Posts from 🐙 Planet Aberat, Kingdom of Selya-Mira 🐙 Auto-translated

– Captain Amaksar Orrin, – the stranger introduced himself, – a loyal follower of Lady Kalidar. You may rest assured, as I have authorization for my actions.

Amaksar produces a parchment, on which a few words are elegantly written in the Prime Minister's handwriting, and a ministry seal is also present.

"Captain Orrin, commander of the Black Reapers, may do as he pleases, as long as it does not contradict any of my previous orders."

– Gather everything necessary for a secret operation with possible combat. I'll be waiting for you in two hours at the east gate. Your knowledge of the cult may save the lives of many of my men.

With that, Amaksar and his guard depart, and Keraak, unfortunately, is not in a hurry to share his impressions of this meeting.

However, from the young guard's training, Dervos could recall that the Black Reapers are an elite unit of the Golden Battalion, the troops of the Southern Shore. However, the Black Reapers have long since separated from their base and become an independent force in the kingdom.

Meanwhile, at Radianta's:

Most of those present found Radianta's melody boring, but some still noted it favorably.

– This music is good for sleeping... it creates the illusion of what is not in this world – silence and peace.

Radianta receives 50 points of vice and still has enough strength for one more event.

Meanwhile, at Nebos':

– Kiss the boot, and everything will be fine, – the stranger said mysteriously and lost interest in Albrecht.

Albrecht receives 100 experience points for the event.

- Kiss your own ass, dog, - Albrecht would say if he were a Necromancer.

Albrecht just shrugged, hearing the stranger's cryptic advice, and then headed towards that very Kenobi. Van Hosling felt like he had been talking to the ticket seller for weeks.

- In this place, even time flows differently.

"What convenient paper, I wish I could get some like that," thought Treebeard. "Here you go, sir, have a drink and cheer up," said the half-corpse, watching the warrior leave. "If their information is correct, then we will finally strike at a vulnerable point. You don't want to keep wandering around, constantly looking over your shoulder, do you? Besides, these are professionals; if anyone can pull this off, it's them. However, I'm not sure if this is within my authority. I need to report to the captain."

Lock, try to find Albrecht if you can. I think he's hallucinating from some kind of watermelon-induced trip, lying around in an alley in his soiled pants.

I think so too. I'll try.

Albrecht walks and walks, then stops, for he sees a strange silhouette. After a few moments, the silhouette takes the form of an unfriendly demoness. It seems a fight is inevitable...




Battle begins!

Albrecht catches the opponent off guard!



Turn order, Round 1:
1) Erinya: 25
2) Erinya: 12
3) Albrecht (220/220, 125/125): 10 <

Meanwhile, with Kearak and Derevos:

Alas, the fox had not the slightest idea who the Black Reapers were, but Amaxar seemed like an extremely suspicious individual to him.

– Prudent. Let us visit Captain Gotrich! – Kearak agreed. – But I must ask, sir... do you not think that the First Minister has excessive power in the capital?

- If I were absolutely certain that you were an agent of a hostile nation posing as an ambassador, and your goal was to undermine our way of life, I would certainly assume that you were trying to provoke me. Yes, I have more power than some officials, but that's what the First Minister is for. Not the second, not the fifth, not the tenth. As long as her actions benefit us and our esteemed partners, I don't see a problem with that, and if any problems arise, Ceraria will take care of them. Or is there perhaps another way? Let me ask you, what is the situation like in your homeland? Just don't tell me that you have this... "crap-ocracy," where one group of pseudo-"chosen" temporary figures – essentially just talking heads with an unchanging core of the deep state – replaces the previous group in short intervals, chosen to appeal to the short attention span of the masses, completely verbally reshaping the direction of society in each new electoral period, deceiving the people at every turn, resorting to the most base tricks to maintain their own power and never being held accountable for any damage caused, and resigning without consequence? How good it is that this doesn't exist on Aber, otherwise we would have been plunged into chaos long ago, and even worse than these mutants of yours.

While searching for a captain during the conversation, Derevos didn't forget to look around, searching for the presumably disgruntled Albrecht (don't joke, kids, about Article 228), who would certainly be interested in the new information.

Albrecht walks, walks, but doesn't go, because he sees an incomprehensible silhouette. After a few moments, the silhouette takes on the form of a hostile-looking demoness. It seems a fight is inevitable...

Why fight right away? You don't seem so bad. Maybe this is something other than a fight? - Albrecht would have said, if he were a different character.

- Cursed Sylvan creatures, - Albrecht muttered and moved two squares down.

– I am an elite agent of the House of Pink Flowers, with the abilities of a seducer and tempter, – Keraak said, without batting an eye, stating the pure truth, – but fortunately, we are allies, not enemies. The Emerald Isles have long been a trading partner of the kingdom of Selia-Mira. As for our model of governance... it's an interesting question. Four clans share the management of the archipelago, each responsible for specific areas of foreign and domestic policy. One of them, the Irresistible Temptation, is precisely the one that gave rise to the cult of Sorn-Tarn, strictly speaking. Salitil has been our prominent figure for centuries. An interesting fact, isn't it?

There were no Albrecht on the streets and squares of the city. Not a single one, in any form.

- It's certainly an interesting fact, but as you can imagine, it raises questions. First of all, how did your clan get permission to hold this strange festival? And secondly... as I see it, the balance between such forces is a fragile thing. After all, a "clan" or "house" is nothing more than a group of people, united at the moment and in this territory, possessing influence, but not supported by either divine law or state resources. Anything can happen, and any of the clans can lose their power - I know this from firsthand experience; my old man and our entire "clan," scaled down to a smaller size, of course, were killed in a random clash with a rival. Have you managed to turn all this into a more or less stable system that lasts for a considerable period? As I assume, such a story should be full of intrigues, tragedies, murders, and the most vile, dishonorable, and, most importantly, illegal operations. No offense.

– I am an elite agent of the House of the Pink Petals, with the abilities of a seducer and tempter, – Keraak said, without blinking, telling the pure truth, – but fortunately, we are allies, not enemies.

- I've noticed, sir, - Dervos nods. - Yes, yes, don't be surprised. It's not my habit to turn a blind eye to something "out of the ordinary," let's put it that way, and yet, while writing the last couple of daily reports, I found myself struggling to remember the motivation behind specific actions related to interacting with you. Let's call it professional deformation. Your methods are far from perfect. Don't underestimate the importance of basic work ethic! - raising his voice and frowning for a moment, he raised his finger in a didactic manner. - ...However, we in the guard are used to trusting our own instincts - without it, employees don't live long and happily - and I realize that, for now, any of my possible concerns have no solid basis. After all, I'm not a secret guard, and as long as you maintain order in the capital, it's not within my authority to suspect you of anything beyond that. Besides, the captain has a good opinion of you, and you haven't done anything that would make me dislike you on a personal level - and some might consider me quite strict in my judgments. So, I hope it stays that way, and I won't have to dig you out of the embassy as part of an operations team on suspicion of something unpleasant, - Dervos smiled good-naturedly, shrugging his shoulders, but truly meaning what he had just said.

- By the way, about "secret agents," have you noticed our comrade from "Ceraria" anywhere? I mean, eh... - the guard suddenly became a little embarrassed. - The card game. Kayla was with us... I just realized I didn't come up with a name... He and his colleagues participated in the last raid on the cult, and I think their support would be very useful in our business.

Had Albrecht Nebosom been present, he would have been disappointed, as the erinys and succubus differ very little in their desires.

However, the demoness easily closed the distance, applied an unpleasant negative effect, and then disfigured our unfortunate fellow.

Albrecht Van Hösling moves.
Erinys moves and uses the "Blood Frenzy" spell against the target Albrecht Van Hösling: success!
The hit chance and dodge chance of the target Albrecht Van Hösling are reduced by 3 rounds.
Erinys attacks in melee against the target Albrecht Van Hösling with Erinys' Thirst: hit, critical hit, damage: 410!
Albrecht Van Hösling takes damage: 220-410 = -190. Result: DEAD!

The battle is over!

Albrecht regains consciousness in a hot bath with petals of scarlet flowers. There is no one around, but there is a table nearby with carefully sliced watermelon. The most ordinary watermelon.

Meanwhile, with Keraak and Dervos:

– The four clans have been in harmony for so long that it is not easy to find information about the history of their formation, – Keraak shook his head, – The Emerald Isles are doing a good job of directing excess energy towards conflict with the Empire of the Seven Stars. How convenient for the kingdom of Celia-Mira, isn't it? And the Sorntharnites have long separated from the Clan of Irresistible Temptation. It is quite ironic that their formation on your lands roughly coincides in time with the appearance of the name Yuiner Kalidar on the pages of the "Divine Herald". However, one might think that I am dissatisfied with the cult of Sorn-Tarn. It is popular among my brothers and sisters, which means that it is good in some way!

By that time, the brave men had almost reached the citadel of the capital guard.

– It is very kind of you, sir. If I remember correctly, only one guard survived the battle with the cultists, and we haven't seen him since. Do you want to look for him? And no, this worthy warrior next to us is not him. Absolutely not! Although, I must admit, he looks similar... Oh, or are you talking about the secret guard? I'm afraid I haven't heard of him.

If Albrecht Nebosom were here, he would be disappointed, as the erinys and succubus differ only slightly in their desires.

However, the demoness easily closed the distance, applied an unpleasant negative effect, and then disfigured our poor fellow.

Albrecht Van Hosling moves.
Erinys moves and uses the spell "Blood Frenzy" against the target Albrecht Van Hosling: success!
The hit chance and dodge chance of the target Albrecht Van Hosling are reduced by 3 rounds.
Erinys attacks in melee against the target Albrecht Van Hosling with Erinys' Thirst: hit, critical hit, damage: 410!
Albrecht Van Hosling takes damage: 220-410=-190. Result: DEAD!

The battle is over!

Albrecht comes to his senses in a hot bath with petals of scarlet flowers. There is no one around, but there is a table nearby with carefully sliced watermelon. A perfectly ordinary watermelon.

Albrecht strains all his senses, trying to understand if he was raped while he was unconscious. Not that he would be particularly worried about it, but he really wouldn't want to catch some nasty disease from perverts. Squinting at the watermelon, Albrecht muttered quietly:

- No more watermelons from unverified producers, especially if they are sorted.

He looks around the room for doors, windows, and his own clothes.

Emotions remained silent. No changes were felt in the body either. No regeneration, no ears, or any other gifts common for hedonistic cults. A complete disappointment!

There were no clothes in the room, and the room itself was a small square, tiled with red tiles. A perfectly ordinary bathroom. The secret guard had several of these, although of a different color.

The only way out was through a single door.

The Sorntarnites have long since separated from the Clan of Irresistible Temptation. It is quite ironic that their emergence in your lands coincides with the appearance of Yuener Kalidar's name in the pages of the "Divine Herald."

- What are you implying, sir? You can answer honestly; I promise your words will remain between us and will not be recorded in the minutes. I'm just curious if you are implying something.

– It's very kind of you, sir. If I remember correctly, only one guard survived the battle with the cultists, and we haven't seen him since. Do you want to look for him? And no, this worthy warrior standing next to us is not him. Absolutely not! Although, I must admit, he does resemble him... Oh, or are you referring to the secret guard? I'm afraid I haven't heard anything about him.

- It's commendable, sir, that you were able to distinguish one colleague from another! - Dervos approved without irony. - Indeed, this is Vlados, and that was Shimon, - he patted his guard comrade on the shoulder. - And I understand you perfectly, because I have encountered such cases more than once: with our uniform - let's thank the standard helmet - it may not be very easy for an outsider to distinguish one employee from another sometimes; I suppose your elite agent training plays a role here. You probably noticed that Shimon was missing a few hairs on this area of his cheek, which Vlados has. But you are right, I meant Sir Albrecht Van... V... T... Darkh... hmm... Gosling, I think... Yes, that's right. You didn't witness this, but he and his comrades helped us a lot during the last assault.
After turning his head 360 degrees, the guard shrugs:
- Well, if we can't find him, we won't complain. In any case, we'll need the captain's opinion first," he directed the esteemed guest towards the Fortress.

– That’s right, sir! I am Vlados! – Vlados agreed and saluted. – I am only saddened by the success of our depraved sorcerers, – Keraak laughed, – we, the Keth, are also excellent hedonists. Cute little foxes are more interesting than cultists and demonologists, aren’t they? During the conversation, the men reach Captain Akoren’s office. At the time of the meeting, he is standing at his desk in just a towel and sorting through bottles of wine. – Oh, it’s you, Drevos! And you, envoy! What a pleasant surprise! Would you like to join us this evening for a small celebration?