Draft: Golem Quest Thread 1 Summary

Chapter 1 (Personal notes in parenthesis)
Fun Fact: Quest begins on Zakday (Day 1) of Week 1 of Mors (Winter, Month 2)
Fun Fact: Goran (though spelled Goren at the time) was introduced in this chapter, and as a powerful magic eater, but mostly as an aside.
City we began in was named Trodar.

*Major Events:
Morde awakens, 6 people escape.
Discovery of nearby basic politics and locations
Discovery of the Curse, gain Sable Executioner
Encounter of Yetis/Patchwork Beast/Premen, Gain Amaranthine Annihilator
Treachery of the Yetis, Gain Spectral Gorging Anima
Meeting of Kyorto
Battle of Mingsk and Fekk, meeting of Oggoth and Jojo
Ending: Gain of Leyline stone, ‘first encounter’ of Lerynt


*Interesting/Useful Facts/Unexplored ends
-And now you are reawakened, after being put into a hibernating slumber after the last exchange between you home of Mosmordre and Castiliathen, while mages repaired damages from a previous battle.  (This means Morde had been active before this, worth keeping in mind as it seems sometimes we assume Morde hadn’t been activated before this.)
-although at the time of your creation, only crude bronze and a few bits of iron where available for your construction. (Poor construction quality for a soul grave)
-Hmm? Something feels different about my voice, it no longer conforms so closely to the established norms of my design. Perhaps something has worn down while I slumbered? (Morde has a highly modular voice, suggests tampering with him)
-(6+ people escaped Morde’s initial assault)
-(Morde had no known name after awakening, most other Golems seem to hold their previous names  upon renewed ownership)
-(Arkus found 3 books, I don’t believe we ever explored the content of these books) One seems to be about the reasons ....souls are used to fuel you, or at least that's what it's title implies. Another seems to be about the way Soul Graves interact with metal they consume, and the last seems to document some of the forging process."
-(Effects of curse) Cutting it off from an area is another matter entirely. It warps? abandons might be a better word, but in any case, being deprived of leylines makes things that aren't golems twist, their forms twisting and shifting until they become mindless abominations, plants and animals alike. The things I saw in the woods around this place"
-(Leyline will automatically restore to previous locations) "As near as I can tell, no. It takes constant attention to keep a leyline cut off, they want to restore flow and all, so it's been several years since this land was deprived of them. Anything that got twisted while cut off, though, stays twisted, that's how it seems to work.”
-So you have awoken within your metal coffin. It is good, that another has left the dreamings in the forges. (Spoken from yetis, it seems to imply that they have encountered another who came from the ruins of Mosmorden, and another who was quite possibly like us).
-Ever since the first few golems went mad with their freedom, all golems are designed so that they cannot be sapient or have their own will, although clearly not well enough. (Golems were not always bound, and can in fact be made to not be bound)

-Our (currently) Anti-Vanguard and Anti-Golem cannon could be changed if we wished to use about a week of time: known options are.
-Known gun options: 1: Anti-Vanguard Blade Launcher: Carries up to six large, fanged circular blades that can be launched individually. Each blade is capable of cleaving through armor far more effectively than the standard Anti-Infantry rounds. Each blade takes 1 hour to regenerate. Range 10-250 ft
2: Anti-Infantry Cluster Shot: Fires a dozen miniaturized standard fragmentation round simultaneously, reducing it’s ability to pierce armor to both increase the area covered when a shot impact, and raising the mortality rate for unarmored targets in the area dramatically. Range 20-150 ft
3: Anti-Golem Cannon: An enlarged and elongated cannon with heavy rifling, that fires a massive, spiral etched spike, designed to punch through even large masses of metal. The round is larger and more complex than normal, and takes three hours rather than one to regenerate. Further, the cannon itself takes up extra room, the massive cylinder of the cannon protruding both to the front and rear of the golem’s shoulder. Range 30-1,250 ft
4. General Purpose Manipulator: A fold-up arm with a full reach of ten feet, the arm comes with an inset blade so that it may act as a spear, but otherwise has no direct means of causing harm. Is equipped with a fully functional hand.
-(There seems to be some implications that the runes on the AA are/were actually not that good, may be able to be improved. It is likely our use of Pristine Souls has however done this on its own. Suggests Pristine Souls can modify Word Magic.)
-(Patchwork beast can teleport, moves from left to right side of Morde without noticeably moving)
-Still I find no evidence of the beast’s presence, but I know I did not kill it. Strangely, something about it seems… familiar? (Morde feels connection to Patchwork best)
-I recognize his tongue as one different from the Yetis and Arkus have spoken, yet a soul within me recognizes it at least, and I can understand his meaning. (Language seems dependent on souls we have absorbed, but how do we know Low Dragon then? Did we kill people before we spoke? Need to review.)
-Yetis are prone to deceit and trickery, including poisonings (should have kept that in mind with keddic)
-(IMPORTANT, first Pristine Moment, (Yetis have knowledge of Soul Magic, however, this also means that we may BE AT RISK FOR YETI CONTROL! As this was the original plan potentially against us. Also suggests another of Morde’s kind coming from the area) The only true way to fell a Soul Grave is to disrupt the soulfires that sustain us. If the yetis possess some sort of bond to the magicks involved with soulfire, as the strange behavior of my soulfire in their presence may indicate, and they took the mine they claim as their own, then Then the yetis may have some means of destroying me, or ensnaring me. …They could even reclaim the rubies they bartered away for this service. And why would the yeti not destroy the Premen on their own? They have grown weak in their prosperity, while the Drazken Clan has been growing stronger, to take the mines back by force. They may well have succeeded, had I not been there.
-(Yeti-like magic at some point involving Arkus’ disappearance, suspect Soul magic is yeti magic to them, as Caged one took control of Arkus, supports World/Soul magic connection)
-It looks almost like a mound in the earth, perhaps three feet tall, and misshapen. As I try to puzzle out what it could be, I note that the otherworldly stillness seems to emanate from the object, and the snarls and swirling patterns in my Soulfire intensify while I look at the thing. (Being that close to the Caged one seemed to react our soulfire at the time)
-(First conversation with Caged One)"Percieve? ...Yes, the Well Of Souls is percieved.
Ears now mine, to hear your words, your plea."
"Where are you, Well Of Souls, where do you reside?
The shadows filling the Well are perceived, despite this,
The Well is not here, and yet here the same. Puzzling.
“I know not of why thou would perceive me this way. Perhaps it is because I have no master to lay claim to me? But what are you, then, being of magic and earth?

“Master? The Well Of Souls is supposed to have a master?
But no, that would not be the cause of the strangeness about you.
It is as if your mind, your will do not exist, yet here you are.
Acting, choosing on it’s own, but no nexus of thought to be found.
You….. are puzzling to my perceptions, Well Of Souls.

But this one has difficulty answering the questions posed.
This one is…. Part of the world, and yet not.
There are no other means to describe this one.
But assist? Why should I assist you, Well Of Souls?
What makes your cause more worthy than others?”

So, it is unwilling to simply offer aid to me. But the potential power and knowledge this… manifestation of Zakrath’s power could lend to me is too great to simply let it be.

“Can you tell me then, the cause of this turmoil? The mines could be shared, the resources used by all. Yet seventy years of bloodshed and strife have passed instead. Why did the Yetis wrest the mines from the Premen? And more, I came to these mountains with a human mage. Do you know where such may be? Mordre stands before you, guide me in my uncertainty.”

“Is it any surprise that a potential source of power is coveted by both parties?
Power is not something easily shared, or split, there is always the urge to gain more.
A human mage, within the mountains there was and is.
But unable to meet you, his body locked away, unable to free itself.
Your mage is still in the mountains, Well Of Souls, still in these frosted lands.
But finding and freeing Arkus are very different things.”
(There is more conversation, not all going to be listed here. Overall conclusions: It desired to be able to see the world, would take control of us if we were near death)
-Thomro seems to resonate to the yetis. (More likely that he was reacting to fang taker, as a fellow ‘combat oriented’ hero. However, this is our first hint of the ‘heroic souls acting outside domination’)
-The spirit within me, as near as I can perceive, is actually not inhabiting me: Only a vast well of potent attention emanating from the spirit seems to actually be within me. Though truly, it is still a fantastic well of power, likely the equal of tens of thousands of souls. If all of that is just it's attention on me. truly, the spirit itself defies my comprehension. (Caged one as we now know it)
-(We were offered multiple methods to kill Fang-Taker, cause cause of death relate to how souls end up working/residing? He was impaled on Sable in the end)
-(Yeti led Arkus to the room he was found, and with connection to leyline and Caged One, conincidence? Quite possibly, as they used World Magic for sealing, and this was leyline area)
-It takes one second to activate an ability currently, or three seconds to switch abilities. The switch is highly noticeable, as errant magic sparks about the Soul Nexus whilst using the power of a specific soul slaved to the nexus.
-Emperors name:  the emperor was a man titled 'Master Of Woe'.... I also recall him being called the 'War Feaster'.
-Kyorto seems to specialize in lifelike illusions.
-Our ‘personality’ reminded Kyorto of someone she knew long ago.
- (Kyorto speech)"||Those that work with the magic of the World in life, who mold it for some years with competence, their bodies are made more pliable and.... accessible.(People who wield World magic have more malleable souls)
Yes, I know the Small Tomb you speak of. A fragment of Thomro's soul, a local hero, was embedded within, (We could gain more of his soul via this knowledge, or is it maybe an entirely different soul?)
-(Beast Properties)
"||...There is only one type of creature that could truly be called 'patchwork,' And such can be found only in the lands of Mosmordre. Thanks to the curse, all citizens were warped into mindless beasts or killed outright. The Curse, depriving all of the leylines, loosened souls in bodies. In normal individuals, the souls dissipate, and they become mindless beasts.
Potentially powerful, but lacking in mentality. But those with powerful wills, their souls do not dissipate, but instead, migrate. They seek out some new reliquary, and their twisted body, ravaged by possessing a fragmented mind but no soul, Will endlessly follow them, constantly seeking the soul it lost. I imagine the only reason I was spared this fate is because I died two years before the Curse occurred. The non-living have little to fear from it's power. Beyond that, I can tell you nothing without seeing this beast myself.||"
Hm. A beast seeking it's own soul?
-Senior premen mages appear to be very versatile: knowing some simple Blood magic, and usually advanced in Word-Will.
-‘first intro’ to Lerynt: So... it appears those gutter rats were telling the truth, there was a Soul Grave still here, waiting to be found! A shame it could not be claimed as another of ours, more materials to work with are always useful, but.... they were telling the truth about their other claim as well, it seems: The golem acts on it's own. Fascinating! Oh, this promises to be most entertaining!

The vary air around her ripples and quakes, before it envelopes her form completely, and she vanishes, not even leaving behind footprints. (It seems she knew about us ahead of time, before we even awoke. Suggests planning, or maybe just the ‘guards’ we scared away as gutter rats is possible. Does suggest something larger though.

*Unknown Causes/Effects
-As we were looking for Arkus and others after encountering ‘Zombie’ Premen maker, we encountered a Goat headed creature with a squirrel like body.  It described itself as part of something larger, and led us to where Arkus and the others were.
Upon its disappearance, it left a stone that had the following traits:
1) Upon Arkus touching it, he was able to perceive the Caged One within us.
Arkus starts and falls to the ground, but the strange phenomena has already passed, and he simply inspects himself in confusion. He shakes his head as he takes a pouch from his belt, and scoops the stone in without touching it again.

"Well, I'll need some time, but I'll take a look at it, see wha....." Arkus begins to speak as he rises, dusting himself off. But the very moment he gazes upon me again, his jaw goes slack as his words trail off, and he stares at me with a look filled with wonder and fear.

"...Wha-what.... what is, uh, whatever that is!? That thing, but not a thing, um soul? No, not a soul, not quite.... almost feels like a leyline, but.. balled up, folded somehow, maybe? But that wouldn't..."
2) If I remember correctly, this was the stone we let Moss eat, and as such it constantly produces World Energy.

(As we know Lerynt was in the area, its possible she had something to do with this, as we can surmise that she also is part of a larger whole. It could also and is more likely a Caged One artifact.)


*Factoids (Things we know about people/places, events on the world stage)
- "Th-the other Soul Graves are scattered! S-some S-seven got claimed as prizes, and serve as champions of some of the nations that defeated Mosmordre! T-three serve as guards to each of the Three Grand Elder Mages, and two as siege weapons for mercenary armies, The Steel Fists Legion and The Iron Shells! S-six were destroyed, a-and the rest are lost.... until you were awakened.
-Chapel of Sharn, the patron god of war and destruction
-The Tower of The Red Gaze, the home of mages in any city of Mosmordre
"the other Soul Graves are scattered! Some seven got claimed as prizes, and serve as champions of some of the nations that defeated Mosmordre! Three serve as guards to each of the Three Grand Elder Mages, and two as siege weapons for mercenary armies, The Steel Fists Legion and The Iron Shells! Six were destroyed, and the rest are lost.... until you were awakened.
-To the south is a mix of human settlements with a few fairly large communities, I mentioned the mid sized town with iron mines, and Froggrock tribes. Normally I would say the Froggrocks should be avoided, but they seem to view all golems highly and Soul Graves are practically worshiped from what I have been told.

To the south west, though, I know there is a Morgren mass down there, barely held in check by the surrounding communities. I don't know if it would work, but they might recognize your design, and perhaps the way the Mosmordrens designed them will compel them to serve you. Although if it doesn't, they are still quite adherent to their berserker-like dedication to war and combat, and they would try very, VERY hard to destroy you.
Area summary
"Well, lets see. Castiliathen is the largest stable nation, famed for it orderly cities, harsh laws and high quality of life for the non-slave castes. Their system is founded on a large life-golem slave and indentured servitude means of production. They are famous for possessing The Founders The world's largest stone golem powerfully warded, that guards their capital. That's not counting the Soul Grave they claimed as spoils of war after the fall of Mosmordre, I've heard the heavily modified it.

Of the warring states to the South of Castiliathen, the ones to the east, only a couple of are particular note currently.

The rabidly religious Disciples Of Domintus are a radical bunch, going about destroying existing systems in favor of a church-ruled state. Their fanatical Berserker-Zealots, willing to do anything for the gods they worship, have won them many battles lately.

Further, there is the Golden League, a collection of merchants. The hired the Iron Shells mercenaries as a collective military, and the threat of a Soul Grave has allowed them to prosper. The Iron Shells happen to have low-grade rune-warded iron, letting it perform just as well as Blue Steel armor. They pretty much show up to problems in the Golden League the same way: Send a couple of soldiers from a local barracks to investigate problem, if anything goes awry, they call in the main body of their forces along with The Grey Destroyer, the Soul Grave they modified into a 30 foot tall, one hundred thousand pound plus super-titan, it's iron body covered in runes.

Finally, the Great Coalition is a group of small tribes/clans/kingdoms banding together for common protection. The place is a melting pot, ANYTHING could be found there, and even a Soul Grave might not attract as much attention as normal. I've visited their lands before, a bit chaotic, but nobody seems to care if strangers come wandering by.

The human villages interspersed with Froggrock tribes to the south areas are all independent, but any time a village is attacked grievously enough, if word gets out the surrounding villages will pitch in for the communal good. So long as things are kept quiet, however, the towns do not coordinate much.

The eastern island kingdoms are the home of tinkerers, making new technological marvels to compensate for the dearth of magic the smaller landmasses have to maintain political and military power. These islanders are said to possess new, repeater pistols, rifles and cannons, and perhaps more inventions besides. Some of the larger islands are mostly desert.

The Yetis and Premen to the north don't have any formal government, and the Morgren horde to the south-west is the only one nearby. Most of the others migrated. ...Ah, that's about it I can think of."

(Maximum distances to a location from Mosmorden in parenthesis, assumes Morde’s current max of 8 MPH at 24 hours of travel per day. Actual distances are almost certainly much shorter)
West: 1 week journey to the sea, island nations past, two human villages on the way.
West-South-West: 5 day journey to the Morgren horde. (960 miles)
South-West: 1-2 day journey to mostly Froggrock tribal settlements, some human settlements. (384 miles)
South: 1-2 days journey to mid sized human town with iron mine and forges. (384 miles)
South-East: Multiple destinations
-3 days to Disciples of Domintus region (576 miles)
-4 days to warring nations (South-East) (768 miles)
-6 days to Golden League (must cross warring nations) (1152 miles)
East: Multiple destinations
-2 days to warring nations (East)  (384 miles)
-8 days to Great Coalition (must cross warring nations)  (1536 miles)
North-East: 18 days journey to Castiliathen (3456 miles)
North: Multiple Locations
-2 days to Yeti tribe with bronze mine and ruby mine (384 miles)
-2 days journey to Premen tribe  (384 miles)
-3 days to Yeti tribe (576 miles)

-A six foot tall bronze Soul Grave, small sputtering sparks of Soulfire slowly billowing from it's eyes.
I was unaware there were other models for Soul Graves this... dramatically different from the original model I was built to be.
I pause at the entryway to the duke's palace, and look at the little golem, it's form unmoving, yet clearly active. How has it run for so long? And why does it not take any action?
-Yeti name for Soul Grave (Heart of War)
-Runes arkus learned:..Or in theory, they can. I have been reading up on three new types of runes: Augmentive 'empower'       Augmentive 'fusion'         Destructive 'weaken'
-And if I wish to spread the gift of free will I have acquired, I will first need to understand how I acquired free will. Perhaps those knowledgeable on golemcraft, Soul magic and/or Blood magic might be able to reveal more about how I came to command myself.
-For my goal of forging my own empire.... I am a golem, and my sapience, my free will shall most likely make mortals terrified.
-Perhaps exposure to multiple types of souls might somehow augment the magicks that occupy my form?
-I vaguely recollect being alongside another, older Soul Grave in some battle once, who had its claw arm that could be repositioned so that the blades formed a drill, and the arm could extend while spinning viciously. As near as I can estimate, it was some combination of changes in construction of the arm and claw, as well as some runes grafted on as well. If what I recall is correct, it is at least possible to make such a thing my own, given the appropriate resources and information being gathered.
-Premen lost access to mines approx. 70 years
-...Accepted, I would impart what knowledge I have, But I never learned the tongues of other lands, I possess no journals not written in Mornostric or Ozric, ...I may be limited in how much I can instruct.||" (Ozric is the mage language or Mosmorden)