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Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer

BingoZero posted:

We are clearly in wasp hell and as such must keep going. Push the objective aggressively. Abigail can’t stop nor will she stop and we must follow. Keep the hammer alive, she’s a sword to inherit. If we’re the best defense we take a rear guard position as ITEC moves.

A question for Swedish. How legal or illegal was it to keep a vespid for commercial purposes? They appear sentient. Kobold’s similarly appear sentient, and are census designated pests (kill on sight) so I think we'd get in hot water for keeping one of those. If we could claim live Vespid’s as salvage without getting in a ton of trouble, we should. WWRD? Ever the pragmatist, the emperor gave Maryvale three chances to get in line. There is profit to be made. There is work to be done. Lets get these bees buzzing to the imperial tune.

If legally permissible, when/if things go bad we must eat a cupcake and invite the bugs to “Yield,” we claim them as salvage, they gain protection as our (and the other monster hunter’s) property. Even if the wasps get us, they are in a tough spot, they clearly are advanced and have motivations. Rim would not let them go to waste.

Also as was demonstrated a long time ago, we can control how we present in the cupcake ethereal. As such, for the purpose of demonstration we should appear for negotiations as a dwarf with a vespid symbiote/ power armor, clearly with waspstone gauntlets. This could be the hottest thing since calcified slime.

I'm rereading the thread, and its beautiful. Is it a coincidence that Mr. Hobbson has the same portrait as the Paladin of Toil that we saved on page 49? There is so much depth, so many connections lost in a cloud of FOOF.

Living organisms are divided into roughly five categories.

Deity, (one of three) sentient Powers who have accepted Imperial Law and performs supernatural services in exchange for sanctioned worship.

Citizens, who are sentient, living organisms who have accepted Imperial Law and worship one of or a combination of the three designated deities of the United World Church and pay their taxes accordingly.

Animals, which are living organisms of any degree of sentience who have not accepted or cannot accept or fill in the required forms to accept Imperial Law, Worship-affiliation nor pay their taxes. Most animals are mundane, in that they do not exhibit any supernatural characteristics. The sub-category Pests are animals which, whilst not Monsters, are still harmful to the Empire and its dealings.

Monsters, which are living organisms of any degree of sentience who will not accept nor fill in the required forms to accept Imperial Law, Worship-affiliation nor pay their taxes and worse, actively oppose the Empire and cannot be reasoned with to do so. Most monsters exhibit some supernatural ability.

Powers, are unaffiliated supernatural entities of any degree of sentience, such as the Conceptual Spirits that Rim, the first Emperor, battled before unification, as well as more concrete and personable entities such as Dragons - they differ from Monsters in that their intentions are not solely malevolent and in the sheer scale of their natural and supernatural abilities.

A Citizen may claim the Right of Salvage to Monster remains only if they are a member of the Monster Hunters Guild, or if the monster perishes on their land and the Guild relinquishes their priority Right of Salvage, though this is discouraged since even the remains may be problematic for the inexperienced. A Citizen may purchase remains deemed safe by the Guild of off the Guild and do with these as they see fit. This is the Guild at-large main source of income, aside from membership fees.

A Citizen may make use of an Animal for domestic purposes such as forced labour, slaughter, companionship and protection.

A Citizen must officially worship at least one Deity but is free to 'shop around' so to speak amongst the authorized three, or divide their worship however they see fit.

Vespids, being living organisms of questionable or at least varied sentience that cannot be reasoned with and actively oppose the Empire and exhibit some supernatural tendencies (such as improbable girth and vitriolic acid) are classified as Monsters.

So what the company that originally hired yours to acquire a sample of "living remains" did was technically legal, which is the best kind of legal. You are also technically off the hook for the aftermath of your contract, at least from the governments point of view. The Guild may still see fit to sanction you though, we shall just have to see!

Yes, that is a coincidence. They are not the same person and they hail from vastly different areas of the Empire, I must have mistaken ones picture for the other at some point. Oh well. Chalk it up to chance or fashion that they have nearly identical grooming; weirder things have happened!]

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HBar
Sep 13, 2007

Does this mean human/humanoid noncitizens and outlaws are legally considered animals and risk being treated as animals?

Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...
I just want to appreciate that those who will not pay taxes are defacto monsters

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
Hello self-identifying 'citizen', I am a state recognised monster hunter. Please show me your current year income tax statement to avoid termination and salvage.

Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer

HBar posted:

Does this mean human/humanoid noncitizens and outlaws are legally considered animals and risk being treated as animals?

Indeed, Outlaws are technically pests.

Humanoid non-citizen sentients can fall into any of the other categories, an uncontacted tribe of Axolotl People would be considered animals until they accepted Imperial Law and paid their taxes, a Kobold is considered a pest, a Gnoll a monster, the Anatinupomorphized Power Concept of Greed, a Deity.

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
Sentient FOOF plz

BingoZero
Sep 6, 2023
The Cousins Ironscript have, for too, been trapped in the day to day struggle to survive to see the grand weave. Buried under debt, and imminent threat we have for too long been deaf to the symphony we are a part of.

Swedish Thaumocracy posted:

Mårgått Merryfoot, The First Casualty of the Last Godwar

So Great Mårgått's Divinity was Shattered, and all his works came at once undone.

Swedish Thaumocracy posted:

Mr. Guffsons bad day

"There was an incident a few centuries back, you understand. Big scuffle, a bit of Deicide... So we had to do a bit of a rush-job you see. Cut a few corners. Recycle.. Uhm. Recycle what we had left.”

Swedish Thaumocracy posted:

Bedtime Stories

The couple, through a long series of ritualized and some would say agonizing paperwork, apply to the God of Labour for the guardianship of a fresh soul: to be guided into a mold of clay filled with primordial slime.
Thorgrim needed no cupcake to bind Kvelar to himself. Thorvelar is somehow in possession of a shard of divinity. For years Panacea has been telling us we need no confection to walk the ethereal. We have been playing the games of mortals, fighting isolated monsters, when we could have been doing divine dwarrow deals.

Is there a god of predators hunters, of wrath, pain, revenge, punishment, stings and pricks, pain justice utilizing appropriate and justifiable force?

Nyaa posted:

The empire should get more gods

The Emperor posted:

Power! Wherever Thou Might Be - Come Hither As Per My Decree!
My cousin and I noticed you across the hive and we really dig your vibe.

In practical terms the proposal is this: plant the bombs to establish dominance and do an Origin’s of Toil style power parlay. We take the living remains of the hives as salvage, they live protected as property, we draft papers petitioning the bugs be promoted to animals and in time citizens, they work towards imperial ends, we point them at criminals and monsters, their young feast on the right monster meat. There is precedence for such social climbing.

WWRD? Rim did this, uplifting Toil and the Dwarrow. What would the gods think? Drones to labor for toil, wasp wares in the market for quackeen, and Lolth? Lolth really didn’t like the bee-shop and cited how important the triumvirate was, however what grandma doesn’t love more grand babies chewing their way out from endlessly healing troll flesh, its atheistic screams echoing in her ears forever as its trapped in a living nightmare?

This is a risky play, but we’ve been on the back foot for a long time, and if we Ivana Sendvic can corner the market on bug made wares it’ll be a big step forward. We’ll hang for this

Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer

BingoZero posted:

WWRD? Rim did this, uplifting Toil and the Dwarrow. What would the gods think? Drones to labor for toil, wasp wares in the market for quackeen, and Lolth? Lolth really didn’t like the bee-shop and cited how important the triumvirate was, however what grandma doesn’t love more grand babies chewing their way out from endlessly healing troll flesh, its atheistic screams echoing in her ears forever as its trapped in a living nightmare?

This is a risky play, but we’ve been on the back foot for a long time, and if we Ivana Sendvic can corner the market on bug made wares it’ll be a big step forward. We’ll hang for this

Whatever the Gods think (you could ask, they are right there) - it'd have to be a pretty good pitch considering a dozen different teams are working to demolish both hives as we speak and have been ordered to kill everything vespid related present.

Arcanuse
Mar 15, 2019

I don't exactly advocate for the option, but... I think if the Vespids Deity (in function, not Empire-recognized legal terms) was willing to bend the knee to Toil (or another agreeable Empire-recognized Deity) in service, something could be arranged.
(And I do specify Toil for a reason, Quackeen's rate would be extortionate, Lolth would be less than thrilled with the idea.)

The hard part would be getting the Vespids to agree to, frankly unfavorable terms (Join or Die) in exchange for survival. And nominal lawful protections as servants of Toil.

What passes for a Vespid representative is unavailable at this time, but since the option is there, let's consult Toil.

e:"Access to a strong, winged labor-force with minimal communicative abilities outside their own kind to negotiate empirical labor-law, existing at the empires continued tolerance (or lack therof)."

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
I'm from Tukatt Hold and I say FOOF em all

BingoZero
Sep 6, 2023
Checking with Toil seems solid. Is there any common knowledge a citizen would have on the current state of the pantheon? A triumvirate’s been mentioned, as have a handful of other gods. The hobbits god got smashed, and IIRC skvababt worships lolth but does this mean the frog god is similarly smashed? How mutable is the pantheon? Are there minor (recognized) gods? Would it be possible to plug Bee-sus in under Toil?
As for selling the hive’s surrender to the assembled horde, if Thorgrim’s property law shenanigans aren't enough to stay their hands lets hope Kvelar’s got the gift of gab and can pull off a “Bugs, Hunters, businessmen, lend me your ears, we come not to bury Bee-sar but to profit from him,” but we can FOOF that bridge when we come to it.

super sweet best pal
Nov 18, 2009

BingoZero posted:

Checking with Toil seems solid. Is there any common knowledge a citizen would have on the current state of the pantheon? A triumvirate’s been mentioned, as have a handful of other gods. The hobbits god got smashed, and IIRC skvababt worships lolth but does this mean the frog god is similarly smashed? How mutable is the pantheon? Are there minor (recognized) gods? Would it be possible to plug Bee-sus in under Toil?
As for selling the hive’s surrender to the assembled horde, if Thorgrim’s property law shenanigans aren't enough to stay their hands lets hope Kvelar’s got the gift of gab and can pull off a “Bugs, Hunters, businessmen, lend me your ears, we come not to bury Bee-sar but to profit from him,” but we can FOOF that bridge when we come to it.

Bees are food for Lolth

Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer

BingoZero posted:

Checking with Toil seems solid. Is there any common knowledge a citizen would have on the current state of the pantheon? A triumvirate’s been mentioned, as have a handful of other gods. The hobbits god got smashed, and IIRC skvababt worships lolth but does this mean the frog god is similarly smashed? How mutable is the pantheon? Are there minor (recognized) gods? Would it be possible to plug Bee-sus in under Toil?
As for selling the hive’s surrender to the assembled horde, if Thorgrim’s property law shenanigans aren't enough to stay their hands lets hope Kvelar’s got the gift of gab and can pull off a “Bugs, Hunters, businessmen, lend me your ears, we come not to bury Bee-sar but to profit from him,” but we can FOOF that bridge when we come to it.

Sure! Thorgrim/Kvelar/Thorlar Kvelgrim/Two Cows isn't... aren't an avid (collective of) worshipper(s), or at least you haven't been thus far, even if you have encountered all of the official Deities in the past few months alone, but every imperial citizen knows at least the basics: There are three Deities, Toil, Quackeen and Lolth. The first Emperor, Rim, made some sort of deal with them a few generations back, the gist of it being that they serve the Empire and in return receive worship. Worship of other Powers is strictly forbidden and mostly pointless since they are believed to have been vanquished when they did not accept Imperial Rule. The Pantheon is thus immutable. There are no official minor powers, though Angels and Daemons have been mentioned as existing (and you have met at least one) - the aforementioned being essentially minor divine servants, differing only in what type of service they render. There is also an unofficial Emperor Cult that exists in a sort of legal gray area that most sensible people try to just ignore.

You aren't aware of any Vespid Powers to parlay with or for, though if one was here that would certainly explain why the hives are behaving so erratically.


Arcanuse posted:

I don't exactly advocate for the option, but... I think if the Vespids Deity (in function, not Empire-recognized legal terms) was willing to bend the knee to Toil (or another agreeable Empire-recognized Deity) in service, something could be arranged.
(And I do specify Toil for a reason, Quackeen's rate would be extortionate, Lolth would be less than thrilled with the idea.)

The hard part would be getting the Vespids to agree to, frankly unfavorable terms (Join or Die) in exchange for survival. And nominal lawful protections as servants of Toil.

What passes for a Vespid representative is unavailable at this time, but since the option is there, let's consult Toil.

e:"Access to a strong, winged labor-force with minimal communicative abilities outside their own kind to negotiate empirical labor-law, existing at the empires continued tolerance (or lack therof)."

You think this to the open air and nothing happens.

Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...

quote:

You aren't aware of any Vespid Powers to parlay with or for, though if one was here that would certainly explain why the hives are beehaving so erratically.

Ftfy

BingoZero
Sep 6, 2023
Lolth was mad at the bugs holy man. There's a queen bee here to work. There's been about three centuries of ecclesiastic stagnation in Rim. Its time for some innovation, some disruption. Move fast and break imperial law stuff. :teslaget: If we get a bug god, we're only two gods away from basically being emperor!

Arcanuse
Mar 15, 2019

Toil is Ambivalent I suppose. Might've sent a migraine if they were wholly against the concept.
Silence leaves room for an actual thorough plan/argument if one presents itself, but Toil isn't inclined to intervene as it stands now.
And of course we would have to actually get the Vespids onboard with all this, but not much trying that if we can't get a godly sponsor to seriously consider it.

...Eh, I'll take a proper shot. Why not.

"The Vespid are as the Dwarrow were, working day and night in endless service. But the Emperor of Rim did not come to them, but to you, Toil."
"To you, that your servants ceaseless toil might be given purpose in the empire to be."
"That, then, Vespid embody your ideals so, could it not be said they are wayward servants of Toil? Who else would labor such but Toils own?"
"If each people of the empire might be a unique tool to be guided in work, then the forms of the Vespid would be a vital multitool in your shed."
"Workers who might be shaped to their task, whatever it might be, Knowing their purpose in full from beginning to end."
"For where the other Peoples of the empire must be trained or guided, a Vespid might simply be made to fulfill a task, and repurposed when their labors cease."
And, in that service, they would cease to impede the labors of others. From fighting the gears of industry to maintaining them."

"And so, if whatever guides the Vespid is willing to bend the knee, rejoin the fold as the lost servants they are, would you accept?"

A direct answer would be nice, but I think that's more Quackeens/Lolths thing. Perhaps keep an eye out for signs? Or headaches from Godbothering.
e: right, this is toil being asked. I guess if we feel a sudden charged, directed sense of purpose that'd be it? probably.
e2: noting that this petition is less a serious one, and more curious if Toil would be interested in vespid servants if events turned out conducive to such.

Arcanuse fucked around with this message at 08:28 on Apr 26, 2024

Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer

Arcanuse posted:

Toil is Ambivalent I suppose. Might've sent a migraine if they were wholly against the concept.
Silence leaves room for an actual thorough plan/argument if one presents itself, but Toil isn't inclined to intervene as it stands now.
And of course we would have to actually get the Vespids onboard with all this, but not much trying that if we can't get a godly sponsor to seriously consider it.

...Eh, I'll take a proper shot. Why not.

"The Vespid are as the Dwarrow were, working day and night in endless service. But the Emperor of Rim did not come to them, but to you, Toil."
"To you, that your servants ceaseless toil might be given purpose in the empire to be."
"That, then, Vespid embody your ideals so, could it not be said they are wayward servants of Toil? Who else would labor such but Toils own?"
"If each people of the empire might be a unique tool to be guided in work, then the forms of the Vespid would be a vital multitool in your shed."
"Workers who might be shaped to their task, whatever it might be, Knowing their purpose in full from beginning to end."
"For where the other Peoples of the empire must be trained or guided, a Vespid might simply be made to fulfill a task, and repurposed when their labors cease."
And, in that service, they would cease to impede the labors of others. From fighting the gears of industry to maintaining them."

"And so, if whatever guides the Vespid is willing to bend the knee, rejoin the fold as the lost servants they are, would you accept?"

A direct answer would be nice, but I think that's more Quackeens/Lolths thing. Perhaps keep an eye out for signs? Or headaches from Godbothering.
e: right, this is toil being asked. I guess if we feel a sudden charged, directed sense of purpose that'd be it? probably.
e2: noting that this petition is less a serious one, and more curious if Toil would be interested in vespid servants if events turned out conducive to such.

Catching your own reflection in the back of your shield, you find it curious how old it looks, as it gazes on you full of judgement and bewilderment.
You feel lost in those eyes, at once your own and not.
There is an intensity there, a realness beyond the glint of torchlight on polished metal.

~

Trouble on the Rim, Book 2, Chapter 9
Attack on Whale

The Fourteenth of December, 347 A.R.
Whaleian Outskirts
Part 19: Waiting Room


You remember sitting in an office waiting room with solid, dependable granite walls, on a not too comfortable stone chair with an unstuffed woven cloth as cushion.
There are no windows as you are underground (as all good Dwarrow should be) but you can feel the heat radiating from furnaces, forages and factories nearby.
The noise from 'outside' is muffled by the stone, though you hear the distinct clang of metal and dreamlike, drawn out and distorted wailing.

A secretary bird looks at you expectantly, head titled. Clipboard in wing, pencil tucked behind a feather.


'Papers please.' she states.

Her accent marks her as from Rim, the city, not the Empire. 'Oh, of course,' you mumble, opening your satchel and removing a bundle of paperwork that seems an unusual mess to you.
All jumbled up. It feels wrong to your hands so accustomed to forms.

The secretary bird tut tuts at you and disappears behind a door you hadn't noticed. Solid granite, seamless with the wall and without decoration. As soon as she is gone you lose track of where she left or if she was ever really there at all.

You look around the waiting room and see a line of workers, nearly identical and familiar somehow, hammering away at indecipherable metal along a conveyor belt. The room is fuzzy and indistinct now but you see no end of the line in either direction, even if the granite wall remains behind you and the other one remains a stones throw from the belt itself on the other side. One of the workers turns to you. No, a foredwarf, going by their rank insignia. Kindly, intense, he states:


'Your paperwork is out of order. You claim to be singular but are clearly many. You haven't been born yet you contain the breath of life as it was given. You work for us but are not part of the workforce. You have Work to do that has not been Delegated to You. Your categorization contains uncollapsed superpositions. Anomalies are incongruous with efficiency unless they prove otherwise. You are unknown but familiar. You are marked.'

He, it, they? Pause in their summary and peer at you with an ageless transfixing stare.

'Uh, I had some thoughts about subjugating the Vespid menace?' you offer by way of explanation. The tattoo on your hand aches for a moment as your headache returns briefly.

The secretary bird hands you some new paperwork. Where did she come from? You examine the papers and they appears to be the bounty to eradicate the Vespid Menace and demolish the hives that you signed earlier.
You see the ISTEC stamp and your own signature, as well as Ivana Sêndvïcs' and those of your companions and the official guild stamp, everything in order. As things should be.

You are back in the office waiting room. The secretary bird is scribbling on her clipboard.


'There appears to be an issue with your paperwork. It is being looked into. Please hold' she begins, but gets a distant look in her eyes for a second as she tilts her head to better listen to some inaudible noise.
'no, please return to your priority duty. The matter is being looked into. We will be in contact."

You are about to question her again when you blink and catch yourself staring into your reflection. You look so much like your cousin Kvelar, or does he look like you?
Abigail yells out 'boss, orders!?' the Vespid advance, an arrow is loosed, battle commences.

Stepping back into the corridor, you form a defensive barrier with Mr. Hobbson with Khami bringing up the rear, his iron chain whipping dangerously overhead.
You physically block Abigail from advancing though you are unsure how long you can hold her back, she might still just jump over your head.
Skvababts angle of attack is greatly limited in this setup, but she should be safe behind your bulk and her arrows are just as deadly as they would be in the open, though less frequent as her opportunities are fewer.
The beehemoths attempt to charge but are too large for the tunnel, yet you do not want them to clog you in so you are forced in turn to counter and push they away, leaving you open to harrying from the aerial scouts.
Meanwhile the warriors attempt to flank you, leading to a back and forth tug of war of control over the tunnel entrance.

One scout flies a little too close and the scourge rips into its wing, tearing it off together with the muscle that allowed it to flap. The Vespid immediately perishes, crashing to the ground where it soon trampled beneath your feet.
Skvababt hits the leftmost beehemoth in the leg to little effect. Abigail yells and tries to throw a stone whilst you are on the defensive, parrying heavy strikes and trying to threaten any Vespid who get too close.
Mr. Hobbson slashes the rightmost beehemoth across the face, caving in a compound eye and causing it considerable discomfort, but is struck upon his platemail by several warriors in return. The blows scratch the metal but find no penetration, as they lack the power of a full commitment behind them being more strikes of opportunity.

You consider throwing something from your pack at the brutes but have no chance to dig through it as they close in once more, the leftmost bigbee suddenly leaping for your throat!
With nowhere to dodge you cover your face with shield and gauntlet, feeling mandibles feebly trying to pierce the latter to no avail.
'Abigail!!' you yell, overwhelmed and grappling with a monster easily twice your size as the duck barbarian leaps onto its back adding featherweight onto your considerable burden.
She laughs and screams and whacks it cross the back with her quarterstaff, standing there precariously and waving it about like a patrolling constable might twiddle their nightstick.
You attempt to push the blade of your axe into the monster but get no leverage, it is all you can do to keep from being crushed.

Khami slips in to the gap in your line to guard against further incursion and snaps at the warriors keeping they at bay, leaving your would be warden to deal with the fliers and the injured beehemoth.
As the bigger threat is still reeling, he opts to guard against airborne threats that may take advantage of the now open space successfully repeling two strikes whilst a third slips through, targeting Abigail.
Vespid stinger meets Vespid scalemail and the former deflects of the latter, leaving her unharmed. She counters by bashing its head in, her iron reinforced staff easily crushing the internals.

The hive shakes as another detonation echoes throughout the halls and a Vespid warrior is struck down by falling honeyglazed masonry. Splinters of hive rain down from above, mostly harmless but distracting none the less, not that you notice what with the beehemoth in your face. You try to punch it but your hand is stuck in its mouthparts, with only waspable steel keeping you from losing the limb. You attempt to kick it of off you but it considerably heavier than it should be and will not budge. It lifts you into the air as it stands on its hindlegs, hoping to swipe at your belly with its front claws as you hang from its face. Abigail falls off and tumbles into the injured beehemoth and Mr. Hobbson rushes to her aid, enduring several strikes from both warriors and scouts to drag her away from certain death as the big beast finally recovers, shrieking and bleeding and furious. Once again imperial steel proves invaluable as his armor protects him from the brunt of the assaults and stops each attempt to pierce him through, though he will for sure feel the bruises come the morning.

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
Uh poo poo. Try not to die I guess? Good luck 2(dwarves)+1(cow)!

Arcanuse
Mar 15, 2019

rrrright, we were in an active combat scenario weren't we. And I guess we haven't rung up Toil before in our current state? Suppose that had to come up at some point.

BingoZero
Sep 6, 2023
Come on Ironscripts! You’re better than this you’re a bureaucrat get your papers settled. Count your fingers, check the time. Do all the lucid dreaming tricks. Assert yourself. It can not be overlooked that foredwarf/toil has left the door open for the efficiency of our scheme to be proven. Continuing with legalistic loopholing, we are contractually obligated to eradicate the vespid menace which is not incompatible with cowing the vespid’s and their god rendering them useful. Eradicate the menace, keep the tool. What type of smith shatters his hammer against iron? If we can preserve resources via negotiation and assimilation that’s a win. Whale took significant damage to its capacity for work and I think we’d all like to see production numbers back up post haste, without further preventable losses. We have some charts and figure's we'd love to show the foredwarf. Conjures trifold board

In the material survival is paramount, then the team, then the mission. The plan is working? We’re in a bad spot but their strength is diminished. Are we disarmed? Either way it might be time to start cavorting and gyrating, let those vague dwarves hammering in the waiting room lay down the beat as Kvelgrim chants the ancient litany of toil, gyrates and cavorts in bee dance language Yield.

And on the topic of being singular and many I’d offer this. “Consider steel foredwarf, an alloy of carbon and iron yet distinct from both. No earthbound dwarf is fool enough to moan that it is one and many. We all know its one thing, steel. We are Thorgrim and Kvelar. We are dwarf and beast. We are Iron and Script twice over. And we’re a bureaucrat.“

e: Given that we are two dwarves and two cows, and doing two things with less than optimal results what if we delegated? Kvelar and fighting cow focus on the dance of death while thorgrim and C.O.W.D.A.N. focus on divine bureaucracy, pitching to Toil and breaking into the present powers dream to give her the best deal we can.

Split focus. Kvelar leads the battle. Thorgrim cooks the good books and sells anomalous solutions for anomalous times.

BingoZero fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Apr 27, 2024

Swedish Thaumocracy
Jul 11, 2006

Strength of >800 Men
Honor of 0
Grimey Drawer
Trouble on the Rim, Book 2, Chapter 9
Attack on Whale

The Fourteenth of December, 347 A.R.
Whaleian Outskirts
Part 20: Into the Maw




Surrounded now, you repeat the litany that flows through your ceramic-slime alloy shell like blood, out loud. You spin your torso and crash a barrel sized saw blade fist into a cloud of Vespiforms, eviscerating another handful and kicking another two or three to the side. There are more of them, always more, but you are used to endless tasks and their ichor works well enough as lubricant and coolant, allowing you to press on despite their number. Looming large ahead is the source of this blight which your overseer has tasked you to eradicate. The twin hives nestled in the jungle, bright and orange in the green darkness ever present, specked by rays of sunlight and stained by shimmering shadows cast by fires raging both within and without. Thick black green smoke rises from several open wounds in the superstructure and the air is filled with with berserk, boiling bugs.

Another dog-sized scout impacts your outer shell, stinger first, breaking the relatively fragile piercing appendage into a thousand splinters even as it is is pushed back into the creature causing it to essentially turn inside out. Not the first such attack you've suffered, indeed as the battle continues more and more of them throw themselves at you in an attempt to bog you down with the sheer weight of their bodies, though so far by the Blessing of Toil you persevere, dented but ever trudging forward.

~



There is a shout from somewhere behind you that you cannot quiet make out as you fight for your life. But it between the snarling and adrenaline another sense knocks upon the door of your sensesorium: scent. With a sting unlike that delivered by irate bees, more akin to the medicinal concoctions of Surgeons or cleaning fluids developed to remove the most stubborn of stains, it punches you square in the nostrils and makes your eyes water in seconds. Somewhere nearby a bauble of cracked glass seeps its pungent payload into the honeyed cracks upon the floor, but before it drains or is masked by blood and worse, it makes its statement clear: I am here, and I am angry. Angry about bees.

The effect of new miasma is rather immediate. The Vespids nearest the source fall back, or into each other or scatter as if set on fire, whereas the bigger beasts and those further away merely blank out for a moment before adjusting, though clearly uncomfortable in its presence. Your own party mostly gags but are fine to fight through it, granting them the advantage for a time.

With the window of chance thus opened, Skvababt fires an arrow true to hit the beehemoth you are tussling with, tearing up the carapace around one of its front legjoints, letting you wiggle your other arm free to wield your axe more effectively. You do so and stick it right into the side of its head with just enough force to give the Monster a nasty scar. Quick to seize on the dazed bear sized bugs temporary disability, Khami casts his iron whip around the other front leg, pulling it to the side to lever some weight of off you. Meanwhile Mr. Hobbson has deposition Abigail in safety further back (a nesting place which she left before I had even finished writing this sentence) and is returning to the fray to finish of whatever is closest, which happens to be one of the scouts that had just suffered a crisis of flight.

Scrunch, goes the bug as the steel boot of your warrior warden crushes its internals and externals both into a semi liquid paste beneath the heel.

With the Vespids out of order, you manage to crawl out from your predicament and take a few steps back to recover, feeling ever more woozy as the heavy scent lingers. Less affected or at least with the stamina to endure it head on is Abigail again, rushing past you to bonk a low flying scout across the noggin. It cracks and crashes to the ground where she finishes it off with a twirl. Khami, still threaded to the brute, attempts to whip the other end of his scourge to tear at its flesh, but is rewarded only handfuls of blooded, pollen encrusted hairs for his efforts.

Catching up to you just in time for the bigger Vespids to regain their wits, Mr. Hobbson takes a defensive position by your side, one hand covering his face with a handkerchief or bandage of some sort. He nods at you indicating a flanking move as your foe approaches with a snarl. Goading it to attack, you bang axe on shield and sidestep as it lunges, letting your companion deftly stick his blade into its side, pulling out most of an important looking internal organ. It collapses immediately as its hydraulic pressure fizzles, leaving it a paperweight tiger on the floor. Soon after, you bisect the head with a grunt of satisfaction.

With a solid half of their forces dealt with, with minimum injuries to your, the remaining monsters are successfully dispatched with brutal efficiency. The warriors prove less than formidable without their heavier counterparts to take blows directed their way nor nimble fliers to direct the flow of combat, and are subsequently cut down.

Pausing only to cover the still stained floor with carcasses to keep the unrelenting odour from spreading, the team soon heads down into the central tunnel where your ultimate objective yet lays.

---



With no natural light present, you rely on lanterns to guide your way into the depths. The orderly hexagonical construction of the main hive here gives way to the roots and soil you would expect to find in the topsoil of a jungle though it is clear the path before you has been dug, or perhaps eaten away at over time. The corridor provides ample space for your party to trudge through, even leaving room to stretch out, leading you to believe it has been used by some of the larger vespiforms present or for heavy transport between hives. Perhaps even a Queen crawled through here at one point, but as for now it is silent, with only the occasional scampering drone fleeing from your approach.

After a few minutes of careful trudging, you are stopped by the guild-mate who has been shadowing you for most of the journey.


"Here's good. Secure the area best as you can, I'll need some time to set up. Then it's just a matter of getting out. We going back the way we came, or heading into the second hive? No idea how the other teams are doing, but judging by the explosions we heard coming here I don't think we will have a 'way back' much longer."

1: You are about to collapse the underground tunnel network, meaning the first part of your contract should be just about complete. You should have enough supplies on hand to collapse one or two more points of interest depending on their size (most of your boom is going here, after all) but it is up to you where you want to distribute them.

A: Set up the charges then move forward into the second hive. You've never been to it but you are pretty sure there are a few teams already inside, so most of the heavy opposition should have been dealt with. You'd be looking for load-bearing super-structure primarily, ignoring most everything else.

B: A, but with an eye out for anything worth salvaging.
You'll spend more time in the second hive.

C: Set up the charges and head back to the first hive and then out as soon as possible.
The first hive will probably collapse soon, so no time for sight-seeing.

D: C, except you think there is a little time for sight-seeing.

E: Something else? Your contract stipulates you are to collapse the hive but there is nothing technically stopping you from helping out with the other tasks or joining up with another team to reinforce them. You know the royal family of the first hive to be dealt with, but you never did find the birthing chambers, and you have no idea what is in the second hive. Both hives probably have more secrets hidden away in their nooks and crannies, not to mention hideous monsters.

Swedish Thaumocracy fucked around with this message at 14:13 on May 9, 2024

Slaan
Mar 16, 2009



ASHERAH DEMANDS I FEAST, I VOTE FOR A FEAST OF FLESH
E- find an egg chamber. Loot a few babies to make silk

super sweet best pal
Nov 18, 2009

Slaan posted:

E- find an egg chamber. Loot a few babies to make silk

+1

Snacks for Lolth's children

Arcanuse
Mar 15, 2019

Slaan posted:

E- find an egg chamber. Loot a few babies to make silk

Or more servants for toil. Sure. Make sure to give the demolitionist a heads up first.
We can't spend too much time on this, (still have to get out after, possibly through the other hive) but we might buy a few minutes to snoop.

Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...

Arcanuse posted:

Or more servants for toil. Sure. Make sure to give the demolitionist a heads up first.
We can't spend too much time on this, (still have to get out after, possibly through the other hive) but we might buy a few minutes to snoop.

Agreed

Though I'll say that the timers for the demolition charges here may leave a little to still be desired.

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BingoZero
Sep 6, 2023
B & F Apply Experimental Synthetic Royal Pheremone get stinky, get stealing. If we're smelly enough maybe we can finally talk to this Bee God about our merger/ acquisition. I want purpose built drones to shoot out of ##Nazom Stëgeth##

e. Don't prioritize larvae. The more demo sites we hit the more wealth we get. Sacrifice Acquisitions Incorporated already has the contract on the birthing chambers, and I fear we'd catch consequences from Toil or the guild if we don't do the work we signed on for and do interfere with the mission. I want a Vespid based Voltron as much as anyone, but unless we can salvage incidental larvae while staying on the bombing run this might be a plan to save for next time.

BingoZero fucked around with this message at 12:31 on May 10, 2024

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