Master of the Hunt Warband

This will be the Master of the Hunt Warband thread.

This subgame will practice strict mutual exclusivity of decision-making. If you are with the scouts, you cannot influence what takes place in the cities etc, but need to rely on other players doing that. I will of course be privy to the same limitations as long as we are on the outside of city borders.

Violation of location exclusivity would lead to the in-game death of the Warband character and thus removal from the Warband. Members of the warband are welcome to discuss and possibly vote over where to scout as well as voting over possible promotions for the warband. Another rule is that after each turnchat, we vote over which surviving members of the warband that should return to the capital and tell the tall tales of the warband. The messenger will be removed from the warband rooster as he/she tells his/her tale. The Master of the Hunt is exempt from this vote.


Sign Ups are here (all in-character names), players are allowed to sign only as long as we stay within the city cultural borders by the end of the turnchat. This means that we realistically have a week to fill the Warband up.

WARBAND ROSTER

Prochon, Master of the Hunt (Provolution)
Timus, the Protector (Methos)
Gaiyut, the Tracker (Kwarriorpoet)
Blastoid the Geographer, (Blastoidstalker)
Civius the Steward, (Lord Civius)

Timus listens to the Master of the Hunt as he looks out past this settlement. Somewhere out there are the rest of his people. This tribe does not appear to want his aid, so he sees no reason to stay. Out there are former members of his tribe, prisoners and slaves. They need him, though he knows not where they are. He glances back at the Master of the Hunt and notes he still speaks to the crowds. Timus was unsure about him, but his plans for scouts may be of some benefit to locating his imprisoned tribe. It was too dangerous on his own.

The decision didn't take long to reach, he turned and strode towards the Master of the Hunt.

"I will join your warband."

Good one, Timus, you are in :) You are of course free to comment most OOC, but from this point, Timus is part of the Warband as a character, so we get the proper attention to the exploration of our lands.

Warband (Our scouting Warrior)

Prochon, Master of the Hunt
Timus, the Protector

I bless you oh warband discovers and protectors. Shall your journey be both fruitful and enlightening.

Gaiyut comes to Prochon and Timus with his right fist pressed to the left side of his chest. Sirs, I am an excellent tracker and woodsman. I am an expert at finding water and dealing with the animals in these parts. I offer you my services as a faithful scout and member of your warband.

Gaiyut come over here, and sign on this pigskin over here with your X mark, thank you :)

Gaiyut is hereby part of the Warband going up north!

Tank you, Prochon and Timus, may our travels be adventurous and profitable :)

"Welcome Gaiyut. Your skills will be much appreciated."

The blastoid has grown tired of the squabiling and petty childish remarks of his fellow citizens. He yearns for unspoilt forest and new wonders to behold. As the Geographer of our civilization I wish to accompany these brave group of warriors and hunters on there journey, to map and study the land we find.

Blastoid the Geographer, you are hereby part of the Warband going up north! Welcome :)

A question;
After one sent to speak to the tribe has told his story, can he return to the warband?

yes, he can return back later to the next planned warband, as we intend to send out another warband.

Hence the reason of my creation of multiple characters. Once the warband heads out, we are effectively out of the loop (politics) until the warband returns. Therefore I've created Tel to play out the factions and left Timus for what's more in his field.

Something to consider for the rest of you.

Yes, this roleplay option is for history and narrative as well as some "democracy", not for controlling players by removing them from the game. I got 2-3 characters too.

I can always create a new one at home to fill a role as well. I want to keep things simple for myself in the role playing part. just 1 character and see him develope. I plan to dissapear in the role playing part but continue activity in metagame.

Once Animal Husbandry is reached we can train ravens to send messages back and forth to civilization. Giving us some short of communication.

I hope your character stays here though. :)

I am the Geographer. I intend to be at the edges of civilization

Civius approches his fellow Warlord club slung over his back. "As Steward of the Faction I have exceptional skills in counting gold...." The Master of the Hunt glances at Civius' extra large club. "...and 'the Negotiator' will ensure a hefty tribute from any tribes we encounter."

Civius, you are of course in, old brother of Warlords! :)

Yes, this roleplay option is for history and narrative as well as some "democracy", not for controlling players by removing them from the game. I got 2-3 characters too.

Oh, and just as I was going to commend you for implementing the "donsig" approach to realism. We had talked about doing exactly what your first post implied, which was you can't influence movements of a unit by being with it, and influence events back home too.

But if it's really just a RP device then that's fine too. :)

I was thinking of the realism part too.

The other character will simply write the history as such in Historians Mound, not decide in decision-making.

If we can make the realism approach to location happen, I will wholeheartedly support it and back it.

We work like a newspaper sort of, and a warband, so I assign each a story to cover, where you were the hero handling the meeting:

The Discovery of the Spanish and Hatshepsut

Keyword: Spanish archers raided and slaughtered barbarian village south of Arete . She is Creative and Spiritual.

Timus, the Protector (Methos)

_________________________________________

The Discovery of the Yassan People and how the Triad learnt about Yassan Seeds and Agriculture

Got Agriculture tech


Civius the Steward, (Lord Civius)


____________________________________________


The Discovery of the Babylonians and Lincoln

Bowman, Charismatic and Philosophical

Blastoid the Geographer, (Blastoidstalker)

______________________________________________

The Discovery of the Sahashunas People and how the Triad learnt about Sahashunas ways to tame pigs, dogs and horses

Got Animal Husbandry tech.

Gaiyut, the Tracker (Kwarriorpoet)

__________________________________________________ _______

The Discovery of the Northern Range and the Golden Hills

Prochon, Master of the Hunt (Provolution)

The Discovery of the Northern Range and the Golden Hills

1. Fields of Arete (Farewell)
2. Jungle Hill (Revelation of Virgin Rocks)
3. Northern Foothills (Hard climb, lost a few men to forces of nature)
4. Northern Range (Realization of defensible border and grim desert on other side)
5. Dark Forest (Met Spanish and discovered Yassans and agriculture)
6. Fields (The Yassan women tagging along the Warband for a while)
7 Paradise Hills (Gold, Elephant and Rice)
8 Golden Plains (Met Babylonians and discovered animal husbandry)
9. Barren Hills (Voting on which member from the warband to send home to tell the tale)


I will write the diary later.

Civius volunteered to return to "Arete" as the Warbands messenger, taking with him the story on how we met Spain and the tribals that gave us the knowledge of agriculture:

I would like to be the first to return it will fit the story well as to why I did not lead the the negotiations in the second goody hut years later. Here is the transcript of what i have so far:

"Gaiyut the Tracker has returned with news of a Dark Forest up ahead Sir." Prochon glanced at the young warrior, not much more than a boy, and nodded. After a few moments when he did not remove himself from the Masters Presence Prochon nodded again as to say go on. " There are also tracks Sir, human ones...."
"Warband, gather from amongst your ranks 1000 of the most fierce warriors, for tonight we shall see just how bloodthirsty you are". As the warriors were being assembled I, Civius the Steward , approached the Masters tent and asked if I might join him for a drink. The Master nodded and his gaurd split their ranks. Two old friends locked arms in the Warlords tradition and then the master spoke. "To what do I owe your company Brother?" I looked him in the eyes and with concern and determination I spoke. "Are we backward barbarians like the Spanish whom we've met this very year Sir? Pillaging, raping and slaughtering are not the way of the warrior.....sir" The Master arose, clenching his fist in anger at the blatant insult to his authority. I did not give him a chance to retort, I went on. "Let me approach the tribe with a small band of warriors? If they are a peaceful people I will demand a tribute for their protection from Hatshepsut the Barbarian. If it turns out they too are barbaric then I shall be the first to crush them with my mighty club." Prochon relaxed his fists as he seemed to look through me. A hint of pleasure could be seen in his eyes. Then he nodded and said I had until nightfall for then he would unleash his warriors on the savages.
As I was rushing to gather my things I heard a familiar voice approaching my tent. As I glanced at the entrance it was none other than Timus the Protecter. I arose to greet him but he raised his hand to stop me. "I shall join you to meet the Tree People, Masters orders. Though I'm sure you do not have a problem with it." I smiled, we locked arms in the warriors tradition and then had a stiff drink before setting out.

It is not yet complete, but we need to work this together somehow with the other tales.

In order to do my pieces, the map and the diary piece I need some better screenies. The turn 15 screenies did not post properly in the chat thread. My gameplaying computer is in the shop right now, so i can not open the save myself. can someone else open it and post some good screens with reosurces turned on.

Also Prochon, on what turn did we meet lincoln and his band, what type of unit was it and where were they. this will help with the details.

We met Lincoln and his band by turn 14 or so. We had a Warrior, they had a Bowman (Babylonian special unit).

provo, can you get the screens? That is the main problem I have in moving this forward at this point.

provo, can you get the screens? That is the main problem I have in moving this forward at this point.

Western Barren Hills

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/9256/barrenhillswestlj5.png

Northwestern Paradise Hills

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2653/paradisehillsnwpk5.png

Northern Range

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/8877/northernrangekv2.png

The Discovery of the Spanish and Hatshepsut

Keyword: Spanish archers raided and slaughtered barbarian village south of Arete . She is Creative and Spiritual.

Timus, the Protector (Methos)



Civius volunteered to return to "Arete" as the Warbands messenger, taking with him the story on how we met Spain and the tribals that gave us the knowledge of agriculture:


I am only to record our meeting with the Yassans and gaining the Ag tech. Timus is too record our meeting the Spanish earlier in the year. It is one of the reasons Prochon chose Timus to accompany me in meeting the Yassans. So should I finish the story and let the others build around it or should we write the stories chronologically?

Please go ahead and write what you thought. The idea with these narratives is to build up a more interesting and consistent gameworld for roleplay, subgames etc, as well as attract new players.

One good way to tie these stories (Yours and Timus together) is that it was sort of a major power emissaries compete to gain influence over a minor tribe, like in an intelligence war. You and Timus could have visited the Yassans together, met the Spanish scouts there, and won the support of Yassans ahead of the Spanish, gaining us agriculture, that would be a good way to handle it.

Map, carved on soapstone with crude sharp instriments.

Perfect Blastoid, cant wait to put this into a proper narrative :)

Warband leader Prochon, I am now working on my piece of the oral history.

Prochon, where was the hut when we popped it? Were there AI units nearby? FYI, I had envisioned Gaiyut as a weathered Native Indian Tracker type. I'm not sure if the "young warrior, nut much more than a boy" referrence was toward Gaiyut or another temp in the warband. For consistency of the story line, I'd like some clarification. Were the golden plains 2 tiles east of where the warband is on the hill in the barren hills screenshot?

/ooc Through investigation of the chat log, I deduced that Lincoln was met on turn 13, goody hut (Sahushunas village) popped on turn 14, and hut was at 8N6W of Arete (nice name for ancient founding city)

The Discovery of the Sahashunas People and how the Triad learnt about Sahashunas ways to tame pigs, dogs and horses

My name is Gaiyut, the Tracker, and I am a scout for the Warband lead by Prochon, the hunt master. Prochon has set orders for me to run out ahead every morning to scout the advance for the warband. The warriors are strong and fierce, but they are too large of a group and would be seen by others long before our warriors would understand what they were walking into. I am fast, a great runner and tracker, the result of my native haritage in these lands.

The following is my account of the Sahashunas people, and how they agreed to join our people, and teach us the mysteries of Animal Husbandry, the knowledge of raising Animals to work with us, to fead us, and to clothe us.

On the 13th week of our journey since leaving Arete, the world was just beginning to wake, and already I had ranged a couple leagues ahead of the warband, which had camped to the East on the plains near the river, that runs through the "Paradis hills", as Prochon and others in our Warband had taken to calling the region to the East. The Paradise Hills region is a wonder to behold. I must tell you that they will take your breath away my people! From the moment we set foot there, we felt it. It is truly a wondrous place of many natural wonders. There is one hill with chunks of a shiny yellow stone that is cold to the touch, yet will nearly glow with fire when the first rays of the sun hit it in the morning. At the Eastern edge, there are enormous beasts with large white bones jutting from their mouths and huge arms hanging off their faces and thick hides that could turn away a spear. Watching the sunrise from the hills many proud ridges is almost enough to make one want to leave the sea behind and settle here. That story is for another to tell perhaps, but the place is too gorgeous not to mention.

That morning, as I ran toward the west through a seamingly endless sea of grass, using the long stride of my people, I didn't feel the sea of grasses pass beneath me. More so, I felt the simple flow of time and the cool morning air and the refreshing dampness on my legs from the low hanging dew. It had been a great morning for running, and I could see for ever in the never ending grasses.

The grassy sea began to thin somewhat, and I saw rocky hills and sandy soil approaching me, and the ground was becoming harder, and more gritty. The air began to smell much drier with the promise of heat and long hours running without water. Here, I saw a village built near a small creek that ran off toward the east (/ooc Creaks are not to be thought of as a "river" is in game terms).

I stopped my stride and crouched in the grasses, easing a stone into my sling, and loosening my flint spear in case the villagers proved to be hostile. Through the tall blades of grass, I saw some famers rising out of their wood frame huts that were covered in animal skins. Not far from the village was a large area, where the grass had been beaten down or roughly cut, and there was some kind of wood structure, bearly knee high and built by lashing tree limbs and brush together. My curiosity was peaked!

"What could be inside such an area?" I had wondered.

Thoughts of the previous week, when we our Warband had encountered a strange people, who called themselves the 'Babylonians', and carried strange weapons that could reach you from the edge of sight, brought my hackles up, and I hastily scanned the nearby hills for signs of these strange people. Seeing none, I cautiously approached the village.

When I was a hundred spans from the edge of the enclosed area, I got a glimps of some small animals that lived in a small hut and made this strange clucking noise as they pecked at seeds on the ground. To the right, I saw some boar sleeping near a mud pit, and now, I spotted a few other four-legged furry animals with small horns on their heads that made this strange rattling sound. I was wrapped in wonder. I've hunted animals my whole life, so it wasn't the animals themselves that gave me pause, it was that they weren't running away from me. My hackles began to rise. Surely, this was not the work of natural men!

As I began to back away, a wolf-like animal ran up toward me, barking and snarling! I raised my spear to defend myself, but it didn't attack, it stayed its ground and barked and howled. Then it dawned on me! This creature was guarding this area. I didn't know what to make of it, it was nearly too much. Then I heard a young boys voice yell out, 'Paka! Paka! Cam qik Paka! Sook!' I turned to the noise with one eye on the wolf thing snarling at me. A large burly man stood up from where he had been doing something with one of the furry horned animals and began to approach me, raising a hand to the boy. The boy stood his ground about 200 spans from me and split his gaze between me and the large man, who was apparently his father.

'Who are you?' He bellowed. The wolf thing ignored the big man, and kept focusing on me. I dared not make a sudden movement. Things were beginning to become clearer to me. This man somehow controlled all of the animals within my range of sight. At the time, I thought this man was truly magnificent.

'My name is Gaiyut!' I told him. Putting down my sling and slowly stepping away from the wolf thing, I held out my hands palms up, hoping that my movements would appear to be peaceful. 'I mean you no harm. I am an explorer far away from home. Your animals made me curious. I've never seen such a thing!'

The big man crossed his arms and looked at me like I had two heads. 'What you mean? Aint you never seen a dog, chickens, pigs, and goats before?'

I hastily tried to remember what he was telling me...this sounded very important. 'Seen them yes (I lied) but not in such a way as to be under the control of people...unafraid of people.'

'Are you a Savage? I'll have Hindy tear you into scraps for the hogs if ye are!'

'No! Please, no! I am a scout from a large settlement far to the South East. I wager we know a great deal from which your people would be greatly served.'

'My People? 'We...' as he struggled with the word, are the Sahashunas, people of the Grass Sea.'

'Hindy back off, it's alright!' And the wolf thing, dog, calmed down, whimpered, and sniffed my feat with a toung hanging out of its mouth and strolled easily back to the 'pens' as the man had called them.

'Thank you! Could we talk somewhere inside, I would very much like to see if there is a way both our people can help each other.'

'Name's Majaal, and I'll take you to our clan hall and let the elders decide.'

At the Clan Hall, I met with 4 men, and we interrogated eachother for hours over what life was like out here on the Grassy Sea, about things I had seen while exploring, about my people, about the wonders to be found in the waters near Arete, and about how we had mastered farming and the wheel. Stories about The Wheel and about Fishing brought me the same slack jawed look I had no doubt had when discussing what they called Animal Husbandry. Soon, we were all laughing and back slapping about old stories, and it became apparent that our people shared common ancestry.

The Sahashunas also agreed with our supicions toward the Babylonians.
When I mentioned that I was actually scouting ahead for a Warband, the elders took no time at all in announcing that they'd gladly join our people at Arete in exchange for an escort and the chance to keep their animals out of the hands of Savages, wild animals, and the Babylonians.

The Sahashunas are a simple people that share ancient ancestry with our people, and who also hold knowledge that is new to us. With the news of this discovery, I ran like a deer and the world fell into a blurr, as I headed back toward the Warband. Prochon agreed without hesitation to lend 50 warriors to escort the Sahashunas to Arete.

Our people are truly blessed with good fortune to now have two villages, who have joined our people, bringing new knowledge to us.

Long live our People!
~Gaiyut, the Tracker

Blastoid, Methos and Lordcivius, I still need your narratives from your parts of the story. Next we will vote for who should return with the map and the story.
The person returning to Arete will be given a new assignment, as our next scout.

I am a bit swamped now with writting grade reports for the students I teach. They are do tommorow After that I should be able to take the time to do it.

Sorry I have been working on the economic system with every spare moment I have. I think I will take a break from it and let the RP progress. Seems we are putting alot of ideas together but I don't see much participation. I will finish my story today after work.

Prochon, I'm not sure if the "young warrior, nut much more than a boy" referrence was toward Gaiyut or another temp in the warband. For consistency of the story line, I'd like some clarification.

Sorry for the confusion but the boy was another temp in the warband bringing news to the master.

About the economy system proposal, as I have learned from these demogames, is that to never take anything for granted. People will only respond and participate if the system already works. When we agreed on a proposal, and we have 3-5 active backers, we propose it for a poll, which gives the system much needed legitimacy, and then we simply begin to play it. Since we have a very very small economy right now, 5-10 people is more than enough to make it work.

The Babylonians

We were trailing a herd of Aurochs when we met them.

We were five, I, The Blastoid was the leader, Jogo, Rhoro, Taegal and Gaiyut “the tracker” were the other hunters. Gaiut had come up with the idea and we had used it several times now to varying success. Gaiut, Jogo and Haig had the frightening part, running at the beasts with flaming branches forcing them to panic and scamper as a herd towards a steep ravine. When the panic beasts tumbled into the ravine, it was time for Taegal and I to lever some rocks off the cliff face causing a landslide that would engulf and kill some of the beasts.

It was a successful hunt. Rhoro sat astride one dead beast, skinning the carcass. Jogo and Gaiut were cutting and Taegal and I were burning and herbing the meat for transport. The sun was hot here far from the ocean. I heard a screech from above and looked up to see an eagle soaring far above, circling for prey.

And then in a second there was a faint thump and the eagle exploded in a chaos of feathers and flesh and its corpse fell suddenly to earth. I signaled to the party to stop there skinning and to move to the lip of the ravine.

It was then that we saw them, several hundred strangely dressed men marching in caravan. They were dressed in light tunic, loosely draped and sand and turquoise in color. They were olive colored skin their hair was oily and black, and trimmed to a sharp pointed beard on their faces. One was laughing at another and raced away from the others to the corpse of the eagle. He raised it up in his fist and his companions laughed and spoke in a foreign tongue. One of them raised a huge curved wooden stick tied together by a string, he placed a piece of wood in the stick and releasing the string let the piece of wood hurl into the air, this time soaring to strike a vulture and bring it down. We stared in silent utter astonishment at the power of this weapon that these men held.
Orders were given, Rhoro and Jogo went back to finish the business with the meat. Gaiut and Taegal were sent to carefully track these wanderers and I raced back to the main band to tell of what I have seen.

I found Prochon in the Huntmaster's tent, where he was chewing on an overcooked shank of auroch. He motioned for me to sit and offered a piece of meat. I told him the events of the day and asked him leave to meet these strangers.
“Go, and take 50 men, for protection.”

Gaiut had come back from the tracking and told us there location. We made sure that we came loudly and with no ill intention. We came within range of their camp, put down our weapons and walked over them as a sign of peace. They looked at us warily and brought us to the largest tend at the center of the encampment. Inside the tent laying back on cushions and snoring loudly was what I guess was there leader. He was in the same garb as the others but his was stained yellow from what smelled like some type of fermented beverage. His guards prodded him until he became awake and he startled to see me before him.

“Who are you?” His eyes tried vainly to focus on my face.
“ I am The Blastoid” a wanderer from the city of Arete. We are exploring this land and saw your war band from afar. We come in peace and wish to know more about your people.”
“Prowess, ummm, uhh burp. Yes we are good with our bows.” Now his eyes seemed to focus more and he started to study my garb and appearance, much more like a warrior sizing up an opponent. “From Arete, huh, never heard of it. I am the Grant and I am the leader of these bowmen. I am a warrior in the charge of our leader chief Lincoln of Babylon.”
“Well met, The Grant”
“The Blastoid, huh, doesn’t it make you sound more important when you put a the in front of your name? I think so”
“I have seen the beautiful weapons your warrior use to kill from afar, what is it called.”
“It is the longbow, and we are the keepers of its secrets, bring word back to your leaders that we are a peaceful people, but any who cross it will fall quickly from its wraith.
“I stand warned.”

And we went on for hours, more of his bitter mead was brought and we drunk and talked. I had to excuse myself every few hours from the tent, but in reality to retch the alcohol up so I could stay sober and not lose my guard. If nothing else the man could drink! Though we spoke it became obvious that both of us were too guarded to let our secrets out, I learned little of his home except its name and there abhorrence of slavery. And he was not able to glean from me the location of our city or the existence of the Spanish. As dawn broke the next day I retrieved my men, who had spent the night drinking and singing with the longbowman to return to Prochon with our first impressions of these strange people.

The Blastoid wished to return to the city to join the scout unit as it will range far and wide and he can fulfill his roll as the geographer of the mound.

Very well Blastoid, you will be with us until the scout joins us in the wilds, it seems that Prochon, Gaiyut and Timus will stay for a bit longer, where Lord Civius is already returning with the newly discovered seeds and tamed animals. Next session, not this, you will take over the next scouting party, Blastoid, our surveying team.

The Discovery of the Yassans and how our people learned about Agriculture.according to Civius the Steward


"Gaiyut the Tracker has returned with news of a Dark Forest up ahead Sir." Prochon glanced at the young warrior, not much more than a boy, and nodded. After a few moments when he did not remove himself from the Masters Presence Prochon nodded again as to say go on. " There are also tracks Sir, human ones...."
"Warband, gather from amongst your ranks 10,000 of the most fierce warriors, for tonight we shall see just how bloodthirsty you are". As the warriors were being assembled I, Civius the Steward , approached the Masters tent and asked if I might join him for a drink. The Master nodded and his gaurd split their ranks. Two old friends locked arms in the Warlords tradition and then the master spoke. "To what do I owe your company Brother?" I looked him in the eyes and with concern and determination I spoke. "Are we backward barbarians like the Spanish whom we've met this very year Sir? Pillaging, raping and slaughtering are not the way of the warrior.....sir" The Master arose, clenching his fist in anger at the blatant insult to his authority. I did not give him a chance to retort, I went on. "Let me approach the tribe with a small band of warriors? If they are a peaceful people I will demand a tribute for their protection from Hatshepsut the Barbarian. If it turns out they too are barbaric then I shall be the first to crush them with my mighty club." Prochon relaxed his fists as he seemed to look through me. A hint of pleasure could be seen in his eyes. Then he nodded and said I had until nightfall for then he would unleash his warriors on the savages.
As I was rushing to gather my things I heard a familiar voice approaching my tent. As I glanced at the entrance it was none other than Timus the Protecter. I arose to greet him but he raised his hand to stop me. "I shall join you to meet the Tree People, Masters orders. Though I'm sure you do not have a problem with it." I smiled, we locked arms in the warriors tradition and then had a stiff drink before setting out.

As we approached the dense, dark forest we gave one last look at each other, both with half a grin. Hands clenching our clubs we disappeared into the trees. The more we walked the forest seemed to thin out until at last we reached a clearing that was as wide as the eye could see. Were my eyes deceiving me? Had Timus clubbed me over the head after breathing in the dark spirits of the forest? I was in a dream world from which I hoped to never awaken from. Hundreds and hundreds of beautiful women all barebreast working like they were of one mind. Some carried water to the soil. Others were burying strange seeds across vast streches of land. The rest of them were carrying baskets of fruit on their heads. Scores of vegetables being pulled by horses to a small village in the distance. I looked over at my old friend and he was smiling from ear to ear. At the same moment we both gave each other a look of confusion as to say "Where are the menfolk?". So we set off to the village, a few young girls running around us just pointing and laughing.

The village was full of shops and the men appeared to be bartering their various fruits and vegetables for things like strange cloth and shiny rocks. As we were carrying on down one of the many sand paths we were approached by a large bearded man. His dialect was similar to ours so we were able to communicate loosely. He asked if we were familiar with the lands north of the great mountain. We replied that we were warband scouts for the Great City of Arete. Capital of the world we told him. He just kept bowing and offering us things from other mens baskets it was all quite amusing. He then led us to what appeared to be their Tribal Leader Yassan. A very fat man with long hair and a big smile. He told us his Great grandfather founded the village years ago and they were a peaceful people that tended the lands for its fruits. We all ate and had a what the natives called "Valcano Water", tasted horrible but made your head and feet feel light. We were having so much fun we lost track of time and night was fast approaching....

Meanwhile the Warband was preparing for the assault. Thousnds upon thousands of tired and hungry warriors at its helm. Prochon was beginning to worry about his friends and his fear that the villagers were hostile grew with every passing minute. Finally he could not wait any longer and gave the order. The Warriors began marching in unison, clubs held over their right shoulders.

"Civius, wake up! The villagers are arming themselves" I tried to get up but my head was pounding. "Prochon must be marching on the village" I forced myself to stand and took a second to absorb the situation. "He does not know these are a peaceful people." I told Timus to go see Yassan and I would race to intercept Prochon. As I reached the fertile fields I saw our warband approaching. It was a glorious sight to behold. The women were no longer on the fields as they had taken refuge in the village. Behind me the Villagers were taking up defensive positions. A hundred yards now seperated the warband from the village. I could see Prochon giving orders to the men and I made a bee line to him. I finally reached him, exhausted from running, I fell before his feet. "What have they done to you Civius? Where is Timus?" I tried to speak but my mouth was so dry, my head pounding with every breath I took. "There he is" Prochon shouted. Timus was approaching the Warband behind me escorting the Tribes leader. I finally got a word out and it was simply "Stop".

After a long meeting with Yassan and his Tribal Council Prochon persuaded the villagers to join our Civilization. They would bring with them the knowledge of Agriculture. The people would be escorted by 1000 warriors back to Arete. In return one thousand Yassanites joined the Warband. The locals threw one hell of a festival on the eve before we set out. As we left that morning Prochon gave the order to destroy what was left of the village. The Yassans were no longer a people but a great addition to our growing empire.

You all are great writers :) It has been fun reading your accounts and participating in them with you. I hope this continues for the length of this great adventure :)

Agreed, kwp. If I had to pick the best overall thread we've had so far, it would probably be this one. This is something that was missing, at least from the one earlier demogame I attempted to join. Keep up the good work!

Timus (Methos), we still need your last narrative on how we met the Spanish near the Yassan Village, so please write that little narrative so we can complete this story. :)

Events in the Sage:

1. Warband went south along the range,then moved into the forest
2. Warband attacked by lions, down to 0.5 health, 1 character, Timus, died (sorry Timus, you did not post your story)
3. Warband found another village, near border of Spain, promoted medic and march
4. Scout maps river, jungle, dyes, find cows and southern Spain
5. Warband marches home (feast)
6. Scout marches a long march north, through pass into desert, onto a hill
7. race with Babylonian Bowman for new village, people related to the ones learning us husbandy, this related people learn us horsebackriding
8 march along Babylonian border, following hills
9 finding eastern coast and eastern part of Babylonia.

Prochon died of course in the 1000 year journey (abstracted to a lifetime, for narratives sake), but his descendant came back in one piece, with a Prochon father and Yassan mother.
Timus the Protector died in a struggle for life against lions in a forest northwest of the river
Civius the Steward returned with seeds and the map
Blastoid the Geographer changed job to the Scout running up north
Gaiyut the Tracker can choose to be with the warband or join Blastoid.

Warband Naming of Landmarks:

Since Warlord Factions are likely heading north, it was where I wrote my story and Civius the Steward found Agriculture, we name those northern mountains and hills after Prochon (Master of the Hunt) and Civius (the Steward).
Since Gaiyut the Tracker found Animal Husbandry and Yassans and wrote his story near the Babylonians, we name those heights after him.
Since Timus the Protector died fighting those lions in the forest, we name those forests and hills after him.

Since Blastoid the Geographer mapped our land, and found the babylonian Bowmen with the Warband and snatched horseback riding in the desert in front of the same Babylonian Bowmen, we name the desert after him, so we get the following named landmarks:

Hills north of pigs: Civius Hills or Civius Moors or Civius Highlands
Mountains north of Arete: The Prochon Mountains
Heights with Gold, rice, copper, elephants: The Gaiyut Heights or Gaiyut Highlands
Forested Hills where lions attacked us, West: Timus Highlands or Timus Hills
The desert between us and the Babylonians: The much feared, "The Blastoid Desert"

I and I am sure all the others that have been nominated for such an honor as having a landmark named after them graciously except this generous offer. I request however that the above mentioned citizens be allowed to name the landmarks themselves instead of naming the area after them. Just a suggetsion.

Yeah, please consider these placeholder names. I just found it appropriate for historical reasons, thats all.

Prochon died of course in the 1000 year journey (abstracted to a lifetime, for narratives sake), but his descendant came back in one piece, with a Prochon father and Yassan mother.
Timus the Protector died in a struggle for life against lions in a forest northwest of the river
Civius the Steward returned with seeds and the map
Blastoid the Geographer changed job to the Scout running up north
Gaiyut the Tracker can choose to be with the warband or join Blastoid.

I, Gaiyut, once the tracker for the great Aretan Warband, wish to carry on my services now with the Scouts. My family has known not but exploration and life in the wilderness for countless generations. Also, I feel that my talents are much more suitable to the wilds yet to be discovered than in the city. With your permission, Prochon, I would like to travel with Blastoid, if he will have me as his tracker and guide.

***However***

My son, Reimus, does wish to join the Warband in my stead. He has only lived through 17 harvests, but is...gifted...in brawling and horsemanship. He is loyal and will defend his friends and people to the death, but he is a bit headstrong and will no doubt benefit from the discipline of the Warband.

***As for Timus***

Timus must have a fitting story for such a titanic struggle. My Grandfather told me of a man, larger than any seen before or since, who awoke one night to blood and cries of agony as our warband appeared to be ready to be eaten and carried off by an entire pride of lions. It was as if nature herself had risen up to test our People's strength and resolve. Perhaps one of Timus' relatives recalls the epic battle?

***As for the naming of places***

I do love the Paradise Hills region, and feel that it was aptly and poetically named once already. I may yet wish to have my story carved into a mighty Menhir or Rock Face one day. I may even retire there one day with my clan. However, I will defer my naming of things until I have heard of the Protectors of the Faith's decision on our second city.

Your suggestions honor me and I am humbled by them.