The ground continues to be rocky and uneven, although you are on like the
flatter side where it's leveled off. On that incline, the vegetation is a
bit denser, but you haven't seen anything taller than a shrub or a short
bush. Phedra believes that there's probably some sort of acidity to the soil that
is restricting what types of plants grow here, which is not terribly unusual for
land that borders on all that swamp indirect ass land. After several hours of
walking, it becomes clear that the fog is plead a bit of a trick
even with Oximer's keen eyes, and the distances are deceptive. When the group
approaches to the point where everyone can easily see a small hut is not actually
an apt description. This is kind of like an average size home that a
farmer might live in or something. Oh boy, motherfucker's alive in there.
At least one. We are not at all fit for dinner, not dressed,
not bathed. We're hardly suitable guests at the moment. I don't think
that's gonna change anytime soon. Pedra, No, no, oh, well,
what's the worst that can happen? He's just going to turn into an
agent of this fucking wizard and we're gonna have to kill him anyway. Yep,
what if there's more, I guess let's approach fuck it, Let's see
if we can't get any information from this dude's front lawn. All right,
As you draw very near to the house, you see that there is a
small but well maintained garden off to the side, and that the doorway and
all of the windows have bundles of fragrant herbs hanging from them. Yeah I
would too, but still why why here? Might not have been their choice.
We're like right right there, right, you're maybe like fifty feet away
from the front door. There is a very delicious smell of food cooking wafting
out the window. Basically, I think it's trap. Yeah, Ricardo Vega
doesn't have the media literacy of one Jordan, But yeah, sussy pocket chan
shit all up here, let's go say hello and get eaten. Can we
see what kind of a construction the house is yet? Yeah? I mean
I certainly wouldn't be able to put a label on an architectural style for you.
It's has it been colonial or is it more like or is it more
prehistory or it's very much what we look like. You could very much see
that the newer the construction elements look, probably the better they are. Yeah,
but it's what you guys would expect that you would be able to accomplish
if you were to settle down and try and make better tools and build a
place here. Probably over the course of years, we get the sense that
this was like a more handmade, single two small group effort. It's not
like they dialed one nine hundred swampshack and they got this thing delivered. I
guess like, all right, well, I guess I knocked on the door.
Then all right, So Oximer approaches the door, and you do notice
beside the door dangling in a range like a wind chime. It looks like
fishbones. I love that for us. You knock on the door and there
is a very immediate bang in some clanging. Yep, they're startled, makes
sense, And then a feminine voice calls out, who's there? Who is
it? How do you respond to someone like this? My name is Ricardo
Vega. I believe I am trapped here the same as you. There is
several ellipsis dots of pause followed by open the door. No fast moves.
I have friends with me just warning you surprises, and I will slowly poking
the door. You open the door into a mostly rather homely space. There's
a big fire going in a big fireplace, upon which sits a crude cauldron,
and there is a stew bubbling in it. There are many dried flowers
hanging from the ceiling. There are shelves on the walls that have little odds
and ends, shiny stones, small like almost taxidermat animals. There's also surprisingly
refined tools made mostly out of knapped stone, but some of them are like
a crude iron like the cauldron. In the center of the room, however,
there is an overturned table with a bunch of plates and things all over
the floor, and peeking from behind that table there is a woman's face and
there is a good three feet of spear resting on the table, pointing in
your direction. The woman has dark skin, She has long braided hair that
has lots of feathers and bones and stuff in it. Could I have an
estimation on how old this she is? Like our age? Does Ricardo speak
Aquilonian? Col Does I do Zangorian? Aqulonian? I? Thought you did,
but I know how it is. Make sure. Okay, it suddenly
occurs to you that she's spoke to you an Aquilonian, but it is odd
and heavily accented. As far as age goes, she looks like she's approaching
middle age. Okay, as you guys are just kind of standing there,
you're looking in she's looking out at you. She says, are you real?
Or are you more phantoms sent to haunt me? Oh? Oh damn?
Are we getting into a philosophical clip? Now? We haven't found the
fan. We just survived the swamp, but we are that's what checked.
Anyway, It's been many years since anyone has survived to make it this far.
I can only imagine cautiously. She stands up from behind the table,
still clutching to the spear. Her stance indicates to Ricardo that she knows how
to use the thing as well. She's very lean and muscular, and she's
wearing makeshift armor fur around the shoulders, fur belt. But a lot of
the armor is an odd leather that seems to be covered with scales. Are
they pointy or round? Scales? Very round? Geter geter golf fish scales
can you make fish leather. You could sell fish scales to you leather.
True, true, what a disturbing idea. Again, my name is Ricardo.
I don't know if I have caught yours. I am Nala Ricardo Los
a little bit sea going. I actually didn't expect another live person here,
so I didn't know what we were going to find. But I guess.
He just gestures to the table. Do you want me to help? Bunts
of help getting that back up? She relax as the slightest bit. I
suppose my dinner is almost ready. There's probably not enough to fill all of
our bellies, but you're welcome to have some if if you are friendly.
Su sounds wonderful. It drives spot to rest my feet and my body.
Honestly, sounds very good. If you were willing to offer that, he'll
like, you know, put us stuff away and go over to the table
to help ride it up, and all that kind of ship you came from
the waters to the south. Yes, we were teleported into a jungle.
Oh, yes, that's happened to all of us. I don't think anyone
lived here naturally, anyone else here, No, not now, but yes,
we decided to yeah, travel the waters up from the south. Bad
business there. It's lucky that you made it here before nightfall. These phantoms
you to speak of phantoms. She repeats the word a couple of times,
and the way her accent is you can tell she's wondering if she was using
the correct word. All of this area, this ground, there's strange magic
here. There are the fishmen who come out at now you and eyebrow quirks
at fishmen. Pole is not happy to hear this. But you look tough
enough that you could handle the fishmen easily. The bigger problem is the beast
singular? What type of beasts? I haven't seen it, but when I
first came here, I spent a lot of time hiding in small caverns against
the great wall. She throws the thumb towards the canyon wall. I was
able to find out that the beast will not approach certain smells. I think
it's nose is sensitive. It doesn't like my herbs. And she gestures around
to the flowers hanging from the ceiling and the plants hanging in the window sill.
I strongly recommend when you decide to move on, And she looks a
little bit sad at this point, because they always do and they never come
back. They usually don't listen that you take some of my herbs with you
and wear them around your neck. There has been people before us, not
for many years. But yes, can I take a closer look at what
kinds of herbs are hanging in the windows? Yes, professional curiosity and all
that. Oh yeah, absolutely, game recognizes a game and all that.
Yeah, what do we got make a lord chick? Difficulty one? I
imagine I'm like reaching out, touching very gently, so I don't like break
anything that's brittle, giving them a good sniff. They're all very fragrant herbs.
There's some that you I've never seen before. Lemony smells. There's a
lot of different mints. There's sage, there's also wolf spain. Even a
couple of dried fungus are present in each bundle. Do you grow your own
herbs or do you gather what's here? Imagine it's both. Yes, most
of what you see here is grown in my garden now, but many many
years ago when I first got here, obviously I had to gather everything.
I would take things that grew in and around the caves that seemed to keep
the beasts the farthest away. I've seen entire patrols of the fishmen just ripped
to pieces, and we think it is only one of these things. I
suppose that tracks from how these areas seem to happen. There's always one over
the large beastie of some storts that rules the roost. Well as long as
you wish to stay. I have plenty of space, and the creature does
not come near my home. Somewhere to the north, I do not get
very close. There is something that belongs to the one that sent us here,
standing stones and ruins on the ground. I believe that is the source
of the strange magic that infests this place, the fog and such. Yes,
is it better to get rid of the fog or to leave it in
place? Special thanks to Toys and Things in Danvers, Massachusetts, Reaper Miniatures
Off the Wall, Games in Hadley, Massachusetts, Games and Friends in Springfield,
Massachusetts, as well as Triple A Games Arena in Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
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