City Dwarves: Episode 11

__NOTOC__
==Synopsis==
The god Astair visited The First City, asking Dwarven Craftspeople their opinions on how the world works. At the end of the day the 3 sisters talk with Astair, who offers Lazuli to be queen of a new Underground Dwarven City he plans to create up north. Boundara prays to Nadinis who then also arrives and gives Lazuli advice. Lazuli ends up turning down Astair's offer.
Nadinis goes home with the sisters, and she and Lazuli spend the night together. At dawn the goddess disappears and Lazuli finds herself with a dwarven demigod child named Einhard. Einhard says he is destined to be King of the Dwarves.
==Recap==
===Astair's Visit===
It is a day after the events of the previous episode. The sisters are awoken to Proton's warnings of intruder in the house. Lazuli and Bouldara go down the stairs, while Pebble goes to flank by going down by a window.
Downstairs is a tall dwarven male in a purple toga. Immediately the sisters can tell this is a diety. The god is signing the side of a shoe (one of the new Shoe-Spats) using a lightning bolt in their hand. It turns out to be Astair, in his role as the "great-father of the dwarves". Astair criticizes the sisters for not waking up early in the morning. 
Astair considers the sisters some of the most successful of his creations. Their "ability to fit in and be productive".
Astair then asks for a favor. Honest feedback on how existence is doing. Bouldara asks Astair how he doesn't always know the answers since he is a powerful god. Astair says he can read minds if he casts a spell while in the mortal plane, but back in the The Celestial Plane he can see all. Pebble then comes inside at this point and is introduced to Astair.
On the question of existance, Lazuli says existance could be better without corruption, pointing out the corruption of Francesca Guild of Cobblers. Astair said if they remove the capacity for corruption in society, it makes society dull, saying this was tested before (implied to be Second Material Plane). While making everyone powerful has the other result of them not needing the gods (First Material Plane). Lazuli also has Astair sign a piece of paper that confirms the sisters are among the most successful of Astair's creations. Lazuli asks about better communication with the gods so they can deal with problems on a case-by-case basis.
Bouldara is asked for feedback and she is afraid to give any, but points out Astair's 2 signatures do not match, and the need for people to recognise a thing. Astair takes this feedback to mean less diversity. Bouldara is freaked out by her words being taken this way and flees back up stairs.
Astair asks for Pebble's feedback on existence, and she says she needs time to write them down in order of priority. This pleases Astair, and calls her his favorite dwarf. He explains while he created the dwarves, Sayor then knocked them around, making them shorter. Astair however says he cannot wait around. Pebble is paralysed by all the things she could say, but is worried about the implications.
Astair makes a list of what he has learned:
* Appearing in the house unexpectedly is not welcome
* Asking big life questions before breakfast is also not welcome
* Better regular communication with the gods.
* Less corruption
* More individual freedom
* Everything should look alike
The sisters pushback on the "everything should look alike" and replace it with "standardisation". Astair also says that he can pose for statues if needed, as the current temples do not have them in his likeness. Pebble does a sketch of Astair.
Pebble asks about becoming a cleric of Astair. Astair considers Pebble too much of a nerd to be a cleric of his. This outrages Boundara to come back down the stairs. Astair relents and gives Pebble a holy quest to complete: Get 3 people to think Pebble is cool and would make a good ambassador for Astair. Astair says the sisters can't be one of the 3 people, but Proton can.
===Astair in the City===
Astair then leaves to find the other dwarves who live in The First City. The sisters are curious as to what Astair will say to the other dwarves so surreptitiously follow after Astair.
Outside down the street Astair has drawn a crowd around him. He is standing outside a Redsmith. He is complementing Bruhilda's Redsmithing skills. When asked about feedback on existence, Bruhilda the Redsmith talks about the different sizing issues between the different humanoid species. He also complements Bruhilda as one of the finest dwarves to grace the world.
Astair then visits a brewery run by the dwarven brothers of Jason & Argos. For feedback Jason asks about the need to eat and drink so often, and bodily waste is inconvenient.
The sisters continue to follow Astair. Astair does skip over some dwarves but will visit others. He seems to only be talking with dwarves with a trade skill. The sisters also come to realise that Astair completes all dwarves he speaks with as his favourites or the best in their field. But he doesn't give the same complement to the people of the same trade. Astair didn't visit the other dwarven cobblers who lives on the far side of the city. 
At the end of the day Bouldara is curious and approaches Astair and asks what his general idea. Astair says the feedback was contradictory and inconsistent, which is a result of each dwarf having a unique soul and perspective. The incompatibility between the species however was a consistent complaint. 
===Offers of Power===
Astair is considering to create a new City for Dwarves up in the Mountains and offers to the sisters to make one of them the Queen. Lazuli immediately volunteers for this. Astair says they'll have to move to the new city, and if they agree to it, Pebble can just be made into a cleric without the test first. The population of the underground city will be made up of newly created dwarves, and that dwarves have one and a half souls within them, taken from Felumbra. Bouldara is horrified by these revelations on existence and goes into an existential crisis. He reveals the sisters parents were also made from clay, but the 3 of them were born the natural way.
Astair then realises that hiding some details about the fundamental nature of reality is important, considering the way Boundara is reacting.
Pebble and Lazuli are in favor for going. Boundara is still horrified and prays to Nadinis in a makeshift shrine. Nadinis then arrives on the scene via a meteor, creating a crater nearby. 
===Nadinis Saves the Day===
Nadinis & Astair curtly greet one-another as brother/sister. Nadinis warmly greets the sisters, thanking them again for their help in establishing the temple to Nadinis in the city.
Nadinis agrees with Boundara, but she is one god of 8, so will give Astair those northern mountains for the underground dwarven kingdom.
After some discussion, Nadinis advices Lazuli that if this is the path she wants to take, she should take it, but she will miss all that she has left behind. Lazuli is convinced, and decides to decline Astair's offer.
Astair looks at Nadinis with an annoyed angry look, then storms out of the city.
The sisters talk with Nadinis for a little. She explains that Astair expected the dwarves to automatically love him because he created them, despite being absent all this time.
===Nadinis Home Visit===
Lazuli invites Nadinis over to their home and she accepts. Lazuli rushes home to clean up the house. Pebble and Bouldara walk with Nadinis, which Boundara starts talking up Lazuli, before Pebble talks about the 3 red stones they found in episode 8.
At home Lazuli and Proton talk. Proton is worried Astair wanted her to go back to her old home and become the Keeper of the Acorns. Lazuli assures Proton that Astair didn't care at all. Then Lazuli reveals that Nadinis is on her way over. Proton is worried that Nadinis will want her to be the Keeper of the Acorns. Proton then leaves to hide in her tree in the park for the night.
Nadinis arrives at the house with Pebble and Boundara. Pebble and Boundara asks about the 3 red rocks. Nadinis only explains that they are indeed special, but is pained that the sisters have hidden the rocks in their home safe. Nadinis only advises Boundara to follow her heart.
Lazuli plays host. Nadinis looks at the shoes in the Nadinis collection and is pleased by them. Lazuli and Nadinis then flirt with one-another. The two talk all night.
At dawn the 2 watch the sunrise from a rooftop. Nadinis asks Lazuli if there was anything in creation she wanted, what would it be, and Lazuli says "It is hard to think of anything else when I am looking at you." The two then kiss. When the kiss is over the goddess is gone and in her place is a large egg that goes up to Lazuli's hip.
Lazuli wants to take the egg home, but it is too heavy. Lazuli rushes home, collects Bouldara & Pebble. Pebble deduces that this is an egg with a "mini-Nadinis" within it, given what Lazuli told Nadinis before their kiss. The sisters roll the egg home carefully, after wrapping the egg. 
As the egg comes down the stairs from the rooftop, it lands hard on a a step and begins to crack. The egg breaks open and inside is a fully dressed dwarf in a green toga and a full magnificent beard and is fully grown dwarf. It is Lazuli's son, the Demigod, Einhard. Einhard is able to talk and greet his mother and his aunts. He says he has no memory of before now, but knows he is to be King of the Dwarves.
The sisters and Einhard head home. After introducing Einhard to Proton, Einhard talks about taking up his throne. Lazuili wants Einhard to prove he is Kind, Just and Wise. They offer the same test that Astair gave to Pebble, that Einhard must convince 3 different people to testify to one of these attributes each, based on his deeds.
Einhard gets some shoes made for him, then goes out in the city to explore, but will be back for supper.
They also decide the name for the new Dwarven City is to be "Cobblopolis".
==Experience==
No experience given this episode.
Category:City Dwarves Episodes
Category:City Dwarves