“Where did you get these?” Tracia asked. Her left hand was open and there were a bunch of glowing balls in her palm that she moved around with a finger of her other hand. The balls weren’t perfectly spherical, they were flattened and oblong like beans, but they glowed like gems. They gave an orange tint to her red-brown face.
“They are impressive, no? Better than your…”
“Don’t be petty,” Tracia interrupted with annoyance and she glanced back at the winged man who was busy digging shallow pits into the moist dirt. “My admiration of your seeds is a compliment to your saver.”
The winged man was dressed in a rich, blue boubou that was like a robe that stopped just above his ankles with wide sleeves at his arms. The fabric was light and much of his chest was exposed. His dark, chocolate skin seemed to shine under the bright sunlight that shone down through the canopy of wild trees and vegetation. They were both barefoot and their feet sank into the damp earth next to the swamp that extended like a wide river nearby. Tracia was taller than the man by a foot and she was slender in the lappas skirt that stopped and flared around her calves. Her chest was wrapped in red brown cloth that matched the lappas.
The man finished digging the shallow pits; two rows of six in parallel lines with two additional long pits on either end. The man stood back from the pits and lifted an arm, a strong hand extended from the wide sleeve, and orbs of light flitted off of his fingertips. The orbs swarmed the area around the shallow holes and between him and Tracia. When they dissipated, the area was raised from the surrounding swap environment, like the shallow holes were now carved into an earthen table, and there were thrones on either side of the table made of earth and cushioned with vegetation.
“How did you get the dark gold seeds, Lolof?” Tracia moved to sit in the throne closest to her. Lolof had already sat and he smiled with pride as Tracia mounded the seeds from her hand in front of him on the table. The seeds almost looked like golden stones.
“I got them without deceit or deception,” Lolof smiled. His prominent cheekbones gave his smile the air of mischief and the way he squinted his eyes accentuated his amusement. “No mmoatia were harmed in the acquisition of these seeds,” he continued with a chuckle.
“Where would a yumbo get a set of this baobob seed?” Tracia asked skeptically. “Agê herself declared that the land where the baobob grows is the sacred land of the mmoatia. And those seeds are rare. Even the mmoatia of our council complain about the difficulty finding them. Did you burglarize the seed vault? Pultine will turn you to ash for that.”
“I would never do such a thing,” Lolof said and the humor on his face disappeared. “Nor would I support such action by possessing seeds obtained in that manner. Why would you hurl accusations at a meeting like this one? A friendly game between friends.”
Tracia stifled a laugh and she extended her wings long at her side and flapped them gently to bat away gnats that began to swarm nearby.
“Friendly game indeed,” she said and produced her seeds from a pocket in her lappas. Her seeds were oval spheres with a large split down the middle like a loaf of fresh baked bread. They were mostly dark brown but the split down the middle was a lighter shade, and they glowed like Lolof’s.
“My saver has kept these safe for some time,” he continued, still flustered by the perceived insult. “And I’ve used them before, though admittedly, only a couple of times in the history of our games. Welboas would recognize them.”
“I’m sure she had the same questions that I raised,” Tracia said. “I was making a joke, you are too wise to risk the wrath of Pultine. You are a yumbo of honor and it is a reputation well earned. Your word is truth. But it’s not often that anyone lays eyes on dark gold baobob seeds. The golden ones are a rare treasure, the dark ones are extremely rare.”
“As is our meeting on this fine day, in this lovely earther swamp.” Lolof looked around them to take in the wild setting. It was lush green and teeming with insects and rodents and lizards that filled the soundscape.
“Have you been here before? This is my second time, the first was with Pultine who is somewhere around here now. You should be playing her.”
“I have been here before, well after it was secured. These forests are straight out of the Fonlands.”
“It makes sense that the vegetation was the true first explorer of this realm, even Pultine admits that.”
“I was curious that Pultine is not my opponent today. She is synonymous with this realm.”
Tracia tucked her wings at her back, shrugged her shoulders, then slouched in her throne. Her arms were long enough that she was able to fill the six pits on her side with four of her seeds in each pit.
“She doesn’t do the administrative stuff so much anymore. And literally no one else from the council cared. But these are our customs for solving disputes peacefully and they must be enacted, I guess.”
“It is the only way to avoid conflict. The disc of Agê is always expanding it seems and as the greatest powers of the disc, Agê trusts us to be her arbiters in matters below her. And I think everyone can agree that Lêgba can’t be the only presence in this realm. Franky, I like that there is such cooperation between our communities that we can solve land disputes with a fun game.”
“Your optimism is…” Tracia paused, “…boring, honestly. This is not a real dispute. Fonlanders have had access to this realm for some time now, and seeing it once is usually enough. Most of the Vodun aren’t interested in claiming this realm as an extension of their disc, I’m pretty sure Agê couldn’t care less. We are here because of Pultine. She loves this place and as a favor to her, the Supreme Hive decided to claim this realm under mmoatia law. But the law of Agê’s disc supersedes our own as you know and we can’t claim new territory without consultation with the yumbo council.”
“And here we are, catching up over a friendly game,” Lolof said as he finished arranging his seeds into the pits in front of him. “Don’t worry, Pultine will have her Earth realm. This is just formality.”
Tracia nodded slowly. “I appreciate you saying that. But the winner of the game gets the claim for their council, no pulling punches allowed.”
“True, and I will not be pulling my punches, but the yumbo council is as disinterested in this realm as you say and even if I win, I’ve been told to commence the territory transfer process immediately. So we can just enjoy ourselves here today.”
“I can’t believe Pultine is willing to police this place. But you can’t have Fonlands magic disrupting the natural evolution of things here, if you can even put that cork back in the bottle.”
Tracia grabbed one of Lolof’s baobab seeds and one of her shea butter tree seeds and she enclosed them in both her hands. She shook them vigorously, then enclosed one in each of her fists and even she didn’t know which seed was in which fist because of the way she closed her hands around them. She held both closed fists up to Lolof and he pondered them.
“Don’t kill him!” Tracia said suddenly, though she never moved her fists or took her eyes from Lolof, who startled like a gun had fired inches from his ear.
“But you said this will be the opening salvo,” Lolof heard a voice over his shoulder. “We have to assert our dominance as the preeminence of the Fonlands, second only to the Vodun out of respect for our mother, Agê, but their equal in the control of the essence.”
“You are so dramatic,” Tracia said as her fists hung statute in the air before a confused and unsettled Lolof who slowly turned to see Pultine holding the blade of a steel ax dangerously close to his throat. “You monologue so beautifully. But change of plans. I’m glad you’re here, and now that you are, I will speak to my guest who will leave here unharmed. Lolof, legendary warrior and now elder of the yumboes, we are in a time of great change. Lêgba has claimed much of this realm for his own already and he is making his own warped Fonlands on one of these big balls of rock that float among the fires of the void that burn all over this realm. Everything is so far from everything else here, don’t you think? Who designed this place? Despite its flaws, it is home to beings that do not deserve the subjugation that Lêgba will bring to them. He is planning something, something big and this realm is his playground. But Agê has charged all of the dwellers of her disc to preserve life in every form, and discovery of this realm only expands the responsibility…”
“What is this!” Lolof shouted. He was obviously very afraid and even though he was as old as Tracia and Pultine, the mmoatia were intimidating. “Why are you threatening my life? We have always been allies, we are the balance of Agê’s disc, two halves of the light of Agê. Is this world so important to you? I have promised it to you already.”
“That is the history,” Tracia nodded her head. Her fists were still up in front of Lolof. “But we are in the new present. The times call for a new alignment. Unfortunately, we can no longer be equals. It’s a relief, really, if you think about it. We would like the yumboes to take a step back, embrace third tier. Decisions must be made as we observe and contain Lêgba and we can’t be slowed down by the bureaucracy that trips you all up in your decision making. The Supremes will no longer consult with your hive, we will move unilaterally. Pultine thought that your death would be a shock to the alliance and be intimidating enough to smother backlash, but we don’t need to fight. Cooler heads will prevail.”
“You cannot hope to challenge Lêgba…” Lolof started.
“And there it is.” Pultine growled loudly behind him. “That’s what we don’t need. We know what Lêgba is, we respect his position. And it is out of respect that we will put a stop to any perversions of the essence that he is attempting. We were created to be a check of that awesome power, not to cower to it. Now is not the time for restraint.”
“Choose, Lolof,” Tracia said. “We will play our game, but the stakes have changed. If I win, I get your seeds and your cooperation. You will convince the other yumboes that the mmoatia are well in command of Agê’s edict and to find other matters to oversee in the Fonlands. This entire realm is no longer your concern.”
Lolof shook his head slowly, mournfully. “I’ve so enjoyed our peace. There were talks of the future together, yet here we are. What if I win?”
“Then you will have another choice. You can choose to cooperate with us, or risk the wrath of Pultine. And you can keep your seeds.”
Character Profile for HYSTERIA campaign: Name – Lolof
Name – Lolof
Character Type/E-KIN – YUMBO
Specialization – LEADER
Moral Alignment – LAWFUL GOOD
Traits: Suspicious, Polite, Cautious
Hit Points: 147 (total of all attribute stats)
Attack Bonus: 23 (strength + agility – 7)
Armor Class: 20 (resilience – 7)
Character Stats:
Essence Retention -26
Strength – 14
Agility – 16
Resilience – 27
Wisdom – 14
Intelligence – 30
Charm – 20
Game Move:
Game Master (GM): Lolof, I guess there was a choice in that threat. So what do you choose? Will you cooperate with Tracia and Pultine? Will you willingly play the game and wager your seeds?
Lolof: It really should not be this way. The yumbo and aboatia have been united since the ancient days of Agê’s disc. We are two sides of the same coin. We complete one another.
GM: That sounds rough, man, I’m sorry. But I need your action so I can give you a threshold for your roll.
Lolof: My action. Can I weep until my mmoatia sisters regain their reason?
GM: For sure. Roll 2d10 for a combined score of at least 85 to weep so that Tracia and Pultine rethink their plans.
Tune in next week to see if Lolof’s tears changed the aggressive plans of Tracia and Pultine. Technically, this story took place a long time ago, but I’m the Game Master with complete control over time and space to make this campaign run smoothly.
PRL Serials 