The next few years starting from 1340 begin with confronting a number of minor problems. A woman from our clan is discovered making love with a notorious troublemaker from the Old Owl clan while being betrothed to a warrior from an allied clan. We elect to tell the truth and the warrior agrees that the marriage should continue. Some time later however, he comes back to complain that he agreed to the marriage only because he thought that we had told him the story of the affair only to test him and he is upset to discover that it was true after all. We managed to mollify this extremely stupid man with the legal argument that he had willingly agreed to the marriage and could not go back on his word.
Later that year we not surprised to learn that the Eagle clan failed to deliver their promised tribute. Mutual raiding therefore recommences and once again we have the upper hand. The next year, a woman from our clan declares that she has sworn an oath of blood sisterhood with a woman from the Eagle clan and the pair tries to broker an end to the feud. Since the Eagle reneged on their earlier agreement, we demand that they pay a gift to us to end the feud. However, the Eagle clan thinks we should be the ones to pay the gift, so the feud continues.
In 1342, our team of explorers come across a severed talking head. The head claims to be named Markanth and tells us he is one of our ancestors and will help us in battle. We decide to keep the head and consider it one of our clan treasures. That same year we also broker an alliance with the Black Rock clan who are famous for worshipping a sacred black rock. They are the last of the neighboring clans who were not yet allied with us, except for the Eagles of course.
After some consideration we also send diplomats to the ducks to call for an end to the annual tribute they have been giving us. We have been receiving visits from allies of the ducks, including some powerful minotaurs, who don’t seem happy with the arrangement. And we have so much food already that the tribute is simply wasted. In fact, one year we had a very bad harvest, but we had so much food stored that it made no difference. The ducks are doughty fighters with powerful allies. If we can cultivate friendly relations, they may be a powerful force on our side when we found our own tribe.
Towards the end of the year, a trade fair arrives in our tula. Representatives of two other clans also show up and we are invited to bid for three treasures that are offered. Of the three, the item that interests us most is the Poem Which Must Be Eaten, said to improve political skills. We win this auction for the price of 19 cows. Our god-talkers tell us that to be effective, each of the members of our clan ring must eat a scrap of the poem. They do so, but not before someone makes a copy of the poem, just in case.
Our vault of clan treasures is further swelled in 1343 when an exploration finds a magical net that can help us catch captives in battle. We would not use this of course since our ancestors look down on taking thralls but this could be valuable as a trade item to other clans. With this addition, our list of magical treasures becomes quite impressive. Later that same year the warrior who had been transformed to look like a Tusk Raider comes to complain that his family wishes to drive him away and that the other weaponthanes do not come to his aid during raids against the Eagle clan. We admonish those who wronged him and they seem suitably regretful.
Finally at the end of the year, we receive a visit from a renowned prophet who tells us what we have been waiting for. We have not been completely idle as we have recently performed the Orlanth and Aroka heroquest to increase the leadership skills of our clan leader. But we could do nothing without the blessing of the gods. He tells us that he sees a great kingdom in the future and that the foundations of this kingdom will be a tribe that begins here and now in our clan. We waste no time and immediately start doing what will be necessary to start a new tribe.
The coming year should prove to be an interesting one.
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