Chapters

Chapter XXI - The Vallorian Legend

Captain Bonkers, leader of the Pirate Guild, pays a visit and brags that he has found a yet unknown island of giant proportions, filled with precious treasures. He offers some mysterious pearls he found there that are said to bring prosperity to whoever possesses them. While your Mentor is a bit skeptical to purchase items of unknown origin (knowing that the Pirates tend to steal stuff), your Trader is very fascinated, and convinces everyone to accept the offer. Thus, "Prosperity", as a new measurement for your City's development (next to Culture), is discovered! Even though no-one quite knows yet what this could be good for - it certainly feels good to prosper, doesn't it?

Just as Captain Bonkers takes his leave, a horde of dragon-riding Orcs attack the city, including an angry Orc Warlady. It turns out that Captain Bonkers stole the pearls from the Warlady of the Orc Tribe that lives there - and they followed his tracks all the way to your city.

To stop the assault, you offer to give back the pearls, and Warlady Bashuruk agrees to cease fire. When her mood calms a bit, she laughs about you believing that your Prosperity would somehow come from the pearls, since they do not possess any magic powers. They are harvested from giant clams that live in the coral reefs on the island's shores, and are sacrificed to appease the island god. To avoid the wrath of the god, the pearls are sent back quickly to the island. Furthermore, you will have to calm the island god by crafting additional resources in your city which you can send for a sacrifice on the island.

While you are at it, you are learning from Bashuruk about their society, which is quite different from yours: Orcs and Dragons pledge to give their lives to serve the tribe. It is a tough life, but they receive everything they need to survive in return. There is no need for money, let alone something as weird as taxes. Your builder is fascinated by the idea of a world without taxes and suggests introducing "Community Work" - as an alternative to paying taxes. Your advisor is a bit more hesitant but agrees to give it a try. From then on, the people in your residences can choose whether they pay taxes or offer their time to provide Community Work.

Of course, having all those Orcs in the city didn't go unnoticed. King Diabhal and his horde pay an unannounced visit to your city - and Diabhal immediately falls in love with Bashuruk. In order to impress her, he holds strange exhibition fights and contributes all sorts of useless stuff to offer to the god. The Warlady takes advantage of his willingness to help, but always rejects him coldly in the end - which only impresses him even more... Running this strange game, you take turns helping Diabhal in his further attempts to impress the Queen, whilst also helping Bashuruk appease the mysterious deity.

One day, a stranger appears in your City. She introduces herself as Meleuka, a Sorcerer and spy of the Elvarian Sorcerers Society. She tells you that the island the pirates discovered, is in fact the legendary Vallorian Lands. A place full of monsters and dangerous creatures, such as Lizardmen, Giant Sea Snakes and Dragons. Young arcanologists are frequently sent to the island to train to transform into the creatures that are living here, and selected older arcanologists are sent there to spy on the Orcs. "We Sorcerers have spies everywhere. Our knowledge is not always magical, some of it is just smart intelligence." Meleuka has managed to secretly become Bashuruk's dragon, Bruargha. Little does the warlady know what she is riding on... Meleuka has revealed herself to you since you are close friends with Dean Durcu and can be trusted. She warns you that you should stop "feeding" the island god, whose actual name is Vallorion, since it is, according to what the Sorcerers have found out, more than a legend. Vallorion is said to be the god of Black Magic and the nemesis of Enar. And after what happened with Peregrim, the creatures of the Vallorian Lands appearing in your city is another sign that Vallorion might be on to something.

So you try to push Bashuruk and her horde of Orcs and Dragons out of your city. But that's easier said than done. On the advice of Meleuka, you finally try a trick: you convince Bashuruk that there can be no greater sacrifice than that of an Orc King. In order to get rid of her annoying suitor, the war lady agrees, and invites King Diabhal, who thinks his honeymoon with Bashuruk is finally about to start, to ride with her on Bruargha back to the island. Very soon after they leave, a strong rain starts, threatening to flood the city...

Chapters

Chapter XXI - The Vallorian Legend

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