Hook:
We finally figure out what Ragnum knows about the Sunken City of Olorru. It's probably a lot.
072- 260325 - Sunk Cost Facilities - Sunken City I
Date:
446 PC, Month XX
Players:
Ragnum
Keres
Raven
Die-ana
Kalina
Loot:
None
After Actions:
Ashfall 7-15, Ragnums report to Steve.
At this point, you know what a resounding success our attempt to establish a FLTR near the sunken city of Olorrun was. We now have easy access to the ruins of an even larger city lost to the rift over 100 miles from Sifren.
Sarna, Raven and I had been planning and working on a travel harness and basket since Ashfall 7, and that hard work really paid off. Raven and Sarna finished the harness just around the same time the bridge across the gorge was ready. Bring Raven, Die-anna, and Kalina were obvious choices for this endeavor, given that they aren’t reliant on heavy equipment; Keres and I, on the other had also had to spend time deciding what equipment we would leave behind to ensure Atti the second, as we named the Roc we summoned, would be able to carry all of us and the FLTR system. Keres switched from her old reliable chainmail to some wild-looking leather armor. I decided to leave behind all my physical armor and weapons, but I was confident that Dumathoin would provide for my protection.
The morning of Ashfall 13, Keres deftly piloted the Atti with us on her back to the newly repaired broken bridge. To pass the time while we soared above the rift, Keres led us in singing a sea chanty she'd learned as a sailor; I believe it originated as a pirate song, sung during their plundering, but we didn’t care because it was a banger. I shared a traditional dwarven working chant that was first recorded by the seven mining sages of Dumathoin. Raven offered an interesting folk song she described as swamp music, and Die-anna taught us a song she learned while playing cards about an older gambler's advice to a less experienced card player. We really should organize a sing-allong back at camp, it would likely be good for morale.
When we arrived at the Broken Bridge, the repair crew was clearly hungover from a night of revelry celebrating the completed mission. After they returned to camp through the FLTR, we stripped it of all its protective casings so that it could be carried by Atti and took off for the sunken city.
Kalina's sharp eyes were a huge benefit to this expedition. Even though she has been with the Banner and in the Rift for only a few weeks, she has already proven herself as a capable scout. I’ve attached a rough map we were able to produce based on Kalina’s observations [Keristen to provide details from a Kalina’s 27 perception check later]. We were able to plot the boarders of the Glass Field. There are lots of forests on this side of the river, including a large one to the NW of the Glass Field and they look normal, in contrast to most of the vegetation we have seen around Sifren. The terrain becomes much rockier with many streams and rivers to the west, and the western road continues on before then turning south and intersecting another N-S road near an active village! We initially noticed the village because we saw plumes of white smoke indicative of hearths or campfires in the distance. As we approached the settlement, we noticed that most of the buildings in the village were constructed from wood, and decorated with colorfully dyed textiles. We were tempted to stop and make contact but we didn’t want to risk our primary mission. We should send an envoy to make contact with them; they likely noticed us because we were not flying very high—we don’t really know where the upper boundary of the rift span is after all, and did not want to risk falling into the astral plane.
After several hours of flying, we wanted to give Atti (and ourselves) a rest, so we landed on a bald hill surrounded by forests to camp for the night. On the hill, we found a cairn made from granite and covered in druidic symbols; I was able to translate some of the general advice about seasons and planting, but druidic writings are known to have hidden meaning, so perhaps Draylore should return to this site and confirm my interpretation.
The next morning, I petitioned Dumathoin to provide us with food and drink to sustain us on our journey of discovery, and we continued on to Olorrun. At this stage in the journey, we were attacked by condor-like creatures; Keres bravely continued to guide Atti even as she was attacked. I provided Dumathoin blessing to the others while Die-anna easily jumped around Atti’s back and wings, dispatching the animals with her fist; any of the birds that attempted to damage the FLTR met their end at Raven’s daggers, and Kelina arrows removed many threats before they even approached.
After this harrowing attack, we finally saw our destination, the sunken city of Olorrun. The land surrounding it is very mountainous. The large mountain we have seen in the distance is from the east hovers over it; Kalina and I were able to confirm with cartographers' tools that the mountain’s peak is over 14,000 ft tall. We landed on a cliff that would make a defensible position for a forward outpost and to install the FLTR near the city.
As we landed, it was immediately apparent that the area around the city had been the site of a massive epic battle. The remnants of fallen warriors and their equipment were everywhere. Beyond that, the remnants of the sunken city thrust out of the water like a tombstone marking this forgotten memorial to the bravery of the long-forgotten warriors of the Tharnic Empire. It appears that the battle destabilized the foundations of the city of Olorrun, causing it to slide into the waves of the adjacent bay.
After we spent the night setting up the FLTR, I contacted you through a sending spell, and you sent the forewoman Gideona and her crew through to begin building the outpost. She immediately noted that her team would need to cut stone from the cliffside to build the outpost, given the rocky terrain. After helping them set up camp, we returned to Sifren through the FLTR.
Unresolved Threads:
What was the battle fought over, and who fought it?
How structurally stable are the remains of the city, and is it abandoned or inhabitted?
What/where is the Abyssal Lodestone? And is the cult that wanted it still here?
Where are High Cleric Atrice's remains?