Rp - Gavel's Darkest Hour- Act Two Begins [7/7]

So she's actually inside the cave? Would it be possible to collapse the cave on her and if so what are the chances of that killing her?

 

Well, more under a mountain, but essentially yes.

He turns and looks at you.
"Ah, the Wood Elf from the Summit. I think I like you. Yes, it is a tricky situation - no proof of anything, of course, Elimut is too good at what he does for that. And it's difficult to see what could stand between him and the throne. The people love him."

Tranki is speaking with Hels, Togak seems lost in thought and each of the other groups seem to be talking amongst themselves and staring at the blaze. You'd probably get a clearer view from the other end of the courtyard.

The Dogun pats you on the shoulder. "Sorry you had to be introduced this way - this was not the intention. It is workable, though. We may yet achieve our goals."

It might be possible, with a strong enough meteor. However, you do know that this cave is absolutely crucial to thousands of Doguns living on the surface, being the only way get anything up to them - the colonies rely on shipments of food and goods from underground to survive, and Ozoth probably wouldn't be killed but would likely be injured. Ultimately, even if you killed her it would do way more harm than her death would prevent.

You point the swords at him and draw them into a beam. Blue electricity crackles through the corridor, burning a sizeable chunk out of the guards stomach. He recoils in pain and stumbles towards you. The lightning bounces and moves on, through a cell door, electrifying the whole thing, and then back and forth between two others with similar results. It seems the spell also hit three random dungeon inmates.

 

I'll run at him to cut him down, but also am ready to parry

 

Walk normally in the dogun crowd

 

Nooooo thankyou, I'll be staying right beside Hels. -.-
What is he talking about?

 

"I have to say, I don't have any idea of what goes on in the Cinfras Court and suches, and nor have I gone to the Canyon before. I can't really give an opinion about the rebels and why all of this is happening, but one thing I can say."
Look up and the burning tower and frown. "He isn't going to make a good king. People may love him now, but in the end, them all will be ruled by fear."

 

”Plan failed. Another?”

 

srry was a bit busy
well is ozoth able to actually fit through the cave into the stairs?

 

Not as busy as me, clearly. I'm back. Hello.

He removes his invisibility - "No need for this now", and looks at you, staring at a point slightly to your left, invisibility and eye contact don't mix well. Many others follow suit, materialising around the cave "More like it succeeded in the wrong way. We meant to assassinate Torl - Ozoth, the Eye, they were only the means. We underestimated both. We are no longer in control." Flashes of red light begin emanating from the staircase. Screams echo upwards from below.

You stagger towards him and he holds one hand up in surrender, the other clasping the wound on his stomach but tightly clutching the wand - he's still armed and potentially dangerous. He stares at you in anguish and stammers, "Please let me leave - I, I have a family. Don't, don't want to die", but you wonder if he could be bluffing - he's still armed, and might be trying to call for backup.

Something about Elimut and the fire - both he and Tranki seem suspicious of Elimut.

(@Nozomi Tojo ~ - you hear all of this too)
Togak turns to you and smiles. "Are you sure? He reminds me of Remikas - ambitious, charismatic and willing to make big changes for the survival and prosperity of the Province. I have been there - not all of the elite approved of Remikas. He changed the balance of power in ways that were not exactly favourable to them. Perhaps he threw his weight around, I sincerely doubt Karoc ever wanted to join the villagers - but it worked. A hundred and fifty years with no major conflicts, only interrupted by a natural calamity of unprecedented scale. - nobody would have thought it possible at the time. Even I doubted him. This Province needs change, and it needs it soon, or all the Province will fall to the Cataclysms, local leaders caring only for of their own position, and the expoitation of those more affected. Remikas' balanced system is shattered. While I may not always personally approve of what Elimut does and says, he's a rare genius and a strong leader. I trust him to set up the Province for post-cataclysm life. I learn from my mistakes - please do so too."

As you start walking down with them, you see a jet of red light jump from the bottom of the staircase and hit the one of the Doguns. She falls off the stairs and ragdolls down the drop. Another flash - another Dogun dead. The Eye seems to be shooting at everyone here. Three more flashes, three more deaths - the crowd are panicking, many of them start screaming.

As you look down you observe that she probably could fit through, though not very easily. The platforms and stairs would easily crumble under her weight should she try, killing the crowd on them and cutting off the Upper Heights. Suddenly, you see several figures materialise around you in the cave, a villager, three Doguns and two Dwarves. They all look worried. Then a flash of light from the eye, and screams from the crowd of Doguns below.

 

"If you speak you die, if you call for backup you die, if you attack me you die. Do you understand?" I say to him while holding the eleven sword to his head "also I'd like my sword back"

 

He nods and reaches into his tunic and takes your sword out, throwing it to the floor before getting up and turning to leave.

 

Hello!
Welcome back! :D

:thinking:

Uwah, big wall of text. '^'
-----
...
how do I respond to this. .-.
O ue, question: How common is it for females to have poloticial power?

 

I pick up the elven sword and put the old one back in its holster. I then proceed to go after dermit

 

Lore on gender roles in Gavel, anyone may read, just random information on the Province's societies. Worldbuilding and stuff.
So, there are no villager women, so in Cinfras, Olux, Ahms, Bantisu and Gylia it's basically impossible. Villagers are also usually attracted to women of other species over men, so their status within Villager regions is different - while no non-villagers can hold political power women can form relations with powerful villagers (they can't actually marry) and attempt to influence them, though it's a pretty rotten deal. There is a reason why the majority of non-villagers in these regions are female. In terms of the other regions:
-Aldorei - Togak's a guy and he's the permanent leader, but women are basically equal in Valley Elf society and occupy important roles withing the Sol Embassy.
-Karoc - Most female Orcs can't obtain power, but under some circumstances women can inherit it. Dugg'r, the current queen, is a good example of this, she was the only child of the King, though a lot of male Orcs doubt her. Female Orcs can join the military and most of them do, but they're perceived to be less competent leaders and strategists so it's very difficult to for them to be promoted. Female goblins are expected to do different jobs, but no goblin can obtain much power anyway.
-Rodoroc - Dwarves have very strict ideas about who should do what job. Hereditary clan-union hybrids dominate most professions, and these can be matriarchal or patriarchal depending on the job. The Royal Family, effectively just a political clan with no special status beyond that, only appoint men to positions of power - the line of succession is very strict to avoid a succession crisis.
-Doguns - Doguns have expected gender roles, but they are not legally enforced and some can achieve success in spite of them - freedom is very important to Doguns. While the President is typically male, there's nothing stopping a woman from running for election, as Torl did (I think of her as a Dogun Maggie Thatcher), and these rules are gradually being relaxed.
-The Coalition - The Coalition has no official policy on this in order to preserve the cultures of its composite races, some of which are very strictly patriarchal or matriarchal and some which have extreme levels of sexual dimorphism (a male merperson for example is tiny, with a one-year lifespan and not even sentient, often mistaken for a strange fish). However, women can be elected as delegates or High Delegate. In terms of the two most dominant races, Hobbits have a similar attitude to Doguns, and wood elves treat men and women the same.

So I got carried away and wrote a wall of text about gender roles in fictional societies. What did I get myself into with this thing?

 

Well, back up the stairs then

 

"Target dead. Escape to fight another day? Craven seems good solution."

 

You seem desperate to run away from anything interesting. Okay, so Doguns are dropping dead behind you and you're running back in the other direction. Towards Ozoth and away from Bantisu, might I add.

You turn back down the corridor and see an invisible force trying to drag a plank of wood with something villager-shaped in a blanket on it. It abruptly falls to the ground and you hear Esmé's voice right next to you.
"Are you insane? He can prove it was you and you let him live? I'll track him down. You get Dermit out of here."

"You're right. Brotherhood, fall back!",
The rest of the group begin fleeing from the cave. Ozoth scarcely seems to care.

 

''He was just doing his job'' I grab the villager shape and start carrying it

 

I follow the group.

 

Shout that thing I was told alot the
something bird flies east or something down the stairs