by tumblingdice » Sun Mar 20, 2016 1:11 am
Day 9, Asanda River, about 80 miles upstream from the village of Pramayama, midday
Roughly a week has passed since you began your journey up the river. The crowded raft, the still and foul waters of the river, and the barren grasslands on either side of it, have become your world. Tension and boredom have become your constant companions. The settlements have become fewer and further between as you make your way northwest, ever closer to the great Salt Swamp, and beyond that the Sind Desert. Sometimes a feeble breeze fills your sail; most days it's up to Pormas to pole the raft forward. Harsh as the environment has been, and though the dangers of the mission have been at the forefront of your minds, your bodies have managed to heal during the journey.
Once or twice per day, you pull the raft ashore, to give yourselves and your mounts a chance to disembark, stretch their legs and drink some fresh water. Tasrem discovered, the hard way, that neither the river water, nor the fish that live in it, are safe for human consumption. Sometimes you're lucky enough to find a clean stream that feeds into the river. Sometimes Roikos conjures up some food and water with his magic.
It is after one such stop, as Pormas as guiding the raft back toward the center of the river, that you hear, and feel, a knocking sound from underneath the raft. The vessel lifts ever so slightly out of the water, but not enough for you to lose your footing. This time. Pormas casts a worried glance at the deck, and then at you.
Aristide 44/44
--Max 19/19
Tasrem 11/15
Taranna 34/34
Zelaz 15/15
Sir Joffrey 51/51
--Zephyr 15/19
Roikos 50/50
--Peny 16/16
Actions?
Get thee to the dungeon. Get thee to the dungeon forthwith. Pass not the barbican. Amass not 200 GP.