The Caves of Chaos
Jun 19, 2013 20:22:44 GMT -5
Post by Dom on Jun 19, 2013 20:22:44 GMT -5
You leave the Keep soon after visiting the Guild House and head east on the road. The day is sunny and the temperature is pleasant. Seeing this as a good omen, you feel invigorated and ready to tackle anything the Gods might throw at you. After a little while you come upon a scene of devastation. Multiple caravan wagons lay smashed by the side of the road, the rotting corpses of the dead merchants litter the ground where the slaughter took place. You quickly inspect the wreckage but there isn't anything of interest. All the merchandise were taken and there are no survivors left. The only hint is a set of track cutting in the deep woods to the west. Determined to rescue the missing trader, you unsheathe your weapons and slowly start to follow the tracks.
The forest you have been passing through has been getting more dense, tangled, and gloomier than before. The thick, twisted tree trunks, unnaturally misshapen limbs, writhing roots, clutching and grasping thorns and briars all seem to warn and ward you off, but you have forced and hacked your way through regardless. Now the strange growth has suddenly ended - you have stepped out of the thicket into a ravine-like area. The walls rise rather steeply to either side to a height of about 100’ or so - dark,
streaked rock mingled with earth. Clumps of trees grow here and there, both on the floor of the ravine and up the sloping wails of the canyon. The opening you stand in is about 200’ wide. The ravine runs at least 400’ west (actually 440’) to where the western end rises in a steep slope. Here and there, at varying heights on all sides of the ravine, you can see the black mouths of cave-like openings in the rock walls. The sunlight is dim, the air dank, there is an oppressive feeling here - as if something evil is watching and waiting to pounce upon you. There are bare, dead trees here and there, and upon one a vulture perches and gazes hungrily at you. A flock of ravens rise croaking from the ground, the beat of their wings and their cries magnified by the terrain to sound loud and horrible. Amongst the litter of rubble, boulders, and dead wood scattered about on the ravine floor, you can see bits of gleaming ivory and white - closer inspection reveals that these are bones and skulls of men, animals, and other things...
You know that you have certainly discovered the Caves of Chaos.
((See the Map thread for an overhead map of the area and the caves entrances.))
The forest you have been passing through has been getting more dense, tangled, and gloomier than before. The thick, twisted tree trunks, unnaturally misshapen limbs, writhing roots, clutching and grasping thorns and briars all seem to warn and ward you off, but you have forced and hacked your way through regardless. Now the strange growth has suddenly ended - you have stepped out of the thicket into a ravine-like area. The walls rise rather steeply to either side to a height of about 100’ or so - dark,
streaked rock mingled with earth. Clumps of trees grow here and there, both on the floor of the ravine and up the sloping wails of the canyon. The opening you stand in is about 200’ wide. The ravine runs at least 400’ west (actually 440’) to where the western end rises in a steep slope. Here and there, at varying heights on all sides of the ravine, you can see the black mouths of cave-like openings in the rock walls. The sunlight is dim, the air dank, there is an oppressive feeling here - as if something evil is watching and waiting to pounce upon you. There are bare, dead trees here and there, and upon one a vulture perches and gazes hungrily at you. A flock of ravens rise croaking from the ground, the beat of their wings and their cries magnified by the terrain to sound loud and horrible. Amongst the litter of rubble, boulders, and dead wood scattered about on the ravine floor, you can see bits of gleaming ivory and white - closer inspection reveals that these are bones and skulls of men, animals, and other things...
You know that you have certainly discovered the Caves of Chaos.
((See the Map thread for an overhead map of the area and the caves entrances.))