[SPOILERS] Tales from the Enchanted Forest - Thessa of the Ljosalfar

[Nyktorion]

C&D news:

City growths: Inishbofin (5), Irgy's third city (3, recovering from whips), Mardoc's third city (7), Mardoc's fifth city (1, just founded), Golden Shack (7)

Thoth got a classical tech, and finished the Form of the Titan. As Mr. Yellow noted, that gives Thoth 6XP units out of the gate (8XP for disciple units from cities with a desert shrine).

Diplo:

Mr. Yellow's comment for this turn:

Thoth found the connection that let me get copper from Mardoc and sewered it. Furthermore he has completed form of the Titan and will now train level 3 units out of the gate.

I sent one of my workers to get the final piece of roading to get trade connection up. In addition the rest of them are optimizing the road between Vallus and the capital.

My answer:

Please find attached the usual hawk picture.

Bad to hear about the severed connection to Mardoc; at least, this isn't BTS, so even 1 turn of having copper gives a big payoff with respect to bronze weapons. Concerning trade connections: I'm afraid I don't have copper on offer myself, but I hope the economic help from trade routes and resource trades can be helpful, too.

Attached picture:

I'm not in a hurry to research Bronze Working; I have units that work perfectly fine without bronze, and trading copper to Mr. Yellow would already be very difficult to explain to Thoth. He probably already doesn't like our OBs and my hawk in Astrum, but at least I told him I'm "playing nice with Mr. Yellow" for now. Giving copper to Mr. Yellow would very probably stretch Thoth's patience a bit too much.

I also opened two mails by WarriorKnight right now:

Hi nyktorion

As per our agreement, I contacted the Malakim this turn. I'm not entirely sure how, although I think it might have been via hawk.

Also, my border city with you will be 4S3E of Kabhalg. I don't think that overlaps with Kabhalg at all, so hopefully it isn't too much of a problem.

Regards,
WarriorKnight

And one more thing (don't you hate it when you remember something as soon as you send the message? I know I do).

Our NAP ends in around 10 turns. Given that neither of us wants to end up in a long and unproductive war, how would you feel about extending it until t125 or so?

WK

All of that looks rather fine to me. 4S3E will indeed be the closest way our BFCs won't overlap, and a NAP extension looks fine, too, considering that I have enough on my hands right now with my plans against Mr. Yellow. So I plan to send a positive response to WarriorKnight.

[Nyktorion]

Turn 90

Western hawk took another picture for Mr. Yellow and myself:



Eastern hawk moved to the hunter who is exploring south of Kabhalg.
Gilden Silveric killed the last orc outside the gates of Kabhalg:



I'm researching Festivals now for a cheap economic boost. Afterwards, I plan to research either Fishing -> Sailing for expanding to the island east East of Evermore, or Priesthood for forests everywhere.

C&D:

Only one item here: Trinity is now size 5.

Diplo:

Hawk report to Mr. Yellow:

Dear Mr. Yellow,

please see attached the picture taken with the help of the hawk in Astrum this turn.
As you can see, Thoth has a Soldier of Kilmorph. The other 4 visible stacks consist of a single units each: either an unpromoted warrior (2x), or a worker (2x).

best regards,
Nyktorion

Attached picture:

Confirmation of both requests to WarriorKnight:

Dear WarriorKnight,

the planned city south east of Kabhalg is perfectly fine. 4S3E should be just the right distance for not producing an overlap, but not wasting any tiles, either

Concerning the NAP extension: until now, peace has obviously been the better option for both of us, and I do not see any reason why this should change until T125; indeed a war between us at this point would be rather unproductive for both of us. So I would agree to an extension of our NAP until T125.

best regards,
Nyktorion

[Nyktorion]

Turn 91

Before playing the turn, I got the following message from Mr. Yellow:

Thanks for the reports so far.

Anyway, we got a trade route up. However i don't have both cottons hooked up right now, which i'll do right next. But i just lost my gems resource and have a hard time keeping the capital running. So i ask for silk now and you'll get the cotton later. Think in 2-3 turns.

Also, Thoth's big stack just moved up on the hill south of the capital. This positions him to both pillage the rest of my improvements and send off an detachment to try conquer my eastern cities, while blocking off my garrison in the capital. I'll keep you updated on this. You can scout out the capital yourself to see how bad it currently looks.

- Sir Yellow

Indeed he asked for silk ingame. Since I don't really care about my second silk at this point, and I want to keep good relations with Mr. Yellow until T105,I just accepted. Also, since we have trade routes, I can see Mr. Yellow's resources now.



According to the event log, the Octopus Overlords religion was founded in a distant land this turn. I suspect it was founded by the Lanun.

Due to Mr. Yellow's tales about the siege of Torrolerial, I decided to let my western hawk scout from Torrolerial instead of Astrum this turn. Here are the two main stacks:





Based on that, I don't believe that Torrolerial will fall immediately; still, with General Martok attacking, Mr. Yellow will be facing a steady drain of defenders.

I moved the hunter carrying the eastern hawk further south, and let the hawk scout to the south. This resulted in contact with the Sheaim.





Domestically, Kabhalg has finally gone out of revolt. Also, Gilden Silveric and the second warrior in Kabhalg should recover by next turn. Also, the trade route to Kabhalg is finished.

[Nyktorion]

C&D update:

City growths: Golden Tipi (3), Golden Yurt (2), Cahir Abbey (9), Tongurstad (4)

Techs: Mardoc (classical, probably Message from the Deep), Thoth (ancient), Irgy (classical, maybe Knowledge of the Ether)

Since we have a new contact, this is a good time to show the graphs again:

GNP:



Prod:



Food:



Power:



Diplomacy:

I sent my usual report to Mr. Yellow, and accepted his silk request:

Dear Mr. Yellow,

seeing as you are currently under heavy pressure, it is no problem for me to give you the silk 2-3 turns in advance. Therefore, I just accepted your request ingame.

Based on your description, I took the liberty to start my hawk from Torrolerial this turn; I'm planning to get it back into Astrum next turn. Please see attached the result of the hawk's flight. Again, I see two single unupgraded warriors, and a stack of 2 workers south of Golden Yurt.

best regards,
Nyktorion

Attached picture:

I also sent a greeting to Irgy. As I say in the greeting, I indeed have peaceful intentions towards him. Sharing some small bits of information can't hurt to build trust, so I tell him that he doesn't need to worry about me having Slavery (and thus already having Way of the Wicked), and I tell him, as usual, whom I already met.

Dear Irgy,

we have just established contact in RB FFH PBEM III. My hawk has spotted your northern territory this turn. We Ljosalfar are living to the north of the Elohim, with whom you have already established contact.

I am quite confident that we will be able to get along well. I don't really like expensive and unproductive wars, and our distance and separation by the Elohim make territorial conflicts between us unlikely; so I don't see any reason against peaceful coexistence.

As a gesture of friendship, there's two pieces of information I can offer you at this point. First, apart from you, I already know the Elohim and the Bannor (as I see, you already have contact with both of them, as well); moreover I know Thoth of the Malakim, who is located west of the Bannor lands. Second, in case you are worrying about me having adopted slavery already: I can assure you that I don't have any interest in having the Ashen Veil holy city, so I won't be competing with you for the Corruption of Spirit tech.

best regards,
Nyktorion of the Ljosalfar

He already replied, as follows:

Greetings, pleased to hear we have finally made contact.

Thanks for the friendly greeting, and the information. We will continue our
current beeline towards Corruption of Spirit regardless, but it's good to know
we can expect to actually get it.

We have gone for quite a while without meeting anyone other than the Elohim,
but have recently met the Bannor, and now yourselves. We have heard that the
Lanun are to the west and maybe south of us, across the water.

We have plenty of land available for us to settle peacefully, so indeed we
also see no need for conflict. Our biggest concerns are the Malakim, who as
you probably know are in the process of defeating the Bannor in an aggressive
war, and look at risk of becoming something of a runaway. The Elohim are also
in a nice position, and are the best hope of keeping the Malakim at bay. We
have a good relationship with them, but WarriorKnight has been reluctant to
make any comments about what he plans to do with the Malakim, other than
broadly agreeing that they're in danger of being a runaway. If a war between
them did occur however I fear somewhat the consequences if either side is
decisively victorious.

We have trade routes established with the Elohim, so if you were to establish
trade routes with them yourselves we would be connected. We understand you are
an Arcane minded people like we are, so the potential for sharing mana is
there for the future.

Irgy Arbandi

I'll probably reply when playing my next turn. My current thoughts are:

• I don't think Malakim are that much of a runaway threat yet. I think I'll let him know that I know it will take them some more time to take Torrolerial. Of course, I also know that by diplomatic agreements, at most 3 cities will actually go into Malakim, but I don't think anyone needs to know that already. I'll just state I'm not that convinced of the Malakim becoming runaways yet.
  
• I also think that any victory in a soon Malakim-Elohim war won't be decisive; Elohim have sanctuary, and Malakim have a strong army.
  
• I like the idea of exchanging mana; for instance, I'd like to borrow Irgy's fire mana for some time when I get adepts.
  

[Nyktorion]

Turn 92

The Bannor are having another revolution; their civic changes are City States -> God King and Religion -> Nationhood.

The western hawk sees that Torrolerial will take a few more turns to fall:





It did a new scouting flight from Astrum again, to send the result to Mr. Yellow.

The hunter carrying the eastern hawk moved further south, revealing some more of the Sheaim lands.



Domestically, I moved some workers south towards Kabhalg, in order to get the first cottages there. Also, Evermore gets some more nonforest cottages.

[Nyktorion]

C&D:

City Growths: Mardoc's fourth city (3), Galveholm (8), Grottiburg (7), Steinvik (1, newly founded).

Thoth's military power is rising even further, it's at 133k now.

Diplo:

To WarriorKnight:

Dear WarriorKnight,

per our agreement, I hereby inform you that I have established contact with Irgy of the Sheaim. Actually, my hawk found him already last turn; I'm sorry that I forgot to inform you immediately.

On another note: our NAP extension discussion has come to a stop. Am I assuming correctly that we are in an agreement about an extension until T125? If so, I hereby sign this NAP extension.

best regards,
Nyktorion

His response:

Hi nyktorion

Thanks for info about meeting the Sheaim. I think that just leaves the Lanun as the last contact that both of us need to have met everyone?

About the NAP, sorry that I didn't respond earlier but yes, we are in agreement for an extension until t125. Consider it signed.

Regards,
WarriorKnight

I think there's not much to add to either message. To Irgy, I sent something along the lines described in last turn's diplo update:

Dear Irgy,

thanks for the warm words you returned!

Indeed, I am watching the fast growth of the Malakim sceptically. Still, I think there is a lot of hope that we are not dealing with a runaway already. One of my hawks has an eye over the siege of Torrolerial, and with Mr. Yellow in full military mode, and already nine warriors present in Torrolerial, I think that it will still take Thoth some more time and blood to conlude the siege. I also don't think any conflict between WarriorKnight and Thoth will lead to a decisive victory on either side; WarriorKnight has sanctuary, but not enough military to force a decisive victory on his own - so I think the game still offers good chances to win for all of us (except for Mr. Yellow, I'd say).

As soon as we have a connection, I'm of course always open for trades. A bit later, mana trades seem like a good thing; for instance, I would be quite interested in getting my hands on your fire mana for some time once I have adepts. In return, you might be interested in getting the death mana from my Broken Sepulcher for some time, once I have connected with (with the Necromany tech).

best regards,
Nyktorion

His response:

Thanks for the info about the war, it's good to know. Not sure if I read you
right anyway, but just letting you know I'm fairly sure you don't need the
Necromancy tech to get the death mana out of the Sepulchre. You should just
need cultural control and a road.

Let me know when you're close to connecting trade routes with the Elohim, as I
expect we'll have plenty to discuss. Don't forget how useful rivers are for
that too - I say so particularly because I forgot myself, we were connected
well before I actually even realised we were, and could have been connected a
good while before that. All this time to over-think what we're doing doesn't
seem to prevent missing things and making mistakes : )

Irgy

I think I should tell him that I already opened the Sepulcher, and therefore indeed need Necromancy. With WarriorKnight founding his border city towards me soon, it shouldn't take too long until we get trade routes, indeed.

I sent the usual hawk report to Mr. Yellow:

Dear Mr. Yellow,

please see attached what my hawk in Astrum was seeing this turn. Besides the highlighted stack of 2 warriors, the other stacks visible in the south west are a single warrior and a single swordsman (in the very south west of the visible area), both unpromoted.

best regards,
Nyktorion

Attached picture:

While writing all these messages, Thoth also hooked me up for a chat. He asked me how my war preparations were going, and I told him I'll do the first whippings soon. I revealed that I plan to use Gilden (>= lvl 6) as spearhead of my attack, backed up by archers, and it should also be possible to add the first few FoL priests to my force then (indeed, after getting Festivals, I want to research Priesthood next).

He told me he's moving towards catapults now. He does not want to risk General Martok in sniping defenders of Torrolerial, since he only has about 85% chance to win a fight, so that siege is a stalemate for now.

Since I'm sure that Thoth has already discovered my trade relationship with Mr. Yellow, I took the opportunity to tell him about OB and the Silk <-> soon Cotton trade myself. He indeed said he was not happy seeing this, but understood that the effect of these trades is indeed weak with respect to their war. I made it clear that I won't be giving more substantial support (like copper or, as written in the NAP with Thoth, troops) to Mr. Yellow. Thoth asked me not to trade world maps revealed by the hawk to Mr. Yellow, since revealing the northern coastline might open a Bannor <-> Lanun. I assured him that we never traded world maps (that's the truth, although not the whole truth; still, I think I'm telling the truth to a large enough extent here, as the screenshots I'm passing on don't have any effect whatsoever trade-route-wise), and never will do so in the future. I hope that convinces Thoth that my dealings with Mr. Yellow are on a small enough scale in order not to hurt his assault too seriously.

[Nyktorion]

Turn 93

Mr. Yellow sent me cotton this turn. Wow, that was quick!

Research for Festivals was also finished this turn. Next tech will be Priesthood, so I can hopefully squeeze out one or two tiger priests for attacking the Bannor in T105. Currently, the projected research time for Priesthood is 10 turns (i.e. finished at T103), but the great sage which is due in Evermore in 3 turns could win me one more turn here.

We get the following event:



I believe the event proceeds as follows: if I pay the guard, I get a choice between -10% crime rate or two free slaves in Bruti next turn. Therefore, I paid the 22g, hoping that I'll indeed get the two slaves next turn.

My western hawk scouts for Mr. Yellow again, while the eastern hawk reveals yet more of Irgy's lands:



Evermore finished a disciple of leaves, it builds a market now before training 1 or 2 more disciples for upgrading into priests.

The workers finished two more cottages this turn; one for Evermore, and one for Kabhalg.

[Nyktorion]

C&D:

City growths: Glens of Killybegs (8), Tongurstad (5), Astrum (2)

Diplo:

Mr. Yellow sent me the following:

Just sent cotton now.

I've also asked WK for a possible trade connecttion through you. I believe you just took the nearby barb city yes? It isn't far between that and WKs land and he could supply me with copper. I'll even send a few workers to get a connection up if WK is positive to this.

Hmm, I don't like this. If WarriorKnight indeed gets the ability to send copper to Mr. Yellow, I'd have to declare war on one of the two, breaking the NAP, in order to cut this deal. I've looked around for the mechanics of resource trade enabling, and it seems that the only prerequisites for WarriorKnight and Mr. Yellow to send the copper are a connection through my land and peace with me - neither of them would need open borders with me!

Therefore, I don't want to let Mr. Yellow's workers build that connections; if I let my own workers do it, I can control how much "accidental delay" there will be with establishing that connection. Also, that way, if necessary, I can cut my own road NW of Kabhalg without Mr. Yellow immediately seeing (or repairing) it. So I replied the following:

Dear Mr. Yellow,

please see attached the usual hawk report picture. This turn, I decided to scout further west rather than south for a change, revealing Thoth's capital in the process. The highlighted warrior is the one on the pool of tears, the warrior south of it and the warrior in Golden Lean To are both alone and unpromoted.

The idea with the connection to WarriorKnight is an interesting one. Thanks for your offer to send your own workers, but I think you can use them better in your own lands. I currently have six workers, and I think I'll get two slaves on top of that through a follow-up event next turn. Therefore, I think I'll be able to spare some working force when I see WarriorKnight's border city founded.

best regards,
Nyktorion

Attached picture:

I also sent back something to WarriorKnight:

Exactly, that leaves only the Lanun unknown to both of us.
From what I have I heard, thy are located somewhere south of the Malakim.

best regards,
Nyktorion

And to Irgy:

Dear Irgy,

since I explored the sepulcher the "requires route" label has changed to "research: knowledge of the ether, research: necromancy", so sadly, it seems I will indeed need Necromancy to connect the death mana.

With WarriorKnight settling his border city to Kabhalg rather soon, it should not take too long for us to be able to trade resources. Maybe, you can already use some of my mana, or my second sheep at this point; while I can't really use any of your mana at this point (don't have Knowledge of the Ether yet), I might be interested in happiness resources you have.

best regards,
Nyktorion

I'll aim for T106 to get that connection

[Nyktorion]

Turn 94

I get the expected follow-up event for my 22g payment. Two free slaves in Yonna are worth more to me than -10 crime rate, so I'll take them, and immediately send them to help out with Yonna's infrastructure.



A glimpse into the event log shows: the Order has been founded in Glens of Killybegs! Wow, that's quite fast for one of the "more advanced" religions...

My western hawk does its usual scouting of the Bannor-Malakim war. This time, I take a look into Torrolerial again.



Mr. Yellow has moved three defensive warriors out of Torrolerial. I doubt that was the best possible move for him. The warriors lose 25(fortification) + 20(culture defence) + 25(warrior city defence) = 70% defence bonus, while only gaining +40% from the river, plus they lose the protection of the strongest defender in Torrolerial. I think this is a rather safe opportunity for General Martok to snipe down one of the Bannor warriors.

Meanwhile, the eastern hawk is looking at even more Sheaim territory.



Hyll finished its hunter and is getting a temple of leaves now. That way, I'll have two cities able to produce archers, and two potential tiger priest pumps. Bruti finished an archer, and is training another one. Since Yonna grew too big to work only "good" tiles, I whipped away 2 pop points to finish the archery range earlier.

[Nyktorion]

C&D:

City growths: Steinvik (2), Trinity (6)

Techs gained: WarriorKnight (Orders from Heaven), Irgy (ancient tech)

Thoth's military continues rise rise steadily. His soldier count is at 148k now.

Diplo:

I sent Mr. Yellow the usual hawk report:

Dear Mr. Yellow,

please see attached the usual hawk picture (this time, I scouted from Torrolerial again). The unhighlighted stack in the south west of the visible area consists of two unpromoted warriors.

best regards,
Nyktorion

Attached picture:

I also sent a congratulation message to WarriorKnight, including a trade idea I head when I saw that WarriorKnight has a religion now (I certainly wouldn't mind the ability to build some Order temples in my cities):

Hi WarriorKnight,

congratulations on founding the Order this turn! Considering that this is the first "advanced" religion in the game, this must be quite a cause for joy.

Speaking of religions, I got another idea of potential cooperation. What do you think of trading some religion spread in the future?

best regards,
Nyktorion