Game 1 Round 2

For a long time, the Surgius mountains had lain unclaimed and untraveled. Most people of the Graywood Concord didn't even give it much thought- It's tendency for jagged formations and steep cliffs meant that it was all but impassable, creating a barrier between the Graywood and the rest of the world. And besides, it wasn't like there was anything of note beyond those imposing peaks, right?

Turns out, there is. Across the many independent tribes that plagued the surrounding lands, rumors had begun to spread of rising empires, stirring and moving for the first time in ages- Much like the people of the Graywood, coincidentally. The rumors were eventually found true when merchants arrived from around the Surgius' northern border, among their numbers were people from races nobody had seen before- Serpentfolk, demons, dog-eared women. They caused such a stir that the caravan almost had to pry themselves free of the curious citizens when they departed. Even months after they had left, the facts remained: There was more to the east than the beastmen originally thought. And they were all quite interested in discovering it.

That was why Evet was here, among the Surgius, scaling rocks and scouting terrain. If the Concord were to ever reach the rest of the world in any significance, they needed to traverse the mountain range. While satyrs could easily do so, for obvious reasons, the other races needed a safer route across, and for that they would have to construct a highway across. Such a task was considered to be a colossal undertaking for the Concord, the lack of trees or greater plant life in the mountains meaning they had to rely on means other than the Dryad's powers. Mines were dug, stone and metal harvested, all forged into supports and surfaces to turn the craggy valleys into smooth roadways. For a people who barely touched metalworking, this would all mean months of slow-going construction.

Evet finished her climb onto an outcrop, and immediately curled over, panting and drenched in sweat. This was unusual behavior in such a strong example of the satyrs, except it wasn't exhaustion that left her crippled, it was the heat. The particularly rough summer had only made the pace of the work worse, its heat penetrating into the commonly cold mountainside and leaving many feverish and in need of long breaks. And that wasn't even the worst of it: In the more bestial races like centaurs and satyrs, the intense temperature had triggered an early and extended mating season! It was hard to make any progress in the mountains when your scouts and cart-drivers were too busy getting intimate with one another, for hours on end.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone around for miles for the behooved clan queen to share a bed with, so Evet just had to muscle through the bone-shaking urges. She should've turned back days ago, catch the last ride back home and wait things out with the rest of her kind. But she had a goal in mind- To reach the other side of the Surgius, and see it and its fascinating people with her own eyes -and she was too damn stubborn about it to give up until the autumn. Although, now that the forced isolation had only escalated her desires instead of quelled them, she was beginning to have second thoughts. A half-naked, delirious, and horny satyr probably didn't make for the best first impressions.

After what felt like eternity, but could have easily just been a few minutes, Evet pushed herself back to her feet. The same thought that had motivated her at the start was now all that kept her from crumbling in on herself: Just climb one more mountain, and then one more after that. There surely couldn't be that many more peaks left, right? If nothing else, at least she could return home with a heap of survey notes.