All That Matters (Hafnium)

Tassadar · Feb 11, 2019

Nocri: HP = 125, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Fine

NPCs and Stuff

Castle Hierarchy; The Faithful of the Snowy Scale
Flavius Leonte; former knight of the high courts of Therion, exiled from the courts for reasons he does not discuss. Ancestral owner of Auglier Keep, last of his name. Past the age at which Nocri's magic could render him a fertile female, being into his seventies before he had even joined the cult. Silver haired, grumpy, often in pain from old wounds. A skilled warrior but well past his prime, even with whatever physical gifts Nocri may have restored to him, and responsible for much of her martial training as a youth. Advisor, occasionally goes against what Nocri wants.
Comeaga; the cult leader before Nocri was able to assume full control of it, dark haired and tan-skinned woman exiled from a wandering Badarian tribe before Nocri's birth. Does everything Nocri wishes unconditionally, has some minor but unimpressive talent in healing magic and supposedly the gift of prophecy.
Claire Trotier; another former knight who was stripped of her titles before joining the cult. Redhead with long braided pigtails, inexperienced but enthusiastic, fancies herself the head of the castle guard, which at that point only consists of like five other people.
Araceli Forsman; cult member with a good head for business and management, tries to keep the place clean. At least originally male, but actively wishes to be permanently rendered female if Nocri hasn't done that yet. Scrawny blonde haired person. Sometimes a little scatterbrained, leading to problems that could have been avoided.
Jans Schutz; former drug addict from Therion, works to keep anyone from leaving the cult. Shifty man who once lived as a beggar and a thief, keeps his head down and tries to do as little as he can to be noticed, even by Nocri.

Nocri currently has three children, in various ages of growing up. None of the named NPCs are currently pregnant. You can name the current ones, none of them are full adults as of yet but they may grow up to be main NPCs through the course of the RP. Comeaga, Claire, and Araceli were the ones who bore them according to random dice rolls.

Servants and Properties
Auglier Keep, mostly still ruined except for portions of the exterior and the few inhabited parts of the interior, otherwise the cult keeps it from getting worse but lacks the resources to fully restore it as of yet. Has unexplored catacombs entombing several generations of knights and soldiers who once held this keep. Currently houses; Nocri, her three spawn, the five leaders, and fifteen nameless cult members. Was once a defensive point against invasion from the North, by orcs or barbarians, and overlooks a pass leading out into the tundra directly.
Fjalir, town just a mile South of Auglier currently controlled by Nocri's cult, with only minor discontent. Currently 115 inhabitants, divided into 51 different families who work the land and fish the waters, with craftsmen enough to maintain subsistence but nothing more. Led theoretically by the mayor, an old man named Adam Voicu, but given how senile he is the town is really run by his one time slave turned trophy wife turned defacto leader, a young woman from the northern barbarian tribes named Shiera who answers willingly to Nocri's cult to help minimize how much Nocri abuses their town.

Fresh Slaves
SOON to not be empty

Beasts
Hunting Hounds - 14 trained hunting dogs, with wolf stats.
Sheep - The castle's herd numbers 24, sheep produce wool and are occasionally slaughtered for mutton. Taken from the people of Fjalir when it was absorbed into the cult.

Nearby Settlements and Locations of Interest
Grindavik, town a dozen miles inland, essentially to the Southeast. Less than open to the cult as of now, run by an elected five person merchant council. Relatively wealthy compared to Fjalir, full population unknown as yet. Located on a trade route that comes from the South and curves East.
Eye of the Winter Copse, a tall stone tower guarded by fairly aggressive wyldfae located deep in the nearby pine forest to the East. Avoided by the local mortals save for a festival taking place at the solstice once every six years, when a full moon presides over the autumnal equinox and a young couple - a young man and a young woman - must be sent into the woods to be sacrificed to the dwellers there.
Jos Movis, the ruins of a dead city located on an area of tundra and glacial ice located a hundred miles to the North. Was once elvish, and still inhabited by undead, assorted magical defenses, and assorted monsters.
Dubra Grim, the coastal orcish war fortress to the far Northeast, located on the tundra and has existed for generations. They more often raid the peoples living in the tundra than in the more temperate settled areas, are fairly few in number and stressed for resources.

---

Nocri awoke at her leisure - as she always did - to yet another pleasant midsummer morning. The warm air breathing through the drafty corridors made the dilapidated fortress's hallways mildly less unpleasant to be in, at least, and allowed her to wake up in a pleasantly slow manner given her relative lack of responsibility. A trio of servant woman in revealing dresses styled after the ones commonly worn by servants of nobles from far Southern Badaria knocked a few minutes into her awakening process, and on her allowance would enter. One silently waited for Nocri's command to serve the raiju her morning meal - a roast pheasant, rolls lavishly decorated with butter and honey, and a whole branch of freshly harvested grapes - while a second silently began to do brush through Nocri's hair and the third silently awaited her instruction on what clothing to prepare for her. The whole morning ritual was well practiced by that point, organized by Comeaga supposedly - and at least somewhat accurately - timed according to when her gift of future sight suggested that Nocri would awaken and enacted by a rotating selection of her cult's female members. Everybody knew their parts by this point, and did them efficiently and with proper demureness for Nocri's status as their living god, looking upon the raiju's form only as was necessary and otherwise keeping their eyes downcast and answering any of Nocri's demands quietly and obediently.

The actual daily workings of the keep and her followers were hers to manage, as much or as little as Nocri herself pleased. Her more capable underlings generally kept things running well enough to be going on with on their own without any intervention on her part, but the expansion of her followers and the improvement of their holdings hadn't exactly been moving quickly while she'd been growing up. The Faithful of the Snowy Scale had shrunk as much as they had grown since her birth, with members dying of various causes, or even more rarely leaving - before Jans had joined them anyway - as or more often than new members had joined them or been born. They lacked any artisans skilled and knowledgeable enough to properly restore Auglier to the glory befitting a being of her station, and while the nearby town of Fjalir had been browbeaten into servitude easily enough, the small village sported no one with the skills necessary to even plan the repair of the ancient structure, much less the number of skilled craftsmen needed to actually do the work. Their lack of general manpower left many tasks necessary to the day to day upkeep of their lifestyle - at least according to Flavius - either taking up much of their time, or unfinished, and now even Nocri's own lavish living conditions had begun to suffer for their lack of population; her meals had grown just a little bit sparser and less varied, and at times she had had to go two whole nights without her sheets being changed for her.

As much as Flavius might prefer that she reconnoiter with him and the other defacto manager of their keep to better figure out how to better their - or as he almost always put it; her - living situation, there were a number of distractions that Nocri could busy herself with instead. The countryside was hers to explore in any direction, in any direction that she so chose. The forests to the East and South, the coastal lands to the West and Southwest, and the tundra and fjords to the North were all fully caught in the bloom of summer, and where life flourished so too were prospective distractions. Be it a new beast to try and break or simply kill, strangers to encounter and possibly put in their place should they prove unwilling to defer her the respect that she was owed, or simply see the beauty that Donevrion had to offer; wandering had ample distraction to offer. Going into Fjalir to demand tribute in treasure or new playthings from the populace was always an option as well, of course, and if she was to expand her influence to the next nearest town of Grindavik she would at least have to spend some time allowing them the privilege of her presence. She might just as easily spend time playing with her servants instead, even perhaps the three women sent to give her her morning service or one of her lieutenants, or with the hunting dogs that she had taken to training as a hobby.

However she decided to spend her day, a fourth serving girl would arrive midway through her morning rituals and - with a careful bow and a momentary wait for Nocri's okay for her to speak - announce that Jans had requested an opportunity to gain an audience with her at some point soon, at Nocri's convenience of course. The girl, if questioned further, would admit to not knowing what the former thief had wanted to discuss; he apparently hadn't told her, but said that it was important enough that he did not want to relay it any way but directly to Nocri herself.

Hafnium · Feb 15, 2019

It was a popular saying in Crolia that the head which bears the crown rests uneasily, but such had never been the case before for Nocri. With so many faithful to attend to her every need and no real responsibility to do anything in return for them, she typically slept like a log. And last night she had further eased herself into a restful night's slumber with what she had done to that newly-of-age fresh virgin, having ordered her washed, dressed, and then kept on the cusp of climax an entire day before being delivered to Nocri's bed. The poor thing hadn't even been able to keep herself conscious for her womb's first baptism with her goddess's seed, let alone the fifth.

Yet as Nocri awoke in a bed absent of the previous night's plaything -- undoubtedly whisked away in the night by some of her more ambitious servants, who likely hoped to remove the distraction so that Nocri would finally truly lead -- she found herself in a strange mood. And the arrival of her servants only deepened that mood. Even as she wordlessly motioned for the first serving girl to hand feed her the grapes from her breakfast, the second began to brush her hair, and the third awaited her choice for her morning clothes, Nocri dwelled on her thoughts rather than paying them much mind.

She realized she was growing... bored. Bored of her accommodations, which were luxurious but bereft of the touch of legendary craftsmen and as such unfitting for a goddess. Bored of Crolian fare -- she'd taken this same meal twice now in a single month, which was frankly unacceptable. Bored of the same serving girls and playthings. Bored of the overall lack of variety. So what, then, was the cure for her boredom?

More.

She recognized that, like her revered dragon ancestors before her, she couldn't be happy until she had more than what she had. An expanded castle, with a bedroom and throne befitting her majesty. Meals prepared from ingredients procured from across the entire length of Donevrion. Worshipers from Badaria, Amazonia, and Anudor as well as Crolia, and perhaps even beyond. And playthings who would resist her whims at first, toys that she could conquer. Maybe even true mates worthy of carrying her proper heirs. And overall, for all these things she needed a larger dominion. For her hungers to ever be sated she would need the world itself, which meant that perhaps it was finally time for her to lead. Flavius had done a passable job for a lesser being, but it was time for a dragon to take the reins.

With that in mind, she finished her morning ritual without taking the opportunity to lazily breed any of the maids. And, rather than choosing the extravagant dress lined with feathers claimed to belong to a legendary phoenix which she'd originally intended on wearing that day, she instead ordered the clothing maid to bring the gambeson and plain pants which Nocri typically wore underneath her plate armor. She even took the arrival of the fourth serving girl seriously, and acknowledged Jans's request for an audience by telling her to relay to the former thief that she would be there after meeting with Flavius.

"You're all dismissed," she would finally order of them after she was fed, dressed, and ready to meet with her managers and begin a day as the cult's true leader. And at that moment those ambitious advisors who had hidden her toy probably would've been proud at how much she'd matured as their leader and goddess, at least until she continued with a hungry grin. "But after dinner you're all to come to my chambers and warm my bed to prepare it for my return. I'll leave the particulars to you." Those advisors would just have to settle for baby steps.

After the maids had departed, she would exit her own bedroom and make her way through the keep to hunt down Flavius and her other manager underling. Only they held the cure for Nocri's most pressing desires, even if her other toys would make for an enjoyable distraction later that night.

Tassadar · Feb 22, 2019

Nocri: HP = 125, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Fine

NPCs and Stuff

Castle Hierarchy; The Faithful of the Snowy Scale
Flavius Leonte; former knight of the high courts of Therion, exiled from the courts for reasons he does not discuss. Ancestral owner of Auglier Keep, last of his name. Past the age at which Nocri's magic could render him a fertile female, being into his seventies before he had even joined the cult. Silver haired, grumpy, often in pain from old wounds. A skilled warrior but well past his prime, even with whatever physical gifts Nocri may have restored to him, and responsible for much of her martial training as a youth. Advisor, occasionally goes against what Nocri wants.
Comeaga; the cult leader before Nocri was able to assume full control of it, dark haired and tan-skinned woman exiled from a wandering Badarian tribe before Nocri's birth. Does everything Nocri wishes unconditionally, has some minor but unimpressive talent in healing magic and supposedly the gift of prophecy.
Claire Trotier; another former knight who was stripped of her titles before joining the cult. Redhead with long braided pigtails, inexperienced but enthusiastic, fancies herself the head of the castle guard, which at that point only consists of like five other people.
Araceli Forsman; cult member with a good head for business and management, tries to keep the place clean. At least originally male, but actively wishes to be permanently rendered female if Nocri hasn't done that yet. Scrawny blonde haired person. Sometimes a little scatterbrained, leading to problems that could have been avoided.
Jans Schutz; former drug addict from Therion, works to keep anyone from leaving the cult. Shifty man who once lived as a beggar and a thief, keeps his head down and tries to do as little as he can to be noticed, even by Nocri.

Nocri currently has three children, in various ages of growing up. None of the named NPCs are currently pregnant. You can name the current ones, none of them are full adults as of yet but they may grow up to be main NPCs through the course of the RP. Comeaga, Claire, and Araceli were the ones who bore them according to random dice rolls.

Servants and Properties
Auglier Keep, mostly still ruined except for portions of the exterior and the few inhabited parts of the interior, otherwise the cult keeps it from getting worse but lacks the resources to fully restore it as of yet. Has unexplored catacombs entombing several generations of knights and soldiers who once held this keep. Currently houses; Nocri, her three spawn, the five leaders, and fifteen nameless cult members. Was once a defensive point against invasion from the North, by orcs or barbarians, and overlooks a pass leading out into the tundra directly.
Fjalir, town just a mile South of Auglier currently controlled by Nocri's cult, with only minor discontent. Currently 115 inhabitants, divided into 51 different families who work the land and fish the waters, with craftsmen enough to maintain subsistence but nothing more. Led theoretically by the mayor, an old man named Adam Voicu, but given how senile he is the town is really run by his one time slave turned trophy wife turned defacto leader, a young woman from the northern barbarian tribes named Shiera who answers willingly to Nocri's cult to help minimize how much Nocri abuses their town.

Fresh Slaves
SOON to not be empty

Beasts
Hunting Hounds - 14 trained hunting dogs, with wolf stats.
Sheep - The castle's herd numbers 24, sheep produce wool and are occasionally slaughtered for mutton. Taken from the people of Fjalir when it was absorbed into the cult.

Nearby Settlements and Locations of Interest
Grindavik, town a dozen miles inland, essentially to the Southeast. Less than open to the cult as of now, run by an elected five person merchant council. Relatively wealthy compared to Fjalir, full population unknown as yet. Located on a trade route that comes from the South and curves East.
Eye of the Winter Copse, a tall stone tower guarded by fairly aggressive wyldfae located deep in the nearby pine forest to the East. Avoided by the local mortals save for a festival taking place at the solstice once every six years, when a full moon presides over the autumnal equinox and a young couple - a young man and a young woman - must be sent into the woods to be sacrificed to the dwellers there.
Jos Movis, the ruins of a dead city located on an area of tundra and glacial ice located a hundred miles to the North. Was once elvish, and still inhabited by undead, assorted magical defenses, and assorted monsters.
Dubra Grim, the coastal orcish war fortress to the far Northeast, located on the tundra and has existed for generations. They more often raid the peoples living in the tundra than in the more temperate settled areas, are fairly few in number and stressed for resources.

---

Nocri's servants followed her orders demurely and promptly, bearing only the proper and expected looks of obedience and awe as they fed her, prepared her clothes, brushed her hair, and delivered their messages respectively. The messenger would nod and bow in response to Nocri's command to inform Jans of her plan to meet with him, allowing Nocri to gaze down the valley of her cleavage given how skimpy the uniform that she was wearing was, before all four of their expressions froze in a practiced manner following the command that she gave alongside their dismissal. Were she more caring towards the thoughts of her worshipers, Nocri might have sussed out the carefully blurred emotions on the four women she was to enjoy that night, see the fear and despair and horror and resignation that momentarily played across their faces only to be hidden almost too quickly to have been noticed. As it was, she likely saw only the prompt acceptance of what they would be doing later that night; all four would be at her pleasure that night, to play with and possibly bless with her offspring if she so chose.

With her meal eaten and her frame dressed in the garments normally worn beneath her finely crafted armor, Nocri left her bedroom to track down her most immediate subordinates, Flavius and Comeaga. The pair disagreed as often as they agreed on how to manage things, but both had proven themselves faithful and loyal while Nocri was coming of age, and while she may not have had many reasons to go to their quarters or usual haunts herself Nocri could find them easily enough. Both were in the main dining hall, a large room near the center of the first floor of the keep, and as Nocri arrived from the upper hallway she was able to survey the scene for a moment before the two noticed her and fell silent.

Comeaga had apparently been enjoying a late breakfast in the form of a bowl of porridge with maple syrup and brown sugar, which lay half finished on the table while the prophetess and founder of her cult sat in front of it with her hands forming a triangle in front of her. It was not an uncommon one when speaking to the man sitting corner to corner with her, and the frown on Flavius' face suggested that he had opened with one of his trademark lectures and again been stifled by how little Comeaga cared about his opinion. Their frustration fueled exchanges and differing points of view on how their little group ought to operate had been famous even before Nocri had come under their care, and the two often devolved into bickering like, as Nocri may have heard some of her servants describe it, an old married couple.

"...Not going to be able to keep puttering along like this without something changing," Flavius was saying as Nocri arrived at the upper landing to listen in, "even if we all cut back, we'll not make it through next winter without..." He paused as Comeaga turned her head to look up at Nocri, drawing his attention as well. Both of them rose from their chairs only to drop to their knees in proper deferment, just as the handful of cult members that she had passed on their brief journey from her bedroom the the main hall. Comeaga promptly went face first on the ground, a pose familiar enough to Nocri as it was one that she had assumed when it was her turn to conceive one of Nocri's offspring, and rose only when Nocri told her to. Flavius, in contrast, remained upright but crossed his arms over his chest and lowered his gaze, likewise maintaining the pose until Nocri prompted them to.

Hafnium · Mar 17, 2019

Nocri noticed the displeasure on her maidservants' faces at her command, of course. She was no fool. One didn't make a hobby of taming wild beasts and not come to recognize the subtle cues of aggression or disobedience. But their collective despair didn't lessen Nocri's desire to take them to her bed that night. If anything, she was even more eager to play with them than before. What had sparked as a desire to lazily use her maids to sate her own desires was now to be a more exciting game than she could've anticipated. After all, the fun in collecting pets was in hunting and taming the beasts; a docile creature quickly lost its charm.

The dragonkin's expression turned smug as she departed her resigned maids, and remained smug as she walked in on her two highest advisors arguing. As was typical, Comeaga hastened to prostate herself before Nocri and Flavius hastened to do the exact opposite. Nocri, for her part, enjoyed both reactions for different reasons. But she didn't savor her amusement for too long before speaking.

"Relax yourselves," she ordered. "I have come to avail myself of your advice. I find myself no longer content with... puttering along," she remarked with a knowing grin toward Flavius. "It seems to me that the walls are crumbling around us, our entire 'army' could be undone by a few particularly determined, subtle orcs, and our 'loyal' town of Fjalir does the bare minimum to keep us from burning them to the ground and bringing the survivors here as slaves. None of these conditions befit a living goddess, so I mean to remedy these issues."

"I am inclined to turn my attention to Fjalir first. We could use some of their manpower to begin repairs and begin training a more intimidating fighting force. But you two have dealt with the bulk of this until now, so I would have your opinions too."

Tassadar · Mar 19, 2019

Nocri: HP = 125, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Fine

NPCs and Stuff

Castle Hierarchy; The Faithful of the Snowy Scale
Flavius Leonte; former knight of the high courts of Therion, exiled from the courts for reasons he does not discuss. Ancestral owner of Auglier Keep, last of his name. Past the age at which Nocri's magic could render him a fertile female, being into his seventies before he had even joined the cult. Silver haired, grumpy, often in pain from old wounds. A skilled warrior but well past his prime, even with whatever physical gifts Nocri may have restored to him, and responsible for much of her martial training as a youth. Advisor, occasionally goes against what Nocri wants.
Comeaga; the cult leader before Nocri was able to assume full control of it, dark haired and tan-skinned woman exiled from a wandering Badarian tribe before Nocri's birth. Does everything Nocri wishes unconditionally, has some minor but unimpressive talent in healing magic and supposedly the gift of prophecy.
Claire Trotier; another former knight who was stripped of her titles before joining the cult. Redhead with long braided pigtails, inexperienced but enthusiastic, fancies herself the head of the castle guard, which at that point only consists of like five other people.
Araceli Forsman; cult member with a good head for business and management, tries to keep the place clean. At least originally male, but actively wishes to be permanently rendered female if Nocri hasn't done that yet. Scrawny blonde haired person. Sometimes a little scatterbrained, leading to problems that could have been avoided.
Jans Schutz; former drug addict from Therion, works to keep anyone from leaving the cult. Shifty man who once lived as a beggar and a thief, keeps his head down and tries to do as little as he can to be noticed, even by Nocri.

Nocri currently has three presently nameless children, one each born from Comeaga, Claire, and Araceli.

Servants and Properties
Auglier Keep, mostly still ruined except for portions of the exterior and the few inhabited parts of the interior, otherwise the cult keeps it from getting worse but lacks the resources to fully restore it as of yet. Has unexplored catacombs entombing several generations of knights and soldiers who once held this keep. Currently houses; Nocri, her three spawn, the five leaders, and fifteen nameless cult members. Was once a defensive point against invasion from the North, by orcs or barbarians, and overlooks a pass leading out into the tundra directly.
The Cult at Auglier currently consists of five guardsmen ostensibly captained by Claire, and ten servants including eight women who take turns serving as Nocri's maids, one of whom is now pregnant after giving Nocri their first time.
Fjalir, town just a mile South of Auglier currently controlled by Nocri's cult, with only minor discontent. Currently 115 inhabitants, divided into 51 different families who work the land and fish the waters, with craftsmen enough to maintain subsistence but nothing more. Led theoretically by the mayor, an old man named Adam Voicu, but given how senile he is the town is really run by his one time slave turned trophy wife turned defacto leader, a young woman from the northern barbarian tribes named Shiera who answers willingly to Nocri's cult to help minimize how much Nocri abuses their town.

Fresh Slaves
SOON to not be empty

Beasts
Hunting Hounds - 14 trained hunting dogs, with wolf stats.
Sheep - The castle's herd numbers 24, sheep produce wool and are occasionally slaughtered for mutton. Taken from the people of Fjalir when it was absorbed into the cult.

Nearby Settlements and Locations of Interest
Grindavik, town a dozen miles inland, essentially to the Southeast. Less than open to the cult as of now, run by an elected five person merchant council. Relatively wealthy compared to Fjalir, full population unknown as yet. Located on a trade route that comes from the South and curves East.
Eye of the Winter Copse, a tall stone tower guarded by fairly aggressive wyldfae located deep in the nearby pine forest to the East. Avoided by the local mortals save for a festival taking place at the solstice once every six years, when a full moon presides over the autumnal equinox and a young couple - a young man and a young woman - must be sent into the woods to be sacrificed to the dwellers there.
Jos Movis, the ruins of a dead city located on an area of tundra and glacial ice located a hundred miles to the North. Was once elvish, and still inhabited by undead, assorted magical defenses, and assorted monsters.
Dubra Grim, the coastal orcish war fortress to the far Northeast, located on the tundra and has existed for generations. They more often raid the peoples living in the tundra than in the more temperate settled areas, are fairly few in number and stressed for resources.

---

Comeaga made no hurry to rise from her prostrated position, even raising her wide hips a little higher while her head pushed deeper into the ground, albeit not without her chin tilting up just enough that Nocri could see the witch's mischievous hazel eyes through the splayed out curtain of her raven hair. The former head cultist had been fairly dark of skin, with a pleasant olivine tinge to her complexion that gave her a sort of glow in the right lighting, and offered both wide hips and a full bust that her robes hid only just. Nocri may well have altered her physical appearance some since coming in to her powers, however, and among her various conquests Comeaga had been the only one to manage to keep conscious through most of it. The priestess eventually rose from her knees, her motions given a graceful sort of alluring sensuality as she climbed to her feet to attend to Nocri's concerns.

Flavius hesitated to rise as well, albeit for very different reasons. The man hid the wince of pain that came with his worn knees having to take him from the ground to standing very well, offering only the slightest tick of his features to indicate his discomfort. Years of hard labor, bouts of abusing alcohol and assorted drugs, and the numerous injuries accrued over a lifetime of warfare had taken a toll on Flavius' body that even Nocri's magic couldn't entirely fix. His hair had receded to a silver-grey crown around the crown of his head, his weathered features were marred by age - a weariness that Nocri would never know - and by the time she had come of age Flavius had been blind in one of his eyes. Whether or not Nocri had attempted to ease his twilight years or render him a little more pleasant to look upon had ultimately been up to her, but it would take hands more skilled - or perhaps simply more caring - to seriously fix the ailments that Flavius suffered. Despite them, however, he stood and put his arms behind his back while, like Comeaga, awaited Nocri's desires.

Her opening remark, a repetition of what Flavius had said, would make the normally flat featured man carefully craft his expression into stone faced neutrality, while Comeaga would adopt a sort of patient delight as Nocri announced that she was finally going to start taking an active role in the running of her followers.

"We SHOULD burn Fjalir to dust and take the surviving occupants as slaves," Comeaga replied without a second's hesitation, and Flavius' cheeks rose as one arm twitched, a clear suppression of the reaction to slap himself - or perhaps the woman beside him - in the face. "That, I think, would be a poor way to reward our only allies in the region," he instead replied in a somber voice. Comeaga gave him a sour look from the corner of her eye. "They are admittedly of... Lax loyalty, and that must be addressed, but I believe that a view of their mistress's glory - particular to remind their mayor of whom they rightly serve - ought to enthuse them somewhat," Flavius continued calmly.

"Peasantry more enthused by our presence won't put our walls back together, nor will it swell our guard, nor put better food in the belly of our supreme being's glorious mortal avatar," Comeaga shot back flatly, "they will not give us what we want without coercion, but they cannot stop us from taking as we please! The whole of their defenses at once could not stand against our mistress alone, much less her surrounded by her loyal guard!"

"Her loyal guard... Of five badly trained and under-equipped fighters, Claire, myself, and maybe you and Jans if either of you felt like making yourselves useful for a change," Flavius retorted coolly, leaving Comeaga to bristle. "Exactly the problem that I would see addressed quickly, and that you would seemingly ignore!" the witch retorted, this time glaring directly at him before turning a promptly softened gaze to Nocri. "My mistress, if nothing else you ought to extract a tithe. It is your right! A measure of their strongest and fittest, those just come of age, to serve in your guard and aid in repairing the keep!"

"Not how I would word it, exactly, but... I agree," Flavius said, taking some of the wind out of a surprised Comeaga's sails. "Not on the how, mind, but the what... We need bodies. Able ones to start, but skilled ones too, and if we go pillaging without provocation anyone in the latter category will turn and run at the sight of us. That won't do, makes getting them to work for us too difficult. First thing's first, I would say we need masons, carpenters and sergeants, recruit a couple of them to our cause and then we summon up the labor and raw recruits that we need from Fjalir. Be gentle with 'em, see who takes to us, bring them into the fold willingly and we'll never have to worry over insurrection. Maybe slay a monster or some bandits for 'em, I dunno, but generally if you make the peasants lives a little easier and they'll make yours a LOT easier. Unfortunately, Fjalir lacks for skilled labor, and that means we either gotta go to Grindavik, risk opening up contact with them green fuckers over at Dubra Grim, or going further out. Mayhap Jans can-"

Comeaga cut him off sharply but calmly; "The council of Grindavik has made it quite clear that we are not welcome to proselytize there, and I would never suggested that mistress enter an orc fortress without a FULL compliment of loyal retainers!" It seemed like they might be willing to go back and forth with this for a while now, but both had made their suggestions, leaving Nocri to interject there - or earlier if she preferred - or let them continue bickering as she liked.

Hafnium · Apr 7, 2019

"Enough," Nocri would command as she raised her hand to stop the two. She had patiently listened to their suggestions, and their bickering came as a slight amusement to her, but by the end of Comeaga's retort about Grindavik and the orc fortress the dragonkin had gleaned all she needed out of the two. They had good, if conflicting, ideas, and Nocri had managed to cobble together what she felt was a greater plan still from their remarks.

Comeaga was right, as far as Nocri was concerned. Everything Fjalir possessed rightfully belonged to its new goddess. Everything. Every building, every cobblestone used to line the roads, every nail holding a board in place, every flake of snow on the ground, and every single human truly belonged to Nocri to use as she saw fit. Their inability to behave in a way befitting their station needed to be corrected forcefully and quickly.

Yet Flavius's opinion wasn't incorrect either. If she simply forced the village into compliance they would doubtlessly rise up, unaware of what ants they were before her. Humans were short-lived in addition to being slow breeders, so the numbers they would lose to when she crushed any attempt at rebellion by cutting a swathe through the malnourished peasants would be difficult to replace and leave her back at square one in terms of needing more manpower. So what was the answer?

It was simple, she thought. Nocri needed only to provide a 'friendly' but overwhelming display of power. She simply had to visit their village and offer a challenge of sorts to remind them of how insignificant they were and how powerful she was. And those who impressed her by displaying any modicum of talent or skill would be granted a boon and gently coerced into departing with her back to the keep where their manpower, unskilled or not, might bolster their efforts, weaken Fjalir's ability to rebel by virtue of shifting the power balance, and free Nocri to continue her efforts elsewhere. Though she would also see what opportunities arose while she was in Fjalir, of course

"I have decided. I will remind Fjalir of what their goddess is capable of with a small demonstration," she announced. "I will leave tomorrow. Claire and our most presentable guard will be joining me. I see no reason to overtax our rations and weaken our defenses overly much for this visit. I might stay more than a day though, so prepare extra supplies. And Comeaga, have Claire and the selected guard bring me my meal tomorrow, I have something in mind to make the trip quicker."

"As for you, Flavius, worry not," she remarked with a sarcastic little smile toward the man. "I wish to make a... positive impression. I will remind them of my strength, but also bestow some of the gifts of my divinity on those I find worthy and remind them of the benefits of pledging themselves to me. Both carrot and stick. We will see what opportunities to win their hearts arise from that."

"Do either of you have anything else to add?" She would ask of them once she was finished giving her orders, not that it was likely they could say much to change her plans overly much at that point.

Tassadar · Apr 7, 2019

Nocri: HP = 125, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Fine

NPCs and Stuff

Castle Hierarchy; The Faithful of the Snowy Scale
Flavius Leonte; former knight of the high courts of Therion, exiled from the courts for reasons he does not discuss. Ancestral owner of Auglier Keep, last of his name. Past the age at which Nocri's magic could render him a fertile female, being into his seventies before he had even joined the cult. Silver haired, grumpy, often in pain from old wounds. A skilled warrior but well past his prime, even with whatever physical gifts Nocri may have restored to him, and responsible for much of her martial training as a youth. Advisor, occasionally goes against what Nocri wants.
Comeaga; the cult leader before Nocri was able to assume full control of it, dark haired and tan-skinned woman exiled from a wandering Badarian tribe before Nocri's birth. Does everything Nocri wishes unconditionally, has some minor but unimpressive talent in healing magic and supposedly the gift of prophecy.
Claire Trotier; another former knight who was stripped of her titles before joining the cult. Redhead with long braided pigtails, inexperienced but enthusiastic, fancies herself the head of the castle guard, which at that point only consists of like five other people.
Araceli Forsman; cult member with a good head for business and management, tries to keep the place clean. At least originally male, but actively wishes to be permanently rendered female if Nocri hasn't done that yet. Scrawny blonde haired person. Sometimes a little scatterbrained, leading to problems that could have been avoided.
Jans Schutz; former drug addict from Therion, works to keep anyone from leaving the cult. Shifty man who once lived as a beggar and a thief, keeps his head down and tries to do as little as he can to be noticed, even by Nocri.

Nocri currently has three presently nameless children, one each born from Comeaga, Claire, and Araceli.

Servants and Properties
Auglier Keep, mostly still ruined except for portions of the exterior and the few inhabited parts of the interior, otherwise the cult keeps it from getting worse but lacks the resources to fully restore it as of yet. Has unexplored catacombs entombing several generations of knights and soldiers who once held this keep. Currently houses; Nocri, her three spawn, the five leaders, and fifteen nameless cult members. Was once a defensive point against invasion from the North, by orcs or barbarians, and overlooks a pass leading out into the tundra directly.
The Cult at Auglier currently consists of five guardsmen ostensibly captained by Claire, and ten servants including eight women who take turns serving as Nocri's maids, one of whom is now pregnant after giving Nocri their first time.
Fjalir, town just a mile South of Auglier currently controlled by Nocri's cult, with only minor discontent. Currently 115 inhabitants, divided into 51 different families who work the land and fish the waters, with craftsmen enough to maintain subsistence but nothing more. Led theoretically by the mayor, an old man named Adam Voicu, but given how senile he is the town is really run by his one time slave turned trophy wife turned defacto leader, a young woman from the northern barbarian tribes named Shiera who answers willingly to Nocri's cult to help minimize how much Nocri abuses their town.

Fresh Slaves
SOON to not be empty

Beasts
Hunting Hounds - 14 trained hunting dogs, with wolf stats.
Sheep - The castle's herd numbers 24, sheep produce wool and are occasionally slaughtered for mutton. Taken from the people of Fjalir when it was absorbed into the cult.

Nearby Settlements and Locations of Interest
Grindavik, town a dozen miles inland, essentially to the Southeast. Less than open to the cult as of now, run by an elected five person merchant council. Relatively wealthy compared to Fjalir, full population unknown as yet. Located on a trade route that comes from the South and curves East.
Eye of the Winter Copse, a tall stone tower guarded by fairly aggressive wyldfae located deep in the nearby pine forest to the East. Avoided by the local mortals save for a festival taking place at the solstice once every six years, when a full moon presides over the autumnal equinox and a young couple - a young man and a young woman - must be sent into the woods to be sacrificed to the dwellers there.
Jos Movis, the ruins of a dead city located on an area of tundra and glacial ice located a hundred miles to the North. Was once elvish, and still inhabited by undead, assorted magical defenses, and assorted monsters.
Dubra Grim, the coastal orcish war fortress to the far Northeast, located on the tundra and has existed for generations. They more often raid the peoples living in the tundra than in the more temperate settled areas, are fairly few in number and stressed for resources.

---

Comeaga and Flavius fell silent at Nocri's command, and listened to her elaborate on her plan in demure silence. Flacius was stonefaced, his weathered features portraying no emotional response to her decision, while Comeaga smiled wickedly when Nocri revealed that she would be showing the peasants at Fjalir what their proper position was. That smirk twitched only slightly when Nocri turned to Flavius to reassure him that she wasn't going to simply bully them into submission and thus invite rebellion, but she made no other response as Nocri finished laying out her plans.

"No my goddess," Flavius would reply stoically, while Comeaga would bow obediently without saying anything. "I'll go and send out the hunters again," Flavius would add after a moment of silence, "it'll be good to keep our larders stocked if we're likely to have more bodies." He would bow, but wait for Nocri to dismiss him before moving to exit the dining hall. Comeaga, however, would remain, and once Flavius was out of the room she would say; "I think your plan is wonderful mistress! The peasantfolk of Fjalir will throw themselves at your feet as is proper!" Her grin widened, and in sultrier tones she added; "Before I go deliver your instructions to Claire, would mistress like me to spend some time... At worship?"

The witch would chew her lip softly in a plain display of her excitement at the idea, but if Nocri refused her the seeress would merely bow again, her smile undiminished, and await Nocri's dismissal before following Flavius out of the room, leaving Nocri to choose what she wished to do next.

Hafnium · Aug 17, 2019

Nocri gave a simple nod to Flavius's addition, but then eyed Comeaga with amusement in her expression at her offer of worship. The dragonkin's inhuman libido urged her to accept the offer, but in the end she decided against it. The arrogant self-proclaimed goddess hungered for something different as of late. To put it plainly: she was growing bored with these consorts who accepted her willingly, she was in the mood for one who would struggle against her and be conquered. She was hungry for the maids she would play with that night.

"Not just yet," Nocri informed her with a grin. "But... bring yourself to my chambers this night with two of the training swords. I have something fun in mind for this evening with the girls you sent me this morning and your abilities will make it all the more enjoyable."

With that, she would dismiss the two and then turn and leave herself. It was time to seek out Jans and see what he had to discuss with her. She had considered simply summoning him, but ended up deciding that it would be more fun to show up unannounced and see how he reacted to her sudden arrival instead.

Tassadar · Aug 18, 2019

Nocri: HP = 125, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Fine

NPCs and Stuff

Castle Hierarchy; The Faithful of the Snowy Scale
Flavius Leonte; former knight of the high courts of Therion, exiled from the courts for reasons he does not discuss. Ancestral owner of Auglier Keep, last of his name. Past the age at which Nocri's magic could render him a fertile female, being into his seventies before he had even joined the cult. Silver haired, grumpy, often in pain from old wounds. A skilled warrior but well past his prime, even with whatever physical gifts Nocri may have restored to him, and responsible for much of her martial training as a youth. Advisor, occasionally goes against what Nocri wants.
Comeaga; the cult leader before Nocri was able to assume full control of it, dark haired and tan-skinned woman exiled from a wandering Badarian tribe before Nocri's birth. Does everything Nocri wishes unconditionally, has some minor but unimpressive talent in healing magic and supposedly the gift of prophecy.
Claire Trotier; another former knight who was stripped of her titles before joining the cult. Redhead with long braided pigtails, inexperienced but enthusiastic, fancies herself the head of the castle guard, which at that point only consists of like five other people.
Araceli Forsman; cult member with a good head for business and management, tries to keep the place clean. At least originally male, but actively wishes to be permanently rendered female if Nocri hasn't done that yet. Scrawny blonde haired person. Sometimes a little scatterbrained, leading to problems that could have been avoided.
Jans Schutz; former drug addict from Therion, works to keep anyone from leaving the cult. Shifty man who once lived as a beggar and a thief, keeps his head down and tries to do as little as he can to be noticed, even by Nocri.

Nocri currently has three presently nameless children, one each born from Comeaga, Claire, and Araceli.

Servants and Properties
Auglier Keep, mostly still ruined except for portions of the exterior and the few inhabited parts of the interior, otherwise the cult keeps it from getting worse but lacks the resources to fully restore it as of yet. Has unexplored catacombs entombing several generations of knights and soldiers who once held this keep. Currently houses; Nocri, her three spawn, the five leaders, and fifteen nameless cult members. Was once a defensive point against invasion from the North, by orcs or barbarians, and overlooks a pass leading out into the tundra directly.
The Cult at Auglier currently consists of five guardsmen ostensibly captained by Claire, and ten servants including eight women who take turns serving as Nocri's maids, one of whom is now pregnant after giving Nocri their first time.
Fjalir, town just a mile South of Auglier currently controlled by Nocri's cult, with only minor discontent. Currently 115 inhabitants, divided into 51 different families who work the land and fish the waters, with craftsmen enough to maintain subsistence but nothing more. Led theoretically by the mayor, an old man named Adam Voicu, but given how senile he is the town is really run by his one time slave turned trophy wife turned defacto leader, a young woman from the northern barbarian tribes named Shiera who answers willingly to Nocri's cult to help minimize how much Nocri abuses their town.

Fresh Slaves
SOON to not be empty

Beasts
Hunting Hounds - 14 trained hunting dogs, with wolf stats.
Sheep - The castle's herd numbers 24, sheep produce wool and are occasionally slaughtered for mutton. Taken from the people of Fjalir when it was absorbed into the cult.

Nearby Settlements and Locations of Interest
Grindavik, town a dozen miles inland, essentially to the Southeast. Less than open to the cult as of now, run by an elected five person merchant council. Relatively wealthy compared to Fjalir, full population unknown as yet. Located on a trade route that comes from the South and curves East.
Eye of the Winter Copse, a tall stone tower guarded by fairly aggressive wyldfae located deep in the nearby pine forest to the East. Avoided by the local mortals save for a festival taking place at the solstice once every six years, when a full moon presides over the autumnal equinox and a young couple - a young man and a young woman - must be sent into the woods to be sacrificed to the dwellers there.
Jos Movis, the ruins of a dead city located on an area of tundra and glacial ice located a hundred miles to the North. Was once elvish, and still inhabited by undead, assorted magical defenses, and assorted monsters.
Dubra Grim, the coastal orcish war fortress to the far Northeast, located on the tundra and has existed for generations. They more often raid the peoples living in the tundra than in the more temperate settled areas, are fairly few in number and stressed for resources.

---

Comeaga would smile and nod in response to Nocri's instructions, giving another bow before departing when dismissed and allowing the dragoness to proceed to her next matter of business; going to see what Jans wanted from her. A few servants would announce that they didn't know where he was with fearful expressions, but eventually one would suggest that he had last been seen pacing in a room in one of the dungeons by the entrance to the catacombs spanning underneath the keep.

The pale, sallow faced man, clad in cheap clothes and a dirty traveling cloak, was indeed where that particular servant had suggested, and pacing back and forth in one of the opened cells. The rusty iron grating demarking the room was illuminated by a torch from outside, near the doorway through which she had just stepped, and by candles half-burnt to their bases sitting on a table. There were papers scattered around the floor and the table, and the acrid smell of burnt tobacco mixed with some other dried leaf originated from the smoking pipe sitting next to the papers on the table.

"Someone in Fjalir is conspiring to kill you," Jans muttered without looking at Nocri, his words almost lost beneath the sound of his shoes scraping against the floor. "A few someones... I don't know who exactly yet," he continued, still looking away from Nocri. "They have outside help... I don't know from where," he added after another pause, before finally turning to actually look at her and speaking clearly; "We've got someone setting up a meeting the day after tomorrow with one of them, I don't think they realize that it's an ambush yet. When we catch them, do you want them brought here, or would you rather I handle it?"

Hafnium · Aug 18, 2019

The dragonkin was initially disappointed when she found Jans. She had hoped to startle him with her sudden appearance but he seemed to have realized she was there without even looking her way. She supposed she had to admit that the rat-like man was much better at skulking about than she had ever been. Any disappointment Nocri felt was quickly replaced with excitement at his news though. Some bold little worms intended on making an attempt on her life, it seemed This was the exactly the sort of disobedience she had hoped to see, the sort that could be crushed and made into an example.

"I would have them brought to me alive. I have a few questions of my own though," Nocri replied with a grin. "Where is this meeting occurring? Will it truly only be the one conspirator arriving? And, finally, what would you advise, Jans, if I were to tell you that I intend on visiting Fjalir in person tomorrow?" The arrogant dragonkin was curious as to what the man would say, as she herself was at least slightly of a mind to bait out all the conspirators at once....

Tassadar · Aug 18, 2019

Nocri: HP = 125, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Fine

NPCs and Stuff

Castle Hierarchy; The Faithful of the Snowy Scale
Flavius Leonte; former knight of the high courts of Therion, exiled from the courts for reasons he does not discuss. Ancestral owner of Auglier Keep, last of his name. Past the age at which Nocri's magic could render him a fertile female, being into his seventies before he had even joined the cult. Silver haired, grumpy, often in pain from old wounds. A skilled warrior but well past his prime, even with whatever physical gifts Nocri may have restored to him, and responsible for much of her martial training as a youth. Advisor, occasionally goes against what Nocri wants.
Comeaga; the cult leader before Nocri was able to assume full control of it, dark haired and tan-skinned woman exiled from a wandering Badarian tribe before Nocri's birth. Does everything Nocri wishes unconditionally, has some minor but unimpressive talent in healing magic and supposedly the gift of prophecy.
Claire Trotier; another former knight who was stripped of her titles before joining the cult. Redhead with long braided pigtails, inexperienced but enthusiastic, fancies herself the head of the castle guard, which at that point only consists of like five other people.
Araceli Forsman; cult member with a good head for business and management, tries to keep the place clean. At least originally male, but actively wishes to be permanently rendered female if Nocri hasn't done that yet. Scrawny blonde haired person. Sometimes a little scatterbrained, leading to problems that could have been avoided.
Jans Schutz; former drug addict from Therion, works to keep anyone from leaving the cult. Shifty man who once lived as a beggar and a thief, keeps his head down and tries to do as little as he can to be noticed, even by Nocri.

Nocri currently has three presently nameless children, one each born from Comeaga, Claire, and Araceli.

Servants and Properties
Auglier Keep, mostly still ruined except for portions of the exterior and the few inhabited parts of the interior, otherwise the cult keeps it from getting worse but lacks the resources to fully restore it as of yet. Has unexplored catacombs entombing several generations of knights and soldiers who once held this keep. Currently houses; Nocri, her three spawn, the five leaders, and fifteen nameless cult members. Was once a defensive point against invasion from the North, by orcs or barbarians, and overlooks a pass leading out into the tundra directly.
The Cult at Auglier currently consists of five guardsmen ostensibly captained by Claire, and ten servants including eight women who take turns serving as Nocri's maids, one of whom is now pregnant after giving Nocri their first time.
Fjalir, town just a mile South of Auglier currently controlled by Nocri's cult, with only minor discontent. Currently 115 inhabitants, divided into 51 different families who work the land and fish the waters, with craftsmen enough to maintain subsistence but nothing more. Led theoretically by the mayor, an old man named Adam Voicu, but given how senile he is the town is really run by his one time slave turned trophy wife turned defacto leader, a young woman from the northern barbarian tribes named Shiera who answers willingly to Nocri's cult to help minimize how much Nocri abuses their town.

Fresh Slaves
SOON to not be empty

Beasts
Hunting Hounds - 14 trained hunting dogs, with wolf stats.
Sheep - The castle's herd numbers 24, sheep produce wool and are occasionally slaughtered for mutton. Taken from the people of Fjalir when it was absorbed into the cult.

Nearby Settlements and Locations of Interest
Grindavik, town a dozen miles inland, essentially to the Southeast. Less than open to the cult as of now, run by an elected five person merchant council. Relatively wealthy compared to Fjalir, full population unknown as yet. Located on a trade route that comes from the South and curves East.
Eye of the Winter Copse, a tall stone tower guarded by fairly aggressive wyldfae located deep in the nearby pine forest to the East. Avoided by the local mortals save for a festival taking place at the solstice once every six years, when a full moon presides over the autumnal equinox and a young couple - a young man and a young woman - must be sent into the woods to be sacrificed to the dwellers there.
Jos Movis, the ruins of a dead city located on an area of tundra and glacial ice located a hundred miles to the North. Was once elvish, and still inhabited by undead, assorted magical defenses, and assorted monsters.
Dubra Grim, the coastal orcish war fortress to the far Northeast, located on the tundra and has existed for generations. They more often raid the peoples living in the tundra than in the more temperate settled areas, are fairly few in number and stressed for resources.

---

"The backroom of a fisherman's shack," Jans answered her first two questions flatly and dispassionately, "Only the one, they have yet to reveal the greater conspiracy." Moving on to her second question gave him some pause, but ultimately his tone was still neutral as he replied; "I doubt that they would try anything openly; they do not have the full support of the town. Many are more afraid of your wrath than they are of living under your rule, and rightly so. Their plan does not involve trying to slay you by force of arms, but with poison. I would advise against eating anything given to you there."

Hafnium · Aug 24, 2019

The capricious dragonkin's smile widened even further at her servant's advisement. Leave it to mortals to be bold enough to want a goddess dead and yet cowardly enough to depend on poisons to do the deed. So much for those fictional stories of grand dragon-slaying warriors brave enough to face death and destruction with nothing but their armor and a sword. Still, she couldn't really disdain them for their behavior--after all, to disdain them for that would be no more sensible than to disdain worms for their habit of eating dirt. Besides, the cowardly nature of their plans would offer a grand opportunity to re-instill the fear of their rightful goddess in them.

"I am wounded," Nocri replied with mock-hurt in her voice. "Wounded that you, Jans, surely my most faithful servant, think that your goddess could be undone by something as simple as a mortal poison. It simply will not do," the tall dragonkin remarked despite the smile across her face. "No, I think I will move forward with my trip after all and visibly and joyfully partake in any and all offerings that my loyal subjects proffer to me. I think it will serve to make them better understand the futility of their position."

"That said, should you think that leaking my trip to this little rat would earn you a bit more of their trust and help ensure a successful ambush, I'll put my trust into your decision. I'd very much like to get my hands on them..." she trailed off with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Tassadar · Aug 24, 2019

Nocri: HP = 125, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Fine

NPCs and Stuff

Castle Hierarchy; The Faithful of the Snowy Scale
Flavius Leonte; former knight of the high courts of Therion, exiled from the courts for reasons he does not discuss. Ancestral owner of Auglier Keep, last of his name. Past the age at which Nocri's magic could render him a fertile female, being into his seventies before he had even joined the cult. Silver haired, grumpy, often in pain from old wounds. A skilled warrior but well past his prime, even with whatever physical gifts Nocri may have restored to him, and responsible for much of her martial training as a youth. Advisor, occasionally goes against what Nocri wants.
Comeaga; the cult leader before Nocri was able to assume full control of it, dark haired and tan-skinned woman exiled from a wandering Badarian tribe before Nocri's birth. Does everything Nocri wishes unconditionally, has some minor but unimpressive talent in healing magic and supposedly the gift of prophecy.
Claire Trotier; another former knight who was stripped of her titles before joining the cult. Redhead with long braided pigtails, inexperienced but enthusiastic, fancies herself the head of the castle guard, which at that point only consists of like five other people.
Araceli Forsman; cult member with a good head for business and management, tries to keep the place clean. At least originally male, but actively wishes to be permanently rendered female if Nocri hasn't done that yet. Scrawny blonde haired person. Sometimes a little scatterbrained, leading to problems that could have been avoided.
Jans Schutz; former drug addict from Therion, works to keep anyone from leaving the cult. Shifty man who once lived as a beggar and a thief, keeps his head down and tries to do as little as he can to be noticed, even by Nocri.

Nocri currently has three presently nameless children, one each born from Comeaga, Claire, and Araceli.

Servants and Properties
Auglier Keep, mostly still ruined except for portions of the exterior and the few inhabited parts of the interior, otherwise the cult keeps it from getting worse but lacks the resources to fully restore it as of yet. Has unexplored catacombs entombing several generations of knights and soldiers who once held this keep. Currently houses; Nocri, her three spawn, the five leaders, and fifteen nameless cult members. Was once a defensive point against invasion from the North, by orcs or barbarians, and overlooks a pass leading out into the tundra directly.
The Cult at Auglier currently consists of five guardsmen ostensibly captained by Claire, and ten servants including eight women who take turns serving as Nocri's maids, one of whom is now pregnant after giving Nocri their first time.
Fjalir, town just a mile South of Auglier currently controlled by Nocri's cult, with only minor discontent. Currently 115 inhabitants, divided into 51 different families who work the land and fish the waters, with craftsmen enough to maintain subsistence but nothing more. Led theoretically by the mayor, an old man named Adam Voicu, but given how senile he is the town is really run by his one time slave turned trophy wife turned defacto leader, a young woman from the northern barbarian tribes named Shiera who answers willingly to Nocri's cult to help minimize how much Nocri abuses their town.

Fresh Slaves
SOON to not be empty

Beasts
Hunting Hounds - 14 trained hunting dogs, with wolf stats.
Sheep - The castle's herd numbers 24, sheep produce wool and are occasionally slaughtered for mutton. Taken from the people of Fjalir when it was absorbed into the cult.

Nearby Settlements and Locations of Interest
Grindavik, town a dozen miles inland, essentially to the Southeast. Less than open to the cult as of now, run by an elected five person merchant council. Relatively wealthy compared to Fjalir, full population unknown as yet. Located on a trade route that comes from the South and curves East.
Eye of the Winter Copse, a tall stone tower guarded by fairly aggressive wyldfae located deep in the nearby pine forest to the East. Avoided by the local mortals save for a festival taking place at the solstice once every six years, when a full moon presides over the autumnal equinox and a young couple - a young man and a young woman - must be sent into the woods to be sacrificed to the dwellers there.
Jos Movis, the ruins of a dead city located on an area of tundra and glacial ice located a hundred miles to the North. Was once elvish, and still inhabited by undead, assorted magical defenses, and assorted monsters.
Dubra Grim, the coastal orcish war fortress to the far Northeast, located on the tundra and has existed for generations. They more often raid the peoples living in the tundra than in the more temperate settled areas, are fairly few in number and stressed for resources.

---

Jans sadly offered little in the way of visible reaction to Nocri's faux hurt, her proud declaration, or her confident bravado. The shifty man had never been one to profess awe - or indeed any emotions at all - visibly, which at least made those moments of genuine awe that he had sometimes offered seem all the more genuine. He quirked an eyebrow, but let her finish her piece before replying to Nocri; "It would buy some credit to warn them of your visit, yes. I don't know about deliberately eating poisoned food, but... You're the goddess. I have no guarantee that they would rush the attempt, but a few choice words might make them more likely to risk it. I don't yet know how many are involved, but I am confident that they could keep none of their secrets from you."

The last was said with a mad gleam and slight grin that showed in his voice as much as his expression. "If we reveal the conspiracy, would you prefer to deal with them here, or make an example of them in Fjalir?"

Hafnium · Aug 24, 2019

"I see no reason that we should have to choose between one or the other. Once the rats we capture have been suitably retrained and are willing to confess their crimes and the names of their group in front of their fellow townspeople, I'll bring my full might to Fjalir's town square and see that they do just that," Nocri responded with a sadistic glint in her own eyes. "Justice will be done openly, publicly, and mercilessly, as an example to any others who would dare harbor similar thoughts, and I will bring any remaining prisoners back so that they can properly repent for their crimes through their bodies and grueling labor."

"Have you anything else to advise me of, Jans?" Nocri would ask of the man after she had clarified her plans.

Tassadar · Aug 24, 2019

Nocri: HP = 125, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Fine

NPCs and Stuff

Castle Hierarchy; The Faithful of the Snowy Scale
Flavius Leonte; former knight of the high courts of Therion, exiled from the courts for reasons he does not discuss. Ancestral owner of Auglier Keep, last of his name. Past the age at which Nocri's magic could render him a fertile female, being into his seventies before he had even joined the cult. Silver haired, grumpy, often in pain from old wounds. A skilled warrior but well past his prime, even with whatever physical gifts Nocri may have restored to him, and responsible for much of her martial training as a youth. Advisor, occasionally goes against what Nocri wants.
Comeaga; the cult leader before Nocri was able to assume full control of it, dark haired and tan-skinned woman exiled from a wandering Badarian tribe before Nocri's birth. Does everything Nocri wishes unconditionally, has some minor but unimpressive talent in healing magic and supposedly the gift of prophecy.
Claire Trotier; another former knight who was stripped of her titles before joining the cult. Redhead with long braided pigtails, inexperienced but enthusiastic, fancies herself the head of the castle guard, which at that point only consists of like five other people.
Araceli Forsman; cult member with a good head for business and management, tries to keep the place clean. At least originally male, but actively wishes to be permanently rendered female if Nocri hasn't done that yet. Scrawny blonde haired person. Sometimes a little scatterbrained, leading to problems that could have been avoided.
Jans Schutz; former drug addict from Therion, works to keep anyone from leaving the cult. Shifty man who once lived as a beggar and a thief, keeps his head down and tries to do as little as he can to be noticed, even by Nocri.

Nocri currently has three presently nameless children, one each born from Comeaga, Claire, and Araceli.

Servants and Properties
Auglier Keep, mostly still ruined except for portions of the exterior and the few inhabited parts of the interior, otherwise the cult keeps it from getting worse but lacks the resources to fully restore it as of yet. Has unexplored catacombs entombing several generations of knights and soldiers who once held this keep. Currently houses; Nocri, her three spawn, the five leaders, and fifteen nameless cult members. Was once a defensive point against invasion from the North, by orcs or barbarians, and overlooks a pass leading out into the tundra directly.
The Cult at Auglier currently consists of five guardsmen ostensibly captained by Claire, and ten servants including eight women who take turns serving as Nocri's maids, one of whom is now pregnant after giving Nocri their first time.
Fjalir, town just a mile South of Auglier currently controlled by Nocri's cult, with only minor discontent. Currently 115 inhabitants, divided into 51 different families who work the land and fish the waters, with craftsmen enough to maintain subsistence but nothing more. Led theoretically by the mayor, an old man named Adam Voicu, but given how senile he is the town is really run by his one time slave turned trophy wife turned defacto leader, a young woman from the northern barbarian tribes named Shiera who answers willingly to Nocri's cult to help minimize how much Nocri abuses their town.

Fresh Slaves
SOON to not be empty

Beasts
Hunting Hounds - 14 trained hunting dogs, with wolf stats.
Sheep - The castle's herd numbers 24, sheep produce wool and are occasionally slaughtered for mutton. Taken from the people of Fjalir when it was absorbed into the cult.

Nearby Settlements and Locations of Interest
Grindavik, town a dozen miles inland, essentially to the Southeast. Less than open to the cult as of now, run by an elected five person merchant council. Relatively wealthy compared to Fjalir, full population unknown as yet. Located on a trade route that comes from the South and curves East.
Eye of the Winter Copse, a tall stone tower guarded by fairly aggressive wyldfae located deep in the nearby pine forest to the East. Avoided by the local mortals save for a festival taking place at the solstice once every six years, when a full moon presides over the autumnal equinox and a young couple - a young man and a young woman - must be sent into the woods to be sacrificed to the dwellers there.
Jos Movis, the ruins of a dead city located on an area of tundra and glacial ice located a hundred miles to the North. Was once elvish, and still inhabited by undead, assorted magical defenses, and assorted monsters.
Dubra Grim, the coastal orcish war fortress to the far Northeast, located on the tundra and has existed for generations. They more often raid the peoples living in the tundra than in the more temperate settled areas, are fairly few in number and stressed for resources.

---

Nocri's ultimate plan as to what to do about the conspiracy against her caused Jans to crack a rare smile, albeit only very briefly. "No my goddess," he replied calmly, "I will arrange things as best I can in Fjalir in anticipation of your arrival there. I will leave immediately; if you need to find me, I will likely be in the tavern." With that, Jans would bow, leaving the dragoness to decide what she wished to do with her time next.

Hafnium · Aug 31, 2019

Nocri offered Jans a simple nod after he said his piece, silently regarding his bow and then turning to leave toward her next matter of business for the day....

Well, she didn't actually have a next matter of business in mind. What should a goddess and ruler newly interested in the daily goings-on in her realm do after meeting with her right and left hand people and her spymaster, she wondered? Comeaga had already went to deliver her orders to Claire, so it would probably be silly to double up with a visit to the self-proclaimed captain of Nocri's guard. She supposed she could visit her would-be accountant, Araceli, but she wasn't really in the mood for slavish devotion right then, even if his worship had been appreciated when she had permanently warped him into a woman and sired one of her first children on him.

Perhaps it was best to simply kill some time for the moment and stroll through the keep to see what she could see of her home and her people. If nothing of interest jumped out at her during that, she could visit Claire afterward and ensure that the woman had been keeping her skills sharp--as sharp as a human could manage, anyway.

Tassadar · Aug 31, 2019

Nocri: HP = 125, PP = 50, EP = 55, Status = Fine

NPCs and Stuff

Castle Hierarchy; The Faithful of the Snowy Scale
Flavius Leonte; former knight of the high courts of Therion, exiled from the courts for reasons he does not discuss. Ancestral owner of Auglier Keep, last of his name. Past the age at which Nocri's magic could render him a fertile female, being into his seventies before he had even joined the cult. Silver haired, grumpy, often in pain from old wounds. A skilled warrior but well past his prime, even with whatever physical gifts Nocri may have restored to him, and responsible for much of her martial training as a youth. Advisor, occasionally goes against what Nocri wants.
Comeaga; the cult leader before Nocri was able to assume full control of it, dark haired and tan-skinned woman exiled from a wandering Badarian tribe before Nocri's birth. Does everything Nocri wishes unconditionally, has some minor but unimpressive talent in healing magic and supposedly the gift of prophecy.
Claire Trotier; another former knight who was stripped of her titles before joining the cult. Redhead with long braided pigtails, inexperienced but enthusiastic, fancies herself the head of the castle guard, which at that point only consists of five other people.
Araceli Forsman; cult member with a good head for business and management, tries to keep the place clean. Was male, rendered permanently female by Nocri. Thin, blonde hair, figure of Nocri's choosing so presumably smol and flat. Sometimes a little scatterbrained, leading to problems that could have been avoided.
Jans Schutz; former drug addict from Therion, works to keep anyone from leaving the cult. Shifty man who once lived as a beggar and a thief, keeps his head down and tries to do as little as he can to be noticed, even by Nocri.

Nocri currently has three presently nameless children, one each born from Comeaga, Claire, and Araceli.

Servants and Properties
Auglier Keep, mostly still ruined except for portions of the exterior and the few inhabited parts of the interior, otherwise the cult keeps it from getting worse but lacks the resources to fully restore it as of yet. Has unexplored catacombs entombing several generations of knights and soldiers who once held this keep. Currently houses; Nocri, her three spawn, the five leaders, and fifteen nameless cult members. Was once a defensive point against invasion from the North, by orcs or barbarians, and overlooks a pass leading out into the tundra directly.
The Cult at Auglier currently consists of five guardsmen (one eyed mercenary lady, cowardly former town guard, former farmer's daughters couple, exiled squire) ostensibly captained by Claire, and ten servants including eight women who take turns serving as Nocri's maids, one of whom is now pregnant after giving Nocri their first time.
Fjalir, town just a mile South of Auglier currently controlled by Nocri's cult, with only minor discontent. Currently 115 inhabitants, divided into 51 different families who work the land and fish the waters, with craftsmen enough to maintain subsistence but nothing more. Led theoretically by the mayor, an old man named Adam Voicu, but given how senile he is the town is really run by his one time slave turned trophy wife turned defacto leader, a young woman from the northern barbarian tribes named Shiera who answers willingly to Nocri's cult to help minimize how much Nocri abuses their town.

Fresh Slaves
SOON to not be empty

Beasts
Hunting Hounds - 14 trained hunting dogs, with wolf stats.
Sheep - The castle's herd numbers 24, sheep produce wool and are occasionally slaughtered for mutton. Taken from the people of Fjalir when it was absorbed into the cult.

Nearby Settlements and Locations of Interest
Grindavik, town a dozen miles inland, essentially to the Southeast. Less than open to the cult as of now, run by an elected five person merchant council. Relatively wealthy compared to Fjalir, full population unknown as yet. Located on a trade route that comes from the South and curves East.
Eye of the Winter Copse, a tall stone tower guarded by fairly aggressive wyldfae located deep in the nearby pine forest to the East. Avoided by the local mortals save for a festival taking place at the solstice once every six years, when a full moon presides over the autumnal equinox and a young couple - a young man and a young woman - must be sent into the woods to be sacrificed to the dwellers there.
Jos Movis, the ruins of a dead city located on an area of tundra and glacial ice located a hundred miles to the North. Was once elvish, and still inhabited by undead, assorted magical defenses, and assorted monsters.
Dubra Grim, the coastal orcish war fortress to the far Northeast, located on the tundra and has existed for generations. They more often raid the peoples living in the tundra than in the more temperate settled areas, are fairly few in number and stressed for resources.

---

Large portions of the keep were still functionally useless, and Nocri's aimless wandering in search of something interesting to did much to remind her of that. Her servants - when they weren't in her bedchambers or at work - had been forced to make one of the ruined chambers once used by the guards of the place as a barracks. Comeaga and Flavius had their own private rooms, Jans had claimed one of the cells in the dungeons, but Araceli roomed with the commoners who did much of the day to day work necessary to keep their living situation going. There was already a party out fishing, there were people keeping the sheep they'd taken from Fjalir content, there were people tending the dogs and a few driven cult members doing what they could to clear more rubble and reclaim more sections of the castle.

Unfortunately, their progress without skilled laborers to guide them, proper tools and the needed materials, was little more than a holding action against nature's determined effort to reclaim the ruin for itself. Parts of the wall were still crumbled to the point of being obvious holes in their defense, the guard towers were all crumbled and one at least would need to be rebuilt entirely, and the keep wasn't much better; the only usable tower was the one that Nocri herself inhabited, and of the other three two were as badly collapsed as the guard tower in need of rebuilding. The internal problems were nearly as bad; many ceilings were crumbling dangerously and shored up hastily and haphazardly in areas where her people trafficked. Only one entrance had been discovered as yet to the catacombs spanning under the tower itself, which might well contain some valuables or artifacts that they could add to Nocri's hoard if only they could be retrieved.

Their need to see to more immediate needs like food and shelter unfortunately left the militant arm of Nocri's cult sorely lacking, and she got a first hand demonstration of that deficiency when she ultimately went to visit Claire. The young knight was training with the five cult members other than herself and Flavius who had some martial prowess to them... If it could really be called that. One was a washed up town guardsman well past his prime, another a mercenary woman who had lost an eye and been cast from her company, two were - or had been if Nocri had elected to break up their relationship - a couple that had eloped from their land-bound parents who had wanted to marry them off to men that they hated and had no physical prowess beyond being acclimated to hard work, and the last had allegedly been a squire to a knight of Therion who had died in captivity when both had been captured by rebels, and the patron family hadn't cared to pay for his meager ransom. Claire, at least, was a much more capable sort; the crimson haired young knight barked with the authority of a man decades more experienced than she as she drilled the five through moving in formation with weapons readied.

It wasn't going well. The former farms were constantly out of step with the others no matter where they were in the formation, the former guardsman was constantly hesitant and waited before making any move for someone else to do it first, the squire was competent but often too vigorous and aggressive when he was directed to attack. It was only the former mercenary who obeyed Claire's commands with any practiced ease, though even she did so with a poorly hidden disrespectful sneer, one that she still wore despite Claire having repeatedly proven her better in single combat and a better commander. The mercenary might have made a good sergeant with some adjusting to her attitude, but it was clear that her disrespect for Claire's authority wasn't likely to be fixed by anything that Claire could do through drilling.

Comeaga was present, sitting in a corner of the training yard with a little folding table set up as she sat cross-legged on wooden chair. There was a set of colored stones on the table that she was moving around while muttering to herself, though she gave a seated bow the moment that she looked up and saw Nocri before returning to her fortune finding. Claire stopped what she was doing entirely to prostrate herself before Nocri; the redhead was always eager to please, but that at least didn't merit a sneer from the former mercenary who joined the others in dropping to their knees in recognition of their goddess's presence. "My goddess... What can I do to better serve you?" Claire begged reverently, her head still nearly pressed against the ground. "Comeaga tells me that I am to come see you in the morning.... Is there anything that I may do to serve you now?"

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