Re: Gannagroth liferock (hex 44.07)
To whom it may concern at the Great Library,
My friend Killian the obsidiman warrior invited me to join him on a trip up into the Throal Mountains to visit his liferock. We were joined by my friends Redsun the troll archer, Juniper the elven shadow, and Bloodbeat the t’skrang Nethermancer.
Given that we would be paying a courtesy call to the nearby Theran Villa (hex 44.07), I prepared a copy of Principles of Geology by the esteemed Dwarven Scholar, Charles of House Lyell, as a gift for the noble in residence, one Kerim Ianjyre. The Theran’s interest in geology is well known, and I hesitate to think of the mining concerns that will be pumping him for information once word gets around in certain circles. I wished to make an assessment of his character, and see if he would be a potential threat to the security of the liferock. I thought the gift would make a good stepping off point for the conversation, as it were.
Travel up into the mountains was relatively uneventful, and passage to the villa went more smoothly than expected. Beautiful country with some truly breath-taking vistas along the route.
We arrived at the villa, and were pleased with both their hospitality and that conversations with the (former) slaves kept by the Theran revealed that they had all been emancipated after Kerim received his copy of the Council Compact and adopted it’s terms. Am glad to see that progress toward a more civil society is possible even with those steeped in Theran culture. Don’t get me wrong, there is much to be said for Thera’s rich culture and history – I am just personally grateful to have been born into a more enlightened time, when the institution of slavery has been abolished within the Throalic sphere of influence, and the cycle of magic has moved forward so that we can (more) safely return to the surface.
I regret to report that Kerim is a delightful conversationalist, but is stunningly naïve. With a sinking heart, I listened to the geologist babble about his survey work and the rich deposits of true elements and other valuable minerals all around the liferock. Not surprising, except for their extent. As I looked with horror around his study, I saw virtually no security measures taken over documents the various House mining concerns in Throal (and that were active in pre-Scourge Thera) would give their eye teeth to get ahold of. I took some consolation in the thought that the liferock and its brotherhood would be taking steps to hide and protect itself, but it was a very unsettling meeting.
Travel to the liferock itself revealed a small village of mostly obsidimen, with folks of a few other races mixed in, enjoying the beautiful mountain lake with the liferock on a small island in the middle. The lake water is rich in kernels of True Water, and the obsidiman brotherhood had begun to develop the natural bounty in a sustainable way so true to their lifestyle of living in harmony with the elements. They were welcoming, friendly, and… …had two guards on watch, but I saw no other appreciable security in evidence.
One of the brothers, an Elementalist, used some form of ancient pre-Scourge magic to guide a floating stone platform out into the lake, so that we might visit the elder currently speaking for the liferock. I was struck by this unique adaptation - so similar to what I have read about Theran Navel technology - to guide and power the raft, and again had a feeling of dread about the risk to this peaceful community if word gets out about what is here. I strongly suggest that Throalic representatives visit with the obsidimen to see what might be learned, with an eye toward a cooperative agreement that would improve the safety and security of their community while developing the local resources in harmony with their lifestyle. The Throalic Fleet is looking for knowledge and magical adaptations of this type, and a mutually beneficial exchange is certainly in both communities’ best interest. The liferock may be especially receptive to the discussion given that a crystal horror has been active in the area.
We met with the Brotherhood Elder, Arsia Shelfwalker. A beautiful moment of re-connection for my friend and a lovely ceremony under a bower of living wood on the island as the liferock looked on. Arsia asked if Killian and his companions would be willing to assist with two disturbances that the Brothers had sensed nearby, one to the north west and the other to the south. The disturbances were interfering with the obsidimen’s ability to attune with the land, and our help would be appreciated. Killian communed with the Elder to learn how to attune his senses to the disturbances, and we chose to head toward the northern one first.
[Note: there is no reference in writing to the "Singing", the communication mode between liferocks in writing in Nib's journal, tho there is a doodle in the margin that might be of interest to someone working for the Eye of Throal]
The nest of Earth Q’wril we found was… …odd (hex 43.06). We handled their aggression with our usual dispatch, but in addition to their nest being “off” to the local obsidimen, the Q’wril’s territorial aggression was extreme. After defeating them, our examination of the bodies showed two distinct sub-species, both of whom should signs of being spell worked or bred or both? The smaller specimens were so muscular their skin was close to tearing, and they lacked even the minimal body fat normal to healthy Q’wril. The larger and stronger specimens were even further removed from the vegetarian creatures familiar in Throal, multiple generations removed or a heavier dose of the mutagen, perhaps? While it is possible a local magical effect could duplicate an alchemical steroid in different doses (an intriguing potential resource in it’s own way if used appropriately), it is also possible that someone or something is performing experiments in the area, a potential hazard to be wary of. (C.F. known activity of Crystal Horror, Parliament of Glass).
We traveled back to the liferock to report our findings to the north, restock supplies, and gather things useful for slogging through the muck, then headed to the swamp area with a disturbance to the south (hex 44.08).
I have never been so grateful for wings and felt so sorry for mud covered walkers ☹
Anyway, after slogging closer to the center of the area where Killian could feel the disturbance between his toes, we encountered another set of mutants. So glad there is no pattern emerging. This time, it was Jub Jub’s who had found a potion of steroids, and they were led by an even more hodge podge monstrosity called a Molgrim, which had also fallen into a vat in an alchemist’s lab. We dispatched the Molgrim and several of the Jub Jubs, but the pattern is disturbing.
When we returned with our findings to Arsia, he seemed pleased that the swamp was less astrally contaminated than it had been, so yay progress?
My gut says there is someone playing games with the local flora and fauna up in these mountains, breeding, creating, mutating, and for some reason I have a suspicion it won’t end well. The thought did occur to me that if a mining interest oversteps itself, they could be in for more than they bargained for by whatever is behind this. I just hope the Brotherhood of Gannagroth isn’t caught in the cross fire.
In service,
NibStatistics:Posted by Serespar — Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:22 am
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