6/22/2015 ~5pm CST
It has been 416 years, 260 days since the Victory of Lanival the Redeemer.
It is the 7th month of Moliko the Balance in the year of the Amber Phoenix.
It is currently fall and it is mid-morning.
You're positive it's 11 roisaen after the Anlas of Hodierna's Blessing.
Inside the Pig's Pannage:
[Tiger Clan Home, Pub]
A huge black and gold banner dominates the wall behind a massive stone bar. Several
Gor'Tog farmers are huddled together at one end, muttering to each other in low, rumbling
voices. Gurta, the alewife, slams a tankard on the bar and sends it sailing down to the
farmers. A platter of bacon and beans follows the tankard. You also see Gurta, an
oversized table with several things on it, a black and gold menuboard and a dimly-lit
alcove.
You see Pagtump, a Gor'Tog.
Pagtump has a square-jawed face, crinkled hazel eyes and an aquiline nose. He has
bronze-green skin and a burly build.
He is a bit over average height for a Gor'Tog.
He appears to be an adult.
He is in good shape.
He is holding some fresh turnip juice in his right hand.
He is wearing a dusty canvas pack, a coarse coat with fitted seams and stiff lapels, some
worn sailcloth breeches with paisley patches and some rugged leather steel-toed boots.
Pagtump asks, "Everyone settled in?"
Linett exclaims, "Story time!"
Caraamon leans against a massive stone bar.
Pagtump says, "Today, I'll tell you all one of the better stories. And maybe I'll tell a
second one after. Maybe."
Pagtump says, "This will be the Tale of Gakoruna and Bildala."
Pagtump says, "Now every Tog knows the story of Kronag the Wanderer."
You hear the voice of Lannisterz say, "I don't."
Hnot asks, "Are you a tog?"
You hear the voice of Lannisterz say, "No."
Linett covers her eyes with her hand.
Jessalyne stares blankly into the distance.
Pagtump says, "Most of us likely grew up hearing about him while we were still togglers
sitting on our grandtog's knee, or seated around the fire pit."
Pagtump says, "This isn't a story about him, in particular."
Pagtump says, "There could be some who may have had unfortunate childhood trauma that left
them without a family though, or who simply aren't lucky enough to be Tog."
Pagtump says, "For their sake I'll explain a little."
Pagtump appears to be trying hard not to grin.
Pagtump says, "The stories about Kronag date back, far as anybody can tell, to the earliest
days of independent Gor'Tog settlements after the Long Winter."
Pagtump says, "Kronag the Wanderer, as the stories go, was a Tog who took to the freedom we
experienced after being cast out by the S'Kra slave-masters, with what you might call
exceptional zeal."
Pagtump says, "While most Togs were happy to search for a new home to settle down in,
Kronag earned his epithet by staying always on the move. They say he never slept two
nights in the same spot in the rest of his life, after he was free."
Pagtump says, "Mind you, some stories also say he was tall enough to reach the clouds or
that he carved out the Liirewsag river while dragging his toe along the ground when he
stumbled over the Himineldar Mountains."
Pagtump says, "What I'm saying is that some of the stories may not be completely factual."
Linett gawks at Pagtump.
Hnot exclaims, "You mean thats not true?!"
Anadel chuckles.
Hnot shakes his fist!
Pagtump exclaims to Hnot, "Now I never said that!"
Pagtump says, "But what is for sure is that phrases like, "iirka supa Kronag," -- that is,
"happy like Kronag," have become bywords among Togs."
Pagtump says, "In this case, a reference to a Tog living the ideal life: Uncomplicated,
contented, with nobody to stop them doing the work they enjoy doing."
Kasto points at Caraamon.
Pagtump says, "Now what Kronag most liked to do, in addition to the wandering, was felling
trees."
Pagtump says, "He wasn't so much concerned with turning them into lumber afterward, as
seems to be so popular lately, just the chopping them down."
Pagtump says, "Most of the stories about him agree that Kronag first came to fame by
clearing out space in the forests for some of the earliest Tog settlements. He helped his
fellow Togs by cutting down the trees and leaving them behind for use in building."
Muksak says, "Iirka supa Kronag."
Muksak blushes a deep green color.
Pagtump grins.
Pagtump says, "But enough about old Kronag! As I said, this isn't really a story about
him. This story is about his daughter, and her best friend."
Pagtump says, "It's not as well known a story, and it's about as likely to be factual as
any of Kronag's are, but it speaks just as strong to who we Togs are, and that's why it has
been passed down."
Caraamon makes a disgusting grunting noise.
Pagtump says, "Her name was Gakoruna the Planter. Nobody knows who her mother was, and
some stories say she wasn't Kronag's daughter by blood, but a toggler without parents that
he adopted when we were turned out into the Long Winter."
Pagtump says, "That wasn't an uncommon thing, mind you. Slave families, as you might
imagine, weren't always kept together, and when the S'Kra turned us out, it left a lot of
orphaned togglers needing to be looked after."
Pagtump says, "It's a tradition that's come down to this day, in a lot of older Tog
communities in particular. An old Tog saying is, "bakai aida para lui hani li-da."
Pagtump says, "That means, "children cry so all will be able to hear," which is to say that
all Togs shoulder the responsibility to look after all togglers. We don't tend to get so
caught up in who's blood is in who, as most other races do."
Pagtump gives a half-hearted shrug.
Pagtump says, "Even togglers from other clans fall under this rule. Our children are
sacred. At least for those who hold with tradition."
Pagtump says, "But I'm getting off track here.."
Pagtump says, "Gakoruna then, being the child of Kronag, was what you might call a free
spirit as well. She grew up wandering with her father all across the lands."
Pagtump says, "But where Kronag's love was logging, Gakoruna found her passion was
planting."
Pagtump gives a stern eye around the room and says, "No filthy jokes."
Pagtump says, "They say wherever they went she would collect seeds and saplings and spread
them along the way."
Pagtump says, "When she was no longer a toggler and went her own way, the stories say she
would revisit those fields and groves she'd planted before and gather anew. Always
choosing the biggest and heartiest of what had grown."
Pagtump says, "In this way, she's often credited by tradition, as having developed many of
the crops we Togs hold dear."
Pagtump smiles.
Tinkery tilts her head, clearly curious about something.
Pagtump says, "What the Common tongue calls the green Tog fist apple, for instance, is
often known simply as the gakoruna, or gakoruna mansam, to many Togs. Mansam being our
word for apple, of course."
Pagtump says, "This story isn't about all that though, either. This is one of the earliest
stories relating to Gakoruna, back when she was still just a growing toggler traveling with
Kronag."
Pagtump says, "Times were lean during the Long Winter. We had been turned out, you may
recall, because of the lack of food stores the S'Kra had left."
Muksak says, "Bag o' turnip seeds and hit the road."
Pagtump rubs his stomach, pretending to be a starving person briefly.
Pagtump says, "Starvation and hunger ran rampant among the newly turned out Togs. Many had
worked in fields, but few were skilled in understanding the why behind the what of the work
they had done."
Pagtump says, "It was then, during that early period, as Kronag her father was working to
clear a forest for one of the very first Tog villages, that Gakoruna made a great
discovery."
Pagtump says, "She went wandering through the outer woods, trying to help forage the few
winter plants the Togs knew they could eat."
Pagtump says, "After a while she came to the edge of the forest, where she found a curious
sight."
Pagtump makes a strange animal noise. Realizing it sounds nothing at all like the animal
he meant, he stops and grins.
Pagtump says, "On that rocky plain she saw a herd of strange, shaggy creatures milling
around, using their muzzles to turn over the soil and dig out the roots of what looked like
short, spindly weeds."
Pagtump says, "With more curiosity than caution, little Gakoruna approached the creatures,
trying to see just what those large roots were."
Caraamon loudly asks, "Tarupamki?"
Pagtump grins at Caraamon.
Pagtump gives a slight nod.
Zrugg grins slowly.
Pagtump says, "Now the herd had never seen a Gor'Tog any more than a Gor'Tog had ever seen
a tarupamki. That's what they were, by the way, and more on that later."
Hammerfist grins at Pagtump.
Pagtump says, "By nature the tarupamki are a bit gruff, even a little belligerent, and so
many in the small herd started to circle the toggler."
Pagtump gets a proud gleam in his eye as he stands up straight, pushing his broad shoulders
back.
Pagtump says, "Gakoruna wasn't one to be fearful by nature, and like most good Togs, was
single-minded when it came to achieving a goal, and what Gakoruna cared about was those
roots."
Anadel gnaws on her lip.
Muksak says, "Tarupamki smell a bit less than ideal."
Caraamon guzzles down some of his bloodgrog and then smacks his lips and wipes them with
his sleeve.
Pagtump grins.
Pagtump says, "She didn't notice she'd been surrounded by the stamping, stomping herd until
one of them nudged her arm with one of its big, broad horns."
Pagtump ducks his head, as if startled by something!
Linett gnaws on the tip of her finger.
Hammerfist guzzles down some of his bloodgrog and then smacks his lips and wipes them with
his sleeve.
Pagtump says, "When she realized the trouble she was in, Gakoruna was terrified and it
seemed that would be the end for her."
Pagtump says, "But remember.. the children cry..."
Pagtump he gazes at you and waits for someone to complete the phrase.
Gragnathmor grins nervously.
Tinkery says, "'so we can hear."
Anadel says, "For all to hear."
Powerhaus babbles to himself for a while.
Pagtump nods.
Tinkery sniffles.
Pagtump says, "Gakoruna's cry of fright reached high and far, and the plight of the
innocent toggler trying to help her people was not lost on Truffenyi."
Pagtump animates yelling into the air, flailing his arms around above his head.
Tinkery blinks.
Pagtump says, "Truffenyi's mercy came in an unusual way, but one fortunate for Tog and
tarupamki ever since."
Pagtump smiles.
Anadel beams!
Pagtump says, "From beneath the shaggy wall of the herd surrounding the toggler, a young
tarupamki waddled, in the way only a little tarupamki can waddle, up to Gakoruna and
nuzzled her on the chin."
Pagtump says, "Startled and wishing to hide from the danger somehow, Gakoruna flung her
arms around the young tarupamki, heedless of the strong, well known and noble odor of the
creature."
Pagtump wraps his arms around himself, hugging himself tightly as he speaks.
Hammerfist lets loose with a loud belch and rubs his belly!
Pagtump says, "To those who have never been fortunate enough to have known a tarupamki,
their name means, "cheese horse," in our language."
Meganlique gives Hammerfist a good pinch!
Hammerfist grunts at Meganlique.
Pagtump says, "The name comes from the very pungent smell they have. Most non-Togs find
the smells offensive, but to many of us, it is like the smell of home and loyalty, if
loyalty had a smell."
Tinkery gazes sadly at Pagtump.
Pagtump pounds his chest with a closed fist.
Hammerfist says, "Or chicken."
Pagtump says, "Almost as quickly as it had gathered around the toggler, the herd began to
disperse again, to wander and to return to its idle foraging."
Pagtump says, "Now.. Gakoruna didn't understand at first, but in time she came to realize
that tarupamki and Tog both share one important quality."
Brukka asks, "Smell?"
Hnot nods to Brukka.
Hnot nods to Brukka.
Caraamon bops Brukka over the head.
Pagtump smiles.
Gaylen snorts, loudly.
Linett pulls her hair.
Kaithey chuckles.
Pagtump says, "Hugging the little tarupamki had covered Gakoruna in its scent. Tarupamki
use smell to tell things apart, since their shaggy fur is often in the way of their eyes,
and so as far as the herd was concerned, there was no more toggler, and only two little
tarupamki where there had only been one."
Powerhaus says to Caraamon, "Like 7... no 8! gnomish sewer workers."
Pagtump says, "The tarupamki then, much like a Tog, will never do harm to their young."
Kasto nods at Powerhaus, obviously agreeing with his views.
Pagtump says, "Gakoruna was thankful to the little tarupamki that had saved her, and shared
with it some of the foods of the forest she had already gathered. Then she pulled up one
of the large roots the herd had been eating, and set on her way back toward Kronag and her
people."
Pagtump says, "She quickly realized though, that the little tarupamki had decided to follow
her. Try though she might, she couldn't get it to return to the herd, so she went back to
her people, to see if one of them could help."
Pagtump says, "Well it wasn't long before the Togs discovered that they, too, could eat the
large roots, nor did it take long for them to learn to befriend the tarupamki on the plain.
The Togs found that these roots grew well even in the cold of the Long Winter, and even in
rocky soil where most other plants would not."
Pagtump says, "That first little tarupamki grew quickly, and was never far from Gakoruna's
side all the rest of their days. Gakoruna named her Bildala, which is Princess, in our
tongue."
Pagtump says, "Those roots, as the story goes, were the first turnips harvested by Togs.
Though even if the story is true, it's most likely that they were more akin to rutabagas
than turnips, which don't grow in times quite as cold."
Pagtump holds some fresh turnip juice high into the air for all to see.
Pagtump says, "Her father is given more of the credit for popularizing the turnip among
Togs though, all-in-all. It's said that once he had tasted them for the first time, Kronag
would eat nothing else, and so he carried with him wherever he went a great sack of
turnips."
Pagtump says, "He would share them with those he happened across, and would teach them what
he had learned from Gakoruna, about how to plant and look after the hearty crop, and thus
put an end to much of the starvation wherever he went."
Pagtump says, "There are many other, even lesser known stories of Gakoruna and Bildala, but
this is the most important one to pass down. I hope I have done it some justice, and
through the telling, perhaps given you some insight into who we are, and why we are that
way."
Pagtump bows. (Applause Applause Applause)
Muksak lets out a loud "Huzzah!" for Pagtump!
Raising his Gor'Tog bloodgrog to Pagtump, Caraamon gives him a toast.
Brukka says, "Now I understand why I'm so smelly! I knew there was a reason for it."
Pagtump laughs at Brukka.Hammerfist lets loose with a loud belch and rubs his belly!
Pagtump says, "Smells aside, you really should always remember to bathe."
Kasto chuckles.
Caraamon guzzles down some of his bloodgrog and then smacks his lips and wipes them with
his sleeve.
Linett giggles at Pagtump.
Powerhaus exclaims to Caraamon, "Like mammoth sprinkled with... yak dung... and topped with
moosed droppings!"
Caraamon bops Powerhaus over the head.
Pagtump grins.
Kasto says to Pagtump, "That tale did answer some questions I had about the Tog people as a
whole. Thank you for it."
Brukka says, "More importantly, it answered some questions I had about turnips."
Pagtump says, "Now, throughout this faire, I heard some rather odd notions that non-Togs
seem to have about our people."
Pagtump says, "Namely, that we're uneducated, unable to use proper speech, or quite simply
dense."
Pagtump casually observes the area.
Pagtump says, "Once, long ago, before the time of Dzree, we had our own storytellers, lore
keepers, bards, poets, sages, whatever you wish to call them."
Kasto gives Pagtump a slight nod.
Caraamon loudly says, "Skalds."
Caraamon makes a disgusting grunting noise.
Pagtump nods to Caraamon.
Pagtump says, "As many of you may know, Dzree had a terrible hatred for the Bards and
anyone like them."
Pagtump says, "And if you were unaware as of yet.. we Gor'Togs pass our traditions and
histories down by stories. It wasn't for a long time that we were taught writing. The
Dwarves were good to us Togs in more ways than one."
Pagtump nods.
Pagtump gets a worn leather-bound book from inside his canvas pack.
Pagtump says, "So when the waves of the fanatics of Dzree struck down your very own history
keepers, our own were lost as well. This rather left us hobbled for many many years."
Pagtump says, "Our own histories fell upon those of us that perhaps had no ear for story
telling, no memory for it, or even.. well, even upon those that did not possess much
intellect."
Linett gazes at Pagtump.
Caraamon pats Powerhaus on the back.
Pagtump says, "We Togs are no different than many of you others in this regard. We have
great intelligence, and we also have great stupidity."
Pagtump casually observes the area.
Tinkery glances at Powerhaus.
Tinkery pats Powerhaus on the back.
Closing his eyes, Powerhaus grunts briefly in effort as a small fiery ethereal fissure
opens in front of him. Thrusting his hand through, Powerhaus draws out a fiery marauder
blade. As Powerhaus opens his eyes, the fissure closes.
Powerhaus reaches up to rub Caraamon's nose with his marauder blade.
Pagtump says, "For many lifetimes, it sadly happened that we lost a great chunk of our
intellectuals, which I do fear has brought about this ridiculous notion that we're
ignorant."
Pagtump says, "I do hope that some of you have been shown otherwise today."
Pagtump says, "On another note for something I was asked.."
Pagtump says, "There's been some curiosity over where we Gor'Togs came from."
Pagtump says, "The S'Kra Mur like to say they found us like common trolls and cultivated
us. A pretty little bow on a pile of manure, is what that is."
Caraamon glances about with a disgusted look on his face.
Pagtump says, "Quite simply, we Togs are realists. We don't believe in any nonsense like
"some God made us from rocks and gave us life and speech."
Pagtump snorts, loudly.
Pagtump says, "We're not really given to much esoterica or theorectical topics, either.
Where we came from is simply.. not that important. It's not a concern that we feel the
need to focus on or wonder at. We're here, we've been here a long time, and we're going to
continue to be here a lot longer."
Pagtump says, "How we got here doesn't matter. Let the Elotheans and the Elves and those
with lots of time on their hands think about those things."
Pagtump says, "Us Togs? We're being living."
Anadel grins at Pagtump.
Caraamon grins.
Pagtump says, "Rather, we're busy living. Sorry, got a bit fired up there."
Pagtump appears to be trying hard not to grin.
Muksak says, "I like that."
Pagtump pats a worn leather-bound book.
Muksak says, "I'll stick with 'We're being living."
Pagtump puts his book in his canvas pack.
Muksak grins.
Pagtump begins chortling at Muksak.
Pagtump says to Muksak, "While not really correct..."
Pagtump looks at Muksak and shrugs.
Muksak says, "My teachers at Asemath wouldna liked it."
Muksak shrugs.
Powerhaus says to Kasto, "I heard Caraamon wasn't born, but was cast from a tyrium forging
mold, which with his infant hands he melted down into the tools he uses today."
Muksak lets out a loud "Huzzah!" for Caraamon!
Pagtump says, "Now then, thank you all for coming. I hope you enjoyed the story and the
bit of information. I also hope you found some fun here at the faire. I do believe.. if
you'd like, we can run a final round of catching togballs."
Pagtump grins slowly.
Powerhaus asks Pagtump, "So how do you domesticate a wild togball?"
Brukka nods.
Powerhaus asks, "Thump it a bunch?"
Pagtump grins at Powerhaus.
Pagtump says, "You don't."
Pagtump nods to Powerhaus.
Pagtump exclaims, "See you on the Village Green!" (for wild togball capture)
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