouble. However, I'm not really counting on that happening, so I'll be keeping my sword on hand until proven otherwise" Vutha responded before eating a little bit more and drinking a little bit, with bits of a sizzling sound coming from his mouth.

[whoiam]

"It's a little harder for me to sneak in and out of a mess tent. You may not have noticed, but I'm ever-so-slightly-larger than you..." As she'd proven in the battle, she was a competent sneak herself - moving quietly on metal horseshoes was no easy feat - but her bulk meant she'd never even be close to matching the tiny insect for stealth. " But yes, I was a slave. Up until a couple of weeks ago. Most people won't willingly decide to step into an arena with a couple of adult lions armed with nothing but a length of chain. That's why most gladiators are slaves, y'see. Bad as the lions might look, your owners' whipping post is worse. And if pain won't make you obey... well, you saw the magic items they had on sale outside, right? I'd rather be beaten than have my mind taken from me. Cuts and bruises heal.

But then my owners wanted me to lose a fight to an up-and-coming gladiator of theirs. There were a handful of rather... lucrative... matches available, that the other parties wouldn't let me participate in. Too likely to lose someone valuable if I landed a decent charge. So the plan was to get one of the other gladiators into consideration by having them 'beat' me. The Master took me aside before the bout, and told me in no uncertain terms I had to take a fall in this match if I wanted to live long enough to have another. And I did.

Side note: I'm not entirely sure how much force the human knee is supposed to be able to take landing across it sideways at high speed. I'm guessing not 'the equivalent of a centaur tripping over its own chain and smacking into you at a canter', because you would not believe how broken his legs were when I managed to roll off him...

I thought I'd worked the trip into our fight very believably. But the Master only cared about the loss of earnings - and the medical bills. So as 'punishment', I was booked in for a bunch of group matches. Now, I am pretty good at fighting, but taking on 10 soldiers in one go is pushing things a little. So that's when I left the slave's life...


Aaaaanyway! Dwarves. Can't say I know much about'em either. I've fought one or two. Tough little buggers, mostly. Plus it's surprisingly hard to hit someone with a lance when their heads are below the level of your waist. But I can't claim to know anything about them as a culture..."

[Swami Monsoon]

"I don't have much experience with dwarves either. But I've heard that they tend to be more tolerant of, uh... people like us. Jerid getting "hired" seems to bear that out. I'm interested to see what they have to offer. Maybe we can find some kind of steady work there..."

[Silver Night]

Verin Pak

"Well, here's hoping. Do you think they might be interested in hearing about the wonders of Olidammara?"

[~Corvus~]

One of the treants that wander up to the table seems to linger past serving drinks. Caaarreefulll saappliiinggsss. Theessee dwarrrvesss are noooot ooonesss foor praaannnksss or muuch shaariiingg of thoooght. Beee on your guaaaard, foor they honorr streeength, not wooordss or shaaaringg.

Honoorrr theeemm with knowleeedge of beeer aand your familyyyy and geeems and weeeaponnns. But moostlyyy your famillyyy.

[JonRG]

Jerid's expression darkens at the mention of family, and he picks at what remains of his oxen.

[whoiam]

"...So, mentioning that I have no idea who my parents were is bad, and talking about my exploits in the arena is good. I wonder how many of them I could beat in a tug of war? Anyway, thank you for the advice, I shall adjust my behaviour correspondingly.

Hm. I don't suppose there are wanted flyers of me around anywhere, are there? If I'm going to introduce myself as a terribly dangerous escaped gladiator, it might help to have proof that the humans consider me a dangerous escaped gladiator..."

[Stegyre]

Tai

Mm, my family? That will present a problem, won't it? Tai tries to remember back to before his "awakening," but the thoughts are so primitive and instinctual. A weaned rat pup has no need for the ideas of "mother" and would never have need to recognize "father."

I have no family, he realizes. If I survive, reproduce, I may be a progenitor of a new race, but it is senseless to speak of my forebears.

Where could a race of intelligent rats survive, much less thrive, in this world? Would the endeavor even be worthwhile. His forepaws scratch under his furry chin, as he sits lost in thought.

[~Corvus~]

The tree says to them, Youuu loook asss aciiid raaaiiin faaallsss. It pauses. Iiit issss raaaaiiiin fromm otherrrr worldssss, wooorsssse than this one. Youuuu alll arreee your oowwnn familyy nooow.

The treant pauses, and it looks as it it will walk away when it says, Loyallltyyyy. Moooreee impooortant than familyyy is your loooyallltyyyy to eaaachh other. If theyyy seee thaaaat, theyy will nooot caare of famillyyy.

With that, it takes the several mugs of water it has and says, Driiiink, sapliiingsss. Driiink and be welll and fiiind a meeeannsss to be loooyalll to eaaach otherrr. The dwaarrvesss willl test youuur loyaltyyy to eaaach otherrr.

With that, the treant shambles away, slowly enough that one must wait a while before it disappears around a corner.