[hider=The Order of Orngat, in the Capital Mechanolia, Province #56]“We've successfully been able to avoid involvement in the surrounding conflict.” Azras reported, the old dwarf looking out over the council filled with other old dwarves. In the far back, the ancient elder dwarf Kalderur, Judge of the Order, was watching Azras with penetrating judgement.

“Excluding the support we sent to assist our allies in last year's battle, Orngat has been able to stay completely out of the conflicts of the world and been a safe place for our people to prosper. Our goal has always been to keep fighting away from our own provinces, and thankfully nothing has ever threatened our borders.”

“Until now.” Belden sat back with a little grin, inserting his otherwise unsaid quip while crossing his arms waiting for the following report. Azras gave him a little stare, before looking towards the rest of them with a grim look.

“Our scouts and fishermen, sailing in the north, have received premonitions. Reports are coming in of unexplained feelings of dread, a feeling of danger when watching the seas further north. Now, this could have been disregarded as simple paranoia, if it wasn't for that [i]all of them[/i] report the same feeling.” Now all of them were focused, grim looks on all the dwarven faces. There was no question about it. The Darkness was coming for them.

“... The time for action is now.” Kalderur stood up from his chair around their table, his sheer presence causing all the rest to look at him, as he placed down his walking-stick on the low table with a surprising thunder of a sound. “Name your suggestions!”

“We are fighting an unknown enemy.” Zuth, the one female dwarf of the Order, informed with care in her eyes. “The first step should be to find out more information about our foe. As competent as my researchers are, they have nothing to work with.”

“But how, pray tell, will we gain information about a foe we've never seen?” Rak asked, pushing his glasses a bit, intending more on being the devil's advocate than anything else.

“It's simple.” Gegel, a proud dwarf who trusted the power of their nation, said. “We simply need to see it.” He got numerous stares. “Anton's human scouts are highly competent. We can trust them to gain information on our enemy before they strike. They're loyal and willing to give their lives for us, it would be foolish not to use them.”

“It's near suicide.” Zuth frowned, naturally the one to be worried about the waste of lives that could be saved. “The Darkness is known for consuming those that attempt scouting them.”

“Even so, I'd argue that any risk is worth it, for that risk will soon be eating at our borders.” Gegel told her, and there was a murmur of agreement through the Order. Zuth sighed in defeat at the matter, and gave a small nod of acknowledgement at it.

“If I may.” Thirbek, the voice with the outside world, put his word in. “Nations in the East have already clashed with the Darkness, our information says. We could seek information from them, asking for any information they'd be willing to give us.”

“So, we should send envoys to the East to ask for aid in the form of accounts of their conflicts with the Darkness?” Rak inquired, looking at Thirbek with quite the little cold stare.

“Envoys? Well, I was about to volunteer to go myself.” Thirbek nodded to them with a little smile. “If a member of our Order goes, himself, then surely they will realize our request is sincere.”

“Hahaha!” Rasur laughed out a little, causing stares to be directed towards him. “Sure, go ask for their suggestions. In the meantime, I'll just keep building new machines faster than the enemy can destroy them!” He said, cheerfully. 

“But can we guarantee that our forces will be able to hold the Darkness back for long enough for you to build new forces?” Rak asked. The room became notably silent for numerous moments.

“... Sure!” Rasur smiled happily. “Though just in case, we may want to seek an alternative ”

“Our cause of action is clear.” Gegel informed, his head held high as he looked over the present company. “We must ask for the aid of a more direct kind, as well. Of troops and arms.”

“... I'll go to New Engelica.” Azras said, looking over the rest. “Should the Darkness attack, we should be able to depend on their assistance.”

“Limiting it to only New Engelica would be foolish.” Gegel gave his opinion. “After them, we should ask our other current neighbours, the Broken Empire, if they'd be wanting to assist as well. This is a common threat we're facing.”

“The Empire has a coast as well, now.” Zuth reminded. “They may very well be too busy strengthening their own borders to assist ours.”

“Indeed, but it would be foolish not to attempt.” Gegel nodded, and looked towards Azras, who made a small nod that he had understood.

“Very well. I'll head towards the Broken Empire after my journey to New Engelica. However, allow me to share my confidence at that we should be able to depend on Engelica's might. We stand as a wall against the Darkness for them. After all, should we fall, they'll be next.” Azras declared with some manner of surety.

“Our defences are strong.” Raru, in charge of security, agreed with a frown. “We have Interceptors in the air. We have Ironclads at sea. We have Walkers on land. To not make use of our strength, would be foolish.”

“Assuming they're not already busy in other directions...” Belden grinned, poking at possibilities of the negative kind. “Well. In either case, I'll make sure to build defences the way only dwarves can, I trust you'll be able to make use of them, Raru.”

“I will.” Raru replied, grunting in appreciation at their master builder.

“In the meantime, we should prepare for a worst case scenario.” Rak told. “Should our defences fall, we should prepare to inform our population that they will need to defend themselves. Either by fleeing the nation, or picking up arms on their o-”

“The populace will not be disturbed.” Maar shook awake, the old dwarf having looked like he was drifting asleep on the side. Rak stopped, looking a bit towards Maar, despite knowing what he was about to say.

“The rules state.” Maar continued. “The Order of Orngat may not disturb the populace. We may only defend them, look after their needs and keep them happy. Otherwise, the populace is to be entirely free to do whatever it wants, as long as it doesn't break the rules. We cannot tell them to do anything.”

“Even as their lives are at stake?” Rak looked slightly annoyed, holding his glasses as he glared at Maar. “We're talking about the Darkness. If even half the rumours I've heard of it is true, there is a sincere possibility that-”

“The Representative of Law is correct.” Kalderur informed, his voice booming over the room. “We are not entitled to command the populace to do anything. The Order is built around the nation of Orngat, not on top of it. So states our rules.” Rak looked like he wanted to say something. “... Though, it says nothing about 'strongly recommending' something.” Kalderur compromised, closing his eyes for a bit and both Rak and Maar looked reasonably satisfied. Belden laughed out loud at this resolution of the ancient Judge.

“Let me review what information has been gathered here.” Kalderur roared out, glaring through the room.

“In the mission to research the Darkness.” His eyes turned to the trio to his right. “Zuth will conduct research on the information we have on the enemy. To help her, Gegel, instruct Anton to use his scout ships to inspect the threat from the north, attempting to see from safe ranges to find out what we can, while Thirbek shall head to the Eastern nations and attempt acquiring the information they've gained from fighting our foe.” Zuth, Gegel and Thirbek nodded to their missions. 

(Research 'Against the Dark', step 1/3. Sent agents to speak with foreign Eastern nations to ask for their experiences, if possible. )

“In the mission of our own forces.” His eyes turned to the three on his left. “Rasur will put his engines on fire, constructing more warriors for our defence. Belden will construct our defensive positions, and Raru will then use these warriors and defensive positions throughout our nation to defend the populace.” The three nodded to Kalderur's words. 

(Recruit 1 Ironclad, 1 Walker and 1 Interceptor per province. 
#57 has 50 M-Warrior units, 17 M-Walkers, 17 Ironclad, 20 Interceptors
#56 has 50 M-Warrior units, 17 M-Walkers, 17 Ironclad, 20 Interceptors
#54 has 50 M-Warrior units, 16 M-Walkers, 16 Ironclad, 20 Interceptors)

“In the mission of seeking aid.” His eyes turned to the one straight in front of him. “Azras will head for neighbouring countries and see if they can spare their assistance against the incoming threat, our neighbours being New Engelica and the Broken Empire. Our existence may depend on this.” Azras nodded, with a determined grim look on his expression.

(Envoy sent to New Engelica and the Broken Empire. “The Darkness is estimated to arrive at Orngat around half a year, maybe more, maybe even less. Regardless, when this happens, Orngat will need assistance. Our lands are naturally easy to defend, and we hold a mighty army in our own right. We intend on being the rock which the Darkness slams against, like a wave breaking against a cliff-face. Know that should we fall, the Darkness will have gained an entry-point into your nations. If you have any forces to spare, Orngat would like to assist in defending your nations from this incoming threat.”)

“Meanwhile, Rat, Maar. Keep our people happy. Prepare emergency procedures that do not defy the rules in worst case scenarios. Stay off one another's throats.” Rak stared a bit at the lazy-looking Maar who didn't even look like he had heard, but then nodded to the Judge. “Good luck to us all.” Kalderur said as he concluded the meeting.[/hider]

[hider=Jonathan, in the city of Oreino, Province #57]Jonathan was turning on a wrench, smiling happily as he was working on another Mechanical Worker to assist with the construction work being done in the city. They had kicked it up a notch lately, and while Jonathan didn't know why, it meant he had lots of work ahead of him and that he would have no problem with money for months ahead. His workshop was already filled with lots of spare parts with which he could build things, and while people who came in might see a scrap-heap he knew exactly where to find everything. That is, assuming people didn't cause any further a mess.

CRASH.

Jonathan looked away from his work to see his slightly oversized human engineering teacher come bumbling through. While Penokio had nothing to teach which Jonathan didn't already know, he still came around from time to time to see how his student was doing. This, of course, had caused him to wander directly into a pile of Worker shoulder-plates that was stacked beside the door, which had then tumbled into a few small steam-engine out-ports which had been sitting beside them.

“Hello, Penokio. What brings you to me today?” Jonathan smiled at the bumbling man, whom showed some of the consequences of living in as spoiled a country as Orngat with his considerable bulk. The clumsy engineer stumbled to a stop, rather red with embarrassment in his face as he looked towards the working boy.

“I, um, was just going to check how my student was doing. … Quite fine, it would appear. My apologies for my accident.” Penokio had frowned with his situation, bowing his head a bit towards Jonathan as he apologized.

“Don't you worry about it. My place is Penokio-proof.” Jonathan laughed a little, showing an example of why he wasn't the considered the most sensitive of people as he turned around and kept working on the Worker... “And you're just in time. All done.” Jonathan smirked while Penokio was getting out of the debris, stopping to blink as Jonathan started the construction up.

The crouched-together humanoid metallic form which Jonathan had been working on twitched into action, quickly standing up and making a salutation, mechanical noises of the miniature steam engines within the Worker rolling to action as it stood straight.

“ALL SYSTEMS FUNCTIONAL. WHAT DOES MY MASTER COMMAND?” A robotic voice within the thing sounded out, causing Penokio to stare wide-eyed in wonder at it while Jonathan grinned.

“The Order ordered you for work in the ports, section D-3. Go find Master Duzzeak Grayhand, tell him that Jonathan completed his order, and then he will be your new master. If you can't find him, ask directions from the people you do find. OK?” Jonathan told the Worker, smiling happily as the Mechanical Worker nodded.

“AFFIRMATIVE. MECHANICAL WORKER ETI-66679 ON ROUTE TO D-3.” Said the machine, as it wandered out of the workshop, past an amazed Penokio who had to move out of the way as it walked. He was just another one of the many Mechanical Workers which worked to ensure many of the normal populace or Orngat never had to do any heavy work. Of course, this meant Jonathan didn't really need to do this, either, but he enjoyed it.

“... It seemed almost alive. You've been doing improvements.” Penokio said, looking at his student in a bit of amazement. Jonathan grinned, once again, and put his hands behind his head in a confident smirk.

“They've been giving me considerable amounts of funds for my Workers. Can't let them get anything but the highest quality things, eh? I've got orders until next season!” Jonathan exclaimed happily, looking proud of himself to his former teacher. This... caused Penokio to frown.

“... It's true, then. Well done, kid, but...” Jonathan's eyes opened curiously, as Penokio took a very serious tone with his voice. “The Order has been ordering large amounts of Workers from many places within the provinces. They've been gathering these at the ports, and at the factories. Of course, they built things there before, too, but they're really cranking it up. They're building us an army.” Penokio told, looking with a serious look at Jonathan. “... And no army is built without a reason. They're only ordering the Workers, not the Warriors, which hints that they don't want to worry the public. But the truth is, Orngat may be in danger...”

Jonathan laughed out loud at Penokio's observation.

“You're making up conspiracies again!” He called out to his engineering teacher. Penokio looked quite surprised at that this was Jonathan's reaction. “What...?”

“Orngat has never been in danger.” The boy smiled happily at him. “The Order protects us, day and night. That is why we can feel so safe. If they're really building an army, it's to do exactly that. To vanquish whatever little chance there is that we're even the slightest unsafe. Besides, if we were really in danger, Anton would have told us so!” Anton, the representative of the people, known for making speeches that make the people feel safe and a person they believe would never lie to them. “He says we're safe, so we are. You don't have to worry so much. Orngat will remain safe, forever. So let loose and live a bit, will you? Help me with the next Worker!”

Penokio looked with a frown at the boy, who was so exceedingly convinced that they would never be in danger. It seemed impossible to worry him, just as it was for the majority of the populace of Orngat that isn't actually tasked with defending the nation. Penokio slowly allowed himself to calm down, and the boy could see how he slowly found himself at ease with the thought.

“You're right. One can wonder why I was born with such worry.” The man sighed, and went to pick up some necessary parts. “Oh, well. I guess I'll need to show what I'm capable of! Watch and learn, young Jonathan!” Penokio allowed himself to smile, and Jonathan felt an inner rush of sheer at the teacher's willingness to get into the work at hand rather than his thoughts. Though Penokio had not forgotten his worries, he did allow them to subside for the moment in order to share a memory with his student. And so they worked.[/hider]

[hider=Actions]Research 'Against the Dark', step 1/3. Sent agents to speak with foreign Eastern nations to ask for their experiences, if possible. That'd be, like, all of them. The envoy will head to each one in turn, and ask if they've seen anything and then head on. I'm unsure how far he'd get in three months.

Recruited 1 Ironclad, 1 Walker and 1 Interceptor per province. 
#57 has 50 M-Warrior units, 17 M-Walkers, 17 Ironclad, 20 Interceptors
#56 has 50 M-Warrior units, 17 M-Walkers, 17 Ironclad, 20 Interceptors
#54 has 50 M-Warrior units, 16 M-Walkers, 16 Ironclad, 20 Interceptors
Orngat has a total of 150 M-Warrior units, 50 M-Walkers, 50 Ironclad and 60 Interceptors.

Envoy sent to New Engelica and the Broken Empire. “The Darkness is estimated to arrive at Orngat around half a year, maybe more, maybe even less. Regardless, when this happens, Orngat will need assistance. Our lands are naturally easy to defend, and we hold a mighty army in our own right. We intend on being the rock which the Darkness slams against, like a wave breaking against a cliff-face. Know that should we fall, the Darkness will have gained an entry-point into more provinces. If you have any forces to spare, Orngat would like to assist in defending your nations from this incoming threat.”

Also, scouts looking for Darkness above. Well, if they can. Try to estimate what they have. Maybe they'll just die. Trying to make use of my human racial trait, here. Improved scouts. Haha.[/hider]