Post by Caliban (Pyrin) on Jul 6, 2024 22:46:49 GMT
Illuminated by Candlelight, Pyrin flicked open the red backed-time. An book he’d purchased for a minor fee, one for him to make his notes and recollections in. Passing through pages he’d yet filled with his small notes and names, he found an empty page- and begun to write.
“Entry - Beneath the Waves.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given my prior endeavours into, well, a layer of hell, that there would possibly be more to Kantas and the land that met the eye. I took up a contract with Serrik Hoss, a Merchant in Port Ffirst who sought for adventurers to make a scouting expedition to ruins reported by fishermen further out at sea. I was more so appealed by gold- though the promise of a mystery was appealing, I’ve been rather flimsy in my spending power of late. I digress, I arrived at port Ffirst and made the acquaintance of a Halfling Bard; Finnegan, and a Water Genasi Druid, Albede.
We (well, me and Finnegan), were issued with helms of water breathing, and some weighted boots; these helped us sink down to the ocean floor and buoyancy. I was also offered some wax for me wings; greatly saves from having to deal with soggy feathers. I conversed with an old sailor as we made out to the site: he told me of various tales and myths amidst the sailing folk, but none seemed to correlate to the presence of the ruins. After a while, we saw the faint lights of the ruins, so then the crew made anchor, and we descended to the ocean floor, proceeding towards the Ruins.
I must say; they were incredible. Great statues of half-sharks half-men (mersharks?) were very present, and the architecture of the site was fascinating, even amidst erosion and water logging. We carried on through to a grand plaza of sorts, where 13 huts/small buildings were arrayed in a parallel order, before a massive temple. The design was fascinating- I’m no archaeologist but this was…something else. Even more fascinating was the door of the temple- it was oak! An oaken door underneath the waves; I remember my mind racing when we found it- it meant this temple was once above the waves! I was quite giddy, I hope my fellow compatriots shared in my enthusiasm. We opened the door and went through into the temple. Two rooms were arrayed on our left and right, with an altar ahead at the end of the temple. We made our way gently across the tiles, but poor Finnegan stepped upon a trapped tile- and wounded himself upon concealed spikes- the mechanism of which seemed to not have worked, but rather the sheer impact wounding the Halfling. We bandaged him quickly- these waters were supposedly shark-infested, so the smell of blood would travel quick. It was something we didn’t want to find out about, but we’d soon realise we had no choice in the matter…
As Albede begun to swim around the room, admiring motifs telling of a collection of animals, and a shark giving chase to a crow, me and finnegan examined the altar. It was resplendent with icons and cobalt coins, and a dagger with a handle I’d never seen before. I gently took it in my talons, finding it very coarse and rough to the touch- likely enough to have drawn blood if I wasn’t careful. Before I had lifted the dagger however, we felt something enter the temple. A hybrid-, no, an amalgamation of man and shark. My feathers on my neck frizz at the mere thought of it…
It had legs and arms, tips of it’s digits sharp- razor sharp, a long tail and fins.. By all means you would have f thought it a shark from range, but as we closed in we saw how it differed. It lacked eyes, rather relying on smell and touch, as Albede tested by throwing a ration, which it hastily devoured. We took our leave, into a side room. We found it with shells dangling from cords, which Albede determined to be associated with rhe Sahaguin, supposedly an auditory way of communication for the race related to their history. Where I would have enjoyed to spend time to try and decode the sounds, our…’pursuer’ must have felt the currents shift, and followed us in gently, circling the room. I was hasty to exit, my feathers coming close to brushing it’s fin. As I rendered the hall, I was freeted with the horrible sight of another pair of the abominations entering the temple.”
Pyrin paused momentarily. He looked to his talon, quill in hand uncharacteristically shaking. The candle flickered and danced, taking the aarakocra’s attention for a moment. Watching that ember gave him some momentary reprieve from remembering the events of that expedition, but Pyrin knew that it had to be done. He turned back to the journal.
“This final room contained a chest, one with a mechanism I found to be quite ingenious. It was trapped, and had I not determined that there was a second container, I would have opened solely the lid, where no doubt something was contained within. Instead, I was able to retrieve two tablets, each completely foriegn in text, and yet somehow we could read them as though it was common. These tablets, the text etched on them read;
Its name is the Deepest One, It’s number is 12, its beast is the shark, its liquid is saltwater and its metal is cobalt.
Its cults are the twelve dreams, it will consume the land with the waves, it is unknowable.
I have my own theories, but I’ll save them for another entry. We found the chest laden with more coins, of which we took plenty. These coins were of cobalt make, interestingly enough.
We made our way out into the plaza, and we begun to visit the various smaller buildings, if not crushed. Alas, I am sorry to report that the initial notes I made following our emergence above water were spoiled by a tavern goer when they tossed ale over it. From my memory, I can recall that there were six or seven of the huts which had not fallen.
Each had the iconography of an animal which appeared on the mural within the temple. A boar, a rat, a ox, a wolf and a crow. The hut of the boat was like a guard post with weaponry, I relieved it of two shortswords. I remember finding a skeleton within, we investigated it and found it with bangles which one time would have likely enabled the wearer to breath beneath water. The injuries I found in the bone, were not its cause of death. I recall the hut of the rat was filled with mad drawings and scribbles, and that the room of the ox was laden in carpets and pillows as though a place of respite, the hut of the wolf was supposed to connotate food, being a storehouse of sorts. My memory fails me beyond this, I am afraid.
The shark-things had gathered more and more numerous after we emerged from the final hut, and begun to swarm near the enterwnde of the plaza. Finnegan had casted us a shield underwater as we entered, and the shark-things seemed to have begun to viciously attack it as though it was real. The violence with which they struck- I am glad none of us met such a fate. We resubmerged after a while, clambering back up the anchor we had descended down with, returning to port Ffirst to give a detailed report to our patron.
I find myself intruiging by this…cult. I know not much of Kantas’ history, perhaps a visit to a library in Daring Heights is in order, and those motifs and murals imply more than one to have been of significance. Which worries me. What if more like those shark things exist? What if more temples like that lie dormant?
And the tablet spoke of consuming the land with the waves. Consider it…an irrational fear, but there’s more to this. I just know it.”
Pyrin closed the journal and set down his quill. His wings ached. It had been a long day, and tommorow promised a long journey to daring heights. Picking up the candle and with a blow of air from his beak, extinguishing the flame, Pyrin stood up in his small inn room overlooking the port and stared out at the waves of Port FFirst. He wondered to himself for a moment.
Should some things be left unknown?
(gah meant to make this a while ago but got side-tracked. Oh well, I suppose this counts for narrative?)
“Entry - Beneath the Waves.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given my prior endeavours into, well, a layer of hell, that there would possibly be more to Kantas and the land that met the eye. I took up a contract with Serrik Hoss, a Merchant in Port Ffirst who sought for adventurers to make a scouting expedition to ruins reported by fishermen further out at sea. I was more so appealed by gold- though the promise of a mystery was appealing, I’ve been rather flimsy in my spending power of late. I digress, I arrived at port Ffirst and made the acquaintance of a Halfling Bard; Finnegan, and a Water Genasi Druid, Albede.
We (well, me and Finnegan), were issued with helms of water breathing, and some weighted boots; these helped us sink down to the ocean floor and buoyancy. I was also offered some wax for me wings; greatly saves from having to deal with soggy feathers. I conversed with an old sailor as we made out to the site: he told me of various tales and myths amidst the sailing folk, but none seemed to correlate to the presence of the ruins. After a while, we saw the faint lights of the ruins, so then the crew made anchor, and we descended to the ocean floor, proceeding towards the Ruins.
I must say; they were incredible. Great statues of half-sharks half-men (mersharks?) were very present, and the architecture of the site was fascinating, even amidst erosion and water logging. We carried on through to a grand plaza of sorts, where 13 huts/small buildings were arrayed in a parallel order, before a massive temple. The design was fascinating- I’m no archaeologist but this was…something else. Even more fascinating was the door of the temple- it was oak! An oaken door underneath the waves; I remember my mind racing when we found it- it meant this temple was once above the waves! I was quite giddy, I hope my fellow compatriots shared in my enthusiasm. We opened the door and went through into the temple. Two rooms were arrayed on our left and right, with an altar ahead at the end of the temple. We made our way gently across the tiles, but poor Finnegan stepped upon a trapped tile- and wounded himself upon concealed spikes- the mechanism of which seemed to not have worked, but rather the sheer impact wounding the Halfling. We bandaged him quickly- these waters were supposedly shark-infested, so the smell of blood would travel quick. It was something we didn’t want to find out about, but we’d soon realise we had no choice in the matter…
As Albede begun to swim around the room, admiring motifs telling of a collection of animals, and a shark giving chase to a crow, me and finnegan examined the altar. It was resplendent with icons and cobalt coins, and a dagger with a handle I’d never seen before. I gently took it in my talons, finding it very coarse and rough to the touch- likely enough to have drawn blood if I wasn’t careful. Before I had lifted the dagger however, we felt something enter the temple. A hybrid-, no, an amalgamation of man and shark. My feathers on my neck frizz at the mere thought of it…
It had legs and arms, tips of it’s digits sharp- razor sharp, a long tail and fins.. By all means you would have f thought it a shark from range, but as we closed in we saw how it differed. It lacked eyes, rather relying on smell and touch, as Albede tested by throwing a ration, which it hastily devoured. We took our leave, into a side room. We found it with shells dangling from cords, which Albede determined to be associated with rhe Sahaguin, supposedly an auditory way of communication for the race related to their history. Where I would have enjoyed to spend time to try and decode the sounds, our…’pursuer’ must have felt the currents shift, and followed us in gently, circling the room. I was hasty to exit, my feathers coming close to brushing it’s fin. As I rendered the hall, I was freeted with the horrible sight of another pair of the abominations entering the temple.”
Pyrin paused momentarily. He looked to his talon, quill in hand uncharacteristically shaking. The candle flickered and danced, taking the aarakocra’s attention for a moment. Watching that ember gave him some momentary reprieve from remembering the events of that expedition, but Pyrin knew that it had to be done. He turned back to the journal.
“This final room contained a chest, one with a mechanism I found to be quite ingenious. It was trapped, and had I not determined that there was a second container, I would have opened solely the lid, where no doubt something was contained within. Instead, I was able to retrieve two tablets, each completely foriegn in text, and yet somehow we could read them as though it was common. These tablets, the text etched on them read;
Its name is the Deepest One, It’s number is 12, its beast is the shark, its liquid is saltwater and its metal is cobalt.
Its cults are the twelve dreams, it will consume the land with the waves, it is unknowable.
I have my own theories, but I’ll save them for another entry. We found the chest laden with more coins, of which we took plenty. These coins were of cobalt make, interestingly enough.
We made our way out into the plaza, and we begun to visit the various smaller buildings, if not crushed. Alas, I am sorry to report that the initial notes I made following our emergence above water were spoiled by a tavern goer when they tossed ale over it. From my memory, I can recall that there were six or seven of the huts which had not fallen.
Each had the iconography of an animal which appeared on the mural within the temple. A boar, a rat, a ox, a wolf and a crow. The hut of the boat was like a guard post with weaponry, I relieved it of two shortswords. I remember finding a skeleton within, we investigated it and found it with bangles which one time would have likely enabled the wearer to breath beneath water. The injuries I found in the bone, were not its cause of death. I recall the hut of the rat was filled with mad drawings and scribbles, and that the room of the ox was laden in carpets and pillows as though a place of respite, the hut of the wolf was supposed to connotate food, being a storehouse of sorts. My memory fails me beyond this, I am afraid.
The shark-things had gathered more and more numerous after we emerged from the final hut, and begun to swarm near the enterwnde of the plaza. Finnegan had casted us a shield underwater as we entered, and the shark-things seemed to have begun to viciously attack it as though it was real. The violence with which they struck- I am glad none of us met such a fate. We resubmerged after a while, clambering back up the anchor we had descended down with, returning to port Ffirst to give a detailed report to our patron.
I find myself intruiging by this…cult. I know not much of Kantas’ history, perhaps a visit to a library in Daring Heights is in order, and those motifs and murals imply more than one to have been of significance. Which worries me. What if more like those shark things exist? What if more temples like that lie dormant?
And the tablet spoke of consuming the land with the waves. Consider it…an irrational fear, but there’s more to this. I just know it.”
Pyrin closed the journal and set down his quill. His wings ached. It had been a long day, and tommorow promised a long journey to daring heights. Picking up the candle and with a blow of air from his beak, extinguishing the flame, Pyrin stood up in his small inn room overlooking the port and stared out at the waves of Port FFirst. He wondered to himself for a moment.
Should some things be left unknown?
(gah meant to make this a while ago but got side-tracked. Oh well, I suppose this counts for narrative?)