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Maissen: Shades of Grey [UPDATE 12/12, post 199]
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<blockquote data-quote="Beale Knight" data-source="post: 2606886" data-attributes="member: 7033"><p><strong>Session 11 cnt: Of the Region, Around the Bend</strong></p><p></p><p>Inside was a luxury cabin. Bookshelves lined the walls, a meal was cooking in a large pot, there were chairs and couches and tables scattered around, sleeping furs and blankets were plentiful, and the place was accented with exotic birds in large, fancy cages. It was amazing. Baloong showed a safe place for Barbrack to secure our mounts and then jumped into the role of generous host. </p><p></p><p>One of the things he mentioned he liked, but could rarely get was beer, and so we pulled out the last of what we’d received from the people of Town and proceeded to talk late into the night. </p><p></p><p>Baloong was part of an extended family of forest guardians. His task, for the past one hundred thirteen years, was to keep an eye on the giants to the west. They had a massive city on the lake just beyond the edge of the mountains and, being giants, were known to make trouble from time to time. Judging from what we had seen him do with our own eyes, skilled fighting, casting fire, and even healing our wounds once we got into his home, we were sure he and the related trollkin could handle giants (of course except for the ogre, our own eyes hadn’t actually seen any giants).</p><p></p><p>We learned a little more of the therrick from Baloong. They were shape-shifters, akin to werewolves, and generally savage. Our host also told us that the dwarven gates on this side of the mountain hadn’t been used in ages. Long ago there was a great deal of gold trade between the dwarves and the giants, but no more. Baloong knew the chakta had ventured to this side of the mountain; they’d been in these parts for months now but he didn’t know why.</p><p></p><p>He warned us about Bran the Ogre, who had been acting independently from the ogres loyal to the giants. Our host also warned us to not shoot the Big Elk, and to avoid the mating grounds of the Rowin. Neither would be hard to distinguish. The former was an unmistakable creature should we be so lucky as to even see it. The latter would be marked by immense piles of dung. </p><p></p><p>That image largely spoiled any further conversation, and so we all called it a night. The night in Baloong’s secret cabin had been the most pleasant evening and the most restful sleep we had experienced since our time with the gnomes the month before. Baloong apparently felt the same way. Before we left the next day he let us know we were invited to return any time. </p><p></p><p>Day Thirty Eight began with a fine breakfast and reiteration of directions to the trail of stone: “Go east to head west.” So we did, passing the great oak tree by mid-morning and reaching the tall granite wall about noon. The east bound trail switched back west and that afternoon we were once again on the trail of the stone, high in the mountains and beyond the border of the giant lands. </p><p></p><p>The day’s travel was largely uneventful but for one brief stop. Not long before we needed to start looking for a good place to camp for the night we came across another set of dwarven ruins. We knew now that these marked a gate into the mountains, and Ren couldn’t resist trying something. He followed the ruins to the nearby gate and knocked, expecting nothing.</p><p></p><p>He got more than that, but just a little. As soon as he knocked a rivet popped forward and a hole opened. The cloud of dust that this stirred suggested this hadn’t happened in an extremely long time. We could see a dwarf’s face looking out and a brief conversation began. </p><p></p><p>“Yes?” asked the dwarf.</p><p></p><p>“We bring peaceful greetings from Maissen.”</p><p></p><p>“And?”</p><p></p><p>“That’s all,” Ren said with a smile.</p><p></p><p>“Okay then,” the dwarf responded. He withdrew and the rivet went back into place. </p><p></p><p>We all looked at each other and shrugged. There was probably nothing we could learn from the dwarf about this region that Balloong hadn’t already told us, and we had no interest in heading underground. Short of just making this dwarf’s day unnecessarily more complicated there was no reason for us to linger, so we moved on. Whether word of our greetings will make it back to the hill dwarves before we do is an interesting question. </p><p></p><p>It was only a little later when the trail began to turn southward. South! We had traveled the length of the mountains! The trail here was atop a high cliff and overlooked a huge lake. Water extended westward as far as we could see, but there was no sign of either city or giant. There was a brilliant sunset though, and while this wasn’t even close to an ideal camp site it would have to do. We spent a cautious night without a fire and with every effort to avoid rolling over the cliff. A three hundred foot drop into a lake would be just about the most unpleasant way to wake up there could be. </p><p></p><p>Sunrise of Day Thirty Nine was gorgeous. There were no mountains to block the view, and the sun’s first rays reflected off the lake in a cascade of red and orange. That we were rounding the far side of the mountains and venturing close to territory we had traveled buoyed all of our spirits. Even Wayden the gobber was less nervous than usual. For his part, Barbrack was pleased to have traveled several days without injury.</p><p></p><p>Not long after we got moving, we laid eyes on the magnificent city of the giants. The expectedly huge buildings stood on an island constructed of wood far out onto the lake. A series of massive planks led from the city to first one small island and then another and another before reaching dry land. Evil and violent the giants might be, from what we’d been told, but their city was a marvel of engineering. </p><p></p><p>By this time the trail of stone had begun to slope down. As the day wore on the trail continued to get lower and lower, eventually getting to only twenty feet above the water level. Just before nightfall we reach a three way fork. We could now head south, up into the heights of the mountains, or carry on around. It was late and this was a fine spot to camp, so we chose to sleep on it. </p><p></p><p>Really though, we’d made our decision days ago. When Day Forty began we took the path that continued around the mountains. It wasn’t long before we noticed the trail had subtly turned fully east. </p><p></p><p>We were heading east! We had rounded the mountains! What had seemed an insurmountable barrier when we first saw it as a blur on the horizon had been traveled! With a sense of deep satisfaction, we broke to eat and consider our options. </p><p></p><p>Our initial plan had been to head straight for the hill dwarves once we rounded the mountains. However, now that we stood here we realized how close we must be to the Valley of Drayne. By the combined reckoning of the druid, elf barbarian, and hunter, we determined that by heading south-south-east we should reach the valley somewhere on the far side of where we stood before it weeks earlier. Since we HAD to get to the valley at some point we were going to half to backtrack a little ways regardless of whether we went there or to the dwarves first. So to get the last side task completed, we decided to head for the Valley of Drayne.</p><p></p><p>Next: Farunk, Ogres, Go Avarashan Go, Dropping into the Valley of Drayne. POST 180</p><p>BACKGROUND post 177</p><p>MAP post 178</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Beale Knight, post: 2606886, member: 7033"] [b]Session 11 cnt: Of the Region, Around the Bend[/b] Inside was a luxury cabin. Bookshelves lined the walls, a meal was cooking in a large pot, there were chairs and couches and tables scattered around, sleeping furs and blankets were plentiful, and the place was accented with exotic birds in large, fancy cages. It was amazing. Baloong showed a safe place for Barbrack to secure our mounts and then jumped into the role of generous host. One of the things he mentioned he liked, but could rarely get was beer, and so we pulled out the last of what we’d received from the people of Town and proceeded to talk late into the night. Baloong was part of an extended family of forest guardians. His task, for the past one hundred thirteen years, was to keep an eye on the giants to the west. They had a massive city on the lake just beyond the edge of the mountains and, being giants, were known to make trouble from time to time. Judging from what we had seen him do with our own eyes, skilled fighting, casting fire, and even healing our wounds once we got into his home, we were sure he and the related trollkin could handle giants (of course except for the ogre, our own eyes hadn’t actually seen any giants). We learned a little more of the therrick from Baloong. They were shape-shifters, akin to werewolves, and generally savage. Our host also told us that the dwarven gates on this side of the mountain hadn’t been used in ages. Long ago there was a great deal of gold trade between the dwarves and the giants, but no more. Baloong knew the chakta had ventured to this side of the mountain; they’d been in these parts for months now but he didn’t know why. He warned us about Bran the Ogre, who had been acting independently from the ogres loyal to the giants. Our host also warned us to not shoot the Big Elk, and to avoid the mating grounds of the Rowin. Neither would be hard to distinguish. The former was an unmistakable creature should we be so lucky as to even see it. The latter would be marked by immense piles of dung. That image largely spoiled any further conversation, and so we all called it a night. The night in Baloong’s secret cabin had been the most pleasant evening and the most restful sleep we had experienced since our time with the gnomes the month before. Baloong apparently felt the same way. Before we left the next day he let us know we were invited to return any time. Day Thirty Eight began with a fine breakfast and reiteration of directions to the trail of stone: “Go east to head west.” So we did, passing the great oak tree by mid-morning and reaching the tall granite wall about noon. The east bound trail switched back west and that afternoon we were once again on the trail of the stone, high in the mountains and beyond the border of the giant lands. The day’s travel was largely uneventful but for one brief stop. Not long before we needed to start looking for a good place to camp for the night we came across another set of dwarven ruins. We knew now that these marked a gate into the mountains, and Ren couldn’t resist trying something. He followed the ruins to the nearby gate and knocked, expecting nothing. He got more than that, but just a little. As soon as he knocked a rivet popped forward and a hole opened. The cloud of dust that this stirred suggested this hadn’t happened in an extremely long time. We could see a dwarf’s face looking out and a brief conversation began. “Yes?” asked the dwarf. “We bring peaceful greetings from Maissen.” “And?” “That’s all,” Ren said with a smile. “Okay then,” the dwarf responded. He withdrew and the rivet went back into place. We all looked at each other and shrugged. There was probably nothing we could learn from the dwarf about this region that Balloong hadn’t already told us, and we had no interest in heading underground. Short of just making this dwarf’s day unnecessarily more complicated there was no reason for us to linger, so we moved on. Whether word of our greetings will make it back to the hill dwarves before we do is an interesting question. It was only a little later when the trail began to turn southward. South! We had traveled the length of the mountains! The trail here was atop a high cliff and overlooked a huge lake. Water extended westward as far as we could see, but there was no sign of either city or giant. There was a brilliant sunset though, and while this wasn’t even close to an ideal camp site it would have to do. We spent a cautious night without a fire and with every effort to avoid rolling over the cliff. A three hundred foot drop into a lake would be just about the most unpleasant way to wake up there could be. Sunrise of Day Thirty Nine was gorgeous. There were no mountains to block the view, and the sun’s first rays reflected off the lake in a cascade of red and orange. That we were rounding the far side of the mountains and venturing close to territory we had traveled buoyed all of our spirits. Even Wayden the gobber was less nervous than usual. For his part, Barbrack was pleased to have traveled several days without injury. Not long after we got moving, we laid eyes on the magnificent city of the giants. The expectedly huge buildings stood on an island constructed of wood far out onto the lake. A series of massive planks led from the city to first one small island and then another and another before reaching dry land. Evil and violent the giants might be, from what we’d been told, but their city was a marvel of engineering. By this time the trail of stone had begun to slope down. As the day wore on the trail continued to get lower and lower, eventually getting to only twenty feet above the water level. Just before nightfall we reach a three way fork. We could now head south, up into the heights of the mountains, or carry on around. It was late and this was a fine spot to camp, so we chose to sleep on it. Really though, we’d made our decision days ago. When Day Forty began we took the path that continued around the mountains. It wasn’t long before we noticed the trail had subtly turned fully east. We were heading east! We had rounded the mountains! What had seemed an insurmountable barrier when we first saw it as a blur on the horizon had been traveled! With a sense of deep satisfaction, we broke to eat and consider our options. Our initial plan had been to head straight for the hill dwarves once we rounded the mountains. However, now that we stood here we realized how close we must be to the Valley of Drayne. By the combined reckoning of the druid, elf barbarian, and hunter, we determined that by heading south-south-east we should reach the valley somewhere on the far side of where we stood before it weeks earlier. Since we HAD to get to the valley at some point we were going to half to backtrack a little ways regardless of whether we went there or to the dwarves first. So to get the last side task completed, we decided to head for the Valley of Drayne. Next: Farunk, Ogres, Go Avarashan Go, Dropping into the Valley of Drayne. POST 180 BACKGROUND post 177 MAP post 178 [/QUOTE]
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