Part 388: 1360: Drought in the Land of the Arnorings

The Kuchulainn prefer settle their disputes with long, boring discussions and a formal exchange of goods and services. Those who say it is because they do not seek glory are reminded that it is best to honor the lives of all Orlanthi. Those who say it is because they are cowards are trampled into a thin paste by war dinosaurs.



The omens tell us to ride to war, and the Blue Jays are the last clan that angered us, so they'll be enjoying a visit from our powerful armies.



For those of you who have forgotten, the Anmangarni are the Kuchulainni who split off from the clan to form a new clan. I see they're trying to distance themselves from our struggles, which is fair.




Ooooh, that went well. No casualties, no injuries, nothing but cold, hard silver for our efforts. In fact, I think I'll do it again!



Well, that's a pity. Also, they have more than three thousand pigs? That's too many pigs, if you ask me.



The Blue Jays are due south of our lands. The Blackrocks are to the northeast. Clearly brave leader Queen Angry isn't the best trailblazer in Dragon Pass.



I decided to get a little risky, and try to take some captives back to serve as hostages.



Terasarin here demonstrates why he isn't quite ready to serve on the clan ring yet--while his personal abilities are extraordinary, he can't put the skills of his subordinates to good use. As long as he relies on everyone being as skilled as he is, he won't be an asset to the clan.

Besides, Brangbane and Hofstaring both would have sorted this out without a word of complaint.



No captives for us. In fact, they got some hostages from our army.



Fortunately, we just happened to have enough goods to scrape together the ransom.



Emissaries from the faraway Arnoring clan petition you for help. Their corner of Dragon Pass is plagued by drought. Before the drought spreads, they want to sponsor a heroquest, in which a great holy warrior of Orlanth will enter the Godplane. There, he will help Orlanth rescue the rain god, Heler, from the belly of Aroka the dragon. They want you to lend your prayers to the ritual that opens the door to the timeless realm of the Gods.

Decline without comment.

Decline because your magic is at a low ebb.

Promise to sacrifice to Orlanth as the ritual begins.

Send a few worshippers to the ritual.

Send many worshippers to the ritual.

If we show appropriate generosity, we will gain the respect of clans both far and near.

Couldn't they do the less violent heroquest in which Orlanth captures Daga the drought god and puts him in a jar?

There is no sign of drought here. We shouldn't risk getting involved.

Harmast Barefoot's successful heroquest saved the world from Gbaji. Karsten Fardrosson's spectacular failure caused stars to fall on his people.

The more worshippers we send, the more we deplete our own magic, which is presently strong. We would need to sacrifice nine cows to have a good effect on the ritual.