Tuesday, June 19, 2018

The Lake

The temple is a collection of twenty buildings ... and you are surprised to see that while once they were apparently covered with motifs and sculptures, similar to the ones you saw in the throne room, all of these are defaced.

All of them.  Some one has taken chisels to the freizes, smashed figures and statuary, broken menhirs and anything else that might have ever had an image. They've done a very good job of it, as well.

In this place, it is hard to tell when this might have been done.  Yet there is a clear difference between the exposed, broken surfaces of the rock, and the original stone surfaces of the temple.  You know that the temple predates the 7th century, as it seems to fit with everything else that's happened.  But the exposed broken rock shows far less signs of grit and grime.  You would guess that centuries passed between the existence of the temple and the time it was destroyed.

Not far beyond the temple, there is a cliff that overlooks the lake.  And Lothar gets a flash of his vision, knowing for certain this is the cliff.  But because the vision of the cliff came from the druid who died in the squeeze tomb, that druid was never thrown from this cliff.  Lothar has no vision that connects to anyone being hurled off the cliff.

Yet there is evidence of that everywhere.  The edge of the cliff, the manner in which it is worn away; the stones next to the cliff themselves, trod upon so often that they're smooth as silk.  The cliff hangs straight over the lake, a hundred feet below; and everyone in the party has an overwhelming sense of dread as they stand near the edge.

The frozen lake itself emits an eerie feeling.  As though it were ... well, it's a ridiculous idea, and your eyes tell you different, but you can't get away from the sense that the lake actually is ...

Moving.

63 comments:

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Hope we don't need to roll initiative, I don't feel ready yet to tackle an entire lake just yet.


Seriously, though, tell us more about these buildings: entryways, any promising feature more out of the ordinary? Signs of recent occupation?



Rob Munro said...

Well, apparently some people have already "cleansed" this place (they've destroyed the perturbing imagery) yet the soul of the sacrificed still linger around here.

Should we take a quick look inside de building and then discuss about potential strategies away from this dreadful place?

Engelhart Askjellson said...

This complex was probably razed when the froglings were consigned to Mimmarudla proper. I'm presuming most of these buildings won't contain anything of immediate interest. But we do need to know for sure.

Alexis Smolensk said...

The buildings are open space structures, without roofs. Though in a few places, you can see there were roofs ~ but these were collapsed.

The ranger, if following upon Engelhart's question, will identify a set of tracks that leads away from the temple, and away from the route by which the party has come. The tracks reveal themselves by a very rare print that occurs with a trace in powdered stone here and there. They are not too hard to follow for Lothar's authority scouting knowledge.

He would guess they are humanoid and not frogling.

Lothar Svensson said...

Hrm. What say you, fellows? Follow the tracks or skim through the temple complex?

Engelhart Askjellson said...

If there is really no outstanding feature to tie our attention, sure let's see what's been dwelling down here.

Alexis Smolensk said...

The trail leads you about seven hundred yards from the lake, around an outcropping of rock and to a new tunnel that has been mined in the side of the Great Cavern.

This tunnel is utterly different from the one you've been travelled for days. It is in no way natural; it is well made; it is about five feet nine inches high, and seven feet in diameter. The stone surface has been groomed and the tunnel corners squared.

Lothar Svensson said...

Dwarves?

Okay, I think I'm ready to camp and resupply before we go much farther.

Rob Munro said...

I am for following the tracks but it could take a while. We still have our supply issue to address.

Alexis Smolensk said...

[Please excuse me. I'm not feeling all that well and I think I need to lay down and rest. If this satisfies the party for today, I'd like to bow out now and pick this up tomorrow]

Lothar Svensson said...

Please rest, feel better. We got some good ground covered today, I feel.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

See you to-morrow, Alexis. Have a good rest.

Alexis Smolensk said...

[It's just that I embarked on a heavy project last night; I want to have a nap, then finish it and get it posted]

Rob Munro said...

[No worries. Please rest. See you tomorrow]

Unknown said...

[Here]

Lothar Svensson said...

[Here as well]

Alexis Smolensk said...

I'm here.

How would you like to go about solving the food supply problem?

Unknown said...

I believe the plan is to go to the second cache, and hope that Willa has returned with more supplies by the time we get there

Alexis Smolensk said...

Questions:
1) is everyone returning to the 2nd cache?
2) are you leaving anything in or near the great cavern?

Unknown said...

1. Yes
2. No

Though I would feel better if someone confirmed.

Lothar Svensson said...

Actually, let's consider for a minute - perhaps it would make sense if those of us with reduced carrying capacity wait here and eat less food while the heavier lifters head back...

Unknown said...

Keep in mind it is minimum 4 days to return here, and that assumes no delays

Alexis Smolensk said...

[Sorry to ask, all; I was just raked over the coals by an old player for yesterday's post. As players, I'd like to know if I've offended anyone]

Lothar Svensson said...

It could be three days, if the returning party strips down to 5 AP. So if we send two people back with 4 pounds of food (enough for lunch, and hopefully not enough to slow them down to less than 5 AP), that means there would be 36 pounds for the remaining three to wait with, and at 2 lbs per day per person (6 total per day), the waiting group could last 6 days, in theory.

[I don't remember being offended about anything]

Unknown said...

Lothar, I am okay with that plan, but remember that we do not know when/if Willa will return to the second cache.

If we follow Lothar's plan, I wonder if those left behind with me would allow me to cast Find Familiar? Basically, I'll require space and time.

[I have never been offended, though ask me after you write about me]

Alexis Smolensk said...

[OOC: thank you both]

Embla Strand said...

I feel we all ought to return to the second cache - I don't like the look of this place. If y'all feel differently, I am happy to go get food.

[I do not feel offended in the slightest]

Alexis Smolensk said...

I'll need a consensus.

Unknown said...

Then we need Engelhart and/or Rob to chime in. We have the following options:

1. We all go to the second cache. It will take 2 days and 40 lbs of food (which is everything we have left)

2. Rob, Embla and possibly Engelhart go to the cache with 24 lbs of food, Lothar and I stay here with the other 16 lbs. That is enough food to last Lothar and I four days while the others go to the cache (2 days), wait for Willa, and return (2 days).

Lothar votes Plan #2, Embla and I vote Plan #1.

Unknown said...

Plan #2 nets us 16 lbs of food, I should note

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Let us all go, I value safety over a few pounds of food. Don't want anyone encountering a bolder pillar beast.

Lothar Svensson said...

I am willing to go back with everyone. I just wanted to think through the options. Of course, now we have to decide where to sleep. I vote for the tunnel back up where we came from, it might be a bad idea to sleep too close to the evil soul-stealing lake.

Unknown said...

Definitely worth talking over, let's eat the last 10 lbs for today and get going in the morning (wherever is fine by me)

Alexis Smolensk said...

Okay.

The only consequence, beyond sheer cost, is that I will have to roll for wandering monsters.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Of course, Alexis. But then, you would have to anyway, no matter how many of us went back, right?

Rob Munro said...

[here! sorry I am so late: had a busy and stressful afternoon at work and only now got home]

option #1 : we all go back to the cache is fine by me.

Alexis Smolensk said...

All right, a little math. Please keep in mind that 1 day of travel, before forced march penalties, is 10 hours of movement.

1) You arrived at the cavern 6 hours into the second day, after separating from Willa. A total of 16 hours of travel.

2) You reached the cavern with 50 lbs. of food. You journey down to the temple, then sought out the uninvestigated tunnel. That's 1 hour. Deciding to head back, taking time for deliberation, you return to the place you where you first viewed the tunnel. That's 1 hour. You have 2 hours left in this day, on today's food, to start back. Let's say that you do. You rest at the end of that time and eat 10 lbs. of food.

3) Now is the third day since you left Willa. You walk for 10 hours. You rest again, having consumed 20 lbs. of food.

4) Now is the fourth day since you left Willa. You are four hours from reaching the small cavern you agreed would be the place for the second cache. YOu eat food that morning, to sustain yourselves, which is 10 lbs. more food.

5) You arrive at the cache with 6 hours left in that fourth day. You have 10 lbs. of food still remaining. No encounters occurred to slow you up.

And here you find a cache waiting for you, as planned, but no sign of Willa. She has clearly been, and gone; and although there is no note, because Willa cannot read or write, she has drawn the sign of a bow, her preferred weapon, on two of the sacks with a burnt out torch end.

There are 275 lbs. of food waiting. 20 lbs. of dried beef, 40 lbs. of onions, 60 lbs. of flour, 7 flasks of vegetable oil, 10 lbs. of dried haddock, a keg of salted fish in brine with 24 lbs of cod, 40 lbs of carrots, 12 lbs of apples, 4 lbs of lemons and 63 lbs of oats. There is also a pound of salt, two ounces of fennel, three ounces of pepper and 17 bottles of ale.

Alexis Smolensk said...

[the alternative to wandering monsters would be to not go back, Engelhart, but I take your point]

Alexis Smolensk said...

[no problem, Rob, we all get hung up]

Engelhart Askjellson said...

What a feast!

Let's rest, and dig back in? Or should we wait for Willa to communicate our wishes for a more developed supply line with beasts of burden? She can't keep this up on her own forever..

Embla Strand said...

Let's rest. If Willa comes, great, and if not, this food should last us quite a while.

Rob Munro said...

Our food stockpile is being updated.

Can the vegetable oil be used for lighting? (otherwise I'm afraid we're in the dark ... )

Do the 2 bow-marked sack contain Willa's things?

Alexis Smolensk said...

Willa has had time for two trips, at MOST, in the time that you've been gone. There is NO WAY she could have brought this much food to this point on her own.

I had offered 15 flasks of oil earlier. Each flask was good for 15 hours of light. With torches, that should sustain you at least 13 to 15 days. It has been 8 days, so I would have to guess that you'd have remarked on it before now, and recognized that limitation, and given instructions to Willa. So please count 10 more flasks of lamp oil among the provisions (you might find other uses for them).

Alexis Smolensk said...

Vegetable oil cannot be lit except with a lot of heat, like a house fire. Willa's things are not among anything here.

Unknown said...

So, several things:

1. Willa did not do this alone
2. Willa was here
3. While the bow could mean trouble, it could just be a signature. How long is the trip between here and the throne room?

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Very well, the supply line already being strengthened leaves me satisfied.

I say we eat, rest and go back to explore further.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Mikael: it *is* a signature. The post clearly spells that out, no worries.

Alexis Smolensk said...

Hm. Overthinking. The bow is a signature. There's no reason at all to take it as anything else, and we can assume that you've seen her use the image before, since she and Lothar (Embla?) are long-time friends.

The trip between here and the throne room is a day, or 10 hours.

Rob Munro said...

This is noted, thank you for the clarification. I somehow missed all this lamp oil.

By my computation we can take up to 112lbs of food with us, which will last us 5.5 days.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

She even brought some bottles of ale... attagirl!

Unknown said...

I overthink often, sorry. Engelhart's plan it is

Embla Strand said...

Willa and I are buddies.

I think they can handle themselves.

Rob Munro said...

If we go now with this food, we'll be able to, at most, come back to the lake room and explore a day further before we have to come back.

As our autonomy is not much more than 2.5 days I think we should expand our supply line, either by:

1) making a few runs to have a good stockpile by the lake.

2) wait here to meet with Willa and ask her to set-up another cache closer (or at) the lake.

Unknown said...

I think I like #2 of those options.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

I agree with #2, Rob. We're well supplied but oh-so-overextended.

Embla Strand said...

Agreed. Let's wait. If we don't see her sometime tomorrow, we might want to return to the throne room to coordinate this.

Lothar Svensson said...

Or we can do both, send the strong backs with supplies to the temple cavern to start a stash, and the weaklings (incl. myself) stay here, eat less food, and communicate with Willa about what's going on.

Rob Munro said...

#2 is good with me as well.
Should we ask her to put the new cache at the lake or between here and the lake (2days from throne room/1day from lake)?

Rob Munro said...

I like Lothar's proposition. This avoid us losing to much time waiting for Willa

Alexis Smolensk said...

I'll write a post assuming you wait.

Embla Strand said...

I think at the lake. While I don't like the idea of resting lakeside, I don't want to lose a bunch of time traveling to our cache.

Alexis Smolensk said...

This last comment by Embla makes no sense. I have already treated the party as going back to the place where you left Willa. I made that conclusion when I described the details of your food expenditure and hours spent; so there is no choice to wait "by the lake." The frozen lake is again 16 hours away now.

At any rate, the next post is up.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Alexis: Embla is remarking on the likely location for the next stash, I believe.