Shadows of the Past
- Thread starter Azel
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Location
- Germany
No, but we might find some lost lore in the ruins the apprentice was looking into.
That's why he went there after all.
- Location
- Argentina
Lost lore on smithing, not that useful to us, really.
- Location
- Russia
- Pronouns
- He
But they were lost in a ruin, which may or may not involve ancient spirits for our Spirit Lore and ancient metal loot.
[X] Offer Noche to search his apprentice for him.
-[X] You won't make any promises of finding him, but you will give it a shot.
That said since this is a post-fall society it's quite possible to have kept that bit of smelting lore.
-[X] You won't make any promises of finding him, but you will give it a shot.
Uh, as far as I'm aware smelting metallic tin only started happening around the late bronze age, since it was a lot harder to separate from the ore than to just add mineral tin ore to a copper smelter to produce bronze(if of unreliable quality because the amount of tin added via the ore was hard to gauge compared to the metal).
That said since this is a post-fall society it's quite possible to have kept that bit of smelting lore.
- Location
- Germany
I'm aware of that, but modern Cualli rediscovered / kept that lore fresh out of simple necessity. With tin and copper mines being usually separated by months of travel and the ores being mined usually of lackluster quality and metal content, it would be not even remotely economic to haul raw ore through a hostile jungle.
- Location
- United States
Lost lore on smithing, potential metal loot, potential metal rewards from the smith.
Metrux
Gentle Demon Lord
- Location
- Brasil
What @Duesal sayd, besides we don't need to trade only with him. If we DO find some lost lore on smithing, don't you think the Wise Men would be interested? We go there, learn a little by practice, bring the boy back for a reward, and we can find loot or secrets that, even if not usefull for us, can be traded. There are things people don't accept money for, but they do accept secrets in trade ;3
- Location
- United States
And let's not forget that XP.
Sneaking at 3 and Survival & Perception at 4, we have a pretty great shot at passing through unnoticed.
- Location
- United States
Metal, here we come.
Chapter 7: Grave Tenders
- Location
- Germany
[X] Offer Noche to search his apprentice for him.
-[X] You won't make any promises of finding him, but you will give it a shot.
-[X] You won't make any promises of finding him, but you will give it a shot.
1.6.17.10.7.16 - 16th day of Water
You quietly think things over as Noche starts again to hammer the blade into shape. It would be rather dangerous to go after his apprentice, a man who obviously knew the risks of his plan or he wouldn't have hired guards and a guide. On the other hand, though, whatever he was after should be something good if he invested so much effort, and it might not be the only interesting thing to be found in those ruins. Having the gratitude of a smith for finding his apprentice could be rather good for you, too.
"If he is that long overdue, I could try to find him for you. You probably know the route he was taking, right?" That startles Noche a bit and he stops working again, the unfinished blade laying forgotten and cooling on the stone.
"That I do, but do you really want to do this? He might be just delaying his return because of something he found there. I was thinking about sending someone after him for a few days now, but if he truly ran into problems, I might just send a new meal to whatever beast claimed Ixtli's life. Neither his tracker nor his guards were unskilled." The levity with which he talked to you so far is gone. Not that he has suddenly become unfriendly, but there is a quiet intensity about him now that makes it clear how serious the discussion turned. The unspoken question is clear. 'Can you do better then them?'
Truth be told, you wouldn't be so arrogant to assume that. Your master was very thorough when she had beaten out that youthful folly out of you, that you could beat anyone who crossed your path. However, she also taught you how to evade such fights in the first place. "They were four, and most of the warriors I've seen with the caravans couldn't hide from a blind llama." That was probably a bit unfair to some of the better ones. The two traveling with Ollin had still left you rather unimpressed. "I can't promise you to bring him back, but I can stay hidden alone far easier than a large group. I might be able to at least bring you news of what I've seen."
Absentmindedly he puts the unfinished blade, now entirely cold, back into the oven before mustering you again. "Alright. I want you to stay safe and turn back if you run into problems. Better to never know what became of Ixtli then sending another poor soul after him."
"I will take care, that I can promise you."
"Good. Then let me show you the map he used. The route isn't that difficult to follow."
Buying trail rations for 20 days - 30 Beans
Survival, DC 200:
83 + 50 (Intelligence) + 60 (Constitution) + 80 (Survival) + 15 (Living off the Land) = 288
Making good time.
Endurance, DC 200:
69 + 60 (Strength) + 60 (Constitution) + 60 (Endurance) = 249
No need for a break.
Perception:
64 + 50 (Intelligence) + 60 (Concentration) + 80 (Perception) = 254
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Tracking, DC 200:
51 + 50 (Intelligence) + 60 (Concentration) + 40 (Tracking) = 201
Barely
Survial +29 XP
Endurance +41 XP
Perception +79 XP
Tracking +65 XP
AN: A word on the DCs.
Every route you travel has an average travelling time and fixed Survival and Endurance DCs. Successes on these checks make you arrive faster while failures slow you down or might even lead to getting lost.
Needless to say, the slower you travel, the more likely you run into something you don't want to.
Survival, DC 200:
83 + 50 (Intelligence) + 60 (Constitution) + 80 (Survival) + 15 (Living off the Land) = 288
Making good time.
Endurance, DC 200:
69 + 60 (Strength) + 60 (Constitution) + 60 (Endurance) = 249
No need for a break.
Perception:
64 + 50 (Intelligence) + 60 (Concentration) + 80 (Perception) = 254
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Tracking, DC 200:
51 + 50 (Intelligence) + 60 (Concentration) + 40 (Tracking) = 201
Barely
Survial +29 XP
Endurance +41 XP
Perception +79 XP
Tracking +65 XP
AN: A word on the DCs.
Every route you travel has an average travelling time and fixed Survival and Endurance DCs. Successes on these checks make you arrive faster while failures slow you down or might even lead to getting lost.
Needless to say, the slower you travel, the more likely you run into something you don't want to.
1.6.17.10.7.17 to 7.19 - 17th to 19th day of Water
The journey goes quite well. After your experience with Ollin, you take a good bunch of rations along, especially since you still hope not to be alone on the way back. The first leg is along a trading path to the south, and without llamas to slow you down you make good time. Unlike the last time, though, there are other traders you pass on your way. Some travel to Tlamaca and others you overtake on their trek away from there. Where they are headed, you do not know, but after living for your whole life in a small area that you knew so well, it's a stark reminder of the vastness of the world to constantly see people going to places you never even heard of.
Then a small stream cuts through the stone road, bridged by a rickety wooden bridge. Ixtli planned to leave the beaten path here and follow the stream upwards and to the east, since it should lead right to the ruins he was headed to. So far, you've seen nothing that indicates that he was here, but with the caravans making camp along the road all the time, it's not surprising. Neither would it make much sense for them to have disappeared where all these other travelers pass safely and so you take after them.
Surprisingly, it is much harder to follow them in the wilds, even when the stream shows you the direction. The water is winding it's way through the surrounding hills and the hillsides drop steeply. More than once you have to venture around rocks or cliffs and worry that you might have passed by any signs pointing to Ixtlis whereabouts, but finally you have some luck. Shortly before the ruins should come in sight, you find the remnants of a campfire. Too old to tell how long ago it was made, but young enough to be clearly visible. So you know that they reached the ruins and must be still there. For one reason or another. With the sun nearly setting already, you decide to make use of the good site they picked. Waiting until tomorrow won't hurt, and you would rather be well-rested when facing whatever might have claimed their lives.
1.6.17.10.8.0 - Seating of the Black Storm
Not fear, but a healthy dose of wariness is on your mind as you crest the final hill before your destination. The run in with the Flesh Moth host all those years ago is still vivid in your memory and there is no way to guess what kind of spirit might have made these crumbled houses his home. When you reach the peak, though, you are stumped by the sight. The ruins don't look like ruins at all, more like the carefully tended to homes of the artisans in Tlamaca. The stream cuts through the settlement, which is placed on the sides of the surrounding hills. Debris litter the stream there, and further back you see a small lake forming through the waters path being clogged by discarded masonry.
To the left of you, neat rows of well-maintained houses stand. There are missing a few here and there, but there are no piles of rubble where they once stood, just clean slates of stone as if someone had prepared the place to build anew on them. The right side is dominated by a single huge complex and connected by two stone bridges to the housing on the other side. Not a palace, not quite, but clearly a place of some importance if you take the statues and faded murals that surround it into account. And yet there is the same eerie quiet that you know from ruins and not the loud life that suffuses Tlamaca. The settlement before you stands like a well maintained tomb. It is not made of homes, but of silent memorials to those that lived here so long ago.
You stand there for a while, puzzled by this, when you finally see something moving among the houses. At first you mistake if for a man, but a second glance makes you see its true nature. Not flesh, but cold stone it is that moves there. A statue in the shape of a man walks down the path, a bundle of plants in its arms.
Spirit Lore, DC 200:
30 + 50 (Intelligence) + 50 (Intelligence) + 80 (Spirit Lore) = 210
Identified
Spirit Lore +77 XP
30 + 50 (Intelligence) + 50 (Intelligence) + 80 (Spirit Lore) = 210
Identified
Spirit Lore +77 XP
It takes you a while to remember that particular lesson. Stone Men they are called. Spirits that once served old Cualli before the Fall. Weird creatures that you can find all over the land. Some of them have become nothing more then ravenous beasts, or maybe they always were thus and just reverted to that state with no one to hold their leashes. Others did strange and unfathomable things like walking in a perfect circle until they dug trenches into the land with their feet, or building huge mounts out of dead trees in the middle of the jungle.
As you see this one drop the plants into the stream and turn around, you spot another one coming from the same direction. He too carries plants in his arms. So the third kind these Stone Men are. Those who still maintain the homes of their dead masters as if expecting them to come back to them. Those were often not all that aggressive, certainly a lot less than their crazed brethren, but they too could get vicious when you offended their alien sensibilities. And those loyal Stone Men usually came in great numbers.
Maybe Ixtli or one of his party had offended them or maybe these Stone Men just hid their blood lust better then others to lure in their victims. On the other hand, they might be safe and sound somewhere in the settlement if those spirits are truly uncaring of their presence.
What do you want to do?
[] Go back to Tlamaca. You've seen enough.
[] Try to find Ixtli in the ruins.
-[] Go to the homes.
-[] Go to the big compound.
-[] Write-In Preperations
-[] Write-In what to do in regards to the Stone Men
AN: Decent rolls all around. Nothing failed, but it was rather close two times. Your build is indeed rather useful for a solo journey through the wilderness.
I think we should at least make a decent attempt to find the missing apprentice.
- Location
- Germany
Constructs! If only we knew the commands, these would be fantastic loot.
Stone Men are not known to be a talkative lot.Maybe just ask the stone men?
I'll wait a while before voting.
- Location
- United States
Okay, so this:
Also, since this is a dangerous quest and we don't know what else is out there aside from the Stone Men, let's put our alchemy to use. Missions like this are precisely why we stockpiled the stuff, and the last time we used it to help mask our scent it saved our asses from the Flesh Moths.
[X] Try to find Ixtli in the ruins.
-[X] Go to the big compound.
[X] Observe the Stone Men's movement patterns, then sneak in once we've found a gap where there are no Stone Men who can spot us. As we sneak in, be on the watch for more Stone Men.
-[X] Before entering, mask your scent with Jungle's Scent.
Is what we're after. We've seen in post-Fall world that smiths ply their trade in their backyards, but a pre-Fall smith with a professional workshop would have had something more impressive. We're not going to find the workshop in the homes, it's almost definitely in the compound. That's hopefully where we'll find the apprentice.
Also, since this is a dangerous quest and we don't know what else is out there aside from the Stone Men, let's put our alchemy to use. Missions like this are precisely why we stockpiled the stuff, and the last time we used it to help mask our scent it saved our asses from the Flesh Moths.
[X] Try to find Ixtli in the ruins.
-[X] Go to the big compound.
[X] Observe the Stone Men's movement patterns, then sneak in once we've found a gap where there are no Stone Men who can spot us. As we sneak in, be on the watch for more Stone Men.
-[X] Before entering, mask your scent with Jungle's Scent.
- Location
- Queensland, Australia
We definitely lucked out managing to get training as Hunter as well as being a Shaman...
The Hunter means we've got the skills to survive and explore, whilst the Shaman training means we're more likely to identify and survive problems we encounter...
[X] Try to find Ixtli in the ruins.
-[X] Go to the big compound.
[X] Observe the Stone Men's movement patterns, then sneak in once we've found a gap where there are no Stone Men who can spot us. As we sneak in, be on the watch for more Stone Men.
-[X] Before entering, mask your scent with Jungle's Scent.
The Hunter means we've got the skills to survive and explore, whilst the Shaman training means we're more likely to identify and survive problems we encounter...
[X] Try to find Ixtli in the ruins.
-[X] Go to the big compound.
[X] Observe the Stone Men's movement patterns, then sneak in once we've found a gap where there are no Stone Men who can spot us. As we sneak in, be on the watch for more Stone Men.
-[X] Before entering, mask your scent with Jungle's Scent.
- Location
- Croatia
[X] Try to find Ixtli in the ruins.
-[X] Go to the big compound.
[X] Observe the Stone Men's movement patterns, then sneak in once we've found a gap where there are no Stone Men who can spot us. As we sneak in, be on the watch for more Stone Men.
-[X] Before entering, mask your scent with Jungle's Scent.
-[X] Go to the big compound.
[X] Observe the Stone Men's movement patterns, then sneak in once we've found a gap where there are no Stone Men who can spot us. As we sneak in, be on the watch for more Stone Men.
-[X] Before entering, mask your scent with Jungle's Scent.
[X] Try to find Ixtli in the ruins.
-[X] Go to the big compound.
[X] Observe the Stone Men's movement patterns, then sneak in once we've found a gap where there are no Stone Men who can spot us. As we sneak in, be on the watch for more Stone Men.
-[X] Before entering, mask your scent with Jungle's Scent.
-[X] Go to the big compound.
[X] Observe the Stone Men's movement patterns, then sneak in once we've found a gap where there are no Stone Men who can spot us. As we sneak in, be on the watch for more Stone Men.
-[X] Before entering, mask your scent with Jungle's Scent.
- Location
- United States
Yeah, I'm very happy with our build. Especially because of this:
Nothing like GM confirmation to build your confidence.
We just gotta get everything up a few more levels and start collecting companions. Oh, and get our hands on some metal.