Re: The Lost Legacy of Kandoras IC
Posted: Tue May 28, 2019 4:41 am
"Likewise," Daris says after Amon, also taking the middle shift. Not the best shift in terms of getting a good sleep but someone has to do it.
The Realm of Ganoltir: Strife, Exploration, and Prosperity
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"Likewise," Daris says after Amon, also taking the middle shift. Not the best shift in terms of getting a good sleep but someone has to do it.
"I'll take the morning shift," says Dolorian, "I have somewhat of an affection for sunrises."
Morning breaks, the rising sun lancing through the thick canopy and offering small patches of light. Within minutes, Cedros has made the last call to pack up and move. A short, bland breakfast is eaten on the go.
The first two hours of your day's trek passes by with little concern. About mid-morning, the previously unwavering jungle tapers into a large unwooded plain. A small stream passes through, winding between a pair of hills and further to the west, back into the treeline.
Immediately, you catch the unmistakable sight of ruins across the stream from you. They are hardly more than an outline of bricks, ranging from only a foot high to several feet high. Surrounding the remnants of this whatever constituted this building, you notice shaped wooden beams lying in almost-neat lines, once likely serving as some sort of fencing.
"I don't recall seeing this," Cedros admits, his eyes bright. "We must have snaked a bit east of our intended path. No matter." He pops the cork on his waterskin, taking a pull from it. "Shall we investigate?" the dwarf asks, turning to face you all with a smile.
Ryuu shrugged at the dwarf and made his way forward, reaching forward using his magic to try and sense if there were any traps or hindrances. "Give me a moment."
"Couldn't hurt to get a little closer. Investigating is what we are here for, no?" Squinting a bit, Amon tries to look more closely at the ruins, but his eyes aren't quite as sharp as some of his companions'. "Caoimhe, do you notice any movement out that way?"
Since he doesn't feel anything dangerous nearby he cautiously steps forward into the ruins, giving a quick thumbs up to the group. "No magic." He says confidently.
At Amon's question, Caoimhe takes a break from observing a small animal running through a tree to turn her attention to the ruins ahead. After a moment of observation, she responds with, "nothing more than the usual movements from small creatures and the wind. Seems like any other old ruins," she adds, a smirk growing on her face. "I bet there will be all sorts of interesting carvings and inscriptions to look at!"
At Cedros' suggestion, Naia quickly begins investigating the new structure. Now what do we have here? She keeps an eye out for any inscriptions that might provide them with additional clues.
You cross the stream with ease, its cool waters feeling refreshing on your sweaty feet. As you near the ruined structure, you notice the debris scattered around it, a couple meters high at some parts. Whatever this was, it seems to have been either two-stories tall, or otherwise quite large. Stepping through the ruins kicks up dust from the crumbling bricks.
"Lookin' like some kinda mill or granary," Naia remarks as she inspects the ruins before them, somewhat disappointed in the lack of inscriptions for discovery. "And destroyed by more than just the elements, lookin' at it."
"It reminds me of the ruins in Serrank," Daris says aloud. "I suppose it makes sense that something happened to the people here, they probably didn't just vanish over night and they're not around any more."
Ryuu walks through the ruins excitedly, hopping over to anything that looks like it might have writing on it and examining it, even if he can't understand it or it ends up being something simple.
There might be something under or between those bricks that can tell us what happened here.
Ilmoto pulls out a mechanical hand while whispering a charm.
The hand then moves towards the outline and tries to turn over some of the bricks.
Ilmoto begins to sift through some of the debris, his strange tinker-hand moving aside brick by brick to see what is beneath the collapsed walls and roof. The process is slow, but after several minutes you are able to break through to the gravel floor in one spot.
"There," Cedros says, pointing to a partially decayed piece of wood sticking out from the rubble. You carefully shift aside more of the debris, unearthing a thin, warped board.
Naia perks up as she notices the faint inscriptions on the timeworn sign. Well ain't this a surprise. She squints, attempting to make out what any of the inscriptions may say or mean.
Daris decides to leave the investigation to those qualified, instead focusing on the job he was hired for. He steers Valcus out from the ruins and begins patrolling around them. He watches out for any movement in the distance, particularly along the treeline.
"Such history, such..." He trails off. "I wish there was a way we could... restore this area and see even a glimpse of what these people were like. Who lived here, what language they spoke, perhaps even what magic they used if any." Ryuu spoke softly, almost day dreaming. He had a bad tendency to do that, as if attempting to force a recreation in his head. He wandered around looking at all the buildings, filled with an obvious sense of wonder.
Feeling that something isn't quite right, Daris rides Valcus back towards the group and over to Caoimhe, not wanting to interrupt the others while they do their jobs.
"I've got a bad feeling about this. It's too quiet," he says to the elf. "Can you see anything out there?" He asks, relying on her superior senses.
Caoimhe quickly turns to face Daris, blinking rapidly a bit. Her typical neutral smile streaks across her face, though it turns up a bit more as she realizes the man was indeed speaking to her. "My apologies, I had been lost in thought," she says, turning back to face the ruined structures the others are digging through.
"In the jungle?" she asks, before turning quickly back to the man again. "I was not paying much attention. It's a bit odd, don't you think?" she says, pointing towards one larger section of the rubble. "The bricks there. The top layer is not the same shape or color as the stuff underneath. Perhaps something collapsed on another building? Very curious," she continues, trailing off as her gazes slowly drifts back towards the rubble and the sifting the others are doing.
There's something strange about that one, Daris thinks as Caoimhe replies. With the others seeming to be finishing up their investigations, he turns back to the group. "If you're all done here I suggest we keep moving," he says.
Naia shrugs as she examines the sign, just barely managing to make out the timeworn glyphs on the ancient sign. "Ain't no use stickin' around here. Sign just says what was stored here. Grains and the like."
Eventually he snaps out of his splendor. "Move on?" He sighs. "Yes, yes we should."
You decide to press on through the clearing. With Cedros pointing out the right direction based on his previous mapping, the group of you head over the stream once again and back into the thick vegetation.
The trekking continues for a couple hours longer before you reach a small hill, with ruined brick walls lining its crest. Overgrown with thick vines and with few discernible features, the ruins stretch in a patterned outline that suggests they were possibly used for storage, or housing.
Just beyond, in a lowered valley of sorts, rests a large, cylindrical chasm that is cut deep into the jungle floor. Its finely-hewed sides are perfectly vertical, standing out visually from the natural beauty you're surrounded with.
It is clear that this is the man-made construct that you've been after for the past few days.
Standing atop the hill, looking down toward the large well-like hole, Cedros smiles. "Good work, Naia. I knew your translation from the central cave would lead us here." He looks around at the group. "I know we are all itching to investigate, but I want to remind you all — safety is our foremost prerogative. I don't want any of you to find yourselves alone. Alright? Stay with a partner — no matter the occasion."
Ryuu walks along with the company, and mostly just keeps to himself as he thinks about what else they might find on the island. Time passes and eventually they come to the top of a hill, looking down at the hole. He starts to buzz with excitement, hopping back and forth from one foot to the other as if he's suddenly been filled with the need to piss. His excitement dies down though as he hears that they need to stick with a partner, and he lets out a quiet sigh. "I suppose I can stick with a partner..." He says quietly, looking down at the ground.
"Are we exploring the surroundings or heading straight for the centre?" Daris asks, awaiting some form of orders due to his position with the expedition.
Naia beams at Cedros' words, glad her hard work proving herself had finally amounted to success worthy of praise. "Aw, it was nothin', really! Thank them ancient folks for leavin' us the clues!" She peers down into the abyssal hole, in awe at its sheer size.
At the lion-riding knight's words, the pirate replies, "Might be more glyphs or ruins surroundin' the pit."
"So many sights to see, so many places to explore!" Caoimhe chimes in. "What do you think they keep down there? And why was it built? Such an exciting discovery." She begins to pace slightly as she thinks, glancing around to her surroundings as she does so. "These ancient people are truly fascinating. I say we spend as much time as we can here, we must learn all there is to know."
"You're probably right. Lead on then," Daris replies to Naia, gesturing towards the pit with a hand. "To the pit!"
Ilmoto takes a good look at the building and takes a notebook and pencil from one of his pockets. The pencil rapidly takes notes Ilmoto dictates.
He then asks the group:
"How do you think we should descent"?
"How fascinating! We must be cautious." Hana creeps closer to get a better look, investigating the sides of the pit she can see. She frowns. "I don't think a rope is advisable; there don't seem to be footholds. A most peculiar problem, but we must find what's at the bottom!"
"Carefully," Naia cracks with a smirk at Ilmoto's question. Looking over the pit before them, she adds, "Maybe them ancients had a way down we can find."
Ryuu buzzes with excitement, quickly getting over the 'needs a partner' requirement and biting his lip. "I, uh, give me a rope and I'd be happy to hop down the hole as far as it goes~ it seems interesting!" He smirks at the others with wide eyes. "What if there is ancient magical objects down there?"
TheWalrus42 wrote:"These ancient people are truly fascinating. I say we spend as much time as we can here, we must learn all there is to know."
"Our supplies are not infinite," Cedros warns both her and the others. "We have a few days of rations, so while we are in no great rush, we should not dally."
Together, you push past the ruins, moving downhill for a couple minutes until you reach the trough of the valley and summarily, the edge of the chasm itself.
Roughly twenty meters wide, the unnatural construction boasts perfectly smooth walls that descend about sixty meters deep into the terrain. The bottom is dark, but you spot a mess of murky-looking water overgrown with vines, thick foliage, with a few logs jutting out from the depths — likely fallen in during storms.
At cardinal directions, about five meters above the water level at the bottom, you can see some sort of passages carved out of the sheer face of the chasm.
"More ruins 'cross the valley," Naia mentions as they move downhill, pointing at the structures. "Seems like more houses or storage from here." As they reach the pit, the piratess finds herself in awe. Pointing to the peculiar passages on each end of the chasm, she asks, "Where do ya s'pose those lead? We could send someone down to take a look, aye?"
"Could it be a large well?" Caoimhe says, more thinking aloud than asking any of the people there. "It seems so large if it is, and why the branching paths if so? Perhaps some sort of sewer system?" As she speaks she gazes down into the pit, seeming quite intrigued by the structure.
"It reminds me of a Tulrissian keep or tower, only below ground instead of above," Daris replies to Caoimhe. "That's the only way we'll find out," he adds in response to Naia.
Looking down into the well, Ryuu attempts to sense if there is any latent magic deeper inside. His breathing slows down, his eyes glaze over and he reaches out both physically and with his mind to sense what was inside, if anything.