The Romance of the River Kingdoms

[Dr Simon]

To the Temple

As the Young Vashti said, the temple is about a mile upstream, following the southern bank of the Leng River. The inhabited part of Cormondal soon gives way to derelict stone buildings, then old wooden shacks and rice paddies.

By the time you reach the temple, about twenty minutes later, the Divine Emperor, the sun, has passed through the Gates of the West leaving behind a dark red glow in the western sky¹, highlighting the dark cloudy night coming in from the East².

The temple stands on the bank of the river. A wall, about three feet high, surrounds the compound, serving more as a demarcation than a barrier. The weed-strewn metalled path that you have followed leads to a gap in the nearest wall, the short axis of the overall rectangle of the compound.

Flanking the compound entrance, and at regular intervals around the wall (roughly every 6 feet), statues or decorative pillars are stood atop the wall.

There are two long, low buildings along the left and right long walls, the one on the right (towards the river) looks in a worse state of repair with a roof that sags alarmingly. At the far end of the compound is the temple shrine, a steeply stepped pyramid that glows in the last light of the sun. This, like the wall, can be seen to be heavily decorated with carvings and statuary.


The whole compound is heavily overgrown, mainly with nettles, ground elder and other weeds. In the centre of the compound a large rhododendron, presumably once neat and ornamental, has sprawled low branches across the courtyard.

¹. The geomantic animal Glass Frog swallows the sun each night in the West and guards him safely through the Underworld to the East. Red sky at dusk or dawn is thought to be the light of the sun shining through Glass Frog's throat pouch.

². The sky of Conclave rotates, thus the Night half of the sky also rises in the east and 'sets' in the West. Creatures from the Underworld are thought to ride up with the night sky.

 

[Blackrat]

Three Flowers looked at the temple with sadness. It had probably once been a construction of wonder. Now it was in shambles. But the beauty of ancient times was still present. He draws his blade and salutes the temple making a mental note to write a poem of the place soon.

 

[Walking Dad]

Growling Ape

"Nature has taken back, what is hers. We should take the buildings one at a time. One who chases after two hares won't catch even one." is anything Ape has to say.

 

[The Rolling Man]

Jar'Thol, Salsham'ai shaman

"Thank the spirits, we made it here safely. It all looks pretty calm, perhaps the rumors of monsters and bandits are exagerated ?"

"Nature has taken back, what is hers. We should take the buildings one at a time. One who chases after two hares won't catch even one." is anything Ape has to say.

"Wisely said again, my friend. I say we check out the one building that's in the best state. Perhaps the more sneaky members of our group (including me) could go scout out the place before we all approach it." Jar'Thol proposes with a soft voice.

 

[Shayuri]

"I can scout from the air," Annika says, tugging restlessly on her poncho. "Once I've seen the place from above, I could try to draw a map of it."

 

[Walking Dad]

"I can scout from the air," Annika says, tugging restlessly on her poncho. "Once I've seen the place from above, I could try to draw a map of it."

"Good idea", Ape confirms. "Maybe the way is made clear when viewed from above."

 

[Shayuri]

Annika gives Ape a look that's a shade reproachful, then ducks her head down as she lifts the poncho a bit. For a moment she looks decapitated, then the poncho flutters down to the ground as Annika seems to disappear. There's a small lump still under it though, and after a few seconds the reason why finds the hole in the cloth garment and struggles its way out.

A bird. A most unusual bird. The proud head, curved and sharp beak and long talons of an eagle...but crested with a tuft of feathers and colored in bright plumes of red and orange, with a creamy yellow underbelly. Only her eyes were the same; round and violet and unblinking. Around one feathered leg is the pouch that had once been tied to her ankle. And slithering off of the fire-hued back of the raptor is a small snake, no more than a pair of hands long.

For a moment she stares, tilting her head to regard each in turn as if waiting for some kind of reaction. Then she spreads her wings wide and emits a piercing cry...her wingspan is surprisingly large up close, almost as wide as she stood tall as a woman. With a flurry of feathers and dust and wind, she takes off. It seems awkward and precarious at first, with the sorceress struggling to flap fast enough to gain altitude from a standing start on the ground. Once she finds her first thermal though, she soars as gracefully as a condor...swiftly dwindling to a colored speck in the sky.

(just gonna fly around a bit and look to see what's where and if there's any clear dangers or opportunities. Spot check mod is +9.)

 

[Dr Simon]

Map to follow.

[sblock="Annika"]
Spot Check 20+9=29

From her airborne vantage point, Annika can see that the temple consists of the two long buildings, the main temple and the tree, as seen from below. Here, without the foreshortening of perspective, the relative proportions are more cleary defined.

Her keen eyes also spot that the one of the statues, on the wall near the river, is looking up at her - it's not a statue at all, but a beast of some kind, likely a wolf or dog from the shape. She also thinks, but can't be entirely sure, that something is moving within the eaves of the tree. The light there is so shadowy she can't be certain.

There are no other signs of life that she can see.
[/sblock]

 

[Shayuri]

The red-plumed Annika returns after a surprisingly short time. She fusses with the edge of the poncho, plucking at it with her beak, then half-spreading her wings and nudging them under it... Then, with rustle of feathers like whipporwills taking flight, she resumes her human form. She's clearly had some practice on timing as well, as the posture taken beforehand allows her to grip the poncho as her fingers form and pull it up with her when she stands. From there, she ducks down and pulls the garment on in a single well-rehearsed movement. Even though the performance offered relatively little in the way of exposure...at least from the party's direction...she still seems a bit flustered as she fluffs her hair out a bit and adjusts the poncho on her shoulders.

"If you have quill and page, I'll draw what I saw," she says. "There was some kind of...wolf, or large dog. I thought it was a statue at first. It's near the river. On the wall."

She speaks quickly, as if trying to divert attention from something that had just occurred.

 

[Redclaw]

Xielt watches his fellow explorers throughly half-closed eyes. He studiously feigns disinterest even as he takes in every detail that he can, having learned the importance of knowing his travelling companions. As the woman transforms into a bird he tries to hide his startlement.
Slowly, yet gracefully, he glides into the clearing and squats in the dirt near the gap in the wall, running his hands over the path and trying to discover any sign of disturbance.

[sblock=ooc] Xielt will search the area for tracks. Search +6, survival +8.[/sblock]