BOOKINGS - Episode 1, Part 4
Source: New York Public Library
4: To the Mountains
[4 days post landing].
Mountain travel is quicker. I still see moving figures up in the more distant peaks. There are many of them, whatever they are. But I am here, moving quietly as they stay dots on the horizon, so I just keep moving.
This walk path reveals some history of the lost Sarpadian Isles, and much of it is rather dark. The hints of past horror are intermittent, strewn about and covered in a thin layer of time - not time in a vast sea, but time in a punctuated sense.
The most common clues so far are the bones of orcs. They must have been fairly dominant here. Here too were goblins: smaller bones and teeth interspersed among Orc remains. Prisoners? Combatants? Either way, many have found their forever place in these mountains.
Most weapons and equipment look hand-made, but there is occasionally a much finer tool or blade or hilt. These, I’d guess, are of skilled Dwarven craft. Interestingly, I have yet to see Dwarven remains. Wonder if Brell had local contacts in the mountains that she didn’t share.
There are no signs of the fungus beasts. Makes sense - plant matter would struggle to last in these conditions, without a steady source of food and water.
One thing I did see that i’ve never seen before - a howling mine. It’s a remarkable feeling when you come upon them. These mountains are tied to a profound magical force that comes from deep, deep below. The howling mine was a mine constructed normally, but which accidentally tapped into a leyline of this power and now serves as the throat for a great exhalation of magical power. You walk by it and the surge is instant and profound. Spells come easier, tax you less, and almost speak themselves. Truly wild to experience it.
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Came upon a rather disturbing finding: there was a small encampment with trappings of cultists. It was recent - not caked in a patina of age like so many of the other relics I’ve found. I’d guess it was the same cult that created those thrull things - several spots of the camp had small … almost egg-like installations - looking like incubation chambers. Perhaps some of that group escaped into the mountains and found a way to subsist out here for a time.
They look like they left in a hurry - the encampment hadn’t been tossed, but picked up in a hurry leaving some trappings behind. I know i’m not supposed to collect while on a job, but i did grab a couple of pieces to look at later.
The howling out in the peaks has been persistent ever since I took to his path, but now I think I sense it is getting louder. Gotta find cover
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[7 days post landing]
I see the other shore! Finally gods i’m getting close. Food rations are holding out ok. Medical as well. Each night I prepare spells as I’ll need during the day and it has been relatively uneventful travel. Note for future trips.
Approaching the tree line now, and my pulse is starting to race. Each evening I replay those thrull monsters in my dreams. Trying to think of ways to counter their aggressions if we see them again. That, and praying I don’t ever see them again.
Tomorrow i should find a river trail and that’s my way to target the prize. If it was floating down river, my most immediate hope is that it was caught up on a tributary and I can dig it up.
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They tell you not to get into this line of work. Expeditions are dangerous; you’re effectively a bounty hunter for antiques that could kill you. Maybe they’ll explode with a touch. Maybe they emit a horrific acid. Maybe they ensalve your mind and contort you to some wicked elder horror.
Right now? Right now i am sifting through river waste that has collected at a delta, and the smell alone could kill me. There are many such sites, and it just takes time. Praying that this isn’t my last post.
Adventure, thrills, danger. But they never tell you about the smell.
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TO BE CONTINUED …