Chapter 10 Zakkaramunian Falls
The sight of the falls were magnificent, and helped somewhat getting a sputtering Shikman to calm down over the newest unfairness which the world in general, and me in particular had bestowed upon him.
The world announcement was again a shoutout of my name to all other godlings in Glenhalla. But more interesting what that Zakkaran Manacline talent, must be something good when mana was in the name.
I delved into my character sheet and behold:
The Zakkaran Manacline is a Superior and powerful talent granted by the prolonged exposure to the magical energies of the Zakkaramuni Waterfalls. This talent allows its bearers to draw more mana from mana-infused objects, amplifying the effects of potions, manabaths, and other sources of magical energy.
A large crescent of cliffsides, a mile long sheet of water, and at some places at least a 400 meter drop.
Breathtaking.
But right now it was even more breathtaking that off in the distance downriver, I could see the island splitting the river in two. At the river coast on our side of waterfall, opposite the island I could see an encampment with stocky humanoids moving about, and a lot of them.
I had found the first Hipponian tribe.
At the opposite side of the island, at the far coast, I could see what must be the lizard settlement, the island and split river were big, the island easily a mile across. Vapour shimmered over the river, blurring my vision of the far side.
There would be time to worry about the Stygian Axlotl tribe later.
I was eager to get there ASAP, but the height difference and the terrain meant that we would have to take our time. And I had to focus on our path and not the details of the settlements in the distance.
So we took our time, and we got down while it was dark. But I would be damned if we would make camp this close. And I was pretty sure Shikman and Kerthax could sense my “Christmas impatience”. At the rate I was chewing wood, I was almost leaving a small sawdust trail behind.
We followed the shoreline along the river, eventually we would come to the encampment.
We had walked for hours, and I had started to overthink the whole “God appearing before thine people” while being tired, well tired for the whole time being here in Glenhalla.
“Who goes there” a deep voice called out.
We all halted, caught by surprise, and being very tired, nobody said anything for too long
“I said who goes there, final warning!”
“I am Perun, the lovely beast lightning god has come hometh to lead mineth peopleth”
As mentioned I was far beyond a bit tired so it didn’t come out too good
There was an awkward silence, then whispers from the bushes, we heard the same bushes rustle and a lone Hipponian emerged from the bushes walking towards us.
“Greetings oh Lovely lightning beast god” The hippo dude said it with a perfectly straight face, ignoring the snickering from the bushes.
“Welcome to you and thine companions. We were told to expect a trio, but our dreams certainly understated the wellspoken nature of the first son of the Thunder Mother”
It was spoken with warmth, and in the glint of moonlight, big hippo teeth were visible as he smiled.
“I am Mordenhorst of the Spiritpool Enclave, I will escort you to our encampment.
He turned and whistled at the bushes.
“Zahlmann you and your section with me back to camp. Rest keep your post until you are relieved”
With that he beckoned to us, and started walking along the shore.
I wanted to ask what dream he was referring to, but perhaps it was better if I didn’t let my ignorance be known.
We walked perhaps one hour more, then we could see light from a bonfire and hear voices.
As we approached a sentry, the Hipponioan section leader Zahlmann saluted him, and stated that we were to see the Son.
The sentry however had objections. He stared at Kerthax, and began to grumble about lizard spies. But before I could react, Mordenhorst reacted.
“Look Eberhardt, This is the prophesied second son, he did not appear in a ball of lightning like the first, at least he just came walking down the beach. But he is equally strange, so I am inclined to believe him, still he will be escorted to the Son by this section, now get back to your post”
Clearly dismissed, the sentry Eberhardt still started to speak up but Mordenhorst strode past him, clearly up to no bullshit.
I noticed that the camp was very orderly, and had a certain spartan feel to it.
It made sense as the Hipponians had this trait called “Militaristic”.
Everything was in neat rows, no haphazardly placed clumps of Hipponians sleeping in random piles.
As we walked through, our group started to gain a crowd following us in a respectful distance.
We came to a second security cordon outside a small hide pavillon, with a bonfire outside.
One of the sentries standing guard, went in after receiving the message from Mordenhorst
Tents were not really a thing, but a lot seemed to have tarps made out of woven reeds, to shade from the sun. This was however the closest thing to a structure I had seen yet in my short time on Glenhalla.
We didn’t wait long, 3 Hipponian bulls emerged from inside the tent, and went to us.
In the light from the bonfire I could suddenly make out a lot more details.
They looked quite different. One was muscled to the extreme, almost looking like Hulk with a hippo head, and had tattoos running all over his brown grey body.
The 2 other had a bluish tint, one had many ornaments on and looked old and a bit frail if that was possible for a bulky Hipponian, the other blue was taller and leaner, reminding me a bit of a Clint Eastwood Hipponian, all muscle, leather skin and gristle, no frailness.
But the way he carried himself reminded me of someone, but I had never seen a Hipponian before, so that was not plausible.
“Report” the bark came from the blue Clint, directed at Mordenhorst.
But for me that was enough.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Kurinov !” I exclaimed, and the blue Clint stared at me.
“How the holy apex predator did you end up here on Glenhalla ?” I stared at him.
The short verbal burst, and the inquisitive eyes had been enough, he had said it to me many times, and it was recognisable even when said it with a Hipponian mouth.
This was somehow a reincarnation of Lieutenant Major Kurinov, one of the most feared instructors of the Yuri Andropov Red Banner Institute, a premier Soviet spy academy.
I had been in training under him, served some time abroad, and then back to the Institute as an assistant instructor to Kurinov. My assignment at the institute lasted less than a year, but our relationship developed over this period, as we were both from Ukraninan SSR we had some commonalites.
Then came my US assignment, and all previous ties were severed. Suffice to say I had never thought that I would meet with my old mentor again.
Kurinov stared back at me with eyes threatening to roll out of their sockets, then regained his composure.
“All hail the first son of the Thunder Mother, all hail Perun”
A chorus of shouts went through the gathering of onlookers, and echoed throughout the camp.
[You have encountered your first…. processing…
You have encountered Tribe#1 and elements of Tribe#2
Tribal sub-racial templates have determined the normal distribution of talents: Ironblood and Zakkaran Manacline.]
[You have completed the Quest : Favoured People. You have gained 1.000 XP.
This is a repeatable quest.]
You have gained 1 Orb of Divine Class Instructor.
[Rolling for item.]
[Your luck stat has processed and increased the item tier from Meager to Poor]
[You have received Spoon of Nourishment - Quality : Poor , Durability 11/11]
[You have received a new Quest !]
[A place of Worship - Have your chosen people toil in the dirt to build you a magnificent temple.
Quest completion reward : 2,000 XP - 1 Orb of Mouldable Class Instructor
Penalty for failure : Disappear into the oblivion of godlings which never became more.
Time Limit : 30 days.]
[This is a legendary start location.
Would you like to start your civilization here ? Yes/No]
Yes, lets gets this party started, I selected yes.
[DONG ! - This start location is contested by another party. Move to another start location or remove the other party.
Then why did it even ask me if I would start, I lamented.
I dismissed the notifications, I was so tired I got a little dizzy from all the pings and text running across my vision.
I then looked at the 2 other bulls.
“Uh Kurinov, would you mind introducing me to these gents”
“Da Perun, This is Alfstan the chief of the elder council of Spiritpool Enclave,, which people live here, and have long been in a bitter feud with the lizardmen on the other side of the river.
The old blue bull nodded at me and Kurinov then gestured towards the bulging muscle Hippo.
“This is Karl Rudolf son of the chieftain of the Sturmgriff tribe. Alfstan sent a plea for help to the Sturmgriff tribe, to aid them in their conflict against the Stygian Axlotl.”
I nodded to Karl Rudolf.
“I thank the mighty warriors of the Sturmgriff tribe for coming to the aid of their Zakkaramuni brethren”.
Karl Rudolf nodded back.
“Kurinov, what is the immediate situation with the hostile lizardmen ?” I asked.
“The Lizardmen and Hipponians have been in a conflict over the island in the middle of the river, for as long as anyone remember.“
“Attempts to take the island and build camps there, have ended in bloody melees several times in Alfstan’s lifetime.”
Alfstan supplemented “I came to an accord with the chieftain of the Stygian Axlotl, but I believe there has been a change in leadership. A new chieftain rules over their tribe, and he is a bloodthirsty warrior, who have toppled the delicate balance of peace between our tribes.
They made a terrible surprise attack on one of our foraging parties.”
“I believe there is no turning back, one of our people was spared from death and told how they ate the still beating hearts of our people. The message he had, was that we could either move, or suffer the same fate..
There can be no peace now. So I requested the Sturmgriff tribe that they come to our aid.
The Spiritpool Enclave have never been the most agressive and physical of Hipponians, so the aid of the Sturmgriff is greatly appreciated.”
Alfstan ended his explanation.
That sounded like a dysfunctional conflict, so finding my first 2 tribes, and already laying plans for tribal warfare.
“Well let me first present my companions, Shikman Obad the Creator, is a fellow god I have met in the wilds, we have formed a pact and will work together. Kerthax is a warrior and diplomat from the Whispering Wind clan, and have joined my retinue.
My first action will be providing a Hipponian escort to help Shikman get to this chosen people, Alfstan and Karl Rudolf, have you any warriors who have travelled to the swamp gnome encampments to the south ?
Alfstan nodded, “Ulrich of my tribe, has a great deal of wanderlust, and have told tales of the swamp gnome encampment floating on rafts in a lake, with your leave I will fetch him immediately”
I nodded, and turned to Karl Rudolf.
“Select one of your warriors, one that is able to operate independently, he shall accompany Shikman and Ulrich.”
Karl Rudolf nodded, “It shall be as you wish, First son”, and also walked away.
I looked at my companions, “Kerthax and Shikman try to get some sleep, Shikman your escort will be ready for you at sunrise”.
I extended my hand to him, “Though we have had our differences, I count you as a friend, and hope that our friendship and pact will live through the ages”
Shikman took my hand, and held it firmly “Thank you Perun, I will keep my end of our bargain, when I have forged your weapon it will send the escort back with it”
He looked at the ground then looked back at me. “I must say the tales of your world have given me plenty to think about, I too believe that our two chosen people can achieve greatness together”.
Shikman turned around, and was startled as Scooter had sneaked up just behind him, and proceeded to give him a single forehead to chin lick then just sat back on his haunches and looked at Shikman with tongue lolling out.
Shikman first looked furious, then took a breath, and actually patted Scooter’s head, then walked away muttering to himself.
Kerthax was looking about to burst at the seams, with the effort of not laughing loud, and not keeling over from tiredness.
“Kurinov, lets take the briefing and analysis at sunrise”.
Kurinov insisted on giving me the tent, and then also insisted that due to the risk of us both getting assaisinated he could not also sleep there. I was too tired to discuss and went into a blissfull sleep.
Avatar of Perun (10)
Species : Hipponian
Level: 3
Sex : Male
Age : 32 years
Renown : 1 (Your name kinda rings a bell...)
XP: 7.585 (11.000 to next level)
HP : 152/152
(2,2 HP/hour)
STA : 220
MP : 160/160
(+6.6 MP/hour)
Holy energy 160/160
(+6 HE/hour)
Attributes
Strength 22
Wisdom 16
Charisma 16
Dexterity 13
Intelligence 16
Luck 20
N/A
Constitution 22
Spirit 16
N/A
N/A
Classes :
Stormlord Avatar - Lvl 3
Combat Skills
Clubs 1.02
Short Spears 1.27
Unarmed 1.34
Small blades 1.04
General Skills
Alchemy 1.07
Rune Gnawing 2.54
Diplomacy 2.3
Woodworking 1.21
Leatherworking 1.21
Partyleader 2.30 (12 points)
Skinning 1.09
Magical Skills
Electro Metamagic 7.11 (#)
Lightning Magic 1.20 (/)
Holy Skills
Perunian Clerical Magic 1.00 (@)
Beast Shamanism 1.32(¤)
Talents
Excessive Force
Sweet Luck
Militaristic
Stake Master
Ironblood
Zakkaran Manacline
Semi-Aquatic
Abilities
# Electro Metavision 9.80
/ Stun 1.16
# Summon Lightning Wisp 1.00
/ Lightning Armor 1.00
@ Consecration 1.00
¤ Soothe the Beast 1.23
@ Minor Heal 1.00
¤ Beastial Rage 1.00
Inventory
Azure Pearl
Perythorax : Armor: 7 Durability : 14/14 Quality : Exceedingly low
Peryton antlers : Durability 49/64 Quality : High
Peryton Scalpel : Durability 11/11 Quality : Exceedingly low
3 x Peryton knife : Durability 18/18 Quality : Meager
3 Clubs
8 Stakes
The Lightning Masters left Sandal : Mana regeneration x1.09 Arrmor 2: Durability 40/40 Quality : Wellmade - Part of a set : Lightning Masters Tropical Vestments
Beastmasters furry undies : +2% to interacting with Beasts, Armor 4, Durability 90/90, Quality : Wellmade, Part of a set, Beastmasters Alpine Garb
Hyena Leather Gorget, Armor :7 Durability 30/30 Quality : Meager
4 small doses of weak Regenerative Glue
Spoon of Nourishment - Quality : Poor , Durability 11/11
Terrorherbist Satchel