Hyborean Age - a Conan Exiles story

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The Stygian  army attacked Alfredo's desert outpost while he was away. But Yui arravived just in time to take command of the defense. The enemy managed to beak down the outer gate before taking heavy losses. The Stygian commander challenged Yui and she took him down. The clan lost one thrall and two undead zombie guards in the defense. The dead thrall was replaced by a prisoner released from the Stygian camp. Whatever valuables and resources the Stygians left behind, the victorious clan collected. 

On her next raid, Yui tried out her invisibility spell. It worked well and she could easily infiltrate an enemy camp, but getting away with stealing treasure was much harder without being seen doing it. However, Yui would not go on a raid alone. She would have as many as four companions along. While they kept the enemy at bay, Yui could concentrate on bringing the treasure to one of the clan's bases. 

And in a short time later, Yui became a mother, contributing to the clan's growing mumber of champions with her son.

Rearing for new adventures, Yui was joined by her son and Alfredo on another expedition. This time they met a strange creature welcoming them - a werehyena.

"Come, come to me. You have nothing to fear of me, human. I am simply lonely as I await my return to the misty lands." 

The party were surprised, but there were much stranger things in the world than this.

"Is my appearance repellent to you, human? Your kind find no kinship in the unnatural. My brother, Impisi, summoned me from the misty lands. We are bound by flesh, blood and our kinship with Jhebbal Sag. But Impisi asked of me power that could not be given. He took my silence for disobedience and drove me forth from his camp in a wrath. I simply wish to return to my realm, but Impisi will not allow it because he thinks I am withholding information. If I could simply kill Impisi to secure passage to my realm, I would do it. But the incantations that he spoke bind us as one, tied together by invisible threads. His thoughts are my thoughts; if he is struck, I am bruised. If I am cut, he bleeds." "Interesting sorcery," Yui said. "Do you know of Jhebbal Sag, human? Once all living things worshipped him. When men and animals spoke the same tongue, he would walk among them in any form that he chose. He would mate with females of all races and from those unions would birth half-divine children such as I. Such as Impisi. Most men have forgotten the tongue they shared with the animals. Only some few animals remember. The realm that I come from is volatile: a world of shifting energies and elemental forces. By contrast, I find your world to be... tranquil. But I suspect that my nature makes me more sensitive to the undercurrents that run beneath this strange land. Take this grove, for instance. These trees were once something else. Not human, nor any other creature that I have encountered in this place. And they are screaming. Endlessly screaming."

The werehyena was referring to the Shattered Springs. 

Having imbibed the strange draught they had received from the werehyena, the party soon found themselves in a strange realm belonging to Jhebbal Sag...

There were markers indicating what kind of enemies to expect when choosing a path. The party would have to find and defeat Jhebbal Sag's champions - The Four Brothers - before they would be able to leave this realm. 

The clan's party kept making steady progress and soon they had defeated three of the four champions.

The final champion turned out to be a werewolf.

Once the final champion was defeated Jhebbal Sag spoke to them, they should consume the flesh of the defeated werewolf to gain access to his sacred knowledge.

The path to return to the Exiled Lands was now clear.

And before they knew it, the party was back in Sepermeru. 

Upon return from the realm of Jhebbal Sag, the clan sought a suitable place to erect a shrine. They decided on a place outside their new base location in the north.

Back at the main base Alfredo got to meet his newest daughter, born to a Darfari slave girl. The mother died shortly after giving birth to a strong and healthy girl. Binti, being the Drfari girl's last words, became Alfredo's daughter's name. 

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The first goal was to get a suit of armour and a weapon...

Binti, as her first test of strength, chose to infiltrate the Stygian base at Al'Merayah. She waited until nightfall before scaling the walls and entering the compound. Sneaking around in the dark, Binti staked out the place. 

In the dead of night Binti found a batterimg ram and tested it out on a few doors and gates. A strong person could easily break through in only a few heavy blows. Binti also found a katana that she kept.

Come morning it was time to make an escape, but she would have to chance of getting out without being seen. The dragon powder jars on the back of the heavy wagon would be a great distraction. Carefully avoiding being seen, Binti placed the explosive jars. A patrolling guard surprised her, but Binti reacted immediately. The split second the equally surprised Stygian remained motionless, Binti leapt at the enemy. The bow she used to set off the explosives from a safe distance. Those explosives were a lot less effective as she had thought them to be. Binti had expected an exploding jar would break down a door, but it seemed to hardly leave a scratch. But Binti really didn't have that much time to carefully observe since she was making an escape. A few Sygians got in her way, but one mighty blow from Binti's heavy mace was all it took to silence them. Then she jumped from the ramparts. 

Back at the base, Alfredo and Dalinsia listened to Binti's tale.

Plans were made to attack the Stygians at Al-Merayah...

Alfredo was leading the expedition. With him was Binti, his Darfari daughter. Yui was chosen to carry the battering ram. Cloaked by her sorcery she would remain unnoticed as long as the others were fighting the numerous defenders. Along were also Yui's son and a Cimmerian berserker...

The clan reached the treasure room where they defeated the Stygian commander.

The Stygian riches were now the clan's for the taking. 

Following the sacking of the Stygian base their response came quickly - an attack on Alfredo's desert outpost. The clan leader himself was not present but his little Darfari daughter, Binti, was there to lead the defense. In the young woman's own words, the Stygian effort was pitiful, mostly consisting of slaves forced to fight. Most of these slaves quickly cut down and the rest fleeing in panic. The Stygian commander was no match for Binti and the Stygian camp's meagre resources were looted.

Traversing through the desert in the night, Malanal the Shemite was attacked by a werehyena. The beast was carrying a leather pouch containing a map showing a location nearby in the desert. He was intrigued to learn more. From what Malanal could tell, the map was showing the location where he could see the green beam of light shooting into the sky. This was what he meant to investigate when the creature attacked him.

Alfredo's desert outpost was nearby and so it was Malanal's next stop. He was welcomed by the owning clan as one of several patrons. In the local tavern the shemite asked around about the nightly attacks and the green beam of light. Everyone had seen the light, several patrons had been attacked by these werehyenas in the night. But none of them had so far investigated the place.

While praying to Mitra at the outposts local shrine, located on the roof of one of the buildings, Malanal met Binti. He was a tall man and beside him the Darfari woman looked like a dwarf. She had to be an important person though, since she was wearing such good armour. 

Binti approached the hulking Shemite man, eager to learn his strength. She was eager to find a male worthy of her. He seemed strong enough but she knew nothing of Malanal's fighting prowess. So, Binto offered the Shemite a place in the clan if he proved himself in battle. They would go to the Den - the headquarters of the Dogs of the Desert. There Malanal would be given the chance to prove his worth to Binti and to the clan.

Malanal proved himself to Binti with flying colours. While the shemite was carrying the looted treasure back to Alfredo's desert outpost, Binti said she would join him on his quest to unravel the mysery of the nightly attacks and the beam of light. Binti confessed she had been looking for someone to help her with this but no one in the clan, though many of them had been attacked by the werehyenas in the night while out of expeditions, not a single person had shown interest in learning more. This was until Binti and Malanal met. Together they would seek out this place. 

Binti showed Malanal the way to the clan's main base. There the Shemite received his clan armour and a new weapon. He was a full member now. 

Binti followed Mlanal as he went to investigate what was at the green beam of light...

"Another pilgrim enters the savage garden... The hunt is Jhebbal Sag's sacred sacrament. We hunt for His glory. In this time of gathering, we hunt to be his next chosen," the woman said. "How does one properly worship the Lord of Beasts?" Malanal asked. "The scripture of Jhebbal Sag already resides in the meat of your mind. The Lord of Beasts etched it into the minds of your ancestors' ancestors. You may awaken this knowledge by partaking of our sacrament. Eat the Flesh of Rememrance, and the knowledge of our religion will blossom in your skull and ribcage." "What can you tell me of Jhebbal Sag?" "Before the before... Jhebbal Sag reigned over all of the earth, over all beasts, including humankind. All predators and prey worshipped Him and spoke the same language. Even now, separated by ten thousand tongues... Even now, when the corruption of civilization peaks, the god of all beasts walks among us, sometimes as a man, sometimes as an animal, and you will know him by eyes that burn like yellow coals in the dark. The smartest of animals, who remember the beginning of all things, still worship him, as do the men and women who still feel the primal fever, the quickened heart, the blood-soaked drum of the hunt. Animal and human, they are all decendants of Jhebbal >Sag's loins!" she said.

They traded gnarled fangs for a lure and two sets of ritual warpaint...

Malanal and Binti set out to hunt the first of Jhebbal Sag's champions. They brought a small group of clan members as support. At the base of the Black Galleon they found the first spot. Beore setting the lure down on the designated spot, Malanal and Binti stripped out of their armour and clothing.

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From the slain beast they colected a number of gnarled fangs and a token they would need to make the grand champion lure from. Now it was time to return to the base for some rest before taking on the next champion...

After the first successful hunt, the party returned to base. Now Binti had something different in mind. From where she had led Malanal he was getting enthusiastic...

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It was time Binti lost her virginity. This strong Shemite man was perfect for her.

Their next expedotion would tajke several days and led them into the jungle.

They found the second hunt location not far from Buccaneer Bay and Flotsam. 

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They defeated the second champion and now had two ingredients for the grand champion lure. They needed one more...

While in Buccaneer's Bay they decided to engage the Black Hand pirates and seize their treasure...

After conquering Jamilla's Bounty they made off with another golden idol of a Derketo cat. The treasure was brought back to the new base in the north. 

The next location they needed to find was far up in the north. Binti and Malanal asked Ylva to lead their expedition. She picked a Cimmerian woman as one of the group members...

The expedition brought their newly acquired werehyena with them as they taveled north. 

The expedition eventually found the location of the third champion in the vicinity of the Temple of Frost. A few clan members had been to this area and sometimes came to harvest black ice... or search for starmetal on the Frozen Slopes. Having been told where to place their lure, it still took the party some time to pinpoint the location as none of the party members had previously visited the area near the frost giant's headquarters. 

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The third champion was down. Now they had what they needed to craft the lure for the grand champion. But they never got to hunt it - before the clan knew it the Hunt was over and all signs of it had disappeared, the only evidence left being what they had collected.

With nothing better to do, Yelaya decided to go on an expedition to the Lemurian ruins of Xel Ha...

After a successful expedition the Kushite sorceress was eager to go back. A tranportory stone was set up this time to ease the travel back home with the treasures secured from the ruins...

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One day Binti woke up in a cave, bones strwn all over the place. She was not alone. There was a Zingaran male and two other females there as well. A Nordheimer woman and a Pict woman. They were all naked. Binti checked on them, they were all alive. 

They had to find a way out of there...

Freedom, but where were they?

There was flotsam and corpses on the beach. Searching through the bodies and flotsam they didn't find any clothing that fit or anything useful at all.

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They got acquainted by introducing themselves. The male was Sinbad the sailor. Ylva was the Nordheimer woman and Zora was the Pict. The shaleback nest provided them with sustenance before they continued scouring the beach. They found the remains of someone's campsite.

Binti decided to dive down to the wreck. It is a good thing she did as she found some cutlasses and some useful clothing.

Sinbad suggested they should stick together and the women agreed. Binti, the little Darfari woman, was elected as their leader. She referred to their group as The Survivors. They still had no idea where they were when night fell on their first day in this strange new place.  

In the morning the four of them set out to explore. It was not long before Binti discovered the camp in the distance...

The raid on the Darfari maneaters was meagre but they got a few pieces of clothing. At sunset, after spending all day exploring, Sinbad was the first to spot the fires in the distance. They made the decision to take a closer look...

They were now in Murun's temple quarter...

They found an empty house to spend the night...

The next morning The Survivors started exploring Murun. The town was inhabited by friendly people. There was a market but The Survivors had no money to spend and the prices were high. However there were so many unguarded chests and coffers spread out among the buildings, almost all containing coins, gold and silver. It was easy to just steal the riches and use it to buy what they needed. Soon...

Taking some time off from Murun, The Survivors explored along the coast. Sinbad dove for treasure and found a few valuables.

A short time later the group had collected enough money to buy some new equipment and still have money left. 

The Survivors started looking in earnest for a place to settle. They soon found an abandoned obsidian mine...

The Survivors had more than enough money for it and decided to buy a thrall. They would need to get workers but their first purchase was a dancer. The plan was to start using the transportory stones. But first they needed some brimstone and sacrificial blood to ignite them...

They were now set up to raid and take thralls as well as to sacrifice them.

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First victim to be sacrificed was a Darfari Maneater...

Zora now had the blood to ignite the first transportory stone but they still lacked the brimstone. 

The brimstone deposit was surrounded by a nauseating gas. And the place was infested by some strange flies known as Shaggai. As a bonus, these creatures provided them with a small amount of demon blood, black ice and brimstone when killed. 

It was not long before The Survivors had ignited the second transportory stone they set up outside Murun. Now it was even easier to get back and forth and with the newly acquired dancer, they did not have to worry about the corruption gained by using the transportory stones. Now the plan was to set up a main base somewhere. 

Raiding Nordheimer settlements the Survivors brought back captives they turned into loyal thralls. A blacksmith, an armourer and a smelter. 

At the location for their main base the tavern quickly grew and became a popular watering hole. It was easy enough to find the labour they needed for the constructions.

The newly completed treasury started filling up and Binti created the clan's emblem. 

The discovery of starmetal weapons in a Hyrkanian settlement made the clan happy. They could scrap the weapons and use the ingot to make their first set of armour soon. Things were going well. 

Binti and Sinbad were first to get their new suits of armour.

Ylva and Zora found and dealt with the queen scorpion infesting the obsidian mine.

The Survivors' main base was expanded with an onsen bath and the keep was finally finished.

The new members had set up a dedicated temple to Derketo and a sizeable kitchen. The sorceress and alchemists were already hard at work. Binti, Sinbad, Ylva and Zora shared a large room with two double beds. 

On the other side was a room with several double beds. It was obvious it was set up for fertility rituals once the sorceress got the magic and alchemy all working. It was he same thing they had used in the Exiled Lands and Binti knew it worked - she had already experience the sped up gestation of her fetus and the rapid maturation from infant to a fully grown individual once the child was first fed mothers milk. The clan was just waiting for the first batch of the mixture. 

Binti and Sinbad went north in search of a source of starmetal. What they found as soon as they entered the cold and snowy north was Hyperboreans...

The low moaning showed that a witch had survived. They bound the giantess and dragged her away from the camp. 

Once broken, and now normal human size, the witch joined the clan as a loyal thrall. They had hoped to gain the secrets about the Hyperborean sorcery but no such luck. 

Meanwhile... Zora activated the transportory stone at the main base...

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She also was the first to use the sorcery potion and soon gave birth to a son named Gortag. 

Gortag was assinged guard duty in the treasury. Zora inspected the gardener's work. The trees were already bearing fruit.

Both Binti and Ylva were pregnant and when they returned with Sinbad they used the sorcery potion...

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The children were born a few days later. Binti had a son called Mwana and Ylva gave birth to a daughter.

 

Sinbad and his children explored the Queen's Tomb...

... returning with riches. 

Some days later the Stygian army mounted an assualt...

The attackers suffered a crushing defeat. But The Survivors clan was taking casualties as well - the four mercenaries from the Blacksail Guard were all dead. Several archers had taken serious damage and some succumbed to their injuries in the following days. There was also repair work to do from all of the explosions caused by the enemies golems. But the clan had successfully kept all of the attackers from breaking into their treasury. 

The clan continued to expand slowly, among other things laying the foundations for their own slave trading branch...

A sorcery tower was built by the Set worshippers...

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Next built was a small building intended for use as a hospital. Still the clan lacked dedicated doctors though.

Zheng, the Khitan mercenary arrived at the clan's base...

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He visited the tavern to pick up the latest gossip...

After seeking employment the first stop for Zheng was the onsen...

Then he reported for guard duty at the treasury...

Zheng got along very well with his superior...

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Vey well indeed... She turned out to be one of the daughters of the clan's alpha male. With her support it was no time before Zheng was promoted to a clan officer himself.

The clan expanded their base with another tavern / inn. It was the third in number even though visitor numbers were dwimdling.

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The new 'inn' served as a brothel servicing both sexes and all fetishes...

A new barracks was built.

And an arena where the clan held nude wresting matches as training and a selection process for pairing clan members for their breeding program.