Horrors are Horrible
Or, Even Rocks Cannot be Trusted
What does one do when even the earth itself is corrupted? This is the question that William, Dubhan, Xeviouz, Zil, and I faced when we set out to do some work for the Great Wheel Mining Company. They had identified a potential derelict orichalcum mine at the confluence of three great rivers - the Mothingale, the Opthia, and the northern reach of the Serpent River (Hex: 34.07). Zil said he had a vision of the place, given to him as a dream by Garlen, in which he saw some great corruption obscure the mine from the Hearth Passion's sight. He was eager to investigate.
We took the road to Sosanopa, and there rented a boat to paddle upriver. As journeys go, it was a pleasant one, with the late summer sun and the cool waters offering a pleasant contrast.
Upon arriving, we found the spur of land at the confluence to be swampy and verdant. Our journey was interrupted by some sort of swamp ogre, as well as two absolutely massive pachyderms. They were as big as houses, and as you well know, Throal builds big. They were easily twice the size of the so-called 'elephants' we had faced much earlier in my career.
It was a tough battle, but we persevered. Of note, the ogre disgorged some sort of noxious vapors from its disfigured throat, which sent Zil into paroxysms of nausea. And the massive pachyderms charged back and forth across the field, catching us in their four prodigious tusks and hurling us through the air.
Having finally vanquished those, we collected quite a haul of ivory and mastrolith meat and continued on to the mine itself. Here, we found the land around the mine entrance blasted and blighted - sure sign that something was wrong.
Venturing inside, we found a massive crystalline growth, luminous though it did not shed any light. It was quite beautiful, actually. However, as we gazed upon it, two great black hunting cats flanked us. Soon, we were fighting the cats, and not just those - but the crystal formation itself! Whatever accursed astral entity has occupied that crystal used its magics to grow crystal from our bones, and to assault our minds. It could not move, but its magical power was formidable.
Fortunately, we are all well experienced Adepts now, Journeymen proper, and we were victorious. The Great Wheel Mining Company has begun work to re-activate the mine and we were rewarded with glistening lumps of orichalcum for our efforts. The first orichalcum that I have personally ever handled - how wondrous!Statistics:Posted by bronzemountain — Wed Jun 03, 2020 1:24 am
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