"This place is also good for an ambush by those adapted to its environments.." Brek points out as he looks upon the breath taking view presented to them.
"I once had a friend who could speak to animals. It was really interesting what the animals could tell us if one knows how to speak to them and listen. Got us out of quite a few tight spots. It's a pity we parted ways...." Brek muses as he watches the others to see if they were moving on to explore.
"I don't think they even know. Hate breeds hate. I don't hold it against them. I am content with myself. If they don't want to be part of my life, then that is their loss. But thank you for standing up."
-----------
A small delighted chuckle escapes Ohime at the thought of this being an ambush spot.
"That's a good point, Brek, I hadn't thought of it like that."
Answering Sorogar, she hums, "Well...better than in the river. Hippos are not as friendly as they seem. We should keep our distance. We could skirt along that way and follow the river how it bends, but keep about a one-hundred-foot distance. That should keep us away from water predators, but still keep us close enough to see if there are structures on or near the waters."
"Maybe, but that's not something I want to carry over from your home to here. Now come. I'm up for leaving camp behind for a while and just enjoying nature! Can you sing us a travelling song again?"
----------------
Sorogar nods thoughtfully. "Good idea, Brek. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of power. Unless either Mosely or Ohime does, I think we're on our own. Ohime, can your bird look at the landscape from the sky? Perhaps there's smoke coming from a fire somewhere. In the meantime, let's look for tracks along the water in the other direction - at a safe distance, yes."
Then, she heads off towards the water, carefuly observing the surrounding area while Brujah flew around the party, doing the same.
Your group heads north and travels most of the day. THe river bends and the swamp extends out from it. Using careful navigation you are able to keep roughly parallel to the meandering giant without voyaging into the swamps.
Several times you see crocodiles in the waters at a distance. There are several herds of hippos observed but none close to you. Several water birds are seen and atleast one large fin breaks the swamp waters occasionally.
You find a small rise on which to camp for the night and go about setting up camp.
Thru the travels of the days Krokkin has maintained his less than talkative nature. His answers are short and to the point but when it comes time for discussion on which way to go he listens but does not offer input. He is completely unaware of how his companions are acting as he is spending his full concentration on the surroundings to make sure that they are not attacked or ambushed.
He is not rude or standoffish to the team in his opinion, just focused as a sentry for the team.
He is comfortable in the tall grasses on the plains and internally grateful that they do not have to traverse the swamp.
Ohime will sing them the songs of her people, songs of foreign lands, and songs they would know well from various taverns they may have been in. As they travel on and on, her voice rests as they finally get a view of the land before them. At Sorogar's suggestion, Ohime will nod and call her bird to her.
"We can do that. I don't want him to go to high in case there are predators, but he can keep an eye out and see if there are any structures in the distance much easier than we can in that grass."
She will then speak to it in that mysterious language once more. The bird will dart off as they continue their march northward. In the distance, the song of the thrush can be heard reporting loudly back to Ohime.
In thanks to her bird, they find a small area to build a camp and Ohime will set about getting some firewood gathered and will forage for some food. It is clear that she is not the best at this. Her bird will be helping her spot various things.
In the end, she only finds some sparse food for herself and a tiny bit of firewood.
"Perhaps someone else would do better than I would."
Brek proves rather inept in attempting to forage and sits back ready to open a ration pack instead.
With his mastery over fire somewhat a swarm of bees are soon summoned to set a fire to the fire pit once he manages to add what meagre amount of firewood he could set.
Mosely takes a few minutes to prepare and then sets out to hunt and gather the necessary wilderness items for a comfortable camp.
He returns about an hr later carrying half a dozen eggs and multiple duck like creatures. He also reports that he has gathered a small pile of wood about 1/4 of a mile further on. He asks for someone to go get it while he prepares dinner.
Moving to the edge of the swamp, he pulls up several cattails and harvest the tubers laying them aside carefully to roast later. Then turning to mud pocket, he quickly plucks,guts, and coats each fowl with mud. Finally he wraps each one in cattail leaves before putting then in the coals on the side of the fire to bake.
He then stretches out and prepares to enjoy a quiet moment while dinner bakes. He closes his eyes not to sleep, bt to bask in the sounds of a well made camp and the nature around.
"It is no surprise that you are wonderful at finding things in nature, Mosley. You are so skilled at moving through the brush. In all my years of walking in nature, you still do it better than I do."
She will hop up and proceed to the woodpile while keeping her wits about her. She will sing along the way to make sure animals that are lingering nearby and do not wish to have interference, will flee.
In time, and with great effort on her part (as she is not strong), they will get the woodpile gathered. If that all works, her pink scales will be covered in woodchips and bark. Her clothing filthy from the days walk and chores. While Brek's spell, if he offers it, will clean her clothes, she does want to remain fresh even out here.
"I'm going to clean up. Please listen for danger from me, as I'm going to the river for water and to clean up."
She clearly understands the gravity of playing in the water, that it could have a number of things in it. People in the Vishkanya tribes take those risks despite the challenge. There is no reason she cannot. Her bird will keep watch for threats from above and below the water, and she will have her eyes open as well.
If allowed to go, she will walk 100ft to the water's edge, and once concealed, she will clean her scales with her citrus and sandalwood soap. Before doing so, she will gather water in her kettle and waterskin. She'll set them further up the embankment, and once in the clear again, she'll proceed to the water.
Looking up from her freshly caught and roasted dinner, Sorogar glances over the river. "Hm, I'll come with you. Not to wash, but to get new water to clean and boil. Though if nothing attacks us, I could do with cleaning myself too."
She grabs her sword and accompanies Ohime to the water's edge.
The water is cool and refreshing in the humid heat. The marsh birds still call only not as frequent as before. As Ohime bathes and Sorogar stands watch, the waters are parted by two large fins. They keep their distance from the pair but it is obvious that whatever creature(s) they are attached to have now had their curiosity heightened.
The two finish their cleaning and gathering of water a few minutes later and return to camp. Mosely reaches out and deftly flips the now “brick” baked fowl out of the coals. He pulls the cattail roots from their nearby roasting spot and without further ado, Help your self..
He sets the example by breaking open one of the mud bricks and pulling out juicy tender meat. He places this in his mouth without much flair and goes about adding cattail tuber bite after bite. He watches to see if you join him but doesn’t pause in his feast.
Her little bird gives a warning before the two fins break the surface, as he can see through the depths of water from high above. It is not obscured as much as from Ohime and Sorogar's position.
While maintaining her sneaking, she tries to make off with the water while redressing. They will make it back to camp safely and with the reward of nice freshwater. Not to mention Ohime is feeling 10 times better now.
"There is something about washing the road off of you that is just so relaxing."
Her hair is wet still, so while she eats, she dries her hair by the heat of the fire.
"Thank you for cooking, Mosley."
Her eyes scan around while she chews. A moment later, she will propose something to the group:
"I was thinking maybe we should have two sets of eyes tonight. A double watch. What do you think?"
Brek observes Mosely's actions before attempting to do the same, his attempts as compared to Mosely's seemed clumsy in comparison but he did save on having to open his trail rations and the meal was hot. That would warm his belly.
"My thanks Mosely on this delicious fare, your skills far exceeds my own in this respect. If it was me, mud would have being the main course and I surely won't be having that." he laughs as he savors the taste on his tongue.
As he enjoys the meal, the ladies return from their shower and considers their proposal.
"Any of us skilled in setting up an early alarm system of sorts?" he asks
"Indeed, Mosely. The meal was excellent," Sorogar adds.
When the watch is discussed, she gestures to their surroundings. "We're in the middle of nowhere on the edge of a swamp... on one hand, I don't really expect anyone looking for us to find us. On the other hand, it's never a bad idea to be extra careful."
She thinks for a moment, then shakes her head. "I'm afraid I don't have particular skills in setting traps and such. But Brujah is a good watch, too. He can take over from someone if we alternate pairs. Movah, too, I'd imagine."
From the top of a nearby rock, Movah laughs. "Keep dreaming, shaman."
Sorogar just shrugs, not really surprised. "I'll take first watch, then. Anyone feel like keeping me company?"
The night passes slowly without anything happening other than a small meteor shower seen about 3 am. There is some rustling in the brush and the bestial cry of death being inflicted but nothing close enough to camp to cause concern.
The sun peaks out from above the grass in the morning. Its full blazing glory lighting the sky with streaks of orange and red. Looks like another sweltering day is ahead of you. The cry of the morning birds goes quiet suddenly and for a few minutes silence prevails then the natural noises continue to echo forth.
In the distance some few miles, a plume of steam rises unexpectedly out of the river/swamp near there. It is massive in its venting as if something hot may be still evaporating the nearby liquids. As you head out, the fins from the previous night break the surface again in the deeper channels of the swamp nearby where you had camped. It seems that something is still quite curious or hungry on your party.
You travel for about 4 hours and notice an increase in humidity and oppressive heat as you move more northward. Slowly the swamp fades into a grassland. The river still meanders unconcerned along its path. As you exit the tall grasses or atleast the tallest of them, you see the plume of steam a few miles ahead in the river. You also notice that a variety of rocks pock mark the plains. Some of them are still colored in warm reddish hues. The grass around them appears to be scorched.
Brek opts to take the last Watch and he uses his magic to light up their surroundings in order to have a better view.
He makes small talk with whoever shares the watch with him though one can tell that Brek seems to be studying his surroundings with great care.
When the morning breaks, Brek gently rouses the rest and cleans himself up once more with his use of magic.
Following the rest, he finds that the environment has gotten progressively warmer and so he asks the more nature oriented companions around him.
"Is there something natural around this area that is raising the temperature around or is this artificial?"
Those with lower vision will work with those with darkvision or low-light vision to create a secure camp with backup in case there are dangers. With the candlesticks she gave Mosley, as well as the multiple spell casters, there is a light going all night long.
Time passes and the dawn rises. Ohime will wake up and stretch. The water available provides for breakfast, cleaning, and putting out of the fire. Things are packed up and they continue on toward the rising steam in the distance. Ohime will sing some songs for them. Her wide array of songs, ballads, operas, children's songs, are nearly never-ending. Tales of far-off places are told and then backed up by the odd bit of flute playing; which adds to their mysteries.
"Well, there could be a desert nearby, or it could just be the elevation in the jungle, but look, ahead, a break in the treeline"
Continuing forward, she steps out of the jungle cautiously and takes a deep breath, hopefully, more open and free. All such sounds stop when she sees open to them this stone-pocked, grassy landscape.
"Ah, finally out of the jungle. Perhaps now we will feel some wind on our faces."
She will ask her birdy to get an aerial view of what lies ahead of them in the grassland. What can it see of the steam rising?
Walking across the strange rocks, along with the temperature, and seeing the enduring plume of steam in the horizon, Sorogar slows her pace. "I can think of two things that cause this. One - we're in the land of Kuredani, the lost embodiment of fire. It is said her reptilian brood is dependant on her heat to survive. Some legends say she is a dragon and that her breath dug the holes in the land that rivers now flow through."
"I cannot discount it," Movah adds, uncharacteristically serious. "Kuredani is a fickle one. She'd suddenly burn parts of the rainforest so that new wild could better grow on the ashes - or so she claimed. No one believed her, but none dared stop her. Yet, with no one taking her side, she eventually distanced herself from us and flew north - which could be here. I'm not sure any of us ever really knew her... nor do I know what she'd do to intruders."
Perhaps for the first time, Movah moves cautiously, constantly on high alert.
Sorogar makes a warding gesture with her rat skull staff. "The other possibility is that the land is touched by Malice from the One Who Rots From Below. He sometimes forces volcanic rage through the skin of the soilmother to destroy at random, for no other reason than that it's his nature. It could be that it met water above it, forming those steamclouds."
She shakes her head. "I'm not sure which explanation is better. Let's move cautiously and be respectful to any lizards we encounter."
The thrush reports to Ohime a large obstruction in the river that the steam appears to be venting from or around. There is a flooding or overflowing of the river near the obstruction.
The height of the grasses continues to decrease in its tallness and its frequency as you continue in towards the river. Soon the pock marks grow more frequent and the burnt grass and smell of burnt grass become very frequent. The size of the rocks pock marking the terrain stays in approximately the same but the frequency of the rocks increases the closer to the river you get.
Brek stumbles in the heat but the others of you are able to push on without too much issue but lots of water. He begins to drop behind the rest of the team, going slower and slower the closer to the river you get.
The humidity and oppressing heat begin to sap at your reserves, draining you of energy and vitality. The closer you move to the steaming river, now visible in the distance perhaps ¼ mile, the more intense the oppression. Slowly even the extra water is beginning to lose its effectiveness. Brujah and the thrush now land on their partners shoulders to exhausted to fly in the heat and humidity of the grasslands.
You get with in sight of the obstruction and see a large iridescent colored rock of some sort roughly twice the size of a large catapult jutting out of the river. The waters have left their bed and are running around the rock flooding all the grasslands with in a few hundred yards. The river beyond the stone is flowing but at a substantially less volume. The stone is evaporating water that comes in contact with it for very long. The water around it is boiling where it touches the scintillating skin of the stone. The water runs across the grasses that have obviously been burnt from the impact of the boulder in the river and the heat that it continues to give off.
It appears to be almost molten stone of some kind. It is much deeper in the hot colors than the stones that littered the savannah around it. The smaller stones seem to be cooling where as the larger one still emanates in pulsing heartbeats of unhealthy heat.
"Hmm." Brek breathes out deeply.
"What do you supposed that is." he gasps out.
The trek had not being kind to him...
"Come along, Brek!" she will joke. In actuality, the oppressive heat feels wonderful. If anything, she feels revitalized. Perhaps it is the inner serpent, or she just hits her stride, but as they continue on, she forges through. As she gets closer, however, even then the heat seems to get to her and her thrush, who she will just tell to hide in the nearby trees. No need for it to die of suffocation or heat-exhaustion.
"I am wondering...do you think this was a meteor?"
"A meteor...? You mean this rock came from the sky?"
She looks up, then over the valley. Were there signs of a recent large impact, such as dust clouds and the like? Damage to the surrounding area with stone shard embedded in the trees, dead animals aplenty and such?
"I don't think this rock relates to our mission, but If it came from beyond the sky... perhaps the skyfather sent it to us as a gift? Would it contain something valuable? I can take two people with me to check, if you'd like."
She consults with Brujah for a while, then casts a spell on herself and up to two others before moving a bit closer, wary for creatures lurking in the water.
Krokkin listens to the conversations as they walk thru the day with the heat continuing to rise. He does not waste any energy on speaking for the most part as the heat he knows that the heat can cause exhaustion and exhaustion is one step from failing to pay attention. Lose of attention gets you killed.
When Sorogar mentions investigating this stone, He nods to her and then moves with her toward the water with his shield and scimitar out and ready.
As you go closer to the stone you notice that the stone itself is pock marked by smaller protuberances sticking in the mass. It makes the larger stone look like it is a colander with the smaller substances making the holes. They have a dull greyish green tint to them.
The other side of the river, some 2/3 of a mile, appears to have been gouged by a huge rhinoceros with a trench being forced into the ground directly parallel to the larger rock. Water seems easily redirect up that channel. The smaller stones seem to be less abundant on that side of the river and the grass is substantially less burnt. The few trees that naturally grew along the river have been eviscerated by the landing of the stones. There are multiple groups of floating dead and overcooked fish in the trench. There is a smell of sulfur and something else mixed together coming from the general vicinity of the stones.
"I am going to gather a sample of these stones. I want to see what it is made out of and what properties it possesses. If you get in trouble, do come back!"
She obviously isn't the 3rd person going.
Sorogar gives a grateful nod and a smile to Krokkin as they approach. Then, she looks at the rock and the strange hard substance.
Despite the heat, Sorogar reached into the rock, grimaces and pulls out a small segment of it. She holds it up to the sunlight, tries to crush it, then gives it a lick, seemingly checking for taste.
"This... I recognize it! This is adamantine! An extremely rare and valuable metal, making the hardest weapons and armor. Those who wielded these have become legends among the tribes!"
She takes a deep breath and her hands holding the metal tremble with excitement. "We should take as much of this with us as we can, for now. At the very least, it's extremeley valuable and might help us bargain for something. But I'd rather use it to make good weapons for us."
Unless interrupted, she continued gathering the metal until she can't carry anymore.
Brek observes his companions from afar as he wasn't really up to strolling up to the rock and examining it despite wanting too. He still felt a little sick from the trek through this swamp.
"I'll be content to wait here and rest." he mumbles.
Krokkin watches as Sorogar tests the rock test the rock and get excited.
I don't understand. It is a rock. I trained carrying packs of rocks to make me strong. Where are we carrying these rocks to. We are days from anywhere, I do not see loading up my packs with rocks that will make it harder for us to move and defend ourselves if attacked. Give me a good reason to load my packs and I will.
"Think about this. This is an extremely rare metal, highly valuable for both weapons and armor. Even if we don't use it ourselves, we could trade it with future civilizations we come across."
She holds up one of the smaller stones for Krokkin, lays it down and and attemps to sunder it with her huge, very sharp sword. It fails spectacularly with a resounding CLANG.
"Trust me. People would *kill* for the metal and the knowledge of this location. Longstanding wars, even."
So we just pack it around, hoping that we will not get in a fight or have someone kill us over it.
Krokkin studies Sorogar for a few moments and then sighs.
If it is a big deal for you then I will help, but do we tell the rest of the group or keep it from them.
Krokkin takes off his pack and begins to place the rocks that Sorogar notes in it. He drops out his torches that he has been carrying to make more room. In total he takes about 15 pounds of rocks in his pack.
As Brek rests his tired feet and attempts to catch his breath and of course get over his nausea.
"I am going to gather a sample of these stones. I want to see what it is made out of and what properties it possesses. If you get in trouble, do come back!"
She obviously isn't the 3rd person going.
The smaller rocks have pock marks of smaller dull grey stone in them. They appear cooler than the rest of the meteorites. You might be able to pry a few out if you are careful. They appear much harder than the surrounding stone. The surrounding stone is still giving off a lot of heat but not enough that you can't approach it safely.
Ohime will produce her tools used for clipping metals off produced alchemical mixtures when manipulating them. They are sturdy and have an edge similar to musketball mold pliers. They should allow her to dig into the hot rock, tear off small chunks off of it, and even carry the product further away from the heat. She will produce her alchemy lab and begin testing it to see the quality of the metal, how it reacts, and what it exactly is. Even if she can hear Sorogar talking about Adamantine from their distance, she wants to know more about it. Does it have foreign substances on it? Impurities? How she can process it for use?
Mosely had gone on the scouting expedition, of course; silent as always while making his way through the brush, he proved quite skilled at finding potable water and... edibles, though only for people who particularly enjoy grilled grubs wrapped in leaves.
"Assuming the rock isn't magical or cursed," he finally chimes in about the meteorite. "Just carrying it around could be bad if it has, say, evil spirits that were cast out beyond the sky by the gods in a time before recorded history."
ohime Your tools aren't able to scratch it however it scratches your tools. A few of your chemicals produce a minor chemical reaction. From previous work you are sure that it is some kind of rare metal although you can't identify which one specifically.
Mosely - knowledge nature You are pretty sure that the rock isn't a "make you sick rock" from or atleast the smaller pellets embedded in the larger stone aren't.
"Well, lucky for us, no one should know we have it until we reveal it. And even if they do know and can identify it, I'm guessing greed for the location of the source would make them amiable to diplomacy. If not... then I guess we need a show of strength. And who better to do that than you, right?" Sorogar Smirks and playfully adds a rock To Krokkin's pile while she continues searching for ones to carry herself.
Seeing that her tentative prickings at the material are leaving her tools a little more scratched than before, she trusts in the hardiness of the material before her. She will instead target the rock around the adamantine as it is significantly weaker, similar to what you do when you gather chunks of ore. Once the ore was gathered and she tested it, she thinks to herself out loud, away from the heat where her alchemist lab has been set up.
"Ohh...it is a metal. I figured it might be. If it is a metal, perhaps it can be utilized by the camp...It certainly is strong. These tongs have clipped iron and look at it. If it's a metal, maybe it can be melted down in a forge. We don't have a forge though, and I certainly don't want to carry around heavy rocks that they look to be gathering over there. If I can separate the metal from the rock with acid, that should keep what we take with us extremely light in comparison to carrying large rocks. I'll make an acid bath."
Alchemy is the science of transformative knowledge in base materials such as metal to create chemical compositions and unique effects. It is her specialty and what she's been trained in. Making up a very strong acid batch not only would be usable in acid flasks, but for their intended purpose of dissolving the rock.
She prepares a vat of it from her supplies, which is easier than one would think using common household ingredients.
this is assuming that like sorogar you intend to take as much as you can carry
Brek's neck prickled.
Like a spider feeling the slightest tremble in its web, he felt it more then he's seen it.
Someone was watching them. All of the training done in his youth comes to fore and he turns to the closest one next to him to give warning.
"I felt something like a tingle. Someone was watching us. I can't tell where but I have no doubt in my instincts."
As you get ready to leave the large meteorite, a sudden burst of steam erupts against the boulder and is shunted at you almost directly.
"Yearghhhh" Break screams out in shock, startled into evasive action. His jump is anything but graceful as all four limbs attempt to take a different direction from each other and he lands somewhat on the ground in a half tumble trying to avoid what seems to be an extremely hostile water jet.
Krokkin tries to pay attention to the surroundings while finishing packing the strange metal rocks. As he is putting his pack back on he is left in that awkward fully exposed position, where his arms are settling the pack so his hands are behind his head. At that moment the jet of steam and water hits him full in the face and upper chest. He lurches to the side to try to get out of it as he involuntarily opens his mouth to scream.
Instead he gags on the steam entering his mouth and forcing its way into his lungs before he can close them again. He staggers and falls to his hands and knees, exhaling the steam from his lungs feeling it burn even more on the way out. The next breath he sucks in feels cool compared to the last but still so painful that he immediately tries to howl.
The sound that comes out is not one that anyone has heard before from him. A wheeze filled strangled warble that is only audible from less than 20 feet that dies in a gurgle.
He tries standing and manages to do so with effort. His face, Chest. elbows, and triceps have angry red blisters forming under the matted wet fur.
He glances around to see if he can find Sorogar and does so realizing that he ended up stepping in front of her as he was putting the pack on and ended up blocking her from the steam. He motions to her to move and together they make their way back from the site.
Sorogar blinks as Krokkin seemingly jumps, or stumbles, in front of her and takes the entirety of the steamblast.
A few moments of awkward silence go by as she isn't sure what to say, especially considering he also kept watch otuside her tent a few nights ago but never touched the subject afterwards.
When he turns to go, she follows, but her eyes see the damage to his skin. She swallows nervously once, then speaks. "Hey... Krokkin? Thanks for shielding me. But... you should get your back looked at. It's going to scar in all sorts of ways."
Not waiting for permission, she turns to Ohime and Brek. "Either of you have a good ointment we could use for that? I could use magic, but that tends to get less physically pleasing results over slow treatment."