After reporting back to the Council in Caer Cyflen, there was a round of political drama. Apparently representative Dean Fasich, of the Tower of Knowledge, believed the Crown and Quest should be taken away from them and given to “more experienced operatives”. Dean Fasich, of course, had also been the councillor most skeptical of the existence of Soraks in the first place. After much arguing among the Council, the Princess Silverflower personally guaranteed her support – swinging the balance in favor of allowing them to continue the mission. Roland was not sure what they would have done otherwise, considering it did not appear possible to safely separate Tess from the Crown. This made them even more skeptical of the motives of some of the more difficult representatives like Dean Fasich.
Their next destination, according to Tess/the Crown, was the Cradle of Fire – a dormant Volcano at the center of blackrock wastes in the Badlands. There were rumors there had been a Manacalon city there at one time, but no-one had truly explored the place in centuries as it was deep in the Badlands in quite hostile territory. It too had some bizarre magical remnants from the Cataclysm, as rubble from its final eruption seemed frozen in time hanging in the air in the surrounding plains
Upon arriving near the Cradle, they immediately noticed the overpowering stench of sulphur in the air. They also soon came across the remnants of an apparently recent battle – with an open area littered with the bodies of burned and charred Orcs. Looking closer they saw a living Orc laying against a rock, though clearly not living for much longer in her state. The others were skeptical, but as always, Roland was Roland – and immediately strode over and healed her. She said something to him in Orcish, and to the others’ surprise Roland replied in kind. She introduced herself as “Kebra”, and was surprised to meet a “Nyark” not only willing to help, but who fluently spoke her tongue. She said she was one of the only survivors of the Suncloud tribe, wiped out for resisting an Orc Shaman named Arrak of the Redscar Tribe when he demanded all other Orc Tribes in the Cradle surrender to his rule. He had recently gained access to powerful fire magic which made him more than a match for any of the other tribes. This immediately gave them all the same thought. Arrak had found the Evocation Gem. Kabra was willing to help them find and deal with Arrak, but only if they helped her gather together the other Orc tribes to resist him.Their first goal would be to free an Orc named Brok, who had been Chief of the Suncloud Tribe. He was currently chained and displayed as a warning in the central market of the Redscar Tribe. When they defeated the guards in the area and released him, he insisted on accompanying them as they approached the next tribe – the Bloodspears. And made them a proposition – if they agreed to be stand-ins as his “tribe”, making the Suncloud tribe relevant again – then he would have the standing to declare himself warchief in direct opposition to Arrok. And the other tribes would be far more likely to follow him against Arrok than either any “Nyark” or Kebra. Kebra agreed with this assessment, and so that became the plan.The chief of the Bloodspears was a huge Orc named Edrof, who demanded that someone defeat him in single combat before the Bloodspears would agree to an alliance. Brok scornfully claimed that one of his Nyark “slaves” could easily defeat Edrof, looking meaningfully at them.
Edrof laid out the terms. No magic. No magic items. No heavy armor. Just a weapon selected from a rack and two combatants. Roland sized up Edrof, considering his chances, but Falcon stepped in. “Let me, my friend. He may look large, but I’ve been dueling since I could hold a sword in one hand. I was made for this”
And he was. Size mismatch or not, Edrof proved nowhere near fast enough to keep up with Falcon in a straight up duel. And with Edrof dead, Brok was named the new chief of the Bloodspear tribe. One tribe down.To reach the rest of the tribes they had to pass over the crumbled remains of a bridge that once led to an old imperial elven city. The bridge did *not* look trustworthy in many places, but Kebra assured them that it was held in magical stasis in much the same way as the floating rubble up above.The next tribe they visited was the Bladefang Tribe. Kebra told them the Bladefangs were strong believers in maintaining the traditions of the Old World, and so were avid collectors of old Tirmarian artifacts. Which was a surprise to all of them… considering they were unaware the Orcs had any connection to the Old World. As it turns out, the Bladefangs traced their lineage back to barbarian tribes that had fled through the portal with the other human races. According to them the Orcs were, in fact, *humans* changed by the magic of the Cataclysm! Radulf, the Chief of the Bladefang tribe, wanted them to recover the Sandraven Axe from the elven ruins below. Just one catch…. the Sandraven Axe was in the lair of the “Old Queen” – and nobody even knew what the “Old Queen” was since none had ever returned from seeking her out.As it turns out, the “Old Queen” was a rather enormous Deep Spider, with an entire brood of “normal” giant spiders and spiderlings defending her. But all in a day’s work.Tess presented the Axe to Chief Radulf upon their return, as she well knew the proper traditions once she understood the Orcs claimed heritage.The final tribe they had to convince was the Sandraven tribe, and their chief Shaman Urka. According to Kebra the Sandravens were keenly interested in old elven magic and knowledge, and Shaman Urka had amassed his own library of elven tomes and artifacts from exploring the ruins in the city below. She suggested that Tess negotiate with Urka, as he would be impressed by both her heritage and the Crown. Shaman Urka wished them to delve deep into the Necropolis in the city below, and recover a magical key from the Emperor’s Tomb. This key was said to unlock many areas of the city he had not yet been able to access. Kat looked at him oddly as he laid out his terms, but just shook her head when Roland gave her a questioning look.Tess was fascinated by the architecture, statues, and wall-carvings preserved in the old Necropolis, but stopped short as she read them and realized what they meant. This entire necropolis was dedicated to the Manacalon Emperor Laethar – well known for his keen interest in enslaving the dwarves and halflings and for attempting to eradicate the Sylvan Elves – who he viewed as barbaric traitors. He was literally the reason High Elves and Sylvan Elves became separate peoples! They fought a number of undead guardians on the way to the tomb, and when they entered they were confronted with the Emperor himself! He did not appear to know what humans even were, but he recognized Tess as not-entirely-Elven, and was not pleased. There would be no negotiations with him.When they were preparing to leave the Tomb, Kat suddenly hissed *quiet*! And listened carefully at the door. Then she said, “There’s someone or something out there, and we already cleared the undead on the way in. And I’m pretty sure I know who it is” At which point she smiled, and vanished. As the others exited the tomb, they were met by Urka, along with a number of Orc Berserkers and.. Soraks. He hissed, “I had hoped the Emperor would weaken you more, but I will be claiming that Crown anyway!” But as his allies attacked and he began to cast a spell, he found himself suddenly sprouting an arrow in the throat. Kat was already waiting in an excellent sniping position.Afterwards, Kebra kneeled quietly by Urka’s body. “I’ve known him since he was a boy”, she said. “Why would he betray us?” Roland gently told her, “That isn’t him. The Soraks must have replaced him some time ago”. She looked up at him. “This Crown of yours will help you fight these Sor-aks? Then you do need Arrok’s gem. And I hope you kill many. I hope you kill them all. For the boy I knew who loved to read.”With Ukra’s death, a new chief was appointed for the Sandraven tribe, and they too agreed to ally against Arrok. It was time to challenge the Redscars. But when they gathered the tribes under Brok and approached, the Redscars wished to join them as well! It seems that Arrok had grown truly mad with power, and had burned large numbers of the Redscars themselves as being to weak to serve him! He now considered Fire Elementals to be his tribe! He was magically sealed in an old part of the Elf City below, but with Tess’s Crown and the Emperor’s Key they were able to open it. Brok and Kebra joined them as they confronted the mad Shaman and his Elementals.Once Arrok was defeated, his control over his link to the Elemental Plane of Fire was lost. Elemental Fire began flooding the chamber, and they had to make a mad dash to escape. They were separated from Kebra and Brok by falling debris, but the Orcs simply nodded and motioned them on. They would take of their own, and they knew Roland and the others had their own mission – which they now supported.
3 responses to “Solasta: The Cradle of Fire”
atcDave
Actually a great story with the orcs! Seems funny to have them descended from humans instead of elves.
You’re getting some consistently good renders of the orcs too, which really helps the story of it.
I took a few liberties with the baseline story in the game – it leaves the fate of the orcs in doubt and has your characters seem awful cavalier about it. But its mostly pretty faithful to the lore. And I like the idea of Viking Orcs. Gives them a really interesting vibe compared to their normal portrayal.
The Roman High Elves – with all the Roman vices as well as virtues – is an interesting twist as well. Particularly being essentially set in an equivalent to the Dark Ages where many have an overly romanticized view of them.
Hardest thing to get right in this set was the friggin Fire Elementals. Ended up going with “huge flaming lava golems,covered in bright flaming aura”.
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