June 1 interlude

[cairn destop]

If I remember from earlier postings, the Orb of Storms wasn't destroyed, just lost.  At the game's end, it was stuck on drought.  Always made me wonder why none of the other morphs ever attempted to recover such a valuable artifact.  Think about it, the High Priestess blackmailed everyone into giving her tribute just by threatening to use the Orb.  (Got to love religion, regardless of its form.)  If it could be recovered, it would become a potent weapon.  Three know the Orb's location and that it wasn't destroyed.  One is a secret, two or more is information waiting for an inopportune time to become known.

To be honest, I expected the follow-up adventure to be about the Orb's recovery. 

[WyrmMaster]

Although the Orb of Storms was shown as intact at the end of Quest for the Orb. the Morph don't know that. Also, the location where it was lost would make it difficult for an organized search: too far away from the Known Lands, dangerous wolf tribe in the area, etc.

[cairn destop]

I'm going to disagree with you here. 

If Rif and friends don't know if the Orb is operational, the only reason for them to keep its location secret is bribery / coercion from the morph religious leader at the Sanctuary.  Without that Orb, the High Priestess is nothing but a powerless kitten.  Sooner or later, some leader will realize this and all heck will break.  Earth's history during feudal times has many examples where the local clerics thought they could push royalty until royalty realized they were bluffing.  It always ended bad for the clerics, grave - ly.

If they know the Orb is intact but unreachable, that secret will get out, eventually.  We have all seen power crazed morphs in the strip.  Let some megalomaniac with a little bit of charisma learn of the Orb's existence and can you say race for the gold?  Possession of that Orb would make the weakest morph a god, literally.  Somebody would find the dangers versus rewards worth the challenge.  I can think of one possible candidate, the dog leader expelled by his brother Prince.  If he lives, as the strip inferred was a possibility, he would welcome a chance to exact vengeance on his brother and the kitten who usurped his power.

As to the dangers and distance, that's not a problem.  You do have three who traveled there.  They would know something of the lands and the dangers.  A determined crazy wouldn't stop at civilized means to achieve his / her goals. 

Final point, are the morphs really, really stupid?  If this Orb is stuck on drought, how long will it take somebody to beseech the High Priestess for relief?  When she cannot perform, either she escapes with one less life or her ticked-off supplicants relieve her and the others at the Sanctuary of their remaining lives.  Nothing stirs rebellion like an empty stomach.

[cairn destop]

Regarding the current story arc:


Shouldn't the light for the station where they are located be colored red?  If there's a malfunction, shouldn't the light be something other than yellow? 

[WyrmMaster]

The Elks and Boars are operating under detente for the moment. The unexpected side-effects of the Orb going missing has surprised everyone, even the Boar King. Prince is actually fairly lazy, so it will take a lot of inconvenience for him to become aggressive.

The Mistress/Master of the Orb is chosen based on diplomatic skills. As such Elara is trying to keep what cooperation between the tribes from falling apart. (The leader of the Sanctuary is selected by the Hares and can be from any Morph tribe.)

BTW, Prince did not expel the last Alpha-line Dog ruler, that was an ancestor a couple of generations back.

As to the station, the room lights are mainly blue and orange. The light from the display screen doesn't really add that much redness.