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wildestlogs2021-11-09 09:35 pm
wildestmods) wrote in wildestlogs2021-11-09 09:35 pm
HEARTSTONE TROLLMARKET ※ CAMP
HEARTSTONE TROLLMARKET
The Nightrenders and the Sisters stop following their prey once they get some distance into the woods. The protective aura coming from the shelter up north is full of deep protective magic.
It is a strange place. It looks like a massive cavern underground was somehow thrust up through earth and stone, until the roof and one wall cracked and fell in many places, creating a sort of canyon with rounded inner walls. If they look up they'll see a starry band of the night sky through the cracked roof. The rocks clearly crushed some houses and businesses but seem to have finally settled, so it's safe to wander around.
The way the ceiling opened was a source of far more tragedy than the falling rocks, though. When day breaks, they'll see the band of sunlight that cut through this community. Scattered through this band of light are large figures wrapped in sheets and blankets, tied in place with pieces of bright cloth. Little trinkets lay scattered at their feet. If anyone takes one of the blankets off, they'll see the petrified figure of a troll, their stone face forever etched in fear and surprise. It's clear from the cloth coverings and the trinkets that this is a people that cared for their dead, and that had community and family life. Among some of the trinkets are the drawings of children and dolls left for their lost loved one.
Market stalls have been ransacked, house doors are open, with larders of whatever this people ate empty, like the people here left very suddenly. Perhaps they felt the need to leave because of their sudden exposure - their community not thrust on the surface, the walls and ceiling holding back the sun crumbling.
Or perhaps the were nervous because of what was happening to the great crystal at the center of their world: the Heartstone. This great glowing crystal that got folded into the Wilderlands, was the nexus of magical energy of a world, its lifeblood, the beating heart of all magic. It sustained and protected the trolls.
It is cracked and dying. Dimming to a deeper color, occasionally flickering in a way that shows that someday it will dim completely. But not tonight. Tonight its nourishing, protective magic will keep the monsters away and give them some light in the dark. Even without the torches of the trolls, the Heartstone's light causes gems and crystals in the cavern - now a canyon - to glimmer with its protective light.
❧ Quest magic: Players can handwave that the quest bond magic ultimately tugged the group to the Heartstone, eventually teleporting any stragglers to it. Once the group is gathered there, no one can go far without getting teleported back.
❧ Time Period: The mods will set up a top-level for the night they all arrived, and a top-level for players to post their ongoing threads set over the ensuing days. Unless the group decides to leave faster, they will likely stay there for several IC days. (And the mods will probably allow this rest stop to run 1-2 OOC weeks, but will touch base with the playerbase on their preferences.)
❧ NPCing: No npcs are left in Trollmarket - the trolls have abandoned their now unsafe home. However, gnomes can be found wandering the canyon. The gnomes seem sentient, as they clearly speak a squeaky language that just can't be translated, but they're near feral, once the pests of the trolls. They're small, extremely fast, massively strong for their tiny sizes, and love to steal the belongings of bigger people. Groups of them sometimes gang up to carry larger items. They're also aggressive: prone to biting with their pointy teeth, and taking off their pointy caps and leaping at people to stab them with the pointy horns on the tops of their heads.
❧ Supplies: There is no human food in Trollmarket and the remains of any stalls advertising food make that clear. The trollish writing on the signs is translated by translation magic to Sylvaen, the language they've all gained knowledge of. Apparently the trolls liked to eat rocks and various minerals, socks stolen from humans, and cats. Fortunately, the cages from the stalls advertising the last one are empty, and the feral cat colony around Trollmarket makes it clear they weren't taken as emergency rations. (Occasionally there is a great racket as the gnomes and cats go to war.) However, there are resources like course cloth, woolen blankets, and sewing and cobbling materials. There are also leather goods like satchels, packs, and belts. There is rope. And waxy paper that can be used to wrap food supplies.
❧ Weapons: There are weapons that can be found in places, but not many. The trolls were not a peaceful people but they settled most of their problems with simple, non-fatal brawling, rather than anything crueler, only fighting against outside attackers. The few weapons that can be found are very large and heavy, clearly meant for war. They're built for a people that averages 8-10 feet tall and only the strongest and largest among the squad will find them anything but unwieldy. However, there are a few "small" knives of crude metal that can be used as short swords, and metal shields probably used as bucklers, that would work as full shields for normal-sized people.
❧ Forest resources: The woods around Trollmarket are safe, especially if traversed during the day. They're full of potential food, for those that know what to look for. There are wild blueberries, raspberries, and huckleberries, and enough flat, dark rocks to dry fruit in the sun. At the edge of a nearby pond are cattails, with edible roots, and reeds and grasses that can be used for basket-making. Dandelions grow everywhere, with edible flowers and roots, and there are edible marigold flowers. There's ample firewood, pieces of flint (though it takes time to find them), and wild game like deer and rabbits. The trolls' cookware, cutlery, and knives can be used to cook and dress animals, but might be heavy to take along. Water can be found in the pond (though it'd need boiling), or in small, cleaner springs in the woods.
❧ Spells: Archivists will find that there are little springs in the woods that they can draw spells from. The mods will make up random spells for Archivist players that request one.
no subject
[a few of them chatter at what she says; the ones already on Guts' cloak swarm a bit higher, and one very daring kodama's head peers over his shoulder. Saturday snickers.]
That, an', y'know, who knows how long it's been since someone made an offering? Might be they're a bit lonely, hungry, that sort of thing.
[At the base of the vast tree, Saturday finds a small clear space, nestled between two gnarled roots. She crouches down and starts clearing it more]
Lessee - look in my bag there, should be some plates. Well, slabs of wood. Best I could find that wasn't broken or chipped. We want one for the rice, one for the fish, an' the ladle for the water
no subject
[He looks up the massive tree trunk with the dozens and dozens of kodama, a wry grin on him.]
Dunno about that, seems like they have plenty of company to me.
[ He finds it oddly relatable. The spirits had their family and their home all up in this tree. Something about the massive, sprawling branches puts him at ease. Guts sets the water bucket down next to Saturday. ]
no subject
[she sits back on her heels, the little space finally cleared to her satisfaction, and bites her lower lip]
Right. Not sure I'm even rememberin' this right, but it's probably the thought that counts.
[with a firm movement, she dips the ladle in the bucket and flings water across the trees gnarled roots, and the little offering-space she's made. She does this three times, mostly because that feels like the right number, probably, then plates out the rice and fish and puts them in the cleared, and now slightly muddy, space.
She bows twice, still kneeling, then gets up. The claps twice]
Um - thank you very much, honorable kodama, for graciously allowing us to stay in your forest. We apologize for the inconvenience and for our poor manners. Please accept this humble offering in gratitude for your forbearance. Thank you very much.
[she bows again, formally, hands on her thighs. Then she straightens and backs off a bit. The kodama watch her, either fascinated or confused, or both. One of them rattles tentatively.]
...and that's pretty much it. They don't look mad, right?
no subject
After a yawning silence, the rest of them resume their rattling, chattering like endless crickets in the forest. It felt calming, a totally natural addition to the serene landscape around them.]
Don't think so.
[ Some of the kodama form a semicircle around the offerings, observing curiously. Small limbs reach forward to prod at the fish and the rice. It was then that he looked over his shoulder to see the ones using him as a resting spot, and stiffens up. He hadn't even felt them?? ]
You know, these spirits remind me of kids.
[ Gingerly tries to pull it off, but he can't?? It's an ethereal being. Oh boy. ]
no subject
They're awful cute, I know that - hey!
[one of them has climbed up her and is standing on her metal limb, looking at it with confusion. It rattles. A few more start climbing up her pants, looking to join it.]
Yeah, that's my arm, it's magic - they are like kids.
[now one of them is poking at the edge where the metal becomes her skin, not seriously, more like it's checking something]
Hey, be careful!