City of IF

[Key]

The story so far: You are Lodevar, born to the race of sheepheads enslaved by the Bullroar minotaurs. Your have an unusual form compared to most sheepheads, with a smaller head and no horns. After being sent to the iron mines as punishment for an escape attempt, you started a slave rebellion and freed over five hundred of your people. The Bullroars responded by sending an army to hunt you down. After weeks of being harried by the larger, better-equipped force, you brought your advisors together and considered your options.

Last Decision: Lead your people to the Great Sea to contact the merfolk.

The Great Sea. Somehow you always knew that you'd come back here. For four years you lived on this sea, not ten feet from its wide waters and the open sky. But that ten feet might as well have been a hundred miles: chained in the hold with the other galley slaves, you were as far from the sea as you were from freedom.

Now you stand on the deck of your sailboat as it cuts across the waves, the cool breeze in your hair and the sea streching in all directions, and you laugh and thank the Makers. No matter what happens, no one can take this moment away.

But this is not a vacation. You came to the Great Sea because it offers your people the best chance of survival. You realized that in the council three weeks ago. Attacking the Bullroar towns would have been foolish; not only were they well-defended, but even if you'd succeeded, your army would have been out in the open, exactly where the Bullroars wanted you. Your one chance is to find allies, and the closest possible allies are the merfolk of the Great Sea.

You planned your move carefully, knowing that the Bullroar armies were close by. You allowed some Bullroar spies to overhear a conversation about your "plans" to attack Nersus Minor, the nearest Bullroar town. You even let them see you practicing digging, as though you were planning on tunneling under the walls of the town. As you expected, the bulk of their army pulled back to Nersus Minor, spied out by your keen-eyed people looking from the highest mountain-tops. No doubt they constructed elaborate traps and defenses there and waited, ready to destroy your rebellion in one battle.

While they waited, you marched your people quickly across the mountains toward the Great Sea, leaving as little trail as speed would allow. When the mountains sloped into the Great Sea, you took the Coast Road Outward until you reached a small fishing village of thirty to forty Bullroar families, each with a few sheephead slaves. The Bullroars were amazed at the sight of you and most quickly surrended. You freed their slaves and put the Bullroars in chains. Then you asked them how to find the merfolk.

From the Bullroars and the sheepheads, you got the same answer: the Mirtis Reefs. The merfolk live under the sea, but many of them like to visit the surface on a long line of coral reefs a day’s sail away. The fishermen warned you against the merfolk, saying that they lure land-dwellers into the ocean and drown them. If it only the Bullroars had told you this, you might have thought that they were making this up to keep you from a potential ally. But the sheepheads confirm their story, saying that many an unwary fisherman who sailed alone into the Mirtis Reefs disappeared, his boat later found floating and empty, his unmarked corpse washed ashore.

So you sailed out with caution and a dozen of your people: six trustworthy sailors from the fishing village and six former slaves from the mines. Haman, your second-in-command, is by your side, and so is Nelectitus, the satyr prophet. The voyage has been calm and you've made good time; now you approach the Mirtis Reefs. The ship slows, and you can see the reefs through the clear blue water below you: many-colored and shaped, and teeming with life: fish darting this way and that, small octopi, colorful sea urchins and starfish. An entire world, strange and alien, under the surface.


You hear the merfolk before you see them. Or rather, you hear her. A woman's voice, singing in a tongue sweet and unknown, a language of liquid words, comes floating over the sea. The sheepheads look up and steer the ship toward the sound, and then you see her, sitting on a seaweed-encrusted reef jutting out of the ocean. Beads of water glisten on her fair skin. Her yellow-green hair, still wet, falls from her shoulders and covers her breasts. Her deep-green eyes seem to take in the entire world, while her lips never pause from their singing. Below the waist her form gradually melts into the tail of a fish, which she idly dangles into the water. You've never been this close to a mermaid before. You want to be closer.

Cautiously the sailors move this ship closer to the reef, and you move to the bow to get a better view. She stops singing and looks at you curiously. You’re close to her now, not twenty feet away. You ask her, "Do you speak my language?"

She seems about to answer when a figure suddenly shoots out of the sea between you. It’s a merman, now halfway out of the water, with a muscular bare chest and dark hair, holding a steel trident in his right hand.

"Welcome to the Mirtis Reefs, land-dwellers," he says. But his voice is cold and unwelcoming. "Why are you here?"

The mermaid continues looking at you with curiosity from over his shoulder. With difficulty, you tear your eyes away from her.

"We have come to speak to your people," you reply.

"You’ve found us. What do you have to say?"

"I am Lodevar," you begin. "I am the leader of a nation of free sheepheads, slaves who have risen up against our Bullroar masters. We seek allies."

"You land-dwellers are always fighting one war or another. It has nothing to do with us."

"Is it your place to decide that? Are you the King of the Merfolk?"

The merman stares at you coldly. "No. Merely one of his many sons. I am Petrosian, Lord of this Reef. Whatever you have to say to my father, the King of the Sea, will go through me."

The mermaid begins speaking. Like her song, her words are in the sweet tongue of the merfolk, coming suddenly and smoothly, and though you don’t understand them they are beautiful. Petrosian looks annoyed and turns his head slightly back toward her, replying quickly in the same language.

"This is my sister, Lalomea," he says to you. Lalomea smiles at you. You smile back and bow to her, feeling somewhat foolishly happy.

"So I ask you again, land-dweller, what do your wars have to do with us?"

"Aren’t you one of the Twelve Peoples? Though you live in the sea, don’t you trade and deal with land-dwellers?"

Petrosian shrugs. "A few things the sea does not produce." He looks at his metal trident idly. "We get those from the Bullroar, mostly. Why should we risk this trade by allying with his enemy?"

"And does it matter to you that the Bullroar enslaves us? That he chains us like dogs and works us till our bones crack, casting our old and ill to the side like garbage? Or do the merfolk care for nothing but themselves?"

"We care for the sea. We are the stewards of a thousand thousand forms of life, and we treat each with compassion and regard for the whole. Slavery is abhorrent to us. But when it happens on land…" He shrugs. "It’s not our problem."

You feel your blood boiling, and you’re almost ready to leap into the sea and throttle him, trident or no, but just then Lalomea speaks again. This time Petrosian turns to face her, and they speak back and forth for several minutes. She talks excitedly and points at you several times. He seems resistant to whatever she’s saying, and looks back at you doubtfully, but in the end he seems to agree. He turns back to you and says, "My sister wants to know your race."

"I’m a sheephead."

"Don’t insult my intelligence. Do you think I can’t tell when someone has a sheep’s head or not?"

"I was born of a sheephead mother and father. Why I look like this I don’t know, nor does it matter to me."

"Hmm…two hands, the head of a merman…do you have feet or hooves?"

"Feet."

"And no horns?"

"No."

Petrosian considers. Then he says, "All right. I will give your message to the King Under the Sea. I will tell him that the leader of a slave rebellion of sheepheads requests alliance with his people. Is there anything else?"

You stand back, surprised that he would cooperate. "No, nothing else."

"All right. When I receive the King’s reply, I’ll contact you at your village."

He turns to go. You look back at Lalomea, who smiles at you again. "Petrosian," you say.

"Yes?"

"Tell your sister that she sings beautifully."

Petrosian looks at you oddly. "How would you know? You’ve never heard her underwater."

With that Petrosian dives under water, and with a parting wave to you, Lalomea follows him.

---

"Those sea-folk sure take their time, don’t they?" Haman asks you.

You nod. You’ve thought of little else since you came back from speaking with Petrosian. You’ve gambled everything on an alliance with the merfolk: brought your people out of the mountain highlands down to this coastal village with no defenses to speak of, and you’ve kept them here, because here is where the merfolk promised to reply to you. But it has been three weeks with no word, and with each day the village gets less safe.

Not that you’ve wasted the time. You sent parts of your army up and down the Coast Road, taking villages and freeing slaves as far as you dared to go, and meanwhile you’ve been training the bulk of your army here, teaching them sailing and fighting while your lieutenant Drogas tries to organize them into a real army. You’ve sent scouts up and down the Coast Road and into the mountains, watching and waiting for the Bullroar armies that you’re sure will come soon. And you’ve prepared to flee, either into the mountains or, if necessary, by boat over the sea. So everyone’s ready to move. But you’ve got nowhere to go until you hear from the merfolk.

"Been thinking about the mermaid again?" Haman asks. You look up at him sharply. You mentioned Lalomea only once to him. But he seems to know how much she’s been haunting your thoughts. She has nothing to do with your mission, with your responsibility for the lives of your people. But you can’t put her out of your mind.

"Just be careful," Haman says. "Keep your head above water."

You’re about to reply, when one of your people runs up to you and Haman, breathless. "We’ve heard from one of the scouts," he says. "You’d better come."

Quickly you and Haman move through the small village to the head house where you’ve made your headquarters. The scout is Larios, a brave young sheephead who was stationed Inward along the Coast Road. He’s sitting on the floor, still breathing heavy from the ride.

"What did you see?" Haman asks.

"Fires," says Larios. "Lots of campfires. There’s an army coming up the Coast Road, probably from one of the Inner Cities. I’d guess a thousand, maybe more. At the rate they’re coming, they’ll be here tomorrow."

You turn to Haman. "What are our options?"

"Nothing good," he says. "We can dig in and fight them. They don’t outnumber is too much, but I’m sure they’re better trained and better equipped. We could retreat Outward, try to stay ahead of them, but eventually we’ll run into a Bullroar city in that direction, and then we’ll be trapped between them. Or we retreat back into the mountains, but that’s where the army from the mines is."

"What about the sea?"

"We’ve got enough boats to fit everyone on, barely. But how long would we last? We’ve got nowhere to go, and not enough supplies for more than a few days. Unless the merfolk can find us a place or a fleet of dolphins. But it looks like it’s too late for that now."

You throw open the window of the head house, and look out to the sea. Your people put in danger, probably killed, all because the merfolk are late. You should never have come here.

But as you look, you see a strange sight. The water near the shore parts, and you see three bodies - merfolk! - emerge. Crying out, you rush out of the house and run down to the beach. Your people follow you, and you reach the shore as the merfolk arrive.

Petrosian is in front, looking cold and formal as ever. You recognize Lalomea to his left, but you quickly turn your eyes away, afraid to look at her. On Petrosian’s right is another merman, an older one, with gray hair and a gray beard.

Petrosian says, "Greetings. I bring a message from the King of the Sea."

"I’m glad to hear it."

He clears his throat. "His Royal Marine Majesty, the King of the Sea, Protector of Dolphins, Lord of the Whales, Ruler of the Large Octopi, and of the Small Octopi, and of the Red Squid, Keeper of the Sacred Reefs, Emperor and Rightful Ruler of all manner of Sea Turtles and Eels -"

"Perhaps we could skip this part," you say. "In the interests of time."

Petrosian looks annoyed. But he continues, "His Royal Marine Majesty, the King of the Sea, with all other such titles as befits his station, extends warm greetings and good wishes to Lodevar, the leader of the slave rebellion of sheepheads, and to his people. He furthermore grants the favor of an audience with his Majesty in his Majesty’s Kingdom Under the Sea, to Lodevar and to two companions of Lodevar’s choosing, the purpose of which shall be to discuss Lodevar’s request for an alliance of the sheephead rebels with his Majesty’s people, the merfolk.

"The duration of the audience shall be three days and three hours, and during that time the safety and comfort of Lodevar and his companions shall be provided for by the King’s magic, so that they will be able to descend into the sea without fear of harm. After three days and three hours, the safety of Lodevar and his companions under the sea cannot be assured, and if Lodevar or his companions were to choose to remain under the sea beyond that time for any reason - " Here Petrosian pauses and looks at you significantly - "they would do so at their own risk."

"I appreciate the audience," you say. "But the Bullroars have found us now. Their army will be here tomorrow. Is there anything you can do to help us today?"

Petrosian looks at you incredulously. "You - a land-dweller - have been granted an audience with the King Under the Sea," he says. "Isn’t that enough?"

"Not if my people die, it isn’t! Do you know of any safe islands nearby? Can you help take my people there?"

Petrosian shakes his head. "No, there’s nothing we can do before you see the King."

"When is the audience? Do I have to go now? Or can I evacuate my people first?"

Petrosian shakes his head in disbelief. "You can keep the King Under the Sea waiting if you like," he says. "How he will react if you do I can’t predict."

You look at the other merfolk. The older one to Petrosian’s right looks at you with curiosity and, it seems, kindness. You don’t know if he understood a word you said, but he seems to sense that it is your turn to reply. You look at Lalomea, rising half-way up out of the water, as beautiful as you remember her. She smiles and your heart aches, remembering another reason you’d like to go under the water.

Haman stands next to you, along with Philos and Drogas, your other captains, and Nelectitus, the prophet. They wait for your orders.

What do you do?

Read the posts below, and click "Post Reply" to post a suggestion for the Lodevar’s next action. Anyone is welcome to post. You can suggest what he would do based on his personality, what you think he should do based on what would be best, or just in general what seems like a good idea to you. Feel free to comment on other’s suggestions, but please be courteous.

You're also welcome to ask questions about Lodevar's background or about the world of the Wheel.

[Guest]

send every1 to the moutain and u and haman and the phropet shold go to the king. also chop off the heads of the bullroars that are chained up in the town.


p.s love the story

[accunova]

I think he should evacuate the people into the mauntains, distract the enemy near the shore, to then somehow cooperate with the merfolk to lure them into the sea.
perhaps letting their goods be loot for the merfolk and then bonding the alliance with them.

[Guest]

Probably the best thing to do here is to get the sheepheads to safety. The best way to do this is by boat althought it will be tight.The story says that they have enought boats but barely and there supplies will last for a few days only. The audience is only 3 days long so ship the sheepheads out to sea with as much supplies as possible go to the audence and have the mer-people take Lovedar and the other 2 that went with him back to the ships if they accept the allience the merpeople can help them 2 safety and if not there screwed :? and the,ll have to go back andfight the bullheads.

[Guest]

Anonymous wrote: Probably the best thing to do here is to get the sheepheads to safety. The best way to do this is by boat althought it will be tight.The story says that they have enought boats but barely and there supplies will last for a few days only. The audience is only 3 days long so ship the sheepheads out to sea with as much supplies as possible go to the audence and have the mer-people take Lovedar and the other 2 that went with him back to the ships if they accept the allience the merpeople can help them 2 safety and if not there screwed :? and the,ll have to go back andfight the bullheads. by gRAEME

[Angelic_Soul]

Probably the best thing to do here is to get the sheepheads to safety. The best way to do this is by boat althought it will be tight.The story says that they have enought boats but barely and there supplies will last for a few days only. The audience is only 3 days long so ship the sheepheads out to sea with as much supplies as possible go to the audence and have the mer-people take Lovedar and the other 2 that went with him back to the ships if they accept the allience the merpeople can help them 2 safety and if not there screwed and the,ll have to go back andfight the bullheads.

[Ravenwing]

Hmm... This is a very delicate situation. Well first of all, Lodevar should put the safety of his people first. Take them to the mountains, and only take the two closest of his advisors, the satyr, Nelecticus, and Haman. Leave the army to Dorgas. Although he may or may not gain the merfolk as allies its best that he at least try to persuade them during his set 3 days.

I like the pictures by the way. The one of the mermaid is exactly as your words describe her. I wonder whether you described her based on that picture, or did it take you a while to find or draw a picture to your written description? It's coming out to be a great story.

[Guest]

i beleive that lodevar should worry most about his people than an alliance and send them into the mountains with one of his closestadvisors or freinds. he should then take hamman and teh prophet to speak with the merfolk as they also respect the prophet

[shea616]

that was me and o forget to log in

[Gamer9999]

The safty of your people comes first, but you would not have all that grate of a chance to get past the Bullroar army if you retreat to the montans. So you should go to the merfolk with all your people on ships then when you talk to the king you could tell him that all on your peoples lives rest in his hands and if he terns you away they will die. The king will see that you have put your fath in the merpeople and may alliy with you or if he will not go to war he may show you to one of the other continants.

[Guest]

July 26th, 2004

I have some ideas that could be a possibility (Although I doubt my suggestions wouldn't be accepted nor work in this situation). :?

Number One:They can try to bribe the Bullroars (which I think it's stupid!) :x
Number Two:He can tell the messager to inform the King that this is an emergency, and they need help right now!! While in the meantime, he and his people can play dead; camoflouge (to blind in with their environment) themselves to confuse the Bullroars; or flee to the mountains (Mountains are an extremely effective barrier between the invader and the denfender)! :wink:

Number Three: They can (if the story allows it, which I almost doubt 100%)
try to negociate, and work towards peace.

See? That's why I doubt my suggestions' chances! :cry:

Yours,
Guest

[Araex]

i think that we shud try to get every1 onto the boats, and then u, haman, and prophet can go to the audience, or that we should try to negotiate peace

[Guest]

We can't send our forces to the mountains or they will become trapped there, are only options are to either have the army stay and try to fight back, which even if we did win would result in serious losses.

I feel our only feasible option is to put eveyone on boats sail out far enough away that you cannot see the shore, this is so the bullheads think you have left and hopefully don't think you will be returning anytime soon.

In the meanwhile, the hero will see the King and try to get help, it seems that the only reason the King is seeing the hero is because of his different looks, maybe they have a prophet of sorts with a savior that fits our heros discription. If this is the case then he would probably def help us. The merfolk seem somewhat compasoniate, well at least two out of 3 so far so even if they dont agree to help maybe they will at least provide supplies and direction (map) to another safe continent.

If they do nothing then we can only hope that the bullheads have assumed we sailed away never to return and left the shore to return to their cities. We should let our prisioners over hear us talking about a continent we know of and our plans to go there and never return. Now I know the Bullheads have figured out we can be a sneaky bunch so I don't know if that trick will just backfire on us since we fooled them once like that, but you never know.

[Guest]

oh that last one was me...Jagang, I didn't feel like loggin on

[Mother Goose]

The boats seem like the quickest way to get the sheepheads out of the way of the bullroar army. The King Under the Sea seems to be a responsible ruler of his kingdom and maybe he will relate to Lodevar's concern for his people and at least help them to safety. But I don't trust the mermaid. She sounds an awful lot like the Lorelei, and no sailor ever came to any good falling in love with her!

[Guest]

July 27th, 2004

We can try to outsmart them; I heard that Minotaurs are pretty stupid! :D
As I always say," one who fights the strongest by strength will lose! But fight the strongest by brainy strategies, and you'll always win!" :wink:

[Guest]

Gamer9999 wrote: The safty of your people comes first, but you would not have all that grate of a chance to get past the Bullroar army if you retreat to the montans. So you should go to the merfolk with all your people on ships then when you talk to the king you could tell him that all on your peoples lives rest in his hands and if he terns you away they will die. The king will see that you have put your fath in the merpeople and may alliy with you or if he will not go to war he may show you to one of the other continants.

[Meyshe]

July 28th,2004

I think that he should split his people into 4 groups.

The first group tries to delay the Bullroars' progress as much as possible (they'll need to use their brains for best results).

The second group tries to find someplace for his people to hide, a place where the bullroars cannot squeeze through nor enlarge the opening without suffering serious losses.

The third group goes out sailing and wait for the King's reply.

The fourth group goes out sailing for a safe place for his people where it would not only satsify their needs, but also makes the bullroars' invasion impossible.

Yours,
Meyshe

[tigaress]

This story is fantastic (similar to many of the great classics), it has epic potential. I would love to see you make a career writing sequels about Lodevar (taking him all the way to a biblical old age -130 maybe :wink: )
I agree with most everyone else, the Goatheads must go out to sea while our protagonist enters the ocean's depth.
Now may I make some suggestions: I am new to this and I hope I do not overstep my bounds. Forgive me if this is not the way the game is played.
I would love to see a detailed description of the waterland - maybe something like streets paved with pearls and the merrace coming in every color of the rainbow.
While in dialouge ,with the King of the Sea, Lodevar learns that not all things are provided for them through trade with the "disgusting-snorting" minotar. The old merman that came to the surface was the king's father's closest friend-advisor (he speaks often to the king about a race that provided them with one of their most needed comodities : a grasslike plant called wheat. Without this grain the merpeople won't last another 100 years.
And why is there no grain for the merpeople? The grain comes from a land where dwells the minotar's most feared and mortal enemies, a race called the Cheroka. The Cheroka are a proud, noble, feared,yet just breed. The others of their land call them the Monarchs of the Plain. The Cheroka come in every color of the wheat-gold,black,white,red ,brown,
and blonde. They are a lion-like creature with talons like the eagle and fan-like spines that flatten when they are stalking their prey. It is said that they are an evolution of the dragons. And true to cat behavior, they love shinny things (which brings out the child-cub in them.)
The merking also tells Lodevar that when the Goatheads were enslaved it was not because they were weak, it was because they mined the only element besides air, fire, water ,and earth - GOLD-. It only comes from the mountains of the goathead's. Most important of all ,the Cheroka are said to be gourmands of no other but BEEF.
I hope that I did not do the wrong thing here I hope at least one idea :idea: is considered.

[Key]

tigaress wrote: This story is fantastic (similar to many of the great classics), it has epic potential. I would love to see you make a career writing sequels about Lodevar (taking him all the way to a biblical old age -130 maybe :wink: )


Thanks very much for the kind words, Tigaress. I'd like to see myself making a career of this as well. Now I just need find a publisher who agrees... :)

tigaress wrote:
Now may I make some suggestions: I am new to this and I hope I do not overstep my bounds. Forgive me if this is not the way the game is played.
I would love to see a detailed description of the waterland - maybe something like streets paved with pearls and the merrace coming in every color of the rainbow.
While in dialouge ,with the King of the Sea, Lodevar learns that not all things are provided for them through trade with the "disgusting-snorting" minotar. The old merman that came to the surface was the king's father's closest friend-advisor (he speaks often to the king about a race that provided them with one of their most needed comodities : a grasslike plant called wheat. Without this grain the merpeople won't last another 100 years.
And why is there no grain for the merpeople? The grain comes from a land where dwells the minotar's most feared and mortal enemies, a race called the Cheroka. The Cheroka are a proud, noble, feared,yet just breed. The others of their land call them the Monarchs of the Plain. The Cheroka come in every color of the wheat-gold,black,white,red ,brown,
and blonde. They are a lion-like creature with talons like the eagle and fan-like spines that flatten when they are stalking their prey. It is said that they are an evolution of the dragons. And true to cat behavior, they love shinny things (which brings out the child-cub in them.)
The merking also tells Lodevar that when the Goatheads were enslaved it was not because they were weak, it was because they mined the only element besides air, fire, water ,and earth - GOLD-. It only comes from the mountains of the goathead's. Most important of all ,the Cheroka are said to be gourmands of no other but BEEF.
I hope that I did not do the wrong thing here I hope at least one idea :idea: is considered.

Thanks for the suggestions! These are great ideas. This type of game is new and experimental, so I'm open to different ways of playing it. Most of the discussions and postings are on the protagonist's decision, rather than the future plot, but if you feel inspired to suggest plot ideas, please do so (Of course, I may not necessarily follow them, even if they are very good ideas, because I already have the Wheel saga more thought out than what I've written, and certain ideas may or may not fit with that).

Thanks,

Mark Keavney
Interfable Webmaster

[Key]

Thanks for the great discussion. There were lots of suggestions. Everyone seems to agree to go down to visit the Merfolk, the only question is what to do with your people first. I've done my best to categorize the suggestions into four different directions for people to vote on. The choices are:

1) Send or lead your people into the mountains

2) Send or lead your people onto the Sea on boats

3) Try to negotiate with the Bullroars

4) Split up - try to delay the Bullroars while your people look for a place to hide or an island to sail to

To vote, go to the next chapter and make your choice. Feel free to continue the discussion on the next chapter. The different options won't change, but you might be able to sway people to choose one or another.