The Chamber of the Council of Khardihr was full, as was becoming the norm these days. Along with a number of guests such as Amphillis, Tidecaster of the Fangs of the Deep, and lower-seated attendees, including the newly recognized Gondrysdassnir, it included an increase in attendants across the board. Clearly, the falling of the Xarlanth had caused many families and societies to make sure that they were present at any and all meetings, just in case something interesting occurred.
Today was one of those days. News had been pouring into the chambers, from explorers, leaders, and other more eccentric sources.
The letter that brokered the most interest was of course the one from Sorrah Nikos. Despite the city not moving towards the ruins of Civilia, the citizens of Khardihr have seemingly done some good. In her letter, Sorrah mentions both the Tiran-Khard Expedition and the Wardens of Burden, and that they were able to push back reavers on a number of various fronts. Sorrah, with the help of Elanor Fordreth and some other explorers, managed to create a defensible position. This was possible, in part, simply due to the other groups at play within the ruins. Sylvaneth had been seen fighting not for the city, but rather alongside orruks against warriors owing allegiance to the ruinous powers. In particular, a Slaves to Darkness warband currently led by a certain “Asarathu”, had been making some headway before the sylvaneth had showed up – now it seems the power struggle rages on. Sorrah claims that they were able to survive due to the actions of the Khardihri, but, interestingly a separate letter from Fordreth made a slightly different observation…
According to Fordreth, Sorrah’s survivors seemed to have been doing rather well, all things considered. They hadn’t been as prepared for combat as she would expect, but in Fordreth’s missive she claimed the survivors had already created a working area around a crashed section of the Xarlanth, had started on small (even defensible) farms, and had been prepared for accepting Elanor’s followers, regardless of their… unexpected allegiances. A report by Knight-Azyros Bartheliman confirms this assessment. Unfortunately, the situation within Civilia’s Ruin was further complicated when the Chronicler for Grey Company (the individual who delivered the various messages), also bore a message from Lieutenant Stonecutter. Stonecutter believes that the survivors cannot hold, even with their current setup, and that extraction would be best.
Regardless of the increasing complications, Civilia’s Ruin was not the only focus for Khardihr. Thanks to Gondrysdassnir’s help, the College of Engineers have managed to create the “Hopu Taonga” – a machine that can point to multiple sections of Seraphon-specific energy sources. As such, new locations have been put forth to the Council to consider, and deciding in which direction to go has become more complex than ever before. Included in this decision is the Furyoth Dell that had attracted so many explorers in the first place. Regardless of the halt of the city, a number of expeditions had gone into the Dell. In particular, a certain Larisa Melborn had been sending word back to the city, and claimed that her team had worked out the location of some Xarlanthian ruins. Unfortunately, word had ceased, and a number of Council members, including Melchad Hawkcaller, the Guildmaster of the Navigators Guild, were pushing for the city to go towards the Dell.
But the city of Khardihr isn’t the only place in flux, and much of what goes on in Rondhol is unknown to them. As the Council sits and debates, it is Lord Haddrik Carminnio that acts – as he steps off of his ship and onto the now-wrecked ground of Wavemeat. The city had not been awfully well defended, but it seems that the victory had not come without loss. Namely, his nephew Captain Okavirn Carminnio was lost, along with his ship. Although Haddrik now had control over Wavemeat, he did not consider it a worthwhile trade – the loss of his nephew had sent him into a rage that had lasted the afternoon, with many locals feeling the brunt of his anger has they were dismembered time and time again. Carminnio considered any taint of Chaos to be an affront, but now that this campaign had grown personal, he vowed to destroy all that he came across. Thankfully, the takeover was not without some success. It became clear that a ship, The Bearbulge ( a ship that had owed allegiance to Targug the Cleaver, a piratical Ogor that had entered the Svlind), had recently docked to trade with other mortals within the town. Most notably, the ship contained a section of the seraphon voidship, the Xarlanth, strapped to the front-end of the bow – a celestite-forged canon the size of the now-abandoned ship that carried it. What Carminnio will do with this new artefact remains to be seen, but the Vermillio Family and its allies are currently in discussions with him and other operatives throughout the region.
The battle for the Gaping Portal has also moved on. Although Blackmaw’s marauders made some initial gains, it was not to remain that way. Blackmaw had managed to repel good portions of Ka-rokk’s forces during their first assaults, fighting their way upstream towards the Gate. But it was the land itself, though, that he had to contend with – as sylvaneth, angered at any show of discipline, tore away at any ground that was taken and pushing the followers of the dark gods back. Initially angered at those that sought to bring civilization to the continent, the sylvaneth at the Gate no longer cared which god was worshipped, the primal was to be left alone, the wild left untamed. All was to be destroyed so bark and stream and rock could flourish. All that to say, the fighting had been pushed further along the river Att, away from the gate, up against the outer edges of Furyoth Dell.
