State of the Village

[beastlyroses]

Here are various bits and pieces of information that characters might be able to pick up from the villagers. Please note that characters will have to ask around and listen to conversations between villagers to gain this information, and that feasibly no one character should automatically be aware of everything on this list.

Recent changes are bolded.

Villager Approval: 50% (-12)
Village Construction Status: 35% (-30)

Jump to section:
Astor
The Glass Forest
Traders
Goblins
The Rat Kingdom
Draco Mountains
Levon



Astor
- The country is called Loria. It is an island nation that no one has been able to enter or leave for ‘many decades’.

- The village is called Astor. It has a population of approximately 400 people, and appears to be entirely self-sufficient.

- The generally accepted length of time the coffins have been around is about fifty years. There doesn’t seem to be anyone with a memory of the time before the coffins.

- Characters receive this post in their inbox in the village center. Because of this, the majority of villagers have decided to place the blame for the curse on either the Queen or the Princess, although a few stalwarts think it's the Fox. Since the Crackatook event, certain elements have begun questioning the legitimacy of the information. This is due to rising discontent with Mitch, and also suspicion and hatred towards Fox - surely he's the one responsible for this?

- After the village Council and Guard being formed, more and more villagers are starting to recognise that not only do they need to start looking after themselves here, they're also capable of it. Therese Goodman is the councilperson in charge of the Guard.

- Much of the Guard was decimated in the recent dragon attacks, but their numbers are building up fast as more and more villagers want to get involved in the defence of their village.

- Therese Goodman is experiencing a surge in popularity. After being the leader of a small but vocal minority, it seems that the idea of Astorians for Astorians (and only Astorians) is spreading. Consequently, attitudes towards the Heroes are cooling off

- The Guard will now intervene in altercations. They're willing to smash heads (literally!) if necessary. Please respond to this post if you want to have a run in with the Guard! This now includes altercations with goblins, now that the treaty has been signed

- While people once used to defer to the opinions of the business owners in town, the formation of a Council has created a new central authority that, for the time being, most villagers seem to be deferring to. However, Brad Mekor the Baker seems to have turned his bitterness from the heroes for not saving his son on his fellow villagers and the Council, angry at not being given a seat and finding his influence much lessened. As Therese Goodman is busy with Council business now, he is starting to puck up a few of her followers.

- Brad Mekor has been found dead. The Guard has investigated and found no evidence of foul play. He is survived by his wife, and his apprentice. The former will be taking over the business, but none of his collection of followers seem to be willing to step up to take his political position.

- The old woman who gives characters the mirrors is Grandma, an old woman who lives on the edge of the village and sometimes sells helpful potions and other artifacts. Villagers will agree that she’s the only person alive who could have any clear memory of what happened before the player characters showed up. However, upon visiting her cottage, no one seems to be home.

- Other towns do exist, and the capitol city Kerros is situated to the north east. The blacksmith has visited this place and actively warns against trying to reach it, but no other Astorians seem to have been there.

- Villagers who warned people to stay within Astorian boundaries were once regarded as kind and helpful, but are now starting to be considered by their fellows as timid and maybe a little tiresome.  A number of Astorians have teamed up with adventurer/traders to explore the mountains and the Glass Forest. They're willing to join up with player characters if people would like to go exploring, so reply to this post if you're interested in that!

- The man eating roses have gorged themselves on dragon meat and are now content to eat other forms of meat. They are also back up to full strength, and farmers will start to report that while the harvest is smaller than previous years, it should be enough.

- On a related note, alcohol is still scarce and expensive.

- Two members of the dead hunters families have decided to pick up where their loved ones left off, and forge into the forest. As such, the price of meat is a little cheaper than it was.

- The Council has decreed that any donations of food in particular (but other helpful objects as well) are to go to Sylvia the Innkeeper, who will be in charge of distributing them as necessary. While the odd helping hand here and there will be overlooked, anyone making a habit of giving food out for free will be fined. The reason given for this is that the village needs to be self-reliant, and while they obviously don't want people to starve, they also don't want people expecting that there will always be heroes to feed them in hard times.

- After the week of darkness, many people were ready to blame Mitch for a sudden evil having befallen them. There is now a patch of dead earth near the village where nothing will ever grow again, thanks to Mitch's attempts at protecting the roses. With Peeta and his mitigating influence gone, rumours about how the Witch has fallen to evil are starting to swirl again.

- This isn't helped by the fact that Red Kill (Mitch's river) is still running black. Comment below if you want to have a run in with Mitch!

- Thanks to the efforts of player characters, more traders than ever have started to return to the village with the break in the bad weather. However, no Lekkites have been seen since the surviving attackers from the dragon attack melted back into the mountains.

- Despite hostility toward Flavia and general fear of dragons, the villagers seem to accept the fact that there are now Dragon Riders in Loria again - especially since they all seem to be living in Astor. Claudia, Fenris, and even Reginald will be treated with equal amounts of awe, fear, and respect. Children especially are excited about this, as they would like to become Dragon Riders.

- The village is currently in a state of disarray with much of the houses destroyed or damaged in some way. There is talk of rebuilding in stone rather than wood, but no one has yet taken charge of this.

- Bandits have not yet clued in to the fact that the roses are better, and can be found hanging around the outskirts of the village. Loud screaming around the roses is beginning to be the norm.

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The Glass Forest
- Villagers seem to hold the Glass Forest in equal amounts of fear and awe, although more and more of them are starting to venture into its depths now. The deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets, and you are guaranteed at some point to stumble across something from the Bestiary. Encounters with less dangerous beasts are common occurrences, and no one should be able to get too deep into the forest without running across something more dangerous.

- There are rumours of a man who lives within the woods, who has watched the coffins as long as they have been there. Whether he was involved in magical calamity that caused the destruction of Loria is a hotly debated topic.

- The glass coffin containing the body of Prince Reginald Fairfax has been found and he has been awakened! He's a grumpy jerk though, and hasn't been willing to engage in much conversation yet. All in due time.

- The Fox once lived in a burrow somewhere in the forest, but it has since been emptied and abandoned. The Witch lives somewhere in the forest, in a cottage next to the river, Red Kill. It's rumoured to be a river of blood. The villagers don't ask. The Dragons live in the south, beyond Lake Inferior. No one has any information on where the Queen or the Princess are.

- Dwarf bones can be found scattered in some of the deeper areas. Many of them appear to be charred

- A few kids who were exploring the forest while playing "Hero" claim they saw a mermaid climb out of Lake Inferior walking on two feet instead of fins. Any male who asks about this will be told they're not allowed to investigate.

- The ents have disappeared back into the deep forest. It is still possible to find and speak to them, but it will be an arduous journey.

- There are a number of fairies floating around the forest at this time, too. Some are mischievous and will play pranks and harass people, while others might grant blessings, or boons. If you would like to have an encounter with a fairy, please reply to this post! The type of encounter will be determined randomly.

- Various villagers who evacuated can be found in here over the next few weeks. Some of them have just collapsed on the forest floor and appear to be in a deep sleep. Others have gained an uncontrollable urge to eat sweet things. A couple have stripped themselves bare and won't accept any offers of clothing unless it happens to be red. Three of them turned into bears. Bears that talk! But still bears. If your character encounters any of these villagers, please let us know in the comments!

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Traders
- Surprise at the existence of Astor has largely faded - many of the traders are returning to the village after winter. Most evacuated during the dragon attack, but have returned at least in the short time, in a hope to recoup their losses, to help out Astor, or simply to catch their breath before travelling on.

- Some expected to find a castle of some sort beyond the roses, with the Princess Tristana asleep inside. Most of the people who hold this belief consider themselves more adventurers than traders, and you might be able to get a few stories about fighting dragons and seducing sirens out of them. While many adventurers have held negative views towards Astor, this is view is changing as the village expands and the villagers become braver. They have taken a number of Astorians under their wings, and are the non-villagers who were involved in the taking down of the dragon to feed the roses over winter. They’re not afraid to start a few tavern brawls – or finish them. The majority of these people stayed in the village to help fight the dragons during Flavia's attack.

- The discovery of the prince's body in the Glass Forest has led to much crowing amongst the traders who believed he existed, and much grumbling amongst the Astorians (who did not) - and requests for stories. This has not noticeably changed now that Reginald is awake. It seems that the prince could not have been Tristana's brother, as Fairfax was a small principality on the mainland. It was either very poor, or very secretive. The prince was their finest warrior - no, the son of a Witch - no, a spy for Alexandra (it seems no one can agree on what the prince did, exactly).

- While the vast majority of the traders are wanderers, a couple of very pale men and women will speak of a city to the south, in the mountains. When pressed, they will reveal that the city is called Lekk, but are reluctant to speak of it beyond ‘in the mountains’. They’re happy to know where Astor is, but they aren’t willing to give away the location of their own home. These traders will speak almost reverently about dragons, treating them with a similar respect that the Astorians give to Mitch. Brawls between Lekkites and adventurers bragging about killing dragons (or anyone else doing so) are not uncommon. There has been a fall in the number of Lekkites in the village as winter sets in. They don't like the cold.

- The Lekkites took the side of the dragons during the attack, and the majority of them were wiped out in the process. However, a few goblins say that they saw Gailene Marquette fleeing back into the mountains.

- There was a mass exodus of traders from other villages over the winter, but people have started to return, particularly from the village of Levon. And it's not just traders - whole families are pouring into Astor. They bring with them dragon meat, and the news that three large dragons attacked Levon towards the end of winter. They were fought and killed by the sentient haystacks the guard the borders of the village, and knowing of Astor's troubles, a number of Levonese brought the meat to trade as a show of good faith. And also because they are hauling a strangely high number of young children with them and seeking shelter.

- There is a lot of ill will towards the Levonese due to their bringing dragon meat into the village. This, coupled with the news that thanks to Roy, the creature stealing their children has been captured, has resulted in a number of Levonese leaving Astor once they've got things sorted post dragon attack.

- Non-specific to any particular group is the knowledge that Kerros is definitely still functioning in the north-east. Very few traders have made it that far, and even fewer are willing to speak about it. The general sense of the capitol from the traders is that it’s a good place to get either very rich, or very poor, very quickly. Corruption is a word associated very closely with it, said either in a tone of disgust, or laughingly – of course the capital would be corrupted, what else would you expect in the world?

- While the above still holds true, a pair of richly dressed merchants (a man and a woman) have rolled into town with heavily fortified caravans. They are extremely derisive of Astor, and indeed...pretty much everyone, although they are extremely curious about Fox and the player characters, and will pay good coin to for information about either. They say jewellery which they claim is charmed for luck or fertility (or fertility-prevention), as well as weapons charmed to burn of freeze targets (as with all magic in Astor, the efficacy of these will vary) Despite their crappy attitude, they are constantly surrounded by curious villagers and traders; it would appear that they have come from Kerros. Numerous rumours have begun flying about the capitol city because of this - feel free to make up your own to have overheard or spread! If you would like information directly from the source, please reply to this post. The merchants disappeared the second they heard of the impending attack.

- Unlike the Astorians, the traders seem to have much firmer opinions about whether they would have supported the Princess or the Queen. Advocates of the Princess say that she was kind and cared about her people, and would have been willing to do anything for them, whereas the Queen was brutal and uncaring, and willing to do anything for power. Advocates for the Queen insist that she was an excellent administrator who would have taken the country into a new age, and that the Princess was young and flighty and should have known when to quit.

- Also unlike the Astorians, if asked about the Witches, the majority of traders will believe that they’ve been abandoned by those who are supposed to keep the balance. There’s little respect here for them, and a few spots of outright anger. It is notable that Astorians, while still likely to disagree, have stopped taking these arguments to the heights of physical violence. A couple even begrudgingly agree.

- Some of the traders have picked up on the stories of this 'Fox' character. One enterprising merchant has started to sell fox masks, but none of the Astorians will buy them. The adventurer traders seem quite fond of them however. More fox merchandise is starting to appear - fox hats and tails.

- No one seems to have known about the coffins in the Glass Forest, or who these supposed Heroes are until recently. Apparently the Astorians are the only ones who even venture near the place anymore, at least from amongst this new wave of people. While many traders cling to their own personal beliefs, some have started to question the 'heroes'. People may find themselves accosted about their hero-ing credentials, asked for stories from their homeland, or (in a few desperate cases) ask if they can find so and so's long lost sister or cousin or father.

- Ross Meer the toymaker has fled the village in the wake of the Cracktook event. Nothing further is known about him.

- While any number of the traders possess instruments, there is one woman whose only means of income appears to be a set of pipes. She plays the sweetest music you've ever heard, and has set up camp at the inn in exchange for room and board for the time being. If asked, she'll tell stories about her travels - the time she stole a golden goblet from the dragon Flavia, getting lost in the caverns around the city of Lekk and following the wind out, a few intimate encounters with the mermaids in Lake Inferior. The answer to how she got out of all these situations is a wink and a trill on her instrument. She goes simply by Piper. Piper is back in the village, and recently assisted the evacuees in fighting the rats in Arativ. It seems she can control them with her pipes.

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Goblins
- Are no longer tolling! While still mafia-like in their organisation (smuggling and controlled substances are experiencing a rise), they have signed and are honouring a peace treaty with the Council after the dragon attack.

- With the housing mostly gone, have reverted to canvas tent camps (although some of those tents look more like miniature palaces).

- On the condition that they be allowed a share of the housing, are offered to help people find resources and sell tools etc. for a lower rate when it comes to the rebuilding of the village.

- Are willing to trade a lot more opening now! If a number of the things they have for sale look suspiciously like they might have belonged to bandits at one point or another, maybe don't question it too closely. They also sell materials for forging weapons, and are charging Astorians and Heroes fair rates. Other traders are getting a little skinned though.

- They're still demanding the head of Captain Pissoff.



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The Rat Kingdom
- A previous post related to this area can be viewed in the Mirror archives.

- To the north of Astor is the burned husk of a village. Throughout the village, tiny trapdoors can be found, leading to an underground network of tunnels - the Rat Kingdom

- Rumours in the village say that the destroyed village was once the relatively prosperous town of Arativ. Player characters who were present, or who search through the Mirror archives, might recognise the name.

- In order to enter the Rat Kingdom, a potion needs to be obtained from Grandma, or size-changing mushrooms found in the forest. The former will cost money, but is more reliable - it's possible for the mushrooms to wear off while in the tunnels, although the severity of effects (from getting out in time, to getting stuck but being dug out or pushing through the dirt on their own, to being buried alive) is up to you as a player.

- The tunnels underneath are spread out at first, but grow more numerous and widen out into actual rooms the closer you get to the centre. It looks like tiny beings once lived there, but the most of the tunnels have been cleared out in a hurry. It's possible to loot the remains for scraps of gold and gems, which will grow in size if they remain on your person when you return to normal.

- The closer to the centre you get, the harder it becomes to breathe. There is an oppressive air about the rooms, and the sound of scratching and squeaks is loud.

- It's possible to run across large rats who will attack on sight, either with teeth and scratches, or tiny rapiers. The closer you get to the centre, there will be both more rats, and mutated rats - too large teeth, two heads, extra arms, that sort of things. If wounded by these rats, nausea and swelling will take hold of the victim, followed by unconsciousness if they don't exit the tunnels soon.

- There is a shard of the Magic Mirror in these tunnels that was not retrieved during the Mirror, Mirror, Everywhere quest.

- A number of rats were killed during the recent evacuation of Astor, leaving the population extremely depleted - but also more dangerous. Their mutations are getting worse.

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Draco Mountains

- An attempt has been made by villagers to visit Lekk! It failed miserably. Whenever a promising pass in the mountains is approached, two dragons will swoop in and block it unless other dragons, gryphons, or wyverns happen to be with the people in question. Although it is possible to bribe dragons with gold, these ones appear to be incorruptible.

- The northwest edge of the mountains near the Glass Forest holds the lair of a dragon that is clearly suffering from some kind of corruption or illness. There is a massive cave with a hoard of treasure in it set into a cliff behind it but getting close to this area will result in faintness and nausea. The closer you get to the dragon, the stronger the sensation becomes, but the dragon is also weak from its illness. If you want to sneak up the cliff to get to the hoard, talk to the dragon, or fight it, please reply to this post! It is possible to intentionally acquire a map to this place, which will make the journey easier, or accidentally stumble across it (the hard option).

- Somewhere in the heart of the mountains is a breeding ground, where young dragon hatchlings used to romp. They have since cleared out after the attack on Astor, but what other mysteries could be there? Maps to this place can be found on the bodies of dead Lekkites

- From the southern side of the mountains, you can see the ocean! Unfortunately, it's all sheer cliff face - no beaches or easy descent into the water. But at least it definitely exists?

- Somewhere within the mountains are resources such as limestone and slate. The river and its tributaries can be panned for gold. 

- If you choose to go up rather than through, you'll find the air getting thinner, and colder. The most notable find is giant nests, far too big for any bird. Stick around long enough, and you'll find that they're home to gryphons! Please reply to this post if you would like your character to have a gryphon encounter. Death is possible, but so is great reward.

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Levon
- Situated on the southern side of the mountains, Levon is a village backed onto the cliff and surrounded by stacks of hay that feed off gold. They are somewhat sentient, and will attempt to rip apart or strangle anyone not admitted to the village by someone born there. The previous camps that were here for this purpose have packed up, and you now have to be nice to whoever happens to be hanging around the hay bales to get in.

- The hacked apart carcasses of three dragons about fifty foot in length each are lying on the outskirts. It is still possible at this point to take scales, and bones from them - the Levonese won't stop anyone. The scales can be made into armour and shields, and the bone into weapons, although a blacksmith will have to be found for this purpose. Levon doesn't have one.

- Once a thriving village of about 800 people, the population has decreased sharply to about four hundred. There are less than fifty children present. However, villagers are starting to trickle back in.

- In the centre of the village is a creature surrounded by an armed guard, trapped under a small mountain of gold. All it really does is laugh whenever someone approaches it. When asked, the guard (or any villager) will tell you that the creature stole countless children and has not yet given up their location

- The headman has locked himself up in a room and refuses to open it. It's unknown how he's sustaining himself at this point, but he has a shard of the Magic Mirror. No one has tried to forcibly remove him for some reason yet, but his daughter has taken charge of the village and is currently attempting to get the location of the children out of the creature.


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Comments

[avengeme]

Submissions as suggested on faq!

Coulson has been visiting the families of the dead hunters and trying to talk to them and console them, mostly. Just trying to show that someone cares and is still thinking about them.

[falsifies]

So, Jordan's been taking to feeding the roses scraps of dragon every now and then. She's also hauled in loads of wood over the last two months.

[beastlyroses]

What's she doing with the wood?

[hijackedbread]

Peeta will take up talking to the families of the dead hunters now that Coulson's gone. He'll try to talk Katniss into coming with him.

He'll also try feeding the roses various baked good and is willing to let them eat small bits of his arm if it helps. (Boy be cray.)

Lastly, Peeta will do everything in his power to support the baker's family after the son's disappearance. (He would have done more during, tbh, but I dropped the ball on that).

[beastlyroses]

Will he be bringing them anything, or just talking?

The roses will chew up the bread and spit it back at him, because fuck bread. The will take a chunk out of his arm, however, but their reaction will be very disconsolate and unimpressed. Their condition won't noticeably improve.

Because children are such a rarity in the village, the loss of the baker's son (which will be permanent) is seen as a loss to the community. While Peeta might find bitterness amongst some of the more fractious members of Astor due to his association with the baker, the baker himself appreciates the support. This is, however, limited to Peeta and anyone that Peeta seems friendly with, and he is noticeably cooler towards other player characters.

[accidentalspark]

Katniss has been hunting in the woods, and then trading with the villagers! Depending on the family's ability to trade/pay, she may even give some of it away for free, and she prefers trading goods over currency (unless there is no currency and I goofed then shhh forget that part). But she'll have especially made sure the families of the dead hunters keep getting some game/meat.

She gets a lot of rabbits and squirrels, with occasional but good numbers of deer and wild boars.

[beastlyroses]

Katniss will find the majority of villagers willing and eager to trade with her for the meat - the forest is a dark and terrifying place to them, and most of the people with the bravery to venture into it are dead now. So she'll probably find herself being well-stocked when it comes to goods in trade (or currency if she ends up accepting it, because there is currency!), by virtue of there not being a whole lot of other people providing game.

However! She will find that while some few of the hunters family might accept her offerings, there are a few who will refuse, and one in particular will probably start yelling at her about taking advantage of a poor family's destitution and being a thieving, good for nothing charlatan. This one in particular is called Therese Goodman, and she's taken the position that any Hero hunting is taking advantage of the sudden paucity of labour when it comes to hunters. Basically, the Heroes killed her husband and then took his job and are now trying to buy her off and Katniss just got to be the focal point of that.

Way to go, Katniss.

[living_legacy]

Cloud's not very good with words, but he often goes around the village giving extra wood he's chopped or helping with repairs or really anything that requires heavy lifting to villagers who need it, usually without having been asked. He also patrols a stretch of road from the village towards the mountains or the bit of forest closest to the village for things like bandits, goblins, wolves and the like.

[beastlyroses]

These efforts would be appreciated, by the majority of villagers and he might find small gifts in his inbox - a few sweets, a trinket of some kind, nothing of particular worth but heartfelt all the same. He'll find himself entitled to a free tankard of beer at the inn whenever he gets back from the patroling, and thanks to his efforts with repairs, the village has gains 2% in construction status.

[gorillawarfare]

Marco continues to relentlessly flirt and get rejected by Piper while working at the tavern. He's easily annoyed by the villagers who complain about the "Heroes", and often accidentally gets their orders wrong. He talks a lot to the traders who pass through, mostly about where they're from in hopes of maybe figuring a way out of here, and has broken up more than a few bar brawls that have occurred at the tavern--mainly through rhetorical maneuvers.

[beastlyroses]

Sylvia, while understanding of his irritation, has also told him that if he doesn't stop getting orders wrong, he is going to stop having a job.

The answers from the traders will vary. Most come from other fortified villages or small settlements that have been either overlooked, or blessed in some strange way - Astor has the roses, others have apple trees or hay stacks. Lekkites mention a city in the mountains. They have a tendency to look suspiciously up at the sky, and over time it becomes clearer that when they say 'in the mountains' they actually mean literally 'inside the mountains'.

His rhetorical manoeuvres get him punched in the face on more than one occasion.

[hawkethat]

Since Hawke's dog showed up, he's taken up hunting as his primary occupation. He'll give as much of his catch to the innkeeper as she can use, since she's a better cook than he is and since he's still staying in the inn. Whatever she can't use he shares with the villagers, taking coin in trade if they've got it but accepting nothing if they don't. He's not a complete douchebag, after all. He only takes advantage of people who can afford it, aka most of the jerkwads living in Kirkwall. 8'D

He'll also relentlessly pick Piper's brain about her life and shit, and also gently flirt with her if she seems amenable.

Because he can't resist. ;w;

[beastlyroses]

He's going to find a few people avoiding him and acting suspicious of him, because mabaris aren't a breed in Loria and that's a fucking demon dog right there. The innkeeper likes him though (and Hawke's not bad either, she supposes). Most people are still appreciative of his generosity, but there's a small minority that will be openly frustrated with and derisive of his hunting. It's up to you whether or not he has a run in with Therese Goodman - just reply if you wanna go for that!

Piper feeds him tales about fighting trolls and dancing for fairies and saving whole villages. Sometimes it's really obvious that she's bullshitting, but other time she gets a subdued, and it seems almost like telling the truth. If he doesn't push too hard or actually imply that he thinks he could tap that, she'll flirt back with him. Otherwise he's getting pushed into a table.

[ruthlessheroics]

Rachel very much likes working for the Blacksmith and over time has shared with him something of what was going on in her world (alien invasion) and how she fought, hinting a little at her more ruthless nature and her guilt about it without actually coming out and talking about it. She asked George about his past once, but did not press it when she realized it wasn't something he wanted to discuss.

She's eager to learn about the job, and finds that her mind is more at ease when she's doing hard labor. Occasionally she shares any baked goods with him that she gets from the bakery.

[beastlyroses]

The blacksmith has actually seemed pretty open to believing what she tells him - he never scoffs or shows any other signs of disbelieving at least, although he doesn't ask questions. When it comes to hints about ruthless nature and guilt, he shows no signs of judgement but instead just sets her a task that requires a lot of physical exertion and doesn't leave much room for thinking.

He won't react when she asks about his past, but just before they finish up for the day he'll just say 'Thanks. For not pushing'. And then steal some of her baked goods because that shit's tasty.

[hijackedbread]

If it's feasible for Peeta to hear rumors about the Blacksmith, then he'd want to go ask about Kerros.

He'd also try to find some Lekkites to ask about Lekk.

Lastly, he'd want to know more of the traders' tales about the Prince, if possible.

HE'S SUPER NOSY, OKAY. He doesn't really understand tact and likes talking to people a lot. He could be hanging out at the tavern eating, at the bakery, or trading with some people while talking to them.

[beastlyroses]

The blacksmith will tell Peeta that if he wants to learn more about carrots he should go find a farmer.

The Lekkites, while still not revealing the exact location, will be a little clearer about the city. It's actually inside the mountains, situated in a network of caves and caverns. They seem to believe that they've been protected by dragons, and will speak of them reverently. They appear to have been sheltered from the worst of the effects of the magical calamity that struck Loria.

The Prince! Ah, the Prince. The rumours remain essentially the same as within the post for now, but there will be a few very convincing traders insisting that thestrange man who put up all those posters is in fact royalty. The Fox caused all of this, didn't he? A man who'd had his beloved Princess Empress PRINCESS EMPRESS ripped away from him would surely be bitter, no?

[mycompromise]

Connor's big on patrolling the forest and axe murdering bandits, goblins and the occasional monster that attacks him. While out there he also does a lot of hunting/gathering of food to bring back to the villagers. The food and meat he gives away as it's needed, but things like pelts and antlers and idk other body parts that may be of use for things that aren't food are sold. I'm cool with him running into Therese, he'll probably just apologize but insist he cannot let people starve.

What money he doesn't spend on himself is used towards the town albeit slowly; hiring lumberers to cut down wood, asking laborers to make additions onto buildings with the owner's approval, etc. Whatever will get the economy boosted and people making money.

He may have vaguely mentioned that he is one of a group of many that works towards freedom and liberty without using the 'A' word to a few of the villagers who would seem interested but hasn't made any real attempts at recruiting anyone.

[beastlyroses]

He has not yet had a run in with Therese! She doesn't spent all her time stalking you people, jeez. Egos much?

He's going to find that while his generosity is appreciated, it's going to start becoming expected. Some villagers are getting complacent when it comes to their own welfare - the heroes will feed them, after all. One of the farmers, Arnie Gardner, will interrupt Connor when he spots him giving away food, saying something along the lines of: 'Look, I don't want to cause any trouble here, I don't. You're doing a good thing here, I can see that, I appreciate that. But this is winter, it's the lean season, right? The roses are sick, it's making the earth sick, we don't know how next season's gonna go. Me and the other farmers, we need to sell what we can now, save what we can for later. You and everyone else giving away all this food - it's making trouble for us. People don't buy, we can't spend, everyone ends up poor. You lot have enough on your plate without trying to feed a whole village, right?'

Due to his efforts, the state of the village construction has gone up 3%!

There is definitely a stirring of interest here. A couple of the people he's spoken to have taken to just sort of...wandering past him whenever he's nearby. You know. In case he just. Wants to chat. Or something.

[falsifies]

Before the villagers kind of start looking at her like she's just eaten their children, thanks to her dragon issues, Jordan's going to talk to Sylvia about the villagers banding together and forming some sort of council.

It'll basically be like:

Look, I know you guys have had an easy time of it before we arrived, with everyone playing their own part around here, but the world's changing. I'm sorry because I'm really sure that's our fault, but it's probably a good idea if you change with it instead of forcing yourselves to carry out the same actions you've been doing for fifty years. It's an idea from a Hero, but I definitely don't think you have to tell other people that. But you do need some form of leadership here, or other people from different villages and towns or whatever else is out there that is bigger and better put together are going to come here and they're going to take over. They'll conquer, because there's only so much space in Loria, I'm assuming.

We need to help each other out, Astorians and Heroes. But we can't do that if there's nobody we can turn to as a unified front of Astor.

[beastlyroses]

Sylvia will listen to her carefully, but seem largely non-committal about the idea. The truth is, she doesn't want to get into a discussion about potential leadership where just anyone can overhear. The last thing Astor needs is villagers assuming the heroes want to take over

But Jordan will get a knock on the door in the evening, whereupon Sylvia will be totally willing to discuss the idea, and potential suggestions. Astor once had a patron lord, but that family and those lands are long gone by now. Astor has struggled along, but they don't have anyone other than a feudal model to work with here.

[greatcleavage]

Roy has been doing all of this, of course.

He's also publicly posted a job board slip offering to pay villagers for help constructing the coffin-area watchpost as discussed in there.

[beastlyroses]

The villagers have been noticing! A majority of the villagers appreciate his efforts, but there's a sizeable contingent that are either suspicious of his wanting to get so involved in Astor itself instead of just going out and Heroing like a Hero does. They either resent the implication that they can't look after themselves (even though they sort of haven't), or they're one of Therese Goodman's followers who just flat out resent the heroes.

For the first few days, he'd get no response from the villagers. It takes them a couple of days for them to work up the courage, but then a couple of the adventurer-traders who got stuck in Astor over the winter and are running out of cash throw themselves in to help and - well, the Astorians can't be outdone by outsiders. He'll end up with about three traders and eight villagers willing to help him, both men and women.

The blacksmith will warn Roy personally about setting up in the forest, but do nothing to stop him. Therese Goodman will accost him about sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong, but she'll be cut off at the knees by one of his Astorian workers, who will point out that the watchtower is only going to help the village, and that her husband and the rest of the hunters might not be dead if something like it had been in place before now. Therese, for the time being, will leave the project alone.

[godreallyhatesme]

aight so say mary takes some peeps to go try to find Lekk in the mountains, would they find it/what would be there/would the people try to ax murder them/will dragons poop on them/idek

sup

[beastlyroses]

Dragons will totally poop on them.

Basically the closer you get to Lekk, the higher the dragon population is. Like it's definitely possible to move around them (they won't attack unless provoked), but there's a noticeable increase. The land also gets nicer. Less creepy, more trees with nice looking fruit and other vegetation, wandering animals, that sort of things. The closer you get to the heart of the mountains, the more plentiful shit seems to be.

Should you reach a certain pass in said heart of the mountains, a couple of dragons will set their asses down in front of you and politely ask you to turn back. It is possible to attack and kill these dragons, but this will only result in more dragons arriving. If you try to fight these ones, you'll definitely die, but if you try to run, RNG decides if you make it or not.

On the other hand, you might try to bribe the dragons with some gold. They will be noticeably effected by this over, but hold firm on the 'you shall not pass' thing for now.

Huh i wonder what's in that mountain pass.

[greatcleavage]

Since the goblins seem intent on making their presence known, Roy is going to continue to negotiate with them about ending their extortion, from the position of "we really don't want any unnecessary bloodshed, even yours, but seriously if you keep this up it's going to end worse for you guys than it is for us".

[beastlyroses]

Once they're done laughing at him, the goblins will tell Roy that they'll take his 'offer' to their boss. They come back about a half hour later, thank him for his consideration and inform him that he's kind of a jerk for threatening the injured party here, and they've made every effort to do this politely up until this point.

[hijackedbread]

Peeta will try to track down the kids claiming to have seen the mermaid and ask them to show him where she came from and tell him what they saw, etc, taking the whole claim very seriously.

He'll also try to find some traders from Lekk to ask them why they don't like talking about where their village is and if they would like the Heroes to visit it or not. (He uses the term 'Heroes' likes the Games uses 'Tributes,' figuring that's just what they're called.)

If he ever overhears traders and/or Astorians speaking ill of witches, he'll step in to try to reassure them of their efforts to balance.

[beastlyroses]

The kids will tell Peeta that they saw the mermaid near the North side of Lake Inferior, but that they're not allowed to tell any boys how to get there in case they get drowned.

Most Lekkites will give a variant on 'response', but if he happens to speak to Gailene Marquette, she'll gesture at their surroundings and ask if he wouldn't want to protect his haven if the rest of the world looked like this? They definitely do not want visitors.

Even with the recent uh, power outage, the Astorians will be more likely to listen to Peeta about the Witches, and will for the most part start to settle down again. With the rest of the traders, it's more of a mixed bag. A lot will definitely stick to their guns with regards to the uselessness of Witches, but a few (mostly the adventurer types) will seem fascinated by this new development and will pester Peeta for as much information as he can give them.

[needlepricked]

per discussion on plurk:

Annie and Armin would have spoken with Sylvia proposing doing maintenance and upkeep on the stables in exchange for being able to stay in there (and meals, if possible) on the premise that both are familiar with horses, and a degree of construction work and maintenance. If agreed, they'd have started working on upkeep, fixing the stalls, getting rid of moldy hay, sorting out tack and polishing it while they have downtime between their odd jobs picked up around the village (technically goose feather picking up and postal work).

If there wasn't a set place for a midden heap of sorts, or more good places for spreading manure, they'd have set such a thing up, because ain't nobody leaving horse poo in a pile to explode otherwise (as legitimately happens ahahaha whoops).

Supplies will be scavenged from the area and then probably traded and bargained for among villagers, pilfered from abandoned homes (think bedframes and other sundires that wouldn't be needed right away by any returning villagers).

[beastlyroses]

SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO GET BACK TO

But yes per the discussion on plurk, this is all okay! It's also added 2% to the overall construction of the village, and a few traders have mentioned that they'd be more willing to come back with somewhere appropriate to stable their mounts now.

Originally, Sylvia would have been able to promise only lodgings, but due to the positive effect the building of the stable has had, she's willing to feed them now, too. Go team!

[hijackedbread]

Peeta won't exactly encourage Brad in stealing followers from Therese, but he'll definitely speak extremely well of the man to anyone who asks or remarks on the situation.

He'll start seeking information and/or maps on the mountain passes, specifically to where Flavia is.

Instead of providing any food to the hunters' families, he'll do what he can to give excess bread (from his own purse) to Sylvia for her cause. He'll also ask if they have need of any specific items (clothes, etc) and try to secure those as well - within reason.

Lastly, he'll try to talk to the ENTs about why they might be around and, if he can do so without being rude, mention that he would appreciate their help in keeping the goblins away.

[beastlyroses]

Peeta is honestly starting to get quite the good reputation around town at this point, and he'll find that people are inclined to listen to his suggestions. Brad gains a few more followers, and slips Peeta a bit of a raise. Therese, on the other hand, has found the time to spare a glare here and there for the boy if they should run into each other.

The only information he'll be able to get from the villagers about Flavia is 'there's something west, deep in the forest'.

Sylvia will accept these gratefully, and apologise for the inconvenience. She doesn't seem to be too happy about the whole thing, but she does want her people to be able to fend for themselves. Anything he wants to offer will be appreciated, to be honest.

The Ents are not at this time interested in communication with lowly humans, but unless he takes wood in front of them or keeps pushing it, they won't play Peeta football just yet.

[greatcleavage]

Roy is going to attempt to track down Grandma, and (in the full expectation of failure), will also leave a note at her house inquiring about a potential magical cure for the roses' dragon addiction.

[beastlyroses]

A very confused looking direwolf pup will return a note to Roy informing him that he can come visit Grandma a few days later. She'll tell him that she can't help with a cure, but point out that in the past few days the roses have seemed to have taken a turn for the worst, and isn't that suspicious? They managed to survive the winter and now it seems as though they're dying of frostbite.

[fatedchaos]

Vanessa has come to call upon Grandma about a potion for the swans that will turn them human again, and maybe also some information about the Dwarf Queen, if she has any.

[beastlyroses]

She does have a potion! For ten silvers apiece one de-swanning potion can be provided. Side effects may include honking at random intervals, increased feelings of protectiveness, and turning back into a swan once a month at the dark of the moon. Other than that, though, the villagers should be just fine.

As for the Dwarf Queen, why, does she want a hook up?

[magicsprice]

Would the goblins be happy with the person who brought some of their geese back to them?

I suspect Gold might be using them as practice for getting a handle on the telekinesis he has again and then using the geese he gets his actual hands on to bargain for passage out of and back into the village with the goblins.

[beastlyroses]

The goblins would be incredibly pleased! In fact, Gold would find himself in an unprecedented position of actually being respected by them. Sylvia the Innkeeper will approach him to ask if he'll bargain with the goblins on their behalf, seeing as they seem to have displayed a marked preference for dealing with him over the Council or anyone else.

[ivehadmany]

Hook's going to start randomly white knighting various villagers solely with the purpose of trying to gain favor. He'll be especially keen to help out Therese and Brad, as the town's current leader types.

Separately, he'll also begin asking villagers and traders for details about the place being an island, if there's a port, and other such sea-seeking questions.

[beastlyroses]

I should note OOCly that while Brad and Therese are definitely two of the current leader types, the blacksmith and the innkeeper are actually more popular amongst the greater village. Therese is like the leader of a vocal minority who banded together to get her elected, and while Brad used to be more popular, he's alienated himself in recent months - the reason Therese's followers are starting to listen to him is because they're a fringe group anyway. BUT out of those two, Therese would tell him to get fucked, she doesn't need anything from a Hero. Brad, on the other hand, would gratefully accept Hook's assistance and ask him to help out more villager's on his behalf.

He'll get the same vague information about Obok that Peeta was given, and anyone from Levon will mention that the sea definitely exists, there's just a massive cliff in the way. Kerros is rumoured to have a port but who knows anything about Kerros? (Hint it's the blacksmith)

[shinybaubles]

So, if Captain Pissoff were to infiltrate the local goblin camp again - without killing anyone - and speaking a few words of their language, could he attempt a negotiation to keep his stupid ass goose?

[beastlyroses]

lmfao no way you stupid asshole. they'd try to string him up on sight.

[hawkethat]

OKAY SO Hawke had been planning a dragon hunting expedition back in February that never got off the ground because he was interrupted by a.) that whole mirror shard dealio and then after that b.) the whole goblin invasion fiasco. And then after that he got mindfucked by some jailbait and spent nearly two weeks running around crazy in the forest? Yeah, that sure did happen. Uh.

The recent expedition to Lekk would normally have ping'd his interest, but he's feeling pretty reclusive since regaining his (questionable) sanity. As such, he's spending a LOT more time in the woods and otherwise avoiding a lot of human contact. He's doing a lot less trading than he was, but he's also no longer giving food away out of the goodness of his heart since that was forbidden a while back oops. He needs money for rent, yo.

SINCE THAT IS THE CASE (that is, Hawke practically living in the forest), how frequent would his encounters with the tolling goblins be if he was sneaky, and how common are Ent attacks? He mostly relies on his dog to steer him clear of both of these things, but I'm going to assume even adorable mabari warhounds aren't 100% infallible. Also, is he likely to be recognized as Captain Pissoff's friend by the aforementioned tolling goblins?

[beastlyroses]

mindfucked by jailbait.

The goblins have only set up tolls on the roads/around them, so if he sticks to the forest, he'll probably only come into contact with the occasional scout/s. It's up to you if they recognise him or not, but if they do and there's more than one of them, they'll attack. Again, totally up to you with what you want to run into!

Also it should be noted that if he's spending a lot of time in the forest, he'll inevitably come across some of the creatures from the Bestiary, getting more dangerous the deeper he ventures. He doesn't have to be attacked by them necessarily, but some kind of encounter could happen. That could very well be with ents if you want! They only attack people they see chopping down wood, but will still angrily start demanding answers of anyone they see carrying some, which could lead to an attack.

I THINK I HIT EVERYTHING let me know if you need clarification.

HERP A DERP late as ever

[escutcheon]

how do i keep missing these? jesus.

Cousland will be preoccupied with digging for every stray map she can possibly get her greedy hands on (doubly so after the alcohol shortage announcement) with the intent of finding smaller dragon nests that aren't on the top of a bloody mountain. More likely than not she'll get stuck on a wild goose chase.

She might also pester the blacksmith about forging dragonbone/scale/skin armor or weapons. Depending on if a dragon is downed or not (eventually), she will offer to supply the materials for experimentation.

[beastlyroses]

it's always up! just drop by whenever you want to do something c:

Maps she can find! The easiest to acquire will be anything with a path marked through the mountains to the village of Levon, which is currently being plagued by a baby-stealing dwarf like creature. A trader come adventurer will be able to supply her with a map to one of the dragon breeding grounds, where the creatures will be smaller and easier to kill. However, this purchase will be both expensive, and come with strict instructions to not tell the Lekkites the she's going to do it, or where she got the map from if they find out. There's also a map to where a full grown dragon lives, with rumours of it both being ill, and sitting on a massive hoard of gold. A map with a route to Kerros can be purchased from Grandma for the price of a goblin head, but any attempt to follow it will result in disaster.

If she chooses to follow up on any/all of these, please let us know! I can give you more details of what she'd come across.

The blacksmith is definitely willing to do this, but it would be fairly expensive. She'd be able to pay in excess materials instead of coin, though, if she does manage to down a dragon.

[auditor]

I WASN'T SURE WHERE TO ASK THIS...... but claudia is planning on building a cage to help mr gold catch geese! could she get the supplies from the housing development, and how much would come out of her pay, or is there someone else she can bug for it?

[beastlyroses]

Here is perfect! She could get the supplies from the housing development, but she could also just...pilfer timber and stuff from the abandoned houses between where the goblins have set up and the actual village itself. It won't be as good quality as the housing development stuff, but hey, free! Otherwise it'd cost her a day or two of pay (feel free to fudge around with this, we are not hardcore about keeping track of money)