In the fourth week of Trundset...Hearth walked over to the discarded pack and began to carefully search through it. The items inside were meticulously removed and placed by the pack for examination. The first object was the strange artifact poking out of the pack. It is a silver orb, smooth in appearance, with three round indentations along the circumference. On top of the orb there appears to be a simple vine string that has been wrapped around the object with feather fetishes and a set of five teal stones. The object feels deathly cold in Hearth's hands. The other objects appear to be standard traveling gear, dried food, flint and steel, fresh water, and a torch.
Hearth approaches the well carefully, the vapor at times sending small, harmless bolts of energy arcing towards him. The sensation is uncomfortable, but not dangerous. Seer approaches just behind but steps no closer than ten paces from the well. He states that he will remain outside and keep watch. The rim of the well appears to be made of old stone, most of it appears to be aged and cut long ago. Very little detritus, moss, or plant life appears to grow near it. There is a roughly carved set of holes along the inner rim of the well that can be used as a ladder. The depths of the well drop down deep into the ground, with the base of the well shrouded with shadow.
The trek down the ladder is uneventful. Hearth can feel that the air grows colder and colder as he descends. The wisps of vapor seem to avoid touching Hearth, snaking around his form and occasionally causing a shock of static.
At the base of the well, there is a knocked out portion of the wall, with a deep tunnel that extends further inwards. Hearth lights a torch and steps cautiously in. The ground underfoot as Hearth walks is smoothed, uncut stone and the walls are pocked with the occasional burrowing animal. Small yellow eyes blink from some of the holes. As Hearth continues along this path, the stone underfoot becomes more irregular and the walls have been intricately carved with the depictions of humanoids stretching their hands out towards the end of the tunnel. Just barely audible, there is the sound of something grinding, turning, twisting like a wheel on a rocky path. Deeper into the tunnel, the floor is completely irregular, with the floor being covered with tubular objects that stretch out of the ground and back into it. The frequency of the morose stone depictions on the sides of the wall increases. At the end of the tunnel, there is a wall that is completely composed of carved stone hands spiraling around an object. The object is rectangular, has a reflective sheen to it, and is emitting a strange, unearthly blue glow. On the ground near the object is marked with countless colored stones, dried flowers, and bone fetishes.
The object appears to be displaying some form of lettering:
☜︎■︎⧫︎❒︎□︎◻︎♓︎♍︎ ◻︎♋︎❒︎♋︎❍︎♏︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎⬧︎🖳︎ 🖲︎⌛︎🕭︎
🏱︎●︎♏︎♋︎⬧︎♏︎ ❒︎♏︎◻︎□︎❒︎⧫︎ ⧫︎□︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ❒︎♏︎●︎♏︎❖︎♋︎■︎⧫︎ ♋︎◆︎⧫︎♒︎□︎❒︎♓︎⧫︎⍓︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎ ⬧︎◆︎♌︎●︎♓︎❍︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎📬︎
🕈︎♋︎⍓︎⬧︎⧫︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎ ❒︎♏︎❍︎♋︎♓︎■︎⬧︎ ♋︎⧫︎ 🗏︎🕭︎ ♏︎♐︎♐︎♏︎♍︎⧫︎♓︎❖︎♏︎ □︎◆︎⧫︎◻︎◆︎⧫︎📬︎ 🕈︎♋︎❒︎■︎♓︎■︎♑︎📪︎ ♋︎♍︎♍︎♏︎⬧︎⬧︎ ⧫︎□︎ ⬥︎♋︎⍓︎⬧︎⧫︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎ ♍︎□︎❍︎◻︎❒︎□︎❍︎♓︎⬧︎♏︎♎︎📬︎ 🏱︎●︎♏︎♋︎⬧︎♏︎ ♍︎□︎■︎⧫︎♋︎♍︎⧫︎ ●︎□︎♍︎♋︎●︎ ♋︎◆︎⧫︎♒︎□︎❒︎♓︎⧫︎⍓︎📬︎
☝︎❒︎♏︎♏︎⧫︎♓︎■︎♑︎⬧︎📪︎ ⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ♋︎ ⬧︎⧫︎♋︎■︎♎︎♋︎❒︎♎︎ ♓︎■︎♐︎□︎❒︎❍︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎♋︎●︎ 🙵♓︎□︎⬧︎🙵📬︎ 🏱︎●︎♏︎♋︎⬧︎♏︎ ♓︎■︎⬧︎♏︎❒︎⧫︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎❒︎ ❑︎◆︎♏︎❒︎⍓︎ ♌︎♏︎●︎□︎⬥︎🖳︎
A) 🏱︎❒︎♓︎■︎⧫︎ □︎◆︎⧫︎ ●︎□︎♍︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎ □︎♐︎ ■︎♏︎♋︎❒︎♏︎⬧︎⧫︎ ⬧︎◆︎♌︎●︎♓︎❍︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎ ♐︎♋︎♍︎♓︎●︎♓︎⧫︎⍓︎📬︎
B) 👎︎□︎⬥︎■︎●︎□︎♋︎♎︎ ♍︎◆︎❒︎❒︎♏︎■︎⧫︎ ♋︎◻︎◻︎❒︎□︎❖︎♏︎♎︎ ♏︎♎︎◆︎♍︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎♋︎●︎ ❖︎♓︎❒︎⧫︎◆︎♋︎●︎ ♑︎◆︎♓︎♎︎♏︎📬︎
C) 👎︎♏︎⧫︎♋︎♍︎♒︎ ◻︎□︎❒︎⧫︎♋︎♌︎●︎♏︎ ♓︎■︎♐︎□︎❒︎❍︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎♋︎●︎ ♋︎⬧︎⬧︎♓︎⬧︎⧫︎♋︎■︎⧫︎📬︎
D) Place an offering and leave. (+2 favor)
E) Perform another task. (Describe it)Morale: Ecstatic
Food: 21
Preserved Food: 0
People: 6
Favor: 8
Nothing else matters to you right now.
Mi'zek: You step upon it now. It is the world.
Elly'Asim: Land where the gods reside. Sometimes the gods give upon us gifts and boons. Other times they rain down punishment for transgressions only they understand. Fashioning a totem to appease the gods of Elly'Asim is standard practice in order to gain favor.
The Beast: An immense creature twice the size of a normal man. Covered in fur and with the head of a wolverine, this creature has terrorized Mi'zek for as long as can be remembered. It was the creature that claimed the old tribe.
Gyar: Humanoid creatures plated in blue scales that sometimes wander among the lands of Mi'zek. They wield dangerous magics and some say that they come from Elly'Asim. They tend to ignore humans unless provoked.
Rot: A hodgepodge of diseases and fungi that infect both animal and plant. Most are benign and treatable but some can carry a terrifying fury, wiping out entire settlements in under a season.
Tilter'Skapen: An old tribe that has weathered many hardships throughout the seasons. They make their home in the salt-vine wallows some distance away. The passageways often twist upon themselves as the vines restructure and whither with the rot.
Shellbacks: Wandering nomads that stalk the lands of Mi'zek for sustenance before moving on. They often trade goods with the more sedentary tribes.
Fitspiks: An old hunting grounds known to the Shellbacks. It is a winding maze of tight tunnels and rushing water filled with secrets. Home to strange grazing creatures.
Haln: The darkest depths where no light can ever touch. Even during the season of plenty it is a barren place. It is where all things flow and where all souls shall end up.
Timekeeping: You learn how to keep time and can keep a calendar. There are four seasons, 12 months, with four weeks each month as follows:
DARK SEASON
Mundar
Trundset
Feldsden
FLOOD SEASON
Fibst
Porsht
Wedsdar
PLENTY SEASON
Kunem
Forp
Nurm
ROT SEASON
Bunp
Asadasim
Ginnentonik
Basic Toolmaking: Your tribe knows how to fashion simple tools from scavenged materials and stone. This includes items such as spears, handaxes, hammers, etc.
Basic Weaving: Your tribe knows how to fashion woven objects and tools out of vines and plants. This includes items such as baskets, bed mats, slings, rope, etc.
Sticky Cement: Your tribe knows how to harvest a strong adhesive from Grippers and can use it as a robust building material.
Bowyer: Your tribe knows how to fashion and work wood into a bow and how to fetch simple arrow heads from stone.
Dry Racks: Your tribe knows how to smoke food over dry heat in order to preserve it for longer, preventing contamination from rot and pestilence.
Basic Farming: Your tribe knows how to cultivate the local plants and grow them to provide a reliable harvest.
Access to Hunting Grounds: You have access to the Fitspiks, and are able to hunt in a more dangerous, but more rewarding area.
Silver Orb: An orb with three indentations around its circumference. It is deathly cold.
Author
Topic: Tunnel Quest [SG] (Read 6104 times)