The swamp

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Feb 16, 2025 1:10 am
OOC:
@Feanor continued from Tower
The guards at the west gate perfunctory check your passes as you head out after a good breakfast. The sun is rising above the horizon behind you and the sounds of birds and bugs almost hides the river sounds to your north. The road west of the base has been cleared and packed making the walk easy. Tall grass surrounds the road with trees rising further west. After a couple of minutes the trees are closer and the ground around the road is spotted with muds and water puddles as the grassland turns to a marsh. Soon you are among the trees and the road dwindles to a decent wagon track raised a foot above the waters of the swamp that now surround you.

The road leads to a fork with a simple wooden guard tower and a suspension and pontoon bridge connecting it to another watch tower to the west. A smaller track heads to the south, to the Grippli shamans mound. Greeting you the two guards mention you appear new to them and inform you the waters and thick vegetation hide a variety of local wildlife. These threats range from large alligators, swarms of fish that will strip you to the bones in seconds, poisonous snakes, and the ever-present flies.
Feb 16, 2025 1:15 am
Pausing at the intersection Feanor considers his options. You can just follow the card, get more information from the guards, consult the local shaman, or even hire one of the gripply, a frog beastkin local to the area, as a guide.
OOC:
Whatever you choose feel free to let me know your plans and I can move the story to where the decisions are more impactful.
[ +- ] If you head straight for the guardian
Feb 23, 2025 4:43 am
Apologies again for taking so long. It's been a brutal week. Is it ok if I don't head straight for the guardian, even though you already wrote all that? I think hiring a local, frog beastkin would be smart,
Feb 23, 2025 5:57 am
OOC:
No worries. Life happens.
Just giving options. Interacting with locals is more back and forth so not much I could do there.
Heading into the swamp is more straightforward. I get you introduced to the locals tomorrow
Feb 23, 2025 7:44 pm
The guards inform you that the southern track leads to another pontoon bridge that connects to the area near the Grippli shamans mound. Following the direction you soon reach the pontoon bridge and after a moment's hesitation step lightly across. As you do you note a few ripples heading your way, prompting a slight increase to your pace.
Continuing on the path you soon reach the shamans mound. About 20 feet tall and about 60 feet wide the mound resembles a low hill save the doorway cutting into it and several small "window" holes along with a hole atop the hill out of which rises a thin wisp of smoke.

https://i.imgur.com/8OwcjZv.jpg

Friends come in
Enemies take a dive
Out front is a crude sign with an arrow pointing to the swamp and a simple image of a person being eaten by something in the water.

From deep within an odd scratching voice calls out Come on in! is a welcoming and wavering tone.

As you enter the first thing you note is the smell. There is a light haze filling the inside of the mound. It is slightly thick and sweet with a hint of something that tingles when you inhale the fumes. As you do you feel yourself relax and slightly more alert (for now) Make a Save Test (2d6 and any roll 5 or higher is a pass) The inside of the mound is one large cavernous room. The fire in the middle has a kettle hung over it which is bubbling slightly. Tables, racks, and shelves line all the walls and a wide variety of identifiable and unidentifiable items cover every surface.
[ +- ] Save Tests
Looking around you see a variety of animal parts in various forms of preservation and processing as well as bones, powders, hides, pickled eyeballs, some other things you can't or would rather not try and identify.


Guflis
Off to one side working on mixing some powders together sits a little old grippli. The shaman eyes you as you enter and smiles in greeting. Well, newcomers. Certainly have been a lot of new faces lately. Corse some of the new neighbors I could do without muttering the last bit with obvious distaste.
What can I do for you, eh? Need some healing, preventative, a charm maybe? and blinks her large eyes

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