Hazlan - Nordenvall Village

[Iconoclast]

A Gudkaede who recently arrived from the pagan land of Barovia emerges from the Artisan Hall in Nordenvall Village after praising the craftsmanship of those hard at work within.  After loading the pack ox that he had arrived with, he speaks loud and clear for all ears willing to hear of the righteousness of the Western Mission of the Lawgiver in Barovia:


“I return to the treacherous, pagan land of Barovia, a land overabundant with natural resources for our exploitation. Trees as far as the eye can see: beach, yew, mighty oaks.  A plethora of plants and fungai with properties to heal and protect from the plagues of Myterri.  And there is ore to be mined, iron to be forged and steel to be put to righteous service in the name of the one true God, our Iron Lord! 

I beseech you!  For just as Barovia is teeming with natural resources as far as the eyes can see, so too is it swarmed and infested by the minions of Myterri!  Those with iron in their veins, I beseech you to join your brethren in the Grey City of Vallaki!  Seek out the wise Kontor Koltur, whose wisdom will guide us in the manner in which our Iron Lord sees fit! 

[Mentalos Za'am]

Under the cover of night a small green robed figure places the following notice written in vassi in prominent places about the village.

[Mentalos Za'am]

A small green robed figure is seen posting more flyers about the village.

//we'll be doing the lecture twice at 16oo hr and 1800 hours, GMT -5. Ignore the last time of 2200 hours, I was wrong

Spoiler: show

 
OOC Directions to the Red Academy;

Start at the vistani vardo at Hazlan-Northern Border Region- Barovian Border, go east along the road then you'll be in the Fields of Labor, go south. Then you'll be in Tusmorke Skoven- North- Abandoned Logging Camp, go south. Then you'll be in Tusmorke Skoven, again go south. Then Tusmorke Skoven- South, again walk south. Now your in Tusmorke Skoven- Approaching Ramulai, go south. Then you reach Ramulai- City Gates, walk through the gate in southern direction. Now your in Ramulai, walk south and you'll reach the Red Academy. The doors will be unlocked enter and turn right to the stairs and head for the basement to the Summoning Pits.

Hope to see you all

[qwertyuioppp]

A series of notices make themselves shown around the Village.

[Song of Danta]

The bodyslave in question, possessed of chiseled and masculine features, often roams the village, clad in a garment considered particularly scanty for the cold season.
He does not partake in any harsh physical labors. Instead, he delivers casks of wine to his master's household, or trays laden with coffee-filled cezveler.
One may gather the impression that he is on display.
Perhaps he would be able to keep a master’s retinue of female slaves satisfied, and thus, more obedient?
Or maybe he could be useful for diplomatic tasks...

[qwertyuioppp]

Countdown

[Oracle of Oppression]

Furtive rumors circulate about a strange trio, two clad in plate of midnight black and one in the traditional robes of supplicants to the Lawgiver, being granted audience with those far above their station within the Nordenvall Fane. Though the reception granted to them was brief, and the trio went nearly as quickly as they came, hearsay would continue to spread that these servants of the Tyrant were gifted specific purpose by those blessed with positions of high authority.

[qwertyuioppp]

Spoiler: show

Countdown

As the day of the celebration nears, well-wishers from as far as Sly-Var come to the Vraylok Ossur Kyrillian's estate, offering gifts. A full caravan carrying countless bolts of silk cloth and decorations, and a string of linked, grim-looking Rashemi similarly winds into the estate's land.

[qwertyuioppp]

News circles through the village that the Kyrillian boy's celebration was ruined - by his own death. Poison, that much is sure, though the killer's identity is pure speculation: devil cultists from the border? Rebels? A political feud? Regardless, the agents of Mytteri have cut a victory this day, one that Vraylok Ossur Kyrillian will be slow to forget. In his rage, it is said, he ordered his household staff exterminated, the deed filled by his daughter's trusted servants. For certain the corpse carts roll from the Estate for the better part of the day, piled high, and heavy; blood washing from the caravan in their trail.

[Song of Danta]

The bodyslave being sold by the Nomilla household continues to roam Nordenvall Village, delivering coffee and fine liqueurs to his masters.
Word has it that he has become Rishad's cash-cow, earning a steady income via the provision of salacious services at The Dancing Crane.
He can often be seen there in the evenings, awaiting patrons.

[Song of Danta]

The Nomilla household's bodyslave, known as Sukri, vanished from The Dancing Crane during the evening. Signs of a struggle are evident in one of the private rooms: a coffee tray's contents are strewn across the floor, and the carpet is bunched up as though something had been dragged across it. He was last seen serving a darkly-clad guest who did not reveal his face. This man departed carrying a few sacks, though all of them were too small to contain a body.

[DM Brimstone]

Word suffuses through the countryside slowly in Hazlan as a result of the highly regimented and oppressive state.  The slow dissemination of rumors eventually spread, speaking of the rooting out of a particularly embedded and hidden enclave of Mytteri.  This parasite, a tick that sought to glutton itself upon the infrastructure and sow discord under the looming shade of Nordenvall Fane, burrowed deep within the lands to avoid detection.  Their efforts towards subversion and defiance were for naught. 

Heretical propaganda was discovered littered through the countryside, attempting to incite rebellion while spewing falsehoods of hope and piety to the blasphemous, Divine Emperor’s concubine.  The murmurs of unrest were quickly quelled, snuffed out by the Iron Faith’s expeditionary force that sought out the insidious spread of Mytteri and plucked it up by the roots. 

A group of several foreign agents, rumored to rally under the flowing banner of the forge-harden iron spear enveloped by bronze coils that hung over the Nordenvall Fane, departed into the Fields of Labor.  They returned, hoisting several incapacitated defectors, one distinctly Rashemi and the other of foreign descent, upon their shoulders and marched through the Nordenvall Village.  Upon the precipice of the hill overlooking the settlement, they entered the Fane and, after some time, emerged without burden of any bodies. Hobbled by lack of respite and several of them bloodied by the crucible of duty, they departed from the area, heads held high in zealous vindication.

Upon the wake of their departure, muddled, errant whispers amongst the Rashemi furtively inquired about their involvement and the hushed whimper of rebellion still clung to a single gasp of abated breath.

[DM Brimstone]

As morning comes to the Nordenvall Village, suffusing dawn's light over the fields of labor and up to the massive Nordenvall Fane upon the hill, a congregation of individuals prod up the slope and disappear into the ornate spires devoted to the Divine Emperor.  Droves of the Iron Faith flock to temple at the Biskop's beckoning and the pews begin to swell with numbers. The village and surrounding fields grow quiet with the summons, the normally sawing, tilling and labor noticeably absent.

Spoiler: show

//30 minutes until start

[DM Brimstone]

The tolling of the belfry bell in the Nordenvall Fane rang out ominously over the savage wasteland of carnage in the Nordenvall Village and plateaued fields of labor below.  The steady downpour of rain diffused the pools of crimson that welled upon the earth, already fully saturated with the sanguine life-blood of the massacred bodies that littered the battle-torn landscape.  Buildings were in shambles, precariously held by the foundation of scorched masonry at the base.  Flame touched, ebon-tendrils sinuous crept up the buildings from the razing and chaos had nearly fully consumed their structures.  The wooden columns that were load-bearing, carrying the weight and burden of keeping the buildings upright, groaned and strained, emitting their protest with every errant breath of wind.  Still, they stood in defiance of the barbarism committed this very day.

The air laden heavily with the ferrous scent of blood, the thick cloud of choking smoke and debris, and the skies nearly blotted out with the circling of carrion eaters, rays of dawn poked out through the ash and soot that floated upon the current of winds.   Bloat flies were the first to visit upon the feast of flesh that the insurrection left in its wake, dispersed only by the fluttering of vultures and ravens’ wings.  Order, by the divine decree of the Iron Faith and the stalwart vigilance of the faithful, triumphed over the entropic horde of rebellion that sought to consume the Village and Fane whilst they dutifully raised orisons and praise to the Divine Emperor.

The foreign expeditionary force that paid homage and heeded the beckoning of the Biskop fought back the throngs of Mytteri, casting them into eternal torment within the Hell of Slaves.  They returned to the Fane as the sun rose, the remaining committed servants expeditiously moving purpose to rebuilding.  Biskop Preben, who presided over the religious service, has yet to emerge from the massive stoned spires of the Nordenvall Fane.  Instead, Biskop Balser’s grating voice is heard over the din of hammer, trowel and cart, barking caustic orders to reclamation operations.  Crisis was averted this eve, by the narrowest of margins, and the Hazlani natural order restored. The crack of whips and agonizing cries of many fill the once-elongated silences of the land now and word spreads of a carriage departing from Toyalis, bound for Nordenvall, as bodies heft debris and repair structures with alacritous vigor.

[Malvado]

Several posters begin to be spotted on the ran down buildings and taverns of the gloomy Nordenvall Village. They are written in Vaasi and seem to encourage the spread of the notice mouth to mouth

LET THE TYRANT'S WILL BE SPREAD!

FOR MYTTERI HAS TAINED THE HOLY LAND'S SOUL, EVERY FAITHFUL IS CALLED TO ROOT OUT ITS MALEFICENT SEEDS
AS OUR BLACK LORD DICTATES

"LABOR HARD IN SERVICE TO YOUR MASTER, AND YOU MAY RECEIVE TEMPORAL REWARDS''

THE IRON TYRANT'S BENEVOLENCE IS NOW GREATER THAN EVER
FOR WE OFFER TO THE ONE RASHEMI FAMILY THAT PROVIDES US RELEVANT INFORMATION
CONCERNING THE FRIGØRER AND HIS HEATHEN ALLIES, A SPECIAL STATION AMONGST THE MULAN NOBLE HOUSES
A FURTHER REWARD OF 5,000 SOULORBS TO ANYONE EXPOSING THE HALAN WITCHES AND THEIR DEN OF SIN
IRON JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED SWIFTLY AND HARSHLY



BY HIS NAME
KONTOR SIRUS WILLENSBANE

[DM Brimstone]

A large detachment of Rashemi serfs heavily laden with various mining supplies and pickaxes were observed escorted by Hazlani Enforcers and Gudkaedes as they ventured out from the Nordenvall Fane and Fields of Labor.  They ascended up into the mountain pass in near silence, set upon their unknown objective with unwavering conviction.  In the coming days, the distinct sound of excavation resounded from the mountain tops - steel striking against stone, the labored grunts of heavy lifting, and the grinding of moving rock.

[The Black Hand]

A group of black clad individuals portraying the Black Hand symbolism upon their cloaks were seen traveling to the mountain pass past the fields, likely directed to the same cave that  was subject to the most recent flood of Rashemi workers and Hazlani soldiers.

Upon reaching the excavation site, several singular members of the Black Hand were spotted amongst small and large Hazlani soldiers posts, camps and road blocks, overseeing the migration and surveying the local area.

[Malvado]

The local gossip and whispers travel quickly along the village and spread all over Hazlan about a big celebration to commemorate the rebellion's end will be hosted by Kontor Willensbane to take place in Ramulai, rumours say high peers of both the Hazlani administration and Church are going to attend as well as relevant Mulan noble houses. The celebration will take place in the renknowned theatre 'Sceaming Jester'.

// Sunday 4PM CST

[ViktorYouFool]

The local gossip and whispers travel quickly along the village and spread all over Hazlan about a big celebration to commemorate the rebellion's end will be hosted by Kontor Willensbane to take place in Ramulai, rumours say high peers of both the Hazlani administration and Church are going to attend as well as relevant Mulan noble houses. The celebration will take place in the renknowned theatre 'Sceaming Jester'.

// Sunday 4PM CST

//OOC Countdown:

Spoiler: show

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20180415T16&p0=70&msg=Lawgiver%27s+giver&font=cursive

[DM Brimstone]

The sky above the Nordenvall Village is once again choked with a black cloud of soot and ash.  A plume of billowing smoke, this time ascending into the firmament from the tavern known as The Dancing Crane, seeped out of every window and crevice of the building.  Both gudkaede and serf were spurred to decisive action, forming a work brigade of water-filled buckets to quench the flames that raged from within. 

Rumors swirled as charred and smoldering corpses were hauled from the interior, the sickly-sweet stench of the extract of poppy mingling with the putrid odor of flame-consumed flesh and hair.  The bodies of the languid caught in the conflagration were piled behind the structure, many of which immolated beyond recognition.  Embers flickered and floated upon the wind currents as order was restored, rumors swirling of the entry of a hobbled and masked man, adorned in the robes of a Red Wizard, prior to the calamity that ensued and the intense blaze that ignited the den from within.

[Iconoclast]

Gudkaedes Fezim returns once again to Nordenvall Fane after weeks of traveling abroad among the heathen. Having been directed by Biskop Taeko to cleanse himself from the corrosive influence of foreign cultures, the Gudkaedes, under a strict vow of silence and fasting, prostrates himself before the altar of the Lawgiver.

[qwertyuioppp]

The dedicated warriors of the Iron Lord, disciplined and cruel, walk in number with heads held high, proudly showing their strength to the village of Nordenvall. A disturbance in the fane earlier in the day, it is said, led to the burning of a witch at the stake after their defeat in brutal combat. For certain, the halls of the fane are washed clean of blood and the rags set aflame.

The townspeople themselves, ordered inside by the imperious Biskop, are largely ignorant of the quiet conversations of faith and guilt that took place under the rising dawn. The execution itself was apparently brief, fueled to quick end by oil and, apparently, the attention of the Iron Lord himself. Light rumour flickers about a rescue, some disturbance of sorcere and guile in those last moments, though none can say for surety.

What is known, without a doubt, is that the agents of Mytteri have lost this day. So blatantly tempting fate, they will surely lose again.

[DM Stygian Witch]

Overnight a new building has arrived in the village. Neither wanted nor asked for, to the chagrin of the local clergy a theater has been magically transported into the community.
A gift from the Red Academy. Nordenvall now has a theater!

[Meduegna]

[Rumor quickly spreads all around Hazlan of a meeting between the Lawgiver faithful and the legions following 'Sorthelgen' Kaazimir Dvornikov. The meeting of the battalions was a brief one with evident rumors suggesting that the gudkaedes who entered into battle against the adamantine titan were utterly destroyed and one of Nordenvall Fane's dommers was briefly kidnapped. The slaughter of mulani gudkaedes took place just outside the village...]

[DM Stygian Witch]

The village of Nordenvall has in recent days taken on the look and characteristic of a military camp or a community under siege. A check point has been built at the bridge. A squad of gudkaede soldiers remains vilgiant and questions everyone coming and going into the village.