"Look at it"

A man attempted to follow the outstretched finger of his expedition leader, before turning to him with a raised eyebrow. "What... what are we looking at?"

Unfazed by the skepticism of his counterpart, the expedition leader placed his hands on his hips, smiling broadly as he overlooked a patch of generic wetland from atop a hill. "These lands! Are they not beautiful?"

"Sir, they look almost exactly like the lands we just left. I love marsh as much as the next man, but-"

The expedition leader shushed the other man with one hand while shaking his head. "No no no! I'm not talking about the land itself, I'm talking about the air of freedom that pervades it!" The expedition leader began to walk slowly down the hill, spreading his arms theatrically as he walked. "For the first time since the birth of the Tetk'in, these lands are completely free of the vile barbarism of those savages. No one besides the Tetk'in live in Chik'in Ak'al now!"

The expedition leader suddenly stopped, causing the other man--who had been cautiously descending the hill behind him--to ram forcefully into his shoulder. Paying the event no mind, the expedition leader continued his boisterous soliloquy. "But it isn't enough. The lands are free now, but an unguarded catch belongs to the scavengers (paraphrased Tetk'in proverb). The only way to fulfill the divine will is to scatter the seeds of the Tetk'in across the fallow lands of these liberated marshes, so that the fruits of success may grow!"

The second man ceased rubbing his chest for a second to voice a short, bewildered "Um..."

"Cities, my good man! The Tetk'in have always been able to keep vast areas around the great cities free of savages and invaders, but the south is far too far. The solution?" The expedition leader paused theatrically, though a frown slowly crept onto his features as the silence lingered. After half a minute had passed, he pointedly cleared his throat.

Suddenly realizing the question had not been rhetorical, the second man quickly spoke up. "More cities?"

Satisfied, the expedition leader continued. "Precisely! With more glorious cities, the Tetk'in can protect the sanctity of the entire Chik'in Ak'al!" The man began to beam broadly again before he once again began to speak. "And I, Aureolis Bombastus, with my extended stay in foreign cities and my winning personality, have been chosen to found one of these now great cities!" The man put on a theatrically downcast face, wiping a nonexistent tear from the corner of his eye.. "Though I'm sure my charming presence will be missed in the courts of Tz'amtanak'al, I have gladly embarked for the betterment of our glorious people!"

"Yes, I am sure your presence will be greatly missed." muttered the second man sarcastically, under his breath.

Seeming to not hear him, the Expedition Leader began to walk again, this time to the right, back towards the small river that fed the marsh overlooked by the hill to his rear. In the river, a host of canoes sat, loaded with goods, food, and men, all prepared to aid in the establishment of a new Tetk'in city.

"But enough surveying. Let us be off! History will not make itself!"

The two men walked back to the canoes, one carrying himself high, while the other hunched over with a hand on his bruised ribcage. Once they rejoined the canoes, it would be only days until they reached a beautiful stretch of coastline, named Olisak'al (Heart Marsh) by the scouts who first observed it. It was here that Aureolis Bombastus intended to found his great city.

Effect: The Tetk'in spend 6 magistrates to attempt to settle the Cities of Olisak'al (Heart Lagoon) and Uxch'en (Many Springs) here. These lands are recently cleared, adjacent to multiple Tetk'in cities, and adjacent to an allied city state, so success has been assumed by the Tetk'in's leadership. Nonetheless, 1000 armed men accompany each settling party.