On the shoulders of giants: a new multiple choices LP!

[newcomer]

No, it's the hills to the north of you. Check update XX's or update VIII's maps in the OP.

The seer's mountains instead are far to the south. Sorry if it wasn't clear, but considering I have to go through atrocious turns of phrase since you skin-wearing, fire-worshiping, bear-hugging fools have not figured out directions yet...

Ah, I see. Sorry for being a skin-wearing fool who is foolish enough to not read the map :D

Anyway, I choose C. If we really want to join them, we should have taken the offer in the previous update.

Great Esquilax! You have convinced me that B is not a stupid move after all. I'm tired with being pacifist anyway: B

 

[oscar]

Hmmmm I think we can rule out A. But the hills or the sea? I'll hear some arguments and then vote.

 

[Esquilax]

Hmmmm I think we can rule out A. But the hills or the sea? I'll hear some arguments and then vote.

B

I'm on the fence on this too, bro. I agree about A - I didn't like the idea of throwing away everything we have to join this tribe before, and I like it even less now. The Seer saved our lives, and I thank him for it, but the Obsidian Embers must grow and develop on our own as a people.

B is risky, but it's got lots of advantages. We can't hide and cower from our enemies forever - eventually we'll have to expand and fight those barbarians. Living near the sea AND a river has lots of benefits - navigation, fishing, farming, it's a great place to grow. We aren't the pushovers that those refugees were, we are greater in number, we have better weapons and our men all have some sort of training/discipline in combat. Also, forgive me if this sounds a little too LARPy, but I think it's extremely fitting that a people who barely escaped a fiery death would seek solace in the sea. The religious advancements could be pretty great, I can totally see us developing into a dualistic religion a la Zoroastrianism with aspects of fire/water.

C is safer, but I think that running into the barbarians will be inevitable.

B: Let us put these barbarians to the test. Risky, but the religious/cultural advances, sea navigation and food available is too much to pass up. Gentlemen, there's never a good time to go to war and nothing is ever certain, but the benefits are so clear that I think we've gotta take that chance.

 

[Vernydar]

I'm not liking A one bit. First, it is dangerous because there's an eruption going on. Second, we should have picked this in the last choice if we wanted to Third, it leads us away from the river, which means no more boating and fishing. I agree that we owe them quite a bit. Therefore, once the eruption calms down, we should mount an expedition to those people and talk to them, maybe even trade and/or make some sort of loose alliance with them. But not now

As for the other 2 choices, well, I think that choosing B and simply going to the sea/lake is too dangerous. Those barbarians from before might be there. C is more prudent. True we may lose some time, but then again we can always move by the coast once we know it is safe. It is wiser to explore first. And even if they ARE there, knowing first would be invaluable. We can be the ones attacking instead of the ones being attacked

C

 

[RedScum]

C

 

[oscar]

B. I think we're strong enough to face the barbarians. I also very much like Esquilax's religion idea.

Though I have a bad feeling that just as we get settled we'll get hit with a tidal wave or something.

 

[Urist McLurker]

B Esquilax has sold me on that. I don't think there will be the barbarian hordes there; I do believe we will come across them, sooner or later, but I doubt they would have settled near the sea if their goal has been attacking everyone. The sea would constrict them.

While I do think it's better to scout first and not to go into threats blindly.. I want to find out what will happen, we can take 'em.
We're not just invading their land, we're running from our lost home. We're fighting for pure survival here and I suspect that any tribe we come across won't be able to handle us all in a fight, and since(If I recall correctly) we've trained a militia, every one of us can fight, and will fight. With our advanced weaponry backing up our numbers, we should be safe.

 

[Hirato]

very well Esquiliax, you've convinced me to vote B

 

[Esquilax]

Wow, well I'm surprised that my words were so convincing.

Anywho, I don't want to sugar-coat the danger here either. The refugees may have been pacifists that couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag, but the wyvern creature that they spoke of is also another potential danger that exists there. However, they had no martial skill, discipline or ranged weaponry either, so of course they were helpless. Obsidian throwing spears are standard issue for our men, and with our wood-crafting abilities I am hoping that we start developing atlatl soon. Hopefully it'll be enough to pierce the beast's hide.

As far as other dangers, tsunamis are also another thing that I didn't consider. Good stone walls will be a must in the future. For now, I think the sea is for the best because we can avoid the ash-ridden water and debris that is probably still around the hills. That eruption was massive.

Also, I really hope we get to see this Wielder of Fire mentioned in the previous update - I am guessing it's the Keeper of Fire who baptised himself in the lava, reborn into a higher form. I'm pretty sure our expedition (and our innate human curiosity) is what caused the volcano to erupt, according to the update. In retrospect, it's possible that nothing would have happened if we didn't investigate the cave and "tamper with the wards".

 

[ScubaV]

C

It's not as risky regarding the barbarians and allows us to better return to/expand toward the volcano once it settles down. And depending on how everything goes with the Wielder of Fire, we can be closer to the source of our great awakening.

 

[Urist McLurker]

Unless we go piss off the water spirits and "tamper with the wards" of the sea, I doubt we'll get smashed by a tsunamis any time soon after escaping a volcano. Curufinwe's not that cruel. Right?
In the future it could be threat, but I'm not all that worried about it quite yet, we've got more short-term threats to be concerned about.

 

[oscar]

I wonder about the resources of this shore. Will we be able to keep up the obsidian supply?

 

[GarfunkeL]

C is definitely the safest choice now. It's time to lick our wounds and gather our strength. Our herds are dispersed, food is running low. We lost our mountain expedition and who knows how many others during the escape.

 

[Hoodoo]

B.

 

[Esquilax]

C is definitely the safest choice now. It's time to lick our wounds and gather our strength. Our herds are dispersed, food is running low. We lost our mountain expedition and who knows how many others during the escape.

According to the update on pg. 28, we left half the expedition outside of the cave, and we originally sent 20 men:

"He left half of his fighting contingent in front of the largest cave entrance, hiding in the nearby brush."

As far as losses during the escape, that's a good question. Nothing was really mentioned in the update, but I wouldn't be surprised if some sickly, elderly folk died on the journey. We had 400 people in our tribe, according to the last interlude. I'm assuming that we train every able-bodied man (let's say 13+) in basic combat and arm them with obsidian throwing spears, a large obsidian spear for mid-range, and an axe for up-close. That would give us roughly 120 warriors - 100 after the loss of the expedition. Hopefully a few of those hunters who remained outside of the cave have survived and will manage to follow the tracks to catch up with us.

This is all just rough estimates. Curufinwe, how many able-bodied men do we have?

EDIT: I don't think we lost too much. I mean, if we managed to save the fucking bears we domesticated, I doubt we've lost too many people.

 

[Computer Gamer Refugee]

Yet again, I find I agree with Esquilax

Voting B)

 

[Multiple Sarcasm]

B. But I suggest we do scout ahead beforehand, so as not to run blindly into barbarians.

That said, once they know of our existence, there's no going back. And if I were them, I'd send a party upriver to investigate the commotion with all the booming and clouds of ash. So my further suggestion is to take the initiative and go on the offensive as soon as we scout them out and our warriors come up with a plan. Surprise may be our only chance.
If we even have the manpower to take them on... If not, then we're abadi abadi abadi aba- fucked, folks.

 

[Kipeci]

A would have been the best option, ah... last update. But since we didn't pick C then, it's not much good now. We have to go right through the path of the erupted volcano on a mere chance to meet up with the other tribe that we have no possible way of tracking, and it's obviously extremely easy to get lost in those vast plains. While I think a living could be made there, the clear option for me appears to be C, the most sensible option for us. We're very disorganized following the destruction of our homes, and we need a good, relatively well-known area with some decent natural defenses where we can regroup. As a bonus, that's just the sort of land that a good number of our domesticated animals could make do with. Charging right into the mess that screwed our water folks out of a home the moment a volcano knocked us out of ours and into disarray doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

[Curufinwe]

Expedition was 20 strong, of which 5 were left outside. No guarantee that any of them got away from the clusterfuck though. Regarding losses for the tribe at large... too soon to tell. Just a few in the immediate event, but we'll have to see about the aftermath.

Total of able bodied men is indeed consistent with Esquilax's estimates.

 

[Esquilax]

B. But I suggest we do scout ahead beforehand, so as not to run blindly into barbarians.

That said, once they know of our existence, there's no going back. And if I were them, I'd send a party upriver to investigate the commotion with all the booming and clouds of ash. So my further suggestion is to take the initiative and go on the offensive as soon as we scout them out and our warriors come up with a plan. Surprise may be our only chance.
If we even have the manpower to take them on... If not, then we're abadi abadi abadi aba- fucked, folks.

Sneak in under the cover of night while the barbarians are sleeping...

THEN UNLEASH THE FUCKING BEARS!!!

Or y'know, die horribly... let's hope that one doesn't happen. We're undermanned and going in blind, it's not a "logical decision". My decision is more predicated on faith and potential religious advances, as well as the benefits of settling near the sea, so it's definitely not the "safe" decision.

 

[Tigranes]

B

Esquilax makes some good points, and God help me if we take another pussyfoot option where the next update we learn that things are exactly as we expect them to be - halfway between anything and anything else.

 

[Multiple Sarcasm]

Sneak in under the cover of night while the barbarians are sleeping...

THEN UNLEASH THE FUCKING BEARS!!!.


Or y'know, die horribly...

Something like that.

let's hope that one doesn't happen. We're undermanned and going in blind, it's not a "logical decision". My decision is more predicated on faith and potential religious advances, as well as the benefits of settling near the sea, so it's definitely not the "safe" decision.

I'm operating under assumption that the volcano's eruption will very likely attract the barbarian's attention and lead them to investigate our way. Which is why I don't think we have much time to settle and get our bearings. Our resources are not yet depleted and we're yet undiscovered, so we're in a better position than we'd be with the horde swooping down on us (we'd be sitting ducks).
Either way is a risk, but by taking the initiative, I think, we have a better chance.

 

[Zero Credibility]

C

It's the safest option right now. A - who knows if we can even find that other tribe. Besides, it would mean abandoning the river. It's bad enough that we have lost our source of obsidian (at least until the volcano calms down). B is just too risky without better info - we can't just go blindly rushing with our entire tribe into potentially hostile territory.

 

[Stygian Lurker]

Voting B

 

[Lindblum]

C, Definietly not A Just because our home blew up doesn't mean we should cower and worship those foreigners.