Cale studies the structure.
"I wonder if this could be similar to the one of those unfriendly people who wander to survive in this place. The last one we had met wasn't too friendly and well maybe partially our fault as well."
Looking to see if any of his companions step up, he pauses.
"If the fort is empty like what Palakka says, then we could seek shelter here for the time being. ho knows what matter of creature resides here and I for one wouldn't want to battle while in this cold and swimming."
The gates are sealed internally by a large heavy beam holding them closed. Lacking hands, Palakka cannot see any way to open them himself. Goragg could do so relatively easily, but not Palakka. All 3 doors are sealed in the same way, from the inside.
Goragg slips on the icy wall.
But, given there's no one firing flaming arrows at him, or pouring boiling pitch on him, or boiling water... he eventually climbs the 15 foot gate and falls over the top and onto the icy walkway above, panting in the cold air.
Once he recovers, he can open the door.
The fort is empty, the inside slowly icing over.
Uhm... Abbas pauses as he moves to walk into the fort, ...how were the gates barred if no one is here? On instinct the Suli pulls his blade as the thought bubbles into his brain and out of his mouth.
"Do you think it's associated with the frost? I wonder if something happened in the last hectate and we're following it?"
You mean like it destroyed the inhabitants? Otherwise I do not see how frost bars the door... Abbas cautiously looks about mostly out of instinct, confident that Palakka of all of them would have caught something hiding about.
"Destroyed them, took them, did something to them." She shakes her head and shrugs as she glances around the interior of the fort. "The last frozen hectate we were in seemed untouched for a similar period of time as this fort, didn't it?"
There is a walkway along the top of the wall, for lookouts, and steps leading up to the wall, scattered around the fort.
As Goragg looks around, he finds nothing of value that's portable. Everything is neat and tidy. Beds are stripped of bedding. The kitchen in the small fort has all the shelves cleaned out, but the doors are all closed, and the shelves are wiped clean.
Drawers are all empty, as if someone had gone through with a fine toothed comb and taken everything that was portable.
Abbas shrugs and stows his weapon, content to make camp at the fort for a bit to get rest.
Everyone has a good night's sleep, inside a wooden structure for a change. It's chilly, but it's still more civilization than they've seen in months.
Nothing contacts them over night, and calls out to the 'voice' have no response.
In the morning, the brisk air awakens everyone fully as they exit the buildings.
"If we do as you suggest, Goragg, I'll remain behind here and keep track of how long it takes for each of the boats' opposites to arrive back here. We should be able to tell how long we'll have to wait for the furthest boat as each of you comes back."
"Hold up!" Cale's voice booms out as the rocky man considers the change in their previous transport.
"Is it me or did our previous transport changed its face?" he asks.
"The boats' heads change based on the direction they travel, Cale. Everyone of these boats we've been in has done that. As soon as we arrive, the head changes to reflect the opposite direction it will follow back to the previous dock." Lilandra's tone is patient, but it seems slightly strained.
Abbas is fine with splitting up for the boat routes then returning. Any issues as far as combinations he leaves to people in the combinations to voice...
The 2 get into the snake headed boat and head north. It takes less than a day for the boat to arrive at the dock. Again 3 boats are in the dock, rather than the normal 1.
When Goragg and Palakka step through the wall, they find...
...another dock, with 3 ships. And then 2 more ships beyond those, anchored a short distance away. Oh and a couple of elves in armor, who look surprised to see him.
The air is warm, the sun warm, and the waves lap gently at the dock as the trio stare at each other in surprise. Then one of the elves shakes his head, and brings a conch shell to his lips, blowing a long blast on it.
Goragg sees more elves in the distance, on the boats, suddenly spurred into motion.
"Here now, who are you, and what Hectate do you swear to?" Says the other elf. These elves are not the type Goragg and Palakka are used to. Lilandra's tall, pale, thin, like an elf. These elves are tall, but also muscular and tanned, with light brown skin and calluses on their hands.
It takes less than a day to reach the southern dock. Again 3 boats. The southern boat has a bear's head for the mast. Stepping through the wall, the duo finds...
...another ocean. This one with a dark sky, lit by lightning and orange/red light. In the distance, they see cones sticking up from the ocean, spewing red liquid into the sky. Black pillars rise up from the cones. The air itself is thick with what at first looks like snow, but is actually ash. The dock and 3 boats are coated with a foot or so of ash. The air is hot, like a desert.
It takes less than a day to reach the northwestern dock. The ship's head is an eagle. Again there are 3 ships at the dock when they arrive. Stepping through, they find...
...another dock, and another ocean hectate. Or rather, a water hectate. This one is not salty water though. It's fresh water. The temperature is cool, but not frozen. In the 50's or 60's. Three more boats dot the small dock, and the duo can see green islands in the distance.
"Well. Those are volcanoes." Lilandra balks at the hectate and shakes her head briefly before making an abrupt about-face and hopping back in the boat.
The elves speak in elvin for a few minutes.
Finally, one turns back. "This is the Hectate of Dolphinius. As long as you are peaceful, you are welcome. I don't think we've had visitors from this entrance ever." He shrugs. "We are elves, stranger. What are you, and what is your strange animal?"
The elves are talking about an unusual creature and it's dog that seems magical. That's an odd combination. They don't seem overly hostile. They're also trying to figure out what to do, since neither of them have encountered travelers before. You get the impression they were not at all expecting anyone, even if they are on guard.
"Im sorry, I do not know they are. I retired from the Colisesum to my farm pretty quickly once I had gained my freedom. I think I have read about them but on a farm like mine, there isn't a lot of time to do so." Cale stares out to the sea as he looks at the boats.
"Also about the boats changing heads, do they truly reflect the direction that they are heading too and are they always the same type of heads?" He queries.
From the boat, Lilandra waves to Cale, urging him to join her without delay. "Volcanoes... are extremely dangerous. They are like mountains, but they're not stable at all. When a volcano explodes, it sends an enormous amount of fire into the sky, raining down on the area for miles around. With the fire comes choking clouds of ash and slow moving rivers of viscous fire, called lava. I remember excavating a city that was destroyed by a nearby volcano. It... was gruesome." She nods to the mountains in the distance, "And those volcanoes are all exploding and none of them look to be stopping any time soon. This is not somewhere we want to be, now or any time soon."
As Cale climbs aboard she then gestures to the boat's head, and how it's shifted to it's opposite as they prepare to return to the previous hectate. "I haven't taken enough notes or seen enough of the boats to know if there's a universal pattern at play with regard to specific animal heads being tied to specific directions of travel, but the boats each seem to travel in a set path between two static points and the decoration atop the prow indicates which half of the path it will follow."
Cale Ponders the words of his companion.
"I wonder if we could somehow tell which direction we would be using these boats as a guide and also if we could somehow mark them to indicate what kind of hectare we are going to. I do know that there are others also exploring these lands. And not all are friendly."
As their boat returns to the fort, Lilandra explores Cale's suggestion and carves some simple shapes into the neck of the prow - a few curved triangles depicting waves and several wide-bottomed, flat-topped cones with jagged lines above the tops to represent the volcanoes.
As the boat slides into the dock and the prow changes to reflect its new direction of travel, she looks to see if the carvings she made persist.
Looking at the others, she remarks, "So we found a lot of erupting volcanoes and water. I hope at least one of the other boats found a more hospitable hectate on the other side of the trip?"
Lilandra tries to carve on the wood, but her knife won't bite into it. It just skids off the surface.
WE found another dock. With more boats that head out even further...so that seems better than volcanoes at least?
"Elves? That sounds the most promising. Our animals are nearly ready to starve - maybe the elves would be willing to help. Or perhaps at least barter."
I would be wary too considering, but I think given our situation it might be a good idea to meet some other people and see what we can learn before we strike back out.
"We're in agreement then? Ok." Unless there are other objections, Lilandra helps situate the whole of the group in the boat bound for elves.
Abbas nods and shoulders his gear to make their way to the elves.