Session 142: The Brimstone Smoke of Mainwalk Wafts to The Wall
General Summary
Brimstone arrives to the front of one of the many palatial buildings of Mainwalk, within the central body of the city. His crew is here, his fleet, but also the main brunt of the populace, too, including the kobolds who garnered the rebellion/riot, and the powers of the citizenry: those part of the city, but not the nobility, not the money--they are escaping, finding means in other places. This city has fallen.
Easily a quarter of the population has been displaced, killed, or thwarted from the usual existence from the last 40-50 hours of the siege, rebellion--the restructuring of the city. He delegates, and he finds common ground--resources, housing, food, etc. Thus, they, the citizenry, the people of the Faces see a dragonborn find and lead them to an end, but also a beginning. With this, the Kobold's find aims and means to join him, and the distribution of goods layers throughout the city from the bottom up. The prolietarit, the people, need the food, the aims, first.
Brimstone gets lost in the meanderings and workings of this newfound structure, that is very late all of the sudden. He falls asleep on the very streets, and it is as if the next day greets him but moments later with his white scaled sister Valentha and his lover Auna having found him. He arranged for speech upon the next morn, and now he has slept through it by almost an hour. The gathering, the throng of people this morning is now three times the size he expected, what five to ten thousand people? With that, the trio must move slowly through the people to the rise of Mainwalk. He is given a booming voice device, and he rises to greet the throng of people.
Citizens the focus has been on war, and your generation has known little else. This is because the King, and now the Queen, but their horrible actions come to an end.
The crowd mutters, murmurs, for most know little of those intentions.
I was but a dirty pirate--looking for treasure, to explore, to be free--but what does that treasure matter to those who are mistreated like my brethren?
He ends his speech with a promise of a new structure, a new Face for the Mainwalk and capital.
Telemachus ask who. Many others murmur to the same degree. Brimstone mentions Feon, his crew, the order of the Crimson Fleet. Election is the cause. A council needs to he borne, and from it, a new order must take hold to guide this great city to a new fate. However, he knows, whoever gains the Ward of the Wall, becomes the Warden, if they follow in the steps of the forebears, they will send this city of Mainwalk into another chaotic rebellion--but one of ideas, and thus more bloody and detrimental to any culture's future.
The crowd then breaks away into a debate and discussion, a new order of life and liberty, and pursuit of choice and aim. Brimstone seeks the sea, the choices of Fate lead him. He must grip them tightly, for the sake all of the Grey Coasts. Tritherion, and now presumably other gods of order and truth, demand this from this Corsair, this Paladin of Liberty. He finds Nethpione, and she both begs for more time and even hints to wanting Brimstone, she the first mate and he the captain, to order her to stay, to be safe. Her fate, her purpose--she takes of her creation and her lack of memories beyond three years ago. She knows what is at stake to lose, but she hopes for an action, a choice that will show her a better path: life, beauty, choice. She deserves those just like so many others, no?
Brimstone finds that Hrilda had been slain the dragon fight the day before. Another, Pemi and Krarissa. Even more still, Deoy followed into the mansion of the Voidshard, and in the bottom floor he found Ollie engage with a group of wizards. He and another rogue engaged, and in the onslaught Ollie enacted her sweet vengeance, slaying Vorbec viciously with axe and scimitar, but also falling in the onslaught from these wizards' aid: catalysts and devils. Deoy was able to thwart and confuse them, with blow darts, sling bullets, and ingenuity from various types of ammunition, and his rogue friend, Giblia (a member of Kadage' crew) survived. They brought Ollie's body back, so it could be properly taken care of by the crew. They did not expect to see Brimstone again.
Brimstone then takes some time to say his own goodbyes, to his brothers, Vareth, Feanger, Aikhon, and his sister Valentha. To the crew of the Call: Dosgratin, Kevdae, Ganoi, Teyos, Noodles, and so many others. To then finally Chatulkik.
They meet in a dark alley: the thrikreen knows the terms are goodbye. The distance is best. They make a deal: Brimstone wants Chatulkik to stay, and remain in the dark, and to make those of the Crew, the hive, grow. To include the Mainwalk, the city to the hive. With this, Brimstone must return, and he must accompany Chatulkik to this home many miles south, many continents away. Brimstone must help Chatulkik reestablish order, Hives will be his. Brimstone will aid. He agrees, the red dragonborn captain, and then he leaves for all that remains is shadows.
He returns to Nethpione, and Bangrim joins them, helping to carry Ollie's body. They will need to return to Wulfgar, and hopefully he can resurrect her. However, they believe teleporting back to Threev will be more accurate, and of course beneficial; yet, when they arrive, the ancient construct and conduit informs them that the others have gained the Claimant's Blessing, that of Threev, and the Hind of Threev joined as a compatriot and mount to Orran, and with that they moved onward--to Binbir!
Brimstone thinks on his knowledge, and how many of the Conduits are indeed dragons, and being at Threev, they are indeed closer to Aestra, where a golden Dragon Lord still stands as a Face of the Wall. Brimstone will go there, and he will start another Claimant. He is a son of Dovah, and tradition has never really been his way. Shocked by this decision, Nethpione and Bangrim agree to follow him for the next day, to aid with their magic and abilities through the traveling over the Wall towards Aestra, but then the next dawn they will try to teleport to Binbir and rejoin the others: Wulfgar could resurrect Ollie, and Nethpione, although loyal to her captain, feels she must rejoin with her husband, and Storm Prince, Ilknar.
It is during this exchange that a few in the distance, at Binbir's direction, see that Saerah has arrived, well that she is on the magically if not man-made platform of the Binbiran trial. She is trying to summon it with the conch shell there, and it giantness thwarts her performance, and thankfully the hydra is not summoned prematurely. Ilknar, Orran, they are able to convince Saerah to come back with them, to help them with this purpose. They sense her unease, but she seems willing at Ilknar's behest. She is indeed, and could easily be a Claimant of the Trials, the Wall, and become the next Warden of the Wall, and even the Queen of the Grey Coasts. Her reluctance is not as strong as her enfatuation with Ilknar, so she agrees to come forth.
Mila and Wulfgar, and Sasha remain, and they work through the madness of Binbir, and his seemingly many, many personalities and intentions. They finally land on a theory of about nine identities, nine madnesses to balance and perform.
The madness of it is clear, the conduit is split, and the group her are even more confused for a time. His personality shifts, its intentions align, misalign, and falter evenly and coarsely, smoothly and raucously. Soon they feel they see: the personality try to match theirs, and with so many disparate ones, and the anger of Mila, they must rely on the peace of enthusiasim as first of Orran, the Saeran, and then finally, ironically, George. It is he who brings balance.
They take this advantage, and all but the challenging Mila retun to the platform from whence Saerah just arrived, where she tried to blow the conch shell. Upon a return, she is again given the duty, and her mighty below has the nine headed hydra appear: the symbol, edifice, and emulation Binbir's Nine Personalities. Thankfully, they have engaged the head of reason and peace, and they are able to convince it each of peaceful aims: Ilknar's leadership of the giants; Sasha's stories of dragons; Wulfgar's medicine and evocations of health; Orran's avoidance of comat; and George's Georgeness. The hydra of binbir is almost convinced, but something mocks it. Nine heads after all, and the one of peace fighting to keep the others in line. Another breaks free, and George is enthralled into a dance of expression and individuality. Saerah, then, steps forward, wanting to convince Ilknar more than the Hydra of her intentions, and fey-like dark delirium interrupts the flow of the Hydra's peace, and third head almost rises up to attack the Lady Saerah. Thus, it is then Lady Sasha who intervenes, and she decisively convinces the hydra that their intentions are soley peaceful. The hydra reacts with a shudder, and the heads move to grapple each of the party members as the beast dives into the waters, and swims back to the Conduit of its own making.
Mila watches in awe. Peace actually may have worked.
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