Pirate

Civilization - New Lands, New Glory! V. 2.0

The Iceborn
and
The Children of Artemon

---

The elves were wary. Perceptions of humans were mixed, they were generally viewed as more primitive, but also a varied race. Capable both of rising to civilisation and descending into savagery comparable to that of the orcs. The rough iceborn gave off an impression that approached the latter more than the former. The elves gripped their weapons tight, fearing the worst as the strangers landed. However instead of rushing off their boat into combat, the iceborn greeted them. The members of the party hesitated. Falnor spoke up, telling the others to rush back and warn Duinmelamar should this be a deception. He then stepped forward, raising his hand in greeting as he walked down towards the iceborn.

Whilst the elves had deliberated among themselves, so too had the humans before them. "Yngvar! Look at the dress of those strange men," one of the boatsmen called out.

"Do you think that we have intruded upon their tribe's land?" was the thought that came from another.

Yngvar kept calm. "Perhaps we have crossed their borders, but surely they would not claim the lands that we have settled. We would have seen them long before now."

They discussed the situation with varying degrees of nervousness and waved in greetings, but then they saw one of the foreigners break off from the group to approach. In goodwill, Yngvar similarly walked away from his men to meet this stranger between the two parties.

As Yngvar approached he kept his hands off the handle of his sword, but nonetheless he had a sword at his hip and a shield on his back in case things turned violent. He came to within a short enough distance to call out to Falnor, and then spoke, "Hail friend! We are men of the Iceborn tribe. What are your people called?"

"Hail, man of the Iceborn tribe! We do not have a tribe to call our own, we are simply high elves, worshippers of Orowuen and subjects of king Horith." he continued to approach to a more conversational distance "I am Falnor, elf-at-arms, orcslayer and scout. Who are you?"

Yngvar's face bore a strange expression. High elves, orcs. Those words were not known to his tribe. And then as he stepped closer, he noticed strange things about Falnor's appearance: the exaggerated ears, something funny in his eyes. It was then that Yngvar's eyes widened in shock for the briefest of moments before he steeled himself again. An almost-human. A skraeling. It was standing right in front of them!

Yngvar did not immediately answer Falnor's question, his eyes instead darted towards the other high elves that stood a distance away. He reckoned that he could have thrown an axe and felled Falnor from this distance, but alas, he only had a sword.

Charging this 'high elf' skraeling with a sword would be suicidal; its friends would kill him before he made it back to his men, and they all might die before they could even launch the longship again. So reluctantly, and very cautiously, he would have to negotiate with the skraelings. If he showed any weakness, no doubt they would strike.

The warrior's face suddenly grew into a smile, and he recounted some list of both his true victories and tall tales, "My name is Yngvar! I am a warrior of the Iceborn, Slayer of Bears, Lone Survivor of the Battle of Giblin Cave, Charter of Unknown Seas! My men and I have come to explore these riverlands. Tell me more of these 'orcs' that you have fought!"

Falnor looked on with some concern as he saw the shock in Yngvar's face and how his eyes and thoughts darted around. Had he scared the simple thing? For a moment he felt scared himself, the man looked a fiercer warrior than he was. But he found some confidence in the man's apparent own concern and that word would get to Duinmelamar without him if it had to.

"The orcs are brutish beings, twice the size of a man. Though physically they might resemble you and I, with hands and limbs not entirely unlike our own, their mouths house fangs, their skin is sickly green and their minds are like those of animals, capable of no thought. The only thing they possess is destructive instinct. As a scout, I hunted the orcs in the open, felling them with arrows. In the battle of the river crossing, I impaled them on my spear and together we high elves felled many of them. However their hordes are unending and even the greatest victory would hardly make a dent in their numbers. They live far to the east from here."

"Our tales speak of such monstrous beings, brutish and of great stature," Yngvar spoke truthfully. "Though we had thought them long gone! Here, a drink."

Yngvar yelled out to the men by his boat, "Bring the mead!"

One of them clambered up the longship's side and began to carry a barrel over to where the two spoke. Yngvar turned to thanked him, and as his eyes locked with that warrior he mouthed the word 'skraelings'. That man's eyes widened a bit, but quick on his feet and quick of mind, he returned to the longship without panicing.

As he walked away, Yngvar drank deeply straight from the barrel of mead. Then he offered some to Falnor, "Drink with me, to high elves and glorious battle against orcs!"

Barrels are not for drinking out of but Falnor thought it best to humor the man. He took the barrel "To my people, to glorious battle against orcs and to new friendships." For half a second he thought to smell the contents first, but to avoid offense he directly raised the barrel and took a drink. The texture, the flavour; the craftsmanship surprised him, 'Artemon would be pleased' he thought to himself, it was the best thing he'd have to drink since leaving their homeland, not that he'd drank much of anything other than water. He took another gulp before lowering the barrel. "This is good mead, my compliments to your brewers."

"Ah, you have tasted mead before? Do you have a brewery of your own somewhere in these lands?"

"Sadly our brewing industry was rather badly affected by the war against the orcs, but I'm sure we will have a brewery again soon."

Yngvar had of course been prodding to get a general grasp on where the skraelings lived, and so he wasn't entirely satisfied by that answer. As if deep in thought, he paused for a moment. "Perhaps Sverker and his fools would help; they are the ones that brew our mead. If we seek you out in the future, where might we find your village?"

Falnor hesitated. He was reluctant to give away the location of the settlement to these clearly barbaric people, potentially putting them all in danger, though it seemed inevitable that they would eventually find them on their own while travelling the river anyway. He decided to relent, hoping that it would create good will, praying that he was not making a dire mistake. "If you continue up the river, you will find our village in time. Might we know the place of your tribe as well? We are a curious people, and eager to trade."

"Reaching us will be difficult; we make our home upon an island," Yngvar answered truthfully, albeit in a manner that somewhat dodged the question. "Does your tribe have ships?"

Falnor felt a sting of fear - was Yngvar trying to gauge their strength? At the same time he was not being cooperative with Falnor's questions. The sting of fear was followed by shame and regret. Was he being tricked by this barbarian? He decided to try and bring it to an end "I'm sorry, friend Yngvar, but I have taken enough liberties talking to you. If you wish to know more about our settlement, it would be better if you spoke to our leaders."

"Of course," was Yngvar's answer. "We shall leave as friends and sail back to our lands in peace. Perhaps we will return to find your village by the river and speak to your king, but I would ask one final thing: you said that the 'orcs' lie to the east, but are there any other peoples in this area that you would speak of?"

"Indeed, we have friends and partners in trade in this land. This is a peaceful territory, with prosperity for all, and I hope it will remain that way. But I must warn you not to adventure too recklessly in these parts. Dark forces stalk the wilds and while they will leave you well enough alone if you return the favour in kind, an unknowing traveller may find himself where he should not be. I look forward to seeing you again and I hope the next meeting of our peoples is more fruitful." he motioned that it was time for the conversation to come to an end.

So the elf made reference to friends that may or may not actually exist; in any case, he hadn' t given them any information beyond an ominous warning. Nonetheless, the exchange could have went worse. "It is our custom to offer a gift when we part, so have this," Yngvar said as he reached for a small knife. "It is freshly forged, so its edge is still honed. It shall serve you well!"

He held the knife out with his hand grasping onto it by the blade so that the elf could take it by the grip.

Falnor took the knife and placed it in his belt "Thank you, it will do nicely in cutting up a prey or in close combat with a foe." Falnor turned and motioned over one of the elves, who came running down. They exchanged words in the elven tongue and he handed his bow to Falnor before heading back to the others. Falnor took off the quiver of arrows he had been wearing and extended it, alongside the bow, to Yngvar. "Our gift to you, may each arrow fell an animal."

"Or an orc! You have my thanks, Falnor," Yngvar laughed back. He took a moment to admire his new bow, then turned around and walked back to the longship. With some effort, the Iceborn pushed it back into the river and boarded it. Then they began the long journey back to Dagshall whilst Yngvar recounted all that he had learned from the skraelings. If the situation had been different there might well have been violence, but as it had happened there was a chance for lasting friendship. Many of the Iceborn would still be wary of trusting a skraeling, for the tales always told of their treachery and vile nature. Still, these elves could perhaps prove the stories wrong.

Falnor sighed with relief as he saw the Iceborn heading off, back in the opposite direction of the elven village. He would have a lot of explaining to do when he returned home and he was unsure how Halwen would react. But at least peace had been preserved for now, the question was if it was at all sincere on part of the men, the prying questions and lack of reciprocation worried Falnor. One thing he knew for certain; he and his fellow scouts would be spending the weeks ahead watching the river and their giant friends in case the Iceborn came back in force.

The New World - OOC IS UP

Nation sheet is basically complete

Battizia

The Free Land of Battizia

Demonym: Battizian
Description: A century ago Battizia was a uniquely centralised nation, the king had very jealously gathered all the powers of the realm under himself and in effect become an absolute monarch. He had supplanted the need for feudalism with income from the export of porcelain and tea as well as a spartanic cutting down of crown expenses to fund a military loyal solely to him. With it, he was able to crush the nobility and divide the country between himself and the church that supported his divine right. In his small country, the very energetic and ambitious king had been able to make it work. But what followed him were a line of imbeciles, who completely lacked the merit to make up for the lack of the developed bureaucracy that is truly needed to control a centralised state.

His successors reversed his changes. The power and money they inherited was spent on vanity and luxury, neglecting the realm and the military. Criminality began to flourish. Theft, cattle raiding, kidnappings, extortion, brigandry, murder, etc. spread like wildfire. The local lords that had once maintained order with their retinues were gone and the king paid little attention to the problems of the common people. The criminals had no one to fear except each other. People had to turn to gangs for protection.

As the country was spiralling downwards it began to make itself felt in the purse of King Augusto Seneo. He ordered his military to restore order. Fighting broke out in the streets of the capital, Mestiada. He left the city for one of his countryside homes, but his escort had been bribed and he was captured by Juan Felipe, leader of the Mestiada gang. The king was declared a murderer for the killings that took place in the city and executed. The rest of his family was interned.

Fighting quickly stopped, the soldiers already felt little motivation to fight and now there was hardly anything left to fight for. Juan Felipe offered them to serve him instead, with wages manifold higher than their pitiful old ones and they were eager to accept. His next move unexpectedly aligned with that of the late king. He saw that the chaos that they were descending into was neither sustainable nor profitable. He came in contact with the the major gangs and together they reached an accord, in part because they shared his view but also because he was greatly intimidating following the regicide and the addition of the former King's soldiers to his gang. To secure the loyalty of the peasants, who might have felt some religious obligation to their now murdered king, they promised the redistribution of royal and church lands. Many who were once little more than serfs now became free, land-owning farmers.

What followed was a month of bloodshed as those who would not join the new order willingly were swept aside. In the aftermath, a surprising amount of order had been restored. Taxation was replaced with paying protection money to the local gang. People were largely left alone as long as they were either gang members or able to pay. Those less fortunate however would often disappear off to the plantations or slave markets. Order between the gangs was largely kept by the overwhelming force that the rest of the accord members could bring down on anyone who grasped for more. In the coastal towns, trade and international exchange thrived. There were few limits to what you could do and literally anyone was welcome as long as they did not cause trouble on the island, any trouble they caused elsewhere was none of Battizia's concern. In the end what concerned the gangs that ruled the country was the bottom line, anyone who interfered with that was dealt with harshly and often cruelly. How long this system can sustain itself remains to be seen.

In the troubled times piracy and smuggling thrived around Battizia. Trade was badly damaged and the island increasingly became dotted with pirate outposts, drug plantations and smuggler's hideouts. Following the overthrow, they were allowed to drop all pretences and do their work freely. The situation that followed was chaotic, but inspiration was quickly gained from the accord of the gangs. There was little to be gained by cannibalising on each other and potentially ruining this haven while there was a whole world of wealth to plunder beyond. So the smugglers, pirates and other Battizian seafarers gathered and entered a brotherhood. Those who flew the red serpent on their ships would not be molested. Conversely, those who falsely flew the red serpent or disrespected it would suffer unimaginably. Battizia's popularity as a haven for criminals grew quickly. Many smugglers and pirates desired a place to safely spend gold, fence goods, repair ships, purchase illicit goods, etc. and Battizian merchants were happy to buy goods at a low price and sell them elsewhere, while the gangs profited from prostitution, rents, drug sales, etc.

In recent events the Pintado gang has launched a daring expedition to the new world, aiming to claim land for plantations, ports and potentially in-land raids to capture more slaves. The Brotherhood is expanding their reach through claiming islands between the new world and Albion. Those with foresight believe that there may be potentially huge profits in plundering future trade going between the two continents. The islands are also valuable outposts for raiding the traffic going along the coast of Albion.

Government: Battizia is essentially without a government. But gangs maintain order in their areas of control and provide a semblance of government. Isles and islands outside Battizia are under the control of the Brotherhood, housing pirate outposts, plantations and smuggler's nests.

Economy: Most of the population is engaged in agriculture and especially cattle ranching, producing food mainly for domestic consumption. Tea and "medicinal substances", such as opiates, are produced on plantations, often with slave labour, which are mostly exported. Battizia also has a unique porcelain industry in its towns that produces goods for export. Most of the money flowing into Battizia comes from the traffic using its ports and ships returning with plunder.

Suitable lumber for shipbuilding, cannons, iron and miscellaneous luxury goods are among Battizia's greatest imports.

Religion: Many in the brotherhood have come to worship a crude imitation of a foreign religion. A great mother of serpents is paid tribute to, praying for good winds, calm waters and not to be devoured by any of her children.

Among the land dwellers the king's faith has lost a lot of its credibility. In the coastal towns it has almost entirely been replaced with apathy and interest in foreign gods. In the rural population, always set in their ways, the old faith still holds some sway. But with most of the clergy killed or spirited away in the month of bloodshed, the people are left with a rather vague notion of their religion.

Geography:
Battizian climate could be summarised as "hot". The heaviest rainfall falls around the mountains, where the greenest parts of the country are found and tea can be grown. Outside of the mountainous areas, the land is largely dry and flat.

Population: 2,200,000

Demographics
In the bustling towns and among the plantation slaves there exists a diversity of races from all across Albion and its islands. But even in the towns the native humans are found to be in the majority and especially in the countryside among the free farmers and ranchers, who make up the larger part of the population, humans are by far the most dominant. Physically the Battizians can be described as olive-skinned or swarthy and otherwise very average.

Notable Locations
Mestiada - Once a calm and beautiful merchant city, it has now turned into a labyrinth of taverns, brothels and other establishments seeking to make a profit off the unfiltered traffic the city is receiving. Strange foreigners, humans as well as other races, walk the streets day and night, under some form of intoxication more often than not. Despite the nominal protection from Juan Filipe's gang it is difficult for the poorer native labourers living in the city to feel safe or at home.

Personalities of Note
'Caudillo' Juan Filipe Alonso - Leader of the Mestiada gang and effectively the ruler of the former capital city, which has made him obscenely wealthy. He fancies himself the title Caudillo, seeing himself as the strongman that saved Battizia from anarchy and the nation's effective leader. In reality, he has little power beyond the city limits except by the consent of the other gangs. Nevertheless he's a key person and his death could mean the demise of the accord.
Captain Guillermo Espejo - An accomplished pirate, smuggler and adventurer with several ships under his command. Popular within the brotherhood not only for his accomplishments but also his generosity.

Institutions:
The Battizian Brotherhood - Union of smugglers, pirates, sea-going merchants, etc. based in Battizia.
Various gangs controlling different parts of the country, including the
-Mestiada gang in the capital city
-Campuzano gang controlling large swathes of the flatlands, extorting farmers and ranchers for protection money and running plantations of their own
-Pintado gang with influence stretching across the country's coasts, they cooperate closely with the brotherhood and control many of the smaller ports.
Some secret societies, foreign or domestic, may hide in the country.

Military:
Organization: Battizia lacks a real army. The closest thing is the old royal army maintained by Juan Filipe, in response to which some of other, more powerful gangs have formed their own armies as a counterbalance. Most gangs however maintain only what would amount to disorganised rabble in times of actual war.

Army total: 8500 men
-Juan Filipe maintains the old army of 3500 soldiers, professional and disciplined plate-clad pikemen and crossbowmen with a siege corps and battery of siege cannons.
-The Campuzano gang maintains 2000 horsemen, lightly equipped with javelins, swords and shields. Capable riders with a history of brigandry, but no real military training or experience.
-The Pintado gang maintains 3000 'soldiers', all of them bloodied in vicious street fighting during the month of bloodshed. Perhaps the reason for their success, they are run with tighter, more military-like, discipline than most other gangs. Their equipment is an adaptable mix match, but the weapons used are mostly those suited for door to door and street fighting as well as subterfuge and less so for open field battle.
Navy: Battizia has no navy, but a myriad of ships, Battizian as well as foreign, have made the island their home and are part of the brotherhood. The brotherhood however does not require you to come to the island's defence or service. Most pirates operate on a ship level, but some have united into fleets to take on bigger targets.
Roughly 580 ships in total sail under the brotherhood flag, but only about 150 of those are battle ready, active pirate ships.
Other:
Rogue and mercenary mages - More prosperous pirate crews and inland gangs employ mages. Their power over the elements can be indispensable on the open sea and they are always valued in combat.

Other:
Complete lack of central leadership (Weakness): Battizia has no government and the brotherhood has no central leadership. The main motivation for loyalty is money and if for example Battizia was invaded, there are no guarantees that the gangs would come to each other's aid. Even then their soldiers could be difficult to motivate.
A haven for all (Strength): Battizia welcomes all and can potentially call on the strengths of a diversity of races and schools of magic.
A Motley Crew (Strength): Battazian crews include virtually every race. They can fly another nation's colors and easily fool one as to their identity.
Sail the Seven Seas (Strength): Smuggling and piracy across the known world has given Battizia an extensive information network. Information on trade and events is vital for the brotherhood's earnings, and information on troop movements could potentially save Battizia or individual outposts should foreign powers move to shut them down.
Slow development (Weakness): The pirate fleets are a great mix of different ships from different sources. There is nothing to ensure that the ships or their weaponry are kept up to speed with the latest developments. The best way they would have of catching up to anyone racing ahead technologically would be the capture of their ships or arsenals.

The New World - OOC IS UP

Rolls please @Cyclone in case talking to you on Discord isn't enough (:

The New World - OOC IS UP

Expressing interest as well

Civilization - New Lands, New Glory! V. 2.0

The Children of Artemon

In conversation the new settlement was dubbed Duinmelamar, a simple descriptive name distinguished from the heroic name of their landing.

The Children were happy to hear that other elves were headed their way. After all there was safety in numbers and they would need every able hand to make their new settlement prosper. At the same time they felt somewhat at a loss or even embarrassed. They themselves had only come here recently and whatever they could do to prepare for the newcomers were things they still needed to do for their own people. They were refugees taking in refugees. At least there was land enough for everyone. But would they get along? People were optimistic, they were fair-skinned elves like themselves after all and bound to be civilised.

Halwen pondered the issue. The newcomers could present a number of new problems. Would they be able and willing to be integrated into the council that controlled their settlement, in other words would they respect his authority or would they insist on their own separate status? Would they live separately, go to separate temples and altogether act differently? Were their gods and society tolerant? He would not know the answers until they arrived. All the same he thought they would at least be allies in a land populated by dangers.

G) When they first arrived, they had spontaneously and enthusiastically set out to discover what the land had to offer. This time, it came by the decision of the council. Each guild would send their own elves out, accompanied by the elves-at-arms, to try and recreate the success they had previously. They would need good wood, stone, clay and any other good material to build their homes and other buildings. Metals to make tools and weapons. Precious ones to make beautiful jewellery. Even animals would be of interest, since they produce important goods like wool and silk, though the latter seems unlikely in this environment, but who knows what this strange land offers. Any material to make crafts that would benefit their people and please the gods. In Celebrimbor, they had found a wealth of amber, clay and silver. Could they be as lucky this time?

I?) Perhaps the next time they met with the giants they could discuss adding wood from their great forests to the trade. The elven carpenters would certainly be receptive to joining the trade.
(( OOCly it might be noted that a nearby player does have a logging camp, though who knows if we'll ever trade ))

Civilization - New Lands, New Glory! V. 2.0

It's in the OOC main post but it's easy to miss, one of these should work

discord.gg/XWpMV9U
discord.gg/6ndWZ4R

Civilization - New Lands, New Glory! V. 2.0

Chen

Civilization - New Lands, New Glory! V. 2.0

The Children of Artemon

While Palathan and the scouts were away, the Children of Artemon had gathered. Perhaps 80 people in total, some representing their families, others themselves. In a clear area only a short walk south they sat under the warm sun, conversing joyfully at finally having found rest. They were positioned in a circle, with an open space in the middle. The innermost section of the circle was mostly the elderly and people became younger the further back you looked. However one man stood out like a sore thumb, barely middle age and with long hair as black as the moonless night he sat among those of grey and white hair. His name was Halwen and many dubbed him 'the Black'. In every other way he resembled a good specimen of his people, with a long straight nose, fair skin, white eyes and a graceful physique.

As the sun rose to its height, priest Aleon rose among the crowd. He raised his hands, signalling the crowd and shouting "Silence! We have not come here for idle chatter!". They showed respect and conversations quieted down. But as they went silent, Aleon once more sat down and instead another rose and entered the centre of the circle. It was Halwen. "Brothers and sisters" he spoke clearly to the crowd "This anarchy does not befit us. We have all seen its results. We have felt it in our bellies. I witnessed it at the horrors of the battle of the river crossing and we all knew the fear." The crowd murmured in agreement. "We must all have the ability to practise our crafts, and that requires peace and resources, and an end to distractions like these. To that end I propose the recreation of our ancient guilds, to organise our work as they have in ages past."

In the old world, essentially every group of craftsmen, such as the carpenters, the masons and the warsmiths, had their own guild. These guilds were responsible for supplying materials to its membership as well as selling the produce. Authority within the guilds was often decided by seniority. They effectively operated a monopoly, but heavy handed intervention by the monarchy to ensure fair prices stopped them, most of the time, from exploiting this monopoly.

Halwen continued "Each of these guilds will provide a man to join a council. This council's primary responsibilities will be to manage our agriculture, military, relations with other races and any issue minor or major that might arise, fulfilling the role of our old systems. Among them they will elect a chairman to enforce these decisions." The crowd murmured, now less approving though not quite disapproving. Someone shouted "By what authority?!"

Halwen responded "By the authority of the people and their needs! We are all yet subjects of the king, but we do not honor him nor our traditions by wallowing in anarchy like some lesser race. Even in the absence of his sacred rule we must have order." As the crowd was starting to erupt in argument with each other, Aleon rose once again and called for calm. The matter would be put to a vote.

"All in favour?"
"Aye!" many replied, especially among those sitting further back.
"All opposed?"
"Nay!" a clear minority replied

Though a notable number had remained uncertain and silent, Halwen's idea was passed. The guilds were soon organised, the foundations had already been laid out in the homeland and the hunt for materials in Celebrimbor. They had soon chosen representatives who met and among them they elected Halwen to be chairman, few people really desired the authority and it was his creation.

Once Palathan and the scout returned and told of the other elves, they decided to await the return of the northern scouts before doing anything with the information.

A) One of the council's first decisions was on the organisation of farm labour. The willing farmers among the children were not enough to provide for all of them, so it was decided that each guild would provide part of their membership in rotation to supply the necessary workforce to turn the nearby fertile lands productive and ensure that their people would not go hungry again. Wheat, rye and barley were to be planted.

----------

The scouts were filled with conflicting feelings of ecstasy and sadness. They had finally found what looked to be kinsmen, but at the same time a terrible tragedy had befallen them. No matter, they rushed down to meet them. They wanted to know more about them, where had they come from? What were they doing here? Were they subjects of the king and worshippers of Orowuen? They must meet the others.

Summary

Created guilds and council of guilds to act as government. Halwen the Black as chairman.

Draft people into agriculture, plant crops

Meet the refugees

Civilization - New Lands, New Glory! V. 2.0

The Children of Artemon

Leatherworker Palathan immediately sought out the scout upon hearing news of his return from meeting the giant. His interest was in the wolf pelt and the question was why he would receive it over anyone else. His plan was to reciprocate the gift by making something out of the pelt that would, by the scout's description, be of use to the giant. Such an exchange, he hoped, would lay the foundations of trade, under the principle that the giants provided raw goods in exchange for the elves' crafted goods. And so he received the pelt and set upon work on a good, warm pair of gloves, intending to eventually return together with the scout, gift in hand, and open up discussion with the gentle giant.

The other scouts would pursue the northern tracks, excited at the possibility of finding another civilised race.

--

The dreams brought more confusion than comfort. Had Artemon really contacted them in their dreams? The very concept seemed almost pagan. Though spiritual, the high elves were wary of superstition and dark magic that might lead them astray. But if it really was the product of some ill intention, what was the purpose? Was it meant to entice them, to lead them into a trap, to settle themselves on cursed lands, or was the intended effect in fact the opposite, to play on their caution and instil discomfort or perhaps drive them away? It could even stem from a well-intentioned source other than Artemon. The dreams were cause of much thinking as well as overthinking.

Naturally they sought the guidance of the clergy. Craftspiest Aleon received them cautiously. He didn't entirely deny the possibility that perhaps in this land the border between their world and that of the gods was thinner and that such unorthodox contact might take place. However the stance he dictated on behalf of the clergy was not to believe the dreams and the action they should take based on them is simply inaction. They could not know anything for certain until they had re-established proper worship of their gods and there was little to be gained by acting prematurely.

A) Whatever the dreams might mean this seemed like good land. The elves began settling down, dismantling the wagons and carts and building their new homes.

Civilization - New Lands, New Glory! V. 2.0

At this point I think I might need some starting help too :P