Open Chronicles Suitable Offerings | Elbion

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Aivrid

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Shaman Vrogak of Clan Braugh
Elbion, Port District


"The air here is different, Vrogak. It smells like..."

"Humans?"

Durgah grunted. "Yes."

Vrogak's eyes turned to the captain of their ferry. It was a large and well-crafted vessel, far more impressive than he had ever seen before. But the captain was a small, weak man, easily swayed by a few gold pieces. It was humbling to know that even the Great One knew of the greed of humans. They believed themselves to be worth more than even their own kin. Vrogak, though, knew he was a servant to greater purpose. Gold did not make an orc great; he knew that. They had no need for it, thus the Great One kept all the gold away in the mountain, far from the greed of others.

Alas, when traveling outside the Seret it was prudent to bring enough gold to pay off those who would accept it, and enough men and weapons to push back those who would not. On the ferry sat forty orcs. They were quiet. Perhaps listening to the only other passenger aboard wail to the captain about how horrid it was that she was being made to sit near such disgusting creatures.

Vrogak sighed and looked at the fast-approaching ports. The Cairou river was wider than any in the Seret, yet all the activity made it seem polluted and impure. He could smell the humans. He could smell their industry, their sweat, their experiments. And yet they were here to learn from it. Was this what the Great One sought for the future of the Seret? Vrogak would need to explore and learn quickly. Still, he knew that orcs could adapt quickly.

The ship finally settled into the dock, and the Sereti were quick to disembark. The port district was supposedly more accepting of outsiders, but forty imposing, blue-skinned warriors walking the streets of Elbion drew eyes. They were not here to hide. They were here to learn from the scholars and sages here of how to improve their civilization. The walls here were tall and imposing, a far cry from the crude barricades of Kannorgopad.

Vrogak would not fail.

They were stopped at the gate. The guards were nervous, but Vrogak and his brethren stayed calm. An officer poked his head out from the top of the gate.

"What do you want?" His voice was weaselly and laced with disdain. The foot traffic into the city seemed to stall as the forty orcs waited just outside the city.

"We would like an audience, with whatever official will meet us of the Grand Council. Additionally, we wish to speak with a representative of the College of Elbion." Vrogak spoke in a tone more formal than the officer above.

The man grunted. "And why should I let you in?"

Durgah chuckled. "As if they could stop us."

Vrogak hushed his clansman with a wave of his hand. "We come bearing gifts, for the College and the Council." He gestured to a pair of large chests his party had brought ashore. "I trust you will bear my message to both."

The officer grunted again and disappeared atop the wall, leaving the orcs to wait.
 
Grand was in his study, as usual and was his habit.
Behind a great oak table, a sturdy cushioned chair, a cup of steaming hot tea sitting on a little plate, a long stemmed silver pipe held unlit in his lips, and a huge tome open before him with a quill pen scribbling a sentence every five seconds.
His watery blue eyes scanned line after line of lettering as he wrote them down, from time to time he would stop and absently stroke his long white beard, leaning back in his chair and combing his calloused gnarly fingers through the white mane before returning to his focused writing.

Grand's mind was all over the place. On one hand he was writing a new philosophy on theoretical magic, on the other hand he was mentally planning his next lecture, and on ANOTHER hand he was considering how useful and fulfilling it would be to have an apprentice.
He had only been in this state of mental ascension for an hour, his personal record is six mental processes all at once.

But this transe-like state of moving meditation was interrupted rather rudely as a message arrived via the owl service. The crotchety old bird fluttered in through his open window with an irritating hoot-like squawk.
His concentration broken, Grand sighed and took the message. Seems some orcs were requesting a representative from the college.

Grand sighed and stood up, stretching his bent back painfully. Normally he would just have someone else go in his stead, but as he looked at the midday sun when it seemed it was only rising just moments ago, he decided he should get out and stretch his legs. He remembered his own journeys to some of the orc tribes and strongholds when he was a younger man and thought rather fondly of that time. Meeting with orcs again, especially one's of this description, made Grand smile.

After putting on robes, cloak, pointed hat, and grabbing his thick diamond willow staff, he made his way out of the college to meet with these rough individuals.
He wondered what dialect of orcish they spoke, couldn't expect a letter from the city gates to be THAT detailed, he supposed he could just keep trying them until one worked.

It took him a while to go through the college, given the fact he couldn't walk overwhelmingly fast with his old wounds. And of course he had to greet students as he passed through the halls. Then he rode a horse through the city to reach the gate where the orcs no doubt struggled to wait patiently for someone to show up at such short notice.

Grand was led into the presence of the orcs. He didn't immediately recognize their kind or markings, but he made a guess that they might be mountain orcs and tried that dialect first.
<"Welcome to Elbion, warriors. I'm called, Grandfather. I am representative of the college of Elbion. Inquire of me freely.">
He gave a slight bow of his head before he spoke, and his expression was kind and truly grandfatherly.

He will repeat that greeting in different dialects until he finds one they understand clearly.
 
Another man approached the orcs with the guard that Vrogak spoke to. This man wore plate armor with a heraldic badge on the upper right of his breastplate. Those that have lived in the city long enough would recognize it as the symbol of House Ardea. They were one of the Eleven Families with a seat on the Merchant’s Council.

“They’re your guests?” the guard asked the Ardea knight as they approached.

“We just heard of their journey,” the knight informed the guard.

The knight and the guard arrived to see Grand already speaking tongues with the blue orcs. The knight’s glaring blue eyes scanned the party. While caravan parties frequently had numbers near this amount, the knight could not recall a moment where he saw one made entirely of orcs.

Gesturing at the orcs, the knight asked in common, “Who speaks for the orcs? What do you want?”

Aivrid Grand Khordon
 
Shaman Vrogak of Clan Braugh
Elbion, Port District
Kara Orin Grand Khordon

The orc to Vrogak's left grunted and muttered to the shaman. "Muprad klaonpul." His eyes stayed on the elderly wizard as the man spoke. It appeared he knew the dialect of the Seret, but when he tried again in a different dialect Vrogak realized the wizard was unsure of where they had come from. In truth Vrogak had not expected any in Elbion to know their language. Perhaps he had underestimated what a 'center of knowledge' the city was.

Still, he regretted having revealed that they spoke and understood common so early. The Great One had told them to reveal as little as possible. Now that the guards knew that they spoke common, there was little point in hiding it, but it could be used to hide their origin. As was made clear by the plate-armored knight, the people of Elbion had little respect for them. It was likely he did not care where they came from.

"The orcs speak for themselves, human," Vrogak replied calmly, his common just as good as the man's. His gaze met the knight's evenly, and while there was no malice behind his eyes, Vrogak knew that the knight would think twice before talking so disdainfully again. Durgah smirked.

"We have come bearing gifts, because we seek to learn from the College and the people of Elbion to improve our village." He gestured to the chests his party had brought, but did not open them yet. "We request space to rest at the College, and access to the libraries of Elbion. We do not seek any special treatment, only knowledge. I trust this is not too great a request for the great city of Elbion."
 
For someone who lived in Elbion most of his adult life, odd things were kind of common. The college was up the road and they literally were magic using scholars and everything that implied; mainly a lot of old people looking wise and a lot of young scholars either looking stressed or getting into wild parties.

He preferred the parties personally since even the most uptight of mage ladies got dancing during those and he appreciated that. But even watching a magic librarian lady get down with her freaky self didn't quite match up to what he was seeing now.

Leaning against a wall, he blinked a few times as he took in the sight of the orcs. Blue orcs were trying to gain entry to Elbion so they could speak to the college?

Wandering closer despite some common sense, Alexios hummed a little bit as he just kind of hovered a dozen feet away. He didn't want to get too close because it would make the guards and orcs both twitchy but he really couldn't help himself.

"Wouldn't like to be the one dumb enough to suggest they need someone to speak for them."


... yeah he really probably SHOULD have helped himself but he couldn't. Didn't have it in him to remain quiet when there was a chance to snark.

"Welcome to Elbion, large number of Orcs with names I don't know!"
he grinned wide, "Don't let them fool you; we're nice people, honest! The People of Elbion welcome you freely!"

If he wasn't about to lose his citizenship for trying to talk to visitors that was.
 
“What?!” was the knight’s first words in response to Vrogak’s reply.

Possibly unknown to the orcs, they had just asked for special treatment from both the College and City.

They essentially asked to be students without a specified curriculum, the knight knew this much. Suddenly boarding forty new students might be impossible – as the College would have financial incentive to just fill any vacant space immediately. The knight also wondered if the orcs had a gift suitable to for this special opportunity while also winning over the systemic racism in the College.

And for the City, the orcs would require free movement through it in order to go in and out of the one entrance of the College. Forty orcs of the same foreign origins with likely one leader and no backing from a Councilor. To then enter the College where, if they performed any criminal acts in the City, it would be a nightmare to extradite them.

The Merchant’s Council would not allow this without knowing more.

And if the House Ardea knight did not have his orders, he would have sought to escalate this. He groaned as he rubbed the temple of his head.

Before the knight could respond though, Alexios appeared to give quips. The knight and several guards turned to quickly examine him with sharp glares.

Since he did not say anything to identify an affiliation with the Merchant’s Council, the knight turned his attention back to the orcs. A guard took a couple steps to just silently stand in front of Alexios and block his view.

Pointing at Vrogok, the knight told him, “If you’re their leader, my Lord wants to meet. To discuss your wishes. Before entering the city.”

Aivrid Grand Khordon Alexios Marxan
 
Grand listened intently to the entire exchange between orcs, guards, and bystander.
Someone else with a far bigger ego and an overblown sense of pride might have been offended for being brushed aside almost casually from the conversation.
Grand was no such person.

Still, seeing the younger people posturing in front of one another was amusing to him, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself, it was like watching dogs bark ferociously at a moose simply munching on twigs.
As far as the moose, or these orcs, are concerned, the dogs can bark all day for all the threat they represent to such a majestic beast. But once a dog is bold enough to try and nip at its flank, the moose immediately shows the welp the errors of its ways.

Still, the guards had their formalities, and Grand had his as required of him as a Maester of the college. However, the difference between him and the guards, is he couldn't care less about the racism or prejudice of the college. Those ways of thinking were old now, and even he saw them as archaic and self defeating.

The orcs desired an education at the college. This immediately won his respect for them. Any willing to learn and grow were more than deserving in his book. But still, to accommodate so many as students? The logistics conflict.
For the orcs, in light of their goals, it makes perfect sense to send as many as possible to receive the education they desire to aid their people... But for the college they had other problems. They are all of one tribe, which means that they will want to spend their time together and learn what the others are learning at about the same rate. Essentially creating a rather large clique that the other students may be uncomfortable with or even threatened by.
Rooms could possibly be managed, as well as food and other accomodations...

Grand thought for a moment before he thought it was time for him to weigh in on the conversation.
He disappointedly addressed them in common this time.
"Ah, it does my heart good to see more coming to the college with a desire to learn. As our cautious friend already said, there are some formalities to satisfy the curiosity of the city itself. But I must admit to some curiosity of my own."
Grand leaned on his staff and glanced around briefly wishing for somewhere to sit, but seeing nothing convenient consigned himself to stand.
"You've brought many of your tribe with you. Besides the journey was there a special reason for this quantity? It would be more manageable for us to accommodate a few of you, teach you what you want to know, and then send you to your people to teach others what you've learned."
This was a sort of missionary strategy. To better facilitate learning it was easier to see to it that a few understand the subject very well than to attempt to teach everyone at once and expect them to grasp it at the same level.

He had no doubt that they brought enough to pay tuition for all of them. But there were still those in the college administration that refused to set aside their prejudices in spite of ample compensation.
 
Shaman Vrogak of Clan Braugh
Elbion, Port District
Kara Orin Grand Khordon Alexios Marxan

"Tolork?" Durgah chuckled to himself, nudging Vrogak.

"Slam," he replied in a low growl. Vrogak was quick to realize that the elderly man was the most amenable to their cause, and the man's words reaffirmed that belief soon enough. Those who were more educated and aware knew the importance of accepting all beings and teaching others. That was one of the reasons the idea of deceiving or willingly keeping information from their potential hosts did not sit well with him. Perhaps, when in private, he could speak to the old mage on more even terms.

It was curious that the wishes of the Merchant Council were not always heeded by all the citizens. The man now hidden behind the guards obviously believed that the people were more than their government and military... in Kannorgopad there was no such divide. The orcs were surely potential agents of change in Elbion if they chose to be.

Vrogak patiently met the knight's pointing. He nodded in response. "We will wait for you to bring your lord to us, then, to discuss."

He turned next to the representative of the College. "We are not all here to learn of the same things, for there are many things to learn here in Elbion. Some of us will not be attending the College, and only learn from other academics and libraries." The magics of the shamans were sufficient for those of the Seret, but they lacked the understanding of other sciences and kinds of magic. The lack of trade and influx of knowledge to Kannorgopad was clear enough.

"Still, if we are unwelcome in the city, we would be happy to purchase your books and manuals. For a fair price, of course."
 
  • Orc
Reactions: Kara Orin
Oh come on was everyone just going to ignore him to talk about boring college bullshit? Ugh he supposed it made some kind of sense since they were here to learn some stuff. Half of the things the college taught weren't worth the time it had taken to write it down in tomes as far as he was concerned but that was probably why he fucked students of the college rather than being one himself.

Uniform looked better on them too.

He snorted in amusement when the guards glared at him because what did he care what they thought? Free City meant he was a free citizen and a free citizen could stand wherever he damned well pleased.

"If any of you want to come on down to the market and see free trade in action I'm accepting places for my afternoon tour!"
he joked, leaning against a wall in front of one of the female guards, "Hey - when do you get off shift anyway?"

He could do two things at once.
 
A sigh followed from the night after Vrogak’s response. A migraine continued to form. Thoughts of what words could even be said to ensure these foreign orcs could understand…



Earlier, before Vrogak and his comrades reached Elbion

“Sorry, Lord Ardea? I failed to understand,” the knight said.

He stood before Lord Ardea – who took a seat before a wooden desk. The two were in a cozy office.

“Huh, well,” Ardea began with a smooth tone, “Simply put, some orcs are to arrive at the Port District.”

A pause before Ardea wagged his finger as he remembered, “Blue orcs! Blue, specifically.”

Then as he folded his hands and leaned back into his chair, Ardea said, “Bring me their leader… to meet and talk about what they want. I want to see if they’re worth my sponsorship…”



The guards did nothing when Alexios first spoke. If just a few orcs took his invitation, they likely would have done nothing but report it up the chain. Even the guard that stood in front of him just kept… standing. Yet his attempt to suddenly flirt with the female guard provoked a response.

The woman turned to squarely face Alexios as he leaned against the wall. She held a spear in one hand with the base planted in the ground and the tip straight up in the air.

“Step back,” she firmly ordered.

And while that was going on, the Ardea knight finally thought of the words he should say.

“I serve Lord Ardea, who sits on the Grand Council of Elbion,” the knight informed Vrogak.

“He has offered to grant an audience with the leader of this group,” he said as he gestured to the orcs.

Then looking at Vrogak, the knight asked, “Are you to accept the offer to come with me to meet him, or should I relay your refusal of the offer and your demands for him to come here?”

Vrogak's response will set the tone for how Elbion's government views the presence of the orcs.