Audience with Trakratos.
Svirfneblin Settlement, Sinkhole.
updating coming over coffee. Bear with me.
Just checking through archives to detail some stuff ...
Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Audience with Trakratos.
Svirfneblin Settlement, Sinkhole.
With Fydmar manifesting a fearful memory, it draws comments from the Svirfneblin who infer he has been 'ghost touched', suggesting that such reactions are a common theme or occurrence among them. Geojimali touches a holy symbol under his jerkin.
Brother Symeon notices, the strange iron icon adding to his unspoken concerns provoked by the etched runes noticed on the burial crypt seal. More concerns, spoken in hushed whispers regarding the baleful throb of the smooth rock.
Chief Trakratos rubs his hoary chin at your testimony. "Avarice and greed drove many mad in the mines and that anger and greed still lives. The restless have unrequited desire that even spans the chasms between life and death.
Perhaps he was my father. Perhaps not? Kinslayer. I slew him lest in his madness he betray us all and lead us to folly."
The chief laments, referring to experiences that Svirfneblin miners have suffered, (Fydmar might remember that Bogart, the dwarf miner who saw a ghost, spoke about how his group became greedy, enticed into ever deeper mining sections and one of you had a fishy-memory regarding a drowning man who may have been saved except his comrade ignored his plight in favour of continuing to mine).
He also makes a comment, quite off-hand and candidly stating his killed his father, the former chief, though he justifies his actions.
"My manners. I should thank you and yes, brave heroes are answers to our prayers. For centuries the gods were silent and our supplications remained unanswered, our intercessions spoiled and our lives corrupted. We waxed as grass wilts under the sun. Yet, here we are and thrive today."
He snaps a finger and a couple of minions come bearing the silvered platters upon which are the servings of Svirfneblin food. They empty the food into one huge pile and present the silverware out as a token or gift for you to take, presumably in Thanksgiving for the help at the crypt.
Geojimali is sitting and scoffing handfuls of food as you talk. Translating any words as best he can between the Gnomish racial dialects and into dwarven or common. It might be a lengthy process but the Svirfneblin do not operate anything in a hurry given their use of long names and multiple added consonants to describe everything.
Over stuffed mouthfuls himself, Trakratos gives a contrasting version of events to his foreman in regard to the recently deceased kinsman. "An agitator, a firebrand. Snuffed out as easily as one might quench a smouldering wick. He mined where he ought not to and thought provocations above his station." He rubs the smooth stone in his hand, smearing it in greasy foods, "A gift from the gods, it flew from out of the heavens under the Watch of my forefathers and we received the Moonstone into our care. It empowers our gifts once more."
He tells that long ago, the stone crashed down from the sky through the gap in the Sinkhole. A meteorite. There is little factually known about the Svirfneblin since they are a rare people. Some suggest a very doughty race imbued with augmented traits of magic and illusion but such is a work of fiction as far as the reality you have seen. Indeed Trakratos suggests that since the meteorite was found, 'magic prowess or ability has revived' to a limited level. Thus he was able to summon a form of earth elemental to help increase productivity and lessen the physical burden. However in doing so, he dedicated that certain section of mines in honour of the gods. The deceased miner violated that and trespassed to his detriment.
You can tell the last statement draws ire and retort from Geojimali and he and the Chief have a few harsh words between them before the foreman is rebuked to silence. He scowls, stuffing his mouth with a fistful of kelp.
Fydmar, Durgo, Symeon
actions, I will stop here since much has been described or inferred and you may wish to comment or question something.
actions please , anything prompt you before I carry on?
Svirfneblin Settlement, Sinkhole.
With Fydmar manifesting a fearful memory, it draws comments from the Svirfneblin who infer he has been 'ghost touched', suggesting that such reactions are a common theme or occurrence among them. Geojimali touches a holy symbol under his jerkin.
Brother Symeon notices, the strange iron icon adding to his unspoken concerns provoked by the etched runes noticed on the burial crypt seal. More concerns, spoken in hushed whispers regarding the baleful throb of the smooth rock.
Chief Trakratos rubs his hoary chin at your testimony. "Avarice and greed drove many mad in the mines and that anger and greed still lives. The restless have unrequited desire that even spans the chasms between life and death.
Perhaps he was my father. Perhaps not? Kinslayer. I slew him lest in his madness he betray us all and lead us to folly."
The chief laments, referring to experiences that Svirfneblin miners have suffered, (Fydmar might remember that Bogart, the dwarf miner who saw a ghost, spoke about how his group became greedy, enticed into ever deeper mining sections and one of you had a fishy-memory regarding a drowning man who may have been saved except his comrade ignored his plight in favour of continuing to mine).
He also makes a comment, quite off-hand and candidly stating his killed his father, the former chief, though he justifies his actions.
"My manners. I should thank you and yes, brave heroes are answers to our prayers. For centuries the gods were silent and our supplications remained unanswered, our intercessions spoiled and our lives corrupted. We waxed as grass wilts under the sun. Yet, here we are and thrive today."
He snaps a finger and a couple of minions come bearing the silvered platters upon which are the servings of Svirfneblin food. They empty the food into one huge pile and present the silverware out as a token or gift for you to take, presumably in Thanksgiving for the help at the crypt.
Geojimali is sitting and scoffing handfuls of food as you talk. Translating any words as best he can between the Gnomish racial dialects and into dwarven or common. It might be a lengthy process but the Svirfneblin do not operate anything in a hurry given their use of long names and multiple added consonants to describe everything.
Over stuffed mouthfuls himself, Trakratos gives a contrasting version of events to his foreman in regard to the recently deceased kinsman. "An agitator, a firebrand. Snuffed out as easily as one might quench a smouldering wick. He mined where he ought not to and thought provocations above his station." He rubs the smooth stone in his hand, smearing it in greasy foods, "A gift from the gods, it flew from out of the heavens under the Watch of my forefathers and we received the Moonstone into our care. It empowers our gifts once more."
He tells that long ago, the stone crashed down from the sky through the gap in the Sinkhole. A meteorite. There is little factually known about the Svirfneblin since they are a rare people. Some suggest a very doughty race imbued with augmented traits of magic and illusion but such is a work of fiction as far as the reality you have seen. Indeed Trakratos suggests that since the meteorite was found, 'magic prowess or ability has revived' to a limited level. Thus he was able to summon a form of earth elemental to help increase productivity and lessen the physical burden. However in doing so, he dedicated that certain section of mines in honour of the gods. The deceased miner violated that and trespassed to his detriment.
You can tell the last statement draws ire and retort from Geojimali and he and the Chief have a few harsh words between them before the foreman is rebuked to silence. He scowls, stuffing his mouth with a fistful of kelp.
Fydmar, Durgo, Symeon
actions, I will stop here since much has been described or inferred and you may wish to comment or question something.
actions please , anything prompt you before I carry on?
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Durgo
"There is much to consider here. Thank you for the food and hospitality", says Durgo as he bows.
He does not eat unless brother Symeon blesses the food or signals Durgo it's ok to eat and the same for any beverages.
Privately to the others, "We must tread very carefully here my friends. Any agreement made here will be very risky to manage. I fear for the chief and what the stone is doing to him and the others. It is killing them all slowly. I see no way to remedy that quickly and without prejudice. There are shafts that apparently have ghostly figures that do not like to be disturbed as well. We'd need to find shafts that are safe and secure to mine undisturbed and not worry about encroaching on their territory which might be just a matter of time regardless. We already have a ghost who seems to like an ogre near the entrance to the cave system that might be a hazard to any future mining operations too. Any serious mining commitment here would need a more skilled adventure group to handle the ghost and cave fishers and the other hazards that are present here we were able to avoid luckily. If we can secure some temporary mining access and have an understanding that if we should meet accidently while mining we can both discuss how to proceed without hostilities."
"There is much to consider here. Thank you for the food and hospitality", says Durgo as he bows.
He does not eat unless brother Symeon blesses the food or signals Durgo it's ok to eat and the same for any beverages.
Privately to the others, "We must tread very carefully here my friends. Any agreement made here will be very risky to manage. I fear for the chief and what the stone is doing to him and the others. It is killing them all slowly. I see no way to remedy that quickly and without prejudice. There are shafts that apparently have ghostly figures that do not like to be disturbed as well. We'd need to find shafts that are safe and secure to mine undisturbed and not worry about encroaching on their territory which might be just a matter of time regardless. We already have a ghost who seems to like an ogre near the entrance to the cave system that might be a hazard to any future mining operations too. Any serious mining commitment here would need a more skilled adventure group to handle the ghost and cave fishers and the other hazards that are present here we were able to avoid luckily. If we can secure some temporary mining access and have an understanding that if we should meet accidently while mining we can both discuss how to proceed without hostilities."
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Fydmar
We thank thee for the sustenance and silver. And we are glad to learn more of your people.
(privately when opportunity presents)
We need to speak to Geojimali. The chief avoided my question about somewhere to mine, so I have a feeling that answer is no. We may need to more outside their claimed area. Also, would like to know more of what is going on here & what that "meteorite stone" really is. I have a hunch the burrow warden's version of events is likely the correct one. (he will do just that when the opportunity presents itself).
We thank thee for the sustenance and silver. And we are glad to learn more of your people.
(privately when opportunity presents)
We need to speak to Geojimali. The chief avoided my question about somewhere to mine, so I have a feeling that answer is no. We may need to more outside their claimed area. Also, would like to know more of what is going on here & what that "meteorite stone" really is. I have a hunch the burrow warden's version of events is likely the correct one. (he will do just that when the opportunity presents itself).
-
DrRenfield
- Guide
- Posts: 215
- Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2022 9:05 pm
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Brother Symeon
Symeon will eat a small amount of food, to be seen as polite.
"It is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean, but what comes out of him."
In private: I agree with Durgo. While in the crypt, I spied some runes that I believe to be associated with a dark, eldritch deity of madness and the deep. This silver lode will require extensive purification before it can to turned to the service of St Ygg.
Symeon will eat a small amount of food, to be seen as polite.
"It is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean, but what comes out of him."
In private: I agree with Durgo. While in the crypt, I spied some runes that I believe to be associated with a dark, eldritch deity of madness and the deep. This silver lode will require extensive purification before it can to turned to the service of St Ygg.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Durgo
Durgo will do the same thing and have a small amount of food and beverage.
He will follow the others lead when they are ready to depart.
Durgo will do the same thing and have a small amount of food and beverage.
He will follow the others lead when they are ready to depart.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Audience with Trakratos.
Svirfneblin Settlement, Sinkhole.
I will script a little 'summary so far', please remind me if anything I have missed.
You have dined in diverse manners recently. Breakfasting with the Xvart, upon lentil gruel and stewed salamander; scoffed upon raw cave carp that were seasoned with bitter waters and bad memories, dined upon Svirfneblin nutty bread, baked on the premises in a little furnace, thickly spread with fruit conserve and suspicion.
Interesting. And along the way, no doubt chewed over in your minds the encounters and issues, rumours and realisations.
The exterior Chalk Quarry is relatively abandoned, so much so the cabins in situ are derelict though functional. A Giant Bee hive taking over one building. Orb Weaver spiders lurk in the cliff face crevices, there were no sign of Gnolls about but you did meet an Ogre who resided in a small cavern. He was talkative, at least to his unseen companion who you presume to be a dwarven ghost. The other side of the Y-passage was left unexplored, a dark, smelly cave that smelled of rot and decay.
Seeking better fortunes you explored a second cave system which led to a junction of passages. One contained a cave of Centipedes chewing upon mossy covered rocks where the more effects of mental mystery were felt. Another passage led to a cavern of Cockatrices, a petrified miner testament to their frightful touch. Going deeper you followed the northerly passage, descending steps by the Stagnant Pool which according to Meatloaf held ghosts in its murky depth. Beyond that, the Waterfall Cave where Salamanders preyed on the unwary and Cave Fishers preyed upon the lizards. Following a passage behind the waterfall took a narrow and hazardous route to the other side of the Cockatrice den. Choosing then to return to the Waterfall Cave and take the mined passage where two dead bodies lay at the end. It opened into a small cavern. Opposite was another passage guarded by inanimate statues until Xvart Blinky invoked one and ran away. Shattering the stone warden, you came upon the Xvart mining camp. Interesting to remember that the Xvarts, led by Carkden, said that they imbue their artful stone objects with enchantments as a communal skill. They were poorly equipped and happy to trade a few basic mining tools, bags of Salt and any joint cuts of Salamander. In return they crafted your Cave Fisher filament into a length of sticky rope and provided a guide through safe tunnels to their gnome-kins territory.
Their boundary with the Svirfneblin was the Pebble Pillars Cave where the mineral waters tasted brackish and the blind fish gave insight. Lichen filled passages became tunnel visions of nightmares which led to a large cavern where the Svirfneblin had some dug out burial crypts, filled with their dead and their own nightmarish Undead.
Then you are welcomed into the Svirfneblin Settlement, based in the grounds of an ancient sinkhole. Chief Trakratos and foreman Geojimali are at odds. The miner blaming recent death and community woes upon the Chief, who in return suggests the deceased strayed within passages of silver ore that had been ordained as holy and his death was his own fault.
You suspect that the meteorite held by the Chief is the root of the community illnesses. Chief Trakratos informs you 'it was gifted from the heavens' and through it, he was able to summon an Elemental to help increase mining production.
That last statement is contrary to the foreman's confession that certain passages are presently redundant, those in which the Elemental supposedly labours.
On this point, Geojimali only knows the Elemental to be 'a fearsome creature of of earth and stone'. You get the impression few have actually seen it and the Chief does not volunteer how it was summoned. "It just came at his command".
Much to think about. Characters can do that as after the brief audience with Chief Trakratos, he says he will need to convene and discuss your suggestions regarding trade and mining. He invites you to rest a while among the Sinkhole Forest and he will call you back when things are decided. it is not really much of an 'invitation' as more of an expectation, but is not meant with any offence in mind.
It gives you chance to wander though practically not very far. The forest covers an area about 70 yards across. As described the vertical rocky walls of the Sinkhole tower several hundred feet. Even the trees tower, twice the height of anything in the regional Pine forests. Tall slim ancients struggling to reach the minimal sunlight. A druid might identify an exotic Kapok among the Wild Bamboo, Silver Birch and surprisingly a little copse of Plantain. In season now it sprouts bunches of long green fingered banana shaped fruits. A Svirfneblin gardener tends the copse, happy to chat in his dialect, talking in long words and sentences regarding his responsibility to harvest the bamboo stalks, cultivate extra edibles and keep any wandering critters at bay. "Bugs mostly, occasionally a large beetle or centipede, sometimes a spider." He points out the crags at the top of the Sinkhole confirming Fydmar's fear that vulture's nest high up. "Too high to collect eggs but occasionally we lure a hungry bird down and nab it for a feast." With the forest being a very self contained area, they do not take much wood from it as it takes years to replace. You have seen goats and chickens milling about, thankfully no 'chizzards' (chicken-lizard hybrid Cockatrice).
At ground level to the forest are the dozen passages leading to mining shafts. Above them a ring of habited caves, mostly basic but comfortable hovels judging by your experience as a guest with the Chief.
It is also in wandering the forest that you come upon a strange squat statue. It appears to be a hybrid of some winged creature crossed with a clawed Bactrian humanoid whose head melds into octopus like tentacles. The base is etched in runes, similar to those Brother Symeon noted in the burial crypt seal. The stone is covered in lichen growths and looks weathered and aged though between its feet, someone has placed an agate geode that is stained with bloody fingerprints. The rock might particularly interest Fydmar since the geode (a hollow rock lined with crystal formations) are a potential power source for his Construct that he is refurbishing back in Helix.
There doesn't seem to be anything special about this specific area, it is not separated as a sacred grove or shrine and no other statues are around. While not in plain sight, it is not hidden away.
After a few more minutes, your miner companions come calling (I had them as just resting near the mule), saying that Chief Trakratos seeks another audience with you.
actions, prior to this second audience where the Chief will discuss mining and trade, you can ask or action anything else in regard to any of the above information.
basically anything I have missed you need some clarification on, any specific action or skill checks, etc.
Svirfneblin Settlement, Sinkhole.
I will script a little 'summary so far', please remind me if anything I have missed.
You have dined in diverse manners recently. Breakfasting with the Xvart, upon lentil gruel and stewed salamander; scoffed upon raw cave carp that were seasoned with bitter waters and bad memories, dined upon Svirfneblin nutty bread, baked on the premises in a little furnace, thickly spread with fruit conserve and suspicion.
Interesting. And along the way, no doubt chewed over in your minds the encounters and issues, rumours and realisations.
The exterior Chalk Quarry is relatively abandoned, so much so the cabins in situ are derelict though functional. A Giant Bee hive taking over one building. Orb Weaver spiders lurk in the cliff face crevices, there were no sign of Gnolls about but you did meet an Ogre who resided in a small cavern. He was talkative, at least to his unseen companion who you presume to be a dwarven ghost. The other side of the Y-passage was left unexplored, a dark, smelly cave that smelled of rot and decay.
Seeking better fortunes you explored a second cave system which led to a junction of passages. One contained a cave of Centipedes chewing upon mossy covered rocks where the more effects of mental mystery were felt. Another passage led to a cavern of Cockatrices, a petrified miner testament to their frightful touch. Going deeper you followed the northerly passage, descending steps by the Stagnant Pool which according to Meatloaf held ghosts in its murky depth. Beyond that, the Waterfall Cave where Salamanders preyed on the unwary and Cave Fishers preyed upon the lizards. Following a passage behind the waterfall took a narrow and hazardous route to the other side of the Cockatrice den. Choosing then to return to the Waterfall Cave and take the mined passage where two dead bodies lay at the end. It opened into a small cavern. Opposite was another passage guarded by inanimate statues until Xvart Blinky invoked one and ran away. Shattering the stone warden, you came upon the Xvart mining camp. Interesting to remember that the Xvarts, led by Carkden, said that they imbue their artful stone objects with enchantments as a communal skill. They were poorly equipped and happy to trade a few basic mining tools, bags of Salt and any joint cuts of Salamander. In return they crafted your Cave Fisher filament into a length of sticky rope and provided a guide through safe tunnels to their gnome-kins territory.
Their boundary with the Svirfneblin was the Pebble Pillars Cave where the mineral waters tasted brackish and the blind fish gave insight. Lichen filled passages became tunnel visions of nightmares which led to a large cavern where the Svirfneblin had some dug out burial crypts, filled with their dead and their own nightmarish Undead.
Then you are welcomed into the Svirfneblin Settlement, based in the grounds of an ancient sinkhole. Chief Trakratos and foreman Geojimali are at odds. The miner blaming recent death and community woes upon the Chief, who in return suggests the deceased strayed within passages of silver ore that had been ordained as holy and his death was his own fault.
You suspect that the meteorite held by the Chief is the root of the community illnesses. Chief Trakratos informs you 'it was gifted from the heavens' and through it, he was able to summon an Elemental to help increase mining production.
That last statement is contrary to the foreman's confession that certain passages are presently redundant, those in which the Elemental supposedly labours.
On this point, Geojimali only knows the Elemental to be 'a fearsome creature of of earth and stone'. You get the impression few have actually seen it and the Chief does not volunteer how it was summoned. "It just came at his command".
Much to think about. Characters can do that as after the brief audience with Chief Trakratos, he says he will need to convene and discuss your suggestions regarding trade and mining. He invites you to rest a while among the Sinkhole Forest and he will call you back when things are decided. it is not really much of an 'invitation' as more of an expectation, but is not meant with any offence in mind.
It gives you chance to wander though practically not very far. The forest covers an area about 70 yards across. As described the vertical rocky walls of the Sinkhole tower several hundred feet. Even the trees tower, twice the height of anything in the regional Pine forests. Tall slim ancients struggling to reach the minimal sunlight. A druid might identify an exotic Kapok among the Wild Bamboo, Silver Birch and surprisingly a little copse of Plantain. In season now it sprouts bunches of long green fingered banana shaped fruits. A Svirfneblin gardener tends the copse, happy to chat in his dialect, talking in long words and sentences regarding his responsibility to harvest the bamboo stalks, cultivate extra edibles and keep any wandering critters at bay. "Bugs mostly, occasionally a large beetle or centipede, sometimes a spider." He points out the crags at the top of the Sinkhole confirming Fydmar's fear that vulture's nest high up. "Too high to collect eggs but occasionally we lure a hungry bird down and nab it for a feast." With the forest being a very self contained area, they do not take much wood from it as it takes years to replace. You have seen goats and chickens milling about, thankfully no 'chizzards' (chicken-lizard hybrid Cockatrice).
At ground level to the forest are the dozen passages leading to mining shafts. Above them a ring of habited caves, mostly basic but comfortable hovels judging by your experience as a guest with the Chief.
It is also in wandering the forest that you come upon a strange squat statue. It appears to be a hybrid of some winged creature crossed with a clawed Bactrian humanoid whose head melds into octopus like tentacles. The base is etched in runes, similar to those Brother Symeon noted in the burial crypt seal. The stone is covered in lichen growths and looks weathered and aged though between its feet, someone has placed an agate geode that is stained with bloody fingerprints. The rock might particularly interest Fydmar since the geode (a hollow rock lined with crystal formations) are a potential power source for his Construct that he is refurbishing back in Helix.
There doesn't seem to be anything special about this specific area, it is not separated as a sacred grove or shrine and no other statues are around. While not in plain sight, it is not hidden away.
After a few more minutes, your miner companions come calling (I had them as just resting near the mule), saying that Chief Trakratos seeks another audience with you.
actions, prior to this second audience where the Chief will discuss mining and trade, you can ask or action anything else in regard to any of the above information.
basically anything I have missed you need some clarification on, any specific action or skill checks, etc.
- Attachments
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- Statue in Sinkhole Forest
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Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Fydmar
to his comrades: I don't like the look of that statue, that is for sure. Could that be a likeness of the "fearsome creature of earth and stone" we have heard about?
He will for sure ask the chief and/or burrow warden the next time he sees them if he can obtain some geodes. As well as ask what significance that statue has.
to his comrades: I don't like the look of that statue, that is for sure. Could that be a likeness of the "fearsome creature of earth and stone" we have heard about?
He will for sure ask the chief and/or burrow warden the next time he sees them if he can obtain some geodes. As well as ask what significance that statue has.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Durgo
Durgo wonders at it all. "This place is vast my friends and fraught with dangers. We must be careful here and getting back to town. I will be crouching for sure in the caves. Ghost, cave fisher, centipedes, stone golems, beasts that may be even worse. Something caused Fydmar to lose his memories and perhaps that's some sort of mind creature, cockatrice that stone you. If we intend to mine in this cave system, we must make sure it's safe to do. We might need a better equipped and stronger party to really make this feasible. We may not have even scratched the dirt on what dangers are in here. Just saying. In for a copper in for a gold my dad always said though.
Durgo looks over the garden and checks for any unusual stuff the gardener might allow him to get samples of to take back to town.
"Do you have any samples of unusual flora that I might take back to town we could trade for perhaps if the chief allows us to barter here?"
Durgo adds, "I'm not sure Fydmar. I haven't experienced much of the world and none of the underworld. It's all fairly new to me. I've heard a few folk tales but not much to explain most of this. Let's see what the chief wants. I wonder if they know a quick exit from here that is safe to travel that doesn't put us further from Helix or in dangerous territory to get back home?
Durgo wonders at it all. "This place is vast my friends and fraught with dangers. We must be careful here and getting back to town. I will be crouching for sure in the caves. Ghost, cave fisher, centipedes, stone golems, beasts that may be even worse. Something caused Fydmar to lose his memories and perhaps that's some sort of mind creature, cockatrice that stone you. If we intend to mine in this cave system, we must make sure it's safe to do. We might need a better equipped and stronger party to really make this feasible. We may not have even scratched the dirt on what dangers are in here. Just saying. In for a copper in for a gold my dad always said though.
Durgo looks over the garden and checks for any unusual stuff the gardener might allow him to get samples of to take back to town.
"Do you have any samples of unusual flora that I might take back to town we could trade for perhaps if the chief allows us to barter here?"
Durgo adds, "I'm not sure Fydmar. I haven't experienced much of the world and none of the underworld. It's all fairly new to me. I've heard a few folk tales but not much to explain most of this. Let's see what the chief wants. I wonder if they know a quick exit from here that is safe to travel that doesn't put us further from Helix or in dangerous territory to get back home?
-
DrRenfield
- Guide
- Posts: 215
- Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2022 9:05 pm
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Brother Symeon
I am doubtful that our hosts will be open to any beneficial trade. They are clearly in the thrall of some evil. I would gladly give my life in the service of St Ygg, but he may be best served by the return of our intelligence back to the settlement so that things can be better managed from a place of strength.
Symeon will spend any spare moments resting and praying.
I am doubtful that our hosts will be open to any beneficial trade. They are clearly in the thrall of some evil. I would gladly give my life in the service of St Ygg, but he may be best served by the return of our intelligence back to the settlement so that things can be better managed from a place of strength.
Symeon will spend any spare moments resting and praying.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Audience with Trakratos.
Svirfneblin Settlement, Sinkhole.
The tribe do not have a wide diet, feasting mostly on cave critters and harvesting edible cave growths. You might wonder if they eat much of the mossy lichens and blindfish that you discovered. The chickens and goats obviously not natural to this habitat so must have been imported via trade (or theft?).
Back in Chief Trakratos quarters, you sit on stuffed cushions before him, the quartet of miners in the adjacent ante chamber. He sits too, a cushion over the meteorite beneath him. Rainwater collected in the forest catchment gutters or bowls of wine offered. It seems they have few cups and use stout bowls to drink broth from or wash their hands in. You hope they keep them separate...
"Miners mine. We dig the ore and refine the nuggets over bone ash and chalk dust in the smithing cupella. Smelting the mineral until it liquifies and we mould it into ingots or sheets that we can craft.
This is our world and here we live as we have done for generations before and so we will do for generations after. You have seen we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
The chief comments on the hardships they face with stoicism and pragmatism and suggests they have a greater hope for prosperity and success since the meteorite fell.
He is not in favour of others staking a mining claim on territory that he believes are his subterranean ancestral lands. This is a mute point and from various sources you know mining has been a point of violent contest.
But partnerships he could do and trading ingots, minting coins or crafting silverware, whatever particular focus, those could be arranged.
Asked about geodes, he comments that many are found in a nearby cavern but few of his kin go there now. "The cave eats the living and spews out the dead." he says though some living must have made it out for a little collection of beautiful, multi-coloured crystal lined rocks are on a shelf. "You could mine there at your own risk." he says and describes the area, suggesting Geojimali could take you.
Your mention of geodes brings up the statue. "An appeasement. A prayer. Some offer the fruit of their labours in the hope of safe passage in the dark, secure footing, no rockfalls, clean air.
I myself, as my Father's were, seekers of knowledge and new truths. You Brother Symeon are of the Futurus. So like me you will have little time for those who wish us to regress back into Angarach's gnosticism." He raises an eye to stare momentarily at Geojimali.
"Perhaps we can trade after all. If you can get me a sack of crystal rocks, it will demonstrate your skill and fortitude in mining. In return I can give you equal weight in silver and your assayers can prove the quality of our work." He offers a feasible test and a way to get some refined silver that might be the initial gateway to trade arrangements.
He gestures you to comment on his offer and ask other questions.
actions please.
Svirfneblin Settlement, Sinkhole.
The Svirfneblin gardener gives you are few cuttings. His forestry skill is quite limited though he seems to be proficient with identification of various 'cave greens' that get added to stewpots and tells "you are additionally blessed when you discover you are chewing on a cave slug that is chewing on the rock lettuce in your mouthful of salad".He will for sure ask the chief and/or burrow warden the next time he sees them if he can obtain some geodes. As well as ask what significance that statue has.
The tribe do not have a wide diet, feasting mostly on cave critters and harvesting edible cave growths. You might wonder if they eat much of the mossy lichens and blindfish that you discovered. The chickens and goats obviously not natural to this habitat so must have been imported via trade (or theft?).
Back in Chief Trakratos quarters, you sit on stuffed cushions before him, the quartet of miners in the adjacent ante chamber. He sits too, a cushion over the meteorite beneath him. Rainwater collected in the forest catchment gutters or bowls of wine offered. It seems they have few cups and use stout bowls to drink broth from or wash their hands in. You hope they keep them separate...
"Miners mine. We dig the ore and refine the nuggets over bone ash and chalk dust in the smithing cupella. Smelting the mineral until it liquifies and we mould it into ingots or sheets that we can craft.
This is our world and here we live as we have done for generations before and so we will do for generations after. You have seen we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
The chief comments on the hardships they face with stoicism and pragmatism and suggests they have a greater hope for prosperity and success since the meteorite fell.
He is not in favour of others staking a mining claim on territory that he believes are his subterranean ancestral lands. This is a mute point and from various sources you know mining has been a point of violent contest.
But partnerships he could do and trading ingots, minting coins or crafting silverware, whatever particular focus, those could be arranged.
Asked about geodes, he comments that many are found in a nearby cavern but few of his kin go there now. "The cave eats the living and spews out the dead." he says though some living must have made it out for a little collection of beautiful, multi-coloured crystal lined rocks are on a shelf. "You could mine there at your own risk." he says and describes the area, suggesting Geojimali could take you.
Your mention of geodes brings up the statue. "An appeasement. A prayer. Some offer the fruit of their labours in the hope of safe passage in the dark, secure footing, no rockfalls, clean air.
I myself, as my Father's were, seekers of knowledge and new truths. You Brother Symeon are of the Futurus. So like me you will have little time for those who wish us to regress back into Angarach's gnosticism." He raises an eye to stare momentarily at Geojimali.
"Perhaps we can trade after all. If you can get me a sack of crystal rocks, it will demonstrate your skill and fortitude in mining. In return I can give you equal weight in silver and your assayers can prove the quality of our work." He offers a feasible test and a way to get some refined silver that might be the initial gateway to trade arrangements.
He gestures you to comment on his offer and ask other questions.
actions please.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Fydmar
He will look to the others to see if they agree to the crystal rocks mining to trade for silver (he is for it). He will of course want some geodes to take back for the construct as well.
He will look to the others to see if they agree to the crystal rocks mining to trade for silver (he is for it). He will of course want some geodes to take back for the construct as well.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Durgo
Durgo nods yes and whispers, "We take the risk and he said they won't go in there as it spits out undead. We should be careful or get a good deal. We came for silver though."
Durgo nods yes and whispers, "We take the risk and he said they won't go in there as it spits out undead. We should be careful or get a good deal. We came for silver though."
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DrRenfield
- Guide
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Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Brother Symeon
Symeon avoids entering any religious discussion with Trakratos.
I say to press on in faith. We cannot ignore this offer with our mission for silver so near fulfillment.
Symeon avoids entering any religious discussion with Trakratos.
I say to press on in faith. We cannot ignore this offer with our mission for silver so near fulfillment.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
It seems the group are in agreement and the miners agree too, eager to swing their picks and hammers. The only frown is from Geojimali though he bows formally before Chief Trakratos and goes to gather what equipment and tools he deems necessary. The audience over, the chief satisfied with 'the deal' though beyond a vague agreement, you go in good faith.
You trek backwards towards the very first Svirfneblin encounter cavern, veering a little. The miners have a habit of scoring marks in passages to indicate way points and directions. Best not to get lost in labyrinthine passages.
As you go you mull over what you have learned and discovered. There is one part where a very narrow footbridge over a deep chasm. It is not far to cross, maybe just twenty feet, but the mule is sensitive and the smell of rot and decay that ascends from the deep is off putting to her senses. Fydmar's beast of burden refuses to cross the narrow file, braying and snorting in contempt at carrot crunch bribes or even ignoring a thick whip across her hide flanks.
BabeRuth cantankerous vs 25% [1d100]=12 random [1d20]=6Cave creepy-crawly, alphabetical [1d9]=1 [1d20]=3
Standing in the edge of the precipice invokes a feeling of vertigo and weak minded might even give in to a temptation to lean too far over the edge in curiosity. You cannot see the bottom of the crevice with a normal lantern (though a bullseye lanthorn might as it shines as a long and narrow cone if you have one?)
While the mule is coaxed into being more cooperative, others can cross. With Geojimali leading the way he is at the head of the file, then for brevity I just randomised everyone else alphabetically including Babe..
As he crosses, he comes under the influence of a surreal ghostly effect, something (someone?) echoes a ghostly groan from out of the chasm depths. The Svirfneblin clutches his chest, not checking his heartbeat but seeking comfort in the medallion he wears. He utters a few phrases that Fydmar cannot translate, "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn." and wards himself from an unseen threat.
"We should hurry and quick or leave the beast behind." he says nervously.
actions in this passage please.
You trek backwards towards the very first Svirfneblin encounter cavern, veering a little. The miners have a habit of scoring marks in passages to indicate way points and directions. Best not to get lost in labyrinthine passages.
As you go you mull over what you have learned and discovered. There is one part where a very narrow footbridge over a deep chasm. It is not far to cross, maybe just twenty feet, but the mule is sensitive and the smell of rot and decay that ascends from the deep is off putting to her senses. Fydmar's beast of burden refuses to cross the narrow file, braying and snorting in contempt at carrot crunch bribes or even ignoring a thick whip across her hide flanks.
BabeRuth cantankerous vs 25% [1d100]=12 random [1d20]=6Cave creepy-crawly, alphabetical [1d9]=1 [1d20]=3
Standing in the edge of the precipice invokes a feeling of vertigo and weak minded might even give in to a temptation to lean too far over the edge in curiosity. You cannot see the bottom of the crevice with a normal lantern (though a bullseye lanthorn might as it shines as a long and narrow cone if you have one?)
While the mule is coaxed into being more cooperative, others can cross. With Geojimali leading the way he is at the head of the file, then for brevity I just randomised everyone else alphabetically including Babe..
As he crosses, he comes under the influence of a surreal ghostly effect, something (someone?) echoes a ghostly groan from out of the chasm depths. The Svirfneblin clutches his chest, not checking his heartbeat but seeking comfort in the medallion he wears. He utters a few phrases that Fydmar cannot translate, "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn." and wards himself from an unseen threat.
"We should hurry and quick or leave the beast behind." he says nervously.
actions in this passage please.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Durgo
"Fydmar, tis your beast and your decision my friend. It will be risky either way most likely unless you can calm Baberuth down first and have time to do so as we seem to be press to move along", comments Durgo. "I will assist you if I can."
"Fydmar, tis your beast and your decision my friend. It will be risky either way most likely unless you can calm Baberuth down first and have time to do so as we seem to be press to move along", comments Durgo. "I will assist you if I can."
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DrRenfield
- Guide
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Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Brother Symeon
I do not like this omem.
The angel asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it."
It is master Fydmar's decision, but I advise we leave the beast behind with a handler. If she panics again further in, we may not be able to recover her.
I do not like this omem.
The angel asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it."
It is master Fydmar's decision, but I advise we leave the beast behind with a handler. If she panics again further in, we may not be able to recover her.
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
Fydmar
Yes, I don't like the idea of Babe falling off.... Would like someone to stay here with the mule - any volunteers? (hoping one of the miners will not like the drop also & stay).
Geojimali, is there something the chief didn't tell us, that we need to know about this area we are about to enter?
Yes, I don't like the idea of Babe falling off.... Would like someone to stay here with the mule - any volunteers? (hoping one of the miners will not like the drop also & stay).
Geojimali, is there something the chief didn't tell us, that we need to know about this area we are about to enter?
Re: Silk and Silver: The abandoned mine.
I just posted a private forum message as an action option which a character might know but a player might overlook or not consider. Then when that is confirmed I will advance the scene.
"The riches under the earth have a strange lure. Even those of the Dwarrowkin seem to suffer and then giving in to temptation, brother turns against brother."
Dwarrowkin would refer to the associated races of dwarven kind such as Gnome, Xvart, Duergar, Azer, etc. He suggests the caves are haunted, maybe by ghosts of previous miners, maybe by hauntings associated with unclean spirits such as the abomination you fought in the crypt. Or worse, "ancient memories dug up from the depths yet to fully awaken"
That last statement perhaps references the noise from the chasm. He moves on, others try to encourage the obstinate mule. Fydmar talks with the miners and if the mule cannot be hauled, whipped, teased across then one will stay with it, though perhaps a bit further back in a marked passage rather than by the chasm.
I suggested Bro Symeon might try a Command spell on the mule, the beast of burden is a trained pack animal.and would respond to basic instructions.
Geojimali answers.Geojimali, is there something the chief didn't tell us, that we need to know about this area we are about to enter?
"The riches under the earth have a strange lure. Even those of the Dwarrowkin seem to suffer and then giving in to temptation, brother turns against brother."
Dwarrowkin would refer to the associated races of dwarven kind such as Gnome, Xvart, Duergar, Azer, etc. He suggests the caves are haunted, maybe by ghosts of previous miners, maybe by hauntings associated with unclean spirits such as the abomination you fought in the crypt. Or worse, "ancient memories dug up from the depths yet to fully awaken"
That last statement perhaps references the noise from the chasm. He moves on, others try to encourage the obstinate mule. Fydmar talks with the miners and if the mule cannot be hauled, whipped, teased across then one will stay with it, though perhaps a bit further back in a marked passage rather than by the chasm.
I suggested Bro Symeon might try a Command spell on the mule, the beast of burden is a trained pack animal.and would respond to basic instructions.