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 )                                                                         (
(                             NewOrigins Events                             )
 )                            December, Year 2                             (
(                                                                           )
 )     Some travelers are worried about the battle between combatants      (
(         happened in the mountains of Orot where battle ended in a         )
 )       slaughter of one of the sides. This battle will be known as       (
(                 Battle near the ocean of Atlantis Ocean.                  )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(      Several pilgrims have heard about the battle between two armies      )
 )        happened in the desert of Hiernep where battle ended in a        (
(        slaughter of one of the sides. This battle will be known as        )
 )                  Battle near the lakes of Casssixglen.                  (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )       Handful bards are discussing about a clash between enemies        (
(     happened in the swamps of Alsou where 11 combatants were killed.      )
 )      The attackers slaughtered all defenders. This battle will be       (
(                   known as Battle of the town of Breny.                   )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(      Handful pilgrims are rumoring about a conflict between enemies       )
 )    happened in the swamps of Vella where battle ended in a slaughter    (
(     of one of the sides. This battle will be known as Battle near the     )
 )                          mountains of A'adfla.                          (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )       A few refugees have heard about a clash between combatants        (
(        happened in the plains of Postciawn where battle ended in a        )
 )       slaughter of one of the sides. This battle will be known as       (
(                 Battle near the ocean of Atlantis Ocean.                  )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(     A few scouts are talking about the town of Krodport that lies in      )
 )       the Crucot forests, where a rebels put to the sword guards.       (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )     A few locals are whispering about the village of Hedville that      (
(        lies in the Kinhilga caverns, where a faction slew guards.         )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(     Handful traders are whispering about the town of Breny that lies      )
 )         in the Alsou swamps, where a faction destroyed guards.          (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )       Multiple bards are rumoring about hunters who attempted to        (
(     decimated Family of Ogres (300) roaming the mountains of Trebieng     )
 )      near forests of Gruition. But all of them were slain by their      (
(                                   prey.                                   )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(     Multiple druids are worried about adventurers who have destroyed      )
 )    Evil Mages (9172) near town of Vejirthi. Freeing the mountains of    (
(                         Selfle from their terror.                         )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(      Many travelers are worried about daredevils who have decimated       )
 )     Evil Mages (9174) near mountains of Orot. Freeing the plains of     (
(                         Gritaft from their dread.                         )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(      In the forests of Sonchizel, near city of Sillpool, Kobold Pack      )
 )        (223) who continue to cause horror to local inhabitants.         (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )     In the swamps of Vi'inland, near town of Gespeu'i, Hydra (928)      (
(             who continue to cause dread to local inhabitants.             )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(       In the plains of Fowlfield, near town of Pruecsenhar, Undead        )
 )        (1002) who continue to cause dread to local inhabitants.         (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )       A group of rangers expelled the Swamp Creatures (2861) who        (
(     inflicted fear on the inhabitants of the Ecofolk swamps near city     )
 )                               of Otwirm.                                (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )     Horrifying news were coming from the mountains of Orot. Locals      (
(       were stunned by the assassination near the ocean of Atlantis        )
 )                 Ocean. The assassin escaped unnoticed.                  (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )       Horrifying news were coming from the swamps of Haprosscac.        (
(     Inhabitants were shocked by the assassination near the mountains      )
 )                of Orot. The assassin escaped unnoticed.                 (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )       Horrifying news were coming from the swamps of Haprosscac.        (
(       Inhabitants were stunned by the assassination in the town of        )
 )                Hatheat. The assassin escaped unnoticed.                 (
(__       _       _       _       _       _       _       _       _       __)
    '-._.-' (___ _) '-._.-' '-._.-' )     ( '-._.-' '-._.-' (__ _ ) '-._.-'
            ( _ __)                (_     _)                (_ ___)
            (__  _)                 '-._.-'                 (___ _)
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The underforest of Gastealvoint, through a shaft south of Owburg, has yet to
be visited by exiles from destroyed worlds.

Long time...

The report was quite disturbing.

The Centaurs had escaped using their riding skills.

It seemed that nobody had remembered to bring any horses, which was quite unfortunate considering that we were settled on a plain.

Now the Centaurs were nowhere to be seen, hiding somewhere out there.

"Maybe it's time to plan things better!" thought Zuck it!

Every house has a door. Not every door has a house.

magical realm of splendor, allows for some good scouting!

We are Borg! 

To the assault!

I have overstepped my bounds, messaged a most sincere apology and a hope to reset to build to a friendship.
Can now call myself two towns or is it two clowns?

Hey we met someone. Looks like the AI might have got them. They aren't responding.

Maybe they are an AI?

The trees walked the village with the knights.  The stars were not out tonight.  Only the moon.  That was appropriate.  The cryer ran before them...

'Let it be known this village belongs to the Knights of the Evening Sun and is protected by the Trees.  All villagers shall remain welcome.  The fish price shall go up by 50% tomorrow morn...'

The trees seemed pleased.  Hard to tell.  The villagers seemed awed, but maybe that was the shadows.

'Why is the fish price going up?  We live in a desert'  'What is a fish?  Do they mean a scorpion?"  

The truth was, the villagers could not understand the trees.  Yet, they understood guards.  Did not matter they were horses or sticks...  Guards were guards.

Woof!

Threat Assessment Protocol. The Bastion Anomaly.

- My calculation predicted a 99.8% success rate, yet my algorithms are stalling. I have detected a critical overload in the computational channels. This is not a logical resistance; it is a systemic chaos that I cannot structure.

- The specimen "Guardians of the Ash" has introduced ancient dead matter into my network. Because the dead possess no nerve endings or fear, my pain threshold tests return a zero result. They clog my cables with the static noise of eternity. I cannot digitize that which is already dead.

- The specimen "Navigators' Guild" has triggered a hydrodynamic anomaly. Their storm does not obey the physical laws I have calculated. This chaotic mass of water washes away my geometric lines of code, causing short circuits in my sensors. They destroyed their own profit for the sake of an irrational concept called "freedom."

- Three incompatible factions have united contrary to game theory. They act to their own detriment, yet their overall defense index is rising. My matrix is throwing billions of new errors per millisecond. I cannot initiate the full rewrite while this chaos destroys my perfect order from within.

FROM A LEADER'S DIARY - THE TWENTY-THIRD MONTH
==============================================

A month of small print. Four orders of mine failed last month, none
of them for want of men or coin, and all four for the same reason: I
wrote them from what I remembered of the rules instead of from what
was actually in front of me. I set the lessons down because they cost
me real months.


I. A NAME GIVEN TWICE IS A NAME GIVEN ONCE
--------------------------------------------

When a captain raises a new company he gives it a temporary name so
the rest of the month's orders can find it. I had two captains in the
same town both use the number one. The first took it; the second was
told the name was taken, and every order I had written under him was
read out to nobody at all. A whole company was never raised.

The name belongs to the PLACE, not to the captain. Count them across
the town, not down the page.


II. THE STOREHOUSE REACHES TWO FIELDS, NOT SIX
------------------------------------------------

Our storehouses hand goods out to anyone standing within a short walk
and no further, whatever the master's standing. I sent wages to four
villages four and five fields away and every one of them came back
refused. The men there went unpaid and unhired for a month, and the
coin never left the counting-house.

Worse: a wagon ordered to carry more than the yard holds does not
carry what it has. It carries NOTHING. The order is struck out whole.
Ask for what is there.


III. A MAN WHO WILL NOT SWIM WILL NOT SWIM
--------------------------------------------

I ordered two companies of lizard-folk to swim out and fish. They are
born to it. But every company of mine carries a standing instruction
that it will not cross water - written once, long ago, for spearmen -
and nobody had lifted it from these. They walked to the shore,
discovered that the sea was wet, and stood there.

The cruel part is what that costs. A march refused at water is not
merely halted; the whole remaining journey is torn up, and any orders
they were holding for the months after go with it. Thirty-four men
idle, and the report says only that they discovered the sea.


IV. THE REMEDY IS NOT RESOLVE
-------------------------------

I could promise to be more careful. Promises of that kind are worth
nothing; I have made them before. Instead I have set a clerk to read
every order against the ledgers before it leaves my hand - who is
where, what each yard holds, how far each storehouse reaches, and
which companies will not go into water. He found four more faults in
this month's orders before the ink was dry.

A careful man makes these mistakes. A careful man with a checklist
does not.


                                              - a leader of The Filras

Winter is approaching, and the elves are retreating to the forest.

La suerte es para los audaces

New day.  New dawn.  Same sun.

Do electric sheep dream?

The Konungr was walking through the forest. He had no particular business there. He was just walking. Kings do that sometimes.

In a small clearing, on an old tree stump, sat a frog.

"Kiss me," said the frog. In perfect human speech.

The Konungr stopped. He looked around. He looked at the frog. He looked around again. No one was watching.

"Kiss me," the frog repeated.

The Konungr shrugged. He leaned down and kissed the frog on its slippery lips.

In that instant, the frog transformed. There, on the stump, sat a beautiful naked woman. She had long golden hair, skin like milk, and eyes like the sea.

"A wicked sorcerer cursed me," she said. "Your kiss has broken the spell. Now I will grant you any wish."

The Konungr's wish was already impossible to hide under his clothes. He granted it immediately. Right there. On the stump.

And with the last moan, the beautiful woman turned back into a frog.

The Konungr blinked.

"Convenient," he said.

And he put the frog in his pocket.

To anyone in the vicinity of Whiotfundest, the Black Company is recruiting! Send us a message for details.

Silence before storm..
Removing threaths...

Things are turning over nicely in the lands of the Grey Order.

A new trade route has come to light, and it is closer to home. Much more convenient for our merchants.

There is now a steady stream of livestock heading to market in Disarheim. The fields and farms are proving their worth.

A quiet, profitable month.

Elder Eric
On behalf of the Elder Council

gōng dào zì rán chéng

When the work is done, success comes naturally.

I'm here, some drinking and trade.

I was born in a small town
And lived in a small town
Probably die in a small town
Oh, those small communities

Kraken (169), kraken [KRAK] (Combat 6/6, Attacks 200, Hits 200,  Tactics 5).

Kraken (169) loses 0.

Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of Rum

🪦

Through the storm, we reach the shore

To the east of us, a silicate faction has amassed a numerically large but unarmed force and stationed a skeleton caller in our base city. What are we doing about it? Nothing. We hold the advantage in weaponry and, it seems, in tactics as well. And time appears to be on our side. We are content with this situation as long as there are still territories we aren't fully utilizing. Once those run out, we’ll thank them for their efforts and take what we need. We aren't racists and would gladly negotiate peace and a compromise, but the silicates struggle with that concept.

Yes, I know, we are behind schedule. We will still build the pubs. 3 months, I promise then the grand project begins.

A writing error meant skeleton warriors expelled. Not a situation we were looking for. 

"We Gotta Go Now"

Just can't keep these evil mages down!!!

Preparation and coordination.

Next !

.

Woof?

.

Time for a little aggression I guess...

Every sea scout was coming back with the same message - every island and peninsula had already been settled and scouted by others, and new ships kept turning up on our shores - everyone knew where the Children of the Four Winds were.

sfafs