[h2][color=662d91]The Mustaqilun Tribe [Turn 8][/color][/h2]

Rukdug wasn't happy; He honestly couldn't remember the last time that he had been happy. He wasn't blind to the grumblings of those who lived under his command and in truth he shared some of their concerns and spites... but backtracking was a sign of indecision and the fact that his victory of getting his people back alive was being seen as a weakness of rulership vexed him. The cost of getting his people back and to no longer be hindered by those bloody goblin bastards was to take part in a war against an enemy they knew next to nothing about... apart from what they had witnessed about the firestones themselves and what the goblins had told them.

The seemingly 'immortal' nature of the oni had actually made Rukdug pause in thought as he had walked back to Riverforge after his meeting with Saizo and his ilk. An enemy who treated death as a minor inconvenience rather than as a major concern was somewhat new... but all problems had a solution and the Dark One himself had taught his crazed zealots of his cult something that might just do the trick. It was a well known fact that the cursed weapons of the Cult of Darkness hacked into the soul as readily as they did flesh and blood. The point had been to seed dread into even the bravest of hearts since even the soul would not be free of harm if one stood against the Dark One and wounds to the soul were beyond almost all mortal means to heal.

Since the oni's 'immortality' seemed to come from their souls surviving the deaths of their physical shells, a means to harm their souls directly would easily give his orcs the upper hand in battle. Of course, the fact that any members of the Cult of Darkness that had been with their people before the exodus from their former home had been purged because... well, they were crazy zealots who were standing between his people and life was a problem, but not yet a crippling one. He understood the nature of orcs in the old days, so it was with confidence that Rukdug offered up a major reward for the orc or orcs that managed to recreate the cursed weapon enchantments of the Cult of Darkness for usage by the Mustaqilun.

Of course, knowing the enchantments was pointless if one didn't have weapons to use them for. Now that they were no longer going to be hindered by goblins, Rukdug also pushed to get the forges up and operational so that they could finally start working the metal that their mining efforts had managed to gather so far. They were going to be marching for war one way or the other.

..............................................

The arrival of the bird like Master Ful was quickly brought to Rukdug's attention and he went to meet with the lord of the goblins. He didn't bow back, but it wasn't out of being rude; Orcs only bowed to those who were above them and clearly Ful was showing him respect due to this being his stronghold, as was proper. Apologizing for the actions and behavior of his subordinate was a nice touch, but as the conversation continued Rukdug saw what Ful wanted. He wanted solders and he wanted them now... The main issue being that they simply weren't ready to mobilize for war just yet. They needed to create and sort out equipment, develop their secret weapon against the oni -and- he needed to get the unrest that had been creeping through his fortress under control. 

However... there might be a way to take care of several of those problems at once. Or at the very least, relieve them a little. 

"I will be frank with you Ful. Your subordinate Saizo has caused us quite a few problems. Yes, preventing us from being enslaved to a new master might have been all well and good, but his actions have not only caused us major delays in establishing our mining and production facilitates, but also has caused a great deal of bad blood and distrust between my people and yours. Even as we speak we are working to undo the damage he has done, but I can think of a... compromise that will benefit us both in the long run." He wasn't used to being diplomatic, but it was clear that Rukdug was trying... and that he had a fairly good idea regardless.

"From the ores we uncovered before Saizo started to disrupt out mining efforts, we can produce bronze weapons and armor. While I'm certain we could find better metals to work in time, it's clear that you want us fighting the oni as soon as possible. You and your goblins clearly have access to iron... a sizeable tribute of raw iron would not only ease some of the anger of my people, but it would also ensure that your allies would be better equipped on the battlefield."

"There is also the issue that my people haven't actually encountered the oni themselves, where as your followers have clearly wronged them. There is a simple solution to this though; Right now I am prepared to organize and send a small warband of orcs under one of my captains with you to find these oni and size them up. While I'm sure they would be more than able to pull their weight in a fight if need be, I intend for them to be more of a scouting force. Not only get an idea of where the oni actually are, but also get an idea of how they fight and thus what tactics and weapons would be best suited to counter them. It would also help ease tenses since it would give both of our peoples a common enemy."

Rukdug fully intended to send a hand picked task force under one of his captains to not only see the Oni first hand to confirm that they were real, but all the other things he said as well. What he was failed to mention was that the orcs he had in mind for sending were the more... rebellious of his people. He had a mental list of orcs who had been rather vocal in their opinions on his leadership, as well as those he reasonably suspected of instigating unrest in order to make their own power plays. The captain he had in mind to lead this mission was firmly in the latter category and sending him served two purposes; If he was successful, than the oni would be confirmed to be real and thus many of the grumblings would cease. If he got himself killed while out in the field, than he was simply no longer a threat to launch a coup. Either way Rukdug won.

"I'll have them selected and ready to leave within the next two hours."


[hider=Summery]
Rukdug is offering a reward for any orc or orcs that recreate the enchantments used by the Cult of Darkness, the cult of personality of the Dark One himself. 

Orders are given to get the forges and smelters operational at long last so that they can finally start working metal. 

In the conversation with Ful, Rukdug made two points:

The first is that if Ful and his goblin followers were to make a sizeable tribute of raw iron it would not only serve to make up for Saizo's actions, but also put the orcs in a better position to fight the oni. 

The second is that he intends to send a task force of orcs under Captain Pak to 'scout out' the oni, discover where they are and learn things like how they fight and operate first hand. The orcs making up this task force will be made up of those who are more vocal or have taken actions that suggest they plan to try and replace Rukdug himself as warchief. This will hopefully settle the unrest in Riverforge in the short term by removing those causing the unrest and in the long term by proving to the doubters that the oni are real. 
[/hider]